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
Bristol, Tenn. – In spite of its reputation as a place where tempers get out of hand and wrecks just seem to happen, Bristol Motor Speedway also has the feel of a down-home friendly place.
For those of us on the print and Internet side of the media, it’s one of the most welcoming places on [...]
By Rick Minter | Senior Writer
RacinToday.com
As the Carl Edwards-Brad Keselowski saga moves forward, one of the bigger questions will be what the incident, on top of others before it, does to Edwards’ image.
There’s no doubt he’s been a media favorite, as he’s been open and cooperative since he first came on the NASCAR scene back [...]
By Rick Minter | Senior Writer
RacinToday.com
Maybe it’s because I’m getting old or because I dwell too much on the past, but I can’t help but think of the ironies in the Carl Edwards-Brad Keselowski situation at Atlanta Motor Speedway last Sunday.
It seems like just a few races back that Edwards was involved in another late-race [...]
By Rick Minter | Senior Writer
RacinToday.com
Hampton, Ga. – “The Wreck” at Atlanta Motor Speedway on Sunday wound up overshadowing everything else that happened there that day, which is what is to be expected when wrecks are used as one of the main tools to promote NASCAR racing.
Among the stories that were shuffled aside Sunday night [...]
By Rick Minter | Senior Writer
RacinToday.com
Unless there’s something going on behind the scenes that we don’t know about, NASCAR president Mike Helton has said “Have at it, boys” a lot louder than his VP Robin Pemberton said it back in January.
By only placing Carl Edwards on a three-race probation for intentionally wrecking Brad Keselowski at [...]
Hampton, Ga. – For the second time in less than a year, I’ve sat in a press box at a high-speed NASCAR track and watched a car be spun around, lift off the ground, turn upside down and slam into a retaining wall and catchfence.
At Talladega Superspeedway last year, it was Carl Edwards flying into [...]
By Rick Minter | Senior Writer
RacinToday.com
Hampton, Ga. – For some time now, there’s been debate about whether the burgeoning business side of NASCAR negatively impacts the sporting side.
Saturday’s E-Z-GO 200 Camping World Truck Series race at Atlanta Motor Speedway showed that the business side can actually make for a better show on the race track.
Kevin Harvick [...]
Hampton, Ga. – There are always a few images that stick with you after a weekend at the races.
One that is enduring from Friday at Atlanta Motor Speedway is of Modified driver Tim Brown walking back and forth from the makeshift Modified pits behind Turn One to the Sprint Cup garage on the Turn Four [...]
By Rick Minter | Senior Writer
RacinToday.com
Hampton, Ga. – Of all the stories in the NASCAR garage, Timothy Peters’ is as good as they come.
His is a story of taking risks, and overcoming odds and pressing ahead in the face of uncertainty with a smile on his face when a more realistic person would be in [...]
By Rick Minter | Senior Writer
RacinToday.com
Hampton, Ga. – For most of his Sprint Cup career, Regan Smith has been known for almost winning the October, 2008, Sprint Cup race at Talladega. Some will still argue that he did win since he crossed the finish line first only to be penalized for going below the yellow [...]