NASCAR Ranting and Raving: FanPosts

Danica problem solved

2010-03-16T14:44:29Z

A week ago I posed a question about what JR motorsports would do since Danica Patrick would not have owner points for the next even she would attempt. Looks like they solved that little problem.

JR Motorsports officials announced this week its goal for the #7 program is to race the full 2010 NASCAR Nationwide Series schedule as opposed to the previously-announced 13 races in which Danica Patrick will drive. Complete sponsorship details and drivers are to be determined; however, veteran racer Scott Wimmer will take the wheel of the #7 Chevy this Saturday at Bristol Motor Speedway and April 3 at Nashville Superspeedway. "This is something we've been considering for awhile now, and the bottom line is the No. 7 car is too good not to be at the race track," said JRM co-owner and crew chief Tony Eury Jr. "Our goal at JR Motorsports has always been to have two full-time Nationwide Series teams competing every week. Our sponsorship situation with the No. 88 has shown significant progress, and hopefully we'll have announcements soon. We'll work just as hard to get the No. 7 fully funded."(JR Motorsports PR)

The 7 team is to good to not be at the track? More like you realized the problem that was going to take place.

Boris Said pulled from 26 ford

2010-03-15T17:58:46Z

Looks like Boris Said was pulled from the 26 Ford. After last week Boris fell outside of the top 35 in points. The car is locked into Bristol, but unless it can finish very strong, the 26 will have to race in on time next week. Michael Waltrip is listed as the driver of the 55 Prism Motorsports car, not sure if he will race it, Waltrip will race at Talledega in the Aaron's 55 Toyota for Prism, so this could be him just getting a feel for the team by qualifying. No word on what Boris or McDowell will do, but both will probably be watching the race from home.

	Car#	Driver	Manu	Sponsor	Owner
1	00	David Reutimann	Toyota	Aaron's Dream Machine	Rob Kauffman
2	1	Jamie McMurray	Chevy	Bass Pro Shops	Teresa Earnhardt
3	2	Kurt Busch	Dodge	Miller Lite	Walter Czarnecki
4	5	Mark Martin	Chevy	GoDaddy.com	Mary Hendrick
5	6	David Ragan	Ford	UPS	John Henry
6	7	Robby Gordon	Toyota	Warner Music Nashville	Robby Gordon
7	9	Kasey Kahne	Ford	Budweiser	George Gillett, Jr
8	09	Aric Almirola	Chevy	Phoenix Racing	James Finch	Outside Top 35
9	11	Denny Hamlin	Toyota	FedEx Express	J D Gibbs
10	12	Brad Keselowski	Dodge	Penske Racing	Roger Penske
11	13	Max Papis	Toyota	GEICO	Bob Germain	Outside Top 35
12	14	Tony Stewart	Chevy	Office Depot / Old Spice	Margaret Haas
13	16	Greg Biffle	Ford	U.S. Census	Jack Roush
14	17	Matt Kenseth	Ford	Crown Royal	John Henry
15	18	Kyle Busch	Toyota	M&M's	Joe Gibbs
16	19	Elliott Sadler	Ford	Stanley Tools	George Gillett, Jr
17	20	Joey Logano	Toyota	Home Depot	Joe Gibbs
18	24	Jeff Gordon	Chevy	DuPont	Rick Hendrick
19	26	David Stremme	Ford	Sacred Power	Bill Jenkins
20	29	Kevin Harvick	Chevy	Shell / Pennzoil	Richard Childress
21	31	Jeff Burton	Chevy	Caterpillar	Richard Childress
22	33	Clint Bowyer	Chevy	BB&T	Richard Childress
23	34	Travis Kvapil	Ford	Long John Silver's	Bob Jenkins
24	36	Mike Bliss	Chevy	Wave Energy Drink	Tommy Baldwin	Outside Top 35
25	37	Kevin Conway #	Ford	Extenze	Doug Yates
26	38	David Gilliland	Ford	Taco Bell	Doug Yates
27	39	Ryan Newman	Chevy	Haas Automation	Tony Stewart
28	42	Juan PabloMontoya	Chevy	Target	Chip Ganassi
29	43	A.J. Allmendinger	Dodge	Insignia / Best Buy	Richard Petty
30	46	Terry Cook #	Dodge	TBA	Dusty Whitney	Outside Top 35
31	47	Marcos Ambrose	Toyota	Little Debbie	Tad Geschickter
32	48	Jimmie Johnson	Chevy	Lowe's	Jeff Gordon
33	55	Michael Waltrip	Toyota	Prism Motorsports	Randy Humphrey	Outside Top 35
34	56	Martin Truex Jr.	Toyota	NAPA Auto Parts	Michael Waltrip
35	66	Dave Blaney	Toyota	Prism Motorsports	Phil Parsons	Outside Top 35
36	71	Bobby Labonte [PC1]	Chevy	Taxslayer.com	Kevin Buckler	Outside Top 35
37	77	Sam Hornish Jr.	Dodge	Mobil 1	Roger Penske
38	78	Regan Smith	Chevy	Furniture Row	Richard Childress
39	82	Scott Speed	Toyota	Red Bull	Dietrich Mateschitz	Outside Top 35
40	83	Brian Vickers	Toyota	Red Bull	Dietrich Mateschitz
41	87	Joe Nemechek	Toyota	TBA	Andrea Nemechek	Outside Top 35
42	88	Dale Earnhardt Jr.	Chevy	National Guard / AMP Energy	Rick Hendrick
43	90	Casey Mears	Chevy	Keyed-Up Motorsports	Raymond Key	Outside Top 35
44	98	Paul Menard	Ford	Menards/Pittsburgh Paints	George Gillett Jr
45	99	Carl Edwards	Ford	Scotts Miracle-Gro	Jack Roush

