Chad Knaus and Chandra Johnson square off for ESPN The Magazine to see who knows Jimmie Johnson better. My money was on Knaus, but that is only because it is my firm belief that he constructed Jimmie Johnson in his castle laboratory. Houston Texans fan sign FAIL (YouTube) Alabama girls vs. Texas girls - a gallery (Holy Taco) 'Best of Pride' host Kenda Perez (Cage Potato...

Dear readers, It's Mike Helton, president of NASCAR (no, it's not) and current title holder of the previous year's "Sexiest Mustache." The fine folks at All Left Turns have asked me to count down the sexiest mustaches of 2009. Here's a look back at "the year that was" with my top-five sexiest mustaches. Fifth place: Tony Eury Jr.If this mustache...

I had no idea who Cortney Sauter was before The Sporting News released its 50 Most Beautiful People of NASCAR list. Turns out she is very deserving of mention on the list, unlike The Sporting News's inexplicable choice of Clint Bowyer, whom I respect as a driver, but not as a visual advertisement for the human race. (Does he look like a driver? Hell, yeah. Is he beautiful? Hell,...

  The death of crew member Donald “D.J.” Richardson Jr. last week sent shockwaves through the NASCAR community. Richardson, who was a tire changer for Kevin Harvick’s Richard Childress Racing 29 car, lost his battle against the H1N1 virus on Christmas Day. The 37-year-old contracted the illness while celebrating Thanksgiving with his family in his native Massachusetts...

I’m bored. Like many of you, I work between Christmas and New Year. I’ve done all the work I can do at my real job, cleaned up boxes of photo albums at home and helped install a new bathroom. While listening to my wife advise/nag me about accomplishing these tasks, my mind wandered to the weekends of 2010. I can imagine it now. The sound of engines and Darrell Waltrip...

Do you have the strategic mind to outwit four-time championship crew chief Chad Knaus? Could you make better moves than owner/driver Tony Stewart?  Test your NASCAR IQ in this challenge! Identify as many drivers by their number as possible to see where you rank among NASCAR's greats. Jot down your answers and check them at the bottom of this post. If you had 0-5 correct...

Over the last few months I tried to ignore the hype surrounding Danica Patrick while others in the media have speculated whether or not the open-wheel driver would make her way to NASCAR. Last week, Patrick joined Dale Earnhardt Jr., Kelley Earnhardt, Tony Eury Jr. and Kelly Bires to announce she would join JR Motorsports to race in NASCAR. Until Patrick confirmed her intentions...

Jimmie Johnson - whom I recently thought of a good nickname for - on Monday became the first driver to win the Associated Press's Male Athlete of the Year award. OK, let's take the new nickname for a spin. Vanilla Nice (see how I combined his vanilla-ness and his nice-ness there?) received 42 votes from editors at U.S. newspapers that are members of the AP. In their 78...

Jimmie Johnson - whom I recently thought of a good nickname for - on Monday became the first driver to win the Associated Press's Male Athlete of the Year award. OK, let's take the new nickname for a spin. Vanilla Nice (see how I combined his vanilla-ness and his nice-ness there?) received 42 votes from editors at U.S. newspapers that are members of the AP. In their 78...

Jimmie Johnson is the first person in the history of ever to win four straight NASCAR titles. From the “No @#$%, Sherlock” Department, he is our No. 1 story of 2009. read more

Ten years have passed since we started counting years that start with the number two. Beginning in 2000 these five drivers accumulated the wins, numbers and success to stand at the head of the class of the best drivers of the decade. 1. Jimmie Johnson. Is there any question? His full-time Cup career began in 2002, spotting most of his competitors two seasons. In his eight years on...

ESPN and ABC’S NASCAR coverage will have a new lead voice. Per the network, Dr. Jerry Punch will move out of the booth and back to pit reporter. Marty Reid will join Dale Jarrett and Andy Petree on the Sprint Cup announce team. Here’s the canned quote from the ESPN PR machine. read more

Cancel Christmas right now. The one thing I want more than anything else is off the digital shelves, and not even the Playstaion 3 my wife tried to hide will pacify my holiday woe. Leave it to a planet on the Yahoo blogosphere to find a link to Bass Pro Shops selling clam chowder with Martin Truex Jr adorning the label. This effort required true journalism, as Bass Pro Shops has...

