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NASCAR Sprint-Cup Series
JENSEN: Let The Good Times Roll
Break time is officially over...
Tom Jensen  |  Posted January 18, 2010   Charlotte, NC
SPEED.com's Editor-in-Chief Tom Jensen. (Image: SPEED)
As weeks go, this one is about as good as it gets.

The 28th annual NASCAR Sprint Media Tour hosted by Charlotte Motor Speedway kicks off Monday with visits to three Sprint Cup race teams to get the lowdown on their plans for the upcoming the 2010 season.

The Media Tour is a huge event, as it brings together about 200 television, newspaper, radio and Internet reporters from all over the country to meet with all the top race teams. For some, it’s a chance to talk about race live with drivers, crew chiefs and team owners for the first time in 2010, which is pretty cool. And it’s a reminder that Daytona is just a few short weeks away, so it’s only a matter of time before we all get to scratch the racing itch that’s been missing all winter.

One of the highlights of this year’s tour is a visit Tuesday night to the NASCAR Hall of Fame in Uptown Charlotte, a facility scheduled to open in less than four months. From all the early buzz, the Hall truly is world class, and will feature a jaw-dropping collection of exhibits, artifacts and things to do.

There’s always a ton of news that comes out of the media tour and a few surprises, too, so stay tuned this week as SPEEDtv.com will bring it all to you from NASCAR this week.

Speaking of which, I’m thrilled to announce that SPEEDtv.com has hired Mike Hembree as our new NASCAR Editor. Mike has spent more than 20 years covering NASCAR and is a five-time winner of the National Motorsports Press Association Writer of the Year honors.

He also has written numerous books on the sport including, “NASCAR: The Definitive History of America’s Sport” and “Dale Earnhardt Jr.: Out of the Shadow of Greatness.”

In addition to being a great writer and someone who carries tremendous credibility in the NASCAR garage, Mike is a great guy, someone I’m as proud to have as a friend as I am as a colleague. He will do great things here, just as he did in his years at NASCAR Scene.

The addition of Mike to our team does two things: 1. It immediately gives us more depth and talent on the NASCAR beat. 2. It frees me up to fulfill more of the obligations I have as Editor-In-Chief. I’ll still be doing plenty of NASCAR writing, and I’ll be covering other news and events as well.

To that end, Tuesday afternoon, I’m flying out to Scottsdale for the 39th annual Barrett-Jackson Collector Car Event. SPEED will televise 39 hours of live Barrett-Jackson coverage, and we will have a ton of things going on here at SPEEDtv.com.

Autos Editor Bob Golfen and I will be participating in live daily chats from the auction tent, Hagerty Fantasy Bid returns and we’ll have lots of articles and literally hundreds of photos from the auction as well. For a full schedule, check out www.speedtv.com/programs/barrett-jackson-automobile-auction

This year for the first time, Bob and I will be doing Flip videos from the auction beginning on Wednesday. We’ll also have daily blog updates at myspeed.com, so there will be no shortage of information flowing from Scottsdale.

Like you, we’ll be very interested in seeing what prices look like this year, as well as all of the amazing sights and sounds at Barrett-Jackson, one of my favorite events of the year. The Scottsdale auction is always a fabulous good time and this year will be no exception.

If you have specific cars you want to know more about or just general questions, e-mail at speedtvanswerman@gmail.com, and I’ll try to answer as many questions as possible.

So stay tuned, folks, the fun is about to kick into high gear and SPEED and SPEEDtv.com are set to bring it your way.

Tom Jensen is the Editor in Chief for SPEEDtv.com, the former Executive Editor of NASCAR Scene and a contributing Editor for TruckSeries.com. He is the author of Cheating: The Bad Things Good NASCAR Nextel Cup Racers Do In Pursuit of SPEED, and has appeared on television and radio shows to discuss NASCAR racing. Jensen is the past President of the National Motorsports Press Association. Jensen is the 1997 National Motorsports Press Association Writer of the Year and has won numerous national and state awards for news reporting, columns and feature writing. The Answer Man is back at SPEEDtv.com! Tom Jensen answers your questions during every race week and looks forward to hearing from you - please e-mail it to

Barrett-Jackson Scottsdale: Jan 19th-24th
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