Junior Nation

The Michael Schumacher Comeback Saga begins now

2010-01-11T21:00:00.001-06:00

This is how it begins, again: Michael Schumacher begins his Formula One comeback tour this week with a set of GP2 tests in Spain.

Schumacher spent three years in retirement, but much like Michael Jordan, Richard Nixon, Brett Favre, Jay-Z, The Who, Kiss and every single boxer ever, the seven-time F1 champ couldn't sit still. In December, he signed with Mercedes, paving the way for his 2010 comeback. This week, he'll test GP2 rides for three days, and will help GP2 prep its cars for 2011.

On Feb. 1, Schumacher will step back up to the big leagues when he starts F1 testing in Valencia, Spain. He hasn't run an F1 ride since the end of the 2006 season -- and considering he may well be the world's first billion-dollar athlete, why would he?

The big question with Schumacher is what he'll have left in the tank, so to speak, after three years on the sidelines. What's his reaction time? What's his tolerance for risk? What's the condition of his back, both literal and metaphorical? He had attempted a comeback last year, but abandoned that effort because of lingering injuries from a 2009 motorcycle crash.

Regardless of how his season goes, Schumacher's legend is secure. And if he ends up embarrassing himself, hey, who cares -- he's Michael Schumacher, and the rest of us are not.

Schumacher's first drive will be GP2 car [AP via Yahoo! Sports]

Tony Stewart's awesome Aussie adventure draws to a close

2010-01-11T19:00:00.001-06:00

Tony Stewart has returned from Australia, where he spent the turn of the decade getting ... well, frankly, getting knocked around the track by a bunch of Aussies.

Not that it mattered; Smoke was welcomed in Australia like a conquering hero. (Check that dramatic shot there at right, with Smoke's ride on the right and the world-famous Sydney Opera House on the left.)

Stewart ran at the Tyrepower Paramatta City Raceway for four events, and while he didn't win anything, he did impress everybody with his Sprint car skills. In his final race, he ran the fastest time in qualifying, but blew a tire and finished 19th. Ah, well. (No truth to the rumor that Smoke was confused because he thought cars circled the track in the opposite direction Down Under.)

Stewart also got to the fireworks in Sydney on New Year's Eve, which, judging by YouTube, were pretty spectacular. He's already apparently making plans to return next year, where we expect VICTORY, Smoke! U-S-A! U-S-A!

After the jump, you can check out the muck that Smoke was running through, courtesy of an Australian local broadcast:

Kind of cool seeing Tony back in the black-and-orange in the postrace interview, isn't it? Like a throwback uni or something.

Four Wide: At least wrecked NASCAR rides don't go in the ice

2010-01-11T17:00:00.001-06:00

Bringing you the best in NASCAR news and info to keep your day rolling right ... or left, whichever.

• Not NASCAR, but still interesting: these noble loons up in Minnesota recover pickups that have crashed through the ice. Cost? Up to $2,500. And I'm sure those trucks are working just perfectly once they dry out. [Pickuptrucks.com via Jalopnik]

• Michael Waltrip is going to Dubai! Hopefully he won't exhibit as much skin as he showed in that video in the Sound & Speed post below; that well could kick off a horrific international incident. [Scene Daily]

• Patrick Carpentier is still hoping to keep that NASCAR dream alive. May not be the best time to break back into the sport, but Carpeteater has some skills and could easily outrace some of the young'uns out there. [Sporting News]

• NASCAR Scene has ended its print production. That's a shame, as it put a lot of good NASCAR journalists -- the real kind, not the type that sits back and makes veiled innuendo gags based on Patrick Carpentier's name -- out of work. [Charlotte Business Journal]

• A writer for PhillyBurbs asks, "Am I the only person involved in the sport of auto racing who really does not get that excited about Danica Patrick?" Not passing judgment, but this writer might want to do a wee bit more reading. Anyway, it's another Danica-is-a-marketing-machine-more-than-a-driver article. [PhillyBurbs]

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

Sound & Speed: NASCAR fans like country music! Who knew?

2010-01-11T15:00:00.001-06:00

It's a little-known secret, but NASCAR fans actually have a bit of an affinity for country music. I know, I was pretty surprised to learn it too, but here we are. Anyway, this past weekend in Nashville, NASCAR drivers and country music performers came together for a festival of speed and sound dubbed -- imagine this -- "Sound & Speed."

The event began Friday night at the legendary Ryman Auditorium with a concert by Hank Williams Jr. But as it turned out, Bocephus was just the opening act for Kyle Petty, who's got a band of his own. And let me tell you, for a country singer, Kyle's a hell of a driver. (Kidding. I guess. I have no idea what the Kyle Petty Experience, or whatever their band name is, sounds like. Video/audio, please!)

Things kicked into a higher gear (see what I did there?) on Saturday with a big to-do featuring a few drivers you may have heard of: Richard Petty, Tony Stewart, Dale Earnhardt Jr., Carl Edwards, Kyle Busch and oh so many others. Country music acts included Josh Turner, Bucky Covington, Danielle Peck and a whole bunch of good ol' American others.

On a serious note (see what I did there?), the festival benefits Kyle's Victory Junction Gang Camp, and helps send up to 400 kids to the camp every year. Since the campers don't pay anything to go, the camp needs up to $8 million per year to operate, and Sound & Speed helps with that.

After the jump, a Sound & Speed promo that's the most horrifying video you'll see all year. Don't say I didn't warn you.

You know, that trailer there for "Basic Instinct 3" doesn't look good at all. Sharon Stone has really let herself go.

Joey Logano, cool as ice while cruising on ice

2010-01-11T13:00:00.001-06:00

NASCAR drivers will race pretty much anything up to and including grocery store carts if you let 'em, and this past weekend, Joey Logano and his pals proved that true yet again. Logano, Boris Said and others hit the ice for the fifth annual Lucas Oil Geoff Bodine Bobsled Challenge. Alas, there was no grocery cart racing, but the bobsleds cruised just fine.

The challenge pitting NASCAR and NHRA drivers against one another took place at Lake Placid, New York. Those of you with a bit of age on you may recall that Lake Placid was the site of the U.S. men's hockey team's Miracle on Ice. And should you recall that "do you believe in miracles?" evening, this'll make you feel old -- when that happened, Logano was still ten years away from being born. Jeez.

Anyway, the young pup was running in his third bobsled event, and bested Todd Bodine in the NASCAR drivers' heat to reach the championship match. Against the NHRA's Melanie Troxel, the first woman to run the event, Logano's run of 49.81 seconds bested Troxel's 50.08 by thismuch.

The event benefits the Bo-Dyn Bobsled Project, designed to provide American-made sleds for the U.S. men's and women's teams. (Wait, doesn't Logano drive a Toyo--er, never mind.) And with the Winter Olympics coming in a month, it's probably about time the Olympic team starts thinking about buying some sleds. The event will be shown on SPEED on Jan. 24 and Jan. 31.

And the fun doesn't stop for Logano; Monday morning, he was the guest of honor at his hometown Middlesex County, Connecticut's Chamber of Commerce monthly breakfast. I hope they had a waffle-making station. I love those.

Icing the Competition [Hartford Courant]

Midnight Marbles, where the season draws ever closer

2010-01-08T21:00:00.001-06:00

Hey everybody! Been fairly quiet in the world of NASCAR these last few weeks, but that's all about to change the closer that we get to Daytona. We've got news, podcasts, features, the whole deal coming your way as we get closer to starting engines by the beach, and we're happy to have you along. For now, kick back and enjoy the last few quiet weekends -- spend a little time with your family, perhaps -- and get ready for an absolutely wide-open 2010. Have at it here with whatever conversation you'd like to make, and we'll see you very soon with more stuff!

Richard Childress Racing apparently compacting to three cars

2010-01-08T15:00:00.001-06:00

2009 was an ugly year for Richard Childress Racing, no two ways about it. Nobody on the team made the Chase, and the most significant news out of the team came from the will-he-stay-or-will-he-go saga of Kevin Harvick. (He stayed, at least for one more year.)

Unfortunately, though, it's a rough world, and sometimes bad news carries over for more than one season. Such is the case with Casey Mears, who will apparently lose his RCR ride. There had been stories circulating that Jack Daniels would sponsor Mears in the Daytona 500, but even if that's the case, it doesn't look like there's a home for Casey at RCR after that:

"I'm hoping to try to find him something (at another team)," said team owner Richard Childress. "He hasn't landed anything yet. He's a great guy and did a great job for us at the end of the year and I just wish there was something we could do with him but right now, I don't want to do anything with a fourth team that's going to take away from our other three teams."

Casey's had a tough go of it, having been the odd man out a couple times now. He's talented enough to run at the Sprint Cup level, but at this point, the question is, does anybody want to give him a seat?

NASCAR might ground the Car of Tomorrow's wing

2010-01-08T13:00:00.001-06:00

Ah, Talladega. Check that photo above. Dale Junior out in front, Ryan Newman having a little trouble with the wall, and holy crap Carl Edwards is upside down ten feet off the ground! Why didn't anybody tell me that could happen?

NASCAR is doing the previously unthinkable -- revisiting the Car of Tomorrow -- and specifically focusing on the rear wing. Now, despite the wing's name and the rather deceptive photo above there, NASCAR isn't looking at the wing because of the CoT's tendency to take flight at Talladega. Rather, NASCAR is looking at the rear wing because of repeated driver complaints about handling, competition and even appearance. (Scott Speed was complaining that the wing clashed with his firesuit.)

Prior to the Car of Tomorrow's introduction, Sprint Cup cars hadn't had a detached wing since the mid-1970s. And if NASCAR testing is any indication, the wing's days could be numbered.

"We are currently meeting with drivers and owners to discuss a number of options," NASCAR director of communications Ramsey Poston wrote in an e-mail. "Going back to the spoiler is one of them under serious consideration. We'll make an announcement in the coming weeks."

Now, you probably don't need a calendar to figure that "the coming weeks" will take us into the regular season. So, yes, this means that NASCAR may well be making another change in the middle of the regular season. But if it means better competition on the track -- and a chance for certain drivers (cough88cough) to stop griping about the CoT -- I'm all for it. You?

NASCAR exploring idea of returning to rear spoiler [NASCAR.com]

They make it 'cause we buy it: Danica Patrick perfume

2010-01-07T19:00:00.001-06:00

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: Danica Patrick perfume. It's coming out just in time for Daytona! Can you smell the excitement? Can you?

The deal: It's Danica! It's perfume! Buy it and smell like Danica! Or something like that. I dunno, and neither does Danica herself, apparently, judging from that months-old photo. The perfume will be made by SA Fragrances, and will include everything from purse sprays to bath and body gift -- oh, come on, why am I writing this? Look, just jump to the comments section and start with the jokes. For starters, "Danica Patrick for Her" is the name of this concoction. That's dull and unimaginative. What should this perfume really be called?

The hat tip: Jonathan Sacks, who edits Sports Rubbish, and who offers up this assessment: "Until proven otherwise, we'll just assume the perfume smells like burning rubber and gasoline." Indeed ... say, does "overhype" have a smell?

If you've got a bit of NASCARiana for us to run here, hit me up at jay.busbee@yahoo.com and give us the goods.

Front Row Motorsports doubles the size of its team to two

2010-01-07T17:00:00.001-06:00

Hey, here's some good news. Front Row Motorsports is running a full season in 2010, and will be fielding not one, but two cars.

