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Today In Nascar History
January 11, 1981
Riverside Raceway plays host to the opening of the Winston Cup season for the last time. Bobby Allison would win the Winston Western 500.
"I love what I do; I love this business."
-- Bobby Hamilton Sr, March 2006 as he announced he had cancer
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News gathered from multiple sources, including but not limited to: Jayski.com, Cup Scene Daily, Thatsracin.com, catchfence.com, nascar.com, yahoo!, espn.com and others.
from Bob S
If you loved Talledga Nights . . .
There's a new fun DVD coming out, the Dukes of Hazzard prequel...and it's all about the car, GENERAL LEE. The new direct-to-DVD production arm for Warner Bros. Entertainment, and the Warner Bros. Home Entertainment Group revs up the General Lee to deliver */The Dukes of Hazzard: The Beginning/*,*/ /*the direct-to-DVD prequel to the 2005 theatrical release starring Johnny Knoxville, Seann William Scott and Jessica Simpson. Both the R-Rated and Unrated versions of */The/* */Dukes of Hazzard: The Beginning/* are due for release on March 20, 2007/* and */*//*will be available in both the R-rated and Unrated versions at $ 27.99 SRP. Lots of hints that racy will be more important than racing.
Rudd to Earnhardt Jr.: Ownership isn't everything
DAVID POOLE
Dale Earnhardt Jr. said Monday that any interest he had in owning a Nextel Cup team would be in owning Dale Earnhardt Inc.
Ricky Rudd, returning to Nextel Cup this year in the No. 88 Fords owned by Robert Yates Racing after a one-year hiatus, was a team owner at one time, too. He was asked if he'd recommend that as a career path.
"I guess I wouldn't totally discourage him," Rudd said. "You learn a lot about people. I think before it's over with you probably have a psychology degree in dealing with people because that's what it's about.
"If he does do that, he definitely needs to surround himself with great people and he needs to delegate. He can't do it himself. If he tries to do it all himself, his racing performance is going suffer and his business performance, too.
There's no way you can step in and understand all of the business aspects as big as these things are today. If he can get the right people to surround himself with, heck, go for it. He can get it done."
Rudd said that what's tough about being a car owner is that getting the right people is only the first part of the challenge.
"Getting the right people is one thing," he said. "Keeping the right people is the toughest part about this business and that's the mistake I made. I figured, `OK, I'm going to be really smart. I'm going recruit all these guys, bring them together and we'll have a nice happy little team. But as you start having more and more success, people come in and raid your organization and take your key people, so you're constantly rebuilding.
"It's not like, `I'm going to go out and hire these people once.' It's a constant struggle to keep good people.
"As long as Dale Jr. is up for those headaches and understands that, and he knows what the challenges are and is going to sit his personal life on the side, then I think he could do it. But a lot of sacrifices have to be made to do that."
DAVID POOLE
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – The International Race of Champions series still does not have a sponsor for 2007 and announced Tuesday it will delay the start of its season until one is found.
That means there will be no IROC race during Speedweeks at Daytona.
"We're very disappointed about not making it to Daytona this year," IROC president Jay Signore said. The series has raced here every year since 1990.
"We're working very hard to find a title sponsor," he said. "Our hopes are to find (one) in enough time to be able to have a full four-race season within 2007."
Tony Stewart won the IROC championship in 2006 and promised to give his $1 million prize back to IROC if it would agree to hold one of this year's races at the Eldora Speedway in Rossburg, Ohio, which Stewart owns.
Tim Brewer, two-time NASCAR Cup champion crew chief
Tim Cowlishaw, Dallas Morning News NASCAR writer and columnist
Marty Smith, NASCAR.com senior writer
Angelique S. Chengelis, Detroit News NASCAR writer and columnist
D.J. Copp, front tire changer on the #8 Budweiser Chevy
Shannon Spake, reporter for SPEED's NASCAR Nation and Backseat Drivers host
Brad Daugherty, five-time NBA All-Star and former winning NASCAR team owner
NASCAR Now viewers will also benefit from frequent contributions by the ESPN / ABC NASCAR team including Rusty Wallace, Jerry Punch, Andy Petree, Allen Bestwick, Dave Burns, Jamie Little, Mike Massaro, Dale Jarrett andESPN Deportes' NASCAR commentators Andrés Agulla and Alex Pombo.(ESPN PR)
NASCAR Day announced: May 18th: The NASCAR Foundation officially kicked off NASCAR Day 2007 by announcing May 18 as the date for this year's fundraising celebration. Joining NASCAR Vice President Jim Hunter at Daytona International Speedway was artist Sam Bass, who unveiled this year's NASCAR Day pin that he specially designed for the Foundation. NASCAR Day, an annual, charitable celebration of the spirit of NASCAR fans, last year raised more than $1.3 million, with 98,000 pins sold online at NASCAR.com and more than 3,000 company locations participating all across the country. Fans interested in participating in NASCAR Day can purchase a pin, sign up his or her company and even purchase NASCAR Day apparel by going to www.nascar.com/foundation. NASCAR fans, corporations, schools and organizations across the country are encouraged to donate $5 and all participants receive a collectible 2007 NASCAR Day lapel pin for their donation.(NASCAR PR)
NOTE: Chevy already announced it would use the Impala for the COT races and overall when the COT runs all the races [2009]. UPDATE: Chrysler Group announced today that the Dodge Avenger will race at select events in Nextel Cup competition beginning in 2007, joining the Dodge Charger in the Dodge NASCAR racing lineup. The Dodge Avenger race car debuted along side the all-new 2008 Dodge Avenger at the North American International Auto Show [Detroit. The Dodge Avenger is a mid-size sedan that combines bold, aggressive Dodge styling with innovative interior features, high-levels of safety and reliability, exhilarating performance and excellent fuel efficiency of 30 miles per gallon (mpg) (32 mpg based on 2007 EPA fuel economy standards). Dodge drivers #19-Elliott Sadler, of the Dodge Dealers/UAW Evernham Motorsports team, #2-Kurt Busch, of Penske Racing South, and, new to NASCAR, #42-Juan Pablo Montoya of the Chip Ganassi Racing with Felix Sabates team participated in the announcement. "With NASCAR Nextel Cup racing two distinct cars for 2007, it makes perfect sense to have the Avenger join the Charger in the Dodge racing family," said Mike Accavitti, Director - Dodge Motorsports and SRT Product Planning, Chrysler Group. "Dodge is all about delivering bold, capable performance, and that will become even more evident when the Avenger hits NASCAR's race tracks this year." The Dodge Avenger race car is scheduled to make its competition debut at Bristol Motor Speedway on March 25, 2007, as the Dodge entry in NASCAR's "Car of Tomorrow" implementation. During the multi-year phase-in of NASCAR's Car of Tomorrow, the Dodge Charger will continue to race in NASCAR Nextel Cup competition.(clearblue.biz PR)
Kerry Earnhardt will join Dale Earnhardt Inc. as a full-time employee next week, serving as a liaison between the Nextel Cup and Busch programs and driving in a handful of races.
"Teresa and Richie have been talking to me about coming there for several years," Kerry said of team owner/stepmother Teresa Earnhardt and director of motorsports Richie Gilmore. "I've been thinking about the company a lot in my head. It's hard to give up driving. Now I've come to a point where I realize that doing the things I'm doing is not doing me any good, just riding around and not having any decent finishes."
Kerry, 37, has asked to drive in at least five Busch races and a couple of Cup races for DEI, but said his future with the company doesn't hinge on that.
"I always wish I had the opportunity to be in equipment like this," said Kerry, who was 20th-fastest in the morning practice while Earnhardt Jr. honored previous commitments. "Now if I run three to five Busch races and can be successful with that maybe more things can come to me."
Kerry hopes to fill part of the role of Tony Eury Sr., who has moved from team liaison to crew chief for DEI's third Cup team with Paul Menard.
Andretti puts on a display in the 1967 Daytona 500
SECOND IN A FIVE-PART SERIES ON FEBRUARY RACING AT DAYTONA BEACH, FLA.
Bob Moore, my friend of 40 years and a former Charlotte Observer colleague, was sure of it.
If Mario Andretti didn't wreck on the current lap, he surely would the next.
Bob's assessment was shared widely across the press box at Daytona International Speedway on Feb. 26, 1967, as the Daytona 500 roared on.
"Mario's car was sideways through every turn," Moore recalled this week. "It didn't seem possible that he could keep holding it lap after lap."
This view also held in the pit of the storied Holman & Moody team that was fielding the Ford driven Indy-car star Andretti, an interloper in the NASCAR Series.
"We thought he was a wreck waiting to happen," remembers Waddell Wilson, a Holman & Moody team member who had built the engine powering Andretti's No. 11 Ford. "I have been going to races for more than 50 years, and I have never seen a driving performance like Mario put on that day 40 years ago."
