Photo Credit: Rusty Jarrett/Getty Images for NASCAR

By: Toby Christie

It would have been very easy for Aric Almirola to fold under the pressure of losing his ride in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series, but that’s just not his style.

As you may or may not know Almirola’s career path has had several bumps in the road, yet along the way there has been no denying that his talent always shines brightest when it’s go time.

In 2005 Almirola raced sparingly in the Camping World Truck Series, but two top-10 finishes in just four starts that season led to a full-time opportunity in the Series in 2006 along with a part-time ride in Joe Gibbs Racing’s Nationwide Series car.

In 2007 Almirola was able to capture his first piece of hardware in NASCAR when he captured his first career Nationwide Series victory, however the win came in heartbreaking fashion. Almirola qualified on the pole in the AT&T 250 at Milwaukie and actually led the first 43 laps of the event. It appeared that Almirola was on his way to an impressive finish or a victory.

Then Denny Hamlin showed up. Hamlin was scheduled to drive the car, but his NASCAR Sprint Cup Series schedule had interfered on the given weekend. However on lap 53 Joe Gibbs and the team decided to pull Almirola from the car. Hamlin would power from the back of the pack after the driver change to win the race, but Almirola would get the credit because he started the race.

This victory obviously pained Almirola more than it brought joy, as he felt he could of won the race himself. However that performance along with three poles in the 2007 Nationwide Series season led to a new opportunity for Almirola.

The 26-year-old Tampa, Florida native had now fought his way all the way to NASCAR’s top series, yet after just 26 starts funding dried up at Dale Earnhardt Inc. and it appeared the future had become Almirola’s past.

However in 2009 Almirola teamed up with Billy Ballew Motorsports in the Camping World Truck Series. He impressed many with his consistency, and when Kyle Busch announced that he was starting his own Truck Series team in 2010, Ballew’s top truck was vacant. Almirola decided to fill that vacancy and run the entire 2010 Camping World Truck Series campaign.

This has turned out to be the best move Almirola could have possibly made in his career revival.

The worst that Almirola has finished all season long through nine races in 2010 is 12th twice. Other than those two 12th-place showings, he has finished in the top-10 in every other race. Not only that, but in the sixth race of the year Almirola was finally able to drive into victory lane himself for the first time in his NASCAR career at Dover.

Almirola wouldn’t stop there. He thrilled fans this week with an incredible three-wide pass for the lead on Todd Bodine and Kyle Busch late in the VFW 200 at Michigan, and he found himself in victory lane yet again as a result.The pass for the lead was a surprise considering Almirola hadn’t fought for the lead all day long. Todd Bodine was very impressed with Almirola’s move after the race.

“Maybe it caught me a little off guard,” Bodine said of Almirola’s pass for the lead. “Aric’s a hell of a racer, and they had a good truck when it counted.”

Let’s not forget that even though he has been driving in the NASCAR’s “big three” series since 2005, he has only had the opportunity to run one full season in his entire career to this point!

2010 will mark the second time that Almirola has competed for a full season in a NASCAR Series, and I’d say he’s not doing too shabby. The future is extremely bright yet again for Almirola, even after it looked so dark just months ago.

Aric Almirola now sits second in the point standings just 55 points behind Todd Bodine in the Camping World Truck Series. His performance has led to him being tabbed by Jimmie Johnson to fill in for him, if he has to miss a race in July due to the birth of his first child. So he has shown yet again that he has what it takes to drive for a top tier team in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series.

The only question now is who will give Almirola the opportunity to show what he can do in the Sprint Cup Series full-time? I don’t think we’ll be waiting long for that answer.

By: Toby Christie

If you follow me on twitter then it’s no secret to you that I have become addicted to this thing called iracing. Several people have responded to me asking for more information about it, or questioning it’s realism. Well let me tell you right now that iracing is more than just a game, in my opinion it is the world’s finest racing simulator available hands down.

