Postponing Brickyard until Monday would have been best option

Tony George, owner of Indianapolis Motor Speedway, is hopping mad.After days of hearing about how his track’s “abrasive surface” is part of the reason Sunday’s event turned into something less than a race, George came out Tuesday and said: “The problem is solely (NASCAR‘s), and by that I mean it’s theirs to figure out. It’s not going to come with anything we do to the track.”Then George threw

Goodyear should be ashamed after Brickyard charade

Shame on Goodyear.That’s all I can say after forcing myself to sit through the event Sunday afternoon that masqueraded as the Brickyard 400, which left drivers, team owners, NASCAR itself and fans everywhere disgusted and disappointed.Goodyear’s lack of preparation and bringing such a terrible tire to this historic racetrack created a situation as embarrassing as the Formula 1 debacle in 2005

What’s the truth about Truex?

Silly Season is an exciting and enjoyable time for us in the media, but it can also cause a lot of trouble for journalists eager to get a scoop.A reporter from that famous 4-letter network put out a story Saturday saying that Martin Truex, Jr. had agreed in principle to a 2-year deal to stay with Dale Earnhardt, Inc., according to “multiple sources” close to the deal.But hold the phone. When

Brickyard long on history, short on excitement

With all due respect to the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, home to a century of great motorsports moments, it’s probably one of the worst tracks on the schedule when it comes to providing exciting Cup racing.During Brickyard week, all you hear is the NASCAR drivers fawning over the track and saying how it’s right up there with the Daytona 500 on the list of races they want to win each year. The

Toyota rule change unnecessary, un-American

In my experience, nobody likes a whiner. But apparently, enough of it will lead to an unnecessary NASCAR rule change.The cries grew to deafening levels from fans and drivers about how NASCAR needed to do something to slow down the Toyotas, who are putting on a clinic in all three top series. The critics were focusing on the Nationwide series, where the Toyota entries (more specifically, the Joe

Indycar catfight highlight of Cup off-week

The women of Indycar (yes, there is more than one) apparently aren’t getting along very well.A mostly uneventful off week for the Cup series was livened up by an interesting encounter between Danica Patrick and Venezuelan driver Milka Duno. Duno, who is slow every time she competes, apparently pulled some blocking moves on a clearly faster Patrick during a practice at Mid-Ohio this weekend and

Woes of Big 3 U.S. automakers could eventually lead to exits from NASCAR

Imagine this: A Cup series involving competitors driving Toyotas, Hondas and Nissans.The thought of this induces nightmares and sends chills down the spines of many NASCAR fans, who love the sport in part because of its all-American history. The top three U.S. automakers -- GM, Ford and Chrysler -- have been the backbone of the sport we all love since it started. When Toyota began fielding cars

Zipadelli made right move by staying with Gibbs

No one was surprised when Tony Stewart announced he was leaving Joe Gibbs Racing at the end of the season to become partial owner of the newly named Stewart-Haas Racing.But one major question remained -- would his longtime crew chief Greg Zipadelli go with him and stay loyal to his driver, or would he stay loyal to Joe Gibbs, the team owner who has given him the opportunity for so much success in

Championship-caliber move gives Busch win No. 7

I can only imagine how happy Jimmie Johnson must have been as he passed Kyle Busch late in the race at Chicagoland, thinking someone had finally tamed the beast that Kyle Busch is this year. The two-time defending Cup champion probably could feel the checkered flag in his hand as he did something so few have done this season … passed the seemingly unstoppable Busch so late in a race.And then, the

It's hard to bet against Busch at Chicagoland

Heading into tonight’s race at Chicagoland, there’s really no question about the likely outcome. Kyle Busch is the man to beat. Even the fans booing him relentlessly have to admit that his hot streak is showing no sign of ending, and I see no reason he won’t leave the field in his dust as we return to the cookie-cutter track in Joliet.One possible spoiler could be Greg Biffle, who’s had a great

Dominoes will start to fall now that Stewart move is official

The worst-kept secret in racing became official Wednesday, as Tony Stewart has been released from Joe Gibbs Racing, and will become part owner of Hass-CNC Racing. Rumor is Ryan Newman will be his teammate in 2009.Now Silly Season can really get under way, and this year a ton of drivers will announce they are on the move to a new team.First off, there’s the 20 car. It’s very likely 18-year-old

Blame Teresa’s ego for rumored demise of DEI

What was unthinkable just over a year ago is on the verge of happening, as Dale Earnhardt Inc. will likely be sold off to investors by Teresa Earnhardt, basically ending the company Dale Sr. started so many years ago with the intention of leaving it to his children.Max Siegel, president of global operations at DEI, is talking with major investors about buying DEI. Rumblings are that Teresa would

Earnhardt had car to beat, but Busch steals another one

After watching the first 100 laps of Saturday night’s race at Daytona, during which Dale Earnhardt Jr. put on his usual clinic for the other drivers, two things entered my mind.The first was, “Wow, this is a very boring race.” There was way too much single file racing, and I was far from intrigued.The second was, “The demolition derby will begin soon.” Sure enough, my prediction came true far too

Martin doing his best Brett Favre impression

Remember a few years ago when Mark Martin said he was tired of the Cup grind, wanted to spend more time with his family and would move on to racing in the Truck Series.If case you didn’t notice, that plan didn’t quite work out. Martin has spent the last couple years doing part-time schedules for Ginn Racing/DEI, and announced Friday that he will do one more full-time season in 2009 -- this time

Franchitti's fall shows talent is often not enough

Racing can be a humbling sport, and Dario Franchitti’s experience this year in NASCAR is the ultimate example.Just last fall, less than one year ago, Franchitti won the Indy Racing League championship on the very last lap of the last race of the season. Shortly after claiming the title, the Indy 500 winner began his switch over to NASCAR to race in Cup for Chip Ganassi, where he would be driving

NFL’s Randy Moss won’t have easy road with new Truck team

Randy Moss is a superstar by any definition. He’s thrilled fans with his performances on the football field, and offended many at the same time with his antics through the years.But now he’s taking on a whole new challenge … owning a team in NASCAR’s Craftsman Truck Series. He’s not the first person from the ‘big 4 sports’ to venture into the racing world as an entrepreneur, but history has shown