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Welcome to the ‘NASCAR Bits and Pieces’ channel on Brusimm… But we have moved! Yea, yea… head on over to my new location for NASCAR News and Opinion at

NASCAR Bits and Pieces

NASCAR News and opinion from NASCAR BITS & PIECES on Brusimm.comIf you haven’t caught the news, I’ve moved my NASCAR content out into its own space.  I wanted to focus the content and not force readers to have to weed through the content…

But enough of that…  since moving offsite, I’ve published a few articles that I thought you might be interested in!

First is where I explain about how qualifying for the Daytona 500 works.  Once it’s spelled out, it doesn’t seem too complicated.  That is, well, as long as you have a cheat-sheet around to keep tabs with!

The other aspect is some of the Daytona coverage on TV… I’ve put out the Speed Channel Daytona Coverage Schedule, if you’re interested.

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NASCAR announced that they’ve extended (and restructured) their digital partnership through the year 2016.

NASCARAnd something that many folks behind the industry think, will be a good thing, is that NASCAR is regaining control of their interactive, digital and social media rights while Turner will continue to represent sponsorships and advertising for all NASCAR digital platforms.

Believe it or not, this regain of control that starts in 2013 includes NASCAR.com and such.  Yep…  their own site was run by another entity.  Turner had managed all their digital content since 2001.

And for the SiriusXM fans, this could finally mean more content streamed from the satellite radio station and other digital content.

If you’ve ever wondered why they haven’t done one thing or another with their site, and kept hearing the term “rights issues,” well, more than likely you won’t be hearing that as much any more.

I can’t wait to see what they do with the place!

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Kyle Busch at Infineon in 2011You know what they say, it only takes a few to ruin it for the many.

It seems that after a few incidents with Kyle Busch, NASCAR is pondering the “Boys have at it” stance, and trying to determine where the line should be drawn when it comes to letting the drivers settle things amongst themselves.

It wasn’t just Kyle Busch, but also incidents with Brian Vickers “fencing” Tony Stewart onto a pile of tires at Infineon an then again, Vickers raging vendetta against Matt Kenseth at Martinsville.  (If you remember that race, that was a pretty piss-poor move on Vickers part… blatant and arrogant.)

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NASCAR Vice President of Competition Robin Pemberton feels that generally speaking, the self-policing policy is working.  It would only be the intent of a few that are making headlines from the sport.

He also pointed out that he’s also aware of differences like retaliations at a small track vs a high-speed track, and takes everything into consideration.

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At one point, drivers weren’t sure where the line lay, as far as having gone too far with their need for retaliation.

Common sense says one thing, but in the height of competition, it can become an entirely different beast.

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Kevin Harvick, driver of the #29 RCR Chevrolet - 2012 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Media TourWhile balancing out pros and cons for keeping KHI afloat, Kevin Harvick had one tipping scale reason to NOT having kept the NASCAR Truck Series team going, it would seem, as Kevin put it,

“When your wife tells you she’s not starting a family unless you get out of the race team business, that’s a pretty big factor in things that are going on.”

No pressure there!

But all joking aside, it was a matter of evolving priorities and timing with other events going on around the NASCAR race industry across the different series that helped Kevin pull the plug on KHI.

So much for all the aspirating rumors!

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Dale Earnhardt Jr during Daytona Preseason Thunder at Daytona International Speedway on January 12, 2012

Did you know that at one point Dale Earnhardt Jr. was thinking about moving his JR Motorsports operation into the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series, but believe it or not, he cannot do that while he’s driving for Hendricks Motorsports, of all things!

In a (weird) set of rules that (I think) should really be non-exclusive to each other, NASCAR has inadvertently put the ix-nay  on Dale Earnhardt Jr. moving into the Sprint Cup Series.

Mike Helton made the point that

“if a driver owns a team but drives for another organization, then the total number of cars for both organizations counts toward the four-team cap.”

Which to me, initially makes absolutely no sense in how the Hendricks Motorsports team cap should affect JR Motorsports desire to field a Sprint Cup Series team.

