DEVELOPING: Okay, it's official... Danica To NASCAR

((HT: GoDaddy.com/youtube))

The worst kept secret in NASCAR isn't a secret anymore...

Danica Patrick is racing a full-time Nationwide schedule and some Sprint Cup races in the No. 7 GoDaddy.com Chevrolet in 2012.

"We are pleased Danica Patrick has chosen to race full time in NASCAR in 2012," NASCAR chairman and CEO Brian France said in a statement. "She has demonstrated a strong desire to compete and NASCAR provides the best opportunity to race against the top drivers in the world with the largest and most loyal fan base in motorsports on a week-to-week basis."

Here's some of the Q-and-A... for the really important stuff, like Daytona...


Here's CNBC's Darren Rovell talking about Danica's economic impact...
((HT: ESPN))

Saturday's Big One At 'Dega...

((HT: NASCAR/ESPN/MT89Motorsport2))

Has the HQ told you that the ground on Talladega was built on cursed Indian ground...???

We got another wreck for the weekend...
Here's the Nationwide version...


Waiting for tomorrow's version...

JJC Told To Stick It... By Her Old Boss...

Rick Russell...

Here's your recap of the Jennifer Jo Cobb Nationwide story from Bristol...

Otherwise known as "As The Steering Wheel Turns"
Just watch the interview, you'll get all you need to see...
((HT: NASCAR Images/Speed/youtube))


Now, according to our friends at the Sporting News, JJC's old boss Rick Russell, is having her and her crew chief put up on larceny charges. Russell asserts that JJC and Steve Kuykendall stole $16,000 worth of parts and were not giving them back.

From Sporting News...

"I'm not sure how you steal something from someone when you move it from their property A to their property B," Cobb said, according to ESPN. "It's just him trying to stir up more trouble. I'm not concerned. He's just trying to rattle us.

Somehow, the HQ thinks this ain't over- and we might actually have an interest in the California races at Fon-tucky...

Jennifer Jo Cobb Tells Boss To Stick It...

((HT: Jalopnik/Hyde))

A lot of us have always wanted to have the spilkas to tell our bosses stuff like this...
((HT: WWE/youtube/USA))


It appears Nationwide Series racer Jennifer Jo Cobb got to do the same thing this past weekend in Bristol...

If you watch stock car racing with any great deal of regularity, you know that it takes a lot to fill a field of 43 on any given weekend. And if there a certain amount of field fillers, they're usually the first ones to check out, get a paycheck and keep their mom-and-pop-shop operations afloat through a full season.

JJC had a Nationwide deal with Rick Russell's shop. After a rough Vegas race, they all seemingly agreed to run safe and survive in the bullring...

Here's JJC talking about what went down next...
((HT: Speed/NASCAR/youtube))


Most of the talk behind the wall is siding with Cobb...

Sufficed to say, she's got a new ride in California with Rick Ware...
Who looks like the tool now...???

Leffler Placed On Probation For 3 Races

((HT: NASCAR))

From NASCAR their ownselves...

NASCAR has placed Jason Leffler, driver of the No. 38 car in the NASCAR Nationwide Series, on probation for the next three NASCAR Nationwide Series events for a rule violation he committed during the race at Nashville Superspeedway on April 3.

Leffler’s probation will run until April 28 of this year.

Leffler was found to have violated Section 12-1 (actions detrimental to stock car racing – aggressive driving) of the 2010 NASCAR Nationwide Series Rule Book.

Here's the back story with Leffler and James Buescher that caused the decision...
((HT: NASCAR/ESPN/SlicedSmoke14))


Leffler retalliated and was then, subsequently, parked after the make-good wreck...

J-Dub's JR Motorsports Update

((HT: examiner.com))

((ed. note- We're going to start showing you these when he pumps them out because he is finally writing things after a long absence not of his own doing- even if it is about the Nationwide Series...))

