Sad News: Matt Kenseth Mom Passed Away

In a piece of sad news, Matt Kenseth's mother, Nicola Sue Kenseth, passed away last Tuesday at the age of 63.  She passed after a long battle with Early Onset Alzheimer's Disease.

In lieu of flowers, memorials have been established in Nicki's name to the Alzheimer's Association, Agrace Hospice, and Willerup Methodist Church.

Matt, it probably goes without saying, that all our thoughts are with you.

Nicki Kenseth Memorial Donations may be made to:
Alzheimer's Association
Agrace HospiceCare
Willerup Methodist Church


[http://www.mattkenseth.com/]

Top-35 Owners Points Explained, And Why Owner Points Are Important

With the Danica Patrick tizzy regarding the owners points shell game and her getting into the 2012 Daytona 500, fans are once again refocusing some of their attention on the owners points system instigated by NASCAR and how the top-35 in owners points are guaranteed starting spots in the next race, with the exception of the first five races of each year.  I think there will be some credibility lost in the fans' minds with this special deal, but in the end, the bad is usually forgotten by enough people that some business decisions are worth the risk.  (Anyone know/remember what Calvin Ball is?  Remember Calvin and Hobbs... check out rule # 1.2 if you follow the link at the bottom of this piece.)

So what Is This Top-35 In Owner Points?

In NASCAR, there are several tiers of points within the sport.  When you watch a NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race on TV, there are several things happening behind the scenes that aren't immediately apparent, if you're the casual TV fan.  One of those items is the points structure.

When a car and driver cross the finish line, the driver gets driver points and the car owner also get points.  The most commonly referred to points standings are the driver points.  When a driver wins a race, he gets the coveted 43+bonus points awarded.  The car owner also gets points and for the most part, in the top half of the field, car points and driver points look like they work the same.  But there is a slight difference.

For instance, last year Robby Gordon finished the year 34th in driver points, with 268 points.  But his car owner (In this case, his own car), was 38th in owner points, with 334 points.  See the different in points?

That's because owner's points are distributed to ALL cars who attempt to qualify for a race, and that becomes important to the teams near the top-30 in points.  Here's how it's put by NASCAR:

"The 43 owners who make the race earn points equal to the driver points. Those who do not qualify for the race are awarded points, starting with the fastest car that failed to qualify, down to the slowest car that attempted to qualify. These points establish priority in gaining provisionals for future races."

So what this equates to is that Robby Gordon ran/qualified for 25 of the 36 races in 2011.  He had 268 driver points.  But as an owner, he/his car had 334 points, because he attempted to qualify for 33 races, only making 25 of them.  This rule even makes qualifying attempts valuable to some teams!  Like those who don't make the race, but they can still muster some spare points or so.

So...

Danica Patrick's Top-35 Points Gift Has Fans Wondering

Check out this shell game of owners points so that Danica Patrick can race in the Daytona 500 (D500):

A month ago, we were introduced to Danica Patrick driving the No. 10 GoDaddy Chevy and the announcement included that this NASCAR Sprint Cup effort would be a Stewart-Haas Racing (SHR) endeavor.

Then, we heard that Danica Patrick will be using Owners Points from another team to be able to race in the Daytona 500.

We then learned that that Dave Blaney gave up his points with Tommy Baldwin Racing (TBR) so Danica Patrick can race in the D500.

And finally, we heard that in a collaborative effort, Danica Patrick won't be driving an SHR car, but rather, her 10 Sprint Cup races will be driving under the auspices of TBR.

There...  how hard was that?  Right?

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Wait... she is driving what with who how?

The bottom line is that in some of the best media hub-bub to come along since Kurt Busch disrespected ESPN's Jerry Punch on camera and got himself fired, I mean, off to "have fun" racing, a situation has been made possible so that Danica Patrick's very first NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race will be the Daytona 500.

Are You Ready For A No. 3 Chevy On The Track Again?

Austin Dillon drove the black No. 3 Chevy truck in the Camping World Truck Series.  He also won the championship in that black No. 3.  Which is a fine way to represent that number, whose history touches many a heart.

And in 2012, Richard Childriss is putting Austin Dillon on the track in the NASCAR Nationwide Series.  And yes, it will be in the mostly black No. 3 Chevy Impala.

To be honest, being a die-hard Dale Earnhardt sr. fan, this progression for a No. 3 creeping ever so slowly towards the Cup series, seems to be coming at just the right time and at just the right pace.

Plus Austin Dillon has a lot of adjustments to tackle.  He's not seen some of the tracks he'll be seeing now in the Nationwide Series.  He hasn't dealt with road courses.

No More Secret NASCAR Fines, No More Inside Thoughts

In case you had not heard the news, NASCAR has abolished the "secret fine" practice.

In reality, it was never working anyway.  When ever someone was fined, we always seem to hear about it.  Or as far as we know.  But this secret fine business was in contrast to the family friendly and openness they professed was part of the sport.

But that's OK.

And it seems the drivers like it too.  Kevin Harvick says that this new policy will help make things clearer.

