NNS - Federated Auto Parts 300

Kyle Busch scores a smashing win in Saturday night's Federated Auto Parts 300 Nationwide Series race @ Nashville Superspeedway.

After leading the most laps in the past 3 series races without a win to show for it, things finally went Busch's way. He led 4 times for 173 of the 225 laps around, giving up the lead only for pit stops. He led the final 24 laps and beat Keselowski by 0.891 seconds.

Chris Graythen/Getty Images for NASCAR

To the surprise of many, he slammed the special trophy given to Nashville race winners, a Sam Bass-designed Gibson Les Paul guitar.

"Pete Townsend?" Busch wondered. "I think Ozzy's done it, too. I think Kiss has even done it. Everybody's done it, expect race car drivers. All them sorry saps, they take it home in one piece and put it on their shelf, man. I break that thing up and spread it within the team so everybody's got a piece."

Busch said he made a promise to his team members last year that if he ever won a race @ Nashville, he would give them each a piece of the guitar. However, the guitar didn't break into too many pieces.

"It didn't break according to plan," Busch said. "I was actually hoping to get more pieces for the guys on the team. We'll go back to the shop and cut it up, and they can have nice, smooth pieces of it."



Sam Bass was in attendance @ Nashville. He too was surprised by Kyle's actions. "Just like everybody else in victory lane, I was stunned when it happened," said Bass. "When I took a picture with Kyle as I traditionally do, the first thing he said to me was that there was no disrespect to me or the trophy or the speedway or any of the sponsors. He just said that he told his guys that he was going to give each one of them a piece of the trophy whenever he won the guitar." Bass continued, "That was his way, in the spirit of rock and roll to break the guitar like a Kiss concert and share it with all the guys on the team. That made me feel a lot better. As a person that loves rock and roll the way I do and appreciates a good show, Kyle Busch put on as great show in victory lane and shocked the world."

There were 4 cautions for 24 laps including a 13 minute and 7 second red flag for an accident on lap 126 involving the 2, 16, 27, 33 and 99 in turn 4.

There were 12 lead changes among 8 drivers:

K. Busch 1-67; C. Edwards 68; Brad Keselowski 69-72; J. Leffler 73-93; K. Wallace 94-100; K. Busch 101-115; J. Leffler 116-120; K. Busch 121-187; Brad Keselowski 188-193; M. Bliss 194-199; M. McDowell # 200; E. Darnell 201; K. Busch 202-225.

For (unofficial) results, click here.

Just announced! Kid Rock @ M.I.S.

Just announced today (5/22) Detroit’s own Kid Rock will serve as Grand Marshal for the LifeLock 400 at Michigan International Speedway on Sunday, June 14.

In addition to Grand Marshall duties, he'll join driver Robby Gordon in the speedway’s fan hospitality club, Acceleration.

“I’m a huge race fan, so being asked to be Grand Marshal for the Michigan race to help kick off my summer tour with (tour sponsor) Red Stag seemed like a fun way to get the word out,” Kid Rock said.

Tickets, camping and Acceleration passes are on sale now. Sprint Cup Series tickets as low as $40 for the June and August races are on sale now! Make it an affordable weekend of fun with family & friends! Call the MIS Ticket Hotline at 800-354-1010 or visit MISpeedway.com.

Michigan International Speedway — 2009 Schedule

Friday, June 12 ARCA RE/MAX Series Racing for Wildlife 200
Saturday, June 13 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series
Sunday, June 14 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series LifeLock 400

Friday, Aug. 14 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Gatorade Pole Day
Saturday, Aug. 15 NASCAR Nationwide Series CARFAX 250
Sunday, Aug. 16 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series

I've actually bumped into Kid Rock numerous times inside the Cup garage at M.I.S. A few years ago when he was with Pam Anderson, he even brought her to the track. I remember she's a Tony Stewart fan. She showed up wearing her #20 gear. I'll have to see if I can dig up some of those pictures.

2010 Chevy Camaro Unveil 3/6/09

On Wednesday, May 6th, the official unveiling for the 2010 Chevy Camaro occurred at dealerships across the country.

The relaunch has been highly anticipated over the past couple of years. Images of the newly redesigned Camaro have flooded popular auto magazines, network TV, movies and the internet.

This week, the cars were set up on showroom floors across the country underneath giant red Camaro covers which couldn't be removed until the premiere at 5:30.

I attended the showing at Sundance Chevrolet in Grand Ledge, MI. There were over 300 people attending the event. I heard several people discussing the color and packages they purchased with theirs. I didn't get a chance to test drive either model, but I'd definitely like to take one out on the road.


The 2010 Chevy Camaro RS
3.6L V-6 (304 horsepower)

The 2010 Chevy Camero SS
V8 (426 horsepower)

















I definitely give GM 2 thumbs up on their redesign

On Track - Saturday 3/28

Rain, rain go away...

Rain washed out a portion of the on track activities Saturday @ Martinsville.

The Camping World Truck Series squeezed in final practice and qualifying before the wet weather hit.

Rusty Jarrett/Getty Images for NASCAR

Rick Crawford won the Keystone Light pole award. It's his 6th pole in the series and 2nd @ Martinsville. Crawford has 1 series victory at the track with his win in 2004.

Shane Sieg will start on the outside of the front row. Michigan native Johnny Benson qualified 3rd with Ron Hornaday Jr, Colin Braun, Kevin Harvick, Max Papis, Matt Crafton, Mike Skinner and Timothy Peters starting in the top 10. Geoff Burke/Getty Images

The cup series won't get in any additional track time before Sunday's race.

"For me a rain delay is trying to get (NASCAR) to call it as soon as possible so I can go home especially when we are this close to the house. I'm an hour away so I can go eat dinner at home (in North Carolina)." - Clint Bowyer

Sunday's forecast for Martinsville calls for mostly sunny skies, a high near 70 and a 20% chance for rain. Good news!

