Race Weekend Central

Frontstretch NASCAR Power Rankings: Top 15 After the 2009 Crown Royal 400 at Richmond

Some retro short-track racing in Virginia provided a lot of high-powered action Saturday night, with the end result a record 15 caution flags and a late-race pit strategy that left the standings jumbled all the way up until the checkered flag. That unpredictability factored right into our own Power Rankings this week, as 14 out …

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Frontstretch NASCAR Power Rankings: Top 15 After the 2009 Aaron’s 499 at Talladega

The wildcard that is restrictor-plate racing at Talladega certainly mixed up our rankings as much as it mixed up the standings. The Big Ones led to big changes for our experts, as multiple drivers received first-place votes and just two of 15 stayed in the same position that they occupied last week. The race ended …

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Matt McLaughlin’s Thinkin’ Out Loud: 2009 Talladega Spring Race Recap

The Key Moment: Carl Edwards had the lead when Brad Keselowski got a fender inside of him off turn 4 on the final lap. Edwards moved to block the No. 09 a little too late, going for a terrifying ride into the catchfence off of Ryan Newman’s car while Keselowski drove to victory lane. In …

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Brad Keselowski Wins 2009 Aaron’s 499 at Talladega

Talladega had an unlikely hero on Sunday. Brad Keselowski braved a block from Carl Edwards, whose car went airborne and across Ryan Newman‘s car, to win his first Sprint Cup race at Talladega in only his fifth career start. Edwards’s car, meanwhile, went flying into the catchfence, ripping into it and sending parts into the …

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Holding a Pretty Wheel: The Monster Jeff Gordon Created is Guarding the Door

You know you’re on a roll when, seven races into the season, you hold a points lead so large that you could finish dead last the next week and still leave town with it. That’s exactly where Jeff Gordon found himself last week, rolling into Phoenix with just such a lead. In the eight races …

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Mirror Driving: Coming Clean at Roush Fenway, Cleaning Up NASCAR’s Ratings Decline & More

Continuing a recent trend, the NASCAR race at Phoenix saw an 18% drop in ratings from over a year ago despite a popular Mark Martin victory. Why?

Frontstretch NASCAR Power Rankings: Top 15 After the 2009 Subway Fresh 500 at Phoenix

Phoenix’s Saturday night showdown may have been Mark Martin‘s time to shine, but it didn’t mean much for the rest of the Sprint Cup competition. Most of the racing behind him was tame at best, with few top drivers encountering problems that left them dropping off our Power Rankings list. However, Jeff Gordon‘s loose lug …

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Who’s Hot/Who’s Not in Sprint Cup: 2009 Subway Fresh 500 at Phoenix Edition

Another one bit the dust in the sands out west at Phoenix Saturday night. But as the smoke cleared from the Cup Series’ eighth race of the season, we’re left with plenty of storylines from a weekend’s worth of action at PIR. Mark Martin became one of the oldest drivers ever to win a NASCAR …

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Happy Hour: Why We Don’t See as Much Emotion as We’d Like

I play in a fairly competitive but unofficial softball league. During a game last season while playing first base, I squatted and reached to my left to try to catch a low and wide throw from third. The runner ran into me, knocking me over. The ball got away. Instead of going after the ball, …

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Frontstretch Fantasy Insider: Keeping Your Team Hot in Phoenix’s Dry Heat

After a week off to regenerate the batteries and fatten up on Peeps and chocolate, the series is heading to the desert Southwest. The quirky 1-mile oval outside of Phoenix tests the drivers and the teams to come up with a setup that can handle the tight turns 1 and 2 as well as the …

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Mirror Driving: NASCAR Safety Gone Overboard, Catching Hendrick & Steve Wallace… Cup Driver?

Welcome to Mirror Driving. Every week, your favorite columnists sit down and give their opinion about the latest NASCAR news and rumors. Love us or hate us, make a comment below and tell us how you feel about what we’ve said! This Week’s Participants: Tom Bowles (Editor-In-Chief; Mondays/Bowles-Eye View & Wednesdays/Did You Notice?) Beth Lunkenheimer (Tuesdays/Running Your …

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