Posted on by Nascar

Country singer discusses his fans, country music and theme songs

Hank Williams Jr. likes NASCAR and many NASCAR fans like Hank Williams Jr. Well known for his "Are You Ready for Some Football" theme song to Monday Night Football, Williams performed a pre-race concert at Bristol Motor Speedway this summer and has performed at many NASCAR events.

The country singer discusses his career, country music and the possibility of writing an introductory song for NASCAR in this week’s Six Pack of Pop.

Q: If you were to write an introductory song for NASCAR, what might it be like?
 
A: If I did that for you, then I would be doing that for free. I get paid to write songs; ABC and ESPN paid me well for "Are You Ready for Some Football!" The BIG thing is that I own that song, so now that I own it and ESPN is not using it, I could easily turn it into "Are You Ready for Some NASCAR, It’s a Sunday afternoon party!" … maybe there is something there.
 
Q: Was the Bristol race your first NASCAR experience? Are your fans NASCAR fans?
 
A: My fans are the NASCAR fans. Hardcore, country lifestyle folks that earn what they make, and spend only what they can afford to spend. I have done many NASCAR events, including the final farewell party in Charlotte for Winston when they were no longer the key sponsor for the races.
 
Q: Like more than one NASCAR driver, you faced comparisons and expectations because of your famous father. How did those affect the paths you chose and decisions you made in your career?
 
A: Just like Dale Jr. gets connected to his father, I was connected to my father. One BIG difference is that my father died when I was 3, so I didn’t get to know my father. Hard to compare to someone you never knew. But I do get that comment from fans wanting me to be more like daddy, but I am who I am and have made my own way in the music business.
 
Q: Who’s the best new country talent performing today?
 
A: I really enjoy Eric Church. He opened some shows a few years back and I got to know him and his wife really well. They are just simple people, and Eric is just like me. He likes to do things on his terms and the way he wants to do them. I admire a young talent who is able to do that.
 
Q: If you could play on stage with one performer who would it be and why?
 
A: I would love to perform with Hank Williams. He was the original rock ‘n’ roller, the original country crooner, the original rockabilly artist. Everyone looked up to him and his musical styles. I would like to see him perform and I would like to have him see my performance.
 
Q: How do you feel knowing some folks might recognize you from your Monday Night Football intro and not your own music?
 
A: Absolutely. I get that a lot. Kids will come up and say ‘you are the Monday Night guy’ or ‘hey is that the football guy?’ I am OK with that. Twenty-plus years of Monday Night Football was a good run for me. I won 3 Emmy awards and got to be a household name for not just football fans, but all of America.

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Biffle remains unhappy over contact from Johnson at Martinsville

RELATED: Full Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup coverage

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Greg Biffle arrived at the NASCAR Hall of Fame on Tuesday apologetic and defiant all at the same time.

The Roush Fenway Racing driver was sorry for the way he reacted during a confrontation with Jimmie Johnson following Sunday’s event at Martinsville Speedway, where he grabbed the five-time champion by the collar of his firesuit to express his displeasure. He apologized for that response the same night in a Twitter post, and planned to call Johnson later Tuesday afternoon to do the same in person. 

"I would do it again today," Biffle said before meeting with fans for a question-and-answer session at the Hall of Fame. "I may not grab ahold of him where I did, but I was not happy."

The veteran NASCAR racer remains unhappy with what he said was contact from Johnson that knocked the rear bumper cover off his No. 16 car, necessitating an extra pit stop that forced him to rally to a ninth-place finish. He was also miffed at ESPN’s television coverage, which he said failed to differentiate between the contact with Johnson and an earlier bump from Dale Earnhardt Jr., which originally knocked the bumper cover loose and also required a pit stop to put the piece of flapping sheet metal back in place.

"They show me and (Johnson) side by side, and the bumper’s flying off. Well, that’s a lap and a half after he hit me," said Biffle, who added he contacted ESPN studio analyst and former driver Ricky Craven in an effort to set the record straight.

