Happy Saturday everyone!  Hope you each had a wonderful Christmas and a very safe New Year.

I know my blogs have been somewhat sporadic, but it has been quite busy at work (and I’m loving it!).   Hopefully, the New Year will settle down a little and I can get back to blogging every day.  Even I haven’t kept up on Nascar like I usually do, and I sure am missing it!  So let’s get on with it…

Today In Nascar History

January 3, 1932: Fun-loving Clifton Burton Marlin, better known as Coo Coo, is born in Columbia, Tenn. Marlin, the father of Cup driver Sterling Marlin, becomes a short-track legend before running his first Grand National race in 1966. He starts 165 Grand National/Cup races from '66 to 1980. Although he never wins a race at NASCAR's top level, he finishes in the top five nine times and in the top 10 51 times.

Quote of the Day

NASCAR is a different sport than it was when my dad won three championships, or when I won seven.

--Richard Petty

Bits and Pieces

Petty, GEM merger talks entering final negotiations

Source confirms details to be announced next week

By Raygan Swan and David Caraviello

As the 2008 calendar year neared its conclusion, Petty Enterprises and Gillett Evernham Motorsports inched ever closer to completing a merger that would mean a new home for NASCAR's iconic No. 43 car, and spell the end for a standalone Petty operation that's been a part of the sport since its founding 60 years ago.

Petty Enterprises is expected to lay off the majority of the 39 employees remaining at its shop in Mooresville, N.C.

Although neither GEM nor Petty officials said an announcement was forthcoming, sources indicated that the organizations were ironing out final details. The merger would entail GEM absorbing Petty's No. 43 car, which according to sources would be driven by Reed Sorenson and sponsored by the Air Force next season.

Bobby Labonte drove the car for the past three seasons at Petty Enterprises, but the team lost its primary sponsorship to Richard Childress Racing, and Labonte cut ties with the organization earlier this month.

Chris McKee, marketing director of the Richard Petty Driving Experience, confirmed that David Zucker, current chief operating officer of Petty Enterprises and the Richard Petty Driving Experience, will oversee only the driving experience once the merger is complete. Zucker was installed as Petty's CEO after team owner Richard Petty earlier this year sold majority interest in his organization to the private equity firm Boston Ventures in a bid to raise capital and improve performance. McKee added that further details of the merger will come next week.

Though team owner George Gillett reportedly plans to preserve the Petty name in the new organization, the merger will close a chapter in NASCAR's 60-year history.

Richard's father, Lee, founded Petty Enterprises in 1949, and the organization went on to become the most successful in NASCAR history, winning 10 championships and 268 races on the sport's premier circuit. Yet the team has fallen on hard times in recent years, without a race victory since John Andretti prevailed at Martinsville in 1999.

In an attempt to raise its competitive profile, the Petty team moved from its longtime headquarters of Level Cross, N.C., to metro Charlotte earlier this year. Still the struggles continued, and sponsor losses were exacerbated by the ongoing economic recession.

Dozens of Petty employees have been laid off since the season finale Nov. 18. Many of those remaining could see the merger with GEM coming, trading e-mails wishing one another well, and hoping the No. 43 car returns to its old form in its new home next year.

The merger would place four cars under the GEM stable -- the No. 43, as well as the Nos. 9, 10, and 19 currently in the Gillett Evernham fleet. Kasey Kahne drives the No. 9, with A.J. Allmendinger replacing Elliott Sadler in the No. 19 for next season.

Sorenson originally signed with GEM to drive the No. 10 Dodge vacated by Patrick Carpentier, but the merger with Petty will bring to the equation a car (the No. 43) that, unlike the No. 10, finished the 2008 season in the top 35 in owner points. Under that scenario, all three GEM cars would be in the top 35 and thereby guaranteed starting spots in the first five races of 2009.

Petty's No. 45 Dodge, driven primarily by Kyle Petty, Terry Labonte and Chad McCumbee in 2008, reportedly will not figure in the plans of the merged organization.

Sporting News Wire Service contributed to this report.

Bodine Challenge starts: The Geoff Bodine Bobsled Challenge, is an effort to raise funds to keep the U.S. men's and women's bobsled teams at the forefront of international racing. It will again feature NASCAR and NHRA drivers piloting specially made bobsleds down the Mount Van Hoevenberg track outside Lake Placid. Members of the New York State Army National Guard will serve as brakemen, and the U.S. Bobsled National Championships, a four-heat competition over two days, will be held in conjunction with the Bobsled Challenge. This year's Bodine field includes: road racer Boris Said; Joe Gibbs Racing phenom Joey Logano; NASCAR Whelen racing series champions Philip Morris, Brian Loftin, and Ted Christopher; Daytona Rolex pole winner Eric Curran; 19-year-old sprint car driver Tom Tolbert; NHRA Pro Stock champion Jeg Coughlin Jr.; and top fuel drivers Morgan Lucas, JR Todd, and Bob Vandergriff. Said, whose late father drove in the 1968 and 1972 Winter Olympics for the U.S. bobsled team and was one of the sport's great promoters in his heyday, has dominated the Bobsled Challenge with five wins in six races since its inception. In Race 1 on Saturday, all drivers will compete against the clock in two runs down the track. Race 2 on Sunday will feature head-to-head matchups between the NASCAR and NHRA drivers, with the winner from each division squaring off in a final heat for bragging rights.

