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Happy Tuesday.
Today In Nascar History
May 13, 1958:
Junior Johnson wins the Wilkes County 160 at North Wilkesboro (N.C.) Speedway for his first victory on a paved track. It is his sixth of 50 NASCAR victories. Twenty-three of those wins come at dirt tracks.
Number of the Day
9: Races in which Dale Earnhardt Jr. has led laps, the most in the Sprint Cup Series this season. Through 11 races, Earnhardt has failed to lead a lap
only at Fontana and Bristol. Kyle Busch is next with eight.
It’s in the squeal of rubber, the scream of the engine and the roar of humanity seeing one of its own triumph against the odds. It’s there in a last lap duel. Joyous as Victory Lane, devastating as hitting the rail. Here, life lessons are learnt and man it’s as obvious as the number of the car in pole position.
It’s simple – NASCAR born in America.
Most Popular Driver…
Vote here!
Quote of the Year
"NASCAR ain't doing nothing I like right now." "I don't like the rules they are doing...you can bump somebody and they want to fine you for it." Pearson saw the look on Carl Edwards face and made sure to say he knew that Edwards could not speak-up or he would get fined.
--David Pearson
In one weekend, Kyle supplanted Ulysses S. Grant as "the most-hated person in the history of Richmond."
--Mark Aumann In his Power Rankings comments
Quote of the Day
“The car was really tight throughout the night between Turns 3 and 4. The car got real hot; there was a problem with the interior cooling system and we
had to come in and pit to try and cool me off. I just appreciate the opportunity that the Ganassi team gave me this weekend.”
--Sterling Marlin, finished 34th
Comments from the Peanut Gallery
From Chip
Dear NASCAR Momma: Re: Car & Driver article- Yes it is a wonderful thing that Toyota has created so many new jobs in this country but like the well known radio personality Paul Harvey says "now here's the rest of the story" The article doesn't mention firstly that these are non-union lower wage jobs. Secondly their end result effect has been thousands and thousands of higher paying retirement funded jobs have been lost and will probably never return to this country. We have become our own worst enemy when it comes to brand loyalty, price tag comparison, fuel economy and a whole host of other things where blame could be placed by Americans whether we be a stock holder in any of these companies who moved their manufacturing overseas or offshore for whatever reasons, or one of the many displaced by one of many moves which is now referred to as joining the global economy. Please look at the history of the auto industry
in this country and follow what has happened and I am confident that you will see more than just the picture painted in the article you quote. Before I rant any furthur let me say that I am a GM retiree with 30 years of service, which means that I lived through some of the most challenging economic times that companies face and have not only seen the issues that came as a result of foreign competition but literally felt them. Strangely enough now we have cars with American name plates that have as much foreign content as the foreign cars have claim to American content. In conclusion it appears that there is no clear position or answer to any of this other than to say welcome to the big wide global economic world. The only remaining question is how in heck can we buy American to save America? Just my take,
Thanks-Chip
Ok…so I've held my tongue long enough on the issue of Toyotas joining NASCAR. No where does it say that foreign autos can or can not run. The acronym doesn't even implied AMERICA… National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing. I wish you folks out there what just get used to it and move on with your life! The Toyotas are not going away. Personally, I don't give a rat's behind what my driver is in (Tony Stewart), just as long as he
drives!
Mama… I love your newsletter… Keep up the good work!!
Sorry but this doesn't classify as any kind of b.s. since it comes from a well known source such as Car and Driver. I'm all for supporting US-made products and try my hardest to do so!
Lisa
WELL SAID Lisa.
I too support US-made. I just bought a Pontiac G6 GXP. For years I have said when Detroit builds a car that I feel is as good as foreign cars I will buy one. Well I feel GM did and I did. (Alfa Romeo Owner)
Alfa2ltr, Darrel
From HM
to Lisa
Profits from Toyotas go to Japan profits from GM Chrysler and Ford go to U.S. regardless of where they are made. Are you proud of Toyota for making 1.4 million vehicles? Taking it away from Americans The U.S. has protected Japan for 63 years. The
japs didn't have use any money for armed forces. WE rebuilt their factories better than ours, sold them forest products at a loss to taxpayers. They bought out Firestone factories changed the name to Bridgestone and cut the workers pay in half. Yes Toyota means B.S. to me regardless of your magazine facts. I'll bet you drive a Toyota with Bridgestone tires and probably voted for Obama.
H.M. in TEXAS where the aliens are getting thicker than flies
From Lou
Hi Momma,
I, personally, do respect your opinion and your right to it.
What gets me is the people doing the complaining about Toyota and it being a foreign manufacturer should stop and think. There is very little that is 100% American anymore. Thanks to the conservation groups most of the raw materials used in manufacturing have to be imported now and that does include the oil used to make gasoline. Although SUNOCO, the official fuel of NASCAR, has offices in Philadelphia, Pa
SUNOCO is a trademark owned by Suncor Energy Inc. whose home office is based in Toronto, Ontario Canada. Imagine that! And all the parts used to put the race cars together, where are they made? Makes you wonder, doesn't it.