No wonder, then, he was so agitated afterward, when he stormed straight over to the section of pit road where Johnson was conducting post-race interviews, grabbed him by the back of the collar, and spun around the Hendrick Motorsports driver before voicing his displeasure in a flurry of choice words. Video of the confrontation quickly made the rounds online. Looking back, Biffle said he didn’t realize Johnson was on camera, and that he should have grabbed him by the arm instead of the collar.

"Maybe I overreacted a small amount," Biffle said. "But I wanted him to realize that I was not happy with what took place."

And evidently he still is, given that he had to race back to the front twice over the course of Sunday’s event, and fell a spot to eighth in the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup standings — three points out of sixth — as a result. Johnson’s assertion that he was inside the No. 16 car isn’t reflected in video replays, Biffle said.

"We’re going down into Turn 3 and he just runs straight into the back of me. He wasn’t inside of me. I watched the tape. He was offset a little bit, bit just ran into the back of my car. I look in the mirror, and the bumper cover is like this," Biffle said, waving his arm. "We didn’t even race for position. It’s not like I shut the door on him three times. I was just upset about that part, the way he handed that. I don’t care about the bumper cover, every fender on my car was beat to crap. I’d gotten run into guys, and guys run into me, and all that. Rubbing’s racing, and I understand that. … But I had to start at the back and drive all the way back to ninth."

By the end of the race, he had just had enough.

"Put all the circumstances together," Biffle said. "It cost me two positions in points. Cost me possibly a win at a place that I’d never had a chance to win at. It was the first or second lap the guy was behind me. You start adding all those things up, and it’s like you’re over there throwing rocks at the beehive, right? And eventually, they’re going to get (ticked) off, and you’re going to get a reaction. And I reacted."

Biffle was able to make light of the situation, saying he wasn’t going to employ "the old patented Jeff Gordon two arms to the chest" move, which the four-time champion has shown off in past shoving matches with Matt Kenseth at Bristol and Jeff Burton at Texas. "Anytime you see him unhappy, you know that’s coming, right?" Biffle added. "Can you get B-roll of Texas and Bristol? They’re identical, are they not?"

The collar grab, though, might be retired for a while. "It’ll be five more years before I grab somebody by the shirt collar," Biffle said, citing the negative reaction that drowned out those who saw him as standing up to the No. 48 team. "I got chopped up. … That stuff affects you."

A more fitting response might come this weekend at Texas Motor Speedway, where Biffle has won twice, most recently last spring. But Johnson is the event’s defending champion, and tied with Kenseth for the Chase lead — so who knows what kind of shootout might unfold in the Lone Star State.

"You think he’s got extra rivets in his bumper cover?" Biffle asked of Johnson. "Racing’s racing, right? Now, he’s running for title, right? Just checking."

MORE:

READ: Gordon earns
first win of 2013

WATCH: Final Laps:
Gordon triumphs

WATCH: Kurt Busch
spins, collects Martin

WATCH: Harvick turns
Newman at Martinsville
Posted on by NASCAR Official Release

Steve O’Donnell to tell sport’s technology story at Harvard, Cannes events

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (Oct. 29, 2013) — Two of the world’s leading innovation conferences have invited NASCAR Senior Vice President of Racing Operations Steve O’Donnell to serve as a panelist. O’Donnell will participate in a discussion at Harvard Business School’s Cyberposium on Nov. 2 about how technology will help transform sports and other industries over the next several years.

On Nov. 20, he will join a panel focused on ways to create and nurture sustainable innovation at the World Innovation Convention in Cannes, France.

"From the track to the office, for our fans and partners, we’re injecting technology and interactivity into nearly every facet of the NASCAR experience," said NASCAR President Mike Helton. "With innovations such as the Air Titan track drying technology, continued safety improvements, and the state-of-the-art Fan & Media Engagement Center, NASCAR has become a great place where technologies are validated. We also feel the best is yet to come, as we’re excited with the progress we’re making on our officiating technology project, which will inject exciting new elements into our competition in 2014 and beyond."
 
