Monday, January 31, 2011
Date gone wrong? 'The Bachelor' takes former Ricky Hendrick fiancee to site of Hendrick's career-ending crash
Las Vegas Motor Speedway is the site of the next group date for the hit television show ?The Bachelor.? That might sound like an interesting, fun date. Unless you?re Emily Maynard, whose former fiance, Ricky Hendrick, was involved in a NASCAR crash there that eventually ended his racing career.
Michael Waltrip to honor Dale Earnhardt by driving No. 15 at Daytona
CHARLOTTE ? Michael Waltrip will drive a No. 15 car in this year?s Daytona 500 and during Speedweeks as a tribute to former car owner and mentor Dale Earnhardt, Waltrip announced Tuesday.
Waltrip, 47, piloted the Dale Earnhardt Inc. No. 15 Chevy to his first career Sprint Cup win, capturing the 2001 Daytona 500 on the same day Earnhardt was killed.
Waltrip, 47, piloted the Dale Earnhardt Inc. No. 15 Chevy to his first career Sprint Cup win, capturing the 2001 Daytona 500 on the same day Earnhardt was killed.
Tony Stewart Reportedly Detained in Australia
Tony Stewart Reportedly Detained in Australia Filed under: Tony Stewart , Chevrolet , NASCAR Police Blotter , Stewart-Haas Racing , NASCAR NASCAR driver and team owner Tony Stewart has been detained for questioning in Australia, according to a report . Speedcafe reports Stewart was allegedly involved in a physical altercation with Sydney Speedway co-owner Brett Morris. The report says Stewart was upset about track conditions after Hot Laps, and he started exchanging words with Morris
Filed under: Tony Stewart, Chevrolet, NASCAR Police Blotter, Stewart-Haas Racing, NASCAR
NASCAR driver and team owner Tony Stewart has been detained for questioning in Australia, according to a report.
Speedcafe reports Stewart was allegedly involved in a physical altercation with Sydney Speedway co-owner Brett Morris.
The report says Stewart was upset about track conditions after Hot Laps, and he started exchanging words with Morris. While he was held for questioning, there is no confirmation on whether he will face any charges.
After racing in Australia during the month of January, Stewart was scheduled to return Saturday. No word on how his detainment will affect his plans.
Stewart is about to enter his 13th season of NASCAR competition.
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Read more from the original source: Tony Stewart Reportedly Detained in Australia
Source: www.entoogle.com
Filed under: Tony Stewart, Chevrolet, NASCAR Police Blotter, Stewart-Haas Racing, NASCAR
NASCAR driver and team owner Tony Stewart has been detained for questioning in Australia, according to a report.
Speedcafe reports Stewart was allegedly involved in a physical altercation with Sydney Speedway co-owner Brett Morris.
The report says Stewart was upset about track conditions after Hot Laps, and he started exchanging words with Morris. While he was held for questioning, there is no confirmation on whether he will face any charges.
After racing in Australia during the month of January, Stewart was scheduled to return Saturday. No word on how his detainment will affect his plans.
Stewart is about to enter his 13th season of NASCAR competition.
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Read more from the original source: Tony Stewart Reportedly Detained in Australia
Source: www.entoogle.com
Kurt Busch, tired of just turning left, will go straight
News from the media tour: Kurt Busch, the 2004 Sprint Cup series champion, has decided he wants to race without fooling with all those pesky turns. He'll make his National Hot Rod Association Full Throttle Series debut in March at the 41st GatorNationals.Busch, driving for Allen Johnson and J&J Racing, will run that sweet Shell Dodge Avenger there at right, competing for one of 16 qualifying spots in the Pro Stock class. This is no dilettante-dabbling for Busch; he spent much of the offseason testing, and earned his NHRA Pro Stock license. His best run in earning his license would have qualified him 11th for last year's race. We'll go into more detail once the GatorNationals arrive in early March, but briefly, Busch and his competition will get four qualifying runs, two on Friday and two on Saturday, and if he gets in the mix, he'll run on Sunday. "It's a whole different world than NASCAR," Busch said in a statement. "The toughest part is staging the car ... [O]f course cutting a good light, the thrill of the launch, and the speed at the top-end is why I'm so fascinated with drag racing. But I do know that heading to the GatorNationals and running with the pros, I will get a full dose of humble pie."If all goes well, Busch ought to rock that ride at Talladega. It'll be brutal in the turns, but he can run down everybody on the straightaways.
Sunday, January 30, 2011
Mark Martin will race in all three NASCAR series in 2011
Mark Martin has never been one to slow down. In addition to driving a final fulltime season for Hendrick Motorsports in the No. 5 Chevrolet in the Sprint Cup Series this season, Martin has also added four races in the Nationwide series and two in Camping World Trucks to his schedule. He will drive the No. 32 Chevrolet for Turner Motorsports in Nationwide races at Las Vegas, Auto Club Speedway, Michigan and Kentucky this year with crew chief Trent Owens and sponsored by Dollar General. Martin will also drive the No. 32 Chevy in Truck races at Michigan and Pocono for the organization. ?I?m excited to be running back in the Nationwide and Truck Series again,? said Martin. "Working with Turner [Motorsports], I get to extend my relationship with Chevrolet and continue to have Hendrick horsepower under the hood which is really, really good.? Martin holds the all-time Nationwide Series records for most wins (48) and most pole positions (30). In 2006, motorsports media members named him the greatest Nationwide Series driver of all-time. ?The races we picked for both series are personal favorites of mine. I?d love to win another Truck race, and I?ve got to get back to Victory Lane in the Dollar General car so I can keep Kyle [Busch] from breaking my Nationwide Series record,? Martin joked. Team owner, Steve Turner, is excited about having Martin on board. ?Mark shares my same passion for helping groom young talent and has expressed interest in helping us get our young drivers to the NASCAR Sprint Cup level. I can?t think of a better mentor than Mark Martin," Turner said.
Penske drivers hit 198 mph at Daytona, no change in restrictor plate anticipated
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. ? Drivers cracked 198 mph in two-car drafts Saturday in the final day of a three-day test session at Daytona International Speedway, but NASCAR doesn?t plan to change the size of the restrictor plate when Sprint Cup Series teams return in February for Speedweeks.
Saturday, January 29, 2011
Report: NASCAR drivers can only compete for one title in 2011
NASCAR is expected to change its rules on how many championships a driver can compete for among the three national touring series, starting in 2011.
Join us for Marbles Live Chat Wednesday at 1 p.m. ET
Hey, time again for another Marbles live chat! The season's drawing closer; come hang with us as we talk about everything from the possible new points format to what your favorite NASCAR stars are doing during their last few minutes of downtime. (Probably a list of chores a mile long.) Be here!
Larry McReynolds says the media's too negative; is he right?
