Happy Friday.  Habbajeeba, we made it through the week!  

Today In Nascar History

March 6, 1956: Marshall Teague starts from the pole and leads all 200 laps on the half-mile dirt track of Speedway Park in Jacksonville, Fla. Defending champ Herb Thomas finishes second and Frankie Schneider third.

Quote of the Day

When we left Homestead, Stevie had a laundry list of ideas to go over, just little tweaks and things to help us improve. He made those adjustments, and I think we're seeing a different 24 team.

-- Team owner Rick Hendrick

Comments from the Peanut Gallery

From Lou

Hi Momma,

I will try to answer Chip's question with a very short answer. The reason they move the third place qualifier to the pole position when the actual pole qualifier has to move to the rear of the pack is, in my opinion, just another one of NASCAR's stupid rules. Actually I did hear some time ago that they do it this way to save time because, in actuality, with today’s speeds and race lengths, the pole is only meaningful in qualifying anyhow. The other drivers are not penalized because of this move. I do think the penalty of moving to the rear should only be assessed if any major changes are made AFTER qualifying and not before like it is now.

I see also an article in your newsletter about the lowering of the food prices at Talladega. This is a start and the track owners are finally realizing that the concessionaires are charging way too much for their products.  I feel that because of the situation that a 200% mark-up is satisfactory. Many are getting as much as 1500% mark-up now. I can buy (at retail) and put together a hot dog that is as good as, and maybe better, than the ones they sell at LVMS for the sum of 30¢ and that includes cooking, condiments, and wrapping. They could sell this dog for $1.00 and still clear 70¢ on each one. They now sell for as much as $4.00 each. I won't even go into the drinks here.

The Old Man of NASCAR,

Lou Elliott

Bits and Pieces

RCM / No Fear Pushes Back Debut, Plans to run Infineon: This weekend was supposed to be the debut of Sprint Cup’s newest team, the #60 Ford for RCM / No Fear Racing driven by Boris Said. But a change in philosophy has pushed back the debut of the organization until Infineon in June. “I learned an important lesson in this sport that I should have known as a new owner,” said RCM / No Fear CEO Rick Clark. “My enthusiasm to debut the team is a lesson in patience that I should have learned playing college football and in the NFL. I would much rather make mistakes before we get to the track as opposed to on the track, and I don’t want to put Boris in a situation that we were not ready for. So, the decision was made, as much as I was eager, to debut the team at a track where we’re capable of contending for the win. I know there will be speculation as to why we didn’t run, but rather than burn up money I’d rather burn up rubber when the time is right. I’ve been waiting for five years, and I sure as heck can wait three more months to take a chance at Victory Lane.“ Clark said announcements on specific sponsors and programs will be forthcoming for the June event. Said has attempted only one race in 2009 to date, failing to qualify for the Daytona 500 after wrecking out of his Gatorade Duel. Following Infineon, the team still plans to run a limited schedule of races in 2009 before plans to move up to full-time competition in 2010.(Frontstretch)

Marine to visit Labonte's Pit at Atlanta: #96-Bobby Labonte will have a special guest this Sunday during the Kobalt Tools 500 at the Atlanta Motor Speedway. Labonte will host Sergeant Justin Hussey of the United States Marine Corps. Hussey, currently stationed at the Marine Corps Air Station in New River, NC, has already made two tours overseas for both Operation Iraqi Freedom and Operation Enduring Freedom. Hussey will meet Labonte on the starting grid prior to Sunday’s event. “You never want to take our military for granted,” said Labonte. “If there is a way to recognize the people who are sacrificing for our country, I think it’s important to help. If we’re making a special day for Justin, that’s pretty cool. He has already done a lot for me.”(Breaking Limits PR)

AMS Offering Free Cancer Screenings This Weekend: The Georgia Chapter of the Head and Neck Cancer Alliance will be conducting free cancer screenings this weekend from 9:00am to 1:00pm Saturday [March 7] in the vendor area of Atlanta Motor Speedway. Lori Hamilton, widow of the late driver Bobby Hamilton, has urged fans to take advantage of the free screenings. Hamilton passed away of head and neck cancer complications in January 2007. "It is my honor to continue this effort in his name because we've made so much progress with past years' screenings,” said Mrs. Hamilton. “Bobby would want us to press forward to reach more people with our message. The screening is quick, painless and free, so we are encouraging everyone to take advantage of this opportunity that could save your life.” People interested in more details about the free screening can contact Edie R. Hapner, PhD CCC-SLP, at (404) 686-7798.

