Saturday, April 30, 2011
Fighting Schumacher continues to dream
This blog entry is being penned as I fly over Quanzhou on my way to Shanghai at 3,9101ft, travelling at 616mph.
I've just watched possibly the greatest boxing movie ever made, in my humble opinion. The Fighter is a gritty, emotive film about human endeavour, sporting brilliance, and defying the odds. Christian Bale is a master of his craft, isn't he?
It got me thinking of some of the greatest sporting tales ever told. I grew up with my Dad regaling me with tales of watching George Best's electrifying feat at the 1968 European Cup final. We all know about the sheer bravery and mastery that Sir Steve Redgrave displayed in winning Olympic gold number five or Red Rum's historic third Grand National win in 1977.
Now, imagine seeing Michael Schumacher crossing the line to bag win 92 of his career. In his 40s, having had three years in retirement, his return initially fails to deliver... and then, finally, it happens. Where would that rank, do you think?
I know opinion is divided on Michael and it's a shame some of his incredible drives fight for space in our memories with the controversial battle with Jacques Villeneuve at Jerez in 1997 or his demotion to the back of the grid during qualifying at Monaco in 2006. However, don't underestimate what a win would really mean and tell us about him.
This sport moves at such pace that, within a season or two, reining in these cars is like going into a cage with a totally new species of wild animal. They react differently; the cars evolve during the race to such an extent a completely new driving style is suddenly required.
Fans of Michael Schumacher would love to see him do something special again (AFP)
The demands on a driver's time are greater than ever and unlike in his first career, Michael's perfomances are immediately live on the internet, being discussed on message boards and the subject of 140-character reviews courtesy of the Twitter revolution.
Not only is Michael compared to contemporaries in his 20s, but perhaps even more unforgiving is that he's compared to himself in his 20s.
We arrive at a circuit and immediately mention Michael 'has won here more than anyone else', 'took pole here by over a second in 2002' or said it is 'where Michael secured his seventh title'. Sometimes, living up to your own legacy must be that hardest act of all.
One thing is for sure, just like the film, Michael is a fighter and will battle on. Mercedes team principal Ross Brawn will be aware every time he looks at 'Schumi' that if he can produce the car, Michael can produce the drive.
Mind you, he'll have to go some way to beat the current drivers' championship leader. The last time a driver won the first two races and failed to take the title we were watching Back To The Future and listening to Bros, so history is on Sebastian Vettel's side, but I get the impression that the sport isn't.
What I mean by that is that these days the rate of development and evolution is so unrelenting and punishing that I'd be surprised if the lights at Brackley, Woking, Milton Keynes, Grove or Maranello are ever turned off.
The same incredible process of change also applies to each grand prix itself. Pirelli deserves a huge round of applause for giving us tyres that are delivering precisely what the sport wanted - drivers flying on one lap and driving like my Grandpa Bernard used to in his white Maxi on the next. The 24 gladiators may hate having a chariot that performs so differently during the space of 50-something laps but it makes it great for you at home.
I know with DRS, KERS, tyre degradation, Plan A and B along with all the other elements of a Grand Prix, at times it must seem like a Higher Maths A-Level lesson but I must say Martin Brundle and David Coulthard do a great job at making sense of the madness.
Some bad luck and his old adversary Fernando Alonso cost Hamilton in Malaysia (Getty)
Ooh, we've just been told 30 minutes to landing, as the season-long treadmill really gets into its stride. We'll be at the track before we know it and I think this is a good weekend to keep your eyes on the men straining every siney, making every move on and off track, and not resting for a moment in an attempt to ramp up the pressure on Seb.
Lewis Hamilton. I saw him after the last GP, a race where strategy, bad luck and his old pal Fernando created the perfect storm to wreck his race. He said 'that's racing' but he knows the facts tell us he was as quick in race-pace as Seb, and he'll take heart from that.
How about Mark Webber? If something is going wrong with one of the Red Bull RB7s it seems to go wrong for his. Two difficult GPs, a dodgy KERS system and four stops compared to just two made by Kamui Kobayashi in Malaysia. However, 12 months ago Seb had no luck and hardly any points. Mark, by contrast, has had two strong finishes - and points mean prizes.
And what of Fernando Alonso? I spent a week at the same holiday resort as him after the Australian race and we were laughing together as he went out day after day to play golf in the driving rain whilst I used the weather as an excuse to do a LOT of sleeping. A bit of rain? No problem for Fernando and that sums up his single-minded determination to achieve what he wants and it won't change this year. A car noticeably slower than McLaren and still managing to race Lewis on the track.
Two races in and I think that the competition at the front seems more aggressive and competitive than I've seen since I started this job. Another great reason to leap out of bed early on Friday morning, hey?
And finally, on that note, thanks to the millions who sacrificed a Sunday morning snooze for last weekend's race. The Malaysian GP enjoyed the highest viewing figures on record and the whole production team were delighted when we discussed it the morning after the race over a breakfast of roti bread and vegetable dhal. Great motivation for all!
Looking forward to sharing this Sunday morning with you too.
Jake
Source: http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/jakehumphrey/2011/04/this_blog_entry_is_being.html
Nascar Brand Management And Sponsorship
When a sport such as this is so big, the sponsors have to be even bigger! Nascar in particular has a wide range of sponsors from electronic, communication, soft drink, beer, food, and even auto companies. I don't think you will ever find a company that doesn't want to be associated with Nascar, and the reason why is super simple. One word. Promotion. Not only will they be sponsors of one of the most popular sports in the country, but their name will be seen by millions of people across the board.
The Nascar Brand -
Take a look at some of the cars you pass today on the street, on the road, on the highway, in parking lots, and you will see that out of every 15 cars, at least 3 cars will have some sort of a Nascar advertisement. Have it be the word Nascar or a number from one of their favorite drivers. Branding doesn't just account for cars and automobiles, there is all kinds of Nascar fan memorabilia out there for the new comer fan to the die hard fan. Nascar is literally, everywhere!
Nascar Merchandise -
You can find plain t-shirts, baseball hats, pants, warm up outfits, jackets, automotive products, flags, kitchen and bar items, bathroom items, jewelry, holiday items and much more with the Nascar logo and design imprinted on them. And that's not all you can also get team and driver specified items, with the number of the driver/car, names of the driver and or crew, owner of the car and much more. Another cool thing to look into is finding items that your favorite driver might have worn personally during a race such as a helmet, gloves, t-shirt, or baseball cap.