What was an All-American sport has become international.
Lou Elliott
From Smilin Jack
Momma, I haven't even read beyond your Toyota 'rant' yet. I'm all with you about the Toyota thing. I'd like for us not to have to put up with this junk any more. It has nothing to do with the racing part of the equation. Where were you objectors when the Toyota thing began years ago? Start complaining about "Free Pass" and things that actually affect the out come of the race. Also, think about a team owner/driver playing demo-derby with one of his fellow drivers at over 150 mph!
Smilin' Jack
From My Mom
Well said Sandy and we agree with you 100%. If we could buy everything from the good old USA we would. We do drive American made cars and have had very good luck with them. For example: We drove a 1990 Buick Le Sabre home from Florida with over 190,000 miles on it and it is still running, with our daughter behind the wheel and she just drove it to
South Texas and back with 205,000 miles on it without as much as a whimper. I'm sure there are foreign cars out there that do the same but we still prefer American made.
Yep, and I’m that daughter! That Buick rode like a dream, and did everything we asked of it and more. We went to San Antonio, then up to Fort Worth, where we stopped at Texas Motor Speedway, over to Quanah, then on home to good old Loveland, CO. I also own a 1997 Dodge Intrepid that only has 147,000 miles on it.
The A/C is gone, we have a leaking transmission, the engine light won’t go off (even though I’ve taken it to a mechanic who can’t find what is wrong) and it runs like it has 300,000 miles on it. I’ll take that Buick any day over my “newer” car!
Bits and Pieces
Terry Labonte to Drive for Petty: Terry Labonte will be a teammate to his brother Bobby at Petty Enterprises starting next month,
pending sponsor approval. Terry (and Chad McCumbee) will drive the #45 when Kyle Petty gets out for the summer. Petty is scheduled to compete in the Coca-Cola 600 and then miss the next seven races (one for his daughter's wedding and the other six to work as an analyst for TNT). McCumbee likely will drive at Dover and Chicago. Terry Labonte likely will drive in the other five races. Labonte's addition is key for Petty Enterprises because the #45 car is not in the top 35 in car owner points. Labonte's second of his two titles came in 1996 -- that makes him the most recent champion not in the top 35 since Bill Elliott's title came in 1988. Thus, Labonte would be guaranteed a starting spot each time he starts, while the Wood Brothers would lose that even with Elliott in the seat. This would be the second time the Labonte brothers have run as teammates. Terry Labonte drove in five races for Joe Gibbs Racing in 2005 when Bobby Labonte was there. Terry Labonte ranks fourth in
series history with 851 career starts. He won 22 races.(Roanoke Times)
Burton still has run every lap: UPDATE: #31-Jeff Burton is the lone Sprint Cup driver who has completed every lap (3,297) of competition this season. Burton also has completed 77.5% of the total laps (2,555 of 3,297) running in the top 15 and leads all drivers with the most runs on the lead lap (3,277 of 3,297).(RCR) UPDATE: Burton completed all 367
laps at Darlington Saturday night.
John Andretti gets Indy 500 ride: John Andretti will attempt to qualify for his ninth Indianapolis 500 in the #24 Roth Racing car. Andretti, who started 24th and finished 30th last year in a Panther Racing-prepared car in his first Indy 500 since 1994, will replace Jay Howard in the seat for the race. Howard, the 2006 Firestone Indy Lights champion, passed the Rookie Orientation Program earlier in the week and practiced May 6. He has
finishes of 22nd, 14th, 13th and 13th in IndyCar Series races this season. "As a result of the days lost due to weather, and losing our chief engineer (David Cripps) days before the start of this month, we found ourselves behind the 8-ball," team president Margaret Roth said. "John brings with him a wealth of experience, which can help us build two competitive cars for the 500. Jay will be back at Milwaukee. He has our full support. He's a great driver."
"I want to feel it out a little bit, and see what we can do," Andretti said on the way to pit lane for the tail end of practice preceding qualifications for the first 11 spots in the 33-car field. He topped 220 mph on three laps. Team owner-driver Marty Roth will attempt to qualify for his fourth 500-Mile Race in the #25 car. He has a high finish of 24th in 2004.(Roth Racing), Andretti skipped Darlington and Lowe's testing to find an Indy 500 ride and Jeff Green attempted and failed to get the #34 Chevy into the race at Darlington.
"I want to feel it out a little bit, and see what we can do," Andretti said on the way to pit lane for the tail end of practice preceding qualifications for the first 11 spots in the 33-car field. He topped 220 mph on three laps. Team owner-driver Marty Roth will attempt to qualify for his fourth 500-Mile Race in the #25 car. He has a high finish of 24th in 2004.(Roth Racing), Andretti skipped Darlington and Lowe's testing to find an Indy 500 ride and Jeff Green attempted and failed to get the #34 Chevy into the race at Darlington.
