Wake up with Dale Jr
Dale Earnhardt Jr uses one of my favorite quotes on this trip to Nashville: “Y’all take it Easy.”
Be sure and let everyone know what you think by leaving your comments.
NASCAR Drivers Involved in Fight
Sometimes a race car driver’s temper will get the best of them.
My Buddy Darrell Waltrip did an interesting video highlighting the all-time best feuds in NASCAR. Darrell has seen his share of NASCAR feuds – now he tells all.
See helmets get tossed, people climbing over the tops of cars, and an entire race team in a free for all.
First Waltrip revisits NASCAR exec Robin Pemberton’s remarks earlier when he said “we just want the boys to have at it – we want them to put on a good show for the fans.”
Waltrip describes the feud between Carl Edwards and Brad Keselowski as a “volcano waiting to erupt.”
I had more run-ins with Earnhardt than anybody, said Waltrip.
DW also visits the feud between Denny Hamlin and Brad Keselowski when Hamlin said “my goal was to win the race first, and take care of him second,” talking about Keselowski.
Does it seem that Brad Keselowski’s name keeps coming up here?
But Waltrip also mentions the feuds between Dale Earnhardt and Bobby Labonte, and between Kevin Harvick and Ricky Rudd.
If you don’t believe people are passionate about winning in NASCAR you have to see this video.
Watch it and let me know what you think.
What Makes NASCAR So Special to You?
Does NASCAR have a special place in your heart?
What is it about NASCAR that makes it so interesting to you?
Tell your favorite NASCAR story, or tell why you follow NASCAR, or tell how you first got interested.
Do you watch because of the speed involved or the courage it takes to keep the pedal to the metal? Do you watch because of a certain driver or a certain car? Do you watch for the strategy and the action? Do you watch to see the wrecks?
Tell us your NASCAR story and you could win a NASCAR DVD. We’ll draw one random winner from everyone who leaves a meaningful comment to this article.
Update: Mavis is the winner of the DVD but we have plenty more to give away. Please continue to share your comments
The Best of Dale Earnhardt
Here is a video clip with some highlights of Dale Earnhardt’s career. I thought you might be interested in seeing it.
Take a look.
Has Kyle Busch Earned Your Respect?
Does Kyle Busch deserve more respect from NASCAR, it’s fans, and it’s drivers?
Kyle Busch may never have as many fans as Dale Earnhardt Jr or Jeff Gordon. But after his sweep of Bristol this weekend he has earned the respect of a few of them.
Photo Courtesy NASCAR Media
“It’s so cool to be here three nights on this weekend,” said Kyle Busch of his sweep at Bristol.
With his victory in the Irwin Tools Night Race Kyle Busch capped off a sweep of all three of this week’s NASCAR National Touring series races at Bristol becoming the first driver in history to do so. He went to Victory Lane in the Camping World Truck Series, the Nationwide Series and the Sprint Cup series.
“It was pretty special,” said Busch. “This team has worked so much through the past few weeks to try to get ourselves back on track. Coming to Bristol you could say, yeah, well, we’re supposed to run well here. But still, it’s cool to be able to put it all together in a complete weekend, with the truck, with the Nationwide car and with the Cup car.”
But with Kyle being Kyle he doesn’t always do things to help his standing with the fans. After winning the Nationwide race Kyle climbed from his car to a chorus of boos raining down on him from the grandstands. In response Kyle wrung his eyes in mock tears just to taunt the booers a little more. But, that is just Kyle.
Brad Keselowski called Kyle Busch “an ass” during driver introductions prior to the Saturday Night Sprint Cup race and nearly brought the house down. But that would not deter Busch.
When asked about Brad Keselowski’s declaration after the race Busch responded blankly, “who?”
“Brad Keselowski,” the reporter repeated.
“Yeah, I don’t know who you’re talking about,” Busch insisted.
“He drives the No. 12 car,” the reporter said in a bewildered tone.
“I saw it, but I passed it,” Kyle responded with a sly grin.
Still, there were more cheers than boos when Kyle took his victory lap after the race.
