Race Weekend Central

The Yellow Stripe: Who’s No. 1? Listing the 10 Best NASCAR Tracks in the Cup Series Today

After a momentary pause for breath this past weekend, NASCAR plows right into some of the best venues listed on their schedule. In the next two months, the Sprint Cup Series visits eight terrific tracks: Bristol, Martinsville, Texas, Phoenix, Talladega, Richmond, Darlington and Lowe’s Motor Speedway – places that hope to get a fan’s mind …

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Talking NASCAR TV: Grading NASCAR Smarts on SPEED… With This Week in NASCAR Thrown In

Greetings, race fans, and welcome to this week’s TV critique. Unfortunately, all three of NASCAR’s major touring series took the week off last weekend. This leaves me to give my opinions on some of the magazine shows on television. However, the buildup to the NCAA basketball tournaments (men’s and women’s) has gotten in the way …

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Talking NASCAR TV: Aching Over FOX’s Graphical Gremlins in Atlanta

Atlanta brought us two races with tight finishes. This type of action is definitely pleasing for race fans to watch on television – but were the race telecasts up to par? Let’s find out. Often times, the first thing I do on Friday afternoons is click on SPEED to check out either Cup Pole Qualifying …

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Frontstretch NASCAR Power Rankings: Top 15 After the 2009 Shelby 427 at Las Vegas

The Jewel in the Desert offered up some fast and furious competition on Sunday, with the Shelby 427 perhaps taking its place as the most competitive racing yet out in Las Vegas. In the end, the 1.5-mile oval took a rather unexpected toll on some motors, a more expected one on some nerves, and turned …

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Talking NASCAR TV: My Pre-Race Cup Runneth Over – How to Fix It & Other Vegas Notes

Greetings, race fans! Las Vegas was the first NASCAR weekend of the season with only two of its top-three series competing. While the Camping World Truck Series teams took the week off and dealt with the storm that blanketed most of North Carolina with a substantial amount of snow (I got about two inches here …

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Kyle Busch Overcomes Early Weekend Engine Woes to Win at Home in 2009 Shelby 427 at Las Vegas

When Kyle Busch is really confident about his racecar late in an event, that typically equals serious trouble for his competitors. When Busch passed Jeff Burton for the lead late in the going, he cued his radio and said “Goodnight, Gracie” to his crew, a signal that it was all over and that no one …

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Mirror Driving: Discussing Michael Waltrip’s Surprise, Kyle Busch’s “Historical” Moment & Driver Responsibility

Kyle Busch made history, becoming the first driver to win two major touring series races on the same day – but is this history good for the sport overall?

Frontstretch NASCAR Power Rankings: Top 15 After the 2009 Auto Club 500 at Fontana

While many people argued that Matt Kenseth stole or lucked into his Daytona 500 win, no one can deny he was truly worthy of winning the Auto Club 500 at Fontana this past weekend. That victory solidified Kenseth’s position at the top of the rankings, as he’s the first person since Jeff Gordon in 1997 …

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Talking NASCAR TV: Race Coverage at Fontana Improves… But Digger Still Lurks in the Shadows

After the pomp and circumstance that is typical of the Daytona 500, NASCAR teams moved on to Auto Club Speedway in Fontana, Calif. for a tripleheader weekend. Before we begin, as you may remember I was quite critical of FOX’s broadcast of the Daytona 500 – most notably the lack of any mention of rain …

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Great Pit Work Guides Matt Kenseth to 2nd Straight Victory in 2009 Auto Club 500 at Fontana

For years, it seems, Matt Kenseth’s pit crew, affectionately known as the “Killer Bees,” has been considered to be the best pit crew in the Sprint Cup Series. Tonight (Feb. 22), they proved it. Kenseth greatly benefitted from the speed of the Killer Bees on pit road to gain the lead back on the final …

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Frontstretch NASCAR Power Rankings: Top 15 After the 2009 Daytona 500

Like it or not, after just 380 miles the first race of the 2009 Sprint Cup season is officially in the books. Matt Kenseth was crowned the winner of just the fourth rain-shortened Daytona 500 in history, taking the lead one lap before the weather with a generous push from runner-up Kevin Harvick. But was that last-lap pass enough to leave Kenseth number one in the eyes of our staff this week? After all, Kyle Busch dominated the race, only to become an innocent victim of the day’s big wreck on lap 125. And where did AJ Allmendinger land after starting the year with a career-best third – driving for a team that doesn’t even know if it’ll exist two months from now? Find these answers, and more, by examining our first Top-15 Power Rankings poll of the year.

Talking NASCAR TV: SPEEDing Through 2009 Daytona 500 Week in 3,000 Words or Less

Now that Speedweeks at Daytona are over, it is time to look back and reflect upon what we have seen, and what we have been provided for our viewing pleasure by NASCAR’s media partners for Speedweeks (FOX, SPEED and ESPN2). Before I begin, I should state this. Speedweeks is supposed to be the most important …

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