Nascar Racing Online

Archive for January, 2010

OK, I realize that for most people, poetry begins and ends with "There once was a man from Nantucket … ," but here’s a little proof that even those highfalutin college-educated literary types can love NASCAR. Pour yourself a cup of java, gripe about The Man while living on your parents’ dime, and dig on the mellifluous motorsports melody that is … "NASCAR Child:"

Is it good? Well, let’s put it this way — it’s the best spoken-word blank-verse performance I’ve ever heard that uses the term "vomiting chaos."

Inspired by "NASCAR Child," the Orlando Sentinel’s Matt Humphrey (who sent me this video in the first place, so go to his site and blame him) was inspired to pen some of his own NASCAR poetry, like Danica Patrick‘s haiku:

Look good in bikini
Make money from Super Bowl
Drive Dale Jr.’s car

Feel free, of course, to create your own below. Winner gets free tuition for a year to You’re Going To Look Back On Your College Years And Cringe University.

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Everyone wants to know what it will take to stop Jimmie Johnson and Chad Knaus. It seems Jeff Gordon (thinks he) has found the answer.

For more NASCAR Cartoons follow the link.

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No sport offers up a more bewildering array of souvenir crap memorabilia
than NASCAR, and They Make It digs deep into the corners of the
Internet to bring all that strangeness to light. Today: we clean out the closet.

The Dale Junior Paddle With Ball: You have to love honesty in packaging. This is a paddle with a ball, and it’s labeled "Paddle With Ball." To differentiate those paddles which come without balls. (Or those balls which come without paddles.) Anyway, go ahead and play this one, and if you only hit the ball with the paddle once out of every ten tries, remember, it’s not your fault. (Courtesy reader Mike Miller, who points out, "I saw it in a dollar store. It cost a dollar.")

Race Car Nail Clipper: What the heck is this? Do you really want to cut your nails with an off-brand race car? And one that one of our intrepid readers found in the Seattle airport? I’m not sure Matt Kenseth would approve of the use of his number, but this could actually help the NASCAR rear wing/spoiler dilemma — I’d say that a huge clipper on the back of the car would be worse than either of those options. (Courtesy reader Kathy Vick.)

NASCAR elf hats: Aw, that’s precious! Elf hats of your favorite drivers! These were in an Alabama Target, so the presence of the Smoke and Junior ones isn’t a surprise, but the fact that the Gordon one wasn’t burnt and stomped into the linoleum is a good sign that we’re making progress as a nation. (Courtesy reader Honey Bunny.)

All right, your turn. Spotted some bizarre NASCARiana out there on the web or the, whaddayacallit, real world? If so, hit us up at jay.busbee@yahoo.com and give us the details!

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If you’ve been a follower of this blog for a while then you’ll know who Ricky is, but if you are not and don’t know about Ricky then let me tell you.

Ricky is a 2-time Cancer survivor – he has beaten this horrible disease twice and now he wants to beat it to the ground and stamp it out with your help.

You see Ricky is also a race car driver in the ARCA Series and he and Andy Belmont Racing have teamed up and put an awesome race package together.  The package that they’ve put together is called ‘Racing For a Cure’ and all winnings made by the team will go straight into cancer research – the team and Ricky will never see one cent of their winnings.  They’ve also set it up that anyone who sponsors the car for one race, multiple races, or for the season will be able to write off their sponsorship dollars because the racing program has become a Charity – hell Andy Belmont is even taking a hit on this because he is giving Ricky a competive car for half the price of a regular sponsored car because Andy believes in Ricky and his cause so much.

So that means a full-time sponsor would get a competive car at half the price and is able to write off their sponsorship money, while helping to find a cure for cancer.  Ricky and Andy are also going to go Truck racing if they get a full-time sponsor, at no extra cost to the sponsor, to get more attention for his cause and for the sponsor.

Only problem is no one is coming forward to sponsor Ricky – they all think the deal is too good to be true, or they are more interested in the female racers.  For the record, Ricky ran faster at the ARCA Daytona test than Danica Patrick in a car not even prepared by Andy Belmont, who just happens to put together some sweet rides in ARCA.

So here is the deal; Ricky and Andy firmly believe that if they can get to Daytona and race on Feb. 6th and finish in the top 10 a sponsor will come forward but they are about $30 000  short to run the full race.  They only have enough money to get there, qualify, start, run one lap and then park the car for fear of damage and they absolutely refuse to do that!  Its all or nothing!  They aren’t an ‘also ran’ team and they won’t start acting like that now – they don’t want to give the appearance of being something they’re not so they will not start and park.

So here is how you can help:  Ricky is going to create a ‘fan car’ in which you the fan can have your name put on the car for a donation as little as $5.00.  Yep five greenbacks.

Here’s how it works;

1.  For a donation of $5.00 you get your name on the car and on Ricky’s web site.

2. For a donation of $500.00 you get your name on the car in larger font and your name on the web site.

3. For a donation of $1000.00 you get your name or ‘team name’ if more of you go in together on the car, in even larger font and your team name along with your individual names on the web site.

Go to Ricky’s site now to donate and thank-you for helping one man achieve his dream of Racing For a Cure.

