Taillights fade: A look back at Stewart-Haas Racing's 2009

We've wrapped the season, and so it's time to wrap up our look back. In a feature shamelessly ripped from Puck Daddy's Death Watch and Big League Stew's Walk Toward The Light, we're looking back on all the drivers. In the interest of making sure that this feature doesn't last until April, we're stepping up the pace and covering teams. And yes, I know there aren't taillights on Sprint cars. It's a metaphor. Roll with it.

Team:  Stewart-Haas Racing

Drivers:  Tony Stewart, Ryan Newman

Record:  Four wins, six poles, 20 top-5s, 38 top-10s

Season summary: Stewart-Haas was the surprise of the year, hands down. Everyone thought Stewart was out of his mind to start his own team, having seen the trouble that other owner-drivers had experienced, but Stewart began strong and didn't fade for most of the year. In fact, he ran so well that it's likely other drivers will begin casting their eyes toward ownership.

Where it went right:  Everywhere pre-Chase. Stewart's success out of the gate was unbelieveable and unprecedented, and Newman, while always a talented driver, wasn't ever expected to run quite as well as he did, making the Chase with relative ease. Smoke won pretty much all over the country, and made it look easy doing so. His 2009 was one of the more dominating regular-season performances of the recent past. Unfortunately ...

Where it went wrong: When the points reset in the Chase, so too did Stewart's chances of winning. All the strong work he'd put in all season was for naught, and he and his team couldn't get it going well enough to hang with Jimmie Johnson come Chase time. Newman, meanwhile, barely escaped serious injury when he went flipping through the air at Talladega in November.

Prospects for 2010: Outstanding. Stewart remains at the top of his game, and Newman is a reliable wingman. And while SHR will likely remain a two-man operation in 2010, it's not out of the realm of possibility that a Kevin Harvick or a Kasey Kahne might make their way to SHR come 2011.

Related SHR posts from 2009:
Welcome back, angry Tony Stewart! You were missed!
Ryan Newman bags himself a big ol' bass at Pocono

Next up: Hendrick Motorsports

Taillights fade: A look back at Joe Gibbs Racing's 2009

We've wrapped the season, and so it's time to wrap up our look back. In a feature shamelessly ripped from Puck Daddy's Death Watch and Big League Stew's Walk Toward The Light, we're looking back on all the drivers. In the interest of making sure that this feature doesn't last until April, we're stepping up the pace and covering teams. And yes, I know there aren't taillights on Sprint cars. It's a metaphor. Roll with it.

Team: Joe Gibbs Racing

Drivers: Kyle Busch, Denny Hamlin, Joey Logano

Record: Nine wins, two poles, 27 top-5s, 40 top-10s

Season summary: In a year in which the team's top draw -- Tony Stewart -- departed to run his own squad, this could have been a proverbial "rebuild" for JGR. And to some extent it was, but it looks like the rebuilding has been accomplished. Denny Hamlin proved he belongs among the elite drivers in NASCAR, and Kyle Busch proved that he needs to keep his head about him if he wants to stay among the elite drivers. Joey Logano, meanwhile, exceeded everybody's expectations and cake-walked to Rookie of the Year.

Where it went right: JGR was the only team in which every single member recorded at least one victory. And Hamlin was strong throughout, coming through big several times in the Chase. (He also flamed out big several times, but we'll talk about that in a moment.) Kyle, meanwhile, demonstrated that he's probably got the most pure talent of any driver in the sport, and when head and heart work together, he's one hell of a force.

Where it went wrong:  Kyle got himself in trouble once too often this year and ended up missing the Chase by eight points, an unbelievable underachievement considering the fact that he won four races this year. Hamlin kept getting himself into trouble during the Chase, and torpedoed his Cup hopes with several poor finishes. He also had a much-publicized dustup with Brad Keselowski that will likely extend into its third season in 2010. 

Prospects for 2010: Scary for everybody else. All three of these guys are only going to get better. And could there be a fourth car coming to JGR in the coming years? (I have no idea, but it's a good rumor, isn't it?)

Related JGR posts from 2009:
Kyle Busch, Joey Logano bring the pain at WWE Raw
Kyle Busch didn't make the Chase, and that's a darn shame
Hamlin pays back Keselowski, sort of

Next up: Stewart-Haas Racing

Taillights fade: A look back at Roush Fenway's 2009

We've wrapped the season, and so it's time to wrap up our look back. In a feature shamelessly ripped from Puck Daddy's Death Watch and Big League Stew's Walk Toward The Light, we're looking back on all the drivers. In the interest of making sure that this feature doesn't last until April, we're stepping up the pace and covering teams. And yes, I know there aren't taillights on Sprint cars. It's a metaphor. Roll with it.

Team: Roush Fenway Racing

Drivers: Carl Edwards, Greg Biffle, Matt Kenseth, David Ragan, Jamie McMurray

Record: Three wins, one pole, 25 top-5s, 49 top-10s

Season summary: If it weren't for Richard Childress Racing's utter flameout, there would be a lot of fingers pointed in Roush Fenway's direction. While the team managed three wins, the guy who was supposed to be the leading light -- Carl Edwards -- couldn't find Victory Lane with a map, and Matt Kenseth missed out on the Chase despite winning the first two races of the season. After that, the one guy who did win a race -- Jamie McMurray in Talladega -- was the one guy who got dumped from the team. So, in sum: a good year for almost anybody else, a bad year for one of NASCAR's superteams.

Where it went right: Kenseth began the year on an unbelievable high, taking the first two races of the year (granted, Daytona was rain-shortened, but still). From there, he began a long, slow slide that ended in him missing the Chase. McMurray put together a gem in Talladega, and Greg Biffle raced strong all year, but nobody could hold it together for any length of time.

Where it went wrong: For Edwards, everywhere. The trendy pick to unseat Jimmie Johnson wasn't even the best guy on his own team this year (that would be Biffle). And while Biffle and Kenseth had reasonable seasons, David Ragan was a disappointment, managing only two top-10s all season long. 

Prospects for 2010: When you've got Kenseth, Edwards and Biffle driving for you, you're already starting out ahead of the pack. Ragan will need to step it up to justify his berth, but everybody else should return to reliable Chase form next year.

Related Roush Fenway posts from 2009:
Carl Edwards may be playing possum just a wee bit too long
Matt Kenseth will bump his own son to get to Victory Lane
Greg Biffle is really enjoying Champions Week in Vegas
Jamie McMurray is now #1 ... on his car, at least
David Ragan tries an unconventional new paint scheme

Next up: Joe Gibbs Racing

Best of the Marbles: Jimmie Johnson will make you a winner!

As we close out the year, we bring you a few of the best posts from the past year. Enjoy!

Fun stuff from Funny or Die here, as Jimmie Johnson teaches you into a winner! Think you need help? Hey, did you win the last three four Sprint Cup championships? No? Then how about a nice cup of shut the heck up ... and this three-DVD set!

Best of the Marbles 2009: Deep in the heart of Junior Nation

We're taking a brief post-holiday break as we sleep off the effects of Christmas goose and mulled wine, so we're giving you a final look at a few of the best posts of 2009. Next up: one from Daytona, where we infiltrated Junior Nation.

He walked through the back hallways of the Volusia Mall, accompanied by a security detail and a horde of publicists on cell phones. He was shorter than you'd expect, wearing jeans -- Wranglers, I'm sure, though I didn't check -- and an adidas warmup jacket over a gleaming white t-shirt.