Texas World Speedway’s Oval Update: Texas World Speedway in College Station, Texas is pleased to announce that the initial phase of repair to its historical Super Oval is near completion and is expected to be completed in 7-10 days. This phase is designed to get the Oval in “test ready” condition through a combination of grinding, asphalt rejuvenation and general maintenance. TWS is now accepting rental bookings for its Super Oval and Grand Prix tracks. For more information about Texas World Speedway, see contact info at www.texasworldspeedway.com.(TWS PR)

HOF Racing owner re-signs from MLB job: #96 Hall of Fame Racing co-owner Jeff Moorad has resigned as Arizona Diamondbacks chief executive officer and says he has reached an agreement in principle to buy the San Diego Padres. Moorad said Friday he heads a "small but significant" group of investors that has an exclusive right to complete the specifics of negotiations with Padres owner John Moores. Moorad said he hopes the transaction can be completed in the next three months.(ESPN.com), no word how or if this will effect the running of the #96 Hall of Fame Racing Toyota team. Rumors have the team laying off most of the employees, losing support from Joe Gibbs Racing and having only partial sponsorhip for the 2009 season.

Team Dakar USA clears scrutineering: After months of preparation for what many consider to be the toughest motorsports event on earth, Team Dakar USA completes scrutineering. Scrutineering consists of several hours of activities that include document processing, a GPS instruction class, photos, Iritrack and Tripy installation, and vehicle technical inspection. Both the Monster Energy Toyo Tires Hummer and Vanguard Hummer have drawn crowds everywhere they go. They have quickly become a fan favorite in Buenos Aires. “I’m very excited to be here,” said Robby Gordon. “The response to the Hummers has been incredible. Everyone on the team has worked hard to get all the vehicles ready and we feel we are very well prepared. To conclude preparations, Team Dakar USA is going through all of the support vehicles to make sure the final details are met. All spare parts, tires, tools and other equipment need to be accounted for. The assistance vehicles and equipment are a vital component in the Rally. Driver of the Vanguard Hummer, Eric Vigouroux is also thrilled to take part of this historic race. “It is a great opportunity for me and my co driver, Alex to take part in this edition of the Dakar Rally with a professional team like Team Dakar USA,” stated Vigouroux. The first of 15 stages starts tomorrow Saturday the 3rd in Buenos Aires and travels to Santa Rosa de la Pampa. The stage consists of a total of 733 rolling km and the special has a total of 371km of racing. The Dakar Rally can be seen in the United States on the Versus Network and daily updates will be posted on RobbyGordon.com and dakar.com

Former ISC employees avoid prison time: Former International Speedway Corp. employees William Kilgannon and Todd Polakoff have avoided prison time for their roles in an extortion conspiracy in association with the failed attempt to put a race track on New York’s Staten Island. Polakoff was sentenced to three years probation, while Kilgannon got two years of supervised release, according to court documents. They were sentenced Dec. 12 in U.S. District Court in New York. Polakoff and Kilgannon were among 62 people indicted in February as part of a wide-ranging, 80-count federal indictment that targeted alleged Mafia members, including three high-ranking members of the Gambino crime family. Kilgannon and Polakoff were former employees of ISC subsidiary North American Testing Co., which handles design and construction for ISC.(see full story at SceneDaily)

Sadler to claim GEM breached their contract: An attorney representing Elliott Sadler has filed notice in Iredell County (N.C.) court saying the NASCAR driver intends to claim that Gillett Evernham Motorsports has breached Sadler's contract to drive the Sprint Cup team's #19 Dodges. John Buric, Sadler's lawyer, filed an "application and order extending time to file complaint" Wednesday in Iredell County Superior Court. Sadler has until Jan. 20 to file an actual complaint if the parties cannot reach an agreement on their dispute. According to the form, Sadler plans to seek "injunctive relief, declaratory relief/specific performance, consequential and punitive damages as a result of Defendants anticipatory and actual breach of Plaintiffs' Driving Services Agreement. ... Plaintiffs also seek general, consequential, treble and punitive damages, and attorney fees, as a result of Defendants' tortuous interference ..." George Gillett, Gillette Evernham Motorsports, Anthony James Allmendinger and Ray Evernham Enterprises are named as defendants. Buric said Sadler learned on Tuesday that GEM had engaged in negotiations with Allmendinger about driving the #19 Dodges in 2009. Buric said there had been "communication" with Sadler earlier, telling him that a change was being considered. But he said Sadler did not know there had been actual negotiations until he received phone calls about media reports that Allmendinger was being lined up to replace him. "Elliott is ready, willing and able to fulfill his contractual obligations," Buric said. Sadler earlier this year signed an extension of his contract with GEM that runs through 2010. "Gillett Evernham Motorsports policy does not allow us to comment on potential or pending legal matters involving the race team," said Ryan Barry, a spokesman for the organization.(Charlotte Observer/David Poole)

Petty Enterprises: Modest beginnings to race royalty

By Mark Aumann, NASCAR.COM

The story of Petty Enterprises is the very definition of building an empire from the ground up: Ten NASCAR championships, more than 270 victories and four generations of drivers bearing the Petty name.

