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A Day in the Life of Danistar

Bruce Martin of Sports Illustrated scored the all-access pass to trail Danica Patrick around during the IndyCar race at Sonoma. Bruce maximized his opportunity by cranking off a 3,300-word tome. This is the first time Danica has done such a Day in the Life deal, so it's a big scooperoo for Bruce.

My favorite part is, of course:

"I get so dehydrated at these races I don't think I will be drinking any wine tonight, but I will have a beer," she said. "How NASCAR of me."

No doubt in Danica's own pressdog DRINK, ye BASTARDS beer stein.

Read all 3,300 words HERE.

NASCAR Cup Gets 3.0 Rating, Nationwide 1.1 at Bristol

From ESPN PR --

The live telecast of Saturday night’s NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race at Bristol (TN) Motor Speedway was an anomaly for determining viewership and ratings due to effects of Hurricane Irene and other factors that split the telecast onto ABC, ESPN and ESPN2.

The race aired in much of the country on ABC, but due to Hurricane Irene, many local stations on the East Coast pre-empted the race telecast for news about the storm. The race also aired on ESPN in eastern states from South Carolina to Maine as a backup for viewers in areas where hurricane news could possibly pre-empt the race, and on ESPN2 in eight markets where NFL pre-season games were airing.

Only the ABC portion of the audience can be measured by the Nielsen Company and the race earned a 3.0 household U.S. rating, averaging 5.067,000 viewers. Last year’s race, which aired on ABC around the country in normal fashion, earned a 4.4 rating.

ESPN’s live telecast of Friday night’s NASCAR Nationwide Series race at Bristol earned a 1.1 household coverage rating, averaging 1,439,000 viewers. Last year’s Bristol race, which also aired on ESPN, earned a 1.6 rating.

IndyCar at Sonoma Draws 0.3 TV Rating

Broadcast of the IndyCar race at Sonoma on Aug 28 on VERSUS drew a 0.3 TV rating with 431,000 viewers, according to information tweeted by John Ourand (@Ourand_SBJ) for the Sports Business Journal.

The IndyCar race at Hampshire on August 14 got a 0.9 rating on ABC with an average of 1,277,000 viewers.

VERSUS coverage of the race at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course on Aug. 7 got a 0.2 rating with 309,000 viewers.

NASCAR Looks to Tap the College Market

Brace for it ... NASCAR is going after college students. Incredibly smart and strategic. Resistance is futile. NASCAR PR release ..

NASCAR Launches College Brand Ambassador Program
NASCAR U CREW To Expand Sport’s Interaction With College Students

Daytona beach, Fla. (Aug. 29 , 2011) — Students at select colleges and universities will return to campuses this fall to find NASCAR brand ambassadors hosting events including viewing parties and trips to their local tracks to witness firsthand the thrill and excitement of NASCAR racing.

Tune in Tuesday See Shannon McIntosh Get her Pretty Amazing Schwerve On

Tune in to MTV Tuesday, August 30, 8-8:30 P.M. EDT to see Shannon McIntosh in a docu-reality special on Seventeen Magazine’s Pretty Amazing Contest.

With a global reach of more than a half-billion households, MTV will profile McIntosh, along with the four other finalists who are competing for the cover of Seventeen magazine.

McIntosh, a Woman of pressdog®, is in her first season in USF2000, driving for Cape Motorsports with Wayne Taylor Racing. If Shannon lands on the cover, she'll be the first athlete to grace the storied Seventeen magazine since Olympian Dorothy Hamill did in 1976.

IndyCar Sonoma Winner's Transcript

Indy Grand Prix of Sonoma Transcript - Post-Race. Courtesy of IndyCar PR.

THE MODERATOR: We are pleased to be joined by Dario Franchitti. Dario is our championship points leader with a 26-point lead over Will Power. This is Dario's 11th top-five finish of the season.

Dario, walk us through today's race.

DARIO FRANCHITTI: I think you guys saw most of it. I think the most action-packed parts were obviously the start there. Scott (Dixon) got beside me, but I was able to get out of turn two better than him. The restart, almost crashed, didn't fancy having that same problem. Ryan (Briscoe) made a couple mistakes, but I couldn't get all the way alongside him to make something happen. So it was always going to be a risky move. Fourth is better than 20th.

Notes Taken During the 2011 IndyCar Race at Infineon

Notes taken during the Versus broadcast of the Grand Prix of Sonoma, Infineon Raceway, Sonoma, CA on Aug. 28, 2011.

Welcome to the "golden season" at Infineon Raceway. I think this refers to the dry season that turns everything "golden." pressdog® Beer of the Race is Abita Jackamo IPA, Abita Brewing Co., Abita Springs, LA.

NASCAR Sprint Cup Bristol Top Three Transcript

Transcript of post-race press conference with Brad Keselowski, Paul Wolfe, Martin Truex Jr. and Jeff Gordon courtesty of NASCAR PR. (All 7700 words of it.)

BRAD KESELOWSKI & PAUL WOLFE

THE MODERATOR: Let's roll into our post-race winning team for tonight's 51st annual Irwin Tools Night Race here at Bristol Motor Speedway. And our race winner is Brad Keselowski. He drives the No. 2 Miller Lite Dodge for Penske Racing. This is Brad's third win in 2011, his first win here at Bristol. He moves up to 11th in points. I believe it was six weeks ago maybe, five, six weeks ago, he was 23rd, 24th in points and nobody was talking about Brad back then.

But talk about the win here tonight at Bristol. I'm sure this has got to be a real, real feather in your cap, winning at a track that is considered to be certainly one of the most cherished on the circuit.

Randy Bernard Supports the Iron Hand of Justice, Talks $5 Million Insurance Bonus and China

Randy Bernard met with The Media at Sonoma today (Saturday). Randy supports the Iron Hand of Justice (Brian Barnhart) race control's operations ARE going to be YOUR BUSINESS, there's a Festival of Interest in the $5 Million Insurance Bonus Race, China -- probably happening, Randy reads the blogs (What up, Randy?) and MORE. Here's a transcript courtesy of IndyCar PR.

THE MODERATOR: We are pleased to be joined by IndyCar CEO Randy Bernard. Quite an eventful week for the IZOD IndyCar Series. A protest ruling was announced on Wednesday upholding the results from the New Hampshire race. Thursday, Danica Patrick announced her future plans. Yesterday Andretti announced they would retain Go Daddy as a sponsor in the series.

Notes from the 2011 NASCAR Nationwide Race in Bristol

Notes taken during the ESPN telecast of the 30th Annual Food City 250, Bristol Motor Speedway, Bristol, TN, Aug. 26, 2011.

pressdog® Beer of the Race is Sam Adams Summer Ale ... sumer aleeee, makes me feel fine ... (name that song!)

Welcome to Bristol, a half-mile festival of zany. It used to be a half mile festival of flying sheet metal and paint swappage, but the track now has the progressive banking so favored by the Super Deuce (Rusty Wallace). Banking here is 26 to 30 degrees. I think if you are standing at the bottom of the track, and a car goes by on the 30-degree banking, you could read what is on the roof. Echoes of the decaying oval at Monza!