And when Dale Earnhardt Jr. stepped out in front of the Champs Sporting Goods, a thousand members of Junior Nation screamed in delirium.

Before Daytona, before The Vickers Incident, before Junior split NASCAR down the middle [at Daytona], he spent an evening at the Volusia Mall meeting and greeting many of his most loyal fans. If you'd bought $150 worth of Junior swag from Champs, and if you were willing to wait in what turned out to be an hours-long line, you too could get fifteen seconds and a photograph with Junior. I stood in the center of the crowd, as you can see there, but the rows of people went on behind me for fifty yards.

As the festivities began, an adidas flack tried hard to get the crowd stoked into a frenzy, throwing a few shots Kyle Busch's way and leading halfhearted "Dale!" "Junior!" cheers. The man came onstage himself, and he looked both casual and uncomfortable at the same time -- casual because he's used to being in front of millions, uncomfortable because he has to speak in marketing jargon at these events, using phrases like "great brands" and "good relationship," lines that nobody can pull off without sounding forced and cliched.

You want a reason why Junior is so popular? That's it. His popularity stems not from who he is, but what he represents. Sure, he's the son of a legend, but he's not The Intimidator Reincarnated. He's everybody's dream boyfriend, dream best friend, dream son, dream big brother. "He drinks beer," a guy named Dave from Montpelier, Virginia told me, and that pretty much sums it all up. Dale Earnhardt Junior drinks beer, and millions of people love him for that.

Once Junior finished up his awkward rah-rah-adidas speech, the PR machine went into action. Junior was hustled back into the store, and large curtains were erected over the windows that you can see in the photo behind him. If you didn't pay, you didn't get even a free glimpse.

But the people who did get behind the Junior Curtain -- man, you should have seen their faces. They were beaming, clutching this photo of a smiling Junior with his arm on their shoulders. I'd bet that's going to be quite a few 2009 Christmas cards. You look at how happy these people were at getting to touch their idol, and even the most hardened cynic would have to admit that Dale Earnhardt Junior is doing something very, very good for his fans, whether he knows it or not.

"Should I ask him if he wants to go to dinner?" one female fan asked another as they waited in line. "Do it! Do it!" her friend encouraged. I never found out if they closed the deal, but if I had to guess, Junior rejected her in such a way that made her feel thankful.

So in the end, then, it doesn't matter if Junior never wins another race. Oh, his fans want him to win, sure. But more than that, they just want him out there. Maybe it's even better that he's not the best driver in NASCAR; that just means he's working hard at it, every single day. That's a hell of an inspiration.

Taillights fade: A look back at Earnhardt Ganassi's 2009

We've wrapped the season, and so it's time to wrap up our look back. In a feature shamelessly ripped from Puck Daddy's Death Watch and Big League Stew's Walk Toward The Light, we're looking back on all the drivers. In the interest of making sure that this feature doesn't last until April, we're stepping up the pace and covering teams. And yes, I know there aren't taillights on Sprint cars. It's a metaphor. Roll with it.

Team: Earnhardt Ganassi Racing, with special guest star Felix Sabates

Drivers: Juan Pablo Montoya, Martin Truex Jr.

Record:  Zero wins, five poles, eight top-5s, 24 top-10s.

Season summary: Overall, a strong performance from a team built Frankenstein-style from the spare parts of others. Montoya was exceptional, and Truex did well enough to get himself a new ride. Whatever was going on behind the scenes, it didn't appreciably affect the racing in the #42, at least.

Where it went right: Montoya broke through as a full-fledged star, completing his transition from open-wheel. He briefly threatened Jimmie Johnson in the Chase. Truex ran fast in practice, notching three poles, but couldn't sustain over the long haul. Still, a respectable season for the folks at EGR.

Where it went wrong: Indianapolis. Montoya got dinged for driving too fast down pit road, and lost what was an all-but-certain victory. Truex, for his part, never really got going, and next year we'll learn how much of that was equipment and how much was the driver, as Truex will be headed for Michael Waltrip Racing.

Prospects for 2010: Montoya looks like he'll be around for a long time to come; as long as he can keep his temper under control, he'll be a Chase contender for the foreseeable future. New addition Jamie McMurray never really flourished while at Roush, so perhaps a smaller environment where he can be more of a spotlight driver will be good for him.

Related EGR posts from 2009:
Will Martin Truex Jr. walk away from Earnhardt Ganassi?
Tony Stewart, Juan Pablo Montoya spice up Miami
Let's cool it with the Montoya conspiracy theories

Next up: Roush Fenway Racing

Best of the Marbles: Which drivers could have run in the old days?

We're taking a short post-holiday break this week to sleep off the effects of Christmas goose and mulled wine, so we'll be setting you up with some of the best posts of the year here at the Marbles. First up: one of the great debates.

Ricky Craven recently posted a column speculating on which current drivers will end up in the Hall of Fame. Good stuff, check it out. It got me to thinking in the other direction -- which of today's drivers could have survived running in the days of Lee Petty and Tim Flock, above? Let's run down some of the big names:

Jimmie Johnson: Don't let the blow-dried Cali look fool you; if he needs to, Johnson can get as down and dirty as any bootlegger. And as he and crew chief Chad Knaus have shown, cheating isn't always out of the question, which was a necessary tool in the old fellas' arsenal. Verdict on whether he'd flourish: Absolutely.

Jeff Gordon: Gordon could flat-out drive the wheels off of anything from a rollerskate to an airplane, and he'd have no problem whatsoever running in NASCAR's earliest days. Something tells me that the mid-20th-century fans would have had just as much of a problem with him as the early-21st-century ones, though. Verdict: Yep, though he wouldn't be as popular as he is now.

Tony Stewart: Come on, you even need to ask? Smoke runs his life like the old-school drivers he idolizes. He'd fit in so well we ought to go check and make sure he doesn't show up in some of those old photos, Lost-style. Verdict: Certainly.

Kyle Busch: He's got the talent, certainly, but he's also got the attitude that would get him a wrench to the skull from some guy he cut off on Daytona Beach. Verdict: Yes, but not for long if he kept talking.

Mark Martin: He raced dinosaurs, so yes, he'd be suited to driving in the 1950s. Seriously, Martin is an outstanding driver, but has a tendency to be a conservative one -- how well would that play out in a time of drive-the-doors-off racing? Verdict: Yes, but his points racing would be a thing of the past ... or future.

Dale Earnhardt Jr.: For as much as I've praised Junior in recent weeks, I can't see him having much success in an earlier era. His PR presence wouldn't mean much among fans who hadn't yet heard of Dale Earnhardt Senior. Verdict: Nope.

Carl Edwards: A tough one. He's got a fine style behind the wheel, and he's not afraid to cut a corner or two when necessary. But by the same token, how well would he do when nobody's playing by the same rules? I'm going to say he'd do fine, but with conditions. Verdict: Yes, as long as he's out in front. In the pack, he'd have trouble.

All right, your turn. Which drivers of today would survive, or flourish, in NASCAR's earliest days? Have your say!

Taillights fade: A look back at Richard Childress Racing's 2009

We've wrapped the season, and so it's time to wrap up our look back. In a feature shamelessly ripped from Puck Daddy's Death Watch and Big League Stew's Walk Toward The Light, we're looking back on all the drivers. In the interest of making sure that this feature doesn't last until April, we're stepping up the pace and covering teams. And yes, I know there aren't taillights on Sprint cars. It's a metaphor. Roll with it.

