CarRacingBlog.com

Talladega - it’s one WILD ride! Just ask Carl Edwards. See all the highlights from this year’s spring event at Talladega Superspeedway in Alabama:

After a season full of boring-as-hell races, this year’s spring race at Talladega Superspeedway was a breath of fresh air. First of all, it was awesome to see Dale Jr. running up front - about time! Second, it was great to see rookie Brad Keselowski get his first BIG Sprint Cup Series win on the superspeedway - that was awesome. But even better - and I never thought I’d say this, as I’m not a fan - was Carl Edwards’ finish. Forget about back flips, Edwards finished the race after his car took a major airborne flight in the final lap of the race by RUNNING ACROSS THE FINISH LINE a la Ricky Bobby from Talladega Nights.

WTG Carl - you and the rest of the night’s front runners made this a race to remember forever! Happy to hear that everyone checked out OK and that no one was seriously injured in that action-packed ending!

See tomorrow’s post for video from this now-classic race!

For more on this story also visit:
www.carracing.com/racing/nascar/cup/

I am SOOOO kicking myself for missing this year’s events - but it couldn’t be helped… family stuff. Still, watching this video just really shows me what I missed. Hoping we get to another event this year - what a blast!

It’s nice to see nice guys finish first and Justin Lofton’s big win this weekend at Talladega Superspeedway at the ARCA Re/Max Series race was GREAT to watch. This was Lofton’s 2nd win in the ARCA Racing Series and definitely his biggest by far. A win is awesome anytime, but a win on the big stage of Talladega is definitely one that any race driver will remember.

Our sister site CarRacing.com covered this story in full. You can read it here:
www.carracing.com/racing/stockcar/arca/

Indy Cars at the 2009 Long Beach Grand Prix - I owed you guys after yesterday’s photo shots - here’s some great video from this year’s big event. CRANK UP THE VOLUME!!!

Each week NASCAR is adding a new “Family Tree” write-up on some of the top cars in the Sprint Cup Series. This week’s spotlight is on the #9 car - find out who drove it before Kasey Kahne and lots of other things you probably don’t know:

NASCAR Family Tree: The Lineage Of The No. 9
Kasey Kahne has the ride. Bill Elliott has the history.

And together, the two drivers represent the vast majority of accomplishments by the No. 9 car in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series, with some of the most memorable taking place at Talladega Superspeedway – site of Sunday’s Aaron’s 499.

And just how appropriate is it, that when Elliott decided to step away from racing full-time, he served as a mentor to Kahne, helping prepare the young driver to take over the No. 9 – a car number that had become forever part of NASCAR lore with Elliott behind the wheel.

Elliott made 446 starts in the No. 9 between 1976 and 2003 – out of 1,300 total starts among 97 drivers. The No. 9 had 49 victories coming into the 2009 season; Elliott had 38, followed by Kahne (nine), Donald Thomas (one) and Herb Thomas (one).
Read more…

OK - so it’s photos and not video, but these are some killer photos from behind-the-scenes at the 2009 Long Beach Grand Prix in California.

What can’t Loeb do - is there anything he can’t win? The wunderkind of WRC - World Rally Championship racing is leading the prestigious Rally Argentina and has his eyes set on the prize.

Our sister site CarRacing.com has the full report, but here’s a taste of the race so far:

“It was very slippery in there - and very easy to make a mistake,” Loeb said at the stage end. “I’m happy to have got around with no problem. The fact that we’ve got the best time makes it perfect.”

Hirvonen said he had eased off the pace near the stage end. “I slid a little wide on the final bend - the surface was very slippery and I concentrated on making sure I didn’t hit any of the concrete barriers,” he said. “It’s a great stage for the people to come and watch, but the real stuff starts tomorrow!”

Loeb’s Citroen Total team-mate Dani Sordo set the third fastest time, with Petter Solberg fourth after a successful head-to-head battle with his brother Henning.

Read more at: www.carracing.com/racing/rally/news/

Portland International Raceway featuring vintage auto racing from this month - cool video, looks like a LOT of fun!

From the official NASCAR press statement:
NASCAR announced today that it has placed Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Casey Mears on probation for the next six races in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series, as a result of their on-track incident last Saturday at the conclusion of the race at Phoenix International Raceway.

The probation takes effect beginning with this weekend’s event at Talladega Superspeedway.

Yeah… but I gotta say it was AWESOME to see Jr. out there bumping and grinding and getting a little dirty on the track. He’s GOT to be incredibly frustrated - hopefully frustrated enough to see what the REAL problem with his team and lack of winning is - and it was great to see him blow off some steam. WTG Junior - now show the same intensity during your next chat with Tony Eury Jr. and crew and get that first win of 2009!!!