I apologize for the delay in getting this post up. We had some Internet connectivity issues last night that prevented me from posting. Thanks!
There are some drivers out there, who no matter what they drive, always seem to not get enough racing. A name that comes to mind is a [...]
From Danica to Jimmie, this second week of the off-season wrapped up some old storylines and opened up some new ones for the year to come. NASCAR crowned their champion this week in Las Vegas. For the first time fans were in attendance as Jimmie Johnson accepted his fourth straight [...]
Earlier Friday Rick Ren confirmed to Sirius Speedway’s Dave Moody his move to Kyle Busch Motorsports and the team’s startup for the 2010 season.
The team is expected to hold a press conference next Friday officially announcing their plans for 2010. Ren will be the Director of Operations for the new [...]
The previous two seasons (2007 and 2008) have provided interesting Silly Seasons with free agents like Kyle Busch and Dale Earnhardt Jr. 2009 though will go down in the record books as a refreshingly light free agent year.
While 2009 won’t be memorable for big time moves, 2010 could be one [...]
After a short hiatus, “Ask The Insiders Wednesday” returns for the 51st version. We’ve got a big batch of questions, so lets get right to it. If you don’t know what this post is, we answer any and all reader questions every Wednesday, right here. So if you’ve got one, click on the [...]
After a nice (but brief) vacation, both myself and Journo are returning to action this week. As Journo said last week, we are going to cut down our posting frequency during the off-season to a post for Monday, Ask The Insiders on Wednesday, a post for Friday, and the Saturday links [...]
As promised here is an update of the points under the old points system. If you didn’t catch it, I wrote a post the other day about it.
1. #48 Jimmie Johnson, 5156
2. #24-Jeff Gordon, 5090, -66
3. #14-Tony Stewart, 5085, -71
4. #11-Denny Hamlin, 4806, -350
5. #5-Mark [...]
For those of you who follow us on Twitter, you know every Monday we do a ‘best and worst’ of the weekend tweet. With the 2009 season now in the bag, we thought it might be fun to bring it over to the blog and ask you to do your [...]
36 races and thousands of laps. The end of the 2009 season is upon us. Ron Hornaday Jr. clinched the Camping World Truck Series Championship last weekend with his team owner Kevin Harvick winning the owner’s championship Friday night after a close battle with Billy Ballew. Kyle Busch won the [...]
This season has yielded some good surprises. Juan Pablo Montoya has had a break through season, earning a Chase berth; David Reutimann has had some strong runs and his first win; and at age 50 Mark Martin has proven age doesn’t need to be a factor. Another guy making moves, [...]
Since its inception in 2004 the Chase has been one of the more contentious issues among fans. I know many of you don’t like it. So I think it’s interesting every year to look at the standings as if we were still under the old points system.
This is something I [...]
The last race of the season is upon us. Come Sunday night, the 2009 season will be over. But what won’t end, is Ask The Insiders Wednesday. We’ve got our 50th batch of questions and answers for you. If you don’t know what this post is, until further notice, we [...]
You may not realize it, but while the 2009 season still isn’t officially over yet, preparations for 2010 have already begun. One area that teams will spend the last few races working on, is changes to their pit crews.
To the untrained eye, it may appear to be business as usual [...]
Following another run-in with Brad Keselowski during Saturday’s Nationwide Series race at Phoenix, Dave Burns of ESPN asked Denny Hamlin if NASCAR needed to get involved. Hamlin responded: “No, no, I’ll take care of him. It’s no biggy. I got him.”
Anybody else looking forward to this situation heading to Homestead?
In his ascension [...]
Just two races to go in the 2009 season and after a wild one last week at Texas, the championship chase has once again tightened up. After a couple of weeks of speculation and conversations Earnhardt Ganassi Racing decided to return with Chevrolet for the 2010 season. The organization reportedly [...]
I get asked all the time by family and friends about the constant travel that is necessary to be apart of the sport we call NASCAR. People always want to know where I’m going and how we get there. It’s a topic I explored in a post I wrote last summer here [...]
