Race Weekend Central

The Big 6: Questions Answered After the 2009 Pep Boys Auto 500 at Atlanta

Who… gets my shoutout of the race? Usually this goes to a driver, but this week’s shoutout goes to the entire No. 83 crew. A broken axle could have ruined driver Brian Vickers’s night and killed his Chase chances – instead, the team changed the axle on pit road and Vickers finished seventh, just 20 …

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Beyond the Cockpit: Jarit Johnson on Making It As an Independent, Family… & Cheese

Making it in NASCAR isn’t easy and for Camping World East Series owner/driver Jarit Johnson, there’s another, surprising obstacle: his name. When your older brother is the Sprint Cup champion, it can be hard to pave your own way in the same sport. But Johnson is trying to do just that, and without a full-time …

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The Big 6: Questions Answered After the 2009 Sharpie 500 at Bristol

Who… gets my shoutout of the race? Everybody knows he can run a road course, but the man who was introduced to Men At Work’s “Land Down Under” on Saturday night showed he could handle one of NASCAR’s toughest tracks with ease. Marcos Ambrose started 25th at Thunder Valley but had a real shot at …

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Holding a Pretty Wheel: 5 Who Would Like to Forget – Who Isn’t Meeting NASCAR Expectations?

Last week in this column, I discussed the seasons of five drivers who were having a rather unpublicized good year. But there are also drivers who, while well inside the Top-35 cutoff in points, are having a season that is fraught with disappointment – the kind of year in which everyone from media to fans …

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Beyond the Cockpit: Colin Braun on the Future, Le Mans & Signing Babies?

Colin Braun became accustomed to racing – and winning – at a young age, beginning his international career at just eight years old. He’s the youngest driver to win a major auto race on American soil (2006 Brumos Porsche 250 at Daytona at age 17) and, later that year, became the youngest driver ever to …

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The Big 6: Questions Answered After the 2009 CARFAX 400 at Michigan

Who… gets my shoutout of the race? Sometimes it’s not about being the fastest, having a brilliant pit strategy that nobody else can figure out or outsmarting another driver in the last turn. Sometimes it’s just about patience and knowing that you don’t have the car to win, but if you position yourself in the …

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Holding a Pretty Wheel: Diamonds in the Rough – 5 NASCAR Drivers Having a Great 2009, Not That You’ve Seen It On TV

NASCAR broadcasts these days are, as many fans complain, not exactly equitable in how they dole out airtime to drivers. While one guy (you fill in the name) will be on TV throughout the broadcast no matter where he is running, another (fill in that guy, too) might be having a great run-and you hardly …

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The Big 6: Questions Answered After the 2009 Heluva Good! Sour Cream Dips at the Glen

Who… gets my shoutout of the race? Predictable? Probably. But how can you not be impressed with the run Marcos Ambrose put together at the Glen? After having the fastest car in final practice and winning the Nationwide Series race, Ambrose drove an underfunded, underpowered racecar to a second-place finish on Monday, showcasing his considerable …

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