Kentucky has there official race date now..it's July 9th. Kansas also announced it is getting a second date.

"Speedway Motorsports, Inc. Chairman and CEO Bruton Smith announced that Kentucky Speedway will play host to its inaugural 400-mile NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race on Saturday, July 9, 2011. The Sparta, Ky., venue will become the 23rd motorsports facility on the 36-race Sprint Cup Series schedule and the first facility to be added to the national tour since Chicagoland Speedway made its debut July 15, 2001 and Kansas Speedway staged its first series race on Sept. 29, 2001."

"Kansas Speedway and International Speedway Corporation announced that NASCAR has approved ISC's request for realignment and beginning in 2011, Kansas Speedway will host two NASCAR Sprint Cup Series weekends. The first NASCAR Sprint Cup Series weekend will be held June 4-5 and the second event weekend will be the fourth race in the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup, Oct. 8-9."

RCR has it's 4th team for next season...Paul Menard. Why? Lol I mean, is sponsors really THAT hard to find that you have to hire a shitty driver just so you can have his families company be your sponsor? I'd rather stick to being a 3 car operation.

"Richard Childress Racing and Menards, the third-largest home improvement company in the United States, have signed a multi-year partnership agreement for the Eau Claire, Wisconsin-based company to become the primary sponsor of RCR's fourth NASCAR Sprint Cup Series team beginning in 2011 with driver Paul Menard. "Paul has developed into a very good race car driver, and we see his move to RCR next year as an opportunity for him to continue that progress," said Richard Childress, president and CEO of Richard Childress Racing. "At the same time, we feel Paul will contribute to the continued progress and success of RCR. Paul will fit in perfectly with our team of drivers at RCR, and they are all looking forward to working with him. We're also very proud to be aligned with Menards, one of the great family business success stories in American history." Further announcements about the program will be forthcoming."

Bruton Smith already upgrading Kentucky Speedway:

"Bruton Smith promised to spend between $90 million and $100 million expanding seating capacity from 66,000 to 116,000, building new restrooms, adding 200 more acres of campground space and putting in more elevators. When you see what he has accomplished already and what he promises, you almost believe one day he'll convince NASCAR to move the season finale from Homestead-Miami Speedway to Las Vegas Motor Speedway

GoChiefs;448209 wrote:RCR has it's 4th team for next season...Paul Menard. Why? Lol I mean, is sponsors really THAT hard to find that you have to hire a shitty driver just so you can have his families company be your sponsor? I'd rather stick to being a 3 car operation.

"Richard Childress Racing and Menards, the third-largest home improvement company in the United States, have signed a multi-year partnership agreement for the Eau Claire, Wisconsin-based company to become the primary sponsor of RCR's fourth NASCAR Sprint Cup Series team beginning in 2011 with driver Paul Menard. "Paul has developed into a very good race car driver, and we see his move to RCR next year as an opportunity for him to continue that progress," said Richard Childress, president and CEO of Richard Childress Racing. "At the same time, we feel Paul will contribute to the continued progress and success of RCR. Paul will fit in perfectly with our team of drivers at RCR, and they are all looking forward to working with him. We're also very proud to be aligned with Menards, one of the great family business success stories in American history." Further announcements about the program will be forthcoming."

This will make or break Menard, he's never had really great equipment, but now he'll have a shot.

Well, I don't really know about all that..wouldn't be the first time the new team got the shitty equipment, this isn't Richard's first time with a 4th team. I actually think Menard could be OK given a fair chance. Like you said, he's got shit equipment right now, and he's still sitting 23rd in the points standings.

New Hampshire got to keep their 2 dates, and all along it seemed they may get one whacked to make room for the other races.

Hopefully it didn't come at the cost of something like Martinsville (which is not owned by the same group, who knows)

Martinsville is not losing a date. 4/03/11 and 10/30/11.
I was surprised yesterday when I saw NH (SMI) is keeping 2. I wonder where the 2nd Kansas date will come from. (ISC track)

Ford will be going for broke with the FR9 engines at MIS this week.

He's also had Daddy's money his whole career.

Blaney has left the 66 team after a DNQ last week at The Glen. He is in Knoxville , Iowa racing in the Nationals right now. Scott Riggs failed to qualify the 66 today at MIS.
Kasey Kahne put Ford's FR9 motor on pole, ahead of Jimmie Johnson.

International Speedway Corporation announced it has named Joie Chitwood III President of Daytona International Speedway effective immediately. Current DIS President Robin Braig will leave to pursue other opportunities. WOW I didn't see that coming.


