Articles that focus on women and minorities achieving success at the various levels of NASCAR will continue to be written until someone breaks it big-time. Just look at the hype given Danica Patrick, who has yet to win an IRL race. Given the strides that NASCAR is making to create diversity in the sport, it is only a matter of time...

Filming on the much-anticipated "Talladega Nights" will continue this weekend at...Talladega. The Will Ferrell movie, based on the life of a fictitious driver named Ricky Bobby, is certain to generate buzz until it is completed. Maybe even more buzz than Days of Thunder...or Britney's on-again, off-again NASCAR movie.

Anyone who has been to a race need only look as far as the #16 car driven by Greg Biffle...or the #01 of Joe Nemacheck...or witness the pre-race flyover of booming jets to see how tightly knit the military community is into the fabric of NASCAR. NASCAR extols the virtues of its patriotic fan base while showing where the next men and women in uniform might be found--sitting in the crowd at a race.

FUBU, known for its urban line of clothing, has thrown its hat into the ring to sponsor Bobby Norfleet, a promising African American driver. Norfleet's car will be festooned with FUBU inspired logos at Talladega. Can Diddy be far behind?

Just when drivers and fans alike have finally replaced "Winston Cup" with "Nextel Cup", the telecommunications megamerger of Sprint and Nextel means that people will have to un-learn Nextel as the title NASCAR sponsor. While the branding folks at Sprint/Nextel are still deciding on a plan, Sprint is the lead company between the two and will likely be the beneficiary of the sponsorship.

While it is not new anymore, if you somehow missed Fortune's cover story entitled "The 100 Fastest Growing Companies", which contained the cover feature "Inside America's Fastest Growing Sport", read it online. In-depth reporting, lots of great facts and figures--should be a must read for any fan who loves NASCAR and any company thinking about jumping into the sponsorship arena.

With his solo debut "The Great Divide" set to hit shelves November 22nd, former Creed lead singer Scott Stapp has reached a deal with NASCAR that will combine his love of NASCAR with his need to promote his album. While terms were not announced, Stapp will be making numerous appearances at NASCAR races, including his singing of the national anthem at the Ford 400 in Florida November 20th. With movies promoted on cars, NASCAR stars in movies, and rockers promoting records through NASCAR, maybe Jeff Gordon could be the new Screen Actors Guild president...

While lucrative deals with sponsors like Sunoco (and Unocal in the past) mean that NASCAR drivers don't have to pony up money or whip out their plastic when they are racing, the haulers that transport the equipment/cars/team over 70,000 miles during the race season do. And at MPG that make Hummers look fuel efficient (about 4 MPG), increases prices at the pumps mean a big hit to team's wallets

Guitar legend Joe Satriani has scored more than 42 original tracks for the Electronic Arts video game "NASCAR 06: Total Team Control". EA has always been ahead of the curve in recognizing the nexus between music and gaming, and since NASCAR fans love rock music and loud guitars, RPM is sure they will dig the soundtrack for NASCAR 06.

It's no secret that NASCAR is wildly popular. But who would have guessed that one of Hollywood's quirkiest directors was hooked? Yes, folks, Quentin Tarantino has stepped out of the shadows and declared himself a fan...

Proving that even future corporate suits can let their hair down and enjoy a cold Bud, the latest edition of the HARBUS (the Harvard Business School student newspaper) carries a testimonial entitled "My Life, My NASCAR: HBSers Get Familiar with America's New Favorite Pastime". Somewhere, old white men are rolling over in their grave.

Trading the pigskin for racing slicks, former Dallas Cowboys QBs Troy Aikman and Roger Staubach have announced the crew chief for their foray into the NASCAR world. Philippe Lopez, formerly with Richard Childress Racing, will be calling the plays in the pit box. No driver has been selected for the team that will be sponsored by--who else--TEXAS Instruments, but stay tuned to RPM for the latest news.

Welcome to the first posting of RPM Blog, which will be affectionately known to those who will call it home as simply RPM. RPM has been a long time coming, with other responsibilities taking precedence over launching the site. But at the urging of friends, I have decided to set things in motion and get the wheels turning.

"What is the purpose of RPM?" you might ask. It is many things to many people, but the main goal is to be the one-stop news source for the intersection of NASCAR and popular culture. Dale Jr. sporting a new pair of Wranglers on a TV ad? We'll tell you about it. A new liquor company jumping into the sponsorship game? You'll hear about it here. Jimmy Johnson appearing on Leno? See what he said here. Don't have time to slog through the day's news to find that small-town article on Mark Martin's new Ford dealership? Don't worry--we've got you covered.

We can't do everything by ourselves, so if you see an article you think fits well in the pages of RPM, post it, send it along, or give us a shout and we will get it up faster than a Tony Stewart pit stop.

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