Race Weekend Central

Frontstretch NASCAR Power Rankings: Top 15 After the 2009 Daytona 500

Like it or not, after just 380 miles the first race of the 2009 Sprint Cup season is officially in the books. Matt Kenseth was crowned the winner of just the fourth rain-shortened Daytona 500 in history, taking the lead one lap before the weather with a generous push from runner-up Kevin Harvick. But was that last-lap pass enough to leave Kenseth number one in the eyes of our staff this week? After all, Kyle Busch dominated the race, only to become an innocent victim of the day’s big wreck on lap 125. And where did AJ Allmendinger land after starting the year with a career-best third – driving for a team that doesn’t even know if it’ll exist two months from now? Find these answers, and more, by examining our first Top-15 Power Rankings poll of the year.

Why Brad Keselowski Can Win the 2009 Nationwide Series Title

The first NASCAR preview magazine that came to the local newsstand was that of The Sporting News. As I read through it, I flipped to the publication’s Nationwide Series preview. Predictably, the lead feature was on the “Sprint Cup Showdown” between Kyle Busch and Carl Edwards that is already being framed as the extent of …

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Fanning the Flames: Greed or Business as Usual? With NASCAR, It’s Hard to Tell

Strong stuff in the inbox this week, guys ‘n’ gals. Thanks for the input once again. I wasn’t able to get to a few of you this week… but I haven’t thrown anything out. Keep the questions and opinions flowing in, and we’ll see this column through to its true purpose: To be a free-flowing …

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Bowles-Eye View: 5 Feel-Good Stories Giving Daytona an Unexpected Boost

Heading into Daytona Speedweeks, Martin Truex Jr.’s No. 1 on the side of his Chevy was synonymous with the one piece left alone from a desperation merger. Now, that “1” stands for something far more exciting – Daytona 500 polesitter – closing out a weekend that’s given hope to people looking for some different faces up …

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Martin Truex Jr. Claims Pole for 2009 Daytona 500

The Daytona 500 has what may be the quirkiest system for setting the field of any race in all of professional motorsports. On Sunday, it was Pole Qualifying day at Daytona. Pole qualifying for the Daytona 500 only sets the front row for the race, though. It also sets the starting lineups for the two …

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Fantasy Picks ‘N’ Pans: How to Hold Your Own Homestead Trophy Celebration

The 2008 Sprint Cup season started 10 months ago in Daytona, traveled through the North, South, East and West; and now, it all comes down to this. After 35 races, your fantasy team is on the verge of taking home the trophy; or, you need to make a desperation move to get past the leader. …

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Fantasy Picks ‘N’ Pans: How to Pick Your Team Wisely in NASCAR’s Penultimate Race

The penultimate race of the NASCAR season takes place this weekend at Phoenix International Raceway. Unfortunately for our loyal readers, Bryan Davis Keith has been knocked out of commission by the tropical depression that is beating up the North Carolina coast tonight, so Mike has been left to enlighten the gaming world alone. Phoenix is …

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Frontstretch NASCAR Power Rankings: Top 15 After the 2008 Dickies 500 at Texas

History repeated itself for the third time in a row, as the winner at Atlanta in the fall headed to Texas the following week and won again. That Dickies 500 victory this week by Carl Edwards stole a couple of first-place votes away from Jimmie Johnson, but didn’t move him out of the top spot …

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