Race Weekend Central

Bubble Breakdown: Toyota Bubble Teams Struggle Mightily at Martinsville While Menard Sneaks In

The last remnants of the 2008 season have finally been cast by the wayside, as NASCAR now uses this year’s owner points in determining who has a guaranteed starting spot and who has to qualify on time. But as the drivers now outside of the Top 35 readied themselves to give it all they had …

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The Yellow Stripe: Taking It to the Next Level, Which of These 10 Drivers Will Win a NASCAR Cup Championship?

The label of future Sprint Cup champion is liberally dispensed – but rarely achieved. In the 60 years of NASCAR competition, only 28 drivers have attained the hallowed crown – and it’s a pretty exclusive club. 12 drivers have won a solitary championship, while another eight have won two titles. Five men – Jimmie Johnson, …

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Matt McLaughlin’s Thinkin’ Out Loud: 2009 Bristol Spring Race Recap

The Key Moment: Kyle Busch was able to hold off teammate Denny Hamlin in the final two-lap shootout that decided the race. In a Nutshell: Geographically, it’s in the same place, but this joint just doesn’t seem like Bristol anymore, does it? Dramatic Moment: Jamie McMurray and Juan Pablo Montoya actually got annoyed with each …

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The Big 6: Questions Answered After the 2009 Food City 500 at Bristol

Who… gets my shoutout of the race? For a driver who has never had Bristol figured out in the past, Jimmie Johnson looked like he hit on something this time around. Johnson led 88 laps and looked comfortable with the Bristol confines, even though a late-race pit miscue cost him a chance at the win. …

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Matt McLaughlin Mouths Off: A Look Back at NASCAR’s 2009 Season to Date

Four weeks into the 2009 NASCAR season, nothing is etched in stone. It’s too early on to know who will be champion, and even too early to predict the 12 drivers who will make the Chase quite yet. But the first four Cup events of this season have offered a diverse set of track layouts: …

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Did You Notice? No ’09 Rivalries, Fun with NASCAR TV Ratings & Statistical Surprises in Sprint Cup

Did You Notice? The only thing Lowe’s Motor Speedway President Marcus Smith would commit to last week – alluding to changes for this year’s All-Star Race – is that the distance would stay exactly the same (100 laps). To me, that’s already a bad “change” to make, no matter how you break that distance down. …

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Voice of Vito: Don’t Jump, It’s Not Worth It! NASCAR’s Biggest Names Stumbling Along the Ledge on Off-Weekend

The NASCAR Sprint Cup Series is off this week, giving some teams a much-needed break. Not so much from the cross-country grind that is the first month of the season, but rather to the stop the bleeding instead. For some teams, the first few races have gone like Rocky’s first few rounds with Clubber Lang: …

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Who’s Hot/Who’s Not in Sprint Cup: 2009 Kobalt Tools 500 at Atlanta Edition

As the 2009 season wears on, some of the teams that have had early success are finding themselves in a points standings freefall. As they disappear from view, the composition of the top 12 is starting to take form, with annual contenders slowly creeping towards and into that coveted threshold. The season may be early …

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5 Points to Ponder: 2009 Kobalt Tools 500 at Atlanta Edition

Busch-whacked Kyle may be the Busch making headlines early – with wins across NASCAR’s three national series in the first month – but it was big brother Kurt Busch who made a statement Sunday afternoon in Atlanta. Kurt led more laps Sunday (234) than he did in all of 2007 (164) and made it back-to-back …

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