Published Tuesday, February 12, 2008 11:50 AM
Updated Tuesday, February 12, 2008 11:54 AM
Cup o'Joe
NASCAR on the moveIn what was once a country dominated by football, baseball and basketball, America’s newest and fastest growing sport started its engines this weekend in Daytona.
The 2008 NASCAR season has begun and is off to a roaring start. In the past decade NASCAR has become a major powerhouse in sports media, attracting fans from all over the country.
Last year’s incredible finish by two of racings biggest names, Jimmy Johnson and Jeff Gordon, left fans wondering how Hendrix’s power team could get any better.
They got their answer this weekend.
What has been described as NASCAR’s version of the New York Yankees, Hendrix’s newest driver, Dale Earnhardt Jr., racked up his first win of the season.
In what was potentially the last Budweiser Shootout to be sponsored by Anheuser-Busch, the race was won by none other than the driver who made his name synonymous with the beer brand.
Although Earnhardt and his fans no doubt rejoiced after the win, this first victory most likely left a bad taste in the mouths of Dale’s former boss and stepmother Teresa Earnhardt.
After a heated battle with his stepmother for control of his father’s company, the late great Dale Earnhardt, Junior decided to move onto greener pastures and sign with Hendrix Motor sports, creating a dream team of racecar drivers the world has never seen.
In my opinion he found what he was looking for.
In a falling out with her stepson, Teresa Earnhardt may have inadvertently created a nearly unbeatable superpower in the NASCAR universe. In this season’s first race all four Hendrix drivers, Johnson, Gordon, Earnhardt and Casey Mears finished in the top six of the 23-driver field.
Watching the race was like watching the Yankees of old as the four drivers dominated the track. This first race was a glimpse of why NASCAR is such a popular sport.
This first display of Hendrix racing will no doubt mark an interesting season for the other racing teams.