Problems with #99 rear housing? #24-Jeff Gordon would like NASCAR to look into the way Roush Fenway Racing is adjusting the rear housing on Carl Edwards' #99 Ford to create a competitive advantage. Edwards has won three times on 1.5-mile tracks this season and was in position to win a fourth before having late engine problems. Many in the garage said during testing at Lowe's Motor Speedway earlier this week that the yaw created -- Edwards' car appears to be
going sideways on the straightaway, creating more side force heading into the turns -- by turning the rear housing to the right gives Edwards a competitive advantage. " ... NASCAR knows it's happening," Gordon said on Friday at Darlington Raceway. "They are the ones that see the cars come through inspection. They see it. When cars can't even get on the scales because they're running sideways, it's something they need to address." Series director John Darby said there are no plans to further police the rear housing adjustment, noting NASCAR already has a rule restricting more than a quarter-inch change plus or minus. He added that Hendrick Motorsports, for which Gordon drives, was the first to experiment with the rear-housing adjustment on the new car and that Edwards' #99 team was one of the last. "They [complain] when we've got too many rules and then they want us to create more," Darby said of teams in general. "The process is so simple. There are limits on how far they
can go."(full story at ESPN.com)
Franchitti still nursing injury, unsure of when he'll return
By Jeff Gluck
DARLINGTON, S.C. – Dario Franchitti continues to heal from the broken left ankle he sustained during a Nationwide Series race at Talladega last month, with no firm timetable for his return.
“There’s not really been any change,” Franchitti said Saturday. “I’m just waiting for the swelling to go down and the pain to go away, and for the fracture to heal. When those things go away, I’ll be able to drive the car again.”
Sterling Marlin drove Chip Ganassi Racing’s No. 40 car at Darlington, and could do so again at Charlotte if Franchitti is not ready.
Franchitti has been monitoring the amount of pressure he puts on his ankle. After a couple hours of walking around, Franchitti elevates his leg and uses a boot that circulates cold water through it to alleviate the swelling.
He had considered testing at Lowe’s Motor Speedway, but the doctor nixed that idea. Franchitti obliged, remembering how he rushed back from injuries earlier in his career to mixed results.
“I’ve done that two or three times in my career and probably regretted it in the long run,” he said. “Especially as new as all this is to me, I’ve got to be 100 percent before I get back in the
car.”
Franchitti said he realized that competing for rookie of the year honors in both the Cup and Nationwide series would now be a longshot, but that healing his ankle fully was best for his future.
He recently traveled to Indianapolis – not to ponder racing in the Indy 500, where he is the
reigning champion, but to get fitted for a carbon fiber brace that supports his ankle. He’ll use the brace when he returns to the car.
Humpy to make All-Star picks Wed: On Wed, May 14th promoter extraordinaire "Humpy" Wheeler will utilize four-legged friends from the canine community to make his annual prediction of who will win the NASCAR Sprint All-Star Race at Lowe's Motor Speedway. Although
Wheeler has "barked" up the wrong tree with his last two picks, he has correctly called 10 of the past 19 winners of NASCAR's annual all-star event and promises a purebred prediction for 2008.(LMS PR)
Nemechek's Mom OK: Martha Nemechek, Joe's mother [#78-Joe Nemechek], was not able to take part in Mother's Day ceremonies at Darlington Raceway on Saturday night as she had knee surgery Saturday morning. She is doing fine and
thanks everyone for the well wishes.(Furniture Row Racing)
Darlington overnight TV Ratings up 8%
CSD Staff
CSD Staff
Saturday night’s Sprint Cup racing from Darlington earned FOX a 4.3/8 share. That’s an +8% gain over last year's 4.0/8 for the Darlington race, which ran on Sunday afternoon due to rain. FOX's 4.3/8 for the night was good enough to narrowly win the Primetime battle. CBS was second with a 4.2/8. For the season-to-date, NASCAR on Fox is averaging a 5.4/11 in the overnights, a tenth better than last year's 5.3/11.
