Johnson gets 10th Dover victory, 4th win of season.

View image | gettyimages.com

By @GucciardoJoey | Sunday, May 31st, 2015
DOVER, DE--- Jimmie Johnson had to hold off Kevin Harvick, Martin Truex Jr., and Kasey Kahne on a Green-White-Checkered finish to get the win in today's FedEx 400 at Dover International Speedway.

The victory was Johnson's tenth victory at Dover, and his thrid win at the track in the last 4 races there. It was also Johnson's 4th victory of the season.

"I got great rhythm and great support at home. I wanna thank Chani (Chandra) [Jimmie Johnson's wife], I wish she was here, and hi to my little girls, sitting on the couch watching, be there soon. Can't wait to see them."

Johnson had to fight to the front after starting 14th.

Once the green flag was waived in the Green-White-Checkered, Johnson immediately took the lead as he started next to his teammate Kasey Kahne, with Martin Truex Jr. behind Kahne. 

Truex Jr. would finish 6th.

Johnson pulled ahead, but Harvick caught up, and almost took the lead from Johnson. Johnson was able to hold off Harvick to take the Checkered Flag in today's race.

Kevin Harvick finished 2nd, followed by Kyle Larson in 3rd, Kasey Kahne in 4th, and Aric Almirola in 5th to round out the Top-5.

After starting on the pole (1st place), Denny Hamlin finished 21st.

Congrats to Jimmie Johnson on his FedEx 400 victory!

Chris Buescher conserves fuel for 90+ laps, wins Buckle Up 200 at Dover International Speedway

By @GucciardoJoey

View image | gettyimages.com

Chris Buescher beat his Roush Fenway Racing (RFR) teammate Darrell Wallace Jr. yesterday by over 14 seconds to win the Buckle Up 200 Presented by Click It or Ticket at Dover International Speedway.

Buescher went over 90 laps (98, to be exact) on one tank of fuel, while other drivers wound up having to pit because they couldn't make it to the end of the race on fuel.

"That was tough because we are sitting there and he [Wallace Jr.] was saving a lot more fuel than I was because they were shorter and I was able to run into the corner harder," Buescher said, according To FOXSports.com. " But I couldn't do anything with the track being pretty narrow and two guys racing for the win. It was tough. We got side by side and (the cat) got pretty free, but this Roush Mustang was good all weekend.

View image | gettyimages.com

Darrell "Bubba" Wallace was a little more frustrated.

"I asked our spotter after the race and he said we got run over. ... I was saving fuel there and Chris just ran over me and he ends up winning." Wallace said. "It should be interesting Monday morning."

When Wallace refers to Monday morning, he is referring to Roush Fenway Racing's Monday meetings. Both Buescher and Wallace will be there, considering that they are teammates and they both drive for Roush Fenway Racing.

Wallace Jr. would finish 17th in the race.

Matt Kenneth finished 2nd, followed by Regan Smith in 3rd, Austin Dillon in 4th, and Kasey Kahne in 5th to run out the Top-5.

Regan Smith won the $100,000 Dash 4 Cash award in this race. So congrats to him!

Congrats to Chris Buescher on his Dover victory!

~ - ~ - ~ - ~ - ~

Final Results: 2015 Buckle Up 200 Presented By Click It Or Ticket

1. (2) Chris Buescher

2. (3) Matt Kenseth

3. (10) Regan Smith

4. (8) Austin Dillon

5. (7) Kasey Kahne

6. (14) Chase Elliott

7. (11) Brendan Gaughan

8. (12) Ty Dillon

9. (6) Erik Jones

10. (15) Jeremy Clements

11. (17) Ryan Reed

12. (18) Brennan Poole

13. (24) David Starr

14. (19) Dakoda Armstrong

15. (16) John Wes Townley

16. (21) Ross Chastain

17. (1) Darrell Wallace Jr.