Team: Richard Childress Racing

Drivers: Kevin Harvick, Clint Bowyer, Jeff Burton, Casey Mears

Record: Zero wins, zero poles, 14 top-5s, 39 top-10s.

Season summary: Ug-lee. Harvick won at the Bud Shootout, and that was it for the entire year. A year after Harvick, Burton and Bowyer reached the Chase, Childress went 0-for-the-postseason. Questions persisted all season long about what possibly could have happened to RCR, and finally, things started turning around by the end of the year. Far too late to salvage 2009, but possibly to set the stage for 2010.

Where it went right: Almost nowhere. Burton had a decent chance to make the Chase, but a wreck late in the regular season at Bristol cashed his last hopes. Burton and Harvick were never in the hunt from the start, but Burton in particular began running well toward the end of the year, finishing with two straight second-place finishes. Mears? Well, he didn't destroy too many cars, at least.

Where it went wrong: Everywhere. Nobody in RCR got into a sustained groove at any time during the season. Drivers and crew blamed the lack of testing thanks to new NASCAR rules, and the fact that many of the teams ran better the second time around at many tracks indicated that very well could be the case.

Prospects for 2010: Very good for Burton, and Bowyer and Harvick are too good of drivers to run poorly two years in a row. Mears is in a spot of trouble, sponsor-wise; Jack Daniels has pulled out of sponsorship of the 07 car, and there's only enough sponsor cash at the moment to run the 07 in the Daytona 500.

Related RCR posts from 2009:
Jeff Burton putting it all together as everything wraps up
Jeff Burton turns heads, flutters hearts on 'General Hospital'
Kevin Harvick returns to his racing roots to restart series
Surprising no one, Kevin Harvick will return to RCR for 2010
Clint Bowyer punks Kevin Harvick out on the ol' golf course
Casey Mears the latest to feel the seething wrath of Junior

Next up: Earnhardt Ganassi Racing

Best races of 2009: Drama on the road courses

As we wind down 2009, we're taking one last look back at the best races of the year. Join us in closing the books on the season. Today: road course drama!

I don't know anybody outside of the drivers who doesn't love road courses. The unpredictability of the courses, the challenge of racing in an unfamiliar environment, the possibility that some rookie will lose control in one of the 12 turns and take out half the field -- it's all there! The Toyota/SaveMart 350 out at Infineon had all that and more, including a thrilling race to the finish between road-course honcho Tony Stewart and relative road course neophyte Kasey Kahne. Would Kasey hold off Smoke? Kick back and watch ...

Next up: Watkins Glen.

In a race that featured one of the most dramatic wrecks of the season as Sam Hornish Jr. corkscrewed into Jeff Gordon, Tony Stewart was once again right up front (and, for the record, Marcos Ambrose was once again right behind him). Wow, with this kind of a run, Stewart was a lock to win the Chase, right? Right ... ?

Every year, people ask if a road course could be added to the Chase. I'd love it, and so would Tony Stewart, but it's a long way off. Still, as these races show, it'd be a lot of fun, wouldn't it?

Merry Christmas and happy holidays from The Marbles!

It's Christmas, and that means around here we're taking a break from talking about NASCAR to actually spend a little time with our loved ones. (Not that we don't love you guys, really.)

So take a little time off, hang with your friends and family, and remember ... less than two months to Daytona!

(By the way, that picture comes from a site called  Holiday Phone Calls, and you can get Santa, Frosty or Tony Stewart to give you a call. Hey, give 'em a ring today; it's Christmas and maybe Tony's lonely and looking for someone to talk to!)

Seriously, thanks to all of you for reading this site all throughout the year. It's a true pleasure for me to work on this, and I hope you get as much enjoyment out of it as I do. See you in a bit with more. Happy holidays, all!

Taillights fade: Looking back on Petty Motorsports' 2009

We've wrapped the season, and so it's time to wrap up our look back. In a feature shamelessly ripped from Puck Daddy's Death Watch and Big League Stew's Walk Toward The Light, we're looking back on all the drivers. In the interest of making sure that this feature doesn't last until April, we're stepping up the pace and covering teams. And yes, I know there aren't taillights on Sprint cars. It's a metaphor. Roll with it.

Team: Richard Petty Motorsports

Record: Two wins, zero poles, nine top-5s, 26 top-10s

Season summary: It was a strange hybrid of a season for RPM, which was born out of a merger earlier this year with Petty Enterprises and Gillett Evernham Motorsports. The result was a kind of Brady Bunch-style children-of-multiple-marriages combo, with nobody quote knowing where they fit in or who should go where. The result ended with Reed Sorenson, of all people, driving the No. 43 car -- no offense to Reed, but that was wrong on many levels. 

Where it went right: Kahne proved he's a top-flight driver by making the Chase in otherwise unremarkable equipment. If he could have the equipment of a Jimmie Johnson, he'd be running at the top of the standings every week. Unfortunately, he was the only real highlight of the season for RPM.

Where it went wrong: Nobody else ran particularly well in 2009, with Elliott Sadler and AJ Allmendinger posting disappointing results, and Sorenson going almost nowhere at all. Kahne also took several not-so-veiled shots at RPM, indicating he'd be looking elsewhere when his contract ran out.

Prospects for 2010: The team is cutting to three cars, with Sorenson out the door and Allmendinger taking over the 43. Dinger has some game, and with the right equipment and crew could actually start moving up in the world. The jury's still out on Sadler, who's run reliably but not spectacularly for years now. And Kahne, unless things change in a hurry, is out the door at the end of the 2010 season.

Next up: Richard Childress Racing

Best races of 2009: Martin, Kyle duel in the Bristol mixing bowl

As we close out the year, it's time to bathe in the warm glow of nostalgia and look back at some of the best races of the season. We continue with a duel at Bristol, with both Kyle Busch and Mark Martin going at it for the checkered flag at the Sharpie 500.

Bristol is always a thrilling race; my favorite comparison is that driving it is like "flying a fighter jet in a gymnasium." At this particular mixing bowl, Kyle needed a win to stay in the Chase hunt; Martin needed a win to continue his astonishing season. As the laps wound down, Kyle held the edge, but would Martin turn him for the win ... ?

As it turned out, this was one of the season's final highlights for Kyle. He'd miss the Chase by just a scant eight points. Martin, meanwhile, bristled afterward at suggestions that he should -- or even could -- have turned Kyle to win this race. And while hundreds of thousands of fans wouldn't have minded if he'd knocked Kyle out of the way, it's probably better for his rep that he didn't.

Best races of 2009: Carl Edwards tours the Talladega fence

As we close out the year, it's time to bathe in the warm glow of nostalgia and look back at some of the best races of the season. We continue with the most vicious wrecks of the year at Talladega, a race you'll be watching highlights from fifty years from now.

The setup: the Aaron's 499 in April. Talladega was being Talladega, and there were Big Ones aplenty throughout the race. And in the final lap, Carl Edwards came from out of nowhere to take the lead! And the young, fresh-faced rookie Brad Keselowski was following closely, looking to learn something from the crafty vet! Everybody would behave down the stretch, right? Right ... ?

This was the closest Edwards would come to victory all year. While you can debate whether Keselowski was to blame here, it would set the stage for some growing discontent with Jet Ski in the garage. Oh, and the Chase-altering wreck at the end of the second 'Dega race? Guess who was in the middle of that. And no, it wasn't Edwards.

