Bleacher Report - Articles by Danielle henderson

Nascar Weekly: Bristol Edition

Danielle henderson — Sun, 23 Aug 2009 14:07:22 -0400

As always, Bristol was an eventful race and weekend. With rumors swirling that Brad Keselowski may be moving to Penske racing and Kyle Busch breaking what some thought to be a slump, this week was anything but boring.

First thing's first. Rumors emerged late Friday afternoon that Brad Keselowski will be joining Penske Championship Racing for the 2010 season. Neither the 25-year-old driver or team have confirmed the rumors yet. Here is what Rick Hendrick had to say about the situation at HMS: "I'm not saying he's going to be with us next year and I'm not saying he won't be," Hendrick said at Bristol Motor Speedway. "But wherever he goes, he'll always be close enough for me to get him and bring him back" Hendrick then said, "Make sure all the other car owners know i said that."

Next on the agenda is Dale Earnhardt Jr. Is he making a come back or not? It's a little too early to be certain, but I feel confident that he will win at least one race this season and carry the momentum over to next season.

Now for Busch. You have a few bad races and then the ESPN race broadcasters say you're in a slump. Busch's win Saturday night has got some people talking, but now their not debating over whether or not he was in a slump.

More driver-team switch rumors, and this time it's Jamie McMurray. Rumor has it McMurray will be driving the No. 1 car in 2010, which will be left vacant by Martin Truex Jr. who will be driving the No. 56 car for MWR in 2010

One Busch wins, and the other is wrecked and manages to finish seventh! Kurt Busch has been a victim of someone else's mistake for the past two weeks. The difference is, at Michigan he finished 36th, but at Bristol he finished seventh. Talk about a driver.

What about Marcos Ambrose? The driver of the No. 47 car finished third. He was originally a road racer but is now competing for wins on short tracks. He has proved a lot of people wrong, myself included.

Jimmie Johnson was running an amazing race, never letting the leader get too far away. That all changed with one pit stop. The jackman let the jack down before the rear tire changer had a chance to finish putting on lugnuts. Despite having the opposite side of the car jacked, the tire changer continued to screw on lugnuts, this left the tire at an angle. This move cost Johnson the race. Johnson recovered to finish 8th.

Log on in two weeks for another edition of Nascar Weekly: Atlanta Edition

Once Again a Race is Postponed for Rain: Why Not Use Rain Tires?

Danielle henderson — Sun, 09 Aug 2009 19:59:25 -0400

For the second consecutive week, a Sprint Cup series event has been postponed until Monday for rain.

If you tuned into coverage on ESPN, you would know that with 10 seconds until the command for drivers to start their engines was scheduled to be given, Nascar decided they would wait on the rain that was expected, and then attempt to dry the track.

Today, the ESPN crew kept us entertained by interviewing drivers, talking about the chances of racing on Sunday, and the possibility of rain tires.

With all the talk of rain tires and such, I was led to wonder whether or not that would be a good idea on Nascar's part.

After all, there are many different situations when the rain comes. We have days like today, where it came and went but left the track soaked. In my opinion they should have given the teams rain tires and told them to go.

It wasn't raining, just a light sprinkle, and it's not like a little rain-X can't fix that. I know they had rain tires, I saw them on TV during the delay!

But why didn't NASCAR give teams rain tires?

I believe the reason is they haven't been able to test it like they want. We all know how NASCAR tests everything to death, look how long it was before we got double file restarts.

Another situation would be it rained all day and never stopped, then drivers would need wipers, tons of rain-X, defrosters and possibly mud flaps.

Now we wouldn't be able to run them in the case of thunder and lightning but towards the end of a storm, when it just is raining we could very well have them running.

Rain tires and other equipment would have to be easily accessible and easy to install. They could make defrosters mandatory and have teams and cars ready to install windshield wipers.

This of course wouldn't work at all tracks, probably only road courses and a few short tracks where speeds are lower.

NASCAR could also make the changes only mandatory at certain tracks where they would possibly run in the rain.

It would be cool to watch a Bristol race in the rain though, don't you agree?

Road courses would be good in the rain too, speeds aren't too high, guys are braking a lot, it would be perfect, especially at Sonoma.

I could stay on this subject forever, I actually could talk about ways to improve NASCAR and its racing forever, but I won't.

Interesting Events Throughout the Weekend: Chicagoland Edition

Danielle henderson — Mon, 13 Jul 2009 10:40:00 -0400

This past weekend at Chicagoland speedway I noticed a few things that happened during the race that were really interesting, with the first being how wild the double-file restarts are becoming.

That alone leads me to ask, are shootout-style restarts getting too wild?

Just ask Jeff Burton. For the past four weeks he has been wrecked due to shootout-style restarts. I am sure guys like Martin Truex Jr. aren't to fond of them either. He was wrecked at Loudon because of the restarts.

