Dale Earnhardt & Nascar

Winning back-to-back championships is a rare feat in NASCAR these days. Prior to the recent Jimmie Johnson ascendancy, the last driver to win championship is succession was none other than Jeff Gordon in 1997 and 1998.Many fans and analysts perceived three consecutive championships in today’s NASCAR as virtually impossible to accomplish. Cale Yarborough won three championships in a row in 1976, 1977, and 1978. Many will contend that NASCAR was a different sport during that stretch of time. There were fewer teams with powerful resources. There were only a handful of teams capable of winning on a consistent basis.

In our current era, the competition is tight; nevertheless, if a team discovers a technological advantage, it can make a huge difference on race day, and that team can leave the competition in the dust. That seems to be the case with Jimmie Johnson and the No. 48 team. The Hendrick Motorsports team won championship in 2006, 2007, and 2008, making him only the second driver to three-peat. Even prior to his championship seasons, he was winning, and winning often. In fact, ever since Johnson arrived to NASCAR’s highest level of competition, he has finished no worse than fifth in the final Sprint Cup standings. It is apparent that Jimmie Johnson and crew chief Chad Knaus have this NASCAR thing down pat. They lead the list of favorites in 2009.

How would a fourth consecutive championship affect the sport of NASCAR? Would it be good for the sport? It is a double-edged sword. It would be good for the sport because it has never been accomplished, and may never be accomplished again in our lifetime, meaning that we would be witnessing one of the most impressive achievements in Sprint Cup history. It could also present a negative affect on the sport based on the lack of parity. While Johnson has a respectable fan base, the majority of fans have not embraced Johnson the way other champions have been embraced. Some fans just simply want to see someone different hoist the championship trophy at Homestead in November. It is becoming habitual for Johnson to sit at the head table during the December awards banquet, and fans are starving for a new champion.

Winning four championships would be unbelievable, perhaps the second most impressive NASCAR statistic behind only the seven total championships won by Richard Petty and Dale Earnhardt.

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Does it have anything to do with his dad?

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The big buzz around NASCAR following the March 7 race in Atlanta at the Kobalt Tools 500 is the three-race probation of Carl Edwards after he intentionally spun Brad Keselowski in a revenge move gone wrong. While Edwards and Keselowski duke it out in the public eye following Sunday’s race that left both drivers down and out, several other drivers are overcoming tire issues that left a huge hole in the front of the pack at the very fast Atlanta Motor Speedway in early March.

Mark Martin, Dale Earnhardt Jr., Ryan Newman, Jimmie Johnson and Jeff Gordon all blew tires in Atlanta, with Martin ultimately ending the day disappointingly in an accident. Martin, still a Top 12 driver after a disappointing March 7 Atlanta race, continues looking to post high numbers in an attempt to overhaul Jimmie Johnson from his fifth career Cup Series championship, and he might just be able to do it with the upcoming stretch of races on the NASCAR circuit.

Martin, the oldest driver in the Sprint Cup Series, has given Jimmie Johnson a run for his money over the last several years yet is constantly overshadowed by JJ, whose dominance in NASCAR is largely unmatched. Martin was a top contender for the 2009 Sprint Cup Series, but his five first-place finishes in ‘09 weren’t enough to beat Johnson in the backstretch of the Chase. While both drivers are pretty equally matched so far this season, perhaps the tides will turn for Mark Martin in April, when the Cup Series sprints to Darlington for the Southern 500.

NASCAR fans with Southern 500 tickets to last year’s Darlington race saw Mark Martin edge Hendrick Motorsports teammate Jimmie Johnson for the victory, snagging the attention as the Darlington Raceway in South Carolina celebrated its 60th anniversary.

The Darlington Raceway is a very narrow and difficult 1.366-mile track known for its distinctive egg shape and motto “The Track Too Tough to Tame.” The 2009 Southern 500 was a fiery one that ended with 25 accidents during practice and qualifying alone, yet Mark Martin showed his longtime skill and expertise as he remained unscathed throughout the race, ultimately eclipsing Jimmie Johnson with 21 laps to go and holding onto the lead to zoom into Victory Lane.

Last year’s Darlington win was Mark Martin’s second of the 2009 Sprint Cup Series season, after the Subway Fresh Fit 500 in Phoenix just weeks prior. With this year’s Southern 500 coming up on May 8, preparations are already kicking off in Darlington, beginning with a recently announced lunch and question-and-answer session with Mark Martin sponsored by the Darlington Raceway. Tickets for the Mark Martin luncheon sold out in just over 24 hours, and the event will take place March 17 at the Florence Civic Center.