Andretti was just 26 at the time and he still had a distinctive touch of native Italian in his voice.
His English might not have been so good, but there was no doubt about his driving talent.
"If there ever has been a natural, it's Mario," said Wilson. "Everyone could see it."
Wilson, a hall of famer as an engine-builder/ mechanic/crew chief, and now serving as a consultant to JeriCo Transmissions, chuckled at the recollection.
"I had built a bunch of engines for the '67 Daytona 500," he recalls. "I had engines for Fred Lorenzen and Dick Hutcherson.
"At the last minute Ford sent word down from Detroit that they wanted a little bit of tunnel port adjustments for the cars of Freddie and Mario. I made the changes and they looked good on the dyno.
"I loaded the engines on a tractor-trailer and drove through the night from Charlotte to Daytona Beach. After I got there we put the engine assigned to Mario on the dyno again. It durn near immediately lost the cam bearings.
"I had to totally disassemble that engine and redo everything. I drove through the night back to Charlotte to put it back together, then returned to Daytona the next day.
"We got the engine in for practice, and it performed really well.
"Plus, the great old chassis specialist and crew chief Jake Elder and Ralph Moody were working together to get the car set up like Mario wanted it.
"It was radical, what Mario suggested, but they went along with him.
"Mario knew what he was doing. No one could run with him. For his style, he had the perfect race car, and he ran the wheels off of it. He made a statement that day. He was the class of the field."
Andretti took the lead on the 168th of the 200 laps on the fast 2.5-mile track and stayed ahead the rest of the way, averaging 146.926 mph.
Andretti was 22 seconds ahead of nominal teammate Fred Lorenzen when a caution flag slowed the 500 for the final two laps.
"Oh, that caution helped out," conceded Andretti, later a winner of the Indy 500, The Formula One world championship, the Le Mans Endurance Race and the 24 Hours of Daytona. "I was just about out of gas. I pedaled around the final five miles."
"Mario is too gracious," said Wilson. "That Daytona 500 was his as long as he could keep from going completly sideways in the turns, which didn't seem possible and still amazes me to this day."
A few moments of silence then followed during my phone conversation with my boyhood friend Waddell Wilson.
Finally, he spoke with the deepest sincerity:
"It's 40 years later, half of our lifetimes, and I have won several Daytona 500s. None was more enjoyable than that one in '67 with Mario Andretti. I will remember it forever.
"He's as good a person as I have ever worked with in my life, bar none."
COMING NEXT: CALE YARBOROUGH SCORES A VICTORY IN THE 1977 DAYTONA 500.
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – Ricky Rudd and Robert Yates parted ways in far from amicable fashion at the end of the 2002 season, and there was only one way that the duo would ever work together again.
When hell froze over.
The dissolution of their racing marriage was almost as ugly as the current battle playing out between Paul McCartney and Heather Mills, with charges and counter-charges of who did what and who was wrong.
"The last half [of 2002] wasn't real pleasant," Rudd said Tuesday during the second day of preseason testing here at Daytona International Speedway. "The unfortunate thing is we were on the verge of probably winning [a] championship.
"We were [competitive] before this thing blew apart. That was the sad thing."
About the only thing Rudd and Yates ultimately agreed on by the end of the '02 season was that their relationship was irreparably broken and they needed to go their separate ways.
But fate had a funny way of continually bringing them back together. In the pits, in the garage, at various racing and social functions, they'd bump into each other more often than Dale Earnhardt Jr. bump-drafts opponents on the race track.
Each time Yates would nod and acknowledge Rudd, ask him how he was doing, and Rudd would do the same in return. They went from not talking to, at the very least, being cordial to each other.
Gradually, as things got bad for Yates' organization and Rudd started to get the itch to return to racing after taking the 2006 season off, the pair began to act like a divorced couple that had second thoughts about whether they did the right thing in walking out on each other.
First, they rekindled their friendship. Then they started talking about a future together again.
And then, a few weeks ago, after both realized life is too short to hold a grudge and that they were truly better together than apart, Rudd and Yates once again took the plunge together, hitching up each one's future with the other.
The reason for reunification was really pretty simple.
"Time has gone by," Rudd said. "I think after leaving and looking from the outside-in, there were a lot of things that were right about [the relationship]. There were a few things wrong, but there were a lot more things that were right.
"I think Robert sat back and evaluated it and he sort of came up with the same conclusion, to let bygones be bygones and let's work for the future. We had something that did click [once], let's see if we can't get it back."
And with that, hell indeed had frozen over.
Not that such reconciliations are completely unheard of.
"You have some pretty bitter spats with your brothers and sisters over the years and say, 'I'm never talking to them again. I won't call 'em. I'm not even going to the Thanksgiving deal get-together we've had for all these years. That's how mad I am,'" Rudd said.
But then, with a smile on his face, Rudd added, "all of a sudden a little time goes by and the next thing you know everything is back to normal again. That's kind of how I put this."
And now Yates and Rudd embark upon at least a two-year marriage (the length of Rudd's new contract), but the 50-year-old driver has no preconceived notions about instant success in the coming season as he replaces Dale Jarrett in the No. 88 car.
"I'm not going to fix it by myself, obviously," he said. "But I feel like I can bring some tools to the team that can help benefit them."
Yet at the same time, Rudd still has hopes of adding to the 23 career Cup wins he already has, and even qualifying for the Chase for the Nextel Cup.
"I would not have taken this job if I thought we were going to go out there to run 10th or 15th or 25th every week," Rudd said. "I know there are a lot of people out there predicting that we won't make the top 30 or whatever it is, but I've always enjoyed the challenge and like proving people they're wrong."
He's already doing that, as Rudd was the fourth fastest (183.872 mph) in Tuesday's morning session and sixth (186.312 mph) in the afternoon period at Daytona.
"I feel like I'm kind of needed here," said Rudd, whose job will also include serving as mentor to teammate David Gilliland. "They've got some work to do and I feel like I can contribute and make it a better race team."
He's already done that by simply forgiving, forgetting and coming back.
Veteran motorsports writer Jerry Bonkowski is Yahoo! Sports' NASCAR columnist.
Your![file:///C:/DOCUME~1/smonacel/LOCALS~1/Temp//att49918.gif]()
Momma
Life should NOT be a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in an attractive and well preserved body, but rather to skid in sideways, chocolate in one hand, wine in the other, body thoroughly used up, totally worn out and screaming "WOO HOO what a ride!"
"Don't come here and grumble about going too fast. Get the hell out of the race car if you've got feathers on your legs or butt. Put a kerosene rag around your ankles so the ants wins't climb up there and eat that candy ass." - Dale Earnhardt – 1998
This list is authored by:
Sandra Monacelli
221 W. 57th Street 18B
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January 11, 1981
Riverside Raceway plays host to the opening of the Winston Cup season for the last time. Bobby Allison would win the Winston Western 500.
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Quote of the Day"I love what I do; I love this business."
-- Bobby Hamilton Sr, March 2006 as he announced he had cancer
Most Popular Driver Vote
www.MostPopularDriver.com
www.MostPopularDriver.com
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Comments from the Peanut Galleryfrom Bob S
If you loved Talledga Nights . . .
There's a new fun DVD coming out, the Dukes of Hazzard prequel...and it's all about the car, GENERAL LEE. The new direct-to-DVD production arm for Warner Bros. Entertainment, and the Warner Bros. Home Entertainment Group revs up the General Lee to deliver */The Dukes of Hazzard: The Beginning/*,*/ /*the direct-to-DVD prequel to the 2005 theatrical release starring Johnny Knoxville, Seann William Scott and Jessica Simpson. Both the R-Rated and Unrated versions of */The/* */Dukes of Hazzard: The Beginning/* are due for release on March 20, 2007/* and */*//*will be available in both the R-rated and Unrated versions at $ 27.99 SRP. Lots of hints that racy will be more important than racing.
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Bits and PiecesRudd to Earnhardt Jr.: Ownership isn't everything
DAVID POOLE
Dale Earnhardt Jr. said Monday that any interest he had in owning a Nextel Cup team would be in owning Dale Earnhardt Inc.
Ricky Rudd, returning to Nextel Cup this year in the No. 88 Fords owned by Robert Yates Racing after a one-year hiatus, was a team owner at one time, too. He was asked if he'd recommend that as a career path.
"I guess I wouldn't totally discourage him," Rudd said. "You learn a lot about people. I think before it's over with you probably have a psychology degree in dealing with people because that's what it's about.
"If he does do that, he definitely needs to surround himself with great people and he needs to delegate. He can't do it himself. If he tries to do it all himself, his racing performance is going suffer and his business performance, too.
There's no way you can step in and understand all of the business aspects as big as these things are today. If he can get the right people to surround himself with, heck, go for it. He can get it done."
Rudd said that what's tough about being a car owner is that getting the right people is only the first part of the challenge.