We've just wrapped the first day of the NASCAR Media Tour, a four-day team/NASCAR/media schmoozefest that's more akin to an elementary school field trip than an actual newsgathering expedition. And for the most part, Monday's events were rather straightforward: sponsor announcements, driver Q&As, bus travel from team HQ to team HQ. (Full disclosure: I'm not in Charlotte, though we have correspondents present.)Everything Monday proceeded without incident, with one major exception. FOX/Speed analyst Larry McReynolds, serving as de facto master of ceremonies at the Earnhardt/Ganassi Racing media shindig, apparently went off-script and began chastising the media for their perceived negativity and focus on what's wrong with the sport."I know it's easy to write about all the bad things and I know it can't all be about the good things," McReynolds said (as quoted by SB Nation), "but (here's) the only thing I reach out to you: If it's television ratings (you're writing about), we know the ratings are down, how about also promoting that we're second only to the NFL? If there's 25,000 empty seats at Michigan, how about making sure you document there's still over 100,000 people in those grandstands? Things like that will get our sport back to where we were, along with storylines like this (Ganassi) group right here and with the type of racing that we had in 2010."You can predict what happened next. The assembled media went into fits of frustration, taking to Twitter and Facebook to vent about the condescension inherent in McReynolds' statements. "'Be More Positive' Lecture From McReynolds Leaves Reporters Groaning," ran the headline from SB Nation's Jeff Gluck. The Gaston Gazette's Monte Dutton penned a column entitled "McReynolds stands up for all that is good: Nothing like being lectured to by a TV guy." And ESPN's Terry Blount called McReynolds' lecture "the flattest moment" of the day. But here's the thing. We in the media, myself included, can be a thin-skinned bunch, quick to criticize but not so quick to take criticism. It's easy to say a crew chief should get fired or an underperforming driver should lose his ride; it's not so easy to hear someone saying the same thing about you and your job. (In our defense, we do hear some of the most horrid, hateful criticism of our work that you can imagine. And there's only so much you can take before you feel like confronting your accusers, either verbally as Jeff Pearlman did recently, or physically, as Kevin Smith implied in this very NSFW-language clip.)So with that in mind, we need to take just a moment and wonder: What if McReynolds was right? What if we do go a little too heavy on the negativity? I'd like to think I'm honest and upfront about my biases, and I have a deep respect for every driver, even the ones I think could use a four-tire attitude adjustment, but maybe I'm deluding myself. Lord knows I've made quite a few Junior-stinks, Tony-eats and Hamlin-cries jokes in my day. Is it too easy to roll with the shorthand attendance-is-down, NASCAR-is-clueless, the drivers-are-vanilla storylines?It's worth the media's consideration, isn't it? Should we blast the messenger without even pausing to think about the message?Let me stress this: I have no beef whatsoever with any member of the NASCAR media. I'm a relative newcomer to covering the sport, and at all the tracks where I've worked, I've never been treated with disrespect by my fellow media folk. Gluck, AP/Yahoo! Sports' Jenna Fryer, USA Today's Nate Ryan, Landmark Newspapers' Dustin Long, ESPN's Ryan McGee and so many others have been nothing but welcoming and friendly to me whenever our paths cross. (The same can't be said about the golf media. Catch me in person sometime and I'll tell you a very different story about some of those clowns.)Now, my schedule and job description don't have me on the road nearly as much as the folks I've named above, and perhaps that's part of the issue here. Perhaps I haven't sat in enough press rooms, getting condescended to by NASCAR brass or disrespected by drivers. Perhaps I haven't gotten ground down by the punishing schedule that has you on the road four to five days a week, 30-plus weeks a year. Still, there's a reason we all went into sportswriting and not, say, insurance sales. (No offense, insurance salespeople.) There's a rush you get being one of the first people to arrive at the track on raceday morning, the haze of campfire smoke and anticipation in the air. It's bookended by the rush you get by being one of the last to leave at night, the engines of the haulers echoing off the empty grandstands as they line up to head back to North Carolina. Look, I get it. Heaven knows racedays can be overwhelming with interviews and analysis and chasing down sources and transcribing quotes and Trying To Make Sense Of It All on a deadline that passed half an hour ago, but on every track visit, I try to take a few minutes and soak in things from the fan's perspective. (Yes, this sometimes involves me walking up to Kyle Busch's car and asking my Twitter followers what I should do to sabotage it, but hey.) And that's why it drives me insane when anyone who's in a position of privilege at a track — media, administration, teams, track officials — takes the day for granted. I was in the press room at Daytona a few years back when the call came over the intercom that NASCAR would be giving track ridearounds the next morning, but you had to be back at 7 a.m. "Not a chance," grumbled a couple old-line media types. But here's the thing: You know how many of the 200,000-plus in attendance the next day would've gotten up early to take a spin around Daytona?Every. Single. One. Of. Them. Perspective, people. Try to hold onto it.Now, don't get me wrong — this is not at all to say we should lap up whatever pablum NASCAR or the broadcasters spoonfeed us and present it to you as "news." As Gluck and Dutton pointed out, we have an obligation to portray the sport as it is, not as we'd like it to be. If the "changes" and "modifications" and "modernizations" NASCAR happily trots out seem shortsighted or misguided or just plain stupid, we owe it to our readers to draw on our years of perspective to say why. That's not mindless criticism, that's honesty backed by knowledge.And McReynolds and the higher-ups in NASCAR and its broadcast partners are by no means without fault here. Demonizing the media, as was done so often last year, is a time-honored trick for politicians to get in good with the masses. It plays well with the fans in the grandstands if you can point to those cats behind glass in the press box and paint them as out-of-touch negativists. Saves you from having to answer uncomfortable questions if you've painted the people asking those questions as The Enemy. Still, there's a middle ground here, one that critics of the media would do well to understand. It's possible to call out a sport while still loving it; it's possible to expose flaws not for the sake of muckraking or pageviews, but because you'd like to see those flaws corrected for the long-term health of the sport.We all want the same thing here. If NASCAR succeeds, everyone benefits, right? Rather than pointing fingers at each other and away from ourselves, why not relax and understand that what connects us is far stronger than what separates us? That way we can all focus on our real enemy ...... the NFL. Those guys are the worst, am I right?Follow Jay Busbee on Twitter at @jaybusbee.
NASCAR drivers to re-fight Civil War
HBO is in the process of producing a new mini-series, "To Appomattox," which will be based on the Civil War-ending final battle at Appomattox, Virginia, and cover the surrender of General Robert E. Lee to General Ulysses S. Grant. HBO is rounding up a star-studded cast to participate in the more than 50 speaking parts, including a search for NASCAR drivers to take some of the roles. The network has already landed one - Sprint Cup Series driver Carl Edwards, who is scheduled to play the role of Gen. John B. Gordon, a Confederate General selected by Lee to surrender the Army of Northern Virginia. Among the others lined up for prominent roles are Michael C. Hall as Gen. Grant; William Petersen as Gen. William. T. Sherman; Will Patton as Gen. Lee; and the group Rascal Flatts will produce the soundtrack for the series. Production is set to begin in the spring of 2011. No date as been set to air the series as yet. To read more about the mini-series "To Appomattox," go here. To read more about why the series is looking at NASCAR drivers, go here.
More Lucas Oil Off Road Racing Series champions crowned in Phoenix
Hart claims Pro Lite and Steele wins Pro Buggy title.
Friday, January 28, 2011
NASCAR TV start times look like they will remain the same in 2011
The TV start times for NASCAR Sprint Cup Series races, at least those on the Fox Network anyways, look like they will remain the same in 2011. The Observer and ThatsRacin.com have obtained the approximate green-flag start times of all the Cup races that will be broadcast on Fox and they all generally follow the same 1 p.m.-3 p.m.-7:30 p.m. Eastern start time slots of 2010. NASCAR CEO and Chairman Brian France said during the season finale race weekend in Homestead, Fla., that the sanctioning body was looking at several areas that could be affecting poor TV ratings in 2010, including start times. According to the information obtained, the Budweiser Shootout is scheduled for a green-flag start at 8:29 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 12. The 2011 Daytona 500 is scheduled for a 1:19 p.m. green-flag start on Feb. 20. Other green-flag start times: 3:14 p.m. Eastern Feb. 27 at Phoenix 3:16 p.m. Eastern March 6 at Las Vegas 1:13 p.m. Eastern March 20 at Bristol 3:16 p.m. Eastern March 27 at Auto Club Speedway in Fontana, Calif. 1:13 p.m. Eastern April 3 at Martinsville, Va. 7:46 p.m. Eastern April 9 at Texas 1:19 p.m. Eastern April 17 at Talladega, Ala. 7:44 p.m. Eastern April 30 at Richmond, Va. 7:45 p.m. Eastern May 7 at Darlington, S.C. 1:15 p.m. Eastern May 15 at Dover, Del. 7:46 p.m. Eastern May 21 NASCAR Sprint All-Star Race at Charlotte Motor Speedway 6:15 p.m. Eastern May 29 Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway 1:16 p.m. Eastern June 5 at Kansas
'We're not saying Kyle Busch should be fed to a velociraptor...'
[WARNING: Satire/absurdity alert. If you're one of those humorless types who wants nothing more than to gripe about how NASCAR's not like the good ol' days, skip this post and wait for the next one.]Dinosaurs. Racing. Both cool on their own ... but how cool would they be together? Adam Jacobi and Join Bois, a couple writers at SB Nation, consider the idea of Dinosaur Racecars with one of the most ridiculously funny posts you'll read this offseason. Consider this exchange:Bois: We already have NASCAR, F1 racing, rally racing...the list goes on. Is there really a market for yet another motorsport?Jacobi: [Dinosaur racing]'s not just "another motorsport;" it's an evolution, if you will, of all motorsport. For example, you're a fan of natural science, yes? Which includes geology, magnets, and the food chain.Bois (laughs): Certainly! Who isn't?Jacobi: So, if Kyle Busch and a dinosaur had to fight each other because they were hungry and they wanted to get into the racecar, the dinosaur would certainly kill Busch and eat him as food, then use the racecar. Now, we're not saying that Kyle Busch should be fed to a velociraptor or anything. But certainly the dinosaur has a greater right to the racecar than a human.Bois: Might makes right. I can respect that. As can we. Check out the full article right here. It makes at least as much sense as, say, changing a points system four weeks before the start of the season.
Thursday, January 27, 2011
If no accident in 2001, what would Dale Earnhardt have done?
There has been a lot of discussion so far this week at various stops on the Sprint NASCAR Media Tour hosted by Charlotte Motor Speedway regarding the approaching 10-year anniversary of the death of the late Dale Earnhardt, who died on Feb. 18, 2001, in a last-lap wreck in the Daytona 500.Throughout the stops we have met and spoke with many drivers and crew chiefs and team executives who worked with Earnhardt about a variety of issues. One I found interesting on Tuesday was a conversation with Ty Norris, who is now with Michael Waltrip Racing, but also was formerly executive vice president Dale Earnhardt Inc.Earnhardt was 49 years old when he died and conversation turned to whether Earnhardt had ever talked of retirement plans."He had a good three in him left as a driver for sure, maybe more," Norris said. "We hoped that he had a lot more years left because we knew he would be a miserable SOB outside of the race car."He'd come in the office all the day and be bitching all the time and we'd be like, 'God Almighty, I hope he races forever.'"Norris said he asked Earnhardt "at least a 100 times" about whether he wanted to drive a Cup series car from his DEI organization and Earnhardt always responded, "You guys can't afford me.""Dale said he would never do that to Richard (Childress). He would never leave Richard Childress."Earnhardt won six of his seven Cup championships while driving for Childress, who continues to this day as one of NASCAR's most successful car owners.
Wednesday, January 26, 2011
Jeff Gordon, Jamie McMurray learn that fatherhood brings different perspective to racing
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. ? The image of NASCAR drivers has long been one of macho men strapped into sleek, fast machines, grinning at danger and spending their careers racing right on the edge of disaster.
Maybe so, but Jamie McMurray and Jeff Gordon shared a somewhat different side of the NASCAR star during a press conference Friday at Daytona International Speedway.
Maybe so, but Jamie McMurray and Jeff Gordon shared a somewhat different side of the NASCAR star during a press conference Friday at Daytona International Speedway.
