Larry Woody, Senior Writer
Larry Woody is a native of Nashville, Tenn. He was the motor sports beat writer at the Nashville Tennessean from the early 1970s until 2008. He continues to live in Nashville.
Articles by Larry Woody
Larry Woody | Senior Writer
RacinToday.com
Kyle Busch and Kevin Harvick are two of the most talented drivers in NASCAR.
They also are two of the most temperamental.
What happens when the two opposing forces collide? Sheet metal and fists fly.
That’s what occurred last Saturday night at Darlington when Busch and Harvick tangled while scrambling for the same slab [...]
By Larry Woody | Senior Writer
RacinToday.com
NASCAR’s official position is that it doesn’t play favorites with its drivers, and that may be true in terms of enforcing the rules.
But you can bet your bippy – as they used say on Laugh-In – that NASCAR is rooting for Dale Earnhardt Jr. to have a successful season. Successful, [...]
Larry Woody | Senior Writer
RacinToday.com
Over the weekend I watched the TV biographies of three of this month’s NASCAR Hall of Fame inductees – Bud Moore, Lee Petty and Ned Jarrett – and it make me realize what’s missing from the sport today:
Them, and men like them.
Lots of older fans complain about today’s lackluster racing, micro-managed [...]
I’ve known Chad Chaffin and Bobby Hamilton Jr. since they were kids. I covered their dads’ racing careers and, later on, chronicled their own NASCAR adventures.
They’re both great guys and that’s why awhile back when I heard they were awarded a two-year lease to operate Nashville’s 54-year-old Fairgrounds Speedway I wasn’t sure whether congratulations or [...]
Larry Woody | Senior Writer
RacinToday.com
Nashville, Tenn. – It was a micro-second that would define Ricky Craven’s 25-year racing career.
In a 2003 race at Darlington, Craven nipped Kurt Busch by 0.002 seconds, the closest finish ever recorded in a NASCAR race since the advent of electronic scoring in 1993.
A couple of weeks ago at Talladega, that [...]
By Larry Woody | Senior Writer
RacinToday.com
Which of the 25 nominees for the NASCAR Hall of Fame’s Class of 2012 should be inducted?
Every one of ‘em.
But since Oz, or whoever’s behind the curtain, is adamant about restricting each class to five, here’s my choices for the third round:
Darrell Waltrip
Cale Yarborough
Fireball Roberts
Curtis Turner
Tim Flock
How there can be [...]
Larry Woody | Senior Writer
RacinToday.com
Nashville, Tenn. – Go Canada Racing, a new NASCAR team owned by a Canadian businessman and based in Nashville, made its debut in Saturday’s Nationwide race at Nashville Superspeedway and announced big plans for the future.
Team owner Steve Meehan said his plan is to run “about’’ 10 Nationwide races and two [...]
Larry Woody | Senior Writer
RacinToday.com
There are two ways to look at this weekend’s open date on the Sprint Cup schedule:
1. It gives drivers and fans a chance to exhale after last Sunday’s Talladega thriller.
2. Like lifting down the backstretch, the pause will break the tremendous momentum that NASCAR has finally built up.
I tend to take [...]
Larry Woody | Senior Writer
RacinToday.com
Young driver Trevor Bayne was bitten by the racing bug when he was just a kid.
Last week he was bitten by some other type of insect and went through some scary moments. Bayne was admitted to a Charlotte hospital for treatment, later released, and at last word he is OK and [...]
It’s become a weekly refrain: Last week’s race at (fill in the blank) was an uncompetitive bore.
Matt Kenseth’s Texas one-step DID differ a bit from most of the so-called racing that has become the NASCAR norm: in a typical race the drivers log laps for 95 percent of the race, then turn it on during [...]