Nascar

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?

Today we continue our countdown with to the 2012 NASCAR season, with a look at the Nationwide Series. Unlike truck series, the defending champ is back in the Nationwide series as the third place finisher. Should make for an exciting season for sure. Here's how I see the top 10: 10. Reed Sorenson- Reed was running third in the Nationwide series standings last season, when he lost his ride at Turner Motorsports. He still managed to finish 5th in the points after hooking on with MacDonald Motorsports.

So it's day two of the NASCAR Media Tour and while today's stops have included visits with Roush Fenway and Earnhardt Ganassi racing, maybe the biggest stop of the day was a trip to the Charlotte Motor Speedway for the unveiling of the new 2013 Ford Cup car. Behind the scene photos It has long been a complaint of many people that NASCAR has totally lost touch with it's roots when it comes to the car. This is, after all the National...

NASCAR is back! Kind of. All big events need a good bit of hype and NASCAR is the closest thing to a traveling road show you will find out side of the circus. As many of you know, close to 200 members of the Local and National media are in Concord, North Carolina (just down the road from the Charlotte Motor Speedway) for the 30th annual Sprint Media Tour. And your humble little NASCAR reporter from KWCH is one of them. NASCAR Photo Gallery This is actually my fifth time on the tour and I am happy to be back after missing last season.

NASCAR's silly season (or the year end shuffling of drivers and personnel) seems to be sillier than ever this season. But not because of massive unexpected driver changes, save Kurt Busch. This off season is wild, because it's all about the crew chief. Honestly, who shouldn't be looking to make a change. I mean, if winning a championship isn't enough to keep your job, there isn't a crew chief in the garage area that shouldn't be looking over his shoulder. Many crew chief changes were already in the works before we all found out that Darian Grubb would not be returning to defend his title the number 14 team.

Kurt Busch and Penske Racing have parted ways after yet another embarrassing incident for the 2004 NASCAR champion. Penske Racing says in a Monday statement it is evaluating its options for the No. 22 Dodge. The split comes after six bumpy years for Busch and Penske. Although Busch won 10 races since joining the organization in 2006, his meltdowns on his team radio were notorious and two crew chiefs have left the team in the last three years. Busch also sparred this season with the media more than usual, and was fined $50,000 last month by NASCAR after he was caught on video by a fan being verbally abusive to an ESPN reporter.

Here we are at the final race of the 2011 season. The thing about the NASCAR season is sometimes it seems like it will go on forever, but when we get to this point, it always seems like it was over too soon. None the lest here we are. And the final race of the season brings with it no shortage of drama. A new Sprint Cup champion will be crowned on Sunday. Five-time champion Jimmie Johnson, along with 9 other drivers that qualified for the chase, have been eliminated. So it comes down to Carl Edwards vs Tony Stewart.

Seven NASCAR Sprint Cup Series teams turned laps at the high banks of Daytona International Speedway Tuesday, seeking the best baseline aerodynamic package for next January's Preseason Thunder Test at “The World Center of Racing.” Teams participating in Tuesday's test included Hendrick Motorsports (Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Aric Almirola); Roush Fenway Racing (David Ragan and Marcos Ambrose); Joe Gibbs Racing (Joey Logano); Michael Waltrip Racing (Martin Truex Jr.); and NEMCO Motorsports (Joe Nemechek)