The Lantern Blog

After much outcry from the fans of the sport, NASCAR has decided to implement double-file restarts, starting this weekend at Pocono Raceway in Pennsylvania.

On the surface, it seems like a fair system.  Lapped cars currently restart on the inside, with the lead-lap cars starting on the outside.  Many times, the cars on the inside do not have enough speed to keep up with the leaders of the race, so it would eliminate a big possibility of a fast car getting stuck behind a much slower car as racing resumes.

According to ESPN, Tony Stewart and Kevin Harvick were two big proponents of the new change.

One thing that the new rule change does change is the chance for faster lapped cars to get their laps back.  Once a car falls two or three laps behind, it will be much more difficult for the cars to get back onto the lead lap, without a significant amount of cautions and lucky dogs.

What are your thoughts on the new rule change that NASCAR has imposed?

Dale Earnhardt Jr., who has had a disappointing season to date, has experienced a major change.  His team, Hendrick Motorsports, elected to dismiss crew chief Tony Eury Jr. today.  Lance McGrew will take over in the interim, unless they find another full-time crew chief option.

Credit: Associated Content

Earnhardt Jr., who is 497 points behind the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series point leader (teammate Jeff Gordon), has not had impressive results as a whole over the time he has spent with Hendrick Motorsports.  Last season, Earnhardt Jr. finished 12th in the overall point standings—many NASCAR analysts had pinned Earnhardt for a top-ten finish.

McGrew, the replacement crew chief for Earnhardt, has experienced good success in his years in NASCAR.  In 2003, he won a Busch Series championship with a top young driver, Brian Vickers.  He also has assisted rookie driver Brad Keselowski in his transition to the Sprint Cup.  While McGrew has primarily worked with youngsters, it should be interesting to see if Dale Earnhardt Jr.’s results improve as a result of McGrew’s calls in the pits.

Mark Martin, one of NASCAR’s most heralded drivers, has decided to turn his part-time duty in 2010 into a full-time contract.  Driving for arguably the best NASCAR team on the circuit, the 50-year-old Martin has decided that he will race the entire season next year for Hendrick Motorsports.

Credit: RacingOne

This is great for NASCAR and for Martin’s fans.  He is one of the most well-respected drivers in the garage, and will be a real threat to compete for the Chase for the Cup in 2010.

Apparently, Mark Martin had discussed the possibility with former teammate and current Richard Childress Racing Motorsports driver Jeff Burton.  They had a close bond when they raced for Roush Racing in the early 2000’s.

The #5 car has a rich history, and Martin will only carry on that tradition.  Terry Labonte, one of NASCAR’s good guys and solid veterans, drove the car from 1994-2002.  Kyle Busch drove the car as a rookie, and was somewhat successful in the ride.  Casey Mears was brought in for one season to drive the car, but was a bust in what was supposed to be the opportunity of his life.

Only time will tell to see if Mark Martin will find continued success in the #5 car.  How do you think Martin will fare in 2009 and 2010 in the ride?

Brad Keselowski, a NASCAR rookie, was able to win his first NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race today.

However, it came at the steep price of a massive crash.

One of the scariest (and craziest) crashes in the past decade took place at Talladega Superspeedway today, when Keselowski spun out race leader Carl Edwards to take the lead.

After Edwards’ car came down, the entire carborator was separated from the front of the car—showing just how much impact the car took when it hit the infield fence.

Two race fans had to be taken to the hospital for medical care, and neither is considered to have serious injuries.

After a crash like that, NASCAR has to be thankful that the infield fence held up.  If the infield fence was not as strong as it was, fans could have easily died due to the flying debris.

Take a look at the YouTube video posted above.  Do you think that NASCAR should implement more safety for their race fans?