Ho, ho, horsepower: Automakers redesign Santa's sleigh

The time for Santa to begin delivering presents is almost upon us, and let's face it -- a sleigh pulled by eight tiny reindeer (nine if you count Rudolph) isn't exactly the most efficient means of travel in the 21st century. So several major automakers took up the challenge -- create a new sled to meet the challenges of modern-day toy-slinging! We're proud to present a gallery of the finest creations.

We begin with Land Rover's high-tech design above, which features a particle accelerator for an engine and a sleek, fog-cutting look "designed to meet ever-increasing delivery timetables." Special features include a laser-guided present delivery system and CRS -- Chimney Recognition Software, of course.

Below, some more redesigns of the famous sleigh. Check them out, and see which one you think Santa should saddle up for 2009.

Above, Jaguar brings us "Santa's Little Helper," a design that's part '50s sci fi rocketship, part World War II bomber. Santa appears to be sitting backwards in this one, and orange is a curious color choice, but it's smooth retro-cool nonetheless.

Aston Martin, appropriately enough, goes with an understated, classic design above, one which evokes classic automobiles while still being fast enough to deliver a billion toys in a night.

Mercedes has basically bolted a couple running skids onto an auto body, but it's still a sweet (and, apparently, spaceworthy) design. Letting reindeer sit in the car, though? Whew. Santa's going to need to fumigate that one on the 26th.

Here's a classic design from 2008. Bentley brings us the illuminating beauty above; good of Santa to bring Rudolph along for the ride, since the quad-headlights render the reindeer with the glowing nose irrelevant. Nice touch, adding the sleigh skids beneath.

The Opel/Vauxhall sleigh above looks more like something out of a Predator movie, what with those sharp edges and that energy crackle in the front. All the naughty kids are going to want one.

While not an automaker, GE nonetheless offers up something above that looks like a refrigerator, appropriately enough. And it's got an array of real-world extras: "ice-shedding nano coatings, self-powered OLED lighting, carbon fiber composites, RFID sensors, intelligence tracking technology," and oh so much more. GE has more info on this boxy little reindeer-free number on its special Santa website.

And finally, Audi brings us this (snow)drifting, tricked-up version of the forthcoming 2010 A1. Looks good, Santa, but you're going to have to get more lift if you're going to clear the Atlantic!

______

We're usually all about the NASCAR around these parts, but we're always up for anything automotive, so click here to bookmark us and follow us on Twitter.

Taillights fade: Looking back on Red Bull's 2009

We've wrapped the season, and so it's time to wrap up our look back. In a feature shamelessly ripped from Puck Daddy's Death Watch and Big League Stew's Walk Toward The Light, we're looking back on all the drivers. In the interest of making sure that this feature doesn't last until April, we're stepping up the pace and covering teams. And yes, I know there aren't taillights on Sprint cars. It's a metaphor. Roll with it.

Team: Red Bull Racing

Record: One win, six poles, five top-5s, 14 top-10s, one Chase berth. All but one top-5/top-10 finish is Brian Vickers' doing.

Season summary: If the Red Bull season were a see-saw, Brian Vickers would be the one way up in the air, and Scott Speed would be the one sitting on the ground, and that's the way it would remain all year long. 

Where it went right: For Vickers, this year marked an unquestioned breakthrough. Through the summer, no driver on the track was hotter, and he was rewarded with his first berth in the Chase. Vickers also got into the season's most famous war of words, a back-and-forth debate with Kyle Busch that was both hysterical and pretty petty ... and we're not talking Richard. For Speed ... well, he made it to the track on time for every race.

Where it went wrong: Vickers went all-in to make the Chase, and literally had nothing left once the Chase began. Speed, meanwhile, never seemed to get going at all, and consistently seemed overmatched and unable to break out of the middle of the pack.

Prospects for 2010: Vickers is in excellent shape to make another run; he's got talent and equipment combined. He's looking to be one of the 12 guys that will be battling for six Chase spots every year from here on out. Speed, meanwhile, is going to have to go a long way next year to convince the fans that he's anything but a field-filler. He's got skill, obviously -- you don't get this far without it -- but he's got to break through in a hurry. 

Next up: Richard Petty Motorsports

Related Red Bull Racing posts from 2009:
Wreck of the week: Edwards introduces Vickers to the grass
Brian Vickers feels just a little bit sorry for Kyle Busch
Kyle Busch, Brian Vickers flare at each other after race
Brian Vickers pulls off the first-ever Times Square pit stop
Kyle Busch and Scott Speed, teammates? The horror! The horror!

Four Wide: Detailing Junior's trainwreck of a season in pictures

Bringing you the best in NASCAR news and updates. Get your day rolling right ... or left, whichever.

• Dale Earnhardt Jr.'s season in pictures. This is sadder than the endings of "Titanic," "Old Yeller" and "The Empire Strikes Back" combined. [Scene Daily]

• Motorsports Authentics is trying to stave off bankruptcy, hoping to survive another year by catering to the obsessive collecting natures of NASCAR fans. [NASCAR via Yahoo! Sports]

• Dale Earnhardt Jr., Jeff Gordon, Kevin Harvick and others will be at the NASCAR Fan Fest in mid-January. Just another reminder that we're less than two months from the 2010 season! [SPEED]

• You need to read this Australian-newspaper account of Tony Stewart's impending arrival Down Under. They call him "motor racing royalty" and "the Tiger Woods of motor sports." Make of that what you will. [Sydney Morning Herald]

• Milka Duno was "solid" in her first ARCA test. Which I guess means she didn't run over anybody. [SPEED]

Got a link/tip? Hit us up at jay.busbee@yahoo.com and follow us on Twitter.

Best races of 2009: Kyle gets Smoked at Daytona

As we close out the year, it's time to bathe in the warm glow of nostalgia and look back at some of the best races of the season. We continue with a midsummer classic, the Fourth of July race at Daytona. This one was a fine race from beginning to end, and a good way to close out Independence Day. That is, unless your name happened to be Kyle Busch.

Here's the whole race recap; you can kick back and watch all 13 minutes, or you can skip right to the good stuff around nine minutes in. This race, you'll recall, was the one where Kyle Busch decided to get a little froggy with Tony Stewart, and, well ... it didn't go so well.

As it turned out, this race would have dire consequences for Kyle. Had he just allowed Stewart to pass, he would have cruised easily into the Chase, and would have been ranked right at the top going into the Chase. But he ended up finishing far back in the field, and missed the Chase by a mere eight points. And unfortunately for Kyle, not a whole lot of people were too sorry about that.

Taillights fade: Looking back on Waltrip Racing's 2009

We've wrapped the season, and so it's time to wrap up our look back. In a feature shamelessly ripped from Puck Daddy's Death Watch and Big League Stew's Walk Toward The Light, we're looking back on all the drivers. In the interest of making sure that this feature doesn't last until April, we're stepping up the pace and covering teams. And yes, I know there aren't taillights on Sprint cars. It's a metaphor. Roll with it.

Team: Michael Waltrip Racing

Record: One win, two poles, nine top-5s, 19 top-10s.

