What Do These Drivers Have in Common?

What do Casey Mears, Dale Earnhardt Jr., Jamie McMurray, Denny Hamlin, Kevin Harvick, Kyle Busch, and Mark Martin have in common? Besides three of them driving the same car for Hendrick? (Busch, Mears, and Martin have all driven the #5 car in the last 3 years)

They have all appeared on CMT Cribs. That's right, Cribs isn't just about seeing how rappers, teen idols, and rockers live these days. Cribs is also about showing how country singers, NASCAR drivers, and apparently Danny Bonaduce, live.

Past seasons brought an episode featuring Dale Jr, Casey Mears, and Jamie McMurray. This season has shown us how Kevin Harvick, Denny Hamlin, and Kyle Busch live. And I just saw and advertisement that Mark Martin will be appearing an in and upcoming episode.

If you haven't seen the Harvick, Hamlin, and Busch episode don't worry, CMT replays it at least once a week and you can watch outtakes from the episode online (that's the Harvick one above) or view the photo gallery.

Be sure to check out Mark Martin this Saturday (April 4, 2009) on the newest episode of CMT Cribs airing at 8:30PM-Eastern (the website says 4:30 PM but my TV says otherwise). Also appearing on the episode are Danny Bonaduce and John Rich.

Can someone please tell me why Kevin Harvick needs such a huge house for just him and Delana? Is it so Jenn and I can move in? Gee, thanks Kev!

Denny Hamlin Needs A Goody's Headache Powder

After today's race in Martinsville, I am sure Denny Hamlin needs a Goody's Headache Powder. Coming off a strong performance last week in Bristol I was really pulling for Hamlin but as luck would have it he wouldn't end up in victory lane. Still second is not so bad, right?

Tell that to the guy who came in second two weeks in a row.

Another pic from Hendrick Motorsports

After a rain out forced NASCAR to set the field based on owner's points the top ten starters were Gordon, Kurt Busch, Bowyer, Kyle Busch, Edwards, Kahne, Stewart, Hamlin, Johnson, and Kenseth. Other notable drivers starting outside the top 10 were Harvick (12), Earnhardt Jr. (19), and Mark Martin (31).

I would love to give you a break down of what happend in the race but since I fell asleep and missed the middle 1/3 the overview would be incomplete. I do know that there were 12 cautions including the competition yellow and that Robby Gordon was involved in three of them. No surprise there.

When all was said and done Jimmie Johnson made a great move on Denny Hamlin in the closing laps to take the lead.

The top ten finishers of the day were
Jimmie Johnson (Hendrick's 18th win at Martinsville)
Denny Hamlin (led the most laps)
Tony Stewart
Jeff Gordon
Clint Bowyer
Ryan Newman (much better than past weeks)
Mark Martin
Dale Earnhardt Jr. (even with the gear problems)
AJ Allmendinger (I am really pulling for him, no one else is)
Jamie McMurray

How did this season's other winners fare? No so good. Matt Kenseth who won at Daytona and California came in 23rd after a pit road violation put him down a lap early. Kyle Busch, winner at Las Vegas and Bristol finished 2 laps down in 24th. Kurt Busch who won earlier this month in Atlanta finished in 18th.

The Biff finished in 28th.

Don't forget the truck race has been rescheduled for noon (eastern) on Monday. It will air on Speed.

Next week is Texas.

Guide to Charlotte: Hendrick Motorsports

You can't talk about NASCAR without mentioning Hendrick Motorsports. For 25 years the team has been one of the top in the sport. While you won't find Jenn or I singing the praises of any of the current drivers in the Hendrick stable, (though we do have a fondness for Mark Martin) we still believe Hendrick is worth visiting during our trips to Charlotte.

All pics taken during 2008 trip to Charlotte

Here are some tips for visiting Hendrick:

• If you aren't familiar with Charlotte or are afraid of venturing too far from the track, Hendrick will be perfect for you. It's within minutes of Lowe's Motor Speedway and it's impossible to get lost. Directions and a map can be found here.
• The Hendrick facility is broken into several sections. The museum and gift shop are located on the right side of the street as you pull into the complex. The race shops are located to the left and are in two separate buildings. It's a short hike from the museum to the race shops.
• Plenty of parking is available across the street from the museum and in front of the race shops, though you might have to park in the grass if you visit during the week before the Coke 600.

Hendrick Museum and Gift Shop:

• The Hendrick Motorsports Museum and gift shop offer free admission for fans.
• The museum is full of current cars including those driven by Jimmie Johnson, Jeff Gordon, and Dale Earnhardt Jr. In addition you will find multiple cars driven by past drivers including Geoff Bodine and Terry Labonte. They also have cars used in the filming of Days of Thunder. Who doesn't like Cole Trickle?
  

Cole Trickle car from Days of Thunder

• The walls of the Hendrick Museum are lined with pieces of NASCAR history. From fire suits to helmets to trophies there are thousands of things to check out.
• The open floor plan makes it easy to go back and forth between the exhibits and the gift shop which is located on the opposite side of the building. You can pick up anything and everything to show your support for your favorite Hendrick driver.
  