“I just come out here to do my job,” said Busch. I do what I’m supposed to do, and to win races is my job and what that entails. The fans are what drives this sport and what makes us go round and get us here every week. So it’s cool to have them here, and they’re passionate about who they like and who they don’t like.”
Yet what Kyle Busch pulled off is a remarkable feat. It is hard enough just to win a race in any NASCAR series. It is hard enough to win a race at Bristol. Kyle Busch went 3 for 3 in 3 completely different race cars and trucks. One was fielded by his own race shop, and the other 2 by Joe Gibbs Racing. In the truck race Kyle even started from the back of the field to take the win.
He deserves just a little bit of respect for that. Like him or not.
Time for Dale Jr To Go Somewhere Else
It’s time for Dale Earnhardt Jr to go somewhere — anywhere — besides Hendrick Motorsports.
With one win in 95 races Hendrick Motorsports has not delivered for Dale Earnhardt Jr.
When Earnhardt signed on with Rick Hendrick he wanted a 3 year contract. It was Rick Hendrick who convinced Junior to sign up on a 5 year plan. Now we know why.
In a normal NASCAR contract Dale Jr’s contract would be almost up. He would be free to go in a few weeks. Instead Dale Jr has 2 years remaining.
Rick Hendrick needs to do the right thing and release Junior now. At least give Dale Jr the option to stay or go.
I say go. What do you say?
Tensions High After Harvick Wins Michigan
Photo Courtesy NASCAR Media
Tensions were running a little high in the garage area after the race.
Kevin Harvick secured his spot in the Chase with a win in the Carfax 400 at Michigan International Speedway Sunday.
Harvick chose track position over fresh Goodyears to secure the victory. When other drivers pitted during the final caution Harvick stayed on the track in order to remain near the head of the pack.
That gamble paid off when Harvick passed Denny Hamlin for the lead with just a few laps remaining to take the lead and secure the win.
Dale Jr Very Blunt About It
Dale Earnhardt Jr didn’t appreciate being questioned about his team’s chances of making the Chase by ESPN reporter Marty Smith.
“I really don’t give a shit about it,” said Dale Earnhardt Jr. “I’m going home.”
“I busted my ass all day – so I’m gonna hit the house.”
It was pretty obvious that junior was very angry about another 19th place finish. It was also very obvious that he was in no mood to talk about it.
But the banter made one thing crystal clear. Earnhardt very obviously does care about his team’s performance – and he is not happy about it.
You have to wonder how much longer Dale Jr will put up with the crew and equipment Hendrick Motorsports is putting behind him.
Logano and Newman Tussle
Ryan Newman and Joey Logano went toe to toe for a few minutes following the race. The conversation when Logano poked Newman in the chest and Newman returned the favor to Logano. NASCAR Officials had to step in and separate the two just before punches were thrown.
Newman was unhappy with Logano after Logano’s Toyota clipped the rear of Newman’s Chevy sending Newman spinning into the infield.
After the incident Logano complained that Newman always races everyone too hard. But hard tracing is what built NASCAR – it’s what fans pay to see. There is no such thing as racing too hard.
Will the tensions carry over to Bristol’s Night Race next week? What do you think?
Paint Dale Jr’s 88
Dale Earnhardt Jr and the folks at Mountain Dew have rolled out a new contest called Paint The 88 where you have a hand in designing Dale Jr’s car. If Dale Jr likes your design best he’ll drive it on the track at Phoenix in November.
You can win race used equipment and helmets signed by Dale Jr.
You can check out the Dale Jr Mountain Dew gallery and play a race game.
Montoya Wins as Johnson Spins at the Glen
Photo Courtesy NASCAR Media
Juan Montoya took NASCAR’s Sprint Cup Series drivers to school Sunday afternoon at Watkins Glen, showing everyone how road course racing was done. It didn’t hurt that Montoya’s No. 42 Chevrolet had an Earnhardt Childress Racing power plant under the hood. Those engines have been bullets all season long.
Montoya led 74 of 90 laps in the Heluva Good! Sour Cream Dips at The Glen. The fastest car doesn’t always win, but today it did.
