For diehard nascar fans ONLY

Hey guys and gals...it's almost that time again! Daytona is right around the corner, which also means that Fantasy NASCAR is about ready to roll. Most of you out there already now how much fun it is, so I don't think that I need to sell the idea too much. For those who aren't familiar with fantasy NASCAR, it's as easy as 1-2-3:

1)Pick three teams/crews weekly

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3)Check the standings weekly to see how you're doin'! Top 3 win some great prizes!

What's the catch? There isn't one...promise! Free to enter, lots of fun, and some great collectible NASCAR merchandise for the top three. What do you have to lose? Click the logo below to register today!

A few NASCAR stories of interest...

Here are a few stories to whet your appetite for the upcoming season:

CHASE'S DOZEN BEING FINALIZED
NASCAR is planning on allowing 12 drivers into the Chase for the Nextel Cup, without a provision for how many points a driver is from the lead. They are also likely to give ten more points for race winners. NASCAR ran models which determined more than ten points would create runaway scenarios.
The changes are expected to be announced during the Lowe's Motor Speedway media tour beginning on Jan. 22.
Source: ESPN.com

BUSCH BREAKS 190 IN CAR OF TOMORROW
DAYTONA BEACH, FLORIDA (TICKER) -- Kurt Busch proved that NASCAR's "Car of Tomorrow" can be more than effective today.
Busch dominated Wednesday morning's Preseason Thunder testing session at Daytona International Speedway, clocking 191.188 miles per hour in a Penske Racing South Dodge Avenger.
The 2004 Nextel Cup Series champion, Busch became the first driver to eclipse 190 mph at the Preseason Thunder. He did so while driving the "Car of Tomorrow," a newly designed racer which will be used in 16 events this season.

MAKE OR BREAK SEASON FOR NEWMAN
Ryan Newman 2006 season statistics Wins: None Best Finish: Second (Sonoma)Top-fives, top-10s, DNFs: 2, 7, 3

2006 RecapNewman's season could best be described by one word: frustration. Despite winning two poles and starting in the top 10 a total of 15 times, his average finish was a miserable 20th. Ironically, the best finish in '06 for the former sprint car star was on the road course at Sonoma. Statistically, 2006 was his worst full season in Nextel Cup in terms of laps led, top-fives and top-10s.
2007 OutlookWhat's nextFor Newman, there is only one way to go from here: up. He'll start the season with a new crew chief in Mike Nelson, who worked with Newman in the final two races of '06. It will be a tough battle for Newman to get back to where he was in 2003, when he won eight races and was a contender for the title, but he has the tools and the talent to do it.
Best-case scenario: The early reviews of the Nelson-Newman pairing have been good. Newman's success in '07 will depend greatly on his ability to have a strong relationship with Nelson and on Nelson delivering to Newman the same kind of car at the end of the race as they start with. If this duo clicks, look for Newman in victory lane and the Chase.
Likely scenario: This likely will be a make or break season for Newman. Despite his past success, NASCAR is a "what have you done lately?" sport. Should Newman continue to stumble, he'll find himself looking over his shoulder as some younger driver catches team owner Roger Penske's attention.
Beware: Newman absolutely has to have a fast start to the season to erase any lingering doubts that he and his team still can be considered among the top dogs of the sport.
Veteran motorsports writer Bob Margolis is Yahoo! Sports' NASCAR reporter. Send Bob a question or comment for potential use in a future column or webcast.

5 Bold predictions for NASCAR 2007

Hey guys...been an interesting week for news. From Rosie and The Donald to a guy getting bit by a scorpion on a plane, there's been a bit of everything. NASCAR has its' own soap opera with the Dale jr. VS. stepmonster battle - should be interesting. Anyway, here is an article that I found to whet your appetite for the NASCAR season. Feel free to voice your opinions.....