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Tony Stewart 2011 NASCAR Champion

Last year, the entertainment product that NASCAR produced was some of the best racing I’ve seen, across all three series, in a long time.  Many races were decided by mere seconds as contenders traded paint and hand gestures throughout the season.  And in the end, we saw one of the closest points finishes, well, technically, the closest points race, for the championship in the history of the sport, seeing as how it ended in a tie!  That tie was thanks in part to the new points system NASCAR instituted last year and Tony Stewart‘s team.

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When we watch any entertainment venue, it’s usually (for me) the first and last impressions that stick with me.  Or, in NASCAR terms, the starts, the restarts and the finishes generate a lot of drama and excitement for me because that’s when the poop can potentially hit the fan.

And NASCAR is cursed with the long-lasting middle section of every race… the time-period that fans call snoozers, nap-time, break-time, do the laundry time, etc..  It’s a little bit different when you’re at the track but on TV, this is the dark period of any race.

But in the end, when two cars are rubbing fenders or Kyle Busch wrecks someone or Kurt Busch (Yes, they’re related: brothers) flips off the world and degrades a veteran ESPN reporter, well, those are the moments that generate the buzz.  Those are the moments that send the fans to work on Monday, saying, wow, did you see that?!

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Miss Sprint Cup Kristen Beat

The newest team member for NASCAR’s Miss Sprint Cup publicity awareness team is Kristen Beat, who is joining the squad for the 2012 NASCAR Sprint Cup season.

She hails from El Cajon, CA and once held the title of Miss San Diego.  She has a Communications degree from the University of San Diego, and works within the broadcasting industry.  Kristen was the youngest-ever credentialed on-air reporter for the X-Games.

She grew up racing motocross and spends what idle time she has by surfing, working out and making healthy food.

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Below are some random NASCAR news bites about David Reutimann, David Ragan, Johnny Benson, Kasey Kahne, Mark Martin, and a quickie on Robby Gordon’s Dakar Rally run!

NASCAR News and opinion from NASCAR BITS & PIECES on Brusimm.com

After getting ousted by Michael Waltrip Racing, David Reutimann landed on his feet, so to speak, and landed a ride with Tommy Baldwin Racing, joining Dave Blaney in that Sprint Cup stable.

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David Ragan at the 2011 AAA Texas 500 - QualifyingDavid Ragan was another driver that landed on his feet after being ousted by Roush Fenway Racing.  Ragan will be driving for Front Row Motorsports for 2012.  He’ll now be the teammate to David Gilliland.

Not his best shot at fame and glory, w/ no disrespect to the team, but I think we’ll be seeing his name every weekend anyway.

Bob Jenkins owns the team.

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Last time I heard, though Johnny Benson was plotting a return to the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series in 2012, it appeared as if the deals he was hoping for fell through, and he will not be competing in the 2012 season.

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NASCAR News and opinion from NASCAR BITS & PIECES on Brusimm.com

I thought I”d pull together some NASCAR bits and pieces of news and toss them out there and see where they land… maybe you’ve heard of them, maybe you haven’t.  (So I’ll count those items as reminders and apologize if you already knew these news bites!) Check it out…

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Kyle Petty at Texas Motor Speedway - Day 4Kyle Petty put up is Isle of Palms, South Carolina house for sale.  It’s a 4,100 sf residence and he’s listing it for $4.5M.  You should check out how the other side was living!  (And all this time I was feeling bad for the non A-lister drivers!)

[WCNC: Kyle Petty's $4.5M SC home for sale]

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We all know (I presume) that Aric Almirola is taking over the no. 43 Richard Petty Motorsports ride from A.J. Allmendinger.

A.J. Allmendinger is piloting the No. 22 car that was hastily evacuated by one Mr. Kurt Busch…  because Busch apparently wants to have more fun than making millions.

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Dog Whisperer TV

The TV show Dog Whisperer with Cesar Millan will be visiting Daytona International Speedway on February 17-18 to film a NASCAR-centric episode.  And one lucky dog-owning NASCAR fan from the Daytona region could find themselves showcased in the episode alongside two NASCAR Sprint Cup drivers.

Dog Whisperer with Cesar Millan will be filming an episode focused on NASCAR and will include Greg Biffle and Kevin Harvick for the first segments, and a fan for the third segment.

Kevin Harvick and his wife DeLana will be featured with their Chihuahua, Little One (LO), and Greg Biffle will select animals in need through his charity, the Greg Biffle Foundation.

How You Can Be On The Show:

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