Race Weekend Central

Who’s Hot/Who’s Not in Sprint Cup: 2009 Aaron’s 499 at Talladega Edition

What a weekend! The rollercoaster-esque ebbs and flows of storylines and drama poured through Talladega more than at any track in a long time. The breakthrough win of David Ragan in Saturday’s Aaron’s 312 Nationwide Series race was impressive enough – but it merely set the stage for what would be a remarkable finish the …

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Bubble Breakdown: Sam Hornish Jr. Rips Off 1st Top 10 of 2009, Solidifies Locked-In Spot

Bad news has hit one of our bubble teams since the last race at Texas. After several patchwork sponsorship deals to keep the team afloat through March, the No. 8 Chevrolet driven by Aric Almirola has been shut down due to a lack of funding. Earnhardt Ganassi Racing plans to bring everyone back once sponsorship …

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Mirror Driving: Grading NASCAR in 2009, Why Kvapil’s Cryin’ & Pushing for a Pension Fund

Four races in, how would you grade the 2009 NASCAR Cup season to date? And what, if anything, can be done to make things better?

It’s Not a Sport, It’s a Business: The Start & Park Phenomenon Threatening NASCAR’s Future

At Fontana just a few short weeks ago, millions of NASCAR fans everywhere breathed a sigh of relief. After offseason talk there wouldn’t be enough teams to fill the field in each of its top-three divisions, the Cup, Nationwide and Truck series divisions all had enough cars to fill an entry list for the second …

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Fanning the Flames: The Inevitable Daytona Hangover

Lots to get to from you guys this week. But if there is one thing I haven’t heard, it’s that Matt Kenseth is not a worthy Daytona 500 champion. And after all the head-scratching, shoulder-shrugging, and general frustration that Daytona birthed last weekend, that’s saying something. Anyways, we’re chock full of Daytona discussion this week, …

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Bubble Breakdown: AJ Allmendinger Sticks the Landing While Joey Logano Sticks It in the Wall

The 2009 Sprint Cup season officially kicked off Sunday afternoon with the running of the Daytona 500; and with that, the battle for the Top 35 is on. For those of you new to the sport, the Top 35 teams in owner points are locked into the starting grid each week. For the first five races …

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Jeff Gordon, Kyle Busch Win 2009 Gatorade Duels at Daytona

If Thursday’s Duel 150 qualifying races are any indication, Jeff Gordon is set to put a winless 2008 behind him. Gordon went toe-to-toe with former series champion Tony Stewart for the final five laps before holding off the No. 14 car, as well as teammate Jimmie Johnson, for the victory in the first Gatorade Duel …

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Going it Alone: Jeremy Mayfield, Joe Nemechek Relish Role as Owner/Drivers

Editor’s Note: Mike Lovecchio is at Daytona this week, giving Frontstretch full coverage of the Daytona 500 from the garage – and culminating a week’s worth of stories with a LIVE chat during the race from inside the Speedway. Come back on Sunday and check it out for yourself! For most of the 17 teams …

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Side by Side: Should Patrick Carpentier Have Been Fired?

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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