Race Weekend Central

Voices From the Heartland: For Johnny Benson, Sponsorship vs. Coverage Should Be a Moot Point

It was reported this last week that the defending Camping World Truck Series champion, Johnny Benson, had a sponsorship dilemma. The team’s lack of sponsorship was already well known. The problem was, Johnny and his Red Horse Racing team now have a sponsor lined up… however, they were told that if he used the said …

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Mirror Driving: Killing the Competition Caution?, Brainstorming New Sponsors & Jimmie Johnson vs. Denny Hamlin… NOT!

Welcome to Mirror Driving. Every week, your favorite columnists sit down and give their opinion about the latest NASCAR news and rumors. Love us or hate us, make a comment below and tell us how you feel about what we’ve said! This Week’s Participants: Tom Bowles (Editor-In-Chief; Mondays/Bowles-Eye View & Wednesdays/Did You Notice?) Beth Lunkenheimer (Tuesdays/Running Your …

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Who’s Hot/Who’s Not in Sprint Cup: 2009 Goody’s Fast Pain Relief 500 at Martinsville Edition

What a race Sunday! The Goody’s Fast Pain Relief 500 at Martinsville Speedway gave fans the tight racing action they have been yearning for since before the season began. The close racing amongst competitors individually made the race well worth watching, as did the fact that some unexpected drivers had good runs on the tricky …

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Tracking the Trucks: 2009 Kroger 250 at Martinsville

In a Nutshell: Kevin Harvick took the checkered flag under caution ahead of Ron Hornaday Jr. to win the Kroger 250 Monday afternoon at Martinsville Speedway. Harvick took the lead inside 10 laps to go and held on through a green-white-checkered finish to score his first Truck Series win outside of Phoenix International Raceway. Mike …

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5 Points to Ponder: 2009 Goody’s Fast Pain Relief 500 at Martinsville Edition

Mr. Martinsville Nobody can accuse Jimmie Johnson of being too boring or too perfect anymore. The man dubbed “Mr. Martinsville” by teammate Jeff Gordon drove deep into turn 1 with 16 laps to go and body-slammed Denny Hamlin for the lead and eventual win Sunday. The pass was not perfect, a little daring, and showed …

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Tearing Apart the Trucks: 3 Debuts & a Truck Series Champ Without a Sponsor

Carmichael Hopes to Run Full Schedule Former Motocross champion Ricky Carmichael originally planned to run just 14 races of the 25 scheduled in the Camping World Truck Series, but team co-owner Kevin Harvick announced the team is looking for sponsors for Carmichael to run the rest of the races this season. “He’s kind of sent …

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Matt McLaughlin Mouths Off: A Look Back at NASCAR’s 2009 Season to Date

Four weeks into the 2009 NASCAR season, nothing is etched in stone. It’s too early on to know who will be champion, and even too early to predict the 12 drivers who will make the Chase quite yet. But the first four Cup events of this season have offered a diverse set of track layouts: …

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Age Just a Number: Kyle Busch Rates the Progress of Logano, Sieg & His Own Truck team

Kyle Busch has achieved more as a NASCAR driver in the last five years than most drivers have in decades-long careers. Just shy of 24 years old, the brash, sometimes cocky driver has 13 Sprint Cup victories at 13 different tracks, 22 Nationwide Series wins and 11 Camping World Truck Series trophies to his credit. …

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Mirror Driving: Grading NASCAR in 2009, Why Kvapil’s Cryin’ & Pushing for a Pension Fund

Four races in, how would you grade the 2009 NASCAR Cup season to date? And what, if anything, can be done to make things better?