No blown engine for Harvick UPDATE: Earnhardt-Childress Racing Engines employees discovered a punctured oil filter on the engine of Kevin Harvick’s #29 Shell-Pennzoil Chevy after hard contact with the outside wall of Auto Club Speedway on lap 208. The filter was replaced and the engine restarted but the damage done to the car prevented the team from returning to the race and ending Harvick's DNF streak at 81 [3 short of the all-time record].(RCR PR) UPDATE: Kevin Harvick’s modern era streak of completing 81 races in a row ended at California, but Harvick tells PRN’s Garagepass it didn't have to happen. Harvick said, "The bad thing about the DNF streak is that the car was actually functional to go back on the racetrack. I thought the motor had blown up...I hit the fence and the oil was running across the racetrack and the oil streak all the way up to the wall...I thought the car had blown up. So, I left and the spotter left and they called and said hey we’re ready to go back out with about 15 laps to go...and (chuckles) I wasn't there...that’s the way it ended. The DNF streak is great but in the end it would be nice to have a win streak."(PRN's Garage Pass Radio Show)

Lincoln Electric and NASCAR Extend Relationship: Lincoln Electric and NASCAR announced a five-year extension of their agreement in which Lincoln Electric remains an exclusive automotive partner under the NASCAR Performance brand and retains its competition contingency sponsorship which includes the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series in 2009. Lincoln Electric became the exclusive NASCAR Performance sponsor of welders and welding helmets in 2000 and held contingency award programs in the NASCAR Nationwide Series, NASCAR Camping World Truck Series, NASCAR Canadian Tire Series and the NASCAR Whelen All-American Series. In 2009, Lincoln Electric will add contingency sponsorships in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series and the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series with weekly prize money provided to eligible teams based on finish position. Lincoln Electric will also continue their programs in the NASCAR Canadian Tire Series and the NASCAR Whelen All-American Series. In addition, a year-end award of $5,000 and a Lincoln Welder will be presented to the NASCAR Whelen All-American Series National Champion car owner during the season ending banquet.(NASCAR PR)

Toyota to go back to old oil pump on engines: Toyota Racing Development has reverted to the oil pump used on last year’s engine and will continue the modifications used in last Sunday’s Sprint Cup race at Las Vegas when its teams compete this weekend at Atlanta Motor Speedway. Michael Waltrip Racing [#00,#47,#55], Red Bull Racing [#82,#83] and Robby Gordon [#7] Motorsports use TRD engines. In the last two weeks, TRD has had to replace six engines during the race weekend – two at Auto Club Speedway in southern California and four at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. The problem was a lifter or camshaft issue. TRD President Lee White said in a phone interview Wednesday that he believes the problems occur when there is no oil pressure as drivers are entering and exiting the garages during practice. White said the oil pump used last year is better for those situations. The new engine pieces Toyota were using at California and Las Vegas were introduced at Texas last November with no problems for intermediate tracks last year. They consist of a very aggressive camshaft that uses a very lightweight lubricant. They are now using a different lubricant, White said. The data that helped the team locate the potential low-RPM issue came from a test session last year.(SceneDaily)

DW signed as spokesperson: Joe McDonnell, chief executive officer of For Life Products (FLP), announced the signing of three-time NASCAR Champion and FOX Lead Sports Analyst Darrell Waltrip to a multi-year deal as official spokesman for FLP's Rejuvenate Auto product line. The home and auto surface-care products manufacturer and marketer will feature Waltrip in a new national $20 million advertising campaign with Waltrip's endorsements in its new television commercial, new product packaging and point-of-sale displays. FLP's Rejuvenate brand, the leader in consumer-based, commercial-grade solutions for cleaning, restoring and protecting flooring, cabinets and other home surfaces, has the No. 1 selling floor-care product at the nation's largest do-it-yourself retailer. FLP is expanding Rejuvenate to include its eight auto-care products under the "Rejuvenate Auto" umbrella. Foremost is Rejuvenate Auto 15- Minute Wash & Wax Renewer, which is endorsed by the National Corvette Owners Association (NCOA) and provides showroom-quality auto detailing.(For Life Products PR)

Atlanta's inaugural event just what track needed

Victory by Roberts in 1960 helped boost media coverage

By Official Release

The following is the first of a four-part series highlighting Atlanta Motor Speedway's storied history as the track prepares for its 100th Cup Series race.

HAMPTON, Ga. -- If one really wants to know how far Atlanta Motor Speedway has come during the 99 races leading up to No. 100 -- the Kobalt Tools 500 on Sunday -- look no further than the photographs from race No. 1, the Dixie 300 on July 31, 1960.

Those old black-and-white photos show 1960s Fords, Chevrolets, Plymouths, Oldsmobiles and Pontiacs streaking by on the shiny, smooth asphalt. But a closer look at the scenes tells the true story. Photos taken from atop the grandstands show the area between the seats and the catch fence littered with construction debris -- empty buckets, sections of pipe, dirt piles and concrete chunks. Pictures from the infield look more like a construction site, with mounds of dirt adjacent to the track, then known as Atlanta International Raceway.

