In 2010, Denny Hamlin's name was all over the leader board. He won eight races and was the odds on favorite to win the Sprint Cup until Jimmie Johnson's late season surge. Most NASCAR pundits declared that 2011 would be Hamlin's year. Except that it hasn't been.
Until now.
Hamlin won an anticlimactic Heluva Good! Sour Cream Dips 400, which all of NASCAR-dom calls the Michigan 400 by virtue of the absurdity of the official title. The end of the race was looking pretty dull until Dale Earnhardt, Junior slapped the wall with a dozen or
5 Hour Energy 500
by Ronald A. Rowe June 14th, 2011 | NASCAR, Racing News, Sprint Cup Series
It didn't take long for the 5-Hour Energy 500 to turn into the expected grudge match between Kyle Busch and Kevin Harvick. It seems like the race had just begun when Busch and Harvick just so happened to end up lined up front to back, bumping each other (mostly Harvick bumping Busch to be specific). NASCAR was nice enough to give the feuding drivers an extra warning - they're both on probation for another week - before slapping them down. Surprisingly, that warning was enough to get the boys to settle down for the rest
STP 400
by Ronald A. Rowe June 9th, 2011 | NASCAR, Sprint Cup Series
Last week, Dale Earnhardt, Jr. was in the lead on the final lap of the Coca-Cola 600 but ran out of gas a quarter lap too soon. On the final lap this week, he found himself in second place hoping that the same fate that befell him last week would strike Brad Keselowski. It didn't.
Keselowski had more in the tank than he or his pit crew realized. He had more than enough to finish the race and get to victory row to claim his second career Sprint Cup victory. Team Junior should take heart that he ran his two
Keselowski had more in the tank than he or his pit crew realized. He had more than enough to finish the race and get to victory row to claim his second career Sprint Cup victory. Team Junior should take heart that he ran his two
Heartbreak at the Coca Cola 600
by Ronald A. Rowe June 2nd, 2011 | NASCAR, Racing News, Sprint Cup Series
Heartbreak in Charlotte. Everybody has their favorite NASCAR driver. Some like Jimmie Johnson. Some favor Kyle Busch. But the entire NASCAR-loving world wants to see Dale Earnhardt, Jr do well. You’d have to search far and wide to find a fan who was happy to see the Coca Cola 600 end the way it did.
If only it had been the Coca Cola 599 ¾. Never has a major race come to such a surprising ending on the final turn since… earlier in the day at the Indianapolis 500. But this was much worse because a) that was open wheel
If only it had been the Coca Cola 599 ¾. Never has a major race come to such a surprising ending on the final turn since… earlier in the day at the Indianapolis 500. But this was much worse because a) that was open wheel
All-Star Race
by Ronald A. Rowe May 26th, 2011 | NASCAR, Racing News, Speeding, Sprint Cup Series
Carl Edwards won a tidy $1.2 million for winning the All-Star Race Saturday night. In the end it came down to Edwards and Kyle Busch dueling for the lead. A textbook pit stop on the final scheduled break gave Edwards a slight lead, which he refused to relinquish.
As pretty as Edwards' victory was, his victory celebration was just plain ugly. He ripped up the front of his car on a non-existent drain. He can be excused for that lousy bit of driving after putting on a clinic all evening, although the fact that Edwards sounded only half-joking when he
As pretty as Edwards' victory was, his victory celebration was just plain ugly. He ripped up the front of his car on a non-existent drain. He can be excused for that lousy bit of driving after putting on a clinic all evening, although the fact that Edwards sounded only half-joking when he