NASCAR on TV this week

Dale Earnhardt, Jr. Returns To NASCAR… Not A Moment Too Soon

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Almost three weeks ago, Dale Earnhardt, Jr. climbed out of his wrecked race car at Talladega after a late race wreck had ruined his day, ended his faint chances at a series title and apparently scrambled his brain. After suffering a concussion during the tire test at Kansas a few weeks earlier, and then a second one at Talladega, the most popular driver in NASCAR was left with a decision that no race car driver, or athlete for that matter, ever wants to have to face: his mortality. Suddenly, scary health news turned the iron will of a race car driver vulnerable, a future left shaky due to brain trauma that, if left untreated could leave a lifetime risk of permanent damage. So after taking that look in the mirror, Earnhardt decided to take the doctors’ advice and stay out of the car for at least two weeks. It was two of the longest weeks of his life, agony from the couch while having to watch someone else drive the No. 88. But in hindsight it was the right thing to do — for both Earnhardt and for the sport.

BSNews! Allstate and Progressive Explore 2013 Sponsorship For Danica

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A spokesman for Stewart-Haas Racing (SHR) has announced that two different car insurance companies have expressed an interest in sponsoring NASCAR’s most popular female driver, Danica Patrick, possibly full-time by 2014. The two companies are Allstate and Progressive.

This could prove to be a huge boon for Danica, or it might prove to be a huge headache as she is currently a spokesperson for Nationwide insurance. As one might expect, any sponsorship by a rival insurance company would only be allowed at the Sprint Cup level as Nationwide currently sponsors NASCAR’s lower series.

While Nationwide doesn’t directly sponsor Danica’s car on the race track, she does do their ‘Vanishing Deductible’ commercial at the track and often takes it a step further by vanishing from contention and even behind the wall during races.

The No. 7 and the Risk of Backwards Development

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My first visit to the Daytona International Speedway came as a writer in 2010. Though the weekend would eventually be defined by a pothole and the Daytona 500 going from day to night, entering Speedweeks the story was one Danica Patrick. Danica-mania was coming to NASCAR, to an extent that the ESPN broadcast booth and execs took questions in the media center regarding their coverage of her debut race.

Eyes On the Prize: NASCAR’s Coolest Trophies

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There’s just something about Martinsville. NASCAR’s oldest track, on the schedule since 1949, has a certain ambiance that is missing at the high-banked, high-dollar speedways that take up the lion’s share of the schedule. The little track, nestled in the foothills of the Blue Ridge, seems to have been passed over by the sands of time.

But there is another reason why the drivers want to win at the little paperclip-shaped oval in the hills, and it’s not just bragging rights. It’s the trophy.

Since 1964, the speedway has handed out what is perhaps the most unique prize in motorsports, a grandfather clock, manufactured locally by Ridgeway Clocks. It’s worth a cool ten grand, but that’s not why the drivers want it. It’s different, a symbol of conquering what is still one of the hardest tracks in all NASCAR to master.

Kenny Wallace Driver Diary: Repaving, Regrouping, and Looking Ahead

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Kansas went really well. We practiced in second spot, but we were tied with Paul Menard, so they listed us third. We backed it up by qualifying fourth. It’s a pretty special car, you know? People will ask, “well, how come you qualify twelfth to fifteenth then all of a sudden, you qualify so good?” My best qualifying run of the year was third at Phoenix. When I’m in the car, we usually qualify in the top 11, let’s say; I’ve got a couple of eleventh-place qualifying runs. So it was a really solid qualifying effort.

Four Burning Questions: Junior’s Return and Allmendinger’s Second Chance

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It’s surprising to me to think back to last year’s race at Homestead and realize we are already coming up on one year since that race between Tony Stewart and Carl Edwards. This year has flown by and already so much has happened, including last weekend at Kansas. Now, we head into Martinsville for yet another chapter in what is turning out to be the same exciting battle – albeit it between two different drivers.

Truckin’ Thursdays: Debuting Drivers, A Winless Hornaday And Paludo’s Martinsville Breakdown

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*Truex, Merrell Set to Debut*

If all goes well in qualifying on Saturday morning, the Kroger 200 will feature two drivers making their Truck Series debuts. Ryan Truex has partnered with Hillman Racing, who fielded the No. 27 for a Jeb Burton 13th-place result at the paperclip in the spring event earlier this year. Though it’ll be his first Truck Series start at the 0.533-mile oval, Truex does have a 2010 K&N East Series start where he brought home a runner-up finish for Michael Waltrip Racing.