Hendrick Race Shops:

• Across the street from the museum are the race shops. These two buildings are home to Hendrick's Sprint Cup teams.
• The entrance closest to the road and the museum is home to Jimmie Johnson and Jeff Gordon. If you want to see all their trophies from the past you will definitely want to check out this race shop. They even have Gordon's Winston Cup and Johnson's Nextel/Sprint Cup trophies on display.

Gordon/Johnson Cup Trophies (Minus Jimmie's 2008 Sprint Cup)

• The viewing area for the Gordon/Johnson race shop is small given the huge size of the complex. Make sure your camera has a long zoom if you are hoping to get pictures and even then you might not get a decent picture because the work area is so far away from the viewing area.
• The second entrance into the Hendrick race shop will take you into the shop shared by Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Mark Martin (when we were there in 2008 Casey Mears was the 4th driver). This shop has several cars on display in the entrance and you have to walk by a few others to get to the viewing area. Compared to the viewing area in the Johnson/Gordon section this one is much better. You can actually see the crews working on the cars.

Working on Dale Jr. cars

The history of Hendrick and the caliber of drivers who have called Hendrick home over the last quarter century make a visit to Hendrick a must, even for those who might not be fans of the current drivers.

Here are a few more pics from the trip. Click to see the full sized versions.



Have you been to Hendrick? Share your thoughts with us.

Do Sponsors Make Your Choices?

Have you ever heard someone say "I won't use x product because they sponsor X?" I've always thought this sounds kind of silly. If I like something it doesn't really matter if they sponsor a NASCAR driver that I hate or not. Does it?

That's what I always thought.

Lately though I have been wondering if watching 43 cars drive around the tracks with these massive logos on their hoods is effecting what I buy.

The answer: to a point.

I love my NOS so much I take pictures of it. Sad but true.

I say to a point because I know there are certain products I wouldn't know about if it weren't for racing. For instance:

• Goody's Headache Powder - No one I know uses this stuff but it rocks. I remember when I joined the Rusty Wallace fan club when I was 14 they sent a sample with the fan club goodies. Now, I have a stockpile of Goody's in my medicine cabinet. It's awesome. Sure the nondescript packaging and that strange white powder makes me feel like I am doing something wrong every time I take it but it's the best thing on the market for fighting my frequent headaches...just keep that cool orange crap out of my cabinet. ICK!
• NOS - No it's not the most popular energy drink on the market but it's one of the strongest. You have to drink more than 3 cans of Red Bull to equal one can of NOS. It gives me the jitters and I have to drink it in moderation but it's the best energy drink I have tried. Again, I don't know anyone who drinks NOS besides myself. It's not plastered all over the place like AMP or Monster but one place you will find it is on the car of Kyle Busch and it's always in his hand in victory lane. Do I drink it because I like Kyle? That's how I found out about it. Had they not been giving out free samples at Speed Street last May I would never have picked it up at the convenience store. (FYI: I'm going to be first in line for the Kyle cans when they finally come out)

7 cans of Miller Lite and one Coke Zero - Good times at qualifying - No I didn't drink them all myself.

Since I drink NOS you might think I don't drink AMP because they sponsor Jr. That's not the case. I don't drink AMP, Monster or Red Bull because I don't like them. Simple as that. I drink Miller Lite because it tastes better than Bud Light and yes because they sponsor Kurt. I shop at Lowe's rather than Home Depot because I know where everything is. (Don't like Jimmie or Joey) I don't avoid Target because they sponsor Juan Pablo Montoya (who I hate). I'm couldn't care less whether my packages are shipped via Fed Ex or UPS (even though I like Ragan). I don't have a preference between Dewalt or Stanley tools (Kobalt for me). If I had a job that offered AFLAC I certainly would not turn it down.

Do you use products because they sponsor your favorite drivers?

The Unwind Lap

I meant to write this earlier in the week but got sidetracked.

If you were a NASCAR driver how would you celebrate? Would you do the Polish victory lap made famous by the late Alan Kulwicki? Would you do doughnuts in the infield or burnouts along the front stretch like many drivers? Maybe you would opt to climb the fence like Tony Stewart or show your athletic side by doing a Carl Edwards back flip. On the other hand you might choose to go with the most talked about celebration as of late, the Kyle Busch bow to the crowd.

We have seen many different ways to celebrate. So many that it's almost impossible for drivers to come up with their own signature celebration method.

Tell that to Kurt Busch.

Earlier in the month, following his victory at Atlanta, Kurt, who once did snow angels on the start/finish line at Bristol, got everyone talking after his reverse victory lap. It's something fans were taking about for days following the race. There was so much buzz generated by this lap done in reverse that Kurt asked his fans, via his website www.kurtbusch.com, to name the lap.

Last weekend at Bristol Kurt announced that the lap would be known as the "Unwind Lap". Maybe not the most original name in the world but it fits.

Kurt says that he and some friends were drinking some Miller Lite (clever way to get the sponsor name into it) and they came up with the reverse victory lap. Personally I think it was younger brother Kyle who dared him to drive the full circuit of the track in reverse. Seem like something Kyle would do.

Whether you though the "Unwind Lap" was cool or as Darrell Waltrip called it "Bad Wrong", one thing is certain, we won't forget this lap anytime soon