During a time of economic uncertainty, all eyes are on NASCAR and whether the sport remains financially viable in the face of increasing costs. But the fix needed to keep this sport afloat is simpler than you might think.
Troubled General Motors has notified two racetracks that run NASCAR events that their current contracts will not be renewed as part of an overall $10 billion cost-cutting program.
It once seemed like America in microcosm, a high-banked land of opportunity where a hard-worker with a gleam in his eye and lead in his foot could make something of himself, where money and fame flowed like high-octane gasoline.
Steve Peterson, NASCAR's technical director who spent 13 years helping make the circuit safer for drivers, was found dead in his home in Concord, N.C., on Tuesday. He was 58.
What is to be said for those NASCAR fans whose guilty souls are cracked open by Deputy Travis Junior?
Mauricia "Mo" Grant spent nearly three years as a race official in the Nationwide Series, working for NASCAR as the only African-American female in such a role. Now she's at the center of a $225 million lawsuit filed against the organization, in which she alleges sexual and racial discrimination, sexual harassment and wrongful termination. She claims she was called demeaning names, subjected to sexual advances -- including two male co-workers allegedly exposing themselves to her -- and made the brunt of graphic and lewd jokes.
BROOKLYN, Michigan -- After a week in which NASCAR had to defend itself against bad news, including continued complaints about its new car and litigation regarding racism and sexism, only one driver could save the day.
Last weekend should have been a celebration for NASCAR. On Sunday, the sport's most popular driver, Dale Earnhardt, Jr., snagged his first Cup win in two years while running out of gas at the finish in Michigan. A day earlier, 18-year-old Joey Logano, long considered the sport's future star, became the youngest driver to win in the Nationwide Series -- the sport's equivalent of Triple A baseball. Two days of young, popular, talented drivers up front, a wave of momentum any sport would love to have.
This just in: NASCAR has a problem. A big, potentially catastrophic problem.
NASCAR chairman Brian France denied Wednesday that a former official complained to her supervisors about racial and sexual discrimination, claims she alleged led to her eventual firing and discrimination lawsuit
During a time of economic uncertainty, all eyes are on NASCAR and whether the sport remains financially viable in the face of increasing costs. But the fix needed to keep this sport afloat is simpler than you might think.
Troubled General Motors has notified two racetracks that run NASCAR events that their current contracts will not be renewed as part of an overall $10 billion cost-cutting program.
It once seemed like America in microcosm, a high-banked land of opportunity where a hard-worker with a gleam in his eye and lead in his foot could make something of himself, where money and fame flowed like high-octane gasoline.
Steve Peterson, NASCAR's technical director who spent 13 years helping make the circuit safer for drivers, was found dead in his home in Concord, N.C., on Tuesday. He was 58.
What is to be said for those NASCAR fans whose guilty souls are cracked open by Deputy Travis Junior?
Mauricia "Mo" Grant spent nearly three years as a race official in the Nationwide Series, working for NASCAR as the only African-American female in such a role. Now she's at the center of a $225 million lawsuit filed against the organization, in which she alleges sexual and racial discrimination, sexual harassment and wrongful termination. She claims she was called demeaning names, subjected to sexual advances -- including two male co-workers allegedly exposing themselves to her -- and made the brunt of graphic and lewd jokes.
BROOKLYN, Michigan -- After a week in which NASCAR had to defend itself against bad news, including continued complaints about its new car and litigation regarding racism and sexism, only one driver could save the day.
Last weekend should have been a celebration for NASCAR. On Sunday, the sport's most popular driver, Dale Earnhardt, Jr., snagged his first Cup win in two years while running out of gas at the finish in Michigan. A day earlier, 18-year-old Joey Logano, long considered the sport's future star, became the youngest driver to win in the Nationwide Series -- the sport's equivalent of Triple A baseball. Two days of young, popular, talented drivers up front, a wave of momentum any sport would love to have.
This just in: NASCAR has a problem. A big, potentially catastrophic problem.
NASCAR chairman Brian France denied Wednesday that a former official complained to her supervisors about racial and sexual discrimination, claims she alleged led to her eventual firing and discrimination lawsuit
Unlike other big league professional sports, NASCAR's teams and drivers don't disclose compensation. The public knows what Peyton Manning, Alex Rodriguez and Kobe Bryant earn, but can only guess and wonder about Jeff Gordon, Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Kyle Busch.
So which do you prefer, the raw speed of IndyCar or the beatin' and bangin' of NASCAR? Let's compare the two racing series in four different categories.
Heading into Sunday's Coca-Cola 600, an anonymous NASCAR insider shares his thoughts about the latest vibes in NASCAR nation.
