Michelle’s 2010 Championship Picks

Since Homestead our writers have been chomping at the bit waiting for the new NASCAR season. Now that the Daytona 500 is just a few days away we figured let’s have some fun and predict the 2010 season champion. Today it’s Michelle’s turn. Let her know what you think in the comments below.


Sprint Cup Series- TONY STEWART
In his second year of being an owner/driver, SHR’s Tony Stewart will be the one who will finally beat Jimmie and knock him off of his little throne. Tony was good enough last year to do just that, but he didn’t have what he needed to finish the deal. This year Tony will improve as a driver/owner and will win his third title. I see Jimmie dominating as his usual self--he just won’t be good enough to finish the deal, for once.



Nationwide Series-CARL EDWARDS
With Kyle Busch dropping out this season in the Nationwide Series, this means that Carl Edwards will come out on top again. I think he will have some stiff competition, but that won’t get in his way. Even with a new crew chief he will be great; I just don’t think he will be as good as when he won the title back in '07. He probably won't dominate with wins like in '08, but he will be better this year than he was in '09.



Camping World Truck Series – RON HORNADAY
This season in the Camping World Truck Series, I see the same domination with KHI’s Ron Hornaday winning yet another truck title. This team and Ron in particular is unbelievable and possibly the best combo in the history of the truck series! I’m going to say that this time it’s going to be a close battle between Ron, Todd, Matt and Johnny, even though Ron will come out on top in the end.
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Opinions expressed in this post are those of the author and may not reflect those of this site or its other contributors.

Carl Edwards pic courtesy of Bristol Motor Speedway (CC License) Other photos via NASCARMedia

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NASCAR and the Media

So what has NASCAR come to these days?

Constant rule changes, race formats being changed, COT getting a new twist to fit the drivers’ styles. Yes it’s a great thing for the sport, the drivers, and for the fans.

But there is one thing that is changing: the media that covers NASCAR.

NASCAR fans these days look up to these bloggers, writers and analysts to get more information on their favorite drivers. But when you look up your favorite drivers on sites like Yahoo! just to get recent news tidbits, you may come across an article that mentions your favorite driver is a dud!

So what’s the deal?

The deal is Orlando Sentinel NASCAR blogger Matt Humphrey decides to go all out on Media Day, gets past the media and joins a crowd of six reporters for a quick Q&A with Matt Kenseth.

While all the attention is surrounding Danica, Humphrey decides to ask Matt if the lack of attention bothered him, and like what a NASCAR driver should say Matt responded, “I’ve never really been worried about that. I’m more concerned about results on the track and that’s been the focus of my career.”

And the problem is?

Matt Humphrey’s problem is plain and simple: he brings down a driver due to what he sees in from of him, a quiet driver like Matt who doesn’t want all the attention, who never gets noticed for doing bad things like having a temper tantrum after a race, or ignoring reporters after a bad day. Matt is a class act who doesn’t do these in front of the camera, and after the race he gives his comments, he doesn’t say anything bad about a driver or call anyone out.

Maybe this doesn’t attract Humphrey? This is who Matt Kenseth is. Maybe he does come across as anti-excitement or has a less-than-bubbly-personality. Humphrey doesn’t know Kenseth; he doesn’t know him well enough to judge his personality. Matt takes things as it comes, and if he doesn’t impress the media or anyone else, then that is their problem, not Matt’s. Matt has always been this way and he shouldn't change his ways for anybody, not even the media. Matt is in NASCAR to race, to win, to do anything to accomplish his dream. He’s a racer, not a driver who wants to create drama to impress the fans and the media.

I’ve been a Kenseth fan going on almost 12 years now, and I have read a handful of articles that criticized Matt’s personality. Do you think it’s fair for someone who is kind of like the voice of NASCAR to create the most ridiculous of articles on any driver? The fans deserve to know the real side of NASCAR and its drivers from what someone thinks of that driver. That’s how fans are turning out to be these days, less on the drivers' ability and more who they and who they aren’t.

Quit the negativity and focus on the positive and the real side of our drivers. Is that hard to ask?

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The opinions expressed are solely those of the writer.

Photo of Matt Kenseth from Bristol Motor Speedway and Dragway on Flickr

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The words coming from a regular everyday fan (Brad/Denny feud)

This is in response to follow writer Lauren Shaw’s post “Is Hamlin taking the feud with Keselowski too far?” Of course you guys may know about this heated rivalry between Keselowski and Hamlin and we know all the fans and who’s side they will take. You got a majority of Keselowski/Dale Jr. fans on Brad’s side and the Joe Gibbs driver’s fans is going to be on Denny’s side. And I admit I’m a Kyle Busch fan and I do like Denny Hamlin (I’m not a fan of his, yet). This story is going to be short and sweet, and I don’t want to do any race recaps because it’s obvious we all know what happened from last Saturday’s race from Phoenix. And I must warn you, this is not going to be a stellar opinionated article, but I’m doing this at the best of my ability.

To Lauren: I respect your opinion about this situation between Brad and Denny but my opinion is going to be a little different as you may notice.

For a few months now it seems that Brad Keselowski and Denny Hamlin can’t get away from each other. We have one driver who’s been getting involved in incidents for countless of times this season and only has received just one warning for it. And we have another driver who’s already been a victim to the opposing driver not once, not twice, but three times this year, and five overall. So my question is does Denny Hamlin have the right to be upset with Brad? Of course he does! Maybe Saturday’s comments during the post race may have been unexpected from Denny but he’s mad, he’s highly upset, it does seem that he’s had enough. Denny can’t count on NASCAR to tell Brad to quit his aggressive behavior, they seem to be fine with it. So what can Denny do, just let his frustrations out which is understandable. There is drivers out there that gets upset when they get into incidents and in the heat of the moment they say things that they shouldn’t say, especially to the media because things will get blown out of proportion. No one should take this out of control, mainly the fans. Let Denny and Brad deal with it away the racetrack and we don’t have to worry about this situation again. What comes to mind if you are a fan of any of these two drivers, just be real about it, what would you think if the tables were turned and Denny wrecked Brad? I would expect the fans will be upset about it, and I can’t blame them. But when it comes down to Denny being wrecked by Brad three times this year, you have to feel with what the Denny Hamlin fans are going through. Admit that your driver is wrong, you can’t always make excuses for them. You are still a fan to that driver no matter what, but they are not perfect. But when it comes down if Brad or Denny is taking it too far, neither of them is taking it too far. The one who is taking it too far, it seems that it’s us, the fans. Right now on Twitter we use #TeamDenny and #TeamBrad in our tweets and there is user accounts that is being made for fans to choose which side they are on. All I can say is have fun with it while it lasts, with the finale at Homestead coming up, this feud might be history, or it could be put on the shelf until Daytona rolls around, when the battle heats up in the Sprint Cup Series. I guess the story isn’t over just yet.
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The opinions expressed in this post are those of the individual writer and may not reflect those of the group.

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