I'm a lifelong NASCAR fan from Georgia. Lifelong only equates to about a quarter-century or so, but still. I've studied the sport religiously and clung to every detail I could, and its served me relatively well, I guess. On race day, I am as ferverent a Tony Stewart fan as you will find and even during the week I can be found on Tony Stewart fan sites and talking with other fans (or arguing with his detractors) on Twitter. He's been my guy since May of 1998. Its pretty cool to be able to say I was on Tony's bandwagon when short track fans around the country knew him well, as did the fans in the IRL (where I discovered him, obviously), but aside from his occasional starts in the Busch Series, most NASCAR fans had never even heard of the guy. As a writer, I'm a fan of all the drivers. Even guys I don't root for on race day, I find their good points (and the faults of the guys I DO pull for) and then try to write it out to the best of whatever writing ability I may have and without bias towards or against a particular driver. I may reference being a fan of Tony Stewart or the other guys I like (Bobby Labonte, Kevin Harvick, Mark Martin, Bill Elliott, David Ragan, Martin Truex, Juan Pablo Montoya), but I'll never write something driven by fandom. If I write it, its because as an unbiased wannabe racing writer, I believe it in my head and heart. As a cartoonist, I try to bring humor to this sport I love and to the folks I love: race fans. I get as much out of genuine laughter at one of my cartoons (well, as long as it's at the material IN the cartoon and not at the cartoon itself) as I do out of compliments on a story I've written. Besides NASCAR I'm a pretty big fan of the Atlanta Braves and while I have pretty diverse interests when it comes to music, my main man is John Mellencamp. I also love writing fiction, looking at pretty girls, collecting 1/64 NASCAR & Hot Wheels cars and stuffed animals, and daydreaming.
The Jimmie Johnson Effect
Few issues in NASCAR are more polarizing than the success of five-time Sprint Cup champion Jimmie Johnson. Some fans love it, some don't, and some completely lose their minds when discussing the 60-time race winner and his No. 48 team.
Results of Sunday's AAA Texas 500
Jimmie Johnson won Sunday's AAA Texas 500 at the Texas Motor Speedway. Brad Keselowski, Kyle Busch, Matt Kenseth, Tony Stewart, Clint Bowyer, Dale Earnhardt Jr., Kurt Busch, Kevin Harvick, and Greg Biffle rounded out the top-10.
Johnson outduels Keselowski at Texas
After a thrilling late-race duel with championship rival Brad Keselowski, Jimmie Johnson won the AAA 500 for his 60th-career win. Johnson now holds a seven point lead with two races remaining in the 2012 Sprint Cup campaign.
Keselowski leads entering final 100 miles at Texas
Brad Keselowski has his No. 2 Dodge out front at Texas Motor Speedway as he tries to retake the Sprint Cup point lead. Jimmie Johnson has already clinched the most laps led after dominating the race's first 300 miles.
Cat and mosue game between Johnson and Keselowski
Championship rivals Jimmie Johnson and Brad Keselowski are wrapped in a cat and mouse duel in what had been a dominant race for Johnson - the polesitter and point leader - prior to the first caution flag of the day at lap 99.
Johnson shows early pace at Texas
Polesitter Jimmie Johnson has led the opening 40 laps at the Texas Motor Speedway, holding about a three-second edge on Kyle Busch. Championship rival Brad Keselowski holds down the sixth position.
Skydiver damages Harvick's car before race
Sprint Cup superstar Kevin Harvick's No. 29 Chevrolet was damaged well prior to the AAA Texas 500, thanks to an errant skydiver's weight for his flag. It's just the latest episode in a comedy of errors that has been Harvick's 2012 season.
AAA Texas 500 television and radio information
Race eight of the Chase for the Sprint Cup and the 34th overall of the 2012 season airs Sunday on ESPN and the Performance Racing Network. Point leader Jimmie Johnson starts from the pole.
Two-man title fight entering Texas
With three races remaining in the 2012 NASCAR Sprint Cup season, the championship fight is effectively a two-man race. Jimmie Johnson carries a two-point edge to the Lone Star State, where he turned in a career-defining performance in 2007.
Johnson wins at Martinsville, takes point lead
Jimmie Johnson started from the pole, led the most laps, and won the Tums Fast Relief 500 at the Martinsville Speedway. As if that wasn't enough, the five-time champ takes over the point lead with three races remaining.