We all know about that lame contest NASCAR puts on every year. You know, the one that always gives Dale Earnhardt Jr. that annual award because he can’t seem to win a race.
Well I’ve decided to create my own contest, and I need your help. Together, we’re going to decide who NASCAR’s Least Popular Driver is!
It’s simple, just vote for your least favorite NASCAR driver(or drivers) by using the poll below, or on the right hand of your screen. You can vote for multiple drivers, and you can vote multiple times. Voting concludes following the announcement of NASCAR’s Most Popular Driver.
The winner of the Least Popular Driver award gets an imaginary trophy, a special mention on this semi-popular NASCAR blog, a pat on the back for a job-well-done, and the right to declare himself the Least Popular Driver in NASCAR during the entire 2011 season!
Sound like fun? What are you waiting for? Start voting! And spread the word to your friends about Stock Car Spin’s Least Popular Driver contest!
The banks are closed and the kids have a day off from school. It’s Chip Ganassi Day in Pittsburgh, Pa.
Alright, so I’m exaggerating. The banks are open in Pittsburgh(those that are still around, anyway) and the kids had to go to school. But it really is Chip Ganassi Day.
The NASCAR team owner earned the honor today as the Pittsburgh City Council proclaimed that today be named for Ganassi, in light of his historical NASCAR accomplishments this year. Ganassi became the first car owner to win racing’s “triple crown”, taking NASCAR’s Daytona 500 and Brickyard 400, along with Indycar’s Indianapolis 500.
Happy Chip Ganassi Day, everybody!
Want a day named after you in your hometown? It’s easy. Just go out and make some historical achievement in the world of sports. If you want a National holiday named after you, however, you’ll have to do something a little more drastic. Such as become America’s first president or lead a Civil Rights movement.*
*WARNING: Doing the latter may get you badly hurt or ridiculed; especially if you do it at a NASCAR track.
FOXSPORTS.COM:NASCAR is no longer an option for Shane Hmiel, who failed three drug tests and is banned for life. But he is one of the young hot kids in USAC and he’s looking for another chance. Is IndyCar a place where he could make his mark?
BERNARD: You bet! I’m excited to see Shane compete with us. Everyone says he’s a great driver and we’re going to give him a chance. I think that’s very important. Everyone deserves a chance and we’re committed to making sure that he has that opportunity. He’s exactly what I’m talking about. He’s a dirt track, short track, Americana and if he makes it over here it’s going to be a great storyline. And that’s the type of thing that we need to develop, the embrace him and give him the opportunity to succeed.
Hearing what Bernard had to say about Hmiel, I can’t help but think that Jeremy Mayfield in IRL would be an even better story than Hmiel.
Think about it. Here’s a guy who just went through an epic mid-life crisis. For all we know, the guy was framed by one of America’s largest corporations: NASCAR. He fought tooth-and-nail to win, but unfortunately came up short due to financial problems.
Simply put, NASCAR had a lot more money than Mayfield.
He had to sell his house, sell his team, sell almost everything he owns, and he’s still in debt.
We know Hmiel was guilty of doing drugs at least three times. We don’t know that Mayfield truly was guilty. But once NASCAR brought him down, the world kicked him time and time again. He’s taken beatings from the media. Beatings from the fans. Beating from the other NASCAR drivers.
Here’s a guy who is literally going up against the world. And for all we know, he may be innocent.
The odds of a Jeremy Mayfield comeback story are slim-to-none. He’s a middle-aged man with an irreparably damaged reputation.
But if somebody in the IRL were to give Jeremy Mayfield a chance, like the chance Shane Hmiel may be getting ready to receive, that would potentially put a once-tarnished, middle-aged man with no hope, in the starting field for the Greatest Spectacle in Racing.
“Trevor Bayne Racing wants to be nominated into Jesus’s hall of fame one day ”
Alright NASCAR fans, tell me that isn’t the coolest thing you’ve ever heard(or read) a driver say. All too often we hear them talking about what went wrong in the last race, or how they can win the next one.
But not Trevor. He just wants to please Jesus, and end up in His hall of fame. That is too cool!
On Wednesday, Kyle Busch was participating in a go-kart event in Kansas City, Missouri as part of a media/fan appreciation deal. After dominating NASCAR’sbest at Bristol, Busch didn’t even complete one full circuit in this recreational event, crashing hard into a barrier and doing a full 360, before getting the car re-fired and heading for the pit area. Busch was OK after the wreck.
Due to KMBCTV’s request to Youtube to not allow anyone to embed the video, you will have to go to their website to check it out. Don’t worry though; I’ve got the link to the video and the full story right here.
AUTHOR: Ben Montedonico | IN: NASCAR | COMMENTS: None Yet
Max Gresham knows all about how to deal with pressure. As a rookie in the NASCAR K&N East Series, the Joe Gibbs Racing development driver has accumulated 2 wins in just 7 starts, along with an ARCA win at Toledo in just his second series start.
But of all the races that the 17-year old has participated in, this Saturday night’s race at Gresham Motorsports Park in Jefferson, Georgia might just be the most important one of his career to him. I had the privilege of interviewing Max yesterday, and he told me a bit about this upcoming race:
Ben: First off, tell us a little bit about the K&N Pro Series and the upcoming race.
Max: Well I race in the K&N Pro Series in the number 18 Joe Gibbs Racing car, sponsored by Gresham and Associates, and Toyota. The series is a very competitive series that has a lot of great drivers and always has very stout fields.
Ben: As a driver, what make this race significant for you?
Max: This race is so significant to me because it is at my home track, the track that my grandfather has worked so hard to get perfect for awesome racing. It is a very big deal to myself and my family for us to get to run such a high priority race on something that as a whole we have worked so hard on.
