Market Power

Danica Patrick to Join NASCAR

My latest post at The Sports Economist is up.  I post about Danica Patrick's move to NASCAR.

Congratulations, Carl Edwards

I'm a little late in offering congratulations to former student Carl Edwards.  Carl won both NASCAR cup races on the last weekend this year, but it wasn't enough to fuel wins in either series.  He finished second in both the Nationwide and the Sprint Cup series.

Despite the second place finishes (which ain't all that shabby), Carl won nine races in the Sprint Cup, including three of the last four.  He won seven races in the Nationwide Cup this year, also including three of the last four.  The finishes were not enough to win the overall points race, but the season was not shabby.

Five for Carl

That's a winner!

And that's a good weekend.

Congratulations to Carl Edwards

Carl Edwards won his third Sprint Cup race of the season in seven tries.

Two in a Row

Make mine a double, bartender!

Carl Edwards raced to his second win in six days, holding off Dale Earnhardt Jr. on a pair of late restarts Sunday at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.

Edwards, who scored his first win of the season in Monday's rain-postponed event in California, celebrated win No. 2 with his trademark backflip. The victory moved Edwards to the top of the Sprint Cup points standings for the first time in his career.

Congratulations, Carl Edwards

Carl Edwards won today's rain-delayed Auto Club 500.  Congratulations, Carl.

Extremely Belated Congratulations

In looking through my posts-in-progress, I noticed that I had not extended a laurel and hearty congratulations to Carl Edwards for winning this year's Busch Championship in NASCAR.

Edwards-Kenseth: Unfortunate Move

I am disappointed to see the rift between Carl Edwards and Matt Kenseth nearly come to fisticuffs.  It's one thing to have a problem with a teammate, but it's another thing to go after him when he's going to be interviewed!  You've got to keep that private lest you want to end up on YouTube. 

In regards to the lifting of the fist, the article notes:

Smith said that the Martinsville incident would not have attracted the attention and concern that it did had Edwards not balled up his fist. He also said there was no danger that Edwards would have used that fist.

“These racing things are so common between drivers,” Smith said. “If Carl was not so over the edge in a public display of making Matt flinch, there would be nothing to it. It was eighth-grade boys locker room. It was, ‘Ha, ha, made you flinch.’ ”

Carl does grin before he walks away.  Still, it looks bad.  I'm glad my kids haven't seen that clip.

Congratulations, Carl Edwards

Carl Edwards is having a nice season, coming off of a bit of a sophomore slump.  He won last night's Nextel Cup race in Bristol, TN, his second win this season, and now stands at 5th in points.

Addendum: the win clinches a spot in the chase for the Nextel Cup for Carl.

Carl Edwards Hurt in Dirt Track Race

Carl Edwards, the NASCAR driver whose career began in dirt track racing in central Missouri, apparently broke his hand in a accident on the dirt track at I-80 Speedway in Nebraska.

The NASCAR superstar was involved in a third-lap collision and left I-80 Speedway in the back of an ambulance. One track official said there had been talk of someone in the collision having a broken bone, and Carl's father, Carl Sr., said his son's hand "looked broken."

Outside of following what Carl does, I don't follow NASCAR much.  Still, it surprises me that something like competing in such a race wouldn't be forbidden in racers' contracts.  Riding motorcycles etc. are forbidden in some players' contracts in other sports, why not in NASCAR?