"Getting the right people is one thing," he said. "Keeping the right people is the toughest part about this business and that's the mistake I made. I figured, `OK, I'm going to be really smart. I'm going recruit all these guys, bring them together and we'll have a nice happy little team. But as you start having more and more success, people come in and raid your organization and take your key people, so you're constantly rebuilding.
"It's not like, `I'm going to go out and hire these people once.' It's a constant struggle to keep good people.
"As long as Dale Jr. is up for those headaches and understands that, and he knows what the challenges are and is going to sit his personal life on the side, then I think he could do it. But a lot of sacrifices have to be made to do that."
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IROC series, still in search of sponsor, won't do DaytonaDAVID POOLE
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – The International Race of Champions series still does not have a sponsor for 2007 and announced Tuesday it will delay the start of its season until one is found.
That means there will be no IROC race during Speedweeks at Daytona.
"We're very disappointed about not making it to Daytona this year," IROC president Jay Signore said. The series has raced here every year since 1990.
"We're working very hard to find a title sponsor," he said. "Our hopes are to find (one) in enough time to be able to have a full four-race season within 2007."
Tony Stewart won the IROC championship in 2006 and promised to give his $1 million prize back to IROC if it would agree to hold one of this year's races at the Eldora Speedway in Rossburg, Ohio, which Stewart owns.
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Jarrett to test COT at Daytona, Allmendinger to test #83: during Speed's coverage of Nextel Cup testing at Daytona, Bob Dilner reported that Dale Jarrett will be testing a third #44 Toyota at Daytona this week, a COT model. ROTY Candidate A.J. Allmendinger, slated to run the #84 Red Bull Toyota in 2007, will share testing of the #83 Red Bull Toyota today with teammate Brian Vickers.(Speed's coverage of Nextel Cup testing at Daytona) ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Kerry to take over testing for Dale Jr. at Daytona: Dale Earnhardt Jr. said he plans on leaving the rest of the testing of the #8 Dale Earnhardt Inc. Chevy to sibling Kerry Earnhardt. Speaking at the NASCAR Jackson Hewitt Preseason Thunder Fan Fest, Earnhardt Jr. seemed satisfied with his two days of testing, which wound up with him on top of the drafting chart Tuesday night. Kerry Earnhardt will test Wednesday. The teams also can stay and do single-car runs during a four-hour session Thursday.(SceneDaily.com)~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
COT Chassis Approved: The first NASCAR-approved Car of Tomorrow chassis didn't clear inspection until the final week of the 2006 season, leaving teams with considerable concern that they'd be ill-prepared for the March 25, 2007 debut [at Bristol]. That particular concern has subsided a bit. The COT still has several question marks, but it seems the chassis issue is all but resolved. Nextel Cup director John Darby said Tuesday that the sanctioning body is closing in on 100 approved COT chassis, and that virtually every team in the series has submitted a viable product. Even Cal Wells, whose team has currently suspended operations, has submitted an approved COT chassis, Darby said. NASCAR inspected five COT chassis Monday and all were approved, Darby said, marking the first day they've had a 100-percent approval rate.(ESPN.com)~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Benny Parsons Health UPDATE 3: Benny Parsons is dealing with a complication stemming from his battle with cancer earlier this year. Parsons missed NASCAR's postseason activities in New York after having breathing difficulty. His doctors performed a scan of Parson's entire body and found no cancer. However, the original tumor found in his left lung was large and the radiation used to treat it was so extensive that the lung is now damaged and not functioning properly. Parsons' right lung is healthy and strong, and doctors believe Parsons' body will eventually adjust to having just one healthy lung. But until then, the former Winston Cup Series champion driver will need to use oxygen to assist his breathing.(Charlotte Observer)(12-15-2006) UPDATE: The lung specialist put Benny in CMC the day after Christmas with blood clots in the right lung and behind his right knee. They have Parsons on complete bed rest and will not allow him to get up at all and Parsons will be at CMC from 5 to 7 days. The doctor has started Parsons on blood thinners to dissolve the clots, which were caused from the aggressive radiation from treating the lung cancer [is still cancer free](12-30-2006) UPDATE 2: Benny Parsons is currently hospitalized in the Intensive Care Unit of the Carolinas Medial Center in Charlotte, NC. Parsons, who became a popular television and radio personality after retiring from driving in 1988, entered the hospital Dec. 26 as the result of complications stemming from his battle with lung cancer. The cancer was diagnosed earlier this year and was recently reported to be in full remission. Parsons' family has been overwhelmed by the outpouring of support from fans and the NASCAR community and they encourage everyone to keep Benny in their thoughts and prayers. Parsons is not allowed visitors at this time, but fans and associates can continue to send him messages, to email Benny, go to BennyParsons.com or goprn.com.(PRN PR)(1-5-2007) UPDATE 3: Benny Parsons remains hospitalized in the intensive care unit of Carolinas Medical Center, but his condition has not changed since the weekend, his family said on Tuesday. Parsons, 65, is listed as critical, but his condition has stabilized. He continues to fight complications brought on by treatments for lung cancer. Parsons is not allowed visitors at this time, but fans and associates can continue to send him messages at bp@....(NASCAR.com)~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Cingular name going away?: The largest wireless service provider in the United States, Cingular Wireless, will soon undergo a name change. This carrier had been jointly owned by AT&T and BellSouth, but last week AT&T finally got Federal permission to acquire BellSouth. As the sole owner of Cingular, AT&T has said in the past that it intends to change the carrier's name to "AT&T Wireless". The re-branding is expected to happen over the next several months. This wireless service provider's headquarters will remain in Atlanta.(cdrinfo.com) MORE: Cingular's sponsorship contract with Richard Childress Racing expires at the end of the 2007 season, but the Cingular name will expire before then, leaving the branding of the #31 car driven by Jeff Burton up in the air, according to a story in this week's NASCAR Scene. With the Bell South-AT&T merger approved Dec. 29, AT&T has announced that it is phasing out the Cingular name and replacing it with AT&T. That's a problem for RCR's #31 team because it cannot change the name on the hood of the car. When Nextel became NASCAR's top series sponsor in 2004, the sponsorship agreement grandfathered in existing team-sponsor telecommunications relationships, but it does not permit any changes. Sprint Nextel's Dean Kessel confirmed that remains the group's position Jan. 3. Cingular spokesman Clay Owen would not speculate about the future of the sponsorship. "We look forward to the start of the 2007 NASCAR season with Jeff Burton behind the wheel of the #31 Cingular Wireless Chevrolet," Owen said in a statement Jan. 5. "It's an exciting time as we begin the early planning stages of transitioning our brand into the AT&T family." Kessel said there is no wiggle room to allow a change. "We grandfathered in the companies that were involved in the sport, and that was our take," he said. "We're not looking to renegotiate anything." Part of the Bell South-AT&T merger includes yellowpages.com. Kessel said Sprint hadn't investigated whether that would be permissible as a possible replacement for the team. Cingular could still sponsor a car in the Busch Series or Craftsman Truck Series.(SceneDaily.com), no word how this effects the sponsorship of the #31 Chevy Jeff Burton drives for Richard Childress Racing.~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
NASCAR Now Daily News Shows to Debut Feb 5th on ESPN2: ESPN2's NASCAR Now, ESPN's first daily program dedicated solely to NASCAR news and information, will debut February 5 at 6:30pm/et. Starting February 18, NASCAR Now will also be aired Sundays at 10:00am/et. Erik Kuselias will serve as NASCAR Now host, giving up his role hosting ESPN Radio's SportsBash (4:00-7:00pm M-F), but maintaining a fill-in role at ESPN Radio. For the week of February 12, NASCAR Now will originate from Daytona International Speedway. NASCAR Now's Daytona coverage will include the Busch Series' Daytona 300 on February 17, the first race on ESPN2. When NASCAR Now returns to Bristol (Connecticut, not Tennessee) Monday, Feb. 19, the show will originate from a high-tech, garage-like, HD studio. "We're looking forward to providing NASCAR fans the latest news, analysis and opinion in the timeliest and best format -- HD -- six days a week," said Jack Obringer, NASCAR Now coordinating producer. "Erik will elicit the best information from our team of NASCAR reporters, experts and insiders." Kuselias will serve as the show's spotter, navigating viewers through 30 minutes of highlights, opinion, debate, analysis, and the latest news from drivers, crew chiefs and insiders both on and off the track. NASCAR Now will also feature Busch Series news and fantasy elements. Additionally, joining the ESPN and ABC NASCAR team will be the front-tire changer for the #8 Budweiser Chevy D.J. Copp, who'll lend pit-crew expertise as a NASCAR Now contributor. Kuselias will be joined by reporters, crew members, drivers and former drivers, allowing NASCAR Now to cover every angle of the sport. The NASCAR Now team will include:Tim Brewer, two-time NASCAR Cup champion crew chief
Tim Cowlishaw, Dallas Morning News NASCAR writer and columnist
Marty Smith, NASCAR.com senior writer
Angelique S. Chengelis, Detroit News NASCAR writer and columnist
D.J. Copp, front tire changer on the #8 Budweiser Chevy
Shannon Spake, reporter for SPEED's NASCAR Nation and Backseat Drivers host
Brad Daugherty, five-time NBA All-Star and former winning NASCAR team owner
NASCAR Now viewers will also benefit from frequent contributions by the ESPN / ABC NASCAR team including Rusty Wallace, Jerry Punch, Andy Petree, Allen Bestwick, Dave Burns, Jamie Little, Mike Massaro, Dale Jarrett andESPN Deportes' NASCAR commentators Andrés Agulla and Alex Pombo.(ESPN PR)
