Race Weekend Central

Who’s Hot/Who’s Not in Sprint Cup: 2008 NASCAR Pre-Chase Edition

After seven months, 26 races and a rollercoaster of ups and downs, the 2008 Chase for the Championship field is now set. This year’s 12 participants will go at it in the fifth edition of NASCAR’s new format, battling through a 10-week playoff push that will culminate with a 400-mile shootout at Homestead in November. …

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Fantasy Picks ‘N’ Pans: Chasing Down Your Best Bets For Richmond

Providing Hurricane Hanna doesn’t interfere with the proceedings in Richmond, the regular season comes to an end in the Cup Series this Saturday night. The Chase picture will be completely in focus after the checkered flag falls, but one thing fantasy owners should know is that it’s already set for the majority of the field …

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Frontstretch NASCAR Power Rankings: Top 15 After the 2008 Pepsi 500 at Fontana

California is a wide-open track with plenty of room to run. The drivers had to struggle with the sun as it was going down and ultimately struggled with making their cars handle as the track cooled off. The end result was Jimmie Johnson won the race and moved up two spots in the rankings this …

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10 Points to Ponder… After the 2008 Pepsi 500 at Fontana

1. Thanks for the Memories – Felix Sabates, co-owner of Chip Ganassi Racing with Felix Sabates, never one to mince words, took a potshot at sponsor of the No. 42 Texaco Dodge driven by Juan Pablo Montoya. Texaco, after 20 years of sponsoring a NASCAR Cup team, has announced that they have made a business …

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Frontstretch NASCAR Power Rankings: Top 15 After the 2008 Sharpie 500 at Bristol

Bristol’s new variable banking has given drivers the option to pass without having to wreck a guy on the racetrack. But as Carl Edwards showed us Saturday night, the bump and run can still be the only option if the car in front is just good enough to keep you behind. Ensuring that move remains …

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Fantasy Picks ‘N’ Pans: Is Someone Else Worth Picking Over Kyle Busch & Carl Edwards at Bristol?

The toughest ticket in NASCAR. Jet fighters in a gymnasium. Bristol has been nicknamed many things; but when it comes your fantasy team, it’s likely been called something we can’t print on this page in front of you. Indeed, Saturday night’s 500-lapper is the one race left you’re cursing out on your schedule, almost as …

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Did You Notice? Jeff Gordon’s Sudden Slide, What NASCAR’s Schedule Hides & Hamlin’s Bad Side

A lot of shorter observations than usual, so I’m calling this the Odds ‘N’ Ends edition of Did You Notice this week… Did You Notice? That California Speedway’s date realignment on the 2009 Sprint Cup schedule did nothing to address the quality of racing at that facility? I will say the Labor Day date was always …

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Frontstretch NASCAR Power Rankings: Top 15 After the 2008 3M Performance 400 at Michigan

Four wide-open grooves of racing at Michigan gave the drivers a lot of options Sunday – giving the faster cars a great chance to work their way forward. But for Denny Hamlin and Kasey Kahne, the only racing line they were able to handle was the one that led straight to the garage. Both saw …

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