Danica Patrick's Top-35 Points Gift Has Fans Wondering

Check out this shell game of owners points so that Danica Patrick can race in the Daytona 500 (D500):

A month ago, we were introduced to Danica Patrick driving the No. 10 GoDaddy Chevy and the announcement included that this NASCAR Sprint Cup effort would be a Stewart-Haas Racing (SHR) endeavor.

Then, we heard that Danica Patrick will be using Owners Points from another team to be able to race in the Daytona 500.

We then learned that that Dave Blaney gave up his points with Tommy Baldwin Racing (TBR) so Danica Patrick can race in the D500.

And finally, we heard that in a collaborative effort, Danica Patrick won't be driving an SHR car, but rather, her 10 Sprint Cup races will be driving under the auspices of TBR.

There...  how hard was that?  Right?

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Wait... she is driving what with who how?

The bottom line is that in some of the best media hub-bub to come along since Kurt Busch disrespected ESPN's Jerry Punch on camera and got himself fired, I mean, off to "have fun" racing, a situation has been made possible so that Danica Patrick's very first NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race will be the Daytona 500.

Are You Ready For A No. 3 Chevy On The Track Again?

Austin Dillon drove the black No. 3 Chevy truck in the Camping World Truck Series.  He also won the championship in that black No. 3.  Which is a fine way to represent that number, whose history touches many a heart.

And in 2012, Richard Childriss is putting Austin Dillon on the track in the NASCAR Nationwide Series.  And yes, it will be in the mostly black No. 3 Chevy Impala.

To be honest, being a die-hard Dale Earnhardt sr. fan, this progression for a No. 3 creeping ever so slowly towards the Cup series, seems to be coming at just the right time and at just the right pace.

Plus Austin Dillon has a lot of adjustments to tackle.  He's not seen some of the tracks he'll be seeing now in the Nationwide Series.  He hasn't dealt with road courses.

No More Secret NASCAR Fines, No More Inside Thoughts

In case you had not heard the news, NASCAR has abolished the "secret fine" practice.

In reality, it was never working anyway.  When ever someone was fined, we always seem to hear about it.  Or as far as we know.  But this secret fine business was in contrast to the family friendly and openness they professed was part of the sport.

But that's OK.

And it seems the drivers like it too.  Kevin Harvick says that this new policy will help make things clearer.

In the past, Brad Keselowski, Ryan Newman and Denny Hamlin have found themselves on the receiving end of some of these unspoken fines from things they've said about different aspects of the racing.

In one way, it's a bit disappointing that the drivers can't speak their minds.  It gives the fans a fascinating insight to the real, dirty inside of the sport.

Update on Danica Patrick's Daytona 500 Ride & How She Got Those Owner Points

As was previously mentioned, Danica Patrick is locked into the Daytona 500 on Sprint Cup Series Owners points... but it turns out that it's not with Stewart-Haas Racing, but rather, with Tommy Baldwin Racing.  Wha???

What's up with that is that TBR will be fielding the No. 10 GoDaddy Chevy for all of Patrick's Sprint Cup races in 2012 and is made possible with a collaborative partnership between SHR and TBR.

The points are from the No. 36 car that Dave Blaney drove last year, and the No. 36 car will become the No. 10 GoDaddy car through this agreement.

Patrick will be driving the No. 10 Sprint Cup Series car for 10 races, and when she's not behind the wheel of that Chevy, David Reutimann will be fielding the car.

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And yes, Dave Blaney will have to drive his butt off to get into the Daytona 500 and other events.

PS:  Just because I've typed this, does not, in any way, mean I actually get it.  All I know is that NASCAR, and an alliance between Stewart-Haas Racing & Tommy Baldwin Racing have come to some agreement that will let one of the biggest media points of the sport, Danica Patrick, to participate in the 2012 Daytona 500.

So contrary to what I thought was going to happen, and Patrick drive for Stewart, she's technically going to drive for Baldwin when she's competing in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series.

I hope you get it, because I'm sure I sort of get it!

[Autoweek: How Danica Patrick Got Owners Points]

Emily Maynard Back for More Fame on TV's Bachelorette

Did you know that Emily Maynard is coming back to ABC's dating adventure game show, The Bachelorette?

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(Yes, this is way off topic, but it's in regards to one of our own from within the NASCAR family, so to speak.)

When Emily Maynard was on The Bachelor, it confused me.  Almost every woman that goes on that show as a game-show contestant is usually very desperate or ego-centric and looking for fame.  Regardless of their real inner aspirations, they almost always become a collection of emotional misfits crying at every turn of the road.

But when Emily Maynard came on The Bachelor, her apparent southern charm was in complete contrast to what one would expect and it took me by surprise.  Not to mention her sad story related to Ricky Hendrick.  (R.I.P. good sir.)

Then again, we all think that Ben Flajnik is a pretty decent guy too, right?  (Well, except for that pesky, NSFW video he made and the trend of who he seems to be gravitating to in this most recent season of The Bachelor that is.  I'm referring to the puffy upper-lipped Courtney, who seems to be getting more screen time than any other person in the show.)

Any hoo, back to Emily Maynard:

Danica Patrick Is Locked Into the Daytona 500

I know you might find this "surprising" but Danica Patrick, NASCAR's newest golden child of media attention, has locked herself into the Daytona 500...

No, it does not seem that NASCAR made any special "one time only" deal for the potential new driving star of the sport.  I don't think.

Check this out:

Stewart-Haas Racing "obtained" the points from Tommy Baldwin Racing, whose No. 36 car was inside the top-35 in Owners Points in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series.

This means that Patrick will not have to race her way into the 500 through the 150-miler duel qualifers.

But...