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NASCAR now requires six-point belt harnasses: NASCAR is requiring drivers in its three national series to wear six-point belt harnesses beginning this season. Most drivers already used a six-point device but some still used five-point seat belts. The six-point harness has an extra strap and does not come straight up through the crotch as a five-point. Some of those using the five-point belts have added two straps to make it a seven-point system. Drivers went through their annual safety briefing with NASCAR's safety expert Steve Peterson, General Motors biomedical research scientist Dr. John Melvin and General Motors Racing Safety Manager Tom Gideon on Tuesday morning. Melvin said the change in belt requirements was probably the biggest change for 2007.(SceneDaily.com)~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Online Voting Opened for 2007 NMPA Chex Most Popular Driver Award: Voting for the 2007 NASCAR NMPA ChexR Most Popular Driver Award opened recently as pre-season testing started at Daytona International Speedway. As drivers hit the track for the first time in 2007, race fans that attended the test session had the opportunity to be the first to vote at MostPopularDriver.com. Voting kicked off earlier this year than in years past to give fans as much time as possible to vote for their favorite driver. As the race season begins, fans are encouraged to make their vote count and get their favorite driver in the running for the title. Fans can log on once a day, each day, before voting ends on Monday, November 19, 2007, at 11:59am/ct.(NMPA PR)
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Dodge and Chevy to change models in 2007? UPDATE Yes Beginning in 2007, Dodge and Chevrolet will campaign new models in Nextel Cup competition, Yahoo! Sports has learned. Dodge will run the Avenger, while Chevrolet will run the Impala SS, according to sources with some of NASCAR's manufacturers. The change also was indicated in a technical bulletin distributed to all teams last week. Both Dodge and Chevy soon will announce that they have been given approval by NASCAR to change to the new models, with Chevy's announcement possibly coming as soon as this week. According to the sources, the stock car version has been approved for use by Dodge teams for both the current Nextel Cup car as well as the Car of Tomorrow version, starting next season. The switch from Monte Carlo to Impala could signal the end of the Monte Carlo name from the Chevrolet lineup, as its rear-drive design [NOTE: the Monte Carlo is front wheel driven - verified at the chevrolet.com site] is used on its model alone and at the present time, no replacement is on the drawing boards at GM. However, unlike its Dodge counterpart, the Impala SS will only be used by Chevrolet teams for their Car of Tomorrow, according to sources. Manufacturers and NASCAR also are continuing to move forward with plans to change all of the models used in the Busch Series, perhaps as soon as the 2010 season. That change would put smaller, sportier models into competition, like the retro-designed Ford Mustang, Chevrolet Camaro and Dodge Challenger – as well as the Toyota Solara.(Yahoo Sports)(10-24-2006)NOTE: Chevy already announced it would use the Impala for the COT races and overall when the COT runs all the races [2009]. UPDATE: Chrysler Group announced today that the Dodge Avenger will race at select events in Nextel Cup competition beginning in 2007, joining the Dodge Charger in the Dodge NASCAR racing lineup. The Dodge Avenger race car debuted along side the all-new 2008 Dodge Avenger at the North American International Auto Show [Detroit. The Dodge Avenger is a mid-size sedan that combines bold, aggressive Dodge styling with innovative interior features, high-levels of safety and reliability, exhilarating performance and excellent fuel efficiency of 30 miles per gallon (mpg) (32 mpg based on 2007 EPA fuel economy standards). Dodge drivers #19-Elliott Sadler, of the Dodge Dealers/UAW Evernham Motorsports team, #2-Kurt Busch, of Penske Racing South, and, new to NASCAR, #42-Juan Pablo Montoya of the Chip Ganassi Racing with Felix Sabates team participated in the announcement. "With NASCAR Nextel Cup racing two distinct cars for 2007, it makes perfect sense to have the Avenger join the Charger in the Dodge racing family," said Mike Accavitti, Director - Dodge Motorsports and SRT Product Planning, Chrysler Group. "Dodge is all about delivering bold, capable performance, and that will become even more evident when the Avenger hits NASCAR's race tracks this year." The Dodge Avenger race car is scheduled to make its competition debut at Bristol Motor Speedway on March 25, 2007, as the Dodge entry in NASCAR's "Car of Tomorrow" implementation. During the multi-year phase-in of NASCAR's Car of Tomorrow, the Dodge Charger will continue to race in NASCAR Nextel Cup competition.(clearblue.biz PR)
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Kerry Earnhardt to work at DEIKerry Earnhardt will join Dale Earnhardt Inc. as a full-time employee next week, serving as a liaison between the Nextel Cup and Busch programs and driving in a handful of races.
"Teresa and Richie have been talking to me about coming there for several years," Kerry said of team owner/stepmother Teresa Earnhardt and director of motorsports Richie Gilmore. "I've been thinking about the company a lot in my head. It's hard to give up driving. Now I've come to a point where I realize that doing the things I'm doing is not doing me any good, just riding around and not having any decent finishes."
Kerry, 37, has asked to drive in at least five Busch races and a couple of Cup races for DEI, but said his future with the company doesn't hinge on that.
"I always wish I had the opportunity to be in equipment like this," said Kerry, who was 20th-fastest in the morning practice while Earnhardt Jr. honored previous commitments. "Now if I run three to five Busch races and can be successful with that maybe more things can come to me."
Kerry hopes to fill part of the role of Tony Eury Sr., who has moved from team liaison to crew chief for DEI's third Cup team with Paul Menard.
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Jeff Burton tests COT at Phoenix: #31-Jeff Burton wrapped up a day of testing the COT [Car of Tomorrow] Goodyear Tire test at Phoenix International Raceway on Wednesday. (PRN's Garage Pass Radio Show)~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
NASCAR Hall of Fame and NASCAR Plaza Groundbreaking to Take Place Jan. 25: Plans are finalized for an exciting first event for the one and only NASCAR Hall of Fame and NASCAR Plaza Office Tower. The groundbreaking will be the 'grand finale' of the annual NASCAR Nextel Cup Media Tour hosted by Lowe's Motor Speedway on Thursday, January 25, 2007 at 3:00pm/et at the site of the new NASCAR Hall of Fame and NASCAR Plaza bordered by Brevard, Caldwell, Stonewall and Second streets in Charlotte, NC.(NASCAR PR)~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Biffle to test the COT at the Rock: #16-Greg Biffle will test the COT [Car of Tomorrow] at North Carolina Speedway in Rockingham, NC on Thursday, Jan 18th.(NASCAR Transcript)~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Ginn Racing Names DeHart as Director of Shop Operations: Ginn Racing announced that former championship crew chief Gary DeHart has joined the organization as director of shop operations. DeHart, who spent nearly the past 20 years at Hendrick Motorsports, will oversee shop employees and assist in managing the company's growth during the NASCAR team's expansion, according to Jay Frye, Ginn Racing's CEO and general manager. "With the growth taking place at Ginn Racing, we're excited to have someone as experienced as Gary to help us through this new phase of our racing organization," said Frye. "Hendrick Motorsports has grown over the years in the same way we're working toward and Gary was a part of that growth. His experience will be vital to making the process go smoothly and we're thrilled that he has chosen to join us." Ginn Racing has nearly doubled its employees -- from 85 to 160 -- since Bobby Ginn purchased majority ownership in the team last July. The team, which has operated two full-time Cup programs for the past six seasons, will add a third full-time Cup program [#13 Chevy for Nemechek] in 2007, as well as a full-season Busch program and an aggressive driver development program. As a crew chief at Hendrick motorsports, DeHart teamed with Terry Labonte in 1996 to capture the NASCAR Cup championship. DeHart retired from the crew chief ranks following the 1997 season. He spent the past six years managing shop operations at Hendrick Motorsports and directing the company's safety program.(Ginn Racing PR)
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Stewart/Kahne/Yeley entered in Chili Bowl: Nextel Cup drivers Tony Stewart [who flipped and was injured last year], Kasey Kahne and J.J. Yeley are entered in the 21st Annual O'Reilly Chili Bowl Midget Nationals, Tulsa, OK, held January 9-13, 2007. .A.J. Foyt is the grand marshall of the event, other NASCAR drivers [current/former] include: Billy Boat, Aaron Fike, Cory Kruseman, A.J. Foyt IV, A.J. Fike, P.J. Jones, Jason Leffler, Bobby East and Justin Allgaier.(1-2-2007)
MORE: J.J. Yeley and Interstate Batteries announced they will team up for the 21st annual Chili Bowl in Tulsa, Okla., with the local Interstate All Battery Center retail store sponsoring Yeley's #47 car and Interstate Batteries of Tulsa sponsoring the #18 car owned by Yeley and driven by veteran open-wheel racer Ricky Gaunt.(True Speed Commications PR)
LVMS Responds: Las Vegas Motor Speedway wishes to respond to statements attributed to NASCAR driver Greg Biffle regarding his crash Dec. 7 while he was conducting a Goodyear Tire test at LVMS. "We were surprised and shocked that Mr. Biffle would make - almost five weeks later - critical remarks about the response of our fire and safety team in the moments following his crash," said Chris Powell, LVMS general manager. "His criticism is misguided and has no merit in fact. His recollection of the event is in gross error. Mr. Biffle's crash occurred in the middle of turns one and two. Our safety team was positioned on the inside of the speedway across from the point at which Mr. Biffle's car made contact with the wall. The safety truck rolled toward Mr. Biffle's car, which came to a halt in the middle of the backstretch, as soon as our personnel were assured that the other car on the speedway, driven by Kyle Busch, also had slowed and it was apparent that Mr. Busch was aware of an on-track emergency situation. When the speedway's safety truck reached Mr. Biffle's car, he already had removed his head-and-neck restraint and was attempting to exit his car. The speedway paramedic rushed to Mr. Biffle's aid, but Mr. Biffle assured the paramedic that he (Mr. Biffle) was fine and wanted only to be returned to his team's hauler in the infield. Mr. Biffle was attended to by the paramedic in the ambulance during the ride back to the hauler and received aid for several minutes upon reaching the infield destination. The speedway's paramedic strongly urged Mr. Biffle to consent to being transported to the hospital, but Mr. Biffle steadfastly refused. In fact, Mr. Biffle signed a form saying that he refused being transported and he himself wrote, 'I feel fine' on a release document. Mr. Biffle himself completed that document at 1:25 p.m., several minutes after he had been returned to the team's hauler. Mr. Biffle's statement was written as a response to a demand on the document that requested a reason for his refusing to be transported. Mr. Biffle was tended to by the speedway's paramedic for several minutes at the hauler. He stated firmly that he was unhurt but said he was, in his words, 'just upset because I crashed my best race car.'"
