Race Weekend Central

10 Points to Ponder… After the 2007 Subway 500 at Martinsville

1. Safety, Schmafety – The next time anyone from NASCAR tries to say that safety is their first priority, I want to have a tape of today’s Subway 500 finish on hand, showing David Ragan‘s car sitting sideways in the middle of the track coming off turn 1 and the leaders heading towards him full …

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Fanning the Flames: Talkin’ Smoke, NASCAR Specs & Wrecks

Count me as being of the opinion that Tony Stewart‘s NASCAR Chase hopes are officially dashed. Yes, I know Stewart is arguably the most talented driver on tour (case in point: wheeling that aero-deficient car with Band Aids on the nose to a seventh at LMS) and that Jimmie Johnson overcame a 146-point deficit after …

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Matt McLaughlin’s Driver Handicaps: 2007 Martinsville Fall Race Edition

Jeff Gordon – In the last nine Cup races at Martinsville, Gordon has won four times, finished second twice and never finished outside the top 10. In 29 Martinsville career starts, Gordon has won seven times, and is averaging a seventh-place finish. Jimmie Johnson – This spring, Johnson outraced teammate Gordon off the fourth corner …

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Ryan Newman Wins 2007 Bank of America 500 Pole Again at Lowe’s

CONCORD, N.C. – Ryan Newman is about to run his 14th race at Lowe’s Motor Speedway – and for the seventh time, he is going to start from the pole. Newman outdueled Chasers Jimmie Johnson, Jeff Gordon and Kurt Busch among others to win the right to start up front for the Bank of America 500 Saturday …

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Matt McLaughlin’s Driver Handicaps: 2007 Charlotte Fall Race Edition

Jeff Gordon – Gordon has won here four times, including the 1994 World 600 to score his first ever Cup Series victory. (Has it really been 13 years? Wow). But he’s in a pronounced slump at LMS right now, having failed to finish the last five points races here. Jimmie Johnson – Johnson refers to …

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Bowles-Eye View: Can Cup Drivers Bring Restrictor Plates to Their Knees?

For years, critics of restrictor plate racing have looked every which way to stop what they call “manufactured entertainment.” However, the racing at Talladega Superspeedway was always rallied by support from the stands – never unanimous, but just enough that it’s been next to impossible for NASCAR to appreciate both the danger and the destructiveness …

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Matt McLaughlin’s Driver Handicaps: 2007 Talladega Fall Race Edition

Jimmie Johnson – Johnson has been on a roll at Talladega as of late: he won here last spring and finished second in April. He almost won last fall’s Talladega event, as well; that is, before former teammate Brian Vickers crashed the little party Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Johnson were staging on the final lap …

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Who’s Hot/Who’s Not: Outside the Chase After the 2007 Lifelock 400 at Kansas

With the spotlight on the top-12 drivers in the standings each week, it’s sometimes easy to forget that 31 others take to the track each weekend in pursuit of a long-sought after victory… but that’s what the purpose of this column is for. With another Chase race under our belts, it’s time to take a …

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