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Photo Credit: Tom Pennington/Getty Images for Texas Motor Speedway

By: Toby Christie – Follow on Twitter @Tobalical

It remains to be seen how long Danica Patrick’s fourth crew chief in her young NASCAR career lasts, but one thing is for sure nobody has seemed happier to assume the position of her crew chief than Tony Gibson. Patrick will make her first start with her new crew chief this weekend at Texas Motor Speedway, and it will be her ninth Sprint Cup Series start of 2012.

Gibson is very confident in his driver’s abilities, and thinks this could be a good race for the Roscoe, IL-native.

“Yeah it’s good. The communication side of it, her hearing my voice on the radio and working with her and finding out this is one of her good tracks. I’ve done some research on that, she really gets around here pretty good. Hopefully, we won’t screw it up and we can give her something good to drive today,” said Gibson. “To get any kind of time in is crucial. Not only on a communications side, but as far as the balance of the race car we have to learn. We don’t want her to adapt to our set-ups we want to adapt to her driving style. These two races will be crucial in gaining a head start on that. So over the winter time we can make plans and do some testing and get further on down the road for us.

Continue reading “When Will Danica Patrick Be Called An Old Man?”

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By: Toby Christie – Follow on Twitter @Tobalical

With just three races left in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series season, Clint Bowyer definitely leads the pack as far as being laid back. Currently Bowyer sits third in the overall point standings just 26 points behind the man atop the heap — Jimmie Johnson. However Friday morning Bowyer played coy about his chances at the title.

“Well, Jimmie (Johnson) wasn’t in New York when (Hurricane) Sandy hit — he was in North Carolina it looks like so he
made it. So, scratch that from the list of ideas possibly that I could win this championship. I think hit man is probably out of the order. He rides his bicycle a lot — I was hoping maybe he would blow his knee out or something. Nothing career-ending or anything. Maybe painful — something painful to keep him out of the car,” Bowyer stated sarcastically.

Continue reading “Clint Bowyer Currently Playing The Joker, But He Could End Up Being The Spoiler”

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Oct. 18, 2012

By Reid Spencer
NASCAR Wire Service

KANSAS CITY, Kan. — Denny Hamlin was right.

His hard crash at Kansas Speedway during Thursday’s NASCAR Sprint Cup test session — and two subsequent trips to the Infield Care Center — probably wouldn’t have attracted much attention if it hadn’t been for Dale Earnhardt Jr.

On Aug. 29, Earnhardt likewise suffered a similar hit at the 1.5-mile track. Earnhardt admitted later that he had suffered a concussion during the crash, and after another wreck Oct. 7 at Talladega — and another concussion — Earnhardt sought medical attention and ultimately was sidelined from competition for at least two weeks, forcing him to miss races at Charlotte and Kansas.

“If Dale Jr.’s incident wouldn’t have happened,” Hamlin told reporters outside the care center, “I don’t think any of y’all would be here.”

Continue reading “Hamlin’s Crash At Kansas Underscores Vigilance Of Officials, Medical Staff”

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Oct. 8, 2012: Commentary

By Reid Spencer
NASCAR Wire Service

TALLADEGA, Ala. — Dale Earnhardt Jr. wasn’t happy — far from it.

That’s understandable. In a split second, Earnhardt’s hopes for a NASCAR Sprint Cup Series championship were swept away in the final corner at Talladega.

A victim of a 25-car last-lap crash, Earnhardt finished 20th in Sunday’s Good Sam Roadside Assistance 500 and fell to 11th in the Chase standings, 51 points behind leader Brad Keselowski and a pocket full of miracles away from his first Cup title.

Continue reading “Cool-Down Lap: Restrictor-Plate Racing Needs An Overhaul, Which 2013 Cars Could Provide”

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 by Dwight Drum at Racetake.com

FYI WIRZ: NASCAR’s top Chase spots take math, experience and Talladega crashes

According to Wikipedia data, NASCAR driver appearances in the Chase for the Sprint Cup show that experience counts as top contenders tend to repeat—yet only three drivers have taken home the big prize at the Homestead-Miami finale.

The top 10 appearances go to Jimmie Johnson with nine, Tony Stewart, eight; Jeff Gordon, eight; Matt Kenseth, eight; Denny Hamlin, seven; Kurt Busch, six; Carl Edwards, six; Kevin Harvick, six; Greg Biffle, five and Dale Earnhardt Jr. with five.

Continue reading “FYI WIRZ: NASCAR’s Top Chase Spots Take Math, Experience And Talladega Crashes”