Cyberposium, now in its 19th year, is billed as the largest MBA technology conference in the world. The conference facilitates an interactive network of current and future business leaders to engage in provocative dialogue about technology. For more information, visit www.cyberposium.com.

The World Innovation Convention at Cannes is a platform for global innovators who join to collaborate with industry peers and experts. The direct mission of the conference is to learn, share and discover how innovation happens faster and better within their organizations. For more information, visit www.winovc.com.

NASCAR’s high-tech R&D Center in Concord, N.C. continues to serve as a model for innovation throughout all of motorsports. Earlier this year, NASCAR announced the addition of Gene Stefanyshyn as Vice President of Innovation and Racing Development to oversee that facility. Stefanyshyn brings more than 30 years of engineering and innovation leadership from General Motors to NASCAR. The R&D Center has generated nine U.S. patents.

The Air Titan was developed in-house at the R&D Center. Following testing in the summer and fall of 2012, Phase 1 of the technology was on-site at Daytona International Speedway in February. Earlier this month, NASCAR announced Air Titan will be available during every NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race in 2014. As part of its research and development, NASCAR also identified a track conditioning value from the use of Air Titan whereas the technology cleans dirt, grime and other materials found in a track’s surface.

With safety enhancements that range from safer cars to the enforcement of the HANS device to the installation of SAFER barriers, as well as ongoing innovation each year, NASCAR has continued to put a premium on driver and fan safety. Its work in that space has significantly elevated the safety across all motorsports. NASCAR’s research, specifically in crash analysis, has been recognized in partnerships with NASA, Toyota’s Total Human Model for Safety (THUMS) and the U.S. Air Force. Leaders in the sanctioning body’s critical safety engineering group have authored several research papers in peer review journals.

NASCAR, the No. 1 recycler in sports, just celebrated the fifth anniversary of its heralded NASCAR Green platform. Through strategic partnerships with teams, tracks and Official Partners, NASCAR Green continues to set new benchmarks. NASCAR features the world’s largest solar-powered sports facility, a tree planting program capturing 100 percent of the emissions produced by on-track racing, and the largest recycling program in sports that includes such partners as Coca-Cola, Coors Light, Creative Recycling, Goodyear, Safety Kleen, Liberty Tire and Sprint. Additionally, NASCAR has put nearly five million tough, competition miles on Sunoco Green, a biofuel comprised of 15 percent ethanol made from American-grown corn, which has reduced emissions in all its racing series by 20 percent.

The NASCAR Fan and Media Engagement Center (FMEC) is a revolutionary resource that allows NASCAR to analyze what’s discussed and written about the sport in social, traditional, and broadcast media. The system aggregates digital content that is relevant to the NASCAR industry, and allows NASCAR to analyze and respond to trends in real time. The FMEC facility is part "broadcast control room," part "NASA Command Center," powered by a sophisticated media monitoring and measurement system custom-built by HP.

 

MORE:

READ: Gordon earns
first win of 2013

WATCH: Final Laps:
Gordon triumphs

WATCH: Kurt Busch
spins, collects Martin

WATCH: Harvick turns
Newman at Martinsville
Posted on by Holly Cain

Johnson, Kenseth, Gordon and Bowyer among those testing at site of season finale

RELATED: Full Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup coverage

HOMESTEAD, Fla. – Even after climbing out of their race cars during a break in testing Tuesday on a breezy, sunny, warm South Florida Chamber of Commerce day, NASCAR’s Sprint Cup Series championship contenders insisted they were still focused on this week’s Sprint Cup Series stop in Texas and next week’s in Phoenix.