I think most drivers like them becaue of the side-by-side racing, but that's also the reason a lot drivers don't like them.

Don't misunderstand me. I love the double-file restarts. They make the races much more exciting and give more drivers a shot at winning or at least finishing in the top five.

Jimmie Johnson put it the right way after the race Saturday night by saying guys are getting too comfortable with the car and the restarts, causing more wrecks and more controversy.

But is that a bad thing?

No, it's not. We want drivers to show more emotion and what better way then to put all lead lap cars up front where they belong!

Now moving on to the next issue at hand, how about Jimmie Johnson's behavior?

Kurt Busch obviously doesn't like Johnson racing hard.

Busch, Jimmie Johnson and Jeff Gordon were going into a corner three wide, Johnson got into Busch, and Busch retaliated by slamming into Johnson, sending both Gordon and Johnson on the to the apron.

I am not defending Johnson, but doesn't NASCAR have a no retaliation rule? Or were they going to have but decided not to?

This could be seen as a product of double-file restarts, but I see it as having too much testosterone on one race track.

Well, now that we have mentioned the restarts yet again, let's just move on to the final contoversial event from Saturday.

It was the restart that sent Johnson to mid field leading up to the Busch incident.

Johnson was leading with Mark Martin on the inside and Denny Hamlin was running third. Martin was trying desperately to get the lead away from Johnson and was doing a good job of it. Just then, Hamlin forced his way between the No. 5 of Martin and the No. 48 of Johnson.

That sent Johnson up near the wall and then evetually to the rear of the top ten.

In my eyes, Hamlin had no reason to make it three wide, but from evidence of his behavior, he must have had a reason.

Once again, as Johnson stated in a post race interview, guys are getting to comfortable with restarts and the cars. This would be counted as a combination of the two and a just a little too much testrone on one race track.

The race winner Martin didn't seem to care much about anything but wishing team owner Rick Hendrick a early Happy Birthday.

Happy 60th Birthday to Rick Hendrick and Congrats to the No. 5 team on their fourth win of the season.

The Brad Keselowski and Kyle Busch Show: Chicagoland

Danielle henderson — Sat, 11 Jul 2009 09:52:24 -0400

Last night, I was bored so I decided I would flip through the channels on TV and see if anything good was on.

Hoping to find something NASCAR, I searched the sports channels, seeing that the Nationwide series race was on, so I went there.

Well, the race was over and the ESPN crew had begun interviewing the drivers. They got to Brad Keselowski, who had some fuel problems during the race. His teammate Ryan Newman had the same problem.

They asked Keselowski what happened between him and Kyle Busch, and I instinctively turned the volume up.

He talked about how Busch was leading when he was trying to stay on the lead lap. He said Busch would probably be mad because he raced him so hard.

Then the replay came, shown out of Keselowski's windshield. I saw that Keselowski was in front of Busch, and Busch, of course, was glued to Keselowski's rear bumper.

Then Keselowski just let Busch pass him. That surprised me, but Keselowski quickly pushed the nose of his car into the rear of Busch's car, causing Busch to get loose and kiss the wall.

Then Keselowski was asked if he thought the No. 20 car or the No. 18 was better. His response was no surprise, at least not to me. He said he thought the 20 car was always better than the 18. I almost fell over laughing!

I'm not sure if Brad's comment had anything to do with the way Kyle has acted this week or not, but it was sure funny to me.

By the way, Kyle acted mean the whole way, saying one thing to Tony Stewart and another to the media, which leads me to another story, but that's for some other time.

Hope you all enjoyed this.

Kyle's Take on How Tony Stewart "Dumped" Him at Daytona

Danielle henderson — Thu, 09 Jul 2009 17:29:29 -0400

Kyle Busch has just made more enemies than he had a week ago.

While being interviewed today, Busch stated that he felt as though Tony Stewart "dumped" him on the last lap at Daytona.

He also said that when a driver "dumps" another driver, then that dumper should be black flagged and the win awarded to the third place driver.

I honestly think that the guy who crosses the finish line first should be the winner, but that's just how I see it.

I will go on and say that I am not saying this because I "hate" Kyle Busch, I am saying it because it's the way racing should be and I feel that Busch said that because he was still mad over the wreck.

Busch also made more enemies by saying "If a driver isn't winning he isn't doing his job." I got some news for you, 90 percent of the drivers on track aren't winning regularly...but then again what is winning regularly?

Is it winning every other week?

No.

Is it winning eight races a year?

No, that is considered by-passing the regulars

I think it would be more like winning a couple races and running in the top five every week, don't you?

Well apparently Kyle Busch disagrees, you must win every race to do your job correctly.

So back to my stats, it looks like 90 percent of all drivers will be upset with Busch this weekend.

