Kasey Kahne a favorite to win the 500?

With about a month left until the Daytona 500, everybody has been wondering. Who is going to win the 500 in 2011? Who is going to be the first driver to win the first points race of the new season? The Daytona 500 is one of those races that NASCAR drivers want to be able to check off ‘running in the Daytona 500’ off their bucket lists. Can everyone think back to 2009? Rookie Joey Logano was making his first Daytona 500 at the age of 18. He’s been the youngest driver to start a Cup race from that day to November 7^th, 2010 when Trevor Bayne made his Sprint Cup debut. Two more rookie drivers will race in their first Daytona 500, Trevor Bayne and Steve Wallace. Who is most likely to win the Daytona 500? Jimmie Johnson? Jeff Gordon? Dale Earnhardt Jr.? Surprisingly, none of them won the poll. Red Bull Racing’s one-year driver Kasey Kahne won the poll. I was completely surprised. Kasey won in a land-slide, a whopping 14 votes from the 47 total votes cast. 17 drivers were nominated.

Results:

Kasey Kahne: 14

Dale Earnhardt Jr.: 5

Jeff Gordon: 5

Denny Hamlin: 4

Kyle Busch: 3

Tony Stewart: 3

Kevin Harvick: 2

Jamie McMurray: 2

Ryan Newman: 1

Carl Edwards: 1

Clint Bowyer: 1

Mark Martin: 1

Brian Vickers: 1

Bobby Labonte: 1

Jimmie Johnson: 1

Michael Waltrip: 1

Jeff Burton: 1

I got everyone from Jimmie Johnson to Michael Waltrip (Who both got a vote each), Mark Martin (my vote) to Kyle Busch. Yeah, I voted for Mark Martin. Me, a die-hard Kasey Kahne fan, voted for Martin. Out of all the drivers that her nominated, 7 drivers (Dale Earnhardt Jr., Jeff Gordon, Kevin Harvick, Jamie McMurray, Ryan Newman, Jimmie Johnson, Michael Waltrip) have won the 500 before. In the last nine Daytona 500s, there have been nine winners. Will someone who hasn’t won yet (Kasey Kahne, Kyle Busch) win or will someone who has won win it? There is only one thing to do! Check out the Daytona 500 February 20^th, on FOX. Good luck to every one!

Jeff Gordon, Trevor Bayne, Austin Dillon top Popular Driver polls

After this year’s ridiculous Most Popular Driver vote, I was appalled that Dale Earnhardt Jr. won for the eighth time in a row. So, I decided to see for myself if he was really the most popular driver in NASCAR. Why just stop at the Cup Series? I did a poll for all three top touring series. The Cup results surprised me, but in a good way. Nationwide didn’t surprise me at all and the Truck series didn’t as well.

The Cup Series poll threw me for a loop. Jeff Gordon flew passed everyone, even the so-called Most Popular Driver for eight years running.

Cup:

Jeff Gordon- 6

Joey Logano- 3

Bobby Labonte- 2

Dale Earnhardt Jr.- 2

Ryan Newman- 1

Kevin Harvick- 2

Tony Stewart- 2

Kasey Kahne- 3

Carl Edwards- 2

Denny Hamlin- 1

Trevor Bayne blew everyone out of the water in the Nationwide poll. How did he not win Most Popular Driver?

NNS

Robert Richardson- 1

Kyle Busch- 1

Trevor Bayne- 10

Kenny Wallace- 3

Ricky Stenhouse Jr.- 1

Steve Wallace- 1

Joe Nemechek- 1

Austin Dillon rocked the Camping World Truck Series poll. Again, how did he not win the title?

Truck

Austin Dillon- 7

Ron Hornaday- 3

Mike Skinner- 1

Matt Crafton- 1

Todd Bodine- 1

Ricky Carmichael- 3

James Buescher- 1

What does this tell you? People are not voting right. If you want to see your favorite driver win, you have to vote. That’s what I did. I voted for Kasey Kahne and Trevor Bayne like crazy, but it didn’t matter because other fans like me weren’t voting. Let’s make a change for next season. Let’s take away the Most Popular Driver title away from Dale Earnhardt Jr. and give it to someone who deserves it! When voting starts, vote, vote, vote!!

