Happy Thursday everyone.  I won't be sending out a list tomorrow, I have class all day.  So I'll see you one Monday, enjoy your weekend and enjoy the race on Sunday.  

Today In Nascar History

March 18, 1984: Benny Parsons wins the Coca-Cola 500 at Atlanta for his 21st and final Cup Series victory. Parsons beats Dale Earnhardt to the line by .9 seconds. Cale Yarborough finishes third, the only other car on the lead lap.

Quote of the Day

When you think about that sea of red turning into a sea of green, it's just an amazing testimony to the power of the Dale sponsorship.

--KEN STRNAD, Amp Energy

He's the single most important icon in this business, and whoever is No. 2 -- and you could argue that about a few other guys -- the gap between them is long.

--EDDIE GOSSAGE

Bits and Pieces

Robby Gordon accused of cheating during off road race

Robby Gordon is being investigated for cheating during an off road race this past weekend.

Gordon, an owner-driver in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series, is accused of illegally shortcutting part of the 232.4-mile course during the SCORE Baja 250 in Mexico according to the published report. Gordon finished second in the Trophy Truck division.

According to the series rules, competitors are allowed to find the shortest paths through tough terrain. Gordon however is accused of leaving the entire course near the 132.5-mile marker and reentering the course at the 136-mile marker ahead of racer Ed Herbst.
On Saturday Herbst signed a statement saying he had witnessed Gordon’s actions and several top teams filed a formal complaint. A pit crew also saw Gordon off course but thought he was broken down. When they found out he had finished second, they discovered two sets of tracks that seemed to match Gordon’s truck. According to the crew this showed that Gordon had practiced the maneuver before and had intentionally short cutted the course.

SCORE officials are continuing to investigate.

Robby Gordon cleared of wrongdoing in off road race

The off road racer who accused NASCAR’s Robby Gordon of cheating during last weekend’s SCORE Baja 250 in Mexico has withdrawn his appeal after the sanctioning body found Gordon committed no infractions.

Gordon was accused of illegally shortcutting part of the 232.4-mile course during the event according to a published report. Gordon finished second in the Trophy Truck division.

According to the series rules, competitors are allowed to find the shortest paths through tough terrain. Gordon however was accused of leaving the entire course near the 132.5-mile marker and reentering the course at the 136-mile marker ahead of racer Ed Herbst.

On Saturday Herbst signed a statement saying he had witnessed Gordon’s actions and several top teams filed a formal complaint. Saturday night series officials reviewed the complaint and found in favor of Gordon.

Sunday morning, a competitor filed an appeal to that ruling but later withdrew it. Officials said as a result their original decision stands and the results were now official.

Scott Wimmer To Drive 6 Races For JR Motorsports

Wausau, WI–  JR Motorsports announced Monday additional plans for its No. 5 NASCAR Nationwide Series team for 2009, with veteran drivers Ryan Newman, Scott Wimmer and Tony Stewart joining team owner Dale Earnhardt Jr. and all-time series wins leader Mark Martin for the 21-race schedule. Together the five drivers account for 91 Nationwide Series victories in 636 starts.

Wimmer will compete in six events in the No. 5 Chevrolet and Newman in four, with America’s largest fastener distributor, Fastenal, as the primary sponsor. Stewart’s one race for JR Motorsports will be in a Delphi-sponsored Chevrolet at Lowe’s Motor Speedway on Oct. 16. He is already a race-winner in 2009, driving a Hendrick Motorsports entry to victory in the season-opening Camping World 300 at Daytona International Speedway. He has eight overall victories in 87 starts.
“This No. 5 team carries a strong tradition and a lot of expectations, and we are fortunate to attract such quality talent to help carry on that tradition,” Earnhardt Jr. said. “We had a similar set-up with this team last year, and we were able to go to Victory Lane twice. Obviously with this driver line-up, there’s no reason we can’t exceed last year’s win total.”
The driver additions leave only two races on the No. 5 team’s 21-race schedule unfulfilled - the road-course events at Watkins Glen on Aug. 8 and Circuit Gilles Villeneuve on Aug. 30. Driver plans for those races will be announced at a later date.
Newman is a seven-time winner in the Nationwide Series. Six of his victories came during a stellar 2005 season, in which he scored eight top-fives in nine starts and led nearly half of his completed laps (800 of 1,658 laps). He will join the JR Motorsports campaign for the following races in the No. 5 Fastenal Chevrolet: Dover International Speedway on May 30, Chicagoland Speedway on July 10, Michigan International Speedway on Aug. 15, and Kansas Speedway on Oct. 3.
Wimmer is slated for six races in the Fastenal Chevy: Darlington Raceway on May 8, The Milwaukee Mile on June 20, O’Reilly Raceway Park on July 25, Iowa Speedway on Aug. 1, Bristol Motor Speedway on Aug. 21, and Richmond International Raceway on Sept. 11. He is a six-time winner with 29 top-fives and 68 top-10s in 171 starts. He captured four wins in 2002 en route to a career-best third-place finish in the championship point standings. His most recent victory came last season at Nashville Superspeedway for Richard Childress Racing.
“I am really excited to be associated with JR Motorsports and a great sponsor like Fastenal,” Wimmer said. “I will be running at tracks that have been good for me in the past and look forward to my first event with JR Motorsports at Darlington in May. Hopefully, we can get the Fastenal car in the Winners Circle.”
Earnhardt Jr., has already driven the No. 5 Chevy in two events this year, finishing seventh at Daytona and fifth at Las Vegas. He is scheduled for five more, starting with the April 4 race at Texas Motor Speedway. His is a 22-time race winner and a two-time series champion.
Martin, whose 48 victories make up the all-time career benchmark in the Nationwide Series, will drive the No. 5 Lipton Chevy on May 1 at Richmond International Raceway. He earned JR Motorsports its first-ever Nationwide Series victory at Las Vegas last March.

On short tracks, these 5 are long on talent

By Reid Spencer, Sporting News NASCAR Wire Service

With two short tracks up next on the Sprint Cup schedule, Sporting News picked the five best active short-track drivers and asked 2000 Cup champion Bobby Labonte, who has raced against all of them, to explain why each driver is so good on circuits of less than a mile–Bristol, Martinsville and Richmond.

1. Jeff Gordon: 15 short-track wins, including seven at Martinsville. He’s a great racer all-around. Bristol and Martinsville are probably his strong suits–he’s won a lot of races there. He’s got a great team around him, and when it comes down to crunch time at those tracks, he’s always there.

2. Jimmie Johnson: Eight wins, including five at Martinsville. He’s a confident racer with great equipment. He learned a lot from Jeff to start with, probably, and adapted really well.

3. Kurt Busch: Seven wins, including five at Bristol. His Bristol record is very, very impressive. When he gets to a short track, I think he excels because he knows how to be as smooth as possible and he knows how to finish those races up.

4. Tony Stewart: Six wins, including three at Richmond. Tony’s a go-getter and obviously a driver for any track–he can make it happen anywhere he goes. Richmond’s probably his best place.

5. Dale Earnhardt Jr.: Four wins, including three at Richmond. He’s had some good runs at those tracks. He’s been successful at them, and if you have a good record, you have a knack of being there at the end of the race–and I think he has that knack going for him. You know he’ll be competitive when he gets there.

