Auto Racing News

Commentary: Dale Jr. penalty foolish but expected
The news out of Daytona Beach, FL on Tuesday certainly was not of the shocking variety.

Championship could come down to cussing fine
The moment the four-letter word slipped out of Dale Earnhardt's mouth, NASCAR knew it had a huge dilemma on its hands.

A glance at drivers in NASCAR's championship chase
A glance at the 10 drivers competing in NASCAR's Chase for the Nextel Cup, in order of points standings:

10/05/2004

Penalty drops Earnhardt out of first place
NASCAR punished Dale Earnhardt Jr. for his Sunday slip of the tongue at Talladega and it has cost him first place in the Nextel Cup standings.

10/04/2004

Earnhardt has a near-perfect day at Talladega
Dale Earnhardt was nearly perfect on the racetrack. His only real slipup Sunday came in Victory Lane during a postrace television interview.

10/03/2004

Earnhardt wins another Talladega race
Dale Earnhardt Jr. charged from 11th place to a victory and the series points lead in the last five laps of Sunday's NASCAR Nextel Cup race at Talladega Superspeedway.

Everyone fears 'The Big One' at Talladega
For the 10 drivers competing in NASCAR's new 10-race playoff, there will be one key goal at Talladega: staying out of trouble.

10/01/2004

Earnhardt Jr.'s refrain: Sweet home Alabama
For the first time in his Nextel Cup career, Dale Earnhardt Jr. enters the stretch run of the season with a chance to win the championship. That goal appeared doubtful two months ago when serious burns threatened to end his title hopes. But Earnhardt is healthy again. He's also happy with his team again. And lucky for him, he can increase his chances of winning his first Cup crown at the track where he is better than anyone else in a racecar. Talladega Superspeedway is Earnhardt's personal playground.
• Notebook: NASCAR tries to avoid a fight

09/29/2004

Gordon on top after round 2
It's only fitting Jeff Gordon has bypassed Dale Earnhardt Jr. for the lead in NASCAR's race to the championship. After all, the series is headed to Talladega Superspeedway for the third round of NASCAR's 10-race playoff system, and it was Gordon who ended Earnhardt's dominance on restrictor-plate tracks.

09/28/2004

Earnhardt says father was with him in crash
Dale Earnhardt Jr. says he believes his late father, seven-time NASCAR champion Dale Earnhardt, had a lot to do with his surviving a burning wreck at a sports car event in July.

09/26/2004

Newman wins at Dover; Gordon takes points lead

AP Photo

DOVER, Del. — Ryan Newman left misfortune behind and ran away from the field, while four-time series champion Jeff Gordon took the NASCAR Nextel Cup points lead Sunday at Dover International Speedway.

09/23/2004

Earnhardt on top after first round of Chase
Dale Earnhardt Jr. is back on top of the points standings for the first time in three months. How long he can stay there remains to be seen.

A glance at drivers in NASCAR's championship chase
A glance at the 10 drivers competing in NASCAR's Chase for the Nextel Cup, in order of points standings:

09/22/2004

Robby Gordon put on probation by team
Robby Gordon has been placed on probation by Richard Childress Racing for the remainder of the 2004 NASCAR Nextel Cup season after admitting he intentionally caused an accident last Sunday at New Hampshire that involved championship contenders Tony Stewart and Jeremy Mayfield.

Hornaday and Richard Childress Racing to split at end of season
Ron Hornaday will be looking for a new ride at the end of the 2004 Busch Series season.

09/20/2004

Gordon apologizes for New Hampshire accident
Robby Gordon apologized Monday for intentionally causing an accident at New Hampshire International Speedway that involved championship contenders Tony Stewart and Jeremy Mayfield.

09/15/2004

No clear favorite in NASCAR championship chase
Jeff Gordon thinks there are flaws in NASCAR's new championship format and Ryan Newman still loathes the entire system. Too bad for both of them.

Chase is on for NASCAR's top curmudgeon
In the days leading up to the last race of NASCAR's championship qualifying cutoff, its top racing curmudgeon was an anguish-wracked, sleep-deprived mess.

09/11/2004

Five are left out after qualifying season ends
RICHMOND, Va. — The highest-stakes midseason race in NASCAR history shuffled playoff contenders in and out of the top 10 all night.

Mayfield races way into Chase with Richmond victory
RICHMOND, Va. — The task was clear for Jeremy Mayfield: Win the race and don't worry about making NASCAR's playoffs.

10/05/2004

Driver Diary: Andretti gets sponsor
Tuesday was a pretty big deal for a lot of people, especially me. Victory Brand LLC, a cigarette company based in Coldwater, Mich., has teamed with Sunoco's APlus convenience stores for sponsor me and ppc Racing.

09/28/2004

Driver Diary: Talladega ultimate test for wrecks
Everyone's making such a big deal about these guys running for the championship getting caught up in wrecks caused by other drivers.

09/21/2004

Driver Diary: Dodging traffic at Dover
Dover is all about traffic. Whether its the crew trying to get in the place Sunday morning or trying to get to the airport Sunday night, or whether its what you are fighting on the race track for 400 miles on Sunday afternoon, Dover is all about traffic. You are dealing with it all day long.

09/14/2004

Driver Diary: Championship chase
The championship chase starts this weekend and anything can happen. This business is too unpredictable from week to week to say that there is a favorite right now. Any one of those guys in the chase can win this thing. Its going to come down to who has the momentum from here to the end of the season. Who can predict that?

09/07/2004

Driver Diary: NASCAR heads to Virginia
All of the top NASCAR series are headed to the .750-mile Richmond (Va.) International Raceway this week. The Truck series, where I am a rookie driving the Werner Ladder/Cure Autism Now Ford, runs Thursday night. The Busch Series runs Friday night, and the Cup series runs Saturday night.