NASCAR's early pioneers have been described as "shade-tree mechanics," and that's an apt description of Lee Petty Engineering's early days. The entire team -- which basically consisted of Lee Petty, brother Julian, and sons Maurice and Richard -- began in what has been described either as a chicken coop or an open-air shed beside the modest family home in Level Cross, N.C.

The Petty brothers caught the racing bug late in life. According to one tale, Lee owned a garage in town and worked on hot rods in his spare time. At some point in 1948, he and his brother got the idea to stick a Chrysler engine in a rebuilt 1937 Plymouth and go racing. Whether it was beginner's luck or a harbinger of the future, Petty won the first time out.

When Bill France announced plans to start a touring series for late-model sedans in 1949, the Pettys showed interest -- especially since first place paid $2,000, a princely sum in those days -- but didn't have a car that met the qualifications. So in order to race in the inaugural event at the old Charlotte Speedway dirt track, Lee borrowed a 1946 Buick from a friend, drove his family to the track and then painted a No. 38 on the side.

Even though it was almost impossible to see because of the dust churned up by the 33-car field, and the track was developing huge ruts in the corners, Petty was in contention at the halfway point -- until one of his tires hooked a rut and he barrel-rolled the car multiple times. Petty climbed out unhurt, accepted a $25 check for finishing 17th, and realized he had no way to get home. The story goes that Lee and Richard hitchhiked back to Level Cross that evening.

On the trip home, Petty came to two conclusions. One, he needed to figure out how to tow his cars to the track. Two, he needed to figure out a way to make money at this game, because if you could keep the car in one piece until the end of the race, the better chance of winning and taking home a bigger check.

While others at that time viewed racing as something to do on the weekends in order to supplement their full-time salary, Petty realized early on that running full-time in NASCAR might pay the bills. In order to do that successfully, Petty needed two things: reliable equipment and a successful strategy.

Petty's operation might have been the first to reach out to manufacturers in Detroit in an effort to improve reliability. In between races, Petty used trial and error to come up with parts that would stand up to the stresses of racing. And while other drivers were going flat-out until their equipment broke, Petty saved his car for when it counted.

A torn-up car meant a smaller share of the purse, and the additional cost to repair it in time for the next race.

"He was smart in that he didn't try to run out front all the time, like Joe Weatherly and some of the others did," said Bill Gazaway, former NASCAR director of competition. "A lot of times he'd run a six-cylinder Plymouth against the bigger V-8 engines. They'd blow up, and there he'd be leading the race."

The team skipped the next race at Daytona in order to concentrate on preparing a 1949 Plymouth -- wearing what would become the famous No. 42 -- for the rest of the season. It immediately paid dividends, as Petty proceeded to finish in the top 10 in each of the final five races, including a victory at Heidelberg Raceway in Pittsburgh when only five cars were running at the finish. Petty's share of the total season purse money was $3,855.

Throughout the next two seasons, Petty had 32 top-10 finishes in 49 starts, earning almost $15,000. That doesn't seem like much, until you consider that the average income in 1951 was $3,500. From that point on, Lee Petty Engineering never made less than $15,000 in purse money again.

Junie Donlavey, a longtime team owner, credited Petty with having the foresight to take team ownership to the next level.

"When he started, he really went at it and made it a full-time deal when others were just playing," Donlavey said. "I always admired him for really putting an effort in it to make the sport what it is today. He was one of the ones who devoted lots of time to making it a true profession."

In 1957, Petty Engineering switched from Plymouths to the powerful Oldsmobiles, and Lee promptly won 18 races during the next two seasons. That included a photo-finish victory in the inaugural Daytona 500, in which Johnny Beauchamp was originally declared the winner but shots of the finish proved Lee to be ahead by no more than two feet at the stripe.

"He'd do anything to win a race because he liked those dollars," said Rex White, a NASCAR champion in his own right. "He was a lot like David Pearson in that he didn't worry about qualifying, he just wanted to be fast at the end of the race. He always came prepared to take money home."

While Petty might have been the first driver to understand the adage "in order to finish first, you must first finish," that didn't mean he wasn't willing to dent a few fenders along the way. He was an aggressive driver when he needed to be, and Herb Thomas and others thought of him as a "dirty driver." Petty was even accused of running sharp pieces of metal on the fenders and bumpers of his cars, alledgedly to cut the tires of his competitors. But Petty was smart, and knew that mind games were half the battle. If he could use that to rattle the competition, so be it.

Richard had always planned to be his father's crew chief.

"When we first started, I went to school, came home at night, and worked on the cars," Richard said. "My ambition was to be a good mechanic, to be able to build a race car and pit race cars. I never really thought about driving until I got out of high school."

