May 10
31
Mid Race Post 5/30/10
Here’s a little 60 laps to go mid race blog post.
Can you imagine if every race was this long? Would it help or hurt ratings. So far this race has lived up to the hype.
Jimmie Johnson coming back after that wreck was great. Fox just showed a graphic of the past 5 winners of all Nascar races (this weekend and last) and they were all Kyle and Kurt Busch. Four of the five wins are Kyle Busch. This is getting ridiculous.
The Indy 500 was entertaining, and it has some serious novelty appeal. People who are not racing fans at all, and barely even follow sports for that matter, ask me about the Indy 500. The fact that Indy car has multiple women driver’s while Nascar has none is interesting. Does Nascar need drivers that are women? No. Would it be a good thing? Definately.
Let’s hope that the challenge to drivers to win both the Indy 500 and Coca Cola 600 happens, maybe that will intice Truex Jr back to Indy for weekend.
It looks like a packed house, Wish I could be there.
If Jamie McMurray can hang on to this it should help propel him to stardom.
Alright, enough of this stream of consciousness mid race post. There will be a full recap tomorrow with the results and reactions. Hopefully the finish is clean and there is no controversy. On second thought, bring it on.
Dale Jr. Dale Jr. Dale Jr. Dale Jr. Dale Jr.
Posted in Mid Race by .
May 10
28
Truck Series Incident
As has been noted on this site, and on television, and all over Nascar talk radio this week, last weekend was huge. With the all star race, a great nationwide race, and being capped off with the Nascar hall of fame induction, it was a great weekend. An interesting story that normally would have grabbed headlines did not because of all of these events.
In the truck series on Friday night, Kyle Busch racked up another win in what has been an incredible season for him. Prior to the race, he and his team found that the lug nuts on one of their tires was loose and fixed the problem. The pit crew claims they had them tight before the trucks were put away before the race.
Austin Dillon, whose truck was stored behind Busch’s while impounded, crashed ten laps into the race, when his wheel came loose because of loose lug nuts.
The Busch camp wonders if someone altered the vehicles. If someone did alter these vehicles, it is an incredibly childish thing. What if it was orchestrated by another driver or racing team? What if it was a fan? Hopefully more details will come out about this intriguing story.
It is probably safe to say that it’s a good thing this happened. Aside from Dillon’s wreck, nothing else negative came to be because of this incident. No doubt security will increase, especially for these two driver’s cars. Security should increase across all of the cup divisions, hopefully preventing anything like this from happening anytime soon in.
Posted in Nascar Truck Series by .
May 10
27
Where to Find Nascar Trading Cards
So you’re in the market for nascar trading cards. Where do you go? There are several reliable places to go in order to find these cards, and a few places that you could find some great prices or rare gems if you’re lucky.
Surprisingly, the best places to go for nascar trading cards are toy stores. Cards are very popular with children and therefore they keep them in stock here.
Yards sales and flea markets are hit or miss. If you happen upon the right person though you could find something great at one of these places. Don’t be afraid to barter, especially if you have a decent knowledge of card values, because often times the seller at one of these locations will not.
At normal cards shops/hobby shops you will probably find some cards. The selection may be meager here, however. The people who work in card shops make deals with customers all day so in this scenario expect to pay near or above market price for rarities.
Some sporting goods stores will have trading cards at the check out counter. Another good place to look is in the toy section of larger stores such as wal-mart.
As always, the internet is a good place to buy. The standard shopping websites should have nascar trading cards at decent prices.
Expect to pay between $40 and $150 dollars for a standard box that includes many card packs. Like any other kind of sports card, if you buy a box you are actually getting a deal, as packs may go for $3-$15 or higher by themselves. And there is always a chance of pulling out one of the more valuable cards in the set, which should be worth more than the price of the box.
Posted in NASCAR Trading Cards by .
May 10
25
Nascar Trading Cards
Nascar trading cards aren’t a part of american pop culture in the same way baseball cards are. This doesn’t mean they aren’t on the rise and that they don’t already have a huge following. If you are new to the world of nascar trading cards there is a lot to learn here. And if you are a dedicated collector, hopefully there is still some valuable information.
One of the first things you need is a good knowledge of the drivers. If you are a Nascar fan, then you probably have this covered. But for people who are new or who are investigating these trading cards as a gift, learning about drivers is important.
