Archive for October, 2011

Hendrick Motorsports team owner, Rick Hendrick and his wife, Linda were among four people who escaped serious injury early Monday evening after the plane they were riding in ran off the end of the runway upon landing in Key West, Florida. A statement released by HMS said the Gulfstream G150 aircraft operated by the team ran off the runway after experiencing “braking issues” upon landing.  Rick Hendrick, his wife, and the two pilots were all taken to a local hospital for evaluation. The Monroe County Sherriff’s Office said two people were transported for minor injuries and two were transported for precautionary [...]

NASCAR has had its share of drivers come over from other forms of racing.  We’ve seen Tony Stewart come from IndyCar and win 2 championships, we’ve seen Juan Pablo Montoya come from Formula One, and win at NASCAR’s two road courses (Infineon in ’07, and Watkins Glen in ’10).  Today, we are now seeing stars from different types of motorsports making that difficult transition to NASCAR and stock car racing. Next season, Danica Patrick and Travis Pastrana are making a huge step in their racing careers as they commit to NASCAR.  Danica Patrick announced in August that she will infact [...]

Rain, especially on Halloween weekend, can bring on the craziness at the racetrack. Friday at Martinsville Speedway was a primary example. Johnny Buck, Martinsville Sports Editor, asked six different NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Chase drivers:  ”If you were invited to a NASCAR-themed Halloween party, what would your costume by and why?” When asked why he decided to ask this question, he said” because the other, more serious storylines were getting covered ad nauseum.” Topics being discussed on Friday’s NASCAR Media Availability included the infamous crack-your-rear-bumper-if-we-win radio conversation between Jimmie Johnson and crew chief Chad Knaus prior to Talladega’s Good Sam Club 500, [...]

  Tony Stewart seized Jimmie Johnson on a restart with three laps to go Sunday and captured the checkered flag in the TUMS Relief 500 at Martinsville. The win surged Stewart into contention for his first NASCAR Sprint Cup championship with just three races left in the 2011 season. With his third victory of the Chase for the Sprint Cup, the two-time champion jumped two spots to second in the standings and now trails Carl Edwards by eight points. Edwards rebounded for ninth after falling a lap down twice. “He’d better be worried,” said Stewart of Edwards. “That’s all I’m going to [...]

When Kyle Busch sent Denny Hamlin a text message in September to drive the No. 18 Toyota Tundra for Kyle Busch Motorsports, Hamlin knew this was an opportunity he could not pass up. He knew Kyle Busch was wanting to concentrate on his NASCAR Sprint Cup Series car, and Hamlin was eager to help him. With fresh tires, Hamlin was able to move to the front on lap 134 and never look back. This was Hamlin’s 12th start in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series. With the win at Martinsville Speedway, Hamlin became the 23rd NASCAR driver to win in [...]

Qualifying for the TUMS Fast Relief 500 at Martinsville Speedway was cancelled Saturday morning as it continued to rain at the track. NASCAR will try to hold practice later this morning if the rain can subside and the track can be dried. The starting lineup for Sunday afternoon’s race was set based on owner points, putting Chase leader Carl Edwards on the pole beside his Roush-Fenway Racing teammate, Matt Kenseth. The Chase for the Sprint Cup drivers will all start in the top 12. Most of the laps made around the track Friday were by jet driers trying to dry [...]

  Laps: 500 Miles: 263 Track: 0.526 mile Asphalt/Concrete track Qualifying: Cancelled due to weather 2010 winner:  Denny Hamlin 2010 polesitter:  Denny Hamlin With the wild-care race of Talladega Superspeedway in our rear-view mirror, the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series heads to the paper-clip track of Martinsville Speedway-the shortest track on the NASCAR circuit-for the Tums Fast Relief 500 on Sunday afternoon.  Tums is a fitting sponsor for the 500 lap race considering the possible use for antacids during a given race, particularly a short track. As the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series winds down, a great championship fight is brewing, to [...]

Rain washed out Friday’s on-track activities at Martinsville Speedway, causing NASCAR to add a Saturday morning Sprint Cup practice to its schedule. Due to light showers and mist hovering over the speedway all morning, on-track activities were pushed back until 1:15 p.m. ET, when NASCAR was able to get in Camping World Truck Series practice for about 37 minutes until rain interfered again. As a result of the weather, a 90-minute final practice for the Sprint Cup Series has been scheduled for 8:30 a.m. ET Saturday. Practice will be broadcast on SPEED. Then the schedule will resume as previously set, [...]

  Laps: 200 Miles: 105.2 Track: 0.526 mile Asphalt/Concrete track Qualifying: Saturday, 10:30am EST on Speed 2010 winner: Ron Hornaday 2010 polesitter: Kyle Busch Three races to go in the 2011 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series. This weekend the Truck Series heads to Martinsville Speedway for the Kroger 200 on Saturday afternoon. This is the second time the series returns to Martinsville this season.  In April, pole-sitter Johnny Sauter passed Kyle Busch on the next to last lap to hold on to his first Camping World Truck Series victory of the season and the third of his career. Victory at [...]

When fans arrive at Martinsville Speedway for the Tums Fast Relief 500 on Friday, they will notice something different–something pink. In a nod to October being Breast Cancer Awareness month, the speedway has painted the four-inch high curbs that guard the inside of the turns from yellow to pink. Rita Winbush, Robin Minter, Susan Smith, and Carole McGovern, all of whom are involved with the Ladies First Martinsville and Henry County Breast Health Initiative gathered last week to finish the painting. Two of the ladies are Breast Cancer survivors. “We hope this small effort on our part will help draw [...]