Bloggin' is Racin'

Dodge picks Charger over Avenger for 2008

Bloomberg News reported Wednesday that the Dodge Charger will be back in NASCAR Sprint Cup competition next season after Chrysler LLC decided to switch from the Avenger model that was campaigned during the 2007 season on the Car of Tomorrow.
Dodge dealers overwhelmingly supported keeping the Charger nameplate in NASCAR's top series, the company said in a statement.
Dodge is the first manufacturer to change models for next year. The Dodge COT cars will remain the same in 2008, with the exception of a new set of decals to represent lights and the Charger name.
Chevrolet, which used its Impala SS model instead of the Monte Carlo SS on its Car of Tomorrow cars in 2007, hasn't announced plans to change its nameplate for next year. Ford (Fusion) and Toyota (Camry) used the same model for both cars in 2007.

--Michele Vincze

Kelly is everywhere

Fresh off her snowy performance at Texas Stadium during halftime of the Cowboys-Jets game on Thanksgiving, Kelly Clarkson is scheduled to perform during the Nextel Cup awards ceremony Friday in New York City. No tellin' when and how many songs Kelly will sing during the always too-long show, but we're guessing she will be happy to be indoors for this performance. Need more reason to watch? Comedian/actor David Spade will serve as the featured performer. ESPN announcer Dr. Jerry Punch will the MC the shindig.

The awards ceremony, which will honor the top-10 drivers, will air live on ESPN Classic at 8 p.m.

Two questions, though. Why invite 12 guys into the Chase and not invite all 12 to the awards banquet? And does the 13th-place guy still get that cool mil like the 11th-place guy did last year?

-- Michele Vincze

Helio is the champ

Helio Castroneves has never won an IndyCar title, but he can now call himself a "Dancing with the Stars" champion.

Castroneves and his pro partner Julianne Hough beat out Spice Girl Mel B and her partner Maksim Chmerkovskiy to become the third consecutive sports figure to win the title. Former Cowboy running back Emmitt Smith was the first athlete to win in season three and Olympic speed skater Apolo Anton Ohno won last spring. Former 49ers receiver Jerry Rice was a runner up to Drew Lachey in season two. Helio is the first foreign-born champion on the show.

It remains to be seen how Helio's success will help the IndyCar Series, which recently lost two of its biggest stars Sam Hornish Jr. and Dario Franchitti to NASCAR. It's safe to say, though, that the major media exposure the two-time Indy 500 winner received these last three months has helped the series more than any other PR campaign they could have cooked up.

At least everyone knows how to pronounce Helio's name now....at least we hope.

-- Michele Vincze