In West Virginia, fans sure do love their NASCAR races. In fact, that state boasts the most NASCAR fans per capitia. And five days after a NASCAR race is aired on TV, accidents caused by aggressive driving rise notably.

The Journal of Applied Social Psychology wanted to see if aggressive, crash-filled racing influenced the day-to-day driving habits of West Virginians. And according to the study, it really did. Looking at aggressive-driving accidents from 2003 through 2006 (about 29,000), these types of accidents rose significantly five days after the televised event took place (over 23 accidents recorded versus 19 on other days).  Surprisingly, on the day of the race, accidents actually dropped.

As for the five-day lapse, research found that delayed effects are commonly found in studies the media’s effects on behaviour.

[Source: Wall Street Journal]

Reports are coming in that Danica Patrick is leaning towards a full-time move to NASCAR for 2012, running a full Nationwide Series with JR Motorsports and limited Sprint Cup Series races with Tony Stewart’s team. One shake-up in any agreement with Patrick however is that she still desires to run in the Indy 500 even if it complicates her Nationwide championship hopes.

“I would like for her to run fulltime, and I’m sure she is considering that, and I think she would enjoy it,” said JR Motorsports co-owner Dale Earnhardt Jr. peaking at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. “I feel confident that she’s content where she is and happy with what we’re doing. I think things are looking positive for us to put something together.”

It appears that Patrick’s NASCAR driving aspirations are positive, with both Stewart and Earnhardt Jr. giving her plenty of praise and both looking forward to getting her behind the wheel of their race cars. Whether or not a deal can be worked out so that she can juggle the busy schedule involved with the Indy 500 during the month of May makes things interesting for Patrick’s 2012 season.

[Source: Associated Press]

Travis Pastrana might not be high-tailing it to NASCAR according to plan: at the X Games, he landed hard on his right foot, shattering his ankle as well as any chances to start in the Nationwide NASCAR Series on Saturday.

Pastrana was attempting to nail a 720-double-backflip-spin on a dirtbike, but with a late rotation entering the landing, he fell at an angle and threw the entire weight of the bike onto his right foot. He was taken to surgery and hasn’t made an official statement on starting the race, which seems to indicate that he’s out.

Rumors that “friendly” rival Ken Block was seen rubbing his hands in glee, twirling his mustache and muttering, “yes, yes, it’s all gone to plan!” are still unsubstantiated.

Click the jump to see the full stunt.

[Source: Jalopnik]

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Legendary NASCAR driver and off-road pilot Robby Gordon has been invited to attend the Bullrun Live Rally commonly know as, “The Bullrun”. One of the most glamorous (perhaps second only to the Gumball) of high-end luxury automotive rallies, it’s limited to 100 entries consisting of the finest high-end cars in the world taking on an epic eight day rally race across the US. In the past, the Bullrun has attracted celebrities such as Dennis Rodman, Hayden Christensen, Bam Margera and Kim Kardashian.

Robby Gordon is partnering with Jeep and will drive the 2012 Jeep Grand Cherokee SRT8 from Las Vegas to Miami.

“I’m really excited to be participating in the 2011 Bullrun. It’s basically a modern day ‘Cannonball Run’ just set up like the Dakar Rally. It’s run on public highways within speed limits, but the guy that gets there first still wins.  It’s very fitting for SPEED Energy and I’m able to do it with our great partners, Dodge, Jeep and Toyo Tires,” explained Gordon.

GALLERY: Jeep Grand Cherokee SRT8

Replicating a stunt from back in 2003 when Juan Pablo Montoya and Jeff Gordon swapped race cars at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, earlier this week F1 pilot Lewis Hamilton and NASCAR racer Tony Stewart made the switch.

Organized by Mobil 1 (which sponsors both racers), the event took place at Watkins Glen, the site of the first Formula 1 race in America. It’s also one of very few tracks to have ever hosted both an F1 and a NASCAR race.

Little more than a marketing stunt, it’s fun to watch and see how the two driver’s compare. Plus, we all know Montoya couldn’t resist the lure of NASCAR. Hamilton… you next?