Season summary: For as much grief as Michael Waltrip takes in his career, he's put together the foundations of a very solid team. He's got David Reutimann, who was one spin away from making the Chase; in an alliance with JTG Daugherty, he's got Marcos Ambrose, who's probably the most talented rookie/second-year guy in NASCAR; and he's going to be welcoming in Martin Truex Jr. Really, the only weak link on Waltrip's team is the guy who drives the 55 car ... oh, right. Awkward.

Where it went right: Reutimann won the multiple-rain-delayed Coca-Cola 600 in May, but if I hadn't told you it was rain-delayed, you probably wouldn't have remembered it. Also, Ambrose ran strong all year long, and could well be a Chase contender in another couple years. 

Where it went wrong: Pocono in August. Sitting right on the fringes of the Chase, and looking fairly strong, Reutimann saw his hopes evaporate when Denny Hamlin tapped him and sent him spinning. Waltrip himself continued to have trouble finishing races, and found himself in the midst of many a wreck this year -- probably a major reason why he'll be part-timing it in 2010.

Prospects for 2010: Stronger than ever. Truex and Reutimann are a solid two-man tandem, and Ambrose, through his alliance, is an up-and-comer worth a good bet. And Waltrip? Well, he's a very good announcer.

Next up: Red Bull Racing

Related MWR posts from 2009:
Reutimann still 'mad as heck' at Hamlin for Chase-wrecking spin
Victory video: Carl Edwards edges out Marcos Ambrose
Wreck of the week: Darlington lights Michael Waltrip's fire
The Chrome Horn, episode 11: David Reutimann
Michael Waltrip lights the world on fire on "My Name Is Earl"

Join the Marbles in celebrating NASChristmas!

Happy holidays, everybody! As you may have heard, there's a bit of a big holiday coming up later this week. And so we kick off a week of NASChristmas (or, if you prefer, NASChannukah or NASKwanzaa or NAS-Festivus). So here's what I want you to do: scour the web for NASCAR Christmas gunk and send it to us. We'll run roundups throughout the week and ring in the holidays with the sound of engines and the scent of oil!

To start, we've got Tony Stewart here posing with the brand-new "Teddy B. Caring" bear, which is a charity bear despite having the most awkward name since "Toys 'R Us." You can get your own Teddy B. Caring at www.officedepot.com. Tony Stewart not included.

Now, your turn. Track down some NASCAR holiday goodness and send it to me at jay.busbee@yahoo.com. Ho ho ho, y'all!

LaBobby rides again: In praise of Bobby Labonte in 2010

In a small but important victory for racing fans, the man we here at The Marbles have affectionately called "LaBobby" recently secured a ride for the 2010 season. Yay! Many of us thought when Hall of Fame Racing started putting Erik Darnell in the seat in the #96, that HOF was crazy (some of us still think so), and some of us worried, "What will Bobby do?"

LaBonte has a way of landing on his feet, however. Without skipping a beat, he calmly piled into the TRG #71 and began turning out solid performances for that team. TRG seems to know which side their bread is buttered on, because they've signed LaBonte to a contract for the full 2010 season. TaxSlayer.com has signed up to sponsor about half the races, and the rest are still up for grabs, in case any of you guys has a few extra bucks to blow.

Bobby started his racing career at the tender age of five, following in big brother Terry's footsteps, and won his first race when he was seven. He grew up to earn his stripes in the garage as well, as a mechanic and fabricator on the car that brother Terry drove to a Cup championship for Hagen Enterprises in 1982. He followed that up by building his own car for what we now call the Nationwide Series. Who does that these days?

But Bobby didn't stop there. In 1995 he scored a seat at JGR, and in 2000 he drove the #18 Interstate Batteries car to the Cup Championship. In his 11 years with JGR he piled up 21 wins, and seven top-ten finishes in the points standings.

Since he left JGR, he's driven for Petty Enterprises, and then for HOF, both of which are not exactly the most well-heeled teams in the stable. His newest team, TRG (The Racer's Group) is relatively new to Sprint Cup, but not new to racing. The company was founded by a dude named Kevin Buckler with racing in his blood and a long and prosperous history. [Editor's aside: we did a podcast with Buckler here, and podcasts with Labonte here and here.] With this kind of backing, and Slugger Labbe on his box, I'm thinking we could see ol' Bobby in Victory Lane again before very much longer!

Domination: Jimmie Johnson wins AP Male Athlete of 2009

Jimmie Johnson has already outrun everyone that NASCAR can throw at him, and now he's working his way through the rest of the sports section. Johnson outran Roger Federer, Usain Bolt, Kobe Bryant, Tiger Woods and Albert Pujols to win the 2009 AP Male Athlete of the Year. 

This one's huge, both for Johnson and for NASCAR as a whole. The AP has never recognized a driver for this award; Richard Petty, Dale Earnhardt and Jeff Gordon didn't win it, nor did Mario Andretti, A.J. Foyt or anybody else before Johnson. (And before anybody trots out the hack "drivers aren't athletes" award, the AP actually has an open mind about sports, having honored jockeys, gymnasts and figure skaters in the past.) The recognition that motorsports require skill, coordination, mental acuity and willpower equal to any athlete is long overdue.

A month back in this space, we put forth the idea that Johnson was the top athlete working in his sport right now -- farther ahead of the field than Bryant, Brady and the rest. Seems the AP agrees; the point isn't whether Johnson could beat Kobe in one-on-one (he couldn't) or whether Tom Brady could qualify for the Daytona 500 (he could, but then Brady can do anything). The idea, then as now, is that within the rules of the sport as they exist now, Johnson is more dominant, on a more consistent basis, than almost anybody. (Tiger Woods might have an argument for that, as would Valentino Rossi, but that's for another discussion.)

And, to dip farther into our archives, we ran a post two months back about how people should just stop whining about Johnson's domination and appreciate the history that's unfolding here. Still applies to NASCAR, and now it applies to everybody else, too.

So, congratulations to Johnson on yet another honor from his recordbreaking season. Going to be very tough to top 2009 for the #48 car, but if anybody could do it ...

Best races of 2009: Harvick, McMurray battle for the Bud

As we close out the year, it's time to bathe in the warm glow of nostalgia and look back at some of the best races of the season. We start out before the season even began, with the Bud Shootout. (Aside: NASCAR has the best preseason of anybody, hands down.)

So anyway, this race featured the best of the best, and as it wound down, Jamie McMurray had what looked to be a dominant lead.  And then ... and then ... (you gotta play the video, I'm not going to tell you):

Alas, that would be the last race that Harvick would win this year; matter of fact, he'd pretty much drop off the table entirely. But it was exactly what we want out of our races (down-to-the-wire action) and exactly what ticks us off so badly (late cautions). Still, all in all, a fine way to start the season, and the next one's less than two months away.

Got a nominee for one of the best races of 2009? Let us know by email (jay.busbee@yahoo.com) or in the comments below. We'll close out the year by, you know, closing out the year.

Robby Gordon's pit crew is a wee bit unconventional

Robby Gordon posted this little gem on his Twitter feed today -- a pit stop at the Baja 1000. First, enjoy:

There are so many things to love about this video -- the way there are people tottering apparently half-drunk right in front of the car, the way the pit crew looks about as organized as a preschool recess, the way that if you run the video in reverse it looks like what happened to my car that time I left it parked overnight at the ballpark, the helicopter flying overhead ... and finally, the way that Robby Gordon just has to race anywhere, anyplace, anytime. You think Scott Speed or Joey Logano could survive the Baja 1000? Not me.