The NASCAR Nationwide Series is in the second of a two-week break, gearing up for the Scotts Turf Builder 300 on March 20 at Bristol Motor Speedway. JR Motorsports will probably only be entering one car into the NNS race – Kelly Bires and the #88 Hellmann’s Chevrolet. Danica Patrick, driver of the #7 GoDaddy.com Chevrolet, has rejoined IndyCar full-time, and will not race for Dale Earnhardt, Jr. and JRM again until New Hampshire on June 26.

Kelly Bires Update:

Bires ((pictured, thanks facebook.com)) has a good car during Las Vegas qualifying, but ended the race very early when a tire somehow got cut down on Lap 6 – sending the #88 Hendrickcars.com Chevrolet hard into the wall. Replays of the crash showed what appeared to be tire parts coming out from underneath the #88 before it struck the wall. Bires was looking to improve on his 7th place finish in Fontana, and will have to wait until Bristol to get the car back on track. On his Twitter feed on March 10, Bires said, “Just spent some time at JRM and took the guys out for lunch. Bristol cars look awesome! Excited for my first race with Hellmanns!”

Some have said the Bires would be the “Invisible Driver” at JRM when they signed Danica Patrick, but Bires has responded well. Bires has developed quite a fan following, and his Facebook page was covered in condolences after Las Vegas. Some of the FB comments said, “Sucks that that happened, that car looked great. Hopefully you guys can catch a break at Bristol,” “Kelly, it is okay. I know you are going to be a winner. It is a shame that the racing tires do not have more puncture resistance,” and “Man that sucked, it is what it is, just gotta regroup and get ready for bristol. Tough break for jrm all together today.” The break has done Bires some good, allowing him to get in some rounds of golf, as well as goose hunting trip in Buffalo, NY. Would you call that a “wild goose chase?”

With two starts under his belt (Dale Jr. raced the #88 at Daytona, and came in second), Bires is in 33rd place with 183 points, and has brought home $54,861 for the season.

Danica Patrick Update:

According to Bob Pockrass at SceneDaily, Rick Hendrick likes how Danica Patrick has approached her first NASCAR NNS season. “She's a pro at handling herself," Hendrick said Sunday at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. "And she's learning. She doesn't try to profess to be any further along than she is. ... It's so refreshing. "When you get someone who has done real good in one division and won big races in open-wheel, they come in and they [often] don't want to act like that they don't know everything and they feel like they've got to be [running] up front."

Kevin Harvick is also more than willing to help the NNS rookie, actually pointing her to the more efficient high line at Las Vegas Motor Speedway – urging her to follow him, even though she was towards the end of the pack and he was leading the race at the time. On January 19, Harvick also called Patrick the first true female “competitor” in NASCAR. "We've never had a female -- in my era -- that's been competitive," Harvick said, according to Tania Ganguli and the Orlando Sentinel. "I think most of them have just been here because they're female. I think Danica's the first real female racecar driver that's coming in here. I'm not saying she's going to be competitive overnight but she's the first one who's got any sort of credentials that should be racing cars."

After three races, Patrick is in 34th place with 183 points (tied with her teammate Bires), and has earned $102,679. Remember, Patrick will not get into an NNS car again until the New England 300 at Loudon on June 26.

Next NNS Race for JRM:
Race: Scotts Turf Builder 300
Location: Bristol Motor Speedway, TN
Date: March 20, 2010
Time: 2:00pm EST

Follow me on Twitter(JRM_Examiner), or become a fan on Facebook!

See you on the track!

Here's a flashback of Bires early Vegas experience...
((HT: NASCAR/ESPN2))


UPDATE: Scott Wimmer will be behind the wheel of the #7 car when Danica is not driving. Team co-owner Tony Eury, Jr. says the car is "too good" to be parked. JR Motorsports is trying to find sponsorship for the races where they have an interest in running, but no sponsor dollars as of yet...

Trophy Smash

It must be really fun to be Kyle Busch at the moment. Kyle has kind of taken over the role of the "evil" champion race car driver in NASCAR and quite honestly, he seems to revel in it.


