HALL OF FAME :SHAME ON LOSERS

10/15/10
HALL OF FAME :SHAME ON LOSERS


Shame on the losers But ,who was the loser .?
. It seems to me this class of inductees were taken from the roots of Nascar .The original people that really gave us the racing as we know and so love today
To call someone a loser or complain as Darrell Waltrip did that he wasnt choosen makes no sense at all . There is only room for five inductees a year and to honor the "old timers" of this great sport is just a natural phase that took place and should have .To say there shouldve put all the champions in first then all the drivers with the most wins makes like diddy people, a inductee like Bud Moore would never be elected and he was a very important part of "making" Nascar as it is today.
So to all of you that didnt get in ,youre "new" !Lets honor our history first.
Even the first pick of inductees went overboard when Dale Earnhardt was put in ,even thou he died ,as others have' he is [was] "new"
So get over yourselfs you will get in but in the mean time there are so many people that helped start this sport we cannot overlook them just so you will be satisfied.
Paul Denton
Racing Hellonwheels

McMurray right at home at Earnhardt Ganassi

Jamie McMurray may not have made this Chase this year, but does that mean his 2010 season is a bust? After all, most competitors would love to have the type of season McMurray has had so far in 2010. He started the year by winning the Daytona 500—NASCAR’s marquee event. To top that off, around mid-season, he claimed victory for the second time in 2010 by winning the Brickyard 400 at the storied Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

With those two wins, McMurray has come a long way in the last year. Remember, it was just a year ago that the Joplin, Mo., driver seemed to be struggling to keep his head above water and getting lost in the shuffle somewhat at Roush Fenway Racing. With NASCAR’s four-team cap that the five-car team was forced to abide by come 2010, it was no surprise at the end of last season that McMurray was the odd man out at the organization.

After being notified of his termination at Roush Fenway, McMurray didn’t know if he’d have a job in 2010, but a salvation of sorts came in the form of his former boss, Chip Ganassi. McMurray had started his Cup career with Chip Ganassi Racing but left the team for what, at the time, looked to be the greener pastures of the Roush Fenway shop.

Upon his arrival at the Roush organization, McMurray just never seemed to fit in. Maybe that’s because he was overshadowed by the likes of former Cup champion Matt Kenseth, Greg Biffle, and Carl Edwards. Someway, somehow, Roush Fenway Racing just never seemed to be the right fit for McMurray and vice-versa.

To read more, visit Auto Racing Daily.

Photo of Jamie McMurray courtesy of NASCAR Media.

Who will be the next inductees into the NASCAR Hall of Fame?

On Wednesday, the NASCAR Hall of Fame voting committee will get together once again to vote on the second class of inductees into the NASCAR Hall of Fame. One ballot is already determined, as it’ll contain the result of the fan vote that wrapped up last month on NASCAR.com. As for the other ballots cast, at least some of the names on them look to be up in the air.

Of the 25 men nominated for induction this go around, only one of them seems to be a shoe-in—David Pearson. Pearson was expected by many to be among the five inaugural nominees, but instead, the place he was expected to fill went to Junior Johnson.

The first class of nominees that was announced last fall and officially inducted earlier this year was much easier to predict. After all, Richard Petty and Dale Earnhardt were considered certainties, with Petty being NASCAR’s all-time win leader and he and Earnhardt being the only two drivers with seven Cup titles. Also, Bill France Sr. and Bill France Jr. were expected to be part of the first class. France Sr. was the father of the sport, of sorts, creating NASCAR and getting it off the ground, and France Jr. followed in his father’s footsteps and brought NASCAR into the modern era.

This time around, though, the inductees are harder to predict. With the shoe-ins, except for maybe Pearson, going in with the first induction, it’s hard to tell who’ll make up the second class of inductees into the NASCAR Hall of Fame.

To read more, visit Auto Racing Daily.

Chevrolet claims eighth-straight manufacturers' title

With Tony Stewart's win of the Pepsi Max 400 at Auto Club Speedway on Sunday, Chevrolet clinched NASCAR's Sprint Cup Series Manufacturers' Cup.

