NASCAR Talk

Is it really any surprise that Jimmie Johnson will be on the pole come Sunday during the last race of the season at Homestead Miami? He’s been winning everything recently, so really, it shouldn’t be a surprise at all. He’s not only won the last four races, he’s also number one in the point standings for the Nextel Cup. His Hendrick Motorsports teammate, Jeff Gordon, is currently in second in the point standings and will roll off in 11th at Homestead Miami. Will he have what it takes to regain the points lead and win the Nextel Cup Championship? It should be a great race!

To see where the entire field will start (and who missed the race) on Sunday, keep reading after the jump.

NASCAR, Nextel Cup, Nextel Cup Starting Grid, Nextel Cup Starting Grid Homestead, Nextel Cup Starting Grid Miami

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Well, NASCAR fans, this is a very bittersweet post for me to make. It is the last race weekend of the 2007 season and I’m staring into a long, cold winter without races to watch. It makes me sad, but Homestead Miami is always an exciting race and with the Nextel Cup and Craftsman Truck Series still up for grabs, this year will be no different. I’m excited to see who will come out on top, but will be sad to see this exciting and controversial season come to an end.

So, if you would like to see the race preview for the final races of 2007, keep reading after the jump.

NASCAR, Nextel Cup, Busch Series, Craftsman Trucks, Nextel Cup race preview Miami, Busch Series race preview Miami, Craftsman Truck race preview Miami, Homestead Miami NASCAR race preview

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Can you believe it’s the end of the NASCAR season already? This Sunday is the final race of the 2007 season in Miami. What in the world am I ever going to do with my weekends? Anyway, it’s time to look at the Raybestos Rookie of the Year Standings and see where the Nextel Cup newcomers are finishing for that honor.

Before we get to the standings, however, I would like to know what you think of the system as it stands and if you think it is fair. Here’s my beef with the current points system for the rookies. Two of the rookies, Juan Pablo Montoya and David Ragan, inherited a car on teams that were locked into the top 35 in points from the previous year. Paul Menard, David Reuitmann, and AJ Allmendinger started with brand new teams that had to qualify for their races. Some of them didn’t make those races and took awhile to get into the top 35 (if they did at all). Right now, the rules say that only the top 17 finishes for the year are counted, so that helps somewhat, but it is still an advantage to run all 36 races and pick the top 17 of those rather than running only say 20 and having to choose most of those races. My question to you is: Is it fair to penalize them in the Rookie of the Year race for having to qualify instead of being handed the keys to a locked in ride? Let me know what you think in the comments below.

To see where the Raybestos Rookie of the Year standings are shaking out, keep reading after the jump.

NASCAR, Nextel Cup rookies, Raybestos Rookie of the Year, Nextel Cup Rookie of the Year

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Well, race fans, we’re down to the final race. Miami Homestead looms near and the championship is still on the line in the Nextel Cup and Craftsman Truck Series. Since the Busch Series Championship has already been decided, we’ll take this week off from listing those points. We will post the final point standings after next week’s race in Miami.

However, Hendrick Motorsports teammates Jimmie Johnson and Jeff Gordon are still battling it out for the Nextel Cup championship, and the Craftsman Truck championship has come down to Mike Skinner and Ron Hornaday’s final race of the 2007 season.

To see the top 50 drivers in both the Nextel Cup and Craftsman Truck series, keep reading after the jump.

NASCAR, NASCAR Point Standings, Nextel Cup Point Standings, Craftsman Truck Point Standings

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I’m starting to feel like Jan Brady saying “Marcia, Marcia, Marcia!” with my “Jimmie, Jimmie, Jimmie!” diatribes. However, it’s hard not to talk about Jimmie Johnson when he and the #48 Lowe’s Chevy Team keep winning races. This past weekend, Johnson again won the race. He has won four consecutive races now, which is by no means a small feat. He looks to be well on his way to a second consecutive championship in the Nextel Cup series. Greg Biffle had a strong car, but just didn’t have enough time to catch up to Johnson at the end and finished second.

To see where the entire field finished, keep reading after the jump.

NASCAR, Nextel Cup, Nextel Cup race results 11/11, Nextel Cup Race Results Phoenix

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Carl Edwards is still rolling after clinching the Busch Series Championship last weekend in Texas. His momentum got him the Budweiser Pole for this Sunday’s Nextel Cup race at Phoenix International Raceway. Martin Truex Jr. will start on the outside of the front row after just barely missing the pole by less than .02 seconds. Jeff Gordon, who is currently sitting second in the points standings, will roll off in third–three spots in front of teammate and current points leader Jimmie Johnson.

To see where all of the drivers will start, keep reading after the jump.

NASCAR, Nextel Cup, Nextel Cup Starting Grid Phoenix

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The Nextel Cup, Busch Series, and Craftsman Trucks all travel to the desert to race this weekend in Phoenix. With only two races left in the entire season, it’s getting down to the wire and the drivers are feeling the pressure. Luckily, Carl Edwards can relax in the Busch Series since he clinched the title last weekend in Texas. The Nextel Cup and Craftsman Truck point standings are still close enough to keep fans on the edge of their seats.

To see what you should watch for this weekend, keep reading after the jump.

NASCAR, Nextel Cup Preview Phoenix, Busch Series Preview Phoenix, Craftsman Truck Preview Phoenix

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Jimmie Johnson has taken over the lead in the Nextel Cup Point standings over his teammate Jeff Gordon. With only a few races left, the race heats up to see if Jimmie can take home the trophy again this season to make it back to back championships for the #48 team. The Busch Series championship has been decided with Carl Edwards clinching the title this past weekend in the Texas race. However, the Craftsman Truck points are still close with Mike Skinner and Ron Hornaday continuing to battle it out.

