Fast Times
A NASCAR BLOG BY Kris Johnson
Airing it out in the Sprint Cup race
Denny Hamlin hits the wall at Charlotte. Rusty Wallace says someone just wrecked in Turn 11. Geez, you think, what a dope.
Carl Edwards made the right move
Carl Edwards' bold move on the final lap at Kansas Speedway Sunday made you think back to days when winning mattered most.
Time for some perspective, not time to crown a ‘champion’
It is early in this Chase For The Sprint Cup, and just for fun, we're going to keep track of all the "favorites" to win it all as we go along. How many drivers will emerge in that role over a 10-week period, stealing the limelight for a week and all the publicity that attends a victory?
Edwards impresses the most at Richmond
Yeah, I know, Carl Edwards finished 13th in the Chevy Rock & Roll 400 at Richmond. But Edwards, after an early flat tire mired him back in the mid-30s of the running order, battled back to 16th. Then a three-car incident involving Bill Elliott and Bobby Labonte pushed him back in the pack again with 84 laps remaining.
New shootout format needs one tweak for 2009
Unlike many of you who've already chimed in with disapproval of the new format for the Budweiser Shootout, I actually like it - if just one small tweak can be made. Allow the guys who've earned the right to compete in next year's event (under the old rules that governed eligibility) to do so. You can't just slip the rug out from underneath guys like Joe Nemechek, Paul Menard and Patrick Carpentier.
Edwards is more 'Intimidator' than Busch
Don't let the Howdy Doody smile fool you. Carl Edwards has a mean streak as wide as that toothy grin. What he did to Kyle Busch at Bristol was pure genius, cold and calculated and masterfully executed.
Is Ragan ready to rise up?
Michigan made some Chase contenders look like real pretenders. Denny Hamlin, Kasey Kahne and Jeff Gordon are licking their respective wounds after all dropping three positions in points after the 3M Performance 400.
Mikey likes it: Waltrip sees progress in second year
WATKINS GLEN, N.Y. - The race has yet to be run at Watkins Glen, but Michael Waltrip is already celebrating a victory of sorts.
Can The Glen entertain again?
We need another race like last year’s at Watkins Glen, perhaps the most entertaining in all of 2007. Great theater. Plenty of drama. Hopefully, we're in line for an encore performance on Sunday.
The best tracks in NASCAR
Not much of a baseball fan these days, but I will make a side trip to Yankee Stadium on July 31 before the Pocono race weekend gets started. Prodded by a co-worker who has never been to the stadium, I agreed to go and visit one of baseball's great cathedrals before it goes the way of the rotary phone, cassette tapes and analog television.
Oh, brother. Who do you take: Kyle or Kurt?
Perhaps it’s because a Busch brother has graced the cover of NASCAR Scene for three weeks running now, or the fact the Williams sisters played against each other on a grand championship stage last weekend at Wimbledon, but it's brought the notion of sibling rivalry back to the forefront in sports. With Kyle sandwiching victories at Infineon Raceway and Daytona around Kurt’s rain-aided win at New Hampshire, they’ve both enjoyed time in the spotlight recently.
So much for predicting Kurt Busch as champion
Kurt Busch "won" yesterday at New Hampshire. But I'm still losing.
Ready for some road-course racing
Sunday’s Sprint Cup event at Infineon Raceway marks the 16th race on the 2008 schedule, and it’s high time we had a road-course event. There’s been enough chatter about the new car’s struggles on the intermediate tracks, but that should not be a problem Sunday in Sonoma.
Strange season resumes Friday the 13th
With Friday the 13th looming at week's end, a look at the rundown for yesterday's Pocono 500 revealed some of the wacky and weird already in evidence.
Should fans vote a driver into all-star race?
I’m no Humpy Wheeler, but I do have a prediction for tonight's NASCAR Sprint All-Star Race: The driver who gets voted in by fans will not win.
Compound interest
Tires will be a topic of great interest as the Sprint Cup Series heads to Darlington Raceway this weekend. Colleague Bob Pockrass provides an insightful, behind-the-scenes look at Goodyear’s production of race tires in this week’s Scene that will help readers understand just how much work goes into the process.
You can't top Talladega
Talladega Superspeedway has no equal as far as I’m concerned. In terms of adrenaline, excitement and a true NASCAR experience, it is the ultimate.
Is China next for NASCAR?
I’m not sure what's more surprising, that a guy could do heroin and finish fifth in a Craftsman Truck Series race, or that someone would actually consider racing under the influence of anything stronger than coffee. Even with the safety advancements that have been realized in NASCAR since 2001, this obviously remains a very dangerous business.
Jimmie Johnson's one track mind on racing, not basketball
See you in a few, boys. Jimmie Johnson's one track mind. In addition to the Samsung 500 here in Ft. Worth, there's another little sporting event taking place down the road in San Antonio this weekend called the Final Four. But don't bother asking Jimmie Johnson who is going to win - one curious scribe already did - because the reigning two-time Cup champ doesn't even know who is playing besides Kansas.
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Poll Position
Who should get credit for the win in Sunday's NASCAR Sprint Cup race at Talladega Superspeedway?