Race Weekend Central

The Big 6: Questions Answered After the 2009 Toyota/Save Mart 350 at Sonoma

Who… gets my shoutout of the race? Running on a smaller budget is usually not indicative of a great finish, but someone forgot to give Marcos Ambrose that memo. Ambrose once again showed his considerable road-racing skill as he was alternately patient and aggressive in his march from the back of the field (where he …

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Frontstretch NASCAR Power Rankings: Top 15 After the 2009 Lifelock 400 at Michigan

The 2-mile oval in the Irish Hills of Michigan brought us a fuel-mileage race for the second straight week on the Cup tour. In the end, it was Mark Martin who had a little extra gas in his tank… but was it enough to move all the way to the top of our chart? Meanwhile, …

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Full Throttle: Try as We Might, Racing Is Still Dangerous

The sport of automobile racing excites competitors and fans on many levels. The speed, the sound, the engineering, the strategy are all things that stimulate the senses and thrill people who come to the racetrack or watch on TV. One thing that thrills some drivers is the fact that they push it to the limit …

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Who’s Hot/Who’s Not in Sprint Cup: 2009 Lifelock 400 at Michigan Edition

“Give me fuel, give me fire, give me that which I desire,” may very well have been the lyrics Jimmie Johnson was banging his head to as his dominant No. 48 Chevy sputtered to the finish of Sunday’s LifeLock 400. The three-time champ absolutely dominated at Michigan, only surrendering the lead after the final pit …

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Nationwide Series Breakdown: 2009 Meijer 300 at Kentucky

Finally, someone has Kyle Busch’s number. And it’s his teammate. Running his first Nationwide Series race since an incident that saw him knock Busch from the lead at Dover with two laps to go, Joey Logano beat his teammate without the chrome horn on Saturday and took the checkers for his trouble. On a late …

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Happy Hour’s Best Drivers in NASCAR, Part 2: Drivers #10-#6

I unwittingly picked a bad time to discuss who the best drivers in the sport are today. Between Kyle Busch’s guitar smashing, double-file restarts and the Jeremy Mayfield situation, there is plenty to discuss in NASCAR these days that gets a writer’s columns clicked on by subject matter alone. Maybe this column could have been …

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Frontstretch Fantasy Insider: Finding What Luck Is Left in Michigan’s Irish Hills

As the Sprint Cup Series turns to the Michigan International Speedway, teams and fans alike will find themselves in the faces of America’s former automotive giants, harshly reminded of the economic tumult that has driven the country into a deep recession. Speaking of giants, look for NASCAR’s giant teams to dominate the weekend. Michigan’s long, …

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Did You Notice? The Real Problem With Kyle Busch, the Murkiness of Meth & Silly Season Revisited

Did You Notice? That in between all the controversy and opinions surrounding Kyle Busch and his guitar smashing, the No. 18 Cup team is in very real danger of not even making the Chase? Before we get to his antics (and don’t worry, I’m not going to comment too much as 1,500 people have already) …

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

The tricky triangle in Pocono threw everything at the drivers but the kitchen sink. There was rain, a new double-file restart procedure and even a late-race fuel-mileage gamble thrown in for good measure. As you might expect, with that many variables the final running order was turned upside down after 500 miles of competition. But …

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Who’s Hot/Who’s Not in Sprint Cup: 2009 Pocono 500 Edition

Sunday was a long day in Long Pond, Pa., as only a few teams really had their cars hooked up to handle the tricky triangle that is Pocono Raceway. While positive storylines like the implementation of double-file restarts and Tony Stewart’s march from the back of the pack to win his first race as an …

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