Nascar for just men? I think not! -
A lot of people think that Nascar is just for men, or mostly men anyway, they don't realize that more than 40% of Nascar fans are women and that number is going up higher and higher each year! In this case, women's accessories and products are a big point in merchandising sales as well, not just men! Nascar is soon to be the number one sport brand any day now, so what are you waiting for? Isn't it about time you got some for yourself?!? This is one of the few times I'll tell you to follow the leader! Go check out some Nascar stuff now!
This author is a HUGE fan of NASCAR licensed merchandise
Article Source: Nascar Brand Management And Sponsorship
Source: http://www.articlespan.com/article/111186/nascar-brand-management-and-sponsorship
Elliott Sadler GT Vodka Chevrolet Landon Cassill Morgan Shepherd
Your F1 2011 questions answered - part I
Are the new rules a good thing? What are my views on the Hispania debacle at the start of the season? Do the new tyres leave too much rubber on the track? Which new driver has made the best impression so far? What's going wrong at Ferrari?
Watch my answers below.
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Source: http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/murraywalker/2011/04/your_questions_answered_-_part.html
Raybestos Ford Elliott Sadler GT Vodka Chevrolet Landon Cassill
Friday, April 29, 2011
Vettel's rivals given hope in Malaysia
There was a point, shortly before half distance, when the Malaysian Grand Prix appeared to be turning into a microcosm of exactly what the 2011 Formula 1 season was expected to be.
The eventual winner Sebastian Vettel was leading in his Red Bull, from Lewis Hamilton's McLaren and Fernando Alonso's Ferrari. Hamilton was closing on Vettel, Alonso was closing on Hamilton and, not far behind them, Jenson Button in the second McLaren was keeping pace.
Four great drivers in the three top teams were all in contention, and it looked for all the world like a continuation of the fights that made last year into an all-time classic.
In the end, that fantastic battle for the lead ebbed away, but the race still went some way towards cooling fears that Red Bull are going to walk away with this championship.
In the end, Vettel may have driven to another relatively comfortable victory, but just like in Australia two weeks ago the Red Bull was not obviously that much faster than a McLaren or, this time, a Ferrari in the race.
And, surprisingly, Vettel had nowhere near the advantage in qualifying that he had in Melbourne. The battle for pole position was genuinely close between him and Hamilton - despite Sepang being exactly the sort of track that should emphasise the Red Bull's aerodynamic excellence, even if the car has a power handicap down Sepang's long straights.
The world champion was hampered during the race by a faltering Kers system. It seems it was not working when he was coming under pressure from his pursuers, and came back again a little later, when he pulled away again, before the team decided to stop using it altogether once the challenge from Hamilton had faded.
It may be that Red Bull have not yet had to show their full hand in a race - or that for reasons related to the new Pirelli tyres they are not able to.
Either way, the McLarens and Ferraris were much closer than many feared heading into this race. After Australia, you could have been forgiven for thinking 2011 was going to develop as a repeat of Michael Schumacher's dominant years in 2002 and 2004. After Malaysia, the prospects for an exciting season look considerably stronger.
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The race ebbed and flowed throughout its duration, providing a fascinating and gripping spectacle.
Vettel's afternoon was made easier than it might have been by Nick Heidfeld's lightning start in the Renault, which catapulted the German veteran into second place ahead of Hamilton.
There was therefore no chance to see a direct comparison between Vettel and Hamilton in the early laps - and that allowed Vettel to quickly build an advantage that meant he was in control mode as early as the first of his three pit stops.
Mid-race, Hamilton was Vettel's main threat, but as he dropped back, losing grip from his Pirelli tyres faster than his rivals, Button came increasingly into the picture.
The 2009 world champion struggled in the early stages after making a mistake on set-up going into the race. But once that was rectified by adding more front downforce at his pit stops, Button edged ever forward, and as Hamilton fell back with tyre problems, the older McLaren man emerged in second place.
In the closing laps, Button made a go of closing on Vettel, only to effectively be told by his engineer to settle for second because the team did not know whether his tyres would last.
Had things worked out differently, Button may have been forced to spend those closing laps watching his mirrors for a challenge by Alonso. As it was, the Spaniard wrecked what was looking like a certain podium when he misjudged a passing attempt on Hamilton with 10 laps to go.
With his moveable rear wing not working, Alonso was forced to look for other places to pass Hamilton than the end of the pit straight. He had a great run on the McLaren out of Turn Three, but he got too close before pulling out to try for the inside into Turn Four and he clipped his front wing against his old rival's right rear tyre.
That meant a stop for a new front wing, and a finish behind team-mate Felipe Massa in sixth place, which he retained despite a 20-second penalty for hitting Hamilton. It was a costly mistake, but if Alonso did not sound too down in his post-race interview, that was almost certainly because Ferrari certainly did not go into the race expecting to be challenging a McLaren for a place on the podium.
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The team were utterly dejected on Friday, when Alonso was 1.5 seconds off the pace, and not much more optimistic after qualifying on Saturday. But in race conditions the Ferrari looked pretty competitive.
With a massive internal inquiry going on at Maranello about these confusing signals, and the promise of significant upgrades to come, one suspects Alonso may well be a major contender again.
The same is undoubtedly true of Hamilton, even if he did not look like he believed it himself after the race. Starting the day expecting to fight for victory, he finished seventh after struggling increasingly with tyre wear as the race developed. And that was before a 20-second penalty for weaving while defending from Alonso cost him another place.
Hamilton's penalty was not for the collision itself - it was for an incident two minutes earlier, which was when he was defending his position from Alonso down the pit straight the previous lap.
If you watch the video closely, Hamilton does slightly change the trajectory of his car a number of times as the two men are heading towards the first corner.
He is heading to his left, towards the outside of the track, then he goes right a touch, then back left again. They are not big moves, but they are moves. And the stewards decided he had crossed the line and broken the rule that forbids drivers from making more than one change of line to defend a position.
It was, it has to be said, a marginal decision but it should be pointed out that Hamilton has been in trouble for this sort of thing before - in last year's Malaysia race, as it happens. Then, he was given a warning flag for unsportsmanlike driving while defending from Renault's Vitaly Petrov - and received heavy criticism from fellow drivers in the aftermath of the race.
This incident was not as dramatic as that, but Hamilton has nevertheless become the first man to be punished under new rules this season that give race stewards broader powers in such situations.
Hamilton was dejected after the race, obviously frustrated, and appearing to blame the team for stopping him too early for tyres throughout the race.
