Race Weekend Central

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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Tracking the Trucks: 2009 O’Reilly Auto Parts 250 at Kansas

In a Nutshell: Mike Skinner was standing on pit road in the rain when he got word he won the rain-shortened O’Reilly Auto Parts 250 presented by World of Warcraft Monday afternoon at Kansas Speedway. Skinner led the field when the red flag flew on Saturday for rain, and found himself in that same top …

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Frontstretch Fantasy Insider: Picking the ‘Dega Drafting Lane That’s Moving Forward

The fantasy wildcard weekend that is Talladega looms on the horizon. The Big One, which happens more times than not, can take out a player’s entire fantasy team in one fell swoop – or, it could cause a player’s team to sweep into the top 10 when most of the other competition is taken out. …

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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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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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Nuts for Nationwide: TV Coverage Strangling the NASCAR Nationwide Series

Back when the deal was first announced that ESPN would be returning to NASCAR broadcasting, and would also be giving the Nationwide Series a steady, permanent home, I was absolutely thrilled. What could go wrong here: a network whose Wide World of Sports coverage was largely responsible for NASCAR’s ascension from a niche to a …

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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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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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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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