Tag Archives: Ken Schrader

One of the many things we’ve learned about NASCAR in 2018: take any — any! — retirement announcements with a grain of salt. Or, you know, at least really read the fine print. Throughout 2018, multiple drivers have announced their retirement from full-time competition, such as Elliott Sadler and Kasey …

Let’s sling some dirt, y’all. This week, the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series heads to Rossburg, Ohio and Eldora Speedway for the fifth annual “Mudsummer Classic,” the Eldora Dirt Derby 150. After an off-weekend, 34 trucks are on the preliminary entry list for the mid-week dirt race from the half-mile …

Who’s in the headline – Brad Keselowski won his first Cup race at Talladega in 2009. While he isn’t mentioned in the same breaths with Jeff Gordon, Dale Earnhardt or Tony Stewart when plate racing prowess is discussed, the bottom line is he won his fourth plate race at Talladega …

Ken Schrader Racing and Federated Auto Parts have announced that they have teamed up for a 16th consecutive season. Ken Schrader will continue to compete in select ARCA Racing Series events and select dirt events around the country. “We are looking forward to another exciting season as the sponsor of …

*2008 Rides:* No. 49 BAM Dodge/Toyota (3 races) No. 70 Haas CNC Racing Chevrolet (1 race) No. 40 Chip Ganassi Racing Dodge (1 race -- DNQ) No. 33 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet (1 race) No. 96 Hall of Fame Toyota (10 races) *2008 Primary Sponsors:* QTrax.com / Microsoft Small Business (No. 49) Hunt Brothers Pizza (No. 70) Kennametal (No. 40) Camping World (No. 33) DLP HDTV (No. 96)

For so many millions of us, favorite athletes become so much more. Role models for our kids, our communities, ourselves; they’re put on a pedestal of success we can only wish to achieve. Through them, we choose to live our wildest dreams, placed in a fantasy world in which a larger-than-life persona can show us the joys of perfection. Every once in awhile, we get lucky in love, and the dream never dies. Our idols leave the sport we love at the top of their game, and we’re allowed to remember the end just the way we want it – like a fairy tale. But more often, the bubble bursts and we find out the truth – that these drivers we worship are human, too, unable to fend off the inevitability of age and time. And that makes it so much harder when you see their careers come crashing down.

The Sprint Cup Series heads to the Copper State this weekend for a duel in the desert at Phoenix International Raceway. The Checker O’Reilly Auto Parts 500(k) is the 35th race of the 2008 Srint Cup season and will be broadcast live on Sunday, November 9th at 3 pm ET …

The toughest ticket in NASCAR. Jet fighters in a gymnasium. Bristol has been nicknamed many things; but when it comes your fantasy team, it's likely been called something we can't print on this page in front of you. Indeed, Saturday night's 500-lapper is the one race left you're cursing out on your schedule, almost as much of a crapshoot for fantasy players as Talladega or Daytona. With cars lapping the track in just over 15 seconds, it is very easy for a driver to get caught up in someone else’s problem; and the danger is even greater now that the track has been resurfaced and there are multiple racing grooves. With so many driver's success or failure dependent on luck, this speedway is bound to offer you more questions than answers heading into the weekend. Will Kyle Busch continue his winning ways? Can Carl Edwards win the night race at Bristol again? Is Tony Stewart finally going to break the winless streak? Can Dale Earnhardt, Jr. avoid another pit road issue? Will Jamie McMurray continue his run of strong finishes? Only this week’s Picks ‘N’ Pans will tell you which guys you should keep on your roster and which ones should be riding the bench after spending half the night with crumpled sheet metal in the garage.

It was very nearly perfect. Stock Car racing returned to the too-long-silent Rockingham (formerly North Carolina) Speedway last week on a picture perfect early summer day. All eyes were on Joey Logano, the rookie phenom who won easily from the pole in his ARCA/Remax Series debut, but it was a veteran who truly epitomized the day-and the track itself. Ken Schrader in a way, WAS Rockingham Speedway on Sunday, or perhaps Rockingham Speedway was Ken Schrader. Coming from a 31st-place starting spot to finish second, Schrader passed cars by using the track to his advantage. It was a brilliant performance by the veteran driver with the reputation of being one who will race anything, anytime. At one point late in the race, Schrader took the lead and proceeded to school Logano in the finer points of holding a lead-switching from the bottom-hugging low line in the turns to the high line-the only place where Logano was really able to make his best moves. It didn’t work forever, but it was great, clean racing-the way Schrader has run for most of his 53 years.

As the NASCAR season rolls on, a familiar pattern unfolds around its qualifying bubble; the number of "locked in" teams in jeopardy of falling below the cutline grows smaller each week. The lower half of those 35 guaranteed a starting spot continue to distance themselves -- permanently putting aside worries of the dreaded DNQ -- and Richmond was no exception to their slow but steady pull from the pack. It didn't help the cause of their challengers that this weekend was an impound race; with no changes allowed after qualifying, those outside the bubble started with setups designed to make the field on a two-lap run -- not a 400-mile marathon. That meant when the dust settled from the Saturday night short track brawl, the results were a knockout punch to teams trying to climb their way back up the ladder. Four of the six teams ranked 30th to 35th in the owner standings posted finishes of 23rd or better; in comparison, the eight drivers from 36th to 43rd had just one finish better than 27th.