Midnight Marbles, where the kids are beatin' up on Harvick

End of the week, and it's time for another Midnight Marbles open-chat thread for everybody to hang out and talk ... well, talk whatever you want. Our image today is courtesy of reader JJ, who found this little gem on Amazon. For those of you who haven't had an eye exam in awhile, it reads, "Attention: Will the lady who left her kid at the go-kart track please pick him up. He's beating Kevin Harvick by two laps." Oh! The pain! So harsh, so harsh. It's just a down year for Harvick. Besides, I bet he'd spin that kid if he got that far down.

Have a good weekend, everybody, and we'll pop in with more stuff. As always, send us your NASCAR links, tips, stories and other ephemera to jay.busbee@yahoo.com. Seeya!

C-a-c: Danica and Junior in 'Grease 3: The NASCAR years'

If you can't caption this photo with some beauties, friends, you may as well hang up your Marbles badge right now. I expect nothing less than excellence!

After the jump, Jimmie Johnson tries to talk his way out of a tight spot.

I sense a trend...

cpmustangs13:
No honey, just because the world's greatest golfer has had 'transgressions' doesn't mean that the world's greatest driver has too.

Ham Sandwich:
Hey, Jeff. I need you to do me a huge favor. Can you please take your name off your phone?

Dani:
C'mon Tiger, just give me the #'s. You don't understand... yeah, yeah, I'm a 4 time champ, but no one recognizes me, I can go anywhere, no cameras, nothing, okay?

Nearing the end of the road for the Milwaukee Mile

If there's one constant in racing, it's that you can go round and round for a long time, but not forever. Everything ends, and the end appears on the horizon for the famous Milwaukee Mile.

For the first time in decades, there are no major races scheduled for 2010 at Milwaukee. The track has hosted races for more than a century, but it seems that its story is coming to an end. Dave Kallmann, motorsports writer for the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel, has penned an elegy to the track:

You can’t feel sad for a racetrack.

It has no heart. It’s really nothing more than asphalt and concrete and steel, hotdog wrappers, beer stains, tire bits and dust.

So that empty feeling, that sorrow, must be for memories of the Milwaukee Mile that will continue to fade. For the echoes of cheers powerful enough to overpower engines, the likes of which may never be heard again. For the oldsters who can say that they whooped it up when A.J. went wheel to wheel with Parnelli or that they were on hand to see Jim Clark make rear-engine history. And for the youngsters who never had a chance to see the next Foyt, the next Andretti, the next Earnhardt or Wallace or Dixon or Patrick blister the asphalt under a bright summer sun.

She is gone, folks. Finished, at least for now.

The Milwaukee Mile was a victim of changing times; as Kallmann notes, the track couldn't keep up. Renovations didn't draw enough new fans, and splashier tracks in other markets pulled NASCAR's attention away from the Mile. Its knotted ownership situation -- a state-connected owner rented the facility to promoters -- made NASCAR turn to Phoenix.

Cash flow is the major problem. The facility runs as much as $3 million in debt each year, and the state has negotiated with a succession of promoters to no avail. Still, there is hope -- as Kallmann notes, "NASCAR and the IRL both like the market, and both want to return as long the checks don't bounce."

Should the Mile shut down to top-flight racing once and for all, it'd be another small but significant chapter in the changing dynamics of racing ... and a reminder, as if we needed one, that nothing in racing lasts forever.

Danica Patrick's saying all the right things

For somebody who's supposed to be pounding the final nails into the coffin of NASCAR, Danica Patrick is awfully humble and funny.

JR Motorsports introduced Danica to the media as a new member of the team, and by all indications, she's getting off on exactly the right foot. (For the fact-checkers among you, that photo is from last week's event, not Thursday's.)

From a training perspective, she's already deep into it. She's already done testing at the Walt Disney World track and, come Friday, will be continuing testing at Daytona. She and crew chief Tony Eury Jr. noted the "language barrier" between them as they tried to figure out how to communicate about the car and determine how to push it farther.

And Danica is taking a humble, it's-not-about-me approach to all of this. Evidence: she's not yet ready to jump into the Nationwide Daytona race, for the simple reason that it's a de facto Cup race. At that particular race, roughly 30 drivers with Cup experience run, and Danica recognizes that running in such a race for her debut perhaps wouldn't be in her best long-term interests. That runs completely counter to the public criticism that she's doing this for the publicity or self-aggrandizement.

But as she reiterated on Thursday, she's still got her eyes on NASCAR's plum gig: running in Cup. The Nationwide opportunity is, as Danica said, "a perfect transition into Cup." Pending some testing and her team's sign-off, it wouldn't be a surprise at all to see Danica get the equivalent of a late-season baseball call-up to run in a Sprint Cup race or two. It probably won't happen this year, but it's a solid bet for 2011.

"There's no doubt we're going to be competitive," Danica said. "It's just going to take time."

Let's be honest, Danicamania is going to be forced down the throats of NASCAR fans for the next few months stretching into years. But judging from Thursday's press conference, she's well aware of what awaits her, and she's well prepared to give NASCAR the respect it deserves.

"She's got every opportunity in the world," Eury said. "It can be as big as she wants it to be."

Race photographer dodges death at dragway by mere inches

Sports photography generally isn't the most dangerous of occupations. Sure, you might get kicked by a random basketball player, or knocked over by a football player falling out of bounds, or slapped by a cranky baseball player, but in most cases, you're just kicking back snapping.

Unless, that is, you're a motorsports photographer, when the objects in your lens can very suddenly be closer than they appear. Witness the case of British photographer Andy Willsheer, who was happily firing away at the Pomona Raceway in California even as Steve Gasparelli's out-of-control dragster hurtled toward him. (Via Jalopnik.)

The photographic evidence of Willsheer's terrifying five seconds is below.

And here's some video of the crash:

Wow. Willsheer's got to be saying a few prayers, but chances are, he'll be right back out on the wall. Photographers are crazy like that.

The moment British photographer cheated death [Daily Mail Online]
Drag racing photographer has steel balls, death wish [Jalopnik]

Want to see Danica and Dale Jr. live on your computer?

Love Danica? Love Dale Earnhardt Jr.? Sure you do! And now they're gonna be appearing together, live, on your computer! If you've ever hungered to see what the inside of a real press conference is like, now's your chance. It's more thrilling than you can possibly imagine!*

Danica and Dale will be appearing at a two-hour event at JR Motorsports' facility in Mooresville, N.C. on Thursday at 11 a.m. Eastern, and you can check it out yourself at GoDaddy.com live. 

I'm not going to lie to you here; this could be either interesting or extremely annoying. At last week's Danica-to-NASCAR press conference, reporters had to suffer through 18 ear-bleeding minutes of the "Go Daddy" theme song. And while it's expected that Danica will have some big news -- like, oh, say, a schedule she might be running -- it's also possible this will be your standard "we're glad to have her aboard, now take some pretty pictures" stuff. (That's Danica above, on the right, with Junior and GoDaddy CEO Bob Parsons.)

Anyway, check it out. We'll be reporting on it anyway, but it could be fun. Could be.

*-Not true. Making a sandwich is more exciting than most press conferences. Don't let that deter you, though. If you get too bored, you can just watch Dale and Danica right here:

Valets practice their victory-lane burnouts ... with your car

You expect NASCAR drivers to pull a burnout when winning the race. You don't expect valets to do it in an underground parking garage with someone else's car.

