NASCAR BLOG

Fans of Denny Hamlin will be relieved to find out that NASCAR officials will not punish him further when he intentionally brought out a late caution when he raced at the Richmond International Raceway. Earlier at the race on Saturday, he has to race two additional laps as penalty when he halted on the track with a cut tire. During that time, he has less than ten laps remaining before the race ended. NASCAR translated that move as a way to allow Hamlin’s team mate Kyle Busch the upper hand to overtake Dale Earnhardt Jr.

In related news, Michael Waltrip will also not be punished for purposefully wrecking Casey Mears’ car.

Both fans and NASCAR racers will be glad to know that Lowe’s Motor Speedway will soon feature a reliable SAFER barrier lining the inside wall of its backstretch. The proper installation process is expected to be completed right before the track opens its doors to crowds coming for the NASCAR race come May 2008. SAFER, an acronym for Steel and Foam Energy Reduction barriers is a great form of safety and protection for racers. For this matter, Lowe will soon boast an extra 340 feet of SAFER barriers. Humpy Wheeler, responsible track president for Lowe, said that even though this entire project will cost them a whopping $110,000, the wellbeing of NASCAR racers are still number one priority.

The move came about after Jeff Gordon suffered from a terrible crash at Las Vegas last March. He criticized Bruton Smith, owner of both Las Vegas and Lowe’s Motor Speedway on live television for failing to install adequate SAFER barriers.