While Mark Martin gears up for a Darlington luncheon and successive Southern 500 race at The Track Too Tough to Tame, the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series will roll into Bristol (3/21), Martinsville (3/28), Phoenix (4/10), Texas (4/18), Talladega (4/25) and Richmond (5/1). Tickets to the Southern 500 at Darlington and the rest of the Cup Series races this season are always available on StubHub, where NASCAR fans flock during the spring and summer months.

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Diecast 1:24 Stock car Dale Earnhardt #3 Goodwrench Daytona 500 1998 Monte Carlo Limited Edition. It is the platinum series by Action Racing Collectables. 40th annual Feb. 15, 1998 of Daytona 500 and 50th anniversary of NASCAR. Superior condition, still in original box, has been opened 4 times and never touched. Great item, I am just not a collector of NASCAR. This was purchased as gift for a friend that passed before the holiday and I have kept it as a momentum. It is time to let go of this item to a true collector, who can enjoy their love for a great NASCAR driver. I would just like to know it’s worth so I can sell it at a fair price…..Thanx

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Last May, Kyle Busch celebrated his 24th birthday in style by winning the Nationwide and Sprint Cup Series races at Richmond International Raceway, making a late surge in the Crown Royal 400 and coming away with his third win of the 2009 Sprint Cup season. Busch battled to the wire with Tony Stewart at last year’s Crown Royal 400 and ultimately brought home the victory, but can he do it again this year?

Busch has had a relatively quiet 2010 so far, finishing in the middle of the pack for most of this year’s Cup Series races. The Joe Gibbs Racing extraordinaire has had only a lukewarm year so far in his No. 18 stock car, placing 14th at Daytona, 6th at Fontana, 15th at Las Vegas, 25th at Atlanta, 9th at Bristol and 22nd at Martinsville. His slow start to the ‘10 season has perhaps been discouraging for the explosive driver, but he’ll be out to reclaim the throne on May 1, when this year’s Crown Royal 400 comes plowing through Richmond.

So far this year, nationwide NASCAR news has focused on one specific driver more than any others: Jimmie Johnson. The reigning Sprint Cup Series champion is out to seek his fifth consecutive series championship, and he’s already ahead on the standings chart after dominating the month of March with early wins at Fontana, Las Vegas and Bristol (as of March 29).

While Johnson is currently in first place in Cup Series standings, he’s still in a close race with the other Top 12 drivers, which include (in descending order) Greg Biffle, Matt Kenseth, Kevin Harvick, Jeff Burton, Kurt Busch, Jeff Gordon, Tony Stewart, Clint Bowyer, Dale Earnhardt Jr., Paul Menard and Brian Vickers. Kyle Busch is currently sitting down the stretch at No. 16, but perhaps all Busch needs is someone or something to light a fire underneath him to gain back footing on the Sprint Cup circuit.

For now, Kyle Busch will continue to keep his focus locked in on the Crown Royal 400 at Richmond on May 1, and the young driver will attempt a comeback to jet into the front of the pack after a tumultuous start to the 2010 season. Busch has been a main seller of <a rel=”nofollow” onclick=”javascript:pageTracker._trackPageview(‘/outgoing/article_exit_link’);” href=”http://www.stubhub.com/crown-royal-400-tickets/”>Crown Royal 400 tickets</a> since 2005, when he began racing Sprint Cup courses on a regular basis, and he’ll continue to draw NASCAR fans to the racetrack in Richmond this May when he starts his engine at the upcoming Crown Royal 400.

As the reigning champion of the 2009 Crown Royal 400, Kyle Busch has to step up his game if he wants to make an impact on this year’s Richmond race. No. 18 has yet to place in the Top Five at any race this season, but with the Crown Royal 400 coming into focus, this could all change and momentum could swing in Busch’s favor for the next part of the NASCAR schedule, which will see races in Phoenix, Texas and Talladega before cruising into Richmond.

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Please correct me if I’m wrong, but I thought you could not pass the pace car under caution. He was coasting to save gas, but he still passed the pace car on the first lap of the caution.

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The Checker Auto Parts 500 is a NASCAR race run each year at Phoenix International Raceway in Avondale Arizona. It has been held each year since 1988. While it was not always known as the Checker Auto Parts 500, the race has been continually run.

Phoenix International Raceway is a one mile tri-oval race track that was opened in nineteen sixty four. It was supposed to be home to Phoenix open-wheel racing but that circuit never really took of in the US.

Checker Auto Parts 500 – History and Information About The Race

The cars run 502 kilometers or 312 miles for this race. The race was previously known as the Checker 500, Autoworks 500, Pyroil 500, Pyroil 500K, Slick 50 500, Dura Lube 500, Dura Lube 500 Presented by Kmart, Dura Lube/Kmart 500, Checker Auto Parts/Dura Lube 500, Checker Auto Parts 500 Presented by Pennzoil, Checker Auto Parts 500 and Checker Auto Parts 500 Presented by Havoline.