18. (23) J.J. Yeley

19. (4) Daniel Suarez

20. (20) Ryan Sieg

21. (13) Elliott Sadler

22. (28) Landon Cassill

23. (37) C.J. Faison

24. (30) Eric McClure

25. (32) Peyton Sellers

26. (34) Harrison Rhodes

27. (33) B.J. McLeod

28. (38) Derrike Cope

29. (35) Joey Gase

30. (25) Blake Koch

31. (36) Timmy Hill

32. (29) Mario Gosselin

33. (26) Cale Conley

34. (9) Ryan Blaney

35. (40) Mike Harmon

36. (5) Brian Scott

37. (22) Jamie Dick

38. (27) Carl Long

39. (39) Morgan Shepherd

40. (31) Jeff Green

Tyler Reddick wins the Lucas Oil 200

By @GucciardoJoey

View image | gettyimages.com

Dover, DE--- Tyler Reddick had to hold off two charging drivers to get the win at Dover today.

A charging Erik Jones and Daniel Suarez put pressure on the 19-year-old driver, yet Reddick was able to hold them off, and got his second victory of the 2015 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series season.

His first win of this current season was the NASCAR Camping World Series opener at DAYTONA International Speedway in February of this year.

Jones had the lead with 10 laps to go, but he wound up finishing third. Reduce took the lead from Jones deep into those 10 laps. Then, even deeper into them, Daniel Suarez, Jones' teammate, passed Jones for the second place position.

Daniel Hermic finished 4th, followed by Matt Crafton in 5th to round out the top-5.

~ - ~ - ~ - ~

Final Results: 2015 Lucas Oil 200

1. Tyler Reddick
2. Daniel Suarez
3. Erik Jones
4. Daniel Hemric
5. Matt Crafton
6. Ben Kennedy
7. Ryan Blaney
8. Brandon Jones
9. Johnny Sauter
10. Tyler Young
11. Ray Black Jr.
12. Spencer Gallagher
13. Cole Custer
14. Brandon Brown
15. Timmy HIll
16. Austin Hill
17. Korbin Forrister
18. John Wes Townley
19. Travis Kvapil
20. Cameron Hayley
21. Timothy Peters
22. John Nemechek
23. Tim Viens
24. Ryan Ellis
25. Justin Boston
26. Norm Benning
27. BJ McLeod
28. Justin Jennings
29. Mason Mingus
30. Jesse Little
31. Tyler Tanner
32. Jennifer Jo Cobb

Dover practice incident leads to crew chief needing to apologize.

By @GucciardoJoey

Carl Long's car after the practice incident.

Dover, DEL--- John Monsam had to apologize to Carl Long after tungsten fell off of his driver, Peyton Sellers' car, ad fell onto Long's car.

Long was uninjured, and neither was Sellers.

“I cannot apologize enough,’’ Monsam said. "An error on our part. There’s no excuse for it. All we can be right now is very grateful that Carl did not get hurt. Mistakes happen. Nobody’s perfect. I think it’s just a coincidence that it happened a couple of weeks ago to someone else. All I can say is I will take every step to make sure we’re right with Carl and it will never happen again."

Long was very appreciative of Monism's statement.

“It just killed us,’’ Long said. “It’s the best race car that I’ve got. First time I got a chance to race in a long time. This wasn’t a start and park.”

Long has put this incident behind him.

“I saw the dust as we entered the corner,” Long said. “I saw a black speck but it was down on the ground.’’

I think the main thing to remember here is that nobody was injured.

Remember Casey Atwood?

By @GucciardoJoey

Casey Atwood
(Photo CREDIT: Motorsport.com)

Remember that young NASCAR rookie Casey Atwood?

Well, he really wants to get back to racing.

He had a phone conversation with Marty Smith, a NASCAR Reporter who works for ESPN, and he had this to say.

"I regret that my kids have never seen me race. They've seen me race some Late Models around [Nashville], but they don't really know what I used to do, who I used to be."

You can read Marty Smith's whole article HERE.

Jeff Gordon: Analyst?

If you're like me you were quite surprised a few days ago when you heard Jeff Gordon announced that he'd be a full time NASCAR Analyst for Fox Sports in 2016. I feel its a terrific move for him as he'd stay heavily involved in NASCAR. Granted this year so far hasn't been great for Jeff. But all the greats have gone through slumps at some point in their career. I feel Jeff will not only make the Chase but end up in the Final Four at Homestead.