Lee told Richard he would have to wait until he turned 21 to drive, and when that happened in 1958, Petty Engineering became a two-car operation. Two years later, after switching back to Plymouths, Lee and Richard combined for eight wins and $73,000 in purse money, giving promise of much more to come in 1961, especially after Lee won at Jacksonville in one of the events leading up to the Daytona 500. Unfortunately, fate would intervene in the two qualifying races.

In the first qualifier, Richard spun out, crashed and wound up in the infield care center. While he was being treated for glass shards in his eyes, the second race began. Lee was racing alongside Johnny Beauchamp when they came upon a spinning car. The two crashed through the guard rail at the top of the track and Petty's car tumbled some 200 yards, landing upsidedown in a parking lot.

Richard immediately left for the accident scene. What he saw put a chill in his bones, according to Mark Stewart's book, The Pettys.

"I ran down the bank and saw what was left of the car," he said. "There was blood all over the place and people said he was dead for sure. I thought he was dead, too."

It may not have seemed lucky at the time, but two things were in Lee Petty's favor that day. Halifax Hospital was a short distance from the accident scene and there was a trauma doctor on duty at the time. He suffered a broken collarbone, punctured lung and shattered leg -- and would wear a leg brace for much of the rest of his life.

Lee Petty's career lasted six more races. At that point, he took over as a full-time owner, turned the driving duties over to Richard and placed Maurice in charge of engineering. In 1969, the name of the team was changed to Petty Enterprises.

Throughout the next two decades, Petty would dominate NASCAR, winning championships in 1964, '67, '71, '72, '74, '75 and '79. He was fixture in the final season top-10, finishing no worse than eighth from 1966 until leaving the family operation in 1984 to run two seasons with Mike Curb.

Petty won an amazing 27 of 48 races in 1967, including 10 in a row. In a five-year span that concluded in 1971, Petty visited Victory Lane 81 times. In addition, a relatively unknown New England driver named Pete Hamilton drove one of the team cars to victory in the 1970 Daytona 500.

Kyle Petty made his Petty Enterprises debut in Talladega in 1979, driving a No. 42 STP Dodge. And Kyle's son Adam would make it four generations of Pettys behind the wheel when he made the field at Texas Motor Speedway in 2000, finishing 40th.

But tragedy would strike the team hard. Three days after Adam's first race, Lee Petty would die from complications following surgery. And one month later, Adam was killed practicing for the Busch Series race at New Hampshire.

Petty Enterprises never fully recovered from those blows. The team's last victory came with John Andretti behind the wheel at Martinsville, almost a decade ago. And even with the addition of Bobby Labonte, Petty Enterprises hasn't had a top-10 points finish since Bobby Hamilton wound up ninth in 1996.

Until the team made the decision to relocate closer to Charlotte in December 2007, a cluster of buildings scattered about the Petty property remained the hub of racing activity. And Lee Petty never let success go to his head -- or his wallet. He could sometimes be found hitting golf balls in the front yard of his house, next to the shop, until his death.

But the rising costs of running a racing team, particularly the research and development, forced Richard to look elsewhere for financial assistance. In June, private equity firm Boston Ventures purchased a "sizeable investment" in Petty Enterprises.

"NASCAR is a different sport than it was when my dad won three championships, or when I won seven," Richard said. "If there is one thing I could point to as the biggest difference, it would be the technology and engineering that is required to be competitive.

"We have known for quite some time that we need to find a partner to help us improve those areas of our race team, but we wanted to make sure that it was done correctly. I'm proud of what the Petty family has built over our 60 years in this sport. I am confident that Boston Ventures will help us continue that legacy."

No matter how this merger fares, there is no doubt that history will look favorably upon the legacy of Petty Enterprises, a team that went from a dirt floor to a dynasty.

By the Numbers: Petty

In sport since the beginning, team amassed some records

By Josh Pate, NASCAR.COM

Numbers have defined Petty Enterprises since Lee Petty founded the organization in 1949 as Lee Petty Engineering. The obvious number is 43.

Richard Petty made the double digit famous, but it wasn't the original trademark of the Petty family's team. Lee Petty's number was 42, and even Richard began his career in the 42 car. But in Lee Petty's first start for his own team at Charlotte in 1949, he drove the No. 38.

Numbers aside, and the Pettys have driven plenty of them, the long history of the organization goes much deeper than a few digits on the side of a car.

There's 10 -- as in 10 Cup Series championships, Richard Petty with seven and Lee Petty with three.

There's nine -- as in nine Daytona 500 victories, Richard Petty with seven, Lee Petty with one and Pete Hamilton with one.

There's 200 -- as in 200 victories for Richard Petty, the most in history.

And then there's one -- as in one victory in the last 10 years for the organization, dating to John Andretti's Martinsville win in 1999. That spans 877 starts during which a Petty car has only finished in the top five eight times.

No, recent history isn't as special. But it still doesn't take away the meaning the team has had on stock-car racing.