You know it's strange how one week I defend Kyle Busch and then the next he is making me mad again!

I understand it's a driver's job to win, but with NASCAR being so competitive then it's almost impossible to win more than a few races a year.

I also know that his last statement may have upset me because of the fact my driver, Dale Earnhardt Jr., hasn't had the best season.

But I think speak for most fans, Kyle has managed to make more enemies than any other driver in history, this includes Darrel "jaws" Waltrip.

It seemed as though after the wreck at Daytona Kyle Busch was realizing how it isn't always fun when everyone hates you.

I think he was baffled as to why all the fans cheered when he wrecked himself.

I admit it, I cheered...Until I saw the replay, then I began to wonder if Kyle Busch was ok.

Yes I was worried about Kyle Busch, and yes I know alot of people from Jr. Nation will be mad that one of their own said that.

The bottom line is Busch may be mirror driving for weeks.

Was the "Big One" at Loudon Really Kyle Busch's Fault?

Danielle henderson — Tue, 30 Jun 2009 12:25:35 -0400

During a restart on lap 175 in Loudon Sunday afternoon, there was a controversial wreck.

It started when Dale Earnhardt Jr. spun the tires on a re-start and boxed the Field behind him up. Martin Truex Jr. was behind Earnhardt's No. 88 machine, went low and then suddenly changed his mind and went high. Kyle Busch thought Truex, Jr. was going low and staying there...he was wrong. Kyle hit the left rear quarter panel of the machine driven by Truex.

This caused Truex to spin backwards, taking out eight cars and leaving a few more with minor damage.

This past week a lot of people have blamed Kyle Busch for the wreck except for me, a die-hard Dale Earnhardt, Jr. fan.

Why didn't I blame him you ask? Simple: It wasn't his fault.

To tell the truth I think most of the blame should be handed to Martin Truex Jr. and Dale Jr.'s way.

I mean, didn't Earnhardt spin the tires? And didn't Truex dive to the bottom only to change his mind without warning?

The answer to both questions is yes.

I'll be the first to say I cannot stand Kyle Busch! He is an irritating, spoiled brat, but for this one thing he was in the right.

When the rain-shortened Lenox Tools 301 was over Kyle Busch actually apologized for hitting Truex and triggering the crash.

He acted mature and never said how " It was Truex's fault " or how " Junior Needs to learn to drive."

But there is still one driver who acted immature over the incident, Martin Truex Jr.

Yes, the one who I believe should take more blame for the wreck.

How did he act immature? Easy, he waited for Busch to come back around on a caution lap acted like he was going to throw his helmet in Busch's windshield.

I understand that Truex was having a good run, but still, he was acting like the "villain" so to speak.

What's the Chance Danica Patrick Will Ever Drive The No. 88 HMS Chevy?

Danielle henderson — Mon, 29 Jun 2009 15:20:31 -0400

Lately there has been a lot talk that Danica patrick would come to NASCAR, so much theat former Indy car driver Juan Pablo Montoya said that Danica's potential move would be possible but very difficult.

Last night while surfing the internet for some good NASCAR articles, I came across a title that intrigued me. It said: "Danica taking Junior's place at Hendrick?" So like any Dale Jr. fan I read it.

The author was talking about the possibly of Danica Patrick moving to Nascar and taking Dale Jr.'s position at HMS.

He went on to say how Earnhardt could move his now Nationwide team to Sprint cup and drive for himself.

As we know Dale Jr.'s father had a cup team, but never drove for it. He believed that it was easier to drive for someone else instead of yourself. Makes sense, because then you wouldn't worry about paying for a wrecked race car.

But anyway back to my rant. It would make no sense for Hendrick to give Junior the boot. Why would you get rid of the most popular driver? And even more importantly why fire him for a driver with zero experience in stock cars?

Apparently he thought it would be a good article or maybe he just needed more reads. But he's writing about something that would never happen for the fact the Rick Hendrick can't afford to buy Dale Jr. out of his five year contract and dumping the sport's six time most popular driver is very stupid.

We saw what happened to Teresa Earnhardt, co owner of EGR.

Fans hate her for that one move, letting Junior go.

It would make more sense for Earnhardt to move his team to Cup, give Brad Keselowski a ride, and then give Danica a ride, rather than Dale Jr. driving his own car and breaking a contract with HMS.

Not that I don't want Danica in NASCAR; I believe if she does come then I'll pull for her, Junior, and Brad Keselowski. I just wanted to clear up the rumor that Danica will probably not be driving for HMS any time soon. Who knows, she may never even come to NASCAR.

Hottest NASCAR crew members

Danielle henderson — Wed, 24 Jun 2009 21:03:05 -0400

Miss Stacey Mickles has got me thinking about all the hotties in NASCAR. She named top five Hotest drivers, so I'm going through the Crew members. Lets begin, Shall we? Well lets start by saying, most of theses guys are so hot your eyes will burn after looking at them. Hope you guys all enjoy it. We will be seeing men who have great jobs (duh) and are very good at their job. Can you say bullseye? This was inspired Miss Stacey Mickles. Enjoy!

