I just finished watching the NASCAR Sprint cup awards banquet and started to think about the upcoming season which is over 70 days away and what I would like to see.
5 – Dale Earnhardt Jr win a race – It has been too long and Junior Nation deserves to see their driver back in Victory Lane. I thought it would happen near the end of the 2011 season. Guess we just ran out of races and with Tony Stewart winning half of the last 10 races there wasn’t much room to win a race.
4 – Jeff Gordon winning at the Brickyard – I think it would be cool to see Jeff and his crew kiss the bricks and they get up and do a flash mob break-dance.
3 – Jimmie Johnson Being Hungry – He knows what it feels like to not be the champion now. I am not saying Jimmie wasn’t a good driver this year but a hungrier Jimmie Johnson should be fun to watch.
2 – The return of the #3 – It is only a matter of time before Austin Dillon brings the #3 back to Sprint cup. Dale jr has no problem with it so neither should anyone else. There is a lot of history with the number and the best way to show respect to it is to bring it back on the track. Like Jr says it is a number. With Austin running full Nationwide series with the #3 I can see Richard Childress giving Austin some races late in the year to get ready for Sprint cup racing. Labor Day in Atlanta sounds like a nice place to debut the #3 again.
1- Danica Patrick winning the Daytona 500. Yes Danica in her limited amount of starts has the Daytona 500 on the schedule. This isn’t because I am a Danica fan but because I am a NASCAR fan. Imagine the media attention this would get and what a great way to start off the season. We would have increased coverage most of the year and attendance at races would be very high. Imagine Danica doing Letterman, Good morning America, heck I think Regis would come out of retirement for the story. It would be a great thing for NASCAR. Maybe NASCAR would get coverage in the NYC papers.
I put this story idea out on to Twitter and received a bunch of things that NASCAR fans want to see. Here are some of the responses. @Missouriracefan – I am looking forward to @JimmieJohnson’s 6th championship
@pcrimi1 – Kyle Busch being even more obnoxious than this year!
@txjennk -What Carl Edwards does with the result of this season. Does he pull a Denny Hamlin or a Jimmie Johnson?
@DarrellCate2 – Looking forward to seeing if Kyle will get his crap together and & learn to control his temper.
@kbabybear – The performance of the 5 team.
@oba_yo – Tony & Steve team. Busch attitude adjustments. AWESOME RACING !!!!!!WOOOOOO
@Allyson13 – Seeing if Jimmie J gets back his championship or whether Tony will keep it or Carl finally gets it!
There you have it! In around 70 days or so we will get back to racing and this is what the fans and I can’t wait to see. What do you want to see? Leave a comment and tell us all about it.
5 Things To Look Forward to for the 2012 NASCAR Season is a post from: Awesome Race Fans
Awesome Race Fans
This is the question and answers from 2011 Sprint Cup Champion Tony Stewart from the Post Race press conference.
(Photo by Chris Graythen/Getty Images)
TONY STEWART, NO. 14 OFFICE DEPOT/MOBIL 1 CHEVROLET, RACE WINNER AND 2011 SPRINT CUP CHAMPION: WHAT ARE YOU THOUGHTS AND FEELING RIGHT NOW STANDING HERE AS A THREE TIME CHAMPION AND THE FIRST CAR OWNER CHAMPIONS THAT WE HAVE HAD IN ALMOST 20 YEARS? “After the way those first 109 laps went today, I could not be more proud. We had the problem early and had the hole in the nose, everybody on this Office Depot/Mobil 1 Chevy team did a great job of getting it back going, then we had the contact with (David) Reutimann and had to come back in and fix it again. I told them “Man, it is really going to make these guys mad when we come back twice and still kick their butt”. It was optimism and trying to keep the guys pumped up and then to come out here and actually do it, is awesome. It is an honor to be in the same category with Alan Kulwicki, but Alan did it all on his own and I have a great co-owner with Gene Haas and Joe Custer helped put all this together with Rick Hendrick and Just could not be more proud of our guys and our organization. Everybody Ryan Newman, my teammate, everybody on the US Army/ Tornados Chevy just an honor to be here tonight.”
YOU MADE A COUPLE OF MOVES OUT THERE THAT WERE AMAZING, TALK ABOUT THOSE MOVES?