* Revised Schedule for Martinsville Speedway *

The NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Kroger 250 at Martinsville Speedway has been postponed due to rain. The race will be run Monday at 12 p.m. and will air on SPEED, MRN and Sirius Satellite Radio.

Tickets for the race will be honored Monday. The gates will open at 9 a.m.

Need For Speed Martinsville Preview

The Martinsville Speedway will host its 122nd Sprint Cup Series race this Sunday.

Thesouthern Virginia track is the oldest on the cup schedule and one of the oldest continuously operating racing facilities in the US. The first cup series race was held on Sept. 25, 1949.

Known for its tight turns and paper clip shape, drivers will have to be up on the wheel for 500 laps/263 miles.

Will we see Hendrick domination @ Martinsville once again? Jeff Gordon and Jimmie Johnson have combined to win 9 of the last 12 races there.

Who's Mr. Martinsville?

Jeff Gordon leads all active drivers with 7 wins and 7 poles @ Martinsville. He's won 4 of the last 12 races there. He's also finished in the top 5 in the last 8 races. He has an average finish of 6.9 - 2nd best among active drivers. The bad? Gordon has extended his winless streak to 46 races now. The good? He's been on top of the point standings for 3 consecutive weeks now. He has only 1 finish outside the top 10 so far into this season. Gordon finished the Daytona 500 - 13th.

Jimmie Johnson has won 5 of the last 9 races @ Martinsville along with posting 10 top 5s and 13 top 10s in his 14 races at the track. His average finish of 5.6 is tops among all active drivers. The plus: Johnson's finished in the top 10 in all of his races @ Martinsville except for one - his only DNF at the track.

This weekend marks the 25th anniversary of Hendrick Motorsports first Sprint Cup Series win. Geoffrey Bodine drove the #5 to victory lane on April 29, 1984.

Denny Hamlin is the defending race winner. In his 7 Martinsville races, he's notched 1 victory, 4 top 5s, 6 top 10s and 1 pole. His average finish of 8.9 ranks 3rd best among active drivers and right behind Johnson & Gordon. The plus: Momentum means everything in this sport. Hamlin's runner up finish last week @ Bristol moved him up 6 spots in the series standings. Hamlin's currently 8th in points.

A Chevy driver has won 11 of the last 13 races @ Martinsville. The bad? Chevy is the only manufacturer that hasn't won a race so far this season. It's the first time since 2002 that a Chevy hasn't made it into victory lane by this point in the season. It was 9 races into the 2002 season for Chevy to pick up their first manufacturer win.

And... we can't forget Kyle Busch. He has yet to win @ Martinsville however he's won a race in 1 of NASCAR's top 3 national series in each of the past 4 race weekends: Bristol (NSCS), Atlanta (NCWTS), Las Vegas (NSCS) and California/Auto Club (NNS & NCWTS).

47 drivers are on the entry list for Sunday's race. Beginning this weekend now, the top 35 based on this year's owner points are locked in.

The Camping World Truck Series Kroger 250 - Saturday at 2pm on FOX
The Sprint Cup Series Goody's Fast Pain Relief 500 - Sunday at 1:30pm on FOX

Changes for '09 - Budweiser Shootout

NASCAR announced last week a revision to the format that will provide each manufacturer a "wild card" entry. The size of the field will increase from 24 to 28 cars. As previously announced, the line up will consist of the top 6 teams from each manufacturer. And as previously announced, the race distance will increase from 70 laps to 75 laps with two segments of 25 and 50 laps. Both green and yellow flag laps will count. Between segments, there will be a 10 minute pit stop in which teams will be permitted to work on cars and will be allowed to perform functions they would normally do during a regular pit stop.

So who's in?
Chevrolet: 48, 29, 07, 31, 24, 88 and (wild card) 14
Ford: 99, 16, 17, 6 ,26, 28* and (wild card) 38*
Dodge: 9, 12 , 2 ,43, 19, 7 and (wild card) 10
Toyota: 11, 20, 18, 83, 44 (will be #00), 55 and (wild card) 22

* may be switching numbers

Starting positions will be determined by a blind draw on Thursday night, Feb. 5th from the SPEED Channel stage, outside Turn 4 at the Daytona International Speedway.

The Budweiser Shootout is Saturday night, Feb. 7th
Daytona International Speedway
75 laps = 187.5 miles

Last year's winner: #88, Dale Earnhardt Jr.

Changes for '09 - Testing Ban

We don't have too much longer to wait until the season starts! I don't know about you, but I absolutely can't wait! It feels like it has been the longest 'off season' ever, hasn't it?!

There are a lot of changes to get used to as this new season gets underway. And maybe one of those changes is why it feels like it has been the longest 'off season' ever. Due to these hard economic times, NASCAR banned test sessions at all of the tracks on the current schedule. The ban was obviously designed to save organizations money and in the end (unfortunately) put these organizations in a position where they had to let go of a lot of personnel.

Preseason Thunder went on as planned at the Daytona International Speedway last week. For the recap, check out the Daytona International Speedway website - here.

The calendar for D.I.S. Speedweeks '09
Jan. 24th through the 25th - The Rolex 24
Feb. 7th - The ARCA/Remax Series Lucas Oil Slick Mist 200 leading into the Budweiser Shootout
Feb. 8th - Daytona 500 Qualifying
Feb. 12th - Gatorade Duel Races
Feb. 13th - The Camping World Truck Series NextEra Energy Resources 250
Feb. 14th - The Nationwide Series Camping World 300
Feb. 15th - "The Great American Race" The 51st Running of the Daytona 500

Not too much longer to wait, indeed...