#FillTheRock

Things are shook up a little bit this weekend in NASCAR-land. Instead of there being a Sprint Cup race this Sunday, the Camping World Trucks series will be running at Rockingham Speedway (@RockinghamSpeedway). This is unusual for more than just the schedule change, there hasn't been a race by a major NASCAR series at the track since February, 2004.

While NASCAR has said that it doesn't intended to bring the Nationwide or Sprint Cup series' back to Rockingham, there has been a strong push from fans to see just that. A large contingent of purist fans have a special place in their heart for the track because of its prominence in the upper-divisions of NASCAR from 1965 to 2004.

As part of their desire to influence NASCAR via Twitter, the fans have begun using #FillTheRock as their hashtag for this Sunday's Trucks race. They are hoping that a strong showing of fan attendance may persuade NASCAR to bring the other series back in light of recent attendance declines at other venues.

Off-Week Filler

With all three top series off for the Easter holiday, there wasn't much in the way of social media commentary on the sport to note this week. I figured I'd take the opportunity to discuss what has been a growing phenomenon in the NASCAR Twittervers: The NASCAR Inanimate Objects.

The Inanimates, as they are commonly referred to, are Twitter accounts, created by the fans, under the guise of certain sport related objects. The inanimates offer commentary in the imagined perspective of each respective object. 

The most famous, or infamous, of these objects is The Orange Cone (@TheOrangeCone). Not just any cone, The Orange Cone represents the orange traffic cone that marks the commitment line for entry onto pit road. Because this cone is situated on-track, it is frequently struck by drivers as they lose control on the front stretch. The Orange Cone will fire off a stream of angst via Twitter whenever this happens. The Orange Cone is also known for his/her all-around pessimistic banter, and seems to have a serious axe to grind against former Nationwide driver Steven Wallace.

Another popular inanimate is The Mini Chad (@TheMiniChad). At under two feet tall, The Mini Chad is simply a small cardboard cutout of Chad Knaus, crew chief of Jimmie Johnson's #48 team. The Mini Chad might possibly be more than just a fan because he seems to have some inside knowledge of the Hendrick Motorsports organization, and frequently posts pictures of himself at the various racetracks on race weekends.

Some other inanimates of note are:

The Catch Fence (@TheCatchFence)

The Martinsville Hotdog (@MartvilleHotDog)

The Caution Flag (@FlagOfCaution)

Carl Edwards Teeth (@CarlEdwardsTeeth)

The NASCAR Flat (@NascarFlatTire)

NASCAR Plays A Hand In Annual Google April Fools' Prank

NASCAR showed it's sense of humor is alive and kicking earlier today as it played a part in another one of Google's annual April Fools' pranks. This time, Google claimed they would be applying the autonomous vehicle technology, in development for several years on streets in California, to the NASCAR circuit. The internet behemoth claimed they would be ready to field a computer-driven race car by the middle of next season.

NASCAR played along by posting a video on their website announcing the new Google car, and even got drivers Clint Bowyer (@Clint_Bowyer), Jeff Gordon (@JeffGordonWeb), and Brad Keselowski (@keselowski) to participate by presenting their "opinions" on the computer-driven cars via mock interview. A notable high point of which was when Keselowski claimed the relief from driving duties would give him welcome time to do other things—I can only assume posting more pics to Twitter from behind the wheel. Another awesome piece of humor was Bowyer's crew chief Brian Pattie remarking how driverless cars would take away a huge source of his frustrations: driver error.

While Google has had some self-driving Prii  for a while now, the idea that they had perfected the technology to a motorsports application meant that this prank was transparent to all but the most gullible minds. It was no surprise to most NASCAR fans when Google and NASCAR revealed the hoax. The two companies did put in a great deal of effort, and I give them high marks for production value and effort, but the premise was just a little too ahead of its time to fool enough people. 

Being the prolific jokers that they are, Google didn't limit themselves to one prank. They actually got me with the Gmail Tap prank, which I found so believable, I actually tried to download it to my Android phone. I'd say that makes Google and I even for the day.

The Return of Rusty???

Rusty Wallace in 2007. By Manningmbd,
used under Creative Commons License 

Breaking news from the Twitterverse, Kenny Wallace (@Kenny_Wallace) tweeted "My BIG brother Rusty Wallace just called, BIG News! He said I've had enough I am coming out of retirement..WOW!"

Rusty Wallace, of whom Kenny was speaking, is the 1989 NASCAR Sprint Cup Champion, and a current ESPN NASCAR commentator. He retired from the sport at the end of the 2005 season.

The exact magnitude of the Rusty comeback is not known. CBS Sports does confirm that Rusty will be running an ASA charity race in Milwaukee, but does not mention any further driving commitments by the elder Wallace brother. 

Was Kenny Wallace overreacting to the news that his brother would be making a single driving appearance--only his third since retiring--or could Rusty potentially be driving again at NASCAR's top levels? Only time will tell, but there are many longtime NASCAR fans who would love to see Rusty return. 

Would Rusty be competitive? Perhaps on short tracks, if he could secure a ride in good equipment. However, Rusty has never competed in the "Car of Tomorrow," which was introduced to the sport in 2007. Also, many of Rusty's best tracks, like Bristol, have been dramatically changed through resurfacing and the introduction of progressive banking.