3  Times Richard Petty did not drive the No. 43 car from mid-1966-1992. Jim Paschal substituted for an injured Petty in 1970 at Charlotte. Ernie Shaw drove the No. 43 Mustang owned by himself at Macon in 1971 (Petty did not enter). Kyle Petty drove the 43 at Riverside in 1981, while his father drove the No. 42.

6  Former champions who have driven for Petty Enterprises: Lee Petty, Buck Baker, Joe Weatherly, Richard Petty, Terry Labonte and Bobby Labonte.

8  Career victories for Kyle Petty, although none of them came in his 492 starts in a Petty Enterprises car. Petty won two races driving for the Wood Brothers and six for Felix Sabates.

27  Victories for Richard Petty in his 38 starts in 1967. Petty won 10 consecutive races at one point during the season, including a victory at Darlington to pass his father, Lee, on the career victories list. His dominance led to a second championship and the nickname King Richard.

53  Drivers who have driven for Petty Enterprises. The list includes five Pettys (Lee, Maurice, Richard, Kyle and Adam), two Labontes (Bobby and Terry) and one Earnhardt (Ralph).

The Details

1  Season since NASCAR began in 1949 that the No. 43 car did not run: 1993, the year after Richard Petty retired.

7,1  The numbers Petty Enterprises ran in 1984 and 1985 when Richard Petty left the team to drive for Mike Curb. Kyle Petty drove the No. 7 Ford in 1984. Dick Brooks (3) and Morgan Shepherd (1) combined to run four races for Petty Enterprises in 1985 in the No. 1 (three races in Fords, one in a Chevrolet).

9  Finishing position for Kyle Petty in his Cup Series debut on Aug. 5, 1979, at Talladega. Richard Petty finished fourth, the same year he won his seventh championship.

44.0  Percent of times in its 60 years of racing that a Petty Enterprises car finished in the top 10 (1,269 times). The organization has a 15.7 average finish and, ironically, the same average starting position.

268  Victories by Petty Enterprises in its 2,882 starts, 196 of which came from Richard Petty (Petty's four other victories came while driving for Don Robertson in 1970, and for Mike Curb in 1984).

The Dates

June 19, 1949  Lee Petty crashes and finishes 17th at Charlotte Speedway in NASCAR Grand National Division's first race and the first race for Lee Petty Engineering. Petty, driving the No. 38 Buick, brings home $25, but the crash ruins the borrowed car in which he drove his family to the track.

Oct. 2, 1949  Lee Petty earns the organization's first victory at Heidelberg Raceway in Pittsburgh in the No. 42 Plymouth. He is the only driver to complete all 200 laps, finishing five laps ahead of second-place Dick Linder.

1954  Lee Petty wins seven races and the Grand National championship. He earns seven victories and 32 top-10 finishes in 34 starts (5.6 average finish) to get the nickname "Mr. Consistency." Total earnings: $19,125.

Feb. 22, 1959  Lee Petty wins the First Annual 500-Mile NASCAR International Sweepstakes at Daytona, better known as the inaugural Daytona 500. But Petty isn't declared the winner until three days later. Johnny Beauchamp is initially declared the winner, but Petty protests. NASCAR reviews photographs and newsreel footage and eventually names Petty the winner by two feet.

June 14, 1959  Richard Petty crosses the finish line first at Atlanta's Lakewood Speedway in what would have been his first career victory, but his father, Lee Petty, protests the scoring. NASCAR reviews, and subsequently names Lee the winner and moves Richard to second place.

Feb. 28, 1960  Richard Petty wins his first Grand National race at Southern States Fairgrounds in Charlotte, beating Rex White by six car-lengths. It is Petty's 35th career start. Earnings: $800.

Sept. 30, 1970  NASCAR's final dirt-track race, held at North Carolina State Fairgrounds in Raleigh and won by Richard Petty. Petty, however, is driving his second race for owner Don Robertson, who purchased a car from Petty Enterprises. Petty went 2-for-2 driving for Robertson, also winning at Columbia Speedway.

July 4, 1984  Richard Petty scores his 200th and final victory, although he is not driving a Petty Enterprises car. He drove the 1984 and '85 seasons for Mike Curb.

Nov. 15, 1992  Final race for Richard Petty, the Hooters 500 at Atlanta, capping a career that spanned 35 years and 1,184 starts. He crashes, but the crew feverishly makes repairs to the car so Petty can cross the finish line in 35th, 233 laps down.

April 18, 1999  Last victory for Petty Enterprises when John Andretti drives the No. 43 Pontiac to Victory Lane in the Goody's Body Pain 500 at Martinsville. Andretti comes from a lap down to pass Jeff Burton with four laps to go and win.

2000  A difficult year for the Petty family. Lee Petty dies in April from surgery complications and Adam Petty dies following a practice session crash at New Hampshire. As a side note, longtime sponsor STP leaves the team.

June 11, 2008  Boston Ventures acquires majority ownership of Petty Enterprises just six months after the organization moved its shop from longtime home Level Cross, N.C., to Mooresville, N.C.

What I'm hoping for in 2009

by Jeff Hammond/foxsports.com

From NASCAR's point of view and where we are today, my 2009 resolution is that we do whatever we can as members of NASCAR — from the Frances down to the owners, drivers, crews and even us in the media — to provide our fans the best information and best show possible.

