Dale Earnhardt Sr. was born on April 29th, 1951 in Kannapolis, North Carolina and sadly died at aged 49 on February 18th, 2001 as a result of massive head trauma from a crash in the final lap of 2001 Daytona 500. Dale Sr. was also known as The Intimidator but those who knew him, would say differently. He was a philanthropist and never found the need for media coverage of his donations.

His father, Ralph Earnhardt, was one of the best known short-track drivers in North Carolina. He was not very encouraging of his son's ambition of racing cars as well and even when he dropped out of high school to race, Ralph was hard on his son. Ralph did teach his son everything he knew and set the stage to make him the driver he turned into. His father realized that his driving skill came naturally and as such made his son view his mistakes as open mindedly as possible. Earnhardt Sr. appreciated everything his father did for him and missed his presence sorely when he died of a heart attack in 1973.

A group of young Japanese cheer "Sugoi Yo" (yo, that's cool!) as the Nissan 350Z slides round the corner at a 45 degree slant, deep in the industrial sector of Yokohama - Japan's third largest city. As the smoke from the burning tires clears, the spider web of black marks on the gray concrete surface become visible, proof of the popularity of this circuit. Welcome to the world of the drifters; a subculture of Japanese who meet to test their driving skills, show off their souped up hot rods and burn a lot of rubber. The word 'Drifting' describes a cornering technique where the front wheels of the car point in the opposite direction to the turn, resulting in the car sliding round the corner almost at right angles to the turn - effectively a controlled skid.

The original concept of a NASCAR race car was that is was supposed to be composed of stock parts-parts you would buy in an auto parts store. In some respects that is true but not totally. The race car is a high performance racing machine designed to withstand high G-forces when banking on turns. Let's look at what makes up this vehicle. The first component most are interested in is the engine of a NASCAR racing vehicle. This engine actually is very close to that which you have in your car (provided you have a big engine) but it is customized so that it can withstand high temperature and torque. All parts in the engine of a are machined to within very tight specifications so that there is a minimum of friction. The carburetor is designed to let in the volume of air and fuel mixture required to sustain high speeds for lengthy spans of time. There are no fuel injectors in the race cars engine.

If you are interested in the exciting world of race cars, perhaps you may be asking the question: "what kinds of jobs are there with Nascar"? There are many types of positions that are available that might be of potential interest to you. The world of Nascar does seem so glamorous and in many ways it is. On the other hand, it is important to also consider that when you find a position that you like within Nascar you will need to be prepared to be on the road constantly if you are an immediate part of the team and away from your home most of the time if you work directly with the race car drivers themselves. The first and most obvious answer to the question "what kinds of jobs are there with Nascar" would be a race car driver. Becoming a race car driver, however, is a dream only obtainable by a few.

Next stop on the Nextel Cup Schedule is Richmond International Raceway. Well folks, the NASCAR version of the playoffs is here. We are gearing up for a 10-week showdown that features a star-studded cast of drivers (unless your fans of Dale Earnhardt Jr), and promises to be one of the greatest finales to a NASCAR season in its rich history. The first stop on the playoff rotation is New Hampshire International Speedway for the Sylvania 300. NHIS is a challenging, flat 1.058 mile oval track. If you recall the 2006 Chase, New Hampshire is the site of Jimmie Johnson's early stumble. Of all the drivers in the Chase, Denny Hamlin has had the most luck at New Hampshire. In 3 starts there, Denny has an average finish of 4th. Average Finishes for Remaining Drivers in the Chase: