Race Weekend Central

Did You Notice? NASCAR’s Drug Mistake? (Not Mayfield’s), Keselowski Should Be Cup’s Top Rookie & Johnson Plays Dead

Did You Notice? How secretive NASCAR is trying to be with this whole drug thing? There’s two main questions that came up in my head since the positive test, ones I couldn’t answer immediately as a reporter as Darlington was a weekend I’d taken off: 1) Why was Jeremy Mayfield allowed to practice and qualify …

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Did You Notice? Kyle Busch’s 200-Win Fantasy, Stremme’s Dream Turned Nightmare & Hendrick’s Big Choice

Did You Notice? The big hubbub this week – by far – is whether Kyle Busch can get to 200 wins throughout his Cup career in NASCAR’s top-three series. What? I’ve been under the weather with some kind of flu bug this week, so at first I thought I was being delusional when I heard …

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Did You Notice? Tragic NASCAR Death Reminder to Push for a Higher Standard

In four years of covering the NASCAR beat, I never “officially” met David Poole. But you don’t have to know him to understand. The word is beloved and the year is 2006. I’m asked to speak for a documentary about the past, present and future of NASCAR. The producer, a friend, chooses three writers to …

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Did You Notice? Restrictor Plate 1-Hit Wonders & the New Precedent of “Probation”

Did You Notice? Just probation for Casey Mears and Dale Earnhardt Jr.? Did you really expect the sanctioning body to do anything more after their little post-race altercation at Phoenix? We already have the U.S. Army spread out in Afghanistan, Iraq and elsewhere across the globe… there’s no need to dispatch an additional battalion to …

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Did You Notice? Lesa Takes The Helm, NASCAR’s Expensive Engines & No Guts, No Glory

Did You Notice? That not only are the number of car owners shrinking in the NASCAR Cup Series today, but so are the number of engine suppliers? Through seven races, the top-38 teams in the Cup Series standings get their motors from just seven shops. Here’s a quick breakdown of how it all works out: …

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Did You Notice? Keselowski Kicking Logano’s Butt, Harvick Unhappy at Intermediates & Nationwide’s No-No?

Did You Notice? What keeps Kevin Harvick from being labeled a serious championship contender? It’s his lifetime performance on 1.5-mile ovals. Those tracks used to be easy pickins’ for Harvick – his first two Cup victories came at Atlanta and Chicagoland in 2001 – but over the last few seasons, his fortitude has faded at …

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Did You Notice? What Jimmie Johnson’s Hiding, Why Patience for NASCAR Owners Pays Off & Driver Depression

Did You Notice? During a garage walkthrough on Friday, the newest edition to Jimmie Johnson’s No. 48 cloak of secrecy? It was a dark-blue drape placed over his stall inside the garage area, meaning no one walking by could see what they were doing to set up the car. In the team’s defense, the forecast …

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Did You Notice? Earnhardt’s Free Pass, Busch’s Less Than Intimidating Nature & Mourning NASCAR’s Past

Did You Notice? Dale Earnhardt Jr.’s been getting rather “lucky” these days? Just 19th in points after five races, so much talk has centered around the No. 88 team struggling to get it together. Some feel like they’ve turned the corner towards respectability in recent weeks, but I’m not so sure. Just check out this …

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Did You Notice? No ’09 Rivalries, Fun with NASCAR TV Ratings & Statistical Surprises in Sprint Cup

Did You Notice? The only thing Lowe’s Motor Speedway President Marcus Smith would commit to last week – alluding to changes for this year’s All-Star Race – is that the distance would stay exactly the same (100 laps). To me, that’s already a bad “change” to make, no matter how you break that distance down. …

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Did You Notice? DNFs Are a Good Thing, NASCAR Needs a Senior Tour & Menard’s Mediocrity?

Did You Notice? The complaints over the amount of engine failures to start the 2009 Sprint Cup season? To be honest, I like the unpredictability that’s been added back into the outcome of a race. For a while there, it looked like parts and pieces had become so invincible there was no doubt as to …

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Did You Notice? Gray-Haired Success Stories, Some Vigor in Vegas & Tony & Hendrick Snuggling Up?

Did You Notice? The difference in the atmosphere at Vegas compared to Fontana the week before? If you could notice it that much on TV, just imagine what it was like in person. The last two Sundays, I walked through the Cup garage at the exact same time prior to the drivers’ meeting. At Fontana, …

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Did You Notice? The Start & Park Scam, NASCAR is a Team Sport & RCR Comes Up Short

Did You Notice? The latest way in which NASCAR’s locked-in qualifying rule has spiraled out of control? For the past year plus, MSRP Motorsports has existed in the Nationwide Series for seemingly one goal – to make money. Each week, the team owned by Phil Parsons’s wife, Marcia, and Randy Humphrey trots out two unsponsored …

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