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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.

Texas Motor Speedway isn't just another cookie cutter mile and a half track on the NASCAR circuit.  TMS is built for speed and all the drivers will tell you that this track is tough to tame.  The track runs so fast that in 2001 they had to cancel a Champ Car race because the drivers were experiencing over 5 G's.  That much G force could cause someone to black out and drivers zooming around the track incapacitated at 230 mph isn't exactly a safest idea.

Stock cars don't quite make it to 200 mph  but with 43 cars on the track it becomes a speed infested free-for-all.  After TMS was repaved in 2006, it became the fastest track on the modern NASCAR circuit.  Faster times have been recorded at active tracks but the speeds were recorded before NASCAR took measures to limit horse power for safety reasons.

Many race fans enjoy the speed of Atlanta or the four-wide racing at Talladega or Daytona, but some race enthusiasts love the short track.  Short track racing is highlighted every NASCAR season with 2 races at the unique half-mile track in Martinsville, VA.  This track is noted for being unique because of the "paper clip" like shape that makes Martinsville Speedway so identifiable.  The long straightaways and suffocating turns are a recipe for great racing every year at Martinsville.  2012 will be no different.  This year the Goody's Fast Relief 500 returns to the same slot on the schedule for the eighth consecutive year.

Two Sundays ago the NASCAR series hosted its annual fall race at Talladega Superspeedway.  Clint Bowyer took his Chevy took victory lane as he notched his 5th career win and his first in 2011.  And Tony Stewart captured his third win of the Chase last weekend in Martinsville.  Now only three races remain and Carl Edwards holds on to an 8 point lead over Tony Stewart with Kevin Harvick, Brad Keselowski, and Matt Kenseth rounding out the rest of the top 5.  Brad Keselowski made a big jump at Talladega as he moved up 3 spots in the standings with a fourth place finish in the Good Sam Club 500.  After the Tums Fast Relief 500, Keselowski dropped to 4th in the standings and now trails Edwards by 27 points with a 17th place finish.

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.