DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. — Last November, Jimmie Johnson (No. 48 Lowe’s Chevrolet) made track history by becoming the first driver to win three consecutive races at Phoenix International Raceway.

On Saturday, the three-time and defending NASCAR Sprint Cup Series champion will attempt to extend that history with a fourth consecutive Phoenix victory — this time in the SUBWAY Fresh Fit 500.

“There’s not really anything I can put my finger on,” Johnson said. “I know that’s a popular question, wanting to know why a driver does well at a certain track. I think something just clicks with certain drivers at certain places. We’ve just been able to get the car comfortable for me and I’ve just been able to get around the track. During a race there’s a lot that can go on at a short track like Phoenix and having a good pit stall and good pit stops is important too.”

Continue reading “Jimmie Johnson goes for 4 in a row at Phoenix”

Tonight I had the neatest opportunity- to broadcast live updates from the NASCAR Camping World Series West race through Twitter. I have to firstly say thank you to Z. and Moses Smith for allowing me to be a part of their lives and for allowing me this wonderful opportunity to promote Moses and grow in my own future as a possible PR agent or media person.

Twitter is really an amazing tool for so many things. I’ve used it to promote myself as a writer, blogger, and graphic artist. I’ve recently found another unique use for it- broadcasting! I met Z. Smith, @zwriter, through Twitter. We connected and began what I believe can safely be called the first NASCAR street team in history. I’ve been running the street team website, www.mosminion.com, and the street team Twitter account, @StreetTeam16. Well tonight, I got the opportunity to use Twitter as a tool to provide live racing updates on Moses’ race in Phoenix.

You probably know how hard it is to catch a CWSW race or even an East series race live on TV but did you know that NASCAR.com offers a huge range of resources on their lower and far less recognized series? If you visit the series pages before the races, you can find links to Lap by Lap update pages right on NASCAR.com. You can find those here. Tonight, I used the Lap by Lap and Twitter to provide updates for a race I wasn’t even watching! It was pretty amazing.

I have to say- never in my life did I ever imagine I’d be sitting online providing race updates to about 50 people through a micro-blogging network.

I can’t take all the credit for this though, I did get the updates straight from NASCAR.com but yes, I was the person Tweeting behind the computer here. It was hard to sit here for two and a half hours straight, Tweeting away, refreshing the page every 60 seconds but it was totally worth it and I would definitely do it again. I wish I had been Tweeting from the track and not my living room but I had a great time connecting with the followers and everyone around. I got lots of great replies and it was very interactive- something that NASCAR.com does not have!

I think the thing I loved the most about this experience was connecting with other people out there on Twitter and actively chatting in real time while I posted race updates. People were fantastic on there and so encouraging and especially forgiving when I ran away for a few moments to grab a cup of coffee. I got so many wonderful replies that i would willingly jump in again and at least the next time, I’d be more prepared and know what i was up for. Moses has some of the best fans and I am so proud to be among them.

If you’d like to know how you can become involved with the Moses Smith street team, Mo’s Minion, please e-mail: streetteam16@ymail.com or visit our website at www.mosminion.com.

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

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.