By Ron Felix
With the Nextel Cup cars testing at Daytona International Speedway this week, it gets the racing blood flowing once again. It's time for Insider Racing News' annual -- bold predictions for the upcoming season.
This is where we predict events or outcomes in Nextel Cup, not just the normal run-of-the-mill calls, but these are ones that nobody else would dare predict. These are BOLD predictions. Let's get right to it.
1...Jamie McMurray will win at least one race this year:
Jamie McMurrayJamie McMurray may win one or more races this season and allow me to point out why I think so.
Over the past year, McMurray, highly-touted and highly paid, didn't come close to returning Jack Roush's investment in him and it was mainly because McMurray and his crew chief(s) couldn't come to terms with what McMurray needed as a driver.
The problems were compounded by mis-communication, on both sides. Jimmy Fenig was trying to set his car up the way that he did for the successful Kurt Busch and when that didn't work, Roush turned to Bob Osborne, who was crew chiefing for, the successful Carl Edwards.
Again, the same story. Osborne was trying to make McMurray's car work like it did for Edwards and was never able to get the right feel for McMurray.
“When we made the first change from Jimmy to Bob, that wasn’t really my decision," said McMurray. "That was something that Jack felt was gonna be a step in the right direction. I never really got used to working with Jimmy or got to know him that well and then I had Bob. I got to know Bob well, but you just kind of know in the first couple of months. Everyone has met people that when you meet them and in the first five minutes they’re very easy to talk to and you feel like there’s a relationship there. Then you meet people that you feel like it’s a challenge to have the conversation and you walk away and you just didn’t feel like you both got it. Unfortunately with Bob, I never had that feeling."
The frustration last year for McMurray had him talking to himself. "I would tell myself after I’d go home after a race and say, ‘I don’t think it can get any worse,’ and then I’d show up the next week and I’d be like, ‘Wow, I was wrong.’"
To Jack Roush's credit, he sat down and talked it out with McMurray. Told him to pick his own crew chief, someone that he would be comfortable with and if that person was available, Roush would hire him.
That's where Larry Carter comes in.
Carter was working for Michael Waltrip, working to help get his Toyota program off the ground. McMurray had known Carter when he was crew chief for Rusty Wallace and McMurray was driving the Busch Series car for Wallace. So he and Carter already had the relationship going. Carter will set the McMurray cars up to drive in the way that will be most beneficial to Jamie.
“We’ve changed so much. We’ve got a new crew chief, new car chief, new engineer, new tire guy, new guys at the shop," McMurray said. "All of the cars are gonna be brand new. We pretty much have already changed everything.
"When our season ended last year, we didn’t know who the crew chief was gonna be and didn’t really know who was gonna be on the team – how many guys were gonna be willing to stay or what was gonna happen. It was a very stressful month or so after the season ended, but I had been talking with Larry," McMurray continued. "I wasn’t 100 percent sure that he was gonna be able to come. He was the guy I wanted for a lot of reasons, but, basically, when I was with Donnie (his crew chief at Ganassi Racing) I didn’t realize the way that the guy would make you feel personally – whether it was talking on the telephone or just the friendship that you have.
"You don’t really realize what you have going for you until you don’t have that. When I came last year I only got to work with Jimmy for a few races. We never really got to have that friendship and with Bob, our personalities were just so much different. Bob certainly had the skills and qualities to make a car go fast, but we didn’t have the off-track or mingling down – just hanging out buddies. So I made a list of who I wanted to try and go get as a crew chief and I knew it would be a challenge, really, to get anybody to come over because when you run as bad as we did, no one really wants to come participate in your activity. So when I saw that Larry was somewhat willing from the get-go, I was excited about that because I already knew him well. I knew that I would be able to have the same relationship or friendship off of the race track as what I had with Donnie. I didn’t realize how important that was to me until I didn’t have it.”
