Race Weekend Central

Bubble Breakdown: Mad Martinsville Scramble Leaves Jamie McMurray, Regan Smith Back in Top 35

And so it begins. With NASCAR switching to the 2008 owner points at Martinsville, the quest for a guaranteed Top-35 spot became a mad scramble at the back end of the points standings. When the season began at Daytona, the Top 35 were locked in for the first five races; that meant mistakes like slipping …

Read more

Happy Hour: Hendrick’s Recent Performance at Martinsville Inspirational

Much has been said and written about the perceived fall from dominance of Hendrick Motorsports. It is the farthest they’ve gone into a season without a victory since 2003. Jeff Gordon and Jimmie Johnson are out of the top 12, Casey Mears is struggling to stay in the Top 35, etc. It seems as though this …

Read more

Fanning the Flames: Marching to Martinsville with Goodyears in Tow

Peaks of jubilation and valleys of heartbreak. Devotion. Sacrifice. Harrowing escapes, crushing defeats, and glorious victories. Good choices and bad… and it all equates to 46 wins, 13th on the all-time list. No, this isn’t the gritty tale of the ageless Elzie Wylie Baker Sr., better known to us as “Buck.” Yes, Buck Baker makes …

Read more

Fantasy Picks ‘N’ Pans: 2008 Goody’s Cool Orange 500 at Martinsville

The quiet Easter break comes to a screeching halt this Sunday as the Sprint Cup drivers take to the Virginia paperclip known as Martinsville Speedway. Festively painted Easter eggs give way to brightly painted stock cars; and you can bet that on the circuit’s smallest track, more than one car will end up cracked by …

Read more

Mirror Driving: Veterans Driving Junk, Who’s in a Funk & Will Chrissy Wallace Flunk?

Chrissy Wallace, daughter of driver Mike Wallace, is set to make her debut in one of NASCAR’s top-three series this week. Has Wallace proven her talent?

Top 10 Roush Fenway “Proprietary” Items Found in the Possession of “A” Toyota Team

10. A Roush Fenway internal memo titled “How To Get Into And Stay In The Top 35” in Michael Waltrip‘s back pocket. 9. Carl Edwards‘s golden ceremonial Gillette Young Guns shaver. Found next to the sink in Tony Stewart‘s motor coach, full of hair and right next to a torn-up coupon for a free waxing …

Read more

Thompson in Turn 5: Open-Wheel Reunification a Lesson for NASCAR, Too!

One of the biggest U.S. motorsports stories of the last two decades occurred late last month, with the announcement that the Indy Racing League (IRL) and the Champ Car Word Series (CCWS) had agreed to merge. The news, however, garnered little more than a cursory nod from the stock car community, which seems reluctant to …

Read more

Who’s Hot/Who’s Not in the Nationwide & Truck Series: 2008 Easter Edition

While Sprint Cup and Craftsman Truck Series teams were home this Easter weekend – spending quality time with family and catching up on March Madness – the Nationwide Series spent Saturday afternoon roaring around Nashville Superspeedway, the series’ sixth stop this season. While this column is normally reserved for discussing the trends of the hottest …

Read more

Confidentially, SPEED Excels While ESPN’s Chemistry Needs Work

Probably the best thing about racing television coverage over the Easter weekend, in my humble opinion, was the introduction of “NASCAR Confidential” by SPEED on Sunday evening. This was a fresh look at the 2008 Daytona 500, with some insights from some interesting people, including legendary photographer Warren T. Taylor. Taylor hasn’t missed a Great …

Read more