I know, I know, just what does this have to do with NASCAR, right?

Well, something and nothing at all.

Let me explain.

For those of you who don't know I do a lot of coaching; volleyball in the winter and baseball in the summer with a little bit of flag football thrown in there during the spring.

Yep and I'm still married.

Anyway, the reason why I haven't been around here in a few days is because my girls volleyball team had a tremendous last two weeks and are now playing in the City Final.

In the quarter finals we went down 2 games to none and came back and won the best of 5 in three straight.  Then in the semis last week we went down 2 games to 1 in the best of 5 and won two straight to get into the Championship game being held tomorrow night.

We also participated in a tournament last week and finished third, oddly enough beating the team we are facing in the finals.  The two teams that finished higher than us in the tournament play in a higher division - go figure.

What makes this even more special for us is that our Junior team is also playing in their Championship game tomorrow too.  I think that says a lot about the girls who go through our program and the dedication they've shown the coaches these last few years.

Another thing to note is that this will be the third Championship game in the last 5 yrs for the Jr coach and the 3rd Championship game for me in the last 4 yrs - one was a boys team as I coached them instead of the girls when their original coach took ill and had to retire the day before the season started.  Wow.

Wish us luck and I'll be back posting on a regular basis on Wednesday.

I've been working on several editorial pieces these last few months and now that the racing season has officially ended I'll have a bit more time on my hands to finish them as well as transcribe an interview or two that I've done.  I really like the article I've been working on lately and I'll post that as soon as its done!

There might also be a pretty big exclusive announcement made here within the next few days too!  Stay tuned!

Oh, and what does this have to do with NASCAR?  We're trying to build a Rick Hendrick-type of volleyball dynasty.

 
Well my prediction about Danica joining NASCAR came true, but in all honesty it was more of a forgone conclsuion than a prediction.

I was wrong however about her not debuting until the April Texas race as it appears that she'll be in the Feb. Daytona race instead.  My Texas race prediction might not pan out either as she will be racing Indy cars in California later that weekend, but it really wouldn't be that much of a flight between the two places if she really wanted to do it.

Nothing in her press conference really stood out to me, as everything that was mentioned was already 'leaked' by sources or speculators close to the situation.

I think this is something that NASCAR needs right about now to drive up fan interest.  Danica, along with more consistent start times, will bring back the TV viewers -  maybe not as much in previous years, but certainly enough to stop the hemorrhaging in the TV ratings.

Perhaps the next best thing to the NASCAR Awards ceremony are the Stewie Awards.

I love the laid back nature of the awards.

Sirius/XM was kind enough to provide me with a few YouTube links of the show so I could put them up.

Tony Stewart Kissed in Vegas: It's the 3rd Annual Stewie Awards Live on SIRIUS XM

Juan Pablo Montoya and Tony Stewart Discuss Their Feud at the 2009 Stewie Awards on SIRIUS|XM

Jimmie Johnson "Stair Racing" Story at the 2009 Stewie Awards on SIRIUS XM

Mark Martin on Coming Up Short in the NASCAR Chase at 2009 Stewie Awards on SIRIUS|XM

Danica Patrick made her announcement today about her immediate driving future.

Drum roll please ...

Danica will be driving full-time for the next 3 years in IndyCar with Andretti Autosport (formerly Andretti Green Racing).

No NASCAR announcement.

Yet.

In a post announcement interview with USA Today Patrick had this to say about her possible involvement in NASCAR;

"Like I said this morning, if I can run both (series), I'd like to. Whether or not that's going to happen or not, it's definitely not too late and it's definitely a possibility." - Nate Ryan, USA Today

And add this to the early November Cathy Elliott penned press-release from NASCAR where Elliott concludes from details given to her from an undisclosed source that, "After years of speculation and conjecture, it appears that Danica Patrick will finally make the move to NASCAR. It’s reportedly a part-time arrangement, including both Nationwide and ARCA races. Patrick will also continue to compete full-time in what has, to date, been her series of choice, the IRL."

Hmm ...

Perhaps the most convincing evidence to date about Danica's possible foray into the world of Stock Cars comes from photo evidence that appeared on her own website danicaracing.com and then mysteriously disappeared from the face of the Internet except for some keen-eyed guy over at The Sporting News via NASCAR.com who managed to capture the photo and placed it with his article (click the link to view the picture).

Danica is wearing a fire suit in the photo - nothing wrong here right?  Maybe if yor are just a casual fan you wouldn't catch it right away, but if you are a die-hard Indy fan or NASCAR fan and know the difference between the two series you would have caught the fact that on the fire-suit there is a Chevy symbol and what appears to be Nationwide Series and Jr Motorsports logos along with her normal GoDaddy.com logo.

If you go to Andretti Autosport's site you'll find a picture of Danica in her IRL firesuit and that has Izod and Honda logos on it.

Hmm ...

As of the time this article was written Dancia has not entered into the ARCA race scheduled for February 6th at Daytona.  I believe the official entry deadline is Dec. 1st with testing starting Dec. 18th.  The entry fee is also a hefty one at $150 000.

