The top 10 NASCAR stories of the decade

The National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing (NASCAR) is the largest sanctioning body of stock car racing in the United States. The three largest racing series sanctioned by NASCAR are the Sprint Cup Series, the Nationwide Series, and the Camping World Truck Series. It also oversees NASCAR Local Racing, the Whelen Modified Tour, the Whelen All-American Series, and the NASCAR iRacing.com Series. NASCAR sanctions over 1500 races at over 100 tracks in 39 US states and Canada. NASCAR has presented exhibition races at the Suzuka and Motegi circuits in Japan, Mexico, and Calder Park Raceway in Australia.

NASCAR is one of the most viewed professional sports in terms of television ratings in the United States. In fact, professional football is the only sport in the United States to hold more viewers than NASCAR. Internationally, NASCAR races are broadcast in over 150 countries. NASCAR holds 17 of the top 20 attended single-day sporting events in the world,and claims 75 million fans who purchase over $3 billion in annual licensed product sales. Fortune 500 companies sponsor NASCAR more than any other motor sport, although this has been in decline since the early 2000s.

Here are the Top 10 News that directly affect NASCAR Racing Community

         Video of Actual Dale Earnhardt Crash video

1. Death of Dale Earnhardt. It was almost Shakespearean in its drama and tragedy. On the very day NASCAR began its major new television deal, its most famous star died in the final lap of the Daytona 500, blocking for his son and teammate. Earnhardt's death and resultant outpouring of grief instantly transformed the sport, vaulting it to untouched heights of popularity and awareness. Sadly, you can now divide NASCAR into pre- and post-Daytona 2001.

What is the Chase of the NASCAR Sprint Cup?

2. The introduction of the Chase. Looking for a way to maximize end-of-season excitement, NASCAR rolled out the Chase for the Cup in 2004. And initially, it seemed brilliant; the Chase was in doubt until the final turn of the 2004 race in Homestead. But the points reset has caused controversy, as has the fact that one guy has been more successful at it than anyone else.

3. Jimmie Johnson's four-peat. Nobody in NASCAR history has ever won four titles in a row, and Johnson has done so in dominant fashion. Love him, hate him or disregard him, but Johnson is one of the most successful drivers in NASCAR history, and he's at the top of his game right now.


Dale Earnhardt Jr. Leaves DEI news story

4. Dale Earnhardt Jr. leaves DEI. The other shoe dropping from the passing of the Intimidator came six years later, when Dale Earnhardt Jr. packed up and left the company that bore his name following an ugly, protracted fight with his stepmother, Teresa. Going to Hendrick was supposed to mean Earnhardt would become a worldwide superstar with the best equipment in the sport. So far it hasn't worked out that way.

What is the Car of tomorrow?

5. The debut of the Car of Tomorrow. Earnhardt's death spurred a raft of safety improvements, including track barriers and in-car head restraint devices, but the most significant was the Car of Tomorrow. Rolled out as a safer alternative to previous vehicles, as well as a more cost-effective approach that narrowed the range of engineering tinkering, the Car debuted in 2007 and was formally introduced in 2008. Its blocky structure and narrow engineering possibilities led to complaints from both fans and drivers.

Toyota enters NASCAR

6. The arrival of Toyota in NASCAR. NASCAR has always been a uniquely American sport, so when Toyota entered the sport in the mid-2000s, starting with lower-level series, the howls of protest started. Never mind that much of Toyota's work is done in the United States, or that many "American" manufacturers do work overseas, or that other foreign manufacturers have been in NASCAR before; the perceived "invasion" of Toyota set many fans on edge. And when Joe Gibbs Racing switched from Chevy to Toyota and kept winning, that seemed both an assault and a betrayal. The foreign-car issue seems to be fading with all but the hardcores, but it's still out there.

7. The cresting of NASCAR's popularity? NASCAR exploded so quickly in popularity -- you've heard the "second-most-popular sport in America" factoid a thousand times -- that there had to be a pullback. The combination of a bad economy and gripes about the on-track product led to declining attendance at races, and thousands of "the sky is falling" articles. Is the worst over?

8. NASCAR's landmark television deal. Just two weeks before the turn of the millennium, NASCAR struck a six-year, $2.4 billion deal to put the sport on three separate networks. The centralized television deal brought the sport to more viewers than ever before, but also -- say it with me -- spurred controversy among longtime fans.

NASCAR hall of fame website

9. The debut of the NASCAR Hall of Fame. NASCAR's Hall of Fame, to open in Charlotte in 2010, will be a
landmark for the sport, a place where the history and grandeur of NASCAR can be formally celebrated. And naturally, its opening will come with controversy -- two Frances and no David Pearson in the inaugural class? Really? -- but if it didn't have people griping, it wouldn't be NASCAR.

10. Death of Adam Petty. At 19 years old, Adam Petty was NASCAR's next young hope, the fourth generation of Pettys to race in NASCAR. He was slated to run in the Winston Cup series in 2001. But in May 2000 during a practice session for the Busch series in New Hampshire, his throttle stuck and Petty hit the wall, dying instantly. It was a wrenching tragedy for the whole sport, and in Adam's honor his father, Kyle, has begun the Victory Junction Gang charity, one of NASCAR's best-known charities.

courtesy of sports.yahoo.com
                 wikipedia.com


More on this Site
Danica Patrick Crash on Daytona Qualifying 
7 effective tips to lower your blood pressure