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Backmarkers Battle Fiercely

Just four races into the 2010 NASCAR Sprint Cup season, the points battle already is getting intense — especially at the back of the field. Per the NASCAR rule book, during the first five races of the year, the 35 guaranteed starting spots are awarded based on the final 2009 car owners points standings. But after the fifth race, the locked-in starting positions will go to the top 35 in 2010 car owner spots. And that makes next Sunday's Food City 500 at Bristol Motor Speedway critically important for some of the full-time teams at the back of the grid. Because starting at Martinsville Speedway, anyone outside the top 35 in owner points will have to qualify on speed. Read more...

NASCAR sent their message, so here's ours

"Have at it, boys." NASCAR said those words in a January press conference. While we knew it would change racing no one thought it would occur in such a spectacular manner in only the season's fourth race. Read more...

NASCAR schedules test of spoilers at Talladega with approximately 24 teams to participate

The last lap Stewart-Haas driver Ryan Newman ran at Talladega ended with his car going airborne and an upside down slide that left him wedged inside his No. 39 U.S. Army Chevrolet. Newman was not injured in the November 1 accident except for a chipped tooth and some sore muscles. Approximately 24 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series teams will assemble Tuesday for an important early-season test at Talladega where the one-day session which will target a number of mechanical options in advance of the Aaron's 499 on Sunday, April 25. Making sure there is not a repeat of Newman's ride will surely be a key component of the test. Read more...

Reutimann Aims For First Chase Spot

David Reutimann is about as unassuming as unassuming gets. The Zephyrhills, Fla., native is the kind of guy you wouldn't necessarily pick out in a crowd. He's not loud, he's not flashy, he's not braggadocios. Quite simply, Reutimann's one of those blue-collar guys who lets his driving do the vast majority of his talking for him. And pretty much ever since he joined Michael Waltrip, Reutimann's driving has been first rate. In each of his three previous seasons at MWR, Reutimann earned the most points of any of the team's drivers. Last year, he gave MWR its first NASCAR Sprint Cup victory, capturing the rain-shortened Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway. Which brings us to this year. Read more...

NASCAR Sprint Cup Drivers: Those Destined To Be Legends

Fans watching the drivers in NASCAR's top tier are seeing the future legends in action. They are witnessing history as it is being made. A legend can be defined as a story or person with historical significance enduring through generations among people. Those fortunate enough to have cheered for Pearson, Petty, Yarborough, Allison, and others of that era never realized the respect these drivers would garner as time moved ahead. Read more...

2010 NASCAR Sprint Cup Chase: Analyzing the Contenders

As we get into the year and see who is running well, everybody starts predicting what drivers will make the elusive top 12 and what drivers won’t along with their normal race picks. If you analyze past seasons, the chase drivers after race 13 have for the most part kept themselves in the top 12. So with this being an off-weekend even though we’re just at week four, it seems like the perfect weekend to go ahead and see how things look so far. Read more...

Bowyer Confident Of Gains

Bowyer, for one, thinks the team can maintain its early season pace. And is early season results have been encouraging for the Kansas native, with one top-five and three top-10 finishes in the first four races of the 2010 season. Read more...

What if NASCAR handled all sports discipline?

Carl Edwards avoided suspension for wrecking Brad Keselowski in spectacular fashion at Sunday's NASCAR Sprint Cup event in Atlanta. Sure, intentionally hurtling into someone would land a civilian in jail, but so would driving a car without doors in some jurisdictions. NASCAR is a different world. NASCAR's decision to let Edwards off with three weeks of probation seems to be motivated by its attitude that drivers should be allowed to mix it up a little more, thereby giving fans more excitement. So, have other sports unfairly punished players when they should have commended them for inspiring fans? Read more...

Put your name in the fast lane

Scott Riggs fans have spoken… The dedicated culmination of Scott Riggs fans would like to reach out in support of the veteran driver in a unique fan-driven opportunity to “Sponsor Scott” in the upcoming Nashville 300 on April 3rd at Nashville Superspeedway. There are different levels of sponsorship - no donation is too big or too small. To make a donation please visit: www.teamrab.com or www.scottriggs.com.

Kulwicki's Last Taste of Victory was Shared with the Wood Brothers

When the Sprint Cup schedule rolls around to the early season Atlanta-to-Bristol segment, Eddie and Len Wood of the Wood Brothers race team often think back to that portion of the schedule back in 1993. It was a bittersweet time for the Woods and for NASCAR as a whole. It was at Atlanta that Alan Kulwicki helped engineer a Wood Brothers victory just 12 days before he died in a plane crash en route to a race in Bristol. Read more...