Checker and Chevron are the current sponsors for the race and continue to sponsor it annually. The first race was won by Alan Kulwicki in 1988. Kulwicki died horribly in 1993 in a car crash. Since then the race has been won by Rusty Wallace, Jeff Burton, Tony Stewart, Dale Earnhardt Senior and Junior, and Kyle Bush. There are many other victors but those are probably the most famous ones.

This race has a rich history and tradition as being one of the most competitive and long standing races on the NASCAR circuit. For many it is a real honor to win this race as the previous winners names will attest to. This race occurs very late in the season when points are a must so all the racers are on their A game when they come to Phoenix. This race occurs in November and is the second to last. Weather in Phoenix is usually perfect this time of year for racing.

While it may not have the same name recognition as Daytona or Talladega, the The Checker Auto Parts 500 is and will continue to be one of the most important races of the year. A win here can make or break an entire season. For some racers the entire season is on the line, for the car manufacturers the name recognition that comes with a championship, and for those not in the running of the NEXTEL cup the chance to play spoiler and make one last splash before the season runs out.

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I am looking for wallpaper, screensavers, and myspace layouts for dale jr’s new sponsers (amp and national guard) and car number 88. If anyone knows a site where i can get these if there are even any out yet it would greatly appreciated.

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Back in the primitive days of NASCAR racing, if you wanted to race, you had to buy an old jalopy, or even go as far as searching through an old junk yard. After you brought the car home, you had to refurbish it in a way to where it can race without falling apart. Perhaps you had to buy or even build a racing engine. Basically, it was your car that you towed to the track every week. As the sport grew, drivers continued to race their own cars; however, drivers began to accept rides with established teams owned by former drivers or businessmen.

In 1992, the late Alan Kulwicki captured his only Winston Cup championship with a team that he owned, and had owned since he began racing in NASCAR in the mid-1980’s. Darrell Waltrip, Ricky Rudd, Geoff Bodine, Brett Bodine, and Bill Elliott followed that trend hoping that they too could win a championship in their own equipment. They were in control of their own destiny. They were all great drivers, so it made sense that they believed that they could make the driver/owner deal work.

Unfortunately, these drivers could not duplicate Kulwicki’s accomplishment, not even former champions Darrell Waltrip and Bill Elliott. By the late 1990’s, it was clear that if you wanted to compete for a championship at this level, you needed to be a driver only, and you needed to race for an established owner, such as Rick Hendrick, Jack Roush, or Richard Childress. In the early 2000’s, driver/owners became virtually extinct. Most drivers came to their senses.

However, in 2005, Robby Gordon opened up Robby Gordon Motorsports, and he hired himself as the driver. He had previously raced for Richard Childress Racing, a team that owned six titles. Robby Gordon earned all three of his career wins with Richard Childress Racing. Since his transition into NASCAR ownership, his results have been less than stellar. Nevertheless, he has been able to maintain the company and retain adequate sponsorship.

Gordon’s venture into ownership was predicted to fail, and thus far, it has not failed. Not long after Gordon started his organization, Michael Waltrip moved his team up from the Nationwide Series and into the Sprint Cup Series. Michael Waltrip Racing became one of Toyota’s flagship teams. It was a three-car effort with sufficient sponsorship and funding. That is rare in driver/owner situations, but Waltrip’s no ordinary driver. Before he became an owner, he was a driver/salesman. Now you have to add another slash and then owner to his title. Waltrip and his teams struggled mightily in 2007, but they have vastly improved in 2009. They formed an alliance with another Toyota team, JTG Daugherty Racing.

Tony Stewart, the two-time champion, joined the ranks of driver/owners. He acquired fifty percent ownership in what is now Stewart Haas Racing, formerly Haas CNC Racing. Stewart’s name and previous accolades made it easier for sponsors to join the new venture. He was able to lure another top driver, Ryan Newman, from another top team, Penske Racing. Stewart and Waltrip are beginning to thrive as NASCAR Sprint Cup owners, but they have partners with deep pockets, something that Elliott, Waltrip, Rudd, and the Bodines did not have in the 1990’s. Other drivers such as Jeremy Mayfield and Joe Nemechek have taken the plunge and have become owners at the Sprint Cup level.

Kevin Harvick and Dale Earnhardt Jr own teams, but they are in the Nationwide Series. That is where Michael Waltrip’s team began. Harvick also owns a Camping World Truck Series team.

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