U.S. Army returns on the #39 Chevy: If there were a time to exemplify Army Strong this would be it for Ryan Newman and the #39 Stewart-Haas Racing team as they prepare for the Food City 500 at Bristol Motor Speedway. The race will mark the return of the U.S. Army primary paint scheme for Newman's Chevy, which last ran in full Army colors at the Feb. 15 season-opening Daytona 500. "So far, it's been a challenging time," said Newman, who is 32nd in points after the first four races. "To be honest we've had fast cars. We know where we're at performance wise and it's a lot better than what our finishing results show. We've just had too many hiccups and unforced problems that have stalled our momentum. I am looking forward to getting back in the Army Chevy. Driving the Soldiers' car is an added inspiration." It's been feast or famine for Newman in 14 career starts at Bristol. He has produced top-10 results in half of the races, but has also finished in the 30s six times and once in the 20s. His best Bristol result was runner-up to Dale Earnhardt Jr. in the 2004 summer race. Newman has two poles and nine top-10 qualifying efforts at Bristol. His two poles came in the spring races of 2003 and 2004.(U.S. Army Racing PR)

Dale Jr. leads BMS pts last 10 races: #88-Dale Earnhardt Jr. has scored the most points in the past 10 Sprint Cup races at Bristol Motor Speedway (1,468), 50 more than his closest competitor Kevin Harvick. He has posted seven top-10 finishes, including one victory, in the 10-race span.

Bobby Labonte to be Inducted to Texas Motorsports Hall Of Fame: Corpus Christi's [TX] own #96-Bobby Labonte will soon be part of the Texas Motorsports Hall of Fame. He'll be inducted April 1 at Texas Motor Speedway. Still going strong on NASCAR's Sprint Cup Circuit, Labonte has notched 21 career victories and nearly 200 top ten finishes, to go with the series championship he won in 2000. He currently sits 23rd in points after four races. His best finish this year was fifth at the Shelby 427 in Las Vegas.(kristv.com)
The Flowserve Texas Motorsports Hall of Fame ceremony benefits Happy Hill Farm Academy in association with Speedway Children’s Charities. The 500-acre working farm located just south of Granbury, Texas, provides specialized services for children who need another start in life. Happy Hill Farm Academy serves children with a broad range of behavioral and academic issues sometimes a result of abuse and neglect. The environment provided at Happy Hill Farm Academy allows residents to flourish in a non-traditional setting. Tables for this year’s gala range from $1,500 to $10,000. To reserve your table, call (254) 897-4822.(TMS)

Victory Junction Bear heads to space: A black and white checkered bear from the Victory Junction Gang Camp of Randleman, North Carolina is making the trip tucked inside the space shuttle Discovery's lockers on the latest misson, STS-119. The bear will not be alone. Also riding Discovery aloft will be a purple stuffed duck from Saitama, Japan. Organizations that don't have mascots going up are also heavily represented on the flight. Flags and T-shirts from schools such as Florida's Melbourne High and Brookwood Elementary in Alabama, are making their presence known in space. At least one item will gain a major audience on Earth after it returns from space. Astronaut Tony Antonelli arranged to fly a green flag from the Andretti Green Flag Racing team. When STS-119 wraps up, Antonelli is expected to be an official starter at an IndyCar race.(NASA.gov)

Toyota sticking with NASCAR and Motorsports: Toyota announced it plans to continue engaging in motor sports this year, despite being financially restricted by severe business conditions. TMC plans to focus on these top-class racing series: the FIA Formula One World Championship (F1), Japanese Super GT, Formula Nippon and NASCAR. This will mark TMC's eighth year in F1 competition. In Japan, TMC will participate using the Lexus brand this year and will aim to recapture the Super GT GT500 title using the Lexus SC430. In the United States, TMC will again participate in NASCAR's pinnacle Sprint Cup Series with the Toyota Camry, which totaled 10 wins last year. TMC is also aiming to win the Nationwide Series, NASCAR's second most-popular series, also with the Camry. And TMC will continue to race the Toyota Tundra in the Camping World Truck Series, after having won both the manufacturer's and driver's titles last year.(Toyota PR)

Burton General Hospital Appearance Scheduled for March 18th: #31-Jeff Burton drives into Port Charles and the daytime drama “General Hospital” in an episode that airs Wednesday, March 18. In the storyline, Burton visits neighborhood tavern Jake's where he has a conversation with bartender Coleman (Blake Gibbons) when Dr. Patrick Drake (Jason Thompson) arrives and despite being a race car enthusiast, the neurosurgeon does not recognize the driver of Richard Childress Racing’s #31 Caterpillar Chevy and a comedic beat ensues. “General Hospital” celebrates 46 years of broadcasting on April 1, 2009, and is the longest-running dramatic serial on the ABC Television Network, having aired over 11,000 episodes. A winner of a record ten Emmys for Best Daytime Drama, “General Hospital” consistently rates as one of the top daytime programs with Women 18-49 and Women 18-34. “General Hospital” airs Monday-Friday (3:00-4:00pm/et, 2:00-3:00pm/pt) on the ABC Television Network. Episodes of “General Hospital” are available on ABC.com the day after airing on the network for users to watch online.(RCR PR)

Celebrities set to run Saturday Night Special at Bristol: Football coaches, football players, TV/radio personalities and more have signed on to run the celebrity heat races as part of the Scotts Saturday Night Special, March 21 at Bristol Motor Speedway. Virginia Tech football coach Frank Beamer, who also will serve as grand marshal of the Food City 500, will climb behind the wheel of a race car for the first time as will Terry Bowden. Bowden returns to the college coaching ranks this year after 10 years in the broadcast booth, taking over the Division II powerhouse University of North Alabama. Coaches are not the only ones suiting up. David Akers, Pro-Bowl kicker for the Philadelphia Eagles [Jayski Fave] will participate. Also racing for charity will be local hero Mike Compton, current head football coach at Patrick Henry High School (Glade Spring, Va.) and two-time Super Bowl winner with the Patriots of New England. Rounding out the first heat will be: Bill Jordan, owner/founder of Realtree Camouflage and host of two of his own television shows, Bill Jordan’s Realtree Outdoors and ESPN’s “Driven to Hunt,” and TV/radio personality Riki Rachtman of MTV’s “Charm School” and “Daisy of Love.”
Taking the wheel in the second heat will be a field of more experienced drivers. Former car owners and two of the top crew chiefs of all time, Andy Petree and Ray Evernham, now ESPN race analysts, as well as Brad Daugherty, a former No. 1pick in the NBA draft and retired all-star player with the Cleveland Cavaliers will be part of the festivities. Taking advantage of a weekend off on the National Hot Rod Association schedule are Greg Anderson (Pro Stock), Ron Capps (Funny Car) and Doug Herbert (Top Fuel Dragster) who will fill out the field. The celebrities will run 15-lap or 10-minute heats to help determine the starting spots of their pro driver teammates, who then will run 35 laps. That field includes Junior Johnson, Harry Gant, Cale Yarborough and Jack Ingram. The winning “team” is guaranteed $25,000 for their charities and a total of $10,000 will go to the charity or charities of the second-place duo. Every other team will get $5,000 for their charities. Team pairings will be announced at a later time. Tickets still are available for the Scotts Turf Builder 300 (Starting at $45) and Food City 500 (starting at $93). Tickets for Ford Fan Friday, March 20, are just $5 and fans with specially marked Pepsi cans will be admitted free. Tickets may be purchased at www.bristoltix.com or by calling the BMS ticket office at (423) 989-6900.(BMS PR)