The thing that really separates iracing from any other racing “game” is that you aren’t limited to just one type of car, or racing discipline. You can run NASCAR Trucks, NASCAR Sprint Cup Series cars, Izod Indy Cars, or even legends cars just to name a few of the great racing series that are available.

Several people in the Twitter world are still using such games as EA Sports’ NASCAR 09 to get their racing fix because they don’t want to pay the fees for iracing. Well even though there is a subscription fee ($7.46 per month when you subscribe for two years), let me tell you it is well worth every penny.

Not to mention the fees aren’t really a new thing as far as racing games come.

For example at the time of it’s release NASCAR 09 cost anywhere from $60 to $70. Even though EA Sports has stopped producing NASCAR titles for now, that means that every year they were putting out new titles every year you had to spend $60 to $70… Sounds a lot like a yearly fee to me and those games don’t even hold a candle to the realism iracing brings.

Sure iracing’s fees are just a slightly more than the cost of buying a new console game per year, but it comes with the convenience of not having to go to the store every year to pick up a new version of the game, and on top of that it comes with un-matched realism. Iracing makes the other racing video games look like what they truly are… arcade games.

Not only that, but the subscription fee which has kept many away actually is a blessing in disguise. What do I mean? How can this be? Well it weeds out a lot of the “pretenders” and the ones who simply use racing games to go backwards and crash out everyone who is trying to be serious.

The way iracing is structured is that there is actually a competition committee that watches over the sport, and actually listens to racers when they report drivers who are “wreckers”. This keeps the system honest, and makes races way more fair than any other online racing game I’ve ever seen.

You start off with a rookie license on ovals and road courses which will get you access in competing in two different racing leagues. As far as ovals are concerned you will start off in the rookie Legends Series where you will learn the fundamentals of stock car racing on short tracks such as Lanier Speedway and South Boston Raceway.

As far as our aspiring Road Course Aces are concerned you will be given an opportunity to feel your way around the turns in a Pontiac Solstice at Laguna Seca.

Once you prove that you can compete without causing incidents, your safety rating begins to climb, and you will eventually be promoted to a D license. From here you can begin to climb through the ranks of iracing and who knows you may eventually get a chance to compete in the NASCAR iracing A Series (NASCAR Sprint Cup Series).

Along the way you can make friends and rivals on the racetrack, and you can add them to your friends list to keep track of their stats. Also don’t forget that for average joes like us, this is about the only place in the world that we can physically race against real race car drivers. Dale Earnhardt Jr., Will Power, Landon Cassill and several other real life race car drivers use this service, so at any time you could actually bump into them on the racetrack.

I will warn you that it will take a little bit of time to craft your technique so you may struggle a bit at first, however if you stick with it you will eventually find your groove. When you do it will make your first win really mean something.

And for those who just want to host league races with your buddies that won’t be counted towards your official iracing career don’t worry. The service also includes the ability to host races for just you and your friends. It costs three dollars per race session, but you can select any race division to compete in.

I highly suggest that if you haven’t looked into iracing yet that you do so immediately. It is seriously one of the most fun things to do in your spare time, and in this economy it is actually a decent way to work on developing a possible driving career. I myself have competed in over 60 races since May 30th!

To subscribe to the iracing service and begin your online racing career go to http://www.iracing.com. You can find me on iracing my name on there is “Ronald Christie”.

Tom Copeland/CIA Stock Photo

By: Farrah Kaye

NASCAR drivers are unlike any other athletes in any sport.

I’m not just saying that because I’m a fan or I write about the sport. I have proof.

Recently, SPEED TV personality Rutledge Wood tweeted about meeting a man in the Nashville area while shopping before the Nationwide race last weekend. The man told him a story about Carl Edwards giving him a trophy from when he won there previously.

ExtenZe Racing‘s Kevin Conway honors local heroes every week. The ExtenZe Local Hero Program, according to their website, “pays tribute to people who have gone to great lengths to make a difference. Those selected have faced danger, sacrificed their own safety for others or in some way displayed leadership that changed their community for the better.”