You’re not happy when he’s winning. You’re not happy when he’s finishing 38th, 129 laps down. What do you want out of Jimmie Johnson? We should hash this out though, because he’s not going anywhere for a while.
Over on twitter and on message boards across the Internet this week people [...]
All three series have one more trip out West for the year. While the haulers make the long trek to Phoenix, we’ve got another question and answer post for you. If you don’t know what this post is, until further notice, we will be answering any and all reader questions [...]
And then there were two.
Phoenix and Homestead are the only two remaining races before we put the 2009 season in the books. And I’ve got to say, I’m a little bummed.
This time of year is always a little bitter sweet for me. I know there are a ton of guys [...]
Following Talladega and comments by NASCAR spokesman Ramsey Poston on his blog, there has been a lot of discussion of the coverage of NASCAR races; more importantly how that coverage is shaping the audience’s perception of what they’re seeing.
All I can say is, it’s about time. Earlier this year [...]
I know I’m a day late, I forgot to post this yesterday; sorry. A little late Silly Season business made news this week as the 2010 plans of Danica Patrick and Jamie McMurray came a little more into focus. ESPN reported early in the week that JR Motorsports was close [...]
This year has been a particularly brutal one for car counts in the Camping World Truck Series. While there usually is a full field, many teams choose to start and park. Looking at 2010 though things are looking up for the truck series.
Richard Childress Racing is expected to field at [...]
I’m coming to this party a little late, but after what I read earlier today, I have to say something.
On Saturday, during the pre-race show for the Truck Series race on SPEED, the broadcast crew which includes Rick Allen, Phil Parsons, Michael Waltrip, Adam Alexander, Ray Dunlap, and Krista Voda, [...]
And then there were three. Texas, Phoenix, and Homestead are the last remaining races on the 2009 schedule before we put it in the record books. But before we start the home stretch, we’ve got more of your questions and our somewhat educated answers. If you don’t know what this post is, until [...]
After years of complaints from fans (and drivers for that matter) over the looks of the Cup Series COT, NASCAR undoubtedly didn’t want a repeat as they developed the Nationwide COT.
This weekend we got our first glimpse of all four stickered up Nationwide COT’s. I don’t know how you [...]
It seems this season that no matter what NASCAR does in terms of competition, they get it wrong. Today’s race at Talladega was yet another example.
During the pre-race drivers meeting, NASCAR informed the drivers that they would not tolerate overly aggressive driving and bump drafting in the corners. Violators would [...]
Happy Halloween! Kyle Busch and his No. 18 team led the news this week as Joe Gibbs Racing announced they would replace crew chief Steve Addington. Dave Rogers, crew chief of the #20 Nationwide team, was named as his replacement. AJ Allmendinger and Michael Waltrip also made headlines for off [...]
Talk about bad timing. On the day that rumors surface about Best Buy moving from Elliott Sadler’s #19 to the #43 with AJ Allmendinger for 2010, the news comes out regarding Allmendinger and a DWI charge. At the time of this post, AJ has since apologized in a statement and [...]
I heard a rumor this weekend about a “funded” driver with an opportunity at a large, well respected organization. I would name names, but I don’t know how much credit I give the rumor. That really isn’t the point of my post though.
This movement toward the funded driver has become [...]
Apparently everyone is in a question asking mood, because we have (I believe) the largest ATIW post ever. So we’ll just get right to it. If you don’t know what this post is, until further notice, we will be answering any and all reader questions every Wednesday, right here. So if you’ve [...]
First off, I just want to thank everyone who stopped by and gave us feedback on our “The State of TNI post.” We aren’t looking at any major changes, but we wanted to get a gauge from you on what you thought we were doing right and wrong. Know [...]
I know it’s Monday and you’re probably expecting a post, sorry, but we wanted to ask you, our loyal readers, some questions. Don’t worry it’s nothing too difficult, we just want to know how we’re doing, and what you like and don’t like about the blog and our topics.
Feel free [...]
