“For those of you who don’t know it, I’m just a volunteer here at OneBadWheel. No pay, no obligations, and best of all, I don’t have to turn off the lights and lock-up at the end of the day like in my real job. Oh wait, that’s right, this site never turns off the lights. :D No, I’m pretty much like you, the faithful reader out there who comes back daily to what has become my favorite NASCAR Fantasy related statistical resource website.

Now the owner and developer of this site, Darren, is not one to toot his own horn. However, he gave me access to post in the Blog (at least for now!) and I don’t have any issues with pointing the spotlight on some of the cool things this site offers as well as it’s accomplishments. For example, did you know that this very Blog ranked in at #3 on Sports Media Challenge’s Sports Blogs Indexâ„¢Top 10 NASCAR Blogs? The index is defined as “… ranking of the top sports blogs on the internet. These sites are not necessarily the most visited sites on the internet, though traffic is a factor. Each SBI blog is rated on three main criteria: Influence, Community and Relevance. It is important to note that the Index is not a completely objective or subjective measurement. Each blog is ranked on a variety of quantitative measurements before Sports Media Challenge analysts adjust for qualitative factors.” As you can see, Darren has done a great job blogging here to rank up there with many other fine blogs that also made the top ten (as shown to the right). Many of those blogs I now frequently visit myself, such as the NASCAR Ranting and Raving Blog.

I must admit though, when I first started visiting OneBadWheel, the blog was nearly the last thing I discovered and frequented. I was more drawn to the straight forward statistical reports, fantasy tools, and the expert opinions, articles & advice that is otherwise known as the Fantasy NASCAR Tool Box. This was the first site that I found to not only have driver’s stats easily arranged and configured in a common sense manner, but also allowed me to compare all drivers Head-to-Head or in a Comparison Wizard where I can pick-n-choose several drivers at once that I may want to study. I was also thrilled to discover other “tools” in the Tool Box that helped me with my bonus point selections, such as Hot Streak Drivers, Bonus Point Leaders, Lap Leader reports, and more! If that wasn’t enough, I signed up for the FREE Fantasy NASCAR Newsletter and was rewarded with race preview reports and information. The arrival of the newsletter also helps serve as a weekly reminder for me to complete all of my fantasy NASCAR picks for the various games that I’m playing in.

But there’s more to the site than just statistical number crunching and reports. I’ve discovered several fun things on the OneBadWheel website too. Such as the amusing, and sometimes corny, Team Name Generator. OK, I’ll admit, even I didn’t go with any of the suggested team names for my favorite driver as I quickly rejected names such as “Draft Happy Team” and “Overheated Happy Machines.” However, they were amusing and again offered a tool that I had not seen on any other NASCAR fantasy related websites. And speaking of fantasy teams, another fun thing to do on the OneBadWheel site is to play in the FREE and easy to play game called Champs, Chumps, & Sleepers. This is a very easy game to play with a very unique scoring and selection process. Not surprising, there is even statistical help built into the game’s driver selection process (beside each driver’s selection box Darren tells you that driver’s average finish at the upcoming track). And best of all, not only is it free to play, but there are prizes available too! So be sure to check it out.

And finally, just in case you haven’t noticed it, before the start of the 2008 season Darren added a cool little tweak to the website itself that enables each individual viewer of the site to “Pimp” the site’s displayed theme to compliment one of their favorite drivers. By clicking on the little icons in the upper left corner of the page you can pimp the site by changing the background color, the colors and shading in charts, and the header banner with your driver’s number in the background. Currently the Pimp It options include: OneBadWheel Default, #3 Dale Earnhardt, #9 Kasey Kahne, #11 Denny Hamlin, #17 Matt Kenseth, #20 Tony Stewart, #24 Jeff Gordon, #31 Jeff Burton, #43 Richard Petty, #48 Jimmie Johnson, and #88 Dale Earnhardt Jr.. While I confess that from time to time I do lobbying for a Kevin Harvick “Pimp It” theme, I make do with and am rather fond of the #3 and #17 color themes when I’m on the site.

If you’re a fan of the site as I am, then you may be interested in knowing that Darren offers up some tools for your own website. The FREE NASCAR Widgets from OneBadWheel are found all over the internet on NASCAR forums, blogs and fan sites. Go ahead, click and grab your favorite widgets and add them to your site too. There are several styles and themes available for use. There are also XML files and linking graphics that you can place on your personal website or blog (which in my opinion is the least you could do if you’re using and appreciate a OBW provided webmaster resource) .

Thanks Darren for a great site, the stats, the fantasy game, and for allowing me to be a part of it all! I know it takes a lot of work and I think you’ve probably got a lot of fans out there because of all you’re doing. Keep it up, and enjoy the view of my rear bumper in the fantasy games as I use the very stats you provide to beat you.