Now that TBR transferred their points to SHR, Dave Blaney, whose points they were, will have to race his way into the 500 and I'm guessing, in each subsequent event for the first few races of the season.

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Is it me, or did transferring points used to be a big deal between teams?  I have a vague recollection of many hoops some folk had to go through when they bought teams, to be able to use those team's points.

But with Patrick, it seemed to be a no-brainer.  It's not a complaint, but still...  something to ponder.

[NASCAR: Patrick has Owner Points]

Miller Re-Upped With Penske and Brad Keselowski

In case you had not heard, Miller Lite renewed its partnership with Penske Racing and will continue to be the season-long primary sponsor of Penske’s No. 2 Dodge driven by Brad Keselowski.

Which is pretty awesome, being that this particular alliance started way back in 1991 and seemingly through thick and thin, has remained with the team.

Also, Coors Light has decided to continue it's relationship with NASCAR and has ponied up to continue to be the Official Beer of NASCAR!

The Coors Light partnership with NASCAR includes the Coors Light Pole Award for the NASCAR Sprint Cup, NASCAR Nationwide and NASCAR Camping World Truck Series.

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NASCAR Negotiates Digital Rights Back from Turner

In case you had not heard the news, NASCAR snagged back control (actually, finally obtained) control over it's own digital content starting in 2013.


This means they would now have control over their own content of their digital realm of NASCAR news and such, aka, NASCAR.com and other such goodies.


What NASCAR did was restructure their agreement with Turner Sports that will now see them having a working relationship through to the end of 2016, where Turner will still oversee advertising sales and sponsorships across all of NASCAR's digital media.


The good news is that this means that we could be in for a treat.  I'd bet bottom dollar we'll see the site revamped while we may also start seeing (well, hearing) more streaming content from NASCAR's SiriusXM content station.

Remember, my content has moved!

Hey gang... 

This is a reminder that I have moved my content to the following domain, which is part of my larger, all-in-one website:  


http://nascar-bits-and-pieces.com/


Tell me what you think?  Good, bad, want it all back in  one place here?

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UPDATE: 1/30/12:  I'm getting pretty fickle, but right now, I'm experimenting with coming back to this location for all my NASCAR news, updates and opinions.  (I warned you... I did say fickle!)
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Watkins Glen Resched To Monday

Hey gang, with Sunday's race being delayed by rain... if it's not raining Monday morning (8/15), the Watkins Glen race will be taking place at 10 AM Eastern.  DVR time!!!

Dale Earnhardt Jr. on SPEED TV Tonight

Dale Earnhardt Jr. will be on NASCAR Race Hub tonight on SPEED chatting with Steve Byrnes. 
In the chat, they touch on a few thing, like the kind of season Dale is having, his old ways and some interesting perspectives he has.

Jr. touched on how, despite people are calling this his comeback season, he really doesn't equate the word comeback to the year.  He says he understands that the media has to spin things up to make them interesting, but he doesn't subscribe to the practice.

He says he doesn't feel like a celebrity or anything like that, but as he starts to get asked questions in interviews, he becomes more guarded as an interview wears on.  He gets guarded because he worries about getting too comfortable with what he says and replies with.

Dale Jr. has also toned down the partying days.  At least a little bit.  He used to pull all-nighters often, but not so much so now.

Dale also noted how a driver's performance is directly related to how well the car is doing.  He says in most cases, it's the car that is the primary factor, not the driver.

If you catch this article today (8/11/11), you can catch Dale Earnhardt Jr. on SPEED's NASCAR Race Hub tonight.

[speedtv.com]

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NASCAR Nationwide Series "Subway Jalapeno 250" - A few Words

Check out what I had to say about the final laps of the NASCAR Nationwide Series Subway Jalapeno 250 at Daytona International Speedway.

In a nutshell, it was classic restrictor-plate racing and we almost had ourselves a historic setting win... almost dang it!

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NASCAR Bits & Pieces on Facebook

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The Coca-Cola 600 Closing Laps and Race Finish

The Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway had been preceded by the Indianapolis 500 race which had its own exciting finish.  But tonight, after NASCAR having it's longest race ever, The Coca-Cola 600 definitely had a surprise and its own exciting finish to compare against the Indy 500.

It was definitely a long race, starting a bit after 3 p.m. and finishing up just before 8 p.m., but the closing 20 laps developed its own sort of drama.

Head on over to my entire article at Brusimm.com, and read about NASCAR's Coca-Cola 600 race.

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Kyle Busch Statement Released From His PR Camp

Below is a statement released from Kyle Busch's camp in regards to his speeding ticket that he received today:

Statement from Kyle Busch 

"Today I received a traffic citation in Iredell County. I was test driving a new sports car and I got carried away. I went  beyond the speed I should have been going on a public road. I apologize to the public, my fans, sponsors, and race teams for my lack of judgment. I take responsibility for my actions and I can assure you that something like this will never happen again. I thank the Iredell County Sheriff's Department and all law enforcement for the hard work they do every day to protect the public and to enforce the laws in a fair and equitable manner."

KBM Press

Kyle Busch Caught Speeding - Big Time

Kyle Busch, the wheel-man of all wheel men to date, has been busted for speeding.  Speeding!!!

He was pulled over by an Iredell County Sheriff for doing 128 in a 45 zone.  This was on Perth Road between Troutman and Mooresville. Those kinds of speeds, per the law, become a reckless driving ticket for most folks!

Ya know, I would have thought that he gets that out of his system over the weekends, but if it's in your blood, so be it!

My next question is this:  Is this something NASCAR would care about?  I ask because sometimes they take actions on events outside of the track.  I doubt they will, but hey, we'll see.

[Charlotte Observer]