Travis Kvapil, a former Truck Series champ and one of those "how-come-he-doesn't-have-a-fulltime-ride?" guys will indeed get a fulltime ride in one of the two Front Row cars. Kvapil, whose name always looks like it's spelled backwards or mixed up or something, last ran a full season in 2008 for Yates Racing. The other seat on the Front Row bandwagon will be reserved for rookie Kevin Conway.

Last year, John Andretti ran a full season for Front Row, finishing right on the bubble with 35 points. Andretti attempted 27 races, qualifying for 13 events. But that top-35 finish guarantees Front Row a spot in the initial races, and from there it'll be up to Kvapil to keep the car in the hunt. Conway, on the other hand, has never run a Sprint Cup race ever, so you can imagine the terror that will be filling the car when Daytona rolls around.

Sure, the easy joke is that the only front row these guys will be on is the front row of cars headed to the garage early, but let's be more charitable, shall we? The more cars in qualifying, the better racing we'll have on the track.

Oh, and one other thing -- Long John Silver's is sponsoring Kvapil's car, but Conway's sponsor is as yet unannounced. But if you check Front Row's site, you'll see that there are sponsorship opportunities available! Could this be the year we finally get The Marbles onto a Sprint Cup ride? We shall see ...

Vegas odds to win in 2010 favor, yep, Jimmie Johnson

2010-01-07T15:00:00.000-06:00

Scrape up those coins and cash out those savings bonds, everybody, it's time to start betting on NASCAR! The Las Vegas Hilton SuperBook has rolled out the first round of NASCAR 2010 odds, and you're going to be amazed at who they pick to win!

Oh, wait, they picked Jimmie Johnson at 5-2 odds. Ah, well.

Next up are Mark Martin at 7-1, Kyle Busch at 8-1 and Jeff Gordon at 8-1. From there, the odds start dropping off fairly significantly. Tony Stewart, Denny Hamlin and Carl Edwards are all 10-1, and Juan Pablo Montoya is a surprising 12-1. As Gaming Today notes, there's potential value in the Childress guys -- Kevin Harvick and Jeff Burton are both going off at 30-1.

Now, it's important to note that these odds do not necessarily mean that these drivers are favored to win, but they're set to entice betting. Nowhere was this more evident than with Dale Earnhardt Jr., whose odds were set artificially low in the past because so many people would bet on him. Now, though, he's going off at 30-1 odds to win the Cup, his highest ever, meaning if you're a true Junior fan he could put your kids through college with a big season. But it's more likely that you'll just be out a few bucks.

The Daytona 500 odds indicate that the race is wide open, with only Kyle going off in single-digit odds at 8-1. After that, seven drivers -- 48, 5, 24,11, 88, 14 and 2 -- are 12-1, indicating how many people have a reasonable shot at this race. Worst odds, for those of you keeping track, go to Scott Speed at 100-1. Even the field is 25-1, which means if you can get your car together and qualify, Vegas thinks even you're four times the value of Scott Speed. (Not really, but run with it.) Poor Speed.

Of course, you should only gamble where gambling is legal. Because if not, you're violating the law. And that's usually wrong.

Hilton posts 2010 NASCAR odds [Gaming Today]

Talladega crash victim recovering well, still a Carl Edwards fan

2010-01-07T01:00:00.001-06:00

As 2009 ended and I was reminded of Carl Edwards' horrific wreck at Talladega last spring, I wondered what became of the teen who was injured in the crash. Blake Bobbitt (rumored to be no relation to Lorena) was attending her very first NASCAR event in April when Carl's errant car rudely interrupted her afternoon, sending her on an unanticipated, and unremembered, helicopter ride to the UAB hospital with a "smashed" left jaw. Doctors there installed a titanium plate and wired her jaw shut for the next 6 weeks. According to her father, this did not impair her ability to chatter up a storm! And she also managed to graduate from high school right on schedule. Good news all the way around.

Carl Edwards naturally felt terrible about the whole thing. He can relate, having suffered a broken jaw at some point himself. (Matt Kenseth wishes he were responsible.) He sent Blake flowers and visited her in the hospital, and invited her back to Talladega for the October race. After some soul-searching, she did attend, though she declined to sit on Carl's pit box to watch the race. Too close to the cars, maybe?

Not being the sue-happy types, Blake's family relied on their insurance to pay the bills. Though Talladega officials have refused to comment, her father Terry maintains that Talladega Motor Speedway paid all the deductibles and copays, and that the Bobbitts were not out of pocket in the ordeal. Young Blake will have to go back to the doctors next spring, and they will re-break her jaw and do bone-grafts. I guess you can't leave those titanium thingies in there forever. We'll attempt to get some after-after pictures ... well, after.

Meanwhile, back at Talladega, the speedway introduced a taller fence, and NASCAR introduced a smaller restrictor plate. Which I seem to recall pleased pretty much nobody. The only question I have is, how many years must we go without any more injuries before these measures can be considered effective?

After the crash [Times Daily]

Taillights fade: A look back at Penske Racing's 2009

2010-01-06T23:00:00.001-06:00

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. Oh, and sorry to Penske for leaving them out of the initial round. Really sorry. Guys, can you please tell Kurt Busch to stop stalking me? I'm getting kinda scared.

Team: Penske Racing

Drivers: Kurt Busch, David Stremme, Sam Hornish Jr.

Record: Two wins, zero poles, 12 top-5s, 28 top-10s.

Season summary: Kurt Busch was the story of the year at Penske, returning to the kind of form that had him challenging for a championship a couple years back. On the other hand, Stremme and Hornish made almost no noise all year, and latecomer Brad Keselowski, while quite talented, got much more press for his fight with Denny Hamlin than for his on-track success.

Where it went right: Kurt Busch turned in one of the season's most dominant performances in Atlanta's spring race. He ran well throughout the year and finished a solid fourth in the Chase standings. All in all, a fine return to form.

Where it went wrong: Stremme just never got going, and Hornish was more famous for his wrecks than his finishes. Still, while Stremme has been offered the opportunity to seek employment elsewhere, Hornish remains one of the best drivers in motorsports, and could well come around in the way Juan Pablo Montoya has.

Prospects for 2010: Busch is looking as strong as ever, and should run quite well once again. And Keselowski is going to get every chance to prove that his talent is the equal of his attitude.

Next up: The 2010 season! Really!

Robby Gordon mans up, takes fourth stage of Dakar Rally

2010-01-06T11:00:00.001-06:00

While most NASCAR drivers are tidying up their honey-do lists or picking out nursery furniture, Real Man Robby Gordon is tooling around South America in the 2010 Dakar Rally. (Wait ... isn't Dakar in Africa?) Gordon, an accomplished rally driver, is cranking his way up the South American continent and, so far, not doing too badly.

Gordon won Tuesday's 101-mile Stage 4 by one second over leader Stéphane Peterhansel, but Gordon still sits about an hour behind the top spot. The race had to be delayed an hour or so, not because of rain -- no, that's NASCAR's game -- but because many of the vehicles were stranded out on the Argentinean dunes on Monday.

The Dakar Rally -- which, as it turns out, has been moved to South America because of terrorist concerns -- is a 9,000-kilometer (5,600-mile) runa cross the South American continent through Chile and Argentina, looping from the Pacific to the Atlantic and back again. The race will last until January 17, and we'll bring you updates throughout the week.

Follow along with Toyo Tires, Gordon's tire sponsor, at their blog right here and see how Gordon . Or, if you like, you can keep checking Twitter and see which drivers are cleaning out their garages or baking cookies.

Four Wide: Who knows Jimmie better, his wife or Chad?

2010-01-05T21:00:00.001-06:00

Bringing you the best in NASCAR news and info to keep your day rolling right ... or left, whichever.

• Who knows Jimmie Johnson better, his crew chief or his wife? Be very careful, Jimmie. (Stay tuned to the end for the creepy quote of the year.) [ESPN the Magazine via All Left Turns]

• Checking out the upcoming season of "Madhouse," a History Channel show focusing on short track racing at Bowman-Gray Stadium in Winston-Salem, N.C. Here's hoping they bring those skeeves from "Jersey Shore" down for a guest appearance. [The Backstretch]

• Good news! The new Showtime "Inside NASCAR" show will be available on all kinds of formats -- Internet and mobile phone -- in addition to cable. [Sporting News]

• For the video game nuts out there, dreamGEAR is partnering with NASCAR to create new wheels and other accessories for driving games. We got the NASCAR Kart game for the Wii for Christmas, and all I can say is, NASCAR needs to add a volcano course to the Sprint Cup series, pronto. [NASCAR.com]

• And finally -- NASCAR's sexiest mustaches of 2009. This one starts funny and takes a hard right turn into disturbing right at the end. [All Left Turns]

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

Don't plan on putting the kids through college with collectibles

2010-01-05T15:00:00.001-06:00

That gentleman there is Sam Thornton, a Montreal fellow who created the ultimate NASCAR mancave. We wrote about him a couple months back. Sam loves his NASCARiana, as do many of you, but here's the bad news: if you were planning on turning all those old Rusty Wallace and Intimidator die-casts into cold, hard cash, you're probably out of luck. The NASCAR collectibles market, much like everything else with a dollar sign, is crashing hard.

Motorsports Authentics, which produces a vast amount of NASCAR-branded shirts, cars, and other gewgaws, is dangling on the edge of bankruptcy. The company owes $23.4 million to a range of entities, including several NASCAR teams -- Roush-Fenway, Dale Earnhardt Jr., Hendrick Motorsports and Stewart-Haas Racing. Apparently -- make of this what you will -- a large part of Motorsports Authentics' debt is tied up in significant quantities of unsold Junior merchandise.

MA was created in 2005 when Speedway Motorsports Inc. and International Speedway Corporation joined together to spend $250 million in the purchase of two souvenir companies. Since then, the only year the company has turned a profit was 2008, and that only a relatively minuscule $3.2 million.

Racing Nation has an interesting take on the way that the collectibles market bottomed out, from the insanely booming days of the 1980s to the "hey, this stuff ain't so exclusive" awakening of the 1990s to the scorched-earth world of today. Most souvenir cars and jackets are worth a gut-wrenching ten percent, at best, of what collectors paid for them.

So, yes -- bad news for those of you hoping to make some cash with your souvenir investments. Not that I'd advocate underhanded flimflammery, but you might want to unload your stuff now, before your pals read this post. On the plus side, when civilization goes to hell and we're all living like cannibals in "The Road," you can probably barter off your old Dale Jr. No. 8 diecasts for some crusts of bread.

NASCAR Collectible Market A Bust [RacingNation.com]

Taillights fade: A look back at Hendrick Motorsports' 2009

2010-01-05T11:00:00.001-06:00

Team: Hendrick Motorsports

Drivers: Jimmie Johnson, Jeff Gordon, Mark Martin, Dale Earnhardt Jr.

Record: 13 wins, 14 poles, 48 top-5s, 75 top-10s.

Season summary: Hendrick dominated. I mean, absolutely dominated. Taking-the-top-three-spots dominated. Between Gordon, Martin and Johnson, Hendrick won a full third of the races this year. (More, if you include Tony Stewart ... but let's leave him out for now.) So, in short -- a perfect year for Hendrick Motorsports. Oh, wait ...

Where it went right: Everywhere. Hendrick cars ran well at almost every single track. In fact, Hendrick cars were in the top 10 at every single race save three -- the rain-shortened Daytona 500 and Coca-Cola 600, and Watkins Glen. That's pretty much a flawless season there, folks.