Ricky’s site address is http://www.rickybyersracing.com/

For more about Ricky please read this inspiring article by Karen Pistone of the Orlando Sentinal.

If you wish to sponsor Ricky for the full $30, 000 please contact him directly @ 1-205-229-0480 or email him at racingfouracure@aol.com.

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It’s a season of rebirth in NASCAR Nation, a time when every rule is getting looked over, every sacred cow getting fitted for the grill. Gone are bump-drafting rules and rear wings, in is a new attitude (allegedly) that will permit both personality and talent to shine. It’s a good workover, yes?

Well, it’s a good start.

As long as we’re taking a hard look at rules, Steve Kaminski of MLive recommends NASCAR throw out the biggest of big dogs — the Chase. Now,

Poor Jimmie Johnson. Last year, he became the first driver to win four
consecutive titles. But critics say the same thing about those
championships that they say about Pamela Anderson: Those aren’t real.

You can never go wrong with boob jokes, I say. (Especially at funerals.) And Kaminski makes a good point — as dominant as he’s been, Johnson is still perceived as a tool of the system, even though he still would have likely won at least three of the four titles under the old system.  But Kaminski goes for more than just the easy rack lines:

The problem is the Chase has turned NASCAR into the NBA. I start paying
attention to the NBA when the playoffs start. Too many teams qualify
for the postseason, and it reduces the significance of the regular
season.

The Chase has done the same thing to Sprint Cup. True, the Chase livens up the final 10 races, but what about the first 26?

It’s an interesting point. I’m not nearly as anti-Chase as a lot of folks, but I’m for anything that would juice up the final races of the year. Shoot, I say reset all the points at Homestead. That wouldn’t cause any problems, would it?

All right, your take. Chase or no Chase?

NASCAR’s changing rules, so let’s dump the Chase [MLive]

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In just over a year Twitter has become one of the fastest growing social networking sites with over 20 million users world wide. It didn’t take long before the personalities of NASCAR found their way to Twitter. Everyone from drivers, teams, sponsors and the media have begun tweeting. In 140 characters or less you can find out about the events they are attending, where they are tire testing and even what they had for breakfast.  Often posting pictures too.

Here is a little of what they are saying:

jpmontoya:  In orlando having dinner. Tomorrow start testing the nascar for the first time since miami last year….its been a while….

KellyBires:  At Best Buy picking up my new computer. Last one made it 3 yrs, hoping this one does the same! #fb

Kenny_Wallace:  I will twitter some Pics of the New Dirt car in a couple hours!…Get up and get eXcited..

jamiemcmurray:  Glad everyone liked the show on Haiti. Make sure to keep them in your prayers each day.

    And one more from our very own Jeff Gluck.

jeff_gluck:  I call this blog “Mark Martin: 51, and still kicking ass.” (I’m allowed to use bad words in my stories now. Yes!) –>http://bit.ly/6rGSvw

So if you aren’t already on Twitter sign up and start following your favourite driver (www.twitter.com).

Or follow just NASCAR Ranting and Raving’s NASCAR Driver Twitter List. 

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No, you haven’t accidentally wandered onto Yahoo! Sports’ esteemed basketball blog Ball Don’t Lie by mistake. That there is Gerald Wallace of the Charlotte Bobcats, and the reason he’s here is because of a "NASCAR Night" held Saturday night at the Bobcats’ game against the Orlando Magic. Drivers were in attendance, fans got all kind of NASCAR swag, and the team dressed in special race-themed unis. (Dig the checkered flag there on their uniforms. Every time they ran past Jimmie Johnson, he grabbed at them and tried to celebrate.)

The evening was originally meant to raise funds for Kyle Petty‘s Victory Junction Gang Camp for critically ill children. But the focus of the night moved to Haiti, and the NASCAR Foundation announced that it will be donating $250,000 for Haiti relief efforts. This supplements Rick Hendrick’s donation of the use of two planes for immediate aid. Michael Waltrip announced that he too would be donating the use of one of his planes, and Joe Gibbs Racing may be doing the same thing as well. 

Drivers have begun announcing individual efforts. Jimmie Johnson has donated 2,000 t-shirts, and Max Papis will be crafting a form of donation based on the number of laps he runs at Daytona at both the Rolex 24 and the Daytona 500. 

Papis, Waltrip, Kelly Bires, Brad Keselowski and Ricky Stenhouse Jr. competed in an NBA skills competition before the game. Stenhouse won the competition, not bad since he was a last-minute substitution for Denny Hamlin. The showdown included dribbling, foul shooting, passing, and shooting layups. (Dead last? Keselowski, who reportedly airballed several free throws.)

Hamlin was out because he’d torn his ACL on Friday playing, yep, basketball. Which is a true shame, because the ongoing Hamlin-Keselowski battle needs to be played out on as many fronts as possible.

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For more daily NASCAR and automotive news throughout the 2010 season, click here to bookmark Yahoo! Sports’ From The Marbles blog and follow us on Twitter. 