But those old pictures also illustrate the determination and can-do spirit of the track's founders, who had been languishing in debt and desperately needed the income from a race to finish building the facility.

According to those around at that time, the running of that first race -- and the very existence of the track today -- is due in large part to former track superintendent Alf Knight, his sidekick Ernie Moore and a group of their friends.

It seems many of the contractors building the track had stopped work because they hadn't been paid. In stepped Knight and his work crew. They called themselves the Chinese Bandits, a name taken from the second-string defensive unit of the LSU Tigers of that era. The football Bandits, who played under coach Paul Dietzel, became a part of LSU lore because they made up with determined play what they lacked in God-given talent.

The same is often said of Knight's Bandits -- and a lot of others involved with the new raceway -- who worked right up until race time to get the track in presentable condition.

"We went right down to the wire trying to get it ready," said Jack Black, one of the original shareholders who later became track president.

The opening race was a dream come true for Black and his fellow investors, who got the idea to build a track after attending a race at Darlington Raceway, NASCAR's original superspeedway.

"A group of us went to Darlington, and it was so festive, and there were so many people there and so much excitement," Black said. "It just set us on fire."

Black and the others had hoped to open the track with a 400- or 500-mile race, but NASCAR founder Bill France Sr., having concerns about how the asphalt surface would hold up, insisted on a shorter race.

"We even discussed a 250-miler," Black said.

The fears were unfounded. The track itself held up just fine.

"It was a glorious, fun-filled day," Black said. "It was a great race, and there were lots of cars still running at the end."

Black said somewhere between 20,000 and 25,000 people witnessed the first race. Attendance was difficult to track, he said, because all the fencing wasn't up and many fans simply walked in for free.

The top drivers of the day, and a good many Georgians, were in the starting field.

Bobby Johns, a Miami native who later that year won the inaugural Atlanta 500, said a car preparation mistake on his part cost him a shot at the win in the opening race. In changing the rear end in his car, he wound up with one size lug nuts on the front wheels and another on the rear.

"We ended up having to change tires with a manual lug wrench and lost a lap in the pits," Johns said. Still he wound up fourth.

Rex White, the series champion that year, blew a tire and finished 23rd.

Gerald Duke of College Park was knocked out by a faulty distributor in his '59 Thunderbird. "I loved that track, but I never had any luck there," he said.

Wilbur Rakestraw of Dallas, Ga., finished 11th, but felt he could have done much better had he not been so lacking in funds. "I never had the equipment those other guys had," he said.

Perhaps no one had a worse day than flagman Ernie Moore, who suddenly collapsed in the flagstand during the race, an event that left the talkative track announcer Jimmy Mosteller almost speechless. Mosteller was calling the race from an announcer's booth that he describes as a box just big enough for him and an amplifier when Moore slumped over.

"I didn't know whether Ernie'd had a bad time the night before or what," Mosteller said. "But it turns out that a piece of metal off of one of the cars had hit him in the throat."

Moore was treated at a local hospital and recovered. His assistant, Roby Combs, flagged the remainder of the race.

Cotton Owens and Jack Smith, who were credited with second and third place, respectively, challenged the scoring, but lost their appeal.

In the end, the legendary Fireball Roberts, driving a Pontiac prepared by the crafty mechanic Smokey Yunick took the checkered flag.

Black said the outcome couldn't have been any better had it been scripted, because Roberts was NASCAR's top drawing card at that time.

"It was the best thing that could have happened," he said.

But Mosteller, the announcer and others say the real winners that day were the residents of the Atlanta area and motorsports fans everywhere.

"The opening of that track had the same effect then as building a stadium in downtown Atlanta today," said Mosteller, who still calls an occasional dirt-track race at an Atlanta-area track. "It brought people to this area who wouldn't have come otherwise, and they spent their money in hotels and restaurants and gas stations."

Races at the Atlanta track, as well as others at the then-new tracks in Daytona and Charlotte, also brought national media attention and the first TV coverage to the then-fledgling sport of stock-car racing.

But in that era, it was Atlanta, not Charlotte or Daytona, that was the hub of NASCAR racing.

"In those days, Atlanta was the place to be if you were in stock-car racing," Johns recalled, explaining that the moonshine runners around Atlanta had played a huge role in the formation of the sport and dominated it for years. "I was a graduate of the University of Miami and I never hauled a drop of moonshine, but when I was racing, Atlanta was my second home. The people there loved their racing."

And Atlanta International Raceway, now Atlanta Motor Speedway, was just what they were looking for nearly 50 years ago. That tradition continues with the Kobalt Tools 500 on Sunday.

A young Brian France sorts out winner of '78 Dixie 500

Closer look at scoring revealed Donnie Allison beat Petty

By Official Release

The following is the second of a four-part series highlighting Atlanta Motor Speedway's storied history as the track prepares for its 100th Cup Series race.