Where it went wrong: It's picking nits to say anything went wrong with Jimmie Johnson -- or, for that matter, with Jeff Gordon or Mark Martin. Both those latter two were up against a hundred-year flood, and in most other years, they'd have skated to the title. But the fourth member of the Hendrick quartet, Mr. Junior -- well, he did indeed have a period when it went wrong. It was called "2009." From untimely wrecks to crew chief changes to plain old bad luck, Junior just couldn't ever get going in 2009, and he's happier than anybody this side of Tiger Woods that the year is done.

Prospects for 2010: Perhaps slightly dimmed. How much will Johnson's focus be affected by having a baby on board? (Well, not on board, but en route.) Will Gordon and Martin be able to maintain their outstanding runs from 2009? Can Junior get his act together? Odds are, the answers to all three questions are "yes," but Hendrick's not as sure a bet as before.

Related Hendrick posts from 2009:

Quit crying about Jimmie Johnson and appreciate history
Jeff Gordon would like a word with you, Mister President
Mark Martin flows with ... Gucci Mane?
Dale Earnhardt Jr. unloads on NASCAR, Car of Tomorrow

Next up: The 2010 season!

The Johnsons are expecting; time for you to name the baby

2010-01-04T19:00:00.001-06:00

Congratulations to Jimmie Johnson and wife Chandra, who have announced that they're expecting their first child. The littlest 48 fan is due sometime in July, which is right around the time that Jimmie usually starts his chase for the Chase. Will he be able to maintain his focus while changing diapers? Will the baby monitor be piped into his radio headset? Will the baby look like that trophy at right? We want to know, but we can't know!

So until then, we're left with this: Name Jimmie Johnson's Baby. We've offered up a few of our suggestions below; make your pick, and if the Johnsons pick it, you'll get to babysit the young'un at next year's Daytona 500. (Not really.) Anyway, get those baby-thinkin' caps on and see if you can beat:

Junior: Jimmie Johnson Junior? Sure, why not? Plus, triple-J would come out of the womb the most competitive Junior in NASCAR. Of course, if they name him "Junior Johnson," he'd be bootlegging juice boxes in preschool.

Bristol: Too Palin-esque, plus it sets a bad precedent -- Jimmie's never been able to master Bristol.

Brick: Considering when the baby's due, it's highly likely that Chandra could deliver in the Indianapolis infield. (Okay, not "highly" likely.) In honor of the Brickyard, why not call the kid "Brick"? It would honor Johnson's dominance in Indy, and as a bonus, there's always a career in certain kinds of film for a guy named "Brick Johnson."

Chase: Too cutesy by half, though it could work equally well for a boy or a girl.

Lowe: Just how far does that sponsorship contract extend? We may find out.

Chad: Um ... probably not.

Quad: Appropriate but kind of strange. Plus, what if Jimmie went on to win another title? That would mean that the baby's name should be ...

... Quint! Quint Johnson! It's perfect! Not just a baby's name, a rallying cry!

All right, your turn. What should the Johnsons name their little bundle of joy?

Tiger Woods' caddy takes motorsports title in New Zealand

2010-01-04T17:00:00.001-06:00

You thought you were free from Tiger Woods articles on the NASCAR page, didn't you? You thought wrong!

Stevie Williams, Tiger's mouthy New Zealand-based caddy, makes his living walking, but drives a fairly mean car, too. This past weekend, Williams won the New Zealand Saloon Car title, beating out a field of 60 drivers. (Tempting as it is to consider a "saloon car" one that's either designed specifically for taking you to saloon or, even better, one with a saloon installed in it, the truth is that it's just a version of a sedan car. See more here.)

Williams also won the North Island Saloon Champs title last week, and is aiming for the New Zealand Super Saloon Champs this Friday. Say, isn't Tony Stewart in Australia right about now?

Williams is, of course, out of work as long as Tiger doesn't play, and has given no indication as to whether he'd be returning anytime soon. "I'm on holiday, mate," he smiled in response to the question of Woods' plans.

(Please note: that photo is of Mr. Woods, and it's not a recent one. It's from a 2006 charity event in New Zealand where Tiger and Stevie hung at a track.)

Anyway, congrats to Stevie on a job well done. Perhaps next time they're together, Steve could give Tiger a few hydrant-dodging lessons.

Create-a-caption: 'I just can't wait to start the 2010 season!'

2010-01-04T15:00:00.001-06:00

New year, new set of create-a-caption photos. And we begin with this beauty; while it's a dreaded vertical photo, it still warrants inclusion here, yes?

I'm sure you can come up with plenty of material for that particular image. Perp-walk? Jimmie's secret for winning championships? Make the call.

We'll start fresh in '10 and post the winners here later this week. Go!

Who's going to be 2010's breakout star?

2010-01-04T11:00:00.001-06:00

Welcome to 2010! At this writing, Daytona is barely 40 days away -- gotta love those short offseasons -- and thus we turn our eyes to the season ahead. NASCAR doesn't have a whole lot of turnover at its highest ranks -- the top drivers of 2004 looked a whole lot like the top drivers of 2009, for instance -- but every year, someone steps up and makes a fine impression on the sport and the fans. Last year it was Juan Pablo Montoya, finally capitalizing on years of promise to become one of the top drivers in 2009. So who's the 2010 version of Montoya? The possibilities include:

David Reutimann: An untimely spin by Denny Hamlin late in the '09 season cost him any chance at a Chase berth, but Reutimann has steadily and sharply progressed in his first few seasons. And with reliable competitor Martin Truex Jr. as a teammate, he can count on more protection and assistance than before. Breakout odds: 4-1.

Marcos Ambrose: Road-course warrior and fast becoming an oval-course challenger, everybody's favorite Aussie racer could bust through once and for all this year and make the Chase at last. Breakout odds: 5-1.

Jamie McMurray: He's got talent -- winning last year's Talladega monstrosity is proof of that -- but how will he fare in new equipment? Was Roush holding him up, or holding him back? Breakout odds: 10-1.

AJ Allmendinger: Whenever he's gotten the chance to run in short bursts, he's run well. Now he takes over the 43 car, where he'll get all the opportunities he can handle. The pressure to find a ride is off; the pressure to handle a ride is on. Breakout odds: 20-1.

Joey Logano: His rookie year was strong -- by rookie standards. He proved he could hang with the pack, but can he get ahead of it? Jury's still out. Breakout odds: 25-1.

Scott Speed: Yes, we get it -- you're a Red Bull rebel who plays by his own rules. Time to include "winning" in those rules. Breakout odds: 50-1.

Jeremy Mayfield: New year, new beginnings? Yes? Maybe? Breakout odds: 1 million-1.

And now it's your turn. Make your call -- who's your pick for 2010's breakout star?

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

2009-12-31T23:00:00.001-06:00

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.

Next up: Hendrick Motorsports

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

2009-12-31T21:00:00.001-06:00

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?)

Next up: Stewart-Haas Racing

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

2009-12-31T19:00:00.001-06:00

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.

Next up: Joe Gibbs Racing

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

2009-12-30T17:00:00.001-06:00

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

2009-12-29T11:00:00.000-06:00

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

2009-12-28T19:00:00.001-06:00

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.

Next up: Roush Fenway Racing

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

2009-12-28T17:00:00.001-06:00

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

2009-12-28T13:00:00.001-06:00

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.

Next up: Earnhardt Ganassi Racing

Best races of 2009: Drama on the road courses

2009-12-27T13:00:00.001-06:00

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!

2009-12-25T11:00:00.001-06:00

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

2009-12-24T15:00:00.001-06:00

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

2009-12-24T13:00:00.001-06:00

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

2009-12-23T13:00:00.001-06:00

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

2009-12-23T11:00:00.001-06:00

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!

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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

2009-12-23T09:00:00.001-06:00

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

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

2009-12-22T17:00:00.001-06:00

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

2009-12-22T15:00:00.001-06:00

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

2009-12-22T11:00:00.001-06:00

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

Join the Marbles in celebrating NASChristmas!

2009-12-21T19:00:00.001-06:00

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

2009-12-21T17:00:00.001-06:00

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

2009-12-21T13:00:00.001-06:00

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

2009-12-21T11:00:00.001-06:00

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

2009-12-18T21:00:00.001-06:00

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

2009-12-18T19:00:00.001-06:00

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'

2009-12-18T15:00:00.001-06:00

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

2009-12-18T13:00:00.001-06:00

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

2009-12-17T17:00:00.001-06:00

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

2009-12-17T13:00:00.001-06:00

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?

2009-12-16T19:00:00.001-06:00

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

2009-12-16T15:00:00.001-06:00

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

2009-12-16T13:00:00.001-06:00

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

2009-12-15T15:00:00.001-06:00

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

2009-12-14T17:00:00.001-06:00

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

2009-12-14T13:00:00.001-06:00

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

2009-12-12T19:00:00.001-06:00

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

2009-12-11T23:00:00.001-06:00

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.'

2009-12-11T21:00:00.001-06:00

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

2009-12-11T19:00:00.001-06:00

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

2009-12-11T17:00:00.001-06:00

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

2009-12-11T15:00:00.001-06:00

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?

2009-12-11T13:00:00.001-06:00

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.

The top stories of 2009, #6-#4: Montoya, RCR and money woes

2009-12-10T15:00:00.001-06:00

Continuing our rundown of the top stories of 2009, today featuring surprises both good and bad.

6. My name is Juan Pablo Montoya. Mark Martin had more success, but that was to some extent, expected -- he'd already run well in Sprint Cup. Juan Pablo Montoya was the most pleasant surprise of the season from a driver perspective, running well all the way throughout the year and posing a legitimate threat to Jimmie Johnson early in the Chase. A dubious speeding penalty cost him a win in Indianapolis, but the way that he runs, he'll be swapping champagne with the Sprint Cup girls soon enough. Montoya also big-timed a TV reporter and, in a move that proves he's now legit NASCAR material, got into a dustup with Tony Stewart.

5. Where have you gone, Richard Childress Racing? There are about 18 Chase-quality drivers in NASCAR but only 12 Chase spots, which means somebody's got to go. And in 2009, many of those somebodies belonged to Richard Childress Racing. Kevin Harvick, Clint Bowyer and Jeff Burton, all Chasers in 2008, failed to make the dance in 2009. Only Bowyer even had a shot going into the final races of the Race for the Chase. But on the plus side, all three drivers, particularly Burton, ran well in the Chase with the pressure off. Both Burton and Childress told us in podcasts that they felt the testing ban harmed RCR, so hopefully things will turn around for them in 2010.

4. Detroit's financial woes hammer NASCAR. No segment of NASCAR was immune to the economic downturn, but predictions that the sport would fold were overly pessimistic. Still, the lack of funds from major auto manufacturers led to widespread layoffs, belt-tightening and mergers, even among well-known teams like Richard Petty Motorsports. The worst is surely not yet over, but for now, NASCAR appears on stable footing in regard to the auto manufacturers; even President Obama, whom few NASCAR fans would pick as an ally of the sport, has come out on the record in favor of continued growth of the sport.

Next up: we close out the year with the biggest stories of 2009! Any guesses?

The top stories of 2009, #3-#1: What took the prize in '09?

2009-12-10T13:00:00.001-06:00

Wrapping up our countdown of the top stories of 2009 with the most important stories of the year. These'll start arguments, guaranteed.

3. Stewart-Haas Racing dominates right out of the gate. When Tony Stewart jumped into team ownership at the end of 2008, NASCAR observers met the news with polite nods. Nice knowin' ya, Tony, the thinking went, since there was no way he was going to compete with the big dogs any more, right? Wrong. Smoke completely dominated the regular season, and while the Chase didn't go his way, he returned to his rightful place among the leaders of NASCAR. Plus, he wasn't too buttoned-down to throw down once in awhile. If there was a way that one of NASCAR's most popular drivers could have improved his standing, he did it.

