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Thursday
Hey Kenny, Tone It Down A Bit
We first reported this week that Travis Pastrana would be making his NASCAR Nationwide Series debut with RAB Racing�(or the team’s points at least). The deal was an obvious one for Pastrana 199 Racing to secure a guaranteed starting spot for the rookie driver. This, and other deals, leave Kenny Wallace out of a ride, [...]
Wednesday
This funny car came apart at the seams
While we wait for the first photos from Tony Stewart's visit with President Obama to arrive, here's some video from the weekend of a funny car blowin' up real good:
Fortunately, driver Matt Hagan was uninjured. The car, however, was not so lucky. Its name is being withheld pending notification of relatives.
Source: http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/nascar-from-the-marbles/funny-car-came-apart-seams-152718718.html
Power Rankings: Biffle triumphant
It's a new season, and that means a new year of Power Rankings. Each week throughout the season, we'll size up who's rising and who's falling, based on current standings, behind-the-scenes changes, expected staying power, recent history and general gut feelings. It is not scientific, nor is it meant to be. And remember, whoever your favorite driver is, we're biased against him and like someone else better. We continue with a guy who's sticking around the top, like it or not...
4. To
Dropping out: Brad Keselowski. #blownengine #sorrybro
Lucky Dog: Mark Martin. Can't somebody convince this ol' feller to run a full season? Gucci Mane, get on the phone, dawg!
The Kasey Kahne DNF: The guy who throws the yellow flag. He basically got a week off with pay this week. Don't spend it all in one place, fella.
Next up: Kansas! Come up with your best lame Dorothy/Toto jokes, and send your comments to us via Twitter at @jaybusbee, via email by clicking here, and via Facebook. Go!
Alonso bemoans lack of respect among drivers
Fernando Alonso has bemoaned the lack of on-track respect between drivers of the current era after being part of the Gilles Villeneuve 30th anniversary event at Fiorano yesterday. Alonso said that fights like the one that Villeneuve enjoyed with Rene … Continue reading 
Source: http://adamcooperf1.com/2012/05/09/alonso-bemoans-lack-of-respect-among-drivers/
Tuesday
Travis Pastrana locked into field for Nationwide debut
Michael Waltrip Racing and RAB Racing announced an alliance on Tuesday that would ensure that motocross and X-Games star Travis Pastrana would be guaranteed a spot into the field for his Nationwide Series debut at Richmond on April 27.
Pastrana was supposed to make his debut last year at Indianapolis, but a broken foot and ankle in an X-Games crash put his first NASCAR Nationwide Series race on hold.
The alliance means that the No. 09 of RAB Racing will now be the No. 99 and will be driven by Pastrana and sponsored by Boost Mobile in all seven of his scheduled Nationwide Series races, and, according to Michael Waltrip, by other MWR drivers in any other races they so choose. RAB Racing had fielded the No. 09 for Kenny Wallace and had been searching for funding. Last week at Texas, Ryan Truex, younger brother of MWR Cup driver Martin Truex Jr., was in the car with sponsorship.
It's a deal that benefits both parties significantly. Pastrana doesn't have to qualify on time for the races he's in, and RAB Racing will have more equipment, less sponsorship to search for and more exposure thanks to Pastrana's presence. It's similar to the agreement that Stewart-Haas and Tommy Baldwin reached before the 20112 season to (hopefully) guarantee Danica Patrick's starting position in the No. 10 for her Cup races in 2012 and for the beginning of the 2013 season. In the Stewart-Haas and Baldwin arrangement, Patrick is in 10 Cup races in SHR equipment, while David Reutimann is in the No. 10 in TBR equipment for the other 26.
Yet, the agreement to give Patrick a locked in starting spot drew much criticism. This deal, so far, hasn't generated near the reaction and scrutiny. It's not an apples to apples comparison ? the Patrick deal involved the owner's points of Baldwin's No. 36, and the equipment deals that each team has limited the true "alliance" aspect ? but at the basic level, they are both the same thing: a team with a highly marketable driver and considerable resources partnering with a smaller one in need of said resources to guarantee that marketable driver's grid position. If you're against one, don't you have to be against the other?
A wrap-up of Mugello testing
The three days of testing at Mugello ended yesterday evening with the fastest time of the test going to Romain Grosjean, who lapped his Lotus in 1m21.035s. This was two-tenths of a second faster than the best time achieved by Sebastian Vettel’s Red Bull, which clocked a 1m21.363s. All the teams were trying updated versions [...]
