Sportsfrog.com

That gray headline over there has been up since early this evening.

Yes, Jimmie Johnson did crash in Wednesday’s practice for Thursday’s qualifying races for the Daytona 500 (got that?), but Stewart didn’t. In fact, he wasn’t anywhere near the accident when the accident occurred.

Mike Bliss got loose coming off of turn four and collected Joey Logano as he smashed into the wall. Johnson, trying to check up in the wreck, hit Denny Hamlin’s rear bumper and spun around.

So why does an editor at NBC think that Stewart was in the crash despite not one single mention of him in the story? Well, my guess is that he/she still thinks that Stewart is in the #20 car, the car that Logano currently drives. Never mind that Logano is already one of NASCAR’s most recognizable drivers and won at New Hampshire. While inaccurate, I do appreciate the copy editor’s association of Stewart in the #20 car. I’m glad I’m not alone in wishing that he was the driver of the Home Depot car forever.

And Tony Stewart was certainly being the Tony Stewart that people have come to admire or disdain after winning Sunday’s Price Chopper 400.

Don’t let the Kansas City Star story fool you. Mr. Stewart was not gleeful or giddy.

He was far from it.

“Yeah, as soon as I get done with this stimulating conversation that we’re having here, (that will) make me feel smarter when I leave here, then I’m going to get to Knoxville as quickly as I can. That’s my goal to get out of here soon. Just a hint,” Stewart said.
Moments earlier, Stewart joked about taking the chair when it was mentioned to him that Gordon had—just minutes before—sat in the same chair that Stewart was sitting in.
“That’s awesome. I never would have thought Jeff Gordon would have came in here,” Stewart sarcastically said.
And those in attendance thought it was a joke as Stewart said that he was going to take the chair and have Gordon sign it.
But no, it wasn’t a joke, as after the final question, Stewart wheeled the chair out of the media center, intent on proving the point that, yes, he was serious about taking the chair.

Saturday night’s finals of the Knoxville Dirt Late Model Nationals were rained out. Stewart and teammate Ryan Newman were scheduled to race. The finals were postponed and moved to Sunday evening.

Since Stewart won, that meant that he was going to get to Knoxville, Iowa late. And yes, he did take the chair, which was last seen somewhere in the vicinity of his hauler.

The win cut Stewart’s deficit to points leader Mark Martin by 39 to 67 points. And apparently restored Stewart’s arrogance.

When Tony’s arrogant, watch out. That usually means bad things for the competition.

Danica Patrick took a tour of Stewart-Haas Racing’s shop on Monday.

Danica’s going about this the right way–for her. She’s making herself visible in NASCAR circles, and in the current economic climate, has the power to turn down a package in stock cars if it’s not a direct route to the top. With her marketability, she has the leverage in this situation, and she knows it.

I still think her best bet is to stay in IndyCars, but that’s a little trickier now that Andretti Green Racing is clearly a step behind Penske and Target Chip Ganassi. Danica’s having the season of her career so far, and she very well could be contending for the championship if she was driving cars comparable to the top four. If AGR can pick it up in the second half, she’ll stay there. If not, well, maybe this NASCAR thing will happen.

– Tony Stewart spun Kyle Busch as they headed out of turn four on the last lap of the Coke Zero 400 Saturday night. However, it was Busch’s fault, and I don’t think that can be disputed. Stewart gave him a slight nudge out of the turn, making Busch wiggle just slightly. As Busch blocked to the inside–that’s where Stewart was looking all through three and four–Stewart made his move to the high side, and by the time that Busch attempted to block him again, Stewart was already at his quarterpanel and Busch was in the wall. You can block once on a restrictor plate track, but you can’t block twice, especially if the car behind you has a run.

– After slamming into the wall head-on, Busch got slammed in the read bumper by Kasey Kahne, which jacked Busch’s car almost perpendicular to the ground. And after that happened, Busch’s car got run into on the driver’s side by Joey Logano, who had absolutely nowhere to go once he crossed the start-finish line. Thankfully, Busch was uninjured after the multiple impacts.