Carl Edwards wins Coca Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway

View image | gettyimages.com

Concord, NC--- Carl Edwards had to make a big fuel gamble for the win last night at Charlotte Motor Speedway.

"It was so cool to get this win," Edwards said, according to NASCAR.com. "We've had such bad luck. And we were the slowest of the (JGR cars) tonight, but we had Darian (Grubb) (Edward's crew chief) on the (pit) box. He made the right call, he put us in a position to win, and it worked.

"This is truly a gift. I took advantage of it to win, and we'll get better."

This was Edward's first win with JGR (Joe Gibbs Racing) after he lest RFR (Roush Fenway Racing) at the end of the 2014 season so he could drive the No. 19 Toyota Camry.

Greg Biffle came in second last night, followed by Dale Earnhardt Jr., Matt Kenneth finished 4th after starting on the pole (1st place), and Martin Truex Jr. to round out the Top-5.

Jimmie Johnson spun exiting Turn 4 on lap 90, but he managed to keep his car from hitting other cars and the wall, so he had no damage to his car, meaning he could continue. Johnson would finish 40th out of 43 cars.

However, later in the race, Johnson was in the same situation, spinning exiting Turn 4, and this time, he spun onto pit road. The front bumper of his car hit the inside wall of pit road, causing major damage to the front of his car. Johnson's night of racing was over. Luckily, no one was hurt.

View image | gettyimages.com

Martin Truex Jr. was one of the leaders who had been switching off the lead between Kurt Busch and Denny Hamlin. But Truex's team decided that he could not finish the race on fuel, so he had to pit with 62 laps left in the race, which stole the victory from Truex Jr. and his team.

"It feels great, but it hurts so bad," Truex said, according to USA Today Sports. "It's  double-edged sword. It feels great to run like that again. I feel like we're going to get one but I also know how hard it is to get into that position."

"To get race cars like this and to put yourself in a position to win, it's so competitive out here. It might be next week, and it might be a year from now."

Congratulations to Carl Edwards on winning the 2015 Coca Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway!

Austin Dillon wins the 2015 Hisense 300 at Charlotte Motor Speedway

Results: 2015 Hisense 300

1. Austin Dillon
2. Denny Hamlin
3. Kasey Kahne
4. Regan Smith
5. Darrell Wallace Jr.

6. Daniel Suarez
7. Ty Dillon
8. Chase Elliott
9. Elliott Sadler
10. Ryan Blaney
11. Chris Buescher
12. Ryan Reed
13. Jeremy Clements
14. Kevin Harvick
15. Erik Jones
16. Dakoda Armstrong
17. Landon Cassill
18. Brendan Gaughan
19. Aric Almirola
20. Brian Scott
21. JJ Yeley
22. David Starr
23. Blake Koch
24. Ryan Sieg
25. Chad Boat
26. Jimmy Weller
27. Kyle Fowler
28. Peyton Sellers
29. John Wes Townley
30. Eric McClure
31. Ross Chastain
32. Joey Gase
33. Kyle Larson
34. Cale Conley
35. Harrison Rhodes
36. Carl Long
37. BJ McLeod
38. Jamie Dick
39. Timmy Hill
40. Jeff Green

Move All-Star race to a different track?

If you're like me, the All-Star race at Charlotte last Saturday was borderline boring. There were a few "bite your teeth" moments but those only lasted about a minute. There isn't much to watch when each car is 7 or 8 seconds behind each other for 25 consecutive laps. So should the All-Star race be moved to a track that promises side-by-side non-stop action? Sure! Why not? How about Talladega? Daytona? Bristol? Sonoma? All of this is actually easier said than done. NASCAR has to take into account two things. The drivers' opinions as well as the fans' opinions. I'm sure some or all of the drivers & fans would love to see the All-Star race at a different track but for now I believe it's staying put at Charlotte Motor Speedway.

