Sweeps The Norm Rather Than Exception At Phoenix

Although it looks benign nestled against the Estrella Mountains, Phoenix International Raceway can be as tough as any wildlife lurking in nearby peaks.

The flat, one-mile track features tight turns and a unique dog-leg-shaped backstretch that forces concentration from beginning to end of each lap.

Yet once drivers “tune in” to those nuances, they tend to stay attuned. Just ask Jimmie Johnson, who hopes Sunday’s SUBWAY Fresh Fit 500 will be his fourth consecutive victory there.

Sweeping seems contagious at Phoenix. There have been two season sweeps since the venue began hosting two NASCAR Sprint Cup events in 2005. (PIR had its first series race in 1988).

Continue reading “Sweeps are commonplace at Phoenix”

Carpentier To Drive No. 99 Toyota At Circuit Gilles-Villeneuve
April 15, 2009 – NAPA Auto Parts announced that Canadian driver Patrick Carpentier will be a competitor in the NAPA Auto Parts 200 as the NASCAR Nationwide Series crosses the border for the third year in a row to compete at the Circuit Gilles-Villeneuve on Parc Jean Drapeau, Aug. 30. Carpentier and NAPA Auto Parts entered into an agreement allowing the Canadian driver to be at the wheel of the No. 99 NAPA Auto Parts Toyota Camry fielded by Michael Waltrip Racing.

The good news continues – on Wednesday, NAPA Auto Parts and Stock-Car Montreal announced that they have extended their agreement, making NAPA Auto Parts the primary sponsor for the event over the next three years until 2011.

Continue reading “Carpentier To Drive No. 99 in Montreal”

Contrary to the title of this post, this has little to do with NASCAR haters. No this is all about hating within the sport. You know who they are. They boo your favorite driver during intros, talk smack about them all over the place, and throw beer cans and other unidentified objects at them when they win. Yet when you stop and ask them “why do you hate so and so” what is their response? Its generally something along the lines of “he wins too much”. Right.

Now I’m the type of person who, being a Tony fan, just doesn’t care. You can hate Tony or you can like him but he’s good and none of your hating will make me not like him. I really don’t care.

But honestly. Booing a driver is not cool. Neither is throwing things at them. It is immature, stupid, not funny, and you look like a whining three year old who didn’t get his candy. GET OVER IT.

As many of you know I cannot stand Kyle Busch and in the past, I have made posts about him and why I can’t stand him. To be honest, he acts like a big whiny baby who needs a pacifier and a pat on the head to feel good about himself. But I have never and nor will I ever boo him or throw things at him when he wins. Heck, I even gave the dude a second chance after I met him (a meeting in which he was quite rude to me) and said hello to him when he passed by me at Phoenix in 2006. It got me nowhere but I felt like I was at least the bigger person for giving him the benefit of the doubt.

I won’t lie- I am not above hating a driver. I really honestly do dislike a couple of drivers and I have been known to say in the past that I wish Kyle would just go to F1. But really people that go around whining and crying about this driver or that driver and talking crap (especially about their appearance) irritates the hell out of me. It is mean and it is not funny and quite frankly people who do things like that lose my respect.

Driver bashers- GROW UP.

Get a life! Take up a hobby other than going around bashing these guys. Go find something worthwhile to do with your time. Seriously.

The opinions expressed in this article are solely that of the author and not this website.

New Spotter GPS Navigator Features Personal Directions From NASCAR Sprint Cup Driver

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (April 14, 2009) – NASCAR and Transplant GPS, in conjunction with JR Motorsports, today announced the introduction of the Spotter™ GPS Navigator, Dale Jr. Edition, the latest in Global Positioning System products featuring one of the most popular NASCAR Sprint Cup Series drivers, Dale Earnhardt Jr.

The Spotter GPS Navigator will launch with a pre-sale opportunity on Amazon.com on April 14 and be available at retail locations nationwide and NASCAR.COM Superstore on May 15. BestBuy.com. NASCAR.COM Superstore, ShopJRNation.com and RightWayGPS.com are also taking pre-sale orders.

The Spotter possesses all the features standard in a high quality personal navigation device (PND) but sets itself apart from other devices in that it was designed specifically for NASCAR fans. The Spotter provides pre-loaded points of interest unique to NASCAR, including NASCAR tracks, NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race shops and other NASCAR attractions.

The device provides turn-by-turn directions in Dale Jr.’s voice and unique style, including such commands as “hang a left”, “park it. We’re here” and “You drive, I’ll ride shotgun”. The Spotter offers users a selection of vehicles for the GPS pointer, including Dale Jr.s’ AMP Energy car, National Guard car or Team Hauler.

Continue reading “Dale Earnhardt Jr. Voices Spotter GPS”

On the Move: Others Closing In On The Top 12 – And Possible Chase Berth

Here’s the beauty of the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup: Drivers may be out of the top 12 right now but by no means are they out of championship contention.

The top 12 drivers in points after Race No. 26 at Richmond will qualify for NASCAR’s “playoffs,” meaning the Chase, which consists of the season’s last 10 races.
A number of drivers are on the move in the standings, such as:

• Juan Pablo Montoya, whose seventh-place finish at Texas boosted him to 13th in the points this week. Montoya is bidding to make the Chase for the first time.

• Greg Biffle, an expected championship contender, finished third at Texas and is up to 15th in points.

• The disastrous start experienced by Dale Earnhardt Jr. is finally being balanced by some consistency. Earnhardt is up to a solid 16th in the standings.

• Ryan Newman, the other half of the new Stewart-Haas team, is likewise coming around after a very slow start. He’s up to 17th.

• And then there’s Mark Martin, the series veteran who returned from semi-retirement to full-time driving this year for Hendrick Motorsports. Martin had a top-10 run at Texas and he’s now 18th in points.

Continue reading “Knocking on the door of the Top 12”