But the late stop with four laps to go that dropped him down from fourth place was his own decision, according to team boss Martin Whitmarsh. The team felt he could have stayed out - although Whitmarsh was quick to add that the driver has to be trusted in such situations.
Before the season, there was talk that Hamilton's more exuberant style compared to Button could lead him into problems with this year's Pirelli tyres, which have been deliberately designed to degrade relatively quickly. Hamilton has been quick to reject such suggestions, but was this an example of that? And, if so, how much of an impact on Hamilton's hopes will it have this season?
That is just one of the questions to which the Chinese Grand Prix next weekend may provide more answers. Among the others, the merits of the moveable rear wing, or DRS as F1 rather unhelpfully officially calls it, will remain under the spotlight.
At times during Sunday's race in Malaysia, it appeared to be working exactly as planned - it was putting drivers in a position to try to pass, but they were still having to work for it. At others, it appeared to be making things a little too easy. It will doubtless continue to provide a talking point throughout the season.
More pressingly, for those pursuing Vettel, there is the urgent need to turn promise into concrete results.
After two races, Vettel's position in the championship already looks comfortable. Two consecutive victories, with different drivers alongside him on the podium, have put Vettel into a commanding 24-point lead in the championship - after two races, he is already nearly a win clear of his closest pursuer, Button.
Unlike last year, Vettel has made the most of the fastest car in the first two races of the season. Like last year, Red Bull have had problems - this time, with the Kers system - but the German has won both races anyway, whereas at this stage in 2010, he had only a fourth place to his name.
Strong as the Red Bull is, it has weaknesses and it appears as if it is beatable, as long as a rival gets everything right. But they need to start doing that soon, or the already large gap Vettel has built up in the championship will begin to look unbridgeable.
Source: http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/andrewbenson/2011/04/there_was_a_point_shortly.html
Scott Alan Wimmer Jonathan Edward Wood Christopher Beltram Hernandez Yeley
Thursday, April 28, 2011
The NASCAR Vehicle Past and Present
The first component most are interested in is the engine of a NASCAR racing vehicle. This engine actually is very close to that which you have in your car (provided you have a big engine) but it is customized so that it can withstand high temperature and torque. All parts in the engine of a are machined to within very tight specifications so that there is a minimum of friction. The carburetor is designed to let in the volume of air and fuel mixture required to sustain high speeds for lengthy spans of time. There are no fuel injectors in the race cars engine.
The first modification to the NASCAR vehicle was to smooth out the ride. Early races were run on tracks that were very bumpy and this causes a lot of damage. Today, the NASCAR vehicle is basically a body molded from sheet metal on a frame supported on the inside by bars made of sheet tubing. The vehicle is not a stock vehicle any longer as each component is hand-crafted and assembled. The car is built with safety in mind while giving it the ability to maintain speeds approaching 200 mph. Driver comfort is not the focus.
The NASCAR vehicle at one time was able to reach speeds in excess of 200 mph and that all changed in 1987 when Bobby Allisons race car flew into a section of fence at the Talladega Speedway in Talledega, Alabama. Fans were injured in the stands and NASCAR took action to restrict the speed of the vehicle through what is known as a restrictor plate. This also gave birth to the term restrictor-plate racing.
The physics of the restrictor plate have to do with reducing air intake into the intake manifold of the engine. Less air will result in lower combustion thus reducing horsepower. The restrictor plate is a sheet of metal with four holes bored in it at precise tolerances. The plate is then mounted between the intake manifold and the carburetor. After that, the NASCAR vehicle should not be able to exceed speeds of 200 mph.
It would seem like the restrictor plate would resolve the safety problem but many professional drivers have been asserting that it creates more potentially unsafe situations in a race. If you think about the difference between a motor scooter and a motorcycle you can see where a restrictor plate could create problems. Many times a motor scooter has an accident where a motorcycle could have avoided it because of its increased ability to accelerate (a motorcycle can accelerate quicker to avoid an oncoming threat). It is the same complaint among almost all of the racers with restrictor plates. They have identified situations where the cars bunch up and the driver only has one choice and that is to slow down. Speeding up to avoid the congestion is not an option because the other cars may be at the restrictor plate limit too.
But as for now, the restrictor plate is a requirement in the race car vehicle on the majority of tracks.
For the largest selection of Nascar Merchandise along with up to the minute News, NASCARsupershop offers this and more. We carry everything NASCAR including NASCAR Helmets and NASCAR Hats s all at the best prices everyday! I'm not only the owner of NASCARsupershop.com I'm also the senior editor, website developer and a HUGE fan of NASCAR!
Article Source: The NASCAR Vehicle Past and Present
Source: http://www.articlespan.com/article/102706/the-nascar-vehicle-past-and-present
Old Spice Office Depot Chevrolet Jeff Green Air Guard Ford Regan Smith
Fighting Schumacher continues to dream
This blog entry is being penned as I fly over Quanzhou on my way to Shanghai at 3,9101ft, travelling at 616mph.
I've just watched possibly the greatest boxing movie ever made, in my humble opinion. The Fighter is a gritty, emotive film about human endeavour, sporting brilliance, and defying the odds. Christian Bale is a master of his craft, isn't he?
It got me thinking of some of the greatest sporting tales ever told. I grew up with my Dad regaling me with tales of watching George Best's electrifying feat at the 1968 European Cup final. We all know about the sheer bravery and mastery that Sir Steve Redgrave displayed in winning Olympic gold number five or Red Rum's historic third Grand National win in 1977.
Now, imagine seeing Michael Schumacher crossing the line to bag win 92 of his career. In his 40s, having had three years in retirement, his return initially fails to deliver... and then, finally, it happens. Where would that rank, do you think?
I know opinion is divided on Michael and it's a shame some of his incredible drives fight for space in our memories with the controversial battle with Jacques Villeneuve at Jerez in 1997 or his demotion to the back of the grid during qualifying at Monaco in 2006. However, don't underestimate what a win would really mean and tell us about him.
This sport moves at such pace that, within a season or two, reining in these cars is like going into a cage with a totally new species of wild animal. They react differently; the cars evolve during the race to such an extent a completely new driving style is suddenly required.
Fans of Michael Schumacher would love to see him do something special again (AFP)
The demands on a driver's time are greater than ever and unlike in his first career, Michael's perfomances are immediately live on the internet, being discussed on message boards and the subject of 140-character reviews courtesy of the Twitter revolution.
Not only is Michael compared to contemporaries in his 20s, but perhaps even more unforgiving is that he's compared to himself in his 20s.