Award recipients become ExtenZe Racing Honorary Crew Chiefs, receive a tour of the paddock, attend the pre-race NASCAR Driver/Crew Chief meeting, and sit atop the pit box. Each recipient also receives a $1,000 award from ExtenZe.

Of course there’s the biggest giver of all – the Victory Junction Gang Camp. The mission of the camp is “to enrich the lives of children with chronic medical conditions or serious illnesses by providing life-changing camping experiences that are exciting, fun and empowering, in a safe and medically-sound environment. The program offers a week of exhilarating, challenging and nurturing fun under comprehensive, but unobtrusive, 24-hour medical supervision.

Activities include arts and crafts, woodshop, an adventure course, archery, swimming, boating, fishing, horseback riding, music and theater, and a special NASCAR-themed program area complete with race cars, racing simulators, and racing gear. Each summer session offers up to 128 camper spots, and our fall and spring family weekends offer up to 32 families a chance to experience camp together.”

But for some fans and their family, mine included, the mere existence of the drivers and knowing they are there helps lift their spirits during hard times. Getting to meet them is icing on the cake of being inspired by them.

I took my mom to her first race in August 2008. At the time, she had no idea why I would sit in front of a television for five hours to watch cars “drive in a circle.” So when her birthday weekend came around, she had two choices: Come visit me in Michigan and go to the race or spend her birthday alone. She chose the first (and better!) option.

We hit the track and she fell in love. She didn’t have a driver picked out but by the end of the day, she had chosen Carl Edwards. When we sat in our seats, she read the program and discovered they shared the same birthday…and it was that weekend! She decided this was a sign.

Carl went on to win both the Nationwide and Cup races that weekend and had a new fan.

Just a few weeks later, my mom was in the hospital suffering from a brain tumor. The first weekend we were there, she couldn’t open her eyes to watch the race but by the second weekend, she was wide awake and begging her rehab roommate to let them watch the race on full blast. It lifted her spirits just to watch the race. I can’t tell you who won that day, but I can tell you my mom sat straight up in her bed with a huge smile on her face.

A few weeks after getting out of the hospital, a letter arrived for mom from Roush Fenway Racing. It was a personalized autographed picture from Carl Edwards for her. We framed it and put it her room, reminding her that she fought the hardest fight she could and made it through.

But her biggest test was yet to come. This past April, my mom and I were in Phoenix on a personal trip, hoping to get to the races. On Friday, while the Nationwide race was taking place, we got a phone call from back home that there was a high possibility she had cancer. The doctor told us there was nothing we could do over the weekend so we should make the most of our time in Phoenix, as it would probably be our last vacation for a while.

Two generous fans we had never met gave us a pair of tickets to the Cup race and we sat in the ninth row behind the start/finish line. We sat through 150 laps before my mom couldn’t take it any more. We left the track, taking one last picture of our trip with the race behind us.

Immediately upon our return, she was admitted to the hospital. Unknowingly to us, she would remain there for 5 1/2 weeks. The one thing I was told was to decorate her room with positive and uplifting pictures.

We’re not spiritual or religious people and I wasn’t about to go out and buy inspirational quote posters. But what I did do was think of what would lift my mom’s spirits. The answer was clear: NASCAR! I reprinted old pictures and found posters from throughout our house and brought them to the hospital.

Before long, her room was covered in pictures of all the races she had attended, drivers she liked, posters we had won, and of her favorite NASCAR personalities (garage favorite Carrot Top included!).

The nurses loved the room – and so did my mom. Every time she would get sad or need a treatment, I’d tell her to focus on a picture or poster in the room and remember the good times.

See the poster of Jimmie Johnson’s 4 Championships? Remember going to the Victory Lap on Las Vegas Blvd.

See the over-sized picture of you when you met Carl? Remember the feeling you had when he remembered you were birthday twins.