LVMS's Powell added: "At no time since Mr. Biffle's crash on Dec. 7 has he or anyone else from Roush Racing or from NASCAR made statements to me or anyone from our speedway that our safety efforts were lacking. We regret that comments attributed to Mr. Biffle now have been published that seem to say otherwise. Our safety team members have long been cited by NASCAR and other sanctioning bodies as among the best in motorsports, and we are more than confident in their skill level and dedication to the well-being of anyone who comes onto the property of Las Vegas Motor Speedway."(LVMS PR)
MORE: J.J. Yeley and Interstate Batteries announced they will team up for the 21st annual Chili Bowl in Tulsa, Okla., with the local Interstate All Battery Center retail store sponsoring Yeley's #47 car and Interstate Batteries of Tulsa sponsoring the #18 car owned by Yeley and driven by veteran open-wheel racer Ricky Gaunt.(True Speed Commications PR)
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Carl Long 2007 Plans: Plans for 2007 have Carl Long taking on NASCAR with a different approach than years past. Long has decided to focus his efforts in the Busch Series division of NASCAR. Long has already scheduled a few races to run with the Long Brothers Racing team in the coming season, as well as a continued partnership with veteran team owner Stan Hover. The team-up with Hover would have Long and Hover's team geared up to run a limited Busch Series schedule in 2007, most likely starting at either Atlanta or Bristol in the spring. Further details will be available as the new season draws closer. In addition to running in the Busch Series, Carl Long will be running a handful of Hooters Pro Cup and Late Model races in 2007 with Long Brothers Racing.(Carl Long site)~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Biffle says LVMS response team was slow, LVMS responds: #16-Greg Biffle was cruising around Las Vegas Motor Speedway at 204 mph when his tire exploded, sending him crashing into the wall. Knocked unconscious, he dislocated his right shoulder and briefly had blurred vision. This week's three-day testing session at Daytona is the first time Biffle has been back behind the wheel of a race car since the Dec. 7 accident, and he admitted being nervous. Although his shoulder has healed, he wasn't sure what kind of limitations he might have with getting his helmet on, grabbing his seat belts and hooking up the safety devices - all of which require a full range of motion. Biffle said he was sore after Monday's session but felt a little better Tuesday. He raised his arm above his head Wednesday to demonstrate how well he was doing. But he acknowledged Wednesday that the emergency response team that responded to him in Las Vegas was slow and unprepared to treat his injuries. Instead of taking him to the hospital or infield care center, Biffle said he was given a ride back to the team truck. After receiving no medical advice, Biffle said he drove out of the race track and immediately flew home to North Carolina to see a doctor. Once there, he learned the injury to his brain made it dangerous for him to fly. Asked Wednesday if Biffle was competent enough to decline medical attention after being knocked out, a track spokesman said officials had no authority to force him to go to the hospital. The accident destroyed his favorite race car (the one that won the past three season finales at Homestead-Miami Speedway) and limited his activity during NASCAR's brief offseason.(Associated Press)LVMS Responds: Las Vegas Motor Speedway wishes to respond to statements attributed to NASCAR driver Greg Biffle regarding his crash Dec. 7 while he was conducting a Goodyear Tire test at LVMS. "We were surprised and shocked that Mr. Biffle would make - almost five weeks later - critical remarks about the response of our fire and safety team in the moments following his crash," said Chris Powell, LVMS general manager. "His criticism is misguided and has no merit in fact. His recollection of the event is in gross error. Mr. Biffle's crash occurred in the middle of turns one and two. Our safety team was positioned on the inside of the speedway across from the point at which Mr. Biffle's car made contact with the wall. The safety truck rolled toward Mr. Biffle's car, which came to a halt in the middle of the backstretch, as soon as our personnel were assured that the other car on the speedway, driven by Kyle Busch, also had slowed and it was apparent that Mr. Busch was aware of an on-track emergency situation. When the speedway's safety truck reached Mr. Biffle's car, he already had removed his head-and-neck restraint and was attempting to exit his car. The speedway paramedic rushed to Mr. Biffle's aid, but Mr. Biffle assured the paramedic that he (Mr. Biffle) was fine and wanted only to be returned to his team's hauler in the infield. Mr. Biffle was attended to by the paramedic in the ambulance during the ride back to the hauler and received aid for several minutes upon reaching the infield destination. The speedway's paramedic strongly urged Mr. Biffle to consent to being transported to the hospital, but Mr. Biffle steadfastly refused. In fact, Mr. Biffle signed a form saying that he refused being transported and he himself wrote, 'I feel fine' on a release document. Mr. Biffle himself completed that document at 1:25 p.m., several minutes after he had been returned to the team's hauler. Mr. Biffle's statement was written as a response to a demand on the document that requested a reason for his refusing to be transported. Mr. Biffle was tended to by the speedway's paramedic for several minutes at the hauler. He stated firmly that he was unhurt but said he was, in his words, 'just upset because I crashed my best race car.'"
LVMS's Powell added: "At no time since Mr. Biffle's crash on Dec. 7 has he or anyone else from Roush Racing or from NASCAR made statements to me or anyone from our speedway that our safety efforts were lacking. We regret that comments attributed to Mr. Biffle now have been published that seem to say otherwise. Our safety team members have long been cited by NASCAR and other sanctioning bodies as among the best in motorsports, and we are more than confident in their skill level and dedication to the well-being of anyone who comes onto the property of Las Vegas Motor Speedway."(LVMS PR)
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Tom Higgins' Scuffs
SECOND IN A FIVE-PART SERIES ON FEBRUARY RACING AT DAYTONA BEACH, FLA.
Bob Moore, my friend of 40 years and a former Charlotte Observer colleague, was sure of it.
If Mario Andretti didn't wreck on the current lap, he surely would the next.
Bob's assessment was shared widely across the press box at Daytona International Speedway on Feb. 26, 1967, as the Daytona 500 roared on.
"Mario's car was sideways through every turn," Moore recalled this week. "It didn't seem possible that he could keep holding it lap after lap."
This view also held in the pit of the storied Holman & Moody team that was fielding the Ford driven Indy-car star Andretti, an interloper in the NASCAR Series.
