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Rick Minter, Senior Writer

Rick Minter joined The Atlanta Journal-Constitution in 1991, where he covered motorsports as well as serving as a bureau chief. From 2000-2008 he focused on racing exclusively, traveling the NASCAR circuit as the paper’s motorsports writer and winning awards from several organizations including the Georgia20 Automobile Racing Hall of Fame Association and the City of Atlanta. Minter and his wife Joanne live on the family farm in Inman, Ga. In his spare time he collects and restores antique tractors and trucks.

Articles by Rick Minter

Minter: Winners Are Losers In Chase To The Chase
Wednesday, 1 Sep, 2010 – 7:15 | No Comment
Minter: Winners Are Losers In Chase To The Chase

By Rick Minter | Senior Writer
RacinToday.com
A few random thoughts as the NASCAR circuit heads to the home turf, Atlanta Motor Speedway:
The prospect of a Chase field with more than its share of non-winners – and a no-win champion for that matter – looms large with just two races left to run before the start of [...]

Minter: Where’s The Respect, Tony?
Monday, 23 Aug, 2010 – 7:18 | 9 Comments
Minter: Where’s The Respect, Tony?

By Rick Minter | Senior Writer
RacinToday.com
Bristol, Tenn. – There are few places in the NASCAR world more friendly to the dwindling print and Internet media corps than Bristol Motor Speedway. Lori Worley and the rest of the staff there seem really to enjoy and appreciate the presence of the people who earn a living dragging [...]

Minter: Chasing More Important Than Winning
Friday, 20 Aug, 2010 – 13:14 | 7 Comments
Minter: Chasing More Important Than Winning

By Rick Minter | Senior Writer
RacinToday.com
Bristol, Tenn. – As I sat and listened to the questions posed to drivers in the brand-new media center on Friday morning at Bristol Motor Speedway, almost all of them about the upcoming Chase, I thought of what Humpy Wheeler often says about the difficulty of selling tickets to a [...]

Minter: Root Pruning Has Not Helped NASCAR
Wednesday, 11 Aug, 2010 – 6:55 | 5 Comments
Minter: Root Pruning Has Not Helped NASCAR

By Rick Minter | Senior Writer
RacinToday.com
When I read Kevin Harvick’s comments about the upcoming schedule changes, the first thing that came to mind was an old lawyer’s tale that has been attributed to Abraham Lincoln.
Harvick observed that NASCAR’s latest shifting of race dates is justified based on the results of schedule changes back in 2001.
“The [...]

Minter: Earnhardt Jr. Not Just About Numbers
Friday, 6 Aug, 2010 – 6:57 | 9 Comments
Minter: Earnhardt Jr. Not Just About Numbers

By Rick Minter | Senior Writer
RacinToday.com
Some enterprising PR person figured out that Dale Earnhardt Jr. will be making his 500th major NASCAR start this weekend. To come up with that stat, one has to combine his Sprint Cup and Nationwide Series starts, but it’s a legitimate and appropriate number since much of Earnhardt’s success and [...]

Minter: More Tradition Sent Down The Drain
Thursday, 5 Aug, 2010 – 16:27 | 4 Comments
Minter: More Tradition Sent Down The Drain

By Rick Minter | Senior Writer
RacinToday.com
Hampton, Ga. – With all the talk about Atlanta Motor Speedway possibly losing a race date, it was troubling to see Marcy Scott’s phone number pop up on the cell phone Thursday morning.
Scott is the PR manager at AMS. She was calling to inform me of a hastily-called press conference [...]

Atlanta To Be Stripped Of One Of Its Cup Dates
Thursday, 5 Aug, 2010 – 11:09 | 2 Comments
Atlanta To Be Stripped Of One Of Its Cup Dates

By Rick Minter | Senior Writer
RacinToday.com
Hampton, Ga. – Atlanta Motor Speedway has confirmed RacinToday’s earlier report from Thursday that it was losing one of its two annual Sprint Cup dates.
Early this afternoon, Ed Clark, president of AMS, made the announcement.
“Atlanta Motor Speedway has provided top-quality racing entertainment to spectators from across the nation and around the [...]

Minter: Smoldering Issues Flare Anew After Pocono
Monday, 2 Aug, 2010 – 9:28 | 3 Comments
Minter: Smoldering Issues Flare Anew After Pocono

By Rick Minter | Senior Writer
RacinToday.com
The events of the past week on the NASCAR circuit show among other things, just how many difficult issues are being faced not only by NASCAR officials and track owners but also by the members of the ever-shrinking media corps and fans themselves
When word of NASCAR’s decision to fine drivers [...]

Minter: Silencing Is Not Golden In NASCAR
Tuesday, 27 Jul, 2010 – 7:14 | 5 Comments
Minter: Silencing Is Not Golden In NASCAR

By Rick Minter | Senior Writer
RacinToday.com
The rumors were flying this past weekend that NASCAR had fined some of its top drivers as much as $50,000 for comments series officials considered detrimental to the sport.
Then on Monday, the Associated Press reported the same thing. Although no sources were quoted directly, the story matches the word passed [...]

Minter: McMurray Has Been An Overlooked Wheel Man
Monday, 26 Jul, 2010 – 20:52 | 2 Comments
Minter: McMurray Has Been An Overlooked Wheel Man

By Rick Minter | Senior Writer
RacinToday.com
A few random thoughts on a post-Brickyard Monday:
As Jamie McMurray lined up with the lead, although with only two fresh tires, in the closing laps of the Brickyard 400, I thought back to a conversation in the Nationwide Series garage at Charlotte some months back.
Several veteran crew chiefs were talking. [...]