Race Weekend Central

Frontstretch NASCAR Power Rankings: Top 15 After the 2015 Bank of America 500 at Charlotte

2015 Moffitt Annett Busch Bank Of America 500 Charlotte Cup Mike Neff

Photo Credit: Mike Neff, Frontstretch

If Kevin Harvick is the championship favorite, Joey Logano is the “sleeper”… or at least he was. After a dominating performance last weekend in Charlotte Motor Speedway, if anyone had forgotten about the 25-year-old driver as a potential championship contender, they certainly are looking at him now. Though Harvick mounted a strong charge, he wasn’t …

Read more

5 Points to Ponder: Ryan Blaney’s Big Day Balanced By Matt Kenseth’s Nightmare

2015 Ryan Blaney Bank Of America 500 Charlotte Cup Mike Neff

Photo Credit: Mike Neff, Frontstretch

ONE: The Importance of Kansas This Sunday afternoon, for the second time of asking in 2015, we head to Kansas Speedway for race number five in the 10-race playoff sequence. The race will also double as number two of three in the second of four segments (which sounds more like a math problem than a …

Read more

Frontstretch Fantasy Insider: 2015 Bank of America 500 at Charlotte

2015 Ricky Stenhouse Jr Bank Of America 500 Charlotte Cup Mike Neff

(Photo Credit: Mike Neff, Frontstretch)

The Chase for the Sprint Cup has been whittled down to 12 drivers, and the Contender round starts off with a bang at Charlotte with a night race. Kevin Harvick was dominant last week at Dover, securing himself a spot in the Contender round, while Jimmie Johnson suffered a parts failure that ended his chase. This …

Read more

2015 Frontstretch Cup: Staff Predictions for the Bank of America 500 at Charlotte

2015 Charlotte I Cup Jeff Gordon Racing Cia

(Photo: CIA Stock Photo, Inc. ©2015)­

Welcome to our eighth year of staff predictions! Each week, our experts attempt to tell you who the winner of each Cup race will be. Take a look to see who your favorite writers think will win it all (or at least score some points) this week! Think you can out-prognosticate our staff?  Leave your …

Read more

Kurt Busch Fastest in 2nd Practice for 2015 Bank of America 500 at Charlotte

Kurt Busch Bank Of America 500 Charlotte 2015 Mike Neff

(Photo Credit: Mike Neff, Frontstretch)

The first of two practice sessions on Friday saw Kurt Busch lay down the fast lap of the session. Busch ran 45 laps during the session, but it was the very first lap that was the quickest. Busch tripped the timing and scoring light with a lap of 28.606 seconds (188.772 mph). Second on the …

Read more

4 Burning Questions: Will There Be Sparks Under the Lights?

2015 Charlotte I Cup Pack Racing Credit Nascar Via Getty Images

(Photo: NASCAR via Getty Images)

1. CAN WE HAVE A NON-CHASER STEAL THE SHOW? If you watched the previous opening race of a Chase round this year, you should have a healthy grip on just how important the result can be. With Talladega in the distance – standing as the round’s elimination race in two weeks – do not judge …

Read more

NASCAR 101: Are the Right Drivers Out of the Chase?

2015 Dover Ii Cup Jimmie Johnson Helmet Ii Cia

(Photo: CIA Stock Photo, Inc. ©2015)

You can say a great deal of things about the Chase for the Sprint Cup in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series. You can say it’s a gimmick. Call it a flawed, unnecessary system. Consider it an intrigue-injecting setup that makes for an altogether exciting race to the title. Whatever the opinion – and oh, are …

Read more

2-Headed Monster: Will Jimmie Johnson Win Another Championship?

2015 Dover Ii Cup Jimmie Johnson Helmet Cia

(Photo: CIA Stock Photo, Inc. ©2015)­

Looking at the year-by-year stats, it becomes apparent that most drivers experience a significant decline in production when they hit their mid-40s. Couple that with the physical demands of racing, and it’s no surprise that drivers such as Jeff Gordon and Tony Stewart are deciding to hang up their helmets before they turn 46. Six-time …

Read more

Happiness Is… R.A.S, Regulars, and Sochi

2015 Cup Dover Pack Racing Cia

(Photo: CIA Stock Photo, Inc. ©2015)

Another week, another sense that the sky is falling on NASCAR. The stands this past weekend showed a less than stellar crowd in attendance. Whether that can be credited to the threat of rain and overall gloomy weather, the popularity of football, or the fact that Dover is not what it once was, it doesn’t …

Read more

Frontstretch NASCAR Power Rankings: Top 15 After the 2015 AAA 400 at Dover

2015 Dover Ii Cup Jimmie Johnson Kid Guest Cia

Photo Credit: CIA Stock Photography

Well… no one expected that. Oh, sure, Kevin Harvick winning isn’t a surprise, but being able to pull through in a high-pressure situation has been a struggle for him as of late. Then Dover comes – a track Harvick had never formerly won at at – and WHAM! there he is in Victory Lane again. Just like that, …

Read more

NASCAR Mailbox: Who Will Be at Richard Petty Motorsports in 2016, and Franchising?

2015 Richmond Ii Cup Sam Hornish Jr Aric Almirola Racing Cia

(Photo: CIA Stock Photography, 2015)

Just when you think Kevin Harvick can’t get it done at Dover, needing to bring home a victory in order to stay in the Contender Round of the Chase, he does it again. “The Closer” led nearly all of the 400 laps, with 355 at Dover in the AAA 400 on Sunday. His dominance wasn’t a huge …

Read more

5 Points to Ponder: The Worst Kind of Milestone and Missed Opportunities

2015 Dover Ii Cup Jamie Mcmurray Car Cia

(Photo: CIA Stock Photo, Inc. ©2015)­

ONE: Missed opportunities When the champion driver hoists the wavy silver trophy above his head and the glitter cannon goes crazy at the conclusion to the Sprint Cup race at Homestead-Miami Speedway; if that wheelman is Kevin Harvick, the other three protagonists in the final four will rue the race at Dover International Speedway this …

Read more