Eventually my mom made it through her first round of chemo, tightly holding her Carl Edwards teddy bear and proudly wearing her No. 99 hat to cover her newly shaved head.

Drivers generally have their own foundations and will give groups of tickets to the members of the foundation and make frequent visits to the foundation. There are annual go-kart races, bowl-a-thons and more to help raise money for each of their causes.

There are hundreds, probably thousands, more stories like the ones above. I’m sure there are stories of fans inspiring the drivers and fans inspiring fans. And of course, everyone giving to each other. NASCAR is a very giving community.

And that’s why I truly believe this sport is better than any other sport out there. The kindness and giving of the members of the sport is above any other.

If you have a story to share, we’d love to hear it! Leave it in the comment section below!

Photo Credit: Chris Trotman/Getty Images for NASCAR

By: Toby Christie

Pocono Raceway has had a reputation of producing boring races, and well boring finishes. Sunday was shaping up to be yet another… that was until the final 40 laps of Sunday’s race when all hell broke loose. We saw tempers flare through an old rivalry, we also saw a new set of teammates start up a feud, and ultimately we saw a glaring safety issue with Pocono Raceway.

Kevin Harvick and Joey Logano have started becoming very familiar with running into each other on the race track. This feud began earlier this season in a Nationwide Series event at Bristol. In that race Joey Logano and Kevin Harvick were fighting for position on the final lap, when Harvick punted Logano out of the way for the spot. Logano left the race frustrated, but left it at that.

However this week with two laps remaining in the Gillette Fusion ProGlide 500, Harvick’s front bumper again found itself making contact with Logano. The tap sent Logano spinning out of the fourth position all the way back to 30th. Logano drove like a man possessed on the restart, and somehow worked his way through the last lap crash to finish 13th.

After the race Logano was visibly upset, and had finally had enough. Logano went to have a word with Harvick, but crew members kept the two drivers separated. However when reporters caught up with Joey Logano he added fuel to the fire.

“It’s disappointing to be honest with you we had a top-five run going…” Logano said, “Racing the 29 (Harvick) and he let me go on halfway down the straightaway, and decided to dumb me in the next turn. I don’t know what his deal is with me, but uh it’s probably not his fault his wife wears the fire suit in the family and tells him what to do. So It’s probably not his fault.”

In my opinion the incident was completely Kevin Harvick’s fault, and he thought he would just take advantage of the younger Logano. However the 20-year-old driver stood up for himself after several run-ins with other drivers this season that have been the result of over aggression on the part of the other parties.

I do think that with his actions after the race Joey Logano proved he will be around for a long time in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series.

Logano’s spin set up a green white checkered finish. On the final lap of the race Kasey Kahne got a huge run down the backstretch and attempted to pass his teammate A.J. Allmendinger for 10th place. However Allmendinger blocked low and forced Kahne through the grass, which sent him careening across the track and head on into the wall.

As Kahne hit the wall he was tagged by Mark Martin, and Greg Biffle which sent him a little air born in a scary crash.

Kahne really didn’t know how to explain the accident, but did know he would have more communication with his teammate this week for sure.

“I don’t know what AJ was doing there.” Kahne said, “I don’t ever really talk to him much, but you can bet I will be talking to him this week.”

The Richard Petty Motorsports duo isn’t the first set of teammates to get into it this season. Among the other notables to tangle through the season are Hendrick Motorsports’ teammates Jimmie Johnson and Jeff Gordon and Earnhardt Ganassi Racing’s Juan Montoya and Jamie McMurray in Las Vegas. The only question is will they bury the hatchet or will this be an ongoing feud? The fact that Kahne will not be with the team next season really makes you wonder.

During this chaotic crash a safety issue with the race course itself was actually brought to the forefront. When Kahne got airborn, he came literally inches from flying over the wall, and out of the race track. If that would’ve happened, who knows what we’d be talking about today, but I have a feeling it wouldn’t have been good.