Nexxus Lighting Set to Sponsor TBR at Bristol: Nexxus Lighting announced that it will sponsor Tommy Baldwin Racing’s #36 Toyota and driver Scott Riggs in the Food City 500 at Bristol Motor Speedway as the kick off to TBR’s small business initiative. Nexxus Lighting is a Charlotte-based company that is bringing its new patent pending LED lighting technology into the NASCAR world. Array Lighting is a new brand of commercial grade LED replacement lamps that utilize patent pending technology to offer a truly green alternative to conventional incandescent, halogen and compact fluorescent light bulbs. Array lamps are light weight, dimmable, reduce CO2 emissions and, unlike compact fluorescent light bulbs, do not contain mercury or create a hazardous waste disposal issue. Additionally, Array lamps offer tremendous cost and energy saving which can amount to over 80% energy savings versus incandescent bulbs. More savings can be gained in avoiding lamp replacement costs due to the bulb’s 50,000 hour lamp life, as compared to only 1000-2000 hours for typical incandescent bulbs. Array bulbs can last over 10 years while being burned 12 hours a day.
AND MarkMartin.com has become the first sponsor to jump on board Tommy Baldwin’s Support Small Businesses of America program. The www.MarkMartin.com logo will adorn the c-post of the #36 machine this weekend during the Food City 500 at Bristol Motor Speedway. Additionally, NASCAR fans can visit tommybaldwinracing.net and receive Mark Martin’s 5th Annual Fan appreciation t-shirt for $7.50 which is half price for a limited time, only available on the TBR site. The 27-year Sprint Cup Series veteran will hold his 5th Annual Fan Appreciation Day April 9-10 at Mark Martin Ford Mercury dealership in Batesville, Ark. Martin, Dale Earnhardt Jr., Tony Stewart and championship car owner Rick Hendrick will be on hand during the event to sign autographs and to participate in a Q&A session. Additionally, Sirius Satellite Radio and ESPN’s NASCAR Now will do live hits from the event. (Everest-Marketing Group/TBR PR)

Furniture Row Racing Announces Revised Cup Schedule: #78-Furniture Row Racing announced today a revision of its 2009 NASCAR Sprint Cup schedule. The Colorado-based team has added one race to its original 12-race Cup schedule and has revised three of its upcoming race locations. The April 5th race at Texas Motor Speedway in Fort Worth is the recent addition, bringing the current team's schedule to 13 events. The team is dropping the two road races -- at Sonoma, Calif (June 21) and Watkins Glen (Aug. 9) plus the May 31st race at Dover. Those three races are being replaced with Darlington (May 9), Pocono (June 7) and Indianapolis (July 26). The #78 Furniture Row team with driver Regan Smith entered two of the first four Cup races with Smith finishing 21st in the Daytona 500 and 20th in Las Vegas. The team's next race will be at Texas. "We all sat down and re-evaluated our schedule to see what suits our racing program the best," said Joe Garone, Furniture Row Racing's general manager. "Since we're a sponsor-owned team we have the flexibility to move in and move out of race markets. We will most likely make additional changes as the season progresses. We're happy about adding the race in Texas and hope that we will continue to make more additions, but that is dependent on the economic climate and attaining additional sponsorship. We're looking for a partner and feel that we have plenty to offer a company from a marketing standpoint with Furniture Row's more than 330 store locations in 31 states." To prepare for the Texas race next month, the #78 team has scheduled a two-day test session on Wednesday and Thursday of this week at Pikes Peak International Raceway in Fountain, CO.(DMF/Furniture Row Racing PR)

Former NASCAR driver/owner D.K. Ulrich remembers Tim Richmond

By David Exum - SceneDaily Staff Writer

MOORESVILLE, N.C. - Former NASCAR owner/driver D.K. Ulrich considers the late Tim Richmond one of the greatest drivers the sport has ever seen.

"He was an amazing driver," said Ulrich while attending a fundraiser for former NASCAR crew chief "Suitcase" Jake Elder at Memory Lane Motorsports and Automotive Museum on Saturday.

Richmond, considered one of the most flamboyant drivers during his era in the 1980s, died on Aug. 13, 1989, due to complications from AIDS.

"He was able to go from Indy Cars to stock cars very easily. He was great," Ulrich said. "There's no question that Tim would have been a champion. He drove really hard and partied even harder."

During Richmond's career in NASCAR from 1980 to 1987, he won 13 times in 185 starts and finished a career-high third in the Cup series standings in 1986. Richmond also made 20 starts for Ulrich from 1980 to 1981 and finished his career driving for Hendrick Motorsports.

"There was no question that he would have been a champion if he hadn't gotten sick," Ulrich said.

Ulrich also raced at the Cup level for 19 years from 1971 to 1992 and made 273 starts. The best finish of his career was a fourth at Dover International Speedway in 1981.

"Tim was a great guy and was really talented," Ulrich said. "He just got upside down, you know."

Hamlin Can Build On Car Number History at Bristol: Ned Jarrett drove the #11 car to a third-place finish in the first race at Bristol in July 1961. He also drove the car to its first victory at Bristol in July 1965. Since then, the #11 car has been synonymous with Victory Lane at the track. In 86 NASCAR Sprint Cup races since Jarrett’s victory, the #11 car has won the race 17 times. Credit team owner Junior Johnson, who fielded the #11 car for those 17 victories. Three-time champion Cale Yarborough drove for Johnson in the 1970s and made Bristol his personal playground, winning nine of 16 races from 1973-1980. Two that he lost were won by a flashy young driver named Darrell Waltrip. “The 11 number and Bristol certainly go together,” said Darrell Waltrip, who leads all drivers with 12 wins at the track. “With all of the wins Junior has been a car owner for, that makes that number special when you go to Bristol.” When Yarborough decided to scale back his career after the 1980 season, Waltrip gladly moved over to take the ride. “When I got out of the 88 and into the 11, I had my credentials and I was prepared, at the top of my game, and then they gave me that race car to drive … I couldn’t lose,” Waltrip said.(NASCAR PR)

ESPN2 to Have Live Coverage as NASCAR Legends Return to Action at Bristol: ESPN2 will have live coverage as some of the greatest names in the history of NASCAR return to action for a special charity race at Bristol Motor Speedway on Saturday, March 21, at 6:00pm/et. And just as many great drivers will be racing again, Ned Jarrett, a mainstay of ESPN’s coverage of NASCAR from 1986-2000, returns to the air to join his son, ESPN lead NASCAR analyst Dale Jarrett, and lap-by-lap announcer Dr. Jerry Punch in calling the action in the Scotts Saturday Night Special. Cale Yarborough, Junior Johnson, David Pearson, Harry Gant and ESPN analyst Rusty Wallace are among the 12 legends of NASCAR who will compete for 35 laps in late model stock cars. The winning driver will earn a $25,000 donation for the charity of his choice. The race airs following ESPN on ABC’s live coverage of the NASCAR Nationwide Series Scotts Turf Builder 300 event at Bristol that day at 2:00pm/et. Others in the race, all former winners in NASCAR competition at Bristol, include Terry Labonte, Sterling Marlin, Jimmy Spencer, Phil Parsons, L.D. Ottinger and former NASCAR Nationwide Series champions Jack “Iron Man” Ingram and David Green. Wallace will be ESPN’s “In-Race Reporter” and will talk via radio with Dale Jarrett during the telecast. Allen Bestwick will host the telecast and pit reporters will be Dave Burns, Shannon Spake and Vince Welch.(ESPN PR)