Hulkenberg focusing on race seat for 2012
Nico Hulkenberg says his sights are firmly set on returning to Formula 1 racing in 2012, after becoming Force India's reserve driver.
Get your letters in for the first 2011 edition of Happy Hour!
Hey! Bottled up from two months of offseason? Ready to vent your mind about all things NASCAR? Get ready, friends, because Happy Hour, Yahoo! Sports' NASCAR mailbag, is picking up stakes and coming over here to The Marbles! And we need you to kickstart it!Here's the deal. Happy Hour, for those of you new to these parts, is the place where you get to fire off your opinions of everything from that week's races to the state of the sport in general. And if you're at all familiar with this site, you know we don't necessarily need to stop there. We may throw in music recommendations, movie reviews or dating advice. You won't know until you write in!The first Happy Hour will launch next Wednesday, so get your thoughts/questions/speculation/predictions in now before we open the gates to the masses out on the main site. Email nascarmail@yahoogroups.com and you're in. We won't be able to respond to every letter, but trust me, we'll read every one. Witty and intelligent always moves to the front of the line, as does jaw-droppingly stupid. You have your marching orders, friends. Now, get to it!
Johnson best when it matters - again
It really shouldn't come as a surprise that Jimmie Johnson was the best when it mattered most again this season. Over the course of the 10 Chase for the Sprint Cup races, Johnson, who won a NASCAR-record fifth consecutive championship, scored the most points of any driver - 1,572. And remember, he entered the Chase with a slight deficit to Denny Hamlin, who was the No. 1 seed based on wins at the time. Also no surprise is that the drivers who finished the season second and third in the series standings - Hamlin and Kevin Harvick - also did well in the Chase. Harvick scored the second-most points and Hamlin third. But there were some surprises. Four drivers not in the Chase - Mark Martin, Joey Logano, Jamie McMurray and Ryan Newman - ranked among the Top 10 in points scored over the final 10 races, with Martin the best among that group. He scored the fifth-most points in the final 10 races. Most points scored over the final ten races this season 1. Jimmie Johnson 1572 points 2. Kevin Harvick 1551 3. Denny Hamlin 1523 4. Carl Edwards 1393 5. Mark Martin 1342 6. Joey Logano 1307 7. Matt Kenseth 1294 8. Jamie McMurray 1275 9. Greg Biffle 1237 10. Ryan Newman 1223 Note: For those who like to play the "what if" game. Had Clint Bowyer not received a 150-point penalty from NASCAR for his car failing inspection at the R&D Center following his win at New Hampshire, he would have ranked No. 7 with 1,305 points.
Tuesday, January 25, 2011
Jeff Gordon, Jamie McMurray learn that fatherhood brings different perspective to racing
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. ? The image of NASCAR drivers has long been one of macho men strapped into sleek, fast machines, grinning at danger and spending their careers racing right on the edge of disaster.
Maybe so, but Jamie McMurray and Jeff Gordon shared a somewhat different side of the NASCAR star during a press conference Friday at Daytona International Speedway.
Maybe so, but Jamie McMurray and Jeff Gordon shared a somewhat different side of the NASCAR star during a press conference Friday at Daytona International Speedway.
Ganassi Has All-Star Lineup for Rolex 24 at Daytona
The finished second overall in the 2010 Rolex 24 at Daytona [Photo: Courtesy Grand-Am] The 2010 racing season was a stellar one for Chip Ganassi and his three teams in NASCAR Sprint Cup, IZOD IndyCar Series and the Grand-Am Rolex Sports Car Series. In each discipline, every one of his drivers scored victories, he won championships in the Indy cars...
Coma, Al-Attiyah build hefty leads in Dakar Rally
Marc Coma in bikes and Nasser Al-Attiyah in cars built up hefty leads after Wednesday's 10th stage of the Dakar Rally to close in on the overall victory as the race returned to Argentina ahead of Sunday's finish in Buenos Aires.
Dave Blaney to drive for Tommy Baldwin Racing in 2011
Dave Blaney will drive for Tommy Baldwin Racing in 2011, team owner Tommy Baldwin announced in a news release Monday. The organization has funding for 16 events and continues to look for more sponsorship. It will attempt to qualify for all 36 with Blaney.
Will Leavine-Fenton Racing ever attempt a Cup race?
In this, shall we say, lull, in the economy, the announcement of a new Cup team should be cause for celebration. More competition is never a bad thing, and we could see qualifying sessions where no one goes home in the Sprint Cup Series at some point in 2011.The latest new team announcement comes from Leavine-Fenton Racing, which is planning a limited Cup schedule in 2011 with David Starr and crew chief Wally Rogers.But because we're in this lull, there's one critical thing missing from the team, which is owned by Randy Leavine and Lance Fenton: sponsorship.An underfunded team in the Sprint Cup without a sponsor is essentially a start-and-park sentence. Sure, we applaud those teams that try to run the races, but there are only so many times when a true underdog gets near the podium.Will we ever see LFR in the Cup garage? Well, without any sponsorship, the odds are already against them. And besides, it's natural to be jaded about announcements like this until they come to fruition. We're still waiting for news about America's Race Team.
Monday, January 24, 2011
NASCAR Announces 2011 Schedules
NASCAR announced the 2011 schedule for its three national series, highlighted by several key changes for the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series. One of those changes comes early, as the second race of the season will be held at Phoenix International Raceway on Feb. 27, a week after the season-opening Daytona 500. PIR replaces Auto Club [...]
NASCAR President Helton discusses points system
NASCAR President Mike Helton strongly indicated the points system used since 1975 will be scrapped for a simpler scoring method.
Preseason Top 30: Kasey Kahne looking for more stability in 2011, excited about opportunity at Red Bull
Kasey Kahne had an eventful season in 2010.
The 30-year-old driver squabbled with his team, Richard Petty Motorsports, and jumped ship five races from the end of the season to drive for Red Bull Racing, a team that is battling issues of its own.
The 30-year-old driver squabbled with his team, Richard Petty Motorsports, and jumped ship five races from the end of the season to drive for Red Bull Racing, a team that is battling issues of its own.
Sunday, January 23, 2011
Travis Pastrana to make Nationwide debut at Indianapolis
No, it's not the Brickyard, but Indianapolis seems like an odd place for Travis Pastrana to drive in his first NASCAR race.Pastrana — who is running a limited Nationwide schedule in 2011 — announced Friday night that he will make his Nationwide debut at Lucas Oil Raceway (formerly O'Reilly Raceway Park) on July 30th. Given that Pastrana has very little stock car experience, a short track like LOR seems like an odd place to jump into the Nationwide Series. LOR is a 0.625-mile oval that's very unique. It's fairly flat and the fastest way around the track is the top line. It's tricky for experienced drivers, let alone those jumping into a Nationwide car competitively for the first time.However, it appears that Pastrana and Diamond-Waltrip Racing officials are planning that the K&N Pro Series All-Star Race on January 29 wil be a great learning tool. Pastrana is entered in the race, which features short-track drivers from the K&N East and West Pro Series, at the Irwindale Speedway short track.Last year, Joey Logano won the race for the second time, beating Sergio Pena to the finish line. Logano crossed the finish line first in 2009, but was penalized for rough driving for a battle with Peyton Sellers, and the win was awarded to Matt Kobyluck.
Brian Vickers Shows That NASCAR Can Be Fun
I?ll admit it: NASCAR usually doesn?t come to mind when discussing Thursday night binge-drinking raves, complete with simulated girl-girl action. Even after watching this video, I?m really no more inclined to watch NASCAR racing than I was before, nor am I inclined to drink more RedBull. The message, as near as I can tell, is [...]
Season Preview: Aric Almirola, Elliott Sadler top Nationwide Series contenders with Cup drivers ineligible for title
With those pesky Sprint Cup drivers like Carl Edwards and Brad Keselowski not eligible for the Nationwide Series championship anymore, the 2011 Nationwide field is suddenly wide open.
Drivers are being required to declare which series they will earn championship points in this year and NASCAR officials are expected to confirm this week that full-time Cup drivers won?t be eligible for the Nationwide Series title.
Drivers are being required to declare which series they will earn championship points in this year and NASCAR officials are expected to confirm this week that full-time Cup drivers won?t be eligible for the Nationwide Series title.
Join us for Marbles Live Chat Wednesday at 1 p.m. ET
Hey, time again for another Marbles live chat! The season's drawing closer; come hang with us as we talk about everything from the possible new points format to what your favorite NASCAR stars are doing during their last few minutes of downtime. (Probably a list of chores a mile long.) Be here!
Williams considering stock flotation
Williams is considering the radical step of a public flotation in a bid to secure its long-term financial health, the team announced on Friday.
Saturday, January 22, 2011
Please welcome Mr. and Mrs. Kyle Busch to the dance floor
Kyle Busch wrapped his 2010 on a high note with his wedding to Samantha Sarcinella at the Holy Name Cathedral in Chicago on New Year's Eve."This is the day, the moment, the best time of the yr," Kyle Tweeted minutes before the show got rolling. "Ready to spend the rest of my life w my true love!. At church, ready to marry." One bridal website said the theme of the wedding was "ostrich and peacock feathers," which is appropriate because ... wait, you know what? This is their happy day, so let's shelve the snark for just the briefest of moments. Oh, but the jokes that could be written ... Anyway, Radar Online has some photos of the happy couple, taken by those filthy paparazzi (or, judging from the angle, by some of the guests). The couple will be showing all the photos, video, etc. in March on the Style Network, a network which I can absolutely guarantee you Kyle did not know existed before this. Regardless, we wish the best for the happy couple, this year and beyond. And what did you get the Busches for a wedding gift, hmmm? If you didn't buy it yet, there's still time ... brainstorm some ideas, why don't you?
