Race Weekend Central

Matt McLaughlin’s Driver Handicaps: 2007 Charlotte Fall Race Edition

Jeff Gordon – Gordon has won here four times, including the 1994 World 600 to score his first ever Cup Series victory. (Has it really been 13 years? Wow). But he’s in a pronounced slump at LMS right now, having failed to finish the last five points races here. Jimmie Johnson – Johnson refers to …

Read more

Fantasy Picks ‘N’ Pans: 2007 Bank of America 500 at Charlotte Edition

The Chase heads to the halfway point this weekend by tackling the only night race left on the horizon for 2007. To do that, the circuit heads back to Charlotte, the track that has been both levigated and repaved over the last couple of years. It’s all part of a work-in-progress renovation project by track …

Read more

Who’s Hot/Who’s Not in the Chase: 2007 UAW-Ford 500 at Talladega Edition

It’s the one wreck all year that leaves everyone at risk, from championship contenders to field-fillers alike: the Big One. You never know when it’s going to happen at Talladega, and you never quite know how many cars – or carnage – it’ll cause. Sunday, its damage was quite extensive. A handful of Chasers, including …

Read more

Matt McLaughlin’s Driver Handicaps: 2007 Talladega Fall Race Edition

Jimmie Johnson – Johnson has been on a roll at Talladega as of late: he won here last spring and finished second in April. He almost won last fall’s Talladega event, as well; that is, before former teammate Brian Vickers crashed the little party Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Johnson were staging on the final lap …

Read more

Who’s Hot/Who’s Not in the Chase: 2007 Lifelock 400 at Kansas Edition

Editor’s Note: Regular Hot/Not columnist Cami Starr is off this week. Expect her back next Tuesday at the same time, same place, to give all her latest insight as the Chase race continues to unfold. After a wild and wacky weekend at Kansas, people are still trying to figure out who won the race, let …

Read more

Matt McLaughlin’s Driver Handicaps: 2007 Lifelock 400 at Kansas Edition

Jeff Gordon – Gordon won the first two Cup races at Kansas and finished fifth in his third start at the track. He hasn’t had a top five here since then, though, and last year suffered a mechanical DNF. Tony Stewart – Stewart won this race last year, coasting to the finish line out of …

Read more

Thompson in Turn 5: The Key (or lack thereof) to Winning NASCAR’s Chase – “Big Picture” This!

I have always been an unabashed advocate of NASCAR’s Chase to the Nextel Cup Championship format since it began back in 2004. There’s a number of reasons for that. I believed at the time – as I do now – that when the pros and cons are objectively considered, tracking the 10-race playoff is considerably …

Read more

Matt McLaughlin’s Driver Handicaps: 2007 Dover Fall Race

Jimmie Johnson – Johnson won both Cup races at Dover in 2002, as well as this event in 2005. He has top-10 finishes in seven of 11 Cup starts here – but has missed the mark the last two times out. Jeff Gordon – It’s a tale of two tracks for Gordon. On the plus side, …

Read more

Who’s Hot/Who’s Not in the Chase: 2007 Sylvania 300 at Loudon Edition

One race down… nine races to go. After his dominating performance at Loudon on Sunday, Clint Bowyer has to be asking himself what the big deal is about all this Chase pressure everyone kept talking to him about. The only winless driver in the playoffs, he threw that status right out the window Sunday, coming …

Read more