Nascar Video Game

2010-03-13T17:02:46Z

I've said it numerous times to my friends. There is an insanely awesome NASCAR game out there. It can be made. For years now we have been able to select an NFL team, fire every player, fire all 4 main coaches, relocate the team, and change the name and jerseys. We have been able to work our way from Double A up to the Bigs, while asking our manager for a trade, or more playing time. We have been able to send players to Triple A, the D-League or the AHL. (Although still no Practice Squad in Madden, funny huh?) Yet for the past few years we have been shackled to mediocre NASCAR games from the very same studio that makes Madden, NHL games, and NBA Live. So, why haven’t we seen the NASCAR game that gives us full control?

For one year only we were able to buy a NASCAR team. But we couldn't do anything with it. We could only add a team to that team, and you still couldn't make your number only 2 digits to match the rest of the team. RCR with the 29, 31, 33 and the 103. Terrible. With NASCAR 09 we could now customize our cars to the extreme, but we could only be a one car team, and still we had 3 digit numbers. Even Gran Turismo 5 (the only game slated to have NASCAR in it) will most likely NOT have much of a NASCAR program to it, other than being able to select a car and race it against other nascars. So here is how my perfect NASCAR game would go.

You would have a few different options. Obviously you would have the normal options of a single race, or a season, or just the chase. But I would have the Sprint Cup Series, The Nationwide Series, The Camping World Series, The Camping World East, and West Series, and the ARCA Series. Hey, we can do it. We have the technology. You would have the option to take over any NASCAR team. Let’s say Roush Fenway. You would have all 4 Cup teams, AND all 4 Nationwide teams, and you could start up a Truck team, an ARCA team, ECT. You would then have to find sponsorship for every race. Existing deals would be in place. That way you'd have to court sponsors for the Vegas Race so Colin Braun isn't all white. Then you could design that one race sponsor, or choose one of a few premade schemes. At the end of the year, you would have to decide if you wanted to keep David Ragan, extend Carl Edwards, or Move up Ricky Stenhouse to the UPS 6 Ford. You'd have to sign a manufacturer agreement, sign a technological agreement with Richard Petty Motorsports (or whoever), and find sponsors for next year, or try to extend current sponsorship deals. So for 2011 you could have Kenseth in the Crown Royal 17, Biffle in the Aflac/3M 16, Edwards in the Subway/Bass Pro Shops 99, and Kevin Harvick in the Shell/Pennzoil/UPS 6.

