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    • These guys are heading to the Hall of Fame. (Getty)

      Welcome to Warped Wednesday. On this, we'll put out the rush to judgment mat, go a little too far and have a little fun. Will it be funny? Sometimes. Will it be crazy and largely unbelievable? Probably. Will not everyone get it? Definitely.

      Just days after his dominating win in the final segment of the Sprint All-Star Race, the NASCAR Hall of Fame voting panel made a statement about Johnson's NASCAR prowess during Wednesday's Hall of Fame voting.

      The panel, led by a prominent NASCAR figure who shall remain nameless because of the secret nature of the vote, petitioned NASCAR officials to hold a vote on Johnson's election today. The panel argued that there is no better time to acknowledge Johnson's dominance  than while he was currently driving.

      Also, the election of Johnson now saves the panel time down the road after Johnson's retirement. While Johnson has no plans of retiring anytime soon, any future Hall vote would be a formality, so this was simply a move to go through the

      Read More »from Warped Wednesday: Hall voters unanimously elect Jimmie Johnson pending future retirement
    • Another new Chrome Horn! And it's the All-Star edition. Join myself and Geoffrey Miller as we talk all things, well, all things.

      Got any questions for us to use in the mailbag or the podcast? Hit us at HappyHourMailbag@Yahoo.com.

      Click here to download the podcast or here to listen to in your browser. And we're now on iTunes! Find us in the Podcast section right here and subscribe. Listen!

    • Maurice Petty (L) and Dale Jarrett (R) were elected to the NASCAR Hall of Fame Wednesday. (Getty)

      The 2014 NASCAR Hall of Fame Class was announced on Wednesday, and it's a very diverse list.

      The class of five consists of Tim Flock, Jack Ingram, Dale Jarrett, Maurice Petty and Fireball Roberts. That means that current owners Richard Childress and Rick Hendrick, as well as Speedway Motorsports Inc.'s Bruton Smith must wait another year.

      Jarrett is likely the most familiar face to NASCAR fans, as the 1999 Cup champion is an analyst on ESPN's Sprint Cup Series coverage. Jarrett won three Daytona 500s and two Brickyard 400s. His father, Ned Jarrett, who was also a broadcaster after his career was over, was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2011.

      Maurice Petty was the engine builder for Petty Enterprises and is the fourth member of the Petty Enterprises crew to make the Hall of Fame after cousin Dale Inman and younger brother Richard and father Lee.

      Tim Flock won 39 races in 187 starts and his first championship was in 1952 driving the Hudson Hornet. And at Hickory Motor Speedway on May

      Read More »from Your 2014 NASCAR Hall of Fame Class
    • That'd be a nice backdrop for the All-Star Race, don't you think?

      It's time for Power Rankings! After every race, we opine about who we think is at the top of the Sprint Cup heap and how and why they got there. But this week, it's different! The All-Star Race wasn't for points, so there's no point (pun!) in ranking the Sprint Cup field again. Besides we'd just put Jimmie Johnson back at the top.

      Instead, let's stick with the All-Star theme. There's been some fantastic fodder for Happy Hour in the email inbox this week; people are incredibly passionate about the All-Star Race. So what if the All-Star Race was going to go to another track? Where would it go? Let's answer that question.

      P.S. -- We're inverting the field this week. Why? Because we can. And we're dreaming big, too.

      12. Rockingham: Let's start off with a fan favorite. Rockingham has produced some great racing since the Truck Series has returned to it, and given the multiple grooves through the corners and the tire wear, there would be no shortage of side-by-side racing. Of course, the

      Read More »from Power Rankings: All-Star dream destinations
    • (Getty)

      In the last Warped Wednesday feature, I asked the (not-so serious) question of what the point of the All-Star Race was. After all, it's not like NASCAR drivers race against each other 38 times a year or anything.

      After watching the reaction after Jimmie Johnson's runaway victory in the final segment of Saturday night's race, allow me to be serious for a moment: Why was the race such a letdown for so many?

      I'll be blunt. If you're one of those people, you've allowed yourself to be manipulated by the hype and promotion surrounding the All-Star Race. Last night's race wasn't certainly one of the ones that will be shown on the glossy teaser package to be played 10,000 times before next year's race. But let's not undersell it either.

      This is NASCAR. In 2013. On an intermediate track. If you watched – and were disappointed – on Saturday night, you've likely seen one or three or fifty intermediate track races over the last few years. If this was a points race, would anything that happened

      Read More »from What’s with the disappointment about Saturday’s All-Star Race?
    • Where the heck did Ryan Newman come from?

