Race Weekend Central

Voice of Vito: Strong Chase Starts Not Always a Recipe for Championship Success

Following his fifth win of the season at Loudon this past Sunday, Mark Martin was sure he was dreaming. He had just won a race on one of the five tracks he had yet to score a victory on in the Sprint Cup Series, firing the first round in the 10-race Chase most never thought …

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Voice of Vito: Pugliese the Prognosticator – A Comprehensive Guide to the 2009 Chase for the Cup

Following weeks of speculation, rationalization and wild-assed guesses, the field for the 2009 Chase for the Sprint Cup Championship is now set. This week, the Dirty Dozen has been performing the requisite New York City media stops, making appearances on just about any talk show or television program you care to mention before the first …

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Voice of Vito: Limpin’ Ain’t Easy – Roush Fenway Trio Stumbling Into Richmond on Carl Edwards’s Broken Foot

Oscar Wilde is quoted as saying, “Life imitates art more than art imitates life.” That came to mind Sunday night following the Pep Boys Auto 500 at Atlanta Motor Speedway. As the race concluded, with the most up-to-date points standings being posted as driver interviews followed, the thought of Carl Edwards and his broken foot …

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Voice of Vito: The Right Fit – Why Brad Keselowski Joining Penske Racing in 2010 Will Work

On Tuesday (Sept. 1), the worst kept secret in NASCAR was made official as it was confirmed that Brad Keselowski has joined Penske Racing as the new driver of their No. 12 Dodges for 2010 and beyond. The 25-year-old from Rochester Hills, Mich., who has been at the employ of JR Motorsports for the past …

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Voice of Vito: Fuel for Thought – Making the Case for Fuel Injection in NASCAR

Progress and change. Both are touchy subjects and, more often than not, have no bearing or influence on the other. One can fly in the face of tradition while the other may support and reinforce it. I’ll spare you the political diatribe (for now) however, and cut to the chase where in NASCAR, the opportunity …

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Voice of Vito: Take the Pain – Should Jeff Gordon’s Back Injury Be a Storyline as the Championship Chase Looms?

Playing hurt is one of the inevitabilities in professional sports and the world of motorsports is no exception. In NASCAR particularly, it seems that more often than not, competing with an injury becomes the defining aspect of a championship season, and in recent years has played a significant role in determining the Sprint Cup champion. …

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Voice of Vito: Forgotten on Race Day? Ford Looks to Rebound This Weekend in the Irish Hills of MIS

Ford performance enthusiasts are fond of saying that Ford really stands for “First On Race Day.” Yet so far in 2009, the Blue Oval brigade has embodied the alternate acronym of their namesake foisted upon them by Chevrolet, Mopar, Pontiac and just about any other pocket of automotive resistance you can find that would cruelly …

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Voice of Vito: NASCAR Rules Were Meant To Be Broken, So Can We At Least Fix These 3?

In NASCAR lore, the popular theory has always been that “Rules were meant to be broken.” Drivers and crews, in an attempt to outwit the inspectors checking over their cars, harkened back to the days when revenuers and law enforcement officers tried to shut down their moonshine still and running of contraband liquor through the …

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Voice of Vito: Looking Back at the Brickyard: Clichés, Controversy & a Questionable Call

As Jimmie Johnson and his team kissed the bricks (with Chad Knaus pulling up short) along the start/finish line following their second consecutive win at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, the Brickyard 400 was in the books and the attention turned immediately to racing at Pocono. I guess that’s to be expected; after all, we are …

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