Bank of
America's First-Ever NASCAR-Themed TV Ad: Bank of America, the Official Bank of NASCAR, will rev up the excitement surrounding the 2008 racing season with the debut of the company's first-ever NASCAR-themed television commercial, which celebrates the passion fans have for their favorite drivers and promotes the bank's popular My Expression NASCAR Banking program. Created by BBDO New York, the 30 second spot is titled "Who's Your Driver?" and features footage of a number of top Sprint Cup Series drivers whose likenesses are available on NASCAR Banking check cards and credit cards. Dale Earnhardt Jr., Jeff Gordon, Kasey Kahne, Juan Pablo Montoya and Martin Truex Jr., are featured in the new ad and are among the most popular selling drivers featured in the bank's NASCAR Banking products. In addition to actual racing footage, the ad features fans demonstrating their passion for their
favorite drivers at the racetrack and in their homes. One particular sequence captures a family of NASCAR fans with differing driver loyalties with a living room equally divided with one side supporting Dale Earnhardt Jr. and the other Jeff Gordon. The new TV ad will begin airing this week in Charlotte, with plans to run in Atlanta and Dallas in conjunction with upcoming Sprint Cup Series races. The ad will be complemented by print, radio, online and point-of-sale advertising, and is scheduled to air nationally on the Speed Channel and ESPN/ABC starting in July, running throughout the end of the racing season.(Bank of America and click here to view the ad)
Jarrett's to be enshrined In LMS's Court of Legends: Ned and Dale Jarrett, one of only two father-and-son combinations to claim championships in NASCAR's premier division, will be simultaneously inducted into Lowe's Motor Speedway's Court of Legends on Tuesday, May 13 at 2:00pm/et. H.A. "Humpy" Wheeler, president and general manager of the 1.5-mile superspeedway, will honor the two North Carolina natives who will have their signatures, footprints and handprints immortalized in concrete near the track's main entrance. Officials of Lowe's Motor Speedway and UPS will also announce the winner who will ride-along with Dale
Jarrett in the UPS truck during pre-race ceremonies for the NASCAR Sprint All-Star Race on Saturday night, May 17. The $1 million-to-win event will be Jarrett's final NASCAR start.(LMS)
Remembering Adam: a Legacy Beyond the Track
By Greg Engle, Editor Cup Scene Daily
By Greg Engle, Editor Cup Scene Daily
It was eight years ago Monday that one of NASCAR’s most famous families lost their hope for the future, a mother and father lost a son and NASCAR fans lost a driver with the potential to become a superstar.
In 2000 Adam Petty, 19, the
fourth-generation driver died in a crash during practice for the Busch 200 at New Hampshire International Speedway.
In July of that year, Kenny Irwin Jr. lost his life at the same track. Then truck series driver died Tony Roper after an accident at Texas Motor Speedway. Less than a year after losing Adam, Dale Earnhardt senior was killed in the Daytona 500.
Those were dark days in the sport; maybe its darkest. Losing Adam
put the NASCAR Nation in a period of mourning that was still very much evident when Earnhardt was killed the following February and took a long time to heal.
The tragedies spurred NASCAR to begin the process to make racing safer. Some of NASCAR’s most vocal critics charged that NASCAR had done too little too late and should have done something sooner, maybe in time to prevent the deaths of three of their drivers. Whether that’s true of not NASCAR did move forward opening the Research and Development Center and studying ways to prevent death and serious injury to their drivers.
One of the first and perhaps the greatest innovation from the loss of the drivers was the introduction of the HANS device. The device was made mandatory but not until ARCA driver Blaise Alexander lost his life as Lowe’s Motor Speedway in October 2001.
The safety innovations since 2000 and 2001, including SAFER barriers, culminated in the current racecar formally known as the car of tomorrow. Now eight years after Adam’s loss the chances of the same thing have been greatly reduced.
The Petty organization continued to race, father Kyle raced the car that would have been his son’s, and they acquired champion Bobby Labonte in 2005. But the team has never really enjoyed the success of their heyday when Kyle’s father Richard earned 200 wins and seven driver championships. Some say they never will.
But the legacy from Adam’s loss isn’t just as part of a group of drivers whose deaths made racing safer. His legacy goes far beyond the racetrack.
Prior to his loss, Adam had put forth the idea of a camp for kids.
Shortly before that sad day in New Hampshire, the family partnered with Paul Newman and the Hole in the Wall Gang to develop the Victory Junction Gang camp. That partnership continued after Adam was killed and in 2004, on Fathers Day, the camp welcomed its first children.
Since then the camp has hosted thousands of children with chronic ailments who most often have very little joy in their lives. The camp matches kids with similar ailments and allows them to see that they aren’t alone. It also allows them to just be kids, not someone with a disease.
Had Adam lived the camp would have still been built, it was his idea, but his parents Kyle and Patty channeled their grief into motivation and turned the camp into a living memorial for their son. They developed it into one of
the highest profile charities in NASCAR.
Kenny Irwin’s family founded their own camp in his honor, The Dare To Dream Camp.
Most of the children who attend these camps weren’t born when the drivers were around, and they may not even care much for NASCAR.
But they serve as a living reminder that tragedies don’t always have to end a chapter in life but can begin a whole brand new book.
Rewind | Gordon and Earnhardt Jr. aren't where they want to be yet
DAVID POOLE and JIM UTTER/The Charlotte Observer
Playing back some of the Darlington race weekend:
REAR-VIEW MIRROR
• You do not have to like Kyle Busch, but what he has done in NASCAR's top three series is remarkable. If you want to boo him until you cough up a lung that's completely your right. But I don't care how much you dislike Busch or anybody else, if you believe it's appropriate to throw anything from the grandstand you need to spend some serious time considering what's wrong with you and your life. And you don't have business being out among decent folks.
