Race Weekend Central

Talking NASCAR TV: “Chasing” Diverts Too Much Attention From “Racing” at Richmond

Hello, race fans. NASCAR’s Richmond race weekend every September has always been an exciting weekend. Good racing is nearly guaranteed and, since it’s a short track, there is plenty of contact to go around. However, since 2004, this weekend has taken extra importance because it is the last race before the Chase for the Cup …

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Denny Hamlin Finally Claims Victory at Home in Richmond; Vickers Claims Final Chase Spot

For Denny Hamlin, races at Richmond International Raceway are home games. It would mean the world for him to win there since he grew up only eight miles from the track. Well, after Saturday night (Sept. 12), Denny doesn’t have to pine for a win anymore. Hamlin led six times for 299 laps Saturday night, …

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Talking NASCAR TV: Poor Post-Race Aside, ESPN Atlanta Telecasts Show Improvement

Greetings, race fans. Labor Day weekend brought a split weekend schedule. The Cup and Nationwide series both had night races at Atlanta Motor Speedway while the Truck Series had its inaugural race at Iowa Speedway. Now, normally, I do the critique in chronological order, but since the Truck Series race was at a different site, …

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Kasey Kahne Takes Advantage of the Short Run to Win 2009 Pep Boys Auto 500 at Atlanta

New wrinkles in the schedule typically result in teams having to scramble in order to figure out what the right setup is, or how to handle the track at all. Sunday night was no different. A three-way change in the schedule for this season moved the second race at Atlanta Motor Speedway from the end …

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Talking NASCAR TV: ESPN Endures the Montreal Marathon

Hello, race fans. This past weekend was the last off-weekend of the season for the Sprint Cup Series. But, that doesn’t mean that there was no action out there on the track. The ARCA Re/Max and NASCAR Truck series were at Chicagoland Speedway on Friday night (Aug. 28) to run support races to Saturday night’s …

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Carl Edwards Takes Advantage of Marcos Ambrose’s Error to Win in Montreal

On Sunday (Aug. 30), Carl Edwards ran up front for most of the race, running in the top 10 and generally staying out of trouble. However, he didn’t really have anything for Marcos Ambrose, who dominated the day. The last few laps changed that significantly. When the rains came on lap 58, necessitating a brief …

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Talking NASCAR TV: Strong Pre-Race Show at Bristol, But In-Race Improvements Needed for ESPN

Hello, race viewers. The infamous Bristol night races have historically featured close racing, wrecking and tempers. However, the wrecking and tempers have decreased significantly since the track was reconfigured in 2007, creating “graduated banking.” As a result, the races this past week lived up to the old ideals of Bristol, but with more competitive racing …

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Talking NASCAR TV: Backseat Drivers Bring Different Feel to ESPN’s Booth at Michigan

Hello, race fans. This past weekend, we had two races end with slightly unexpected outcomes at Michigan International Speedway. The Nationwide Series event ended with Brad Keselowski winning after Brian Vickers forced Kyle Busch down to the apron at the white-flag lap, hurting both cars’ momentum enough for his No. 88 to pull alongside. Meanwhile, …

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Marcos Ambrose’s Pit Strategy Doomed His Chances at Watkins Glen

WATKINS GLEN, N.Y. – Marcos Ambrose came into Watkins Glen International for Monday’s Heluva Good! Sour Cream Dips at the Glen (Aug. 3) as a legitimate favorite to win the event. His No. 47 had been the quickest in both practice sessions on Saturday, and he had a lot of confidence coming into the race. …

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