After a season of struggles, Richard Childress Racing led the headlines this week as they made some personnel changes in an effort to help performance. Todd Berrier, previously the #07 crew chief, will move to the #31, Doug Randolph, who started out the year with Earnhardt Ganassi Racing and was [...]
Last week Aric Almirola filed paperwork with the North Carolina Superior Court indicating he may have a breach of contract dispute with Earnhardt Ganassi Racing with Felix Sabates.
According to SceneDaily, which reported on the filing, Almirola indicated a breach of contract and unfair and deceptive trade practices. The filing [...]
About this time last year I wrote a post about NASCAR’s diversity. I called it “Strive for Diversity.” You see I’m among those who think there is value in having people of different backgrounds in our sport. We’re all at our best when we judge people for who they [...]
We’ve got a good batch of questions for you this week, and many from some new names which is great to see! Remember, there are no stupid questions here, and even if we’ve answered a question in the past, we will answer it again. If you don’t know what this [...]
As we near the end of the season, and what some are already predicting could be a fourth straight championship for Jimmie Johnson, it seems the negative feelings toward driver 48 are growing. Some have even hinted that Johnson’s dominance is to blame for the decline in ratings and attendance [...]
In other sports, home games happen just as often as away games. But racing is different. We spend almost the entire season at away games. The sport as a whole only gets two home weekends a year; the 600 weekend in May and the October night race at Lowe’s Motor Speedway. Both offer a welcome respite [...]
As NASCAR rolls into Charlotte for the second time this season, the new Hall of Fame led the news this week. The sport’s legends, dignitaries and media members came together on Wednesday to decide the Hall’s first five inductees. The group, along with input from a fan vote, selected Bill [...]
As NASCAR has struggled through the last year, and teams have closed up shop leaving drivers without a ride, I had to ask myself why more out of work drivers didn’t make the jump to a lower series?
At the risk of alienating people, I’ll refrain from specifically naming any drivers [...]
I’m going to go on a rant here, so I apologize in advance, but this is something that has bothered me since I started as a tire changer. When young guys finally get their first opportunities to jack, carry, and change they usually end up on Truck Series and some [...]
It’s a home game this week, as both the Nationwide and Cup cars take to the 1.5 mile Lowes Motor Speedway in Concord. But while the season starts winding to a close, ATIW keeps chugging along. If you don’t know what this post is, until further notice, we will be answering [...]
If you follow us on twitter, you may have seen me point this out over the weekend (NASCAR Scene writer Jeff Gluck beat me to the punch with a post about this incident on his blog). During the regular press availability for the Chase contenders this weekend Juan Pablo [...]
It was announced on Thursday that Yates Racing and Richard Petty Motorsports will merge for 2010 and that the new team will race Fords. This new team owned by the Gilletts, Richard Petty, Ray Evernham, Boston Ventures, Doug Yates, and Max Jones (whoa) will campaign four teams with drivers Kasey [...]
It’s been a couple of days since I’ve been called a NASCAR homer, and honestly I’m starting to think some of you are changing your mind, so I figure let’s end that for a couple of weeks.
Let me back up for a second though. I was surfing around the other [...]
Thanks to the long holiday weekend, we now have a short week. In just a few days, both the Nationwide and Cup cars will race under the lights at Richmond, while the Truck Series heads to Gateway International Raceway. Before that happens though, we’ve got more questions and answers. If [...]
If the rumors are true about Danica Patrick, then her choice to run a partial Nationwide, Truck, and ARCA schedule while still running the complete IRL schedule in 2010 is the safest thing she could do. It leaves her an out if she cannot figure out how to be successful [...]
In this sport timing is everything, on track and off. Do you take tires? Do you stretch fuel? Who was first off pit road? And who was smart enough to sign with a team while the getting was good?
As we get to the beginning of the end of the 2009 [...]
Just two races until the Chase for the Sprint Cup begins, and NASCAR has a weekend of firsts across all three series. The trucks raced their inaugural event at Iowa Speedway on Saturday and the Cup and Nationwide series made their way to Atlanta on a Labor Day weekend for [...]