• Remember when everybody was asking how teams were going to beat Roush Fenway Racing after its good start this year? Kyle Busch and Joe Gibbs Racing might keep up this roll they've got going now, but history is fairly foursquare against it.
• It takes a special kind of genius to plot traffic flow at a race track. Darlington spent a lot of money to build a spiffy new tunnel under turns 3 and 4. It's really nice. But now that it's open, the track decided it'd
be a fine idea to close off pretty much every way in and out of the infield it used to have. This, as you might imagine, caused no small amount of automotive constipation following Saturday's festivities.
PIT STOPS
Not quite - once again - for
Earnhardt Jr.
Dale Earnhardt Jr. wound up fourth in the Dodge 500 Saturday night, his fourth top-five and eighth top-10 finish of the season. But he still hasn't won in his No. 88 Chevrolet.
"We had a real good car all weekend," said Earnhardt Jr., who started second and led four times for 35 laps in the race won by Kyle Busch. "But when the race
started I knew we weren't exactly like we had been."
Earnhardt Jr. said after the race his crew told him they'd changed an lower A-frame.
"That might have changed how the car rolled over and traveled," he said. "We were off a little bit all night. ... But when you are off and you run fourth I guess you've got to be happy."
Earnhardt Jr. said he was disappointed in how the race played out.
"Track position was everything," he said. "You could not pass, period. That was the worst I've ever seen it as far as being able to pass."
Ragan wiggles his way into the top 12
At one point this season David Ragan said he spent time worrying about being in the top 35 in owner points to make sure he was locked into the race each week. Now, he can focus on another measuring stick.
Ragan's fifth-place finish Saturday night moved the second-year dirver into the top 12 - the cutoff to make the Chase for the Sprint Cup - for the first time this late in the season.
"It's something to talk about and something to enjoy, but guess what?" Ragan said. "In two more weeks everybody is going to forget about this race and focus on the next one. It can easily slip back and forth; this points race is pretty tight."
Through 11 races, Ragan has already matched his totals for top fives (two) and top 10s (three) from his rookie season last year. He is two points ahead of 13th-place Ryan Newman.
"To do this at Darlington is something special," Ragan said. "When you're running laps out there, you think about the guys who made this place famous like Cale Yarborough and (Bill) Elliott and David Pearson and it makes you realize how lucky we are to get to do this."
Gordon frustrated with top-five finish
Jeff Gordon may have matched his season's best third-place finish but remains frustrated with his inability to battle for race wins.
"I am happy that we are third but also frustrated because of how far off we are from winning races right now," Gordon said. "We did the tire test here at Darlington and (Kyle Busch) just kicked everybody's tails tonight. So, we have some work to do. Hopefully, we can get a little closer to them at Charlotte."
Gordon said he doesn't know where Busch was beating him Saturday night, but he knows what wasn't happening.
"It wasn't aerodynamics," Gordon said, "because Kyle hit the wall. I can't tell you how many times he tried to give this race away by slamming the wall. His right side was destroyed."
Gordon's finish moved him three spots, to 10th in the Sprint Cup standings, but he is just 62 points ahead of 13th.
Burton keeps consistency going
Jeff Burton is second in the Sprint Cup standings, 79 points behind leader Kyle Busch, after finishing 10th on the lead lap at Darlington. Burton has completed every lap in all 11 Cup races this year and his worst finish so far is 13th.
"Toward the last third of the race, I drove way more aggressively and my car got a lot better, too," he said. "We didn't hit anything all night and that was a good thing."
Burton said his team still has work to do if it wants to keep pace with Busch's team.
"They are just in a league of their own," Burton said. "That doesn't surprise me when you look at preseason testing. They were ridiculous fast. ...We've just got work to do. We've just got to keep working and I think we can get there, I really do. We're not there now. But I think we can get there."
Kenseth happy to get to the finish
Matt Kenseth wasn't just happy to finish sixth Saturday night, he was also just happy to finish the race with his No. 17 Ford in one piece and not be in the garage.
"We've been running so terrible and having such bad luck," he said. "The only little frustrating (thing) is the racing was kind of weird at the end. Everybody was trying to stretch (their gas) on that last five laps, so that was kind of weird. Other than that, it was good. It was a great
finish."
In his previous three races, Kenseth had not finished better than 38th and had fallen from 13th to 22nd in points. He moved up to 20th with Saturday's finish.
"Everything pretty much went right for a change," Kenseth said.
Kvapil a surprise in the top 10
Not only did Travis Kvapil earn his second top-10 finish in the past three races, but at one point in Saturday night's race he was running fourth and looked ready to challenge for the lead.
"I really thought we had a chance to win there for a while, but we got behind with the adjustments," said Kvapil, in his first season driving the No. 28 Ford for Yates Racing. "We didn't make many adjustments and everybody else got better and we got tighter.
"It took two or three more (pit) stops to get the car right, but by then we had fallen back outside the top 10 and had to race hard to get back up there."
