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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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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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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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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Talking NASCAR TV: Lack of Focus Hurts ESPN Broadcasts

Hello, race fans. First off, I’m sorry that it’s Thursday and you’re just getting the chance to read this critique. The rainout on Sunday (Aug. 2) has played havoc with our typical weekly schedule here at Frontstretch, with articles having their days switched up and some pieces being swapped between the website and the newsletter …

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Talking NASCAR TV: ORP Good, IMS Bad as ESPN Jumps Back Into Double-Duty

I know that the beginning of this week’s title sounds like something out of the 2001 movie Zoolander, starring Ben Stiller (Martial Arts good; Prime Minister bad), but it essentially drives home my point in this critique. Indianapolis is likely the biggest race weekend for NASCAR in the second half of the season. As a …

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Talking NASCAR TV: Nationwide Shines but SPEED Fails to Recognize Start & Park Presence

Hello, race fans. I hope you enjoyed your weekend. I certainly did. I had fun, not just critiquing races but relaxing, sleeping in and hanging out with a group of employees at the local YMCA. Going into this weekend, I had planned on only covering the Truck and Nationwide series races. However, I had not …

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Talking NASCAR TV: Lack of on-Track Action Hurts All Broadcasts at Chicagoland

Hello, race fans. Chicagoland Speedway brought us some more rain on Friday (July 10), but thankfully, it did not cancel any sessions. Instead, the racing Friday and Saturday night suffered from a different problem: it was rather spread out and kind of boring. In fact, there hadn’t been so much as a spinout all weekend …

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Talking NASCAR TV: Jerry Punch Mails in the Nationwide Race While TNT Shines

Welcome, race fans. For nearly 50 years, the Fourth of July weekend at Daytona has marked the ceremonial, and in the case of this season, the physical halfway point. The Truck Series took the week off, so it was the Cup and Nationwide series competing at the World Center of Racing this weekend. The Cup …

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Talking NASCAR TV: Loudon Telecasts Marked by Bill Weber’s Departure in the Booth

Greetings, race fans. This past weekend, all three of NASCAR’s major series were in action. The Truck Series was in Millington, Tenn. at the Memphis Motorsports Park for the MemphisTravel.com 200 presented by O’Reilly Auto Parts. Meanwhile, the Sprint Cup and Nationwide series were both in Loudon, N.H. for the Lenox Industrial Tools 301 and …

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