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With barely three weeks to go before the NASCAR season begins, Denny Hamlin has put a potential dent in his early-season hopes by tearing the anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee. And, in the tradition of infamous NASCAR injuries like Jimmie Johnson breaking his hand falling off a golf cart and Carl Edwards breaking a foot playing Frisbee, Hamlin suffered the injury in a non-racing context — in this case, playing pickup basketball.

Hamlin has opted to wait until the end of the season to have the knee repaired, a strategy which will surely be second-guessed if Hamlin doesn’t make a strong run at the championship. Hamlin hasn’t disclosed the severity of the injury, but it’s obviously not bad enough yet to warrant immediate treatment.

The reason why this injury could be significant is that Hamlin’s this year’s trendy pick to unseat Johnson, which means that — if history holds — he won’t get anywhere near Victory Lane for awhile. And if he does, he’s probably not going to be doing any Edwards-style backflips off his car.

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For more daily NASCAR and automotive news throughout the 2010 season, click here to bookmark Yahoo! Sports’ From The Marbles blog and follow us on Twitter. 

Other popular Yahoo! Sports blog posts:
• Peyton Manning shows a great QB trumps all

• Video: Hockey fan in rafters prompts evacuation

• Video: Soccer player scores from halfway line

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2009 Las Vegas December Champions Week Awards Banquet Denny Hamlin 5th trophy (12/4/2009 | Rusty Jarrett/Getty Images for NASCAR) via nascar-assets.americaneagle.com.

I know, I know aweful title but it is all I could come up with.  According to SBN’s resident NASCAR Guru Jeff Gluck (and you thought it was me) Denny messed up his knee playing basketball and tore his ACL.

If memory serves correct that is the legament that travels across you knee cap from top to bottom starting on the inside or your leg and ending on the outside.  The ACL the main front to back stabilizer of the knee.

According to the Gluck article Denny is going to get it surgically fixed during the next off season and the question that is raised is, ‘Why wait so long?”.  Because it is a 6-9 month recovery time and he should be able to at least drive a car 2 months post-op.

So what is he going to do in the meantime?  Race of course, but I would assume that he is going to have to do a few things to protect his knee like wear a hinged knee-brace like the one pictured below during exercise and probably give up basketball for the rest of the year except for maybe free-throws (no jumping of course).

I think he should also wear the brace while racing too because if he is involved in a wreck and his knee isn’t supported he could cause further season ending damage, or worse yet damage it and then not being able to get out of the car in a hurry if he has to.

All this is depended on the severity of his injury of course, but if it is as bad as the one my friend had a few years ago  then Denny is going to be on a long road to recovery.  My friend’s was so bad that they had to replace the ACL with a ‘donated’ one from a cadaver after the first repair failed.  When it was all said and done it was about a 2 year process.

The Power Form™ Adjustable Hinged Knee Brace offers excellent knee support for mild to moderate ligament strains/sprains, meniscal injuries and lateral/medial co-ligament instabilities and tears. It is also ideal for hyperextension or chronic instability problems and post ligament repair via www.mmbrace.com.

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Credit:  Bob Ellis (NASCAR Ranting and Raving)

Dale Earnhardt Jr.’s #88 Sprint Cup Car at the 2010 Canadian Motorsports Expo.

The Canadian Motorsports Expo is going on this weekend at the International Centre in Toronto.  The Expo is bigger this year than last year and they have a little bit of something for everyone.

I went again this year and I brought my son and daughter this time around.  Actually, I brought my son last year and he had a good time so I thought, “Why not?” and brought my daughter along for the ride too.  They had a blast.

Today was a busy day at the Expo as they had former Sprint Cup Champ Matt Kenseth in to sign autographs.  We didn’t bother to try to get an autograph though, the line was just too long – people were standing in line since the doors opened this morning and he didn’t show up until 2:30 pm.

We got to see Dale Jr’s show car again this year along with Jeff Gordon’s.  NASCAR Canadian Tire Series Champ Andrew Ranger also had his race used car there too.

Oh, and former F1 and CART driver Derek Daly was on hand running a seminar and signing copies of his new book ‘Race To Win’.

Probably the high-light of the day for the kids was meeting Tony Stewart’s newest Sprint Car driver Jessica Zemkin.

This Expo keeps getting bigger and better each year and I can’t wait to see what they have in the works for next year.

 

Credit:  Bob Ellis (NASCAR Ranting and Raving)

Sprint Car Driver Jessica Zempkin at the 2010 Canadian Motorsports Expo.

Credit:  Bob Ellis (NASCAR Ranting and Raving)

Andrew Ranger’s Championship #27 NASCAR Canadian Tire Series Car at the 2010 Canadian Motorsports Expo.

Credit:  Bob Ellis (NASCAR Ranting and Raving)

Motorsports Media Q&A Discussion Panel at the 2010 Canadian Motorsports Expo.

(Hmm … I wonder why I wasn’t added to the panel?)

 

Credit:  Bob Ellis (NASCAR Ranting and Raving)

Jeff Gordon’s #24 Sprint Cup car at the 2010 Canadian Motorsports Expo.

Credit:  Bob Ellis (NASCAR Ranting and Raving)

Live Race Time Radio Broadcast form the 2010 Canadian Motorsports Expo.

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