If we can have all that freedom in Madden and MLB the Show, why can't we have the same freedom in NASCAR 2011? You should also have the option to be just a driver. You'd start off in ARCA, move your way to the East or West series, get invited to the Toyota All Star Race, begin driving in the Nationwide series while starting 7 races in cup to get ready for next year, and finally winning your first Truck Championship. All while being a developmental driver for Michael Waltrip Racing. You'd also have the option to be an owner/driver. You'd start your own team, and move your way up the ranks. Until you expanded out your team. Outsiderz Racing team with Troy Boesen driving the 71(That's me!) and Paul Menard driving the Menards 70, and Jon Wes Townley driving the Sunoco 72. This shouldn't be a hard game to make. With Downloadable content, you could have up to the minute driver, crew, sponsor deals, ARCA drivers, and owner details. You could download new sponsors, new templates for cars, anything. What would be in your perfect NASCAR game?

Atlanta: The Rest of the Story

2010-03-10T07:41:45Z

I'm going to surprise you; I'm not going to talk about the Edwards vs. Keselowski incident. While that is the biggest story of the week, Sunday's Kobalt Tools 500 had multiple layers of appeal that need to be examined. In this post I'll briefly touch on ten of them that could generate some discussion.

1) Tire Issues

The person happiest about Edwards turning Keselowski and sending him airborne in Atlanta is Goodyear tire chief Stu Grant. (OK Denny Hamlin is probably the happiest person but Stu Grant is no lower than second on this list) Reason being is that Goodyear would have been on the hot seat after this race for the number of tire failures that occurred. Robby Gordon, Mark Martin, David Ragan, Dale Jr., Jeff Gordon, Tony Stewart, Joey Logano, and Denny Hamlin all had issues of varying degrees with the tires Goodyear brought. While this was absolutely nothing like the debacle at Indy a few years ago and I do believe that many of the tire issues were the team's fault for being too aggressive with the setups, there were a whole bunch of tire problems Sunday that need to be reevaluated.

2) Early Surprises

Paul Menard and Scott Speed finished 5th and 10th on Sunday and are 9th and 11th in the points. This means that if the Chase started today they would both be involved in it. I know it's early but that's still really impressive for a couple of drivers who finished 31st and 35th in points last year and they deserved to be noticed.

3) Still Some Work To Do

Dale Jr. won the pole and recorded the fastest lap ever in a COT on Friday but couldn't even lead a single lap of the Kobalt Tools 500 on Sunday. The 88 team still has a steep hill to climb if they want to compete with the elites.

4) A Champion's Performance

Kevin Harvick showed us another reason why he is one of the favorites to win the title this year. After running in 20 something place all day long, the #29 team slowly made the car better and better as the race went on, got a wave around, made up a lap, and avoided all the carnage during those late race restarts to finish 9th. Those are the things championships are made of.

5) The Sleeper

Kasey Kahne is stronger than his finishes show this year. While the Nascar box score may read 17th in points with finishes of 30th, 34th, 9th, and 4th, don't be fooled; the #9 is better than that. He won his leg of the Twin 150's and showed speed all week at Daytona before getting caught up in a late race wreck in the 500, had what I believe was a top 5 car before crashing at Fontana, was running 5th before he got a pit road penalty at Vegas, and led the most laps this this week at Atlanta before failing to keep up with track changes and constantly getting in the wrong lane on late race restarts. The bottom line here is that with the possible exception of the Kurt Busch, Kasey Kahne is closer than anyone to catching the Hendrick and Childress Chevrolets.

6) Brotherly Love?