Begin Slideshow

Infineon Brings Back Painful Memories for Dale Jr.

Danielle henderson — Wed, 17 Jun 2009 14:39:06 -0400

In 2004, Dale Earnhardt Jr. was going for a warm up lap around Infineon, where he was scheduled to drive in the ALMS race when he lost control of his car: it backed into the safer barrier wall and burst into flames.

Earnhardt Jr. suffered second degree burns on his legs, face, and neck. He soon recovered and went on to win the night race at Bristol just four weeks after the crash.

If you have ever watched ESPN's show 60 Minutes, then you know that they sit down with an athelete and talk about peronal things, along with issues in the sport that they play/drive in.

They had an episode with Dale Jr. in which he stated that when he was in the car he felt someone grab him under the arms and pull him out. He kept asking the safety crew where that guy the got him was so that he could thank him and they told him, "You got out on your own."

It makes you wonder if he was that dazed or if someone sent from above. Maybe his Dad's spirit helped to remove him from the burning car!?

We all know that Dale Jr. isn't that fond of road courses, he didn't like them even before that wreck. But maybe, just maybe, he and crew chief Lance McGrew can get a good top five finish at a track Dale Jr. doesn't run well at.

NASCAR Driver Nicknames: Where Did They Come From and What Are They?

Danielle henderson — Tue, 16 Jun 2009 19:11:58 -0400

'll be going through NASCAR drivers and their nicknames, some are nice, other not so much.

Greg Biffleis self nicknamed "the biff", which could easyly be transformed into "the sniff". If I ever meet him he best pray he doesn't have a cold.

Kyle Buschhas probably got the most nicknames of any Driver on the circuit. His consist of "Rowdy", "shrub" and "wild thing". Junior fans, as myself, have many other thing we call him.... they just aren't appropriate for B/R.

Jimmie Johnsondoesn't have many known nicknames, so lets explore some options. He's is called JJ a lot, so what about "Yimmie". See this one works for female fans who think Jimmie is yummy.

Dale Earnhardt Jr. has quite a few nicknames, mostly given by his fans. We know he is often referred to as "Junior", which is most likely what his Daddy called him. He is also called "Junebug" his Dad called him that when he was little, cute huh?

Jeff Gordon is most commonly known as the "Rainbow Warrior", which was given to him and his crew when his car had a rainbow painted on it. He's also called "wonder boy".

Carl Edwards Is "cousin carl" for his like able personality. How do you not like Carl? so I guess it fits. He was also called "flipper" when he raced dirt tracks, another one that fits! Although if your Kevin Harvick you might call him "pansy" rather than "flipper".

Tony Stewartis Mr. "smoke" from when he used to blow so many engines. It also works when he wins, those burn out sure leave a lot of "smoke" behind.

Ryan Newmanis the "rocket man" after how well he qualifies. It really fits him too.... well at least since joining SHR.

Kevin Harvick Is known as "happy" which fits sometimes. Although at a road course a couple years back you could have called him Kevin "mad" Harvick and it would have fit better.

Mark Martin is "the kid". Of course we all know how this one started, Mark acts more like a 12 year old physacly than a 50 year old man. Congrats to Mark "the kid" Martin on all his success this year and through his career.

Do You Know Why Junior Finished 27th? Do You Want To Know?

Danielle henderson — Sat, 13 Jun 2009 20:01:50 -0400

As most already know Dale Earnhardt Jr. finished 27th in the Pocono race this past weekend.

What most don't know is that a front suspension part broke in his car. Which means the car would respond very little if any to adjustments made during the race.

My guess is that most just assumed that he was struggling for no reason, but he had a reason and a darn good one that!

"It totally made sense," Earnhardt said. "Actually, in the middle part of the race, I commented over to my engineer that I thought that part had failed. It was pretty good to be able to point at something and go, 'Well, here's the problem.' At least you can start forming better solutions when you know what your problem is."

From what I know of the suspension in the COT's is that he is lucky he didn't put that car in the fence!

Another example of how talented Dale Jr. really is.

Kyle Busch Thinks All Dale Jr. Fans Are Crazy!

Danielle henderson — Fri, 12 Jun 2009 14:36:56 -0400

Well Kyle Busch has confirmed that all Dale Earnhardt Jr. fans are raving lunatics.

As most of us know Kyle smashed a one of a kind Gibson guitar, trophy for the winner of the Nashville nationwide series race.

Well its no surprise that he caught a lot of smack for that move, he claimed he was trying to be like a rockstar.

Kyle Petty had it right by saying that Busch is a race car driver, not a rock star.