To see the top 50 drivers in all three series, keep reading after the jump.

NASCAR, NASCAR Point Standings, Nextel Cup Point Standings, Busch Series Point Standings, Craftsman Truck Point Standings

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So maybe Hendrick Motorsports can’t be stopped. Remember how I was saying that Hendrick teams seemed to struggle when they visited Texas? Well, I think that streak has been broken. Not only did Kyle Busch lead a lot of laps this past weekend, once again Jimmie Johnson ended up pulling it off and winning the race. Seriously, I’m getting tired of talking about Jimmie Johnson, but his pit strategy and staying ahead of the track changes as the sun set turned out to be brilliant and the winning strategy. He was also able to take the points lead away from his teammate Jeff Gordon who finished the Texas race in 7th place.

There were 12 caution flags for wrecks, spins, and leftover debris clean up. To see where the entire field finished, keep reading after the jump.

NASCAR, Nextel Cup, Nextel Cup Race Results, Nextel Cup Race Results Texas

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Jeff Gordon may not have won at Texas in the past, but he’s got a shot at today’s race since he’ll be rolling off on the outside of the pole. Fellow Championship Chaser Martin Truex Jr. won the Bud Pole Award and will lead the pack to the green flag at the start of the race. All four of the DEI cars looked strong in qualifying, as did most of the Dodges. Of course, Gordon is hoping to increase his small 9 point lead by finishing well, or even winning his first race at Texas. To see where the entire field qualified, keep reading after the jump.

NASCAR, Nextel Cup, Nextel Cup Starting Grid Texas

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Yee Haw, NASCAR fans! This week is a big one for all three NASCAR series, so what a better place to hold the races besides the place where everything is bigger? NASCAR invades Texas this week and you should expect plenty of action with the championship races heating up. Will Hendrick Motorsports continue its domination, or will someone else take the checkered flag first this week? Find out what to expect for the Nextel Cup, Busch, and Craftsman Truck races this weekend after the jump.

NASCAR, Texas Race Preview, Nextel Cup, Busch Series, Craftsman Trucks

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It’s that time of year already. The 2007 isn’t even over yet, but things are already string to fall into place for 2008. There have been a lot of announced driver moves and now the sponsors are starting to switch teams as well.

Of course we all know that Dale Earnhardt Jr. will be driving the #88 for Hendrick Motorsports next year and he will have both Amp Energy Drink and the National Guard as primary sponsors on his Chevy. The guy he’s replacing at Hendrick, Kyle Busch, is leaving to drive the #18 car for Joe Gibbs Racing. His primary sponsor next year will be M&Ms, which means the company has defected from the Robert Yates Racing #38 piloted by David Gilliland. There has been no word who will sponsor either of the Yates teams for the 2008 season.

The latest unconfirmed rumor is that Best Buy will be leaving the #66 Haas CNC Racing team at the end of 2007 and jumping over to another team. While it has not been officially announced, it is expected they will join a different Dodge team and most likely at Gillett Evernham Racing. Since it was announced earlier this year that Kasey Kahne will be driving the #9 Budweiser Dodge for 2008, it is expected Best Buy will be the primary sponsor for Elliott Sadler’s #19 Dodge. In fact, Elliott has allegedly already filmed a commercial for the company.

What do you think? Who will end up with Best Buy? Will any other sponsors make a jump? Let me know in the comments section below.

NASCAR, NASCAR Sponsors, NASCAR Best Buy team

All three of NASCAR’s major series were in action this week and things are really starting to heat up in the point standings! Jeff Gordon was able to hang on to his lead in the Nextel Cup standings, but his Hendrick Motorsports teammate Jimmie Johnson closed the gap and is now within a measly nine points of the top spot after his win in Atlanta this weekend. The Craftsman Trucks are also in a tight race for the top with Mike Skinner and Ron Hornaday see-sawing every week. While the Busch Series isn’t nearly as close, Carl Edwards has been struggling lately and hasn’t been able to clinch the title as of yet.

To see where the top 50 drivers stand in all three of the series, keep reading after the jump.

NASCAR, NASCAR Point Standings, Nextel Cup Point Standings, Busch Series Point Standings, Craftsman Truck Point Standings

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Remember how I said that I’m almost sick of typing about Jimmie Johnson and how he’s one to watch at every track? Well, once again the #48 Lowe’s Chevy took the checkered flag first after a hot day in Atlanta. After several cut down tires and subsequent spins or wrecks, Jimmie Johnson was able to survive a last minute fender bender by the leaders after Denny Hamlin ran out of gas and Martin Truex Jr. and Kyle Busch stacked up behind him. It came down to a green - white - checkered finish and Jimmie Johnson came out on top once again. Carl Edwards managed to squeak out a second place finish, and Reed Sorenson delivered an excellent showing in third place.

To see where all drivers finished the Pep Boys 500, keep reading after the jump.

NASCAR, Nextel Cup, Nextel Cup results, Nextel Cup results Atlanta, Nextel Cup results 10/28

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The Dodge cars looked strong today in qualifying for the Nextel Cup Pep Boys Auto 500 at Atlanta Motorspeedway, but a Ford Fusion came out on top. Roush Fenway driver Greg Biffle won the Budweiser Pole Award and will be the car that leads the field to the green flag on Sunday. However, 6 of the top 11 qualifiers drive a Dodge. Since Dodge has seemed to struggle this year in the races, it has yet to be seen if the fast qualifying times will transfer over to the actual race. With the drought and unseasonably hot temperatures in Atlanta, it will most likely come down to the engines holding out until the end.

To see which cars made the race and where they will start, keep reading after the jump.

NASCAR, Nextel Cup, Nextel Cup Qualifying Atlanta, Nextel Cup Starting Grid Atlanta, Pep Boys Auto 500

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