Check out Dale Earnhardt Jr.'s ride for the Coca-Cola 600

 

  From Lionel NASCAR Collectables:

    NASCAR driver Dale Earnhardt Jr. will have 600 miles of Charlotte Motor Speedway to conquer when he pilots the No. 88 National Guard Chevrolet SS in the longest race of the season. This patriotic, multicam paint-out is scheduled to run at the Coca-Cola 600 on May 26.

NASCAR driver Denny Hamlin to miss at least six weeks

   STATEMENT FROM JOE GIBBS RACING:

    DRIVER DENNY HAMLIN SIDELINED WITH L1 COMPRESSION FRACTURE

    HUNTERSVILLE, N.C. (March 26, 2013) – Joe Gibbs Racing (JGR) driver Denny Hamlin was evaluated today by Dr. Jerry Petty of Carolina Neurosurgery & Spine Associates after suffering an L1 Compression Fracture during an accident on the final lap of Sunday’s NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Auto Club 400 at Auto Club Speedway.

    Dr. Petty determined that Hamlin will not require surgery, but will need time to properly heal, which is estimated around six weeks time. Dr. Petty will make the determination when Hamlin will be able to return to racing this season.

    No decision has been made on a replacement driver for Hamlin during his absence from the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series.

Hamlin suffers fractured vertebra, may miss races

   By Jim Utter
   jutter@charlotteobserver.com

   FONTANA, Calif. – NASCAR driver Denny Hamlin has been diagnosed with a fracture of his L1 vertebra which may require surgery and force him to miss time from the Sprint Cup Series this season.

   Hamlin was expected to be released from Loma Linda University Hospital sometime on Monday to begin his return plane flight home to North Carolina.

   Hamlin was transported to the hospital following a hard wreck on the last lap of Sunday’s Auto Club 400 at Auto Club Speedway in which he slammed into a retaining wall that was not covered by energy-absorbing SAFER barriers.

   He remained in the hospital Sunday night for further observation.

   Joe Gibbs Racing confirmed Hamlin’s back injury in a statement released Monday.

   “He will be evaluated by Dr. Jerry Petty of Carolina Neurosurgery & Spine Associates later this week,” the statement said.

   Earlier Monday, Hamlin posted a simple message on his Twitter account – his first since Sunday’s race. It read, “I just want to go home.”

   While the JGR statement did not address the prognosis of Hamlin’s recovery, sources close to the team said two options have been discussed – surgery and the wearing of a back brace to help in healing.

   Hamlin already has a history of lower back pain.

   Both options could require Hamlin to miss time in his No. 11 Toyota, sources said. The Cup series is off this weekend for the Easter holiday and returns to action April 7 at Martinsville, Va.

   According to the BACK Center – which specializes in back pain and spine surgery – the most common treatments are pain medications, decreasing activity and bracing. There are also new neurological procedures being used.

   Vertebral fractures usually take at least three months to fully heal, according to the center.

Introducing the 2013 NASCAR Appeals Panel members

   The members of the NASCAR Appeals Panel for 2013 are:

    Mark Arute, Stan Lasky, Christiane Ayotte, Bill Lester, Buddy Baker, Steve Lewis, Lee Baumgarten, Grant Lynch, Jeff Belskus, Denis McGlynn, Dick Berggren, Bud Moore, John Bishop, Bill Mullis, Paul Brooks, Steve Page, Clay Campbell, Don Panoz, John Capels, Buddy Parrott, Joie Chitwood, Dale Pinilis, Ken Clapp, Robert Pressley, Ed Clark, Cathy Rice, Barbara Cromarty, Shawna Robinson, Robert L. DuPont, Shawn Rogers – Appellate Administrator

    Also: Laurel Farrell, Jay Signore, Doug Fritz, Lyn St. James, Richard Gore, H.A. Wheeler, Jr., Janet Guthrie, Kevin Whitaker, Russell Hackett, John White, David Hall, Jim Williams, Hurley Haywood, Jo DeWitt Wilson, John Horton, Waddell Wilson, Jack Housby, Robert Yates, Brandon Igdalsky.

According to Dale Earnhardt Jr., the winner of the NCAA tournament is ....

   According to NASCAR's most popular driver, the winner of the 2013 NCAA Tournament will be Indiana.

    "I think Indiana will beat Duke (in the final). I’m not a Duke fan," Dale Earnhardt Jr.

    Earnhardt filled out an NCAA Tournament bracket on a public Web site for the first time this year.

   “I got asked to do it. I never filled out a bracket before so it was my first time. I kind of like to watch the tournament, it’s interesting to see who the Cinderella teams are and how far (North) Carolina can go. I tend to pull for Carolina in college basketball," Earnhardt said."

    "I think Jimmie (Johnson) and I got asked to do it together so Mike Hoag (road manager) came over to the house the other day and we sat down, thought it through and made my picks. I think I was 11-5 this morning, I don’t know how I’m doing today.”

Home to NASCAR team planes doesn't make FAA cut

   The air traffic control tower at Concord (N.C.) Regional Airport, home to many planes owned by NASCAR teams and drivers, will shut down by April 7 due to federal budget cuts.

    In a press release Friday, the FAA said:
    "Today, the Department of Transportation’s Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) reached the decision that 149 federal contract towers will close beginning April 7 as part of the agency’s sequestration implementation plan. The agency has made the decision to keep 24 federal contract towers open that had been previously proposed for closure because doing so would have a negative impact on the national interest."

    Concord was not among the towers kept open. Airports can remain open without towers but it will be left to pilots to coordinate take off and landings with other pilots. 

   Click here to read press release.

Do you think NASCAR's Joey Logano would drive this?

   Penske Racing engineer Alex Sinoyannis recently shared his racing experience on NASCAR stock cars with a new generation of engineers from James B. Dudley High School in Greensboro, N.C., who will enter their concept car (pictured) in April’s Shell Eco-Marathon Americas. This initiative challenges students to develop vehicles that can travel the farthest on a gallon of fuel, and is one way Shell connects people who are interested in the energy challenges of today and tomorrow.