I'm guessing Kyle Busch didn't car for what fans had to say about it, He spoke mainly of one drivers fan base in general. Yep you guessed it, Junior Nation.

On smashing the 25,000 dollar work of art:

"It's not going to happen to the (Daytona 500) trophy, it's not going to happen to the Martinsville clock. Again, it was just in the spirit of rock n' roll with a guitar. That's what it was all about. I tried doing a good impression ... it didn't turn out very well. I don't know if I'm not strong enough of that thing was that strong. I'll go with both.

"I don't regret it. I thought it was fun. There was only one comment that I've had this past week to my face that was any different than in support and it was just like, "hey, don't go out and break any more guitars' from a fan in Berlin, Mich. We were up there for the late model race. Everybody out there, 99.9 percent of them were for it. They thought it was great.

"I'm not going to speak on the behalf of (team president) J.D. (Gibbs), but I believe he told me he thought it was cool and his kids were blown away by it. Like they thought it was awesome.

"It was fun. A lot of people enjoyed it, thought it was different. The sport is not so vanilla. A lot of people hated it and I guess those are the ones with 88s tattooed on their arm. Or maybe still 8s. I don't know which.

"I ain't got no issues with (Dale Earnhardt) Junior. It's his fans that are crazy. But that's all right.''

As we can all see he does have an issue with Junior.

It may be as simple as Kyle not understanding that the most popular is not always the best or it could be a jealous mamma's boy whining about whatever he can get away with.

Whatever the reason he clearly doesn't care for Dale Jr. or his fans.

A word of advice to Kyle, pick on someone with less fans. You never know who has a potato launcher, be very careful.

Its obvious that Kyle is used to criticism from fans but he's in for more than he's ever gotten.

Seriously, this might be bigger than the 2008 Richmond spring race incident, remember, two laps to go and Kyle turns right into Junior's car..... we all know the story by heart as do we many others.

Suggestion to the NASCAR Media: Stop Talking About Big-Name Drivers

Danielle henderson — Mon, 08 Jun 2009 14:24:41 -0400

For as long as I have watched NASCAR, the only drivers they ever talk about are the big-name ones. We never hear about where Juan Pablo Montoya is running or what about Jamie McMurray, no one is talking about if he's out at Roush or where he might go.

I believe part of the reason ratings have dropped is because the only guys we hear about are people like Carl Edwards, Dale Earnhardt Jr., and Jeff Gordon. Fans get tired of hearing about the same drivers 50 freakin' times a race!

We here on B/R should write about the "little guys" for about two weeks and see how many reads each article gets. It will be an interesting change.

I think that by doing so we will get some very interesting stories. We could write personal facts about them, career stats, ect.

Lets write about the little guys like Robby Gordon for a change.

I know what you're thinking: Bad idea, or "She has lost her mind!"

But if you think about it, we would be helping these guys get sponsors.

So what do you think? Be honest.

Mayfield Saga Contiues: NASCAR Countersues Mayfield

Danielle henderson — Fri, 05 Jun 2009 17:52:22 -0400

NASCAR announced today that they wil be countersuing Jeremy Mayfield.

Ramsey Roton, spokesman for NASCAR, said Friday that they filed the countersuit because Mayfield willfully violated the substance abuse policy.

"You will see in there that he competed in a number of races that had we known that he had been on the medication that he was on, and certainly if we had known there was an illegal substance involved, we would not have allowed him to compete," Poston said. "So in effect, he took money away from other potential competitors who could have gained those earnings."

NASCAR is also claiming that Mayfield knew that he was abusing the substance but still competed. They are also saying that Mayfield violated contracts he had with NASCAR and did not follow the rules and standards put forth to all drivers.

I have heard people say that one is wrong... must not be NASCAR.

As I have said before the whole thing is ridiculous!

Jeremy Mayfield Saga Moves to Federal Court

Danielle henderson — Wed, 03 Jun 2009 14:28:12 -0400

Jeremy Mayfield has finally reached his boiling point. After failing a drug test, he was suspended from NASCAR indefinitely.

Mayfield has chosen to sue NASCAR.

For what reason? I can't figure that out.

I guess he blames NASCAR for his failing a drug test. Maybe he feels like NASCAR framed him and set up the failed test to knock him out of competition. Whatever his reason is, I find the whole thing to be rather stupid.

Anyway, enough of my rambling. On to the "news" if we can call it that.

On Tuesday, June 2, NASCAR moved the challenge of Mayfield's indefinite suspension up to federal levels.

This notice came a day before a North Carolina state judge was scheduled to hear the case.

Thus far, no date has been set for the federal level hearing.

Mayfield was hoping a state-level judge would lift his suspension so that he may race at Pocono Raceway this weekend.