Preseason Top 30: Martin Truex Jr. trying to meet high expectations at Michael Waltrip Racing
In his first year with Michael Walt rip Racing, Martin Trix Jr. got off to a pretty solid start.
The two-time Nationwide Series champ was right on the bubble for making the Chase For The Sprint Cup after the first 12 races.
The two-time Nationwide Series champ was right on the bubble for making the Chase For The Sprint Cup after the first 12 races.
Kasey Kahne: new season, new car, new knee
2010 was something of a wash for Kasey Kahne, a year in which negotiations ended in a new Hendrick Motorsports deal, and turmoil at Richard Petty Motorsports boiled over and resulted in his early departure. Not only that, his knee was a mess, and he had surgery in November to scope out problems. Yeah, it's safe to say he's happy to see 2010 go. Kahne will drive the brand-spankin'-new No. 4 Toyota for Red Bull, as you can see there at right. Also as you can see, his knees seem to be doing just fine after the surgery.On Nov. 23, just two days after Jimmie Johnson outran Denny Hamlin for the 2010 championship, Kahne -- who was, to put it politely, well back in the pack -- underwent arthroscopic surgery to address "plica," folds of skin and muscle, that had built up in his knees.Sidelined for about six weeks, Kahne used the Thanksgiving/Christmas holidays to heal up, and he proclaimed to FOX Sports that the knees are "better now than they did prior to getting them done ... pain for a month, but I'm glad I got it done." Kahne ran five races for Red Bull, taking the place of the ill Brian Vickers, after his abrupt departure from RPM. He ran unspectacularly for the first four, but closed with a pole position and a sixth-place finish at Homestead, boding well for 2011. Kahne back in car after knee surgery [FOX Sports]
Tony Stewart Reportedly Detained in Australia
Tony Stewart Reportedly Detained in Australia Filed under: Tony Stewart , Chevrolet , NASCAR Police Blotter , Stewart-Haas Racing , NASCAR NASCAR driver and team owner Tony Stewart has been detained for questioning in Australia, according to a report . Speedcafe reports Stewart was allegedly involved in a physical altercation with Sydney Speedway co-owner Brett Morris. The report says Stewart was upset about track conditions after Hot Laps, and he started exchanging words with Morris
Filed under: Tony Stewart, Chevrolet, NASCAR Police Blotter, Stewart-Haas Racing, NASCAR
NASCAR driver and team owner Tony Stewart has been detained for questioning in Australia, according to a report.
Speedcafe reports Stewart was allegedly involved in a physical altercation with Sydney Speedway co-owner Brett Morris.
The report says Stewart was upset about track conditions after Hot Laps, and he started exchanging words with Morris. While he was held for questioning, there is no confirmation on whether he will face any charges.
After racing in Australia during the month of January, Stewart was scheduled to return Saturday. No word on how his detainment will affect his plans.
Stewart is about to enter his 13th season of NASCAR competition.
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Filed under: Tony Stewart, Chevrolet, NASCAR Police Blotter, Stewart-Haas Racing, NASCAR
NASCAR driver and team owner Tony Stewart has been detained for questioning in Australia, according to a report.
Speedcafe reports Stewart was allegedly involved in a physical altercation with Sydney Speedway co-owner Brett Morris.
The report says Stewart was upset about track conditions after Hot Laps, and he started exchanging words with Morris. While he was held for questioning, there is no confirmation on whether he will face any charges.
After racing in Australia during the month of January, Stewart was scheduled to return Saturday. No word on how his detainment will affect his plans.
Stewart is about to enter his 13th season of NASCAR competition.
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Friday, January 21, 2011
Speeds down, track extremely smooth as Clint Bowyer leads first test session at Daytona
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. ? The newly paved Daytona International Speedway has gained a little character in the last month but remains extremely smooth, drivers reported Thursday after testing on the new surface.
In the first three hours of Sprint Cup testing Thursday morning, 33 drivers made single-car runs. Drafting practice began with the afternoon session of the three-day test on the 2.5-mile trioval.
In the first three hours of Sprint Cup testing Thursday morning, 33 drivers made single-car runs. Drafting practice began with the afternoon session of the three-day test on the 2.5-mile trioval.
Slamming the door on Richard Childress Racing's 2010
We're almost done with 2010, so as we close out the year, we look
back one last time at the big teams to see where they went right, where
they went wrong, and what their prospects might be for 2011. We continue with a team that rebounded in a big way in 2010.By the numbers: Five wins, 29 top 5s, 59 top 10s, zero poles. The recap: Anything would have been an improvement over 2009 for the boys at RCR, as every one of them missed the Chase. They surpassed 2009 with authority, as all three drivers reached the Chase and two, Kevin Harvick and Clint Bowyer, actually had legitimate championship aspirations for various moments. Jeff Burton got into a fight with Jeff Gordon, which was cool also. Overall, it was a fine return to form for RCR, led by Harvick's ascension to superstar status.The outlook: Next year, Paul Menard joins the RCR stable, and if you think that has anything to do with a certain retail store chain that just happens to sponsor Menard, hey, nice job of paying attention. Harvick seems primed to burst big on the national stage, with Budweiser preparing to put serious marketing muscle behind him. Bowyer likewise gained plenty of new fans with his unfortunately-timed penalty at the start of the Chase that cost him any shot at a Cup. And Burton will continue to be NASCAR's smartest and most thoughtful driver, which isn't damning him with faint praise. Times are looking good at RCR right about now. Previously: Hendrick Motorsports, Joe Gibbs Racing, Stewart-Haas Racing
back one last time at the big teams to see where they went right, where
they went wrong, and what their prospects might be for 2011. We continue with a team that rebounded in a big way in 2010.By the numbers: Five wins, 29 top 5s, 59 top 10s, zero poles. The recap: Anything would have been an improvement over 2009 for the boys at RCR, as every one of them missed the Chase. They surpassed 2009 with authority, as all three drivers reached the Chase and two, Kevin Harvick and Clint Bowyer, actually had legitimate championship aspirations for various moments. Jeff Burton got into a fight with Jeff Gordon, which was cool also. Overall, it was a fine return to form for RCR, led by Harvick's ascension to superstar status.The outlook: Next year, Paul Menard joins the RCR stable, and if you think that has anything to do with a certain retail store chain that just happens to sponsor Menard, hey, nice job of paying attention. Harvick seems primed to burst big on the national stage, with Budweiser preparing to put serious marketing muscle behind him. Bowyer likewise gained plenty of new fans with his unfortunately-timed penalty at the start of the Chase that cost him any shot at a Cup. And Burton will continue to be NASCAR's smartest and most thoughtful driver, which isn't damning him with faint praise. Times are looking good at RCR right about now. Previously: Hendrick Motorsports, Joe Gibbs Racing, Stewart-Haas Racing
Thursday, January 20, 2011
NASCAR Racing: NASCAR Championship Weekend
Welcome NASCAR race fans to my NASCAR blog. The end of the season is here! (Oh, no!) It all comes down to this one race to end the season at Homestead-Miami Speedway. All three NASCAR top Series’ will be racing this weekend on this 1.5 mile Championship Track. Homestead-Miami Speedway is a little different than [...]
Brad Keselowski is the giraffe whisperer
Every time the new year rolls around, your favorite drivers start showing up in odd places to promote the upcoming season. Today in out-of-context NASCARism, we present Brad Keselowski, pictured at right with Carl -- nah, too easy.Jet Ski, the 2010 Nationwide Series champion, traveled to Tampa to promote the upcoming Daytona 500, accompanied by Daytona International Speedway president Joie Chitwood III and some trophy hardware.Their first stop in Tampa was Busch Gardens, where the NASCAR duo fed lettuce and whatnot to the giraffe and snuggled up close with the rhino. From there, it was on to the evening's hockey contest, where the hometown Lightning squared off 'gainst the Washington Capitals. Keselowski and Chitwood gave the "Let's play hockey!" command, the equivalent of "Gentlemen, start your engines": Fine job, boys. On to Daytona!
Everything is better when twins are involved? ESPECIALLY Nascar!
Let’s see now, they’re blond, they’re twins, they’re hot and they race cars. Yep, that sounds like every Nascar fans fantasy if you ask me. Meet Amber and Angela Cope, twin 27-year-old sisters who completed their first Nascar race this past weekend in the Camping World Truck Series race. The sisters are the nieces of [...]
Tony Stewart Reportedly Detained in Australia
Tony Stewart Reportedly Detained in Australia Filed under: Tony Stewart , Chevrolet , NASCAR Police Blotter , Stewart-Haas Racing , NASCAR NASCAR driver and team owner Tony Stewart has been detained for questioning in Australia, according to a report . Speedcafe reports Stewart was allegedly involved in a physical altercation with Sydney Speedway co-owner Brett Morris. The report says Stewart was upset about track conditions after Hot Laps, and he started exchanging words with Morris
Filed under: Tony Stewart, Chevrolet, NASCAR Police Blotter, Stewart-Haas Racing, NASCAR
NASCAR driver and team owner Tony Stewart has been detained for questioning in Australia, according to a report.
Speedcafe reports Stewart was allegedly involved in a physical altercation with Sydney Speedway co-owner Brett Morris.