Legends test at Bristol: One look at Junior Johnson strapped into his #11 race car with old-fashioned goggles wrapped around his helmet, and it was like taking a step back in time. Johnson was one of several former Bristol Motor Speedway winners testing Tuesday at the .533-mile oval in preparation for this weekend's Scotts Saturday Night Special. Also taking to the track was Harry Gant, Jimmy Spencer, Jack Ingram, Rusty Wallace, L.D. Ottinger, and Phil Parsons. The last time Johnson, who won the 1965 Southeastern 500 at BMS, raced at BMS the track was asphalt – and it was much different. “When it was first built, you run off in the first and second turn like you went down a hill,” said the 77-year-old Johnson. “Now, it is so much smoother. I haven’t been on it since the last time they redid it, but I can tell it is a lot smoother. The pavement was kind of humpy and bumpy, so it’s got to be better (than it was). Jack Ingram, who earned 31 victories and two championships in what was then the Busch Series, now the Nationwide Series, won the second race in that series ever held at BMS, in 1982. Now 72, Ingram didn’t seem intimidated by anyone on the track. Harry Gant, 69, winner of 18 Sprint Cup victories and 21 in the Nationwide Series, was the 1992 Budweiser 250 winner at BMS. Other drivers expected to compete in the Saturday Night Special are David Green, Terry Labonte, Sterling Marlin, Phil Parsons and Larry Pearson. Former BMS winner Larry Pearson will be subbing for his father, David, who was scheduled to be in the race. Track officials learned earlier this week that reoccurring issues with the elder Pearson’s back will prevent him from taking part in the event.
Among the celebrities testing Wednesday will be Ray Evernham, Andy Petree, Brad Daugherty, and former NFL star Brad Compton. Other competing in the race are Frank Beamer, Terry Bowden, David Akers, Bill Jordan, Riki Rachtman, Doug Herbert, Ron Capps and Greg Anderson. The celebrities will run 15-lap or 10-minute heats to help determine the starting spots of their pro driver teammates, who then will run 35 laps. The Saturday Night Special will take place after the completion of the Scotts Turf Builder 300 Nationwide Series race and will be followed by a 100-lap UARA late model event.(BMS PR) AND: GDSI Racing with driver Sterling Marlin are preparing for Bristol Motor Speedway on March 21st. Marlin will compete in a 50 lap late model celebrity race where celebrities will be paired up with drivers. Andy Petree will drive the first 15 laps and Sterling Marlin will drive the final 35 laps in the Legend brands Chevy Monte Carlo. The winning team will win $25,000 for the charity and Sterling Marlin and GDSI Racing have selected The Epilepsy Foundation of Middle and West TN, second place will receive $10,000 and the rest of the starters will receive $5,000. The race is slated as the first “Saturday Night Special”.(GDSI Racing PR)

Newman's Pit Road Pets crew to photograph fans with their pets: NASCAR's pet loving fans will have an opportunity to join their favorite drivers in the upcoming book Pit Road Pets: NASCAR Stars and Their Pets, the Second Lap. The Pit Road Pets crew will be photographing fans with their pets during the upcoming Bristol, TN race weekend. Following the success of the Ryan Newman Foundation's first charity book, Pit Road Pets: NASCAR Stars and Their Pets, the foundation will be producing a second edition that will not only feature NASCAR's biggest stars with their furry family members, but also NASCAR's biggest fans with their own pets. One hundred percent of the net proceeds will be donated to humane efforts nationwide. Photographer Karen Will Rogers will be taking pictures of NASCAR fans with their pets at the Pit Road Pets tent in the Earnhardt Campground at the Bristol Motor Speedway from 9am to 2pm on Saturday, March 21 and from 9am to 2pm on Sunday, March 22. Fans are encouraged to stop by the booth with their pets to have their family photos taken. The first edition of the Pit Road Pets book will be on sale at the Pit Road Pets booth from Noon to 4 PM on Friday, March 20 for a special discounted price of $18, which is a savings of $7. Everyone who purchases a book at the tent will receive a complimentary Pit Road Pets tee-shirt. Books can also be purchased at Newman's track-side merchandise trailer or ordered online at www.ryannewman.org.(Ryan Newman Foundation PR)

Smoke, Rowdy to headline Hamlin charity 'Showdown'

By Team Release

Denny Hamlin is once again racing for charity at Southside Speedway this spring -- and he's bringing his friends.

Hamlin will host the second annual Short Track Showdown at Southside Speedway in Richmond, Va., on April 30 to benefit the Denny Hamlin Foundation, and this season Hamlin is being joined by some of NASCAR's biggest stars. Two-time Cup Series champion Tony Stewart will join Kyle Busch and Joey Logano as well as race-day spotter Curtis Markham in a 175-lap Limited Late Model race.

Last year, Hamlin presented a check in the amount of $50,000 -- raised almost entirely from the proceeds of the race -- to the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation.

"I was thrilled with what we were able to do last year -- it was a great event for a great cause and this year it is our hope to double that donation," Hamlin said. "It means a lot that Tony, Kyle, Joey and Curtis are committed to helping me raise money for my foundation and I know we all want to put on a great show for the fans."

The Denny Hamlin Foundation was created in 2008 to aid in raising awareness and funding for Cystic Fibrosis research and treatment, as well support other not for profit corporations that focus on aiding children with debilitating illnesses.

Online ticket sales are exclusively at www.dennyhamlinfoundation.org. All proceeds from ticket sales, the silent auction and raffles will benefit the Denny Hamlin Foundation.

For more information, log on to www.dennyhamlinfoundation.org.

Kahne expects to hold on to Budweiser sponsorship

Associated Press

CONCORD, N.C. (AP) - NASCAR driver Kasey Kahne said Wednesday he expects to continue his partnership with Anheuser-Busch even though the beer distributor is ending its sponsorship with the NHRA.

The St. Louis-based division of Anheuser-Busch InBev said this week it is ending its 30-year relationship with Kenny Bernstein Racing's NHRA team, and Budweiser will no longer be the official beer of that series. The brewery claimed its relationship with Bernstein is the longest in motorsports history, eclipsing STP's 28-year sponsorship of NASCAR's Richard Petty.

Kahne said he spoke with Bernstein, who won six NHRA championships, about Budweiser's decision to pull out of the series.

"It's disappointing to see Bernstein without a sponsor and I think they'll do everything they can to figure it out and get a sponsor," Kahne said. "As far as our stuff, we have another year with Budweiser and they've been great to work with.

"Hopefully we can do things to keep them happy and ... work with them for a long time."

Dan McHugh, vice president of media, sponsorship and activation for Anheuser-Busch, has no plans to pull out of NASCAR.

"Budweiser remains committed to its presence in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series, including sponsorship of Kasey Kahne and the No. 9 Budweiser Dodge, as well as the (preseason) Budweiser Shootout," McHugh said in a statement.

Budweiser most likely leaving NASCAR

Greg Engle/nascarexaminer.com

With an American economy on the skids, the sport of NASCAR has been hit hard. The effects of a bad economy have not only been felt in the stands and among the crews but the very lifeblood of the sport, sponsorships.

NASCAR began the 2009 season with fewer official partners. Dominos Pizza, Enterprise Rent-a-car and Home Depot are among those who declined to renew their ‘official’ status. And Sears Holdings dropped their 13-year series sponsorship of the truck series last year. Add to those team sponsors such as Texaco/Havoline, Kodak and AAA all of whom had a longtime presence during NASCAR races that are no more.

Other sponsors, chief among them the US Army have scaled back from a full time sponsorship role to a partial one.

Now comes word that one of NASCAR’s longest running sponsors and one many fans consider synonymous with the sport is pulling out.