We need to do whatever is necessary to try to make that happen.

We simply can't let our fans down. They are like everyone else right now during these tough economic times.  They are looking for an out. They are looking for something positive in this world. It would be great if we can come up with a means for them to still be able to go to our races, or if they watch on TV, that they are getting the best entertainment and education in our sport.

Now more than ever, we really have to go the extra mile for these fans that are in the same boat we all are in. When our fans come to us, they are looking for an alternative or a diversion, if you will, from the everyday stresses they are facing in life. As a sport, we don't need to be always whining about how tough things are. Let's face it — there are a lot of folks in a lot worse shape than we are.

I would like for us to put our best foot forward. This is where we as a sport need to shine to the fans. There are a lot of things that inspire me about our sport. We need to continue to inspire our fans about our sport. There's going to be a lot of things to continue to go on during the offseason that will make you scratch your head and ask, "Why?"

There will also be a lot of success stories in our sport in 2009. In 2008, Jimmie Johnson became the only driver to tie a 30-year-old record with three consecutive championships. So now the question becomes, can he write a new page in the history books and become the only man in 60 years of our sport to ever win four championships in a row? Unlike many others, I am going to be looking for the positives and I am excited to have the chance to share those with the fans.

I am not going to complain about how bad things are or could be. I am going to work harder than ever before to give the fans the best information that I can. I want to give them a reason to turn on that TV on Sunday afternoons or Saturday evenings to watch NASCAR on FOX. I want them to watch us on SPEED or come to the track when they can and be part of our Trackside show audience.

That is my New Year's Resolution.

Here are the real top 10 stories in NASCAR for 2008

By Ed Hinton/ESPN.com

NASCAR has its list of the top 10 stories of 2008, and I have mine.

When NASCAR asked the media to rank the biggest stories of the year, it picked 17 stories from which the top 10 would be chosen. It also slipped in a powerful modifier: "competition" stories.

That way, two profound stories were ignored: the recently settled Mauricia Grant discrimination lawsuit, and the tailspin of the once-giddy economy that put NASCAR on the high horse from which it must now climb down, or fall.

Also omitted was the tire debacle at Indianapolis in July, which -- seems to me -- profoundly affected "competition" in the Allstate 400 at the Brickyard.

You can view NASCAR's lists, original as sent out by NASCAR and final as ranked by other media people (I chose not to vote), elsewhere on this page.

But here, onward to my unvarnished top 10 NASCAR stories, looking back into the season just past and, in some cases, forward into the season to come.

I've listed them in countdown form, from least to most important.

10. Jeff Gordon's failure to win a race in '08 after winning multiple Cup races in each of his previous 14 seasons.

This one, likely caused by Gordon's chronic discomfort with the fitful handling of the new car, sort of crept up on us. By the time it became a real possibility, in the fall, it was buried under the avalanche of action among the front-runners in the Chase.

How far into '09 will the losing streak continue? Depends on Gordon's continuing adaptation to the new car. NASCAR certainly won't let the car be adapted to him.

9. Dale Earnhardt Jr.'s first year with Hendrick Motorsports.

This was supposed to be the movement that freed Junior from the mediocrity of the Dale Earnhhardt Inc. team controlled by his stepmother.

The debut was dazzling -- a win in the Bud Shootout, right out of the box. The assumption after that bright moment in February was that Junior would follow with another Daytona 500 win and at last soar to the expectations of Junior Nation.

But alas, the season would produce but one points win for Earnhardt, at Michigan in June. He made the Chase but finished dead last.

8. Ryan Newman's Daytona 500 win out of the blue.

Newman had gone two seasons without a win and had been somewhat inconspicuous through most of the 50th Daytona 500, when he got what he called "the push from heaven" from teammate Kurt Busch on the last lap.

For team owner Roger Penske, who had amassed 14 Indianapolis 500 wins, it was the culmination of 30 years of frustration trying to win America's other best-known race.

But that was the first and last we would see of Newman and Penske all season, as they splashed no more … at least until August, when Newman decided to leave Penske at the end of the season.

7. The tire debacle in the Allstate 400 at the Brickyard.

Seldom, if ever, have NASCAR and long-running tire supplier Goodyear embarrassed themselves and annoyed their fans so thoroughly as at Indianapolis Motor Speedway on July 27.

Tires shredded and disintegrated so badly, so blatantly, that the usual claims of cuts from debris went out the window. No more than 12 laps could be run at a time under the green flag before a mandatory stop for tire changes or recurrences of the problems.

Lack of downforce by the new car was blamed by some; the diamond-ground, and therefore abrasive, surface of IMS was cited by others. Indy officials privately suspected "crabbing," slight sideways movement of the cars down the straights due to "axle yaw," which made the new cars cock a bit sideways in order to get them to turn through the corners.

6. Tony Stewart's release from Joe Gibbs Racing to form his own team in '09.

This was earthshaking on two accounts. One, Stewart had one more year on his contract with JGR, the team that had wooed him away from Indy cars and launched him to two Cup championships and 33 wins in 10 years. And two, Stewart is the first truly blue-chip driver since Darrell Waltrip to leave an established team to try to run his own operation.