HAMPTON, Ga. -- Whether the sport involved is professional football or NASCAR, there's nothing that excites fans more than a dramatic ending.

As history shows, NASCAR races at Atlanta Motor Speedway often are decided in the closing seconds, just as the Pittsburgh Steelers battled back against the Arizona Cardinals in this year's Super Bowl.

But in one memorable AMS race, the 1978 Dixie 500, the 39th of 99 Cup races run at the track, the drama continued long after the checkered flag fell.

In the 1970s NASCAR world, rivalries were the rage -- Ford versus Chevy, Petty versus Pearson, Petty versus Allison. Many times the Petty-Allison contests were between Richard Petty and Bobby Allison. But in the 1978 Dixie 500, it was Bobby Allison's brother Donnie squaring off against the King.

Both Allison and Petty rode season-long winless streaks into Atlanta for the next-to-last race of the season. Petty hadn't won since July in Daytona the year before. Donnie Allison's last victory had come at Rockingham the fall before, but his Hoss Ellington-prepared Chevrolet had been fast on the superspeedways that year. He finished third at Atlanta in the spring, and had runner-up runs at Charlotte and Talladega along with two other top-fives, at Michigan and Charlotte.

Buddy Baker, driving the No. 27 owned by M.C. Anderson, dominated much of the fall Atlanta race, but he dropped out on Lap 311 with a blown engine.

"Buddy's car was the fastest that day, but mine was one of the fastest all day long," Allison said. "But I lost two laps when I came off the banking too fast making a pit stop and wadded up the left-front fender."

As the laps wound down, with the skies darkening by the minute, a five-car crash set up a short sprint to the finish. When the green flag was displayed, Petty passed race leader Dave Marcis. But Allison, who was still being shown a lap down on the scoreboard, bolted past them both and was several car lengths out front when Petty nipped Marcis by a fender at the finish, seemingly ending his losing streak.

But as the cars circled the track on the cool-down lap, the track announcer stated that Allison had won, so he and his No. 1 Hawaiian Tropic-sponsored car were directed to Victory Lane. Then, after further consultation of the scoring cards, an announcement came that Petty was the winner.

Allison said there was never any doubt in his mind that he won the race.

, I got on the radio and told Hoss, 'Get with NASCAR and straighten out the scoring, because I'm fixing to win this race,'" he said.

When asked that night about the decision to award Petty the win, Allison said he, too, would like to see the King end his losing streak. "I'd like to see him win, too, but only if he really wins the race," Allison said. "And don't forget, it's been a while since I won, too."

While Petty was being interviewed in the press box, NASCAR officials continued to try to sort out the scoring. Fortunately for Allison, NASCAR's current chairman, Brian France, then 16 years old, was working in the scoring booth that day.

"Brian told his daddy and his mama that I won the race," Allison said. "He said my scorer had been pulling for Richard and not paying attention to the race."

Young France's point was proven by the cards, forcing his father, Bill France Jr., to own up to the mistake in the press room, an event recounted by author Greg Fielden in his Forty Years of Stock Car Racing.

"First, we need to wipe the egg off our face," France began. "We've sure got plenty of it on it."

He ended his remarks by confirming that Allison, who was nowhere to be found at that point, had scored his 10th career Cup victory.

"Donnie Allison is the winner," he said. "That's official and final."

It also turned out to be the final Cup victory of Allison's career. Although he never ran a full schedule, he wound up with a lot to show for his efforts -- 10 wins, 78 top-five and 115 top-10 finishes in just 242 starts. He also won 18 poles.

"If you look at my stat sheet, it's pretty impressive," he said.

That '78 race at Atlanta also proved pivotal in the career of the Dale Earnhardt. Driving a team car to Marcis, he finished fourth, his first top-five Cup finish. His performance helped convince team owner Rod Osterlund to give Earnhardt his best car when Marcis departed the team in a dispute over running two cars. Earnhardt got his first win the next season in Osterlund's car and won rookie of the year. The following season he won the first of his seven championships.

Petty bounced back in a big way after his winless '78 season. The next year he won five races and his seventh championship. He would win 10 more races before retiring for good, at Atlanta in 1992.

As with any great race, a glimpse down through the running order can be instructive.

Among the competitors that November day in '78 were three aspiring young drivers who would become big winners in the decades to come. Their names -- Ricky Rudd, Terry Labonte and Bill Elliott.

Intimidator's final Atlanta win one battle for the ages

Harvick's 2001 follow-up nearly identical to Earnhardt's

By Official Release

The following is the fourth and final part in a series highlighting Atlanta Motor Speedway's storied history as the track prepares for its 100th Sprint Cup race.

HAMPTON, Ga. -- There are few events in sports that excite fans more than seeing two drivers coming off Turn 4 at Atlanta Motor Speedway charging wheel-to-wheel toward a flagman leaning out over the track, holding a coiled checkered flag as a 500-mile marathon boils down to a quarter-mile drag race.