In the past, Brad Keselowski, Ryan Newman and Denny Hamlin have found themselves on the receiving end of some of these unspoken fines from things they've said about different aspects of the racing.

In one way, it's a bit disappointing that the drivers can't speak their minds.  It gives the fans a fascinating insight to the real, dirty inside of the sport.

Update on Danica Patrick's Daytona 500 Ride & How She Got Those Owner Points

As was previously mentioned, Danica Patrick is locked into the Daytona 500 on Sprint Cup Series Owners points... but it turns out that it's not with Stewart-Haas Racing, but rather, with Tommy Baldwin Racing.  Wha???

What's up with that is that TBR will be fielding the No. 10 GoDaddy Chevy for all of Patrick's Sprint Cup races in 2012 and is made possible with a collaborative partnership between SHR and TBR.

The points are from the No. 36 car that Dave Blaney drove last year, and the No. 36 car will become the No. 10 GoDaddy car through this agreement.

Patrick will be driving the No. 10 Sprint Cup Series car for 10 races, and when she's not behind the wheel of that Chevy, David Reutimann will be fielding the car.

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And yes, Dave Blaney will have to drive his butt off to get into the Daytona 500 and other events.

PS:  Just because I've typed this, does not, in any way, mean I actually get it.  All I know is that NASCAR, and an alliance between Stewart-Haas Racing & Tommy Baldwin Racing have come to some agreement that will let one of the biggest media points of the sport, Danica Patrick, to participate in the 2012 Daytona 500.

So contrary to what I thought was going to happen, and Patrick drive for Stewart, she's technically going to drive for Baldwin when she's competing in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series.

I hope you get it, because I'm sure I sort of get it!

[Autoweek: How Danica Patrick Got Owners Points]

Emily Maynard Back for More Fame on TV's Bachelorette

Did you know that Emily Maynard is coming back to ABC's dating adventure game show, The Bachelorette?

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(Yes, this is way off topic, but it's in regards to one of our own from within the NASCAR family, so to speak.)

When Emily Maynard was on The Bachelor, it confused me.  Almost every woman that goes on that show as a game-show contestant is usually very desperate or ego-centric and looking for fame.  Regardless of their real inner aspirations, they almost always become a collection of emotional misfits crying at every turn of the road.

But when Emily Maynard came on The Bachelor, her apparent southern charm was in complete contrast to what one would expect and it took me by surprise.  Not to mention her sad story related to Ricky Hendrick.  (R.I.P. good sir.)

Then again, we all think that Ben Flajnik is a pretty decent guy too, right?  (Well, except for that pesky, NSFW video he made and the trend of who he seems to be gravitating to in this most recent season of The Bachelor that is.  I'm referring to the puffy upper-lipped Courtney, who seems to be getting more screen time than any other person in the show.)

Any hoo, back to Emily Maynard:

Danica Patrick Is Locked Into the Daytona 500

I know you might find this "surprising" but Danica Patrick, NASCAR's newest golden child of media attention, has locked herself into the Daytona 500...

No, it does not seem that NASCAR made any special "one time only" deal for the potential new driving star of the sport.  I don't think.

Check this out:

Stewart-Haas Racing "obtained" the points from Tommy Baldwin Racing, whose No. 36 car was inside the top-35 in Owners Points in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series.

This means that Patrick will not have to race her way into the 500 through the 150-miler duel qualifers.

But...

Now that TBR transferred their points to SHR, Dave Blaney, whose points they were, will have to race his way into the 500 and I'm guessing, in each subsequent event for the first few races of the season.

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Is it me, or did transferring points used to be a big deal between teams?  I have a vague recollection of many hoops some folk had to go through when they bought teams, to be able to use those team's points.

But with Patrick, it seemed to be a no-brainer.  It's not a complaint, but still...  something to ponder.

[NASCAR: Patrick has Owner Points]

Miller Re-Upped With Penske and Brad Keselowski

In case you had not heard, Miller Lite renewed its partnership with Penske Racing and will continue to be the season-long primary sponsor of Penske’s No. 2 Dodge driven by Brad Keselowski.

Which is pretty awesome, being that this particular alliance started way back in 1991 and seemingly through thick and thin, has remained with the team.

Also, Coors Light has decided to continue it's relationship with NASCAR and has ponied up to continue to be the Official Beer of NASCAR!

The Coors Light partnership with NASCAR includes the Coors Light Pole Award for the NASCAR Sprint Cup, NASCAR Nationwide and NASCAR Camping World Truck Series.

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NASCAR Negotiates Digital Rights Back from Turner

In case you had not heard the news, NASCAR snagged back control (actually, finally obtained) control over it's own digital content starting in 2013.


This means they would now have control over their own content of their digital realm of NASCAR news and such, aka, NASCAR.com and other such goodies.


What NASCAR did was restructure their agreement with Turner Sports that will now see them having a working relationship through to the end of 2016, where Turner will still oversee advertising sales and sponsorships across all of NASCAR's digital media.


The good news is that this means that we could be in for a treat.  I'd bet bottom dollar we'll see the site revamped while we may also start seeing (well, hearing) more streaming content from NASCAR's SiriusXM content station.