      On a restart in the middle of the fourth segment of Saturday night's Sprint All-Star Race, Newman dashed to the outside in turns one and two like his car suddenly got a boost of nitrous oxide and made a pair of three-wide passes before he had even gotten to the backstretch.

      He wasn't done there. His crazy momentum off the high side of turn two had him on the back bumper of Dale Earnhardt Jr. in a flash and after giving Junior a bump, Newman moved to the inside to pass him.

      However, Kyle Busch was there, because unlike Newman, he hadn't gotten through turns one and two very well and lost positions. As Newman came down, Busch drifted up and the two made contact with Busch suffering some right front fender damage and Newman acquiring a tire rub.

      And with that tire rub, the headway that Newman made that lap stalled out. He ended up 13th while Busch maintained his position near the front of the field and finished third.

      Read More »from Craziest Moment: Ryan Newman’s incredible high-side run and his contact with Kyle Busch
    • Jimmie Johnson has won more All-Star Races than any other driver. (Getty)

      The five-time Sprint Cup Series champ is now a four-time All-Star Race winner.

      Jimmie Johnson bolted away from Kasey Kahne after a spirited battle for the lead at the beginning of the final 10 lap segment of Saturday night's Sprint All-Star Race to win by more than a second over Joey Logano.

      It was Johnson's second straight All-Star Race win, and this time, he did it – with the help of redesigned rules – considerably differently than last year. In last year's race, Johnson won the first segment, which guaranteed his position at the front of the field before the race's final mandatory pit stop. Since his spot was assured so early, he and Chad Knaus used the middle segments as a glorified test session to make adjustments on the car for the final sprint.

      This year, perhaps in response to Johnson's winning strategy in 2012, the race was divided into four 20 lap segments and a final 10 lap sprint, with the average finish of each driver in the first four segments determining the order in which

      Read More »from Jimmie Johnson becomes first driver to win four All-Star Races
    • Wonder what they're referring to? (Via Larry Brown Sports)

      NASCAR is a sport full of double-entendres and this one in Charmin's is one of the better ones we've ever seen.

      This is the billboard that's on the grandstands at Charlotte Motor Speedway this weekend. According to AutoWeek, it's a two race deal between the track and the company, which also has a "Stop Skidmarks" banner on the pit wall. Will it prevent drivers from peeling out of their pit stalls and laying rubber on the track?

      Charmin is also handing out free samples. No word if CMS took the giveaways as an opportunity to save some money and not stock the track bathrooms.

      Read More »from The best NASCAR track billboard ever?
    • Carl Edwards' car bears the name of Dick Trickle, who passed away Thursday. (Getty)

      Carl Edwards will start first in Saturday night's Sprint All-Star Race at Charlotte Motor Speedway.

      All-Star qualifying is always different than a standard best of two laps run for a points race with each driver's run including three laps and a four tire pit stop. This year, NASCAR added a new wrinkle (that was previously an old one) and eliminated the pit road speed limit. That meant that many drivers were flying off the turns 3 and 4 banking onto pit road at over 150 MPH. That included Edwards, who had the second best lap one time and the best time entering the pits on his second lap.

      Edwards won the race in 2011.

      Dale Earnhardt Jr. starts second and Kurt Busch will start third. 19 drivers are already qualified for the All-Star Race and three will move on from the Sprint Showdown on Saturday night.

      In the Showdown, Martin Truex Jr. is on the pole and Jamie McMurray will start second.

      Read More »from Carl Edwards to start first in Sprint All-Star Race
    • Tony Stewart's average finish is down in races that Danica Patrick competes in. (Getty)

      Throughout the week you can send us your best questions, jokes, rants and just plain miscellaneous thoughts to happyhourmailbag@yahoo.com or @NickBromberg. We'll post them here, have a good time and everyone's happy. Right? Oh who are we kidding, this is NASCAR. No one is ever happy.

      We open this week's mailbag with a heavy heart after Thursday afternoon's news of Dick Trickle's death. Our thoughts and prayers are with his family, and if you're unfamiliar with the legend of the man who was never seen without a cigarette and a cup of coffee, read this.

      The news of Trickle's passing is certainly a sad and sudden departure from the craziness that's been the Jennifer Jo Cobb and Mike Harmon kerfluffle. Cobb said she didn't want the publicity that came with the incident, but it's important to note that she issued the statement that put the coverage of the incident in motion.

      Let's get to the questions, shall we?

      Do you think the added stress of taking on a third car team has suffocated

      Read More »from Happy Hour: Stewart-Haas, Gordon and has NASCAR gone soft?

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