Race Weekend Central

Sprint Cup Rookie Report: Rough Ride for NASCAR Freshmen at Chicagoland

Rookies in the Starting Lineup: Regan Smith (33rd), Michael McDowell (34th), Sam Hornish Jr. (35th), Patrick Carpentier (42nd). Note: Qualifying was rained out, so the field was set by owner points. Unofficial Finishing Positions: Carpentier (30th), Smith (34th), Hornish Jr. (37th), McDowell (43rd). Rookie of the Race: Carpentier. As the title of the article says, …

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Mirror Driving: No More Green-White-Yellow?, Truex’s Face Turns Green & Red-Flagging NASCAR Scoring

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: Tony Lumbis (Mondays/Rookie Report) Tommy Thompson (Mondays/10 Points to Ponder & Wednesdays/Thompson in …

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The Yellow Stripe: 18 Storylines After 18 Races – NASCAR’s Cup Series at Halfway

With the conclusion of the high-banked, 200-mph, 400-mile drama-fest at Daytona, we’re at the halfway point of the 2008 season. And while each week usually unfolds into its own unique episode in the 10-month epic of a soap opera NASCAR has become, there are always certain storylines that resonate across each season, from track to …

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10 Points to Ponder… After the 2008 Coke Zero 400 at Daytona

1. The Other Big Three – American automakers GM, Ford and Chrysler have just about reached the panic stage as their financial well-being becomes a critical concern. GM stock has lost approximately 75% of its value over the last year, Ford Motor Company has seen a 50% decline of stock value in the last three …

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Bubble Breakdown: Last-Lap Restrictor-Plate Mayhem Ruins Daytona for Several Bubble Teams

As NASCAR made its first return trip to a racetrack in 2008, several bubble teams once again showed signs of life during Friday’s qualifying session. Joe Nemechek, Johnny Sauter and Regan Smith turned laps that qualified them in the fourth, fifth and eighth starting positions respectively, serving notice they planned to be a force during the …

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Sprint Cup Rookie Report: Patrick Carpentier Captures Top Honors at Daytona

Editor’s Note: Remember that all finishing positions were based on the unofficial results from Saturday night’s race. NASCAR will release the official results sometime around noon ET on Monday, which could cause adjustments based on how they review the final running order of this restrictor-plate event. Rookies in the Starting Lineup: Regan Smith (eighth), Patrick …

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Who’s Hot/Who’s Not in Sprint Cup: 2008 LENOX Industrial Tools 301 at Loudon Edition

Rain just laps from the finish at Loudon was a blessing for a number of teams, who were able to use pit strategy to finish much higher than where they’d run all day. But for as many teams as the rain helped, it hurt plenty of others. Tony Stewart had arguably the best car all …

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NASCAR Sprint Cup Teams Need Consistency in Their Drivers

As the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series tackled the Infineon Raceway last weekend, four full-time teams pulled their regular drivers, installing substitutes that they felt would post a better result and score valuable points in the race to stay in the Top 35. DEI pulled Regan Smith for Ron Fellows, Chip Ganassi Racing pulled Reed Sorenson …

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Did You Notice? Kevin Harvick’s Drought, Dario Franchitti on the Outs & DEI Losing Its Clout?

Did You Notice? That in expanding my short and sweet column from Monday, Kevin Harvick’s winless streak in Cup racing – as Danny Peters so dutifully pointed out is up to 51 races, with his last points-paying win occurring at the 2007 Daytona 500? Wait a minute… isn’t that the disputed Daytona 500 for the ages, …

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