Kurt Busch is a NASCAR Sprint Cup Series driver for Penske Racing. 2010 was his last year in the No. 2 Miller Lite Dodge, this year he takes on the No. 22 Shell-Pennzoil Dodge (as you can see in the photo at left).
“I am honored to represent the Shell and Pennzoil brands in the NASCAR Cup Series starting in 2011,” said Busch. “I look forward to building on the success of our storied past at Penske Racing with our new sponsors at Shell and Pennzoil.”
This was by far the fastest interview I’ve ever transcribed, I didn’t realize he was so speedy about it until just now. I liked his answer for the last question, I don’t think anyone’s answered it that way ’til now.
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What is your favorite word? “Let’s do it.”
What is your least favorite word? “I don’t want to.”
What turns you on? Family
What turns you off? The travel
What sound or noise do you love? Race cars
What sound or noise do you hate? My alarm clock
What is your favorite curse word? Oh, hell.
What profession other than your own would you like to attempt? Baseball
What profession would you not like to do? Hockey
If Heaven exists, what would you like to hear God say when you arrive at the Pearly Gates? I’m proud of you, son.
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Read more of my “Inside the Actor’s Studio” questionnaire interviews in the archives and read about how it all started with Tony Stewart.
It’s time for Round Two! But first let’s find out what happened in Round One. 
Chad Knaus is the spectacularly successful crew chief of the No. 48 Lowe’s team at Hendrick Motorsports. He celebrated the team’s fifth-straight NASAR Sprint Cup Series Championship with his driver, Jimmie Johnson, in Las Vegas for Champion’s Week which is where this interview occurred. 
Clint Bowyer, driver of the No. 33 Cheerios Chevrolet for Richard Childress Racing, is a character for sure. He’s a funny guy and I’m really happy with how this interview turned out–I laughed while I transcribed it! Hopefully all of that comes through. In addition to the questions below I asked Clint if he had any special plans for the off-season and he said, “Whatever I want, that’s what’s nice about the off-season you have the opportunity to do whatever you want for a while.” 
Raybestos Rookie of the Year award-winner Kevin Conway started the 2010 season in the Sprint Cup Series driving for Front Row Motorsports but ended it with Robby Gordon Motorsports. I met Kevin in Las Vegas after the NMPA Myers Bros. Awards Luncheon where he officially received his Rookie of the Year award. 
– Inside the Actor’s Studio with Tony Stewart: Thanks to Office Depot, While I was in Charlotte I had the opportunity to interview Tony Stewart for the very first time. It far exceeded my expectations by leaps and bounds. My worst fear was that it ended up on the crappy end of the spectrum of Tony Stewart interviews (something like 
Shannon Spake is a pit reporter for both the NASCAR Nationwide and Sprint Cup Series telecasts on ESPN and is a reporter for ESPN’s studio programs such as NASCAR Now, SportsCenter and ESPNEWS. She’s also a wife and a mother to twin boys who will celebrate their 1st birthday on New Year’s Day. 
Jeff Burton, driver of the No. 31 CAT Chevrolet Impala for Richard Childress Racing, is cool. He finished the year 12th in points and out of the drivers I interviewed in Las Vegas he struck me as the most “polished.” And I guess what I mean by that is that he was professional but relaxed and just himself. He just seemed the most mature, not that everyone else wasn’t it’s just that you understand why people always look to him for his opinions. 
Christmas is fast approaching and I thought I’d share with you some ideas I had for great gifts for NASCAR fans. 
Ready your Tivo! NASCAR will be discussed on the upcoming season of 
I have a very simple idea: Starting with the Daytona 500 in February, I will attend all of the races on the 2011 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series schedule, driving from race to race, living in the infield in an RV or travel trailer. I’ll write about my experiences in this blog, along with the usual photos, interviews, and new features like a “choose my adventure” poll where you guys would get to pick the activity I have to do, something different each month. Oh and ‘Fabulous’ Parties, where you could hang out with me and other NASCAR fans (maybe a driver??), eat (cupcakes!), drink and leave with a goodie bag. 
Performance Racing Network gathered some NASCAR drivers holiday memories, thoughts, etc: 
Marty Smith is a really nice guy. And I’m not just saying that because I know he’s going to read this at some point. I just appreciated how nice he was to me when I introduced myself to him during Champion’s Week last year and every time I’ve seen him since then he’s 1.) remembered me and 2.) stayed cool. Why is this important or notable? Because he doesn’t have to be like that. He could be a prima donna and he’s not. 
It’s the most wonderful time of year. No, I’m not talking about the holidays. I’m referring to NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Champion’s Week in Las Vegas! 
Office Depot has created an exclusive Tony Stewart calendar for 2011 that features photos of the driver that you won’t be able to find anywhere else. The one below is my favorite so far because I can’t believe how dapper and George Clooney-esque Tony looks. The calendar is available for purchase at select Office Depot stores and online at 
The IZOD IndyCar Championship was decided back in early October which wasn’t that long ago even though it feels like it’s been 50 years. I intended to post these photos from their Championship celebration in Miami but got sidetracked. The event was held the day after the final race of the season, taking place at the W Hotel in South Beach.
