Race Weekend Central

Racing to the Point: Ambrose, Mears Fight Decision Will Set Precedent

Generally, when fans think about NASCAR and fighting, they flash back to the Daytona brawl of 1979 — because nothing since has even come close to rivaling it. There are disagreements and shoves every time NASCAR visits a short track, but nothing all that memorable. Brad Keselowski was furious enough at Matt Kenseth on Saturday that he brake-jobbed Kenseth …

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Racing to the Point: NASCAR Has Its Own Heartbreak Kid

Sprint Unlimited Practice

(Photo: NASCAR via Getty Images)

Ben Stiller is no longer the Heartbreak Kid. The role now belongs to 23-year-old Parker Kligerman. Kligerman didn’t marry a crazy woman after knowing her for six weeks, then fall in love with someone else on his honeymoon, nor did he act in a subpar comedy. His story is full of heartbreak, though, just the …

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Racing To The Point: Rules Package Has Created Parity

Seven drivers have visited Victory Lane in seven races and not one is named Matt Kenseth, Jimmie Johnson, Jeff Gordon, Kasey Kahne or Denny Hamlin. In case you didn’t notice, those all happen to be Hendrick and Gibbs drivers. Along with Kyle Busch, they dominated the Sprint Cup season in 2013. Gibbs and Hendrick won …

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Racing To The Point: Sliced Bread Ready To Be Served

There’s been a question mark hanging over Joey Logano’s head since the then-18-year-old filled Tony Stewart’s seat at Joe Gibbs Racing at the start of the 2009 season. The question was simple: could this driver who had developed more buzz than probably any talent that had come before him deliver at the highest level? For …

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Racing to the Point: Balancing NASCAR Trash Talk With Credibility

There’s nothing better than sticking a microphone in front of a wrecked driver just moments after he or she exits the car. The quicker the interview happens, the higher the likelihood somebody is going to say something they might later regret. Just ask Kurt Busch, who spent two years of his prime in obscurity with …

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Racing To The Point: The Sorry State Of NASCAR’s Second Tier

I could’ve sworn that NASCAR made a rule change last week stipulating that cars could no longer run cool-down laps at the bottom of the track, but then, I watched the Nationwide race on Saturday at Bristol Motor Speedway. Basically everyone except Matt Kenseth and Kyle Busch was doing it. It’s dangerous, people; did you see how …

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Racing to the Point: “Game 7 Moments” Don’t Feel Like Game 7 At All

Most playoff series don’t reach Game 7. Some go four games, some five, some six, but few go seven. There’s a reason for it: Game 7 is reserved for the playoff series that just couldn’t be decided any other way. They’re destined to have one last winner-take-all moment. As fans, we treasure Game 7s because …

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Almirola Finally Proving He Belongs In Sprint Cup

The former Joe Gibbs Racing developmental driver won the pole for a Nationwide race at Milwaukee in 2007, and started the race only to have to give up his seat on lap 59 when Denny Hamlin finally arrived at the track. Almirola was running third at the time, but he was thrown to the side like last week’s garbage because Rockwell Automation wanted a Sprint Cup star in its car. Hamlin took over and drove from the back to Victory Lane.

Hamlin celebrated while Almirola was credited with his first and only Nationwide win. It might’ve been the first time in history a driver was embarrassed to have won a race.

Racing to the Point: Everybody Loves Talladega! Don’t They?

Let the phony smile-a-thon begin. While NASCAR and FOX revs up for another nail-biting weekend at Talladega, how many drivers are actually looking forward to the race?

“If this is what we did every week, I wouldn’t be doing it,” Junior said after getting involved in an accident at Talladega last fall. “I’ll just put it to you like that. If this is how we raced every week, I’d find another job.”