Fast Times
A NASCAR BLOG BY Kris Johnson
Title battle one to remember – under old system
Man, three races to go and what a battle we have going on to determine who the Sprint Cup champion will be 18 days hence at Homestead-Miami Speedway.
Rating: 0.0 Comments 92009 is the Year of the Fan
Is it time for season-ending awards already? No, but you know who is running away with that Chase thingy, so we will strike pre-emptively with a postseason award that has nothing to do with drivers or teams.
Rating: 0.0 Comments 7NASCAR’s regular-season champ should be recognized, but how?
If such a thing existed, Tony Stewart won this year’s regular-season championship.
Rating: 0.0 Comments 5Juan Montoya is just what this Chase needed
Juan Pablo Montoya gana la Caza por la Copa Sprint.
Rating: 0.0 Comments 7Dodge camp needs a do-over to start this Chase
You never know where NASCAR is going to find you. It popped up recently in a florist shop in Lake Wylie, S.C., while I was getting my wife flowers for our eighth anniversary. Two of the cutest kids you’ve ever seen, presumably brother and sister, were on the floor of the shop racing electric versions of Kasey Kahne’s No. 9 Dodge.
Rating: 0.0 Comment 1Chase is just fine without Junior
Jimmie Johnson and Tony Stewart, not necessarily in that order, are favored to win the Sprint Cup. This time last year it was Kyle Busch who carried the favorite tag - and look where that got him. Predictions are fun. They are also meaningless.
Rating: 0.0 Comments 45Kyle Busch, Mark Martin should already be in Chase
Debates about who will contend – and who won’t – in the Chase For The Sprint Cup have been raging. But lost in those discussions is the question that should be top of mind right now: Should Kyle Busch and Mark Martin both miss the Chase, will NASCAR’s postseason be any lesser for it?
Rating: 0.0 Comments 848 team showing cracks in armor?
Should Jimmie Johnson fail to win his fourth consecutive Cup title – and the margin of defeat be less than 30 points – he’ll likely look back in horror at both Michigan events and the night race at Bristol.
Rating: 0.0 Comments 4Need a weather update? Ask Bobby Labonte
Mother Nature has made her presence felt as much as any driver in NASCAR the past three weeks. Rain is just an unfortunate reality in this sport.
Rating: 0.0 Comments 0A turning point for the COT?
The last time NASCAR’s Sprint Cup Series ventured to a road course, it was in dire need of a competitive kick-start on the heels of lackluster events at Pocono and Michigan, respectively. The June 21 race at Infineon Raceway did not disappoint, with action aplenty and Kasey Kahne ending in victory lane.
Rating: 0.0 Comments 6Potty humor has earned its place in NASCAR
Ask.com provided some interesting data on its NASCAR-related searches over the past week. In a shocking development – at least to one observer – Dale Earnhardt Jr. did not lead the way. In fact, Junior did not crack the top five (insert your own joke here about how that mirrors his performance on the track this year; you’ll have to because this blog will not stoop to such tasteless depths).
Rating: 0.0 Comment 1Tony Eury Jr. shouldn't blame media for lack of success
With the off week for the Sprint Cup Series serving as a buffer before next week’s return to Indianapolis Motor Speedway, I didn’t want the Chicago race weekend to recede from memory without a few quick comments on Tony Eury Jr.
Rating: 0.0 Comments 3Joe Gibbs Racing's Denny Hamlin needs a win, and soon
At the halfway point of the 2009 campaign, Denny Hamlin’s season, on paper anyway, doesn’t look all that bad. Stationed at sixth in the standings, with a handful of top-five finishes and seven top-10s, he could be faring much worse (see Kevin Harvick).
Rating: 0.0 Comments 0Should Dale Earnhardt Jr., Tony Eury Jr. have been split sooner?
In a story published Sunday by the Charlotte Observer, Hendrick Motorsports owner Rick Hendrick was quoted as saying the separation of Dale Earnhardt Jr. and crew chief Tony Eury Jr. probably should have come much sooner than it did.
Rating: 0.0 Comments 9Road course promises exciting racing
If you've suffered through the drudgery of the past two Sprint Cup races (notwithstanding the exciting finish at Michigan due to folks running out of fuel and there being a feel-good winner in Mark Martin) wondering if excitement would ever return, we can't blame you. But I am here to tell you there is hope on the schedule in the form of Infineon Raceway's upcoming Toyota/SaveMart 350.
Rating: 0.0 Comment 1Kris Johnson
Kris Johnson has worked in racing since 1997. He has covered NASCAR full time since 2005 and is an assistant managing editor for NASCAR Scene.
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