Pocono Raceway has several sections of the track where there aren’t spectator grandstands, as in the case of the segment of track that Kahne crashed in. As a result in these areas there isn’t a catch fence to keep cars inside the arena if you will. This is especially dangerous, because at Pocono, what is on the other side of that wall are a whole bunch of trees.

As we all know cars hitting trees are not a good sight. I would like to see NASCAR address this issue with the racetrack, and get this problem rectified immediately. The simple solution would be to require every racetrack to have a catch fence all the way around their facility, to prevent any cars from leaving any racetrack.

The final 40 laps of Pocono, had more than enough action, and storylines to keep us occupied for the next week for sure, but lets just be thankful things weren’t as bad as they could of been in Kasey Kahne’s crash.

Photo Credit: Jonathan Ferrey/Getty Images

By: Toby Christie

When Austin Dillon zoomed past the start finish line in Thursday’s NASCAR Camping World Truck Series qualifying session he did more than capture his first career pole, he did what many have wanted to see for years… He put that famous No. 3 back atop the scoring pylon when he turned a lap three-hundredths of a second faster than Matt Crafton.

Since 2001 fans have awaited the return of the number three to prominence after the passing of the sport’s most famous driver Dale Earnhardt, yet the appearance of the number has been rare to say the least. However Dillon, grandson of Richard Childress, decided he wanted to run the number in honor of his grandfather this season. He has performed fabulously considering his rookie status, and I believe he can carry the number back to the top.

Through the first nine races of the 2010 Camping World Truck Series schedule Dillon sits 14th in the overall standings, but the main reason he isn’t higher right now is bad luck. At Dover a broken oil pump ended his day, then at Charlotte a broken part sent him into the wall forcing him to a 35th place finish.

The last time the No. 3 won a race in any of NASCAR’s “big three” divisions was in the 2002 Nationwide Series event at Daytona, where Dale Earnhardt Jr. won in a tribute to his father. However the last pole by a driver in a car or truck sporting the No. 3 goes further back than that.

As we all know Dale Earnhardt was never known for being a strong qualifier so poles for him were quite scarce, in fact his last pole came in 1996 at Watkins Glen. But this wasn’t the last time the number has been fastest on pole day. The last time the No. 3 sat on a pole was actually in October 1999 in a Camping World Truck Series race at Texas Motor Speedway… Sound familiar?

Jay Sauter wheeled the No. 3 Goodwrench Service Silverado to a victory from the pole in that race, so my question is will we see a little bit of history repeating? Don’t bet against it in the WinStar Casino 400K at Texas.

Photo Credit: Geoff Burke/Getty Images for NASCAR

By: Toby Christie

40 races ago Jeff Gordon did something that it appeared he would never do… he won at Texas Motor Speedway. Texas had been Gordon’s Achilles Heal throughout his career, so one would think after finally capturing that race nothing would stop him. However since that win Jeff Gordon has gone win-less.

Through ten races in 2010 Gordon has led an impressive 599 laps, which is best among NASCAR Sprint Cup Series drivers. Gordon has also found himself in position for the win a handful of times already this season, yet he has failed to seal the deal. Richmond was the latest episode in a season of frustration that has kept Gordon out of victory lane. Gordon, the fans, and the media are all thinking the same thing… Will he ever win again?

At Las Vegas in February Gordon led 219 laps, and was the class of the field, but a late caution changed everything. Gordon, and crew chief Steve Letarte decided to take two-tires for track position, while his teammate Jimmie Johnson took four-tires. Johnson would prevail, and would win the race. There was certainly disappointment for Gordon, but he shrugged it off after the race and attributed it to there being no margin of error when racing against Johnson.

“We certainly showed them that we were here,” Gordon said. “I think that you’re going to see a lot more out of us this year. It is disappointing. You can’t even have one little blip with that No. 48 team — they are so strong.”

