Queen of Sports

Queen Of Sports 101: NASCAR Sprint Cup Championship

NASCAR has been in the news a lot this weekend, following the close of the 2011 NASCAR Sprint Cup series.

Tony Stewart won the 2011 Sprint Cup Championship yesterday, beating out Carl Edwards. It was Stewarts’ third championship win.

Stewart and Edwards ended the season in a first-ever points tie, but Stewart won the tie-breaker because of his five season wins over Edwards’ one.

You can watch some highlights from the race here:

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We’ve never explained NASCAR in depth here at Queen of Sports, so we thought we’d break down one of the biggest series’ of the year: the Sprint Cup.

The Sprint Cup Series is the highest level of competition in NASCAR with the biggest pay-off. The 2011 Sprint Cup series consisted of 36 races over 10 months. Jimmie Johnson was the winner of the Cup over the last five years.

The champion is determined by a point system. Points are given based on finishing placement and laps led. After the first 26 races of the season, the top 10 racers and the two racers with the most race wins ranked 11th to 20th are seeded based on their total number of race wins. Those 12 racers go on to compete in the Chase for the Championship, the last 10 races of the season.

The current playoff system was implemented to make the chase for more points more competitive later in the season, when NASCAR must compete with NFL ratings.

A fun fact about the Sprint Cup trophy: the silver trophy is designed by Tiffany & Co.

IndyCar Driver Dies In Las Vegas Crash

IndyCar driver Dan Wheldon passed away Sunday during a race in Las Vegas after a massive, 15-car crash.

The 33-year-olds car went airborne on the 12th lap of the Indy 300. Dan had won the Indianapolis 500 in 2005 and 2011.

The CEO of IndyCar, Randy Bernard said “IndyCar is very sad to announce that Dan Wheldon has passed away from unsurvivable injuries. Our thoughts and prayers are with his family today.”

Our condolences go out to Dan’s family and friends.

ESPN’s Third Annual “Body Issue” Hitting Newsstands Soon

ESPN The Magazine will once again be celebrating athlete bodies in their third annual “Body Issue” hitting newsstands Oct. 7.

Athletes who will be posing nude or semi-nude for the best-selling issue include gymnast Alicia Sacramone, snowboarder Gretchen Bleiler, soccer goalie Hope Solo, NBA star Blake Griffin, MLB star Jose Reyes, and the NFL’s Steven Jackson.

Other female athletes who will be featured: the WNBA’s Sylvia Fowles; LPGA rookie Belen Mozo; track and field star Natasha Hastings; hockey player Julie Chu; tennis player Vera Zvonareva; surfer Steph Gilmore; roller derby player Suzy Hotrod and bowler Kelly Kulick.

And some more men who will be posing include speedskater Apolo Ohno; NHL player Ryan Kesler; UFC light heavyweight champion Jon Jones; IndyCar racer Helio Castroneves; boxer Sergio Martinez; marathoner Ryan Hall and paralympian Jeremy Campbell.

Over 20 athletes will be featured in the “Bodies We Want” section of the issue that is an “exploration and celebration of athletic form.”

Photo: ESPN the Magazine’s second annual “Body Issue”

The Ladies Of The ESPY’s!

Check out these sexy female athletes that walked the red carpet before heading into the Nokia Theater for the ESPY awards last night! We were lucky enough to attend the best sports award show in the business for our third year in a row! Here are some pictures of the female athletes in attendance.

Tennis pro Maria Sharapova:

Former WNBA star Lisa Leslie:

Gold medal skier Lindsey Vonn:

Boxer Laila Ali:

Tennis player Serena Williams:

Gold medal track and field athlete Allyson Felix:

Surfer Bethany Hamilton:

NASCAR driver Danica Patrick:

Photos: PR Photos

Jeff Gordon In “Road Trip To The Race Track”

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Check out this funny video starring NASCAR legend Jeff Gordon for his sponsor, Pepsi Max. The video features Max The Driver, a truck driver who makes regular appearances in Pepsi Max ad campaigns. We especially like the part where Gordon tries to change the truck’s tire.