The report says Stewart was upset about track conditions after Hot Laps, and he started exchanging words with Morris. While he was held for questioning, there is no confirmation on whether he will face any charges.
After racing in Australia during the month of January, Stewart was scheduled to return Saturday. No word on how his detainment will affect his plans.
Stewart is about to enter his 13th season of NASCAR competition.
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Filed under: Tony Stewart, Chevrolet, NASCAR Police Blotter, Stewart-Haas Racing, NASCAR
NASCAR driver and team owner Tony Stewart has been detained for questioning in Australia, according to a report.
Speedcafe reports Stewart was allegedly involved in a physical altercation with Sydney Speedway co-owner Brett Morris.
The report says Stewart was upset about track conditions after Hot Laps, and he started exchanging words with Morris. While he was held for questioning, there is no confirmation on whether he will face any charges.
After racing in Australia during the month of January, Stewart was scheduled to return Saturday. No word on how his detainment will affect his plans.
Stewart is about to enter his 13th season of NASCAR competition.
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Wednesday, January 19, 2011
More Drivers Eligible for NASCAR?s Budweiser Shootout
More Drivers Eligible for NASCAR?s Budweiser Shootout Filed under: Daytona Int’l Speedway , Sprint Cup , NASCAR Fans who make it to NASCAR ‘s first event of 2011 — the Budweiser Shootout exhibition race held a week before the season-opening Daytona 500 — might want to keep a program nearby. Feb
Filed under: Daytona Int’l Speedway, Sprint Cup, NASCAR
Fans who make it to NASCAR‘s first event of 2011 — the Budweiser Shootout exhibition race held a week before the season-opening Daytona 500 — might want to keep a program nearby.
Feb. 12′s Shootout, firmly removed from its days of featuring only the previous season’s pole winners, got its sixth change in the past 13 years Friday when NASCAR announced the eligible drivers for the 75-lap race.
It’ll include those you would imagine — all 12 of last year’s Chase for the Sprint Cup qualifiers — and a few others, too, including past NASCAR Sprint Cup champions, past Shootout winners, past winners at Daytona and the Rookie of the Year winners from 2001-2010.
Yep, say hello to last year’s de facto rookie of the year Kevin Conway in the Budweiser Shootout.
“When you take a look at the field for this year’s Budweiser Shootout at Daytona, it’s loaded with all-star caliber drivers,” said Robin Pemberton, NASCAR vice president of competition, in the press release revealing the expanded field.
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Filed under: Daytona Int’l Speedway, Sprint Cup, NASCAR
Fans who make it to NASCAR‘s first event of 2011 — the Budweiser Shootout exhibition race held a week before the season-opening Daytona 500 — might want to keep a program nearby.
Feb. 12′s Shootout, firmly removed from its days of featuring only the previous season’s pole winners, got its sixth change in the past 13 years Friday when NASCAR announced the eligible drivers for the 75-lap race.
It’ll include those you would imagine — all 12 of last year’s Chase for the Sprint Cup qualifiers — and a few others, too, including past NASCAR Sprint Cup champions, past Shootout winners, past winners at Daytona and the Rookie of the Year winners from 2001-2010.
Yep, say hello to last year’s de facto rookie of the year Kevin Conway in the Budweiser Shootout.
“When you take a look at the field for this year’s Budweiser Shootout at Daytona, it’s loaded with all-star caliber drivers,” said Robin Pemberton, NASCAR vice president of competition, in the press release revealing the expanded field.
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Slamming the door on Richard Childress Racing's 2010
We're almost done with 2010, so as we close out the year, we look
back one last time at the big teams to see where they went right, where
they went wrong, and what their prospects might be for 2011. We continue with a team that rebounded in a big way in 2010.By the numbers: Five wins, 29 top 5s, 59 top 10s, zero poles. The recap: Anything would have been an improvement over 2009 for the boys at RCR, as every one of them missed the Chase. They surpassed 2009 with authority, as all three drivers reached the Chase and two, Kevin Harvick and Clint Bowyer, actually had legitimate championship aspirations for various moments. Jeff Burton got into a fight with Jeff Gordon, which was cool also. Overall, it was a fine return to form for RCR, led by Harvick's ascension to superstar status.The outlook: Next year, Paul Menard joins the RCR stable, and if you think that has anything to do with a certain retail store chain that just happens to sponsor Menard, hey, nice job of paying attention. Harvick seems primed to burst big on the national stage, with Budweiser preparing to put serious marketing muscle behind him. Bowyer likewise gained plenty of new fans with his unfortunately-timed penalty at the start of the Chase that cost him any shot at a Cup. And Burton will continue to be NASCAR's smartest and most thoughtful driver, which isn't damning him with faint praise. Times are looking good at RCR right about now. Previously: Hendrick Motorsports, Joe Gibbs Racing, Stewart-Haas Racing
back one last time at the big teams to see where they went right, where
they went wrong, and what their prospects might be for 2011. We continue with a team that rebounded in a big way in 2010.By the numbers: Five wins, 29 top 5s, 59 top 10s, zero poles. The recap: Anything would have been an improvement over 2009 for the boys at RCR, as every one of them missed the Chase. They surpassed 2009 with authority, as all three drivers reached the Chase and two, Kevin Harvick and Clint Bowyer, actually had legitimate championship aspirations for various moments. Jeff Burton got into a fight with Jeff Gordon, which was cool also. Overall, it was a fine return to form for RCR, led by Harvick's ascension to superstar status.The outlook: Next year, Paul Menard joins the RCR stable, and if you think that has anything to do with a certain retail store chain that just happens to sponsor Menard, hey, nice job of paying attention. Harvick seems primed to burst big on the national stage, with Budweiser preparing to put serious marketing muscle behind him. Bowyer likewise gained plenty of new fans with his unfortunately-timed penalty at the start of the Chase that cost him any shot at a Cup. And Burton will continue to be NASCAR's smartest and most thoughtful driver, which isn't damning him with faint praise. Times are looking good at RCR right about now. Previously: Hendrick Motorsports, Joe Gibbs Racing, Stewart-Haas Racing
Sprint Cup ratings down for all but five events in 2010
As we mentioned numerous times in 2010, the season of Jimmie Johnson's fifth title wasn't very good for NASCAR on the television ratings front. Of the 31 comparable events from 2009, 26 races suffered ratings declines in 2010. Yes, 26. Three of those races in which ratings increased were on Fox — Phoenix, Talladega and Darlington — one was on TNT (Daytona) and one was on ABC (Bristol). However, except for the summer Daytona race on TNT, which had a ratings increase of 16%, every increase was 6% or lower.Sixteen of the 26 races that had ratings declines in 2010 suffered double-digit drops. Fox's broadcast of the Las Vegas race had the poorest showing compared to 2009, falling 32%. Overall, 11 of the 16 races with double-digit drops were on ESPN, three were on TNT and two were on Fox. (Fox's other double-digit drop was the pothole-discombobulated Daytona 500 which was down 16%.)Nine of those 11 ESPN double-digit drops were for races that were moved from ABC in 2009 to ESPN in 2010. We've already debunked the theory that cable impacts television ratings significantly, but ESPN's New Year's Day BCS ratings just may give credence to the possibility that, for whatever reason, people just don't watch sports on cable as much as they do on broadcast television.The Rose Bowl, moved to ESPN for the first time on Sunday, generated the lowest overnight rating since 2003. The Fiesta Bowl, which was on Fox last year, got a 6.7 rating, its lowest overnight rating in the history of the BCS.Meanwhile, the NFL has seen overall ratings increases again in 2010, and NBC's Sunday Night Football has outrated ESPN's Monday Night Football every week but one. What does that mean for NASCAR? Well, that remains to be seen. CNBC's Darren Rovell tweeted last week that NASCAR had the oldest median age of viewers when compared to the big four professional sports leagues. And the loss of the under-49 demographic has nothing to do with which channel races were broadcast on, as during 2010, Fox's David Hill noted the sharp decrease his network saw in younger viewers.If you've got any ideas on how NASCAR can attract younger viewers, let us know in the comments. And no, making the series more like Mario-Kart isn't the answer. The IndyCar Series is already doing that with the magic mushroom push-to-pass button.
Tuesday, January 18, 2011
NASCAR promotes Jim O?Connell to Chief Sales Officer
NASCAR has promoted Vice President Jim O?Connell to Chief Sales Officer. O?Connell oversees all of NASCAR?s corporate sponsorships, which includes more than 40 official partnerships. Under O?Connell?s direction in 2010, NASCAR renewed 75 percent of its partner agreements and increased official partner revenue by 10 percent.
Jimmie Johnson gives Kid Rock a car for his birthday
It's good to have friends in fast places.Kid Rock, the living embodiment of the NASCAR lifestyle, threw his monstrous 40th birthday this past weekend in Detroit. And as part of the festivities, NASCAR champion Jimmie Johnson wished the birthday boy well via videotape, and on behalf of Chevrolet gave Kid (or, uh, Mr. Rock) a brand-new Chevy Camaro SS. Not bad, huh? The "Badass" Camaro sat at the 50-yard-line of Ford Field as a parade of guest stars paid tribute to the Kid and the city of Detroit. Here, check it out: Not bad, huh? You didn't get me anything for my birthday, Jimmie. But hey, there's still time.
Is TV in love with Jimmie Johnson?