Speaking of Kurt Busch he beat his brother to victory lane this year. Why is this so significant you ask? Well Steve Addington, the man who helped guide Kyle Busch to 12 wins over the last two seasons is now Kurt's crew chief. It's still too soon to form any conclusions, but early indications are that the #18 team may end up lamenting letting Addington get away.

7) What Might Have Been

Kurt Busch may have never won Sunday's race however if it wasn't for the Keselowski caution coming out in the closing laps. Montoya had closed the margin down to 0.6 seconds with three laps to go and was catching Busch at 0.2 seconds a lap. I'll let you do the math for yourself but I believe we were headed for yet another Atlanta photo finish.

8) Clint's Choice

One topic I haven't heard anyone mention so far this week is Clint Bowyer's lane choice on the first green-white-checker restart. His options were A: (Restart as the leader in the inside lane with Jamie McMurray who only has two fresh tires right behind him) or B: (Restart as the leader in the outside lane with Kurt Busch who has four tires and has been the fastest car on restarts all day long right behind him) Bowyer chose option B and boy was it the wrong call. Not only had he fallen to 6th by the time he got to turn three, but he ended up in the huge accident and finished 23rd.

9) What Might Have Been #2

The lane choice intrigue doesn't end there however. Remember, Kurt Busch was starting 4th (second car on the outside lane) and Montoya was starting 5th (third car on the inside lane) on that restart. If Bowyer chooses the inside line, that means it's Montoya's and not Kurt Busch's lane that moves first. While Kurt Busch was great on restarts all day, the end result might have been Montoya winning the race.

10) Chad Knaus is the Man

In case you're not yet convinced Chad Knaus is the best crew chief in Nascar, the Atlanta race gave you another really good reason to jump on board with that line of thinking. During Sunday's race, the 48 team was pitting in a really congested area of pit road with Kasey Kahne right behind them and David Gilliland right in front of them. You may have noticed that despite David Gilliland staying on the lead lap the entire race, he wasn't pitting with the leaders during cautions in the second half of the race. That's because Chad Knaus somehow convinced the 38 team to wait another lap before pitting so Jimmie could have an easier time exiting the pits. You may not like Chad Knaus but you have to admit, he's pretty amazing.

No More Free Pass. Make Teams Pay for going a Lap Down.

2010-03-02T04:34:30Z

It's time for Nascar to do away with its "free pass" rule. The reasons for its creation no longer apply. For those of you who are unfamiliar with how this rule came about, here's a quick review. (The rest of you can skip the next paragraph.)

Back in 2003, Nascar used to race back to the start-finish line when the caution came out. In other words, if there was a crash in turn four that brought out the caution and the leaders were on the backstretch, they would continue to race through the accident scene and back to the line as if it were the end of the race. Most of the time the drivers slowed down and followed a so called "gentleman's agreement", but as you might imagine there were some exceptions. One of those exceptions came whenever there were lapped cars right behind the leader. They would use this opportunity to to unlap themselves by beating the leader (who was slowing down for the caution) back to the line. Everything changed however following this incident involving Dale Jarrett at New Hampshire in September 2003.

Nascar realized that racing back to the line was unsafe and started freezing the field at the moment of caution just like they do today. A byproduct of this rule however was that there was now no way for lapped cars to get their lap back; so Nascar created the "free pass" rule to give drivers who were a lap down some hope.

I always hated the "free pass" rule. I like to see drivers earn their laps back. I also like it when it means something if you go a lap down early in a race instead of being able to rely on the crutch that is the "free pass". At first this rule was somewhat tolerable because without it getting a lap back would have been nearly impossible after Nascar got rid of the racing back to the caution rule. My feelings have changed however since Nascar went to double file restarts last summer.

Now that Nascar has these double file restarts, lapped cars have another opportunity to get there lap back via the wave around rule. It requires a bit of gambling for the lapped cars but it's a way to get a lap back nonetheless.