– Clint Bowyer won the Busch* Series race which also ended after a big crash in the tri-oval. This one happened with one to go, but since Bowyer had already taken the white flag, the race was over. It was Bowyer’s first win in any event at Daytona.

– A judge lifted Jeremy Mayfield’s drug suspension after Mayfield’s attorneys argued that NASCAR didn’t follow procedure in testing Mayfield’s sample. I don’t even know where to begin on this whole fiasco, as I’ve attempted to follow it, but every time I look away, something even more bizarre and ridiculous happens. Long story short: NASCAR says Mayfield tested positive for meth. Mayfield says he didn’t. Court says Mayfield can race on Saturday.

– Justin Wilson won the IRL Camping World Grand Prix at Watkins Glen. It was Wilson’s second win in as many years in the IndyCar series, and the first win for a driver not from Penske or Ganassi Racing since Wilson’s win at Detroit last year, when he won for Newman/Haas/Lanigan Racing. This year, Wilson was driving for Dale Coyne, who has driven and owned cars in open wheel racing for 25 years; yet Sunday was just Coyne’s first win.

–Tony Stewart made a tank of fuel last 41 laps at the 2.5 mile Pocono Raceway to score his first points paying victory of the year. While other drivers played it conservatively, Stewart had nothing to lose. Leading the points, Stewart had a 317 point cushion to fall back on before he fell below the Chase cutoff, and could aggressively pursue the 10 Chase bonus points for the win. He got those points, and extended his points lead to 73. Not bad. Stewart’s teammate Ryan Newman moved up to fourth in the points standings thanks to a fifth place finish, as now four of the six Hendrick-built cars are in the top four. The lowest driver with Hendrick equipment? Why that would be everyone’s favorite driver in 20th. (But hey, he’s going back this weekend to where he won last year!)

–Helio Castroneves stayed out front after a quick pitstop put him in the lead at the IRL Bombardier Learjet 550K and won his second straight race. His Penske teammate Ryan Briscoe had the best car by far, leading the most laps and even had a 10+ second lead when the IRL threw a NASCAR-esque debris caution. Afterwards, drivers called on the IRL to change the rules to facilitate passing. This year’s race at Texas was a snoozer after previous races have featured two and three-wide racing as the drivers are flat out around the track. Oh, and Danica finished sixth, and is now fifth in the points standings, the top driver not on Team Penske or Target Chip Ganassi Racing.

–Kyle Busch riled up some fans and other people in NASCAR after he rock star style slammed against the concrete the hand-painted guitar that serves as a trophy for the winner of the Busch* race at Nashville. Busch later explained that he wanted to give each crew member a piece of the trophy and that was the easiest–and most fun–way to do it.

–Ashley Force Hood (pictured) lost in the Funny Car finals for the third time this season. Quickly eclipsing her father as the NHRA’s most recognizable driver, Ashley has only won one race this season, but her consistency may win her a season championship as she currently sits third in the points standings, just two points out of second and 60 points out of first.

How does that crow taste?

Let’s see here… Take one of the best drivers in the series, give him all of the resources of the premier team in the series, give him a guy who should have been a full time Cup crew chief a long time ago and expect a finish outside of the Chase? Are you kidding me?

By virtue of his second place finish yesterday at Dover (and fantastic five lap battle very late in the race with Jimmie Johnson) Tony Stewart took the Sprint Cup points lead by 46 over Jeff Gordon. Even though he hasn’t won this season, Stewart has been extremely consistent with three second place finishes, two thirds, a fourth and three eighths, with a lowest finish of just 26th.

Stewart wasn’t starting a team from scratch. He simply inherited–for free, basically–a two car team that was struggling. But with increased support from Hendrick Motorsports, Stewart was jumping from a championship caliber team at Joe Gibbs Racing, to a championship caliber team that he could call his own.

Pretty good decision, eh?