Earlier this week Yates Racing announced Erik Darnell would run seven races this season (beginning this weekend at Atlanta) in the #96 Hall Of Fame Racing car. This of course meant Bobby Labonte was out of a ride, at least temporarily on that end. He of course will likely continue [...]
Maybe I’m giving people too much credit here, but I continue to be shocked by the fact that NASCAR has again busted more crew members with the new drug testing. In case you missed it, they nabbed three more guys recently, including former ASA and short track ace Gary St. Amant. [...]
Don’t worry people, you are only three days away from a long holiday weekend! It will be a week of firsts, as this will be the first Labor Day weekend race at Atlanta and the first ever Truck Series race at Iowa Speedway. But this isn’t the first Ask The [...]
In the name of transparency I’ll tell you I’m kind of borrowing this idea from a piece Art Weinstein at Scene Daily wrote addressing how NASCAR can’t match the success of the NFL. Namely I pulled this idea from his comment about the NFL’s collective bargaining agreement (CBA) being [...]
I’m sorry, they just weren’t. After what happened last year at Montreal, and the debacle that took place on Sunday at the Circuit de Gilles Villeneuve, NASCAR needs to take a serious look at getting rid of racing in the rain.
There are some that disagree with me, and believe that [...]
It’s an off week for the Cup cars but never fear, the Nationwide cars are filling the void with what could be an interesting rain dampened race at Montreal. The series led the news this week with word that they are going to run the Nationwide COT in four races [...]
Once people figure out what I do for a living (you know, changing tires in big time auto racing), there are always the same usual questions. One that I get asked on a fairly regular basis by friends, acquaintances, and family members is if and when I ever did or will take [...]
This past weekend it was all but confirmed that Brad Keselowski would make his way to Penske Racing next season most likely replacing the struggling David Stremme. This came after a season of speculation about Keselowski’s future with JR Motorsports and Hendrick Motorsports.
Hendrick of course spent much of the [...]
The Cup Series is off this weekend, but there will be no shortage of racing to watch. The Truck Series takes on Chicago, while the Nationwide cars head north of the border to the Circuit de Gilles Villeneuve in Montreal. If you don’t know what this post is, until further [...]
Each week when we set up on pit road for the race, we’ve got two neighbors. One on each side. Most pit stalls, both over the wall and behind the wall, are clearly marked. Everybody gets about the same amount of real estate. And in being neighbors, you try and [...]
We have just two races to go before the chase for the Sprint Cup begins and at this point there is still a lot of room for change.
Off the top I know I lot of people aren’t fans of the Chase format. The format could potentially reward someone with a [...]
Another week into the season and just a few more until the Chase begins, more dominos look to be falling. According to multiple sources Friday Brad Keselowski could replace David Stremme at Penske Racing next season. Keselowski, in the final year of his contract at JR Motorsports, has been the [...]
Doesn’t it seem lately that many of the moves made by NASCAR have dollar signs attached to them in terms of the teams? Let me briefly give you a few examples: Why develop the COT? Safety and cost savings. Why only allow five over the wall in the Truck Series? [...]
Sorry to not have new content for Thursday, it was a very long day for me and I just didn’t have time to get to TNI. That being said I have found a great post T.C. wrote last year about Bristol (and since the second Bristol race is this [...]
With a wild weekend of racing at Michigan in the rearview, we are looking ahead to another possibly wild weekend of action at Bristol. While we wait for the weekend to arrive, we’ve got another round of questions and answers for you. If you don’t know what this post is, [...]
One of the bigger story lines of the 2009 season has been the downfall of Richard Childress Racing. After putting all three teams into the Chase in 2008, only Clint Bowyer appears to have a shot at a Chase berth for 2009. With only a few races left before the [...]
He may no longer be the winningest driver in IRL history (that honor now belongs to Scott Dixon), but I don’t think Sam Hornish is complaining.
While Hornish hasn’t been lighting the world on fire, here and there he has had flashes of brilliance, especially in the last few races. Off [...]
