Race Weekend Central

Frontstretch NASCAR Power Rankings: Top 15 After the 2008 Pepsi 500 at Fontana

California is a wide-open track with plenty of room to run. The drivers had to struggle with the sun as it was going down and ultimately struggled with making their cars handle as the track cooled off. The end result was Jimmie Johnson won the race and moved up two spots in the rankings this …

Read more

Talking NASCAR TV: ESPN is the Mark of Inconsistency for Sunday’s California Race

The last few Labor Day weekends have been a mark of remorse and anger for many of the NASCAR faithful since the Southern 500 was snatched from legendary Darlington Raceway and moved to the Auto Club Speedway in Fontana. The racing in California has been less than thrilling and is reflected by sparse attendance at …

Read more

Frontstretch NASCAR Power Rankings: Top 15 After the 2008 Sharpie 500 at Bristol

Bristol’s new variable banking has given drivers the option to pass without having to wreck a guy on the racetrack. But as Carl Edwards showed us Saturday night, the bump and run can still be the only option if the car in front is just good enough to keep you behind. Ensuring that move remains …

Read more

Talking NASCAR TV: ESPN Shines Under the Bristol Lights

The script for excitement during Saturday night’s race at Bristol Motor Speedway practically wrote itself. The sports two hottest drivers, Kyle Busch and Carl Edwards, occupied the top two spots in the pack for most of the race. Edwards tagged Busch’s back bumper ever-so-slightly, clawing his way into the lead, and yanking victory away from …

Read more

Frontstretch NASCAR Power Rankings: Top 15 After the 2008 3M Performance 400 at Michigan

Four wide-open grooves of racing at Michigan gave the drivers a lot of options Sunday – giving the faster cars a great chance to work their way forward. But for Denny Hamlin and Kasey Kahne, the only racing line they were able to handle was the one that led straight to the garage. Both saw …

Read more

Talking NASCAR TV: SPEED’s TWIN Needs to Double Coverage of Other NASCAR Series

After intense scrutiny of ESPN’s Sprint Cup coverage in the weeks since Indy, this week’s column will focus on another network’s show. This Week in NASCAR (TWIN) was unveiled at the beginning of this season as a revamped version of Inside Nextel Cup. The idea behind changing the format was to make the show represent …

Read more

Side by Side: Is NASCAR Doing Enough For Diversity?

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 …

Read more

Frontstretch NASCAR Power Rankings: Top 15 After the 2008 Centurion Boats at the Glen

Turning right and left didn’t just cause a litany of Cup veterans some angst – it also gave our writers some sleepless nights in how to figure in a road-course finish into their own Top 15 Power Rankings formula. But when all was said and done, there was a surprising amount of movement; and in …

Read more

Talking NASCAR TV: Punch, Pit Road & Post-Race Are Where ESPN Needs to Improve

ESPN’s road racing coverage Sunday at Watkins Glen was not great – but it could have been much worse. The first two-thirds of the race, with the exception of a couple of caution periods and varying fuel strategies, provided little excitement. Dale Jarrett, Andy Petree and Dr. Jerry Punch did a wonderful job in the …

Read more

Frontstretch NASCAR Power Rankings: Top 15 After the 2008 Pennsylvania 500 at Pocono

After the second weekend of testing out the Pythagorean theory at Pocono, the shape of the Chase came a little more into focus. The top drivers in points (“A” students) are solidifying their positions for September and beyond while aggressively going for the win – and the 10-point bonus that goes with it. Meanwhile, positions …

Read more

Frontstretch NASCAR Power Rankings: Top 15 After the 2008 Brickyard 400

And the winner of the first annual Indianapolis Heat Race is… Jimmie Johnson! OK, so maybe it was the Allstate 400 at the Brickyard, but the way in which the race was controlled by NASCAR – with competition cautions held every 10 laps – they might as well have renamed it the Allstate 25. With …

Read more

Talking NASCAR TV: Terrible Tires Overshadow ESPN’s 2008 Debut

The big story following the Brickyard this week was the excessive tire wear that forced competition cautions and prompted drivers to play it safe. But lost in the crossfire between the fans (and media) versus NASCAR was ESPN’s debut covering the Sprint Cup Series in 2008. Unlike the Allstate 400 at the Brickyard, the network’s …

Read more