We arrive at a circuit and immediately mention Michael 'has won here more than anyone else', 'took pole here by over a second in 2002' or said it is 'where Michael secured his seventh title'. Sometimes, living up to your own legacy must be that hardest act of all.
One thing is for sure, just like the film, Michael is a fighter and will battle on. Mercedes team principal Ross Brawn will be aware every time he looks at 'Schumi' that if he can produce the car, Michael can produce the drive.
Mind you, he'll have to go some way to beat the current drivers' championship leader. The last time a driver won the first two races and failed to take the title we were watching Back To The Future and listening to Bros, so history is on Sebastian Vettel's side, but I get the impression that the sport isn't.
What I mean by that is that these days the rate of development and evolution is so unrelenting and punishing that I'd be surprised if the lights at Brackley, Woking, Milton Keynes, Grove or Maranello are ever turned off.
The same incredible process of change also applies to each grand prix itself. Pirelli deserves a huge round of applause for giving us tyres that are delivering precisely what the sport wanted - drivers flying on one lap and driving like my Grandpa Bernard used to in his white Maxi on the next. The 24 gladiators may hate having a chariot that performs so differently during the space of 50-something laps but it makes it great for you at home.
I know with DRS, KERS, tyre degradation, Plan A and B along with all the other elements of a Grand Prix, at times it must seem like a Higher Maths A-Level lesson but I must say Martin Brundle and David Coulthard do a great job at making sense of the madness.
Some bad luck and his old adversary Fernando Alonso cost Hamilton in Malaysia (Getty)
Ooh, we've just been told 30 minutes to landing, as the season-long treadmill really gets into its stride. We'll be at the track before we know it and I think this is a good weekend to keep your eyes on the men straining every siney, making every move on and off track, and not resting for a moment in an attempt to ramp up the pressure on Seb.
Lewis Hamilton. I saw him after the last GP, a race where strategy, bad luck and his old pal Fernando created the perfect storm to wreck his race. He said 'that's racing' but he knows the facts tell us he was as quick in race-pace as Seb, and he'll take heart from that.
How about Mark Webber? If something is going wrong with one of the Red Bull RB7s it seems to go wrong for his. Two difficult GPs, a dodgy KERS system and four stops compared to just two made by Kamui Kobayashi in Malaysia. However, 12 months ago Seb had no luck and hardly any points. Mark, by contrast, has had two strong finishes - and points mean prizes.
And what of Fernando Alonso? I spent a week at the same holiday resort as him after the Australian race and we were laughing together as he went out day after day to play golf in the driving rain whilst I used the weather as an excuse to do a LOT of sleeping. A bit of rain? No problem for Fernando and that sums up his single-minded determination to achieve what he wants and it won't change this year. A car noticeably slower than McLaren and still managing to race Lewis on the track.
Two races in and I think that the competition at the front seems more aggressive and competitive than I've seen since I started this job. Another great reason to leap out of bed early on Friday morning, hey?
And finally, on that note, thanks to the millions who sacrificed a Sunday morning snooze for last weekend's race. The Malaysian GP enjoyed the highest viewing figures on record and the whole production team were delighted when we discussed it the morning after the race over a breakfast of roti bread and vegetable dhal. Great motivation for all!
Looking forward to sharing this Sunday morning with you too.
Jake
Source: http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/jakehumphrey/2011/04/this_blog_entry_is_being.html
Denny Hamlin FedEx Office Toyota Tony Stewart Old Spice Office Depot Chevrolet
NASCAR Tickets - Earnhardt Ganassi Racing Off to a Strong Start
Martin Truex Jr., the most experienced of the Earnhardt Ganassi crew, was carried over from Dale Earnhardt, Inc. and has been a top competitor for the Sprint Cup Series since 2004, when he ran two races for DEI and finished 70th in points in the series. Truex has had three consecutive Top 20 finishes since 2006 and finished at number 15 in last year's Sprint Cup Series. His transition to the merged Earnhardt Ganassi Racing team has proven to be successful so far for No. 1, as he started the racing season with a pole win at the Daytona 500 and promises to be a fierce competitor for the rest of the year, as well.
Columbian racer Juan Pablo Montoya is similarly enjoying this new Ganassi/Earnhardt merger, as the three-year NASCAR veteran finally has a more experienced driver (Truex, Jr.) to partner with. Montoya came to the NASCAR circuit after competing with Formula One and even winning the Indy 500 in 2000, spending 2008 with other Ganassi drivers Reed Sorenson and Dario Franchitti. Montoya posted a 14th place finish at Daytona this year and followed the next week with a consistent 11th place finish at Fontana, expecting more success for the rest of the season.
When recently asked about his new teammates, Montoya said that he, Truex and Almirola are working together fantastically, saying, "A lot of times you go to teammates and they really don't want to help. Like in the [Daytona 500] if I saw Martin, I would try to help him. If he saw me he would try to help me. It worked really well and I'm really pumped up about it."
Another Earnhardt Ganssi driver, Aric Almirola, is also pumped up about the team's new camaraderie. Currently in his first full Sprint Cup season, Almirola is enjoying the benefits of the newly minted team, getting his feet on the ground as he braces for the '09 season. Although he has yet to post a finish past the top 30 in this year's NASCAR Sprint Cup Series, Almirola got some early help from Montoya during Daytona, recalling an instance during the day when "we were toward the back and both of us had just pit and were on fresh tires. Juan pushed the ever-living daylights out of me for about three laps straight and we went from 27th to the top 15. We were flying. We were going to the front and it was cool to have his help."
Truex, Montoya and Almirola are posing a triple-threat on the scene of the Nascar Sprint Cup Series already this season, and everyone with NASCAR tickets has gotten to witness this blossoming team chemistry to its fullest. The Ganassi/Earnhardt merge was created in part because of financial necessity but also for drivers to improve on performance, and so far the deal has been nothing but successful for Earnhardt Ganassi Racing. To watch these Earnhardt Ganassi drivers speed to the finish line of NASCAR races this season, get tickets to a Sprint Cup race online and prepare for a memorable day at the track!
This article is sponsored by StubHub.com. StubHub is a leader in the business of selling NASCAR tickets, sports tickets, concert tickets, theater tickets and special events tickets.
Article Source: NASCAR Tickets - Earnhardt Ganassi Racing Off to a Strong Start
My review of the first three races of 2011
Two wins for Sebastian Vettel in the flying Red Bull, a superb recovery from pre-season problems for McLaren culminating in a stunning victory for Lewis Hamilton in China, Ferrari struggling, impressive pace from Renault and debutant Paul di Resta, and signs of a resurgence for Mercedes.
