Paul Menard being congratulated by his father for his first career win.

Daytona 500 winner: Trevor Bayne

Southern 500 winner: Regan Smith

Coca-Cola 600 winner: David Ragan

Brickyard 400 winner: Paul Menard

The races listed above are considered the biggest races of the NASCAR Sprint Cup season.  The names you expect to see listed as winners of the three Crown Jewels and the Brickyard are Johnson, Gordon, Stewart, Edwards, Busch, and Kenseth.  How could we have possibly dreamed that the biggest races of the year would be first time wins for drivers?

» Continue reading “The Brickyard 400: It Pays to be a First-Timer”

Brad Keselowski captured his second 2011 Nationwide victory in one, screwy race finish Saturday night at LOR. (photo credit: Jason Smith via www.nascar.com)

Let’s recap, shall we?  Elliott Sadler was pissed because NASCAR doesn’t know what the hell the rules are anymore, Trevor Bayne almost blew a mental gasket when his motor blew up while running in second place and Kevin Harvick wanted to puke his brains out.  That should give us a pretty good idea of how crazy this race was.

Maybe it would have been a little more tame had NASCAR taken a look at their own rule book.

» Continue reading “NNS Kroger 200: And the survey says…Screw the rules.”

Timothy Peters recovers from a spin earlier in the race to take the 3rd checkers of his career.

I’m sure if you asked Timothy Peters about his chances of winning after a spin tonight, he would have felt it was slim to none.  The spin was probably the luckiest thing that happened to him tonight.  Well, besides winning, of course.  Peters came into the pits for new tires and the adjustments that would take him to Victory Lane.  It was truly fun to watch him tear through the field, knowing he had enough fuel to make it to the end, while everyone else was on fuel conservation mode.

The NCWTS drivers started the race with lots of adversity.  The field didn’t even cleanly make it through the first lap, when Johanna Long got loose and caused a 4 truck pileup.  Mother Nature was rearing her ugly head all night with an impressive storm cloud display.  We were under caution for rain for a few laps, but the trucks were never parked.  The trucks got back to green flag racing, and managed to go caution free at this short track for over half the race!

» Continue reading “NCWTS AAA Insurance 200: Spin to Win!”

Sigh.  My boys have come home to play in my backyard (or should I say Brickyard haha!) this weekend and I couldn’t be more excited.  I have mixed emotions about the Brickyard 400 believe it or not.  Yes, even as the most loyal IMS attendee on the planet this place forces me to down a few Tylenol from time to time.

I’ve seen my favorite driver Tony Stewart win here twice, the first time being my very first Brickyard 400 and I was also in attendance for the Great Tire Debacle of 2008 which  gave Jimmie Johnson his second Brickyard 400 title in three years.  So it’s been a roller coaster ride for sure.

However, this weekend is not about reflection.  It’s about looking forward to this weekend’s race because after the checkers drop on Sunday, IMS is in for some major changes for 2012.  Who am I putting my money on this weekend?  Who wouldn’t I touch with a ten-foot pole at IMS?

IMS Fun Fact:  Churchill Downs, Yankee Stadium, the Rose Bowl, the Roman Colosseum and Vatican City all can fit inside the IMS oval, which covers 253 acres. (IMS Official Site)

» Continue reading “2011 Brickyard 400 Preview: Back Home Again in Indiana”

Pastranathon ended in utter defeat and unfortunate injury on Thursday evening at X Games 17.

Pastranathon officially ended Thursday evening in a way fans were not anticipating nor wanted to see.  Travis broke his right foot and ankle during Thursday night’s X Games 17 in Los Angeles, California.  He was attempting a back to back “TP Roll” when he came down hard on his right side, appearing to land directly on his right leg and foot.

Upon completion of tonight’s X Games Pastrana was going to fly to Indianapolis to make his NASCAR Nationwide debut Saturday, then return to Los Angeles to compete in RallyCross on Sunday.

» Continue reading “Breaking: Pastrana breaks right foot and ankle at X Games, postpones NASCAR Nationwide debut”

Your schedule for this weekends racing events.

They’re baaaaaaaaccccckkk.  The NASCAR Sprint Cup returns this weekend after their last break before the end of the season in November.  This weekend NASCAR invades the hallowed halls of open-wheel with racing in Indianapolis, IN.