Colin Braun: NASCAR driver

As the years go on, NASCAR drivers are coming into the sport fairly young. 18, 19, 20 years old. Colin Braun, 22, is no exception. Signed by Roush Fenway in 2007, Colin has slowly become a household name. He won his first major NASCAR race on June 13^th, 2009 (Michigan 200)(my 18^th birthday). In 2010, Colin made the jump from the Truck series to the Nationwide series, piloting the #16 Conway-Freight Ford, joining fellow Rookie Ricky Stenhouse Jr. and Nationwide Series Champion Carl Edwards. Colin made 24 starts this past season, earning 5 top 10’s, but also 7 DNFs. You can say that Colin’s rookie season was a rollercoaster, especially when he was benched for a select races. Then, on December 1^st, Colin was released from his contract with Roush Fenway Racing because of sponsorship issues.

This piece of news rocked Twitter land, almost as much as the release of Trevor Bayne from DWR, or Kasey Kahne being released from his contract with RPM. The released raised some questions. What happened? Why did it happen? What was behind the split? It’s like a celebrity relationship, it happens. Sometimes, it doesn’t have a reason.

You’re probably wondering how I got Colin Braun to answer some questions. I have no clue, really. I tweeted him hoping to get a response, and I did. What comes to mind when you hear Colin Braun? Talented? Roush Fenway? I even got the answer of ‘surprisingly low water bill’ from the Nationwide series commercial (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cayG6MjjUqM). Everybody is wondering, Who is Colin Braun?

How did you get into racing? My dad was an engineer for a race team so I grew up with the sport.

How old were you when your first raced? I started out in quarter midgets at age 5.
Who got you into racing? My Dad

What were your emotions when you found you that your were going to drive for Roush Fenway? I was really excited to take my career to the next level

What is the best experience you have had since starting? Wining the Michigan truck race!

Who help you the most in your racing career? Definitely my Dad

When you won your first Truck race, what were you feeling? Really excited!

Who is your biggest supporter? My family

Were there any people that thought you wouldn’t get to where you are now? Yeah there's always doubters of course, but I just stay focused on what my goals are and continue to learn what I can do better.

Do you have any idea of where you may be next season? Not yet. Still working on the details but I'll keep everyone posted!

What do you doing during the off-season? I work at my personal shop and try to go karting.

If you weren’t racing, what would you be doing? I love working on stuff and tinkering. I'd have to say I'd be a maintenance man!

What do you think about Jimmie Johnson making history? Pretty cool

Do you see yourself in the Cup series sometime soon? Hopefully! That's the goal!

Pre-race rituals? Superstitions? Nothing really. Just try to keep a clear head.

Do you do any charity work? I try to do as many autograph signings and charity events as possible.

Anything else you want your fans to know about you? Crazy habits? I love to mow my grass!

As you can see, Colin Braun started his racing career early, he has the support of his family, and he loves to mow his grass. Colin is a great driver, a great person, and full of talent. He great to his fans. He just needs a chance to show off his talents.

Colin can be found on twitter: www.twitter.com/colinbraun

You can find me on twitter: www.twitter.com/SamRaeBayne

Kenny Francis tops Chad Knaus

Everyone is missing the NASCAR season, well so am I. In my recent boredom, I decided to take a poll. Actually, three polls.

First. If you were a NASCAR driver, which current Cup crew chief would you want to have? The usuals came up. Chad Knaus and Zippy, along with Mike Ford, Dave Rogers. Out of the 23 people who answered (yeah, it was that pathetic! Lol), the majority said three drivers. That kind of didn’t surprise me. What surprised me is that Chad Knaus DIDN’T get the most votes. Who did? That would be Kenny Francis, Kasey Kahne’s crew chief. I was fairly surprised that Kenny not only kept up with Chad, beat him in my poll. David Ragan’s crew chief, Drew Blickensderfer, made the list. Who can spell Blickensderfer without cheating?