Chris Buescher's win: POSSIBLE DIFFERENT OUTCOME WITH CUP DRIVERS?

By @GucciardoJoey

View image | gettyimages.com

Newton, IOWA--- Chris Buescher nabbed the NASCAR XFINITY Series win at Iowa Speedway this past Sunday, winning the 3M 250 at Iowa Speedway.

In case you didn't know this, no NASCAR Sprint Cup Series regulars ran this race.

The lower-level NASCAR series have a reputation for being dominated by NASCAR Sprint Cup Series regulars. So, if regulars had ran this race, would Buescher had won this race.

The Top-5 was as follows, Buescher, Chase Elliott, Erik Jones, Brian Scott, and Ryan Blaney.

Back to my question at hand.

4 of the last 11 races at Iowa Speedway (including this past Sunday's race) were won by NASCAR Sprint Cup Series regulars who were full-time in the series at the time that they had won the respective event.

Trevor Bayne, Ricky Stenhouse Jr., and Sam Hornish Jr. were the other race winners joining Brad Keselowski and Kyle Busch. All three of Bayne, Stenhouse Jr., and Hornish jr. were not running a full 36 race schedule in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series at the time that they had won their respective event.

I would have to say that there is a good chance that this race would have been won by a NASCAR Sprint Cup Series regular, had there been some in this race, but I wouldn't say that there would be a 100% chance that that would have happened.

But congratulations to Chris Buescher on his amazing win yesterday!

Jimmie Johnson finished a disappointing 15th out of 20 participants in Saturday night's Sprint All-Star Race at Charlotte Motor Speedway. Now I wake up to find that his pit crew might have manipulated the side skirts on the car during a pit stop. I don't see this happening. Jimmie and his pit crew is the best there is when it comes to NASCAR. I mean hey, they have won 6 championships together and are on their way to an unprecedented 7 sprint cup title. 

With all of this being said, Jimmie is still the man and the best driver out there in my book. Who agrees with me?

Hamlin wins All-Star Race, Johnson faces penalization.

By @GucciardoJoey

View image | gettyimages.com

Charlotte, NC--- Denny Hamlin won this race, and one million dollars, leading the fifth segment, which was basically a ten-lap shootout to the finish.

Kevin Harvick finished second, followed by Kurt Busch, followed by Jeff Gordon, and Matt kenseth to round out the Top-5.

Kyle Busch finished 6th, followed by Kasey Kahne, Joey Logano, Brad Keselowski, and Dale Earnhardt Jr to round out the Top-10.

Hamlin had started on the pole (1st place), and he finished there too.

He led every lap of the final segment after a mandatory pit stop. He won that race off of pit road, and it was off to the races.

Brad Keselowski came off of pit road second, but was caught speeding and had to restart 13th.

Kasey Kahne made it past Hamlin in the first segment of the race, and finished first for that segment. Dale Jr., Brad Keselowski, and Kurt Busch round out the Top-5.

Keselowski won segment two, leading 24 of the 25 laps in the segment. He was followed by Kurt Busch, who led the other lap, Jeff Gordon, Joey Logano, and Kasey Kahne.

Jamie McMurray, the 2014 All-Star Race winner, started 1st for segment three, but this segment was won by Keselowski, followed by Kevin Harvick in second, and Kurt Busch in third.

Kurt Busch won segment four, followed by Kevin Harvick in second, then followed by Hamlin and Keselowski.

Let's move on to a different story in this race.

Jimmie Johnson didn't have that good of a race, however. He finished 15th out of 20th.

Supposedly, Johnson's team altered the side skirts on his car to improve speed, supposedly.

NASCAR had said that starting in the 2015 season, teams would not be allowed to modify side skirts. Modifying side skirts increases downforce on the car, and the speed of the vehicle.

The question is if the No. 48 team modified the side skirt during a pit stop/

BIG SURPRISE: Kyle Busch finishes 6th after coming back from an injury that he suffered to his leg in the NASCAR XFINITY Series opener at DAYTONA International Speedway.

