RAB Racing Makes Right Call In Suspending John Wes Townley After DUI

To those of us armchair NASCAR team owners, the decision seems simple: If your driver gets arrested for driving under the influence of alcohol, you must suspend him.

But the actual choice is often more complicated, which results in drivers usually getting off with little punishment – at least when it comes to NASCAR.

That's why RAB Racing team owner Robby Benton's decision to indefinitely suspend driver John Wes Townley for DUI on Friday was a significant statement – and why it shouldn't go unappreciated.

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by Jeff Gluck • Feb 10, 2012 6:46 PM EST

Dave Blaney Gets 2012 Daytona 500 Sponsor

Ollie’s Bargain Outlet will sponsor Dave Blaney’s No. 36 car in the 2012 Daytona 500, Tommy Baldwin Racing announced Friday.

Blaney will have to race his way into the 500 after his points went to Danica Patrick’s No. 10 car last week.

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by Jeff Gluck • Feb 10, 2012 4:32 PM EST

Kurt Busch Named To 'Most Disliked Athletes List,' But Is He Really?

A recent Forbes.com article cited a Nielsen/E-Poll Market Research survey showing NASCAR driver Kurt Busch is America's 10th-most disliked athlete.

According to the survey, 42 percent of respondents who knew of Busch said they did not like him. That put the driver into the company of such sports villains like LeBron James, Terrell Owens and Alex Rodriguez (Michael Vick and Tigers Woods topped the list).

Personally, I find a few things about the survey hard to believe.

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by Jeff Gluck • Feb 9, 2012 6:03 PM EST

NASCAR Officials Debunk Myth Of Mystery Debris Cautions

While I'm generally not a conspiracy theorist when it comes to NASCAR – I don't believe officials favor certain drivers over others during the race, for example – I've sometimes thought debris cautions are used to help the "show."

If there's a long, green-flag run run and the race starts to get boring, it seems NASCAR will occasionally throw a debris caution to reset the field and give everyone a virtual timeout.

On Twitter, race fans refer to these yellow-flag periods as "phantom" or "mystery" debris cautions.

So during Monday's NASCAR rules meeting with the media, I asked officials about why debris cautions are thrown at certain times and not others.

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by Jeff Gluck • Feb 7, 2012 10:27 AM EST

Super Bowl Commercials: Danica Patrick's Go Daddy Ads Extend Record

Out of all the celebrities to star in Super Bowl commercials, guess which one has appeared the most often?

If you guessed Go Daddy Girl Danica Patrick – who also happens to be a NASCAR driver – then you're correct.

Patrick will appear in two more ads during today's game, extending her record to 10 Super Bowl commercials. You can view both of them below the jump.

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by Jeff Gluck • Feb 5, 2012 2:40 PM EST

VIDEO: Tony Stewart's First TV Commercial For Office Depot

Considering Tony Stewart has appeared in all sorts of television commercials – for Old Spice, Burger King, etc. – it's hard to believe he's never been in a TV ad for primary sponsor Office Depot.

But that will change later this month when Office Depot airs a new Stewart commercial (below) in select markets prior to the Daytona 500.

Check it out for yourself:

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by Jeff Gluck • Feb 1, 2012 3:19 PM EST

WTF? Danica Patrick's Daytona 500 Deal Explained

Understandably, you've got a lot of questions about how exactly Danica Patrick went from Stewart-Haas Racing to driving for Tommy Baldwin Racing on Tuesday.

Here's an attempt to provide some answers:

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by Jeff Gluck • Jan 31, 2012 5:55 PM EST

Small Fire Forces Temporary Evacuation Of Joe Gibbs Racing

A small fire at Joe Gibbs Racing's team shop in Huntersville, N.C. forced an evacuation of the facility this afternoon, but no injuries were reported.

JGR said a piece of equipment in the machine shop caught fire and the local fire department quickly arrived to contain and extinguish the blaze.

A few employees received treatment for smoke inhalation, the team said, but no one required hospitalization. The team said all employees were able to return to work within an hour of the incident.

This is the second fire at JGR in a year; there was a fire in the team's engine shop last February.

by Jeff Gluck • Jan 31, 2012 4:08 PM EST

NASCAR Takes Editorial Control Of NASCAR.com In Restructured Online Rights Deal

There are big changes coming to the NASCAR digital and social media space in 2013.

Beginning next year, NASCAR will take editorial control of NASCAR.com – meaning the sanctioning body will run the site itself and decide what content makes the cut.

Currently, NASCAR.com is operated by Turner Sports – and NASCAR has little say what types of stories appear on the site.

The restructured agreement, announced today, is likely a mixed bag for NASCAR fans.

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by Jeff Gluck • Jan 30, 2012 1:30 PM EST