Race Weekend Central

Nationwide Series Breakdown: 2009 Heluva Good! 200 at Dover

For 198 laps, it was business as usual for Kyle Busch and Joe Gibbs Racing, as the No. 18 and No. 20 Toyotas put an absolute smackdown on the NNS field – combining to lead 195 laps and holding the top-two spots when the race’s final green flag restarted the event with two laps to …

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Nationwide Series Breakdown: 2009 CARQUEST 300 at Charlotte

CONCORD, N.C. – A Nationwide Series regular went to victory lane for the first time in 2009 Saturday night. It only took a lucky caution… and a lot of help from Mother Nature… to finally make it happen. The only car left on the lead lap waiting to pit before green-flag pit stops cycled through, …

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Talking NASCAR TV: Jump the Shark

Race fans, the title says it all for me. However, for those of you who may not be familiar with the term… let me explain. The term “Jump the Shark” was created by Jon Hein and a group of his buddies at the University of Michigan in 1987. Apparently, they spent a Saturday night watching …

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Nationwide Series Breakdown: 2009 Bashas’ Supermarkets 200 at Phoenix

Friday night’s broadcast from Phoenix was the Kyle and Carl show on TV… and it was literally called that. The first eight minutes of the pre-race show were uninterrupted Kyle vs. Carl, as was the majority of the on-track coverage from flag to flag. Yet, while both drivers led a number of laps, neither driver …

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Who’s Hot/Who’s Not in NASCAR’s Other Top Series

The NASCAR Sprint Cup and Camping World Truck series each took a breather this Easter Weekend while the Nationwide Series fired its engines (and Gibson guitar amps) in Nashville. Since this column already detailed the HOTNESS and NOTNESS of the Cup Series following last week’s events in Texas, we find it only fair to take …

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Nationwide Series Breakdown: 2009 O’Reilly 300 at Texas

On paper, this one wasn’t even close. And for over 250 miles on Saturday, it wasn’t. In the end, though, Kyle Busch led 178 of the 200 laps run at Texas to score his third win of the 2009 season. But he came very close to losing it. Brad Keselowski, who started 42nd in a …

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Nationwide Series Breakdown: 2009 Sam’s Town 300 at Las Vegas

The Nationwide Series doesn’t tackle the high banks of Bristol until March 21. Apparently that message didn’t get through to the drivers Saturday. The Sam’s Town 300 in Las Vegas opened with four wrecks in the first 28 laps, becoming a demolition derby that featured 12 cautions and two red flags while ending with only …

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Nationwide Series Breakdown: 2008 Hefty Odor Block 200 at Phoenix

In a Nutshell: Carl Edwards talked all week about how his No. 60 team had to be perfect the next two weekends if they had any shot of scoring a second consecutive Nationwide title. And while there were minor hiccups, the No. 60 group did everything they could, leading the most laps and dominating the …

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Tracking the Trucks: 2008 Mountain Dew 250 at Talladega

In a Nutshell: Todd Bodine took the checkered flag 0.074 seconds ahead of Ron Hornaday Jr. to win the Mountain Dew 250 presented by Toyota Saturday afternoon at Talladega Superspeedway. Bodine took the lead in the final turn on the last lap to win his third consecutive superspeedway race. Kyle Busch, Colin Braun and Mike Wallace …

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Nationwide Series Breakdown: 2008 Camping World RV Sales 200 at Dover

In a Nutshell: For the 23rd time this season, a Sprint Cup driver proved that they had the awe-inspiring mettle to dominate NASCAR’s AAA series. For the eighth time this season, Kyle Busch proved to race fans that he is indeed deserving of a full-time ride in the Cup ranks, because he’s such a darned …

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Tearing Apart the Trucks: Joey Clanton Replaced at Roush Fenway Racing

Just a few days after finishing 32nd in the season opener at Daytona International Speedway, it was announced that Joey Clanton and Roush Fenway Racing had parted ways. Clanton just made the move with his truck number and sponsor, Zaxby’s, from Wood Brothers/JTG Racing to Roush Fenway during the offseason after sharing the truck with …

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