“That shows how bad I wanted to win this thing. During the season you give guys a little more room than that, but when you are going for a championship, you can’t hold anything back. I was racing around good guys when I did that all night and we just could not leave it on the table, we had to go on the restarts. That was a strong suit for us all night. We took off that one restart I think 12th and came off the corner 5th or 6th on the outside. It is just an awesome night when your car drives that good and you can go get it done like that.”
THOSE LAST TWENTY LAPS CARL (EDWARDS) STARTING CLOSING IN, AND THEN YOU STARTED TO PULL AWAY; DID YOU DO ANYTHING DIFFERENT THEN? “Yea, I made sure that if we got in traffic that I had a little something in my back pocket to go with. We took care of it, we knew he was going to have to run hard to catch us and going to have to abuse his tires and if we just ran our pace, when we got to traffic or if he closed in anymore that we could go when we needed to.”
THE THIRD ONE AND I AM SURE THE MOST SPECIAL: “Yea and you owe me a six-pack for this too!”
TONY STEWART, NO. 14 OFFICE DEPOT/MOBIL 1 CHEVROLET – 2011 NASCAR SPRINT CUP DRIVER’S CHAMPION:
“I made sure that if we got in traffic that I had a little something in my back pocket to go with. We took care and we knew that he was going to run hard to catch us and was going to have to abuse his tires and if we just ran our pace that when we got to traffic or if he closed in anymore that we needed to go when we needed to.”
YOU ARE NOW IN THE SAME CATEGORY WITH GUYS LIKE DAVID PEARSON, DARRYL WALTRIP, CALE YARBOROUGH, LEE PETTY; ALL HALL OF FAMERS. YOU’RE A THREE-TIME CHAMPION. WHAT ARE YOUR THOUGHTS ON THAT? “That’s an honor. That’s an impressive group to be with. It’s just an honor to have the opportunity to be a part of that with those guys. Like I said, if it wasn’t for Gene Haas and Joe Custer and everybody at Haas Automation and Darian Grubb, we wouldn’t have had this opportunity. So I’m just very proud that I’ve got a group of guys that believed in us when we started this. Office Depot was the first company and then to have Mobil 1 come on board this year was just, we’re truly, truly honored.”
TWO OF NASCAR’S HEAVYWEIGHT’S GOING TOE TO TOE AND HEAD TO HEAD IN THE FINAL LAPS, AND YOU WON IT AND THE CHAMPIONSHIP. WHAT’S YOUR EMOTION RIGHT NOW? “Oh, thank the Lord for this one, buddy; man I’m telling you, it’s been a tough summer and a tough fall for us and you’ve got to believe in something; and the man upstairs held this rain off just long enough for us to get this job done. Thanks to all the fans who stuck it out all weekend here at Homestead. Oh, my! I don’t care how long it rains; I’m going to be up all night tonight! For Office Depot for Mobil 1 for Chevrolet for the U.S. Army for Tornados and Quicken Loans and GoDaddy and Ritz and Oreos and Coca-Cola; just everybody who is a part of the Stewart-Haas program; Mac Tools, we couldn’t do it without you guys. This is just unbelievable. We said all week we’d just go out and win the race and we didn’t have to worry about what he (Carl Edwards) did and that’s what we did. If this doesn’t go down as one of the greatest championship battles in history, I don’t know what will.”
IN THE FIRST 100 LAPS, YOU HAD TO GO FROM BACK TO FRONT TWICE. THREE AND FOUR-WIDE PASSES ON THE RESTARTS AND THEN THE GAMBLE ON FUEL. HOW CONCERNED WERE YOU THAT MAYBE THERE WERE JUST TOO MANY OBSTACLES TO OVERCOME AFTER ALL YOU WERE HAVING TO BATTLE TONIGHT? “There is one thing I learned when Gene Haas and Joe Custer gave us this opportunity and our good buddy Rick Hendrick and I couldn’t do it without you bud and everybody at Hendrick Engines and Chassis. And Darian Grubb, and everybody on this team has just dug deep and never given up and this is an awesome night. Eddie Jarvis and everybody at Stewart Haas Racing. I’ve got the best team in the business and it’s just awesome. I’m so grateful to be able to do this for Gene Haas because this man has invested a lot in this sport and for him to have the faith in me to do this; it takes a lot to do what he’s done and I’m glad I can get this done for him.”