Fox2Now in St. Louis (via Jalopnik) brings us the gut-wrenching story of a bunch of St. Louis valets at the downtown Hyatt Hotel performing burnouts, skids, spins and other maneuvers with guests' vehicles, obviously without their knowledge. The valets taped their exploits, posted them on YouTube under the name "valet underground," and presto -- instant Internet notoriety. Here, see for yourself:

The videos are more than six months old; it's unclear why the news station is just now reporting on them. Regardless, the Hyatt indicated that it had fired the valet company which counted the "valet underground" guys on its payroll before even knowing about the video.

There are no reports that any of the cars were seriously damaged during the joyriding, which is good news. But really, people ... trust nobody with your fine automobiles. Did we learn nothing at all from Ferris Bueller?

YouTube Video shows valets abusing hotel guests' cars [Fox2Now]
St. Louis valets abuse hotel guests' cars, post videos to YouTube [Jalopnik]

They make it 'cause we buy it: Martin Truex Clam Chowder

No sport offers up a more bewildering array of souvenir crap memorabilia than NASCAR, and They Make It digs deep into the corners of the Internet to bring all that strangeness to light. Today: they're not just good drivers, they're delicious, too!

The item: Martin Truex Jr. Clam Chowder! Whee-doggie! Less than two bucks at Bass Pro Shops ... if you can find one.

The deal: This one's just flat-out weird. There's no food more disgusting than clam chowder anyway; it looks, feels, tastes and smells like it's already been digested even when it's right out of the pot ... or the can, in this case. Then add a driver's face to the mix? Yeah, because when I'm eating thick, viscous, gooey, slide-down-your-gullet chowdah, the exact thing I want to be thinking about is Martin Truex. (No offense, Martin.)

(And New England Clam Chowder is the worst. Manhattan Clam Chowder's pretty bad too. Handy tip: if anybody recommends you try a "clam chowder" from any location other than those two -- "Tuscaloosa Clam Chowder," say -- don't. It probably ain't chowder.)

Anyway, Bass Pro Shops has apparently yanked this stuff off its online site now that Truex has jumped ship and signed with Michael Waltrip Racing. So grab one up and eat it now. Or save it as a collector's item and eat it after the apocalypse, when the entire world looks like "The Road." It'll taste the same either way.

The hat tip: Regular reader WTON_JOHN, who tracked down this beauty and then dug through Internet archives to get a photo. And now it'll live forever! If you've got some bizarre NASCARiana you want us to check out, send it to jay.busbee@yahoo.com. We'll make ya famous!

Tony Stewart's going Down Under for the holidays

Traveling to see your family over the holidays? It's a good bet you're not going to be traveling anywhere near as far as Tony Stewart, who'll be going all the way to Australia to compete at Sydney's Tyrepower Parramatta City Raceway later this month.

Okay, let's go ahead and get all our Crocodile Dundee / "shrimp on the barbie" / "dingo ate my baby" / Midnight Oil jokes out of the way right now. Though I will say that a reverse-Dundee movie, with Smoke set loose in Australia to wreak havoc, would be well worth watching.

Smoke will be joining World of Outlaws Champion Donny Schatz and All Star Series Champion Tim Shaffer in the late-December races. It marks the first time since the mid-70s that a driver at the top of his game -- in that case, A.J. Foyt -- has visited Australia to race.

Stewart's appearance in Australia is huge, seeing as how he's aligning with an Australian legend, Gary Rush, to run in four major Australian events

What this does is take another step toward establishing NASCAR as a major international force. Carl Edwards and Jimmie Johnson have been regulars at international competitions, and now Smoke is representing NASCAR to an entire continent. (Heaven help us.)

In all seriousness, he's the perfect spokesman for NASCAR in a land where nobody knows what a "Dale Earnhardt" is. It'll make for some fine New Year's news ... as long as Tony stays away from the Vegemite. That stuff's poison, man.

Addington will crew-chief Kurt Busch, add to case for sainthood

Say this for Steve Addington: he's got some thick skin.

Just a few weeks after being dismissed as crew chief of Kyle Busch's #18 Toyota, he'll take over as the chief of Kurt Busch's #2 Dodge. Addington crewed Kyle to 12 Sprint Cup victories over the last two seasons, though Kyle fell just 8 points short of making the Chase this year. Addington will join a team that not only made the Chase this year but ended up fourth and ran some dominating races.

And in going from one Busch to another, Addington may well be setting himself up for NASCAR sainthood. Both Busches are well-known for being hard on crews and crew chiefs. Kyle was constantly critical of his crew, occasionally storming away from the car and forcing the crew to pick up the pieces in his wake.

Kurt, meanwhile, had frequent on-air blowups during races, like this one from Martinsville. And after the season was over, he gleefully unloaded on his crew chief Pat Tryson. 

Still, Addington knows how to get wins, and so does Kurt. As long as the two of them can keep from killing each other, this could end up being a good partnership indeed. And if nothing else, they can both gripe about Kyle.

Kyle Petty has no shortage of opinions on Danica

Kyle Petty was, to put it politely, not the rip-roarin'est driver on the track while he was regularly running, but now that he's transitioning to broadcasting, he may have found his true calling. Here, he holds forth, amid a distracting soundtrack, on Danica Patrick:

Next week, Kyle's going to be part of a new show entitled "With All Due Respect" featuring Charles Barkley and Dennis Eckersley, so that ought to be fun. We're hoping to talk with Kyle soon about his new show, and we'll see if we can get him to spill on a few more topics. 

Report: Michael Schumacher set to return to F1 in 2010

In news that's certain to send thrills through worldwide auto racing fans, F1 champion and planet-level athletic hero Michael Schumacher will be returning to the track to drive for Mercedes next year, according to a report in the German daily newspaper Bild. Now, in the wake of the Tiger Woods scandal, we're a bit gunshy about accepting news at face value, but this seems fairly solid: Schumacher and Mercedes have reportedly agreed to a one-year contract and will announce the deal sometime next week.

Schumacher's people declined comment, while Mercedes gave only a cryptic "there is always speculation as long as one seat in our team is not taken."

Earlier this summer, Schumacher considered a comeback with Ferrari, but killed that idea because of lingering injuries from a motorcycle wreck. At that time, we gave a little perspective about Schumacher's impact on the world of motorsports, and since nothing's really changed since then, we'll reprint it here. Roll the clip:

If pre-scandal Tiger Woods and Serena Williams had a baby, and Michael Jordan and Megan Fox had a baby, and those two babies met and had another baby, that baby would be Michael Schumacher. The 40-year-old German is a seven-time Formula One champion and a worldwide celebrity, controversial and charitable all at once.

Schumacher won 91 of the 250 races in his F1 career. He captured championships in 1994 and 1995, and then again every season from 2000 to 2004. He hit the billion-dollar mark in earnings -- that's billion with a "b" -- in 2005, beating Tiger Woods by an estimated five years. And he was every bit as controversial in F1 circles as Charles Barkley multiplied by Terrell Owens; two separate times, he was involved in late-season incidents that determined a season's champion. In one, he was exonerated; in the other, he was disqualified and lost the 1997 championship as a result.

He retired from F1 in 2006 but continues to race in occasional series like last December's Race of Champions, a cross-series all-star race that included Carl Edwards. (In a head-to-head matchup, Edwards beat Schumacher.) Oh, and he also stays charitable, having given an estimated $50 million to charities over the course of his life.

Yeah, he's kind of a big deal.