Wallace, at 55, is only two years older than Mark Martin (@55MarkMartin), who up until this year ran a full-time Cup schedule and still competes on a part-time basis. But it is doubtful that Rusty has kept up with the strict fitness regiment that Martin has, which would put him at a huge disadvantage behind the younger generation of drivers, like Jimmie Johnson (@JimmieJohnson) and Carl Edwards, who are fanatical about their workouts.

Whether or not a Wallace comeback would meet with any type of on-track success, the real winners in the equation would be the fans. With so few drivers from the 1980s and 1990s still competing, seeing Rusty back on the track would definitely feed that need for nostalgia from those who perceive those times as NASCAR's "Golden Era." 

A Wallace comeback would also play into the cult of Dale Earnhardt, which has ballooned since his death in 2001. Many NASCAR fans under thirty never got to see Earnhardt race, but have constantly been bombarded with the legend of "The Intimidator." Having one of Earnhardt's main competitors back on the track might satisfy the curiosities of the younger generation, while satisfying the older generation's constant need to show the latter "what a real driver looks like." 

***UPDATE***

After following the news this afternoon, it seems that Rusty Wallace is, in fact, only going to be racing the one ASA event at the Milwaukee Mile. NASCAR fans with dreams of a grand comeback will have to settle for disappointment. 

Welcome Back Vickers

Brian Vickers (center) signs autographs for fans in 2008.
Photo by Cmedinger, used under Creative Commons License

When Red Bull Racing chose to depart from NASCAR last fall, it left Brian Vickers (@BrianLVickers) without a ride. With even some of the most successful race teams having trouble securing sponsorship dollars, things didn't look good for Vickers finding a seat this season.

After Elliot Sadler's (@Elliot_Sadler) six-race deal to drive the #55 for Michael Waltrip Racing  (@MWRteam) following the Phoenix race, MWR tapped Vickers for the spot. 

Personally, I was excited to see Vickers get back in the car for this past weekend's Sprint Cup race at Bristol—so much so that I actually used him as one of my five drivers for my NASCAR fantasy league. 

I was even more surprised that, after having tweeted about my picks for the weekend, when I got a mention back from Vickers, "@mtkester putting pressure on me already? MAN!!!!"Pressure or not, he did deliver on Sunday with a solid fifth-place finish. On the fantasy league side of the equation, where points are scored not just for finishing position, but also include a whole myriad of other elements; Vickers was the second-highest scoring driver, behind race winner Brad Keselowski (@Keselowski). I can't wait to see what happens the next time Vickers gets behind the wheel!

Judgement Day For The #48

Chad Knaus (pictured here in 2007) will have his day in
NASCAR court tomorrow when the #48 Team's appeal is
heard. Picture by Brian Cantoni, Creative Commons License

Tony Stewart may have won yesterday, but the bulk of today's online chatter concerning NASCAR has been focused on tomorrow's appeal hearing for the #48 team.

An initial inspection at Daytona by NASCAR officials found that Jimmie Johnson's Lowe's Chevy Impala had certain body panels that did not conform to NASCAR specifications. In the wake of the finding, NASCAR handed out very severe penalties to the Henrick Motorsports team. The team was docked 25 owners points, Jimmie Johnson was docked 25 driver's championship points, and Crew Chief Chad Knaus was suspended for six races and fined $100,000. The ruling was immediately appealed by the team, which halted the immediate imposition of the penalties, creating a two week span of time for NASCAR enthusiasts to speculate what the hearing may find.

While fans seem to differ on how they view what that outcome will be—mainly based on their own personal opinons of Chad Knaus and Jimmie Johnson, most in the media seem to think the penalties will be reduced.

Nationwide Series regular and Speed Channel commentator Kenny Wallace (@Kenny_Wallace) tweeted:

"My prediction for Jimmie Johnson's fine will be this: "The fine and penalty will be reduced" tell me how my prediction did tomorrow."

Former Cup Champion and NASCAR on Fox host Darrell Waltrip (@allwaltrip) said:

"My personal opinion is it will be reduced, the car never got on the track and it was fixed before it went thru the room of doom, my opinion"

Most other experts mirrored this sentiment. Nothing is certain when it comes to NASCAR's rule interpretations; but with experts weighing in on the side of Knaus and the #48 team, the only thing more surprising than the severity of the original ruling would be if the review board failed to reduce them.

Fans Organizing To Help Find Sponsorship

Cale Yarbourough's 1989 Hardee's paint scheme.
Photo by us44mt. Used under a Creative Commons  License.

With many popular drivers and teams struggling to find sponsorship, a group of NASCAR fans has taken it upon themselves to organize together and petition potential sponsors. The group, The NASCAR Fans (@TheNascarFans) has accumulated 2200 followers in their quest to find sponsors for drivers.

The NASCAR Fans course of action is fairly simple. First, the group asks their following what companies they would like to go after. Next, they generate tweets asking those companies to sponsor, which The NASCAR Fans' followers can then retweet. By generating enough mentions, the group hopes sponsors will act based upon the fan interest.

While the effort hasn't secured a solid sponsorship, companies have taken notice. The sister fast food franchises of Carls Jr. (@CarlsJr) and Hardee's (@Hardees) each posted on their Twitter feeds:

"@TheNascarFans You guys know how to rally fans around #NASCAR Thx for thinking of @CarlsJr &@Hardees. Our marketing team has been alerted!"

Hardee's has been a major sponsor in the sport before, so it's not too far fetched to imagine they might be willing to return.