It seems in just the last few weeks, if you are a member of Twitter, and are a NASCAR fan, you have discovered the excitement of both on race day. The Final Lap has been on Twitter for a while now, and up until recently it was just a few comments here and there about NASCAR back and forth.

The real magic happens now when you follow anyone who is also interested in the sport, either in their bio description, or if they simply Tweet about it. Then on race day, while you are watching, you have this massive community making comments, learning, keeping you up to date and more. It really is an amazing thing.

Here’s how it works after you have a good group of followers, any comment you make about the race, be sure to include this in your Tweet…#nascar. By doing this, it also goes to everyone else interested in the race as well. You will ultimately gain a following using the #nascar, and making interesting comments about the race.  The community feeling is really quite remarkable.

I cover this sport for a living, and I come away each week with a deeper understanding of the unfolding race than I did before.  The reason is because I get opinions and comments from all angles, like from fans, media, heck even the drivers like Max Papis (@maxpapis) who is very active on Twitter.  We even heard about his flight home to North Carolina on Jimmie Johnson’s private jet, now that is insider access!  This is only one component of interaction on race day.

I also discovered going from Twitter, over to real-time discussion boards, who are mostly the same people that are on Twitter as well. A great example of this is at markmartin.com and nascarview.com. I’m sure there are many others out there, but all of these tools certainly make NASCAR a faster paced, and interesting place on the web.

There are various aspects of the NASCAR Twitter Community, slowly drivers and race tracks are getting on board, so we created a Twitter Guide to NASCAR Drivers and Tracks.  There are also many other types of followers which we will add to the list soon, like Media Members, Bloggers, Fans, Official NASCAR Tweets, Crew Members, PR Folks, and more.

RELATED LINKS:

–NASCAR EMBRACES TWITTER
–Twitter Guide to NASCAR Drivers and Tracks
-Twitter.com/thefinallap

Continue reading “NASCAR, Twitter Explode Together”

NSCS Shelby 427 Recap: Kyle Busch Rallies For Hometown Las Vegas Win
By Reid Spencer
Sporting News NASCAR Wire Service

LAS VEGAS (March 1, 2009) — So the last shall be first, and the first last.

PHOTO: CIA STOCK PHOTO

For biblical scholars, that was Matthew 20:16. For NASCAR fans, it was Sunday’s Shelby 427 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.

Starting from the rear of the field because of an engine change during Friday’s practice session, pole winner and Las Vegas native Kyle Busch worked his way to the front throughout a race punctuated with a record 14 caution periods and streaked to a .411-second victory, his first of the season and his first at Las Vegas.

Matt Kenseth, first in the series standings entering the race, finished last, after his engine blew six laps into the race. That ended Kenseth’s bid to become the first driver to win the first three races in a Cup season.

Continue reading “Kyle Busch is hometown winner at Las Vegas”

RACE QUICK-CAP | LAS VEGAS MOTOR SPEEDWAY
10 Dale Earnhardt Jr.
9 Jamie McMurray
8 Brian Vickers
7 Greg Biffle
6 Jeff Gordon missed pit road, blew a tire
5 Bobby Labonte
4 David Reutimann
3 Jeff Burton
2 Clint Bowyer

VICTORY LANE

1 Kyle Busch grabbed the pole, started in the back after an engine change, and battled back to the front for his first hometown Las Vegas win.

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OTHER STORIES ON THE DAY

-Wrecks, Engines, Spins, Drifting, Mistakes and more

-Matt Kenseth went from winning two races in a row, to finishing 43rd with a blown engine to start the race

-Jamie McMurray showed off his drifting skills with an amazing sideways save

-Roush Fenway car of David Ragan blew an engine, and possibly Carl Edwards on the Final Lap of the race

-The #43 of Reed Sorenson spun on his own and ate the wall

-Tons of pit road mistakes included Jeff Gordon, Jimmie Johnson, Carl Edwards, Tony Stewart, Kevin Harvick, and others

-In the closing laps, Jimmie Johnson caught some of the “Speedy Dry” and spun his 48 machine into the wall, he finished 24th

-Jeff Gordon now leads the points by 18

Continue reading “Cup Quick-Cap: Las Vegas Motor Speedway”