The move was disastrous for Waltrip in the 1990s. Whether Stewart succeeds, with Newman as his teammate, promises to be an ongoing story in '09.

Although Stewart maintained throughout that building a new team on weekdays wasn't a distraction from driving for JGR on weekends, he won only one race in his swan-song season for JGR, at Talladega in October -- and that was controversial, in that rookie Regan Smith's apparent race-winning pass at the flag was disallowed because it came below the yellow line.

5. The meteoric rise and fall of Kyle Busch.

Seldom had there been by midseason a slam-dunk, thoroughly dominant, crowd-wowing, crowd-infuriating, shoo-in champion quite like Busch.

And then, it all fizzled.

He took his last taunting bow at Watkins Glen on Aug. 10, and the exaggerated counting of his wins on his fingers stopped at eight.

Oh, he recorded more wins in the Nationwide and Trucks series, for a NASCAR total of 21. But I'm old-fashioned. At the highest levels of racing, I count major league wins; I don't drop down and cherry pick from Double A and Triple A ball.

Busch got shoved out of his last chance to win, at Bristol later in August, by Carl Edwards, and after that, it was his team that let him down. There were mechanical failures, and -- as often happens in the technological leapfrog of racing -- his Toyota just wasn't dominant anymore, because other teams regained the edge.

4. Carl Edwards show time, all the time, wire to wire.

No driver entertained the NASCAR public, as consistently, start to finish, as Edwards. He won early, he won in summer, he won late, he won three of the last four, he won at the wire at Homestead-Miami and he amassed the most Cup wins of the season, nine.

Even when he lost, he put on a show -- the prime example being his attempted "slide job" on Johnson at the finish in Kansas City on Sept. 28. He drove under Johnson with such force that he slid up and slammed the wall, and Johnson drove back under him to win.

Even Edwards' season-spoiling error at Talladega stood immediately as one of the most memorable mistakes in the crazed history of bump-drafting bedlam at that track. With 15 laps to go, Edwards made two mistakes in a split second. He bump-drafted teammate Greg Biffle in a corner, and he tapped Biffle just off-center of the rear bumper. They went out in the big one, and Jimmie Johnson slipped through and sailed on toward the championship.

3. Former NASCAR tech inspector Mauricia Grant's $225 million lawsuit against her former employer for racial discrimination and sexual harassment.

The case was settled this month for an undisclosed amount, but at the very least, a league struggling to diversify out of its mostly white, mostly male, mostly Southern past didn't need this enormous image hit.

Grant's lawsuit, which charged 23 instances of sexual harassment and 34 instances of race and gender discrimination by her peers and supervisors, raised questions about how sincere and how deep NASCAR's diversity efforts really are.

Grant said she was fired in 2007 for complaining about the harassment and discrimination. NASCAR said her firing was for cause and that she initiated some of the nicknames she was called.

In the settlement, neither side admitted liability or wrongdoing. So the larger questions about what really occurred never will be answered publicly.

Legally resolved or not, it's just not good residue to leave in the public mind.

2. Jimmie Johnson three-peats for the first time since Cale Yarborough 30 years ago.

This was the most celebrated season title won yet under the five-year-old Chase format. And it was the most ballyhooed Cup since Dale Earnhardt won a seventh in 1994 to tie Richard Petty's career total.

Fans who dislike the Chase claim Johnson's accomplishment was easier than Yarborough's was under the old, season-long, Winston Cup format of the 1970s.

But I was around for both three-peats, and I believe Johnson had a lot more competition that was a lot more intense, week in, week out.

Yarborough had a tougher time physically -- cars had no power steering and no cooling systems for drivers.

But in that era, not all top drivers ran the entire season with the championship in mind. Yarborough's only real competition in 1976 and '77 came from Petty and Bobby Allison, and in '78 from Waltrip.

1. Effects of the free-falling economy on the sport most sensitive to economics.

My No. 1 story of this year, and probably next year, and possibly the next, is just now passing through its harshest and saddest phase. Hundreds have been laid off from NASCAR teams and as many as 1,000 might be vulnerable before the economic downturn bottoms out.

One component of the economic collapse, the distress of the Detroit automakers, threatens to change the face of NASCAR more than any other event in the sanctioning body's 60-year history.

Public loyalty to American car brands long has been the backbone of NASCAR competition. The Ford-Chevrolet rivalry has been part of the very fabric of working-class American society, transcending auto racing.

Ford might not have to take a government bailout. But General Motors (with its Chevrolet brand in NASCAR) and Chrysler Corp. (Dodge) say they must have help and have begun getting it under strict conditions.

What if the much-anticipated "car czar" for a government bailout of Detroit should, somewhere down the line, forbid spending taxpayer money for NASCAR advertising and promotions?

Even without a federal mandate, economic sensibility already has reduced manufacturer spending in NASCAR, and the downward trend is likely to continue for a while.

