Archive for December, 2009

Dec31st

10 Bold Predictions for the 2010s

AUTHOR: Ben Montedonico | IN: NASCAR | COMMENTS: 2 Comments

During the last month, the sports blogosphere, including this blog you’re reading, has remenisced over the best, worst, and most annoying things in sports over the last decade.
It’s been fun, but I feel it’s time to do a little something different.
To send the first decade of the 2000s off right, I feel it would be appropriate to share 10 things I believe are going to happen in the NASCAR world in the 2010s.
Now, before I get any comments on this, I will share with you all that I’m not exactly a Nostradamus(I picked Brian Vickers to win the 2009 title back in [...]

Dec30th

Jeremy Mayfield has a Relatively Quiet Christmas

AUTHOR: Ben Montedonico | IN: NASCAR | COMMENTS: None Yet

We’ve reached the point in the calendar year where life in the NASCAR world is relatively quiet. As evidenced by the number of posts on here this week(or lack thereof), you can probably guess that there is not a whole lot of stuff going on in the NASCAR world.
That, fortunately, includes Jeremy Mayfield.
We made it through the Christmas season without so much as a peep from either side of the Mayfield-NASCAR saga. And I think it’s safe to say that is a very good thing. Not just for the fans who are sick of the saga, but for Mayfield himself.
Jeremy [...]

Dec26th

R.I.P. D.J. Richardson

AUTHOR: Ben Montedonico | IN: NASCAR | COMMENTS: None Yet

The stock car racing community has lost another strong fighter.
D.J. Richardson, rear tire changer for Kevin Harvick’s #29 Pennzoil Chevrolet, passed away at 10:10 P.M. Christmas night due to complications from Swine Flu.
Richardson, 37, got the virus around Thanksgiving, and worsened with the onset of pneumonia on December 7th.
Team owner Richard Childress called Richardson “A gifted tire changer,” and “one of the greatest team players in the business.”
I think I can speak for the entire stock car racing community when I say that our thoughts and prayers are with Richardson, his family, friends, and the entire Richard Childress Racing team.
Rest in peace, [...]

Dec25th

Happy Birthday Jesus and Merry Christmas from Stock Car Spin!

AUTHOR: Ben Montedonico | IN: NASCAR | COMMENTS: 2 Comments

Stock Car Spin would like to wish everyone a very Merry Christmas!
It was about 2,009 years ago when our Lord God sent his one and only Son to walk among us and ultimately save us from our sins. We cannot possibly express enough gratitude towards Him for what he did for us. But we can at least cherish His birthday and celebrate it with the world.
Happy birthday Jesus Christ, and Merry Christmas to all!

Dec24th

Bowyer, Reutimann Among Drivers Messed Over by “Junior” Rule

AUTHOR: Ben Montedonico | IN: NASCAR | COMMENTS: 8 Comments

No less than 8 drivers have been messed over by what I am officially calling the “Junior” Rule.
For those of you who have not heard, it was announced today that the Budweiser Shootout would be changing its driver criteria once again for 2010.
For more info on that, click here.
Briefly, I would like to correct a point I made in that article. I said that the top 6 drivers in owner points for each manufacturer would have been in. I neglected the “wild card” each manufacturer received, which allowed a 7th driver from each make to race in the Shootout.
The drivers [...]

Dec23rd

Shootout Rules Tweaked Again; Dale Earnhardt Jr. is Now In

AUTHOR: Ben Montedonico | IN: NASCAR | COMMENTS: 3 Comments

The Budweiser Shootout has just has another format change.
The old format, which allowed the top 6 cars in owner points from each manufacturer to be in the field, is out. This new format is in.
Any drivers that fit the new criteria can race. The criteria is as follows:
-Any Chase driver from the previous season
-Any past Daytona points race winner
-Any past Daytona Shootout winner
-Any past champion
-The reigning rookie of the year
Under the old format, which was only used once, NASCAR’s Most Popular Driver would not have been eligible to race. Under this format, Dale Earnhardt Jr. will now be able to [...]

Dec22nd

Most Annoying NASCAR Phrases of the Decade

AUTHOR: Ben Montedonico | IN: NASCAR | COMMENTS: 4 Comments

It might be an understatement to say that NASCAR isn’t like any other sport.
The playing field is different. The rules are different. The object which is used to play the game is different. And the lingo is especially different.
Throughout the last 10 years, NASCAR has changed dramatically. And along the way, new phrases began popping up, often replacing old favorites such as “rubbin’ is racin’” and “checkers or wreckers”. Some of the new phrases were good, some bad, and some just simply annoying.
We’re here today to discuss a list of the latter.
On this list, you won’t see patented phrases like [...]

Dec21st

Jimmie Johnson Wins AP Athlete of the Year; Cloris Leachman is Second

AUTHOR: Ben Montedonico | IN: NASCAR | COMMENTS: 11 Comments

If you haven’t heard by now, Jimmie Johnson has been crowned the Associated Press’ 2009 Athlete of the Year.
The NASCAR driver beat out Roger Federer, Usain Bolt, and every football, baseball, basketball, soccer, and hockey player on the face of the earth. Johnson is the first NASCAR driver ever to win the award.
Actress Cloris Leachman finished second.
Alright, not literally. But she might as well have.
Johnson won the award because of his uncanny ability to lead a parade around in circles for 4 hours. Week after week. Unfortunately for Leachman, who lead the 2009 Tournament of Roses Parade, she only got to [...]

Dec20th

Hey NASCAR, ARCA is Testing

AUTHOR: Ben Montedonico | IN: NASCAR | COMMENTS: 1 Comment

We are rapidly approaching the 2010 NASCAR season. January is just around the corner, and in a few weeks, NASCAR’s big teams should be heading to Daytona for 3 days of testing in preparation for The Great American Race.
Note that I said should. The problem is that they won’t be heading to Daytona to test.
NASCAR’s infamous “Test Ban of ‘09″ worked so well to even out the competition that one team practically owned the 2009 season. Again.
Naturally, NASCAR had their story all lined up. The ban, as they said, was supposed to “cut costs” for the teams during a tough [...]

Dec18th

Which Drivers Can You Trust?

AUTHOR: Ben Montedonico | IN: NASCAR | COMMENTS: 1 Comment

When you watch a NASCAR race, which drivers do you feel that your driver is safest racing around?
Based on USA Today’s 2009 crash data, David Stremme probably isn’t one them them. Nor is anybody else from the Penske shop, for that matter.
The data showed that the two drivers with the most crashes in 2009 were David Stremme and Sam Hornish Jr., both of whom come from the Penske shop. The team’s flagship driver, Kurt Busch, didn’t fare too well either, coming in with the 5th most crashes of 2009.
Whether they were the cause of the crashes, or merely innocent victims, [...]