Atlanta has seen its share of those dramatic moments in the 99 Cup races the track has hosted. Since NASCAR adopted electronic scoring in 1993, two of the seven closest finishes, all of them .01 seconds or less, have come at Atlanta, which will host its 100th Cup race Sunday.

It's no surprise that one of those close finishes involved Dale Earnhardt, the all-time wins leader at AMS. It came in the spring race of 2000. Earnhardt's Richard Childress Racing teammate Mike Skinner led the most laps that day, 191 circuits, but fell out of the running with a blown engine.

As the laps wound down, Earnhardt led, but Bobby Labonte, now the active win leader at AMS with six victories, was charging hard at the end. As the duo approached the checkered flag, Labonte drove his Joe Gibbs-owned Pontiac to the inside of Earnhardt's familiar black No. 3 Chevrolet, but Earnhardt held on to win by inches -- .01 seconds according to the official clock.

It would be Earnhardt's ninth and final win at AMS and the next-to-last of his 76 Cup victories, the final one coming at Talladega later in 2000.

When the Cup circuit arrived at Atlanta the following March, the sport was reeling from the loss of Earnhardt in a crash at Daytona. His black Chevys had been painted white, re-numbered to 29, and a raw rookie, Kevin Harvick, had been given the intimidating chore of driving the cars.

With just a few laps remaining in his first Cup race at Atlanta, Harvick found himself in the same position as Earnhardt the year before -- holding on to the lead while a challenger, this time Jeff Gordon, closed on his bumper. Once again, the leader held on, this time by a margin of just .006 seconds.

Some say fate played a role in the outcome that time. Harvick said maybe not. He said close finishes aren't surprising at AMS because the layout of the racing surface lends itself to them.

"The track gives you a lot of options to move around," he said. "When you get behind or the guy's taking your line in front of you, from the top to the bottom of the race track it gives you a chance. That's why you see so many of those races play out like they do."

Carl Edwards, who participated in a similar finish in 2005, beating Jimmie Johnson with a last-lap pass to get his first Cup win by a scant .028 seconds, agreed with Harvick.

"I'd say you could probably get by a guy on the bottom, too," he said. "Jimmie was on the bottom, so I took the outside."

Both winning cars in 2000 and 2001 were owned by Richard Childress, who like many in the sport finds it difficult to explain the similarities in the way those two races turned out.

"It's so incredible," he said. "We have both of those cars in the museum. We have the video from both of them, and it's almost scary when you sit there and listen to the commentary and listen to how Dale won the race, and then to watch the video and listen to the commentary on the 29 [Harvick] and the 24 [Gordon] and look at how much each one beat the other by. It's really eerie how it is. It's one of those things that 'How could it be?'"

Childress said he had the same feeling both years as he watched the battles unfold.

"The last couple of laps when Kevin was out there running and when Jeff made that run on him I thought it was over," he said. "Same with Bobby, but Dale had enough momentum on the top to beat him."

Childress said he believes the track's layout tends to favor the driver on the outside groove in a last-lap shootout.

"You just build up a lot of momentum up there and it shoots you down the straightaway," he said. "If you're on the bottom, you'd better have a lot of grip."

The 2000 Atlanta win is often ranked as one of Earnhardt's top 10 victories, a decision that Childress backs "because of the way he won it."

But Childress also looks at the win as evidence that Earnhardt had a lot of racing left in him at that point in his career.

"We finished second in points in 2000 [to Bobby Labonte] and had a heck of a year," he said. "Coming into 2001 we were as prepared to win the championship as we ever had been. Dale and I talked about it off and on that winter and even during the [2001] Daytona 500 week and when he was at Daytona running the road race."

He said the proof of that preparation was the fact that a rookie Harvick in just his third Cup start took Earnhardt's car and beat the veteran Jeff Gordon.

"That and the fact that Kevin missed a race and still finished ninth in points and won two races," he said.

But the real significance of that 2001 win at Atlanta was that it helped NASCAR get on the road to recovery from losing Earnhardt.

"The thing I remember about 2001 other than losing Dale was Steve Park winning Rockingham [in a Dale Earnhardt Inc. car] and Kevin coming back and winning Atlanta in the style he did," Childress said. "That was the medicine the race fans and all of us needed."

Credit where it's due for Letarte

By David Newton/ESPN.com

CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- The radio analyst talked glowingly earlier this week about Jeff Gordon's return to the top of the Sprint Cup standings. He praised the No. 24 team for overcoming a blown tire late in Sunday's race at Las Vegas for a top-10 finish.

Then he noted the four-time champion took the points lead "despite" crew chief Steve Letarte sitting atop his pit box.

Despite?

That's like saying LeBron James recently scored 55 points despite coach Mike Brown yelling from the sideline.