Schumacher returns to an F1 undergoing considerable change, with some teams entering, others leaving, a breakaway still a possibility and a new points system on the horizon. The obvious question is, how dominant can he be having been out of the game for three years? The sports world is littered with icons who hung on too long or came back too many times, from Jordan to Muhammad Ali. Does Schumacher have what it takes to catch up to F1's finest with a three-year head start?

Arsenio Hall, Jay Leno on NASCAR: We've all got to suffer here

To get the weekend started right -- or send it into a hopeless tailspin, whichever -- I give you Jay Leno and Arsenio Hall on NASCAR. Sorry. At least it's some new footage of your favorite drivers during the offseason.

Cute work, Arsenio. It's no Marbles-at-Talladega or Marbles-at-Bristol (part 1, part 2), but it'll do.

C-a-c: 'Baby, don't make me say it. The guys are here.'

Jimmie Johnson is trying to settle ... something. What's going on here? Who's on the other end of that phone? You know, don't you? (Gracias to Carol for the find.)

After the jump, Jimmie gets ready to jump! No!

Dick Smothers:
Jimmie Johnson scatters the ashes of his so-called competition onto the streets of New York.

brad:
Chad, it sure looks like a long way down, doesn't it? Now sign the damn contract, NOW!

Rick C:
So, I win all this?

Midnight Marbles, where this dude will haunt your dreams

I, uh ... I don't even want to speculate about what might possibly be going on here.

So, this guy's name is Doug Morgan, he's a crew member for Jimmie Johnson, and he's downright terrifying. (Thanks to Carol for the photo.) I mean, seriously! Look at that dude! Did he have a cow's tongue surgically implanted in his mouth like Gene Simmons, or what? (Legal disclaimer: the previous sentence was for satiricual purposes only. Neither Gene Simmons or Mr. Morgan has had a cow's tongue surgically implanted in his mouth. That's all urban myth. That Rod Stewart thing, though? Totally true.)

Anyway, hang out and have your fun here. We'll pop in now and then. Enjoy the weekend, all!

Ladies and gentlemen, I give you Kyle Busch Motorsports

The Camping World Truck Series just got a tetch more awesome with the announcement that Kyle Buch will run his own two-car team, Kyle Busch Motorsports, starting in 2010.

Kyle Busch Motorsports. Yep, still sounds weird, but we'll roll with it.

So who's the D00D going to have in his stable? Well, himself, of course. Whenever the Sprint and Truck races intersect, he'll be behind the wheel of the No. 18 Miccosukee Resort & Gambling Toyota. On other weekends, Brian Ickler will handle the 18 duties. In addition, 20-year-old Tayler Malsam will run the No. 56 for the entire season. The 56 will have sponsorship from Talking Rain -- it's a beverage company, but I'd never heard of 'em -- for an undisclosed number of races, while the Miccosukee will be on the 18 for the entire year. In 2009, Kyle won seven truck races for owner Billy Ballew.

Oh, and there's more -- Busch said that he wanted to put former truck series champ Johnny Benson in a truck, but that a deal couldn't be finalized in time for Friday afternoon's announcement.

The team will operate out of Mooresville, N.C., initially in the shop of XPress Motorsports, whichBusch purchased  earlier this year, and later in its own shop. And to prevent

Like fellow Chase-level drivers Tony Stewart and Kevin Harvick, Busch is taking a risk by taking on the role of owner as well as driver. But he addressed that issue in his Friday press conference, noting that he'd have plenty of people in place to help spread responsibility around.

Twenty years from now, when Kyle Busch Motorsports owns NASCAR, we'll look back on this day and realize we could have stopped it all right now that we're lucky to live in a time when we see such a prominent new team emerge.

Kyle Busch Motorsports to run Truck teams in 2010 [NASCAR.com]

NASCAR wins appeals case over Kentucky Speedway

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit has given NASCAR a major victory in an ongoing lawsuit over the Kentucky Speedway. The former owners of the speedway had brought an antitrust lawsuit against NASCAR and International Speedway Corp., but the three-judge panel affirmed a lower-court summary judgment in favor of NASCAR.

In effect, the case allows NASCAR to continue awarding Sprint Cup dates as it sees fit. However, as Scene Daily notes, the case could actually result in Kentucky getting a Sprint Cup date as early as 2011. NASCAR has told the facility's new owner, Speedway Motorsports, that it would not award a Sprint date to Kentucky until all lawsuits were resolved. SMI purchased the 1.5-mile track, located near Cincinnati, in May 2008.

The facility's former owners can now appeal either to a full 24-judge panel or to the U.S. Supreme Court, but the chances of the case even being accepted, much less ruled on in the plaintiffs' favor, aren't particularly good.

The judges determined that "KYS's [the founders] contention that its inability to purchase an independent racetrack because NASCAR, ISC, and SMI have colluded against it is unsupported by the record. KYS does not appear to have been hampered in its efforts to bid for an independent track, and even if KYS should have won the bid, antitrust law does not require that sellers of independent tracks make good business decisions."

The founders' attorneys said during the trial that NASCAR engaged in "anti-competitive, illegal conduct." NASCAR attorneys countered that the speedway "wanted the most premier product, the most scarce product. They didn’t get it in five years, so they sued. They didn’t get it in eight years, so they sold. They wanted NASCAR to give them for free this very valuable right. … They want one [Cup race]. Everybody wants one. Everybody who has one wants two."

Should Kentucky get a date, in all likelihood another track will have to lose one of its dates. It's been an ongoing question -- which track should lose one? If Speedway Motorsports were to shift one of its dates, the likely choices would be either Atlanta or Loudon. And since SMI is looking to add a second Las Vegas date, it's possible that both tracks could lose a race.

Appeals court sides with NASCAR in Kentucky Speedway case [Scene Daily]

NASCAR's latest TV show will be on ... Showtime? Really?

Trying to follow NASCAR on television is roughly akin to trying to clean up Jell-O off the floor of a pitch-black room -- sometimes you get what you're looking for, but more often than not you're scrabbling around lost. Right now, you can see NASCAR-related programming on (deep breath): Fox, TNT, ABC, ESPN, Speed and HBO (the upcoming Jimmie Johnson 24/7 show), plus assorted little guest appearances and whatnot. Why, it's enough to make a NASCAR fan's head spin, I tell you!

And now, add to that list Showtime. Yep, that's right, the onetime movie channel that's the TV home of the world's most lovable serial killer (above -- no, not Clint Bowyer), will soon be airing Inside NASCAR, billed by a press release as "premium television's first weekly highlights and analysis show dedicated to auto racing." It'll be produced by the NASCAR Media Group.

Now, I'm all in favor of more NASCAR on TV, though I've got to wonder a bit about the idea of putting a high-end show on a network that has about one-fifth the reach of ESPN. As The Daly Planet notes, Showtime has a subscriber base of about 13 million homes, while Speed is in 75 million and ESPN2 is in 98 million. 

I get a fair amount of comments from fans who complain about having to pay for ESPN to watch races. And while I think that a basic-cable package is really kind of necessary equipment at this point in life, I do see their point -- there is a point at which you don't want to keep paying for additional TV packages, which is exactly what many fans would have to do in order to get "Inside NASCAR."

So, yeah -- kind of a strange deal. And if Inside NASCAR would like to have me on the show -- the series starts Feb. 10 -- I'd be happy to discuss it in greater detail.