Race Weekend Central

Frontstretch Fantasy Insider: A Heluva Good Chance to Make Up Ground at Watkins Glen

From the roval to a real road course, the Sprint Cup Series heads to Watkins Glen, N.Y. for another dose of turning left and right. Though a completely different animal from the highly technical racetrack out in Sonoma, the Glen is still a difficult road course, one that will show a high level of stratification …

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Sprint Cup Rookie Report: Scott Speed Finds His Lucky Charms in the Pocono Mountains

Scott Speed Start: 37th; Finish: 23rd Summary: It became apparent in the first quarter of the Pennsylvania 500 that Scott Speed was going to have a good day when he progressed forward from his 37th qualifying position instead of falling back as has been the case several times this year. The No. 82 broke into …

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Frontstretch Fantasy Insider: Saving Fantasy Lives 1 Pint at a Time in Pocono

After a three-hour snoozer at Indianapolis, the tricky triangle that is Pocono Raceway isn’t exactly the best follow-up venue; however, like it or not, we’re racing there Sunday and so is your fantasy team. The race for the Chase is heating up, and with the Cup Series returning to Pocono for the second time this …

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Sprint Cup Rookie Report: No Primary Engine? No Problem for Joey Logano at Indy

Joey Logano Start: 18th; Finish: 12th Summary: The Allstate 400 qualifying order will credit Joey Logano with a top-20 starting position but in reality, the rookie was forced to take the green flag from the tail end of the field following an engine change earlier in the weekend. After jokingly stating the only direction he …

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Frontstretch Fantasy Insider: NASCAR Takes Gasoline Alley by Storm

Last year’s “race” at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway was one of the sorriest excuses for a sporting event NASCAR has ever sanctioned, but none of that takes away from the fact the Sprint Cup Series is heading to one of motorsports’ most hallowed venues in Indianapolis. Regardless of what type of racing this year’s 400 …

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2009 NASCAR Report Cards, Part I: Grading the Chase Contenders

We’re one race past the statistical halfway point of the 2009 NASCAR season and as we gear up for the stretch run of 17 Sprint Cup races in 18 weeks, the much maligned (and in equal parts ballyhooed) “Chase for the Sprint Cup” is just seven races away. So before we get down to the …

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2009 NASCAR Rookie Midseason Grades: Who’s Better, Keselowski, Logano or… Ambrose?

The Sprint Cup Series marked the season’s halfway point with an off week shortly thereafter, which gives Professor Lumbis a chance to take a breath and evaluate this year’s crop of rookies. It certainly has been an odd season for the 2009 freshman class, as we’ve seen wins, DNQs, “bubble trouble” and even outside Chase …

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Frontstretch NASCAR Power Rankings: Top 15 After the 2009 Lifelock.com 400 at Chicagoland

Total chaos on the double-file restarts. Jeff Burton visibly mad. And Mark Martin actually experiencing good luck! Chicago had more than its share of strange moments late in the race, ones that resulted in quite a shakeup in the rankings. Despite finishing fourth, Tony Stewart’s impenetrable hold on the top spot actually slipped; but who …

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Who’s Hot/Who’s Not in Sprint Cup: 2009 Lifelock.com 400 at Chicagoland Edition

Writer’s Note: I want to offer special thanks to several readers for pointing out some obvious statistical errors in last week’s column. While the errors did not change my determination of who belonged in each category, there was no excuse for them being there. Next time I wait until the 11th hour to finish this …

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Sprint Cup Rookie Report: “Rookies” Joey Logano, Marcos Ambrose Take Advantage of a Late-Race Shootout – Chicago Style

Joey Logano Start: 24th; Finish: 18th Summary: Logano started the Lifelock.com 400 with hopes of completing the weekend sweep after pulling off a surprise victory on old tires the night before in the Nationwide race (July 10). His quest to go two-for-two certainly got off to a slow start, however, due to a very loose-handling racecar …

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