As is often the case, it was one conversation that changed Joe Balash’s life. “Just happened to be another one of those phone calls,” he says now, but at the time it was clearly anything but. When that call came, Balash was Senior Vice President of Operations for the now-defunct ASA Series, rising to the …
Technically speaking, we’ll be at the quarter pole mark following the conclusion of the rollercoaster ride at Talladega this Sunday; but, with a brief pause in the relentless slog that is the Sprint Cup schedule, it’s a good time to put out eight thoughts and questions with eight races of the 2008 season in the …
The first commercial produced by Nextel to mark their arrival into NASCAR at the beginning of the 2004 season was a one minute long spot called “Anthem” featuring a rousing soundtrack and clips of racing action from the early days of racing on Daytona Beach right through to the then-present day. The ad was Nextel’s …
If the officials of NASCAR could draw up the perfect Sprint Cup champion – a man who would best represent the sport to the racing community and the world at large – then you can be pretty sure they would use Jimmie Johnson as a template. He looks the part, always says the right things, …
Each week, NASCAR.com runs a short article on Juan Pablo Montoya. Entitled “Where’s Juan?” it’s a gentle look at what’s going on in the world of the Bogota, Colombia native. But where, exactly, is Juan these days? After Sunday’s 19th-place finish, two laps down, it’s not a bad question – because for most of this …
On this very day some 10 years ago, Dale Earnhardt Jr. won his first race in NASCAR’s second series, taking the checkered flag in the 1998 Coca-Cola 300. The Kannapolis, N.C. native drove his father’s AC Delco-sponsored No. 3 Chevy to victory lane at Texas Motor Speedway. Later that same year, Junior founded JR Motorsports, …
Last year, ahead of the spring race at Martinsville, Dale Earnhardt Jr. expressed frustration at the sheer dominance of Jimmie Johnson and Jeff Gordon on the smallest track the Sprint Cup circuit has to offer. On Sunday, the No. 88 finished behind the Nos. 24 and 48 once again; but while the frustrations remained, the …
In every episode of the hit Bravo TV show Project Runway, the delectable German supermodel Heidi Klum makes the solemn proclamation that, “In fashion, one day you’re in. The next you’re out.” Now, I realize you’re probably wondering if you clicked onto the wrong website, or if the esteemed editors of Frontstretch are playing some …
When Kevin Harvick graduated from kindergarten, his parents bought him a go-kart. Little did they realize at the time what a prophetic present they were giving their son. By age 10, so the story goes, Harvick had listed taking part in both the Indy 500 and the Winston Cup Series as career goals in a …
It’s still very early in the 2008 NASCAR Nationwide Series but already the themes are emerging. Yes, there are thousands of laps to be run, but the preseason predictions are proving to be accurate. Well, mostly. Moonlighting Cup drivers are cleaning up Drivers from NASCAR’s top echelon have made almost exactly a third of the …
After what can most politely be termed as a learning experience for Toyota in year one, there was little doubt in the media, in the garage, or amongst the fans that 2008 would be a completely different story. After Joe Gibbs Racing was safely ensconced in the fold, along with the expertise of renowned engine …
Trying to predict how the 2008 NASCAR season will finish after just three races – and with less than 10% of the full schedule accounted for – is just short of madness. But NASCAR is nothing if not a brutally honest sport. Yes, you can be the victim of bad racing luck; witness Casey Mears …
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