Race Weekend Central

Voice of Vito: Mark Martin: He’s Bad, He’s Nationwide – The All-Time Wins Leader Continues to Make an Impact in Semi-Retirement

When asked where his favorite vacation destination is, Mark Martin will list Las Vegas as his place of refuge. No, it is not because he enjoys gambling, the nightlife or the seedy underbelly of society. For the driver who calls 11:00 p.m. way past his bedtime, Martin enjoys Vegas because they have the best video …

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Voice of Vito: NASCAR’s Car of Tomorrow Helps to Provide Parity Today

While many in the media (yours truly included) were raving about Dodge’s impressive showing at the Daytona 500, many were looking to this past weekend’s Auto Club 500 in Fontana, Calif. as the true test of how the Car of Tomorrow would perform this season. The 1.5-2-mile downforce tracks make up the bulk of NASCAR …

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Voice of Vito: Put a Dodge in Your Garage – Dodge Returns to Prominence at Daytona

All through testing and Speedweeks at Daytona, it seemed there was one thing fans could count on happening in the 50th running of the Daytona 500: The Toyotas and the Hendrick Chevrolets would be near the front in the Great American Race. Hendrick’s latest acquisition, Dale Earnhardt Jr., got off to a fast start during …

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Voice of Vito: Hendrick Motorsports’ Decade of Dominance… & Then Some

This weekend in Homestead, one thing is for certain: Hendrick Motorsports will be the team that captures the 2007 Nextel Cup. It will be the organization’s sixth championship, tying the Charlotte car dealer with Junior Johnson and Richard Childress for second all-time on the NASCAR owners’ title list. Who the driver is that actually wins …

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Voice of Vito: 2007 the Year the Wheels Came Off the Gravy Train for Dale Earnhardt Jr.

Following this past weekend’s race at Atlanta Motor Speedway, the championship Chase tightened considerably between points leader Jeff Gordon and teammate Jimmie Johnson. But as Johnson stood spraying the bubbly in victory lane – winner of his second straight race in the playoffs – cleanup crews were busy picking up parts and pieces sprayed all …

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Voice of Vito: NASCAR Drivers Getting Their Just Desserts, Earnings Finally Matching Those of Other Major Athletes

Ernest Hemingway once said that, “Auto racing, bull fighting and mountain climbing are the only real sports… all others are games.” All decade long, we’ve heard such age-old discussion of how NASCAR drivers stack up to the athletic performances of the stick ‘n’ ball sports: Major League Baseball, the NFL, the NHL and the NBA. …

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Voice of Vito: NASCAR Fans Still Reviled Among the Elite

One of the biggest gripes about the new Chase for the Championship in NASCAR is not so much a break from tradition, but to what it represents: pandering to the masses. Every week, be it during the race, NASCAR-themed shows or in print, constant comparisons are made to other sports, drawing parallels between their postseason …

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Voice of Vito: Talladega Plus the Car of Tomorrow Equals the NFL & a Nap

Say the word “Talladega,” and what comes to mind? Three-wide racing. Packed grandstands cloaked in Budweiser red. Adrenal gland-draining close calls. A 30-car pile up. Elliott Sadler upside down, hurtling through the atmosphere. Jeff Gordon getting pelted with beer cans. With that in mind… what track were they racing at last weekend, anyway? From my …

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