Free Republic

Pocono NASCAR Cup Series winner Denny Hamlin and second-place finisher Kyle Busch were disqualified Sunday after their cars failed post-race inspections. "There was some issues discovered that affect aero in the vehicle," said Brad Moran, managing director of the NASCAR Cup Series, widely considered the top auto race league. "There really was no reason why there was some material that was somewhere it shouldn't have been. And that does basically come down to a DQ." Hamlin was the first Cup winner to be disqualified since April 17, 1960, when Emanuel Zervakis' victory at Wilson Speedway in North Carolina was thrown...

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. -- A slumping economy is being blamed for keeping as many as 30 percent of NASCAR fans away from the Daytona International Speedway races this Fourth of July weekend. "Normally this place is packed and we know everybody but now I only see like 20 people I know," a NASCAR race fan said. The Daytona economy counts on the tourist dollars generated from the Fourth of July races. However, this year's big race -- the Coke Zero 400 -- is not a sell out and 20 to 30 percent of fans who normally come are staying home...

Reminders of him are everywhere. They're in the scores of "3"-clad fans flooding the grandstands, the flapping of Earnhardt flags over infield motorcoaches, and the impersonators who, like their Elvis counterparts, dedicate themselves to their mirrored glasses, moustaches and Goodyear jumpsuits in hopes of most resembling their idol. The wreck that killed Dale Earnhardt is still a moment frozen in time for many. But NASCAR has moved on to even greater heights despite the loss of its last real hero. "We're constantly reminded of him," driver Terry Labonte said. The reminders are in the safety innovations of the past five...