Happy Hump Day! Today In Nascar History July 1, 2000: Kurt Busch wins his first NASCAR race, the Sears DieHard 200 Truck race at The Milwaukee Mile. He leads 156 laps and beats Randy Tolsma to the finish line by .564 seconds. Greg Biffle finishes third. Thanks to Anthony for the heads up on these… Two really cool events going on at the moment. Please let your fans know about www.vest4k9. com and www.smokescamaro.com. Greg and Tony are doing some great work for their foundations, and allows fans some fun opportunities. Hi Momma ~
Victory Junction just started another great event!!! www.forthecamp.com!!!! Let all your friends, family and fans know!!!! Last year’s winner won over $20,000 dollars!!!! You got it Anthony! Quote of the Year
Stupid is Forever --Brian Vickers From Mansi Hey, Bits and Pieces Sheheen replaces Weber as TNT play-by-play voice Bill Weber will not be part of TNT's NASCAR coverage of the Cup Series for the network's last two races. Ralph Sheheen will handle play-by-play duties for The Coke Zero 400 in Daytona and the LifeLock.com 400 from Chicagoland. Sheheen will be calling the races alongside analysts Kyle Petty and Wally Dallenbach in the booth. Penalty Revised For NASCAR Nationwide Series Crew Chief NASCAR announced Tuesday that it has revised the penalty for Bryan Berry, crew chief of the No. 62 Chevrolet in the NASCAR Nationwide Series. Berry allegedly uttered a racial slur to driver Marc Davis, who is black, after the Nationwide race in Nashville. After an investigation Berry had been indefinitely suspended by NASCAR. That suspension however has been lifted starting on July 7. He will remain on probation through the end of the year and will also have to perform community service as directed by NASCAR. Berry is the crew chief for Brendan Gaughan and Rusty Wallace Racing. The incident came at the end of the race on June 6 after Gaughan and Davis had had a run-in on pit road. Team owner Rusty Wallace said that Berry denied that he had said anything racial; NASCAR however said that witnesses told them otherwise. New Hampshire TV ratings up According to Jayski.com, TNT’s telecast Sunday of the Sprint Cup Series’ Lenox Industrial Tools 301 from New Hampshire Motor Speedway earned a 4.1 cable rating and 5.555 million viewers from 1:59-5:45pm ET. The telecast marks the first Cup Series race this season to see both year-over-year ratings and viewership gains, up 2.5% and 1.1% from last year’s 4.0 cable rating and 5.495 million viewers. The race also was the ninth most-viewed telecast on all of cable for the week of June 22-28. For four Cup Series races to date, TNT is averaging a 4.0 cable rating and 5.502 million viewers, down 4.8% and 3.7% from a 4.2 rating and 5.715 million viewers last year. Castroneves wins 2nd Qtr DOTY Award: Indy 500 winner, Helio Castroneves, won a hotly-contested vote for the second quarter Driver of the Year 2009. The Brazilian, who won his third Indy 500 - from the pole - this May, narrowly edged NASCAR's Tony Stewart who is now a co-owner driver, 119-116. It was the closest margin of victory since Stewart lost the overall award in a tie-breaker in 2002. In the voting Castroneves took eight first-place votes and was on every ballot. Stewart was second only three points behind Castroneves. He also garnered eight first-place votes. Mark Martin was third in the voting with 42 points. Kyle Busch also received one first-place ballot. A total of 19 drivers scored points in the first quarter voting. Castroneves will receive a trophy and a Tissot wristwatch to be presented at a later date.(DOTY) R&L returns to sponsor Kenseth: The #17 Ford of Matt Kenseth will carry the green and gold colors of R+L carriers this weekend at Daytona. The scheme will highlight R+L Global Services. It will be the second of four races this season with R+L Carriers as the primary on the #17 Ford. Kenseth has carried the R+L Carriers paint scheme 11 times since 2006. In his 11 previous starts in the #17 R+L Carriers Ford, Kenseth has achieved 11 top-12, nine top-10, and four top-five finishes. Kenseth will not be racing the same car that he won with in the Daytona 500. That car (RK-631), which was actually Kenseth’s third car that weekend, was left behind and can be seen at the Daytona Experience up until next season. The team will bring a brand new chassis (RK-658) to the race this weekend.