Watch my review of the start of the 2011 Formula 1 season.
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Source: http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/murraywalker/2011/04/my_review_of_the_first_three_r.html
Timo Glock Helm Glöckler Paco Godia Carel Godin de Beaufort
Wednesday, April 27, 2011
Lotus F1 row takes new twist
A new twist in the long-running row over the use of the Lotus name in Formula 1 has emerged with the announcement that the owners of Team Lotus have bought niche sportscar manufacturer Caterham.
Tony Fernandes and his partners see Caterham, which makes replicas of the old Lotus Seven two-seater open-top sportscar, as a company with historic links and "synergies" with Team Lotus that allows them to realise their ambition of diversifying into making road cars.
Their original plan was to do that with Group Lotus, the company that markets Lotus sportscars, but as Fernandes puts it: "That obviously didn't turn out very well."
What the Malaysian businessman, and owner of budget airline Air Asia, is referring to is the increasingly bitter dispute between him and Group Lotus that has ended up in the High Court.
When Fernandes and his partners first set up what was then called the Lotus Racing F1 team last year, it was with the blessing of Group Lotus, which licensed them the name. But in the course of 2010 Group Lotus's new chairman Dany Bahar decided he wanted to go his own way in F1.
He terminated Fernandes' licence, and switched instead to a sponsorship deal with the Renault team. Fernandes, seeing this coming, bought the rights to the historic Team Lotus name as a fall-back.
Both issues - the termination of the licence and the ownership of the Team Lotus name - are wrapped up in a court case that was heard last month, with a verdict expected early in May.
Fernandes is widely expected to win the rights to continue to use Team Lotus. He bought it legitimately from its previous owner, David Hunt, brother of the late world champion James, and Group Lotus has always acted in the past as if it knew it did not own the name.
Nevertheless, buying Caterham does provide Fernandes with an interesting fall-back option should the court case go against him. Now he owns his own car company, he could re-name the F1 team after it should he want to.
Team Lotus owner Tony Fernandes now has Caterham in his business portfolio
For now, though, he says that is not an option. Fernandes told BBC Sport that he is "absolutely not" going to change the name of Team Lotus. Although he does add: "Obviously we have to wait for the verdict to see exactly what has been decided. But we see a very natural link between Team Lotus and Caterham, and they can be synergistic and promote each other, and there is some DNA between the two anyway. It's not like we've bought a brand that has no association with Team Lotus at all. It's just the opposite."
The Caterham name will, though, soon appear on the Team Lotus F1 cars - although exactly when and how has yet to be decided - and the company will eventually contribute to the Lotus budget as a sponsor.
Assuming he retains the rights to Team Lotus, that still leaves Fernandes in the sticky position of providing free promotion to a company with which he is in dispute and has no links.
Unsurprisingly, he did not want to get into that on the day of his big announcement, but he could not resist a little snipe or two at Bahar.
Fernandes says he sees Caterham as very much following the legacy of the late Lotus founder Colin Chapman. "In some ways," he says, "we have reunited the Chapman history. Lotus is all about lightweight, more is less. That is all the terminology we like, and it fits with F1. We feel there is a huge opportunity for Caterham in a market no one is really looking at right now."
By that, he means lightweight, affordable sportscars that are within reach of ordinary people. This was Chapman's approach, and one which, Fernandes says, "certain people have abandoned". That is a reference to Bahar's plans to take Lotus upmarket and challenge Porsche and Ferrari with his mooted five new Lotus models by 2015.
So far, the dispute between the two Lotuses has not reached the race tracks of F1.
Team Lotus started this season with chief technical officer Mike Gascoyne setting ambitious targets of catching Renault by the end of the season, but that looks out of reach for now - Renault have started the season strongly enough to set their own difficult goal, of beating Ferrari to third place in the constructors' championship.
But Team Lotus have also started the season well. The car has had reliability problems, but it also has underlying pace, and in the last race in China they beat established teams for the first time since entering F1 at the beginning of last year, with Heikki Kovalainen finishing ahead of a Sauber and a Williams.
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Kovalainen's performance is a clear indicator that Lotus's more realistic target, of scoring points and mixing it with the established teams, is achievable.
Fernandes himself has his feet firmly on the ground. "You build things properly and with the right structure and things will fall into place," he says. "My target this year was to maintain 10th, and hopefully sneak a few points along the way. That is still my target.
"It is beginning to feel more realistic now, but one can't build a challenging F1 team in two years. We are competing against guys who have been there for 30 years but obviously the team smell big steps of improvement. They smell points.
"I never want to kill confidence, I encourage it, but I am also a realist and we are competing against nine guys who have been doing it for years and are very good at it.
"But if you'd asked me do I think at Turkey (the next race on 8 May) you'd be where you are, I wouldn't have believed it.
"We've got a good package and good people, we have put all the infrastructure in place.
"We're working on a new wind tunnel; that's the last piece of the jigsaw puzzle, and I think if you put all the pieces of the puzzle together then the results will come in good time."
Source: http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/andrewbenson/2011/04/lotus_f1_row_takes_new_twist.html
NASCAR Tickets - NASCAR Angels to Host Earnhardt's Lucky Charm
Miller has a long history with NASCAR, as she met Dale Earnhardt in February of 1998 before the '98 Daytona 500 through the Make-A-Wish Foundation when she was just six years old, giving the famed racecar driver a penny that he glued to the dash of his No. 3 car prior to winning the prestigious race for the first time in 20 attempts. After winning Daytona for the first (and only) time, Earnhardt considered Miller's gift his lucky charm and gifted her family with a new van to help with transportation needs to doctor visits across their home state of Kentucky.
It's been 11 years since Earnhardt's magnificent Daytona win and eight years since his tragic death after crashing in the final lap of the Daytona 500 in 2001, yet the story of Wessa Miller is still very much alive. The inspirational story of this little girl with spina bifida is still cemented into NASCAR history, as Earnhardt's winning No. 3 Chevrolet remains on display at the Richard Childress Racing Museum in Welcome, North Carolina, complete with a shiny penny glued to the dashboard. Although the 1998 Daytona race is standing still and frozen in time, life has gone on for Miller and her family, who have in the meantime started the Pennies for Wessa Fund to help aid hospital bills and the costs of treating Miller's medical conditions.