Budweiser had already dropped their official status in 2008 after 9 years. Anheuser-Busch was also a longtime sponsor of the sports most popular driver, Dale Earnhardt Junior having sponsored the driver from his debut in 1999 until his defection to Hendrick Motorsports in 2008.

It was in 2008 that Bud moved their sponsorship to Gillette-Evernham Motorsports and driver Kasey Kahne.

But just as the economic landscape has changed so has Kahne’s and Anheuser-Busch’s fortunes.

Belgian company Inbev purchased Anheuser-Busch in July of last year, a controversial and unpopular move. Since then the company has been trimming staff and divisions. In December last year the company laid off some 1000 workers or about 6 percent of its total workforce. And there is talk that when done the layoffs could total up to 15 percent of the total workforce.

The company is also rumored to be seeking a buyer for its theme parks, which include Sea World and Busch Garden properties and significantly scaling back their presences in sports.

In motorsports Anheuser-Busch recently announced that they would be ending a 30-year partnership with the NHRA’s Kenny Bernstein. First as a driver and more recently as a team owner, Bernstein has won six championships under the Bud colors.

A source confirmed that Budweiser’s decisions concerning the NHRA and going forward would be made to redirect dollars to a non-sports-enthusiast audience.

Add to that the fact that over the winter, the Gillette-Evernham team merged with Petty Enterprises to form Richard Petty Racing. The Petty family has always been staunchly against sponsorship from any type of alcoholic beverage maker to the point of refusing to display contingency stickers when one of their teams won a ‘Bud Pole” award.

Combined with the economy, the new Anheuser-Busch corporate philosophy and the Petty family legacy 2009 will most likely be the last one for Budweiser.

Legends preparing to strap in

By Ed Hinton/ESPN.com

Invite a bunch of retired NASCAR drivers to run in a charity race, and all of a sudden they're not acting very retired -- and they're jawing.

Junior Johnson, at 77 the oldest driver in the field for the 35-lap Saturday Night Special late-model race at storied Bristol Motor Speedway this Saturday, is back to the aw-shucks verbal sandbagging of his days as a driver and then as an owner.

"It's a charity thing, is the reason I'm driving in it," said Johnson, the living legend moonshine runner turned racer.

Yeah, well, "I heard Junior is building a new car for that race and has Ray Evernham working on it," said David Pearson, 74, who'll have to sit out the actual racing with a bad back but will attend.

"That's not true," Johnson fired back. "My boy [Robert Johnson III, 15] has been running late models … and I'm using one of his."

Oh. A Junior Johnson-prepared car that already has been race-tested.

And no, Evernham, once voted best NASCAR crew chief of all time by the media, isn't working on Johnson's car.

"Ray's going to be my teammate," said Rusty Wallace, a nine-time winner at Bristol. "He'll be driving in the celebrity race [a 15-lapper for notable NASCAR personalities other than drivers], wearing a blue Miller Lite uniform just like mine."

Yes, Wallace, 52, has gone out and gotten sponsorship for this race, from his longtime backer in the Cup series, Miller Brewing Co. That lends credence to Pearson's report that "Rusty's building a new car too."

"That's right," Wallace confirmed. "I am building a new car for this race."

Why?

Because "This ain't gonna be no ride-around deal," Wallace said. "I think they're all coming with their game."

"I still know how," said Cale Yarborough, another nine-time Bristol winner, who'll turn 70 on March 27. "You know it's going to be competitive, with the people who are in it."

Yarborough, who in his time was one of the fittest drivers in NASCAR -- mostly by doing heavy farm work on a daily basis -- is a bit frustrated that he hasn't been able to exercise much because of recent surgery to remove calcium deposits from his right foot.

"I'm going to have to get back on it these next couple of weeks" to be back in racing shape, he said.

Eleven drivers in the field have won either Cup or Nationwide races at Bristol, and several have made singularly legendary marks there.

The field includes Terry Labonte, Jimmy Spencer, Jack Ingram, Harry Gant, Sterling Marlin, L.D. Ottinger, David Green and Phil Parsons in addition to Johnson, Wallace and Yarborough.

The race will be televised live on ESPN2, with NASCAR broadcast legend Ned Jarrett joining son Dale Jarrett and Dr. Jerry Punch in the booth. The racing is set to begin at 6:20 p.m. ET.

Pearson's son Larry, 55, will drive in place of the Silver Fox.

If the elder Pearson could be in it, "It wouldn't matter who it is" in the field, he'd try to win it -- "I'd sure do my best," he said.

"It's going to be a lot of fun," Yarborough said. "We'll have a good time."

Johnson and Pearson both started the first Bristol Cup race, in 1961.

Johnson has kept in practice, running antique-car races in his old stock cars in an annual event at Goodwood, England. "You run pretty fast over there," he said.

For this race, though, Johnson cautioned "You want to be pretty careful not to get your head skinned up."

But, "I expect Junior to get out there and hammer down," Wallace said.

Even for fun and charity, "Any time you get in a race car, you could get banged up," Yarborough pointed out. "The group that's going to be there will be competitive, but we'll probably play it pretty safe."

Wallace's car will be ready this week, and "I'm going to take it to Bristol next Tuesday to test," he said.

Wait a minute -- test? That's not even legal for active NASCAR drivers anymore.

Yeah, but "The others are going to be testing at various tracks," Wallace said.

Besides, Wallace, as an ESPN commentator, has special duties in the race.

"I'm carrying the in-car ESPN camera, and I'm the in-race reporter," he said.

There's one enormous disappointment for all drivers concerned.

"Everybody wanted to race against Darrell Waltrip," Wallace said of the all-time winner at Bristol, with 12 Cup victories there, 10 of those in Johnson-owned cars.

But Waltrip had to pull out of the race because of broadcasting commitments with Fox.

"After years with Junior Johnson as my boss, I was excited about rubbing fenders with him," Waltrip said. "But sometimes things are unavoidable."

Johnson, as a driver and a car owner, won 21 times at Bristol. His winning drivers there included Yarborough, Bobby Allison, Waltrip and Charlie Glotzbach.

Wallace won nine times in 44 starts at Bristol, beginning in 1987. Yarborough had an even better winning percentage there, with nine victories in just 29 starts. In all 17 of the races Yarborough finished at Bristol, he was in the top five. He also won nine poles.

Labonte co-starred with Dale Earnhardt in Bristol's two most famous finishes. In 1995, Labonte crossed the finish line sideways but victorious after being slammed by Earnhardt on the last lap. In 1999, again rammed by Earnhardt, Labonte was left wrecked and fuming while Earnhardt went on to win.

Marlin -- who is from Columbia, Tenn., near Nashville -- was the favorite-son driver at Bristol throughout his 30-year driving career but got only one win there, in a Nationwide race in 2000. Marlin's best shot at a Cup win there, in 1987, ended when Earnhardt rear-ended and wrecked him late in the race.

Spencer won two Nationwide Series races at Bristol, but might be remembered best for the Cup race he missed there in August 2003, while under suspension for punching Kurt Busch the previous Sunday.

In the Bristol grandstands, while Busch won the race, fans displayed "Free Jimmy" placards on behalf of their favorite tough guy on and off the track.