Despite the disappointment, Gordon had his head held high with the performance of his race team.

Three races later Gordon led 92 laps at Martinsville, and late in the race he looked to have it wrapped up again as he was the leader on a green-white-checkered finish. When the green flag came out, a shoving match ensued between Gordon, and Matt Kenseth. The end result? Gordon ended up third, and Kenseth slowed to an 18th-place finish, while Denny Hamlin visited victory lane. The disappointment escalated a little more, as was obvious by Gordon’s decision to send Kenseth out of the groove on the final lap.

“I’m not exactly sure what happened on that last restart. I got an OK restart,” Gordon said. “Spun the tires a little bit, got going. I looked at my mirror, and the 17 was pretty far behind me. … Next thing I know, I got nailed”

“I made sure he didn’t win the race down the straightaway.” Gordon explained.

The next race at Phoenix, Gordon again found himself as the leader on the green-white-checkered finish due to pit strategy, but he just couldn’t hold off Stewart-Haas Racing’s Ryan Newman. Newman snapped a 77-race win-less streak, while Gordon was left wondering yet again what he’d have to do to win a race again.

Then came Texas. Gordon came in with high hopes as this was the venue of his last victory. Gordon led a race-high 124 laps, but late in the Samsung Mobile 500 Gordon was mired in traffic. On his route back to the front he made contact with Tony Stewart, which started off a chain reaction pileup. Gordon left the track with frustration yet again.

At Talladega Gordon, was working his way to the front, until his teammate Jimmie Johnson cut him off, which forced him below the apron. From there Gordon was swept up in “the big one”, and his day was yet again doomed. Gordon only led four laps on the day, but he was among the players all day long for the win. This accident obviously set Gordon off, as months of frustration boiled over, and he lashed out at his teammate Jimmie Johnson.

Gordon said after the race, “the No. 48 is testing my patience, I can tell you that. It takes a lot to make me mad and I am pissed right now.”

The two worked out their differences this week, and Jeff Gordon came to Richmond refreshed and ready to chase for the win. Kyle Busch led early, and often, but a little after mid-race Gordon was able to get the lead when Busch’s car went away. Gordon would go on to lead 144 laps, and it appeared he had the race all sewn up… but then inside the final 30 laps the caution flags began to fly. This closed the field in on Gordon, and on a late restart Kyle Busch was able to get by the four-time champion. Busch would cruise to the checkered flag while Gordon was left with a second-place finish.

After his latest heart-breaking defeat Jeff Gordon had this to say, “Unfortunately, those cautions came out. I got two good restarts. Then, you know, the guy I did not want to have to race on the restarts, who was unbelievable on restarts earlier in the day, was Kyle. When I went, he timed it perfect, got to my outside. I was a little bit loose. We weren’t that good on restarts anyway. He just smoked us.”

“The last couple times we were leading on those green-white-checkereds, I didn’t get very good restarts. Tonight I thought I pretty good one, but we just didn’t have the car,” Gordon said, “We’ll keep working at it. But I’m not ticked off. I’m pretty excited about the way we’re running.”

How many more times can Gordon shrug off missing victory lane before he snaps? Or can he finally seal the deal? Only time will tell for sure, but for now with how great his car has been all I have are questions. Has Jeff Gordon lost his edge? Will he ever win again? I believe he will win again, but in my opinion he has to start capitalizing on these opportunities.

Photo Credit: Christopher Smith. Copyright 2010 RubbingsRacing.com.

By: Toby Christie

Last week they brushed it off, and attributed it to simply hard racing. I’m of course talking about the latest rivalry in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series, Jeff Gordon versus Jimmie Johnson.

At Texas the two four-time Sprint Cup Series champions made contact on the front straightaway, which crumpled the fender on Jimmie Johnson’s car, and caused him to hit pit road. The incident where it appeared Johnson drifted into Gordon was well documented, but it was really the culmination of a long day full of close quarters racing between the two. Both drivers insisted last week that this wouldn’t be an ongoing feud.