The NASCAR Foundation, the racing league's support for charitable efforts, has recently announced its teaming with the NASCAR Angels television program in helping aid Wessa Miller and her parents, starting with an online auction through the Motor Racing Outreach benevolence fund that will raise money for Pennies for Wessa by auctioning off autographed memorabilia by NASCAR Sprint Cup drivers, as well as various fire suits and VIP packages. The foundation will also feature Miller on its NASCAR Angels television show, which is a program that is a self-proclaimed "Extreme Home Makeover meets Pimp My Ride, NASCAR-style" and transforms broken automobiles into drivable cars. Wessa Miller will be filmed at Tennessee's Bristol Motor Speedway on March 21 as part of the "Heart of NASCAR" segment of an upcoming NASCAR Angels episode.
While NASCAR's charitable efforts are currently focusing in part on Wessa Miller, the Sprint Cup and Nationwide Series are both well underway for the 2009 season. Dale Earnhardt, Jr. continues carrying on his late father's legacy (despite a nasty crash at Daytona last month,) and Roush Fenway Racing's No. 17 driver Matt Kenseth has taken the early lead in the Sprint Cup Series, winning the league's first two races at both Daytona and Fontana. The 2009 NASCAR season has already elicited unpredictable excitement from racing fans across the nation, so get in on the excitement and nab NASCAR tickets online to catch these speedsters zooming around the racetrack!
This article is sponsored by StubHub.com and was written by Brent Warnken. StubHub is a leader in the business of selling NASCAR tickets, sports tickets, concert tickets, theater tickets and special events tickets.
Article Source: NASCAR Tickets - NASCAR Angels to Host Earnhardt's Lucky Charm
Parker Kligerman Steve Wallace 5 hour Energy Toyota Brendan Gaughan
Brilliant Hamilton brings season alive
Lewis Hamilton was fighting back the tears as he prepared to go out on to the podium after winning the Chinese Grand Prix. It had, he said, felt like "an eternity" since his last victory, in the Belgian Grand Prix last August. After he has come down to earth, he might well think it was worth the wait. This was - Martin Brundle and David Coulthard agreed - one of the greatest performances of Hamilton's career.
A thrilling race, in which it was impossible to pick a winner until very close to the end, put an end to Sebastian Vettel's domination of the 2011 season. From looking like his Red Bull had the pace to win every race, the world champion now knows he faces a fight.
From the very beginning of the season, it has looked like Hamilton would be the man giving the Red Bulls their closest challenge, but events had transpired in the previous two races to prevent him taking the fight to Vettel.
In China, though, Hamilton finally got the chance he had been waiting for and the result was one of the most exciting Formula 1 races for a very long time.
It ebbed and flowed, the advantage swaying one way and then the other between four teams and five different drivers, all coming together in a thrilling final few laps as the various strategies chosen by the different teams merged.
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What allowed it all to happen was both Hamilton and team-mate Jenson Button beating Vettel, who started from pole position, away from the grid. That demoted the German to third place on the first lap and prevented him from unleashing the full pace of the Red Bull and building an advantage he could then defend for the rest of the race.
Instead, Vettel spent the first part of the race bottled up behind the McLarens and from that position Red Bull made what eventually turned out to be a critical error - to do only two pit stops compared to the three of McLaren.
For a long time, it looked like it would work - starting from when Button made the astonishing error of stopping at the Red Bull pit instead of his McLaren one as he and Vettel came in for the first time.
That put Vettel ahead of both McLarens, into clear air and seemingly on course to cruise to victory. But it soon became clear it would not be as simple as that. He did not close on the leading Mercedes of the impressive Nico Rosberg as quickly as might have been expected, and neither was he pulling away from Felipe Massa's Ferrari behind him.
As the race developed, it soon became clear that it was turning into a classic F1 strategy battle - two stops versus three.
Had this been last year, with more durable tyres, the two-stoppers - Vettel and Massa - would have won out, as they were in front by the time all the leading runners had completed the stops.
But the deliberately rapid degradation of the new Pirelli tyres means that races are no longer about track position going into the final stages. Because the tyres can lose their edge so quickly, they are about who has the most grip in the closing laps. It is no good being in front if you do not have the grip to defend your position.
That created a brilliant spectacle - as was the idea when Pirelli were asked to design tyres in this way. Once everyone had completed their pit stops, Hamilton was in fourth place, and on tyres with much more grip than Vettel, Massa and Rosberg in the first three positions.
Hamilton's passing moves on those three got better and better - peaking with a superbly audacious dive down the inside of Vettel into the 150mph Turn Seven to take the lead. It was, as even Vettel had to admit, "a good move".
But arguably the best of all was the overtake that made the victory possible - taking what at the time was second place from Button into Turn One on lap 35, with 21 laps to go.
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It is not the easiest of places to pass - there is no sharp braking into that corner; the cars dive in and slow progressively as it gets tighter and tighter through nearly a complete circle. Hamilton seemed to catch Button unawares and there was a nervy moment when the older man suddenly realised his team-mate was there.
Button had a little wobble as he made room for Hamilton, and up on the pit wall team principal Martin Whitmarsh had his heart in his mouth. But it worked out and Hamilton had three laps to make up some time before his final stop.
"It felt absolutely incredible and was probably one of the best races I've ever competed in," Hamilton told BBC Sport's F1 Forum after the race. "It was one of the best grand prix wins I can remember."
It was indeed a quite superb drive, probably his best in the dry, and one that certainly ranks up there with his wet-weather wins at Japan 2007, Silverstone 2008 and Spa last year.
It was also a timely reminder that for all Vettel's impressive run of wins and pole positions at the end of last year and the beginning of this, there are a few other drivers out there who are at least a match for him if they are provided with the right equipment and circumstances.
Among them, Hamilton is right up at the top - and this win has closed the gap to Vettel in the championship to 21 points. Suddenly, a season that had looked poised to be a Red Bull walkover has come alive.
The key themes of the narrative are still not absolutely clear.
One, it seems, will be Red Bull's struggles with Kers. These again proved an Achilles heel for the team - Webber struggled with the system through the weekend, and it malfunctioned on Vettel's car in the race, just as it did in Malaysia a week ago.
Another will clearly be the impact of the tyres and the controversial moveable rear wing, or DRS as it is known in F1 jargon. For ultra-purists, there is an argument that the racing, while exciting, feels a little artificial at times.
As Webber, whose fabulous recovery drive ironically made him one of the biggest beneficiaries of the massive grip differences between old and new tyres, put it: "I'm still not a huge fan of how it is; sometimes the overtakes are not all that genuine because the guys don't have anything to fight back with."
But after a race as good as this, how much does that matter?
