Jock Jerseys’ Flash

The man in orange, “smoke”, Tony… whatever you like to call him, Mr. Stewart is on his way out of Joe Gibbs Racing after 10 years together in NASCAR. Reports surfaced yesterday and confirmed today that Tony Stewart, NASCAR’s current “meany”, will be leaving the JGR team to start his own team w/ Haas CNC Racing. The new name will be Stewart/Haas reportedly.

Stewart is my favorite driver, so I am quite upset that all my lovely orange merchandise will have to be thrown out… ok, it’s UGLY orange, so thank god he’s switching to another color. I wish he was keeping the #20 car, but that’s not likely.

Tony will be an owner/driver for the new organization, so there’s a lot riding on the deal. A familiar sponsor for Stewart, Home Depot, will remain w/ Gibbs racing and the #20 car will likely be filled by Joey Logano, a rising Nationwide driver and potential racing superstar.

JGR is definitely headed in a different direction than w/ Stewart, as evidenced by their switch to Toyota this year (Stewart is a Chevy guy) and the success of both Kyle Busch and Denny Hamlin this season. Their success has almost pushed Tony Stewart into the “3rd guy” role. Unfortunately, Tony is a “me first” guy, so that philosophy at JGR wasn’t vibing w/ him in my opinion.

Other drivers have moved to the driver/owner role in the past, including Michael Waltrip (unsuccessfully). Tony will certainly have his work ahead of him as he tries to field a competitive team w/ a lower-profile racing team. While the new team is a partner w/ Hendrick Motorsports, they will still be at a disadvantage w/ equipment and come race time. Stewart hasn’t really struggled to qualify in the past, but Gibbs racing is probably at least partially responsible for Tony’s driving success. No matter how good the driver, and Tony is good, you can’t win w/ a crappy car.

Other News…
Dale Earnhardt Jr.’s Nationwide team has lost NAVY as it’s sponsor. Not a good sign for JR Motorsports.

Shop below for Tony Stewart apparel & merchandise:

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Kasey Kahne is on a bit of a roll these days. After needing a fan vote to get him into last week’s All-Star race at Lowe’s Motor Speedway, Kasey took full advantage enroute to a victory and $1 million dollar payday.

Kahne followed up his All-Star win Sunday night w/ a late victory to win the Coca-Cola 600 (also at Lowe’s). Today’s race was the longest of the racing season - a true test of driving skills, mechanical expertise and a bit of luck. The Coca-Cola 600 spans 3 different parts of the day (mid-day, transition to night & night itself) and requires a lot of adapting and patience.

Had the Home Depot car, #20 Tony Stewart, not flattened a tire in the waning laps, Kasey Kahne would still have been looking at a #2 finish - not bad for a driver who’s been struggling for the past 2 years, following a great year in 2006 (6 total victories). With only a few laps left, Stewart hit the wall and surrendered the lead to Kahne, who cruised to the victory once conceded by the #20 car.

Kahne is definitely on the rise again - he’s been my Mom’s favorite driver for several years, as well as a driver that I have tried to follow closely. He is young and the ladies like him - if he keeps up his recent hot streak (he’s only 6 points out of the Chase), then you’ll want to be sure to pick up some Kasey Kahne apparel & merchandise.

With the victory, Kahne moves into 12th place for this year’s chase, only 406 points out of 1st place. Other drivers who made moves this week are Kevin Harvick (up 2 spots to #7), Matt Kenseth (up 4 spots to #16) and Jimmie Johnson (down 3 to #9). Fan favorite (besides Kahne of course), Dale Earnhardt Jr. finished 5th in the 600 and sits in the 3rd position for the Chase, down just 139 points.

In his first race since joining Hendrick Motorsports this racing offseason, Dale Earnhardt Jr. (#88) passed Tony Stewart (#20) with a few laps left to claim the Budweiser Shootout.  Granted, the win doesn’t count towards points, but it has to feel good for Dale Jr. to get out of DEI and enjoy a win in his first start w/ a new company.

Dale Jr.’s issues w/ DEI are well documented, so I won’t get into them here.  What counts today is that Earnhardt scored a victory in his first race of the 2008 season (for Hendrick).  He got some help after a late caution from new teammates Jimmie Johnson and Jeff Gordon; their teamwork allowed Dale Earnhardt Jr. to pass Stewart and win the Budweiser Shootout.  The victory was Earnhardt’s first in the past 2 years.

Dale Earnhardt Jr. is with a new team (Hendrick Motorsports), has a new number (#88) and new sponsors for the next few years (National Guard and Mountain Dew AMP).  All of you fans still wearing Budweiser red (from his old #8 car) will want to score some of the new merchandise so you look the part at the track (or in front of the TV).  Here’s a quick list of items you should consider:

Dale Jr. and the rest of NASCAR’s driver pool are now looking forward to next week’s Daytona 500 - the season’s first race & arguably it’s best.  Look for all of Hendrick’s cars up front (Gordon, Johnson & Earnhardt Jr.), DEI (Truex Jr., Martin) and also some new Toyota rides (Stewart, Hamlin).  Any driver could win, but you have to think these drivers are the favorites due to their previous restrictor-plate race results. 

Whatever your taste (hats, official racing jackets, license plate covers, etc.), you’re sure to find something to help show your love for NASCAR’s most popular driver, Dale Earnhardt Jr.

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