"I'm glad to get Chevy the Manufacturer's Championship and to lock that up today," Stewart said after his win on Sunday.

The manufacturer has visited Sprint Cup Series victory lanes 16 times this season, with driver Jimmie Johnson leading the way for Chevrolet drivers with six victories. Kevin Harvick has three wins this year, Jamie McMurray and Stewart each have two, and Ryan Newman, Juan Pablo Montoya and Clint Bowyer have each contributed on win to Chevrolet's cause.

To read more, visit Cup Series News and Notes.

Photo courtesy of NASCAR Media.

Childress gets penalties reduced in last chance hearing

After losing an appeal to the National Stock Car Racing Commission last week regarding penalties his No. 33 team was handed following the Sept. 19 Sprint Cup Series race at New Hampshire Motor Speedway, car owner Richard Childress stated his case to the National Stock Car Racing Chief Appellate Officer John Middlebrook on Tuesday.

Following the New Hampshire event, Childress' No. 33 car, driven by Clint Bowyer was taken to NASCAR's Research and Development Center near Charlotte for further inspection. Upon that inspection, the car's placement on the chassis was discovered to not be within NASCAR's guidelines, as specified in the 2010 NASCAR rule book.

As a result, Bowyer was originally docked 150 driver points and Childress lost 150 owner points. Crew chief Shane Wilson was fined $150,000 and placed on suspension for six races. Car chief Chad Haney was also suspended for six events. Last week, the National Stock Car Racing Commission upheld NASCAR's penalty.

To read more, visit Cup Series News and Notes.

Photo of the No. 33 car courtesy of NASCAR Media.

Should Chasers be treated differently?

Unlike in other sports where playoff participants don’t have the non-title contenders to deal with, competitors in NASCAR’s playoff—the Chase for the Sprint Cup—still have to race with and around other drivers/teams that they’ve been competing against all season long. With that being said, should Chase drivers get or expect special treatment from the non-Chasers they’re sharing the race track with? After all, non-Chasers are looking to log race wins too.

In the 10 races that make up the Chase, on-track incidents that earlier in the season probably wouldn’t garner much attention from those not involved end up being scrutinized in the Chase if they involve a Chase driver. Case in point—the contact between non-Chaser David Reutimann and Chase competitor Kyle Busch during the Price Chopper 400 at Kansas Speedway this past Sunday.

Early in the race, Busch made contact with Reutimann—contact that Busch claimed was unintentional and caused by his inability to check up with Reutimann’s car got loose. Unintentional or not, and Busch being a Chase driver or not, Reutimann believed that a move of retaliation was in order. Several laps later his move of retaliation was carried out as he intentionally hit Busch, causing his car to scrape the wall and eventually finish the race in the 21st position.

After Reutimann’s retalitory move, Busch radioed his crew saying that if NASCAR didn’t penalize Reutimann, there was was going to be a meeting after the race. To my knowledge, the meeting never happened, but the series of events prompted an official statement from Michael Waltrip Racing the following Monday saying:

To read more, visit Auto Racing Daily.

Toyota claims third-straight Nationwide manufacturer's title

With Joey Logano's win Saturday of the Kansas Lottery 300 NASCAR Nationwide Series race at Kansas Speedway, Toyota clinched its third-straight manufacturer's title in the series. This year's Nationwide title marks the seventh manufacturer's championship for Toyota in NASCAR competition since it's entry into the sport via the Camping World Truck Series in 2004.

"Toyota's accomplishments in the NASCAR Nationwide Series are the result of countless hours of hard work and dedication by all our race teams and engine builders working in conjunction with TRD (Toyota Racing Development) USA," TRD President and General Manager Lee White said. "All the race team members and everyone at TRD spent countless hours in producing the new Nationwide Series car for this year, along with maintaining the superior performance of our existing cars."

To read more, visit Nationwide Series Examiner.

Photo of Kyle Busch courtesy of NASCAR Media.