2. Jimmie Johnson's Four Score. Johnson cruised to his fourth Sprint Cup championship with only minor problems along the way. And nobody -- not Petty, not Earnhardt, not Yarborough, nobody -- has won four in a row. Even so, the carping and complaining about Johnson's win pretty much drowned out the cheers. Which is a shame, because this is history in the making. And the scary thing is, he may not be done.

1. DALE JR UPDATE PLEASE! This one's going to have people screaming, but here's the truth -- when your marquee attraction (most popular driver seven years running) is having the kinds of difficulties Dale Earnhardt Jr. did this year, it's major news. As Junior goes, so goes NASCAR to a great extent, and so when the onetime Chaser fell off the map, he may have taken quite a few viewers with him. While he's got fans who would jump into a wood chipper if he told them to, he's also got a large number of casual fans who could take or leave him and NASCAR if he's not winning ... as is the case right now. Junior got a new crew chief in Lance McGrew and he's got a couple months to get his head sorted out, but if he can't straighten the 88 in short order, the biggest story of 2009 is going to carry right over to 2010. (The title of this entry refers to the question we were asked the most all year in our weekly chats, which again should give you an idea of how popular Junior is ... like it or not.)

And that's your 2009! Since this series focused on the regular season, we didn't include the Danica news, but again, like it or not that's going to dominate NASCAR headlines for much of 2010. Get ready now.

And now it's your turn -- what did we miss? What events would you have placed among the year's top 12? Have your say!

Could there be more online races in NASCAR's future?

2009-12-09T19:00:00.001-06:00

We hold a weekly race chat here during the season, and every single week, dozens if not hundreds of people ask if there are places you can watch the race online. (The answer: no, not legally, with the exception of the six TNT races. And I'm not going to tell you where the illegal sites are.)

However, that might just be changing. Dustin Long of the Virginian-Pilot brings us the news that NASCAR might just be streaming more races online. TNT's Race Buddy has been a big hit with online-savvy NASCAR fans -- which you are, otherwise you wouldn't be here -- and so Turner Sports is trying to explore possibilities of adding it to more races.

"We are going to attempt to work out a deal with Fox and ESPN," Lenny Daniels, Chief Operating Officer for Turner Sports, told Long. "It's an intersectional rights, is what it is. When Turner has all the rights (TV and Internet), we can show it any way we want. If you're ESPN, you don't want us doing anything during that live race window. That's what they bought. That's what they own. So we have to figure out a business plan to work with them and try to get a deal done."

Short answer, then: everybody wants to hold onto their own piece of the NASCAR pie, and while they give lip service to the fan experience, they're interested in protecting their own investment. Which makes sense. But I'd like to see some comparative stats; I don't see this as an either-or situation.

Daniels further noted that it's unlikely any kind of deal would get done by Daytona, but that it could be in the offing for later in the season. We can only hope.

Watching more races online? [Virginian-Pilot]

Marbles in the field: Up close at the Danica press conference

2009-12-09T13:00:00.000-06:00

[Editor's note: Marbles contributor Dennis Tarwood, aka Tuffy, was on the scene Tuesday at the Danica press conference. Here's his report. --JB]

Danica Patrick rolled out her new muscular look Tuesday for the assembled media at Chase Field (get it? Chase?) in Phoenix, adopting the #7 Nationwide Series car co-owned by Rick Hendrick, Tony Eury, Jr., Dale Earnhardt, Jr. and sister Kelley Earnhardt as her IndyCar offseason home for a number of races to be determined, starting in the Daytona ARCA race in February.

In yet another deft touch by (Sugar) Go Daddy Bob Parsons, Junior didn't make the trip to Phoenix to upstage his new driver, leaving Kelley to introduce Patrick and make any application for woman-owned business status fairly easy to get approved. (Also, it's entirely possible Parsons refuses to go anywhere without being outnumbered by younger women.)

Parsons handled the presentation portion of the press conference as Patrick, despite all her photo shoot experience, still hasn't built the patience for the unwashed masses. One reporter, unable to work the microphone to her satisfaction, got a Danica response: "I'll make up the question I think you asked me..." As if the press conference wasn't structured enough.

IndyCar will continue to be the primary focus for Danica, as made clear by Parsons in his statement for Patrick. He could have made it more clear by not pausing for a brief moment to try to remember the name of her IndyCar racing team, but the commitment is there. Would she even be interested in NASCAR if the IndyCar season was longer?

She answered the question by talking about the challenges of stock car racing and being curious about the opportunity and looking forward to the bumping and wheel to wheel action, comparing the experience to go-kart racing. In other words, she didn't answer the question. Don't be surprised if Andretti Racing accidentally locks her in her hauler after the IndyCar Homestead race next October.

Tony Eury, Jr. will act as her crew chief. Hopefully, he'll be able to spend time with her talking about the mechanics of the stock car as she seems less prepared in that area. She knew there was more downforce here and less braking there, but she also admitted she hadn't been in a stock car since a whirl around the track at Greenville-Pickens Speedway 6 or 7 years ago.

She notes she's already met with Lisa and Brian France as well as "Mr. Hendrick." However, her true boss and Web hosting guru spent most of the photo-taking time after the Q&A section joking with his wife about Tiger Woods' current pickle while Kelley Earnhardt slipped to the side, giving the wheel to Danica.

Thanks to Dennis for the report! And dig those heels on Danica ... gonna be murder trying to drive a car with those on.

The top stories of 2009, #9-#7: HamSki, rain, and Martin's return

2009-12-09T11:00:00.000-06:00

We're running down the top stories of the 2009 season, and we're inside the top 10 now. Today, some that will make you cringe and some that will make you proud.

9. The battle of Jet Ski and The Hamster. Brad Keselowski and Denny Hamlin have been yapping at each other for the better part of two seasons, and by the end of 2009, everything finally came to a head. Hamlin pledged to wreck Keselowski at Homestead, and did just that, earning himself a penalty in the process. Still, the way Jet Ski races, it's likely he'll make other enemies before too much longer. This one ain't over yet.

8. Rain, rain, go the hell away. In the dead of winter, it's tough to recall, but we lost quite a few races to rain earlier this year, starting with the Daytona 500. Matt Kenseth, Joey Logano and David Reutimann were the beneficiaries, snagging rain-shortened wins. And around these parts, we set attendance records for chats held during Monday races (doesn't anybody work anymore?), where we had to answer the same questions 500 times: no, NASCAR has nothing to do with the weather; yes, this is bad for racing; yes, this happened in the Old Days too; no, they can't just put on rain tires and go. Clip and save this for next year.

7. The return of the Mark. If Mark Martin had managed to close the deal on the Sprint Cup, this would've ranked a lot higher -- probably No. 1, matter of fact. But since he fell just a wee bit short, he's a wee bit back. Still, Martin's return to prominence was one of the great (and truly pleasant) surprises of the 2009 season. Not only was he not finished, he'll be racing with us for another two seasons. Anybody not happy about that is just plain mean, I tell you.

Coming up: the surprises of the year, both positive and negative.

Danica Patrick, Kelley Earnhardt bring girl power to new superteam

2009-12-08T23:00:00.001-06:00

Danica Patrick is coming to NASCAR. You know that now. She's also joining forces with JR Motorsports and its NASCAR-icon namesake, Dale Earnhardt Jr. You knew that, too. But what's interesting about the new Danica deal is the active role which women will play in it going forward.

That's right -- in a sport derided by its detractors as backward-looking, the hottest new team in NASCAR will have at its center two women. In addition to Danica, who's one of the most marketable athletes on the planet, Kelley Earnhardt, sister of Junior, is now one of JR Motorsports' team owners. That's Danica and Kelley up there flanking GoDaddy CEO Bob Parsons at Tuesday's press conference.

Sure, the woman-driver jokes are easy to make -- she's going to have trouble putting on her makeup at 200mph, et cetera -- but the truth is that Patrick and Earnhardt will make for a powerful tandem regardless of their gender ... and, to an extent, regardless of Danica's immediate success on the track. (Though it's worth noting that Kelley Earnhardt expects Danica to be running in the Top 15 once she gets rolling.)

JR Motorsports is a true family business; Kelley Earnhardt and cousin/former 88 crew chief Tony Eury Jr. were brought aboard JR Motorsports to join Junior and Rick Hendrick in what Junior last week called a "struggling" operation. JR Motorsports is apparently in dire need of sponsorship, and while Danica and GoDaddy.com will provide a shot, they can't cover the entire operation. Still, bringing in the top draw in IndyCar can't hurt.

Kelley Earnhardt has served as JRM's general manager, and was the one responsible for negotiating the terms of Patrick's deal. And since she landed the mercurial Patrick, one must assume she did her job well. She's already earning praise from high levels.

"I think it could be a really good thing, especially with Kelley," Hendrick said last week of Patrick's then-potential, now-confirmed arrival. "Kelley is such a talent, I think, from a marketing side and if it works out, I think Danica's got talent. So why wouldn't they do that?"

And make no mistake; this isn't some lark. Kelley Earnhardt has her eyes set on NASCAR's top shelf. "The success we've had with Brad Keselowski and the program with Danica we hope will be stepping stones to prepare us for our ultimate goal - to run in the Cup series," she said at the Tuesday press conference. "Whether that is with Danica or not, it is too soon to tell. But I can tell you that is the place we eventually want to be, in the Cup series."

Say what you will, but it's probably best not to doubt an Earnhardt.

Danica Patrick, Kelly Earnhardt bring girl power to new superteam

2009-12-08T19:00:00.001-06:00

Say what you will, but it's probably best not to doubt an Earnhardt.

Danica officially announces plan to run NASCAR

2009-12-08T17:00:00.001-06:00

Danica's coming to NASCAR. For real.

After months of will-she, won't-she, Danica Patrick has announced a deal to enter NASCAR as part of JR Motorsports, the team co-owned by Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Rick Hendrick.

On Tuesday morning in Phoenix, Patrick announced that she will be running a partial season in the Nationwide Series, NASCAR's second-highest series. It's the second major announcement in as many weeks for Patrick, and it was a welcome conclusion to the false starts of the last few months.

Last week, Patrick signed an extension with Andretti Autosport to continue driving two more years in open-wheel IndyCar, with a mutual option for a third year. However, the open schedule of IRL would allow Patrick to run a fairly large number of Nationwide races. GoDaddy.com will be Patrick's sponsor in both NASCAR and IR, and Patrick will race the No. 7 Chevy. Former Dale Earnhardt Jr. crew chief Tony Eury Jr. will serve as Danica's chief.

Obviously, there's precedent for Patrick in NASCAR, both as an IRL racer and as a female. Jeff Gordon and Tony Stewart started their careers in open-wheel racing, and several more established open-wheel drivers, most notably Juan Pablo Montoya, have made the leap to stock cars. (Though it's worth noting that only Montoya has had significant success, and that only after two years of toil.) On the gender front, there's a small but notable list of women who have run at NASCAR's highest levels.

