Race Weekend Central

Who’s Hot/Who’s Not in Sprint Cup: 2008 Pepsi 500 at Fontana Edition

One race is all that remains between now and this year’s much anticipated Chase. While half of the top 12 head to Richmond with a win-or-lose mentality after locking in their place in the Chase, a number of teams must run smart and post a solid finish to simply make the playoffs. Clint Bowyer holds …

Read more

Talking NASCAR TV: ESPN is the Mark of Inconsistency for Sunday’s California Race

The last few Labor Day weekends have been a mark of remorse and anger for many of the NASCAR faithful since the Southern 500 was snatched from legendary Darlington Raceway and moved to the Auto Club Speedway in Fontana. The racing in California has been less than thrilling and is reflected by sparse attendance at …

Read more

Fontana Win Just More Proof That Jimmie Johnson & Chad Knaus are the Definition of “Clutch”

Jimmie Johnson has run under the radar for most of the season. His usual mid-summer swoon that sees him squander a meaningless points lead as he approaches the Chase did not occur. Instead, the No. 48 team slumped from the beginning of 2008. Sans an early win at Phoenix, the two-time defending Sprint Cup champion …

Read more

10 Points to Ponder… After the 2008 Pepsi 500 at Fontana

1. Thanks for the Memories – Felix Sabates, co-owner of Chip Ganassi Racing with Felix Sabates, never one to mince words, took a potshot at sponsor of the No. 42 Texaco Dodge driven by Juan Pablo Montoya. Texaco, after 20 years of sponsoring a NASCAR Cup team, has announced that they have made a business …

Read more

Bubble Breakdown: AJ Allmendinger Races Way Into Top 35 & the Bud Shootout

On Tuesday, NASCAR announced a new format to the season-opening Budweiser Shootout, and in doing so, gave several bubble teams something new to focus on. The new format now takes the top-six cars in owner points from each manufacturer. With the new format, the sixth Toyota to make the show is going to be a …

Read more

Driven to the Past: It Wasn’t Exactly Legal… But It Worked

The year I went to IRP and quit flagging for ASA (1985), their big race to finish off the season – the combined ASA/All-Pro All-American 400 at the Nashville Fairgrounds – got rained out and postponed for a week. We didn’t have anything happening the following weekend at IRP, so my son Matt and I …

Read more

Side by Side: Should Kyle Busch & Carl Edwards Have Been Penalized?

Editor’s Note: The following is a special edition of Frontstretch‘s Side By Side. Occasionally throughout the season, two of your favorite Frontstretch writers will duke it out in a debate concerning one of NASCAR’s biggest stories. Don’t let us be the only ones to speak our minds, though… be sure to read both sides and …

Read more

Fanning the Flames: Another Failed Opportunity to Right a Wrong With Darlington

With apologies to the Bristol Night Race, this week was all about Darlington on the Fanning the Flames circuit. NASCAR’s announcement last week that a three-race date swap involving Atlanta, California and Talladega left the Flame Faithful scratching their heads as to why the sport didn’t cut its losses with the ill-fated California/Labor Day weekend …

Read more

Voices From the Heartland: Only the Racing Has Gotten Better at Bristol

Last year about this time, I penned a column about the racing at Bristol that eventually led to the severe hair loss of several senior members of the Frontstretch editorial staff. The problem, it seems, was my calling into question the professionalism of another journalist after he boldly proclaimed that he – and the masses of …

Read more

Fantasy Picks ‘N’ Pans: Is It Roush Fenway Racing’s Time to Shine at California?

California is the penultimate race in the regular season leading up to the Chase for the Cup, and the 2-mile facility that is the sister track to Michigan will bring the playoff picture into much better focus. Some drivers will find themselves locked in, with several clinch scenarios in play – while other drivers will …

Read more