Kvapil's eighth-place finish - he finished sixth two weeks ago at Talladega, Ala. - moved him to 18th in points, only 111 out of the top 12.
Marlin loses his cool - literally
Sterling Marlin's return to Chip Ganassi Racing with Felix Sabates this weekend turned out to be a little more than he bargained for.
Marlin, who earned Ganassi's first win in the Sprint Cup Series in 2001, returned to drive the organization's No. 40 Dodge in place of Dario Franchitti, who suffered an ankle injury in a wreck at Talladega.
During Saturday night's race, Marlin needed cold rags and oxygen during his pit stops after the interior cooling system of the car developed problems. He ended up 34th.
KEY MOMENTS
Lap 2 - Tony Stewart's Toyota gets pinched into the outside wall by Elliott Sadler's Dodge. Stewart loses two laps before the damage is repaired enough for him to continue. Stewart's car was eventually fast again, but it was way too little after this mess.
Lap 145 - Kyle Busch restarts the race in 23rd position after having to come back to pit road because of a missing lug nut on
one of his rear wheels. Something apparently is wrong with the glue his team used to stick the lug nuts to the rims of new tires before the race.
Lap 171 - Greg Biffle comes to pit road with one, maybe two problems. He thinks there's a problem with the engine in his Ford that has been in or near the lead all night, but this time his crew fixes a flat tire and gets him back on the track.
Lap 234 - Biffle's car comes back to pit road, and this time it's not just a tire. There's smoke coming from the exhaust pipes and the crew goes under the hood and then to the garage. For a while it seemed Biffle might very well win this race. Instead, he finishes last.
Lap 270 - Busch completes his rally from
the earlier issue, passing Jeff Gordon to take over the lead. From that point to the end of the race, the only way Busch was going to lose would be to wreck. He came close a couple of times, but kept going all the way to victory lane.
NASCAR superstar Stewart draws crowd at Graceland
By Craig Wack/commercialappeal.com
Elvis still has amazing drawing power, even 30-plus years after his death.
Who else can bring together a 12-year old boy , a family from Ireland and a NASCAR superstar on a Monday night in mid-May?
The lawn at Graceland Plaza was exactly where Ford Martin, Belinda Whelan and Tony Stewart were Monday night, participating in the live Sirius Satellite Radio broadcast of Stewart's weekly show, "Tony Stewart Live."
Whelan got there first, but she didn't mean to. She and her family, who had come to Memphis from Belfast, Ireland, to tour Graceland, arrived on site at 9 a.m. for the 7 p.m. broadcast.
"We'd heard the show was at 9 in the morning so we got here then," Whelan said before the show began. "We had our pictures taken with all the fast cars. When we found out we were early, we just went back to the
hotel for a while, but now we're back."
Whelan was part of a throng of a few hundred mostly-orange clad Elvis and race fans who crowded around the stage to listen to Stewart's program and ask a few questions.
Martin was taking part in one of the cooler field trips a 12-year old can
make. He's the official race correspondent for the radio show, because he spends a lot of time at NASCAR racetracks, since his father is Gil Martin, crew chief for the No. 07 Chevy driven by Clint Bowyer.
So Ford got to skip school and fly to Memphis to tour Graceland with Stewart and radio show co-host Matt Yocum.
"I was just blown away when I rolled up to the gates and saw what Elvis' house looked like," Martin said.
Though he admitted to sleeping on the job a bit when Stewart tangled with Elliott Sadler in the early going of last Saturday's race at Darlington.
"I really wasn't paying attention because I was worried about our car (No. 07). I was saying, 'Oh I hope we don't get wrecked,'" Ford said. "I love going around and getting to know the drivers. (Thanks to the show) everybody in the garage knows me. They'll come up and say, 'Aren't you Clint Bowyer's crew chief?' "
While it was Martin's maiden trip to Graceland, Stewart, who is currently eighth in the Sprint Cup standings, was on trip No. 3 through the house. And he said it never fails to amaze him.
"To have a private tour and to talk to the people who can really give you all the details about everything, really made it that much more special today," Stewart said. "There are 3,000 people a day that pass through those gates even 30-some years after Elvis' death. That's pretty impressive and goes to show the mark he really made on the world."
Stewart added that the feeling of walking into a place where
the pause button was pushed long ago was especially interesting.
"He had one of the first microwaves a $1,000 microwave," he said "I was thinking what, you can get a microwave now for like 50 or 60 bucks. And his has sensors and reheat and all those things they put on for idiots like me who can't cook. At that time it was state of the art."
Stewart has yet to win a Sprint Cup race this season, but his Joe Gibbs Racing teammates Kyle Busch and Denny Hamlin have four wins between them. Stewart said he's had solid cars and the victories will come.
"This is the best shape this team has ever been in. This is the first time all three cars have been fast and competitive every week," Stewart said. "We push each other to make each other better."
Stewart, who was front and center on the Gibbs team for a decade, is even enjoying his time as the teammate generating the least buzz.
