Race Weekend Central

Bubble Breakdown: 2-Tire Pit Stop Has Sam Hornish Jr. Driving Away From Top 35

News from the bubble this week primarily dealt with Robby Gordon’s rear end and whether NASCAR’s method of handing out penalties is fair or not. Gordon was docked 50 owner and driver points and crew chief Kirk Almquist was fined $50,000 this week after post-race inspection at Lowe’s found their rear axle housing exceeded the …

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Mirror Driving: Keselowski’s Sprint Cup Future, Yanking the Yellow-Line Rule & Super Bowl-Sized Issues for Daytona

Brad Keselowski won in just his fifth career Cup start at Talladega this past weekend. In 2010 and beyond, what does Keselowski’s Cup Series future hold?

Did You Notice? Tragic NASCAR Death Reminder to Push for a Higher Standard

In four years of covering the NASCAR beat, I never “officially” met David Poole. But you don’t have to know him to understand. The word is beloved and the year is 2006. I’m asked to speak for a documentary about the past, present and future of NASCAR. The producer, a friend, chooses three writers to …

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Full Throttle: So Much for Emotion in the New NASCAR

Last year Brian France told everyone that he wanted to see more emotion out of the drivers. The fans wanted to see that drivers were human and actually got excited about their sport. The sanitized, corporate pitch men were supposed to be replaced by passionate racers who were out there for the love of the …

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Nationwide Series Breakdown: 2009 Aaron’s 312 at Talladega

It’s often been said that on a late restart, the last place a driver wants to be is leading a restrictor-plate race. Ryan Newman found that out the hard way on Saturday. Despite playing the ride in the back strategy to perfection all day long after winning the pole Friday and leading at the white-flag …

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Did You Notice? Restrictor Plate 1-Hit Wonders & the New Precedent of “Probation”

Did You Notice? Just probation for Casey Mears and Dale Earnhardt Jr.? Did you really expect the sanctioning body to do anything more after their little post-race altercation at Phoenix? We already have the U.S. Army spread out in Afghanistan, Iraq and elsewhere across the globe… there’s no need to dispatch an additional battalion to …

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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?

The Yellow Stripe: Is Roush Fenway’s Slow Start a Case of Short Track-itis… Or a Sign of Something Else?

In the euphoria surrounding his rain-shortened victory in the Daytona 500, the self-styled perfectionist Jack Roush must have permitted himself a wry smile. Winning the biggest race of all for the very first time – after 113 previous Sprint Cup victories in 21 years of ownership – must have felt like a harbinger of what …

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The Yellow Stripe: Taking It to the Next Level, Which of These 10 Drivers Will Win a NASCAR Cup Championship?

The label of future Sprint Cup champion is liberally dispensed – but rarely achieved. In the 60 years of NASCAR competition, only 28 drivers have attained the hallowed crown – and it’s a pretty exclusive club. 12 drivers have won a solitary championship, while another eight have won two titles. Five men – Jimmie Johnson, …

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Who’s Hot/Who’s Not in Sprint Cup: 2009 Food City 500 at Bristol Edition

A weekend in noisy Thunder Valley following a quiet week of rest provides a jarring wakeup call to drivers, crews and fans alike. But while Sunday’s Bristol race itself did not spark the normal beating and banging fest people are used to seeing, it did help bring to light what this season’s short-track races may …

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