Race Weekend Central

The Big 6: Questions Answered After the 2009 Crown Royal presents the Russ Friedman 400 at Richmond

Who… gets my shout-out of the race? The shout out of the week goes to Sam Hornish Jr. in the No. 77 Mobil 1 Dodge. After his rookie year in the Cup Series, many people had all but written off the former Indy Racing League champion. However, this season, the team has improved by leaps …

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Voice of Vito: Talladega Flights – Massive Crash Highlights Superspeedway’s Continued Conflicts

As you may have noticed, much of the action that many have become accustomed to in NASCAR has been absent over the last few weeks. Matt Kenseth winning back-to-back races was nice, and it surely did many good to see Mark Martin back in victory lane. For the most part, however, this has been a …

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Bubble Breakdown: Part-Timer Wins at Talladega While Top-30 Teams Turn in Top 15s

Talladega Superspeedway was the setting this week for the running of the Aaron’s 499. Bubble teams kicked up a little pre-race news as Sam Hornish Jr. posted a career-best qualifying run, starting fourth before suddenly getting sick with the flu – forcing the team to fly in Travis Kvapil as a standby driver in case …

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

The Key Moment: Mark Martin was able to quickly dispatch Ryan Newman on the race’s final restart, and Tony Stewart never generated the steam to catch him. In a Nutshell: Martin’s victory is a feel good story, but it doesn’t hide the fact Phoenix wasn’t much of a race. Dramatic Moment: With passing so hard …

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Bubble Breakdown: Sam Hornish Jr. Rips Off 1st Top 10 of 2009, Solidifies Locked-In Spot

Bad news has hit one of our bubble teams since the last race at Texas. After several patchwork sponsorship deals to keep the team afloat through March, the No. 8 Chevrolet driven by Aric Almirola has been shut down due to a lack of funding. Earnhardt Ganassi Racing plans to bring everyone back once sponsorship …

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Top 10 Places NASCAR Personalities May Have Found Their Easter Eggs

Author’s Note: It has become sort of a tradition (looking back) that around Easter, this list has usually done something about Easter eggs and the creative places certain NASCAR personalities may stick them – excuse me – perhaps “find them” might be a better phrase. With the ever changing world of sponsorship, we should have …

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Bubble Breakdown: Paul Menard Showing Signs of Life While Joey Logano Remains Lifeless

Optimism ran rampant amongst several bubble drivers this weekend as Paul Menard, Sam Hornish Jr. and Joey Logano all posted top-12 qualifying runs. But qualifying pays no points and Texas is a big, fast, nasty track that some of the best drivers have yet to master. So, as the race began questions loomed for those with …

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Who’s Hot/Who’s Not in Sprint Cup: 2009 Goody’s Fast Pain Relief 500 at Martinsville Edition

What a race Sunday! The Goody’s Fast Pain Relief 500 at Martinsville Speedway gave fans the tight racing action they have been yearning for since before the season began. The close racing amongst competitors individually made the race well worth watching, as did the fact that some unexpected drivers had good runs on the tricky …

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Bubble Breakdown: Toyota Bubble Teams Struggle Mightily at Martinsville While Menard Sneaks In

The last remnants of the 2008 season have finally been cast by the wayside, as NASCAR now uses this year’s owner points in determining who has a guaranteed starting spot and who has to qualify on time. But as the drivers now outside of the Top 35 readied themselves to give it all they had …

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Voices From the Heartland: NASCAR Things That Make You Go, Hmmmmm?

Aside from anything Brian France says whenever he opens his mouth, I found a few interesting news items this past week that has left me scratching my scalp in wonderment. First off, we have Robby Gordon. Robby was recently competing in the 2009 Baja 250, held in the “trails and washes” of Mexico’s Baja California, …

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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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