Richard Petty Motorsports led the news this week as the team switched the #44 and #43 crews in an attempt to shake up performance. The plan had been in the works for some time. Dale Earnhardt Jr. also made headlines late this week after he criticized the Car of Today [...]
In 1986 real estate developer Edward Robert Ginn III, better known as Bobby Ginn, was quickly making a name for himself, though not for the right reasons. He owned eight of 20 golf courses (among other properties) in Hilton Head Island, S.C. and his company was failing. Failing to [...]
Although that would be really nice, it just isn’t true. There was a piece written by Dustin Long that came out on Monday that revealed some numbers about a specific crew member’s pay. And while numbers like these are a reality for some, it certainly isn’t the standard.
Former Roush Fenway [...]
From the Finger Lakes of New York, NASCAR moves to the Irish Hills of Michigan this week. The Cup and NNS cars will take to the two mile Michigan International Speedway on Saturday and Sunday. But following another Monday race, we’ve got more answers for your questions. If you don’t know [...]
Our friend John Daly over at The Daly Planet covered this topic the other day and he got a big response. TC and I spoke about the matter and since my opinion is differing from his and many of those who responded to Daly, I thought I would [...]
We’ve all seen it happen. From the Friday night local short track race all the way to the Daytona 500. One driver gets wrecked; then he gets mad; then he gets even. But when does one driver retaliating against another driver go too far?
I know I’m going to get blasted [...]
A slower than normal news week followed an emotional win for Denny Hamlin at Pocono Raceway last weekend. Buzz of a crew chief swap at Richard Petty Motorsports led the news this week. While it hasn’t happened quite yet, it sounds as if Mike Shiplett, crew chief of the #43, [...]
Since we are at a road course this week, I thought this would be the perfect time to bring up the NASCAR road course debate. Some people, both inside and outside the sport, say they need to be eliminated from the schedule all together. I personally think we need to [...]
This is a post we ran last year about this time, and because we are racing at Watkins Glen this weekend, we thought it would be fun to revisit this topic. Enjoy!
I have…
The Nationwide and Cup Series are heading north this weekend to the Finger Lakes region of New York [...]
It’s a short week for the Cup guys following the Monday race at Pocono. This weekend, both the Nationwide and Cup Series travel to the Finger Lakes region of New York to race at the road course in Watkins Glen. But before we head north to turn left and right, we’ve got more reader questions. [...]
With all that has happened this year, one storyline that has seemingly been lost in the shuffle a bit is the situation at Team Red Bull. Another “we’re getting closer” story about Red Bull’s plans for 2010 and beyond appeared over the weekend on NASCAR.com. We didn’t learn anything [...]
You know in a lot of neighborhoods how there is that one street that’s just different from the others. It’s not necessarily a bad street, it’s just different. The yards aren’t kept up and there are big oil stains in the driveways. Well the garage throughout all of NASCAR’s national [...]
One week after the biggest speeding ticket of Juan Pablo Montoya’s life, the Cup cars head to the Pennsylvania Mountains. Sponsor news was the big topic of discussion this week as Crown Royal and Roush Fenway Racing announced their shift to Matt Kenseth; news came that Lowe’s would be ending [...]
EGR has an open seat. Martin Truex is replacing Michael Waltrip. Jamie McMurray is out at Roush. Brad Keselowski wants to go Cup racing. While this will not go in the history books as the most exciting Silly Season we have ever had, there still remains a lot of questions [...]
In a recent piece on SceneDaily.com, Kyle Busch discussed his interest in being a team owner in one of NASCAR’s top series “down the road.” From what we are hearing, “down the road” might mean 2010.
There have been rumors in the past about Kyle Busch either buying out current [...]
With the Cup cars being off last Sunday, we’ve got a very light edition of ATIW this week. As always, thanks to those that do send in questions. If you don’t know what this post is, until further notice, we will be answering any and all reader questions every Wednesday, right here. So if [...]
It never ceases to amaze me how people can turn seemingly non-controversial issues into vast conspiracies (especially this season). Of course this weekend we saw one of those issues.
I’ll be the first to say I was rooting for Juan Pablo Montoya this weekend. His car was bad fast and what [...]
