SPORTS SHORTS

5 of the Most Impressive Feats in Racing By: Brian Cotnoir 1.) Graham Hill, “Triple Crown of Motorsport” The best drivers in racing aren’t good at just one form of auto racing, they are good at multiple forms of racing.   Some drivers have raced everything from go-karts, to open wheeled cars (F1 and IndyCar), NASCAR, Rally, sprint cars, Top Fuel Funnycars, Endurance Racing, Sports cars, etc. and it’s hard enough to win in one of those vehicles, now imagine winning 3 of the biggest races worldwide.     For most of the history of racing there are three races that stand out as the best:   IndyCar’s Indianapolis 500, Formula 1’s Monaco Grand Prix, and Endurance Racings 24 Hours of Le Mans.    These are three of the oldest and most well-known races in the world.    To this day, only one driver has won all three; Great Britain’s Graham Hill.    Hill won the 1966 Indianapolis 500, the 1972 24 Hours of Leman and is a 5-time winner of ...

Where does Michael McDowell’s Daytona 500 win rank on the All-Time Daytona 500 Upsets? By Brian Cotnoir Last month I published an article, “Top 5 Last Lap Passes at the Daytona 500” and low and behold, yesterday we had another one!     With his last lap pass McDowell becomes the 8 th driver to get their first career win at the “Great American Race”, joining Tiny Lund, Mario Andretti, Pete Hamilton, Derrike Cope, Sterling Marlin, Michael Waltrip, and Trevor Bayne.   All victories considered “Upsets” in their own rights, but where does McDowell’s finish fit with among these greats. Let’s look at some contributing factors: Drivers like Tiny Lund, Mario Andretti, and Pete Hamilton never competed full-time in NASCAR, but their wins in the 500 came driving for some of the greatest teams in history.   Lund won the Daytona 500 for the famous Wood Brothers team—subbing for the injured Marvin Panch—and got them the first of their 5 Daytona 500 wins.   Mario An...

Dear Kyle Larson, I'm sorry.  Back and August I published an article on my blog called "NASCAR doesn't need Kyle Larson" and at the time I meant it.  At the time I felt that you had sullied the sport of NASCAR and that there was little to no chance at redemption for what you said and did.   I was wrong.   Clearly I was.  You're back in NASCAR and you have a great deal of support behind you, and I would like to be one of those people who support you and cheer for you.    I remember when I first saw you in the Truck Series back in 2011-2013-ish, I thought this guy is going to be a Superstar!   Kyle I do want to see you succeed in NASCAR again.   I know you made the biggest and dumbest mistake of your life when you said that word, and I know you regret it.   I do believe you have been genuinely sincere and that you have made efforts to better yourself. I let my emotions get the best of me, and I should have put more...

  5 More lesser-known, but awesome racing stories (Part 6) By Brian Cotnoir Here we go again!    These are some awesome stories (…well maybe not #2) that you’ve probably never heard about in racing.    I hope you you enjoy reading this article as much as I did researching and writing it.   1.)   The Official Indy 500 Pace Car crashes into the photographer stands The Indianapolis 500 is the most famous open wheel race held in the United States (and quite possibly the world).    Manufacturers every year vie every year to have one of their vehicles be the official pace car of the Indy 500.   In 1971, four Indianapolis-area Dodge dealers supplied Dodge Challenger’s to be the official pace car or that year.   With track owner, Tony Hulman, ABC Reporter Chris Schenkel, and astronaut John Glenn riding along for the parade lap, pace car driver Eldon Palmer pulled onto the pit lane and began to accelerate.   Palmer mistakenly be...

  5 Awesome, but lesser-known Racing stories (Part 5) By: Brian Cotnoir Here we are again:  I’ve somehow managed to find 5 MORE awesome, but lesser-known racing stories.  If you’re a hardcore racing fan, like I am you may have already known some of these, but to the casual racing fan these may be more surprising. 1.) Charlie Glotzbach shot by a disgruntled employee Wow, 1969 was a terrible year for NASCAR Journeyman Charlie Glotzbach.   It started with him losing that years Daytona 500 by 0.1 seconds to LeeRoy Yarbrough on a last lap pass.  Later that year while working at his race shop back in Indiana, Glotzbach was shot twice by a disgruntled employee he had fired the day before.  Miraculously, Glotzbach survived his injuries suffering only broken ribs.  Interestingly enough, doctors left one of the bullets in Glotzbach’s shoulder, so he raced for the rest of his career with a bullet in his shoulder.   In the first televised NA...

  10 Awesome Tribute, Number Swaps, and Copycat Paint Schemes in Racing By: Brian Cotnoir I wish I could come up with a better intro to this article, but I am really struggling to think of a way to do it.   A lot of times a teams paintscheme (or livery) depends on the sponsor.   You will see corporations and companies sponsor teams across mutliple racing series.  In the past companies like Martini, Valvoline, Miller, Marlboro, Budweiser, NAPA, and Bass Pro Shop ran almost idential liveries across mutltiple forms of racing.   Other times a sponsor will follow a driver to a new team, and while the paint scheme may remain the same but the numbers will swap, and finally sometime's a car fails to qualify for a race so a team opts to buy a ride from a different team to feature their sponsor, but they have to run with the number of the other team on it for that one race.  Whatever the reason here are 10 Awesome Tribute, Number Swaps, and Copy Cat Pa...

  Top 5 Best Lap Passes at the Daytona 500 By Brian Cotnoir The Daytona 500 is a little over a month away!   There is no doubt in my mind that the Daytona 500 is my favorite race of the entire year!   No other NASCAR race has as much excitement and memorable finishes as NASCAR Biggest race of the season.   It’s not just a race, it’s an event!     Now personally, I love last lap passes, but those last lap passes take on a whole new meaning during the Daytona 500.    To me a last lap pass at the Daytona 500 is like a buzzer beater in basketball or an overtime goal in hockey, or a walk-off homerun in baseball!   It just gives the race more excitement, and fortunately for me, most of the best Daytona 500’s with a last lap pass have happened in my lifetime!    So without further ado,    here are my picks for the 5 Best Last Lap finishes at the Daytona 500! 5.)   Dale Jarrett, 1993 As a kid watching NASCAR in t...