jimmie johnson Tag

Whoa!  The sports world is going crazy right now!  So much going on and it is all too exciting to miss.  To catch up with the sports world I have harnessed all the major news/results from the recent events.  I am going to briefly hit on each sport and give a few predictions for the Masters, MLB, NBA, and NHL.  Ready?  Lets go!

NHL

Seems like the season just started but it will shortly be coming to an end.  But I guess that's what happens when you are in a shortened and compressed 46 game season.  Thanks lockout.  The story early on in the season was the winning streak by the Chicago Blackhawks and then both the Anaheim Ducks and Pittsburgh Penguins went on their own winning streaks.  Although no one has matched a start like the Blackhawks, it seemed for a while like the Penguins might be the best team.  Now that Crosby is out the battle for best appears to be between the Ducks and Blackhawks.

One of the most popular races on the NASCAR Sprint Cup series is the Kobalt Tools 400 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.  Las Vegas is also one of the biggest tour attractions in the country.  Combining the natural excitement of a trip to Vegas and the thrill of stock car racing creates a recipe for an incredible experience.  Lucky for NASCAR fans that the race takes place on March 10, 2013 so the sun shouldn't be too intense for patrons attending the race.

Las Vegas: By the Numbers

Let the Racing Begin

Well that was quite a finish to the 2012 regular season last weekend at Richmond International Raceway.  Clint Bowyer and his crew put in a great effort that landed themselves the victory, but that was hardly the biggest story of the night.  There was little left to decide inside of the top 10 as the drivers started their engines for the annual night race at Richmond.  The real action was clearly going to be the battle for the final Chase spot.

Jeff Gordon and Kyle Busch represented the 2 favorites for the final Chase position with Busch holding a 12 point advantage entering the night.  Marcos Ambrose, Joey Logano, & Ryan Newman all had a shot to make the Chase but they would have needed a victory to claim that final spot.  Paul Menard also had a very, very small chance but he too would have required a victory and, at best, for Gordon to finish worse than 20th and Busch to finish worse than 31st.

That's right folks!  We are quickly approaching The Chase for the Cup in NASCAR's Sprint Cup and things are really starting to heat up.  And speaking of heat, what better place for a late season playoff race than Texas Motor Speedway.  Like its sister track Atlanta, TMS features incredibly fast speeds and 3-wide racing.  This is what I like to call a recipe for great racing.

With the new race schedule the way it is, I truly believe that the fall race at TMS is the best of the bunch.  Don't get me wrong.  I enjoy all the Chase tracks.. cough.. cough [under my breath] except for Homestead, so nothing against those other tracks.  However, TMS just creates the right combination of excitement and drama.  Speeds will approach 200 mph and sometimes you can see cars 3-wide on this amazing track.

Did you know? 
Carl Edwards has the most career victories at TMS since the track hosted its first NASCAR race in 1997.

We are currently about a month and a half away from the start of The Chase.  2012 will be the second consecutive year that Chicagoland Speedway will play host for the first race of The Chase for the Cup.  With just six races left before The Chase, Dale Jr. currently leads the standings for the first time since 2004 and might be in position to capture his first ever points championship.  Junior has put himself in a good spot and he seems to be driving with the more confidence than ever before.

Last week Jimmie Johnson returned to his winning ways with his fourth career victory at the Brickyard.  Junior and JJ are in good position but the final few spots are still up for grabs.  If The Chase were to start today, this would be the list of qualified contenders for the Sprint Cup championship.

NASCAR will be stationed in Charlotte, NC for the next two weekends as the league's top drivers prepare to tame Charlotte Motor Speedway.  This weekend NASCAR will feature their annual All-Star event and the track will host the Coca-Cola 600 on Memorial Day weekend.  Most teams in NASCAR have their shops located in and around the Charlotte area so this event also serves as somewhat of a homecoming.

Most professional sports hold their all-star event much later in the season but NASCAR goes against the traditional all-star grain.  The Sprint Cup is just 11 races into the season and less than a third through the season, but this an all-star break nonetheless.  In light of the early season pause, lets take a moment to review the first 3 months or so of Sprint Cup racing.

The Aaron's 499 will return to Talladega Superspeedway on May 6, 2012!

NASCAR still has the new season smell to it as we go into the third race of 2012 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.  At the moment Denny Hamlin leads all drivers in the Sprint Cup standings after his win at Phoenix last weekend.  It is still very early in the season but it is nice to see Hamlin back in good form after a disappointing season in 2011.

In NASCAR there really is no such thing as a home track.  But for many drivers, Charlotte Motor Speedway is a home of sorts for the simple fact that most of the teams in NASCAR have their main shop located in North Carolina.

If you look at the week of the All-Star race as a break similar to that of baseball or basketball, then it makes total sense to have the All-Star race hosted by the track closest to the largest concentration of team shops.  Since the Coca-Cola 600 and the Sprint All-Star race are on back-to-back weekends, the drivers and teams can use the 2 week span to truly take a break from the road and use that time to prepare for the rest of the season.

Hey NASCAR fans!  It is never too early to start thinking about travel arrangements for the 2012 NASCAR season.  If you are looking for a one of a kind type of experience then there is no place like Las Vegas.  The party never stops in Vegas and next February NASCAR will return to Las Vegas Motor Speedway for the 15th time.  Carl Edwards was your 2011 Vegas race winner and 5 time Cup champion Jimmie Johnson has the most career wins with 4.

The 2011 NASCAR season prepares for night racing at Bristol this weekend and the field for The Chase is just about set.  This is an exciting time of the season for NASCAR fans everywhere.  This Saturday the Sprint Cup will pack 43 cars into Bristol Motor Speedway to race under the lights, and in just a few weeks the NASCAR "playoffs" will open up at Chicagoland Speedway (GEICO 400) for the track's first Chase appearance.