Nascar

We all know about Clint Bowyer's involvement in NASCAR. If you didn't before you started reading this blog, you do now. But the Emporia native who is smack dab in the middle of the Chase for the Championship is not the only connection NASCAR has to the Sunflower State. "I can thing of five guys from Kansas that is working in some form (in racing)," said Bryan Kincheloe who is the tire specialist for the Number 13 car driven by Casey Mears in the Sprint Cup Series. "Maybe not on this level but trucks, ARCA, Nationwide.

The Confederate Flag and NASCAR. It's the 800lb gorilla in the middle of every race track.  And I don't care if it's Phoenix, Daytona, Darlington or Kansas. They are as much apart of the sport as the cars, the the gas cans and race haulers. And as much as NASCAR wants to ignore it...it's there. And it's a part of their image. Then there is the General Lee. A fictional car from a 80's television show. Is it named after a civil war general? Yes. Does it have a large confederate flag on the hood?

We are now eight races into the NASCAR season and Tony Stewart is 21st in the standings, yes I had to look twice. It is 21st. What's worse is, it's not as if he has had bad luck, he's finished every race. But he only has one top ten. In simplest terms...Where in the world is NASCAR's Tony Stewart? Out to lunch. It's not just Smoke, his entire race team seams to be way off, Ryan Newman is 17th in points, Danica Patrick is 25th. It's particularly disturbing for Stewart, who is just two seasons removed from a championship and hasn't finished out of the top 10 in points since 2006, when he was 11th.

After two straight weeks at NASCAR's home base in Charlotte, it's time to take this traveling circus back on the road. This week's stop Dover International Speedway, also known as the Monster Mile and with good reason. It's is the fast mile long track on the circuit and it has a bad reputation. "If you say Dover doesn't intimidate you, you are lying," said Jeff Burton. "I couldn't think of a more perfect nickname than the 'Monster Mile.' You have to be exceptionally aggressive, but if you cross the line, you will be in trouble.

Planemaker Cessna has entered the world of motor sports.  Cessna is now a primary sponsor for the #1 of Earnhardt Ganassi Racing, which is driven by Jamie McMurray. It hasn't been determined which races will feature the logo on the car.  This is the first time Cessna and its parent company Textron have ventured into NASCAR as a sponosr. Their logo will also appear on Ganassi's other NASCAR entry and his Indy cars as an associate sponsor. Eyewitness Sports Reporter Heather Williams is following NASCAR Media Week festivities in North Carolina, be sure to catch up on her blog here: Heather Williams Backstretch Blog Cessna sponsors NASCAR driver

NASCAR announced today the No. 7 team that competes in the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour has been penalized as a result of rules violations committed Saturday, July 16 at New Hampshire Motor Speedway in Loudon, N.H. The team was found to be in violation of Sections 12-1 (actions detrimental to stock car racing); 12-4-I (car, car parts, components and/or equipment used do not conform to NASCAR rules); and 20D-5.9P (the intake manifold ports did not completely seal to the cylinder head ports.

Over the weekend NASCAR took the drastic step of parking Kyle Busch for the weekend, after he wrecked Ron Hornaday, Jr. under caution in the truck race. This is at least the third incident that involved Busch and what most would characterise as bad judgement. You may remember that Busch was ticketed for going 128 mph back in May. Also in May, Busch sent Kevin Harvick'se empty car into the pit wall after the race at Darlington. Despite having his drivers licence suspended by the state of North Carolina, and being placed on probation by NASCAR, it doesn't seem that Busch has learned much from his previous punishments.

Johnny Sauter lost the Truck Series points lead Wednesday after NASCAR penalized him for an illegal fuel cell at Kansas. Sauter was docked 25 points by NASCAR. It knocked him from first place into a second-place tie with Jeb Burton, 13 points behind new leader Matt Crafton.         Crafton and Sauter are teammates at ThorSport Racing.         The illegal fuel cell was found on the No. 98 Toyota during an opening day inspection and was not used in the race.

NASCAR has fined team owner Richard Childress $150,000 and placed him on probation through the end of the year for his altercation with driver Kyle Busch. Childress approached Busch following Saturday's Trucks race at Kansas Speedway and apparently punched him several times. The car owner was upset that Busch had bumped into Joey Coulter on the cool-down lap after the race. NASCAR said before Sunday's race that Busch was not at fault. Childress was allowed to stay for the race, but his access at the track was restricted to specific areas.

NASCAR president Mike Helton says the Daytona 500 will now start Monday night at 6 p.m Central. On Sunday, rains caused the Great American raced to be postponed for the first time in the history of the Daytona 500, it has been postponed until Monday. Rain soaked Daytona Beach for most of the day on Sunday and despite NASCAR's best try to dry the track, the rain just wouldn't let up. Estimates were that it might take up to four more hours to dry the track and NASCAR decided that it would just be too late to start the race then.