Race Weekend Central

Doug Turnbull Mouths Off: Brickyard is Big, But Daytona Still Reigns Supreme

While Matt McLaughlin is enjoying a well-deserved vacation, Frontstretch rookie Doug Turnbull stepped in to share his thoughts on which is the biggest race of the season, the Daytona 500 or the Brickyard 400? Matt will be back next week to give his stance on all of the racing developments at the Brickyard. If you …

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Frontstretch NASCAR Power Rankings: Top-15 Free Agents for 2009

With the off week in full swing, it presented an opportunity for the Frontstretch experts to do something a little different. Instead of grading the Cup guys, we took a look at those drivers who often get shunned from the spotlight these days… the drivers exclusive to the Nationwide and Camping World Truck series desperate …

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Talking NASCAR TV: ESPN Needs to Learn From Mistakes to Improve 2008 NASCAR Coverage

The third network to cover the Sprint Cup Series takes their turn at glory this week, as ESPN/ABC begins their NASCAR coverage at the historic Brickyard on Sunday, July 27. The final 17-week stretch to finish off the year follows a 21-race schedule that was covered by both FOX and TNT. Those networks had their …

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Journeyman Scott Riggs Long Forgotten in Stewart Shuffle

Editor’s Note: Regular columnist Tommy Thompson has this week off, so Frontstretch rookie Doug Turnbull filled in for this edition of Turn 5. Look for Tommy to be back next Wednesday. Tony Stewart, Ryan Newman, Clint Bowyer, Elvis Presley and Martin Truex Jr. A flurry of names have been sailing in the rumor clouds as …

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Frontstretch NASCAR Power Rankings: Top 15 After the 2008 LifeLock.com 400 at Chicagoland

The Chicagoland race was held at night for the first time in its eight-year history, but the cool temperatures didn’t stop the heated action on the racetrack during the final few laps of the event. Kyle Busch‘s stunning pass of Jimmie Johnson was one for the ages, and his seventh win of the season was …

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Talking NASCAR TV: SPEED’s Stewart Announcement Debacle Overshadows TNT Season Finale

NASCAR media outlets had plenty to discuss this week, as Tony Stewart’s future plans came to public fruition piece by piece. Multiple reports surfaced at the beginning of the week stating that the Stewart-Haas deal was done; and the very next day, Joe Gibbs Racing officially announced to the media that they were granting Stewart …

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Sprint Cup Rookie Report: Rough Ride for NASCAR Freshmen at Chicagoland

Rookies in the Starting Lineup: Regan Smith (33rd), Michael McDowell (34th), Sam Hornish Jr. (35th), Patrick Carpentier (42nd). Note: Qualifying was rained out, so the field was set by owner points. Unofficial Finishing Positions: Carpentier (30th), Smith (34th), Hornish Jr. (37th), McDowell (43rd). Rookie of the Race: Carpentier. As the title of the article says, …

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Frontstretch NASCAR Power Rankings: Top 15 After the 2008 Coke Zero 400 at Daytona

Daytona International Speedway once again played havoc with drivers over the Fourth of July weekend. As the action heated up late in the race, some couldn’t find help getting to the front, some couldn’t get out of their own way, and some simply couldn’t stomach 400 miles around the 2.5-mile superspeedway. Greg Biffle was one …

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Frontstretch NASCAR Power Rankings: Top 15 After the 2008 LENOX Industrial Tools 301 at Loudon

The LENOX Industrial Tools 301 at Loudon was billed as a race that went “the extra mile,” but it’s actually all the miles that didn’t happen which led to a major jumble in both the race – and our Power Rankings. With rain wreaking havoc on the final running order, you had Kurt Busch, Michael …

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Talking NASCAR TV: SPEED Satellite Failure Not the Only Weekend Problem Over the Airwaves

The most interesting part of Sunday’s NASCAR activities at New Hampshire Motor Speedway, at least up until the final two caution flags of the race, may have not even been during the race itself. Early in the broadcast of NASCAR Race Day on the Speed Channel, the satellite feed for the show stopped working. Although …

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Frontstretch NASCAR Power Rankings: Top 15 After the 2008 Toyota/Save Mart 350 at Sonoma

Sonoma and the wine country of northern California threw more twists and turns at the Cup drivers this weekend than a corkscrew on the hillside – with one glaring exception, of course. It was Kyle Busch who reestablished himself firmly atop the rankings this week, coming off his series high fifth victory of the season. …

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