Heading into Saturday's All-Star race, an anonymous NASCAR insider shares his thoughts about the latest vibes in NASCAR nation.
In a star-driven circuit like NASCAR, it's easy to get hung up on the stellar seasons put forth by Kyle Busch, Carl Edwards, Jeff Burton and the others near the top of the standings.
The notion would have seemed absurd a decade ago but there, at the end of a national teleconference in June 2006, NASCAR chairman Brian France asserted his desire for his series to develop and race in the future something he called a "green car."
Former NASCAR driver Shane Hmiel, who was banned for life from NASCAR in 2006 after failing a third drug test, has taken hard, careful and serious steps to revive his career.
NASCAR's stars are serious about fighting drug use in the sport -- even if it means regular, random testing
As a sports nation, we have a distinct problem letting go. Just look at the recent collective mourning over Brett Favre. Retirement never comes easy for sports icons, but the way we desire perfection walking out the door can make the process gut-wrenching. Their exit is hurtful but the pain for all parties can be concealed by the joy of winning one final time: like John Elway winning two straight Super Bowls.
The Car of Tomorrow has now become the Car of Today, as NASCAR's new, safer car design has become standard issue machinery for every team. Has NASCAR's efforts at leveling the equipment playing field altered the sport's excitement level. SI.com's Mark Zeske and Tom Bowles debate the issue.
BRISTOL, Tenn. -- There is a formula used to determine when Easter Sunday falls each year, but many of us aren't smart enough to figure it out without looking at the calendar.
The fun is back. Expect television ratings and attendance to follow.
Stock-car-racing scion Brian France spends as much time in the air crisscrossing NASCAR nation as he does at the track. The grandson of NASCAR's founder took over the family's multibillion-dollar empire in the fall of 2003 and promptly put his stamp on the sport by revamping the championship point system. This season he tweaked the formula again, making individual race victories count for more in the run-up to the Nextel Cup. We caught up with France at NASCAR's Research and Development Center in Concord, N.C., where a special team oversees car standards and runs safety testing.
HOMESTEAD, Fla. -- It didn't have the metaphorical perfection of the driving of the golden spike to link the transcontinental railroad or the significance of a treaty ending some long gone war.
There is a bronze statue in Rockefeller Center, Atlas bearing the world upon his shoulders.
Here are the five keys to winning the NASCAR Sprint Cup title.
NASCAR made a major announcement this weeky with the goal of helping its "poor."
NASCAR, now entering its 60th season, has undergone dramatic change in recent years. From switching television networks, series sponsors, implementation of a contrived points race known as "The Chase" and a next-generation race car, it is a league that's appeared to have abandoned its roots.
While there's at least one NASCAR driver who's having a happy New Year, most of us are left pondering one of the big questions left from 2007: What exactly is the point behind all of NASCAR's qualifying rules and provisional exceptions?
Around the world, the Countdown to Christmas has been replaced by the Countdown in Times Square. As 2008 draws ever closer, the New Year beckons a fresh start. With change on the horizon, it's a time to erase the past and concentrate on a better future.
Tired of the boring NASCAR off-season already? Can't wait until the start of the 2008 Sprint Cup season with the celebrated and historic 50th running of the Daytona 500 on Feb. 17?
As the curtain closed on the 2007 Nextel Cup season, the furor over open wheel drivers turned stock car rookies reached a fever pitch. With Sam Hornish Jr. and Patrick Carpentier, both of whom attempted to qualify for the season's final race at Homestead, poised to join Jacques Villeneuve in next season's rookie class, the migration from some of the more respected open wheel series -- Formula One, IRL and CART -- has reached levels never dreamed of as little as a decade ago.
When A. J. Allmendinger left the world of open wheel racing for Team Red Bull in the Nextel Cup series, he knew he had a big job in front of him.
Although NASCAR's Champions Week garnered more coverage than a typical race week, there are seven things you might have missed.
Jimmie Johnson is ready to celebrate his 2007 championship at this weekend's Nextel Cup Awards banquet. He's excited about reviewing and savoring the past season. Most other NASCAR driver and their fans are ready to put the year in the rearview mirror -- and not look back.
The top 12 Chasers weren't the only drivers running around in circles this season, even though the NASCAR coverage sometimes made us feel like it.
With the announcement Monday that Jeremy Mayfield will replace Jeff Green at the helm of the No. 66 Haas CNC Racing Chevy, Mayfield took more than just a ride away. With one stroke of the pen, he took the proverbial door and slammed it shut on the 2007 Nextel Cup silly season.