I think McMurray will be the comeback driver of the year. He has the talent and he has the desire -- now if he can only get the right feel. 2...NASCAR will open up the Award's Banquet to the public:
It only makes sense to open the awards banquet to the public but making sense alone doesn't assure that NASCAR would be willing to do anything. Making money does.
It always comes down to making money and we all know that NASCAR doesn't just want your money, they want all of it.
If NASCAR could secure a 500 seat theater and charge $200.00 per seat for admission, that could rake in a hefty $100,000.00 profit for the night. More seats, more money, think of the possibilities. Sponsors and broadcasters would pay for the use of the building as they do now.
I wouldn't pay $200.00 for a seat to the event but I'd be willing to bet that many people would. It would be even more profitable for NASCAR to move the banquet to Las Vegas where the crowds could be enormous. Add in an autograph session at the end of the event and NASCAR could charge even more. The only reason this hasn't been tried is because they haven't thought about it, or it wasn't their idea.
Profit will be NASCAR's only motive to change the event. 3...Jimmie Johnson won't win the 2007 Nextel Cup championship:
As well as Jimmie Johnson has run in the past four years and with the incredible luck that the team has enjoyed, it would be difficult to bet against Johnson in the title chase.
We know Johnson has the talent to drive a race car, we know that the organization that he drives for, Hendrick Motorsports, is arguably the best in NEXTEL Cup racing and we know that Chad Knaus is also one of the best crew chiefs in the business, so what's the problem?
The key words there are -- incredible luck. Jimmie Johnson, has over the years, come up smelling like roses time after time after stepping in cow dung. He can have flat tires, torn up sheet metal, be caught for speeding on pit road and near the end of a race, he and the team are in contention for a victory. I catch myself saying nearly every race, "How does he do that?"
I don't see how that kind of luck can continue. Good things never last forever and his 15 minutes of fame are up. 4...Dale Earnhardt Jr. will win the Daytona 500:
That's right, you heard it here first. Dale Earnhardt Jr. will drive to his second victory in the "Great American Race" at Daytona International Speedway in February.
The race will be run on the sixth anniversary of the death of his father at the speedway and that will fire him up and inspire him a bit -- but the driver of the No. 8 Budweiser Chevrolet will do anything now to prove to his step-mother, Teresa Earnhardt, that he can and will be a celebrity and drive a race car at the same time.
It's like walking and chewing gum at the same time, it can be done and Earnhardt Jr. wants desperately to prove this point. 5...Toyota will win this year:
This probably won't be a popular notion with the dreaded Toyotas invading the South, the U.S. of A. and worst of all, NASCAR. It's time to get over it folks, it's all sheetmetal, burning rubber and racing.
It no longer matters what the brand is, these are pure racing machines with metal skins and wide tires.
Because they have done their homework in the Craftsman Truck Series, a first-time championship, Toyota has an excellent chance of winning a race this year. The first victory most likely will come at a short track, Bristol or Martinsville when the "Cars of Tomorrow" race.
All the teams and drivers will be on a more equal footing at those tracks because it's like they will all be starting anew. And it's most likely that the victory will come from Brian Vickers in the Red Bull no. 83 or maybe from Dale Jarrett in the UPS No. 44, possibly at Martinsville. Jarrett has won at Martinsville in the past and he still knows how to win.
There you have it, five bold predictions. Nothing earth shattering, no new revelations, not even a thought on Silly Season.
Have you noticed that there are only 29 days left until the engines fire for the Budweiser Shootout? It's true, not much of an off season for the drivers and especially the crews.