After last week’s run-in Gordon said, “I guess he thought I was being too aggressive. I don’t know, he just drove into my door. It ended up costing him.”

Johnson responded by saying, “I am pretty disappointed in how he was racing me today, but we will get to the bottom of it and sort it out. No need to play it out in the press and we’ll get it taken care of at the shop and during the week…”

We in the press didn’t play up the feud too much this past week, but now after what happened Sunday at Talladega we can’t help but ask if there’s something brewing between the Hendrick Motorsports teammates?

This week, as the Aaron’s 499 was winding down, Jeff Gordon was clipped yet again by Jimmie Johnson. This caused Gordon to go below the apron in the turn, and when he got back on the track all hell broke loose. By the end of the next lap Gordon’s car, one of the best all day, was destroyed in a melee. Gordon would soldier on to finish 22nd in his battered car, while Johnson would be swept up in a later accident.

Johnson’s accident would sideline him for the rest of the race, and Johnson would finish 31st.

Following the race Jeff Gordon was very frustrated with his teammate, and fellow four-time champion, Jimmie Johnson.

Gordon said, “…the No. 48 is testing my patience, I can tell you that. It takes a lot to make me mad and I am pissed right now. You know, when a car is going that much faster, I don’t know what it is with me and him right now, but whatever.”

Last week we were all told to sweep this under the rug, eventually it gets to a point where you can’t ignore the facts… The past two weeks, the No. 48 car, and the No. 24 car have found a way to run into each other, and the exchanges have resulted in three torn up race cars for Hendrick Motorsports.

By: Toby Christie

Hendrick Motorsports announced early this week that they have signed Kasey Kahne to a multi-year deal beginning in 2012. Kahne reportedly will be taking over for Mark Martin in the No. 5 car. Hendrick made the move because he wanted to do what was right for the future… I only have one question though. Is Kasey Kahne what is best for the team in the long run?

Honestly with Mark Martin on your team you basically have NASCAR’s version of Brett Favre, which means he is never going to retire. Seriously never. So what Hendrick Motorsports in essence has done is force out a driver who would have been good to go for the next 30 years or so, just so they can get one of NASCAR’s most marketable drivers.

So Mark Martin will last longer in this sport than Kasey Kahne, so the longevity wasn’t the reason the move was made, so maybe it was performance? Not a chance.

Martin won five races just last year, en route to finishing second in the point standings for the fifth time in his career. The highest Kasey Kahne has ever finished in the year end point standings is an eighth place effort in 2006. That’s pretty decent, but it doesn’t quite cut it in comparison to what Mark Martin has accomplished.

Through his career Martin has won 40 races already, and with another 30 years to go in his career he may just have a shot at Richard Petty’s all-time win mark of 200 victories. Kahne, who realistically has maybe 10 to 15 years left in his career has only racked up 11 wins. So as you can see I the stats don’t lie… this move makes absolutely no sense what so ever, and it’s really a slap in the face to one of our sport’s legends.

Sure Kahne will go on to drive the No. 5 car in 2012, and he’ll probably do alright, but just imagine what Rick Hendrick will be thinking in 2040… Why did I ever get rid of Mark Martin? Especially when Mark “The Kid” Martin’s perseverance finally pays off, and he becomes a five time Sprint Cup Series Champion when he retires at the end of the ’40 season.

Also what this now means Hendrick Motorsports will be equipped with three of the most popular drivers in the Series (Dale Earnhardt Jr., Jeff Gordon, and Kahne). The three “popular” drivers have combined for only six wins in the past 79 races. Hendrick Motorsports used to be associated with dominance, and non-stop winning, but now they are transforming into nothing more than the who’s who of advertising in NASCAR.

Total boneheaded move all around in my opinion.

