Points battles tighten in Trucks, Nationwide after Phoenix races … is Cup next?

Associated Press photo Carl Edwards has moved closer to Nationwide series points leader Clint Bowyer after winning Saturday at Phoenix, and hopes to catch up in a similar fashion to Jimmie Johnson in the Cup series after Sunday's race.While not as hyped as many of the other tracks on the NASCAR schedule, Phoenix International Raceway (where the late Alan Kulwicki debuted his famous Polish Victory

Barack Obama, Lewis Hamilton break race barriers in politics, motorsports in historic week

Associated Press photosLewis Hamilton (above) is the first black Formula 1 champion. Barack Obama (right) is the first black person to be elected U.S. president.More than 40 years ago, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. gave his famous “I Have a Dream” speech, and expressed the wish that everyone in the world could judge people by the content of their character, and not by the color of their skin.At the

2009 could bring short fields as sponsorship woes hit NASCAR hard

It used to be that making the field in a Cup race was very difficult.Every week, a half dozen teams would have to go home because of the large number of teams trying out for races on a regular basis.But that was during better economic times. Today’s economy has left the garage decimated as far as sponsors go. Longtime sponsors like Kodak and Texaco/Havoline are giving up on the sport, and teams

Daring fuel gamble by Edwards brings championship battle back to life

Things were looking pretty grim for Carl Edwards as the laps were winding down at Texas. Sure he’d led hundreds of laps and Jimmie Johnson was a lap down, but after several drivers took two tires to knock him back several spots in the running order, he looked to once again gain very little on Johnson despite a solid performance.Then, his crew chief told him something that he never thought he’d

Gordon snags first Texas pole … now look for him to take first Texas win

Associated Press photo Jeff Gordon makes his pole-winning run during qualifying Friday in Texas.It’s been over a year since Jeff Gordon -- a winning machine for most of his career -- has seen Victory Lane. During the past year, he’s had some good races, but he’s also had some terrible ones.Many have questioned his crew chief’s ability, and many more have begun talking about how Gordon is on the

The leader is in sight … do you wreck him to win?

Anyone who watched this past weekend’s Nationwide race at Memphis saw the dilemma David Reutimann faced as the final laps wound down.Passing was nearly impossible, and he was at Carl Edwards’ bumper. His only way to win was to knock Edwards out of the way … but he didn’t.After the race, Reutimann said, “I should’ve moved him,“ but went on to say that’s not the way he races.This brings up an

Edwards impressive in win, but Johnson steals show with amazing comeback

Associated Press photo Carl Edwards celebrates after winning Sunday's race at Atlanta Motor Speedway.The saying goes that when someone gives you lemons, you make lemonade.In coming back from a lap down in the back of the pack to a 2nd-place finish Sunday at Atlanta, Jimmie Johnson went one further … he took those lemons and made a SoCo and lemonade mixed drink that he ended up sipping while on