((Busch actually celebrates Courtesy: Autosport.com))

At this point, you say..."We know that, why are you telling us something we already know". We are telling you this, mostly because we need an excuse to show some video. Take a look and laugh as to how Kyle celebrated his 25th win in the Nationwide series last night in Nashville.
((Video Courtesy of You Tube//NASCAR.com))






We should mention that Busch said he might do this after winning the race last year. However, as much as he seemed to enjoy the moment, not everyone did. More on the story from the Tennessean here .

As we said before, the Shrub (Busch) doesn't really seem to care what people think of him. He was roundly criticized for calling out Dale Earnhardt Jr. just a couple of weeks ago. In that case, he may have said what a lot of people are thinking, but you still can't say it. He did. This time, he may not have pissed off the other drivers, but imagine what Sam Bass, the designer of the custom Gibson guitar trophy is thinking right now.

PETA Feathers Ruffled For Talladega Race

It seems PETA (a.k.a. People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals) are not happy that fans attending the NASCAR races this weekend at Talladega Super Speedway might be doing the chicken dance.

It's an attempt to enter the Guinness Book of World Records with the largest group chicken dance. KFC is the sponsor and that's has PETA's feathers ruffled. The organization says the company is cruel to chickens and has asked Guinness World Records, Inc not to recognize the record.

"If this record is allowed, it could encourage other animal abusers to attempt silly feats that make a mockery of animal protection," said Tracy Reiman, executive vice president of PETA.

Here's the press release and letter that was sent to Guinness World Record, Inc. by PETA President Ingrid E. Newkirk.

It's the chicken dance at a NASCAR race. When was the last time a PETA member went to a wedding? The chicken dance is a wedding reception tradition (see below).

I know, PETA doesn't have a problem with the chicken dance, it's KFC. Yeah... right.

By the way, KFC defends its animal rights record.




Those of us at the OSG HQ are going to have lunch at KFC today.

Stewart Gets Revenge In Nationwide Series Race At Daytona

Tony Stewart must have channeled all that anger from Goodyear on his way to taking the checkers in the Camping World 300 Nationwide race Saturday at Daytona International Raceway.

Stewart had to hold off his former Joe Gibbs Racing team mate Kyle Busch to cross the finish line first.

So all was not lost for Stewart Haas Racing at Daytona.

Here's the finish from the 4-letter [HT: ESPN/You Tube]

Putting The Medal To The Pedal Is A Bad Idea

Busy day in NASCAR... Bad day for Joe Gibbs Racing...
He is pictured ((thanks, nascar.com)) and he is not a happy man...

The short version- Both Tony Stewart and Joey Logano's Nationwide Series cars were found to have magnets on the bottom of the gas pedals of both cars to mess with the dyno test procedures during testing at Michigan International Speedway. They're both out 150 points. Gibbs is out 150 owners points.

JD Gibbs has suspended both crew chiefs, Dave Rogers and Jason Ratcliff respectively, for the remainder of the 2008 season, and seven crew members have been indefinitely suspended.

From Joe Gibbs, ahem... quote...

"We had come to the conclusion that we would add to any NASCAR imposed penalties with the minimum being suspension for the remainder of the season for those involved, including our two Nationwide Series crew chiefs. There will also be an additional monetary fine beyond the amount announced by NASCAR earlier today, which will be the responsibility of those involved."

The gory details are hyah

And that's not all...

Just as Ganassi Racing is trying to re-sign Reed Sorenson to the #41 car for another contract, his crew chief Donnie Wingo has been fined $25,000 for "actions detrimental to NASCAR." Apparently, Wingo "improperly attached a weight" at Michigan as well.

Whoops... wasn't that why NASCAR brought in Robin Pemberton as their Competition Director in the first place...? To detect these kinds of things...

Remember... it's the pedal on the right...
And some cars were made to do things others were not...