Jimmie Johnson didn't just win a fifth consecutive Sprint Cup Series championship this season, he also dominated his competition in another way - in TV exposure. According to research conducted by Joyce Julius & Assoc. Inc. - a sports and entertainment industry leader in measurement and evaluation of sponsorships and promotional programs - Johnson was interviewed an entire half-hour longer and mentioned 1,800 more times by the announcers than series runner-up Denny Hamlin throughout the course of the season. The research by Joyce Julius, which has monitored every NASCAR race telecast for the last 25 years, Johnson's name was mentioned 7,875 times during the 36 live event telecasts (and replays) of the 2010 season. Johnson also appeared in a season-high 88 interview segments, which added up to over 1 1/2 hours of television time. Hamlin, by contrast, drew 6,072 announcer mentions and 56 interviews that totaled just over an hour of TV time. Hamlin won the most races this season and lead the Chase for the Cup going into the season's final race. According to the research, Kyle Busch was the third-most mentioned driver, Kevin Harvick was fourth and Jeff Gordon fifth. Year-End Top-20 Interview Results::DriverPntsIntervwsIntervwewAnnouncerTimeMentions1)Johnson, J.1881:31:357,8752)Hamlin, D.2561:01:506,0723)Busch, Ky.8471:07:135,5003)Harvick, K.3470:55:005,3465)Gordon, J.9460:59:035,0396)Stewart, T.7400:39:293,9577)Busch, Ku.11380:35:323,1148)Bowyer, C.10360:36:083,4828)Edwards, C.4360:51:203,13310)Burton, J.12330:32:513,48310)McMurray, J.14330:49:442,89912)Kahne, K.20310:28:372,26913)Biffle, G.6300:30:063,35714)Logano, J.16270:26:591,98215)Earnhardt, Jr., D.21210:18:452,15516)Ambrose, M.26160:15:221,64116)Montoya, J.17160:08:573,34318)Newman, R.15150:14:241,96619)Kenseth, M.5140:10:432,60119)Keselowski, B.25140:12:441,143??
Monday, January 17, 2011
Green Flag with Ben Ashline
Ben Ashline, of Pittston, ME likes to go fast, especially driving the #15 DS Norton Construction late model. Which has been tearing up the track at Oxford Plains Speedway and in the American Canadian Tour. Ben had an up and down 2010 season with some big wins and some big wrecks.
RPM. What are you plans for the 2011 Race Season?
Ben. Right now, our plans are to run oxford plains speedway for points. Our goal is the championship. We are going to try to make an attempt to qualify for four American Canadian tour races if our budget permits it at that time, We are going to attempt to qualify for the td bank 250, and we are hoping to get an invite to the invitational race at Loudon.
RPM. What are you plans for the 2011 Race Season?
Ben. Right now, our plans are to run oxford plains speedway for points. Our goal is the championship. We are going to try to make an attempt to qualify for four American Canadian tour races if our budget permits it at that time, We are going to attempt to qualify for the td bank 250, and we are hoping to get an invite to the invitational race at Loudon.
Carl Edwards makes wishes come true
NASCAR star Carl Edwards helped out a friend and in the process helped to make wishes come true for children with life-threatening medical conditions. Edwards is friends with World Wrestling Entertainment star John Cena, who has been involved in a personal campaign to raise 3 million Delta frequent flyer miles for the Make-A-Wish Foundation. Edwards recently donated his Delta frequent flyer miles to help Cena reach his goal, and with an extra contribution of 1 million miles by Cena, Make-A-Wish received 4.2 million Delta miles from the campaign. ?We did it. We hit the 1 million mile mark in donations of Delta frequent flyer miles with the help of my good friend, NASCAR driver Carl Edwards, who donated his Delta miles to put us over the top,? Cena said. In addition to being friends with Cena, Edwards also served as a "guest host" of one of WWE's live "Monday Night Raw" TV programs in 2010. To read more about Edwards, Cena and the Make-A-Wish campaign, go here.
Las Vegas IndyCar finale for Oct. 16?
The Las Vegas Review Journal reports that IndyCar will announce later this month that it will conclude its 2011 season at Las Vegas Motor Speedway on Oct. 16.
Greg Pickett Gets Aston Martin LM P1 Car for 2011 ALMS Season
The Muscle Milk Porsche RS Spyder was very successful in ALMS competition, winning 3 times in 2010 and having a perfect podium record: 12 for 12! [Photo: Anne Proffit] Greg Pickett, the evergreen driver/owner who has put a Porsche RS Spyder on the American Le Mans Series grids – and thrice in the 2010 winner’s circle – is...
Chairman Brian France, NASCAR executives to begin forums with teams, drivers this week
NASCAR executives, including Chairman Brian France, will meet with team owners, drivers and key team officials over the next several weeks to talk about key issues facing the sport.
The meetings will be done by team organization instead of during one big meeting with all Cup or Nationwide teams, NASCAR spokesman Ramsey Poston confirmed.
The meetings will be done by team organization instead of during one big meeting with all Cup or Nationwide teams, NASCAR spokesman Ramsey Poston confirmed.
Sunday, January 16, 2011
Tom Wurtz Leaves Penske for KV Racing in IndyCar
Photo Courtesy KV Racing Technology Although it still hasn’t announced a driver lineup for the 2011 IZOD IndyCar Series season, KV Racing Technology has augmented its managerial standings by hiring Tom Wurtz as team manager for the squad owned by former Champ Car Series co-owner Kevin Kalkhoven and 1996 CART champion Jimmy Vasser. Wurtz, who...
Justin Lofton looking forward to move to Germain Racing
Justin Lofton will move from Red Horse Racing to Germain Racing for the 2011 Camping World Truck Series season, giving Germain a four-truck stable with Todd Bodine, Max Papis, Brendan Gaughan and Lofton.
NEMA Midgets Boston Louie Memorial Classic
For the Boston Louie Memorial Classic, the NorthEastern Midget Ass'n teams return to Seekonk (Mass.) Speedway on August 27.
Steve Letarte answers more of your questions
"What are you guys missing?" and other leading questions for Jeff Gordon's crew chief.
Crew chief Paul Wolfe hopes approach that won Nationwide Series title helps make Brad Keselowski successful in Cup
Though he had not won a race as a crew chief until the 2010 Nationwide Series season, Paul Wolfe has had plenty of success helping a variety of drivers perform better than many thought they would.
He did it at Fitz Motorsports, Braun Racing, Michael Waltrip Racing and CJM Racing before going to Penske Racing last year, where he led Brad Keselowski to victory and to the Nationwide Series championship.
He did it at Fitz Motorsports, Braun Racing, Michael Waltrip Racing and CJM Racing before going to Penske Racing last year, where he led Brad Keselowski to victory and to the Nationwide Series championship.
Saturday, January 15, 2011
NASCAR to require drivers to choose which series they will earn points in for 2011
NASCAR drivers, as expected, will have to declare which series they will earn championship points in during the 2011 season when they apply for their annual NASCAR license.
Auto Club Speedway race changed from 500 miles to 400 miles
NASCAR?s Sprint Cup Series race at Auto Club Speedway, scheduled for March 27, will be 400 miles and not 500 miles, track officials announced Tuesday. The Auto Club 400 was originally announced as a 500-mile event last August.
NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Season Review
Welcome NASCAR race fans to my NASCAR blog. The 2010 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series season has come to an end. I won’t be looking forward to the weekends, but rather to February when the 2011 season begins. This year Jimmie Johnson again made history by winning his fifth consecutive Championship. But I have to wonder [...]
Earnhardt Jr. most popular driver for eighth straight year
To no one's surprise, Dale Earnhardt Jr. has been voted as NASCAR's most popular driver for the eight consecutive year.
NASCAR Hall of Fame faces $4.8M in budget cuts
The NASCAR Hall of Fame had its budget cut by nearly $4.8 million on Wednesday as the board that oversees its performance opted to base its budget on a worst-case scenario of 250,000 visitors from July 2010 to June 2011.
Friday, January 14, 2011
Preseason Top 30: Bobby Labonte excited, confident again after joining JTG Daugherty Racing
When Bobby Labonte joined TRG Motorsports near the end of the 2009 season, it looked to be a good move for the former Sprint Cup champion.
TRG was new to NASCAR but it was an established championship-caliber team in the sports car ranks.
Unfortunately, TRG encountered financial trouble last season and the 46-year-old spent much of the year bouncing from team to team ? making starts with TRG, Robby Gordon Motorsports, Phoenix Racing and Stavola Labonte Racing (a team co-owned by his brother Terry).
TRG was new to NASCAR but it was an established championship-caliber team in the sports car ranks.
Unfortunately, TRG encountered financial trouble last season and the 46-year-old spent much of the year bouncing from team to team ? making starts with TRG, Robby Gordon Motorsports, Phoenix Racing and Stavola Labonte Racing (a team co-owned by his brother Terry).
Is Milka Duno following Danica Patrick to NASCAR?
Admit it, you just muttered "Oh no..." under your breath.Milka Duno, the driver who was almost parked by the IndyCar Series for being too slow, is apparently making the transition to stock cars too.But we'll bet that the closest she gets to the NASCAR garage is when there's an ARCA race at the same track on the same weekend.Sheltra Motrosports, the team that Patrick Sheltra won the 2010 ARCA championship with, announced Monday that Duno would drive for the team in the season opening ARCA race at Daytona.“I’m very excited and grateful for this opportunity to test with the
2010 ARCA Racing Series presented by Menard’s Championship winning
team,” Duno said in a release. “Patrick, Jon and Brandon head a very skilled and
dedicated organization and having met with them and visited their
facility it is easy to see why they are the 2010 champions!” (Odds of that being an actual quote? 1000-1)Duno did race in the Daytona race in 2010 and only made it six laps before being in that awesome crash above.