There Is One Thing NASCAR Cannot Control

The Carl Edwards-Brad Keselowski saga has gone through the actual-incident stage, through the NASCAR-penalty stage and has now moved to a new stage. That would be the human nature stage. Unlike the others, the latest stage will not end — not as long as Edwards and Keselowski continue to race on the same tracks at the same time. Read more...

Kurt Busch, Jeff Burton and John Darby To Speak With Fans During March 16 ‘DEGA Test Session

Kurt Busch and Jeff Burton will take time during their lunch break to speak to race fans during the March 16 test session at Talladega Superspeedway. Joining the drivers will be NASCAR Managing Director of Competition, John Darby. Parking lots open at 8:30 with the test officially kicking off at 9 am. The event is free to the public and food and beverages will be permitted. (Standard admission rules apply – No glass containers, only soft-sided coolers permitted and coolers must meet size requirement: 6”x6”x12” or smaller). For questions on permissible items, please contact the Talladega Superspeedway Ticket Office at 1-877-Go2-DEGA.

Edwards' penalty doesn't fit the crime

Funny, but Mike Helton doesn't resemble Faber College Dean Vernon Wormer. Yet during Tuesday's NASCAR video conference, life almost imitated art as he seemed to utter the words "double secret probation," a famous scene from the 1978 movie "Animal House." Carl Edwards escaped "double secret" but did get a three-race probation for intentionally wrecking Brad Keselowski during Sunday's race in Atlanta. With the Sprint Cup Series off this weekend, the monitoring will start next week in Bristol, Tenn. Needless to say, that decision has created a firestorm on both sides of the issue. NASCAR is being applauded by some for not returning to its dictatorial ways of the past; others are slamming the sanctioning body for not being tough enough in a situation that could have ended tragically. Read more...

Welcome To The New NASCAR

If you were angry with NASCAR before last Sunday’s race at Atlanta, you’re more than likely furious now. Carl Edwards, whose admitted retaliatory strike against Brad Keselowski late in the race sent Keselowski’s Penske Dodge flying through the air, will be on probation for the next three Sprint Cup races for the transgression that initially got him parked. What the probation means, in reality is Edwards best not draw any negative attention on track over the next three weeks or he may actually get his wrist slapped. In other words, it means nothing. The powers that be might as well have done just that – nothing. But I guess NASCAR felt it had to do something in the wake of the incident that enraged many fans. Read more...

Statement from Jack Roush Regarding Carl Edwards’ Penalty

"We are satisfied that NASCAR fairly considered all the circumstances in its decision to discipline Carl (Edwards). We look forward to meeting with NASCAR, Roger (Penske) and Brad (Keselowski) in Bristol next weekend and it is our hope to put this behind us at that time. Missed in all of this was a really strong performance by Roush Fenway - and the Ford teams in general - at Atlanta last weekend and we are eager to continue to build on that moving forward."

Aaron’s To Sponsor Michael Waltrip’s Return

In celebration of its 55th year, Aaron’s, Inc. will sponsor PRISM Motorsports’ No. 55 with driver Michael Waltrip in the Aaron’s 499 at Talladega Superspeedway April 25. Waltrip, a two-time Daytona 500 champion and former winner at Talladega, will return to NASCAR Sprint Cup Series racing with a long-time sponsor in Aaron’s and a long-time friend in PRISM co-owner Phil Parsons. Read more...

NASCAR Sprint Pit Crew Challenge Tickets On Sale

Tickets for the 2010 NASCAR Sprint Pit Crew Challenge presented by Craftsman, featuring a fan-friendly, pit-crew competition between the top-24 NASCAR Sprint Cup SeriesTM pit crews, are on sale March 13. Tickets start at $15 and can be purchased online at www.pitcrewchallenge.com or by calling the Time Warner Cable Arena box office at (800) 495-2295. Read more...

NASCAR suspends 2 for violating drug policy

NASCAR has suspended two crewmen for violating its substance abuse policy, including the former brother-in-law of Jeremy Mayfield. William David Keith, a spotter for David Gilliland in the Sprint Cup Series, is one of the two crewmen and was suspended Tuesday.... Matthew Huffstetler was the other crewman suspended. He works for Daisy Ramirez Motorsports in the Camping World Truck series. Read more...