Michigan International Speedway
CARFAX 400

Starting
Position Car# Driver Manufactuer/Sponsor QualifyingSpeed (mph) QualifyingTime (seconds)

1 9 Kasey Kahne Budweiser Ford 187.183 38.465
2 48 Jimmie Johnson Lowe's Chevy 187.086 38.485
3 33 Clint Bowyer Cheerios/Hamburger Helper Chevy 186.577 38.950
4 14 Tony Stewart Office Depot/Old Spice Chevy 186.572 38.591
5 42 Juan Pablo Montoya Target Chevy 186.461 38.614
6 16 Greg Biffle 3M Ford 186.350 38.637
7 17 Matt Kenseth Crown Royal Ford 186.268 38.654
8 29 Kevin Harvick Shell/Pennzoil Chevy 186.176 38.673
9 56 Martin Truex Jr. NAPA Toyota 186.167 38.675
10 98 Paul Menard Mastercraft/Menards Ford 185.912 38.728
11 31 Jeff Burton Cat Financial Chevy 185.730 38.766
12 5 Mark Martin GoDaddy.com Chevy 185.715 38.769
13 00 David Reutimann Aaron's Dream Machine Toyota 185.596 38.794
14 2 Kurt Busch Miller Lite/Vortex Dodge 185.596 38.794
15 09 Landon Cassill Phoenix Construction Chevy 185.467 38.821
16 43 A.J. Allmendinger Insignia HDTV Ford 185.419 38.831
17 39 Ryan Newman Tornados Chevy 185.333 38.849
18 18 Kyle Busch Interstate Batteries Toyota 185.290 38.858
19 1 Jamie McMurray Philips Norelco Chevy 185.276 38.861
20 78 Regan Smith Furniture Row Racing Chevy 185.071 38.904
21 13 Max Papis GEICO Toyota 184.952 38.929
22 87 Joe Nemechek NEMCO Motorsports Toyota 184.876 38.945
23 19 Elliott Sadler Henry Ford Museum: Racing in America Ford 184.867 38.947
24 99 Carl Edwards Aflac Ford 184.776 38.966
25 26 Patrick Carpentier Air Guard Ford 184.729 38.976
26 12 Brad Keselowski No. 12 Penske Dodge Dodge 184.634 38.996
27 20 Joey Logano Home Depot Toyota 184.615 39.000
28 77 Sam Hornish Jr. Mobil 1 Dodge 184.582 39.007
29 6 David Ragan UPS Ford 184.535 39.017
30 21 Bill Elliott [PC] Motorcraft/Quick Lane Tire & Auto Center Ford 184.431 39.039
31 82 Scott Speed Red Bull Toyota 184.417 39.042
32 38 Travis Kvapil Long John Silver's Ford 184.341 39.058
33 11 Denny Hamlin FedEx Express Toyota 183.885 39.155
34 83 Reed Sorenson Red Bull Toyota 183.870 39.158
35 07 Robby Gordon SpeedFactory.TV Toyota 183.744 39.185
36 24 Jeff Gordon DuPont Chevy 183.439 39.250
37 47 Marcos Ambrose Little Debbie Toyota 183.388 39.261
38 88 Dale Earnhardt Jr. Ntnl Grd Drive the Grd/AMP Energy Chev 183.337 39.272
39 34 Tony Raines Front Row Motorsports Ford 182.764 39.395
40 71 Bobby Labonte TaxSlayer.com Chevy 182.454 39.462
41 7 PJ Jones SpeedFactory.TV Toyota 180.555 39.877
42 37 David Gilliland Taco Bell Ford 179.798 40.045
43 55 Michael McDowell PRISM Motorsports Toyota 183.257 39.289
DNQ 32 Mike Bliss Braun Racing Toyota 183.136 39.315
DNQ 36 Casey Mears Tommy Baldwin Racing Chevy 180.059 39.987
DNQ 46 J.J. Yeley Whitney Motorsports Dodge 183.038 39.336
DNQ 66 Scott Riggs PRISM Motorsports Toyota 180.959 39.788

Nationwide cars have 'ears' on the rear spoilers. Ryan Truex was fastest in today's practice. Race at 2 pm Sat. on ESPN

Trucks race at Darlington Sat. night 7:30 on Speed.

Yet another boring ass Michigan race. Why this race continues to get two dates is beyond me. OK, I get it, it's the hometown of the big auto manufacturers. Big deal. The race still sucks. Harvick took the checkered flag for his 3rd race of the season. Curious to see if NASCAR does anything to Junior for his cursing on national television.

Trucks are at Bristol tonight ! Newman just won a modified series race there, I caught the last 15 minutes of it.

So, punk bitch Kyle dumped BK last night. Glad I didn't bother to watch. I'm home chillin tonite, gonna watch Bristol and get up early to go fishin.

Keselowski and Ky. Busch had issues at Bristol last night. Kyle was bragging about wrecking Brad, though it appears Brad did nothing wrong at all

[video=youtube;ke0CSz9xvpo][/video]

ABC showed a clip of Brad's driver intro at the track this evening, each driver came up on a stage and introduced themselves:
"I'm Brad Keselowski, driver of the Penske Dodge, and Kyle Busch is an ass"

Speedofsand;458207 wrote:So, punk bitch Kyle dumped BK last night. Glad I didn't bother to watch. I'm home chillin tonite, gonna watch Bristol and get up early to go fishin.

Perfect weekend I'd say.
Looking forward to tonights race, one of my favorites of the year. How is the weather over there?

pretty good round of storms this afternoon cooled it down to low 80's now. Gotta go early, like by daybreak to get the best bite and beat the heat. Kayak fishing for reds, trout, and hopefully jump a tarpon.