Source: http://joesaward.wordpress.com/2012/05/04/a-wrap-up-of-mugello-testing/
Monday
5-Hour Energy expands sponsorship of Clint Bowyer
KANSAS CITY, Kan. ? Last October at Kansas Speedway, Michael Waltrip Racing�announced that Clint Bowyer would drive the team's third car with sponsorship from 5-Hour Energy for 25 races in 2012.
On Friday at Kansas, the team announced that 5-Hour Energy has increased its investment to 35 races, all but one of the 36 points races. That race will be at Talladega in two weeks when Bowyer drives an Alabama-themed Aaron's car in honor of the Crimson Tide's BCS title.
"We have measured real growth through our retail partnerships, in-market activation, sales growth and brand awareness," 5-Hour Energy president Scott Henderson said in a release. "The numbers show we've exceeded all expectations. This increase allows us to target even more markets. We're business people, and the numbers show NASCAR delivers the audience we need to market our product."
Maybe this will mean a 5-Hour Energy advertisement during every NASCAR commercial break from now until the rest of the season. (Don't worry, it only seems like they're on every segment.)
Given the recent trend of sponsors scaling back the number of races they're involved in, 5-Hour's increase may be a welcome sign that the sponsorship landscape is improving. However, given the ubiquity of the product, it doesn't seem like they're struggling anyway, so time will tell if their increase is a true reflection of the NASCAR economy or an outlier.
So? What Really Happened in 1905?
This week on as the world turns, AAA edition, we take a peek back to 1905; when the recently created AAA Contest Board sanctioned the very first points paying championship in the western hemisphere. The legality of this championship, like … Continue reading 
Source: http://anotherindycarblog.wordpress.com/2012/04/09/so-what-really-happened-in-1905/
So? What Really Happened in 1905?
This week on as the world turns, AAA edition, we take a peek back to 1905; when the recently created AAA Contest Board sanctioned the very first points paying championship in the western hemisphere. The legality of this championship, like … Continue reading
Source: http://anotherindycarblog.wordpress.com/2012/04/09/so-what-really-happened-in-1905/
Sunday
How I Saw It Happen? Goodbye Brazil, Hello May Edition
Another race in the books, another win for Will Power and another dagger into the hearts of all championship hopefuls that may be left. The man is decimating the competition and his attack doesn’t look to be slowing any. Behind … Continue reading 
Skip Barber Paolo Barilla Rubens Barrichello Michael Bartels
NASCAR Team Owner For Senate
In recent years, politics and NASCAR have played hand-in-hand. Presidents from Ronald Reagan to George W. Bush (First Lady Michelle Obama and Second Lady Dr. Jill Biden were at Homestead last season) have come to races and candidates for the office have made it an obligatory stop – Mitt Romney and Rick Santorum were at [...] 
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Hendrick puts four cars in the top 10, but not in the top spot
Most times when a team owner puts all four of his cars in the top 10, you'd expect it to be a cause for celebration. But then again, most times a team owner isn't going for his 200th career win.
The four cars owned by Rick Hendrick all finished in the top 10 of the speedy and drama-free Samsung Mobile 500 at Texas, but since not one of them snagged the top spot, Hendrick remains stuck on 199 wins.
Still, seeing Jimmie Johnson in second, Jeff Gordon in 5th, Kasey Kahne in 7th and Dale Earnhardt Jr. in 10th, Hendrick had to be reasonably pleased. Yes, Greg Biffle won, but three of the four drivers saw significant jumps in the standings.
Johnson rose two positions to 8th place, Gordon jumped four spots to 17th, and Kasey Kahne rode an uncharacteristically high finish to improve four spots to 27th. The only driver not to improve his position was Dale Earnhardt Jr., who remains in second place behind Biffle, now tied with Matt Kenseth.
What does this mean for Hendrick as a whole? It's good news for an organization that's had precious little of that this year. Johnson, based on past performance, is a near-lock for the Chase, and Junior would have to go into a slide to give up his spot. But Gordon remains almost one full race's worth of position, 41 points, out of the 10th spot, and Kahne is far worse, 88 points behind the final Chase spot. That means both will need to win their way into the Chase. It's doable, but very tough. Still, nights like Saturday in Texas will give the team hope.
As for the 200th? We may be making more of it than the drivers: "To be honest, it hasn't played much on my mind because I just want to win and I know winning is what my job is about, winning is what Hendrick Motorsports is about, and if we win we'll take care of the 200th," Johnson said after Texas. "I think about it more after the fact, not leading up to or during the event ... Whenever it happens is going to be very special for the company."
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