THAT NO. 14 BELONGED TO YOUR HERO AND FRIEND, A.J. FOYT, WHO SAID YOU COULD TAKE THE NUMBER BUT DRIVE IT WITH THE TENACITY OF A TEXAN. TONIGHT YOU WON A CHAMPIONSHIP THE WAY HE WON THEM, UP ON THAT WHEEL AND REFUSING TO LOSE. WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO YOU TO TAKE THIS NUMBER, HIS NUMBER, BACK TO A CHAMPIONSHIP STATE? “I guarantee you I’ll probably talk to him tonight and he’s still going to tell me what I did wrong today (laughs). But I’m so proud. A.J. has always been one of my heroes and he’s been very supportive of this when we did this. When I asked him if it would be all right if I took his number, he was the one who gave me his blessing and it meant the world to me.”
WHAT WAS GOING THROUGH YOUR MIND WHEN YOU SAW CARL EDWARDS BACK THERE, KNOWING HE WAS GOING TO DO EVERYTHING HE COULD TO TRY TO CATCH YOU? YOU HAD TO WIN THE RACE TO WIN THE CHAMPIONSHIP?
“Those guys have done an awesome job all year and my buddy Ricky Stenhouse won the Nationwide Championship yesterday and Jack (Roush) got the Owner’s Championship so I didn’t feel bad taking this one away from them tonight. But he’s a great competitor and a great guy and we’ve been giving him a rough time this week. But it was all in an effort to do what we did tonight and win this championship. But it shows how classy a guy he is. He was the first one to me over there. And he said, ‘Promise me one thing that you’ll enjoy this and I hope it’s you and me in this position again next year.’ So that just shows how much class he’s got. He’s a great guy.”
Tony Stewart Post Race Interview is a post from: Awesome Race Fans
In the closest finish in NASCAR history Tony Stewart wins the last race at Homestead Florida and in the process wins the 2011 Sprint Cup Championship. Tony and Carl Edwards actually tied in points but Tony wins the tie breaker by winning the most races in the chase.
(Photo by Todd Warshaw/Getty Images for NASCAR)
In the first time in NASCAR history the driver that won the final race also won the Championship. I think this race was probably the most exciting in NASCAR history. I know I was on the edge of my seat for the final 35 laps.
Tony maintained a 1 second lead over Carl Edwards for the last 35 laps and even weaving through lapped cars at the end Tony prevailed for the win. Carl being the class act he is gave Tony a handshake and a few words as Tony received the Championship flag to do his victory lap.
(Photo by John Harrelson/Getty Images for NASCAR)
Tony and crew chief Darian Grubb took some gamble by keeping Tony out on the track while others including Carl Edwards came to pit road. Tony admitted he was out of gas when he was leaving pit road as the gas didn’t get into the engine until their fuel pressure built up. This was a big factor in the race and one of the best calls by a crew chief that I have ever seen.
In the end it was just Tony’s day! Congrats to Tony and his crew at Stewart-Haas racing. They did an amazing job since the Race to the Chase started. Even Tony was counting himself out in the beginning but came through shining when it was all said and done.
Tony Stewart Wins the Sprint Cup Championship is a post from: Awesome Race Fans
It is the night before the last race and I am feeling like a kid on Christmas eve! I am sure most of the fans out there are feeling the same way. For a change of pace I am going to keep this short because I want to hear from the NASCAR fans.
In the comments section I want you to fill out who will win Tony or Carl and why you think they will be the champion. I think that Tony will be the winner as he seems to be hungrier for the title and he is a past champion that can handle the pressure. My opinion isn’t important though, I want to hear from you.
Who Will Win the Nascar Championship Tony Stewart or Carl Edwards is a post from: Awesome Race Fans
Danica Patrick Shows off her new Sprint Cup Car at Stewart-Haas racing press conference.
Danica Patrick in Front of her Sprint Cup car
Today’s press confrence by Stewart-Hass racing unvieled the new Sprint Cup car that will be driven by Danica Patrick. The #10 GoDaddy car will be making limited starts with Danica driving as she will drive in the NASCAR Sprint Cup in 2012.
There was some fun banter between her and Tony Stewart and Tony mentioned how he understands the language Danica will bring over to the team because he came from Indy cup racing also.
Some tracks she mentioned were Bristol, Darlington, Atlanta, Chicago, and Daytona but she wasn’t exactly sure what races she will drive in as her main focus was the full time Nationwide series schedule.