Forbes Names Jimmie Johnson “Most Influential Athlete” in the US

Forbes Magazine has released its annual list of “most influential athletes” and there is a new number one! NASCAR driver Jimmie Johnson stole the top honors from Tour de France dominator Lance Armstrong.

The list is compiled by surveys conducted by E-Poll Market Research and Nielsen Media Research.

The NFL had the most players on the list with four players, New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady taking the second spot followed by Pittsburgh Steelers star Troy Polamalu at number six, Peyton Manning ranked seventh and newcomer, Broncos player Tim Tebow rounding out the bottom at number 10.

In addition to Jimmie, two other NASCAR drivers made this list, Dale Earnhardt Jr. at number three and Jeff Gordon at number eight.

Only two basketball players made the list this year down from five in 2010. Boston Celtics center Shaquille O’Neal took the number four spot while Miami Heat superstar LeBron James claimed the number nine spot.

Michael Phelps seems to have held onto to some appeal as he was the only Olympian to make the list. The gold-medal winner locked in the number five spot.

The research suggests that athletes who are “intensely competitive without ostentation, value winning above calling attention to yourself and avoiding big controversies off the field” are the most important qualities in winning over the public.

Photos: PR Photos/Splash News

Postrace Altercation Leaves Kevin Harvick And Kyle Busch On Probation

After NASCAR driver Kevin Harvick brought a little dirty boxing onto the race track, both Harvick and his intended victim Kyle Busch were put on probation by NASCAR and fined $25,000. The incident occurred when, after being spun by Busch, Harvick stopped his car in the pit area and exited the car, confronting Busch while throwing a few wild swings into his car. In response, Busch knocked Harvick’s car aside. Both drivers are on probation until June 15 following the incident that occured last weekend at the Showtime Southern 500 at Darlington Raceway.

Celebrities At Toyota Grand Prix Pro Celeb Race

This weekend, the Toyota Grand Prix took place in Long Beach. The races and events which took place April 14-17 included the IZOD IndyCar Race, the Team Drift challenge, and the 35th Annual People Magazine Pro Celebrity Race. A number of celebrities came out to participate in the event, for entertainment and for a good cause. Toyota donates $5,000 to Racing for Kids in the name of each celebrity participant and another $5,000 to the charity of choice on behalf of the winning racer. Pictured above, Blood Diamond actor Djimon Hounsou participated in the race while Kimora Lee and their son Kenzo came out to show support.

Frankie Muniz of “Malcolm in the Middle” fame is no stranger to the Toyota Grand Prix, he won the Pro/Celeb race back in 2005 and has been racing for fun ever since. He and girlfriend Elycia Turnbow posed for a picture with Kevin Jonas and his wife Danielle. Other celebrity racers in attendance included Tito Ortiz (with Jenna Jameson), Daniel Goddard, William Fichtner (who was this year’s race winner), Kim Coates, AJ Buckley, Brian Austin Green and wife Megan Fox. “True Blood” star Stephen Moyer, who attended the race with wife Ana Paquin, pulled out at the request of producers after being involved in a crash during practice. Moyer is doing fine and wasn’t seriously hurt.

Photos: Nikki Nelson/WENN.com

100th Anniversary Of Indy 500 Celebration In Hollywood

Celebrities and athletes attended an event at The Colony in Hollywood celebrating the 100th Anniversary of the Indianapolis 500.

Actors at the party included Mark Wahlberg (pictured above), Adrian Grenier and Craig Robinson.

Showing the world that everything is OK after break-up rumors have been swirling for the last few weeks, UFC Champ Tito Ortiz and his wife, Jenna Jameson (pictured above) walked the red carpet together. Also at the event were several NASCAR drivers including Dancing with the Stars season 5 winner Helio Castroneves (pictured below), Dario Franchitti (husband of actress Ashley Judd) and Graham Rahal.

Photos: Splash News

Kyle Busch’s Wedding To Air On Style Network

We showed you awhile back some snapshots from NASCAR star Kyle Busch‘s lavish New Years Eve wedding. His marriage to model Samantha Sarcinella will be featured on a one-hour reality show special on the Style Network this week. Fast and Fabulous: A NASCAR Wedding will air March 5 at 5 pm PST. The show will document the planning of the wedding, their bachelor and bachelorette parties, and the wedding and reception itself.