So now that going a lap down is no longer a death sentence, Nascar should can the "free pass" and stop giving laps back like they're candy on Halloween. Last Sunday, 19 CARS, (19 FREAKING CARS!!!!!!!!!!) made up a lap via the wave around rule on the last caution. Get rid of the "free pass" rule Nascar and force teams to gamble to get their lap back.

Who's with me?

Poll

Do you think Nascar should get rid of the "free pass" rule?

Yes. I don't like teams getting a lap back for free.

25 votes

No. I like as many cars on the lead lap as possible.

30 votes

55 votes | Poll has closed

Doug George and Ron Hornaday reunited at KHI after 18 years!

2010-02-26T16:31:27Z

NextEra Energy Resources 250 Practice

DAYTONA BEACH, FL - FEBRUARY 11: Ron Hornaday Jr., driver of the #33 Longhorn Chevrolet, stands next to his car during practice for the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series NextEra Energy Resources 250 at Daytona International Speedway on February 11, 2009 in Daytona Beach, Florida. (Photo by Geoff Burke/Getty Images for NASCAR)

Doug George was named the crew chief for the 33 Chevrolet Silverado of Ron Hornaday 18 years after and epic battle for the 1992 Southwest tour in which Hornaday edged George by 3 points for the title.

"I really like Doug, he and I go way back," Hornaday said. "I raced against Doug for the 1992 Southwest Tour championship. He was always a great competitor. He's got a confidence about him that makes him likeable and a good leader."

General Manager of KHI (Kevin Harvick Incorporated) Rick Carelli, was also part of the 1992 Southwest Tour Championship as he was one of the 3 drivers who had a shot at winning the title on the final race. This move by KHI only looks to further improve a Championship caliber team, other competitors beware.

Link to Source Article

You Want To Sell Something Here? Then Go Through Me First!

2010-02-26T02:20:09Z

Otherwise take your crap elsewhere!

Johnson Again

2010-02-22T05:04:48Z

How many times have we heard Jimmie say in the last 10 laps or so, I don't no what's going on with my car but it's running better than it has all day! and wins the race. I am so sick of him winning, "come on people find out how he is cheating" I know I can't be the only one that feels this way!! Check out my poll on this.

Poll

Does anyone feel this way?

Yes

10 votes

No

5 votes

15 votes | Poll has closed

What is Danica going to do?

2010-02-20T20:46:16Z

Today showed just how much Danica needs owner points. The learning curve is just to hard unless all you have to do is focus on qualifing. Just ask Scott Speed. He had to attempt to qualify for every race last year, and at least the first 5 races this year. He didn't fair well. Speed looks to be doing better this year. Patrick ran a qualifing lap that was slower than 8 go or go homers. Had she been one herself, she would have missed the race. Next week will be the last race she is scheduled to run that she will be locked into. After that, the 7 team takes a few weeks off before returning in late June. At that point, she will be outside of the top 30 in points. JR Motorsports doesn't plan on running the 7 car without Patrick in it. There just isn't sponsorship. So what will happen?

There are too many teams trying to run the full season, so if qualifing would be rained out for one of the 10 races she will not be locked into, she's gonna miss the race due to having less attempts than other drivers. If she runs a lap like she did today, she'll miss the race. Speed and ESPN are banking on Nationwide races with her in them. What happens if they do what they will of course do, Pimp the crap outta Patrick in the 7 chevy, and she misses the race? What then? Do you ask another team to have there driver step aside? Then she'll be in crap equipment, and really will have no chance at a good finish. Do you put her in the 88? Do we see Kelly Bires again get pulled from a racecar due to sponsorship? One thing is for sure, it will be interesting when these questions get answered.

NASCAR Regressing

2010-02-15T20:13:51Z

The Daytona 500 was a huge disappointment this year. Can we get one member from each pit crew to help repair the track next time? How can they take that long to make a repair that lasts…I don't know, how many laps did it last?

This is NASCAR’s premier race, just coming out of the off-season, how long did they have to prepare the 2.5 mile track for this race?