FINAL RESULTS

2015 NASCAR SPRINT ALL STAR RACE

1.) Denny Hamlin

2.) Kevin Harvick

3.) Kurt Busch

4.) Jeff Gordon

5.) Matt Kenseth

6.) Kyle Busch

7.) Kasey Kahne

8.) Joey Logano

9.) Brad Keselowski

10.) Dale Earnhardt Jr.

11.) AJ Allmendinger

12.) Clint Bowyer

13.) Greg Biffle

14.) Aric Almirola

15.) Jimmie Johnson

16.) Jamie McMurray

17.) Carl Edwards

18.) Ryan Newman

19.) Tony Stewart

20.) Danica Patrick

Jamie Dick faces horrifying incident during NASCAR XFINITY Series practice.

By @GucciardoJoey

Everything was going normally at Iowa Speedway as the NASCAR XFINITY Series was practicing for the 3M 250.

All of a sudden, a giant piece of metal slams into Jamie Dick's windshield, damaging not only Dick's car, but his helmet too.

Dick was unharmed, and moved to a back-up car.

He was also given a new helmet.

Look at these crazy pictures that Sirius XM NASCAR Radio put on Facebook of Dick's helmet and car.

Like I said, Dick was unharmed. He moved to a back-up car, and was given a new helmet.

Kasey Kahne wins North Carolina Education Lottery 200

By @GucciardoJoey

The close finish from last night.
(Photo CREDIT: John Morris)

CONCORD, NC- Well, he started in the back row after qualifying first, but he wound up winning last night's truck series race.

Erik Jones finished second, who started in the back row after qualifying second. Jones had to start in the back because he missed the driver's meeting.

Jones led 88 laps in last night's race.

Matt Crafton finished 3rd, followed by Tyler Reddick in 4th, and Brad Keselowski in 5th to round out the Top-5.

John Wes Townley finished 6th, followed by Timothy Peters, Matt Tifft, Justin Boston, and Spencer Gallagher to round out the Top-10.

The first caution came out for Korbin Forrister who took a spin in the tru-oval grass early in the race. He would finish 29th.

With Kahne's win, Chevrolet earned their 200th NASCAR Camping World Truck Series victory with last night's win.

"Jones was really fast," Kahne said. "He was kind of in a league of his own when he could go to clean air. I knew if we could stay back and stay with him (Kahne is referring to the final restart), as long as he didn't get to clean air, it would be alright."

Jones seemed to be in a more unhappy mindset.

"I can't believe that the lap cars can't let us finish the race," he said. "It sucks that it has to come down to a green-white-checkered and the fastest truck loses the race, again. I just can't believe that we lost it. I don't know what to say. It really hurts."

Matt Crafton retained his points lead over Erik Jones. Crafton's  3rd place finish put him 16 points ahead of Jones.

Sprint Showdown MINI RECAP

Segment 1 Winner: Greg Biffle

Segment 2 Winner: Clint Bowyer

Fan Vote: Danica Patrick.

So, Greg Biffle, Clint Bowyer, and Danica Patrick will join the all-star field in tonight's NASCAR Sprint All-Star Race.

The JR Report: EMOTIONS ARE HIGH

How is Dale Earnhardt Jr. doing so far this season? Good or bad?

- - - - - - - - - -

I think Team No. 88 is off to a good start for the 2015 NASCAR Sprint Cup season. 

Two weeks ago at Talladega, we saw an emotional Dale Earnhardt Jr. after winning the 2015 Geico 500. Jr. was literally in tears in victory lane. 

It was then when the NASCAR world was touched by what he had to say.

"It's just real emotional, I haven't won here in a long time," Jr. said. "It was my daddy's birthday a couple of days ago, and just real emotional man [tears running down Jr.'s face]."

So, let's statistically look at Jr this season so far.

Jr. has 1 win so far this season. He has 6 Top-5's, and 7 Top-10's. His average finish is 12.0, and he has only one DNF (Did Not Finish).

Can Dale Earnhardt JR. be a contender for this year's NASCAR Sprint Cup Series championship, and can he win his first ever Sprint Cup Series championship?

