Jimmie Johnson. Kyle Busch, Kurt Busch. Kevin Harvick. Martin Truex, Jr. Denny Hamlin. Brad Keselowski. Kyle Larson. Chase Elliott. These men are NASCAR. These men, a few women, and so many others made the sport. Were the sport. Are the sport. Brian France is not NASCAR. There is a reason 97 percent of all family businesses do not survive as such into the fourth generation.
With the Southern 500 coming our way from Darlington this weekend, it seems like a good time to talk about tradition. The first one in the books was back in 1950, making it the oldest of the sport’s iconic events. Most of the time, it goes to someone who is in or will be in, the Hall of Fame. That number will only grow once Jeff Gordon and Jimmie Johnson get in, along with a few other contenders I can think of.
Change. Sometimes change is good, like when you win a few million dollars. That is good. You get married to your sweetheart. Good. Your children start arriving. If you are a mature adult, and not some self-serving narcissist, that is very good. New talented drivers emerge on the scene. That is also a good thing.
I still can't imagine that it has been 23 years since we lost Alan Kulwicki in a plane crash as he was headed to Bristol Motor Speedway. The sight of the No. 7 hauler taking the lap around Bristol before leaving the track still brings a chill up my back.
The NASCAR Sprint Cup Series visits the famed 2.5-mile rectangle in the Midwest at Indianapolis Motor Speedway for the 20th time on Sunday for a 400-mile race which will certainly have some foreshadowing into the future this week and here is why.
With the admission of “racing is in my DNA,” Erin Crocker announced her return to the track, with WIX® Filters as her sponsor. Team WIX will sponsor Crocker in seven POWRi Lucas Oil National Midget Series races in 2013, as well as the 2014 Lucas Oil Chili Bowl Nationals.
Ray Evernham, ESPN analyst for NASCAR, owner of East Lincoln Speedway, and two-time Daytona 500 champ as crew chief for Jeff Gordon, was on a mission at Dover International Speedway this weekend.
When listening to the in-race audio channel for the Hendrick Motorsports No. 88 AMP Energy/National Guard Chevrolet, many credit crew chief Steve Letarte with being the consummate cheerleader and encourager for his driver Dale Earnhardt, Jr.
It has been an interesting off-season in NASCAR, and I'm not just talking about the snow in Dallas. We learned things, like the best mathematicians hail from such places as Alabama, Tennessee, Florida, and the Carolinas.