A few more NASCAR nuggets...

UPDATE: Staying within 400 points of the lead no longer will be a factor to get in the Chase for the Nextel Cup. A source close to NASCAR said the governing body is finalizing a plan that will allow the top 12 in points in the 10-race playoff with no provision for how many points a driver is from the lead. The top 10 and anybody within 400 points after 26 races qualified for the playoff during the first three years of the Chase. But because the 400-point margin hasn't been a factor -- seven or fewer drivers were within that range from 2004-06 -- NASCAR decided to set a hard number. Barring a last-minute change, that number will be 12. NASCAR also will award 10 more points to the winner after running several models that showed after 10 the system created more runaway scenarios. An official announcement will come later this month at the media tour in Charlotte. NASCAR officials considered putting in a provision that would allow a driver with the most wins outside the Chase in the playoff, but decided against it. They also decided against expanding the 400-point margin to another figure such as 500.(ESPN.com)(1-8-2007)

Gilmore Expects Dale Jr to sign with DEI soon AND Dale Jr comments, quarrel slowing deal?: Dale Earnhardt Jr. likely isn't going anywhere. Negotiations to re-sign the signature driver of Dale Earnhardt Inc. are on the fast track and likely will be finalized by May if not sooner, DEI director of motorsports Richie Gilmore said on Monday. "Before we come back here in February [for the Daytona 500] would be my wish [to have a deal done] so we wouldn't have the distraction of that every week," Gilmore said during the first day of preseason testing at Daytona International Speedway. "I would say, realistically, probably May." Gilmore said losing the most popular driver on the Nextel Cup Series and the son of seven-time Cup champion Dale Earnhardt never has been a consideration for anybody at DEI, including owner Teresa Earnhardt. Gilmore discounted comments in the Dec. 14 edition of The Wall Street Journal in which Teresa said: "Right now the ball's in [Earnhardt's] court to decide on whether he wants to be a NASCAR driver or whether he wants to be a public personality. I'm around Teresa pretty much every day and I've never heard her comment that way," Gilmore said. "Teresa doesn't get out there a lot to the media, but when I talk to her, it's never negative against Junior that way." Gilmore said every conversation he's had with Teresa involved re-signing her stepson. Gilmore said Teresa has tried to remove herself from negotiations as much as possible "because she thinks it will happen faster maybe if she takes the personal side out of it." Gilmore doesn't find it unusual that Teresa and Earnhardt haven't discussed the comments to the WSJ, noting the two sometimes go two or three months without talking. But he wouldn't describe their relationship as tumultuous as it often is made to sound. "A lot of stuff does get blown out of proportion that makes for good stories," Gilmore said. Gilmore said Earnhardt has become DEI and he can't imagine the company without him, although Earnhardt does talk of driving his father's black #3 for Richard Childress Racing late in his career. "I've never even thought that far down the road," Gilmore said. "Being in the circle with [Earnhardt] and Teresa I don't believe any of us have thought that way."AND Dale Earnhardt Jr. made it clear on Monday that the tumultuous relationship with his stepmother would be a factor in negotiations to return to the Nextel Cup organization his father built after the 2007 season. He also made it clear he wants to return. Ownership appears to be the biggest stumbling block. "That's the obvious," Earnhardt said during the first day of preseason testing at Daytona International Speedway. "I want to be very involved in the company. Aside from [DEI], I have no interest in ownership." To own a part of DEI, Teresa Earnhardt would have to relinquish at least partial control of an organization she has run since Dale Earnhardt was killed on the last lap of the 2001 Daytona 500. That means comments such as the one she made in the Dec. 14 Wall Street Journal about how Earnhardt needs to decide whether he wants to be a driver or a celebrity will make negotiations more emotional than most. "My relationship with the car owner is definitely going to be a factor in my decision to drive there," Earnhardt said. "I haven't talked to Teresa about what she said in [the Journal]. I figured if anything needed to be said she'd call me up and say it. But you know, my and her relationship definitely factor into my decision." Earnhardt became increasingly pointed in remarks about the contract and his stepmother during a break between practices, at one point saying the relationship with Teresa "ain't a bed [of] roses." He took several shots at her, indirectly referring to her absence from the track. He admitted the uncertainty of having the contract issue settled is the most frustrating part about approaching this season. He also said it is the goal of him and his sister, JR Motorsports executive Kelley Earnhardt Elledge, to get a deal done.(much more at ESPN.com)(1-8-2007)

Hey guys - hope you had a great weekend. Here are a couple of newsworthy items of interest that I found over the weekend:



Bobby Hamilton dies at age 49: former Nextel Cup driver and 2004 Truck Series Champion Bobby Hamilton passed away today at age 49, according to his son, Bobby Hamilton, Jr. Hamilton, a former Fairgrounds [Nashville] Speedway champion, missed most of the 2006 season after being diagnosed with cancer.(Tennessean...more details Monday)(1-7-2007)MORE: Bobby Hamilton Racing is saddened to announce that its owner Bobby Hamilton Sr. passed away this afternoon at his home in Nashville, TN from complications of Cancer. “He will be greatly missed as a husband, a father, a grandfather, an owner and a friend,” said the Hamilton Family. “We want to thank everyone for their love and support of our racing operation and the outpouring of care and concern during his cancer battle. One of Bobby’s greatest loves in life was racing and we will continue on in his honor.” Hamilton won four Nextel Cup Races and the 2004 NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series Champion. Funeral arrangements are pending.(BHR PR)Articles/News: see more articles about the passing of Hamilton at:ESPN.comNASCAR.comUSA TodayMotorsports Soapboxand more on my Articles Links page.(1-8-2007)

