December 22, 2004

By Rebecca Gladden

NASCAR has one of the longest seasons of any professional sport. From the Bud Shoot-out in early February to Homestead-Miami in mid-November, the Nextel Cup off-season is relatively short.

Nevertheless, the elapsed time from Thanksgiving to Valentine's Day can seem like an eternity to diehard race fans ... probably due to the fact that during the regular season, their lives revolve around racing.

One of the best ways to cope with the sudden withdrawal from your NASCAR addiction is to stay current with the sport and to commune with like-minded fans. Plenty of NASCAR news is being made in the off-season; drivers change teams, teams change crew members, sponsors come and go, testing takes place, and sport writers continue to follow it all.

Below are eight of the best NASCAR-related websites on the net. Make a plan to visit one new site each week, and before you know it, Speedweeks will be here.

8.     Yahoo! Groups: -- Web address: http://groups.yahoo.com   *    Yahoo! groups are free opt-in mailing lists where members meet to discuss common interests. Type "NASCAR" in the search box at the Yahoo! Groups home page and you will find almost 1200 groups available to join. You can narrow your search to your favorite driver or team, or to related topics such as NASCAR collectibles. The nature of these groups ranges from friendly to feisty, so join a few and find one where you feel comfortable. Many groups offer trivia contests, fantasy games and other fun activities to help pass the time, both off-season and on.

7.     Scene Plus: -- Web address: www.sceneplus.com   *    Sign up for the free SceneDaily newsletter and receive the latest NASCAR news delivered right to your email inbox. Follow your favorite drivers and teams as they navigate the off-season and prepare of the Bud Shoot-out and the Daytona 500.

6.     FOX Sports: -- Web address: www.foxsports.com/nascar   *    Enjoy some of the best photos on the net including NASCAR-themed slide shows. Also find daily news updates and editorials by Darrell Waltrip, Larry McReynolds and Jeff Hammond of FOX Sports.

5.     The Pits Online: -- Web address: www.thepitsonline.com   *    Need a good chuckle? The Pits Online offers irreverent NASCAR-themed comic strips with a touch of biting satire. Anyone with a sense of humor will find something to enjoy in these send-ups of your favorite NASCAR personalities.

4.     Speed TV: -- Web address: www.speedtv.com   *    The official website of the Speed Channel, SpeedTV.com offers news and programming information for a variety of motorsports including NASCAR. Click on the NASCAR link for a list of daily programs including NASCAR Performance, NASCAR Fast Forward, Men Behind the Wrenches and NBS 24/7.

3.     NASCAR.com. -- Web address: www.nascar.com   *    NASCAR's official website is chockfull of information including top news stories, editorials, race schedules, data on drivers and tracks, audio and video content (some requiring a fee), an online store, contests and games, NASCAR history and more. Chances are if you have a question about anything NASCAR, you can find the answer here.

2.    Jayski: -- Web address: http://jayski.thatsracin.com   *    Consider by many to be the definitive site for all things NASCAR, including news, silly season rumors, statistics, and editorial columns by Jim Utter, David Poole and others. The site will be hosted by ESPN starting in January 2005, and will be moving to www.jayski.com.

1.    Insider Racing News: -- Web address: insiderracingnews.com   *    Racing insider Ron Felix manages this informative NASCAR website which focuses on Cup racing. A ticker runs across the top of the page with breaking news and a new editorial feature appears daily. The site also features a countdown clock (to the second) -- that tells when the Budweiser Shootout will start at Daytona in February. Find some of your favorite feature writers here, including Carol Einarsson's popular "Cheers and Jeers" column. During racing season the site features weekly -- at the track -- race coverage and a pick-ten game.

If you have a favorite NASCAR-themed website, email me and I will include some of your suggestions in a future column.

The thoughts and ideas expressed by this writer or any other writer on Insider Racing News, are not necessarily the views of the staff and/or management of IRN. Although we may not always agree with what is said, we do feel it's our duty to give a voice to those who have something relevant to say about the sport of auto racing.