The 2009 racing season has resulted in a couple new brands appearing in NASCAR’s Cup Series, namely Penske Championship Racing and Verizon Championship Racing; but the big picture is “business as usual.”
The inset in that big picture, though, is a totally re-branded No. 12 Dodge fielded in the Cup Series by motorsports mogul and veteran owner Roger Penske.
The past several years have seen uncertainty in many facets of the business world, and NASCAR’s premier racing series hasn’t been exempt. Sprint Nextel signed a 10-year entitlement deal that began in 2004 with the Nextel Cup Series, which in 2008 was re-branded the Sprint Cup Series….. Details
NASCAR officials need to do a little rain dance, or pray to some racing Buddha, and ask for just one thing: Keep Jeff Gordon in the No. 1 slot.
Right now, NASCAR desperately needs to keep Gordon leading the points to give fans a reason to care – or at the very least get animated over what’s unfolding on the track….  Details
Fly’s heard of the economy drivin’ folks to drink. And of course Fly’s familiar with NASCAR’s moonshine-runnin’ roots. But it was still surprising to see this headline: Ex-driver’s still busted by agents. Yeah, that’s Dean Combs, a former driver and crew chief for Junior Johnson…Â Details
Jimmie Johnson can be a bit of a klutz outside his race car, but the three-time defending NASCAR champion is typically flawless when he’s in it.
So it was a bit bizarre to see a series of errors derail his run in Las Vegas on Sunday. Although he led a race-high 92 laps, he nearly crashed into Bobby Labonte on pit road and also overshot his stall, forcing his team to push him back into the box for his service call. Coupled with an ill-timed caution, Johnson fell down a lap and had to drive his wheels off to get back into contention.
Once there, he drifted too high onto the track into an area of dirty asphalt and crashed hard …. ….Details