Somebody call a foul.

It's time to lay off Letarte, a lightning rod for criticism during Gordon's winless 2008. He did nothing different last season from what he did in 2007, when Gordon had the numbers to beat everybody on the planet except one -- Hendrick Motorsports teammate Jimmie Johnson.

He's doing little different now, with the exception of some offseason restructuring and reorganizing. He should be getting kudos for a job well done. Gordon himself said the team is far ahead of where it was last year and gave Letarte much of the credit.

People should listen.

"I'm so proud of Steve Letarte," Gordon said after finishing second at California two weeks ago. "He got beat up so bad by a lot of people. It's tough being the crew chief of that DuPont Chevrolet. There's a lot of pressure and expectations."

Letarte would know. He's worked in the 24 garage since 1995, when he began sweeping floors. He's seen the best of times: championships in 1995, '97, '98 and 2001. He's seen the worst of times: 2005, when Gordon failed to make the Chase and finished outside the top 10 for the first time in 12 seasons.

He's been with Gordon for all but two of his 81 victories.

He understands how great the driver is, and that when the driver doesn't win, people are going to look for a scapegoat. He understands the crew chief is the most likely scapegoat, whether it's deserved or not.

Just ask Tony Eury Jr., crew chief for Dale Earnhardt Jr.

"It's no different than in football or other sports," Letarte said. "Very rarely do you hear the quarterback blamed. It's always the head coach."

Letarte has managed to keep the proper perspective through the good and bad times. He hasn't needed a "milk and cookies" speech from owner Rick Hendrick such as the one Johnson and crew chief Chad Knaus had in 2005, a talk many credit with sparking them to three straight titles.

There has been no defining moment for this turnaround, although Letarte did appreciate the vote of confidence Gordon and Hendrick gave late last season.

"He's the same guy who led the points by 300 [in 2007] and got him to finish second in the Chase," Hendrick said at the time. "He didn't go brain-dead this year."

That meant more to Letarte than any speech. It motivated him -- if it were possible to be motivated more than he was -- to turn things around and get Gordon back into Victory Lane.

Topping the standings is a step in the right direction.

"They said I was the crew chief and I did a good job in '07 and they believed in me," Letarte said. "That's all I needed. I knew it before that day, but it was nice to [hear]. They were given a free escape route by the media, and they wouldn't take it."

Hendrick said there never was a thought of making a change.

"We are all disappointed with last year, there's no question about that," he said. "But Jeff and Steve have a great relationship. They've been around each other for a long time. They communicate extremely well, and Jeff's confidence in him has never changed."

Gordon still hasn't won a points race since Charlotte in 2007, a string of 43 in a row, but he won one of the 150-mile qualifiers at Daytona and has been in position to win each of the first three races.

Letarte believes the wins will come again soon. Maybe they'll start this weekend at Atlanta, where Gordon made his first Cup start in 1992 amid little fanfare and with few expectations.

But Letarte isn't interested in victories to hear people say he's fixed a problem.

"I want to win races because the owner deserves to win races, the driver deserves to win races and this race team deserves to win races," he said.

Letarte deserves some credit as well. Gordon didn't get comfortable in the new car without help.

"When we left [the final race at] Homestead, Stevie had a laundry list of ideas to go over, just little tweaks and things to help us improve," Hendrick said. "He made those adjustments, and I think we're seeing a different 24 team. That swagger is back. They're all committed. Jeff has really stepped up. He's probably more focused than I've ever seen him."

Gordon had a lot of things go wrong last season beyond Letarte's control, and the first three races of 2008 were a microcosm of what was ahead. He finished 39th at Daytona with an engine failure and 35th at Las Vegas after a horrific crash to enter Atlanta 23rd in points.

That the team rallied to make the Chase and finish seventh in points despite six DNFs would have had most in the garage celebrating. That's how high the standards of the 24 are.

That's why there is more pressure on Letarte than on most crew chiefs.

"You know it's not easy having that outside pressure," Johnson. "But those two both have always believed in one another and knew that they just needed to work through their cars and sort out what Jeff needed.

"From being an insider, I'm happy to see them getting the results and running like they are because they've been working very hard to be in this position and have dealt with some outside pressure."

That likely won't stop rumblings if Gordon has one or two bad races. Letarte has heard them all before, from Ray Evernham being brought back to recapture the magic he and Gordon had in winning the first three titles to another young crew chief being shifted into his position.

"I don't really listen, to be honest," Letarte said. "It's easier not to listen if you have an owner that supports you, a driver that supports you … sponsors, teammates and employees that support you."

Evernham and Robbie Loomis, who helped Gordon to his fourth title in 2001, have been a big part of Letarte's support group. He calls them both at least once as week, not to talk about racing but to talk about life.

"When the rest of the world was giving up on me, [Ray] was one that would stand behind me and tell me just to believe in myself," Letarte said. "He told me I got to this point leaning on good people, not to get far away from that."

