Thomas Praytor posses with Danica Patrick at the GoDaddy.com Bowl in January 2011. (Max Force Racing Photo)
MOBILE, AL – Two of the sexiest drivers in motorsports took time out for a picture at the Go Daddy.com Bowl in Mobile, Alabama. Of course this is not that picture, this picture is of one of the sexiest drivers, Danica Patrick and the Moose. The Moose was on hand for the press conference and Mayor’s Luncheon prior to the first Go Daddy.com Bowl in Mobile, Alabama.
“I really appreciate Mr. Jerry (Silverstein, President of the GoDaddy.com Bowl) including us. That was actually closer then they let us get during testing last year in Daytona for the ARCA race. It’s big for Mobile to have one of racings biggest names in for the bowl game. Our MaxForceRacing.com site has been registered with Go Daddy for years and I offered to help with their next commercial but it wasn’t happening,” said Thomas.
Our Max Force Team has been working hard in the off season prepping 2 cars for the 2011 season. The tracks are starting to publish their schedules and we will release our 2011 schedule before Daytona.
MOBILE, AL – In Mobile, Alabama for the GoDaddy.com Bowl, Danica Patrick was asked if there was a time line for her to be in Sprint Cup racing:
“Unless I plan on doing NASCAR there is less of a point of doing Cup. I have a long way to go to establish whether or not if this (NASCAR) is what I want to do. I suppose at some point in time I’ll have to choose but I don’t have to yet.”
Patrick will serve as the Grand Marshall for the GoDaddy.com Bowl Mardi Gras Parade on Wednesday night and perform the coin toss duties at the beginning of the GoDaddy.com Bowl.
The past couple of weeks have been very hectic for myself and my family. We just moved into a new house, so the move, along with my day job has prevented me from devoting the time needed to post new articles to the site. Thankfully, I am now some what set up in my new office space and can get back to racing. After a whale of a race in California, the Sprint Cup Series heads home to the hub of the NASCAR world in Charlotte, North Carolina. The Bank of America 500 is the first night race of the 2010 Chase and is set to be a wild one. Before we jump into this weekend’s action, let’s take a look back at some of the action from the past two weekends.
In his usual style and in spite of a pit road speeding penalty, Kyle Busch powered his way to his twelfth race win in the CampingWorld.com 300 at Auto Club Speedway in Fontana, California.
Busch, who started from the pole position, brought his No. 18 NOS Energy Drink Toyota to the checkered flag, taking his traditional victory bow to the delight and omnipresent booing of the Cali race crowd.
Busch put it simply in Victory Lane. “To get No. 12,” Busch said. “It’s awesome.”
With the early part of the race being relatively caution-free, several late race cautions and restarts challenged Busch and the rest of the field. One of the biggest wrecks involved Danica Patrick, fresh off her good IndyCar run and now focused fully on her NASCAR career in her No. 7 Tissot/Go Daddy.com Chevrolet.
Patrick was running well and was on the cusp of achieving her goal of a top-15 finish when James Buescher got into her from behind, spinning her and sending her car almost airborne before collecting Ricky Carmichael, who just seems to keep ending up on the short end of the luck stick.
Because of the accident, Patrick ended the race in the 30th position. But she was most upbeat even after the wreck, talking with the media and explaining her run just like a NASCAR pro.
“I think we’re getting closer. I really do,” Patrick said after the race. “We’re going to have a lot of confidence going into Charlotte, I think.” [More at Speedwaymedia.com]
CUP: Stewart Revives Chase Hopes With Victory
Tony Stewart held off Clint Bowyer in a two-lap shootout and won Sunday’s Pepsi MAX 400 atAuto Club Speedway, returning his name to the Chase conversation.
Stewart’s win, coupled with numerous problems experienced by other Chasers, boosted him five positions in the standings to fifth.
Standings leader Jimmie Johnson stayed in front with a third-place run, boosting his point lead over second-place Denny Hamlin to 36 with six races remaining. Kevin Harvick stayed in third place with a seventh-place finish.
Jeff Gordon rallied from a late-race pit-road speeding penalty to finish ninth and jumped a position in points to fourth, 85 points behind Johnson. [More at SpeedTV.com]
Why NASCAR Fans Like Harvick
If lots of NASCAR fans have their way, Kevin Harvick will be the man who kicks Jimmie Johnson off the Sprint Cup pedestal.
Harvick, who is currently third in points, trails Johnson by just 54 ticks – mere peanuts.
And while the current Sprint Cup champ has been dubbed “vanilla,” there’s little chance that Harvick would garner such a moniker.
Rocky road? Maybe. Vanilla? Never.
Harvick can be a punch-throwing good ol’ boy one minute and a strategic-thinking team owner the next. He has been known to cuss out the media on a bad day, but he has a rep for being always gracious with fans.
He’s a winning driver and a successful businessman. And, thanks in large part to his presence on Twitter, fans know he’s one of the funniest NASCAR drivers around. [More at NASCAR-ista.com]
Jimmy Joe’s NASCAR Update Bank of America 500 Preview
Danica Patrick Celebrates in Victory Lane after winning the 2008 Japan Indy 300
Ride along with Danica Patrick, IZOD IndyCar Series driver, as sees zooms around the Twin Ring Motegi race track in Japan. Patrick won her first and to this point only IRL race in Japan in 2008, beating Helio Castroneves. Castroneves, returns to Motegi along with Patrick and the rest of the IndyCar field this weekend for the Indy Japan 300.
Over the past week, Dale Earnhardt Jr., Kelly Earhhart Elledge, and JR Motorsports announced that Aric Almirola would be joining JRM to drive the number 88 car next season in the Nascar Nationwide Series. As Dale Jr, and JRM finalize the details for next season, there is still a lot of racing left in 2010. To finish out the season, Earnhardt will share time in the 88 car with other drivers; the possibility of Almirola is included. Next year, Earnhardt will share seat time in JRM’s second car, the number 7 GoDaddy.com Chevy, with Danica Patrick and Josh Wise.
You probably already knew all of that news, so what is my point? My point, is that Earnhardt Jr. will be racing more races in the Nationwide Series, starting this weekend at Bristol behind the wheel of the 88 car. This could prove to be the kick start that Dale needs to right the ship that is about to capsize in the Cup Series. I am a proponent of struggling drivers getting more seat time in any series they can in order to improve their overall performance. Dale Earhhardt Jr. in the Nationwide Series for more races is a good thing for himself, his sponsors, Nascar, and the Nascar Nation as a whole. More seats will be filled and more merchandise will be sold.
If, as I predict, Junior starts having more success in the Nationwide Series, I could pontificate him running some Truck Series races as well. Also, with success in the Nationwide Series, and a mountain of frustration growing at Hendrick Motorsports, I think it would be a safe bet to say that the momentum would carry up to the Cup Series. Wins in the Nationwide Series could parlay into wins in the Truck and Cup Series, and the salvaging of what has been yet another disastrous season.
This is all just speculation, but with a lot of educated guessing. What do you think? Will Dale Jr.’s Nationwide racing equal a resurgence in the Cup Series? What would you like to see Dale Earnhardt Junior do? Post your comments bellow.