Watch the videos after the jump:

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NASCAR is looking to target a younger, hipper crowd—one that’s into this Facebook thing.

And to do so they’re introducing a Facebook game, one that promises to be less annoying than Farmville, hopefully. Piggybacking off the successful Car Town, they’ve launched the slightly more cumbersome-sounding “NASCAR Pro Championship presented by Sprint” that will be featured on a joint partnership with Car Town’s developer, Cie Games.

Two different companies will be promoting the game with all of their marketing might. Turner Sports, which holds the rights to NASCAR.com, will air commercials on Turner Network Television. Sprint will promote it via their digital network and cell phones. Both promotions will coincide with the running of the Sprint Cup until November.

Car Town isn’t actually about racing, not if you can call pressing a few buttons to be a reasonable facsimile. It’s more aimed at completing some challenges, modifying your car, earning and spending points, and most importantly: bombarding your friends endlessly with requests. For that, NASCAR’s Facebook adventure seems like a win-win.

[Source: Scribbal]

An Atlanta magician who calls himself “The Great Moodini” was entertaining the crowds at the Atlanta Motor Speedway last week when his Camaro-Shackle stunt went horrible wrong. He was supposed to escape his chains while shackled to the end of  an accelerating Camaro. He didnt have enough time to escape the shackles and the Camaro catapulted him forward almost like a feather in the wind.

Moodini, also known as Michael Anthony Mooney suffered a broken ankle, wrist, one rib and a finger during the stunt. He had apparently pulled off the stunt twice before without incident. The failed attempt may have been because he didnt have his lucky magicians hat, suit or special rabbit. Instead of traditional magicians threads, he wore a XXL T shirt, sweatpants and Crocs. Hopfully next time he’ll dress accordingly!

Check out the video after the jump!

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Kimi Raikkonen struggled to a 27th place on his NASCAR Nationwide Series debut at Charlotte Motor Speedway. Raikkonen, driving the #87 NEMCO Motorsports Toyota prepared by Kyle Busch Motorsports, suffered a pit road penalty and damage to the front of his car, dropping from 15th to 27th place.

The iceman enjoyed a great run in practice on Thursday and set some competitive lap times. He felt much more comfortable ahead of the race than a week ago when he made his NASCAR debut in the Truck Series.

Raikkonen qualified 22nd despite skimming the wall on his first flying lap, he made early progress despite not being happy with his car’s balance.

“It was nice in the beginning and I could overtake on the restart and it felt really good when [the car] turned,” said Raikkonen. “Then it really it turned out to be really bad, the handling. Just because I couldn’t even get the car in, even I felt I had to stop in the corner and it was just pushing all the time.

Raikkinen also faced heat issues early in the race. He complained that his feet were getting very hot. NASCAR drivers wear heat-isolating heel protectors over their racing shoes, but Raikkinen said he did not wear them because he did not have any issues last week in the Truck race.

Raikkonen is planning to return to Europe to compete in the Rally Acropolis in Greece next month. He is unsure if he will be travelling back to the US for a possible NASCAR Sprint Cup Series debut next month.

[Source: AutoSport]

NASCAR driver Kurt Busch, is raffling a one off 2011 Charger R/T. However, this is no ordinary Charger. There have been some performance modifications added to the Charger to make it quite  unique.

This Charger is outfitted with door scoops inspired by the 1970 Charger R/T, unique rear spoiler and front fascia, black chrome 20-inch rims as well as a Mopar performance lowering kit. Under the hood is a 5.7-liter HEMI V8 coupled with a Mopar Cat-Back exhaust system. The interior is outfitted with Mopar Katzkin leather seats incrested with Busch’s signature and number.

“This is one fabulous Dodge,” said Busch.  “I’m delighted with what Dodge and Mopar have done and how they’ve helped the Foundation. They’ve done a stand-out job on this car. Someone is going to be very happy driving this amazing Dodge around town.”

GALLERY: Dodge Charger R/T Kurt Busch Foundation