Story Ideas for This Week

NASCAR SPRINT CUP SERIES




He’s A Contender:

As the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series reaches its first off-week of the season, Dale Earnhardt Jr. is looking more like a Chase contender all the time. After starting the year with victories in two non-points events – the Budweiser Shootout and one of the Gatorade Duel qualifying races for the Daytona 500 – Earnhardt has posted three top-five finishes, one of only three drivers to do that in the season’s first five weeks. That is the sort of consistency that produces championships. Earnhardt finished fifth Sunday at Bristol; he’s fifth in the series points, the highest standing among Hendrick Motorsports drivers.



Regarding The Top 35, The Bubble Has Burst:

Five races are in the books. That means the weekly guaranteed starting spots to the top 35 teams in car owner points are based on CURRENT standings.

There are some surprises, regarding those on the outside looking in.

Sam Hornish Jr., the former Indianapolis 500 and IndyCar Series champion driving the No. 77 Dodge for Roger Penske, has the 35th and final guaranteed spot going into Martinsville.

Looking up at Hornish – and having to qualify on time at Martinsville:

Jamie McMurray
Dave Blaney
Dario Franchitti
Regan Smith
Kyle Petty

Competitive Balance The Rule, Thus Far:

Chevrolet’s 2007 dominance has become a distant memory very quickly. Thus far, all four manufacturers have posted victories, with Chevrolet finally getting its first, Sunday at Bristol. In addition, Toyota posted its historic first victory in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series two weeks ago at Atlanta.

Furthermore, all four manufacturers are in the top 12 of the NSCS standings. Here’s the breakdown:

Chevrolet – 5
Dodge – 3
Ford – 2
Toyota – 2


Champions Lurking for Top 12 Position

Those just inside the top 12 might not want to get too comfortable. Six championships say they’ll be challenged. Jimmie Johnson, the two-time defending champion, and Jeff Gordon, a four-time series champ, sit 13th and 14th in the series standings. And you can bet the two Hendrick teammates are looking forward to Martinsville. Gordon has seven wins there and Johnson has four – including the last three.




60th Anniversary Season Coming To Martinsville, Which Was There At The Start

This season marks NASCAR’s 60th anniversary. Next week, the sport comes to the only track that was on the very first schedule back in 1948 – Martinsville Speedway, in Martinsville, Va.

The Goody’s Cool Orange 500 on Sunday, March 30 will continue a tradition that started on July 4, 1948. That’s right. Martinsville, not Daytona, was the first race track to celebrate the Independence Day tradition.

Martinsville then was on the inaugural schedule in 1949 for the Strictly Stock Series, the precursor to what is now known as the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series.



NASCAR NATIONWIDE SERIES – NASHVILLE




Who’s got something for Edwards?

Carl Edwards, the defending series champion has won three straight at Nashville Superspeedway and six of his 13 career wins have come on concrete. Clint Bowyer may be up to the task. Last week’s winner at Bristol, Bowyer has led more laps (286) than Edwards (247) at Nashville since 2005, has a higher Driver Rating (130.2 vs. 125.6) and has spent more Laps in the Top 15 (1083 vs. 1072). Bowyer also captured his first series win at Nashville.




Hometown Kid Looking for Win

How much does a victory at a driver’s hometown track mean? Just ask Tony Stewart when he finally won at Indianapolis in 2005. Bobby Hamilton Jr. has that same longing when it comes to Nashville. A native of the Music City, Hamilton always has this race circled on his calendar and won’t be satisfied until he holds one of the most sought-after trophies in NASCAR aloft – a Gibson guitar custom-designed by Sam Bass. The closest he’s come is a runner-up finish in 2002.



Regulars’, Youngsters’ Time to Shine?

The first stand-alone event of the season, Nashville offers series regulars a prime opportunity to get into Victory Lane. It’s also a chance for up-and-coming drivers to gain experience. Chase Austin, 18; Landon Cassill, 18; Bryan Clauson, 18 and Colin Braun, 19 are in line for their season and track debuts. Chase Miller, 21, will make his season debut – his last series race was at Nashville this past June.



Braun, Coleman Look to Renew Winning Ways

Braun and 20-year-old Brad Coleman will meet for the first time in their NASCAR careers at Nashville but the two native Texans are very familiar with one another. In 2005, they set a world record as the youngest team in the Rolex 24 at Daytona when they posted a top 10 finish, seventh in the GT class. Both were 16 at the time. A good showing Saturday has added importance to Coleman, who competes full-time for Nashville-based Baker Curb Racing.



Shake Up Imminent?

Only five races into the season, 2008 is already shaping up as an exciting championship battle. With standings leader Kevin Harvick sitting Nashville out, the door is wide open for a new leader. Clint Bowyer is 49 points behind Harvick in second, but Carl Edwards trails Bowyer by one point. In fact, Harvick’s cushion over Bowyer is the largest difference between one position and the next in the top 10 rankings. Eight of this week’s top 10 drivers are full-time series regulars.



NASCAR CRAFTSMAN TRUCK SERIES




BBM Looks Hunting for Owners’ Title

Billy Ballew Motorsports continues to chase NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series owners’ championship with Kyle Busch and other drivers. In 206 starts prior to the 2008 season, the team never has ranked higher than fifth in the points.



All in the Family in the NCTS

The recent test at Martinsville Speedway brought out some new faces and “next generation” drivers including Chrissy Wallace, whose father, Mike, is a four-time NCTS winner and Adam Crawford, son of Rick Crawford, a veteran of 275 races and a Martinsville and Daytona winner. It again demonstrates the series is a good place to start in NASCAR national series competition and fits nicely with the 2008 twenty something invasion that has placed three drivers under the age of 30 among the current championship top 10.



A Martinsville Homecoming

Martinsville is becoming a hub of NCTS activity with two teams (H-T Motorsports and Bobby Hamilton Racing VA) and a top engine builder (Joey Arrington) calling the southern Virginia city home. BHR VA’s Dennis Setzer, a two-time Martinsville Speedway winner, ranks ninth in current points while H-T’s Ted Musgrave, a former NCTS champion, is a single point out of the top 10. The activity has been brought a number of local residents into NASCAR including graduates of Patrick Henry Community College’s motorsports program, who have joined BHR VA in shop and over-the-wall capacities.