Danica Patrick Unviels Her New Sprint Cup Car is a post from: Awesome Race Fans
This is a guest post by Lissa you can follow her on Twitter @supahlissa
RIP Dan Wheldon
Most people seem to be comparing Dan Wheldon’s death to the death of Dale Earnhardt, Senior. Like with the Dale Senior crash, I didn’t see the crash when it happened. All I got to see was the reaction. When someone said something on Twitter about putting the car under the yellow tarp, I knew something was wrong. From my experience, the only time something like happens is if a driver is killed in the car.
I was sicker than a dog the day Senior died, but I remember three things. I remember seeing both Tony Stewart‘s barrel and thinking, albeit a bit snarkily, “Someone’s going to die today with how these crashes are going.” I turned on FOX after the race, and caught them mention Senior’s crash, and then seeing them talking to Mikey. I don’t know what it was exactly, but something about the way he acted and the way he talked made me say, out loud, something to the effect of, “Oh no. Senior’s dead.” Of course, I used words that can’t be used on this blog.
The comments from Tagliani jumped out to me the same way MikeyWaltrip’s did. So did seeing seeing the reaction of some of the other drivers, especially their body language. Something was not right. And, no, I do not mean seeing Danica crying, even though that amped up the bad feeling, too.
They called first a small group of drivers, and then all of the drivers, in to an impromptu drivers meeting, and more rumblings came that he was dead. I was talking to my friends on Twitter, and kept on telling them, and myself, to be positive and think positive thoughts. But, the feeling of doom was still there. The drivers meeting ended, and you could see it. The hung heads.The teams in prayer. The consoling hugs. The camera shoved in Tony Kannan’s face, where you could how much he was crying, and then showing Jimmy Vasser giving him a consoling back rub. It was all one giant red light saying that what I feared happened did happen.
Then, the announcement. And, while I could always say that it was a shock, it really wasn’t. I slammed my hand against the wall in anger, partially at the fact that he was dead, and partially because of how similar it was to when Senior died in 2001. And I was near tears, too, because Wheldon was a driver I liked.
I’m not going to lie: I don’t watch IRL often. I had gotten in to it for a while, back when Jacques Villenueve and some kid named Tony Stewart raced, and the FIRST time Paul Tracy was in Indy cars. I’ll watch the Indy 500, and one or two indy car races here and there, but not anywhere near as many races as I’d watch in the course of a NASCAR season. Mostly, it’s because it’s not shown, or advertised anywhere nears as much, as NASCAR. Of course, don’t help that I grew up in Northern Wisconsin. While IRL raced every year both in Milwaukee and in Elkhart Lake, the area I was in lived, and breathed, stock cars.
Some of my friends, though, are as big of IRL fans as they are NASCAR fans, and they all were Dan Wheldon fans. Watching their reactions, and the reactions of others on Twitter, reminded me of going in to a chat room after Senior’s crash, or after September 11, 2001, and discussing what happened. People from all over were using it, like with this blog, to remember and console each other and just…talk. It’s amazing what the Internet and social media has, and can, do. In this case, it worked as a giant counseling session, and a way to remember a great driver.
The entire thing seems so…surreal. Like I’ll wake up, and go on to the Internet, and find that he won the race, and the five million dollar “bounty”, as it were. Yet, I know I won’t, and that’s a sobering fact. There’s so much more about this that’s eerie. Jimmie’s crash in Charlotte was with about the same number of laps left as had been raced in Las Vegas when the crash happened. If it wasn’t for the CoT, no matter how much people complain about it (myself included), there’s a very good chance that Jimmie’s crash would have ended in the same result as the crash in Las Vegas did. Not only that, but who was one of the drivers who worked the hardest on and for a IRL CoT? Dan Wheldon. It sucks that the guy who helped develop it isn’t going to have a chance to race it. It really, really sucks. Rest in peace, Dan.
Dan Wheldons Passing Brings Back Feelings of Dale Sr is a post from: Awesome Race Fans
Indy Car lost a champion today. RIP Dan Wheldon. Lets take a look at Dan in one of his happier times.
Lets Remember a Happy Dan Wheldon is a post from: Awesome Race Fans
Chase Media Day Discussion All About Stopping Jimmie Johnson
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (Sept. 15, 2011) – NASCAR’s Chase Media Week ended Thursday, with all 12 Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup drivers converging on Chicago’s LaSalle Power Company for the annual Chase Media Day.
