Race Weekend Central

Bubble Breakdown: Top-15 Finish Has Scott Speed in Striking Distance of Top 35

Well bubble fans, it looks like we’re losing one of our bubble dwellers, again. During the week it has been reported that David Stremme will be replaced in the No. 12 Team Penske Dodge by rising star Brad Keselowski in 2010, if not sooner. David was just not getting the job done for Team Penske, …

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Bubble Breakdown: Underdog Bubbles Burst While John Andretti Beats Scott Speed on Fuel Mileage

The last few weeks, John Andretti’s radio has been a little livelier than normal. Instead of just lap times and car positioning, John has been requesting to know where the No. 82 car is on the track. That’s because Red Bull Toyota has beaten Andretti’s No. 34 Chevrolet the last three races, slowly closing the …

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Bubble Breakdown: Tempers Flare Between David Stremme & Robby Gordon at Pocono

Rain forced the postponement of Sunday’s race until Monday afternoon (Aug. 3), meaning there will be no bubble chatter this week as I had to work and therefore wasn’t able to listen to the in-car radio communications during the event. I tried to get out early, but when I asked my boss if I could …

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2009 NASCAR Report Cards, Part II: Grading Dale Jr. & the Rest

Editor’s Note: For Part I of our midseason driver report cards, click here. Continuing on from yesterday’s review, it’s time for Professors Danny and Tom to grade those drivers sitting at the back of the class. Whether it’s some bad racing luck, poor chemistry with a crew chief or just plain awful driving, most of …

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Bubble Driver Review: David Ragan Biggest Disappointment Amongst This Group in 2009

Well, it’s that time of year where we look back at the first half of 2009 and grade our bubble teams. Keep in mind this report card is aimed at a specific subset inside the Cup garage – those in and around the cutoff for the 35 locked-in spots the series gives out each week …

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Mirror Driving: Double-File Disaster?, Ford’s Floundering Season & Gibbs Dominance in Nationwide

With Ford’s announcement that it has not cut NASCAR funding while every other manufacturer has, should more teams be jumping on the Blue Oval bandwagon?

Bubble Breakdown: Late-Race Trouble Negates Good Efforts from Paul Menard & Brad Keselowski

News from the bubble this past week was dominated by the announcement from Michael Waltrip Racing, who not only re-signed primary sponsor NAPA to a multi-year deal but also upgraded the cockpit of the car by signing two-time Busch Series champion and one-time Chase participant Martin Truex Jr. for 2010. Waltrip will drive up to …

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Who’s Hot/Who’s Not in Sprint Cup: 2009 Daytona Summer Speedweeks Edition

The July 4 bash at Daytona International Speedway literally ended with a bang, as Kyle Busch’s attempt at blocking Tony Stewart from taking the race win sent him bouncing off the frontstretch wall. While the finish stole the headlines, the plights of Chase-contending drivers permeated other post-race storylines. Drivers Juan Pablo Montoya, Kasey Kahne, Mark …

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Did You Notice? Ganassi Kept the Wrong Guy, Logano’s a Little Too Shy & Money Talks

Did You Notice? That for all the Joey Logano hype, not everyone is jumping on the bandwagon quite yet? Certainly, Sunday’s race was a bonified step in the right direction for establishing the 19-year-old as a national superstar. But while Logano shattered the record for being the youngest race winner in NASCAR history, what we’ve …

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Who’s Hot/Who’s Not in Sprint Cup: 2009 Lifelock 400 at Michigan Edition

“Give me fuel, give me fire, give me that which I desire,” may very well have been the lyrics Jimmie Johnson was banging his head to as his dominant No. 48 Chevy sputtered to the finish of Sunday’s LifeLock 400. The three-time champ absolutely dominated at Michigan, only surrendering the lead after the final pit …

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