Race Weekend Central

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 …

Read more

Fantasy Picks ‘N’ Pans: 2007 Subway 500 at Martinsville Edition

With the Chase halfway complete, it’s time for the playoff teams to enter the home stretch, as 12 special teams join your fantasy juggernaut in battling for a year-ending trophy. Too bad the hardware they’re chasing is probably a little nicer than the one you might win in your local league; but hey, a guy …

Read more

Mirror Driving: Tired of Tires, Who’s Haas Gonna Hire & Whose Chase Has Caught Fire?

All weekend at Lowe’s, complaints and concern centered around the tires Goodyear brought to the event. After seeing the race unfold, is the tire still too hard?

Who’s Hot/Who’s Not in the Chase: 2007 Bank of America 500 at Charlotte Edition

The halfway point of the Chase at Lowe’s brought with it a reality check to several men no longer in the hunt for a championship. For drivers like Denny Hamlin, Matt Kenseth, and Kevin Harvick, their one-time title dreams turned into nightmares filled with enough broken parts and pieces to start a junkyard. On the contrary, for others it was a case of too little, too late, as strong runs by Jeff Burton and Kyle Busch didn’t even make a dent in deficiencies that seem far too steep to overcome.

Fanning the Flames: Single-File Questions After a Single-File Sunday

There are a lot of topics to get to this week, so we’re going to get right to the questions. Q: In the first five Car of Tomorrow races, NASCAR jumped up and down, pointing to the “close finishes.” But the last six CoT races (excluding the Talladega plate race where we always see close …

Read more

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 …

Read more

Fantasy Picks ‘N’ Pans: 2007 Bank of America 500 at Charlotte Edition

The Chase heads to the halfway point this weekend by tackling the only night race left on the horizon for 2007. To do that, the circuit heads back to Charlotte, the track that has been both levigated and repaved over the last couple of years. It’s all part of a work-in-progress renovation project by track …

Read more

Frontstretch NASCAR Power Rankings After the 2007 UAW-Ford 500 at Talladega

1) Jeff Gordon (Six First-Place Votes)
Was going to either win or become a hood ornament on Tony Stewart’s Chevy in a daring last-lap pass at Talladega.

Who’s Hot/Who’s Not in the Chase: 2007 UAW-Ford 500 at Talladega Edition

It’s the one wreck all year that leaves everyone at risk, from championship contenders to field-fillers alike: the Big One. You never know when it’s going to happen at Talladega, and you never quite know how many cars – or carnage – it’ll cause. Sunday, its damage was quite extensive. A handful of Chasers, including …

Read more

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 …

Read more