Race Weekend Central

Holding a Pretty Wheel: 1st-Year Blues & Fantastic NASCAR Freshmen

Richard Childress Racing is set to set sail with a fourth NASCAR Sprint Cup team in 2009. The sponsor is on board in General Mills, and Childress expects to name a driver in the next week or two. (That driver is likely to be Casey Mears, and may involve a number and sponsor switch with …

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Running Their Mouth: 2008 Centurion Boats at the Glen

This week, here’s a sneak peek at what a select few were thinking following the Centurion Boats at the Glen at Watkins Glen International.

Sprint Cup Rookie Report: Marcos Ambrose Gains Positions & Respect at the Glen

Rookies in the Starting Lineup: (Due to rain, the starting lineup was determined by car owner points) Aric Almirola (15th), Ron Fellows (32nd), Sam Hornish Jr. (34th), Michael McDowell (36th), PJ Jones (38th), Patrick Carpentier (39th), Max Papis (42nd), Marcos Ambrose (43rd) Unofficial Finishing Positions: Ambrose (third), Fellows (13th), Carpentier (20th), McDowell (25th), Hornish (32nd), Almirola …

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Sprint Cup Rookie Report: Pocono Shocker – Chad McCumbee Bests Freshmen Field in Pennsylvania

Rookies in the Starting Lineup: Sam Hornish Jr. (26th), Chad McCumbee (34th), Michael McDowell (35th), Regan Smith (36th) Unofficial Finishing Positions: McCumbee (17th), McDowell (24th), Smith (25th), Hornish (26th) Rookie of the Race: McCumbee. The 23-year-old Craftsman Truck series veteran managed to qualify for his first Sprint Cup race in 2008 this past weekend, after failing …

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Sprint Cup Rookie Report: Patrick Carpentier’s Momentum Continues at Brickyard

Rookies in the Starting Lineup: Patrick Carpentier (15th), Marcos Ambrose (24th), Michael McDowell (30th), Sam Hornish Jr. (38th), Regan Smith (42nd) Unofficial Finishing Positions: Carpentier (18th), Hornish (21st), Ambrose (22nd), Smith (31st), McDowell (34th) Rookie of the Race: Carpentier. Despite graduating from the open-wheel ranks, this year’s running of the Brickyard 400 represents only the second …

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Bubble Breakdown: Hidden Within Indy Madness, Scott Riggs, No. 66 Team Sneak Back Into Top 35

As difficult as Indianapolis Motor Speedway can be for drivers and crew chiefs alike, it proved to be even more difficult for Goodyear engineers on Sunday. With the company’s few racing tires lasting only a handful of laps before showing excessive wear, NASCAR, in the name of safety, was forced to throw competition cautions every …

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Bowles-Eye View: NASCAR Sprint Cup in 2008 – Where Are We Now?

At the beginning of the year, Frontstretch asked our staff of nearly two dozen writers a handful of questions that we thought would develop into the major storylines within NASCAR in 2008. It was a potpourri of pressing stories, predicting anything from the future of the sport’s Most Popular Driver to the mindset of its …

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Sprint Cup Rookie Report: 2008 Mid-Term Grades – Reviewing NASCAR’s Rocky Rookie Road

The season is just past the halfway point, which means it’s time for Professor Lumbis to issue his midterm report cards for the 2008 rookie class. Get out your Tums, though – as after team closures, numerous wrecks, and poor finishes, this report is sure to give some readers agita after reading about the dreadful …

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Bubble Breakdown: Michael Waltrip, Michael McDowell in a Bind After Tough Go at Chicago

NASCAR began a short Midwest swing this weekend in Chicagoland with the running of the LifeLock.com 400. Mother Nature decided to play a big role in the proceedings early on, as the rains moved in and washed out NASCAR’s qualifying session. But the washout actually gave our Sprint Cup bubble teams a sigh of relief; …

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Sprint Cup Rookie Report: Rough Ride for NASCAR Freshmen at Chicagoland

Rookies in the Starting Lineup: Regan Smith (33rd), Michael McDowell (34th), Sam Hornish Jr. (35th), Patrick Carpentier (42nd). Note: Qualifying was rained out, so the field was set by owner points. Unofficial Finishing Positions: Carpentier (30th), Smith (34th), Hornish Jr. (37th), McDowell (43rd). Rookie of the Race: Carpentier. As the title of the article says, …

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Bubble Breakdown: Last-Lap Restrictor-Plate Mayhem Ruins Daytona for Several Bubble Teams

As NASCAR made its first return trip to a racetrack in 2008, several bubble teams once again showed signs of life during Friday’s qualifying session. Joe Nemechek, Johnny Sauter and Regan Smith turned laps that qualified them in the fourth, fifth and eighth starting positions respectively, serving notice they planned to be a force during the …

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Sprint Cup Rookie Report: Patrick Carpentier Captures Top Honors at Daytona

Editor’s Note: Remember that all finishing positions were based on the unofficial results from Saturday night’s race. NASCAR will release the official results sometime around noon ET on Monday, which could cause adjustments based on how they review the final running order of this restrictor-plate event. Rookies in the Starting Lineup: Regan Smith (eighth), Patrick …

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