Freshrubber Blog

Even though Dale Earnhardt Jr.’s main goal is to break a 30-race losing streak, he intends not to take any unnecessary chances because he is outside the top 12 in points. “We’re definitely going to go in there trying to win the race,” Earnhardt said. “But we are in dire need of some top-five finishes. … I’m not saying that we are going to take a second-place car and finish fourth with it. I’m just saying, like last weekend, every lap I’ll be concentrating on not putting myself in a precarious situation that might not allow me to finish in the top five, if I’ve got a car that can. “If we have a real good car, we’re going to take care of it so if we are not allowed to win the race in some way, we can at least get the points we need to dig ourselves out of the hole we are in.” — High Point Enterprise

Pro Bowl wide receiver and now winning NASCAR owner Randy Moss

Two of NASCAR’s biggest stars offered differing opinions Tuesday on how the sport can control the racing at Talladega Superspeedway. Three-time defending NASCAR champion Jimmie Johnson called for a radical transformation of the race track, while Dale Earnhardt Jr. said alterations are not feasible. The two are teammates at Hendrick Motorsports. The racing at the 2.66-mile Alabama superspeedway is again under scrutiny after Carl Edwards’ airborne crash into the safety fence on the last lap of Sunday’s race. It was the most frightening of three accidents, including a 10-car pileup that knocked Johnson out of the race with nine laps to go. Because the track is so big and wide that drivers never have to lift off the gas, Johnson said Tuesday that NASCAR cannot remove the horsepower-sapping restrictor plates that are used to combat the high speeds at Daytona and Talladega. That leaves a track alteration as his only suggestion. “I don’t know how we fix it unless we take a bunch of tractors out there and knock down the walls, knock down the banking, and make the track where you have to let off (the gas),” Johnson said. “Outside of that, I don’t think there is a rule that NASCAR can come up with. As long as we’re running (restrictor) plates, we’re going to have this issue.” Earnhardt, NASCAR’s most popular driver, said track alterations aren’t possible. “There’s no way you can justify it under the current economic state of the sport, of the track itself, of the company that owns the track,” he said. “Nothing from that wreck really stands out to me as, ‘Wow, we got to make a change here or something needs to be done,’ other than the car getting off the ground and people getting hurt. As far as the wreck itself, trying to avoid it from happening, I don’t see how you can.” NASCAR officials have already dismissed altering the race track.   sportsillustrated

Formula One champion Lewis Hamilton’s title defense is in disarray just four races into the season, and things could get worse when his McLaren team faces charges of bringing the sport into disrepute at Wednesday’s hearing in Paris. Hamilton trails championship leader Jenson Button by 22 points, and could fall further behind if the World Motor Sport Council severely punishes McLaren for lying to race stewards at the Australian Grand Prix last month. Hamilton could face a race ban or a points deduction — perhaps both — which would further dent his title chances ahead of the Spanish Grand Prix in Barcelona next month. The worst case scenario for the team is that McLaren and Hamilton would be excluded from this year’s entire championship, although McLaren has since made efforts at reconciliation and such a severe penalty seems unlikely. A shadow was cast over Hamilton and his McLaren team several weeks ago when the sport’s governing body accused them of lying to race officials at the season opener in Melbourne. Hamilton has already privately apologized to F1 race director Charlie Whiting, and could escape further punishment since he has already been penalized with disqualification from the Australian Grand Prix. A fine, a suspended sentence or a points deduction in the constructors’ championship would punish McLaren without derailing Hamilton’s title challenge. But the inner turmoil within McLaren could linger. Hamilton said in a recent BBC interview that he had even considered quitting the sport. ESPN

