Issue link: http://read.dmtmag.com/i/124550
crazy Woman Driver to stage a good race. That'll give all those Twitterers and Facebookers plenty of talk about. Second, stop all those stoppages. Racing is all about going fast, not slowing down and stopping. Besides, there'll be enough slowing down during wrecks anyway. Third, set the race distance just long enough to make it urgent, and to require some strategy. I'd say 250 green-flag miles. Caution laps don't count. And how about this – no yellowflag pit stops, only green-flag stops to really put pressure on the over-the-wall gangs. And my piece de resistance: Make the All-Star Race the true "unlimited" event. Let the teams run essentially whatever they want. Every car must pass inspection, but only for the components related to safety. Otherwise, let's just see what all those genius crew chiefs really have up their sleeves. CHANGING LANES By giving the guys in the post-race inspection area the night off, I believe NASCAR just might make this night one of the best of the year. Kay Bell is an Austin, Texas-based writer. When she's not yelling at her television during NASCAR races, she writes about financial topics and blogs about taxes at Don't Mess With Taxes (www.dontmesswithtaxes.typepad.com). 38 crazy woman driver 0513 cl.indd 3 LOOSE LUGNUTS Raking in big bucks: Dale Earnhardt, Jr. once again topped Forbes' 2013 list of NASCAR's highest-paid drivers. The magazine estimated Earnhardt's 2012 earnings at $25.9 million. It's the fifth straight year Earnhardt made the most money. His Hendrick Motorsports teammate Jimmie Johnson ranked No. 2 with earnings of $23 million. In fact, all four Hendrick drivers are among the 10 highest paid with Jeff Gordon coming in at No. 4 ($18.1 million) and Kasey Kahne at No. 9 ($12 million). Rounding out the top 10 were Tony Stewart (No. 3 with $18.7 million), Carl Edwards (No. 5 with $13.7 million), Kevin Harvick (No. 6 with $13 million), Danica Patrick (No. 7 with $12.9 million), Kyle Busch (No. 8 with $12.5 million) and reigning series champion Brad Kesolowski (No. 10 with $11.4 million). So how did Earnhardt earn so much? It wasn't from his on-track efforts. He won only one race last year, his first in four years, the fall race at Michigan, and his earnings from salary and race finishes was $12.9 million. But the fan favorite got $13 million from endorsements and licensing. MAY 2013 // WWW.CHANGINGLANESDIGITAL.COM 4/5/13 10:55 AM