Each week SI.com has evaluated and ranked the 10 best drivers in NASCAR. For the Chase, the list expands to 12.
The 2007 Nextel Cup season might well go down in history as the season that worked.
IndyCar champion Dario Franchitti appears headed for NASCAR. Jacques Villeneuve, who won titles in two open-wheel series and the Indianapolis 500, is already making the transition and will run his first Truck Series race next week.
More than 50 Nextel Cup race teams tested the Car of Tomorrow at Talladega Superspeedway on Monday, the first of a two-day warmup for the CoT's first restrictor-plate race.
MOORESVILLE, N.C. (AP) -- Brad Keselowski has no lingering effects from his frightening accident at California Speedway and was cleared to race this weekend in Richmond.
FONTANA, Calif. (AP) -- Brad Keselowski, driving for Dale Earnhardt Jr.'s JR Motorsports, injured a leg in a four-car crash midway through Saturday night's NASCAR Busch Series race at California speedway.
FONTANA, Calif. (AP) -- Dale Earnhardt Jr. does have a couple of numbers in mind for his new ride at Hendrick Motorsports next season. But he isn't telling -- yet.
FONTANA, Calif. (AP) -- Stifling heat, with a high of 104, greeted NASCAR's Nextel Cup and Busch Series drivers Friday at California Speedway.
After Saturday night's NASCAR's Sharpie 500 at Bristol Motor Speedway might better be called the Duller 500.
The weekly Power Rankings are taking the week off as SI.com assesses NASCAR's real power list, the men and women who have the most influence on the sport week in and week out. Herewith, the 15 most influential people in NASCAR today.
With apologies to old Will Shakespeare, what's in a number? This past week saw a resolution of Dale Earnhardt Jr.'s secondary drama -- the destination of the No. 8.
BROOKLYN, Mich. (AP) -- A steady rain on Sunday forced NASCAR to postpone the 3M Performance 400 Nextel Cup race until Monday.
BROOKLYN, Mich. (AP) -- The second straight day of rain washed out another effort by NASCAR on Monday to run the 3M Performance 400 Nextel Cup race at Michigan International Speedway.
The saying is as old as the sport itself: If you ain't cheatin', you ain't tryin'. The culture of cheating has been ingrained in NASCAR ever since the engines first fired in 1949 on a dirt track in Charlotte. That afternoon the first car that roared across the finish line was piloted by Glenn Dunnaway, but when it was discovered that he had illegal rear springs in his Ford, the victory was handed to Jim Roper. The NASCAR boys have been searching for creative ways around the rules ever since.
Didja go a little crazy around 3:30 p.m. on Sunday? Turn on the television and there was no NASCAR? Was it time to catch a little summer sunshine?
NASCAR guarantees starting spots in each week's Cup race to the 35 highest-ranked drivers in owner championship points and one position to any current or former champion who doesn't make the field based on speed. Those rules washed away a potential pole-winning run at Daytona last weekend by Boris Said when rain forced NASCAR to cancel qualifying and seed the filed based on the system described above. Is that fair? SI.com's Tom Bowles and Mark Zeske debate.
Each week SI.com's Mark Beech will evaluate and rank the 10 best drivers in NASCAR.
NASCAR turned serious in its actions against drivers who use their cars as weapons this week when the sanctioning body suspended Ted Musgrave from Saturday's Craftsman Truck Series race at Memphis.
Each week SI.com's Mark Beech will evaluate and rank the 10 best drivers in NASCAR.
Sure, there are still 20 races to go until the Nextel Cup finale at Homestead-Miami Speedway on Nov. 18, but the 2007 regular season is already more than half over. With 10 races left until the start of the Chase, here's a look at the best and the worst of racing so far.
The long-term premise of the Car Of Tomorrow is simple: Create the same type of vehicle for each team to use, and everyone will start with the same opportunity to succeed on the racetrack. NASCAR's goal is to put the race back in the hands of the driver, not the team that has the most money or the manufacturer that can build the best car.
Each week SI.com's Mark Beech will evaluate and rank the 10 best drivers in NASCAR.
The work of the France family is far from over.
Bill France Jr., who transformed NASCAR from a small Southern sport into a billion-dollar conglomerate during his 31 years as chairman, died Monday at his Daytona Beach, Fla., home. He was 74.
The No. 24 Chevy Impala SS was being pushed through post-race inspection at Bristol Motor Speedway late on Sunday afternoon, and one of the rising stars in the NASCAR garage stood nearby, watching intently.
With NASCAR's new Car of Tomorrow set to finally make its competitive debut this weekend at Bristol, Tenn., SI.com's Mark Zeske explores some of the most intriguing questions surrounding the development.
