After Brad Keselowski earned his second win of the season at Talladega, is it time to call Keselowski a championship contender?I believe the answer is yes.Keselowski is in his third full-time season in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series with Penske Racing, and he has shown that he can be the lead driver of that organization.  Keselowski shocked the racing world last season when he got wins at Kansas, Pocono and Bristol to make the Chase via the wild-card slot. He opened a lot of people eye's when he finished fifth in points when the season ended.Now fast-forward to 2012. Keselowski has two wins already (Bristol and Talladega) and they came a month before he got his first win during the 2011 season.The Blue Deuce looks to be a lock for the Ch...

Brad Keselowski managed to survive the carnage during Sunday’s NASCAR Sprint Cup race at Talladega, bringing home the big trophy—a first for a Dodge product since 1976.The opening 100 laps were fairly boring, but the rest of the 300 laps were better, comprised of a few small wrecks and two large ones, wiping out some top contenders such as Carl Edwards, Jeff Gordon, Kevin Harvick and so on.By the end of a long afternoon, 19 cars were sidelined by either wrecks or blown engines—a wide open track obviously tough on engines to run flat out for so long each lap.The race began with a slight delay for a brief shower just before the scheduled opening lap. Once underway, pole sitter Gordon brought the field to the stripe, but neve...

Even if you aren’t a fan of NASCAR, you will love the kind of racing that goes on at the Aaron’s 499 at Talladega every year. With speeds close to 200 mph and the best drivers in the world, this is the most exciting show on asphalt every season. “The Big One” is what they call the inevitable crash that collects half the field at this track, so that’s something to look for if you aren’t a fan of the actual racing. Let’s be honest; even the most hardcore racing fans love seeing the crashes as long as everyone is safe. Check back to this article for the complete post-race leaderboard, reaction and analysis from Talladega!  Update at 7:00 p.m. ET by Timothy RappBrad Keselowski won this year's Aaron...

It was good ole Talladega racing with the "big ones" that ended under green-white-checker conditions, as Joey Logano jumped Kyle Busch on the last lap for a win and Danica Patrick retaliated big time. Patrick was attempting to side draft on the outside of Sam Hornish Jr. on the final lap, as the two battled for position. Hornish blocked Patrick, pushing her against the wall, and the driver of the No. 7 GoDaddy.com made good on her promise that she wouldn't let the guys push her around. Hornish may have had trouble keeping his car down because of a possible tire going down from an incident with another car. Patrick turned Hornish in the first turn, after the checkered flag, and sent him head-on into the wall. Though the cars w...

For the first time in the 2012 season, Michael Waltrip will leave the NASCAR on FOX pit studio, trading in his tailored suit for a firesuit to run in Sunday’s Aaron’s 499 at Talladega Superspeedway. The longtime Aaron’s pitchman is only running a limited Sprint Cup schedule this season, but that includes both Talladega races, where he took his last Cup win back in 2003. Of course, Waltrip’s got a lot more on his plate than being a race car driver these days. He’ll still run now and again, of course, but he’s also one of the top owners on the Sprint Cup circuit. In fact, his Michael Waltrip Racing has gone from a jet fuel-tainted laughingstock in its 2007 debut to one of the deepest teams in the series thi...

Phoenix Racing put their car in Victory Lane for the Aaron's 499 with Brad Keselowski as the pilot back in 2009. This year, they will have Kurt Busch as the wheelman for a replica of the Ricky Bobby "ME" car and how appropriate is that? Ricky Bobby found himself without a sponsor in the 2006 comedy, Talladega Nights. In the movie he drove the No. 62 car which sported a decal that read "ME."Busch finds himself very much in the same position at Phoenix Racing, where they are seeking sponsorship for the small single-car team. The former Penske Racing driver vowed to have fun at the old-school Phoenix Racing operation and obviously they are. The car will have the image of Karen, the cougar, featured on Ricky Bobby's car. In the movie, Bobb...

Auto racing star Michael Waltrip will honor the late Junior Seau with a No. 55 decal on his car during Sunday's Aaron's 499, according to CBS Sports.Waltrip, whose car number is also No. 55, was a big fan of Seau during his remarkable NFL career.Below is a picture of the decal Waltrip will use on his Toyota car this weekend. (h/t CBS Sports).This is a very classy tribute by Waltrip, who like many sports fans around the world, were very saddened to learn that Seau reportedly committed suicide on Wednesday at his home in Oceanside, California.Waltrip has raced twice this season in the Sprint Cup Series, in the Budweiser Shootout and the Gatorade Duel.To watch the Aaron's 499 at Talladega to see Waltrip's car with the Seau decal, tune into Fox...

NASCAR racing has evolved to the current highly competitive level with the safest cars ever built in the sport, but that combined with the close points, racing presents a conundrum for fans who find caution-free racing boring. The two NASCAR Sprint Cup races at intermediate tracks, prior to Richmond, produced only five cautions in total—four of which were for debris.  Fans, for the most part, found the long green-flag runs less than exciting. The drivers who wheeled racecars at speeds in excess of 160 mph, might take issue with the level of excitement, as they slid their cars for position. From the stands or a comfy seat in your home, the drivers look comfortable behind the wheel of the 3400 lb. cars with power ste...

We all know the stories by heart at this point in the 2012 NASCAR Sprint Cup season. Hendrick Motorsports is one Sprint Cup victory away from its historic 200th win as an organization. Jeff Gordon is off to the worst start of his 20-year Sprint Cup career, sitting 17th in the standings through nine races. And then there's Dale Earnhardt Jr., who's winless streak has reached such a point that it resembles a drought not seen since the Great Dust Bowl. All three of these stories are on a collision course, and the setting is this weekend's Aaron's 499 at Talladega Superspeedway. Talladega in and of itself brings some great story lines to the table this week. A track known for high speeds, violent crashes and photo finishes, the genera...

The Indianapolis 500 remains America’s most famous race. It attracts nearly half a million people to the Indianapolis Motor Speedway on Memorial Day weekend for an iconic day of speed. The names that have won the “Indy 500” reads like a who’s who of auto racing. To many, it is simply called the “brickyard,” the home of American racing. So many automotive innovations that we now take for granted in our own cars came from first being tested at races in Indianapolis. Everything from seat belts to superchargers all have been integrated into the cars we drive today. There has been tire improvement from hard rubber to the steel belted radial tires of today. The gas we use has been improved and now the race...