Race Weekend Central

5 Points to Ponder: 2009 Samsung 500 at Texas Edition

The streak is over How fitting is it that Jeff Gordon’s 47-race winless streak comes to an end at a track where he’s been winless for his entire career? Gordon was strong for much of the race, but it was a combination of a good pit stop by the No. 24 bunch and yet another …

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Frontstretch Fantasy Insider: 5 Bars for Fantasy Teams in Texas

Everything’s bigger in Texas, they say, and the Texas Motor Speedway certainly is considerably larger than the short tracks the Cup circuit has tackled these last few weeks. With the pending return to an intermediate oval, expect speeds to go up and the margin for error in race setups to go down. But with the …

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Frontstretch NASCAR Power Rankings: Top 15 After the 2009 Goody’s Fast Pain Relief 500 at Martinsville

With their bumping and banging for the lead on Sunday, Denny Hamlin and Jimmie Johnson were able to make big gains up the Power Rankings ladder. But were they enough to push Jeff Gordon off the top spot? Meanwhile, Matt Kenseth and Jeff Burton were among those who took it on the chin at this …

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Frontstretch NASCAR Power Rankings: Top 15 After the 2009 Food City 500 at Bristol

The fastest half-mile in the world at Bristol battered many of Cup’s top contenders and spit them out. Bad luck struck more than one competitor, most notably Greg Biffle, causing mechanical problems which dropped him out of the top 15 in our Power Rankings. But every driver’s pain is someone else’s gain, and when the …

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Who’s Hot/Who’s Not in Sprint Cup: 2009 Food City 500 at Bristol Edition

A weekend in noisy Thunder Valley following a quiet week of rest provides a jarring wakeup call to drivers, crews and fans alike. But while Sunday’s Bristol race itself did not spark the normal beating and banging fest people are used to seeing, it did help bring to light what this season’s short-track races may …

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Frontstretch Fantasy Insider: Bristol, or How to Fly Jet Fighters in a Gymnasium

The Sprint Cup Series returns to its roots this weekend with the first short-track race of the 2009 season. Since it was resurfaced, Bristol Motor Speedway has gone from a one lane bullring to a multi-groove, high-banked, high-speed oval unlike any other track on the Sprint Cup circuit. Even with the new surface, Bristol is …

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Frontstretch NASCAR Power Rankings: Top 15 After the 2009 Kobalt Tools 500 at Atlanta

Four weeks into the season, the top of the Sprint Cup standings are still a long way from getting sorted out. But after everyone got a chance to take a deep breath this past weekend after Atlanta, it’s easy to notice a few trends starting to take shape. Once again, the multi-car giants of Roush, …

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Top 10 Other Victory Celebrations Kurt Busch’s Miller Lite Drinking Buddies Suggested

Following Kurt Busch’s dominating Atlanta win, he celebrated by driving his car in reverse around the track in a new kind of victory lap. Later, he said that the idea came from a Miller Lite drinking session with his buddies. So, I thought we’d speculate on some of the other ideas that might have emerged …

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Fanning the Flames: Confusing Contingency Awards, NASCAR’s Aero Dependence Gone Awry & Rain-Outs

Once again, some random, midweek thoughts whilst sitting on the front porch swing and enjoying the blooming Bradford Pears on a rare 70-degree afternoon in March here in Nashville: Atlanta attendance listed at 94,400? Try 9,440. I don’t care what you may think of the FOX broadcast crew’s coverage, the cutaway car is very well …

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Did You Notice? DNFs Are a Good Thing, NASCAR Needs a Senior Tour & Menard’s Mediocrity?

Did You Notice? The complaints over the amount of engine failures to start the 2009 Sprint Cup season? To be honest, I like the unpredictability that’s been added back into the outcome of a race. For a while there, it looked like parts and pieces had become so invincible there was no doubt as to …

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Mirror Driving: Substitute NASCAR Drivers, Runaway Tires & are the Busches the Best Siblings Ever?

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: Vito Pugliese (Wednesdays/Voice of Vito) Beth Lunkenheimer (Tuesdays/Running Your Mouth & Various/Frontstretch Truck …

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