Source: http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/andrewbenson/2011/04/brilliant_hamilton_brings_seas.html
FedEx Office Toyota Tony Stewart Old Spice Office Depot Chevrolet Jeff Green
Tuesday, April 26, 2011
NASCAR Tickets - Gordon Makes it Rain at Texas Motor Speedway
Gordon took the tricky Texas racetrack by storm in yesterday's race and beat out Jimmie Johnson, Greg Biffle, Tony Stewart, Matt Kenseth, Mark Martin, Juan Pablo Montoya, Kurt Busch, Jeff Burton and Carl Edwards, respectively, giving him a 162-point lead over Jimmie Johnson in the Sprint Cup series. This year's Samsung 500 gave Gordon his first win in 47 tries, but it also granted the NASCAR hero his first-ever win at Texas Motor Speedway. Gordon made a statement after winning the race yesterday, saying, "How ironic is this that when we go into this streak and we end it here in Texas, a place that's just eluded us for so long. Incredible team effort. This whole year has been amazing. What a great car. I've never had a car like this at Texas. We finally had one and put it in position."
Now that he's won a race at Texas, Gordon has but one racetrack in the Sprint Cup circuit that he has yet to emerge victorious from, and that's the Homestead Miami Speedway. In his long and incredibly successful NASCAR career so far, Gordon has won at both Darlington and Martinsville seven times, Daytona and Talladega six times, Bristol, Charlotte and Sonoma five times, Atlanta, Dover, Indianapolis, Pocono and West Glen four times, Fontana and New Hampshire three times, Kansas, Michigan and Richmond twice and Chicago, Las Vegas, Phoenix and (now) Texas once.
Jeff Gordon grew up in Northern California and was very familiar with the nearby Vallejo Speedway, which inspired the youngster to take up racecar driving at a young age. Gordon received a Quarter Midget racecar when he was five years old, winning his first race at age eight. In 1986, Gordon and his family moved to Indianapolis, where he started racing open wheel cars and quickly turned heads in the racing business. Jeff Gordon started racing in the NASCAR circuit when he jumped aboard Hendrick Motorsports in 1992, taking 14th place in series standings in 1993 and not looking back since.
Gordon has been a consistent top finisher at Sprint Cup races over the last two decades, and 2009 has been nothing but successful so far for No. 24. He was already the season points leader coming into yesterday's race, as his four top-five finishes so far in the series' first six races put him atop the Sprint Cup Series standings even before the Texas race. Jeff Gordon now focuses his energies toward Phoenix and Talladega, where he will finish out the month of April trying to repeat yesterday's 82nd career win. To cheer on Jeff Gordon to Victory Lane in the upcoming weeks and months, get NASCAR tickets online and make your way down to the nearest racetrack!
This article is sponsored by StubHub.com. StubHub is a leader in the business of selling NASCAR tickets, sports tickets, concert tickets, theater tickets and special events tickets.
Article Source: NASCAR Tickets - Gordon Makes it Rain at Texas Motor Speedway
Starting the season in style
Can I start by saying how great it feels to have F1 back on the BBC, and in HD glory?
I loved the tweets telling me about all the F1 parties going on around the UK and, even though many of you had to do some serious coffee drinking to cope with early morning action, #bbcf1 was trending on Twitter the whole weekend, which was awesome.
Mind you, it's funny how life can conspire against you sometimes isn't it? Having waited all winter, and an extra couple of weeks, I wanted to have the perfect preparation ahead of the opening race weekend of the 2011 F1 season. But it didn't quite work out like that.
Now, I'm an eight-hours-a-night man at the best of times, so having spent the day grabbing the latest info in the paddock and then grabbing a late dinner, I was already worried about finally getting to bed at midnight ahead of Saturday's first qualifying session of the year.
However, an hour or so later and my night was set to get worse. A lot worse.
You know those horrible, startled wake-up calls that you get sometimes when you spend the first 20 seconds just trying to remember where you are? That was me, staring into the darkness trying to work out what the sound of rushing water was in my hotel room at 2am. Moments later I was flying across the room in panic as out of the ceiling, on to the laptop, all over the desk... a water leak!
Thankfully, I managed to rescue the computer and, after moving rooms, eventually got my head down - welcome to the new season, Jake!
It felt really strange starting the season off in Australia again, actually.
The last time I welcomed you guys to the BBC's coverage of the opening race there, it was 2009 and I was in a serious state of panic. I'll never forget standing in the pit lane in Melbourne and hearing 'The Chain' for the first time. I'd never stood under the winner's podium, interviewed a driver, or even done live TV with Eddie Jordan and David Coulthard before. It's amazing how quickly you can get used to something isn't it?
Mind you, after a break of a few months it always feel a little bit like it's the first time you're popping in your earpieces and hearing the seconds count down until we're on air.
Like anything that involves a group of people working together, you get a great flow going when you do something regularly, and equally after a big break you can feel pretty rusty. I'll certainly admit to feeling like a badly oiled bike this weekend.
Before each show we always get together in the production office to discuss what's on the programme and watch the taped elements of the show. I also talk with Steve Aldous the assistant editor about where we want to be. We try to inform the teams so we don't surprise them by suddenly appearing inside their garage live on air and then we take to the pit lane - all seven of us!
With Steve, a sound man, monitor man, a couple of cameras, me, and two pundits we can be quite a big group to negotiate what is at times a really rather claustrophobic pit lane.
Australia was particularly busy, with my random moment of the weekend being former Westlife member Brian McFadden having a beer with Beppe Di Marco from EastEnders while Leo Sayer and Danny Cipriani wandered past...That's F1 for you!
One element I really did enjoy was the F1 Forum and if you're in the UK and you've yet to see it I'd suggest you take a look on the iPlayer. We had the Sauber drivers, Paul di Resta, Sebastian Vettel, and DC getting cake in his face - so pretty much something for everyone.
So, what did you make of the first race of the year?
I feel really sorry for the Sauber pair of Kamui Kobayashi and Sergio Perez after their cars were ruled illegal. Perez in particular did an awesome job, just one pit stop, great speed and points on his debut that have now been taken away from him.
If you check out the F1 Forum it's interesting to see the surprise on Kobayashi's face when talking about Perez. If there is one thing an F1 driver likes less than a slow car it's a fast team-mate!
We'd actually made it away from the track when the Sauber news broke and we were heading out for dinner. A quick U-turn in the car, though, and it was back to the track for a late-night piece to camera. It happens every season!