Letarte hasn't. When 2008 ended he recalled a comment made by Loomis the day after Gordon failed to make the '05 Chase.

"The sun came up," said Letarte, who a few days later would be promoted to replace Loomis, who was leaving for then-Petty Enterprises. "We kind of laughed about it. It wasn't that [the Chase] wasn't the most important thing in our lives that Saturday night.

"It was because that Sunday morning when the sun came up we still had our health. We still had our family and everything that should be most important in life. As long as you have that and your integrity you live to fight another day."

This fight is long from over. Letarte isn't any more excited about being atop the standings now than he was being six points behind Mark Martin in 2007 after consecutive second-place finishes at California and Las Vegas.

"It's Week 3," he said. "I don't look at the points. I only look at cars and speed. I'm way more proud of leading laps in every race, having a car that deserved to lead laps in every race, just seeing the energy back in my guys.

"When you assemble a crew to win races and you assemble a crew to win championships and you're not even close, then there is nothing more disheartening than to see the look in those guys' faces."

Pat Tryson -- the crew chief for 2004 Cup champion Kurt Busch -- understands. He's gone through similar ups and downs the past few years, although he's never had to endure the criticisms at the level Letarte did.

"It's not a lot of fun," Tryson said. "When things are good, it makes it much sweeter."

Things are starting to sweeten for the 24 team. Gordon has led 95 laps, which puts him on pace to lead more than 1,000 after leading only 447 last season. He was within a few car lengths of victory at California and potentially had the car to beat at Las Vegas before a tire blew entering pit road.

Again, Letarte deserves some of the credit.

"I love that he never gives up," Hendrick said. "Never quits. He's always working hard and looking for that extra something to make the team better. He knows our organization inside and out -- where to go, who to lean on -- and everyone respects him.

"And I know if Steve couldn't do the job and be successful, he would be the first to say so. That's the kind of guy you want."

Strong words. Perhaps they will stop the criticism.

"I don't know about that," Letarte said with a laugh. "We'll see."

Story Brings Back Memories of Racing's 'Good Ol' Days'
Andy Cagle/thepilot.com

If you are a regular reader of my column -- and I would like to thank both of you -- you know that I have a bit of a hang-up about tradition in racing.

More specifically, I have a hang-up about the destruction of tradition in NASCAR. No Labor Day race in Darlington. No NASCAR in Rockingham or North Wilkesboro. Martinsville with a great big, ol' target on its back. Races in Montreal and Mexico City.

I could go on, but you get my point.

This hang-up is why I was so amused to come across this headline when I went to one of my favorite racing Web sites earlier this week: "Ex-Drivers' Still Busted by Agents."

Ain't nothing like some bootlegging and moonshining and fast cars to make me all teary-eyed, nostalgic early in the morning.

Especially after two weeks of West Coast racing.

Now the story wasn't all that dramatic, but it has some good twists.

According to the story in the Wilkes Patriot-Journal (that's right, the story is from Wilkesboro), Dean Combs, a former NASCAR Goody's Dash Series driver, was charged with manufacturing non-tax-paid liquor, as well as one count each of possessing, possessing ingredients to manufacture and possessing equipment to manufacture non-tax-paid liquor by N.C. Alcohol Law Enforcement (ALE).

According to ALE Agent Shon Tally, the still had a capacity of 300 gallons per run, with about 1,150 gallons of corn mash in the "working" stage in preparation for another run in two to three days.

Tally said the still was warm from a run of corn liquor on Thursday.

"It was a very professional, clean operation all stainless steel," Tally told the Patriot-Journal, adding that it had a primary condenser and a secondary condenser for efficiency and quality.

It also had about 180 feet of copper tubing. The ALE seized 200 gallons of corn liquor and 3,000 pounds of sugar.

The still was found in a workshop behind a Go-Kart track, not far from the North Wilkesboro Speedway.

I wonder how many times the Patriot-Journal has run a story similar to this one?

The best part of the story, however, has to do with who Combs used to work for.

That's right, Combs was the crew chief at one point for none other than the Last American Hero himself, Junior Johnson.

In the midst of the squeaky clean NASCAR of Jimmie Johnson and Jeff Gordon and palatial tracks and temple-like shops, I love this story that hearkens back to the days when the exploits of the drivers on the track were nothing compared to their exploits on the back roads of the North Carolina and Tennessee mountains trying to outrun the revenuers to avoid a fate similar to the one Combs now faces and in the process created a sport and became folk heroes.

For his efforts, Combs isn't going to find himself being immortalized by Thomas Wolfe or meriting any parallels to the Duke boys or The Bandit. He faces some serious charges from the state of North Carolina, and his still, which sounded like a work of art, met an untimely demise.