Why did people pick Kenny Francis? I know why I did. It’s not because he is my favorite driver’s crew chief. It’s because of who he handles his driver under pressure. Kenny listens to Kasey when he has a problem. He tries to calm Kasey down when he is mad. He never gets angry with Kasey.

Results:

1. Kenny Francis- 8

2. Chad Knaus- 7

3. Greg Zipadelli- 3

4.Darian Grubb- 1

- Tony Eury Sr.- 1

- Mike Ford- 1

- Alan Gustafson- 1

- Drew Blickensderfer- 1

- Dave Rogers- 1

Second question: if you were to start your own NASCAR team and could have any driver, which current Cup driver would you choose? This completely surprised me. Out the 20 answers I got, only ONE said Jimmie Johnson. I am blown away that people wouldn’t want 5-time Cup champion on as their driver. I guess people don’t want to win. Jk! There was a tie for first. Denny Hamlin and Kasey Kahne received the same amount of votes. As my computer went into hibernation on me because it doesn’t tell me when I need to plug in anymore, I thought of some guys that missed the list: Carl Edwards, Mark Martin, Matt Kenseth, Brian Vickers, Greg Biffle, Kurt Busch.

Who did I pick? I picked Kasey Kahne. He has to be one of the most under-rated drivers out there. He is talented, but doesn’t quite have the career stats to show it.

Results:

1. Denny Hamlin: 4

- Kasey Kahne: 4

2. Tony Stewart: 2

- Kyle Busch: 2

- Ryan Newman: 2

3. Kevin Harvick: 1

- Jamie McMurray: 1

- Dale Jr.: 1

- Joey Logano: 1

- Jeff Gordon: 1

- Marcos Ambrose: 1

- Jeff Burton: 1

- Jimmie Johnson: 1

　

Third question: What is your favorite track? This one was easier to answer than the other two. It was pretty much a straight forward question. There are so many tracks to choose from: Pocono (the Tricky Triangle), Martinsville (The World’s Fastest Half-Mile), Darlington (The Lady in Black). Two of those three actually made the list. Two came out on top: Bristol and Charlotte. Two of my favorite tracks.

　

Results:

Bristol: 5

Charlotte: 5

Dover: 4

Talladega: 3

Dover: 3

Daytona: 2

Martinsville: 2

Pocono: 2

Indianapolis: 1

Atlanta: 1
Homestead: 1

　

If I didn’t get your votes, please feel free to comment them!

(Colin Braun exclusive to come soon! Stay tuned!)

Garrett Marchant: No Ordinary Kid

If you don’t know the name Garrett Marchant, you will in the next few years. I ‘met’ Garrett a few months ago on twitter through some mutual followers. He was trying to get a lot of followers and I was told to follow him, so I did. Little did I know, I found a good friend in this kid. I even sometimes call him Mr. Garrett, which peeves him a little. Maybe that’s why he like to call me ‘sir’. Great sense of humor, even though he likes to pick on us girls sometimes. At 13, almost 14, Garrett has been racing at tracks around his home in Roanoke Rapids, North Carolina, which I realized isn’t that far from my old home in Chesapeake, Virginia where I spent a week this past June. Garrett isn’t your typical teenage racer. Though he does race, he races for a cause. Along with his best friend, 9-year-old go-cart racer Ricky Springer, Garrett races to help APFED, or American Partnership For Eosinophillic Disorders. Like I said, he’s no ordinary racer. Garrett has even gotten a few, I guess you can call them famous, drivers to help in Racing For A Cause. Garrett has been doing what my middle school has been doing for CP or Cerebral Palsy, raising money. I can honestly say that I have donated and will probably continue to donate to his cause.