“Yeah, I think it’s nice,” an exalted Montoya said about the dominating win.” We executed right. I think we did what we had to all day. We ran really smart. I think yesterday we had a good talk with Chip. Last few weeks have been really frustrating for the whole team because we’ve been so close to victory. Seemed to keep slipping away.”
“To come out here today and get the job done the way we did today, it was big. I feel more relieved than happy right now. It’s been a really hard road in a way. It’s been a lot of fun. It’s been frustrating. To finally get that first win for Brian, I think it’s good. I think we can really focus on just getting the job done.”
The win was Montoya’s 2nd career Sprint Cup victory. His first coming at Sonoma in 2007 at NASCAR’s other Sprint Cup road course.
Winning crew chief Brian Pattie was nearly speechless following the win. “It’s huge,” said Pattie, who blamed himself for a recent near miss at Indy when a decision to take 4 tires on a late race pit stop likely cost Montoya a win at the Brickyard.
Johnson and Hamlin Crash
2 championship contenders were involved in a crash on lap 72. Jimmie Johnson was on the outside of the No. 31 of Jeff Burton when the 2 made contact sending Johnson’s No. 48 into the outside retaining wall before being collected by Hamlin’s No. 11 Toyota. Hamlin and Johnson are 6th and 5th respectively in the point standings following today’s race.
“It’s so stupid. We’re not even racing for the win, we’re racing for 8th or 10th,” said a frustrated Denny Hamlin.
Tony Stewart Delivers a Message
Tony Stewart sent Boris Said a message that he wasn’t going to be pushed around when Said drove his No. 83 Toyota to the outside and nearly put Stewart’s No. 14 Chevy in the grass on lap 67. Stewart was shoved nearly off the racetrack by Said and when Stewart finally refused to give the final inch Said’s car was sent spinning into the steel guardrail.
“The 14 dumped us,” said Said’s spotter over the teams 2 way radio following the crash. But Stewart had no other choice. He was simply out of asphalt and had nowhere to go.
“Some idiot tries to run us straight off the racetrack. I’m gonna hold my line,” said Stewart immediately following the crash. Stewart did exactly what he was supposed to do.
Dale Earnhardt Jr scored another 26th place finish in today’s race. How much longer does this have to go on before Mr. Hendrick decides to do something about it? Or does he even care?
Marcos Ambrose looked to be the only driver with a shot at chasing down Montoya as the final laps ticked off. That is until Montoya radioed in that he felt he had a tire going down.
It looked for a while that there might be a late race caution to give everyone one last shot at Montoya. The No. – car had a flat tire and was putting chunks of rubber in the racetrack. At the same time Robby Gordon’s engine let go sending a cloud of smoke into the air – but apparently no fluid could be spotted on the racing surface. I’ve seen a lot of cautions thrown for a lot less.
Montoya has been on the verge of victory several times recently. Now that he has sealed the deal look for him to repeat.
Have Your Say
Fan comments are always the most important part of the story. So don’t forget to leave yours below.
Who’s Most Clueless About NASCAR?
Who is the most clueless person you know when it comes to NASCAR?
Enter and Win!
Answer this question and you’ll be entered in the RacingWin contest for to win a free license plate featuring one of NASCAR’s all-time greatest drivers
Sometimes I’ll meet someone who just doesn’t ‘get’ NASCAR. They simply can’t understand why anyone would want to watch “cars going around in circles – and turning left.”
These people are totally clueless.
They don’t know Brad Keselowski from Brad Pitt
They don’t appreciate the skill it takes to drive a car 4 wide at 200 MPH at Talladega for 3 hours straight. They have no idea how much strategy goes into making split second decisions in the pits that can spell the difference between winning and finishing 15th. They could care less that fabricators spend months hand building the perfect car for drafting at Daytona.
Have you ever met anyone like this? Have you tried to educate them on the inner workings of NASCAR? If so, did you succeed, or is that person still clueless?
Tell us your story and you could win an Officially Licensed souvenir from the RacingWin hauler. The best story wins. So have at it boys and girls.
Update: this contest is now closed. Sharon King is the winner of a Dale Earnhardt license plate. Thanks for playing.
