Race Weekend Central

Tracking the Trucks: 2009 Kroger 250 at Martinsville

In a Nutshell: Kevin Harvick took the checkered flag under caution ahead of Ron Hornaday Jr. to win the Kroger 250 Monday afternoon at Martinsville Speedway. Harvick took the lead inside 10 laps to go and held on through a green-white-checkered finish to score his first Truck Series win outside of Phoenix International Raceway. Mike …

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Frontstretch NASCAR Power Rankings: Top 15 After the 2009 Food City 500 at Bristol

The fastest half-mile in the world at Bristol battered many of Cup’s top contenders and spit them out. Bad luck struck more than one competitor, most notably Greg Biffle, causing mechanical problems which dropped him out of the top 15 in our Power Rankings. But every driver’s pain is someone else’s gain, and when the …

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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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Frontstretch Fantasy Insider: Bristol, or How to Fly Jet Fighters in a Gymnasium

The Sprint Cup Series returns to its roots this weekend with the first short-track race of the 2009 season. Since it was resurfaced, Bristol Motor Speedway has gone from a one lane bullring to a multi-groove, high-banked, high-speed oval unlike any other track on the Sprint Cup circuit. Even with the new surface, Bristol is …

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Frontstretch NASCAR Power Rankings: Top 15 After the 2009 Kobalt Tools 500 at Atlanta

Four weeks into the season, the top of the Sprint Cup standings are still a long way from getting sorted out. But after everyone got a chance to take a deep breath this past weekend after Atlanta, it’s easy to notice a few trends starting to take shape. Once again, the multi-car giants of Roush, …

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Tracking the Trucks: 2009 American Commercial Lines 200 at Atlanta

In a Nutshell: Kyle Busch took the checkered flag 0.122 seconds ahead of Kevin Harvick to win the American Commercial Lines 200 Saturday afternoon at Atlanta Motor Speedway. Busch overcame gear problems on a late-race pit stop to rocket to the front and score his fourth win in five starts at Atlanta. Todd Bodine, Mike …

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Happy Hour: 8 Years Ago in Atlanta

I wasn’t praying for magic I was hiding in plain sight Rising up to the surface To fly into the light Rush — “Sweet Miracle” “I just hope Dale’s OK.” Three weeks earlier, Darrell Waltrip’s words in FOX’s first broadcast of the Daytona 500 had become unintentionally immortalized, spoken in concern after the Goodwrench No. …

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Frontstretch NASCAR Power Rankings: Top 15 After the 2009 Shelby 427 at Las Vegas

The Jewel in the Desert offered up some fast and furious competition on Sunday, with the Shelby 427 perhaps taking its place as the most competitive racing yet out in Las Vegas. In the end, the 1.5-mile oval took a rather unexpected toll on some motors, a more expected one on some nerves, and turned …

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10 Points to Ponder: 2009 Shelby 427 at Las Vegas

Kyle Busch Still the Driver to Beat Daytona was just a minor hiccup: the No. 18 team is back with a vengeance in 2009. Las Vegas native Kyle Busch won the pole this weekend, only to have to start at the back after an engine change. Nonetheless, Busch methodically made his way back to the …

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Thompson in Turn 5: Kevin Harvick Came Close to Catching “The Turtle” – & Should Be Commended For It

Kevin Harvick and the No. 29 Shell-Pennzoil team’s record-setting streak of 81 races without a DNF ended in Fontana, Calif. last Sunday. It was a tough pill to swallow for Harvick and his Richard Childress Racing crew, who had finished every Sprint Cup event since Dover in Sept. 2006. After an engine failure got the …

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Fanning the Flames: Unpopular Views on the Week That Was in NASCAR

WARNING: You are not going to agree with what you read in the following three paragraphs. Not many of you, anyway. See, I didn’t think the California race was as bad as most of you out there. There was an exciting battle for the win, a pass for the lead late in the pits, and …

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