Race Weekend Central

Talking NASCAR TV: Noticeable Glitches Undermine Solid TNT Effort at Sonoma

When TNT debuted its 2008 NASCAR coverage two weeks ago at Pocono, a major audio foible took away from what was an impressive performance for the network. Two weeks later, Sunday’s presentation of the Toyota/Save Mart 350 at Sonoma still had its own share of avoidable mistakes, making a professional, lucrative television operation look like …

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Who’s Hot/Who’s Not in Sprint Cup: 2008 Save Mart 350 at Sonoma Edition

The Sprint Cup Series’ first trip to a road course this season was supposed to provide drivers who typically don’t run near the front the opportunity to make a statement. But while drivers like Marcos Ambrose and Ron Fellows appeared to have cars capable of top-10 finishes, it was the usual frontrunners near the top …

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Thinkin’ Out Loud: 2008 Toyota/Save Mart 350 at Sonoma

Hey guys! Doug Turnbull here. Matt warned you that he wouldn’t be in the driver’s seat for his Infineon column – I don’t know if that makes me a road-course ringer or not, but I do know that I am gonna stick to his format for wrapping up the race. This race seemed to play …

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10 Points to Ponder… After the 2008 Toyota/Save Mart 350 at Sonoma

1. Still Able To Get ‘Er Done – 1995 Busch (Nationwide) Series Champion and 1996 Winston (Sprint) Cup Rookie of the Year Johnny Benson won for the third consecutive time at the Milwaukee Mile in the Camping World RV 200 Craftsman Truck Series race Friday evening. With the win, Benson maintains his CTS points lead …

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Happy Hour: NASCAR & the Drivers – Who Needs Who More?

“It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. “The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who …

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Voices From the Heartland: An Honest Assessment of NASCAR’s Discrimination Lawsuit

As much as Brian France would like to fuggiddaboutit, it is well known throughout the racing world that NASCAR is now facing a huge, multimillion dollar lawsuit claiming, among other things, sexual harassment and racial discrimination. The suit is being brought on by one Mauricia Grant, or “Mo” as she is more commonly called. “Mo” …

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Fantasy Picks ‘N’ Pans: Road Course Leads to Roster Shakeup at Sonoma

Twists and turns, ups and downs, fuel mileage and wine – all will come into play this weekend at Infineon Raceway for the Cup Series. But this weekend’s race filled with left and right turns can really play havoc on fantasy teams where owners are limited to only live drivers and no bench. Road courses …

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Fanning the Flames: Fueling the Engine Debate, Montoya’s Struggles & Joey Clanton?

Good batch this week, everyone; lots of questions to tackle. Keep ’em coming in. This column doesn’t exist without you. Q: Matt, can you or someone tell the true story of what happened to Joey Clanton and Jack Roush in the Truck Series? If I remember correctly, Joey was a co-driver for some team in …

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Mirror Driving: Junior’s Pace Car Problem, Kyle Busch’s Solution & NASCAR’s Tight-Lipped Meeting

Welcome to Mirror Driving. Every week, your favorite columnists sit down and give their opinion about the latest NASCAR news and rumors. Love us or hate us, make a comment below and tell us how you feel about what we’ve said! This Week’s Participants: Tony Lumbis “(Mondays/Rookie Report) Mike Neff (Wednesdays/Power Rankings & Full Throttle, Thursdays/Picks …

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Thompson in Turn 5: Dale Earnhardt Jr.’s Win Gave NASCAR What It Needed – Putting the Focus Back On Racing

Dale Earnhardt Jr.’s first win in over two years could not have come at a better time for the National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing. The sanctioning body desperately needed something positive to transpire for the sport after a week in which it found itself in the forefront of the national news – and …

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