SPORTS SHORTS

 5 Drivers who had no business competing in NASCAR By: Brian H Cotnoir Thousands of drivers have made starts in NASCAR across its history.   The best drivers in NASCAR go on to have long and prosperous careers, some drivers are late bloomers, some drivers' careers come quickly, and other drivers show a lot of potential early on in their career but fail to find success in the top Series (I.E. NASCAR Busts).   Then there are drivers that make you go "how the hell did this person every get a ride in NASCAR?".  Well, here are five drivers that made many fans wonder the same thing. 1.)  John Wes Townley The son of Zaxby's restaurants Co-Owner, John Wes Townley career only existed because of sponsorship from his father's business.   Townley drove for some of the best teams in NASCAR, Roush Fenway, Richard Childress Racing, and Red Horse Racing.   Townley struggled on the track, and his high frequency of wrecks on track led some fans to du...

In Defense of Buckshot Jones  By Brian H Cotnoir One of the coolest nicknames in NASCAR History, Roy "Buckshot" Jones.   Buckshot Jones took a rather unconventional road to NASCAR and managed to win races too.   However, just as it looked like he was about to racing dreams would come true, his meteoric rise through NASCAR came to screeching halt. As I mentioned, Buckshot Jones rise through NASCAR was rather unconventional.  He began racing as a hobby while he was a student at the University of Georgia, where he earned a business degree.   Jones ran in the NASCAR Southeast Series in the 1992.   Jones and his father, Billy, came up with a six-year plan to start their own race team and become NASCAR Champions.  In 1994, Jones started in 19-out-of-21 races in the NASCAR Southeast Series.  He finished 16th in points.  Jones best finish in the NASCAR Southeast Series was a 5th place finish at Martinsville in 1995. Throughout 199...

5 "How Embarrassing" moments in Auto By Brian H Cotnoir In racing sometimes it's better to be lucky than good.   When you're really unlucky, it tends to be more noticeable (especially on television).  Here are five moments that drivers experienced on track that'll make you say "How Embarrassing" 1.)  Mike Borkowski is sued by his sponsor Speed costs money.  A big-name sponsor can make or break a driver's career.  We've seen drivers' careers come to screeching halt due to lack of sponsorship or the end of a sponsorship deal, but what would happen if you're on-track performance was so bad that your sponsor decided to sue you?  That's exactly what happened to driver Mike Borkowski. Mike Borkowski  You'd be forgiven for not remembering or recognizing the name Mike Borkowski.   Before racing in NASCAR, Borkowski had a successful racing career in Sports Cars.  He won four different titles in the Sports Car Club of America (SCCA).  In...

NASCAR's Forgotten Dark History: Tales of Derailment, Drugs, and Destruction By Brian H Cotnoir If you asked most NASCAR fans to point out the Darkest Time in the Sports History, I'm sure many fans would say from between 2000-2001, when the sport lost five drivers---Adam Petty, Kenny Irwin Jr., Tony Roper, Dale Earnhardt Sr., and Blaise Alexander--all in racing accidents.  The cause of death for all five was a basilar skull fracture. The following season ARCA driver, Eric Martin was killed when he was hit driver side door after spinning during a practice session at Charlotte Motor Speedway.  These tragic events led a safety revolution in NASCAR which led to the development of NASCAR's fifth generation car (dubbed "The Car of Tomorrow"), mandatory head and neck restraints for all competitors, all race teams were required to have a Spotter for all Practice sessions, and the installation of steal of foam walls--known better as SAFER Barriers--to replace the solid con...

In Defense of Pete Hamilton By Brian H Cotnoir I've been a resident of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts for over 30 years, it's really the only home I've ever known, but it's not really a hot spot for Auto Racing.   The state at one point had three short tracks--Norwood Sports Arena, Riverside Park Raceway, and Seekonk Speedway--but only Seekonk Speedway remains active.   If you were to ask race fans in Massachusetts who the state's best driver was, I'm sure most of them would say Hall of Famer Mike Stefanik, who won seven Modified Championships and two championships in the Busch North Series, however in NASCAR's top three series he never won a race, his best finish was a 2nd place at Homestead in the NASCAR Truck Series.  Some older fans might say Ron Bouchard is the best driver from Massachusetts, he won the 1981 NASCAR Cup Series Rookie of the Year and won his only Cup race at Talladega the same year.  Bouchard remained a popular figure throughout local...