But speaking to reporters during lunch break with the shiny, distinctive Sprint Cup Series championship trophy on full display a couple feet away, drivers conceded that naturally, they can’t help but anticipate the Nov. 17 Ford EcoBoost 400 season finale here at Homestead-Miami Speedway.

"Being here is the light (at the end of the tunnel) we chase all year long and it’s here," joked Michael Waltrip Racing driver Clint Bowyer. "It means the end is near."

For defending Homestead winner Jeff Gordon, the test is an opportunity to keep his title hopes up and get some extra laps at the track that more often than not decides who gets to hoist that trophy.

"It’s a special place here and a nice little warm-up for us here (this week)," said Gordon, whose win Sunday at Martinsville moved him to within 27 points of Hendrick Motorsports teammate Jimmie Johnson and championship co-leader Matt Kenseth heading into Sunday’s AAA Texas 500 at Texas Motor Speedway.

This week’s test at HMS is a full-sensory experience for five-time Cup champ Johnson, triggering memories both of his historic triumphs and what-could-have-been moments.

He said just being on property for the test creates excitement about the possibilities that exist when he returns to compete only three weeks from now.

"There’s always a certain anxiety, a little pit in your stomach, whatever it is whenever you step off the plane and onto the tarmac at Tamiami (Airport) and drive South to here," Johnson said.

"I’m aware of the track and the significance of what happens here. I’m so hungry after what happened here last year. It’s nice to be here and test and feel the vibe and remind yourself of what happens because (when we come back) it’s a stressful weekend for us."

Fifteen drivers from six Sprint Cup teams – including the championship contending Hendrick and Joe Gibbs organizations — are participating in the three-day test on the unique 1.5-mile oval.

Bowyer said his No. 15 5-hour Energy Toyota was so fast when the team unloaded that after only two laps, he asked his crew if they could just pack it back up, job well done. He fully expects yet another track record speed during qualifying when the series’ new Gen-6 cars return to close out the season.

"It’s a cool race track, it’s fun and I think a neat one to decide the championship because of all the things it brings to the table with the multi-groove race surface," said Bowyer, the 2013 championship runner-up who is currently sixth in the standings.

"You just don’t see that kind of racing on these big race tracks very often."

This season’s seven-time winner Kenseth agreed. He won here in 2007 driving a Ford and with two top-10s in the last three races, he considers it one of his better tracks.

"It’s been a busy couple weeks with a lot going on and always a balance to be at a track testing and then be ready to go to Texas and then Phoenix with not a lot of turnaround time," Kenseth said.

"But I’m looking forward to all three races. They’ve all three been good tracks to us.

"I really like the track. I like how you can really change your line, change the balance of your car, it’s really a race-y track."

Even realizing that the title run could very well come down to the final laps at Homestead, Kenseth refused to get too far ahead of himself.

"You just don’t know," he said smiling and invoking sport’s greatest cliché, "I take it one week at a time. Really."

MORE:

READ: Gordon earns
first win of 2013

WATCH: Final Laps:
Gordon triumphs

WATCH: Kurt Busch
spins, collects Martin

WATCH: Harvick turns
Newman at Martinsville
Posted on by Staff Report

NASCAR issues fine, suspension to RCR for Martinsville fracas

NASCAR issued penalties to the No. 3 Richard Childress Racing team Thursday in the wake of an on-track incident and its aftermath after a crash involving Kevin Harvick and Ty Dillon in Saturday’s NASCAR Camping World Truck Series event at Martinsville Speedway.

NASCAR fined crew chief Marcus Richmond $10,000 and indefinitely suspended RCR crew member Adam Brown. The penalties fell under the NASCAR rule book headings of Sections 12-1 (actions detrimental to stock-car racing; throwing an object at a competitor’s race truck) and 9-4A (the crew chief assumes responsibility for the actions of his/her driver, truck owner and team members).

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Harvick, fourth in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series standings driving for RCR, competed with NTS Motorsports in Saturday’s truck race. He has three Sprint Cup races remaining with Childress, his car owner in NASCAR’s top series since 2001, before moving to Stewart-Haas Racing next season.

