Angie
Image by Bristol Motor Speedway & Dragway via Flickr
Carl Edwards won Saturday night’s Nationwide Series race at Gateway International Raceway in spectacular fashion.
An ongoing feud reared its ugly head when Keselowski bumped Edwards going into Turn 1 after a restart on lap 199. In a move that Edwards later admitted was retaliatory, he sent Keselowski into the wall on the final lap of the race. Edwards captured the win and the debate began.
For some fans, the issue is simple. If Brad Keselowski is your favorite driver then you’re on his side. On the other side are the fans of Carl Edwards who feel their driver was justified in taking the action he did.
There’s also been a lot of talk about the “driver mentality.” Drivers have long memories and when someone takes them out of a race their initial response is to return the favor. This is the way it has always been in a process that teaches drivers to give and gain respect.
Let’s not forget that many fans asked for less oversight and begged NASCAR to let the drivers be themselves. Fans wanted to see the individuality and passion of the drivers.
Racing is, after all, a dangerous sport and crashes are an inevitable part of it.
For many others, the line between right and wrong is somewhat blurred. Continue reading →
Angie
(c) Nascar Media
The Nationwide Series race at Daytona International Speedway on Saturday was one of the most widely anticipated races of the year.
The excitement began on April 29, 2010 when Earnhardt announced that he would drive the No. 3 with a special blue and yellow Wrangler paint scheme reminiscent of one his father drove in the 1980’s.
This venture was months in the making and required the cooperation of several different organizations.
“This idea came up as a way to pay tribute to my Dad,” Earnhardt said, “and it’s pretty cool that it’s a collaborative effort between JR Motorsports, RCR and DEI.” Continue reading →
Angie
Image by BiggerPictureImages.com via Flickr
Jimmie Johnson grabbed his fourth win of the season at Sonoma today with a little help from Marcos Ambrose. It was his fourth win this season and his 51st career win.
While Johnson was celebrating his victory, the rest of the NASCAR world was still in shock at the heartbreaking mistake that handed him the win.
On the final caution of the race, Ambrose failed to keep up with the pace car and maintain his position during the caution laps. This unfortunate error gave the lead to Johnson who easily cruised into victory lane.
Marcos talked to the media after the race.
“Just cut the motor off, trying to save a bit of fuel there,” Ambrose said. “It’s NASCAR’s house, you play by their rules. I don’t agree with it. I don’t like it, but that’s the way it is.
Movers and Shakers:
The biggest gain in the points standings was made by Jimmie Johnson who moved up four spots to second place. He is now only 140 points behind leader Kevin Harvick.
Johnson also made some history today. His 51st career win puts him 10th on the all-time winners list. Hendrick Motor Sports broke another record with its 15th victory on a road course, the most for one organization.
Jeff Gordon moved up two spots to fifth place in the standings but seems to have lost the respect of some drivers in the process. His controversial run in today’s race puts him firmly in the role of villain, so more about him later. Continue reading →
Angie
The “Lady in Black” welcomed back fans on Saturday for round two at Darlington Raceway. In preparation for the Showtime Southern 500, a team had been up throughout the night re-painting the historic red and white walls.
A busy day of practice and qualifying on Friday had left its mark on the track walls and sent six Sprint Cup teams to backup cars.
Dale Earnhardt Jr was the first casualty, hitting the wall on just his second lap of practice. He was followed by Clint Bowyer, Scott Speed, Greg Biffle, Marcos Ambrose and Kyle Busch.
Jamie McMurray stayed out of the wall and made his way into the record books. He set a track qualifying record with a 180.370 mph lap.
In what has fast become a tradition on Mother’s Day weekend at Darlington, the Sprint Cup mothers in attendance gave the command, “Gentleman, start your engines.” Continue reading →
Angie
The Lady in Black opened her gates on Saturday and quickly let everyone know that she was in charge.
She claimed her first victims during the Nationwide Series practice Friday morning.
Steve Wallace, Mike Wallace and Steve Arpin all had to go to back up cars after hitting the wall.
The Nationwide Series qualifying went a little smoother and Denny Hamlin claimed the pole. It was his 15th pole in 121 Nationwide Series races.
The top five spots were all taken by Sprint Cup regulars. Kyle Busch started second followed by Brad Keselowski, Jamie McMurray and Carl Edwards.
The fastest qualifying rookie was Brain Scott who started 13th.
Denny Hamlin led the field to green and the race was on to see who could survive until the end. Continue reading →
Angie
Kyle Busch led the field to green and then led the field for almost half the race.
He was putting cars down at such a quick pace that by lap 156 there were only nine cars on the lead lap with 21 cars one lap down. It was beginning to look like the Kyle Busch show.
A debris caution on lap 159 changed things up as 18 cars took the wave around. That left 27 cars on the lead lap.
Finally on lap 230, Jeff Burton took the lead and the excitement was turned up a notch.
Burton was in the lead with Kyle Busch second and Gordon in third. But Gordon was closing fast and soon overtook Busch for second place with Burton in his sights.
Gordon passed Burton on lap 250 for the lead and looked determined to bring home that elusive win.
But this is short track racing and a couple of late race cautions changed everything.
After the last caution, on lap 395, Kyle Busch slid by Gordon and took the lead. Continue reading →
Angie
Image via Wikipedia
Best race ever!
That may be a slight exaggeration but Talladega Superspeedway gave NASCAR fans a race to remember, from beginning to end.
Dale Earnhardt Jr had Junior Nation on its feet for a while but couldn’t get it done at the end. When Earnhardt and Michael Waltrip were up front racing together, it brought back fond memories of better days for both drivers.
Mike Davis, public relations representative for Earnhardt, summed it up best on twitter.
“Best part of this day,” he said, “was seeing old teammates race up front like the old days. Fun to watch. Crowd went nuts.”
The action was riveting and chances are you got to see your favorite driver up front at some point during the day. Continue reading →
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