By Jeff Hood | Senior Writer
RacinToday.com
The last time Daytona International Speedway was paved the year was 1978 and NASCAR was considered a regional sport at best. A few months later, the fresh coat of asphalt helped produce a memorable Daytona 500 that thrust NASCAR into the national spotlight.
After a series of potholes developed during last year’s Great American [...]

A professional golfer is disqualified from a tournament after a TV viewer notices a rules violation and tips off the PGA.
Could a similar scenario play out during a NASCAR event?
Camilo Villegas received a jolt on his 29th birthday a week ago in Hawaii after learning he had been disqualified for signing an incorrect scorecard. He was told that someone watching [...]

By Jeff Hood | Senior Writer
RacinToday.com
The stock car portion of Speedweeks at Daytona gets under way in five weeks when the press assembles for media day prior to the Budweiser Shootout on Feb. 12.
A large contingent of drivers will be made available to the media during a day-long function, which will result in print and electronic stories [...]

By Jeff Hood | Senior Writer
RacinToday.com
In the lengthy history of NASCAR, have we been treated to a perfect race?
It all depends on how you define perfection.
Richmond International Raceway, arguably one of the most competitive tracks on the NASCAR circuit, bills its facility and events as Racing Perfection.
But it was at Charlotte Motor Speedway in October 2009 when Jimmie Johnson proceeded to pace each [...]

By Jeff Hood | Senior Writer
RacinToday.com
My favorite part of a typical NASCAR three-day show is when drivers meet the media on Fridays and as they climb out of their cars following that weekend’s race.
That’s when we frequently witness the raw emotion of competitors who make a living by wheeling stock cars at high speeds each week.
On the track, the 2010 season was one of the most [...]

By Jeff Hood | Senior Writer
RacinToday.com
Christmas is the time of year when wish lists are floating around.
So aside from finding an 8-foot, high definition, flat screen television under my tree next weekend or hitting a multi-state lottery, here are a few items I jotted down that I’d like to see happen during the coming New Year:
For Mark [...]

By Jeff Hood | Senior Writer
RacinToday.com
It was another day at the office for Tammy Jo Kirk at her motorcycle shop in Dalton, Ga. earlier this week when word arrived that 18-year-old Johanna Long had won last Sunday’s Snowball Derby Super Late Model race in Pensacola, Fla.
It was welcome news to the 48-year-old Kirk, the 1994 winner of the Derby. But [...]

By Jeff Hood | Senior Writer
RacinToday.com
Before carving the turkey, let’s take a moment and reflect on the just-completed NASCAR season:
I’m thankful for Jamie McMurray winning the Daytona 500, just a few months after it appeared he was headed for the unemployment line.
I’m thankful Brad Keselowski wasn’t injured after Carl Edwards decided to retaliate at 190 miles [...]

By Jeff Hood | Senior Writer
RacinToday.com
The longest season in all of sports concludes on today when the checkered flag waves over the Ford 400 at Homestead-Miami Speedway.
Today, all eyes in the motorsports world will be focused on Denny Hamlin, Kevin Harvick and Jimmie Johnson as they battle for the Sprint Cup trophy.
The champions in NASCAR’s Nationwide and Camping [...]

By Jeff Hood | Senior Writer
RacinToday.com
As post-race celebrations in NASCAR go, roughly 99 percent of them are about as interesting as watching a crew member apply glue to lugnuts.
But thanks to Carl Edwards, I’m back on the edge of my seat when I see the checkered flag wave.
I happened to be standing with a group of people on pit [...]