Race Weekend Central

Drivers Take Turns Trying to Solve Rained-Out Qualifying at Atlanta

HAMPTON, Ga. – Rain came in droves at Atlanta Motor Speedway on Friday, meaning that on-track activity was at a minimum. This means that qualifying for the truck and Cup teams couldn’t take place, and practice time for the two series was almost non-existent. The clouds parted midday, giving track crews time to dry the …

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Sprint Cup Rookie Report: Sam Hornish Jr. Bounces Back from Crash to Widen Lead at Atlanta

Rookies in the Starting Lineup (Due to rain, qualifying was canceled and the field was set by owner points): Regan Smith (32nd), Scott Speed (34th), Sam Hornish Jr. (36th), Marcos Ambrose (38th), Chad McCumbee (41st) Unofficial Finishing Positions: Hornish (24th), Ambrose (29th), Smith (30th), Speed (34th), McCumbee (36th) Rookie of the Race: Hornish. From the drop …

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Nationwide Series Breakdown: 2008 Kroger on Track for the Cure 250 at Memphis

In a Nutshell: On lap 29, a handful of drivers came in for fresh tires and adjustments at Memphis… and it turns out that made all the difference. A caution on lap 126 after over 90 laps of green-flag racing left less than 10 cars on the lead lap, including Carl Edwards, whose No. 60 …

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Fanning the Flames: The Stats Don’t Lie… Consistency Wins NASCAR Titles

I hate numbers. I’m a step behind in any discussion that requires a working knowledge of simple multiplication, division, algebra in any form; heck, I’ll even throw subtraction in there (for some reason, I don’t have an addition problem). That’s why it’s so odd that I love stats. Not statistics, mind you, but stats. Well, …

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10 Points to Ponder… After the 2008 Amp Energy 500 at Talladega

1. Change in Direction – Joey Logano, heir to the No. 20 Toyota presently driven by Sunday’s race winner Tony Stewart, will not compete in any further races this season in the No. 96 Hall of Fame Toyota. The 18-year-old Joe Gibbs Racing phenom had been scheduled to fill the driver’s seat in the HoF …

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Tracking the Trucks: 2008 Mountain Dew 250 at Talladega

In a Nutshell: Todd Bodine took the checkered flag 0.074 seconds ahead of Ron Hornaday Jr. to win the Mountain Dew 250 presented by Toyota Saturday afternoon at Talladega Superspeedway. Bodine took the lead in the final turn on the last lap to win his third consecutive superspeedway race. Kyle Busch, Colin Braun and Mike Wallace …

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Tearing Apart the Trucks: Joey Logano Set to Debut at Talladega

After taking a weekend off, the Craftsman Truck Series returns to action Saturday afternoon at Talladega Superspeedway. Joey Logano will be making his Truck Series debut in the No. 59 Team ASE/Harris Trucking Toyota. Logano takes the place of Ted Musgrave, who resigned from HT Motorsports after being accused of intentionally wrecking his truck in …

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Fanning the Flames: Talking Plates, Allmendingers & Last-Lap Dashes Heading Into Talladega

Good questions this week and I’m feeling long-winded, so let’s get to it. Q: We always seem to take it out on the 1.5-mile tracks as being uninteresting and of the cookie-cutter style. Actually, weren’t these type of tracks all built because, at one time, all the 1.5-milers provided really great door-to-door racing? (And one …

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Sprint Cup Rookie Report: Patrick Carpentier Makes the “Best” Out of a Bad Day

Rookies in the Starting Lineup: Patrick Carpentier (19th), Marcos Ambrose (20th), Sam Hornish Jr. (23rd), Joey Logano (28th), Regan Smith (35th) Unofficial Finishing Positions: Carpentier (29th), Smith (32nd), Hornish (33rd), Ambrose (36th), Logano (39th) Rookie of the Race: Carpentier. The weekend started out on a positive note for Carpentier, who put his Dodge in the top …

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Fanning the Flames: Ganassi’s Woes, Gibbs’s Rookie & Gordon’s Typical Loudon Stunts

For those of you that did not catch last week’s Fanning the Flames, I have to share one of the funnier post-article comments I’ve seen in a year and a half of writing for Frontstretch. In response to a question and subsequent answer by yours truly concerning the Tony Stewart Rolling Stone article, a poster …

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Did You Notice? Owners Gain Power, Sponsors Turn Sour, NASCAR Goes F1 & Logano’s Bad Run

Did You Notice? Or wonder why one of Formula 1’s top race managers is headed over NASCAR’s way? Steve Hallam, the head of race operations for McLaren, is moving overseas to take what AutoSport termed a “similar position within NASCAR.” No official word from Daytona Beach as to what, exactly, that position might be, though …

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