Drivers were ushered from television to radio to print media to a fan Q&A during the day-long session, and a familiar theme dominated each conversation: Who’s going to end five-time champion Jimmie Johnson’s unprecedented reign?
For his part, the typically cool Johnson sounded confident, despite entering the Chase with just one win – the fewest of any of his previous eight Chases. Said Johnson, “We’re in a good spot. Our win total isn’t what it’s been in the past, but we’ve had opportunities.”
Jeff Gordon ranks among the top candidates to unseat his Hendrick Motorsports teammate. Gordon, a four-time champion (1995, ’97, ’98, 2001), won all four of his titles in the pre-Chase era. A runner-up in 2007, Gordon believes this might be his best shot in the Chase. “I’m excited about going to the race track every weekend. When I won my four championships, it was under the old format. You had to be consistent, and yeah, you had to win, but at the end you were trying to beat two or three guys. With this format you’re going up against 11 other guys. But I do think this is the best chance we’ve ever had at winning the championship [in the Chase].”
Kevin Harvick, who finished third after battling to the bitter end in last year’s Chase, says the No. 48 team is still the favorite. When asked if Johnson was more vulnerable this year, he said, “I heard the same conversation last year. They’re still the team to beat. They’ve won it so many different ways.”
Kurt Busch, who has tangled with Johnson throughout the season, spoke about the rivalry between the two past champions. Said the 2004 champion, “The Chase is intense. Every year you have your rivalries. I have a sibling rivalry with my brother Kyle, too. But you have to put that stuff away.”
But Chase newcomer Brad Keselowski might’ve uttered the most sound reason why Johnson’s end might be near. Said Keselowski, simply, “He is human, right?”
Every Driver Gunning For Jimmie Johnson is a post from: Awesome Race Fans
NASCAR® driver Tony Stewart will race a special “Honoring Our 9/11 Heroes” paint scheme on his No. 14 Office Depot/Mobil 1 Chevrolet Impala during Saturday night’s NASCAR Sprint Cup Series™ race at Richmond International Raceway (Saturday, Sept. 10, 7:30 p.m. EDT, ABC).
As the world marks the 10th anniversary of September 11, 2001, Stewart’s red, white and blue scheme will honor the nearly 3,000 people who lost their lives that day.
“Like so many others, September 11th, 2001, is a day I will remember forever,” Stewart said. “I’m humbled and honored to help pay tribute to the thousands of heroes we lost. Their stories and acts of courage live on, and we will never forget them or the families, friends and loved ones they left behind.”
Stewart’s “Honoring Our 9/11 Heroes” paint scheme will be produced as a Lionel NASCAR® Collectables diecast car for purchase. A portion of the proceeds will go to The Stephen Siller “Tunnel To The Towers” Foundation. The Foundation’s logo will be featured on Stewart’s car as part of the special scheme. Siller was a firefighter who lost his life on 9/11 after bravely running through the tunnel into the World Trade Center towers to rescue people who were trapped. His family created the Foundation in his memory, which works to support firefighters, children who have lost a parent and military who have been seriously injured in the line of duty.
Tony Stewart Special Paint Scheme is a post from: Awesome Race Fans
Nationwide Race In Montreal
Danica Patrick returns to the series this weekend, making her stock-car debut on a road course. This will be her first series race since July at Daytona, where she finished 10th. This has lead me to a thought. Will Danica be in front of Maryeve Dufault when the race is over. I have seen Maryeve drive in a few races and I like the way she handles the car. Nothing against Danica but I think Maryeve will finish higher when the race is over.
Maryeve Dufault is making her Nationwide debut and should be very popular with her home country rooting her on. Speaking of Canadian drivers there will be a few in the race. Jean Francois Dumoulin, Louis-Phillipe Dumoulin, Ron Fellows, Alex Tagliani, Andrew Ranger, J.R. Fitzpatrick, Patrick Carpentier and last but not least Jacques Villeneuve. The track bears the name of his late father.
It will be fun to watch these two battle it out and it is a fun subplot to watch play out. There are some very talented road course racers in the field and I expect a good race.
You can see the race at 2pm on ESPN. The race is 200 miles = 74 laps.
Nationwide Race In Montreal is a post from: Awesome Race Fans
Awesome Race Fans - By Awesome Race Fans for Awesome Race Fans