Camping World Truck Series: AAA Insurance 200

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Lucas Oil Raceway- Friday, July 29^th at 7:30PM ET on SPEED

Friday night short track racing in Indianapolis?  Sign me up, please.  The NCWTS series rolls into Lucas Oil Raceway, formerly known as IRP for long time race fans.  This track is a fast little short track with a distance of 0.686 miles.  If you are looking for good truck series action, look no further than this race on Friday night.

Ron Hornaday is the defending race winner at LOR.  He has had a string of two bad races, and I’m looking for him to come back strong this weekend.  Either that, or he’s going to put on a show driving over trucks in his way.  I believe he’s got a score to settle from last week’s mess in Nashville.

When two of NASCAR’s elite divisions race at LOR, it’s like bringing them to your local track.  Fans are close to the action, and the drivers put on a show.  Set your DVR’s or make sure you are in front of your TV on Friday night.  You won’t be sorry.

NASCAR Nationwide Series: 30^th Annual Kroger 200

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Lucas Oil Raceway- Saturday, July 30^th at 7:30pm ET on ESPN

 

The Nationwide series race at LOR will mark the end of an era.  Next year, the NNS series will be racing at nearby Indianapolis Motor Speedway for the first time.  I am a sad race fan, as I always looked forward to the show at Lucas Oil Raceway.

Kyle Busch was last year’s race winner, but he is not on the entry list to defend that win.  Finishing second to Kyle was one of the two Sprint Cup drivers in this race, Carl Edwards.  Brad Keselowski is the other “Buschwhacker” on the list for this weekend at LOR.

Race fans like big name newcomers, as was shown with all the hoopla following Kimi Raikkonen in the truck series earlier this season.  The NNS race this weekend has a newcomer all its own with Travis Pastrana.  Travis has a long and successful racing history with 5 X Game gold medals for supercross and three Rally America Championships.  This weekend, Travis tries his hand at stock car racing in the Nationwide Series.  With only 43 cars on the entry list at this time, Travis will have no problem making the race, as long as he keeps the fenders on the car through practice and qualifying.  Pastrana will be driving the #99 Boost Mobile Toyota.

NASCAR Sprint Cup Series: Brickyard 400 Presented by BigMachineRecords.com

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Indianapolis Motor Speedway, Sunday July 31^st at 1PM ET on ESPN

 

Goodbye, TNT, and hello ESPN/ABC coverage.  Race fans hope that the coverage cannot possibly get worse than the past 6 races on TNT.  ESPN and ABC, please, PLEASE do not prove us wrong.  We can’t take it.

IMS is Morgann’s home track and she couldn’t be more excited to be going back to the Brickyard for the 2^nd time this season.  Look for her race preview on Friday, complete with fan insight and predictions on who will be kissing the bricks this weekend.

Me kissing the bricks. Bad form due to pouring down rain, and yes, that is a Jeremy Mayfield shirt.

IZOD IndyCar Series: Off Weekend

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Next Race- Honda Indy 200- Sunday, August 7^th on Versus

Voting for 2011′s Most Popular NASCAR Drivers is in full swing at www.nascar.com!!  Make sure you vote today for your favorites in each series! 

Click the links below which take you directly to voting and cast your votes.  No email addresses required at all.  One click and you’re done!  Voting started on July 7th and continues through November 17, 2011.

NASCAR Nationwide Series

Camping World Truck Series

K&N Pro Series East

K&N Pro Series West

Whelen Modified Tour

Southern Modified Tour

Canadian Tire Series

NASCAR Mexico Series

» Continue reading “Vote Now!! NASCAR’s 2011 Most Popular Drivers”

Today we salute Bobby Labonte: 2000 Winston Cup champ and Brickyard 400 winner. He's truly a legend among NASCAR giants. Bobby, this one's for you. (photo courtesy of www.nascar.com)

It’s a special week here at Lipstick and Lugnuts for me because NASCAR comes to my home state of Indiana.  I live 90 miles north of Indianapolis Motor Speedway but I’ve been going to the Brickyard 400 since 2005 and last year was my first time back to the Indianapolis 500 in over fifteen years.  So I get a little bit excited and giddy when IMS jumps into the picture and this week it’s time to feature a former Brickyard 400 winner:  Bobby Labonte.

» Continue reading “In the Spotlight: 2000 Sprint Cup Series Champ & Brickyard 400 winner Bobby Labonte”

So I was surfing through NASCAR via Yahoo! Sports and came across these eyes and just had to write about their owner, Moses Smith. Why? Ummm...do you have a pulse? (photo credit: Jonathan Ferrey)

It’s been a few months since we’ve raced to support another local driver and this month I’m calling out NASCAR K&N Pro Series West driver Moses Smith.  So I’m not going to lie:  I was browsing Yahoo! Sports’s NASCAR photo gallery and I saw a picture of just his eyes.  Yes, this is what hooked me.  Keep in mind, I’m still a lady.  Note to readers:  see gorgeous picture above.  You’re welcome.

