Have You Ever Attended a Live Race?

Hi Everyone,

My question to all of you today is have you ever attended a race live? If so, when and where, what did you like about it the most? Was there something you didn't like?

I haven't personally been to a race since 2006 when I went to the June Pocono, PA race and the September race in Loudon, NH. I had great seats, I was only a few rows away from the fence and both races I was close to the start finish line so I had a great time. Both times I went with some friends, both times it was people who weren't too into the sport but said they'd go, I wish they had been more into it but it beat going alone. I wasn't able to get pit passes because of the cost but I still had a great time and got some great pictures as well, I'll never forget it, it was a great, fun experience and I can't wait to go again.

Now that I'm living in California, I hope to go to California Speedway sometime in the near future as it's my favorite driver Jimmie Johnson's home track and he always does well at the track. I would love to be able to see him win in person, hopefully someday I'll be able too. If I ever hit the lottery you can beat I'll be attending a Daytona 500 in person, that has to be one of the best races to see live, it just stinks that it's so incredibly expensive to go.

Daytona 500 Picks

Has anyone thought about their pick for the Daytona 500 yet? Who are you hoping will win, do you think it'll be someone who has never won before or a past winner?

I personally am not sure about my pick yet considering speed weeks' hasn't started yet and I want to see the Gatorade Duals first as well, practices, etc. I'm hoping it'll either be a driver I follow and/or like or a first time winner. It's always great to see someone win the 500 who hasn't. The only two drivers that I'd rather see not win it are Kyle Busch and Juan Pablo Montoya since they aren't my two favorite drivers by any means.

I apologize if the comments still aren't working, I can't fix them!! But if you want to e-mail me with your response, please drop me an e-mail at Sarah.Handy85@gmail.com, thanks!

Merry Christmas From Race Insider

I apologize for the lack of new material, Speed weeks will be here before we know it and than I'll have some material and news to work with and of course when Daytona comes around.

For now I want to wish everyone and their families a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!! God Bless

Anyone else excited for Daytona?

I honestly can't wait until Daytona begins, I've been having NASCAR withdrawals since the 2009 season ended. Sure, my favorite driver won his fourth straight Championship but I miss the racing, interviews and news coverage.

Does anyone else think they need more to follow in the off season? Who else can't wait for Daytona? First is speed weeks so I'm definitely looking forward to that. I play a NASCAR Challenge application on Facebook so I hope to do better on it than I did this past season, does anyone else pick their top five drivers for each race on there as well?

Did you ask for anything NASCAR for Christmas?

As a huge fan of NASCAR I love getting NASCAR merchandise and collectibles for my birthday and Christmas, it's always fun to see what someone got for you. I've already received a few small gifts early they were some 2009 and 2010 Jimmie Johnson cards, one happens to be a 2010 sheet metal card which my best friend bought for me, it's so cool. I don't know if I'm receiving anything else Jimmie or NASCAR for Christmas but even the smallest thing makes me happy. I have some Jimmie ornaments on my Christmas Tree, those in itself make me happy to see, when it comes to him I'll take anything I don't already have : )

Did you ask for anything NASCAR and if so what? Is there something in particular your hoping to receive on Christmas Eve or Christmas morning? Is there a certain gift you've received in the past that has to do with the sport that you'll never forget receiving?

I look forward to hearing from you all.

Happy Holidays & Happy Blogging!!

Who's Your Favorite Driver?

Hello everyone!

It's that time again, time for another blog and another question everyone asks anyone who is into NASCAR. Who's your favorite driver and why are they your favorite? My favorite driver is Jimmie Johnson but I do follow and like other drivers as well. I've been following Jimmie since he started in what was then the Busch Series. There was something about driving style and personality I liked, he's a great team mate, he doesn't race rough and wreck everyone in sight and of course as a girl I think he's great looking haha. I'm happy to say I've been a fan for many years and I'm not just one of these fan weather fans and only follow the driver because he's won so many Championships. I could never be like that and I don't understand people who are, just follow a driver or a team and that's it.

I also follow Brian Vickers who I've been a fan of since he was in the Busch Series as well, I like the same qualities about him as I do Jimmie. I'm happy he made the switch to Team Red Bull, it's really helped turn things around for him and his career and I couldn't be happier for him. Some of the other drivers I like are Kasey Kahne, Jamie McMurray, Mark Martin, Jeff Gordon, Casey Mears, David Reutimann, Tony Stewart and others.