Daytona 500, caution. NASCAR: We’’ll go for the green white checker.
Daytona 507.5, caution. NASCAR: That’s ok, we’ll just redo the green white checker.
Daytona 515, caution. NASCAR: Hire a backup flag waving person...
This is ridiculous.

I think we need a different approach to all these cautions at the “end” of a race. Point subtractions for teams that bring out the yellow in the last 20 laps? What do you think? Do you have a better idea?

Please discuss.

fairness

2010-02-14T10:49:59Z

is nascar still restricting the toyotas in the nationwide series? if so, i think this is appalling and totally meant to make chevy relevant in the series. yet in the cup series where chevy is dominating i havent heard a word about restricting the chevies (which im opposed). lets take all restrictions off and get down to some decent racing.. also let's increase the pit lane speeds, it was fun to watch them race in and out. dont regulate the exciting parts out.

Happy Race Day!!!

2010-02-12T18:32:38Z

The NASCAR season officially begins today with the first points race of the big 3 series! Jason White, Elliot Sadler and Austin Dillion will lead the field to the green tonight for the NextEra Energy Resources 250. I don't know about you but I am ready for some racing. I know NASCAR has the shortest offseason of any major sport but that still feels too long for me. The green flag is expected to fly at 7:30 pm ET although it is currently raining and rain is in the forecast. Hopefully Mother Nature is a racing fan tonight!

UPDATE: The race has been postponed due to rain. It is scheduled to be run tomorrow at 6:30 pm ET

Kyle Busch; Johnny Benson; Johnny Sauter racing in the

NextEra Energy Resources 250 Feb 13th 2009

Credit getty images

photo by By: John Harrelson

What happened to the second Duel Race?

2010-02-12T13:16:16Z

The first Duel Race was great. It had a few wrecks, awesome excitement, and a great finish. The race to make the race showed three drivers fight it out with Max Papis and Michael McDowell coming out on top after Todd Bodine slammed the wall on the last lap. Before that, Reed Sorenson looked strong, and Michael Waltrip looked a lock to make it. Waltrip crashed out, and Sorenson had some type of mechanic problem that ended his weekend. It was exciting though to see Papis and Bodine fight it out, and to see McDowell race into the 500 in what was an 11th hour team entry for PRISM (or MSRP, whatever they want to be called this week). It was a great 1st duel. I'm not a Johnson fan, but I can respect that he's a great driver. I can respect that he wants to win. It was great to see that type of close 500 finish 3 days before the 500.

The second duel looked to be stronger with who was trying to make the 500. Bliss, Speed, Labonte, Mears, Almirola, Blaney and Gilliland. Gilliland Crashed out, leaving 6 drivers for 2 spots. Speed and Labonte were in on time. After about 40 laps suddenly they showed that only Bliss, Speed, B-Lab, and Mears where left. Where did Blaney and Almirola go? Suddenly Finch racing's 09 chevy was just gone. Almirola was a favorite to make the race, since the 09 has two top 5s (4th in '07 with Mike Wallace, 3rd in '02 with Geoff Bodine) in the 500 and a win at Talledega. What happened? Labonte and Speed really didn't have to race the Duel, but they were determined to make it by duel finish. I feel a little sorry for Mears. He fought hard to try to get in. Instead Speed starts 11 spaces higher in the 500, and Waltrip gets in on his qualifing time. It was exciting to watch Mears, Labonte and Speed fight it out in the end. Speed needs a much more improved season this year. Anything lower than a 25th place in points should be looked at as a disappointment. So it was encouraging to see him try. It just seemed that with nothing really going on in the race that they could have told us what happened to Almirola, Said, Cope and the others.

Wallace, Wallace, Wallace, and oh yes Wallace!

2010-02-12T01:45:01Z

DAYTONA BEACH, FL - FEBRUARY 10: Chrissy Wallace drives the Fuel-Doctor.com Chevrolet during practice for the NASCAR Nationwide Series DRIVE4COPD 300 at Daytona International Speedway on February 10, 2010 in Daytona Beach, Florida. (Photo by John Harrelson/Getty Images for NASCAR)

No I am not joking I am serious! Chrissy Wallace, daughter of Mike Wallace, plans on making her Nationwide debut Saturday the 13th in the Camping World 300 at Daytona.