Because Shell Nitrogen Enriched Gasoline acts as a barrier to shield and protect critical engine parts against performance-robbing gunk you’re in luck! Not only can you find Shell Nitrogen Enriched Gasoline any Shell station, making it super easy to keep your car in tip top shape, you also have the opportunity to win a No. 29 Shell-Pennzoil holiday prize pack! 
I interviewed Brad Daugherty, NASCAR Race Analyst for ESPN, at Auto Club Speedway this year. We all know that Brad is a former professional basketball player and is really, really tall but it’s not until you meet him that you really, really realize it. 
I’m not going to lie, watching the 48 Lowe’s team experience failure in real time was fun. No, I don’t wish them ill and, really, really, who cares if I do? Dude, they’ve won the Championship 4 times in a row, they’ve got their place in history sealed for-ev-er. A little 
As the 
So this was my favorite driver interview with the ITAS questions, so far. Brad Keselowski drives the No. 12 Penske Dodge in the Sprint Cup Series, and the No. 22 Discount Tire Dodge in the Nationwide Series for Penske Racing. With only 3 races left, Brad is on track to win his first NASCAR Nationwide Series Championship this year (he’s 485 points ahead of Carl Edwards, so this is a lock). 
No, I’m not talking about Brett Favre’s penis. 
Travis Kvapil drives the No. 34 Long John Silver’s Ford for Front Row Motorsports in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series. 
David Gilliland drives the No. 37 Taco Bell Ford Fusion for Front Row Motorsports. I got to give him the Inside the Actor’s Studio/Bernard Pivot questionnaire at Auto Club Speedway during the Pepsi Max 400 race weekend. 
I interviewed Marcos Ambrose, driver of the No. 47 JTG Daugherty Racing Toyota, right after the first practice session on the Friday before the Pepsi Max 400 at Auto Club Speedway. I got the distinct impression that he wasn’t very happy with his car and I think you might get that idea too after you check out his answers to the ITAS
Now that I’ve finally finished my writeups of the 
Saturday morning at Auto Club Speedway found me inside the Nationwide Series garage watching as drivers qualified for the CampingWorld.com 300. Driver after driver made their qualifying run and I stood by in the media bullpen area where they keep the top-3 cars. Cars shuffle in and out (and drive by) as the numbers on the pylon change order. 
It’s a new week and that means new guests on SPEED’s NASCAR Race Hub. This week you have the opportunity to submit your burning questions to NASCAR Sprint Cup Series driver Bobby Labonte. Use the form below. The deadline for submitting questions is tomorrow, Tuesday, October 19th at 4pm EST. 
Something I’ve noticed as I go to more races is that I take less pictures. In the beginning I was taking photos of everything; tires, cars, etc. But now that I know the pain of uploading those photos to 
I’m starting something new this week. SPEED’s TV show, NASCAR Race Hub is giving you the opportunity to interview their guests each week. All you have to do is submit your questions to me and I’ll pass ‘em along to the powers that be. They’ll get the questions answered — on video! — and I’ll post it here for you to view. 
Here’s how I feel about the David Reutimann/Kyle Busch incident: Boys will be boys. 
FIRST: I am planning on attending the NASCAR race weekend at Auto Club Speedway in Fontana next week, although there is a small chance I might not make it out there. Please know that I am doing EVERYTHING I can to make it happen. 
Jimmie Johnson got to celebrate his win of the AAA 400 at Dover International Speedway with his wife, Chandra and their new almost 3-month-old baby daughter, Genevieve. It was, as expected, absolutely adorable to see Jimmie looking so lovingly at his daughter. 
The two finalists in Office Depot’s “Official Small Business of NASCAR” sweepstakes have been chosen and are attending this weekends race at Dover to find out who will be named the “Official Small Business of NASCAR” for 2010. It all depends on where Greg Biffle and Tony Stewart finish in Sunday’s AAA 400.
Absolutely loved the first race in The Chase for the Sprint Cup Series Championship! Clint Bowyer won it! Yaaay!
Things I learned while watching the Indy Japan 300 Saturday night (which was actually Sunday morning in Japan):
So, I’m guessing nobody called Carl Edwards (or Kurt Busch for that matter) to tell him that the dress code options for the Chase Media Day in New York City this week were two things: plaid shirts or black shirts. 
While I’m not sure who I “want” to win the Championship this year, I can tell you who I think will win it and who I’m sure definitely will not. 
Yea, that’s the whole story. You could have made a drinking game out of the words “loose” and “sideways” and you would of been drunk within the first 10 minutes of the race. 
Helio Castroneves won last night’s IZOD IndyCar Series race, the Kentucky Indy 300, at Kentucky Speedway. I only saw Helio in Victory Lane because I was watching the NASCAR Nationwide Series race and it’s extra long post-race coverage. 
This is a special photo combo post for the Bristol weekend and the Nationwide race in Montreal.