Just to refresh everyone's memory, Mayfield has claimed to have been taking a prescription medication for ADHD and Claritin D for allergies.

NASCAR said that Mayfield's test was positive for Amphetamines, which is always a concern for Meth, but could be many things.

NASCAR'S drug doctor said that Mayfield's prescription medication and Claritin D could not have caused the test results to be positive for Amphetamines.

I, for one, don't know much about drugs except the different forms they can come in and to stay away from them.

All that I know for sure is that Mayfield did something Illegal by NASCAR rules and now has to pay for it.

I must stop writing this article before I begin to rant some more. I will be giving continued updates on the Mayfield saga.

Brad Keselowski Wins Nationwide Race at Dover!

Danielle henderson — Sat, 30 May 2009 17:24:55 -0400

Brad Keselowski won the Heluva Good! 200 at Dover International Speedway.

With three laps to go, Keselowski slipped past leader Kyle Busch to win. Busch went on to finish 17th (In your face Kyle).

This was Keselowski's third NASCAR Nationwide Series win.

Keselowski won the Sprint cup race at Talladega Super Speedway earlier this season.

Way to go Keselowski and the No. 88 nationwide team! Keep those "W"s coming!

Jeff Gordon Has Minor Back Procedure Done

Danielle henderson — Wed, 20 May 2009 09:16:35 -0400

Jeff Gordon has been suffering from back pain for a few years.

His Doctor zeroed in on the cause, a touch of arthritis, possible trauma from previous problem and aging.

On Monday, with this weeks' Coca Cola 600 approaching fast, Gordon had a minor procedure in which they give an injection of lidocaine or anti-inflammatory medication.

This procedure is called a facet block.

Gordon said he has experienced a bit of soreness, but is doing better and should be able to race the whole 600 miles pain free.

Why I Became a NASCAR Fan

Danielle henderson — Tue, 19 May 2009 15:25:02 -0400

I was recently inspired by a fellow B/R member to write this article on why I started watching NASCAR. Enjoy.

About three or four years ago, I asked my Dad why he watched NASCAR. He then told me about my Great Grandfather.

He had raced alongside Lee Petty, Ralph Earnhardt, Fireball Roberts, and many other of the NASCAR greats.

He told me that Grandpa Ralph had raced in the 1954 Daytona beach race. I found this extremely interesting.

To think we had a race car driver in our family! It was just amazing to me.

He told me Grandpa had been good friends with Richard Petty and raced against him at local short tracks.

After that I went to my Great Grandma and asked her if it was true. Not that my Dad would lie to me but because I was in such shock and had to hear it from someone who was there.

She told me that she remembered Richard Petty going to see Grandpa Ralph. She referred to Petty as "that ugly ole thing."

I went and did some research on NASCAR as a sport and found that it was originally started by moonshiners.

So I figured Grandpa Ralph was a moonshine runner. I never asked anyone about that.

I know that when I meet Dale Jr., I'm going to say that my Great Grandpa raced against his Grandpa.

My dad said he can still remember when he would visit Grandpa Ralph and Grandma. He said he and Grandpa would watch the race, Grandpa was pulling for Richard and Daddy was pulling for Earnhardt.

Grandpa Ralph died when my Dad was only 12 years old, so I never knew him.

This past week my Great Grandma Died and that's partially why I wrote this story, in memory of her and Grandpa Ralph.

Thanks for reading. Hope you all enjoyed.

Tony Stewart: Forgotten Or Not?

Danielle henderson — Sun, 17 May 2009 19:08:48 -0400

Many of us watched the all star race last night. Most of us know that Tony Stewart won.

We all know that Stewart is a two-time Champion in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series. He has won the Brickyard 500.

He has succeeded at every major racing sport he has ever competed in. But still not much is said about him.

Could it be because he can be quite a jerk?

Or because he's not the prettiest face on TV?

Or possibly because we all knew he would succeed as an owner/driver?

Whatever the reason "Smoke" as he is nicknamed, doesn't get as much media attention as someone named Gordon, Johnson, Earnhardt Jr., or even Edwards.

He deserves every bit of praise he gets, although its not a lot.

We talk about two, Jimmie Johnson has won back-to-back-to-back Championships (tying Cale Yarborough) and how rookies are doing.

This whole situation with Stewart makes me think of song by a guy who has the same problem. The song is called "I wanna talk about me," by Toby Keith.

You've got to think Stewart would like somebody to talk about him just a little more.

Now I'm not saying to criticize him like Earnhardt Jr., but for goodness sake give the guy some credit.

Remember the old saying, "Give credit, where credit is due?"

Let's apply this to Stewart.

