Got a bad case of ‘NASCAR Withdrawal Syndrome’? Hang tight, there’s only 21 days left until the 50^th running of the Daytona 500 and we will, once again, be talking NASCAR, arguing NASCAR & getting our general fill of everything NASCAR.

When NASCAR fans look back on the 2007 season, most often the first story that comes to mind is Dale Jr. leaving DEI. In no particular order here’s a look at some of the other moments that rounded out the 2007 NASCAR season:

Chaos in Canada as Robby Gordon & Marcos Ambrose Lock Heads
Who could ever forget the chaos that was the inaugural Busch Series race in Canada? Whenever there’s controversy on the track, one of the first names that always comes to mind is Robby Gordon. Let’s face it, controversy ignites the sport of auto racing. Let’s take a moment to recap….

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Long Island, New York has one race track remaining. Riverhead Raceway is a NASCAR sanctioned ¼ mile asphalt banked oval. Racing takes place from early May through September. I am honored to be one of the “voices” of Riverhead. I will be starting my 7^th season as a track announcer this spring. We still pack them in on a good summer night and feature six divisions of racing.

Long Island has a rich racing heritage. It was home to The Vanderbilt Cup, the famed Bridgehampton Race Circuit, Freeport Speedway and the Islip Speedway. Islip had an interesting history. It was the home of the first ever Demolition Derby and also had the distinction of hosting 6 NASCAR Grand National races. The Grand National eventually became the Busch Series.
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Tony Stewart is a racers racer. Despite his success, he’ll race anywhere, any place, any time. Case in point his Rumble in Fort Wayne victory this past Saturday on the slick concrete one-sixteenth of a mile indoor oval at the Memorial Coliseum Expo Center.

The two-time NASCAR champion won for the fifth time in eight races over the past four seasons in Fort Wayne.

Toyota might be smug in regard to being on the threshold of world dominance in the car wars, but motorsports on the other hand has given many company executives reason to chomp on green tea flavored Tums.

Formula 1 has been a virtual money pit. A lot of investment on Toyota’s part with lackluster results. Ralf Schumacher has been shown the door and GP2 Champion Timo Glock has been put into the hot seat along side Jarno Trulli . But with most of us in North America not content to follow a sport where an occasional pass awakens announcers, and makes them sound like dolphins on helium, we turn our sights on NASCAR and Toyota’s chance of visiting Victory Lane via Joe Gibbs and associates.
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Most people love a good mystery. For race fans, we rarely get any real world mysteries, other than the odd missing race car that is found many years later. It seems that there has been a bit of an urban legend circulating in the NASCAR world over the past few years regarding an underground testing facility. Somewhere. Right. Paging Doctor Evil.

Last night I came across an incredible story by Sam Collins of Racecar Engineering Magazine on Speedtv.com that brings the story closer to reality.
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Well folks, not only is the CoW a day late this week, but it was pretty slim pickin’s in the submissions department. Things must have been just as crazy in everyone else’s lives as it has been here. Maybe it’s time we breathe some new life into this weekly lap around the blogosphere. For this week, let’s head on over to one of the faithful!

Over at Racedriven, Brian Vermette is wondering out loud what should be considered the biggest story in racing for 2007. Well, that sort of depends on your perspective now doesn’t it? As Brian points out, Dale Jr. had all sorts of huge news this year. NASCAR has been invaded by Furriners. The Formula 1 circus had all sorts of espionage and a big swingin’ fine. Of course, as Keith from F1 Fanatic was quick to point out, a young lad named Lewis certainly set F1 on it’s ear too. Here in The Garage, maybe the biggest news of the year was when one of our own took the podium at La Carrera! Regardless of how you see it, there was some pretty cool stuff this season, even if a lot of it was off track.
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In a pre race interview, Monsieur Villeneuve said he would fall back right from the start and stay out of everyone’s way. “I’m not here to win a race, or to ruin anyone’s chase hopes, I’m here to get experience.” He did just that. Started at the back, drove around the middle of the pack and kept his nose very clean. He was nowhere near The Big One and finished a well thought out 21st. Nice job JV.

Once a racer, always a racer. It seems that nobody knows that better than Jacques Villeneuve. Despite having a healthy dose of negative public opinion, the guy just wants to race. It’s not that he needs a job, he just needs the competition. To that end, he’s been hard at work trying to join the NASCAR ranks, but hasn’t had too much luck getting his chance. Today though, things might change as he spends his first day in a Toyota Tundra at Chicagoland Speedway today courtesy of Bill Davis Racing.

I’m a firm believer that a true champion can win in any series given the opportunity with the right equipment. Let’s hope that the Canadian ex-pat can prove my theory right.

Press release after the break
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Lightning flashed and the fans in the grandstands never flinched. Fans could be heard talking over each other. After all, this was the first time NASCAR was right in front of them-in our own country. We had been hearing about a race on Canadian soil since 2003 when NASCAR officials began scouting out possible race tracks in Canada.

With eight Canadian drivers from five provinces competing in the race, Canadians had a lot to be proud of. Carpentier, a native of Quebec, took full advantage of the opportunity to showcase his talents in front of a hometown crowd. He won the pole, led 14 laps and finished second. Indeed, Canadians were proud to be a part of the historic event.
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Welcome to the Canada Day edition of the Carnival of Wheels! It’s been a busy couple of weeks in The Garage. We are in the middle of three weeks of track action and we’ve picked up a new to us SUV, so our work here in The Garage has been pretty self centered. Don’t worry though, our selfish posting will continue, as there are still tons of photos yet to be edited from the VARAC festival and next weekend is a double header. First we’ll have 2 days in the pits at the Steelback Grand Prix for Champ Cars and then on Sunday, Miss Shelby has her first race of the season. Elsewhere online, autobloggers have been busy churning out all manner of hot content, so sit down, strap in and get ready for a smoking hot lap of the blogosphere while you watch the French Grand Prix.

First up we’ve got another visit from Hello Kitty Hell, with a truly frightening tuner mod. This poor guy’s wife has actually installed this happy feline exhaust tip on their car! Be afraid, be very, very afraid.
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