I say he can compete, and will definitely have a good shot.

I'm not saying that he WON'T win the championship, he definitely would put up a good fight, but he would defiantly have some competition that he would have to go up against.

Dale Earnhardt Jr. is DEFINATELY a driver to watch this season.

Kyle Busch returning for Sprint All-Star race.

By @GucciardoJoey

Kyle Busch suffered a leg injury in the NASCAR XFINITY Series opener at DAYTONA International Speedway.

Now, he returns for the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Sprint All-Star race this weekend at Charlotte Motor Speedway.

Busch will return after being replaced by drivers David Ragan, Erik Jones, and Matt Crafton, each of the three drivers replacing him in different races.

We wish Kyle Busch luck as he makes his return to NASCAR.

What's up with Tony Stewart?

That seems to be the question on every NASCAR fans minds these days especially with Tony Stewart's own fans. As an avid Smoke fan myself it pains me to see him struggling week after week. He's had a few great finishes (14th at Fontana, 6th at Bristol & 19th at Talladega). But in the midst of the good finishes is bad finishes of 39th at Kansas, 42nd at Daytona among others. So what is wrong with him? Some say its due to his sprint car accidents in the last two years. Others say its his crew chief. Still others say its his pit crew. Let me tell you this: the Great Wall of China wasn't built in a day. Accidents that hurt you physically & emotionally take awhile to bounce back from. Smoke will rise & when that happens it'll be the best day in Tony's, his fans & his family's life.

Jimmie Johnson wins the Battle of Bikini Bottom

By @GucciardoJoey

View image | gettyimages.com

Well, Jimmie Johnson is sure on a roll.

Johnson held off Kevin Harvick to win last night's SpongeBob SquarePants 400 at Kansas Speedway.

The UNOFFICIAL Results for the SpongeBob
SquarePants 400.

We had a rain delay that had started at around a quarter to 9 PM E.T. (8:45 PM E.T.), when we were 98/267 laps into the race. Martin Truex Jr. had the lead then. Truex led 95 laps in this, race, but not winning made his winless streak 112 races.

When Ricky Stenhouse Jr. got into the will with 12 laps to go, Johnson, who was being chased by Harvick, and his Hendrick Motorsports teammates Jeff Gordon, and Dale Earnhardt Jr. (his other Hendrick teammate, Kasey Kahne, would finish 17th), the Hendrick cars stayed out, while Harvick pit for fresh tires and some fuel. Harvick quickly made up some ground being on new tires, but he had an issue on the backstretch at one point (not an accident). I guess you could say that he "bobbled" a little bit. That gave Johnson a bigger lead, which would lead Johnson go victory.

Erik Jones, who was making his NASCAR Sprint Cup Series debut, was a front-runner most of the night until an accident. He would return to the race, and would finish 25 laps down.

SpongeBob SquarePants 400: PREVIEW

By @GucciardoJoey | May 9th, 2015

Series: NASCAR Sprint Cup Series

Length of Race: 400 Miles

Time: 7:30 PM E.T.

TV: FOX Sports 1

Radio: MRN (Motor Racing Network)

----------

Pole sitter: Joey Logano (No. 22 Penske Racing Ford)

Last Year's Winner: Jeff Gordon (No. 24 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet)

----------

HEADLINE: Dale Earnhardt Jr. heads into Kansas after emotional Talladega win.

----------

Tonight, the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series races at Kansas Speedway for the SpongeBob SquarePants 400.

The race will be on FOX Sports 1 starting at 7:30 PM E.T., and radio coverage of the race will be on MRN (Motor Racing Network)

Last year, in this race, Jeff Gordon won, which gave him a spot in last year's Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup.

Now, we head into this same race a day before Mother's Day.

Erik Jones will be making his NASCAR Sprint Cup Series debut in the No. 18 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota.

He will be filling in for Kyle Busch, who has been injured since a scary crash during the NASCAR XFINITY Series opener at DAYTONA International Speedway in February of this year.