There are only a few drivers I can't really stand and those would be Kyle Busch, he acts so immature and like such a cry baby, sure he can drive a race car and contend for the win week in and week out in each series but I can't stand his personality or his driving style. I use to dislike his brother Kurt but he's matured a lot through out the past few years and now I can stand him but he's still not my favorite. I would have to say the #1 driver I can't stand would be Juan Pablo Montoya, I honestly thought him coming into the sport would be an awesome and certainly help the sport. Don't get me wrong he's improved tremendosely since coming into NASCAR. I just really can't stand his driving style or his attitude they both need to change, he gets so pissed off about everything, he reminds me of Kyle when he finishes second, he just can't stand it even though he had a great finish.

My question to all of you is who's your favorite driver and why? How long have you been a fan of that driver? Do you follow or like any others, if so who and why? and we all have a driver or two that we dislike so which driver would that be for you?

I look forward to hearing your responses, if the comments are still having issues which I'm not sure if they are or aren't because nobody has contacted me than please e-mail me at Sarah.Handy85@gmail.com and I will respond promptly.

NASCAR Kart Racing on Nintendo Wii

Okay everyone so this isn't any news about drivers, teams or race tracks but I was wondering who out there has played the NASCAR Kart Racing game on the Nintendo Wii? I had it sent to me the other week from Gamefly and I thought it was a cool game, it took some getting use too it but it was fun and the drivers have a basis resemblance to what they actually look like in real life. I don't know if I'd buy the game but it was fun to play while I had it. I prefer the NASCAR games that came out the Playstation systems and when they had some from EA that came out on the Nintendo Gamecube. I always wondered why they don't have the game like NASCAR 10 on the Wii but they have it for Playstation 3 and XBox360. I would think it would be great on the Wii considering you can use the steering wheel and the Wii is a very interactive game console, so I'm sure it would be very fun and feel like you were actually racing in real life.

Do you think they should come out with NASCAR 11' when it comes out next year on the Nintendo Wii or no? Have you played the NASCAR Kart Racing game on the Wii yet? If you have, do you like it and do you own it? If you haven't played it, would you like too or is it not your type of game?

I'm not sure if my comments are working because they haven't been but if you have something to say or would like to answer my questions please find me on Twitter, Facebook or e-mail me at Sarah.Handy85@gmail.com, I'd appreciate the feedback guys, thanks.

Join Swagbucks and earn!!

This is a great site! I just joined it tonight, you earn swagbucks by searching, doing offer, referring people and more! Best of all, it's free to join!!

NASCAR Cards For Sale, Other Sports as well!

If anyone is interested I'm going to be selling quite a few NASCAR cards, most are common cards but a few have a book value of $4-$6 and are great if your a NASCAR fan in general or a fan of one or more of the drivers cards which I do have. Right now I only have 2009, all are in great condition, a few are on eBay right now but the rest aren't so far. If your interested, let me know. I do have football and a ton of baseball cards as well, top players!!!

You can feel free to leave me a comment on here or e-mail me at SarahHandy85@gmail.com and let me know who your favorite NASCAR driver is or if you like a certain football player or players, same goes with basketball. I easily accept Paypal or a Money Order. All of my cards are in great condition and I'm working on all of them being put into soft sleeve inserts as well as hard inserts for more protection for the buyer/collector and to help them when I ship them out so they aren't damaged.

Danica Patrick To Make NASCAR Debut at California

Well, its official Danica Patrick will make her NASCAR debut in the Nationwide Series at California, she will be skipping the NASCAR Nationwide Series opener at Daytona since California will be a less strenuous race. Danica is working on a 13 race tier with JR Motorsports, they will also be fielding a car for her on February 27th at Las Vegas. It will be interesting to see how she does, it could be a make or break race for her, I will definitely be watching it to see how she and the other drivers do. It would have been cool to see her make her debut at Daytona but I guess she figured it would be too much at once. I hope she can make a name for herself in NASCAR and do well but only time will tell.

What do you all think, are you a fan of Danicas already? Do you think she will do well in NASCAR or do you believe she has no idea what she is getting herself into?

I think I have been having issues with the comments on here but I am not sure if their working yet or not because no one has left a comment or contacted me via Facebook or Twitter about the issue if you would like to make an issue known to me via e-mail please contact me at Sarah.Handy85@gmail.com, thanks

Credit to the photo of Danica I used to this website: http://motorizado.files.wordpress.com/2009/04/danica.jpg

Dale Earnhardt Jr Over-Rated?

