John Sturbin, Senior Writer
John Sturbin joined the staff of RacinToday.com after a 35-year career in the daily newspaper business, the last 12 as nationally recognized motorsports beat writer at the Fort Worth Star-Telegram. He was point-man for the paper’s expanded and award-winning motorsports coverage beginning in the mid-1990s, centered around NASCAR and IndyCar series events at Texas Motor Speedway. Sturbin covered his first Indianapolis 500 in 1980, and has staffed “The Greatest Spectacle in Racing” every year since. He regularly has covered the National Hot Rod Association’s annual event at Texas Motorplex in Ennis since the mid-1980s. A native of Rome, N.Y., Sturbin first followed the careers of NASCAR Modified champions Richie Evans and Jerry Cook at Utica-Rome Speedway in Vernon, N.Y., as a fan before eventually covering both drivers as sports writer at The Daily Sentinel. While at The Sentinel, Sturbin began staffing Formula One’s annual autumn visit to Watkins Glen International during the mid-1970s. Since moving to Fort Worth in October 1978, he has covered Formula One events on street circuits in Dallas and Phoenix and at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Sturbin’s international travels while covering professional boxing led to a freelance assignment staffing the 1989 24 Hours of Le Mans for The Associated Press. He also has authored freelance articles for numerous clients, including Texas Motor Speedway and Atlanta Motor Speedway. John has served as a voting member of the Driver of the Year media panel since 1996, as well as various industry-related hall of fame selection committees. Sturbin received the prestigious Bloys Britt Award in motorsports, as judged by The Associated Press, for a feature on IndyCar icon A.J. Foyt Jr.’s rehabilitation from devastating foot and leg injuries. He also is a past recipient of the National Hot Rod Association’s Media Award. During his tenure at the Star-Telegram, Sturbin received numerous in-house awards for motorsports coverage, including Editorial Employee of the Month and Spot News Story of the Year for his report on the death of seven-time NASCAR champion Dale Earnhardt in February 2001. In addition to his motorsports resume, Sturbin logged two stints covering the Dallas Cowboys as backup beat writer. He also has covered the NFL, Major League Baseball, NBA, NHL, NCAA football and basketball, World Gymnastics Championships and various high school and semi-pro sports. A graduate of Utica (N.Y.) College, Sturbin is a classic car and motorcycle enthusiast. He resides in Southwest Fort Worth.
Articles by John Sturbin
By John Sturbin | Senior Writer
RacinToday.com
FORT WORTH, Texas – Kyle Busch admittedly went off the deep end Friday night at Texas Motor Speedway. And without apology, Busch took Ron Hornaday Jr.’s championship hopes with him.
Upset with contact initiated by Hornaday that caused him to brush the Turn 2 wall under green, Busch retaliated under yellow [...]
By John Sturbin | Senior Writer
RacinToday.com
FORT WORTH, Texas – Separated by 11 points and approximately five-hundredths of a second, James Buescher and Austin Dillon will resume their bids for the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series championship at Texas Motor Speedway Friday night.
Native Texan Buescher – who trails first-place Dillon by 11 points – made a [...]
By John Sturbin | Senior Writer
RacinToday.com
For the third time this month, NASCAR Sprint Cup Series teams tested Electronic Fuel Injection on-track Monday, as 10 cars churned out laps around Martinsville Speedway’s 0.526-mile paper clip layout.
Teams from Roush Fenway Racing, Penske Racing, Michael Waltrip Racing, Hendrick Motorsports, NEMCO Motorsports, Joe Gibbs Racing, Furniture Row Racing, Earnhardt-Ganassi [...]
By John Sturbin | Senior Writer
RacinToday.com
Major League Baseball fan Robert Hight admittedly is still swinging for the fences in pursuit of a second NHRA Funny Car world championship.
Inspired by the grit displayed by the newly crowned World Champion St. Louis Cardinals, Hight sped to the provisional pole after two of four rounds of qualifications Friday [...]
By John Sturbin | Senior Writer
RacinToday.com
Having separated themselves from their Class of 2011 peers, Hector Arana Jr. and Vincent Nobile are poised to settle the Automobile Club Road to the Future Award as NHRA’s top rookie.
And they’ll have to do so quickly. Two races remain in the six-event Countdown to the Championship playoffs, beginning with [...]
By John Sturbin | Senior Writer
RacinToday.com
FORT WORTH, Texas – As so often happens during a group interview, there was a question I really wanted to ask Dan Wheldon one-on-one before we ran out of time.
This was on Tuesday, May 31, two days after Wheldon’s improbable victory in the 100th anniversary edition of the Indianapolis 500. [...]
An inability to solve two days of extreme track conditions in the desert left NHRA Top Fuel points-leader Spencer Massey and veteran Funny Car driver Ron Capps stunned after both failed to make their respective 16-car fields at the close of qualifying Saturday for the 27th
annual NHRA Arizona Nationals at Firebird International Raceway.
Massey’s DNQ – [...]
Rival IZOD IndyCar Series team principals Mike Hull and Tim Cindric will spend Sunday afternoon trying to outwit one another as Dario Franchitti and Will Power decide the 2011 driver’s championship during the Las Vegas Indy 300 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.
Hull, managing director of Target Chip Ganassi Racing, hopes to guide Franchitti to his [...]
Quite used to generating headlines by merely showing up at a “friggin’^” racetrack, Danica Patrick let her numbers do some meaningful talking during the opening practice for Sunday’s season-ending IZOD INDYCAR World Championships presented by Honda.
Patrick – making what will be her 116th and final IndyCar start as a series regular for the forseeable future [...]
By John Sturbin | Senior Writer
RacinToday.com
If they weren’t so singularly focused on beating the snot out of each other on-track over the last two seasons, Dario Franchitti and Will Power might be BFFs.
As it is, Franchitti and Power will head into Sunday’s IZOD INDYCAR World Championships Presented by Honda at Las Vegas Motor Speedway separated [...]