Race Weekend Central

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 …

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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 …

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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.

Holding a Pretty Wheel: This is NASCAR, Not a Bazaar

With Daytona’s convoluted qualifying procedures, it’s easy to overlook things while just trying to figure out how the heck they set the field this year. What is with setting the Duels by owner points and then qualifying speed, anyway? Was it actually necessary? But there is one insidious little thing that has been happening in …

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Holding a Pretty Wheel: My Winter of NASCAR Discontent – With a Little Amusement Tossed In

With Daytona around the corner, the racing world is picking up speed, and with that comes a whole slew of questions – but not too many answers. So after a long and eventful offseason, it’s time to dust off the things that made it notable for me. First up, I have an issue with the …

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Holding a Pretty Wheel: Not Cale Yarborough vs. Jimmie Johnson, Yarborough & Johnson

Excuses, excuses. Everyone loves a good excuse, and this week, in the wake of Jimmie Johnson’s record-tying third straight Sprint Cup championship, I think I’ve heard them all. There are excuses why Johnson’s accomplishment isn’t as valid as Cale Yarborough’s was when he took three titles in a row in 1976-1978, compared to reasons why …

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Holding a Pretty Wheel: 1 NASCAR Race to Go, Boys, & What a Ride It Has Been

With the white flag in the air on the 2008 NASCAR season, I can safely say there have been some surprises. Looking back over the season that was, as well as ahead to what likely will be when the checkers fly at Homestead, there have been 35 races won and lost, changes of the guard …

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