Whether you are personally interested in Nascar trading cards as a hobby, a way to make money, or both, know that like other card collecting markets, things don’t fluctuate that randomly. If you want a classic Richard Petty card and it’s $200 dollars, it is intuitive to think that the price will slowly increase over the next few years. More recent cards will change in terms of value quicker than older ones, however.
Beckett Racing Magazine is a great way to find out about pricing. Beckett is a respected critic of card’s market values across all sports, and they are where I go for my NASCAR trading card values. Look at it as the blue book of trading cards.
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Hopefully this gives you a decent idea of how to determine what you want when it comes to buying nascar trading cards.
Article about where to shop for Nascar Trading Cards
Where to find Nascar Trading Cards
Posted in NASCAR Trading Cards by .
May 10
24
Hall of Fame Induction
Yesterday’s Hall of Fame induction ceremony capped an eventful NASCAR weekend, and even with the Coca-Cola 600 all star race in Charlotte, the Hall of Fame induction was really the main event. It too was hosted in Charlotte, North Carolina, and broadcast for four hours on cable television. .
Five member’s were inducted: Dale Earnhardt and Richard Petty, Bill France Sr. and his son Bill Jr., and Junior Johnson. Earnhardt and Petty are legendary, well-known championship drivers. Bill France Sr. was the first CEO of NASCAR and handed down this role to Bill Jr. Junior Johnson was a good driver and a great owner, winning multiple championships.
Petty said that the Hall of Fame makes NASCAR as big as any other league.
Before the event, the NASCAR Hall of Fame website proudly proclaimed “be part of the Red Carpet Event!” In actuality, the carpet was blue, an interesting touch that suits the Carolinas. Tickets were $75 dollars, which seems reasonable considering that this was the inaugural ceremony and tickets will likely be cheaper in the future.
Will the NASCAR Hall of Fame somebody be as big as the Basketball, Football, or Baseball Halls? In the sports world, the announcement of the hall of fame classes each year is a big deal, and the actual induction ceremonies are shown live on ESPN. One of the biggest wrinkles in the steroid era in baseball is what to do with players in regard to the Hall of Fame. It may be hard to see it now, but the hall’s infancy may lead to something on par with Canton if NASCAR’s legacy and brand continues to grow.
Posted in Industry News by .
May 10
23
All-Star Busch Brothers
No points, just money; one million dollars. Kurt Busch takes the checkered flag and the money. So that’s what everyone in Nascar is talking about right?
Of course not. Denny Hamlin and Kyle Busch, who are teammates, had a bit of a rift yesterday. Kyle Busch felt that he had the All-Star race locked up when Hamlin cut him off, allowing Kyle’s brother Kurt to take over in the last several laps.
Kyle Busch told his crew chief over the radio that someone better keep him away from Denny Hamlin after the race because he had it won. Kyle hunted down Hamlin after the race, and Joe Gibbs intervened to restore order.
This is why people dislike Kyle Busch. He is the bad guy. He acts as if he is never wrong, even sparring with teammates and stealing the spotlight from his brother. It’s a good thing that Kyle Busch is competitive, or else to many he would be a joke.
With all that said, I don’t mind him, and he’s great for the sport. A lot of people are going to rip him to shreds, and that’s fine. This is the latest in a long line of seemingly selfish and childish acts. But nascar has as many rivalries that fluctuate from week to week as the WWE, and Kyle Busch is Vince McMahon.
Joey Logano had a good showing, finishing 3rd. This quiet kid is steadily improving and may be competing sooner than people realize. The best drivers in the world his age are in the nationwide series and he’s transcended to compete for the Sprint Cup. This alone says a lot.
Posted in Kyle Busch by .
May 10
20
Nationwide car testing
Nationwide car testing at Daytona is taking place this week as drivers continue to try to get used to the feel of the new cars being used on the Nationwide circuit. Many driver’s have complained about their vehicles being too tight and not performing the way that they expect them to.
The changes in Nationwide Series have been much more dramatic than those for Sprint Cup drivers. Whether you like these changes or not as a fan, NASCAR is evolving; and it’s evolving very quickly.
Interestingly, Kevin Harvick claims the new nationwide cars are too tight, while Carl Edwards believes they are too loose. Harvick was impressed with the alterations that were made on the nationwide cars.
