Race Weekend Central

Talking NASCAR TV: Bill Weber, You Lied To Us

Hello, race fans. Last weekend was a busy weekend, with the ARCA Re/Max Series, Sprint Cup and Truck series at Michigan while the Nationwide Series raced in front of a near-sellout crowd in Kentucky. However, I’ll keep things relatively brief with the support series to start, because I’m going to bring on the vitriol towards …

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Holding a Pretty Wheel: Too Vanilla or Too Obnoxious? Where’s NASCAR’s Middle Ground?

It isn’t easy to please race fans. That becomes evident in any discussion about drivers. One guy isn’t talented enough, and if he has a family name with a racing history, well then, by gum, he’d better live up to it or else! The next is too talented, apparently, because he wins too much, whatever …

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Mirror Driving: Judging Double-File Restarts, Benson’s Pink Slip, & of Course… Busch & Earnhardt

The latest casualty of the economy is reigning Camping World Truck Series champ Johnny Benson, whose team will shut down effective immediately.

5 Points to Ponder: Nashville/Pocono 2009 Edition

Kyle Busch is about as “Rock ‘N Roll” as Clay Aiken Add Saturday night’s guitar-smashing episode to the long list of reasons why a number of NASCAR fans absolutely hate Kyle Busch. The victory lane celebration left musicians everywhere cringing at the sight of a custom Gibson Les Paul being smashed into oblivion a la …

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The Big 6: Questions Answered After the 2009 Pocono 500

Who… gets my shoutout of the race? When racing gets down to fuel mileage, there is the potential for a shakeup in the finishing order, and this week was no exception. That’s not a knock on mileage racing; it’s part of the game and the drivers that finish well still had to race all day …

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Happy Hour’s Best Drivers in NASCAR, Part 1: Drivers #15-11

Being the Official Columnist of NASCAR is not an easy job. It’s not a matter of simply handing over a few million to NASCAR, as with most “official” entities. It takes effort. Column topics must be selected with care as opposed to just hitting the escape key and writing something about Dale Earnhardt Jr. when …

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Voices From the Heartland: Studies Have Shown NASCAR is ‘Full Of It’

Over the last couple of weeks, ever since the rumors started flying about the demise of Tony Eury Jr. as Dale Earnhardt Jr.’s crew chief, the ‘media’ has reported several times, in various ways, that “studies have shown that when Jr. isn’t running well, NASCAR’s ratings are down.” NASCAR of course, actually likes to hear …

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The Yellow Stripe: Rome Wasn’t Built in a Day – a Solid Start to Life After Tony Eury for Dale Jr. & Co.

When Neil Armstrong became the first man to set foot on the Moon on July 21, 1969 he uttered the now famous phrase: “That’s one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind.” Now, it’s a quote that can easily be applied to Dale Earnhardt Jr. following Sunday’s Autism Speaks 400 at the Monster …

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

The Key Moment: Coming up on two laps left to race, Jimmie Johnson powered around the outside of Tony Stewart to retake the lead at Dover. In a Nutshell: Ever hear of a cow-patty sandwich on whole wheat bread? The top and the bottom of the race weren’t bad… but everything in the middle was …

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