"We thought he was a wreck waiting to happen," remembers Waddell Wilson, a Holman & Moody team member who had built the engine powering Andretti's No. 11 Ford. "I have been going to races for more than 50 years, and I have never seen a driving performance like Mario put on that day 40 years ago."
Andretti was just 26 at the time and he still had a distinctive touch of native Italian in his voice.
His English might not have been so good, but there was no doubt about his driving talent.
"If there ever has been a natural, it's Mario," said Wilson. "Everyone could see it."
Wilson, a hall of famer as an engine-builder/ mechanic/crew chief, and now serving as a consultant to JeriCo Transmissions, chuckled at the recollection.
"I had built a bunch of engines for the '67 Daytona 500," he recalls. "I had engines for Fred Lorenzen and Dick Hutcherson.
"At the last minute Ford sent word down from Detroit that they wanted a little bit of tunnel port adjustments for the cars of Freddie and Mario. I made the changes and they looked good on the dyno.
"I loaded the engines on a tractor-trailer and drove through the night from Charlotte to Daytona Beach. After I got there we put the engine assigned to Mario on the dyno again. It durn near immediately lost the cam bearings.
"I had to totally disassemble that engine and redo everything. I drove through the night back to Charlotte to put it back together, then returned to Daytona the next day.
"We got the engine in for practice, and it performed really well.
"Plus, the great old chassis specialist and crew chief Jake Elder and Ralph Moody were working together to get the car set up like Mario wanted it.
"It was radical, what Mario suggested, but they went along with him.
"Mario knew what he was doing. No one could run with him. For his style, he had the perfect race car, and he ran the wheels off of it. He made a statement that day. He was the class of the field."
Andretti took the lead on the 168th of the 200 laps on the fast 2.5-mile track and stayed ahead the rest of the way, averaging 146.926 mph.
Andretti was 22 seconds ahead of nominal teammate Fred Lorenzen when a caution flag slowed the 500 for the final two laps.
"Oh, that caution helped out," conceded Andretti, later a winner of the Indy 500, The Formula One world championship, the Le Mans Endurance Race and the 24 Hours of Daytona. "I was just about out of gas. I pedaled around the final five miles."
"Mario is too gracious," said Wilson. "That Daytona 500 was his as long as he could keep from going completly sideways in the turns, which didn't seem possible and still amazes me to this day."
A few moments of silence then followed during my phone conversation with my boyhood friend Waddell Wilson.
Finally, he spoke with the deepest sincerity:
"It's 40 years later, half of our lifetimes, and I have won several Daytona 500s. None was more enjoyable than that one in '67 with Mario Andretti. I will remember it forever.
"He's as good a person as I have ever worked with in my life, bar none."
COMING NEXT: CALE YARBOROUGH SCORES A VICTORY IN THE 1977 DAYTONA 500.
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Jarrett defends his Toyota Decision, takes a swipe at Ford
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla.Dale Jarrett knows there are some NASCAR fans who are never going to warm up to the idea of him - or anyone else, for that matter - driving a Toyota in Nextel Cup.
"Sure, the parent company is foreign," Jarrett said Wednesday at preseason testing at Daytona International Speedway. "We could get into the argument about where the Ford Fusion is built; every one of them is built in Mexico. The [Chevrolet] Monte Carlos are built in Canada.
'"We could go through all that stuff and see who is right and who is wrong, but there are a lot of Toyotas that are built in the United States. They employ a lot of people. But you're not going to get that across to some people, and I'm not going to try to, and that's not my job or my plight to come out here and try to convince everybody that this is the right thing to do for Toyota to be involved."
Jarrett said he just believes it's the right thing for him to drive the No.44 Toyota owned by Michael Waltrip this year.
"I'm as American as the next person, and I pay my taxes just like everybody else, and I love this country," he said. "But check and see if that TV you're watching our races on was made in the United States."
Jarrett, who won the Daytona 500 twice driving Fords,also took a swipe at Ford saying the No. 2 U.S. automaker's financial problems may be hurting its NASCAR efforts.
"You have to be willing to put those dollars out there, and when the company itself is struggling a little bit, that makes it more difficult," Jarrett, 50, said Wednesday. "From the technology side of it, I do think that they haven't put the effort there that the other manufacturers have."
Jarrett left Ford-supported Robert Yates Racing after last season. Ford spokesman Kevin Kennedy responded by saying the company takes NASCAR very seriously and hasn't backed away from it. Ford had a loss of $6.99 billion U.S. in the first nine months of 2006.
Finally, Jarrett made no apologies for moving to Toyota.
"Toyota is a big part of the U.S. economy," he said, adding that if Americans weren't open to change, "we'd still be watching 12- inch TVs."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~DAYTONA BEACH, Fla.Dale Jarrett knows there are some NASCAR fans who are never going to warm up to the idea of him - or anyone else, for that matter - driving a Toyota in Nextel Cup.
"Sure, the parent company is foreign," Jarrett said Wednesday at preseason testing at Daytona International Speedway. "We could get into the argument about where the Ford Fusion is built; every one of them is built in Mexico. The [Chevrolet] Monte Carlos are built in Canada.
'"We could go through all that stuff and see who is right and who is wrong, but there are a lot of Toyotas that are built in the United States. They employ a lot of people. But you're not going to get that across to some people, and I'm not going to try to, and that's not my job or my plight to come out here and try to convince everybody that this is the right thing to do for Toyota to be involved."
Jarrett said he just believes it's the right thing for him to drive the No.44 Toyota owned by Michael Waltrip this year.
"I'm as American as the next person, and I pay my taxes just like everybody else, and I love this country," he said. "But check and see if that TV you're watching our races on was made in the United States."
Jarrett, who won the Daytona 500 twice driving Fords,also took a swipe at Ford saying the No. 2 U.S. automaker's financial problems may be hurting its NASCAR efforts.
"You have to be willing to put those dollars out there, and when the company itself is struggling a little bit, that makes it more difficult," Jarrett, 50, said Wednesday. "From the technology side of it, I do think that they haven't put the effort there that the other manufacturers have."
Jarrett left Ford-supported Robert Yates Racing after last season. Ford spokesman Kevin Kennedy responded by saying the company takes NASCAR very seriously and hasn't backed away from it. Ford had a loss of $6.99 billion U.S. in the first nine months of 2006.
Finally, Jarrett made no apologies for moving to Toyota.
"Toyota is a big part of the U.S. economy," he said, adding that if Americans weren't open to change, "we'd still be watching 12- inch TVs."
Labonte says challenge remains same: improve
By Mark Aumann, NASCAR.COM
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. -- Imagine trying to put together a 1,000-piece puzzle in the dark. That's similar to what Bobby Labonte faced during the 2006 season.
His first crew chief, Todd Parrott, left the team in August for a job with Robert Yates. His second, Greg Steadman, was a fill-in until the third, Paul Andrews, came over from Kyle Petty's operation a month later.
With so many pieces needing to fit together, it's no surprise that Labonte struggled through his third consecutive winless season, grasping for consistency until the late stages of the year.
"With Paul being the crew chief on the No. 43 car with me, it's great because he's been with Petty Enterprises for a couple of years working with Kyle," Labonte said. "And Billy [Wilburn] working with Kyle, that's a strong program right there in itself.
"Kyle and I have known each other for a long time prior to racing, [but] working with him and last year, there probably wasn't quite the relationship we needed, 100 percent. When Paul came over, it took a little bit but it became stronger by the end of the year."
Labonte could see the chemistry getting better with every race. At Dover, the No. 43 was seventh. At Talladega, Labonte wound up 10th. That was followed by top-five finishes at Lowe's and Martinsville.
Suddenly, it was as if Labonte and his team had finally fit together the puzzle's border -- and could begin to see the hint of an image appearing.
"The chemistry's going to grow with our relationships and the crew chiefs' relationships, so that's going to strengthen our organization because we already see that it was helping toward the end of last year," Labonte said.
That confidence is evident in Jackson Hewitt Preseason Thunder testing at Daytona International Speedway. Both of Labonte's cars appeared to work well during Tuesday afternoon's drafting session.
"The new car didn't roll off the truck very good but we got a little better [Tuesday] afternoon and the older car's not bad, either," he said. "We're not bad. That's a good thing. I feel really good about it."
So will all the pieces fit together in a way that puts the No. 43 back at the front on a consistent basis? Labonte said that's the big challenge in 2007.
"It's true in a lot of ways that the next step is going to be harder," he said. "The crew chief change this year was difficult but we've overcome that. I think that's a plus on our side.
"I hope it's not as hard to get in the top 15 as it was to [get to] 21st. I know there's areas that I made mistakes in, we had some DNFs that we didn't have any control over. That'll get us there without even running any slower or faster. The law of averages got us some last year."
That, and the undeniable fact that Petty Enterprises is trying to break back into an exclusive club. Specifically, teams with more cars and more resources.