"We've been in the shadow of our teammates, but it's actually been kind of good," Stewart said. "Everybody has been talking about what they're doing and we've been the sleeper of the group. That makes us more potent as a team. We were the guys they paid attention to and they focused on every little thing we
did.
"We've had good cars and been in contention. ... I'd rather be a fourth- or fifth-place guy every week consistently than be someone that runs 25th to 30th and wins a race out of the blue. That consistency is more important to me, because that's what's going to win a championship."
Tony Stewart talks...
About his crash early with Elliott Sadler at Darlington and the rest of his night:
"When you have something like that so early in the race you go, 'Ohhh, my God.' ... The rest of the night's going to be agony. The good thing is we got things relatively back to normal. We never got it 100 percent right, but even with it not 100 percent right, we were still the fastest car on the track the last 100 laps. That's the consolation prize, the us finding the positive in the negative of the day."
About how much teamwork really happens at a race team:
"It happens at other teams where you have multiple teammates competing against each other, when you know only one guy can win. We push each other to make each other better. That's what the competition that Denny (Hamlin) and Kyle (Busch) and I have. We're always talking to each other about if this works or didn't work. And we know if it helps one of us, at the end of the day it helps all of us. If at the end of the day you'll have to race it out with them like you do anybody else. Joe (Gibbs) started the multiple-car theory all along. All the teams and drivers working together works. If you can get the guys to work together and the right group of guys together, 1+1+1 doesn't make 3 -- 1+1+1 makes 5. That's the impact it has on the race
team.
About teammate Kyle Busch getting booed by fans:
"I've been through that, too. Luckily I'm on the down side of it. Both Denny and Kyle have my cell number and they can call 24/7 about anything. Kyle really hasn't talked
too much with me about it, because I don't think it really bothers him that much. I think he's on his path and is on his mission. In a way, I admire him about it. It's not fun going out there every driver's introduction and having the whole place boo ya. He gets in the car and uses that as energy. That helps make him as good as he is."
NASCAR Has A New Renegade
Allen Gregory/Bristol News
For years, NASCAR fans have longed for a fearless renegade.
They wanted a driver who would force the action on the track and speak his mind after the race.
Guys such as Curtis Turner, Darrell Waltrip and Dale Earnhardt once filled that much-needed role. After a period of hostility, each of those drivers eventually shed their black hats and earned icon status.
Even diehard fans will admit that the sport has become far too polished, predictable and even boring.
That’s why the emergence of Kyle Busch should be welcomed. This 23-year-old from Las Vegas is brash and drives every lap with passion. He will race three-wide and actually offer his opinion in post-race interviews instead of simply reciting his sponsors.
Instead of acceptance and praise, Busch
continues to be greeted with jeers and boos. The negativity reached a new level last week at Richmond when Busch took out the favored son of stock car racing less than two miles from the finish.
The followers of Dale Earnhardt Jr., dubbed the Junior Nation, have heaped all sorts of hate on Busch the past week. Even some spineless media types have joined the fray.
Yes, Busch is bratty and aggressive. He’s also exactly what
NASCAR needs. Just ask a track promoter or network television executive. Can you say Tony Stewart or Kevin Harvick?
There’s simply no denying the talent of Busch. Just consider the magic he’s weaved with a car (No. 18) that has been lackluster in recent seasons.
No less than an authority than Junior Johnson has said he would pick Busch for his driver. Johnson is only one of the greatest drivers and car owners in the history of
the sport.
Sorry Junior Nation, there was nothing wrong with what Busch did to Earnhardt at Richmond last week. It’s called hard racing and it’s what made this sport so popular in the first place.
NASCAR is not a made-for-TV movie where the dashing cowboy from the south always defeats the criminal, then takes home the gold and the pretty girl.
We need rivalries, villains and controversy. Heck, an actual fight might be interesting. You have to wonder how many NASCAR newbies have actually seen a race at their local short track.
A new renegade has arrived in town, and the action has only begun. Boo Kyle Busch if you want, yet he will never bore you.
Pocky’s Paddock
Enough of the Busch-Earnhardt comparison
by Bob Pockrass
Enough of the Kyle Busch-Dale Earnhardt Sr. comparisons already. Please.
It’s been nauseating to see the Kyle Busch-is-more-Dale Earnhardt-than-Dale Earnhardt Jr. comparisons this week.
First of all, Earnhardt Jr. has done nothing to try to make people believe that he is or wants to be Intimidator Jr. – he wants to follow in the footsteps of his father in winning races and being respected by his fellow competitors. He’s going to do that in his own style, in his own way. He might be a little nicer to his fellow competitors on the track, but don’t mistake that as being less worthy – maybe Earnhardt Jr. is just a little more calculated than his dad was.
Earnhardt Jr. is comfortable being who he is and not being Dale II. For that, he should be applauded instead of being ridiculed. He does it on and off the track. Could you really see his father building a country bar in downtown Charlotte? Probably not.