You don’t usually find kids like Garrett. Garrett hosts his own radio show on the internet called “For The Win.” on blogtalkradio.com. He has guests like Camping World Truck Series drivers Max Papis and Justin Lofton, Ross Kenseth, son of NASCAR Winston Cup Champion Matt Kenseth, and Nationwide Series driver Jeremy Clements. Last week Garrett asked if I wanted to ask him a few questions for my blog, which I delight accepted.

What got you into racing?

" Well my dad has raced for about 20 years now so I was at lots of racetracks going up and a few years ago I really decided that hey this is what I want to do."

What is your favorite thing about it?

" My favorite thing is the competition in no other sports series is there as much competition, I also love the speed factor."

What is your least favorite thing about it?

" The amount of sponsor dollars haha, but as far as things on track I hate how you can win a race one week and when you show up at the track you basically just can't even stay out of your own way."

When did you start racing?

" I started racing this year (2010) and I have been very pleased with my results so far and can't thank my team, sponsors, and fans enough for their support!"

I know you are an Elliott Sadler fan, what made you pick him as your favorite driver?

" Well Elliott is local, he lives 10 minute from my house, plus he was the first driver I met and also what really made me a Sadler fan he sent me a signed T-shirt to me without anyone asking him.

What is Racing For A Cause and how did it come into your racing? "Racing For A Cause was started by 9 year old Ricky Springer a few years ago who has the disease, It benefits APFED ( American Partnership For Eosinophillic Disorders). The deal came about pretty simply really I saw the cause and contacted Mrs. Julie Springer and I asked can I carry your logo and that was how it started."

When you are not racing, what are you doing?

" Working on racecars really race season never stops, but I enjoy hanging out with my friends and family since I don't get to spend much time with them during race season and I am at church basically every night so those are things I enjoy."

What do you hope to accomplish in the future with your racing and Racing For A Cause?

" I hope obviously in the first one to make it to NASCAR everybody says that but honestly that is the ultimate goal. To answer your second question I hope to have them on the hood of a car I drive in NASCAR one day and I also would like to educate everyone on Eosinophillic disorders because most people so not know about it.

Who are your Racing For A Cause teammates?

"Ricky Springer ( Founder of RFAC and Kart Driver) Jeremy Clements (NNS) Mike Senica (ARCA) Grant Enfinger (ARCA) Larry Spencer (Enduro) Trevor Ahouse ( FWD Division) and Bronson Butcher (Karts and Legends)

The off-season is here for you and NASCAR, what are you going to do?

" Work on racecars, work out, look for sponsors that type of thing, racing may stop for the fans but

it never stops race teams in the off season."

How do you prepare for a race?

"I like to work out , get lots of rest, eat good foods and that type of thing during the week to get me ready to race."

Any pre-race rituals?

" Yes, the only Pre Race Ritual I have is to pray with my race team before every one of my races but that is my only Pre Race Ritual."

What is your mentality going into next year?

"My mentality is: I'm racing at Orange County and South Boston they are two of the toughest race tracks their are ( I'm running full time at Orange County for points) So If I can get a top 5 in points and ROTY I will feel like I have really done something, I 'd love to win a race but we will see what happens."

Anything else you want people to know about you?

" Not really besides that I am very religious I make sure I am at church every chance I get, and I would also like everyone to know I am very thankful for my fans and family and appreciate every one's support so much it really motivates me to make it to NASCAR."

Like I said, Garrett Marchant is no ordinary kid. Every kid has a dream, and Garrett’s is to make it to NASCAR top level. What sets Garrett apart from other kids his age, Garrett is actually trying to do something about it. I am proud to know Garrett. He’s trying to make a difference here.

If you want to help Racing For A Cause, please contact him at

www.twitter.com/GarrettMarchant or on his Facebook page: http://www.facebook.com/#!/pages/Garrett-Marchant/319657193853. You can contact me at either www.twitter.com/SamRaeBayne or my e-mail samyoung13@hotmail.com

if you can not reach Garrett. Please help. Kids like Ricky need it.