Will NASCAR teams stay loyal to brands without big funding from Detroit? Or will they cave to financial pressures and sign with healthier manufacturers -- especially Toyota?

Will the fans -- already miffed that the new car is generic, carrying merely the logos of the manufacturers and slightly different basic engine designs -- accept an all-Toyota series, or a Toyota armada versus a weakened Ford fleet?

No one knows.

But teams got by with only a little backdoor support, and stayed loyal to brands, when the Detroit manufacturers pulled out in the 1970s. That could happen again, if the will is there.

All in all, a simpler, leaner, meaner, hungrier, more down-to-earth NASCAR could emerge. Like Wall Street itself, NASCAR had gotten too rich, too powerful, too reckless. It needed slowing down, a return to reality.

So maybe the stormiest story of this era in NASCAR will show a silver lining as it goes into next year, and the next.

Ed Hinton is a senior writer for ESPN.com. He can be reached at edward.t.hinton@....

Top 10 Stories Media Vote

1. Jimmie Johnson's championship run.
2. Kyle Busch's 21 total wins over all three national series.
3. Tony Stewart's announcement that he would be leaving Joe Gibbs Racing to become owner/driver of Stewart-Haas Racing in 2009.
4. Carl Edwards winning a NASCAR Sprint Cup Series-high nine races and finishing runner-up in both that series and the NASCAR Nationwide Series.
5. Four-time series champion Jeff Gordon's streak of 14 consecutive seasons with at least one race won ending.
6. Ryan Newman winning his -- and car owner Roger Penske's -- first Daytona 500.
7. Johnny Benson winning the second-closest Truck Series championship.
8. Dale Earnhardt Jr., in his first season with Hendrick Motorsports, snapping a 76-race winless streak by winning on Father's Day at Michigan International Speedway.
9. Clint Bowyer winning the NASCAR Nationwide Series title.
10. Joey Logano, competing in 19 NASCAR Nationwide events and winning the race at Kentucky Speedway.

Ten Wishes from the NASCAR Genie for 2009

John Roberts/speedtv.com

Some of the all-time greatest things about New Year’s Eve are Dick Clark, those pointy little hats and noisemakers, and an excuse to get hammered and stay out much too late.

But perhaps the best part of ringing in a new year is the eternal hope that the one to come will be better than our previous trip around the calendar. From that hope are born wishes and we all know wishing leads to fantasy.

As long as we are fantasizing, wouldn’t it be great if there was a NASCAR Genie? And wouldn’t it be even better if that genie had 10 wishes instead of three? Ten is a good, round number in the NASCAR world -- top-10 finish, top 10 in points, 10-race Chase, etc. And while we’re wishing, let’s hope this NASCAR Genie looks like the Barbara Eden I dreamed of back in the ‘70s.

Oh great Genie, please grant us these wishes for the 2009 NASCAR season:

10. Please grant Kyle Busch’s sunglasses sponsor the ability to make a smaller pair of shades instead of the pair that engulfs his entire face. And grant him the ability to give an interview without them.  While you’re at it, throw in a 26-race season for Busch and his No. 18 team. If you’re really good, make it retroactive for the 2008 season.

9. Please put Jeff Gordon back in Victory Lane soon so we can talk about something else besides what’s wrong with him and the No. 24 team. On second thought, that is probably a wasted wish. He won’t need your help to get there.

8. Please grant young Joey Logano the opportunity to run a Sprint Cup race without the entire racing world analyzing the crap out of his every turn. Hell, the kid is barely old enough to vote.

7. Could you possibly arrange it so Tony Stewart wins the Daytona 500 in his first points race as an owner/driver? That would be cool and would silence many critics very quickly. But secretly, we want to see if Tony can still climb Daytona’s catch fence.

6. Oh great genie of NASCAR, please award Mark Martin a Sprint Cup championship. Many of us old guys would love to see that and so would the legions of Mark Martin fans who have hung in there throughout a career of “bridesmaid” finishes.

5. Please make it so no motorsports journalist ever again blogs about the poor quality of food in any media center or the distance they have to walk from the press parking lot to their computer terminals.

4. Please grant three-time champion Jimmie Johnson the ability to just once make a slightly politically incorrect comment and get in just a little bit of hot water for it. We realize how tough this request must seem and that even a genie of great power might not be able to pull this off. You might have to ask Jimmie for a favor on this one.

3. Please grant us at least one last-lap pass for the win on one of the mile-and-half ovals. Just one for now, please, and we’ll hope for more of the same later; anything but another follow-the-leader race.

2. Please instill in the minds of all broadcast journalists that Aric Almirola is a racecar driver in NASCAR while Amarillo is a city in Texas. And that Rick Hendrick owns race teams while Jimi Hendrix wore a headband and famously played the guitar left-handed.

1. And with all your power and might, great NASCAR Genie, please fill the stands with fans, the fields with race cars and the pockets of the hardest-working people in professional sports with riches. Its okay to wish, isn’t it? Oh, and since number nine was kind of a throw-away

Remembering Dale: The Soul of Nascar

By: JimMcCoy/bumpdrafts.com

 NASCAR ON TV TH