The incident began with 13 laps remaining in the Kroger 200, with Dillon challenging Harvick for second place behind eventual winner Darrell Wallace Jr. Dillon dipped inside of Harvick’s No. 14 truck in the first and second turn; the two trucks made contact and slowed in front of series points leader Matt Crafton, who plowed into the back of Dillon’s Childress-owned No. 3.

After Dillon and Harvick righted themselves, Harvick sideswiped Dillon’s truck on the backstretch under caution. Dillon retaliated by repeatedly rear-ending Harvick’s truck before the two eventually made their way back to pit road.

Once off the track, Harvick parked his truck in Dillon’s pit stall as he was preparing to stop for repairs. The Childress crew confronted him, needing to be separated by NASCAR officials from the driver’s compartment. Brown, listed as a mechanic on the team roster on RCR’s website, lofted a padded mallet at Harvick’s truck during the scrum.

Harvick exited the race soon thereafter and blasted the Childress organization and the team owner’s grandsons — Ty and Austin Dillon. He apologized for his heated remarks Sunday morning before driving to a sixth-place finish in the Sprint Cup Series event at Martinsville.

MORE:

READ: Gordon earns
first win of 2013

WATCH: Final Laps:
Gordon triumphs

WATCH: Kurt Busch
spins, collects Martin

WATCH: Harvick turns
Newman at Martinsville
Posted on by Staff Report

NASCAR issues fines, probation for Martinsville altercation

NASCAR issued penalties Tuesday in the wake of an on-track incident and its aftermath after a crash involving Kevin Harvick and Ty Dillon in Saturday’s NASCAR Camping World Truck Series event at Martinsville Speedway.

NASCAR ——- more more more —- actions detrimental to stock-car racing.

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Harvick, fourth in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series standings driving for RCR, competed with NTS Motorsports in Saturday’s truck race. He has three Sprint Cup races remaining with Childress, his car owner in NASCAR’s top series since 2001, before moving to Stewart-Haas Racing next season.

The incident began with 13 laps remaining in the Kroger 200, with Dillon challenging Harvick for second place behind eventual winner Darrell Wallace Jr. Dillon dipped inside of Harvick’s No. 14 truck in the first and second turn; the two trucks made contact and slowed in front of series points leader Matt Crafton, who plowed into the back of Dillon’s Childress-owned No. 3.

After Dillon and Harvick righted themselves, Harvick sideswiped Dillon’s truck on the backstretch under caution. Dillon retaliated by repeatedly rear-ending Harvick’s truck before the two eventually made their way back to pit road.

Once off the track, Harvick parked his truck in Dillon’s pit stall as he was preparing to stop for repairs. The Childress crew confronted him, needing to be separated by NASCAR officials from the driver’s compartment. One crewmember lofted a padded mallet at Harvick’s truck during the scrum.

Harvick exited the race soon thereafter and blasted the Childress organization and the team owner’s grandsons — Ty and Austin Dillon. He apologized for his heated remarks Sunday morning before driving to a sixth-place finish in the Sprint Cup Series event at Martinsville.

MORE:

READ: Gordon earns
first win of 2013

WATCH: Final Laps:
Gordon triumphs

WATCH: Kurt Busch
spins, collects Martin

WATCH: Harvick turns
Newman at Martinsville
Posted on by Nascar

Ambrose picks up new associate sponsor for 2014

RELATED: Full Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup coverage

CONCORD, N.C. – The years run longer Down Under.
 
Maybe that’s one way to explain how Marcos Ambrose, who embarked on a five-year plan to make it in NASCAR, has managed to survive for eight seasons, and is eagerly looking ahead to season number nine.


"That was just to convince my wife to come," Ambrose, a native of Tasmania, said of that plan Tuesday night during an appearance for 2014 sponsor Twisted Tea. "I said, ‘We’ll treat it like a five-year plan. Worst-case scenario, we’ll have a 12-month holiday and we’ll go back to Australia, alright?’ And we’ve never gone back."
 
