Travis Pastrana tests stock car, says he has the passion to race in NASCAR

Travis Pastrana, a fearless athlete known for going fast, began the process of learning how to go fast in a stock car this week. Pastrana turned his first laps in a stock car Monday and Tuesday as he tested a K&N Pro Series East car at New Smyrna (Fla.) Speedway.

NASCAR Hall of Fame looks to cut more than $4 million in expenses

CHARLOTTE – The NASCAR Hall of Fame has a tentative plan to cut at least $4.1 million – nearly 30 percent – in expenses through June in hopes of keeping its operating deficit under control. The tentative plan was sent to the Charlotte City Council on Friday night. The city owns the hall of fame, which opened in May, through a license from NASCAR. Its fiscal year runs from July-June and has a $408,000 deficit already with a projected deficit between $1 million-1.3 million for the year.

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NASCAR moves 2011 Hall of Fame induction ceremony from Sunday afternoon to M...

The NASCAR Hall of Fame induction ceremony has been moved from the Sunday afternoon after the annual Sprint All-Star Race to the Monday night after the event for 2011. The date of the 2011 induction ceremony will be May 23. It will be held at the ballroom connected to the hall of fame.

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Marcos Ambrose Is NASCAR Crash King With 19 Incidents

Marcos Ambrose, NASCAR's Aussie driver, did not let a mid-season surge in futility by Elliott Sadler deter him from capturing the season 'championship' in yellow-flag crashes and spins.

Coming on strong during the final eight races with seven spins or crashes, including a final spin (at right) during the season finale at Homestead-Miami Speedway, Ambrose easily outdistanced the competition in the NASCAR Sprint Cup series to post a season-leading 19 incidents and win the title by two.

Sadler, meanwhile, found uncommon consistency in the final stretch, chalking up only a single yellow flag in an incident at Martinsville Speedway during the last eight races. That brought his season total to 15, a number easily surpassed not only by Ambrose, but by hard-luck Sam Hornish Jr., who reached the second-highest total of 17 after the misfortune of four more incidents in the final eight races, including two in the Martinsville race.

Kyle Busch and Joey Logano were tied for fourth in our exclusive FanHouse crash and spin roundup, with 14 incidents apiece.

Drivers involved in 13 spins or crashes in the 36-race schedule, or one every three races, were Kurt Busch, Kasey Kahne, Brad Keselowski and Juan Pablo Montoya.

In our tally, we count an incident on a driver's tally if his car is listed as being involved in a spin or a crash that brings out a yellow flag. Caution periods caused by stalled cars, engine failures or debris do not count, unless a spin or crash was involved and a car number listed.

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NASCAR: Hendrick Teams in Massive Shakeup

NASCAR team owner Rick Hendrick has reassigned three of his drivers.

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Jimmie Johnson's NASCAR Dynasty May Make Him Greatest Champion

HOMESTEAD, Fla. -- Jimmie Johnson joined his team on the crowded stage, hurriedly set up on the Homestead-Miami Speedway front stretch and, with confetti flying in the air, raised NASCAR's crown jewel, the Sprint Cup Series championship trophy, for an unprecedented fifth consecutive time.

Only seven-time champions Richard Petty and the late Dale Earnhardt have more hardware. And as the humble, low-key Californian hugged his wife, kissed his infant daughter, embraced his dad and gazed out into the crowd, Johnson was struck by something that helped him realize he had finally made it.

"There was a fan standing right up front with an 'I Hate the 48' T-shirt and he gave me the thumbs-up and said, 'Congratulations,' '' the driver of the No. 48 Lowe's Chevrolet recalled with a laugh. "I have people tell me they hate me, but they respect me and that's always cool. If this takes it to the next level, then right on.''

So it is for the most dominant race car driver in NASCAR history. The more he wins, the more trophies he collects, the more people clamor for someone else to step up.

How about, instead, we honor this great accomplishment and appreciate the good fortune to be witnessing sports history.

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Speeding Penalty Derails Kevin Harvick's NASCAR Title Run

HOMESTEAD, Fla. -- Kevin Harvick and his team owner, Richard Childress, were diplomatic in the moments following Sunday's Ford 400 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series season finale at Homestead-Miami Speedway. Diplomatic, but not satisfied. Harvick was not happy.

Harvick, who entered the final race in third place in the championship -- 46 points behind Denny Hamlin -- had positioned himself to make a heroic, if unlikely run at his first title, dethroning four-time champ Jimmie Johnson and capitalizing on Hamlin's Sunday afternoon of misfortune.

After racing near the front all day, Harvick exited the pits in first place for a restart on lap 188 of the 267-lap race -- only to be penalized for speeding on pit road (right).

NASCAR said his No. 29 Shell-Pennzoil Chevrolet was too fast entering the pits and he was sent to rear of the lead-lap cars, dropping him back to 29th place. Harvick was understandably livid on the team radio when he received the news and still maintained after the race that he was directly behind a car -- on its bumper -- and therefore couldn't have been speeding.

"I don't think that penalty will ever settle in my stomach,'' Harvick said in a post-race press conference. "When you read me off of my pit road times of 49.6, 49.4 50.8 and then 49.6; and there's only a handful people that get to see them, I won't ever settle for that.

"I don't know how you can be speeding when you're on the bumper in front of you and if the other guy is not speeding. So that's about it. ''

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Denny Hamlin Leads Title Contenders in Final NASCAR Practice

HOMESTEAD, Fla. -- After struggling in opening practice Friday and qualifying a disappointing 37th for Sunday's NASCAR Sprint Cup Series season finale, championship leader Denny Hamlin showed some signs of progress, posting a top-five speed in Saturday's final practice session -- best among the three drivers in contention for the title.