2010 ARCA Racing Series presented by Menard’s Championship winning
team,” Duno said in a release. “Patrick, Jon and Brandon head a very skilled and
dedicated organization and having met with them and visited their
facility it is easy to see why they are the 2010 champions!” (Odds of that being an actual quote? 1000-1)Duno did race in the Daytona race in 2010 and only made it six laps before being in that awesome crash above.
TRG Motorsports owner elected to Road Racing Drivers Club
TRG Motorsports owner/driver Kevin Buckler has been elected to the Road Racing Drivers Club (RRDC). Buckler, 58, is a three-time winner of the Rolex 24 at Daytona and his teams won back-to-back Rolex Series GT titles in 2005-06.
Thursday, January 13, 2011
Best Buy re-ups with Richard Petty Motorsports
Good news on the sponsorship front: Best Buy has re-upped with Richard Petty Motorsports, agreeing to sponsor AJ Allmendinger for another season. Best Buy will be the primary sponsor for 26 events, 24 races as well as the Duels and the Sprint All-Star Race. The 43 will run Best Buy colors at marquee races like Daytona, Talladega, Bristol and Homestead. Best Buy will also step up and serve as an associate sponsor on Marcos Ambrose's No. 9.It's obviously welcome news for RPM, which had teetered on the brink of collapse for months at the end of the 2010 season. Best Buy's commitment to Dinger and the whole RPM team signifies confidence in the team's stability, and that's certainly a good sign after the near-apocalypse of 2010.Both a Best Buy corporate spokesperson and Allmendinger had comments on the deal, but since they were obviously vetted and massaged, containing words like "privilege" and "engaged" and "great partner" and other lovey-doviness, we'll skip 'em here. You know what they'll say anyway. Another significant element of the sponsorship arrangement is that it puts NASCAR before a broad, nontraditional audience. And if Best Buy can crank up the Sunday afternoon races on some of those 100-inch HD bigscreens it has in stock, hell, I'll do race-day coverage from there.
Preseason Top 30: Bobby Labonte excited, confident again after joining JTG Daugherty Racing
When Bobby Labonte joined TRG Motorsports near the end of the 2009 season, it looked to be a good move for the former Sprint Cup champion.
TRG was new to NASCAR but it was an established championship-caliber team in the sports car ranks.
Unfortunately, TRG encountered financial trouble last season and the 46-year-old spent much of the year bouncing from team to team ? making starts with TRG, Robby Gordon Motorsports, Phoenix Racing and Stavola Labonte Racing (a team co-owned by his brother Terry).
TRG was new to NASCAR but it was an established championship-caliber team in the sports car ranks.
Unfortunately, TRG encountered financial trouble last season and the 46-year-old spent much of the year bouncing from team to team ? making starts with TRG, Robby Gordon Motorsports, Phoenix Racing and Stavola Labonte Racing (a team co-owned by his brother Terry).
Slamming the door on Roush-Fenway's 2010
We're almost done with 2010, so as we close out the year, we look
back one last time at the big teams to see where they went right, where
they went wrong, and what their prospects might be for 2011. We continue with a team for whom the season ended too soon.By the numbers: Four wins, 24 top 5s, 56 top 10s, three poles.The recap: The Roush year was dominated by the fact that Jack Roush lost his left eye in a plane accident. In happier news, Greg Biffle won almost immediately afterward, and Carl Edwards was the hottest driver in the sport for much of the second half of the season. (He also perpetuated his feud with Brad Keselowski, which didn't go over so well with most of NASCAR nation.) Matt Kenseth quietly -- of course -- posted another strong season, once again reliably making the Chase. And David Ragan? Well, he didn't hurt himself or anybody else, so there's that.The outlook: It's feast or famine for the Roush guys. If they can figure out their various engineering tics, Edwards and Biffle have the potential to be among the elites of the sport, and Kenseth is always a threat to run in the top 5. Ragan? Well, let's just say that he'll be linked with Jamie McMurray -- the guy whom Roush cut to keep Ragan -- for the rest of his days. If Edwards can continue the momentum with which he closed his year, he'll be a legit championship contender in '11. And Roush will again be a team to watch.Previously: Hendrick Motorsports, Joe Gibbs Racing, Stewart-Haas Racing, Richard Childress Racing
back one last time at the big teams to see where they went right, where
they went wrong, and what their prospects might be for 2011. We continue with a team for whom the season ended too soon.By the numbers: Four wins, 24 top 5s, 56 top 10s, three poles.The recap: The Roush year was dominated by the fact that Jack Roush lost his left eye in a plane accident. In happier news, Greg Biffle won almost immediately afterward, and Carl Edwards was the hottest driver in the sport for much of the second half of the season. (He also perpetuated his feud with Brad Keselowski, which didn't go over so well with most of NASCAR nation.) Matt Kenseth quietly -- of course -- posted another strong season, once again reliably making the Chase. And David Ragan? Well, he didn't hurt himself or anybody else, so there's that.The outlook: It's feast or famine for the Roush guys. If they can figure out their various engineering tics, Edwards and Biffle have the potential to be among the elites of the sport, and Kenseth is always a threat to run in the top 5. Ragan? Well, let's just say that he'll be linked with Jamie McMurray -- the guy whom Roush cut to keep Ragan -- for the rest of his days. If Edwards can continue the momentum with which he closed his year, he'll be a legit championship contender in '11. And Roush will again be a team to watch.Previously: Hendrick Motorsports, Joe Gibbs Racing, Stewart-Haas Racing, Richard Childress Racing
Tony Cotman offers 2012 IndyCar technical update
2012 project manager describes progress on new cars, new technologies under consideration.
Past Cup rookies of the year included in Budweiser Shootout
NASCAR officials announced on Friday a tweak to the lineup eligibility for the February 12 Budweiser Shootout at Daytona International Speedway.
Wednesday, January 12, 2011
Ten Events For Hawkeye Dirt Tour
The JR Motorsports Hawkeye Dirt Tour for modifieds will host 10 events throughout Iowa this season, including visits to four new venues.
Rick Hendrick buys new Chevy Volt for $225,000
You'd think a guy who owns a fleet of NASCAR rides and 10 championships wouldn't need to pay for a car, but Rick Hendrick did anyway, ponying up $225,000 for the second Chevy Volt to roll off the production line. The Volt, an electric/combustion hybrid, can run up to 50 miles on battery power alone before having to kick in the engine. It's already been named the best car of the year by both Motor Trend and Automobile magazines. It also carries a $41,000 sticker price.So why did Hendrick go five times over the asking price? He's a car dealer himself, doesn't he know how to negotiate? Truth is, the money will go toward a program to benefit science, math, technology and engineering studies in the Detroit Public Schools System. "This was an opportunity to own a piece of history while giving back to the community," Hendrick said in a press release. "I have been a Chevrolet dealer for more than 30 years, and the Volt is one of the most exciting and important new cars since we opened our first dealership in 1976."Knowing the throw-weight Hendrick has in NASCAR, we fully expect to see electric cars zipping quietly around the ovals within two years. [Thanks to reader Mike for the tip.]
Earnhardt Jr. most popular driver for eighth straight year
To no one's surprise, Dale Earnhardt Jr. has been voted as NASCAR's most popular driver for the eight consecutive year.
Dale Earnhardt Inc. GM Jeff Steiner leaves organization
Jeff Steiner, who had been executive vice president and general manager of Dale Earnhardt Inc. since April 2009, has left the organization to pursue other opportunities, Steiner and the organization confirmed. DEI has not named a replacement.
Tuesday, January 11, 2011
Entries for 2011 F1 season released
Formula One's governing body, the International Automobile Federation (FIA), published its entry list for the 2011 world championship season on Tuesday.
NASCAR set to require drivers to specify a single championship
Drivers in NASCAR's three national series will have to elect a single championship to chase in 2011, eliminating the ability of drivers such as Brad Keselowski and Carl Edwards to chase two championships at once.
Driving 195 mph and posting it on YouTube gets you arrested
File this one under Things You Probably Ought To Know Without Anyone Telling You: a 30-year-old Oklahoma man has gotten busted for driving an alleged 195 mph on local highways. And how'd he get caught? Because he posted video of himself doing it on YouTube. Genius!First, let's check the video posted by one Cody Replogle, and then we'll tell you why he did it: Replogle posted the video in connection with his ebay Motors listing of his Corvette. (Hey, give the guy credit for going multimedia with his marketing.) As he noted in linking one of the videos, "This one is getting onto the turnpike and climing [sic] over 195+ mph. I was in 5th gear and still had some gear left. It still has 6th gear also. It was a constant acceleration all the way as you can see. This car will easily go well over 200 mph if you are crazy enough and have the stomach for it." The car was listed with a buy-it-now price of $26,000, but no bids topped $15,000 before the auction ended. Strangely enough, Oklahoma City police weren't thrilled to see their streets and highways used as backdrop for some lunatic driving. They tracked down Replogle and got him to confess rather quickly. He was charged with two counts of reckless driving.So, yeah, what ol' Cody did? Don't do that. And certainly don't post it online once you do. [The Oklahoman via Jalopnik]
Carl Edwards finishes season on a high note
After a slow start to his season, Ford 400 winner Carl Edwards was pleased to end the year with momentum.