I don't want all of Junior Nation attacking me, I don't hate Jr, he's a cool driver and I'd meet him in a heart beat but in my eyes the guy is totally over rated. Yes, he would have had his own fan base no matter what happened with his father but most of his fan base and Junior Nation came from the fact that he's an Earnhardt. It's all about the last name if you ask me, if his last name was Smith or something of that nature than I doubt he'd be as popular, sometimes your last name can get you a long way, especially in sports.

Let's take a look at Dale Earnhardt Jr's career numbers in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series. Dale has 18 wins, 142 top 10's and 8 poles. His last Cup win came at Michigan in 2008, it's been well over a year since Jr has won a race in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series. So please tell me why does he win the Most Popular Driver Award year in and year out? What has he proven? He hasn't won a Championship in Cup and didn't even come close to making the Chase in 2009, he finished a career low 25th in the standings. Dale turned 35 in October and is obviously running out of time to win a Championship, if he hasn't won one yet it makes me wonder why he's still trying, it's only going to get more difficult as he gets older. Although you have to look at Mark Martin, he's in his 50's and he finished 2nd in the Sprint Cup Standings and had a shot at winning the title over Jimmie Johnson for most of the year so age isn't necessarily the problem and if age isn't, that what is it?

I know most of Jr Nation must go click happy when it comes to voting because god forbid Dale Jr doesn't win it again and again. No other driver seems to come close at all so why not just put Jr as the only driver your allowed to vote for, he's going to win anyways. I would like to see Jeff Gordon, Tony Stewart, Jimmie Johnson, one of those guys win it for a change. NASCAR might as well announce at the Daytona 500 in February that Jr has won the Most Popular Driver Award for 2010 and save everyone the wait of hearing it in December at the awards ceremony.

I honestly thought that Jr's move to Hendrick Motorsports was suppose to help his career as well as better Hendrick Motorsports even more than it already is, Hendrick is already a top team, if not the #1 top team in NASCAR today. I figured with Jr going to Hendrick that that organization would be unstoppable, everyone has done great except Team 88. I hope that Rick and Team 88 can figure things out for 2010, that team needs a good year and if Jr doesn't have a good year I don't know how much longer he'll be in NASCAR or at Hendrick Motorsports.

What do you all think, do you think Dale Earnhardt Jr is over rated? Do you think he'll ever win a championship or at least win some races in 2010 and possibly make the Chase? I'd love to hear from you, this is quite the debate and I believe it will field some great opinions and answers.

Happy Blogging!! Have a great night!

Image of Dale Earnhardt Jr is from the following website: http://images.athlonsports.com/d/8411-1/EarnhardtJr_08.jpg
I always give credit when using an image because I didn't personally take the photo and it's the right thing to do.

Update!

Hi everyone! I apologize for the lack of new blog posts on here, it's hard with the off season but come February I'll have a lot of new content and news. I will be starting a very detailed discussion on Dale Earnhardt Jr and the fact that I truly believe he's over rated. I know he's a cool driver and popular but I believe it's only because of his last name, but more to come on that, I don't want to post too much here I'll save it for tomorrow or the next day. I will be working on the new content tonight as much as I can. I have twelve followers but I hope to receive more and more as time gos on so tell all your friends and family especially if their racing fans, it'll be fun.

MyLot

myLot User Profile

Danica Patrick To Race Part-Time In The Nationwide Series Next Season

If you haven't already heard IRL Driver Danica Patrick is scheduled to announce that she's going to be racing a part-time racing schedule in the Nationwide Series for JR MotorSports next season. The plan so far is to let her start out by driving the ARCA Series Race at Daytona in February, than she has to be approved by the Nationwide Series. By all the news around the Internet today she is only going to drive a dozen or so races.

I can't say I'm surprised, it was only going to be a matter of time before she attempted NASCAR, I have no idea how well she'll do so this will be a wait and see game.

What do you all think about Danica trying out NASCAR? Do you think she should just stay in IRL or is it a smart move to give it a shot?

Quick Update!!

Hey everyone! I've been super busy but I promise to get a blog up between tonight and Monday night at the latest. I watched some of the awards ceremony but I taped it so I'll have to check it out again. I wish the season was going, the blog would be so much more exciting lol, that's when all the stories and debates will really get going. If anyone has a debate topic among fans, please, feel free to run it by me and I'll write up my opinions/the facts and give you credit for the topic!!

Have a great night everyone!!

NASCAR Awards Banquet Is On Tonight

Hey everyone! Just a reminder that the NASCAR Awards Banquet is on tonight at 9pm ET on Speed from Las Vegas, so set that DVR if your working or have plans and won't be able to watch it. I watch it every year and of course I've watched it the past three seasons because my driver has won the Championship! The best part of the night is the driver speeches and the video introductions that are made with some clips from through out the season.