That he will return to compete for Richard Petty Motorsports next season, in the team’s No. 9 Ford, was not a given. It’s been a frustrating year for the driver and the organization in the Sprint Cup Series, one in which the 37-year-old has yet to post a win or a top-five finish and has only six top-10 finishes. On the series’ two road courses, where he had often been dominant, Ambrose finished a disappointing seventh (at Sonoma) and 31st (at Watkins Glen) this year.
 
Both his Sprint Cup victories had come at the Glen, as did three of his four wins in the Nationwide Series.

"We all know this is my fourth year with Richard Petty (Motorsports) and it’s time to deliver for me; it’s time to deliver for the company," he said. "I’m ready to bounce back from a hard 2013. It’s been a hard year for me … it’s just good to announce it and get it out there so everyone knows what our plans are."
 
While three races remain in the 2013 season, Ambrose is already looking forward to next year. Entering this weekend’s AAA Texas 500 at Texas Motor Speedway, he is 21st in the series’ points standings with a best finish of sixth at Michigan in August.
 
The 2014 season, he said, "is all about results."
 
"I’m absolutely focused on making the most of 2014 and that’s what I’m going to do. I’m having a great time, but 2013 has been tough. No doubt about it. It’s hard to keep your head up.
 
"I sacrificed more than most to be here in America; I’m a long way from my family and I’m a long way from home. Every year you’re away, you need good reasons to be here and winning is a really good reason. That’s what I’m all about. I want to win; I want to make the Chase.
 
"I’ve got unproven and unfinished business in NASCAR. It drives me crazy that we had a difficult 2013. It’s been difficult for me to get over that because we’re a better team than what our results have shown."
 
Crew chief Drew Blickensderfer, who joined the team one year ago, said Ambrose has the talent to contend for wins and a spot in the 10-race Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup field.
 
Blickensderfer has three wins in Cup, with drivers Matt Kenseth (2) and David Ragan (1), and is a 12-time winner in Nationwide with Kenseth and Carl Edwards.
 
"I told (Marcos) from day one, the difference in ability between you and Jimmie Johnson going through the corner is very, very small," Blickensderfer said. "I have to give you the confidence Jimmie has when he sits in the car. And give you the pit crew he has. Give you the confidence and the surroundings that those guys have. And that’s the difference between the guys that can compete in the Chase every year and the guys that don’t.
 
"We’re going to be better next year than we were this year, that’s for sure."
 
Twisted Tea will serve as an associate sponsor on the No. 9 car throughout next season, and the primary sponsor when the series heads to Dover in the fall. Current primary sponsor Stanley/DeWalt will also return in ’14.
 
"For us this is going to be our first involvement with NASCAR, but we’re really excited about it," Jon London of Twisted Tea Brewing Company said. "We think that Marcos and NASCAR are just a great fit for the Twisted Tea brand."
 
RPM fields Cup cars for Ambrose as well as Aric Almirola.
 
"This is the hardest, the most challenging, the most competitive form of racing anywhere in the world," Ambrose said. "The very best drivers are here. The very best drivers are winning. The very best teams are winning. You can put (drivers such as) Jimmie Johnson, Jeff Gordon in any car in any category in the world and they’d be the best, up there with anybody. I honestly believe that.
 
"I’m certainly a better driver today than when I arrived. … I was winning all around the world in other forms of racing and I’ve come to NASCAR and it’s a humbling sport. It’s really tough to run in the front, to win these races because you’re up against the very best."

MORE:

READ: Gordon earns
first win of 2013

WATCH: Final Laps:
Gordon triumphs

WATCH: Kurt Busch
spins, collects Martin

WATCH: Harvick turns
Newman at Martinsville
Posted on by Nascar

Edwards has fallen from fifth to 10th in the standings since the Chase started

RELATED: Full Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup coverage

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — NASCAR Sprint Cup Series driver Carl Edwards won early and won late. He led in points after the season’s first 26 races before they were re-set for the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup. And he has to remind himself "those are big accomplishments."