Texas Motor Speedway to offer fans private tailgating area outside main entrance
In an effort to enhance the racing experience of fans attending events at Texas Motor Speedway, the track is offering an upscale tailgating section for the 2011 racing season known as Pit Stop Park.
Monday, January 10, 2011
Hall of famer Junior Johnson starting NASCAR team for son
Junior Johnson last won a NASCAR Cup race as a team owner in the 1994 Southern 500 at Darlington with driver Bill Elliott. He last owned a Cup car in 1995.
Now the NASCAR Hall of famer appears to at least be putting the pieces together that could lead him back into the series.
Now the NASCAR Hall of famer appears to at least be putting the pieces together that could lead him back into the series.
Tom Wurtz Leaves Penske for KV Racing in IndyCar
Photo Courtesy KV Racing Technology Although it still hasn’t announced a driver lineup for the 2011 IZOD IndyCar Series season, KV Racing Technology has augmented its managerial standings by hiring Tom Wurtz as team manager for the squad owned by former Champ Car Series co-owner Kevin Kalkhoven and 1996 CART champion Jimmy Vasser. Wurtz, who...
This year's Chase for the Cup should have dramatic finish
Sunday should be Celebration Day at Homestead-Miami Speedway.<p/> Celebrate the Ford 400 climax of the NASCAR Sprint Cup season that's actually a climax. The 2010 Chase for the Cup left some drama for Homestead unlike 2005-2009. As far as The Chase is concerned, it's appropriate the best Sprint Cup teams are based in North Carolina -- the last five season finales have been akin to watching a four-corners offense running down the clock.
Join us for the latest Marbles chat, Wednesday at 1 ET
Come on, you're not really working now, are you? Join us Wednesday at 1 p.m. for a quick NASCAR holiday chat. Bring a secret Santa gift to exchange!
Sunday, January 9, 2011
Mechanical issue drops Robby Gordon to more than an hour behind Dakar leaders
Robby Gordon had a mechanical issue Monday that required about 35 minutes in repairs late in the second stage of the Dakar Rally, and the NASCAR driver now finds himself 21st overall and nearly 67 minutes behind the leaders in the provisional overall standings.
Bob Pockrass: Could these things really happen in 2011?
COMMENTARY
We have just finished posting the top 10 stories in 2010, and if you?re anything like me, you?re tired of rehashing 2010.
So on to 2011.
We have just finished posting the top 10 stories in 2010, and if you?re anything like me, you?re tired of rehashing 2010.
So on to 2011.
NASCAR Racing: Ford Championship Weekend
Welcome NASCAR race fans to my NASCAR blog. NASCAR Season Finale has arrived! The top three NASCAR Series’ are at Homestead-Miami Speedway for the final races of the season. NASCAR Sprint Cup Series had practice and Coors Light Pole Qualifying for the Ford 400 on Friday with 83 Kasey Kahne taking the pole away from [...]
Can this man sell you a gently used Nationwide car?
"Hi there, friend! What's it going to take to put you behind the wheel of this gently-used Camry? Only got a few hundred miles on it, only driven once a week. And fresh tires, too! Now, we've got all kinds of financing plans ..."In 2010, the Nationwide series rolled out a new car with a 110-inch wheelbase, the same as Sprint Cup cars, in four races. Which is nice and all, except for the fact that the old Nationwide cars had 105-inch wheelbases.In other words, there's a whole passel of 105-inch Nationwide cars with no particular place to go. Who wants to make an offer?The fine folks at Toyota give us a behind-the-scenes look at what will happen to those now-antiquated 105'ers. Behold:Some will be used in ARCA competitions, which permit the use of both 105- and 110-inch chassis. The series indicated that a key reason for using both wheelbases was to create a market for the leftover 105-inch chassis inventory. ARCA pulled the same maneuver when the Sprint Cup series switched over to the Car of Tomorrow.Other cars will be used in show-car promotions -- you know, the ones where NASCAR rides show up at ballgames and state fairs. So next time you see one, get down there, measure the wheelbase, and as you're being hauled off by mall security, holler that everyone's looking at an illegal car. (Don't look to us for bail.) Still others get given away as sponsor thank-yous. Now that'd be a sweet payoff for spending millions of dollars on sponsorship. What CEO wouldn't love to drive a race car home at the end of the work day, I ask you? All the more reason we need to have a Marbles-sponsored car. I want one of those old cars, now.
Saturday, January 8, 2011
Alan Kulwicki?s championship-winning car highlights newest Hall of Fame exhibit
The NASCAR Hall of Fame's newest five-part exhibit, "Short Careers, Lasting Legacy," includes Alan Kulwicki?s championship winning Ford Thunderbird, Davey Allison?s 1993 Ford and Tim Richmond?s 1987 Chevrolet. It also honors legendary car owners Carl Kiekhaefer and Bondy Long, while paying tribute to former drivers Billy and Bobby Myers and Adam Petty for their contributions on and off the track.
Carl Edwards helps John Cena hit enormous donation target
Carl Edwards (pictured, upside down) helped put wrestling buddy John Cena over the top in Cena's quest to raise 3 million Delta frequent flyer miles for the Make-A-Wish Foundation by the end of 2010.Edwards' contribution, as well as a last-minute push by Cena, resulted in a grand total of 4.2 million miles for the foundation. Cena recently granted his 200th wish, and has earned the Make-A-Wish Foundation's highest honor. (Dale Earnhardt Jr. passed the 200-wish mark earlier in 2010.) Since almost 70 percent of Make-A-Wish's wishes involve travel, the frequent flyer miles are a welcome gift indeed. Congrats to Cena, Edwards and WWE for reaching the milestone. More info is available at wwe.com/johncenawish.
A collection of NASCAR holiday gifts, part 1
It's the holiday season, and that means we're at the farthest point possible between the end of one NASCAR season and the start of the next. But does that mean we should just nap and forget NASCAR? Heck no! Save that nap for the middle of the Pocono races! Here, we've got a whole ton of NASCAR holiday goodness, broken up into two (and maybe more) monstrous posts. (Got more? Hit us up at jay.busbee@yahoo.com.) Ho ho ho, and away we go!The Intimidator Mega-Ornament (above). Gotta love an ornament that's the size of the freaking Death Star hanging off your tree. You'll need reinforcements to hold up the tree for this one. Plus, dig on the little E car running circles around it! Amazing! Brings a whiff of the Intimidator into your home all season long! More follows below...The Jeff Gordon sleigh. Check it out! Santa's a 24 fan! And probably even more so now that Rainbow is running with an AARP sponsorship. Of course, your sled may have problems everywhere but Texas. Your presents may show up much later than you expected them. And they might be cherrypicked by Jimmie Johnson. But hey, all that's to be expected, right? Be thankful for what you've got.Jimmie Johnson light-up lawn car. And speaking of Jimmie Johnson, who wouldn't love a gargantuan Jimmie Johnson lawn behemoth like this? It lights up the sky with five-time excellence! Just don't be too surprised if the FedEx truck "accidentally" runs this one over.Dale Earnhardt Jr. tree lights! How awesome are these little beauties? A string of lights that look so pretty and might even work the way they're supposed to one night out of the 12 of Christmas!Not a bad haul, all the way around. More coming on Christmas Eve!
Jennifer Jo Cobb appearing on CNN's Anderson Cooper show
When you're an owner/driver, you jump at whatever opportunities for publicity you can find. And if said opportunity happens to be on CNN, hey, so much the better.Jennifer Jo Cobb is scheduled to appear on CNN's "Anderson Cooper 360" on Tuesday as part of Dr. Sanjay Gupta's series on "extreme living." The life of a NASCAR driver, full of constant tension and nervousness, would certainly qualify as "extreme.""It was exciting to talk with Dr. Sanjay Gupta about extreme living," Cobb said. "This was a great opportunity to discuss the lifestyle associated with a NASCAR driver. Most race fans only see what takes place at the race track. They don't get to see what we're like when we aren't at a speedway."Cobb finished 17th in the Camping World Truck Series in 2010, which makes her the highest-finishing female ever in any of NASCAR's top-three series. And yes, that includes you-know-who.Check in and see how the show goes, and report back with your findings here. Congrats to Cobb for finding a new outlet for publicity. Hopefully her segment goes better than Brian Vickers', when he terrified a CNN host cruising through Atlanta's streets.
RPM under new ownership
Richard Petty Motorsports announced on Monday that it has partnered with the investment groups of Medallion Financial Corp. and DGB Investments to help restructure the financially-strapped racing team.
The entire Indianapolis 500, rendered in cute lil' LEGO form
OK, this is pretty astonishing: The entire Indy 500 rendered in LEGO. Created by Dr. Brian Darrow, this is an amazing re-creation of the entire Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Comprising 125,000 LEGO bricks, it's 7 feet by 10 feet, features 3,000 little figures, and took six years to construct. It's now on display in the IMS's Hall of Fame museum. Behold:Now, somebody needs to get to work and make a LEGO Talladega, complete with little LEGO Carl Edwards flying up into a little LEGO fence. Get on it, folks! Season starts in just two months! (Hat tip: The IMS Official Blog)
Friday, January 7, 2011
Marco Andretti's blog: Less of the same, please
"Well, I'm glad to be back on ovals...Andretti Autosport, as a team, has been struggling on the road courses this year."
Jimmie Johnson place in NASCAR's best-ever discussion
Rank 'em how you want. Keep Richard Petty as The King. Put Dale Earnhardt on top for winning across two very different NASCAR eras. Put Junior Johnson as No. 1. for being the ultimate ``win, wreck or blow'' driver in unreliable equipment.
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