Race Weekend Central

Mirror Driving: NASCAR’s Red-Flag Fiasco, Gordon’s Great Start & Which Small Teams Can Survive?

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: Tony Lumbis (Mondays/Rookie Report) Vito Pugliese (Wednesdays/Voice of Vito) Beth Lunkenheimer (Tuesdays/Running Your Mouth …

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Matt McLaughlin’s Thinkin’ Out Loud: 2009 Las Vegas Race Recap

The Key Moment: On lap 269, Kyle Busch nudged aside Clint Bowyer to take the lead. Busch, who had won the pole for the race, was forced to start out back after blowing an engine in practice – so the accomplishment is much more impressive than it will appear in the record books. In a …

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10 Points to Ponder: 2009 Shelby 427 at Las Vegas

Kyle Busch Still the Driver to Beat Daytona was just a minor hiccup: the No. 18 team is back with a vengeance in 2009. Las Vegas native Kyle Busch won the pole this weekend, only to have to start at the back after an engine change. Nonetheless, Busch methodically made his way back to the …

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Nationwide Series Breakdown: 2009 Sam’s Town 300 at Las Vegas

The Nationwide Series doesn’t tackle the high banks of Bristol until March 21. Apparently that message didn’t get through to the drivers Saturday. The Sam’s Town 300 in Las Vegas opened with four wrecks in the first 28 laps, becoming a demolition derby that featured 12 cautions and two red flags while ending with only …

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Nuts for Nationwide: 75,000 Eye-Openers, Plus 12 More at Fontana

While Saturday’s Stater Brothers 300 at Fontana was a snoozer of a race, it was nonetheless an eye-opening weekend for the Nationwide Series. First off, I have to concede to the advocates of the Auto Club Speedway that they did an admirable job in improving attendance for the Auto Club 500 on Sunday. While a …

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Did You Notice? The Start & Park Scam, NASCAR is a Team Sport & RCR Comes Up Short

Did You Notice? The latest way in which NASCAR’s locked-in qualifying rule has spiraled out of control? For the past year plus, MSRP Motorsports has existed in the Nationwide Series for seemingly one goal – to make money. Each week, the team owned by Phil Parsons’s wife, Marcia, and Randy Humphrey trots out two unsponsored …

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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?

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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10 Points to Ponder: 2009 Auto Club 500 at Fontana Edition

Kenseth Proves Daytona Wasn’t Luck Several fans had a bitter taste in their mouth about the ending of the Daytona 500 last week – and rightfully so. When you have a driver who hasn’t won a race in over a year and he suddenly wins the sport’s most prestigious race after taking the lead one …

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Nationwide Series Breakdown: 2009 Stater Brothers 300 at Fontana

In a word, uneventful. As if following up Daytona with Fontana wasn’t enough of a letdown, Kyle Busch made sure that there would be no last lap fireworks this time around. Leading over 140 of the 150 laps run Saturday night, Busch followed up his Truck win earlier in the day with a dominant performance …

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Mirror Driving: Daytona Disappointment, Yellow Line Disgust, & is Kenseth a Hall of Famer?

The Daytona 500 had several controversial moments, but the biggest was the race being shortened by over 100 miles due to rain. Did NASCAR do the right thing by starting at the scheduled time, or should the green flag have been moved up so that the entire race could be run?