"To compete against Hendrick or Roush or Gibbs and Evernham, obviously it's difficult," Labonte said. "It's a big jump and hopefully we can be making those big jumps. We just have to keep making the right decisions as a team to do that.
"It's always a challenge, but I like that challenge."
By Mark Aumann, NASCAR.COM
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. -- Imagine trying to put together a 1,000-piece puzzle in the dark. That's similar to what Bobby Labonte faced during the 2006 season.
His first crew chief, Todd Parrott, left the team in August for a job with Robert Yates. His second, Greg Steadman, was a fill-in until the third, Paul Andrews, came over from Kyle Petty's operation a month later.
With so many pieces needing to fit together, it's no surprise that Labonte struggled through his third consecutive winless season, grasping for consistency until the late stages of the year.
"With Paul being the crew chief on the No. 43 car with me, it's great because he's been with Petty Enterprises for a couple of years working with Kyle," Labonte said. "And Billy [Wilburn] working with Kyle, that's a strong program right there in itself.
"Kyle and I have known each other for a long time prior to racing, [but] working with him and last year, there probably wasn't quite the relationship we needed, 100 percent. When Paul came over, it took a little bit but it became stronger by the end of the year."
Labonte could see the chemistry getting better with every race. At Dover, the No. 43 was seventh. At Talladega, Labonte wound up 10th. That was followed by top-five finishes at Lowe's and Martinsville.
Suddenly, it was as if Labonte and his team had finally fit together the puzzle's border -- and could begin to see the hint of an image appearing.
"The chemistry's going to grow with our relationships and the crew chiefs' relationships, so that's going to strengthen our organization because we already see that it was helping toward the end of last year," Labonte said.
That confidence is evident in Jackson Hewitt Preseason Thunder testing at Daytona International Speedway. Both of Labonte's cars appeared to work well during Tuesday afternoon's drafting session.
"The new car didn't roll off the truck very good but we got a little better [Tuesday] afternoon and the older car's not bad, either," he said. "We're not bad. That's a good thing. I feel really good about it."
So will all the pieces fit together in a way that puts the No. 43 back at the front on a consistent basis? Labonte said that's the big challenge in 2007.
"It's true in a lot of ways that the next step is going to be harder," he said. "The crew chief change this year was difficult but we've overcome that. I think that's a plus on our side.
"I hope it's not as hard to get in the top 15 as it was to [get to] 21st. I know there's areas that I made mistakes in, we had some DNFs that we didn't have any control over. That'll get us there without even running any slower or faster. The law of averages got us some last year."
That, and the undeniable fact that Petty Enterprises is trying to break back into an exclusive club. Specifically, teams with more cars and more resources.
"To compete against Hendrick or Roush or Gibbs and Evernham, obviously it's difficult," Labonte said. "It's a big jump and hopefully we can be making those big jumps. We just have to keep making the right decisions as a team to do that.
"It's always a challenge, but I like that challenge."
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Together again
By Jerry Bonkowski, Yahoo! Sports
By Jerry Bonkowski, Yahoo! Sports
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – Ricky Rudd and Robert Yates parted ways in far from amicable fashion at the end of the 2002 season, and there was only one way that the duo would ever work together again.
When hell froze over.
The dissolution of their racing marriage was almost as ugly as the current battle playing out between Paul McCartney and Heather Mills, with charges and counter-charges of who did what and who was wrong.
"The last half [of 2002] wasn't real pleasant," Rudd said Tuesday during the second day of preseason testing here at Daytona International Speedway. "The unfortunate thing is we were on the verge of probably winning [a] championship.
"We were [competitive] before this thing blew apart. That was the sad thing."
About the only thing Rudd and Yates ultimately agreed on by the end of the '02 season was that their relationship was irreparably broken and they needed to go their separate ways.
But fate had a funny way of continually bringing them back together. In the pits, in the garage, at various racing and social functions, they'd bump into each other more often than Dale Earnhardt Jr. bump-drafts opponents on the race track.
Each time Yates would nod and acknowledge Rudd, ask him how he was doing, and Rudd would do the same in return. They went from not talking to, at the very least, being cordial to each other.
Gradually, as things got bad for Yates' organization and Rudd started to get the itch to return to racing after taking the 2006 season off, the pair began to act like a divorced couple that had second thoughts about whether they did the right thing in walking out on each other.
First, they rekindled their friendship. Then they started talking about a future together again.
And then, a few weeks ago, after both realized life is too short to hold a grudge and that they were truly better together than apart, Rudd and Yates once again took the plunge together, hitching up each one's future with the other.
The reason for reunification was really pretty simple.
"Time has gone by," Rudd said. "I think after leaving and looking from the outside-in, there were a lot of things that were right about [the relationship]. There were a few things wrong, but there were a lot more things that were right.
"I think Robert sat back and evaluated it and he sort of came up with the same conclusion, to let bygones be bygones and let's work for the future. We had something that did click [once], let's see if we can't get it back."
And with that, hell indeed had frozen over.
Not that such reconciliations are completely unheard of.
"You have some pretty bitter spats with your brothers and sisters over the years and say, 'I'm never talking to them again. I won't call 'em. I'm not even going to the Thanksgiving deal get-together we've had for all these years. That's how mad I am,'" Rudd said.
But then, with a smile on his face, Rudd added, "all of a sudden a little time goes by and the next thing you know everything is back to normal again. That's kind of how I put this."
And now Yates and Rudd embark upon at least a two-year marriage (the length of Rudd's new contract), but the 50-year-old driver has no preconceived notions about instant success in the coming season as he replaces Dale Jarrett in the No. 88 car.
"I'm not going to fix it by myself, obviously," he said. "But I feel like I can bring some tools to the team that can help benefit them."
Yet at the same time, Rudd still has hopes of adding to the 23 career Cup wins he already has, and even qualifying for the Chase for the Nextel Cup.
"I would not have taken this job if I thought we were going to go out there to run 10th or 15th or 25th every week," Rudd said. "I know there are a lot of people out there predicting that we won't make the top 30 or whatever it is, but I've always enjoyed the challenge and like proving people they're wrong."
He's already doing that, as Rudd was the fourth fastest (183.872 mph) in Tuesday's morning session and sixth (186.312 mph) in the afternoon period at Daytona.
"I feel like I'm kind of needed here," said Rudd, whose job will also include serving as mentor to teammate David Gilliland. "They've got some work to do and I feel like I can contribute and make it a better race team."
He's already done that by simply forgiving, forgetting and coming back.
Veteran motorsports writer Jerry Bonkowski is Yahoo! Sports' NASCAR columnist.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Time For Teresa To Step Up
By Dave Moody
Dale Earnhardt, Jr. said yesterday that his strained relationship with stepmother Teresa Earnhardt could be a stumbling block in his effort to sign a new contract with Dale Earnhardt, Inc.
Earnhardt Jr.'s contract expires at the end of this season, and comments last month to the Wall Street Journal by Teresa Earnhardt indicated a lack of confidence in her stepson's commitment to winning a NASCAR Nextel Cup championship. In her words, "Right now, the ball's in his court to decide on whether he wants to be a NASCAR driver or whether he wants to be a public personality."
Junior responded to that criticism for the first time yesterday, saying, "Teresa might have been having a bad day or something when she said that. I really don't know where that was coming from. I tried and tried not to comment on it. I was trying not to get involved, but I really didn't appreciate it, whether she was taken out of context or not.
"Everybody has always wondered exactly what my dedication level was, and how passionate about driving I was. This last season I feel like (my determination) was equal to anybody in the sport. I finally got to that level where it matters to me as much as anybody else."
Earnhardt defended his high-profile public image, as well, saying, "I think it's important to be well liked and marketable. It's any owner's dream to have a driver that has succeeded."
He also focused the "lack of commitment" crosshairs back on his stepmother, questioning her attention to the racing side of DEI. "When you go into her office, there are stacks of paper, and most of it is dealing with my father and whatever they're doing with his name and whatnot," he said. "We don't have a lot of sit-downs about racing and the team and ownership and stuff, because that's not at the top of her list."
While making it clear that he hopes to hammer out a new contract with DEI, Earnhardt said one of the key negotiating points will be his future ownership of the team. "I want to be very involved in the company," he said. "Aside from [DEI], I have no interest in ownership."
In order for him to own a portion of Dale Earnhardt, Inc., Teresa Earnhardt will have to relinquish partial control, something she has been extremely reluctant to do in the past.
"There are things involving the company that I want (in) the future, and it's very difficult for everybody to see eye to eye there," said Earnhardt, Jr. "I want to be very involved in the company, (and) I've got to do what I've got to do. The JR Motorsports program is hopefully going to be very successful in the Busch Series, (but) I don't know whether the Cup Series is something I want to involve that company in. That's quite a responsibility, and I personally don't want to put up with it. That's not in my makeup. It's not in my chemistry to run a three-car team in the Cup Series. The only way I see myself being a Cup (owner) is at DEI.