Unlike Junior's stills, the agents didn't take an ax to it, they called in the bomb squad and blew it up -- after Combs used his own tractor to pull it out into a field.

While I hate that Combs is facing his current legal dilemma, the story did bring a smile to my face.

For a few moments, it made me rehash some of those old stories about fast cars with trunks full of "white lightning" and the spirited efforts to outrun the law that led to the creation of racing as we know it. 

Voices From The Heartland

Is 2009 The Re-Emergence of the Single Car Team?

Bryan Davis Keith· Frontstretch.com

Editor’s Note: Jeff Meyer is on vacation this week. Look for him to return with a brand new edition of his usual Voices sarcasm next Thursday … in the meantime, Bryan Davis Keith fills in.

Bill Elliott dominated the headlines for much of Speedweeks with his performance in the Wood Brothers’ No. 21 at Daytona. Regan Smith is currently averaging a top 20 finish in his outings in the Furniture Row Racing No. 78. And David Gilliland is coming off an unexpected 14th place outing in only the third Cup race ever attempted by TRG Motorsports.

Maybe it’s just a fluke streak of performances early on in the season, a product of two of three races featuring higher than average attrition — or maybe the CoT and testing prohibitions are starting to level the playing field a tad. But whatever the cause, 2009 has so far showcased a level of competitiveness from single car teams that the Cup ranks have not seen in awhile … and this is excellent news for the sport on a variety of levels.

For one, seeing single car operations able to compete effectively at the Cup level bodes well for the number of organizations that sprung up during the offseason. Teams such as Mayfield Motorsports and Tommy Baldwin Racing have moved from pipe dreams to on-track success stories, and now, each seems positioned to have a long-term opportunity to grow within the series just one month after entering into full-time competition.

Tommy Baldwin cited a belief that there was a true opportunity in the current economic climate to establish a new Cup operation, all while building a talented team without breaking a budget. It appears he may be on to something. Scott Riggs has been competitive in his TBR No. 36 in each of the races he qualified for (especially at Daytona, where he was a contender to win his Gatorade Duel race). Jeremy Mayfield and his No. 41 squad have not been quite as competitive on the track, but have still done well enough to secure significant sponsorship that will take them through a full season. And both teams have been rife with stories of the multitude of unemployed racers who have offered to pitch in and work on their cars — even without pay — just to have something to do.

While these respective teams have had their struggles with expected growing pains — both failed to qualify for last week’s race at Las Vegas — there is a light at the end of the tunnel that perhaps hasn’t shone brightly in recent seasons. Being a viable presence on the Cup circuit does not appear to be out of the question for them, and since the economy isn’t going to be fixing itself anytime soon, Tommy Baldwin’s model is going to become more and more prolific. But if these teams are going to be able to effectively run with the big boys, there’s no reason more owners out there can’t follow their lead in trying to break through the starting lineup. After all, Baldwin’s example in securing affordable, talented team personnel or Mayfield’s example in landing sponsorship are back to basic, blue collar principles that can be applied within all types of organizations in the Cup garage.

In short, with the way things are going, these teams prove the road to Cup ownership is still very accessible — and in NASCAR’s current situation, that’s no small deal. With contraction and merging the name of the game this past offseason, it’s more important than ever to attract new blood and fill those open spots those former teams left in the starting lineup.

Further, the current situation on and off the track is one that could also return the ranks of part-time Cup efforts to viability. It has been a long time since the days where David Pearson could pick and choose races to run in the Wood Brothers Ford — yet still be the class of the field wherever he showed up. And while 2009 may not see the Cup Series return to that state, seeing David Gilliland and Regan Smith able to post top 20 finishes on an intermediate circuit with their cars is certainly not something that’s happened frequently over the last decade.

Say what you will about attrition at Las Vegas having an effect on the finishing order this past Sunday. But since Smith took over the Furniture Row team’s now part-time effort, they’ve scored consecutive top 25 finishes, something that Joe Nemechek couldn’t do but twice in 48 starts with the No. 78 team. Plus, Bill Elliott’s performance at Daytona with the Wood Brothers may not have turned out flashy on the scoring pylon, but that doesn’t change the fact the team’s trademark No. 21 Ford was a contender for the 500 pole — as well as in the race itself — for the first time in many, many years.

Now, the question becomes whether the 53-year-old Elliott and Co. can build upon that one-hit wonder. Should they be able to qualify the No. 21 at Atlanta and post another top 25 finish this weekend, that would go a long way towards not only cementing the Wood Brothers’ presence on the Cup scene, it would also add some legitimacy to the idea of selectively running races and remaining competitive in doing so.

It is still only three weeks into the season, and it takes a lot of extrapolation to draw some of the conclusions that I have in trying to assert that 2009 may well see the re-emergence of old school NASCAR team models.

But it’s a trend that is at least worth a look at.

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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!"

his list is authored by:

Sandra Monacelli
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