Who's going to watch it or DVR it and who's not watching and if your not, why aren't you?

Daytona is right around the corner, I can already feel it and I can't wait!! Let the countdown begin!

Cup Drivers In The Nationwide Series

I've been looking forward to writing a blog about this topic, it always seems to bring up a good debate among NASCAR fans, especially myself and friends of mine who enjoy the sport. In my mind full-time Cup drivers should not be running the full time schedule in the Nationwide Series, it gives them an unfair advantage over the regular Nationwide drivers who don't run Cup at all. I can see if your a Cup driver and you run a few races a year but don't run for the Championship, let the Nationwide regulars go for it. Nationwide drivers need the experience if their going to be switching to the Cup Series at some point in their career so those drivers running the full Nationwide schedule makes sense. If your a 1+ year driver in the Cup Series you should be focusing on your Cup career and winning races and Championships in that series.

When your not a rookie anymore, you should decided okay I'm going to run the Nationwide Series my whole career to try to make it in the Cup Series for my whole career, you shouldn't be allowed to have it both ways. I understand that Cup guys running the Nationwide Series races help the ticket sales, same if their to run in the Truck Series, however if you notice the Truck Series is mainly Truck regulars and only a few Nationwide or Sprint Cup Series drivers every so often.

What do you all think? I really want to hear fellow fans opinions when it comes to this subject, I truly believe this could be a huge blogging topic if I can get people to comment. I only have 8 followers, so please, tell all your friends and family and share your opinions with me and others. I look forward to reading your opinions.

Would You Like a Race Insider Graphic?

Hey everyone! How was your Monday? Mine was quite busy, there will be a regular blog tomorrow, I've been working on one involving Cup Guys in the Nationwide Series, should be an interesting discussion. I wish I had some more followers but it'll take time and the 2010 season hasn't started yet. If you have any friends or family who enjoys NASCAR, be sure to let them know about my blog, I'd greatly appreciate it.

The page header I have on this blog was made by my best friend Trina, we have a graphics website and we both run a blog of our own. I wanted to let everyone know that if you like the header/graphic I will be sure to let everyone know when it's on Coast2CoastLayouts.com, we have a ton of NASCAR Graphics, Icons and some Layouts for MySpace on there as well, so if your a fan of NASCAR than it's a great section to check out when you have time. If there is a NASCAR graphic or anything else personal you would like, with certain drivers or just your #1 favorite driver, even another sport, let me know and myself or Trina would be glad to work on one for you and than show you, to make sure you like it.

Well, I'm off to sleep land, I will post again tomorrow morning.

Goodnight!

NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Chase For The Championship

The 2009 series is in the books and Jimmie Johnson is the only driver to win 4 consecutive championships, it's now one for the history books. I figured since the season is over this is the perfect opportunity for a blog about the Chase considering a lot of people don't care for the rules and believe they should mix up the tracks the drivers compete at, among other things.

In my eyes, I like all the tracks the drivers compete at in the Chase, other people will disagree with me and believe it should be changed some since Jimmie Johnson has dominated the Chase for the past four years. It's fair to say many people believe if NASCAR adds and removes some tracks to the Chase schedule that Jimmie and Team 48 won't be as competitive and have a harder time to 5-Peat? This could be true to some extent, however I don't see Jimmie finishing below 5th in the points if they do make some changes. Hendrick Motorsports has proven they are one of the top teams in the garage, three of their four teams made the 2009 Chase and they finished 1,2,3 in the Championship Standings.

What I want to ask everyone is, what changes would you make to the Chase if any? Are there any tracks you would like to see taken off the schedule and if so, which track would you add in it's place and why? Did you like the old points system better or do you prefer the new one?

I'll go ahead and answer my own questions so all of you can see my opinion. I wouldn't personally change all that much, except remove and add a race track. I would love to see Richmond in the Chase, I'm not sure which track I'd remove yet but Richmond would be an awesome race in the Chase. I like the new points system, it was a close race this year as far as the top three positions went. If you all think about it, the final race of the season at Homestead could have gone either way with Jimmie Johnson or Mark Martin hoisting that Championship Trophy. Even if it was a long shot for Mark to win it all, it was still possible.

I hope to hear from you all.