James Finch said Brad Keselowski’s victory in the Aaron’s 499 Sunday at Talladega Superspeedway was “the best thing ever to happen” to an independent scuffling to eke out an existence in NASCAR’s major leagues. Finch wasn’t so overwhelmed, though, that he couldn’t separate his big moment from the bottom line. That was abundantly obvious upon learning Keselowski had earned a guaranteed spot in the Sprint All-Star Race on May 16 at Lowe’s Motor Speedway.”This automatic qualifying thing for the all-star race,” Finch said with a chuckle. “Does that come with sponsorship?” Considering the event pays $1 million to win, it’s a good bet Finch’s No. 1 black and yellow Chevrolet will have Keselowski behind the wheel — USA Today

A woman who was injured during a wreck at Talladega Superspeedway is listed in fair condition at UAB Hospital. Another woman who was taken to Brookwood Hospital in Birmingham for treatment of a medical condition after the wreck was discharged Sunday night. Her name was not released. A spokesman for UAB Hospital said the fan still being treated, Blake Bobbitt, was in fair condition Monday afternoon. Seven fans sustained minor injuries caused by flying debris Sunday when Carl Edwards’ car went into the safety fence on the final lap of the Aaron’s 499 at Talladega Superspeedway. The other injured fans received treatment at the track and did not have to go to a hospital.  Foxsports

Carl Edwards was standing outside the infield care center, collecting his thoughts and preparing to view a replay on Fox of his wild final-lap wreck in Sunday’s Aaron’s 499. Ryan Newman, who finished third but had little left of his No. 39 Chevrolet to show for it, walked out behind him and tapped him on the arm. “See you next week, where we can race,” Newman said and walked off. Edwards’ reaction to his car barrel-roll down the frontstretch and into the catch-fence while leading the race on the last lap was more pointed. “I guess we’ll do this until someone gets killed and then we’ll change it,” he said. “That’s the way it is. We do our best. We’re put in this box by NASCAR and we have to race this way. If you look at how the final four cars were finishing, you had to be pushing the guy in front of you.” That was scene unfolding at Talladega Superspeedway on the final lap. — Charlotte Observer

This week has been a blast from the past at the headquarters of Morgan-McClure Motorsports: The phone was ringing, the engine room was humming and the No. 4 car was shining. That’s the way it used to be during a 25-year run that featured 14 victories, including three in the famed Daytona 500, but Southwest Virginia’s NASCAR Sprint Cup team hasn’t been on the track since the end of the 2007 season. This week, however, the team is back. Eric McClure, a regular in the Nationwide Series, will attempt to qualify the No. 4 Chevrolet for Sunday’s Aaron’s 499 Sprint Cup race at Talladega Superspeedway. Qualifying is scheduled for Saturday. Steve Gray, the former car chief for the Morgan-McClure operation, will be the crew chief. Several other old-guard members from the MMM organization have returned, at least on a part-time basis. The car will have sponsorship from the Hefty brand, which also sponsors McClure in the Nationwide Series. “It’s kind of like the Blues Brothers, we’re putting the band back together,” Gray said Tuesday as he went the final stages of race preparation. “Everybody I’ve talked to is real excited to see the No. 4 car back out there racing.” McClure, 30, has competed in two Cup events for the family-owned team with a top finish of 26th. — Bristol Herald Courier

NASCAR’s season-ending party is heading to Las Vegas.

The weeklong salute to Sprint Cup’s stars is leaving New York after nearly three decades.

NASCAR announced the move Thursday, citing an aggressive pitch from Las Vegas officials that stressed reasonable room blocks and additional fan activities on the city’s famous strip.

The week will include the return of the “Victory Lap,” a procession of the top 10 Cup drivers in their race cars, and the Pit Stop Tour.

The annual banquet had been held in New York since 1981. NASCAR chairman and CEO Brian France said he expects the circuit to have a presence in Manhattan.

NASCAR makes an annual visit to Las Vegas during the spring, and track owner Bruton Smith has been calling for the series to send its awards show west for years. The president of Speedway Motorsports Inc. contends having the banquet in Las Vegas instead of pricier New York will make it more amenable to fans.  Sportsillustrated

Richard Childress will swap the crews for drivers Kevin Harvick and Casey Mears following this weekend’s race at Talladega Superspeedway.