Race Weekend Central

Happy Hour: Hey Race Fans, It’s Time for NASCAR’s Annual Big Points Giveaway!

Greetings race fans and welcome once again to NASCAR’s Fifth Annual Big Points Giveaway, where we find 11 NASCAR drivers without the points lead and furnish them with a brand new points total and wipe away those lesser performances! (Playing of Red Hot Chili Peppers’ “Give It Away”) You heard right everyone! Every year before …

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Nuts for Nationwide: 28 Down, 7 to Go in NASCAR’s 2nd Series in 2008

In a sure sign that life moves pretty fast and I’m getting older by the day, we’re down to just seven races to go before the crowning of the inaugural NASCAR Nationwide Series champion. I feel like it was only yesterday that I wrote a Nuts for Nationwide column entitled 4 down, 31 to go. …

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Frontstretch NASCAR Power Rankings: Top 15 After the 2008 Chevy Rock & Roll 400 at Richmond

The regular season has come to an end, and like it or not, the fifth year of the Chase is upon us. There are 12 drivers now eligible to win the Cup Series title, unlike the two or three who’d be in contention under the old points system. But even though the list has expanded, …

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Who’s Hot/Who’s Not in Sprint Cup: 2008 NASCAR Pre-Chase Edition

After seven months, 26 races and a rollercoaster of ups and downs, the 2008 Chase for the Championship field is now set. This year’s 12 participants will go at it in the fifth edition of NASCAR’s new format, battling through a 10-week playoff push that will culminate with a 400-mile shootout at Homestead in November. …

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Nationwide Series Breakdown: 2008 Emerson Radio 250 at Richmond

In a Nutshell: The Nationwide Series took to a short track for the second time in three weeks and, also for the second time in three weeks, Clint Bowyer dominated the race. And nonetheless, for the second time in three weeks, Bowyer failed to score the win. Despite leading 195 of the 250 laps run, …

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Fanning the Flames: Recent Hires Show NASCAR Owners Heading in a Familiar Direction

And with that, the Open Wheel Invasion has ended. If you’re wondering about the “that” of which I speak, it’s Chip Ganassi Racing’s announcement that Dario Franchitti will return to full-time IRL competition in 2009 – leaving behind Sprint Cup aspirations that lasted all of half a season. Yes, I know a few drivers whose …

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Frontstretch NASCAR Power Rankings: Top 15 After the 2008 Pepsi 500 at Fontana

California is a wide-open track with plenty of room to run. The drivers had to struggle with the sun as it was going down and ultimately struggled with making their cars handle as the track cooled off. The end result was Jimmie Johnson won the race and moved up two spots in the rankings this …

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Voice of Vito: Are We There Yet? 2008 NASCAR Season Plods Into Richmond With Chase Set to Begin – Is Anyone Really Paying Attention?

Mercifully, the Pepsi 500 at California’s Auto Club Speedway has come to a close. A race that has supplanted the beloved Southern 500 at Darlington Raceway over Labor Day weekend was the highlight of yet another exercise in futility at a track that has been criticized in recent years for poor attendance, poor racing and …

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Nationwide Series Breakdown: 2008 Camping World RV Service 300 at Fontana

In a Nutshell: Kyle Busch won the pole for this race and led every lap, sans the few he fell behind during a cycle of green-flag pit stops. By the end of the race, Busch had led 144 of 150 laps and went virtually unchallenged, scoring an easy seventh victory of the Nationwide Series season …

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Side by Side: Should Kyle Busch & Carl Edwards Have Been Penalized?

Editor’s Note: The following is a special edition of Frontstretch‘s Side By Side. Occasionally throughout the season, two of your favorite Frontstretch writers will duke it out in a debate concerning one of NASCAR’s biggest stories. Don’t let us be the only ones to speak our minds, though… be sure to read both sides and …

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Fantasy Picks ‘N’ Pans: Is It Roush Fenway Racing’s Time to Shine at California?

California is the penultimate race in the regular season leading up to the Chase for the Cup, and the 2-mile facility that is the sister track to Michigan will bring the playoff picture into much better focus. Some drivers will find themselves locked in, with several clinch scenarios in play – while other drivers will …

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