McMurray to Drive 1 Car For Earnhardt/Ganassi in 2010

Okay, so this isn't new news, it's been public for a couple weeks now. NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Driver Jamie McMurray,signed a one year deal to drive for Earnhardt/Ganassi in the 1 car with Bass Pro Shops as it's sponsor. However, I'd really like to discuss it. I'm personally really happy that Jamir McMurray has a ride for next season, I wasn't sure he would for a while since not many teams had rides available for 2010. On the other hand, I'm not happy where he's going, Earnhardt/Ganassi isn't a top team anymore in my eyes, sure Juan Pablo Montoya made the Chase in the 42 car but Martin Truex Jr didn't run all that well in 2009 while he was in the 1 car. For McMurray's sake let's hope both the 42 and 1 team's can have equal equipment and an equal chance at winning races and making the Chase in 2010. Considering McMurray's best year came while he was at Ganassi we can only hope he has a great season, gets at least one win and makes the Chase, he sure needs it, he's a great driver, he just hasn't had the best luck with the teams he's been with it seems.

As a fan of Jamie's, I hope he has a decent season so he can be resigned for a longer term deal for 2011 and beyond. What do you all think, will McMurray be their top driver or will it be Juan Pablo Montoya? Will either of them win next season or make the Chase? Earnhardt/Ganassi really needs to step things up in the Cup Series as far as I'm concerned, I believe in my heart that Dale Earnhardt Sr is rolling in his grave, he must be so upset, seeing that DEI isn't by itself anymore and isn't really a top team in the sport. Things would certainly be different with that organazation if he were still around today.

This is the link to where I found the Jamie McMurray picture I used, I found it in a Google Image search: http://assets.nydailynews.com/img/2007/10/25/amd_nascar_mcmurray.jpg(Credit Given)

Jimmie Johnson Win's 4th Championship In a Row

Superman did it again Sunday, as Jimmie Johnson won his fourth consecutive NASCAR Sprint Cup Title. Johnson, who started on the pole Sunday went into Homestead with a 108 point lead over second place Mark Martin, he left with 141 point lead and the Championship. Johnson's fourth title marks the first time in NASCAR history that a driver has won four in a row. In 2008 he won his third in a row(2006-2008) and tied Cale Yarborough who won three in a row from 1976-1978.

With Johnson winning the title again Hendrick Motorsports own Rick Hendrick won his ninth car owner's championship. Hendrick Motorsports has won the last nine of fifteen Sprint Cup titles. The organization is also the first team to sweep the top three spots in the championship standings with Jimmie Johnson finishing first, Mark Martin second and Jeff Gordon third. Not to mention Hendrick Motorsports led the standings after every chase race in 2009, it goes to show they are one of the top teams in the sport.

Johnson, seems to be the driver of the decade and the new face of the sport, he has dominated the chase for the past four years. Jimmie is quoted as saying "I don't know if we'll win another championship. I feel in my heart we'll be competitive, but at some point in time, we won't be that team." From a fan's point of view it's hard to believe this streak could eventually end, for now it could continue next year. Johnson, signed a five year contract extension last week to drive for Hendrick Motorsports through 2015. Chad Knaus, his crew chief is also set to be the crew chief of the #48 through 2015.

Time will certainly tell if or when the championship streak will end, the question is which team will beat Superman and Team 48 and hoist that trophy?

I would love to hear from everyone, Jimmie Johnson is my favorite NASCAR driver, some people don't like him or Team 48 for the simple fact that they believe he cheats. I don't believe it, I've been a fan since he was in the Busch Series. However, everyone is untitled to their own opinions, as am I. If not Jimmie, than who is your favorite driver or drivers and why? What do you think about the chase format and what would you change if anything?

I look forward to hearing from you all.

Image of Jimmie Johnson is from Yahoo Sports, I want to make sure I give credit where it is deserved. I read statistics from Yahoo and FoxSports.com

I had wrote this earlier in the week for another sport's blog I had started but decided to go just with NASCAR and not every sport I watch, I'd rather just have one that I will really get into and enjoy.

Welcome To Race Insider

Hello everyone! and welcome to Race Insider, my new blog dedicated to NASCAR news, debates, questions and more. I love everything about the sport and have been wanting to start a blog about what is going on in the sport for sometime. I love meeting other fans who enjoy the sport as much as I do. Everyone has their favorite driver or drivers, tracks they love and dislike, and rules they wish were different. Every fan is untitled to their own opinions, it's what sparks great debates. I look forward to hearing from all of you and hope you'll become a regular reader.

I'm a Jimmie Johnson fan but I like other drivers as well from Brian Vickers to Kasey Kahne, who's your favorite, how long have you been following that driver or drivers and why?

I will always give credit to where I find a picture or get my stats/research from but I will always reword information into my own work.

Have a great weekend everyone!