NASCAR Legend David Pearson- The Thinking Man’s Racer

Jim McCoy/bump-drafts.com

“Checker or wreck’er.” It’s a familiar refrain around the race track- more so prevalent during the early years of racing. Curtis Turner bore the nickname “Pops”- not because of any connection to Geritol or AARP- but because he’d “pop” you if you were in the way. Legendary ex-moonshiner Junior Johnson was another racer known for running his car up front as soon as he could get there, and if he dinged himself up a bit, so be it. While Glenn “Fireball” Roberts had a certain professional persona about him, 1961 Daytona 500 winner Marvin Panch was quick to point out, Roberts wasn’t necessarily known for equipment care.

There comes from the early years of NASCAR a different breed of cat. Though his career spanned the 60s, the 70s, and the 80s, he never really ran but a handful of seasons full time. In fact, from his first Cup race in 1960 until his final start in 1986, David Gene Pearson appeared for the green flag start 574 times. He made the most of them though, as Pearson got to the checkered flag first for 105 career wins- the second most all-time behind Richard Petty. His winning percentage of 18.26 percent puts him 3rd all-time behind NASCAR pioneers Tim Flock and Herb Thomas.

It’s not hard to understand why “The Silver Fox” was so efficient. According to an account in NASCAR Essential by Jim Mc Laurin, tests were run on drivers to see how their bodies reacted to stressful situations on the track, readily abundant in a 4-wheeled rocket traveling at speeds of 180-200 miles per hour. Scientists found that under stress, Pearson’s heart rate actually went down!Team owner Leonard Wood, who saw plenty of Pearson driving his #21 from 1972 to 1979, said David Pearson was “a natural.” Wood said Pearson was one of those drivers who had the magic touch, that instinct for making the right move at the right time. Pearson’s greatest rival, no less than 7-time champion Richard Petty said that he’d raced ‘em all, the greatest he raced against was the native of Spartanburg, South Carolina.

The battles these two waged were the stuff of legend. Take the 1976 Daytona 500. You can talk about the great fight between the Allison’s and Cale Yarborough in ‘79, you can have your drag race between Kevin Harvick and Mark Martin in 2007, but the battle between Petty and Pearson may be the fiercest fight to the finish of them all. The two collided on the final lap and spun wildly. Pearson had the presence of mind to keep the car running while Petty sat stuck in the grass, crossing the start/finish at a speed of 30 miles per hour. In the 1974 Firecracker 400, Pearson came out of the gas and his car appeared to dying when he let Petty pass. Once “the King” got by him, Pearson “sling-shotted” his way to victory lane.

For as long as he ran, Pearson only made more than 25 starts 5 times. The season he did, he won 3 championships for his troubles in 1966, ‘68 and’69- once for Cotton Owens and twice in a Ford for Holman- Moody. Here’s something that will blow your mind: in 1973 for the Wood Brothers- he won 11 of his 18 starts! He led the NASCAR Grand National Series in wins and earnings, but partially due to the limited schedule, finished 13th in the points the season Benny Parsons captured NASCAR glory.

Pearson’s resume was dotted with all kinds of impressive stats. His 113 poles ranks second to Petty, but once again (not taking anything from Petty), Pearson got his in about 600 fewer starts. 49 of Pearson’s wins came at speedways, 523 on short tracks and 4 at road courses- further cementing as a “racer’s racer.”

Though he was cut more from the mold of letting his driving do the talking, Pearson has endeared himself enough to the fans that he won the “Most Popular Driver” award in 1979 and 1980 though his best days were behind him. It was because of fan support that Pearson’s Grand National career even got off the ground. According to a story by Consumer Guide, fans around Spartanburg who’d watched Pearson tear up the local tracks for seven years took up a collection to buy him a car. He wanted no part of it, but given all the sources it was coming from, there was no real way to return the money. Supporters raised $ 1,500- about half of what Pearson would need to buy a race car at the time. Remember- these were the days when you could buy a decent home in southern California for $7,000 and rent generally ran somewhere along the lines of $100 a month. The funds, plus money from the family bank account landed David Pearson his first ride- a 1959 Chevrolet from Jack Smith.

To South Carolina race fans we owe a debt of gratitude.

Another tribute to David Pearson’s driving ability was the fact he’d never been hospitalized or had broken a bone while driving during one the bloodiest eras in NASCAR history. During his era, Pearson had seen notables such as Joe Weatherly, Fireball Roberts and Tiny Lund to name a few, lose their lives while turning laps on the race track.

When you see fans today roll out their “Greatest Drivers” lists- you see Dale Earnhardt at the top and rightly so for his 7 titles and impact on the sport. Others point to Richard Petty with his 7 championships, sheer dominance and 200 career wins. Others will point to Jeff Gordon and his 4 titles. Trying to objectively come up with a clear-cut all-time great, kind of like trying to debate who’s the prettiest girl or who the best home run hitter of all time was. Everyone’s got an opinion and most of them are valid.

One thing’s for sure though, there are other greats to go with David Pearson, but there’s never been another one quite like the Silver Fox.

Companies clamor for Earnhardt's magic touch

By David Caraviello, NASCAR.COM

It seemed like the Vegas kind of thing to do. Partner with a local hotel and casino, bank some tickets for the next year's race at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, and tie it all together with NASCAR's most popular driver. Thus, Dale Jr.'s South Point Jackpot was born. In February of 2008 the track offered tickets to the following year's event, with the caveat that the money would be refunded if fan favorite Dale Earnhardt Jr. won the Sprint Cup championship. Track president Chris Powell even took out an insurance policy to recoup losses just in case the Hendrick Motorsports driver wound up celebrating on the big stage in November. Tickets were limited to a magic number -- 8,888 -- and sold out within two days.

Everyone seemed pleased with the promotion -- except, that is, Dale Earnhardt Jr. Perhaps that's because it was followed by another on the part of Memphis Motorsports Park, which in January issued a release offering Earnhardt a lifetime supply of the city's famous barbecued ribs in return for a the driver's participation in the track's October Nationwide Series event.

"It would have been cool to get a heads-up that they were going to do that -- hey, man, we're going to use your name in this, instead of getting it sprung on you," Earnhardt said earlier this season. "Vegas did the same thing. What was the deal a couple years ago? Some ridiculous deal for them to try to get people to buy tickets. I told everybody to go buy tickets to Talladega. It's a hell of a better race."

Never mind that, according to track presidents, facilities are allowed virtually unlimited use of the names and likenesses of NASCAR drivers in order to sell tickets to their events. For Earnhardt, it all comes with the territory. Everybody wants a piece of him. His often smiling, sometimes scruffy visage has adorned everything from billboards to television commercials to ticket stubs and candy bars, while his signature or car number has appeared on consumer products too numerous to mention. Despite an ongoing recession, despite a streak of just one race victory in his last 102 Sprint Cup starts, Dale Earnhardt Jr. remains a one-man economic powerhouse, a figure who by his very association can lift share prices of a company's stock more than two points or sell nearly 9,000 race tickets in two days.

That's the power of Junior. No wonder his management team receives roughly four pitches per week -- ranging from the realistic to the ridiculous -- from companies or business owners interested in having the driver of the No. 88 car representing their product. No, he hasn't enjoyed the best of seasons recently on the race track. But in the marketplace, nobody else can touch him.

"He's the single most important icon in this business, and whoever is No. 2 -- and you could argue that about a few other guys -- the gap between them is long," said Eddie Gossage, president of Texas Motor Speedway. "He's it, and everybody else is eating his dust in a big way. That's why it's so important that he have a good year, that he win races, that he contend for the championship. The quickest fix for whatever ails our sport is Junior winning races."