Predicting the future of auto racing may be a daunting -- and impossible -- task, but it helps to realize the importance of these three words:
Three years ago NASCAR seemingly had trouble filling out a full starting grid. Now there aren't enough spots to go around.
Stock-car-racing scion Brian France spends as much time in the air crisscrossing NASCAR nation as he does at the track. The grandson of NASCAR's founder took over the family's multibillion-dollar e...
Racing in the shadow of The Great Wall? Trading paint within eyeshot of Mount Rainier? A track in the Rocky Mountains? Gazing into the crystal ball, here's a six-pack of predictions for what the wide world of NASCAR will look like in 2017:
Each week SI.com's Mark Beech will evaluate and rank the 10 best drivers in NASCAR.
For years NASCAR officials slapped the wrists of crew chiefs caught cheating. Now they seem ready to chop those wrists clean off.
NASCAR chairman Brian France gave his annual State of The Sport address, in which much of the focus was, as expected, on the relative health of the sport. France trumpeted the landmark number of 100 Fortune 500 companies that had now chosen to invest in NASCAR, with Bank of America mentioned as one of the newest additions. Claiming the sponsorship of all aspects of the sport has reached an all-time high, France painted the picture of an optimistic future for the Nextel Cup series.
The knock on NASCAR penalizing drivers and teams has always been it hasn't shown the consistency expected out of a major sports organization. Well, on a stormy Tuesday in Daytona, it was nothing but bright and sunny up in NASCAR headquarters, as it finally took a few small steps towards establishing the type of respect it's been looking for.
A few years ago, before NASCAR instituted the Chase for the Nextel Cup, driver John Andretti was talking about possible changes to the points system used to determine the series champ. "Maybe they should just give it to the guy who wins the most races," he said jokingly. But Andretti had a point. Since its inception, NASCAR has rewarded consistency. Drivers and fans blanch at the term, but points racing -- racking up good finishes but, above all, not doing anything that could lead to trouble -- is what wins titles. Reconciling the need for restraint with the need for speed has never been easy, which is why NASCAR's decision to tweak its points system is a wise one.
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Which drivers have the most to prove during the coming 2007 Nextel Cup season? Who is under the most pressure? Here's a list of the 10 drivers who will be feeling the most heat in the next few months.
As the Nextel Cup Series heads toward the conclusion of Daytona testing, it's obvious NASCAR's top show will not lack for competitors. More than 60 drivers and teams are in attendance, which means there will be no problem filling the 43-car fields in 2007.
The first shots of the 2007 NASCAR season have been fired.
NASCAR is expected to make several rule adjustments for the upcoming season, probably adding points for winning races and expanding the Chase field beyond 10 drivers. What else should the omnipotent sanctioning body change? Here are my suggestions.
Most people love making resolutions, even if they don't always keep them. Here are some NASCAR resolutions for 2007 to consider:
It seems obvious to say this, but NASCAR did not become as successful as it is by standing still.
The most watched auto race of the year likely won't be this weekend's Indianapolis 500 or the Daytona 500 earlier this year. It'll be the Piston Cup.
Walt Disney Co. is close to winning broadcast rights to the last half of the season of Nascar, the nation's No. 2 spectator sport, according to a published report.
Nascar's new playoff system hasn't resulted in a big winner in the ratings.
Driving in NASCAR is a lot more than hitting the gas and turning left, as I learned working on "NASCAR: Driven to Extremes."
MYTH: "All the fans are rednecks."
THE STOCK CAR $3 BILLION MARKET
It's 10 minutes before race time at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, and in the grandstand, a quarter of a million fans--some of them fresh from a two-day-long tailgate party--are settling onto the...
Taking over the family business is never easy--especially when the business in question is a multibillion-dollar enterprise that has become a cultural phenomenon almost overnight. Just ask Brian Fr...
Sirius Satellite Radio will pay $107.5 million for the exclusive satellite rights to Nascar for five years, starting in 2007.
If you feel the need for speed, there are three new driving games that can undoubtedly curb your craving. One lets you take street racing to your TV screen, another is a demolition derby game that leaves only your console intact, and the third brings NASCAR tracks straight through your living room.
Stock cars racing through straightaways at 180 mph. Fiery crashes. Fervent beer-guzzling fans. This risk-craving combination, it seems, has made for a surprisingly safe profit stream. So it has bee...
What do you attract when you blend noise, speed, and fear? About 150,000 spectators, who assemble each week, generally in Southeast venues, to watch good ole boys drive in circles, really fast.
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