By Karan Singh

StreetFire.net

For those of you who missed the NASCAR Nationwide race this weekend, Kasey Kahne was forced into the wall and rode along the curve on 2 wheels before finally landing right side up and then sliding to the bottom of the track. Not exactly a sight you see too often so check it out!

2010 Food City 250 – Kasey Kahne Near Flip

By Jen Dunnaway

Editor

Those hot new NASCAR Mustangs and Challengers turned their first competitive laps at Daytona on the 4th of July weekend, as you well remember. Catch their second run tomorrow at Michigan International Speedway! TV coverage is on ESPN starting at 1pm local time.

Photo credit: Motorsports Images and Archives

By Jen Dunnaway

Editor

I totally missed the Nationwide race this weekend–I was lulled into complacency by the fact that Sprint Cup is on hiatus. But from what I hear, it was Carl Edwards FTMFW, Brad Keselowski again bore the brunt of it, and the ensuing hellacious wreck got Brad’s dad threatening to bring on some serious fisticuffs (“he ain’t gonna kill my boy”). Wow. I kind of think that Brad should tread lightly with Carl, (otherwise a very nice guy until you mess with him), if he doesn’t want to get ganked. It’s like Denny Hamlin said a season or two ago: you throw a rock at me, I’m going to throw a brick right back. Your thoughts–was it just hard racing for a clean win, or is outrage in order?

By Jen Dunnaway

Editor

My photos from the Nationwide Series segment of the 4th of July weekend in Daytona are live over in our Events section (full coverage here), so you can now get an eyeful of the new NASCAR Challenger, Mustang, Impala, and Camry during their first competitive weekend at the track. In addition to Friday night’s race, there’s a ton of pics from qualifying and the starting grid, back when it was still reasonably light out, so you can check out these new race cars in pretty decent detail. Enjoy!

By Jen Dunnaway

Editor

Dale Earnhardt Jr.’s Nationwide Series win on Friday was one of those fairytale moments that doesn’t come twice. I was watching from the pit lane as that ghostly No. 3 Wrangler car, one of Earnhardt Sr.’s most recognizable old paint schemes, sailed across Daytona’s start/finish line under the lights, and though I was far from the grandstands, the wild roar of the crowd and and that rapid-fire sparkle of hundreds of popping camera flashes hinted at the catharsis that was unfolding there. This win was a long time coming, and on the hallowed grounds of Daytona that will forever link father and son in both motorsports history and American folk memory, the closing of this particular chapter of the Earnhardt story could not have been more perfect. Read more…

Continue reading "Junior: “If We Didn’t Win, What A Waste of Time”" »

By Jen Dunnaway

Editor

I never in a million years anticipated that witnessing the new Nationwide cars on the track in person for the first time would be what they call a “religious experience,” but I got chills watching the new Mustangs and Challengers roar around the high banks of Daytona during qualifying today. The advent of these cars in NASCAR feels historic in a somehow visceral way that I can’t completely explain. More to the point, it feels right. These lean, well-differentiated cars have been what NASCAR has needed for a long time now.

But will they even get to race? It’s raining in Daytona at time of writing, though they’re saying it’s going to dry out in time for tonight’s race. Sprint Cup qualifying was canceled due to the weather, while the earlier Nationwide quals yielded the pole to Brad Keselowski, with another Dodge, the No. 26 of Parker Kilgerman, in the second spot. Dale Earnhardt Jr. will start from 3rd in his one-time No. 3 Chevy, with fourth place going to Justin Allgaier. By all estimates, it’s going to be an interesting race for the largely unproven New Car, Junior is looking to be a factor, and those Challengers are mad fast and badass. If it gets to happen, I don’t see how it could not be the most awesome NASCAR race in recent memory. Hit the jump for a few more pics from qualifying, and tune in at 7:30 Eastern tonight on ESPN to see how it all shakes out!

Continue reading "Mustang vs. Challenger at Daytona Tonight: Will It Happen?" »

By Jen Dunnaway

Editor

For this Friday night’s Nationwide race at Daytona, Dale Earnhardt Jr. will fire up a Wrangler-branded No. 3 Chevrolet–the same number and livery as the car his late father raced here so many times. By all accounts, it’s only going to be a one-time thing, set to coincide with the Natiowide New Car’s debut for this weekend’s race–as Junior very memorably quipped to ESPN earlier this week, “You just don’t grab the car keys off the counter and go run out the door and haul down the road with your dad’s car. I didn’t do it when he was alive, and I won’t do it now.” That’s our Junebug. The all-new race car got a chance for some much-needed practice today at Daytona, and I’m on my way there tomorrow to party with Dodge. Check more pics of the race-ready Nationwide rides below the jump!

Continue reading "Dale Jr. To Race The No. 3 Car At Daytona" »

By Jen Dunnaway

Editor

For the first time ever, the Mustang and Challenger will be competing against each other on the track in NASCAR racing as the Nationwide Series “New Car” makes its debut on July 2nd. Everything on the car is different from its predecessor, and it differentiates itself from the Sprint Cup car with the much stronger brand identity built into the car’s design–Challenger and Mustang being only the most striking examples. For its entry, Chevrolet decided to go with a slightly sexier version of its Impala rather than a NASCAR Camaro; and Toyota’s just running the Camry. No one is 100% sure how this entirely new machine is going to behave on the steep banks of Daytona under competition conditions–obviously it’s gone through a lot of testing, but even top drivers are wishing they’d gotten more seat time. Justin Allgaier says this newness may help reset the playing field a bit, with raw talent taking precedence over driver experience. This should shake things up some in a series that tends to see the same top drivers, most of them also Sprint-Cup regulars, running pretty predictably up front. Watch the Nationwide new car hit the track on Friday at 7:30 pm Eastern on ESPN, then catch the Sprint Cup night race on Saturday at 7:30 on TNT.

By Jen Dunnaway

Editor

A ton of the pics I took today at Charlotte Motor Speedway during the Nationwide Series TECH-NET 300 are now up for viewing in the Events Section. I haven’t yet found Charlotte’s best holes and perches, so the majority of the pics are from the pit lane and garage area. Take a look, and keep an eye out for my coverage of the Coca-Cola 600 tomorrow. I’m kind of psyched about shooting my first day-to-night race, though I’m at a complete loss for how to photograph 180 mph race cars in the dark!

NASCAR coverage brought to you by Valvoline Engine Guarantee–the first and only motor oil in the industry that will guarantee your engine up to 300,000 miles. *Registration required, some limitations apply.

By Jen Dunnaway

Editor

Anyone who watched the Tech Net 300 at Charlotte Motor Speedway today could tell you it was wreck-riddled, but for me, the violence of that race didn’t hit home until I saw up close what a mess a lot of those cars had become. The Nationwide car, less fragile and aero-dependent than the Sprint Cup CoT, can take an absolute beating at tracks like Charlotte and still be basically driveable by the end. Below is the No 09 of Chad McCumbee, and just beyond it is Mike Wallace’s No. 01, which needed a little sawzall bodywork following its wreck and ran the rest of the race fenderless–a less common spectacle in Sprint cup these days, but still reasonably frequent in the beat-and-bang Nationwide series. More a few torn-up race cars after the jump.

NASCAR coverage brought to you by Valvoline Engine Guarantee–the first and only motor oil in the industry that will guarantee your engine up to 300,000 miles. *Registration required, some limitations apply.

Continue reading "Beat-Up Nationwide Cars On Pit Road Post-Race" »