Race Weekend Central

Thompson in Turn 5: Jamie McMurray, Unfulfilled Expectations

The news this past week that Jamie McMurray is job hunting probably does not come as a great surprise to many. Though McMurray has denied such speculation, critics have had him with one foot out the door of his Roush Fenway ride ever since the beginning of 2008. Currently 22nd in the Cup standings with …

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Mirror Driving: A Busch-Edwards Rivalry? Truck Series Prospects? & Judging the Season at Halfway

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) Vito Pugliese (Tuesdays/Voice 0f Vito) Mike Neff (Wednesdays/Power Rankings & …

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Who’s Hot/Who’s Not in Sprint Cup: 2008 Best Buy 400 at Dover Edition

The notorious Monster Mile jumped out and attacked the competition Sunday when Elliott Sadler came down on the No. 38 of David Gilliland on lap 18, triggering a massive pileup that ended the days for a number of Chase contenders before they could even get into a rhythm. Aside from Sadler’s blunder, though, it was …

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Talking NASCAR TV: FOX Finale Adds Some Spice to Snoozer at Dover

With the latest NASCAR TV contract in place now for just the second year, the end of FOX’s annual coverage approaches faster than ever. Under the first deal, FOX covered the first half of the season and NBC covered the second half – beginning at or around the Pepsi 400 – while TNT took a …

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Bubble Breakdown: Penalties Have Crippled Haas CNC… While Saving Michael Waltrip Racing

The big story from the bubble this week has been the heavy penalties handed down by NASCAR to the Haas CNC Racing teams. Both cars were hit with 150-point owner and driver standings deductions, as well as various team fines and six-week suspensions of the car chief and crew chief for each vehicle. As a …

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Happy Hour: NASCAR’s Rule Enforcement Problem

Haas CNC Racing is the latest student to be schooled in NASCAR Rule Enforcement. They committed the cardinal sin of tinkering with the CoT and have received a good old-fashioned whoopin’ for it. This article isn’t excusing Haas, but, in the end, it may be NASCAR that violates the best interests of the sport with …

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Voices From the Heartland: Brian France Speaks Again & Adds to Global Warming!

You readers out there that peruse this column regularly know that I just love writing about NASCAR CEO Brian France. Why? Because he is soooo easy! Not easy like a Sunday morning, but easy like challenging the kids on the short bus to a spelling bee. And, to be brutally honest, I like easy. At …

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Side by Side: Is It Too Much, Too Soon for Joey Logano?

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 let us …

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Fantasy Picks ‘N’ Pans: Can Truex Repeat For Your Team, or Will Cousin Carl Continue to Own the Monster?

Dover International Speedway is one of the toughest tracks on the schedule, a concrete bullring with very tricky transitions on and off of the straightaways. The race offers drivers a multitude of opportunities to be caught up in someone else’s mess, and often, a driver ends up on the rollback due to no fault of …

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Fanning the Flames: Dancing Drivers, Loose Lugs &… Eliot Spitzer?

No time for an intro this week; you’ve given me so much feedback, it’s time to get right down to it. Still have questions, comments, concerns, or just looking to tell me where to go? Just one condition, please: No need to use multiple exclamation points… one at the end of a sentence will suffice. …

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Thompson in Turn 5: Kyle Busch vs. Dale Earnhardt Jr. – Junior is Still the Better Deal

There is no end in sight to the comparisons between the racing careers of Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Kyle Busch, the driver he replaced this season at what has been NASCAR’s premier racing organization: Hendrick Motorsports. And replace Busch at HMS, Junior absolutely did. Make no mistake about it; had Rick Hendrick not had an …

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