The story does not end here though for the Wallace's as Chrissy's Uncle, Kenny Wallace, and cousin, Steve Wallace (son of Uncle Rusty) also plan on running the February 13th race.

Chrissy is looking to repeat her previous historic event in which she and her father Mike Wallace competed in the October 2009 event at Talladega Superspeedway.

This could be a truly historic day as 4 members of the Wallace family will attempt to race together in the same race.

Chrissy also plans on running a partial Camping World Truck Series schedule in the no.6 EZ-SLIDER truck for Rick Ware Racing that she will share with Donnie Neuenberger.

Chrissy Wallace will attempt to qualify the no. 41 Chevrolet sponsored by Fuel-Doctor.com

Kenny will attempt to qualify the no. 28 Chevrolet sponsored by Blue Ox

Steve Wallace will attempt to qualify the no. 66 Toyota sponsored by 5-Hour Energy

Mike Wallace will attempt qualify the no. 01 Chevrolet sponsored by Kendrick Meek for Florida

For more info on this please go here: Link to article

The Return of the 3

2010-02-12T00:59:47Z

DAYTONA BEACH, FL - FEBRUARY 11: Austin Dilon drives the #3 Bass Pro Shops Cheverolet during practice for the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series NextEra Energy Resources 250 at Daytona International Speedway on February 11, 2010 in Daytona Beach, Florida. (Photo by Todd Warshaw/Getty Images)

The number 3 Bass Pro Shops Chevrolet Silverado Camping World Truck piloted by Austin Dilon was on the track qualifying for the February 12th Daytona race to open the NASCAR season!

This is not the first time the number 3 Chevrolet Silverado has been on the track since the passing Dale Earnhardt, the truck was in a few events last season.

I don't know about you, but everytime I see any race vehicle with the number 3 on it I get chills and a lump in my throat.

One of the greatest race car drivers in history and the greatest NASCAR driver ever will forever be linked to this great number!

2010 NPO/4ever3 Nascar Pool

2010-02-08T17:10:43Z

We're back again this season (a little earlier this time) with a new format and scoring method.

This season, you'll have to be a little more on top of things since you get to pick new drivers each race. Each race you will pick any 7 drivers you like. There are no limits to how many times you can have any one driver on your team, and there are no groups to pick from. Scoring will be the standard Sprint Cup Championship point system (with no chase reset) and it will include penalty deductions.

Head on over to http://nascarpoolsonline.com/npo4ever3.php for more information, the contest rules and to sign up.

Nationwide: Roush Racing Style

2010-02-01T20:56:15Z

Roush announced that they plan to run three teams full time (6, 16 and 60) along with having a car for Kenseth, and one for Ragan every once and a while. Biffle moves to the 27 car part time (not owned by Roush). The drivers for the 6 and the 16 are Ricky Stenhouse Jr and Colin Braun. Now here's the thing I don't get. Last year Stenhouse drove the 16 Citi Ford and Braun drove the Con-Way 6 Truck. This year, Braun will drive the # 16 Con-Way ford, and Stenhouse is in the # 6 Citi ford. Why the change? It obviously had nothing to do with sponsorship. Why switch numbers?

Not to mention, the 6 car looks so weird without it being 16.

NASCAR changes the Camping World Truck series lineup rules

2010-02-01T16:30:01Z

Credit: Getty Images for NASCAR

Ron Hornaday Jr. in the Copart 200 via nascar-assets.americaneagle.com.

In an official release, NASCAR has reduced the number of weekly locked in trucks from 30 to 25. Beginning on February 12, the top 25 drivers will be locked into the race based upon 2009 owner points, 10 other drivers will have a chance to make the race via qualifying, and the 36th and final spot will be reserved for a past champion, if there is no past champion then it will be the next fastest qualifier.