Assuming Patrick runs all 17 IRL races, which don't even begin until a month after NASCAR's season (and stop six weeks before NASCAR does), here are some of the more prominent tracks at which Patrick could run without conflict as part of the Nationwide season:

• Feb. 14: Camping World 300, Daytona

• Feb. 21: Stater Bros. 300, Auto Club Speedway/California

• Feb. 28: Sam's Town 300, Las Vegas

• Mar. 21: Scotts Turf Builder 300, Bristol

• Apr. 25: Aaron's 312, Talladega

• May 8: Diamond Hill Plywood 200, Darlington

• June 13: Meijer 300, Kentucky Speedway

• July 10: Dollar General 300, Chicagoland

• Aug. 30: NAPA Auto Parts 200, Montreal

• Sept. 11: Virginia 529 College Savings 250, Richmond

• Oct. 16: Dollar General 300, Charlotte

• Nov. 14: Able Body Labor 200, Phoenix

• Nov. 21: Ford 300, Homestead

In all, there are nearly 20 Nationwide races in which Patrick could run, and since her appearance will mean a guaranteed attendance boost, you can count on tracks to do everything they can to entice her to run on their pavement.

Though there are detractors, in NASCAR, there are always detractors. With its limited term and lower-level exposure, the Patrick deal is a winner all the way around; Patrick will bring waves of casual fans to NASCAR, and she's a talented enough driver that she won't totally embarrass herself out on the track. (And if she does, she'll "retire" from NASCAR to "focus all her energy on IndyCar," and that'll be that.)

In the end, though, Danica's announcement may answer some questions, but it begs many more. "Will she drive NASCAR?" has just become "Can she drive NASCAR?" At last, we'll soon find out.

___________

For more daily NASCAR news, click here to bookmark Yahoo! Sports' From The Marbles, and follow us on Twitter.

AP: Danica officially set to announce plan to run NASCAR

2009-12-07T23:00:00.001-06:00

Danica's coming to NASCAR. For real.

The AP has reported that after months of will-she, won't-she, Danica Patrick is set to announce a deal to enter NASCAR as part of JR Motorsports, the team co-owned by Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Rick Hendrick.

On Tuesday morning in Phoenix, Patrick will announce that she will be running a partial season in the Nationwide Series, NASCAR's second-highest series. It's the second major announcement in as many weeks for Patrick, and it will be a welcome conclusion to the false starts of the last few months.

Obviously, there's precedent for Patrick in NASCAR, both as an IRL racer and as a female. Jeff Gordon and Tony Stewart started their careers in open-wheel racing, and several established IRL drivers, most notably Juan Pablo Montoya, have made the leap to stock cars. (Though it's worth noting that only Montoya has had significant success, and that only after two years of toil.) On the gender front, there's a small but notable list of women who have run at NASCAR's highest levels.

• Feb. 14: Camping World 300, Daytona

• Feb. 21: Stater Bros. 300, Auto Club Speedway/California

• Feb. 28: Sam's Town 300, Las Vegas

• Mar. 21: Scotts Turf Builder 300, Bristol

• Apr. 25: Aaron's 312, Talladega

• May 8: Diamond Hill Plywood 200, Darlington

• June 13: Meijer 300, Kentucky Speedway

• July 10: Dollar General 300, Chicagoland

• Aug. 30: NAPA Auto Parts 200, Montreal

• Sept. 11: Virginia 529 College Savings 250, Richmond

• Oct. 16: Dollar General 300, Charlotte

• Nov. 21: Ford 300, Homestead

In the end, though, Danica's announcement may answer some questions, but it begs many more. "Will she drive NASCAR?" has just become "Can she drive NASCAR?" At last, we'll soon find out.

Million-dollar car ends up in pieces on Hong Kong street

2009-12-07T21:00:00.001-06:00

When you spend $1 million on a car, you're probably not taking it to the grocery store where it can get dinged by minivan drivers flinging their doors open. Actually, if you spend $1 million on a car, you probably ought to park it in the middle of an open field or hide it in a garage a mile underground. Because if you do decide to take it out, something like this can happen.

The automotive beauty lying in pieces on the Hong Kong street pictured above -- for car aficionados, this post is like a Saw movie -- is the Pagani Zonda F. Only 106 Pagani Zondas were ever produced, and only 25 of those were the Zonda F. Learn more about the Zonda here; you can see what an intact one looks like there at right. Tech specs indicate that the Zonda F can go from 0 to 60 in 3.5 seconds, and can go from "sweet ride" to "bankrupting wreck" even faster.

Amazingly -- or perhaps not -- this is reportedly the third time a Zonda has wrecked in recent years, and the second time this has happened in Hong Kong. (Proof positive that there's something for everyone on the Internet, there's an entire website -- Wrecked Exotics -- devoted to crash photos of high-dollar cars.)

According to Wrecked Exotics, the car's owner was driving back from a track when a truck forced it to wreck in the above row of parked cars. (We'll have to take their word for it, as we can't read the original news account.) Ouch. That's going to be murder on that truck driver's insurance.

$1.1 Million Pagazin Zonda crashes in Taiwan [Jalopnik]
Another Pagani Zonda crashes in Hong Kong [Wrecked Exotics]

NASCAR goes all Vegas-glitzy: a red-carpet gallery

2009-12-07T19:00:00.001-06:00

It's not every day that NASCAR gets itself cleaned up for the red carpet -- almost never, matter of fact. So it was quite the shindig in Vegas this past weekend that made NASCAR's finest ditch the firesuits and clean the grime out from under their fingernails.

At the Sprint Cup Championship ceremony, the NASCAR drivers were, by far, the most restrained -- witness Tony Stewart there at right amid a couple of demurely-dressed young ladies.

The ceremony was largely what you'd expect. There were some very cool retrospectives of the season -- I stopped counting the number of Edwards Talladega replays at four -- along with some painfully unfunny "comedy" and some curious music choices. (What was up with the four ladies playing the electro-violins, anyway?)

The drivers each had a few minutes to speak, and they ranged from the casual and relaxed (Stewart, Ryan Newman) to the utterly petrified (Kasey Kahne, visibly sweating and nervous). Everybody paid homage to Jimmie Johnson and Chad Knaus, and everybody wished that Jimmie would hurry up and retire. All in all, an enjoyable evening provided you have a high tolerance for non-NASCAR cheese.

But around here, we're all about the cheese ... and the eye candy, too. So we've prepared a little gallery of your favorite drivers and their highly attractive wives and significant others, along with other assorted hangers-on. Enjoy:

Top to bottom, left to right: The Johnsons, the Gordons, Denny Hamlin & Jordan Fish, the Sprint Girls; (second row) Joey Logano and Sabrina Simpson, the Montoyas, the Busches, Krista Voda; (third row) the Sprint Girls in their night-on-the-town ensemble, Kara DioGuardi, Aubrey O'Day, Nadine Velazquez, Anne Marie Rhodes.

Click on each photo to expand it, and by all means, snark away.

Montoya, Stewart clear the air at the 2009 Stewie Awards

2009-12-07T13:00:00.001-06:00

One of the highlights of any NASCAR offseason is the Stewie Awards, where Tony Stewart hands out a wide array of honors, accolades and assorted shots at his fellow drivers. As always, the awards were broadcast on Sirius XM, and for the first time were held at the Rio in Vegas. And one of the best moments of the night came when Stewart and Juan Pablo Montoya decided to chat a bit about their brawl at Homestead. Enjoy:

Also worth checking out: Tony's introduction with showgirls, Jimmie Johnson's tales of stair-racing debauchery at Smoke's house, and Mark Martin's thoughts on the 2009 season. Further cements my belief that Tony Stewart is the coolest driver in NASCAR.

The top stories of 2009, #12-10: Logano, 'Dega, and Kyle falls

2009-12-07T11:00:00.001-06:00

Before we begin looking forward to the holiday season, we're closing the book on 2009 with a look back at the top 12 stories of the year. And no, it's not true that Jimmie Johnson is already the points leader in this little Chase. Away we go ...

12. Joey Logano's ascendance: Everyone expected great things from Joey Logano, the guy saddled with the worst nickname -- "Sliced Bread" -- in pro sports. But perhaps we didn't expect it quite this soon. The 2009 Rookie of the Year won a race -- yes, a rain-delayed one, but still -- survived a monstrous wreck, took flight and even hosted a wrestling evening. All in all, a promising year for The Kid. Now, what say we get him a better nickname, huh?

11. Talladega Rewrites: After Carl Edwards' near-catastrophic wreck at Talladega in April, the superspeedway rebuilt the fence even as some commentators wondered whether it was time to rework the track entirely. And even new rules on bump-drafting didn't stop another scary wreck in the fall, this time involving Ryan Newman. No track this year provided more drama and controversy than Talladega ... as usual.

10. The fall and rise of Kyle Busch: Coming into 2009, Kyle Busch was pegged as one of the top drivers in the sport and a guy with a decent chance to unseat Jimmie Johnson as champion. But Busch pinballed between excellence and mediocrity, and in the end missed out on the Chase by just 8 points. Still, he managed to capture the Nationwide title and continued onward in his quest to win 200 races in all of NASCAR's three top series.

Coming up: yep, Nos. 9-7.

Video of the Vegas burnout will make you wish you were there

2009-12-05T01:00:00.001-06:00

I love seeing NASCAR cars in nonconventional places -- streets, canyons, outer space, whatever. I love the video games that let you spin the Car of Tomorrow through Manhattan's skyscrapers or through mountains. So the Vegas burnout is right up my alley. Here, check the video from the event, courtesy of RacingOne.com:

One question: if Jimmie was riding on the back of that 09 car, who was driving the 48 before he did the burnout? Now THAT would be a contest worth winning.

Joey Logano takes flight with the Air Force Thunderbirds

2009-12-04T23:00:00.001-06:00

Joey Logano has a bit of experience leaving the ground, as this wreck from earlier this season proves. He did it again this week, albeit under the supervision of the U.S. Air Force's Thunderbirds:

Give the kid credit, he certainly didn't seem ready to power-vomit all over the cockpit. Five bucks says he tracks down Brad Keselowski and starts calling him "Iceman" after this.

Gracias, RacingOne.com.

Earnhardt again wins most popular award - USATODAY.com

2009-12-04T21:00:00.001-06:00

Earnhardt again wins most popular award - USATODAY.com: "'I take a lot of honor in (the award) it and a lot of pride. I know it's kind of a cliche, but I just wanted to be a race-car driver, wanted to be able to make a living showing up, driving cars every week. Having the fan support like I have has been an incredible bonus for me."

They make it 'cause we buy it: Light-up Intimidator poster

2009-12-04T19:00:00.001-06:00

The item: The Dale Earnhardt "Light of a Legend" poster, $135 from Collectibles Today.

The deal: Wait a second, $135 for an Earnhardt poster? This better do something really ... what's that? It lights up? Unbelievable! This thing glows in the dark! It's described as a "stained glass panorama," which is appropriate because this beauty belongs in a church!

Here's the thing: rumor is, if you unplug this, it glows even brighter.

The hat tip: Um ... I don't know. Somebody sent me this, and it got lost in the mess of Tiger Woods emails. So if you're the person who sent me the tip, let me know. And if you've got some NASCAR goodness of your own, email me at jay.busbee@yahoo.com. Do it!

Dale Earnhardt Jr.'s sisterÂ in Danica Patrick NASCAR negotiations - Racing - SI.com

2009-12-04T17:00:00.001-06:00

Dale Earnhardt Jr.'s sister in Danica Patrick NASCAR negotiations - Racing - SI.com: "LAS VEGAS - Dale Earnhardt Jr. says negotiations are still ongoing with Danica Patrick, but he's not sure if a deal will be completed with JR Motorsports.

Earnhardt's team fields Nationwide Series cars and the second-tier series is the likely starting point for the IndyCar driver.

Patrick earlier this week announced a three-year contract extension with Andretti Autosport, and that was believed to be the final hurdle for her to finalize any NASCAR plans."