But to the brands Earnhardt represents, he doesn't necessarily have to win. He just has to be, well, Dale Jr. Just ask the folks at Amp Energy, the PepsiCo product that serves as co-primary sponsor of his race car. Before it joined forces with Earnhardt prior to last year, the company was a relatively minor player in the energy drink market, and enjoyed only a fraction of the brand awareness of industry leader Red Bull. Now it's ubiquitous, as all those race fans wearing all those green and white caps and jackets will attest. He hasn't won a championship, hasn't come close. He's won only one race in Amp colors. But when it comes to product visibility, Earnhardt has the closest thing in NASCAR to a Midas touch.

"Within NASCAR, we've seen tremendous growth," said Ken Strnad, Amp Energy's senior manager. "We've seen over 120 percent growth for the Amp trademark within NASCAR strongholds, so it's just been a huge success for the brand as well for Dale, I would think. I think the results just speak to how powerful he is as a sports property."

It seemed an incongruous combination -- a race car driver and cologne? This was 2001, before the Daytona 500 became a fragrance, before Jeff Gordon began to pitch Halston, back when the only smells associated with NASCAR were those of tires and fuel. So what on earth was L'Oreal doing, signing Earnhardt to represent its Drakkar Noir brand? Getting way ahead of the curve, as it turns out. The result was an astonishing 46 percent growth rate, which vaulted the fragrance from 18th to second in the market. And this was before most of Earnhardt's Most Popular Driver Awards, before most of his race wins, back when he was a kid with blond highlights living in his father's considerable shadow.

"NASCAR was kind of on the upswing in terms of its popularity, and Dale Jr. was just kind of coming out of the box, and we were really the first person to position him not in his uniform, not as a typical race car driver guy, but to position him as a lifestyle," said Thayer Lavielle, who engineered that campaign for L'Oreal, and is now vice president for marketing and branding at JR Motorsports. "That allowed us to open up an entire new market to our department store distribution and to bring NASCAR fans into those department stores for a different reason, and conversely bring our brand into a sport that had never been tapped before."

Over at Amp, Strnad can relate. The energy drink had a marketing platform built primarily around extreme sports before PepsiCo's existing relationship with the Hendrick team -- and Earnhardt’s admitted affinity for Mountain Dew, of which Amp is a spinoff -- led to the creation of the now-familiar green and white No. 88 car after Dale Jr. joined the super team prior to the 2008 campaign. The six-year-old beverage brand wanted to recast itself around a new image and raise awareness of its product. Thus far, the results have exceeded everyone's expectations.

"When you think about that sea of red turning into a sea of green, it's just an amazing testimony to the power of the Dale sponsorship," said Strnad, referring to the colors worn by members of Earnhardt's fan base today, and during his long tenure with former primary sponsor Budweiser. "We know that when you go down to a race, the Amp brand is just everywhere. It's overwhelming. From a business performance standpoint, the results are extraordinary."

How extraordinary? Consider that even the best-selling energy drinks, on average, enjoy a household penetration of about 24 percent. Among Earnhardt fans, Amp's penetration is 50 percent. In geographic areas where NASCAR is popular, Amp has experienced a growth rate of 120 percent. Overall awareness jumped 17 points, helping the brand move from sixth- to fourth-most popular in the industry. The rise of Amp, the fastest-growing energy drink in America last year, even helped buoy sales of the entire energy-drink category. Oh, and shares of the company's stock went up 2.5 points, too. That's the Junior effect in action.

"We did that with Dale in light of an oil crisis and a recession," Strnad said. "These growth rates are phenomenal. The energy drink category grew about 9 percent in 2008, so we far surpassed category norms as far as growth. With the economic climate being what it is and those growth rates, it shows you how tremendous this sponsorship has been for the Amp brand."

With results like that, no wonder the Wrangler jeans brand recently extended its partnership with Earnhardt for a sixth consecutive year. The company -- which enjoys a long history with the Earnhardts, going back to the Wrangler sponsorship of Dale Sr.'s race cars in the 1980s -- features Dale Jr. in every one of its marketing platforms, from television commercials to in-store displays. Unlike an emerging brand like Amp, Wrangler has long been No. 1 in its class. Earnhardt helps it stay there.

"I definitely think he has helped us increase our brand awareness," said Jenni Broyles, senior marketing communication manager for Wrangler. "We have a really strong, healthy brand, and he adds to that and helps build that brand awareness and in general brings a positive perception toward the brand. People who can identify with him can also identify with our brand. I think to be realistic, there are numerous factors that help us sell product or sell product to our retailers. But I have no doubt that Dale, or who he is or how natural it is for him to be in Wrangler, has benefited us tremendously."

Four times a week. That's how often Thayer Lavielle, vice president for branding and marketing at JR Motorsports -- and the point person when it comes to control of Earnhardt's image -- is approached by someone interested in having their company or product associated with NASCAR's most popular driver. Some of them are legitimate sponsorship opportunities. Others ... well, not as much so.

"It can range from anything from, I have my own fruit basket business and I want to buy a sticker on the car and have Dale Jr. do all my advertising, to, I own a company that makes leather chairs and I want Dale Jr. to be my spokesperson and I'll send his entire company chairs. It really runs the gamut of stuff from lifestyle to racing," Lavielle said. "I'm always appreciative, but we get a lot of people who in their mind think Dale Jr. is a fit, and then in our mind we think, I can see where you're going with that, but that's not really where he is today."

Earnhardt's likeness, signature or car number adorns more than 100 different kinds of products, running the gamut from bedding to T-shirts to decals. That licensing empire, overseen at JR Motorsports by Joe Mattes, is separate from the marketing side, where Lavielle and JR Motorsports president Kelley Earnhardt oversee a more stringent vetting process -- understandable, given that they're dealing with companies that Earnhardt Jr. will be personally associated with. Right now there are about nine major partners that Earnhardt represents, ranging from car sponsors Amp and National Guard, to apparel makers Wrangler and Adidas, to the Web hosting site godaddy.com.

When it comes to choosing partners, Earnhardt -- who does, after all, have a race car to compete in -- allows his management team to do much of the heavy lifting. Sometimes partnerships will occur organically; that's what happened in the case of Adidas, whose products Earnhardt has worn for years. In other instances, a licensing partner may choose to ramp up efforts and step into the marketing arena. But when it comes to an outside pitch, there's often an initial feeling-out process. Is the company familiar with NASCAR? Is it familiar with Earnhardt and who he is? If the answer to those questions is yes, Lavielle may ask to see a commercial script. After that script has been reviewed, edited and tweaked so both sides are comfortable, it finally lands in the hands of the driver himself.

Nine times out of 10, Lavielle said, Earnhardt will give the concept the green light. He also has 100 percent veto power. And it isn't uncommon for Earnhardt to become personally involved in the creative process; this is, after all, a driver with a keen sense of both his fan base and his own image, who oversaw many of the cosmetic details of his No. 88 car when he first moved to Hendrick.

"I think all of our partners have been extremely receptive to him being involved as much as he wants to be," Lavielle said. "What we try to do before we get to the place where he's involved is, try to set the foundation with the partner and say, 'Here's what he's comfortable with, here are some of his suggestions, and here are some things he may be comfortable or not comfortable doing.' An ideal situation is Amp, where we collaborated on what that creative was ahead of time, and it wasn't solely the brand coming to us trying to retrofit into it. It was, how do we try to create something that feels true to both brands?"