Bristol is the best.

looks pretty slick there, loose until the track rubbers up.

shake and bake

Brad Keselowski pulled off one of the most memorable moments of the NASCAR season on Saturday night when he took the microphone during driver introductions at Bristol and proclaimed over the track’s public address system, “Kyle Busch is an ass!”

So what prompted Keselowski to share his feelings in an unusual setting?

“Juan Montoya and I were talking about it (before driver introductions), and he said I wouldn’t do it,” Keselowski said. “I said, ‘Hell yeah I’ll do it!’ The preacher was standing there and I said, ‘Hey man, would you be offended if I said, ‘Ass?’

“He said, ‘No, man! ‘Ass’ is in the Bible.’ I said, ‘Thank you very much!’”

The response drew one of the loudest crowd reactions in memory – if not the loudest. It measured 104.2 decibels on SB Nation’s noise meter (a record).

http://www.thehotlap.com/2010/08/21/why-did-brad-keselowski-call-kyle-busch-an-ass/

Looks like Walmart is looking to get into NASCAR. They are in heavy negotiations with Hendricks to sponsor the #24 Chevrolet next season.

"Walmart's potential move into NASCAR has led the retail giant deep into negotiations with Hendrick Motorsports over sponsorship of Jeff Gordon's #24 Chevy next season. There continue to be several moving parts to the Walmart discussions with Hendrick and NASCAR, which began in the spring and have progressed through the summer. Walmart's play could have tentacles in both sponsorship and licensing at the team and league level, according to industry sources. The retailer has been hesitant to spend money on sports sponsorships in the past, so Walmart's entrance to NASCAR would provide a huge boost to a sport that has been ravaged by the recession and attracted little new sponsorship money in the last two seasons. "It's very significant," said Mark Dyer, senior vice president at IMG and formerly chief of the licensing division at NASCAR until 2007. "We tried for years to get Walmart's attention when I was at NASCAR and we made some inroads. If they truly decide to take a position in the sport, that's a big deal to get a company that should have been in that space all along." Gordon remains one of the sport's most popular drivers and is a likely future hall of famer. DuPont has been his only primary sponsor since he became a full-time driver in 1992, but the most recent deal between DuPont and Hendrick Motorsports ends this year. While DuPont might be back on the #24, it is expected to be in a reduced role. Pepsi and National Guard also have associate sponsorships on Gordon's car this year. Gordon, 39, has said that he plans to drive for four or five more years and that he's over the back injury that at one time was considered a threat to his career. If Walmart completes an agreement for the #24 Chevy, it remains to be seen whether the retailer will keep its marks on the car or sell off races to vendors."

Here's the 2011 Sprint Cup schedule:

Feb. 12: x-Budweiser Shootout, Daytona International Speedway
Feb. 20: Daytona International Speedway
Feb. 27: Phoenix International Raceway
March 6: Las Vegas Motor Speedway
March 20: Bristol Motor Speedway
March 27: Auto Club Speedway
April 3: Martinsville Speedway
April 9: Texas Motor Speedway
April 17: Talladega Superspeedway
April 30: Richmond International Raceway
May 7: Darlington Raceway
May 15: Dover International Speedway
May 21: x-Sprint All-Star Race, Charlotte Motor Speedway
May 29: Charlotte Motor Speedway
June 5: Kansas Speedway
June 12: Pocono Raceway
June 19: Michigan International Speedway
June 26: Infineon Raceway
July 2: Daytona International Speedway
July 9: Kentucky Speedway
July 17: New Hampshire Motor Speedway
July 31: Indianapolis Motor Speedway
Aug. 7: Pocono Raceway
Aug. 14: Watkins Glen International
Aug. 21: Michigan International Speedway
Aug. 27: Bristol Motor Speedway
Sept. 4: Atlanta Motor Speedway
Sept. 10: Richmond International Raceway

Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup races:
Sept. 18: Chicagoland Speedway
Sept. 25: New Hampshire Motor Speedway
Oct. 2: Dover International Speedway
Oct. 9: Kansas Speedway
Oct. 15: Charlotte Motor Speedway
Oct. 23: Talladega Superspeedway
Oct. 30: Martinsville Speedway
Nov. 6: Texas Motor Speedway
Nov. 13: Phoenix International Raceway
Nov. 20: Homestead-Miami Speedway

x-non-points races

that's a great idea from walmart.

BTW I hope BK keeps his nose clean on the track for now. it seems to me that he's hamstrung by the whole CE thing. now guys know they can punt BK and he can't really do anything about it since he's on probation.

The class for the 2011 NASCAR Hall Of Fame inductees have been announced:

Bobby Allison
Ned Jarrett
Bud Moore
David Pearson
Lee Petty

Not sure how you can put Ned Jarret in over Cale Yarborough.

GoChiefs;518580 wrote:Not sure how you can put Ned Jarret in over Cale Yarborough.

Yah I was surprised on this one.

Yarborough misses out again? WOW!

Smoke is really on a streak after his screw up a couple weeks back. They have all the momentum right now and are again a real threat to win this.