This will be a departure from a 5 year rule where the top 30 drivers are locked into each week’s race. This move was made by NASCAR to strengthen the field and ensure the best trucks are on the race track as there were only 25 teams who raced in all 25 races in 2009.

It will also make it easier for new teams to make the races.

Here is the official press release:

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (Feb. 1, 2010) – NASCAR will revise its five-year-old procedure governing guaranteed starting positions for the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series in 2010. The revision will open up additional spots in the line-up for teams qualifying via time trials.

            Under the procedure implemented in 2005, the top 30 eligible owners’ trucks were locked into the starting lineup and guaranteed a spot among the top 35 positions in the 36-truck field. Beginning with the Feb. 12 NextEra Energy 250 at Daytona International Speedway, the "lock-in" will be reduced to the top 25 eligible owners who have entered the event based upon 2009 Owner Championship point standings.

            The 36th and final position continues to be reserved for a past champion not otherwise qualified for the race. If no past champion is eligible, the position is filled by the next fastest qualifier.

            The reduction in guaranteed starting positions brings the series in line percentage-wise with the NASCAR Nationwide Series, which guarantees a top 30 eligible owner’s car a position among 42 of 43 starting spots.

            Twenty-five teams competed in all 25 races in 2009 and are thus eligible for guaranteed starting positions for the season’s first four races. Eligibility for the lock-in is set by 2010 Owner Championship points for the remainder of the season.

            "All owners who would have been locked in under the previous procedure will have guaranteed starting positions at Daytona and for three additional races," said NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Director Wayne Auton. "Teams which saw limited competition in 2009 or are new to the series will have greater opportunity to qualify for races than they might have had in the past – especially at short tracks such as Martinsville Speedway – where drivers who may not have a great deal of experience at the national series level are attempting to further their careers."

            Red Horse Racing owner Tom DeLoach praised the move. DeLoach has a pair of teams locked into the field and the possibility of another with a rookie driver with zero points and no NASCAR experience.

            "This is the thing to do," said DeLoach. "If I’m starting a team moving from five (open positions) to 10 you’ve doubled my chances. It’s absolutely the right thing to do. Let’s get out there and race.

            "It strengthens the field and it should work well for the fans and the teams."

            The revised procedure does not affect races in which qualifying is canceled. Starting fields in such instances are based upon a separate procedure dictated by the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Rule Book.

Why Front Row Motorsports will be a one car team in two years

2010-01-31T20:35:43Z

As you can tell from my avatar, I loves me some Travis Kvapil. Travis is a good driver. He's a great truck driver, but at the top level, he's a mid packer. This is great for Front Row Motorsports. Front Row has been around for years, so this year is big, since they are finally making the push to be a bigger name team. That won't happen with Robert Richardson and Kevin Conway as drivers. David Gilliland is a good driver, and he's going to do wonders for the 38. But Richardson and Conway are only driving for Front Row because they bring sponsorship. Richardson with Mahindra and Conway with ExtenZe. It's misleading that Long John Silver's, Taco Bell and A&W are on the 38 and 34. Bob Jenkins (Owner of Front Row) is a franchise owner of all three. So when they appear on the car, Front Row is barely making any money off the deal. Travis isn't a big enough draw to bring in sponsorship, Gilliland could be, but we haven't seen it. Conway may be making the leap to soon, and could fall outside the top 35 quickly, and Richardson is the same deal, although Gilliland should be able to keep that team afloat. I can see Conway and ExtenZe leaving Front Row for another cash strapped team if the 37 falls outside the top 35 to start 2011. It's only a matter of time before Front Row will be starting and Parking the 38. I want this team to do good, but they will never break through without outside sponsorship.

How to beat the 48 team - a cartoon

2010-01-26T14:29:04Z

Everyone wants to know what it will take to stop Jimmie Johnson and Chad Knaus. It seems Jeff Gordon (thinks he) has found the answer.

For more NASCAR Cartoons follow the link.