Year	Races	Wins	Poles	Top 5	Top 10	DNF	Finish	Start	Winnings	Season Rank	Team(s)
1999	34/34	3	2	12	21	1	10.3	12.6	$2,613,976	4th	Joe Gibbs Racing
2000	34/34	6	2	12	23	5	12.4	16.7	$3,175,270	6th	Joe Gibbs Racing
2001	36/36	3	0	15	22	4	12.6	17.0	$3,543,043	2nd	Joe Gibbs Racing
2002	36/36	3	2	15	21	6	12.6	13.2	$4,695,154	1st	Joe Gibbs Racing
2003	36/36	2	1	12	18	5	14.6	13.9	$5,227,503	7th	Joe Gibbs Racing
2004	36/36	2	0	10	19	2	12.9	15.3	$6,221,710	6th	Joe Gibbs Racing
2005	36/36	5	3	17	25	1	9.9	12.0	$6,987,535	1st	Joe Gibbs Racing
2006	36/36	5	0	15	19	4	13.8	16.7	$7,285,281	11th	Joe Gibbs Racing
2007	36/36	3	0	11	23	4	13.1	17.6	$6,396,751	6th	Joe Gibbs Racing
2008	36/36	1	0	10	16	3	14.9	17.1	$6,066,407	9th	Joe Gibbs Racing
2009	7/36	1	0	3	6	0	8.0	5.0	$1,207,410	5th	Stewart Haas Racing

Totals	363	33	10	131	212	34	12.7	15.2	$72,137,229	-

Dale Earnhardt Jr. Meets Make-a-Wish Child

Danielle henderson — Tue, 12 May 2009 19:37:56 -0400

Today while surfing the Internet, I came across an article about Dale Earnhardt Jr.

This wasn't your usual "He sucks!" or "Get rid of Tony Jr." article. Instead it was about Make-A-Wish.

A little boy by the name of Mikey was the one chosen to get his wish granted. His wish being to meet no other than Earnhardt Jr.

Since birth, Mikey has been battling with a life threatening disease. Most of his limbs can't function properly. He was born without a thumb or the forearm to attach it. At only 4 months old he underwent open heart surgery.

Despite all of these health concerns, he got to full fill his dream. He and his family got the opportunity to go to South Carolina and watch the Darlington race.

Mikey didn't have much to say to Earnhardt Jr. all day long, but as Earnhardt got up to leave, Mikey ran after him, hugged his leg and said "I love you, Junior!"

Earnhardt Jr. hugged him back and said: "I love you too, Buddy!"

That was the part of the article that I started crying.

I began to think about how everyone is saying that he can't drive and wants to know why he has as many fans as he does, well here is you answer.

He meets with a Make-A-Wish kid every week and talks to them like they are normal children.

This is the reason I'm a member of Junior Nation and I think that most of his fans would agree.

The full story can be fund at autoracing1.com, membership required.

Danielle's Garage Of Drivers: Pheonix

Danielle henderson — Tue, 21 Apr 2009 19:28:35 -0400

Here is the way I see the points standings. Warning: these are the actual points standings.

1.) Tony Stewart — Tony ran another good race. I believe he will get a win very soon, maybe Dega could be Tony's day. Stewart finished second.

2.) Denny Hamlin — As much as I hate too admit it, Hamlin had a good race. Hamlin finished sixth.

3.) David Ruetimann — Ruetimann had another top ten finish at Phoenix. Ruetimann will be getting his first win soon. He finished eighth.

4.) Jeff Burton — Burton has been slowly working his way up in the points standings. He finished 15th.

5.) Kurt Busch — Kurt has continued to finish up front. He finished third.

6.) Jimmie Johnson — Jimmie may not have won his fourth straight Phoenix win but he did battle back to finish fourth.

7.) Carl Edwards — Carl got his forth top ten of the season. He finished tenth.

8.) Jeff Gordon — Jeff didn't have the best night, but he did maintain his points lead over teammate Jimmie Johnson. He finished 25th.

9.) Kasey Kahne — Can Kasey stay in the top 12? Well, he's doing good so far. He finished 13th.

10.) Clint Bowyer — Clint didn't do as well as he hoped but is still in the top 12. He finished 26th.

11.) Kyle Busch — He didn't have the best finish, but like Bowyer, he is still in the top 12. He finished 17th.

12.) Matt Kenseth — Matt's season started of great but has quickly began to desintigrate. He finished 27th.

Wild Card, Mark Martin — Mark has manged to do the unthinkable. He won a Nascar Sprint cup race at age 50! Congrats to Mark and the No.5 team. Keep those wins coming Mark.

Danielle's Garage Of Drivers: Texas

Danielle henderson — Mon, 06 Apr 2009 20:14:11 -0400

This is a new column I've decided to do.

I am going to rank each driver in the top 12 in points for his progress in the race. And I might throw in a wild card driver.

Jeff Gordon: first. He breaks a 47 race winless streak, wins his first ever race at Texas on his 17th try. I'm not a Gordon fan, but I was pulling for him on Sunday.