– Now is the time to bid on the firesuit and helmet worn by Tony Stewart at this year’s July 10th NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race at Chicagoland Speedway. Just go to the brand spanking new 
I missed the Carfax 400 at Michigan International Speedway on Sunday because I was busy driving two of my nephews (ages 9 and 11) from their home in Los Angeles to my mom’s house in the SF Bay Area. I love my nephews more than words can say but spending 7 hours in a car with them is not something I really want to do again. Who knew that doing word search puzzles could be a competitive thing?? 
Earlier this year Mars Chocolate North America kicked off the third annual M&M’S Most Colorful Fans of NASCAR contest. You have the opportunity to win $10,000, a trip to the NASCAR Hall of Fame in Charlotte, North Carolina where you’ll be featured as The Most Colorful Fan™ of NASCAR for one whole year.
Dario Franchitti held off Will Power to win the Honda Indy 200 at Mid-Ohio presented by Westfield Insurance last weekend. But I don’t think Will got too down in the dumps about the whole thing since he was able secure ownership of the first ever Mario Andretti Road Championship Trophy. 
It’s funny when you don’t realize you want something so bad until there’s a chance it can actually happen. For me that was the possibility of AJ Allmendinger getting his first win at Watkins Glen yesterday. He was chargin’, running up front with those guys and it really seemed like it could of been his day. 
Jeff Gordon’s son, Leo Benjamin Gordon, was born today! The deets: 
Did you watch 
They don’t call it “The Tricky Triangle” for nothing. The Sunoco Red Cross Pennsylvania 500 at Pocono Raceway was one crazy race, but in the end I’m so incredibly glad/relieved that Elliott Sadler was able to walk away from that gnarly crash, as well as Kurt Busch. Pocono has some serious work to do to make that backstretch far less treacherous in the future. 
Things had been relatively quiet during the Honda Indy Edmonton IZOD IndyCar Series race, that is, until those final laps. 
I’m kidding! Calm down Roush Fenway Racing supporters. I was just making a funny. 
The second Brad Keselowski got into Carl Edwards in turn 1 at Gateway International Raceway on Saturday I knew it was only a matter of opportunity before Carl got Brad back. So I wasn’t surprised in the least when Carl nudged Brad before the checkered flag. 
1.) Write a screenplay for a NASCAR drama starring your favorite actors and actresses. I started thinking about a film with Ben Affleck as the super hot and cocky veteran driver on a losing streak and Robert Pattinson as the super hot and young rookie who’s made the jump from Formula 1 to NASCAR and is on a hot winning streak. There would of course be their love interests, Ben’s wife played by 
People always love to talk about NASCAR needs, ‘cause NASCAR always needs something, I guess. I never like writing or talking about stuff like that because I don’t think NASCAR is in a dire situation for anything. So what’s the point of talking about what would help it if I don’t think it needs help? 
Meeting and interviewing Elliott Sadler, driver of the No. 19 Stanley Ford for Richard Petty Motorsports, was fun. Plain and simple fun. He’s a funny guy, very personable and clearly in love with his 5-month-old son, Wyatt. In addition to asking him those same 10 questions from ITAS, I asked him about being a new father and how, if at all, it’s changed his approach to racing. 
Congratulations to Chandra and Jimmie Johnson on the birth of their baby girl yesterday! They’ve yet to nail down her name so for now they’re calling her “Baby J.” Since they haven’t decided yet maybe everybody should start offering unsolicited ideas. It’s so funny, the baby is here so there’s no drama about that anymore but there’s sill suspense about what her name will be. Can’t wait to find out.
At Infineon I interviewed fellow Bay Area native AJ Allmendinger, asking him ten questions from Inside the Actor’s Studio and he had some good answers. 
Will Power, whose name continues to make me smile after all this time, won the Camping World Grand Prix at The Glen this weekend. 
Ryan Hunter-Reay (right), along with Andretti Autosport, announced that they’ve secured enough sponsorship money to continue Ryan’s #37 entry through the rest of the 2010 season. This is great news and to make it even sweeter the team has put together a new program called “Racing For Cancer” to raise money for cancer research. 
The Coke Zero 400 was fun? I guess that’s the right word to describe a night that was full of crashy-crashes that seemed to take out, like, the entire field of cars. Only 17 out of 43 cars completed all 166 laps of the race. And that’s why Daytona will always be one of my absolute favorite tracks. 
Dale Earnhardt Jr. won last night’s Nationwide Series race, the Subway Jalapeno 250 Powered by Coca-Cola, driving the No. 3 Wrangler Chevrolet. It was a huge moment and a great night, a fitting tribute to Dale Earnhardt.
The last IZOD IndyCar Series race, the Iowa Corn Indy 250 presented by Pioneer, was the same weekend as the NASCAR Toyota/SaveMart 350 at Infineon Raceway. So of course I didn’t watch it ’cause I was busy at the track, which sucks because I didn’t get to see Tony Kanaan finally end his 2-year losing streak. 
I mean, really. Let’s recap… He’s very good looking. He’s married to a model. He’s gonna be a daddy. He’s making millions of dollars as a race car driver. He’s won an unprecedented 4 Sprint Cup Series Championships in a row. He’s got the smartest crew chief. He’s just won two races in a row. 
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