NASCAR BLOG

The first race of the 2011 Chase For the Sprint Cup will be held just outside Chicago, IL at the Chicagoland Speedway. The announcement could be a sign that NASCAR is looking to tap into the massive Chicago market by awarding the city one of the 10 Sprint Cup races. Chicagoland Speedway  played host to the LifeLock.com 400 last month that saw underdog favorite win his second Sprint Cup Series race. The 1.5 mile track has also hosted the Dollar General 300 on the Nationwide Series since 2001. Kyle Busch claimed the $81,570 prize last year finishing in 1st place. Located in Joliet, IL, the Chicagoland Speedway has been in operation for nine years. The $130 million stadium seats 75,000 spectators on race day. The Chase For the Sprint Cup opening race in Joliet will be followed by a race at New Hampshire Motor Speedway.

The LifeLock.com 400 at Chicagoland Speedway had a feel-good ending this weekend with driver David Reutimann coming away with his second career win on the Sprint Series. At Victory Lane a host of drivers and NASCAR crew member congratulated Reutimann and his team after the #00 car held off Jeff Gordon for the win. The outpouring of congratulations gave racing fans a in-depth look into Reutimann’s popularity within NASCAR circles. Reutimann’s first win on the Sprint Series came with a boatload of scrunity. The 40-year-old got his first career Sprint Cup win at the Coke 600 last year due to weather conditions. The manner at which his won his first race caused critics to question if he deserved the win. Reutimann put all his critics to bed by leading the race Saturday for the last 32 laps and fending off the likes of Gordon and Carl Edwards. Congrats to David!

Danica Patrick is riding three IndyCar Top 10 finishes into her first Nationwide race in three months. The 28-year-old race car driver will compete in the NASCAR Nationwide New England 200 at New Hampshire Motorspeedway on Saturday. Patrick’s cross over to NASCAR has seen mixed results. Her first race on the ARCA circuit was a great success as Patrick finished in sixth place at the Daytona Motor Speedway. On the Nationwide, Patrick has wrecked twice in three races, so perhaps we shouldn’t expect the IndyCar star to threaten to win the race. Patrick told the media that she’d be happy with a Top 20 or T0p 15 finish in New Hampshire. Regardless of whatever place Danica finishes on Saturday, there will be a lot of extra eyes on New Hampshire cheering her on.

Joey Logano, at just 20 years old, has won twice at the Kentucky Speedway. Thing is, he’s only raced there twice. In June of 2008, Logano won his first Nationwide series race at Kentucky, despite teammate Kyle Busch doing his best to wreck him. The Joe Gibbs driver won again at the 2009 Meijer 300 on the Nationwide series. Although now a staple on the Sprint Cup Series, Logano has opted to try his luck at winning again at Kentucky. Logano has yet to win on the Nationwide Series this season, but finished in 3rd on May 29 in the Tech-Net Auto Service 300. Logano won his first Sprint Cup Series race last year at the Lenox Industrial Tools 301 in New Hampshire. NASCAR’s wunderkid will go for three in a row in Sparta, Kentucky this Saturday.

Kyle Busch’s post-race expletive-ridden comments about team mate Denny Hamlin this past weekend at Charlotte Motor Speedway was just another example of how NASCAR teams aren’t always the best of friends. Denny Hamlin refused to allow Busch (his brother Kurt eventually won the race) to pass him during the All Star Race on Saturday, which caused Busch to slam his Toyota M&M Pretzel car into the wall. Busch apparently went looking for Hamlin at his trailer after the race. Giants of the sport, Jeff Gordon and Jimmie Johnson, have also been after each other recently. NASCAR.com did an excellent piece, featuring writers Bill Kimm and Mark Spoor, asking the question if teammates should race differently against one another. I see the point that the drivers are paid by team owners and therefore are expected to do what is best for the team, but no one can deny that people love NASCAR for the drivers. NASCAR drivers got to where they are, because of their inane desire to finish in first. If there’s too much of team mentality on the racetrack it’ll take away from the sure competitiveness of the sport. Besides, all this team-on-team controversy is endlessly entertaining. I hope there’s more to come.

Kyle Busch is a busy man. This weekend in Nashville he won the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series on Friday night and the next day he finished third in the Nationwide Series in the Music City. The Truck Series victory was Busch’s first win driving as the owner of his own truck. The 24-year-old driver is famous for his bad behavior, but his success this weekend went without any controversy. Last year at Nashville, Busch caused a stir over his smashing of the custom Gibson guitar he received for winning the Auto Parts 300 moments after receiving it. The artist who made the guitar was upset and Busch didn’t come out looking to good. However, on Friday there was no guitar smashing or verbal tirades, but just Busch accepting his victory uncharacteristically with grace.

After coming off last year where Jamie McMurray won the Sprint Cup Series’ 2009 Amp Energy 500, the 34-year-old driver has moved back to Earnhardt Ganassi Racing and is preparing for the 2010 season. The driver of the #1 Bass Pro Shops Chevorolet Impala SS has been quite busy this off season testing race cars, competeing in go-karting, and getting to know his new team mate Juan Pablo Montoya. The two will compete in the Rolex 24 at Daytona as part of four man EGR team. McMurray is happy to back with the racing team that he left four years ago for Rousch Fenway Racing. McMurray says its nice to working with people he knows and with race cars that have a high level of craftmanship. With McMurray and Montoya driving in the Sprint Cup Series, 2010 should be a very intersting year for Earnhardt Ganassi Racing.

NASCAR team owner Rick Hendrick has donated two of the planes staffed by two flight crews to non-profit group Missionary Flights International for relief missions to the earthquake ravaged country of Haiti.

The 45-seat planes are used flying drivers and crew members around the country for races during the busy season, but were available during what is traditionally a month break for the pilots and staff. The planes are being used to deliver precious cargo to the thousands of Haitians in need of food, water, and medicine. In addition to dropping off supplies the 10 Hendrick team members that volunteered have been picking up groups of children orphaned by the terrible disaster.

Pilot Dave Dudley told NASCAR.com that his first flight picking up Haitian orphans was the “best flight of his career”. The crew were also able to bring back the corpse of a dead American who perished in earthquake so that the family could have a proper burial back in America. NASCAR teams have raised more than $3 million dollars for the disaster relief which is ongoing in Hati. It has not been determined how long Hendrick Motorsports will continue with the missions to Haiti, but their help has certainly made a impact on many earthquake survivors lives.

Chasing down Marco Andretti during the final yards of the 2006 Indy 500, Hornish swept past the son of racing royalty to win by about a car length, the distinct rumble of the yard of bricks under his wheels at the finish line telling Hornish he’d finally captured the most-coveted title in open-wheel racing. Hornish still has a realistic shot at catching Regan Smith for rookie of the year honors after this win. However, all will not be well even after this fairy tale win because the driver returns to familiar territory for Sunday’s Brickyard 400 in an unfamiliar position - struggling to find the magic that seemed to flow so easily during Hornish’s dominant open-wheel career for team owner Roger Penske. Despite this, Hornish looks forward to the race for which tickets are selling out fast.

Racing Prodigy Joey Logano might be the possible replacement for No. 20 Sprint Cup car’s driver Tony Stewart from the next Sprint Cup Series. The young prodigy who will be competing in his first Nationwide Series in a month at the Gateway International Raceway has no qualms in accepting his desire to be the possible replacement for Tony Stewart next season. The car formally has seen two championship wins with Tony being the Driver. The tickets for this event are up for sale at various locations.