Jimmie Johnson: second. Coming of his win at Martinsville had to have given Johnson some momentum. Johnson and the 48 team ran a strong race and if they had a few more laps probably would have won the race.

Tony Stewart: third. He seems to be fitting in as the "boss." Let's hope Stewart can keep the top five finishes coming.

Matt Kenseth: fourth. He had his best finish since he won at Fontana. I'm anxious to see if Kenseth can keep finishing in the top-10.

David Reutimann: fifth.His new nick name "The Franchise" seems to fit Reutimann just fine. After winning the pole and then finishing 11th, Reutimann maintained his place in the top 12.

Kurt Busch: sixth. Busch had a fast car all day, but couldn't get a hold on the handling. Maybe the No. 2 team will figure out the COT before too long.

Jeff Burton: seventh. Burton had good car through traffic, but once he got up to ninth, he just stayed there.

Kasey Kahne: eighth. The No. 9 team drove a good race and seemed happy with their car, but once again didn't produce the finish they should have.

Denny Hamlin: ninth. Hamlin had an OK race, but could never get the car just right. Better luck to the team next week.

Clint Bowyer: 10th. Bowyer started the season off strong, but lost two positions in the points.

Carl Edwards: 11th. Bob Osborne was planning on pit strategy to help Edwards win, but that didn't happen.

Kyle Busch: 12th. Looks like Busch's luck ran out at Texas. After getting caught speeding on pit road, Busch went two laps down.

Wild Card: David Stremme: The young driver showed he belonged in Sprint Cup after all. He finished 14th, which surprised me. Congratulations to Stremme and No. 12 team.

All-Star Race Format Change

Danielle henderson — Thu, 26 Mar 2009 11:28:54 -0400

NASCAR has once again changed the All-Star race format.

It will have four segments. The first segment will be 50 laps, and on lap 25 there will be a mandatory green flag pit stop that will require all teams to make four tire stop.

At the end of the first segment, the caution flag will fly and teams will have the option to pit.

The second segment will be 20 laps with the caution being waved at the end of it.

The third segment will also be 20 laps, and will be followed by a 10 minute break. During the break, teams will be permitted to make adjustments.

The fourth and final segment is only 10 laps, with only green flag laps counting.

"I think the 10 lap shoot-out will really produce some exciting racing at the end of the night," said Pemberton.

There will still be a fan vote.

I personally like the changes that were made to the All-Star race.

Please let me know if you like or dislike the changes.

NASCAR's Five Most Talked About Drivers

Danielle henderson — Fri, 13 Mar 2009 18:51:27 -0400

All sports have athletes that are thought of as jerks by the fans, NASCAR is no different.

We all have a driver(s) who gets under our skin. Whether he be Kyle Busch or Dale Earnhardt Jr., they still bug us.

I'm going to count down the most criticized drivers in the History of NASCAR.

Let's start with Darrel Waltrip. He was one of the drivers who couldn't resist speaking his mind, especially if it meant he could talk bad about Dale Earnhardt Sr. The media loved to write about Waltrip, whether it was Jaws vs. the Intimidator, or Jaws vs. The rainbow brigade, he kept them writing.

Next on the list is Dale Earnhardt Sr. He also had a way of speaking his mind. He also seemed to like ''moving" his fellow race car drivers. He was honest and that more times than not didn't work in his favor. He too kept the media writing.

Now for The Intimadator's son, Dale Earnhardt Jr. He is continually being talked about for his on track performance and pretty much every thing else he does. Whether he is trying to talk to his crew chief or answering a question from the media, everything he says is analyzed to death.

Tony Stewart, NASCAR's most outspoken (if that's what you want to call it), is known for his attacks on Goodyear. Sometimes it seem Smoke likes to trash talk Goodyear and NASCAR. Just the same he is also a regular in the news of NASCAR drivers.

NASCAR's most recent bad guy Kyle Busch, though, seems to enjoy his role in the sport, the media still seems to try to make him hate it. Fans also enjoy talking bad about Busch.

In the spring race at Richmond last year he spun out the sport's most popular driver and still has the media writing about it.

Marcos Ambrose's Gas Man Penalized

Danielle henderson — Tue, 10 Mar 2009 20:52:21 -0400

Sunday's Kobalt Tools 500 was significantly impacted when the gas man for the No. 47 Toyota, driven by Marcos Ambrose, ran across pit road and through the infield grass. He was only 70 feet away from the racetrack, and was attempting to retrieve a loose tire.

The race was under green flag conditions.

Matt Kenseth asked, "Has he seen us race before?"

Kasey Kahne said, "Maybe he's new."

All I know is that when there are cars going 190+ miles per hour, I will be far away from the track.

NASCAR took him out of competition for the remainder of the race, and announced today that he will be suspended for the next four races.