Why Driver/crew chief relationships are important

In NASCAR, you have to have a good relationship with your crew chief in order to be successful. We've all seen what Jimmie Johnson and Chad Knuas can do together. Steve LeTarte and Jeff Gordon, Joey Logano and Greg Zipadelli, Denny Hamlin and Mike Ford, Kasey Kahne and Kenny Francis. These are some of the more well known driver/crew chief in NASCAR. Most of the time, they get along, but some times, it doesn't go over so well. Rick Hendrick almost split Jimmie and Chad up because they kept fighting. What makes now so different than a few years ago. Jimmie and Chad still yell at each other. As a driver, you HAVE to have faith and trust in your crew chief. How are you two going to work if you don't have either of those? Everybody can say that Jimmie Johnson and Chad Knuas are the best driver/crew chief combo in NASCAR, but they are not. I know they have the 50+ wins and the 5 championships, but they don't quite mesh together as well as a certain driver/crew chief combo. Here's a hint for you. These to have ten wins together, but have recently been separated due to the fact that the driver was release early from his contract. Give up? It's Kasey Kahne and Kenny Francis. These two may not be as successful as Jimmie and Chad, but they have something they don't. Respect for each other. I'm not saying that they don't, I'm saying is that they don't that the relationship that Kasey and Kenny have. When Kasey gets angry, Kenny doesn't yell back. He tries to calm his driver down. You never seen them angry at each other. One driver/crew chief relationship that doesn't work is Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Lance McGrew. Going back to what Kyle Busch said back in 2008 about Rick making Lance Dale's crew chief, "It's always the crew chief, never the driver." In this case, it is the crew chief. From what I have heard, Lance doesn't listen to Dale. They are not meshing. What I think should happen is when Kasey goes to Hendrick Motorsports in 2012 is Kasey should bring Kenny with him as his crew chief of the 5, Alan goes to the 88, and Rick gets rid of Lance completely. Lance is not helping the situation at ALL. You see, driver/crew chief relationships are very important in this sport. (Note: I think Kenny Francis should get a twitter account.)

What is with NASCAR drivers growing the beards?

I figured, since Austin Dillon has joined this group, why not blog about NASCAR stars and their facial hair, or the lack there of. Why am I talking about NASCAR driver's facial hair? Frankly, I have no clue. Oh wait! I do! It's all Austin Dillon's fault! He's been growing a beard for the past two weeks. I am not saying facial hair is bad, when you look like Kasey Kahne or Denny Hamlin, but when drivers start to look like Big Foot, like Jimmie Johnson and Dale Jr, that is where I draw the line. Where do you official draw the line with the facial hair? Who is their right mind would grow a big Foot beard? What kind of things would you find in there? Some people look good with beards, others do not. Austin's beard hasn't quite grown on me (see the play on words? lol), but it looks pretty darn hot. Dale Jr. *pukes in mouth a little* What the HELL where you thinking? When you don't shave, you look like a hobo, hence one of my first blog subjects. You can NOT tell me that you think that looks hot. If someone went through it with a comb, they would probably find a bird or some food who dropped in there. That is disgusting. You need a weed whacker for that? I'd say. Jimmie Johnson *cringes* Now, what the hell were you thinking? You wanted to be like Junior? That's not right. Yours doesn't look as bad as Junior's, but it still looks bad. Kasey Kahne *tiger growl* Oh man! Have you seen this guy with facial hair? Sexy! ;D You see? Some guys look hot with facial hair and some do not. I know this is one of my weirder blogs, but all well. Austin, why did you have to go and mess with Ashley's head? I mean, she likes you anyway, but this just kind of confuses her. Don't get my wrong, you look pretty good with the beard, but it's weird. I wonder how long you are going keep the hair. Just don't confuse Ashley more than what you already have! Oh! I almost forgot this! Kyle Busch soul patch from his Hendrick days! It looked like you had an unremovalable dirt patch on your chin. I am GLAD that you came to your senses and got rid of the damn thing. Now, if Dale can take a hint about the full of beard, then we would be all happy.