   I never thought I would compare Rick Hendrick to a Marlon Brando character or the WWE legend who coined the phrase "Pimpin' ain't easy." But great googly moogly, has Hendrick evolved into the type of guy who has his hands in every element of the sport. To boot, everything he touches not named Dale Earnhardt Jr. seems to turn to gold. That’s...

Before the 2009 season, I made predictions about the year ahead. Now with the 2009 season behind us, I have decided to take a look back at my picks to see how I fared. The five categories were 1.) Driver leading the standings after 26 races 2.) Driver who would miss the Chase 3.) Biggest surprise 4.) Biggest disappointment 5.) Sprint Cup champion. Points leader after 26 racesPrediction...

Denny Hamlin had a very good year. The Joe Gibbs driver looks ready to contend for his first Sprint Cup championship in 2010. We certainly hope so. For it will mean more screen time for his girlfriend Jordan Fish. And the possibility of public fistfights with Brad Keselowski. But mainly, we're excited about the Jordan Fish thing. read more

Beating the best competition is hard; beating inexperienced competition is easy.  Kyle Busch is carving out a niche for himself by losing big titles (he missed the Chase for the Cup) and winning against lesser-experienced racers (recent titles include Pensacola's Snowball Derby and NASCAR's Nationwide Series.)  While he might not do everything it takes to win...

Dale Earnhardt Jr. reminds me of Mike Tyson. Both have larger-than-life personas. Both have been successful. But Tyson never achieved his full potential (greatest heavyweight not named Ali) and it’s beginning to look like Dale Jr. won’t get there either. That reality is our No. 7 story of 2009. read more

When the question “Where is the race this weekend?” is asked in NASCAR circles, the answer is the Sprint Cup Series location. But for many fans nationwide, “the race” can mean a multitude of tracks or tours. There is an abundance of racing activity beyond the Cup and diehard followers of many divisions can make valid arguments that their regional circuit is...

With four straight NASCAR Sprint Cup Series titles, the Jimmie Johnson era is upon us. While that feat is unprecedented, Johnson is not the only current driver who is a four-time champ. Johnson’s car owner, teammate and friend Jeff Gordon also has four titles and next year, no doubt, the Gordon and Johnson Drive for Five will be upon us. All of which begs the question &ndash...

Juan Pablo Montoya and Tony Stewart appear to have put their Homestead feud behind them. During a panel discussion this week in Las Vegas, Jimmie Johnson suggested that Montoya and Stewart hug it out. Montoya posed sarcastically for a hug, Tony offered him a hand and they gave each other a brief shake. Then Stewart snuck in the line of the day... read more

  Friday night at the annual NASCAR awards banquet, Jimmie Johnson will deliver a really boring speech. He'll thank his team, his family, his myriad sponsors, Rick Hendrick and Jeff Gordon. Ten seconds after it's over, people will forget that he gave a speech in the first place and the legend of the Vanilla Racer will live on. Want to punch up your image, Jimmie? Here's the speech...

  There are many words that can be used to describe Kyle Busch. Most can’t be published on this site, and we publish all sorts of crazy @#%. But regardless of what you think of Kurt’s little brother, one thing is clear. He generates interest. Enough to be our No. 11 top story of 2009. read more

No wins or movies for these two in 2009   Before the start of every season, writers and broadcasters predict who will soar and who will flop. Those of us brave enough to make such statements look like geniuses with some calls and first-time race watchers with others. Looking back at the start of 2009, I saw stronger campaigns ahead for this group.   1. Dale Earnhardt Jr...

We all know that Jimmie Johnson won the 2009 championship under the current Chase format. Critics – like me – have made the case that every year the Chase is increasingly devoid of drama. So let’s take a look at some other point systems and see how else the 2009 season could have ended. The Jimmie Johnson Era is not inevitable. One of the scnarios produced a different champion...