"Honestly, compared to no wins and not making the Chase, this is a very good season," he said Tuesday during an appearance at the NASCAR Hall of Fame.

Things haven’t exactly gone swimmingly for the Roush Fenway Racing driver since the Chase got under way seven weeks ago, and as a result Edwards and the No. 99 team have fallen from fifth to 10th in the points standings.

Officially, his Chase chances linger. Realistically, they were snuffed out at Dover, Del., where a wheel problem relegated the talented 34-year-old to a 35th-place finish.

"We knew going into the Chase we had not been a dominant team," Edwards said. "We had gutted it out and fought and scratched to be at the top of the heap and led the points after Richmond. We had two wins, but we knew that we were going to have to really be consistent and not make any mistakes in the Chase. 

"And when that wheel came loose … I mean my heart sank, and everybody on the crew – the crew chief (Jimmy Fennig), everybody knew that that was going to be really hard to recover from. And it has been. 

"If you look at the guys in front of us, all nine guys in front of us, there aren’t very many mistakes in that group, and at this level right now at this point in the sport, you can’t have those kind of mistakes."

There’s hope for a strong finish, if not for a title, as the series turns to Texas Motor Speedway and this weekend’s AAA Texas 500. Edwards’ three Cup victories on the 1.5-mile track is tops in the field. He finished third there earlier this year. 

"A place like Texas would be a great place for us to … show what we’ve been working on," he said.  "I have a feeling (teammate) Greg Biffle is going to be really tough there. He obviously wasn’t happy after Martinsville. He is hungry right now … our test (there) went really well. I’m hoping that it turns into a really good race. 

"But at the same time, every week you see guys like the Gibbs (Joe Gibbs Racing) bunch and the Hendrick (Motorsports) bunch, they are able to step it up and keep moving so it’s going to be a really tough race." 

Matt Kenseth (Gibbs) and Jimmie Johnson (Hendrick) are currently tied for the points lead heading to TMS. Jeff Gordon (Hendrick) is now third and the series’ most recent winner. 

Kyle Busch, Kenseth’s teammate at JGR, won the spring race at Texas. 

It’s the seventh Chase appearance for Edwards, who through the years has won eight times during the 10-race playoff. He’s finished second in points twice – including the 2011 season when he and Tony Stewart went toe-to-toe down the stretch. 

Tied after the final race, Edwards lost the title on a tiebreaker – Stewart had more wins during the season. 

"We’ve been very close," Edwards said. We’ve tied for second in 2005, actually did really well in 2008 but Jimmie … got us; and then that battle with Tony was … that was unlike anything I’ve ever been a part of. 

"Other than winning or not winning … it was the most fun thin I’ve been a part of in my career as a race car driver. 

"It changed my outlook on every little point. I think a lot of people … point to that season and that Chase and say ‘man, every single point matters.’ 

"You always know that and everyone says it, but that really galvanized it."

Edwards recently appeared in country music star and fellow Missourian Sara Evans’ music video for her new song, "Slow Me Down." Watch a behind the scenes clip from the making of the video below: 

MORE:

READ: Gordon earns
first win of 2013

WATCH: Final Laps:
Gordon triumphs

WATCH: Kurt Busch
spins, collects Martin

WATCH: Harvick turns
Newman at Martinsville
Posted on by Staff Report

Dale Jr. has not had a victory at Texas since first win

Dale Earnhardt Jr. has been to Victory Lane 19 times in the Sprint Cup Series. His first victory, though, came at Texas Motor Speedway on April 2, 2000 in just his 12 career start in NASCAR’s premier series. In 21 tries since, Dale Jr. has not been back to Victory Lane at Texas.