Ben: Why is this a race you would recommend for the fans?
Max: I would recommend this race for the fans because of its high speeds and its multi lane racing, there is always racing around the Gresham Motorsports Park half mile and there will never be a boring lap in the race.
Ben: Are there a lot of things the fans can paticipate in(like autograph signings and such)?
Max: There is an autograph session for the fans to take part in, but there is also a Go-cart race taking place Friday night at Funopolis in Jefferson Ga. Many of the drivers will be taking part in the race so fans can come out and race with all of the drivers that night.
Ben: What can we expect to see in the race?
Max: In the race we can expect to see a lot of side-by-side racing and some very aggressive drivers hungry to score their either first or next win!
Ben: Finally, if fans wish to attend the event, where and when will it be taking place?
Max: The racing starts around 8:30 Pm Saturday night and Gresham Motorsports Park.
So if you’re in the Atlanta area on Saturday and are looking for something to do, or if you live halfway across the country and have the urge to see a race, head out to Gresham Motorsports Park on Saturday night at cheer on Max!
After you’ve become the first driver in history to win all three of NASCAR’s major touring events in one weekend, you’ve earned the right to have a little fun in your post-race press conference.
After all, you can brag, and nobody can argue with you. Because you’ve pretty much proven that you are the best. Kyle Busch took full advantage of his opportunity on Saturday night, and sounded off on the facts of life.
Take a look at the video below. The first, oh, 2:45 is kind of boring. But the last 45 seconds or so makes it totally worth watching:
On the surface, it seems that Busch is being kinda hard on David Reutimann. But Rowdy doesn’t mean that Reuti is an inept race car driver, as some might have you think. What Busch is saying is that there were a couple of places on the track where Reutimann was losing time to Busch, and that when he figures out how to get through those places, he’ll be able to win at Bristol.
As far as his comments about Brad Keselowski, I think there’s only one thing to say.
The boys of NASCAR were in Bristol this weekend for the legendary track’s 100th race. Who got to celebrate and whose party was crashed? We’ve got you covered!
Hot: Kyle Busch. Love him or hate him, you have to admit one thing about Kyle Busch: The guy is good at driving race cars. With his win Saturday night, Rowdy became the first driver ever to sweep the Truck, Nationwide and Cup races all in the same weekend. Congrats, Kyle!
Not: Mark Martin. Mark needs a prayer and then some if he’s going to have any shot at making the Chase. After another poor run this weekend, Martin now sits 14th in the standings, 101 points behind 12th-place Clint Bowyer.
Hot: David Reutimann. Unfortunately, 2010 is going to be another one of those ”what coulda’ been” seasons for car #00. But Reuti took no prisoners at Bristol and came home with a runner-up finish. If he keeps running like this, David could crash the Chase party and get some serious momentum going into 2011.
Not: Tony Stewart. Smoke’s hot summer run of 2010 took a hit at Bristol, courtesy of Tony Raines. I’d say this isn’t a big deal, but Stewart’s hot summer run of 2009 took a similar hit at the same venue, and he was never the same.
Hot: Jamie McMurray. J-Mac and the Orange Dart put together another solid run this weekend, finishing third. Now get this: After all the talk after Indy about how McMurray can only win the big ones and isn’t a Chase contender, guess who now sits 13th in the standings, 100 points out of 12th? Yep, Jamie McMurray.
Not: Jamie McMurray’s pit crew. If not for a few poor stops, J-Mac could have won his third race of the season Saturday night. But early mistakes(one by Jamie; one by the crew) put him deep in the field. He got back up to the lead, only to have his crew lose it to Kyle Busch on the final stop. I see lots of pit stop practice in this team’s future.
Hot: Clint Bowyer. After a second-straight top 10 run, Bowyer now has quite a bit of breathing room over the Chase cutoff. Clint is now one solid race away from making Richmond completely irrelevant.
Not: The Brad Keselowski/Kyle Busch rivalry. Carl v. Brad had its heyday, and we’re still waiting on Kurt v. Jimmie to develop. But let’s face it, if you’re looking for the next great rivalry, Brad v. Kyle isn’t it. Keselowski is on probation, while Busch isn’t exactly a one-rival man(and even if he was, I don’t think Brad is that special someone). Let’s just say that Kevin Conway’s Chase hopes have a better chance of materializing than this “rivalry”.
Hot: Kasey Kahne. Like Reutimann, Kahne’s 2010 season is full of “what-ifs”. But that doesn’t mean the #9 team can’t finish strong in Kasey’s last year at RPM. Kahne finished fifth at Bristol, and though his Chase hopes aren’t completely gone yet, we’ll probably get to see if he can join Reutimann in crashing the 2010 Chase party.
Not: Jimmie Johnson. These days, unfortunately, it seems that Hot or Not just isn’t complete without J.J. making his weekly appearance in the “Not” section. At Bristol, Jimmie was just an innocent victim of circumstances, also known as Juan Pablo Montoya. 4-time must feel like he has a target on his back…or quarter-panel.
AUTHOR: Ben Montedonico | IN: NASCAR | COMMENTS: None Yet
Can’t watch tonight’s Irwin Tools Night Race at Bristol? No problem! Follow along with LIVE timing and scoring, courtesy of Foxsports.com, by clicking on the link below:
AUTHOR: Ben Montedonico | IN: NASCAR | COMMENTS: None Yet
For those of you who are still curious as to what happened after Elliott Sadler hit the ARMCO barrier at Pocono a few weeks ago in what was the hardest crash ever recorded in NASCAR, we have retrieved this video off of Youtube.
Note: The quality is low as the video was taken by an amature from across the infield, but it’s about the best thing anybody has come up with so far, including the so-called “professionals” at ESPN:
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