Race Weekend Central

Frontstretch NASCAR Power Rankings: Top 15 after the 2015 GEICO 500 at Talladega

2015 Talladega I Cup Pack Racing Iii Credit Nascar Via Getty Images

(Photo: NASCAR via Getty Images)

Man, Talladega is a doozy, huh? Dale Earnhardt Jr.‘s first victory of the season – and first at Talladega in 11 years – was great for the sport and meant, for a moment, that all was right in the racing world. However, the monster that is ‘Dega was also very unkind to several other drivers …

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NASCAR Mailbox: Carl Edwards’s No Caution Call at ‘Dega & Ryan Blaney’s Rise?

2015 Bristol I Carl Edwards Vertical Credit Amy Henderson

Photo Credit: Amy Henderson, Frontstretch

What a weekend we had at Talladega! There was some great weather, phenomenal racing and another victory in Alabama for Dale Earnhardt Jr., his sixth win at the 2.66-mile track. Seeing Junior in Victory Lane so emotional, and so happy with his first win of 2015,  was something special that NASCAR fans will remember for …

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5 Points to Ponder: Experimentation, Throwing Caution to the Wind & Spongebob

2015 Bristol I Cup David Ragan Vertical Credit Amy Henderson

(Photo: Amy Henderson, Frontstretch)

Experimentation As our own Jerry Jordan wrote this morning, JR Nation can sleep easy. With Sunday’s win, Dale Earnhardt Jr. has all but clinched his second-straight Chase for the Sprint Cup berth with the new format. The playoff berth was inevitable; Earnhardt was inside the top 10 in points even if he didn’t win. The …

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Couch Potato Tuesday: Jeff Gordon’s Booth Finale Highlight of Weekend

2015 Talladega I Nxs Ryan Reed Ryan Sieg John Wes Townley Crash Credit Nascar Via Getty Images

(Photo: NASCAR/Getty Images)

Welcome back to another edition of Couch Potato Tuesday. Today, we’ve reached critique No. 450. Yowza. To top that off, we’ve got Talladega. By the standards of race broadcasts, Talladega races are easier than normal to cover since everyone’s all together… most of the time. Let’s see how it went. GEICO 500 Sunday saw 500 …

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Who’s Hot & Who’s Not: 2015 Spongebob Squarepants 400 at Kansas Edition

2015 Bristol I Cup Dale Earnhardt Jr Vertical Credit Amy Henderson

Photo Credit: Amy Henderson, Frontstretch

Burnouts (Hot) It’s no surprise that Dale Earnhardt Jr. is leading this column this week. Yes, he won the race, but it was about so much more than winning for Junior. First, there was a question of whether crew chief Greg Ives might have to go home when finding out his daughter broke her arm. She …

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MPM2Nite: The Daytona Beach Orchestra

2014 Talladega Ii Cup Tony Stewart Aric Almirola Alex Bowman Crash Cia

Photo Credit: CIA Stock Photography

Sunday’s Talladega event was notable as one of the tamer such affairs run at the track though in this instance, tame is not to be thought of as a derisive term. The track “where the wild things are” is normally known for big, huge, smoking pig piles of wrecks coming to the checkers, racing geared …

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Thinkin’ Out Loud: 2015 GEICO 500 at Talladega

2015 Talladega Nscs Dale Earnhardt Jr. Checkered Flag Credit Nascar Via Getty Images

(Photo: NASCAR via Getty Images)

Who’s in the headline – It took 11 years but Dale Earnhardt Jr. finally won another Sprint Cup Series race at Talladega. After some spirited racing for much of the first part of the race, the last third turned into a mind-numbing parade with little to no action at all. Earnhardt pitted with a few …

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The Big 6: Questions Answered After the 2015 GEICO 500 at Talladega

2015 Talladega I Cup Pck Racing Credit Nascar Via Getty Images

(Photo: NASCAR via Getty Images)

Looking for the Who, What, When, Where, Why and How behind Sunday’s race? Amy Henderson has you covered each week with the answers to six race-day questions, covering all five Ws and even the H… the Big Six. Who… gets my shoutout of the race? Talladega is a whole different animal in NASCAR, and for …

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Kickin’ the Tires: Junior Nation Can Sleep Easy With Chase Berth

Dale Earnhardt Jr.

Getty Images for NASCAR

It had been a decade since Dale Earnhardt Jr. went to Victory Lane at Talladega Superspeedway, but all that ailed the great state of Alabama and the rest of Junior Nation has been cured with his win Sunday in the GEICO 500. Walking around the infield, through the campground across from the speedway, or even …

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Up To Speed: Dale Earnhardt Jr.’s Brutal Honesty Following Talladega Victory

Dale Earnhardt Jr. won at Talladega Superspeedway on Sunday. There was a time when that phrase would have been nearly an afterthought, almost a foregone conclusion; a “been-there-done-that” acknowledgement from the racing world. Earnhardt’s win on Sunday was his sixth victory at the 2.66-mile racetrack and 24th of his career, but his first since 2004. His …

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Dale Earnhardt Jr. Holds On For 6th Talladega Victory in 2015 GEICO 500

Dale Earnhardt Jr.

Getty Images for NASCAR

Dale Earnhardt Jr. winning at Talladega Superspeedway is a big deal. Not just for  sponsor Nationwide, but as the sport’s most popular driver. Leading a race-high 67 laps, Earnhardt led Hendrick Motorsports teammate Jimmie Johnson to checkered flag in Sunday’s GEICO 500. “This is really emotional,” Earnhardt told FOX in Victory Lane. “I haven’t won …

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Friday Faceoff: Tempers, Mergers, Surprises & Waivers

2015 Bristol I Cup Martin Truex Jr Car Credit Amy Henderson

Credit - Amy Henderson, Frontstretch

Tony Stewart was none too pleased with Dale Earnhardt Jr. after the two tangled late in the race, leaving Stewart to settle for a 41st-place finish and his third DNF this season. Meanwhile, Earnhardt denied any responsibility for the wreck. Who was right, and will any tensions arise between the two on track later this …

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