Race Weekend Central

Who’s Hot and Who’s Not in NASCAR: Homestead – Offseason Edition

2014 Atlanta CUP Tony Stewart hand CIA

(Credit: CIA Stock Photography)

The Sprint Cup season is over, and it’s hard to let it go. The new Chase format gave new reason to religiously follow each of the final 10 races, while Homestead-Miami Speedway provided the perfect setting to finish off the year. After all, it’s tough to beat 80-degree weather in mid-November. This edition of Who’s …

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NASCAR’s Big Gamble… And Its Lucky Roll

2014 Homestead CUP Kevin Harvick burnout CIA

NASCAR’s new Chase format entered the weekend with four possible championship outcomes. Two of them, regardless of fan loyalty, would have caused a major, Grand Canyon-sized rift in NASCAR history. Ryan Newman, who wound up one spot short of a title, would have had the fewest top-5 finishes for any champion since 1949. Denny Hamlin, …

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Four Burning Questions at Homestead – Title Hopes and Fan Acceptance

2014 Phoenix II CUP Joey Logano pack racing CIA

(Credit: CIA Stock Photography)

Here we are, the day that so many of you claimed to be dreading for months. Yes, it’s the “Championship 4” race at Homestead-Miami Speedway, the Sprint Cup season finale. And what do you know, there actually seems to be a fair amount of excitement surrounding the whole affair? What a concept! Who could have …

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Friday Faceoff: Acceptable Moves, Head Wrench Woes, and Championship Acceptance

2014 Phoenix II CUP Joey Logano pack racing CIA

(Credit: CIA Stock Photography)

Welcome to Friday Faceoff! What do you get when you take some hot-button NASCAR topics and hand them over to our dedicated and… er, opinionated staff? A little disagreement and a whole lot of thought-provoking insight! Check out this week’s edition to see what everyone is arguing… um, we mean, discussing this week! 1. A …

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Championship Round Media Day Held in Doral

On Wednesday evening, NASCAR held Championship Media Day at Trump National Doral Miami, a golf resort and spa in Doral, Florida, just outside of Miami.  The four championship contenders (Kevin Harvick, Denny Hamlin, Matt Kenseth and Ryan Newman) gathered for a series of questions, answers and statements. ESPN’s Mike Massaro served as the emcee for …

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Going By the Numbers: Sizing Up NASCAR’s Chase Final Four

2014 Phoenix II CUP Kevin Harvick CIA

(Credit: CIA Stock Photography)

What more to do this week than talk about the Chase? Many are vehemently opposed to it – whether that’s on the very principle of playoffs in NASCAR or the new format that’s been enacted in 2014 – but in a season where the sport was plagued with decreasing ratings and attendance, the new elimination …

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Fantasy Insider: Prepping For Your Own NASCAR Title Bout

2014 Phoenix II CUP Tony Stewart Danica Patrick CIA

(Credit: CIA Stock Photo, Inc. ©2014)

We are down to the final event of the season and sure everybody is talking the so-called Championship Four in Kevin Harvick, Denny Hamlin, Ryan Newman and Joey Logano. However, unless you have one of those guys on your fantasy team this week, or have had them for the entire season, the fact that everything …

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Did You Notice? … NASCAR Hopes And Dreams Versus Homestead Reality

Jimmie Johnson Fans - Chicagoland 2011

(Credit: CIA Stock Photography)

Did You Notice? … Each of the four drivers remaining would be a first-time NASCAR champion? While Joey Logano, Denny Hamlin, Kevin Harvick and Ryan Newman have had successful years before, nothing has quite prepared them for the magnitude of Sunday’s season finale. In the midst of the drama, each controls their own destiny: finish …

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NASCAR Mailbox: Ryan Newman Deserves His Spot in Homestead

2014 Phoenix II CUP Ryan Newman car CIA

(Credit: CIA Stock Photography)

The championship race is finally upon us and NASCAR Nation is all a-Twitter about possibly having a winless champion, despite NASCAR’s emphasis on creating a system where it should have been all but impossible for that to happen. Though three of the four drivers have victories (Denny Hamlin has one, Joey Logano has five, and …

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NASCAR Sprint Cup Power Rankings: Top 15 After Phoenix

2014 Phoenix II CUP Kevin HArvick champagne CIA

Credit: CIA Stock Photography

And then there were four. The drivers competing for the Championship at Homestead next week are set, and as the other Chase races have proven, it wasn’t without drama. Kevin Harvick’s only option was to win, and win he did, in dominating fashion by leading the most laps. Denny Hamlin and Joey Logano needed top-10 finishes …

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Racing to the Point: This Championship Means Something Different, No Matter Who Wins

2014 Richmond II CUP Chase field CIA

(Credit: CIA Stock Photography)

Ryan Newman could become the next Billy Horschel on Sunday. For those of you who don’t follow golf, Horschel came out of nowhere to win this year’s FedEx Cup, the PGA’s playoffs. He was the 69th-ranked player coming in, but overcame the odds to win the final two events and take home more than $11 …

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Five Points to Ponder: A First-Time Champ, Homestead & Like Father, Like Son

2014 Atlanta NNS Chase Elliott cockpit CIA

ONE: A FIRST-TIME CHAMP Many folks who completed Chase brackets would have had Kevin Harvick and Joey Logano making the final four, while few would have pegged Denny Hamlin or Ryan Newman as being still in contention for the big silver trophy at Homestead-Miami Speedway. That in essence highlights both the beauty and the vagaries of …

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