The altered cars make for interesting races while the drivers are getting used to them. Wrecks are up in the nationwide races, there’s no question. Sloppy driving is up to. For casual fans this is probably a good thing. They like excitement and they like wrecks. For those of us that want to see the world’s best driver’s performing at the highest level, we’ll probably have to wait a few more weeks. Not to say that Nationwide is comparable to Sprint in this day and age, but it’s a unique brand of racing; one that is more “old school” that still takes a unique set of skills.
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Also on the racing front, Danica Patrick will return to the Nationwide Series in the next several months after Indy’s culmination at the Indianapolis 500.
There haven’t been any updates on the proposed Indy 500 Coca-Cola 600 challenge yet. Luckily, in a sport that’s all about speed and grandiosity, it will probably happen sooner than later.
Posted in Nationwide News by .
May 10
16
Dover Results
The race today at Dover was definitely exciting. Hendrick Motor Sports was unable to fully bounce back, but performed decently.
The top 10 was as follows:
1. Kyle Busch
2. Jeff Burton
3. Matt Kenseth
4. Denny Hamlin
5. David Reutimann
6. Greg Biffle
7. Kevin Harvick
8. Carl Edwards
9. Tony Stewart
10 . Joey Logano
As state above, Kevin Harvick finished in the 7th, giving him his 9th top 10 finish of the season. He has a 69 point lead of second.
By winning Kyle Busch continued the Gibbs dominance of late.
Overall, troubles for Hendrick continued. Jimmie Johnson ran well all day but had a disappointing finish due to a mistake. He was penalized for speeding off of pit row late in the race. Overall the 48 car dominated today, but drops to 4th in the overall points standings. Tony Stewart sits outside the top 12 after today’s race at Dover, and you know that that can’t sit well with him. He did perform better and had his first top ten finish in several races.
Next week is Charlotte, which is deemed Nascar’s “toughest” track. Aren’t the indy style road courses actually be NASCAR’s toughest tracks? Either way, the All Star race is in charlotte next saturday and it should be great. Saturday races are always spectacular, and the all star festivities will add even more to this event.
It will be incredible when the chase starts if Kyle Busch can keep this up. Kyle Busch is one of the more disliked driver’s, and a Kyle Busch Jimmie Johnson showdown for this year’s championship stir up a lot of opinions. That’s still a long way off though.
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One final thought on Dover: the monster trophy is a bit corny, but still pretty sweet. The giant concrete monster that is meant to represent the “monster” one mile track at Dover is not as cool as the guitars in Nashville, but still not bad.
Charlotte for the next two weeks. Should be some great action coming up in North Carolina.
The race tommorow at Dover will be a good test for Jimmie Johnson.
His results as of late haven’t been up to par. The 48 team has had a dip in success since the changes were made to the rear spoiler. These few mediocre placings have some people wondering if Jimmie Johnson has lost something, and if the rear spoiler change is really the cause. Two finishes outside of the top 30 will raise questions about any competitive driver, especially a four time defending champ.
At first glance, not placing the blame on the spoiler change is difficult. The 48 picked up this season where it left off, winning multiple times. With no wins and disappointing finishes since the rear wing has been removed it’s easy to jump to the conclusion that so many have. But it’s still too early, way too early, to really buy into this theory as far as JJ and the 48 team goes.
Hendrick Motorsports as a whole has suffered, with both Mark Martin and Tony Stewart also having less success since the spoiler change.
It is safe to say that Joe Gibbs’ drivers have been dominating ever since the change. The toyotas have ran well with Kyle Busch leading the way.
Dover is a massive concrete track that is unlike any other. Don’t get me wrong, all the tracks on the NASCAR circuit are unique, but many of them are still similar. Dover is different.
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In general NASCAR news, Brian Vickers is recovering well from his recent visit to the hospital. He will not race this weekend. Also, a $20 million prize has been offered if a driver can win both the Indy 500 and the Coca Cola 600 in the same day in future years. If this scenario becomes a reality, might we see high profile NASCAR drivers cross over to indy car for the indy 500? The obvious frontrunner to pull of this rediculous feet right now is Juan Pablo Montoya, but what if Danica did it? That would turn the racing world on it’s head, right?
Posted in Industry News Sprint Cup News by .