DISCLAIMER: This article is intended to be comical, and is in no way seriously my opinion on the Kasey Kahne acquisition by Hendrick Motorsports. I just figured it was time for a little light hearted satire on a soggy day thus far at Texas Motor Speedway.

By: Toby Christie

They say that all good things have to come to an end, well Sunday at Bristol it’s a bad thing that will be coming to an end. I am of course referencing the dreaded wing. The wing as we all know replaced the spoiler in NASCAR when they unveiled the “Car of Tomorrow”.

Fans never really took to the wing, even though NASCAR’s reasoning behind implementing it was to make the cars look more like cars that the kids on the streets have… but honestly nobody would be caught dead with one of those things.

The wing’s existence only lasted 59 races in the Sprint Cup Series, and I’m sure it won’t be missed by many drivers… but who has benefited most from the wing being in NASCAR?

It’s simple here’s a little stat you wont find anywhere else: Jimmie Johnson, Kyle Busch and Carl Edwards have combined to win a total of 45 of the 59 “winged” events… that is over 76-percent of the races won by just three drivers. I expect this to change a little bit starting with Martinsville.

In 2007 it was Bristol that hosted the wing’s first race, so there would be no more fitting place than Bristol this week to send the wing flying away. The wing has been attributed to the problem of cars flying into the stands here recently. When the cars spin backwards the wing actually causes the cars to lift off of the ground… not a good thing at all.

However in my opinion it is also the reason for the lack of parity in NASCAR for the past three seasons.

By: Toby Christie

One thing has stolen the headlines for nearly a week… Brad Keselowski and Carl Edwards. Well I think it is time we move past the feud of the century, and take a look at all of the things that were lost in the controversy of Atlanta.

First things first Kurt Busch won the dang race, and nobody is talking about it. He’s gotta be feeling like Rodney Dangerfield with all of this lack of respect. The win marked the 21st of Busch’s Sprint Cup Series career, and it was his second straight win in the spring event at Atlanta. The win came at a great time because going into this event Busch was way back in 19th in the point standings. Now after this victory the 2004 Sprint Cup Series champion sits tenth in the points and is now on a roll.

We also had a great run by the guy piloting the #98 Menards Ford… yea that’s right Paul Menard. Menard came home fifth and has climbed to ninth in the point standings after four events. This is Menard’s second career top-five finish, and his first since a second place finish at Talladega in 2008. Menard is an intriguing story to follow this season as he is driving for a rejuvenated Richard Petty Motorsports team.

Speaking of RPM, A.J. Allmendinger, who drives their no. 43 car had a heck of a run this week too. He came home sixth, but what’s impressive is how he got there. He was competitively fighting inside the top-ten nearly the entire race, so it was no fluke. This was Allmendinger’s ninth career top-ten finish.

Oh and by the way Kasey Kahne led the most laps during the Kobalt Tools 500. Kahne was out front for 144 laps Sunday, in a Richard Petty Motorsports Ford, en route to a fourth place finish… So whatever they are doing over there in that shop, they are doing it right.

Now let’s look at who benefited the most and the least from the Brad Keselowski / Carl Edwards incident taking place.

Goodyear by far benefited the most by the action on lap 323 occurring. Because of this incident just about everyone has just about forgotten about that little tire issue we had Sunday. In all there were at least eight tire issues from the 43 cars in the field… not a good deal for any tire supplier, but luckily for Goodyear Carl Edwards saved their day by ruining Keselowski’s.

Now the person who lost the most because of the lap 323 incident was Juan Pablo Montoya. I know you’re thinking: wasn’t it Keselowski who went from sixth to 36th in the blink of an eye? Yes, but it was Montoya who was the innocent bystander who was the biggest loser in the end.

Montoya had just closed to within half a second of the lead with two to go, and he was turning laps over two tenths of a second faster than Busch, due to a car that was awesome on the long runs. If the race would’ve stayed green we may have seen the first victory for JPM on an oval, and maybe the closest finish of the entire season… but we will never know now.