Earnhardt Nation Website

The NASCAR Vegas burnout: a photo gallery

2009-12-04T13:00:00.001-06:00

On Thursday afternoon, the NASCAR Chasers ran a Victory Lap through Las Vegas, and it was quite the sight to see. Matter of fact, I would've liked to see it at full speed. But at least they got in a pit stop, and we got a few photos. Hit the jump below for a photo gallery, and feel free to add your own comments to the mix.

Ryan Newman peels out past the MGM Grand. No Talladega-style Flips on the Strip, alas.

Arr! There be Jimmie Johnson in front of Treasure Island, matey!

Cousin Carl Edwards stops for two and a splash along the Strip.

Double-file restarts!

Looking out from Tony Stewart's car at Juan Pablo Montoya's ride. Slam-draft him, Tony!

Kasey Kahne takes the checkers from a kid only three years older than him.

Midnight Marbles, where Dale Junior is getting a makeover

2009-12-04T01:00:00.001-06:00

Hey, time again for another Midnight Marbles post! It's been fairly quiet around NASCAR lately, what with everybody hanging in Vegas and all, so here's hoping we get some newsworthy material out of Champions Week. (But I wouldn't count on it.) In the meantime, enjoy this fine work of parodic art by reader Timid Observer, and see if you can answer the question: just how do you solve a problem like Dale?

Nobody was spared at the Jimmie Johnson roast in Vegas

2009-12-03T17:00:00.001-06:00

Now that the NASCAR season is done and everyone can relax a bit, we're starting to have a little more fun from our loosened-up drivers. Normally welded-down, they're starting to enjoy themselves with the grind of weekly racing done for a couple months.

Case in point: Wednesday night's roast of Jimmie Johnson, one which -- if we can judge by this article by Terry Blount -- was more fun than a barrel full of Poconos. As the focus of the evening's ceremonies, Johnson naturally took plenty of grief from his fellow drivers. Some gems, as reported by Blount:

Denny Hamlin: "The only thing faster than Jimmie's car is his receding hairline."

Kasey Kahne: "Jimmie, you're the man who has it all: money, a gorgeous wife, four championships and a great personality. Well, you do have money, a gorgeous wife and four championships."

And, the evening's winner, from Ryan Newman: "Wow. Four championships in a row, Jimmie. I bet you wish you could do that with your wife."

Event host Kevin Burke didn't restrict his comments just to Johnson; he took shots at every driver in attendance. His bon mots:

To Kasey Kahne: "Hey, Kasey, Danica Patrick may be coming to NASCAR, so at least you'll have somebody you can beat in a fistfight."

To Jeff Gordon: "Jeff, I know you're not [gay]. But you are good-looking enough to be, and if you were, I would be too." (To which Gordon responded during his turn at the podium, "I can tell you that marrying a pretty girl and having a baby is great cover.")

To Dale Earnhardt Jr.: "He is famous for being famous. Junior is now the Paris Hilton of NASCAR."

Awesome. Any chance we can get any of that telecast next year? Or that I can get up and throw a few lines out? I've got some gems, I tells ya!

And so do you. So friends, how about a virtual roast of your favorite NASCAR drivers right here? Step right up, who's going to be first to the mike?

(Note: yes, that pic has Johnson, Kurt Busch and their wives with Emeril. Best I could do for a "roast" photo.)

Johnson roast the best show in town [ESPN]

Greg Biffle is really enjoying Champions Week in Vegas

2009-12-03T11:00:00.001-06:00

I love Champions Week; there are going to be some great pictures coming out of Vegas this week. So far, the early leader for best pics is Greg Biffle. Clockwise from top left: Biffle looks on as Juan Pablo Montoya goes taco-tossing; Biff poses with Paul Menard ... oh, my bad, that's a real cupcake; Biffle croons a little "Strangers In The Night"; Biffle and wife Nicole pose with Emeril Lagasse and aforementioned pastry treat.

Much more to come, but so far, the 16 is notching its first win of the season in Las Vegas.

Some of what they said | season, insightful, monte - Sports - Gaston Gazette

2009-12-02T19:00:00.001-06:00

Some of what they said | season, insightful, monte - Sports - Gaston Gazette

âJunior is good at dealing with pressure because he walks around with the weight of NASCAR on his shoulders every day.â â" Martin, referring to Earnhardt Jr.

Join us for the Marbles' Chat, Wednesday at 2 p.m. ET

2009-12-02T15:00:00.001-06:00

Hey, time for another Marbles live chat! Sure, it's NASCAR's offseason, but does that mean we have to stay silent? Heck no! We can talk about our Best of the Decade series, we can talk Danica, we can count the days to Daytona! Be here at 2:00 [UPDATED, later time because of Tiger Woods news] Eastern for the festivities to begin!

&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;a href=&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;quot;http://www.coveritlive.com/mobile.php?option=com_mobile&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;task=viewaltcast&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;altcast_code=f8509c0a9c&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;quot; mce_href=&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;quot;http://www.coveritlive.com/mobile.php?option=com_mobile&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;task=viewaltcast&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;altcast_code=f8509c0a9c&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;quot; &amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;Marbles Live Chat for 12/2/09&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;/a&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;

Marbles in the field: Live and up close at Jimmie Jam

2009-12-02T13:00:00.001-06:00

[Editor's note: Reader Trevor Brownell attended Monday night's "Jimmie Jam" in Santee, California, celebrating Jimmie Johnson's fourth championship. Here's his report. -JB]

At first, all I knew about "Jimmie Jam" was that Jimmie would be attending an event at his hometown Lowe's store after visiting his elementary school in Crest, where he grew up, and visiting with Marines and their families at Camp Pendleton. I figured I could leave my house about 3 miles from the Lowe's store around 6:15 for the event starting at 7:00 because 1. it was a school night and 2. we're not in Charlotte. There aren't any NASCAR fans in San Diego, right?

Well, I was wrong. My wife and I knew we were a little tardy when we saw Cal Trans signs on the freeway and road to the store alerting drivers to the event. Once there, we saw that, contrary to what you might read online, there are plenty of NASCAR fans. One woman in attendance drove out from Phoenix to see Jimmie, about 325 miles or so. Another showed up at 7 in the morning for the event starting at 7 that evening. The atmosphere was great; no one was fighting to get closer to the stage or his car. They even had signs telling everyone that NASCAR and Team Lowe's Racing would allow us to videotape the event if we wished. That may not seem like a big deal, but it's rare out this way.

To the side of the stage, Lowe's had Jimmie's Memorial Day car set up for viewing, complete with all the names of Lowe's employees who have served our country on the hood. It felt special that they brought that car along instead of the standard Lowe's car or a Kobalt Tools car.

Right at 7, a band from Las Vegas by the name of "Yellow Brick Road" took the stage and played for 45 minutes to help pass the time before Jimmie arrived. I was expecting a quick appearance where he would thank everyone for showing up, show his trophy, then hurry off to get to Auto Club Speedway before going on to Las Vegas for NASCAR's ceremonies. It was a lot more fun and meaningful than that.

Jimmie came out with his trophy, and he did talk about being back in his hometown and thanked everyone for supporting him, but then it began to feel more personal. Jimmie's dad came out and shared stories about Jimmie growing up and talked about how he was as a kid racing mini bikes around San Diego County.

Next, three of Jimmie's childhood friends came out and shared stories about growing up with Jimmie. It was fun to hear them talk about his transition from dirt racing to asphalt racing, and how none of them could understand why he would want to go all the way to North Carolina to race on pavement, and how he was the only one who would bump draft driving down Interstate 8. Two of Jimmie's early racing mentors followed and described how they knew he would be dangerous once he won his first race.

After a "questions from the audience" period, the mayor of Santee came out and presented Jimmie with a key to the city and declared that whatever the posted speed limit was, Jimmie could go 10MPH faster. Jimmie then asked if they could just change all the 45 zones to 48s. The mayor was followed by East County's councilwoman, who presented Jimmie and his wife, Chandra, with a declaration from the county that today has been deemed 'Jimmie Johnson Day' throughout San Diego County.

Jimmie concluded the night by thanking everyone for the support and promised to go for number 5 next year. Leaving, it felt more like we had just spent time with an old friend hearing stories from the past than attending a celebrity athlete's victory rally. We were exposed to the generosity of Jimmie's foundation around San Diego, and the type of guy that Jimmie really is outside the car, and reinforced my feeling that we really can't have a better champion.

Best of the decade: The top NASCAR fights of the 2000s

2009-12-01T21:00:00.001-06:00

We're counting down the best stories of the decade, and today, we focus on some of the best off-track action around -- the fights! NASCAR first burst into popularity thanks to a fight at the 1979 Daytona 500, and the drivers haven't slowed down since. Check some of the most famous on- and off-track fights of the last 10 years, right here.

10. Jeff Gordon vs. Matt Kenseth, Bristol, 2006: Kenseth dumped Gordon, and then Gordon got out of his car and shoved Kenseth. Really. I can't believe it either.

9. Kevin Harvick vs. Juan Pablo Montoya, Watkins Glen, 2007: Montoya spun into Harvick, and then Harvick decided to have a few words with JPM. It didn't go so well.

8. Dale Earnhardt Jr. vs. Kyle Busch, Richmond, 2008: The fight that wasn't, but should have been. Kyle Busch turned Dale Earnhardt Jr. in the final laps of the Richmond race, and Junior didn't respond effectively enough -- or at all -- for many people's tastes. This, for many, was the moment Kyle owned Dale.

7. Carl Edwards vs. Matt Kenseth, Martinsville, 2007: Tempers flared between teammates, and Edwards did the old fake-punch-make-ya-flinch move to Kenseth, who bit -- and instantly regretted doing so.

6. Tony Stewart vs. Kurt Busch, Bud Shootout, 2008: Tony Stewart and Kurt Busch had a long history of knocking heads, and it came to a head in the preseason Bud Shootout last year. Both drivers were disciplined by NASCAR in the hauler, and they've been calm since then.

5. Jimmy Spencer vs. Kurt Busch, Michigan, 2003: After multiple on-track incidents, Spencer rammed Busch following the race, and then jumped out of his car and decked Busch. The result? Fines, but also cheers.

4. Kevin Harvick vs. Greg Biffle, Bristol, 2002: Harvick and Biffle go at it after Biffle rammed Harvick. Line of the fight: "Biffle's an idiot, that's pretty much enough."

3. Robby Gordon vs. Michael Waltrip, New Hampshire, 2005: Gordon and Waltrip have gone at each other quite a few times, but the best one had to be when Gordon threw his helmet at Waltrip after getting spun. "Well, that's just rude," Waltrip said.

2. Kevin Harvick vs. Carl Edwards, Lowe's Motor Speedway, 2008: No video of the fight exists, but plenty of pictures do, like the one at the top of this post. Edwards is a workout fiend, but Harvick apparently got the better of him. Edwards later left a note in Harvick's plane, which seems a pretty goofy way to end it, but hey -- that's 21st-century NASCAR.

1. Denny Hamlin vs. Brad Keselowski, Charlotte, 2008 and onward: Hamlin and Jet Ski have had a hate-hate relationship going for about 18 months now, and this was where it all began -- a Nationwide race that ended in a fight involving both crews and Dale Earnhardt Jr., among many others. This gets the nod simply because it's gone on so long ... and continues to this day.

And, if all that didn't sate your bloodlust enough, here's a compilation of all the great fights in recent NASCAR history. Enjoy -- but be sure to calm down before you leave the computer!