Hamlin's lap of 169.284 mph in the No. 11 FedEx Toyota was fourth best in Happy Hour -- as the final practice is called -- well off Kasey Kahne's pole-winning mark of nearly 177 mph, but ahead of his closest championship rivals. Four-time defending series champ Jimmie Johnson, who trails Hamlin by 15 points in the title hunt, was 22nd fastest in final practice, while Kevin Harvick, who is 46 points behind Hamlin, was 29th fastest.

"I feel pretty good about my car,'' said Hamlin, who made a beeline from the garage to his team transporter after practice. "I feel like we have a better car than the 48 (Johnson). I feel like the 29 (Harvick) is maybe a hair better than us, but we are always a little bit slower in practice than what we are in the race.

"I'm confident that we're going to have a good day tomorrow. We've just got to make sure we stay on the right strategy.''

Harvick, whose Richard Childress Racing teammate Jeff Burton was fastest on the day, was similarly satisfied with his team's preparation -- so much so that he parked his No. 29 Shell-Pennzoil Chevy before the session ended.

"I'm excited,'' said Harvick. "It should be a fun day tomorrow.''

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Kasey Kahne Wins Pole for NASCAR Finale, Jimmie Johnson Leads Contenders

HOMESTEAD, Fla. -- Kasey Kahne won the pole position for Sunday's Ford 400 NASCAR Sprint Cup series season finale at Homestead-Miami Speedway, while four-time defending Cup champ Jimmie Johnson's sixth-place effort was best of the three drivers vying for the season championship.

Kahne's No. 83 Red Bull Toyota turned a lap of 176.904 mph around the 1.5-mile oval, bettering Carl Edwards' Ford and Jamie McMurray's Chevrolet. (Kahne is shown at right checking times during qualifying).

But as significant as who will be starting up front is who won't be. Championship points leader Denny Hamlin, who holds a tenuous 15-point edge over Johnson, will start 37th in the 43-car field. Kevin Harvick, who trails Hamlin by 46 points, will roll off 28th.

"It was tough ... but our car is gonna be fine tomorrow,'' Hamlin said. "We know that. This is a track you can pass (at). We're looking forward to that part of it. Friday has just never been our strong suit and so we gotta battle back again."

Harvick, who has started better then 20th only one time since August, didn't appear overly concerned with his starting position. He finished third at Martinsville, Va., last month after starting 36th and was runner-up at Las Vegas despite starting 34th.

"I thought we might have been a little better, but not much,'' said Harvick, who drives the No.. 29 Shell-Pennzoil Chevy. "Everybody on the car did a really good job. ... We've been talking about where we want to pit here, the same thing we do every week.

"Our car was very comfortable in race trim and we are ready to go.''

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Carl Edwards Runs Away With Phoenix NASCAR Race

Carl Edwards ran like Kyle Busch usually does, and Busch ran into some uncommon trouble, as Edwards romped to victory after dominating the NASCAR Nationwide series race at Phoenix International Raceway Saturday.

Edwards beat Kevin Harvick by 5.2 seconds after thoroughly dominating the race, leading 153 of the 200 laps.

It was Edwards' second consecutive victory in the Nationwide series, his third of the year and the 28th of his Nationwide career.

"Awesome, awesome car, guys," Edwards told veteran crew chief Mike Beam and the rest of the team on the radio after taking the checkered flag. "That's the best car I've ever had in the Nationwide series."

Joey Logano finished third, followed by 2010 Nationwide champion Brad Keselowski and Reed Sorenson. Danica Patrick finished 32nd after an eventful day of beating and banging with other cars.

Busch finished 16th after being forced to make an unscheduled pit stop late in the race with a deflating tire.

"That was the best race car I've ever had," Edwards reiterated after the race."That's is. That car is so easy to drive and so fast through the corners, I'm just very, very lucky to be driving it. Everything was good. That's a really, really good race car."

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‘Dega crapshoot will play factor in chase

The restrictor-plate tracks are always a toss up and this fall's race at Talladega figures to be no different. Jamie McMurray has finished 1st and 2nd in the last two races at Talladega, narrowly finishing behind Kevin Harvick this spring. Juan Pablo Montoya is another buy low option here for those in fantasy leagues. Montoya came home third at the track earlier this year but beware his other finishes have left things to be desired. Then there is the curious case of David Ragan who has 3 top 10's in 7 starts and has finished no worse then 17th save the fall 2007 race. Kurt Busch is perhaps the best restrictor-plate driver to never have won a race at one of the tracks. Tony Stewart and Ryan Newman are also viable options but mind you Stewart hasn't finished better then 16th at the track since he left Joe Gibbs racing. Now that I've mentioned the other drivers let me be clear. Despite what anyone says Denny Hamlin and Jimmie Johnson are again the guys to go with. Let's face it these guys can overcome so much right now. There teams are the top in the sport and nothing seems to get in the way of them making a run at the win at any track for the remainder of the year. If you can go with only one of the two go with Johnson, afterall he does have 4 championships for a reason. Even if the reason is skirting the rules at times. Oh yea Greg Biffle, Brad Keselowski who won the fall race there last year, and Clint Bowyer are also solid plays but I'd go with anyone mentioned earlier over them. The fact that Dale Earnhardt Jr is a former winner at Talladega and that he led last week will undoubtedly create interest in him this week as well.