Of course, as some recent race track promotions would suggest, not every advertisement involving Earnhardt receives a prior stamp of approval. A minor flap arose in early 2008 after Texas Motor Speedway erected a series of billboards, each stating different reasons to buy tickets to the Fort Worth track. Four of them declared, "Reason #88: Step-Mom," a reference to Earnhardt's falling-out with stepmother Teresa over control of Dale Earnhardt Inc. Kelley Earnhardt asked that the billboards be changed, and track president Eddie Gossage acquiesced.

The billboards may have pushed the limits of good taste, but Gossage said he was completely within his rights as a NASCAR track promoter to erect them in the first place.

"We can produce any billboard we want to, any newspaper ad, and radio ad, any TV ad using his name, his likeness, his image," Gossage said. "There is absolutely no limits to what we can do, and even the drivers don't know that, I don't believe. But when they sign that entry form to enter the race, that is part of what they're signing away, the ability of the promoter to use it, as you should. We're paying millions of dollars. We should have their likeness to use, and we do. Whether it was that silly billboard last year or anything else, we don't have to run it by anybody."

Las Vegas Motor Speedway president Chris Powell said the same thing about his South Point Jackpot promotion. Powell emphasized that he thought he had cleared the idea with Earnhardt's representatives, but word evidently never got to the driver.

Still: "We didn't have to have Dale Jr.'s permission to do what we did a year ago," Powell said. "We [contacted his representatives] as a favor. As a courtesy to say, 'We want to put your name on this promotion.' We don't even have to do that. Because of the agreement each driver has with NASCAR, we are able to use their likeness, we are able to use their name, in order to promote selling tickets. Now, if we try to promote, say, something other than a NASCAR event, then we would certainly owe it to them to get their permission. But to promote a NASCAR event, we can use any driver's likeness or name."

And tracks aren't shy about using Earnhardt. Gossage said Texas uses the driver in every type of advertising it does -- outdoor, television, radio, even e-mail blasts. Every year the facility produces a poster that it sends out to hundreds of thousands of potential ticket buyers. Usually, Earnhardt is the driver featured on it.

"I'm a promoter," Gossage said. "If I can't feel it here in my gut, then I shouldn't be doing this. It's just clear. I don't know the sales figures, but I anecdotally go, look at the huge crowd out there behind Junior's hauler versus whoever else is down the way. Driver introductions, listen to that crowd. It's just obvious. There are some guys who certainly rival him -- Jeff [Gordon], Jimmie [Johnson], Tony [Stewart], Carl [Edwards]. But they're not there, and I think they'd tell you that, too."

From her first days at work at JR Motorsports, Lavielle can recall Earnhardt walking into the office wearing Adidas sweatpants and a T-shirt bearing the company's tri-foil logo. So when it came time for the driver to partner with a sportswear company, there really was only one choice. "He's always been an Adidas guy," Lavielle said. "So it was never really an option to go to another brand on that. That's where his heart and soul is."

Companies love Earnhardt because of his unparalleled popularity. They love Earnhardt because an association with the driver is almost always followed by increased growth rates and sales figures. And they love Earnhardt for his penchant for using the items he represents, which only helps to tighten the bonds between the product, the driver and his legion of devoted fans.

"It's extremely important, because for us, if we're saying our brand is authentic and real and genuine, and then you put someone out there who definitely doesn't wear the product or believe in the product, it's a disconnect," said Jenni Broyles, senior marketing communication manager for Wrangler jeans. "For us, our brand positioning is all about that authenticity. So we definitely wanted someone to be wearing the product and believe in the product."

Earnhardt does, often because his association with certain companies stems from a previous association. A lifetime of wearing Adidas -- which declined to be interviewed for this story -- spawned into an Adidas sponsorship. His family's long history with Wrangler, which backed the car his father drove for owners Rod Osterlund, Jim Stacy, Bud Moore and Richard Childress from 1981-87, made him a natural to represent the clothing company. Executives at Amp knew of Earnhardt's fondness for Mountain Dew and the beverage brand's place in NASCAR, as evidenced by the retro paint scheme, taken from Darrell Waltrip's 1981 Mountain Dew-backed car, that Earnhardt drove at Darlington Raceway last year.

"He really does use a lot of Amp, as testament to the 4 a.m. e-mails we get from him. He really does use it. He and I have talked a lot about the fact that maybe the fans don't really buy into the fact that he does, coming off of Budweiser. So he spoke at length with the creative team about how to present the relationship with their product in a way that is authentic to who he is. Because it's true. It's nothing contrived, it's not being a salesman, it's him being who he is. And that's Dale Jr. He always is who he is," Lavielle said.

"I think that's why he resonates with people. He doesn't stray from that. When a brand that wants to get on board with him is looking for this huge climb, we look at them and say, 'Is it a product that he would use? Is it true to something that is functioning in his world currently?' We're not going to all of the sudden sign up with the fruit basket lady because she thinks it's a good idea."

But for an emerging brand like Amp, the Earnhardt connection provides a degree of pertinence the company might not have enjoyed before. After all, how many other drivers would look cool on top of a camel in a Super Bowl ad? Amp continues to build a campaign around Earnhardt, with plans to introduce a can shaped like a race car, and for Earnhardt's real vehicle to carry the signatures of 70,000 fans during the Amp-backed November race at Talladega Superspeedway. It works because people buy into the guy behind it.

"I think as a marketer, everyone strives for relevance and authenticity, and I think Dale Jr. is the embodiment of just that," said Ken Strnad, Amp Energy's senior manager. "One thing is clear about Dale, and it's the reason why his fans celebrate him so much. He is the genuine article. He's very relevant within NASCAR and has broad mainstream appeal as well. We know that Dale wouldn't just sponsor any product. Amp is a real part of his daily life. It goes beyond a product shot in a post-race interview. Dale uses Amp, he loves the product. It was the perfect fit for Amp, because we were looking for authenticity and relevance."

It's a testament to Earnhardt's ability as a product representative that he's at his commercial peak despite some rather uneven results on the race track. His lone victory in his last 102 starts came last spring at Michigan International Speedway, and a problematic opening to this season has forced him to make a gradual climb from the depths of the point standings. Heading into Sunday's race at Bristol Motor Speedway, he ranks 24th among Sprint Cup drivers, with a single lap led.

Earnhardt has his share of critics, people who believe he hasn't done enough on the track to justify all the attention and fan devotion he receives. More victories behind the wheel would surely silence them, not to mention provide his marketing partners with more of the authenticity they're looking for.

"I think it would help him, as well as those who are trying to sell anything with his name on it, if his performance improves a bit in the 2009 season, because he is so popular," said Las Vegas track president Chris Powell. "He's wildly popular. We've got a young man on our staff here at Las Vegas Motor Speedway who believes Dale Jr. walks on water, and he is just salivating for the time when Dale Jr. gets back in Victory Lane. He won that one race last year at Michigan, but I think with some people, because it was a gas mileage victory, it didn't get probably the respect it would have gotten if he would have been racing door handle to door handle with somebody and been able to pull off the victory. I think for his legions of fans, Dale Jr. needs to win as much as for himself."

For the companies that partner with Earnhardt, race wins are certainly nice. But they know that success on the race track waxes and wanes. The driver's popularity, meanwhile, does not. And that's what they're buying into, more than anything else.

"I would say certainly when he's winning, that's great," said Wrangler's Broyles. "We support him and want him to be winning, not just because he's with the Wrangler brand, but because we really believe in him as a brand. But at the same time, he's the No. 1 most popular driver, and he isn't always the winner. I think realistically, winning is great. But his popularity and his appeal and his likability ... is much more important."

NASCAR ON TV THIS WEEK

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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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