Join us for the Marbles' Chat, Wednesday at 1:30 p.m. ET

2009-12-01T19:00:00.001-06:00

Hey, time for another Marbles live chat! Sure, it's NASCAR's offseason, but does that mean we have to stay silent? Heck no! We can talk about our Best of the Decade series, we can talk Danica, we can count the days to Daytona! Be here at 1:30 (note slightly later time) Eastern for the festivities to begin!

&amp;amp;lt;a href=&amp;amp;quot;http://www.coveritlive.com/mobile.php?option=com_mobile&amp;amp;amp;task=viewaltcast&amp;amp;amp;altcast_code=f8509c0a9c&amp;amp;quot; mce_href=&amp;amp;quot;http://www.coveritlive.com/mobile.php?option=com_mobile&amp;amp;amp;task=viewaltcast&amp;amp;amp;altcast_code=f8509c0a9c&amp;amp;quot; &amp;amp;gt;Marbles Live Chat for 12/2/09&amp;amp;lt;/a&amp;amp;gt;

Best of the decade: The top 10 NASCAR argument-starters

2009-12-01T13:00:00.001-06:00

We're at the end of the decade of the 2000s, and we're running down some of the most memorable moments of the past ten years. NASCAR fans love to debate the sport, and today, we indulge you, serving up the greatest arguments of the last 10 years. Please, no bloodshed; conversation only.

10. Which TV network is the best? NASCAR splits its season across three networks -- Fox, TNT and ABC/ESPN -- and each has its advantages (widescreen racing with in-race commercials) and disadvantages (Digger). So which network is your favorite? Is any?

9. Should NASCAR open the doors to more tire manufacturers? 2008 wasn't a good year for tires. An uncompetitive Atlanta race and a wretched Indy sent all of NASCAR nation and a good portion of the drivers against Goodyear, and increased pressure on NASCAR to open the door to more tire manufacturers. Of course, NASCAR did nothing of the sort.

8. Are the many cookie-cutter tracks a mistake? There are several hundred 1.5-mile "cookie-cutter" tracks in NASCAR, or perhaps it only seems that way. While the tracks can provide predictable racing, "predictable" can have both positive and negative connotations.

7. Do foreign manufacturers belong in NASCAR? Toyota's arrival in NASCAR set off torrents of America-first screaming. Should NASCAR remain an American-manufacturer sport, or should American manufacturers step it up and take on all comers?

6. Is the Chase a good system or an atrocity? The Chase was designed to put a playoff atmosphere into NASCAR, but it hasn't worked out that way. Is that the fault of the Chase, or a testament to the skill of Jimmie Johnson?

5. Kyle Busch: budding antihero or whiny jerk? Kyle Busch has made plenty of enemies on the track. But he's also earned plenty of fans, too, largely because he's phenomenally talented. So which side will win out, the skill or the complaining?

4. Does the Car of Tomorrow make NASCAR better? Developed in the wake of Dale Earnhardt's death, the Car of Tomorrow is the safest stock car ever made. But it's also boxy and tough to legally reengineer, and certain drivers -- Jeff Gordon and Dale Earnhardt Jr. chief among them -- have had significant difficulties adjusting to the new ride. So is the increased safety worth the competitive tradeoff?

3. Is Jimmie Johnson one of the all-time greats? He's won more consecutive championships than anyone in NASCAR history. But he's done it under a Chase system that plays to his strengths. So does he belong in the company of the immortals, or is he just forrtunate enough to be born at the right time?

2. Was NASCAR better in the old days? Sure, engineers could tinker with the cars, and there was bumpin' and bangin' and real men behind the wheel. But races were often won with only a handful of cars -- sometimes only one -- on the lead lap. And if you didn't see the race live, you'd have to listen on radio, at best. Today? More competitive, every second on TV ... but far less charismatic drivers. Which do you prefer?

1. Is Dale Earnhardt Jr. really any good at all? He's a chameleon, that Junior -- sometimes hypertalented, sometimes completely lost. Is it the car? The crew chief? Him? Does he have his father's talent, or just his last name? This is the question above all questions, the one which won't ever get answered to anyone's satisfaction ... probably not even Junior's.

All right, your turn. What's your take on the arguments above? Any others we need to add to the list? Go!

Best of the decade: The 10 best races of the 2000s

2009-12-01T03:00:00.001-06:00

We're counting down the top moments in NASCAR over the last 10 years, and today, we focus on the best races of the decade. Many of them center around one single event, but all had fans' hearts pounding right into the final lap.

10. 2008 Camping World RV 400 at Dover: It was a Roush-Fenway special, as Carl Edwards, Greg Biffle and Matt Kenseth traded the lead in the final laps. Biffle wove through lapped traffic and claimed the win.

9. 2002 All-Star Race: Ryan Newman and Dale Earnhardt Jr. were locked in a tight battle, with Earnhardt chasing Newman. But Junior let Newman slip away, failing to pull an Intimidator-style bump-and-run, giving fans the first hint that maybe Junior wouldn't be running his races as Senior had.

8. 2000 Winston 500 at Talladega: No one at the time could know it, but the 2000 Winston 500 would be Dale Earnhardt Sr.'s 76th and final victory. He rose 17 positions in the final four laps to take the win.

7. 2007 Subway 500 at Martinsville: Jeff Gordon had dominated for most of the season, but the Chase reset had brought Jimmie Johnson back into the hunt. This was Gordon's chance to put distance between himself and Johnson. But in the end, it was JJ who ran down Gordon in the race's final laps, setting himself up for a run to his second straight Cup.

6. 2008 Sharpie 500 at Bristol: Over the course of the decade, 20 races were run at Bristol, and almost all of them could conceivably make this list. The 2008 night race makes the list, though, because of the fireworks on-track between Carl Edwards and Kyle Busch. Edwards used a bump-and-run move to take the win. After the race was over, Busch hit Edwards, who proceeded to spin Kyle and send the fans into hysterics.

5. 2007 Cracker Barrel 500 at Atlanta: In just his third race, just three weeks after Dale Earnhardt Sr.'s death, Kevin Harvick edged Jeff Gordon to take the win. Harvick held up three fingers through his window in his victory lap, earning him an instant fanbase.

4. 2007 Daytona 500: Everything was setting up perfectly for perennial bridesmaid Mark Martin to finally win the Daytona 500, but at the last second, Kevin Harvick spoiled the party and took the checkers.

3. 2004 Ford 400 at Homestead: Kurt Busch, Jeff Gordon and Jimmie Johnson entered the race in a virtual dead heat for the first Chase championship. And the Cup wasn't determined until the final turn. All three drivers ended up in the top 5, but it was Busch who walked away with the Cup.

2. 2001 Pepsi 400 at Daytona: In his first race at Daytona since his father died at the track, Dale Earnhardt Jr. won going away, and there wasn't a dry eye in the grandstands.

1. 2003 Carolina Dodge Dealers 400 at Darlington: The closest finish in NASCAR history, with Ricky Craven just barely beating Kurt Busch. Here, check it for yourself and see if your pulse isn't racing:

All right, you're up. What did we miss? Where would you place your favorites? Have at it!

Best of the decade: The 10 worst wrecks of the 2000s

2009-12-01T01:00:00.001-06:00

It's the end of the decade, and we're counting down the best and worst of NASCAR from the past 10 years. And now, we're up to wrecks. We've ranked the worst of the decade, but we have to note that these are all non-fatal ones. We love seeing a little sheet metal crumple, but that's about as far as we go. Sit back, buckle up, and get ready to watch some insurance deductibles skyrocket.

10. Jimmie Johnson, Nationwide Series, Watkins Glen, 2000: Johnson lost his brakes and plowed straight into the wall at Watkins Glen. Considering the way he leaped onto his car and celebrated afterward, I'm guessing he's no relation to the four-time champion of today.

9. Jeff Gordon, Las Vegas, 2008: Gordon was lucky his car wasn't ripped in half by the impact on the inside wall at Vegas.

8. Ryan Newman, Talladega, 2009: One of the scarier wrecks of the 2009 season, Newman landed roof-down, and fans had a few nervous moments as they wondered the extent of his injuries. Turns out, there were almost none.

7. Chad Chaffin, truck series, Daytona, 2005: Not a major wreck initially, but this one makes the list because of Chaffin's style points -- he flipped, landed right back on his wheels, and tried to get back into the race without losing a lap.

6. Kenny Wallace and friends, Talladega, 2002: If there had been fog on the track, you could have understood this pileup, but man, the cars just kept coming, didn't they?

5. Mike Harmon, Bristol, 2005: How Harmon lived through this one is a mystery. A happy one, certainly, but a mystery nonetheless.

4. Elliott Sadler, Talladega, 2003: Elliott goes flying! Fly away, little #38, fly away!

3. Carl Edwards, Talladega, 2009: Edwards' famous wall-wipe cost him a chance at his only win in 2009, but he gained plenty of new fans when he made the rounds of the talk shows after this wreck:

2. Geoff Bodine, truck series, Daytona, 2000: At the very first truck series race at Daytona, Bodine's truck hit the fence and exploded into a fireball. And Bodine was fine. Amazing.

1. Michael McDowell, Texas, 2008. It looked like he was destined for the hereafter, but McDowell squeezed out, dusted himself off and went on his way. Sans car, of course.

All right, your turn. What did we miss? What needs to be moved? Feel free to add links to video below. Have at it!

Danica's website may have let the NASCAR cat out of the bag

2009-11-30T19:00:00.001-06:00

Monday morning, Danica Patrick ventured forth on her GoDaddy news tour, proclaiming the good news of her new sponsor and her new deal with Andretti Autosport. All well and good, though many were hoping that she would say something about her possible plans to race in NASCAR as well as IndyCar.

She didn't ... but her website just may have let a little secret out.

Several astute observers, including one commenter on our morning Danica post, took note of the fact that Danica's icon on her website, the one pictured on the left, was wearing a firesuit with a Chevrolet logo -- curious in that she drives Honda for IRL.

Ah, but look closer at the image on the left, screen-capped by The Sporting News. On her right shoulder is what looks like the NASCAR Nationwide Series logo, and on her left shoulder, that really looks like the JR Motorsports logo, pictured at right for comparative purposes.

In what I'm sure is a total coincidence, Danica has been in active talks to join JR Motorsports and run a partial Nationwide season in 2010.

The image was swiftly yanked and replaced by the IRL-centered one at right. Make of this what you will, but it sure looks like somebody spilled the beans a bit early. Hope they've still got a job. Danica, for her part, looks like she's already got two lined up for next year.

Create-a-caption: 'I bet I could hit Mark Martin from here'

2009-11-30T15:00:00.001-06:00

Jimmie Johnson stares out at his domain, holding his fourth trophy. You're far, far below, and so am I. But that won't stop us from captioning this, will it? Heck no.

After the jump, Johnson (him again?) meets with Yogi Berra. Who brought the pic-a-nic baskets?

kinggeorge:
Yogi: Being Champion is a lot like winning.
Jimmie: Are you that guy that writes those fortune cookie sayings?

Mister F:
Yogi: If you come to a fork in the road, pit.
JJ: Hey, that's really good advice. I hear that Kurt Busch is looking for a new chief. Are you interested?

Kim:
Jimmie: Yogi, I feel like I spend most of my life driving in circles.
Yogi: Jimmie, if you don't know where you're going, you might wind up some place else.

And New York is in his wheelhouse:
Yogi - "Just 23 more championships, and we'll be all tied up, son."

Danica underwhelms with 'announcement,' but there's more ...

