Race Weekend Central

Mirror Driving: Matt Kenseth’s Punt, Merger Meltdown & NASCAR’s TV Tragedy

After 4 1/2 hours and two delays, ABC made the decision to switch coverage of the race to ESPN2 so they could show America’s Funniest Home Videos. Was that a serious blow to the sport, or an unavoidable move due to race length? And if Jimmie Johnson wasn’t winning the race handily, would the network have made the same move?

Did You Notice? Montoya’s Nightmare, Logano Losing Steam & Disbelieving a Championship Dream?

Did You Notice? Juan Pablo Montoya’s sophomore season has officially become a nightmare? Of drivers who’ve started all 34 races in 2008, Montoya has the most DNFs with nine. Eight of those have been caused by crashes, including four in the last five races that have wrecked – literally – any supposed on-track improvements for …

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Mirror Driving: The Intentional Wreck, Cautioning Against Cautions & Kyle Busch Sets a Record

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: Bryan Davis Keith (Thursdays/Picks ‘N’ Pans & Sundays/Nationwide Series Breakdown) Doug Turnbull (Tuesdays/Talking …

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Voice of Vito: Haven’t I Seen This Show Before? NASCAR Deja Vu All Over Again in the Lone Star State

Have you ever got the feeling while watching a movie, that you may have seen it once or twice before? You’ll notice it when viewing virtually any action movie made over the last 20 years that it is essentially a slightly disguised ripoff of Die Hard – with the exception of Ironman – which by …

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Fantasy Picks ‘N’ Pans: Avoiding the Talladega Big One That Destroys Your Team

The Chase heads to one of the big unknowns this weekend with restrictor-plate racing at Talladega. The tight packs that occur on the plate tracks are nothing less than a nightmare for fantasy owners, leaving them on edge for every bit of those 500 miles. It’s a situation where a single slip by a driver …

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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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Picks ‘N’ Pans: Michigan Summer 2008 – Will Smoke Finally Win or Is It Edwards’s for the Taking?

The Irish Hills of Michigan host the 23rd race of the season and the opportunity is there for drivers to start officially stamping their passport into the 2008 championship fight. With just three races remaining before the Chase field is set, a driver can be locked into the playoffs as long as they finish this …

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Running Their Mouth: 2008 Centurion Boats at the Glen

This week, here’s a sneak peek at what a select few were thinking following the Centurion Boats at the Glen at Watkins Glen International.

Who’s Hot/Who’s Not in Sprint Cup: 2008 Coke Zero 400 at Daytona Edition

There were fireworks before and after the finish of Saturday’s Coke Zero 400 at Daytona International Speedway, as 11 cautions – most of them late – led to a mini-demolition derby of sorts which changed the outcome of the race. Helping some while hurting others, those last-minute wrecks completely changed the placement of several of …

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Fanning the Flames: Vague NASCAR Rules, Driver Moves & a Long Dry Spell

Thanks for the input this week, folks. The questions continue to keep me busy. Before we get going, I just have to say that I disagree with all the road course bashing I’ve heard over the last week. Was it really that boring at Infineon last Sunday? I thought it was a nice change of …

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