Anyways, it’s time to get to know Moses Smith because let’s face it:  we need to know who our local drivers are and Mr. 3-Time Most Popular Driver is no exception to the rule. 

» Continue reading “Race to Support Local Drivers: NASCAR K&N Pro Series West driver Moses Smith”

Did I mention I slammed doors so hard that pictures fell off the wall? In another room?

Saturdays and Sundays were tense growing up in my house.  Our living room was the scene of many battles between my older brother and me.  It was a race to see who got control of the only decent TV in the house for the afternoon.  If my brother won, we were guaranteed to be watching racing, either NASCAR or Indy Racing League.  That’s when my whining would begin, closely followed by me stomping off to my room to pout.  It is safe to say that the whining about watching racing went on for more than a few years.

“I don’t wanna watch this!  Racing is stupid!”

All whiny little girls must grow up, so I moved in with some friends in my early twenties.  One of my roommates turned on the NASCAR race.  I felt myself ready to channel my inner five year old from those long ago weekend battles.

“Do we have to watch….oh wait….WHO’S THAT?!?”

What. Was. I. Thinking?!?

There on my TV was a blue-eyed, dark-haired, mullet-sporting, mustached Adonis in a rainbow-colored firesuit.  (Cut me a little slack on the mullet/NASCAR jokes…this was the early 90’s!)  I took a liking to Jeff Gordon from the moment I saw him.  I watched his interview and not only liked that I could understand him, but that he was new to the sport as well.  I watched that whole race with no complaint and found myself tuning in the next week all by myself.  I had no idea what was going on, besides a lot of left turns, but I had a favorite driver and the start of a new sports obsession.

Hmmmmm, maybe this NASCAR thing isn’t so bad!

So, I watched.  I don’t know that I tuned in every week, but I definitely tuned in.  Terms like bump-drafting, loose, tight, and downforce started to make sense.  I started to know what the commentators would say about an incident before they said it.  I learned that a blue and yellow flag meant a slower car should yield to faster cars on the track and you never wanted to see a black flag.

My emotions went on a roller coaster ride during the races.  I fumed when a driver was wrecked by another’s stupidity.  I celebrated with the winners, as long as those winners weren’t named Dale Earnhardt or Rusty Wallace.  There were tears as well.  I cried for the loss of Adam Petty and Kenny Irwin.  The death of Dale Earnhardt, Sr. was like a blow to the chest.  I don’t know many of us that have gotten over seeing the wreck that took his life in turn four of the Daytona 500.  I still tear up when I think of a legend of our sport gone too soon.

That’s when I knew I had gone from the whiny little kid to a genuinely obsessed race fan.

We can only imagine what the future of Petty Motorsports could have been.

I attended my first NASCAR race, the Tropicana 400, at Chicagoland Speedway in 2002.  My friend from work had received tickets and asked me to go.  I worked overnight on Saturday, the race was Sunday, and I had to work Sunday night.  Going to the race meant no sleep for me.  Who could say no?!?  I sat only a few rows up from the track in the blistering July heat.  Kevin Harvick beat out Jeff Gordon for the win that day.  I almost saw Jeff win!!  I left the track that day covered in dirt, tire rubber, had no voice, and sunburned within an inch of my life.

I LOVED IT!

I credit NASCAR and a love of racing with giving me one of my best friends…my brother.  When we came to my mother to tell her that we were going on a week’s vacation to Bristol Motor Speedway, she was convinced that only one child would return alive.  We bonded on that 1300 mile road trip.  My brother isn’t much of a talker, but I know we can always talk about racing of any form.  Racing was the common bond that brought us together in ways that family or our similar music experiences never could.

I have burned up a few VCR’s, now DVR’s, and many miles of pavement keeping up with my NASCAR obsession.  I have attended many more races since that first one at Chicagoland.  Nothing compares to the rush of 43 cars flying by at almost 200 MPH.  The excitement of being there to cheer your driver to the win cannot be expressed in words.

Don’t get me wrong, I still channel that whiny little kid every once in a while…

“Why are we watching this?!?  Don’t you know NASCAR’s on?!?”

Funny how things come full circle, isn’t it?