Me and my sister…learned over the last couple of years that we have to do a better job on our end to make a contract as favorable as possible," he said. "That had nothing to do with money. It had a lot to do with the future. I don't want to come here if I can't compete well, and run well. I want the best. I want the best cars, and I want the best people. We see other companies… doing what it takes and making the right moves, and I want to be in the same situation. I know I'm a good enough racecar driver, and I deserve it.
"We're just trying to get it all settled, and make it right."
An important part of that negotiation will be improving the relationship between driver and owner. Clearly, there is much work to be done.
"My relationship with the car owner is definitely going to be a factor in my decision," said Earnhardt yesterday. "I haven't talked to Teresa about what she said (in the Wall Street Journal). I figured if anything needed to be said, she'd call me up and say it. But you know, (our) relationship will definitely factor into my decision."
Earnhardt called the relationship between he and his stepmother merely "cordial" adding, "I don't want to get too personal, but Teresa is my stepmother, and I have a mother at home that I have a very good relationship with. Mine and Teresa's relationship has always been very black and white, very strict and in your face. It is what it is. It ain't a bed of roses.
"The relationship that we have today is the same relationship we had when I was six years old (and) moved into that house with Dad and her. It's always been the same. It hasn't gotten worse over the last couple years. The way I felt about her then is the way I feel about her now."
Teresa Earnhardt has not commented publicly since her Wall Street Journal interview. DEI Director of Motorsports Richie Gilmore said this week that he believes her remarks were taken out of context, saying, "Our main focus, every time we talk to Teresa, (is that) she wants Junior back. That's what's best for the company, that's what's best for Junior and that's what's best for DEI."
Junior clearly is not convinced.
"I don't know if what Richie said is exactly the case," he said yesterday. "Teresa didn't come to the last meeting several months ago, and…a couple of months ago, Teresa decided that it was best …that these other two guys (DEI legal counsel Chad Walper and third-party representative Peter Smith) do the negotiating."
Not exactly an ideal way to warm-up an icy relationship.
Earnhardt, Jr., says his list of demands is fairly simple. "I want to drive races and win championships, and hang it up one day and not have to worry about whether I have enough money in my retirement fund," he said. "Just don't make everything a hassle, don't make everything a pain, and you'll have my dedication and everything else you need as far as a driver goes."
Teresa Earnhardt may have fired the first salvo, but the ball is now unquestionably in her court. If she's indeed the astute businesswomen she is widely acknowledged to be, she'll sit down face-to-face with her stepson and prized employee, setting the record straight and giving him the ownership share in DEI that her late husband intended. She'll give him the attention and support he needs to win races and championships in the years to come, and she'll accept the fact that as a star driver on NASCAR's top circuit (not to mention the son of its greatest fallen champion), he does not have the option of becoming the semi-recluse she has apparently chosen to be.
Words like "dedication" and "commitment" carry a lot of weight in this sport. They also cut both ways.
By Dave Moody
Dale Earnhardt, Jr. said yesterday that his strained relationship with stepmother Teresa Earnhardt could be a stumbling block in his effort to sign a new contract with Dale Earnhardt, Inc.
Earnhardt Jr.'s contract expires at the end of this season, and comments last month to the Wall Street Journal by Teresa Earnhardt indicated a lack of confidence in her stepson's commitment to winning a NASCAR Nextel Cup championship. In her words, "Right now, the ball's in his court to decide on whether he wants to be a NASCAR driver or whether he wants to be a public personality."
Junior responded to that criticism for the first time yesterday, saying, "Teresa might have been having a bad day or something when she said that. I really don't know where that was coming from. I tried and tried not to comment on it. I was trying not to get involved, but I really didn't appreciate it, whether she was taken out of context or not.
"Everybody has always wondered exactly what my dedication level was, and how passionate about driving I was. This last season I feel like (my determination) was equal to anybody in the sport. I finally got to that level where it matters to me as much as anybody else."
Earnhardt defended his high-profile public image, as well, saying, "I think it's important to be well liked and marketable. It's any owner's dream to have a driver that has succeeded."
He also focused the "lack of commitment" crosshairs back on his stepmother, questioning her attention to the racing side of DEI. "When you go into her office, there are stacks of paper, and most of it is dealing with my father and whatever they're doing with his name and whatnot," he said. "We don't have a lot of sit-downs about racing and the team and ownership and stuff, because that's not at the top of her list."
While making it clear that he hopes to hammer out a new contract with DEI, Earnhardt said one of the key negotiating points will be his future ownership of the team. "I want to be very involved in the company," he said. "Aside from [DEI], I have no interest in ownership."
In order for him to own a portion of Dale Earnhardt, Inc., Teresa Earnhardt will have to relinquish partial control, something she has been extremely reluctant to do in the past.
"There are things involving the company that I want (in) the future, and it's very difficult for everybody to see eye to eye there," said Earnhardt, Jr. "I want to be very involved in the company, (and) I've got to do what I've got to do. The JR Motorsports program is hopefully going to be very successful in the Busch Series, (but) I don't know whether the Cup Series is something I want to involve that company in. That's quite a responsibility, and I personally don't want to put up with it. That's not in my makeup. It's not in my chemistry to run a three-car team in the Cup Series. The only way I see myself being a Cup (owner) is at DEI.
Me and my sister…learned over the last couple of years that we have to do a better job on our end to make a contract as favorable as possible," he said. "That had nothing to do with money. It had a lot to do with the future. I don't want to come here if I can't compete well, and run well. I want the best. I want the best cars, and I want the best people. We see other companies… doing what it takes and making the right moves, and I want to be in the same situation. I know I'm a good enough racecar driver, and I deserve it.
"We're just trying to get it all settled, and make it right."
An important part of that negotiation will be improving the relationship between driver and owner. Clearly, there is much work to be done.
"My relationship with the car owner is definitely going to be a factor in my decision," said Earnhardt yesterday. "I haven't talked to Teresa about what she said (in the Wall Street Journal). I figured if anything needed to be said, she'd call me up and say it. But you know, (our) relationship will definitely factor into my decision."
Earnhardt called the relationship between he and his stepmother merely "cordial" adding, "I don't want to get too personal, but Teresa is my stepmother, and I have a mother at home that I have a very good relationship with. Mine and Teresa's relationship has always been very black and white, very strict and in your face. It is what it is. It ain't a bed of roses.
"The relationship that we have today is the same relationship we had when I was six years old (and) moved into that house with Dad and her. It's always been the same. It hasn't gotten worse over the last couple years. The way I felt about her then is the way I feel about her now."
Teresa Earnhardt has not commented publicly since her Wall Street Journal interview. DEI Director of Motorsports Richie Gilmore said this week that he believes her remarks were taken out of context, saying, "Our main focus, every time we talk to Teresa, (is that) she wants Junior back. That's what's best for the company, that's what's best for Junior and that's what's best for DEI."
Junior clearly is not convinced.
"I don't know if what Richie said is exactly the case," he said yesterday. "Teresa didn't come to the last meeting several months ago, and…a couple of months ago, Teresa decided that it was best …that these other two guys (DEI legal counsel Chad Walper and third-party representative Peter Smith) do the negotiating."
Not exactly an ideal way to warm-up an icy relationship.
Earnhardt, Jr., says his list of demands is fairly simple. "I want to drive races and win championships, and hang it up one day and not have to worry about whether I have enough money in my retirement fund," he said. "Just don't make everything a hassle, don't make everything a pain, and you'll have my dedication and everything else you need as far as a driver goes."
Teresa Earnhardt may have fired the first salvo, but the ball is now unquestionably in her court. If she's indeed the astute businesswomen she is widely acknowledged to be, she'll sit down face-to-face with her stepson and prized employee, setting the record straight and giving him the ownership share in DEI that her late husband intended. She'll give him the attention and support he needs to win races and championships in the years to come, and she'll accept the fact that as a star driver on NASCAR's top circuit (not to mention the son of its greatest fallen champion), he does not have the option of becoming the semi-recluse she has apparently chosen to be.
Words like "dedication" and "commitment" carry a lot of weight in this sport. They also cut both ways.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"Championships have always driven me to win races. That 3 car pulling into the track would cause people to look around and wonder what we were doing, to see how to beat us."
-Dale Earnhardt
-Dale Earnhardt
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Well, that's all for today. Until the next time, I remain,Your
Life should NOT be a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in an attractive and well preserved body, but rather to skid in sideways, chocolate in one hand, wine in the other, body thoroughly used up, totally worn out and screaming "WOO HOO what a ride!"
"Don't come here and grumble about going too fast. Get the hell out of the race car if you've got feathers on your legs or butt. Put a kerosene rag around your ankles so the ants wins't climb up there and eat that candy ass." - Dale Earnhardt – 1998
"It's nothin' personal, it's just racin'
-Dale Earnhardt Sr.
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