One rookie was certainly not left frustrated. It was great to speak to Di Resta live ahead of qualifying. We always ask for drivers to join us live before the action gets going on a Saturday and they frustratingly rarely say yes.
But Paul was happy to chat and I think he did a great job. He was pretty candid in saying that he thought his car could struggle to make it into the top 17 in qualifying, so to finish with points after the stewards had punished Sauber was great news for him. He did, however, let his team-mate through twice so we'll have to watch that situation carefully.
Despite all that was going on, it was all about one performance this weekend, wasn't it? Vettel's dominance was incredible. No Kers power-boost system but the best start on the grid, masses of speed over a team-mate who he really does have the beating of currently. And most pleasing of all? He's still such a normal guy!
There are a few drivers in F1 that I have interviewed numerous times now yet they still wouldn't give me the time of day. They'd walk past me in the paddock, probably not even know my name. They're so intense that whatever you do you just can't get close to them.
Vettel definitely doesn't fit into the category.
He took the time out to congratulate DC on his 40th birthday having just started his title defence in style, not scurrying off for a massage and avoiding the media at all costs. Relaxed, approachable, honest and stunningly fast, I think it tells us so much about him that he can put in such amazing performances and enjoy it at the same time. He will go on to be an even bigger star if he can marry up such personality with such speed for seasons to come.
So, we head to Malaysia with Red Bull looking like they're around a second quicker than the rest with a super-confident driver very much playing a game of 'catch us if you can'.
The best news of all, though, is you'll only need an 0800 alarm to enjoy the action on race day, so I hope I'll see you then.
Jake
Source: http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/jakehumphrey/2011/03/can_i_start_by_saying.html
Aric Almirola JR Motorsports Chevrolet Justin Allgaier Verizon Wireless Dodge
NASCAR Tickets - NASCAR Continues To Thrive
Bristol Motor Speedway in Bristol, Tennessee is one of stock car racing's most coveted racetracks, and last week's Food City 500 set a track record, but it wasn't the racecar drivers breaking precedents. For the 54th consecutive event in a row, the half-mile speedway sold out tickets to the track for a race, filling up all 160,000 seats in the stadium with racing enthusiasts set to cheer on their favorite NASCAR Sprint Cup Series competitors like Kyle Busch, Jeff Gordon and Matt Kenseth. While the Bristol Motor Speedway has sold out tickets to the Food City 500 every year since 1982, this year the track and its employees had to work extra hard to turn out tickets to fans, as several corporate sponsors had handed their tickets back in during this economic recession. Bristol nonetheless accomplished this task, letting the tradition live on this year at the Tennessee track. The Food City 500 was also the second race of this NASCAR Sprint Cup Series season to sell out, following in the footsteps of the season opener at the Daytona 500.
At last weekend's Food City 500 race, the sold-out crowd at Bristol Motor Speedway watched anxiously as Kyle Busch zoomed his way to another Cup Series victory, yanking his second win of the season (after Las Vegas earlier this month) and also his second career win at what is dubbed "the world's fastest half-mile." Busch held off Denny Hamlin, Jimmie Johnson, Jeff Gordon and Kasey Kahne (respectively) to whiz down Victory Lane in first place, using all the help he could get from his pit crew to propel him to the top of the NASCAR race. Busch almost lost his race-leading edge after a late pit stop in last week's Food City race, but after communicating with his pit crew, Busch said that, "I told the ladies to man up, and they got it done on the next stop. It is pretty awesome to win here. I should have won last fall here. We've had great cars, we just keep ruining it on pit road."
Kyle Busch now sits in fourth place overall in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series, loosening the grip Jeff Gordon has over the league in points and climbing three spots from the last race. Gordon is still in first place in standings after finishing fourth at Bristol, sitting pretty with 794 total points while Kurt Busch has 718, Clint Bowyer has 715, Kyle Busch has 709 and Carl Edwards has 665. It's still anyone's game, however, so get tickets to a NASCAR race online and come out to the track to watch these phenomenal drivers speed circles around their competitors during the rest of the 2009 racing season!
This article is sponsored by StubHub. StubHub is a leader in the business of selling NASCAR tickets, sports tickets, concert tickets, theater tickets and special events tickets.
Article Source: NASCAR Tickets - NASCAR Continues To Thrive
Source: http://www.articlespan.com/article/251701/nascar-tickets-nascar-continues-to-thrive
Monday, April 25, 2011
Early History of NASCAR
That's right, even in the early days car racing centered around Daytona Beach. Racing fans from all over the United States and the rest of the world started coming to Daytona Beach to watch the Daytona Beach road course. For those of you who don't know you NASCAR, the Daytona 500 is the biggest race in NASCAR today.
As many know, stock car racing spawned out of America's Prohibition period. The bootleggers needed fast cars to out run the police when they were transporting illegal whiskey throughout the south and in particular the mountains of Appalachia. These bootleggers started to modify their cars to increase their speed and performance. In order to out run the law, you needed to have a great car. And, as the bootleggers upped the ante, the police did so too. These suped up cars eventually turned into the stock cars that we recognize today. The real life game of cops and robbers turned into the sports that millions of Americans love today.
After the end of Prohibition in 1933, Americans did not want to give up their fast cars. Many Americans living in the South East of the United States started to set up races featuring their tricked out cars. Once these races started being held, the fans started pouring in to watch the car races. From this moment, stock car racing was born. The birth place of these early races was North Carolina. To this day NASCAR is huge in North Carolina.
Today, NASCAR is popular all across the country. While many of the nascar drivers still come out of North Carolina and Tennessee, many more are coming from states like California, New York and Indiana. No longer is the sport just enjoyed in the south. Cities like Philadelphia are now some of the largest markets for television viewers of the sport. Race tracks have been built in Las Vegas, New Hampshire and many non-southern states.
While the South East region of the United States was the birthplace of NASCAR, today the sport is loved throughout the county. Today there are race tracks all across America and it is the fastest growing sport in the country. Despite its regional roots, NASCAR is today the most popular sport in the United States. Every Sunday during race season, over 100,000 screaming fans show up to see the NASCAR drivers start their engines. Not bad for a bunch of bootleggers.
Find out more about NASCAR at Nascar Diecast Cars. Nascar diecast cars make great collections. Check out these great Dale Earnhardt Jr Diecast cars and these Carl Edwards Diecast cars.
Article Source: Early History of NASCAR
Source: http://www.articlespan.com/article/61045/early-history-of-nascar
Long John Silver s Ford David Gilliland Charter Air Transport Ford Tony Raines