Something that has always bugged me about NASCAR and racing in general, is that if you have a boat load of cash you can race at the highest levels regardless of how talented you are. In the other major professional sports, only the best of the best ever actually make [...]
NASCAR returns to the famed Indianapolis Motor Speedway this week, one year after the now infamous tire debacle. On the Mayfield front, this week his attorneys released a negative drug test they claim was taken soon after his second alleged failed test by NASCAR. Also the 4th Circuit Court of Appeals reinstated [...]
I’m not sure if you saw this little tidbit today, but amid the endless Mayfield talk and the announcement from Roush Fenway Racing that DeWalt would not return as a sponsor next year, was Jimmy Spencer floating the rumor that Earnhardt Ganassi Racing may somehow merge next season with Joe [...]
Much like NASCAR’s own France family, the IRL (and IMS)’s Hulman-George family is a racing dynasty that began two generations ago. Soon after World War II businessman Anton “Tony” Hulman bought the run down Indianapolis Motor Speedway and turned it back into the gem of American motorsports. Hulman’s daughter Mari Hulman George became [...]
With the Cup cars being off last Sunday, we’ve got a very light edition of ATIW this week. As always, thanks to those that do send in questions. If you don’t know what this post is, until further notice, we will be answering any and all reader questions every Wednesday, right here. So if [...]
Recently here at TNI, you’ve seen us profile a few young drivers and some driver development programs. It seems that because of some of the topics dominating the current headlines that the young, upstart drivers often have their stories pushed to the back burner. And it’s these younger guys that need the exposure as they are suffering the most [...]
A few weeks ago I highlighted the developmental successes of Roush Fenway Racing. This week I was reminded of another team diligently working on some developmental standouts.
On Saturday, for the fourth time in a row and the fifth time this season, Penske development driver Parker Kligerman won in [...]
The Cup cars are off this weekend, but the news is still buzzing. On Wednesday NASCAR said in a court filing suspended driver Jeremy Mayfield again failed a drug test given by the sanctioning body. Included in the filing was an affadavit from Mayfield’s stepmother claiming she had seen the [...]
Do you remember why you love racing? I want you to stop for a minute and think about it.
For me, the love is deep-seeded. From an early age at the local short tracks to now when I head through the tunnel at any track, the feeling I get is indescribable. [...]
One of the many problems facing NASCAR going forward is what to do with the Nationwide Series. In recent years it has become a Saturday playground for Cup drivers, and because of this, the series’ developmental mentality and identity have gone away. What was once a place for young drivers to [...]
In case you haven’t heard, Jeremy Mayfield has again tested positive for methamphetamines. Jenna Fryer from the Associated Press broke the story about 30 minutes ago. See it here.
After we wrote about Mayfield on two separate occasions (here and here), some pretty serious discussion developed with the [...]
We are half way through another week in the 2009 season. The Cup cars are off this weekend, but the Nationwide Series and Trucks will be on track, as is this 32nd edition of ATIW. If you don’t know what this post is, until further notice, we will be answering any and all [...]
I always feel bad for the folks who service sponsors this time of year (the account managers, the business development executives etc.). It’s not that they are having to gear up to look for sponsors (they’re always doing this), or that they are having to explain their team’s less than [...]
If you don’t know who she is or haven’t heard the name, don’t worry, you will.
We get asked on a fairly regular basis about the prospects for a female racer to break into the upper levels of NASCAR, and I thought I would take this opportunity to point out a [...]
Just past the halfway point, and the silly season is starting to get into full swing. Martin Truex Jr. made official the worst kept secret of the 2009 season on Tuesday, announcing his move to Michael Waltrip Racing in 2010. Truex joins MWR after four full seasons with Dale Earnhardt [...]
So now that the worst kept secret of the 2009 season is out, that Martin Truex Jr. is leaving Earnhardt Ganassi Racing for Michael Waltrip Rass Racing, it seems the popular thing to do is to pile on EGR and its future as an organization.
Following the announcement by MWR and [...]