Joey Logano qualified on the pole for this race. Kasey Lahne qualified 2nd, followed by Brad Keselowski in 3rd, Martin Truex Jr. in 4th, and Carl Edwards in 5th to round out the Top-5 in qualifying.

Kevin Harvick was fastest in first practice, and Erik Jones was fastest in 2nd practice.

I hope you enjoy tonight's SpongeBob SquarePants 400, and I would like to thank you for reading my preview of this race.

Matt Crafton wins Toyota Tundra 250

By @GucciardoJoey 

 Matt Crafton won last night at Kansas Speedway. 

 The two-time Truck Series champion was able to maintain his points lead with last night's win. 

 Ryan Newman finished 2nd, followed by Johnny Sauter in 3rd, Timothy Peters in 4th, and Cameron Haley to round out the Top-5. 

 Erik Jones led 151 of the first 161 laps, but went low on fufl and had to pit with 6 laps to go. 

 This race was all about fuel mileage and wether certain drivers would finish the race and if they had enough fuel to finish it or not.

SpongeBob SquarePants 400 a good or bad idea?

By JOEY GUCCIARDO

This weekend at Kansas Speedway, NASCAR will be holding it's Sprint Cup Series race at Kansas under the name the "SpongeBob SquarePants 400," which will be a 400-mile race. I'm on the fence of wether it's a good idea to name this race with the name that it has. The race being under this name is good because NASCAR may begin to get the younger audience that they keep saying that they've wanted. It may boost marketing in children's NASCAR merchandise and may boost TV ratings in a way that more minors view the races. But here's the bad side, some people, especially the NASCAR fans who were around in the good il' days of racing back in the 60's, 70's and 80's, almost definately could care less about this yellow sponge who talks and lives in a pineapple somewhere in the ocean. Also, FOX may have to air some children's ads during TV breaks to match with the race. I'm pretty sure that this won't go well with older viewing audiences.

Talladega Qualifying

Qualifying at Talladega this past weekend seemed to go really smooth. Better than the qualifying fiascos at Daytona & Atlanta in February. Seems as though NASCAR is listening to the drivers & fans more now than any other time. I'm anxious to see if NASCAR tweaks qualifying at Superspeedway this year or at other tracks on the circuit. We'll see how it goes.

Jr. wins the Geico 500 at Dega

By @GucciardoJoey
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View image | gettyimages.com

Well NASCAR fans, we may have another controversial finish on our hands.

Dale Earnhardt Jr. won today's Geico 500, but he had a huge wreck behind him on the backstretch on the final lap.

Carl Edwards got loose in Turns 1 and 2, finally spinning onto the backstretch and took Jeff Gordon, and many others with him.

Jimmie Johnson, who started 5th, would finish second.

Johnson was asked if there was anything he could've done to get the win by the NASCAR On FOX team.

"No, I tried," Johnson said. "I was waiting for guys to really spread out maybe with three to go, and it didn't happen."

"It's just real emotional, I haven't won here in a long time," Jr. said. "It was my daddy's birthday a couple of days ago, and just real emotional man [tears running down Jr.'s face]."

This was Jr.'s 6th win at Talladega.

Around 20 laps to go, a lot of debris had shown up on Jr.'s grill, and his team was worried about his car temperatures getting too high. Jimmie Johnson was in a close second with Ryan Blaney a close third. Hamlin would dive to the inside, which led to Blaney getting a fourth place finish for his Wood Brother's Racing No. 21 team.

Hamlin would finish 9th today.

Jeff Gordon led the opening 10 laps until Tony Stewart took the lead, then it was taken by Jr. on lap 12. Since then, Jimmie Johnson, Stewart, Gordon, and Jr. would lead even more laps, along with other drivers.

View image | gettyimages.com

Gordon started from the pole (1st place) in today's race. Jr. rolled off the starting grid in second place.

This was Jr.'s first win of the season. This win proved that Jr. is still at the top of his game, even at the age of 40.
FINAL RESULTS: Geico 500

Top 20
finishers.

21st - 40th
place finishers

The bottom three finishers in
today's Geico 500.