Race Weekend Central

Holding a Pretty Wheel: The Things We Forget – a Richmond Revelation, Kevin Grubb & Putting Racing Into Perspective

Every once in a while, something happens that puts things in perspective. Something that reminds you why you’re here in the first place. It’s not necessarily a big event – it can be something as small as a child’s thank you or the smell of spring and fresh cut grass. But it’s a reminder of …

Read more

Holding a Pretty Wheel: 2nd & 3rd Fiddle Sharing 1 Bow is a Sour NASCAR Note

I think it’s one of Murphy’s Laws (Murphy, I never knew you, but you were one hell of a pessimist, huh?) that just when you think things couldn’t get any worse, someone surprises you. Of course, this is NASCAR we’re talking about, the sanctioning body that has come up with so ways to fix something …

Read more

Holding a Pretty Wheel: The Monster Jeff Gordon Created is Guarding the Door

You know you’re on a roll when, seven races into the season, you hold a points lead so large that you could finish dead last the next week and still leave town with it. That’s exactly where Jeff Gordon found himself last week, rolling into Phoenix with just such a lead. In the eight races …

Read more

Holding a Pretty Wheel: Are NASCAR’s Cost Cuts Helping or Just Another Smokescreen?

NASCAR recently announced that the sanctioning body would now conduct postrace engine teardowns at their Concord facility, the latest in a series of measures designed to cut costs. I’m not really sure how this one saves teams any money, unless NASCAR is planning on delivering the inspected engines to the teams they were taken from. …

Read more

Holding a Pretty Wheel: How 5 Are Faring After 6 – Looking at NASCAR’s 2009 Favorites So Far

The 2009 NASCAR Sprint Cup season rolls into April, and while nothing is carved in the sand, let alone stone, things are starting to become a little clearer for several teams. While some are living up to preseason expectations, others are struggling to live up to them. I’m going to take a closer look at …

Read more

Holding a Pretty Wheel: For Dale Earnhardt Jr., Does Fun Trump Having It All?

At the top level of NASCAR, there are so many factors to consider every week. There are sponsors to please, fans to appease, and an owner to answer to. Your job is to try to win races and ultimately the championship. And that’s not just at the top. Don’t think for a second that that …

Read more

Holding a Pretty Wheel: 2 Heroes & Their Enduring Legend NASCAR’s Finest

Racing, like other sports, is built on heroes. Most of NASCAR’s heroes are the men and women who, over the years, pulled on their colorful, if not dashing firesuits, climbed into a snarling beast of a machine, and drove straight into the sunset (and back out, as they came off the next turn). They court danger and flirt with mayhem, run with the stuff of dreams. Yes, racecar drivers are the stuff of legend. But not all heroes drive the cars. Some make the cars go fast instead.