NASCAR and Country Music has had a long and committed relationship with each other that keeps growing and evolving. NASCAR has been featured in the lyrics of some of the biggest country hits and drivers have starred in some of the greatest country music videos of all time. Although I couldn’t feature them all, I have compiled a list of some of the greatest country songs that have featured the great sport we love.

CLEDUS T JUDD: I LOVE NASCAR
A play on Toby Keith’s hit “I Love This Bar,” ” I Love NASCAR” is just that, reasons to love NASCAR. From calling Tony Stewart a “whiner” and listing all of the major sponsors in a relatively fast succession, Cledus T Judd shows us just why we love NASCAR with a comedic twist.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=0LLvfpGpEyg

BRAD PAISLEY: OLD ALABAMA
Although NASCAR never appears in the lyrics of this song, NASCAR drivers Jeff Gordon and Darrell Waltrip are featured drivers in this music video. Paisley is even wearing a Hendrick Motorsports shirt and playing a custom Daytona 500 guitar.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=ZDRfrVMrV6Q

MIRANDA LAMBERT: FASTEST GIRL IN TOWN
This country music songstress is the one who started to turn Rock and Roll lover Danica Patrick into a country fan when she invited her to star in her music video. Appropriately called “Fastest Girl In Town,” Patrick and Lambert steal a man’s car and take off with Patrick behind the wheel.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=EbaEVA259IE

SARA EVANS: SLOW ME DOWN
Although the song itself has no relation to NASCAR, there is a NASCAR twist. Driver of the No.99 Ford Carl Edwards stars alongside Evans as her love interest gone bad in her newest music video.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=lexeFtDREPg

JULIE ROBERTS: NASCAR PARTY
Filmed at a racetrack and featuring many of your favorite stars, Roberts song and video for “NASCAR Party” is the definition of a NASCAR race weekend.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=VJagM_bfJgA

JUSTIN MORE: BAIT A HOOK
Talking about his former girlfriend dumping him for a fancy guy who can’t even “bait a hook,” Moore sits out on a lake fishing while NASCAR driver Carl Edwards plays the “fancy guy.” Not your typical Edwards wardrobe in a suit and tie but he pulls it off quite nicely.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=1XB2peAKwOA

LYNYRD SKYNYRD: WHITE KNUCKLE RIDE
This song screams NASCAR…almost literally. Lynyrd Skynyrd talks about waiting all week for Sunday but that is what we all do anyway, right? The lyrics of “White Knuckle Ride” takes you through a musical journey behind the wheel so sit back, relax and enjoy.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=kwKUUytj8TI

ALABAMA: SUNDAY DRIVE
“Well this ain’t no Sunday drive. Got the tach red-lined, throttle opened wide.” The opening lines of Alabama’s “Sunday Drive” describe the start of a NASCAR race to a T. If you want a song to get you in the mood for racing, “Sunday Drive” will do the trick.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=PuJM-E1heWs

ALAN JACKSON: WHO’S CHEATIN’ WHO
A handful of NASCAR drivers appear in this music video from 1997 called “Who’s Cheatin’ Who” by country legend Alan Jackson. Dale Jarrett, Mark Martin, Bill Elliot, Ernie Irvan, Rusty Wallace, John Andretti, Jeremy Mayfield and Kenny Irwin Jr. all appeared in the video. While it made for a clever video, it is hard to understand how exactly NASCAR fits into a song about a cheating woman.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=DpV2ZzXnlpE

COLT FORD: DRIVIN’ AROUND SONG
Staring NASCAR’s super-couple Danica Patrick and Ricky Stenhouse Jr., “Drivin’ Around Song” shows Partick and Ford waiting at a shop for their truck to be repaired by Stenhouse. Patrick steals the keys to a Coleman 4X4 and her and Ford take off for an impromptu concert, returning before the truck is fixed, leaving Stenhouse suspicious. This is Patrick’s second appearance in a country music video and also her second time stealing a vehicle…hmm…
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=2KMHETUufRc

TIM WILSON: THE NASCAR SONG
Although this guy is a comedian and not really a country artist, his song has a country swag that is hard to resist. Talking about his life as a childhood racecar driver, Wilson tells of how his mom named him Dale Darrell Waltrip Richard Petty Rusty Awesome Bill Irvin Gordon Earnhardt Smith…Johnson, Jr. Yup. Try saying that 5X fast. Wilson also created a song called “Jeff Gordon’s Gay” but we will just leave that one out.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=GKrf26MftNg

TRACE ADKINS: ROUGH AND READY

Dale Earnhardt Jr sure has been in his fair share of music videos, he makes an appearance in this one by Trace Adkins both in the music video, and in the lyrics.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=jUXxWlkom-g

ALABAMA: 5′OCLOCK 500
Comparing the drive home from work after a long day to a 500 mile race, Alabama even mentions some iconic drivers like Darrel Waltrip, Dale Earnhardt, Richard Petty, Mark Martin, Rusty Wallace and Jeff Gordon.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=bEDUnZCHfXk

TIM DUGGER: YOU KNOW WHO WE ARE
With a mention of a “NASCAR race” in the lyrics, Dugger is a big NASCAR fan. Good friends with Austin Dillon, Ricky Stenhouse, Danica Patrick and other drivers, Dugger often plays concerts on race weekends and can often be found at the racetrack.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=2G2PMcwXE2g

KYLE PETTY: THE DANICA PATRICK SONG
Okay, so Petty may not be a country artist, but he can play guitar and write with the best of them. He debuted this song on SPEED’s Trackside in 2013 making his love’hate relationship with NASCAR’s female star even more questionable. It’s clever yet just a tad awkward when he talks about her hair blowing in the wind in her GoDaddy commercials.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=MzEA6TSSr_c

Original Post: Click Here

Last season, NASCAR announced that they were considering changes to the points system and the Championship run known as the Chase. Earlier today, some of those possible changes were leaked and here is how it breaks down.

The Charlotte Observer that NASCAR is thinking of making changes to the 10-race Chase that would create a four-driver, winner-take-all season finale and that NASCAR would expand the 12-driver playoff field to 16meaning that a win in the first 26 races would practically guarantee a playoff berth.

NASCAR spokesman Brett Jewkes declined to comment on the rumors but did say that NASCAR has “begun the process of briefing key industry stakeholders on potential concepts to evolve its NASCAR Sprint Cup Series championship format.”

He continued by saying that “This dialogue is the final phase of a multi-year process that has included the review of extensive fan research, partner and industry feedback and other data-driven insights. NASCAR has no plans to comment further until the stakeholder discussions are complete. We hope to announce any potential changes for the 2014 season to our media and fans very soon.”

The last change to the Chase came in 2011 when NASCAR added the two driver wild-card positions.

What do you think of the possible changes? Comment below!

Original Post: Click Here