The other is the comparison between Dale Sr. and Busch. I just don’t get it. Busch will put a bumper on you, but he’s more than likely going to do it trying to make a daring move and seeing whose car will stick. Earnhardt Sr. would put the bumper on another driver to push him out of the way. He would make a daring move, but he wouldn’t lose control – he would just hold his line and dare his opponent to do the same.
Off the track, there seems to be little comparison. But remember, Busch is only 23 years old. Earnhardt Sr. didn’t compete in his first Cup race until he was 24 and didn’t run his first full season until he was 28. Few people knew Dale Earnahrdt Sr. at 23 the way they know Busch at 23.
It seems weird to compare Busch, still sort of a kid for the most part, with Earnhardt Sr. the man. And isn’t it time to stop trying to make Earnhardt Jr. a clone of his father?
It’s been nauseating to see the Kyle Busch-is-more-Dale Earnhardt-than-Dale Earnhardt Jr. comparisons this week.
First of all, Earnhardt Jr. has done nothing to try to make people believe that he is or wants to be Intimidator Jr. – he wants to follow in the footsteps of his father in winning races and being respected by his fellow competitors. He’s going to do that in his own style, in his own way. He might be a little nicer to his fellow competitors on the track, but don’t mistake that as being less worthy – maybe Earnhardt Jr. is just a little more calculated than his dad was.
Earnhardt Jr. is comfortable being who he is and not being Dale II. For that, he should be applauded instead of being ridiculed. He does it on and off the track. Could you really see his father building a country bar in downtown Charlotte? Probably not.
The other is the comparison between Dale Sr. and Busch. I just don’t get it. Busch will put a bumper on you, but he’s more than likely going to do it trying to make a daring move and seeing whose car will stick. Earnhardt Sr. would put the bumper on another driver to push him out of the way. He would make a daring move, but he wouldn’t lose control – he would just hold his line and dare his opponent to do the same.
Off the track, there seems to be little comparison. But remember, Busch is only 23 years old. Earnhardt Sr. didn’t compete in his first Cup race until he was 24 and didn’t run his first full season until he was 28. Few people knew Dale Earnahrdt Sr. at 23 the way they know Busch at 23.
It seems weird to compare Busch, still sort of a kid for the most part, with Earnhardt Sr. the man. And isn’t it time to stop trying to make Earnhardt Jr. a clone of his father?
A look at the fans from someone who's forgotten how to be one
Monte
Dutton/Gaston Gazette
DARLINGTON, S.C. - Every now and then, it's nice to take a leisurely walk on a gorgeous, sunswept day, the better to bond with the people who form the foundation of NASCAR.
No, not the motorcoach
drivers.
The fans. The little people. The great unwashed. The heart and soul. The hoi polloi. The bread and butter. The meat and potatoes.
Or, in the words of NASCAR's gentry, the core audience. That's probably because the folks who run NASCAR no longer actually eat either bread and butter or meat and potatoes. Behind the scenes, they probably refer
to the fans as "the wine and cheese." Maybe the artichoke hearts.
Here's what I learned:
Most fans wouldn't be caught dead wearing "gear" that is outdated. I truly was shocked at the incredible absence of year-old Dale Earnhardt Jr. Budweiser T-shirts. Fashion trends are actually important to NASCAR fans, even though they buy off the rack. There were
families where the daddy wore National Guard, the wife wore Amp Energy Drink and the kids wore Mountain Dew. Junior leaving Budweiser could actually put a dent in alcoholism rates.
Unless, of course, the Kasey Kahne fans start running amok.
The cost-conscious NASCAR fan should consider sponsor longevity when determining the object of his manly
affection. Jeff Gordon (DuPont) and Tony Stewart (Home Depot) have stood the test of time and given their fans the timeless luxury of wearing T-shirts and caps that don't become worthless overnight.
On the one hand, maybe you think Gordon is a pretty boy. On the other, it's OK to wear one of his T-shirts that isn't that pretty anymore.
Gordon fans, by
the way, are loyal. Some wear Nicorette clothing ... while smoking.
To put it mildly, I think there were a few people wearing South Carolina and Clemson "gear" who didn't actually graduate from those institutions. Just a hunch. The fact that they were cooking speed in a bathtub had nothing to do with it.
It's a joke. A joke! My nephew is graduating
from Clemson in December, and he's a fine young man. Coincidentally, he wasn't at Darlington Raceway on Saturday night.
Even if it hadn't been my job, though, I would've been. As much as I make light of the fans, I miss being one of them. Once upon a time, I came here just as defiant, just as unruly and just as boisterous.
I'm 16 years into writing
about this sport for a living, and I barely remember what being a fan was like. That's to my detriment, not theirs.
Well, that's all for today. Until the next time, I remain,
Your Nascar 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!"
This list is authored by:
Sandra Monacelli
221 W. 57th Street 18B
Loveland, CO 80538
970/663-6967
"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 won't climb up there and eat that candy ass." -Dale Earnhardt - 1998
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