2009-11-30T11:00:00.001-06:00

We really should know better by now. When Danica Patrick promised a "major announcement" Monday morning on Good Morning America, we were all thinking it would have something to do with NASCAR. Would she finally end this two-step of leaked rumors and silence and commit to racing with JR Motorsports?

Um ... no.

The "big announcement" turned out to be the fact that she would be rocking the GoDaddy logo on her Indy ride full-time next year. Danica made the announcement via an unveiling of the car at right live on GMA, in between your local weather and tips for keeping within your budget this holiday season. In other words, exactly the kind of place you'd expect to find race fans.

But, yes, I tuned in, and this makes me guilty. So now I'm bringing the rest of you down with me. (Also announced: the formalization of a contract with Andretti Racing, a deal that had been first announced sometime back during the Clinton administration, or so it seems.)

Still, dig a little deeper and there are some potential possibilities. Sirius Speedway is reporting that Danica will drive a JR Motorsports Chevrolet "in a clandestine test session at Daytona International Speedway within the next two weeks." Make of that what you will, but any time the word "clandestine" is involved, we're all over it. (Hat tip: The Daly Planet.)

More news -- actually, any news -- as it develops.

Best of the decade: The top 10 NASCAR stories of the 2000s

2009-11-27T13:00:00.001-06:00

We're at the end of the 2000s, and we're taking a look back at the top stories, events, drivers and moments of the last decade. It was a time of change in NASCAR, a time when the regional sport blew up nationally, but change always comes with a price. Today, the top stories of the decade.

1. Death of Dale Earnhardt. It was almost Shakespearean in its drama and tragedy. On the very day NASCAR began its major new television deal, its most famous star died in the final lap of the Daytona 500, blocking for his son and teammate. Earnhardt's death and resultant outpouring of grief instantly transformed the sport, vaulting it to untouched heights of popularity and awareness. Sadly, you can now divide NASCAR into pre- and post-Daytona 2001.

2. The introduction of the Chase. Looking for a way to maximize end-of-season excitement, NASCAR rolled out the Chase for the Cup in 2004. And initially, it seemed brilliant; the Chase was in doubt until the final turn of the 2004 race in Homestead. But the points reset has caused controversy, as has the fact that one guy has been more successful at it than anyone else.

3. Jimmie Johnson's four-peat. Nobody in NASCAR history has ever won four titles in a row, and Johnson has done so in dominant fashion. Love him, hate him or disregard him, but Johnson is one of the most successful drivers in NASCAR history, and he's at the top of his game right now.

4. Dale Earnhardt Jr. leaves DEI. The other shoe dropping from the passing of the Intimidator came six years later, when Dale Earnhardt Jr. packed up and left the company that bore his name following an ugly, protracted fight with his stepmother Theresa. Going to Hendrick was supposed to mean Earnhardt would become a worldwide superstar with the best equipment in the sport. So far it hasn't worked out that way.

5. The debut of the Car of Tomorrow. Earnhardt's death spurred a raft of safety improvements, including track barriers and in-car head restraint devices, but the most significant was the Car of Tomorrow. Rolled out as a safer alternative to previous vehicles, as well as a more cost-effective approach that narrowed the range of engineering tinkering, the Car debuted in 2007 and was formally introduced in 2008. Its blocky structure and narrow engineering possibilities led to complaints from both fans and drivers.

6. The arrival of Toyota in NASCAR. NASCAR has always been a uniquely American sport, so when Toyota entered the sport in the mid-2000s, starting with lower-level series, the howls of protest started. Never mind that much of Toyota's work is done in the United States, or that many "American" manufacturers do work overseas, or that other foreign manufacturers have been in NASCAR before; the perceived "invasion" of Toyota set many fans on edge. And when Joe Gibbs Racing switched from Chevy to Toyota and kept winning, that seemed both an assault and a betrayal. The foreign-car issue seems to be fading with all but the hardcores, but it's still out there.

7. The cresting of NASCAR's popularity? NASCAR exploded so quickly in popularity -- you've heard the "second most popular sport in America" factoid a thousand times -- that there had to be a pullback. The combination of a bad economy and gripes about the on-track product led to declining attendance at races, and thousands of "the sky is falling" articles. Is the worst over?

8. NASCAR's landmark television deal. Just two weeks before the turn of the millennium, NASCAR struck a six-year, $2.4 billion deal to put the sport on three separate networks. The centralized television deal brought the sport to more viewers than ever before, but also -- say it with me -- spurred controversy among longtime fans.

9. The debut of the NASCAR Hall of Fame. NASCAR's Hall of Fame, to open in Charlotte in 2010, will be a landmark for the sport, a place where the history and grandeur of NASCAR can be formally celebrated. And naturally, its opening will come with controversy -- two Frances and no David Pearson in the inaugural class? Really? -- but if it didn't have people griping, it wouldn't be NASCAR.

10. Death of Adam Petty. At 19 years old, Adam Petty was NASCAR's next younghope, the fourth generation of Pettys to race in NASCAR. He was slated to run in the Winston Cup series in 2001. But in May 200 during a practice session for the Busch series in New Hampshire, his throttle stuck and Petty hit the wall, dying instantly. It was a wrenching tragedy for the whole sport, and in Adam's honor his father Kyle has begun the Victory Junction Gang charity, one of NASCAR's best-known charities.

All right, your turn. What did we miss? What else belongs on this list? Have your say!

Happy Thanksgiving from The Marbles!

2009-11-26T11:00:00.001-06:00

Happy Thanksgiving to you and yours from all of us here at Yahoo! Sports and The Marbles! Hope it's a safe and happy one. We're taking Thursday off, but we'll be back on starting Friday. (And if you're looking for a little something to read from me over the holidays, why not click here?)

Image from teh alwayz funneh LOLNASCAR.

What are you thankful for in NASCAR this year?

2009-11-25T19:00:00.001-06:00

It's Thanksgiving, and we're thankful for many things around here -- turkey-induced naps, weekday football, and intelligent fellow bloggers. Biting off our buddy 'Duk's post over at Big League Stew, we've created a space for you to offer up what you're thankful for in NASCAR. Tailgates? The smell of oil in the morning? Catastrophic wrecks where everyone walks away? Whatever you're thankful for, here's your chance to let the world know.

Here's how this works. You can comment in the comment box below, though that's moderated and your post won't appear instantly. Or you can go through Twitter and post your thanks with the hashtag #marblesthanks, and they'll show up below.

Have a happy and safe holiday, and we'll see you right back here soon!

&amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;a href=&amp;amp;amp;amp;quot;http://www.coveritlive.com/mobile.php?option=com_mobile&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;task=viewaltcast&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;altcast_code=1b293f927b&amp;amp;amp;amp;quot; mce_href=&amp;amp;amp;amp;quot;http://www.coveritlive.com/mobile.php?option=com_mobile&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;task=viewaltcast&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;altcast_code=1b293f927b&amp;amp;amp;amp;quot; &amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;What are you thankful for in NASCAR?&amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;/a&amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;

From the Couch: Finding entertainment where there isn't any

2009-11-25T17:00:00.001-06:00

You know how you knew that Homestead was an important race? Both Sprint Cup Smiley Girls were there. Not just the one, but the two! Beat still, my heart.

Despite their presence, which smacked of unbridled excitement and general eminence (bof'em, for crying out loud!), it was déjà vu all over again.

Yes, as prognosticated by many in the sport, and as with roughly 30 other races this year, Scott Speed totally nailed that first Lucky Dog of the race. It's not often that you get to see history - Speed started second - like that. I feel privileged to have witnessed it.

Actually, the race was entertaining, despite the simple truth that it was over before it began (though Dr. Punch sure tried his finest to convince us otherwise). I rather enjoyed the accordion rear-ender wreck on pit road. That was a sure sign that the driver's were already on break.

My buddy Chad did this one time, wrecking six cars in front of him, totaling his completely boss Chevrolet Citation. Chad is the same guy who once got pulled over for a DUI when he wasn't drunk. Chad worked in a coal mine on the graveyard shift, and on this particular morning, he forgot a change of clothes, fell asleep at the wheel on his way home (hence the stop), and had to perform his DUI tests in his boxers with carbon soot all over his face. The best part was that his mom, who was on her way to work, drove by as he was heel-toeing the line. (Hey, what's my son doing pulled over in his underwear with blackface on?)

So, yeah, that wreck was probably more entertaining for me than you.

Anyway, JPM and Stewart also put on a good show. JPM proved, without a shadow of a doubt, that he is an idiot. I'd rather be responsible for collecting Jeremy Mayfield's next urine test than be on Stewart's bad side. He owned a monkey once for God's sake. You know who owns monkeys? Crazy people, that's who. And crazy always trumps idiot. How do you think Obama got elected?

And Gordo? Fastest Pit Crew of the Year! Now that was fulfilling, you know, as a Gordon fan. And by fulfilling I mean that it made me want to throw something heavy, preferably with a large glass component, ideally with a cathode ray tube, off of a small roof onto large pavement (timeouts just aren't doing it for me anymore). It made me want to choke Letarte (which would require both a ladder and a belt, but I might be able to pull it off with the proper guise).

The fastest pit crew of the year? What? Was it based on a degree of difficulty scale? Because yeah, they did a great job if you factor in the fact that they had to perform a spring rubber and three wedge adjustments on every stop this year.

But either way, suck on that JJ. Call me when you have four Cup trophies AND a FPCY on the mantel, then we'll talk about the greatest of all time. Umkay?

Of course, despite his loss in the FPCY race, JJ deserves loads of credit. If there was ever any doubt that he is a tremendously skilled driver, he squelched it with his post-Cup victory lane burnout. Let's reset the scene: national television, victory lane after a historical fourth consecutive Cup, fans lining both sides of the lane, a flag in his left hand. So, low stakes. And what does he do? He gooses it all the way down the lane, smoking and spinning the tires. Carl Edwards needed a fence to stay off the fans. JJ did it one handed.

Finally, I cannot forget my neighbors, as they, too, always make for an entertaining race. My neighbors, you see, have "the dish." We live in the boonies, and my wife and I don't have a satellite, and so my neighbors kindly record every race and allow us to crash their living room weekly. For this reason, and many more, I love them.

But the real beauty of our neighborhood is that you'll never know what you'll get. Typically it's me chugging Budweiser while spitting incoherent invective Letarte's way. Sometimes it's Steve swilling Black Velvet and busting on Fords. And sometimes it's Pam downing red wine and wondering aloud why people back into parking spaces.

But this weekend, and fitting for fall and the season's finale, it was the constant drone of an industrial grinder. It was meat processing time, and in the background of this year's race, with a light snow falling outside and fire crackling in the fireplace, Bambi had lost to the man and was, literally, mincemeat.

For the competition, this was a fitting end to JJ's fourth straight title.

Teams, tracks to General Motors: Where's my money?

2009-11-25T15:00:00.001-06:00

Sure, it's Turkey Time, but there's still business to be done -- ugly business, in some cases. The deadline to file claims with the former, now bankrupt, General Motors is Monday, Nov. 30, and several NASCAR-related entities are looking to get some money out of whatever's left of the onetime giant.

The claims range from the relatively minor (Auto Club Speedway is seeking $45,500 for a hospitality contract) to the significant (Dale Earnhardt Inc. is seeking $3.3 million for an unspecified contract). Other claimants include Daytona International Speedway ($651,000) and JR Motorsports ($198,000).

It's another reminder that the rough times are not yet done. While there's plenty of griping to be done about NASCAR's Chase and so on, there are much more important issues surrounding this sport that remain uncertain and unresolved.

Two teams, two tracks file claims with former General Motors [Scene Daily]