NASCAR to expand Chase field and more points for wins in 2007: The Nextel Cup 2007 season will feature more points for victories and more drivers in the Chase for the Cup, NASCAR vice president of corporate communications Jim Hunter said this afternoon. How many points and how many drivers are being determined, Hunter said during a visit to USA TODAY's newsroom in McLean, Va. "We're still running the models," Hunter said, adding that an official announcement will be made during NASCAR's media tour Jan. 22-26 in Charlotte.NASCAR added the Chase for the Cup in 2004 with the top 10 drivers in the points standings and anyone within 400 points of the leader, competing in the final 10 races for the Cup championship.(USA Today)(1-6-2007)

Hey guys - hope you got a chance to catch that Boise St-Oklahoma game. Incredible...at least as good as last year's Rose Bowl. Love to see the underdog represent like they did - excellent playcalling by 1st yr. coach Peterson. Anyway, I found this great blog on ESPN by David Newton - check it out:

Youth movement? Not right now

CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- Ricky Rudd, 50, is headed to Robert Yates Racing to replace Dale Jarrett. Ward Burton, 45, has signed to drive for Morgan-McClure.
Burton's 39-year-old brother, Jeff, arguably was the Nextel Cup comeback driver of this past season with a victory and berth in the championship chase.
The organization formerly known as MB2 Motorsports, or "MB2 Old" as it has been called, will feature 47-year-old Mark Martin, 43-year-old Joe Nemechek and 49-year-old Sterling Marlin next season.
Jarrett will turn 51 before his first season with the new Toyota team of Michael Waltrip Racing is over. Kenny Schrader will be 52 in May.
Richard Petty, 69, is considering a comeback.
OK, Petty isn't coming back. Regardless, there will be almost as much gray hair circling the track next season as there is in a retirement home.
Even four-time Cup champion Jeff Gordon, 35, is showing a bit of gray around the ears.
So what happened to the so-called young guns movement that was so prominent a few years ago? Where are all the so-called next Kasey Kahnes?
"I don't know," Ward Burton said from his home in Virginia. "To me, it doesn't matter much difference what age you are. I just haven't been that conscious or aware of what some guy calls a kid and another calls an adult.
"There's kids out there who are 50 years old and adults that are 25, and vice versa."
Perhaps sponsors and owners are starting to realize that experience is worth almost as much as a pretty face, that their products get more exposure when the car is on the track than when parked behind the wall in a crumpled mess.
Seven of the 10 Chase drivers this season were over 30, with 21-year-old Kyle Busch and 26-year-olds Kahne and Denny Hamlin the lone exceptions.
Only 11 of 36 races were won by drivers under 30, with six of those by Kahne. Only two were won by drivers younger than Kahne -- Brian Vickers, 23, at Talladega and Busch at New Hampshire.
"Everybody is looking for a quick fix and there are not that many quick fixes in this sport," Burton said. "It takes a lot of work and a lot of smart activities going on around the race team to make the race team look good."
That older drivers remain in vogue speaks volumes to the shortage of drivers ready for Cup. It's so bad that Chip Ganassi made Formula One star Juan Pablo Montoya a 31-year-old rookie in 2007 rather than take a chance on a younger driver with experience in stock cars.
"I don't think there is a driver shortage," Ganassi said. "There is a good-driver shortage. There's a helluva lot of mediocre drivers. But there's a shortage of good drivers.
"It's like that in every sport. There's never a lack of players. There's just a lack of good ones. I think it's here to stay."
That doesn't mean the sport is hurting for good young drivers. This past year's rookie class was one of the best ever with Hamlin, Clint Bowyer, Martin Truex Jr., Reed Sorenson and J.J. Yeley.
Paul Menard, who will drive a third car for DEI in '07, showed promise in the Busch Series, finishing sixth in points. David Gilliland showed enough with his Busch Series win at Kentucky that Yates gave him a ride in the No. 38.
But there aren't so many up-and-coming stars that there isn't room for the Rudds and Burtons. Burton takes offense when older drivers are called "recycled" because that's an insinuation they can't do the job anymore.
He reminds that having the right equipment and financial support around a team is as important as or more important than the driver.
It's no different than Brett Favre trying to win football games with a bad offensive line and no defense.
"The car is easier to drive than ever when it's right," Burton said. "It's just a question of getting them right. It really doesn't matter what age you are."