Race Weekend Central

5 Points to Ponder: 2009 Pep Boys 500 at Atlanta Edition

Each week, Frontstretch hosts a live blog during the Sprint Cup race. It’s a great way for readers to interact alongside their favorite Frontstretch writers with videos, live commentary and live polls. Each of this week’s “Five Points” were polls taken during the Atlanta live blog. ONE: Will Danica Patrick win a race in ARCA, …

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Bubble Breakdown: David Stremme, Paul Menard Lead Several Bubble Drivers With Top-20 Finishes

Well pull up a chair kids, we had a major case of musical seats amongst some of our bubble teams that isn’t even over yet and I’m gonna try and explain it all to you. It started when Bobby Labonte who drives for Hall of Fame Racing was taken out of his ride by HoF’s …

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Bubble Breakdown: Top-15 Finish Has Scott Speed in Striking Distance of Top 35

Well bubble fans, it looks like we’re losing one of our bubble dwellers, again. During the week it has been reported that David Stremme will be replaced in the No. 12 Team Penske Dodge by rising star Brad Keselowski in 2010, if not sooner. David was just not getting the job done for Team Penske, …

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Matt McLaughlin’s Thinkin’ Out Loud: 2009 Pocono Summer Race Recap

The Key Moment: With 20 laps to go, Denny Hamlin restarted 14th with fresh tires. With 10 to go, he drove past Clint Bowyer to take the lead and was never headed at Pocono. In a Nutshell: Better late than never. In this case very late, but very much better than the last few Pocono races. Dramatic …

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2009 NASCAR Report Cards, Part II: Grading Dale Jr. & the Rest

Editor’s Note: For Part I of our midseason driver report cards, click here. Continuing on from yesterday’s review, it’s time for Professors Danny and Tom to grade those drivers sitting at the back of the class. Whether it’s some bad racing luck, poor chemistry with a crew chief or just plain awful driving, most of …

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Bubble Driver Review: David Ragan Biggest Disappointment Amongst This Group in 2009

Well, it’s that time of year where we look back at the first half of 2009 and grade our bubble teams. Keep in mind this report card is aimed at a specific subset inside the Cup garage – those in and around the cutoff for the 35 locked-in spots the series gives out each week …

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Mirror Driving: Double-File Disaster?, Ford’s Floundering Season & Gibbs Dominance in Nationwide

With Ford’s announcement that it has not cut NASCAR funding while every other manufacturer has, should more teams be jumping on the Blue Oval bandwagon?

The Big 6: Questions Answered After the 2009 LifeLock 400 at Chicagoland

Who… gets my shoutout of the race? It’s a tough week to have to choose this one, but I’m going with a driver who, a year ago, was labeled as just another open-wheel convert who couldn’t figure out stock cars. Fast forward to the present, though, and Juan Pablo Montoya seems to have it figured …

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Bubble Breakdown: Despite Early Off-Road Adventure, AJ Allmendinger Posts Top-10 Finish

Had you watched qualifying on Friday, you may have been asking yourself, “why did Scott Speed have to qualify on time while John Andretti had a guaranteed spot? NASCAR’s website has Speed in the 35th spot in points and Andretti in 36th.” The answer is simple; you were looking at the wrong standings. The Top-35 …

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Bubble Breakdown: Jeremy Mayfield Dealt Death Blow While Non-Top 35 Teams Struggle

As I am sure you’ve heard by now, some big news came from one of our bubble teams just prior to the Southern 500 this past Saturday night. However, I am not about to open my column talking any more than I have to about a run of the mill driver who manages to get …

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