Race Weekend Central

10 Points to Ponder… After the 2008 TUMS QuikPak 500 at Martinsville

1. Talking About Times Getting Hard! – Johnny Benson took command of the Craftsman Truck Series championship points battle, at least temporarily, by winning the Kroger 200 at Martinsville Saturday afternoon. Benson, driver of the Bill Davis Racing No. 23 Toyota Tundra, left the track with a 65-point lead in the CTS drivers’ championship. He …

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Sprint Cup Rookie Report: Scott Speed’s Debut Overshadowed by Aric Almirola’s Short-Track Success

Rookies in the Starting Lineup: (Due to rain, qualifying was canceled the field was set by owner points): Aric Almirola (15th), Regan Smith (30th), Scott Speed (35th), Sam Hornish Jr. (36th), Chad McCumbee (41st) Unofficial Finishing Positions: Almirola (20th), McCumbee (25th), Speed (30th), Hornish (34th), Smith (42nd) Rookie of the Race: Almirola. The rain on Friday …

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Matt McLaughlin’s Thinkin’ Out Loud: 2008 Talladega Fall Race Recap

The Key Moment: The race at Talladega was decided in NASCAR’s control room almost a minute after the event itself ended. In a Nutshell: Yogi Berra once said, “It ain’t over until it’s over.” Apparently, sometimes it’s not over even when it is over. Dramatic Moment: With 15 laps to go, Carl Edwards got Greg …

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Fanning the Flames: Advantage Greg Biffle? Slow Down There, Cowboy

After watching Greg Biffle put a hurtin’ on the field at both Loudon and Dover, that got me thinking: How has the top Chase finisher in each season’s first two playoff events fared in the final standings? It’s been widely reported since Biffle’s New Hampshire triumph that Kurt Busch, in 2004, is the only driver …

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Side by Side: Did AJ Allmendinger Get the Shaft at Red Bull?

Editor’s Note: The following is a special edition of Frontstretch‘s Side by Side. Occasionally throughout the season, two of your favorite Frontstretch writers will duke it out in a debate concerning one of NASCAR’s biggest stories. Don’t let us be the only ones to speak our minds, though… be sure to read both sides and …

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Scott Speed Diary: Bristol, Dirt-Track Racing & Chasing a Championship

It’s our pleasure to welcome a new, fourth Driver Diary contributor to Frontstretch – Scott Speed. This season has seen the former Formula 1 driver from Team Red Bull burst onto the stock car scene, winning races in both the ARCA and Craftsman Truck series as he prepares for a possible move up the ladder to …

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Mirror Driving: Bristol Bust? Are Owners Impatient? & Was Patience Needed for Joey Logano?

Welcome to Mirror Driving. Every week, your favorite columnists sit down and give their opinion about the latest NASCAR news and rumors. Love us or hate us, make a comment below and tell us how you feel about what we’ve said! This Week’s Participants: Tony Lumbis (Mondays/Rookie Report) Amy Henderson (Fridays/Holding a Pretty Wheel) Bryan Davis Keith (Thursdays/Picks …

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Tracking the Trucks: 2008 O’Reilly 200 at Bristol

In a Nutshell: Kyle Busch took the checkered flag 0.386 seconds ahead of Todd Bodine to win the O’Reilly 200 presented by Camping World Wednesday night at Bristol Motor Speedway. Busch survived multiple late-race restarts and a green-white-checkered finish to win at the World’s Fastest Half-Mile. Scott Speed, Johnny Benson and Rick Crawford rounded out …

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Mirror Driving: Road Ringers Lose, Casey Mears on the Move & Young Guns Get the Boot

Welcome to Mirror Driving. Every week, your favorite columnists sit down and give their opinion about the latest NASCAR news and rumors. Love us or hate us, make a comment below and tell us how you feel about what we’ve said! This Week’s Participants: Tony Lumbis (Mondays/Rookie Report) Mike Neff (Wednesdays/Power Rankings & Full Throttle, Thursdays/Picks ‘N’ …

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