I would expect that if Danica and her team decided to enter the Feb. ARCA race they would be allowed to do so even after the official deadline.  I mean imagine the media attention the ARCA series would get by having Danica in their line-up?  But I don't think she'll be there.

My speculation about Danica racing in non-open wheeled machines is this; she will be racing in stock cars this year and it will be for Jr Motorsports, she will be racing in both ARCA and in Nationwide, and her first race will probably be on April 16th when the ARCA series races at the Texas Motorspeedway.

This makes sense because both of NASCAR's top two series will be there on the 17th and the 18th and Texas is pretty close to Danica's home in Phoenix Arizona.  Also, if the sponsorship works out right she could race in both the ARCA and Nationwide races that weekend while having Dale Jr and Rick Hendrick there to help her out.

Its a perfect fit, and Texas is a bit safer start than Daytona for anyone who has never raced these types of cars before.

So there you have my bold prediction; look for Danica mania to strike the world of stock cars in April at Texas Motor Speedway.

Based on the email I got from my last post, I'll put this out to you as a poll.  Why people email me instead of posting a comment is beyond me though - is it not easier to comment than to email?

Four-time NASCAR Sprint Cup Series champion Jimmie Johnson holds his Tiffany-made Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup trophy 103 floors and 1,454 feet above Manhattan on Tuesday -- Jimmie Johnson Day -- in New York City. (Photo Credit: Empire State Building)  via www.nascarmedia.com

Another NASCAR season is in the record books and Jimmie Johnson is left at the top of the heap.  Not only is Johnson a four –time winner of NASCAR’s biggest title, but he won all four in consecutive years.

Only three other drivers (Richard Petty, Dale Earnhardt Sr., and Jeff Gordon) have ever won 4 or more Championships but none of them have ever done it in four straight years.

 What an amazing feat that Johnson and his crew have accomplished by winning their record setting 4^th championship in a row – we witnessed history in the making this year that’s for sure.

Other big stories this NASCAR season included Tony Stewart’s break-out performance as an Owner/Driver, Dale Earnhardt Jr.’s lack-luster performance, the ‘Big Ones’ at Talladega, and Mark Martin’s almost-Championship drive.

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"Oh yeah baby! Wahoo! What! Wahoo! Icing on the cake, whoa! I love you guys, that’s why we won." --- Kyle Busch

Kyle Busch would also get some ice cream and a candle for that cake, as he picked the perfect way to win the 2009 Nationwide Series season. With the championship clinched when he took the green flag in the season finale at Homestead-Miami Speedway, Busch would also go on to grab his ninth victory of the year, barely holding off Carl Edwards on the last lap.

Busch:
It was such a fun deal. Fun to watch and fun to be apart of at the end. Glad we were able to hold them off and come out here and win this thing. This is another race track that I can mark off my list of venues I haven’t won at. I’m really excited to be able to do that. I felt like I wasn’t the best driver here tonight but, the guys gave me a car capable enough of wining.

Now Edwards pitted under the final caution, took on four fresh tires, restarted eighth and made it a dramatic charge in the last 11 laps. But just as it has been all year long, Edwards didn’t quit have enough to beat Busch.

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Here are some pictures of the Champions - I'll have a full opinionated post tomorrow.

Sprint Cup Series

Jimmie Johnson holds up four fingers to signify his unprecedented four consecutive NASCAR Sprint Cup Series championships. (Photo Credit: Rusty Jarrett/Getty Images for NASCAR) via www.nascarmedia.com

Nationwide Series

Kyle Busch, driver of the No. 18 Z-Line Designs Toyota, celebrates in Victory Lane after winning Saturday's NASCAR Nationwide Series and the Ford 300 at Homestead-Miami Speedway, his 30th win in 173 NASCAR Nationwide Series races. (Photo Credit: John Harrelson/Getty Images for NASCAR)  via www.nascarmedia.com

Camping World Truck Series

Ron Hornaday Jr. celebrates winning his fourth NASCAR Camping World Truck Series championship after the Ford 200 at Homestead-Miami Speedway. (Photo Credit: Rusty Jarrett/Getty Images for NASCAR) via www.nascarmedia.com

Canadian Tire Series

2009 Championship NASCAR Canadian Tire Series team with Champ Andrew Ranger to the right of the trophy (Photo Credit: Getty Images for NASCAR)  via www.nascarmedia.com

Oops, this was supposed to be posted Friday.  I must have did something wrong when I set the publish date.  Sorry. 

Continue reading this post »

Mark Martin (Photo Credit: Sam Greenwood/Getty Images for NASCAR)  via www.nascarmedia.com

If I had a chance to interview Mark Martin this week the question I would love to ask him would be "If the points were a bit closer and you had to move Jimmie out of the way to win the Championship would you?"

I stress the move part and the absence of wreck.

I know if I were Mark I would say yes because he has never won a Championship and Jimmie has won 3 already.

What do you think Mark's response would be?