(RFR). Special scheme for Dale Jr. at Daytona: To honor the National Guard and celebrate Independence Day, the #88 Chevy of Dale Earnhardt Jr. will run a special hand-painted camouflage ACU (Army Combat Uniform) scheme this weekend. The Hendrick Motorsports body shop needed two days and 14 coats of DuPont paint to finish the job. Earnhardt will unveil the paint scheme to National Guard soldiers and fans at Daytona's Bandshell on Wednesday. The National Guard "Serving America"/AMP Energy Chevy is a special paint scheme to honor National Guard soldiers who dedicate a portion of their time to serving their nation, state and local communities. Since first muster in 1636, National Guard soldiers have brought glory and honor upon themselves and the Guard through quiet and selfless service. Approximately 363,000 soldiers strong, the Army
National Guard is the oldest component of the Armed Forces of the United States and celebrated its 372nd birthday in December 2008. PVA/Petty scheme for Allmendinger: The Coke Zero 400 at Daytona International Speedway marks the 25th anniversary of Richard Petty’s 200th victory. The Paralyzed Veterans of America is running a tribute paint scheme on the #44 Dodge of A.J. Allmendinger in honor of the anniversary.(RPM) Kenseth looking to Sweep: #17-Matt Kenseth will be looking to complete a rare sweep of the 2009 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series events at Daytona International Speedway. He will look to join Fireball Roberts (1962), Cale Yarborough (1968), LeeRoy Yarbrough (1969) and Bobby Allison as the only Daytona 500 champions to also win the Independence Day holiday classic in the same year.(DIS) Stremme buys house, helps those out of work: #12-David Stremme added another title to his name this week. The 32-year-old driver just finalized the purchase of a new home in North Carolina. Stremme hired members of the racing community, who lost their jobs in the economic downturn, to help him move into his new abode. Stremme has completed all but one lap of NASCAR Cup Series competition at Daytona International Speedway. The 32-year-old has completed 99.8% of all the laps he has attempted at the historic speedway.(Penske Racing) Chris Wimmer holds off Kenseth to win All-Star Challenge: Chris Wimmer not only won Tuesday night’s All-Star Challenge, he also earned praise from NASCAR Sprint Cup Series points leader Tony Stewart. Wimmer passed Cambridge native and 2003 Cup champion Matt Kenseth with 11 laps left to clinch victory in the 100-lap super late model race in front of approximately 6,000 fans at Madison International Speedway. “I don’t know much about him, but it doesn’t take long to figure out how good he is,” Stewart said of Wimmer. “Obviously, you go beat Matt Kenseth like that, it’s a big deal.(Wisconsin State Journal) No Bill Weber in the TNT booth at NHMS UPDATE 2 no Decision on Daytona: TNT will not have Bill Weber in the booth for the Lenox Industrial Tools 301 today at New Hampshire Motor Speedway, according to a TNT spokesman. “Bill Weber will not be part of TNT's NASCAR coverage of the Cup Series from New Hampshire Motor Speedway this weekend,” said a company statement released by senior vice president Sal Petruzzi. “As this is a private issue, it’s the policy of the company not to discuss personal matters involving our employees.” Ralph Sheheen will step in for Weber on today's telecast. (SceneDaily) UPDATE: Sport's Illustrated's/Frontstretch's Tom Bowles reported on RaceTalkRadio.com that Bill Weber will be replaced by Ralph Sheheen again at Daytona. During Monday night's "Doin' Donuts" radio show Tom Bowles from SI.com and Frontstretch.com reported that TNT will replace Bill Weber again on Saturday night at Daytona International Speedway for the broadcast of the Coke Zero 400. Fans can listen to the complete broadcast by going to the RaceTalkRadio.com homepage and listening to the archived show from last night. UPDATE 2: Sources tell me this is NOT true, no decisions to make a change to the TNT booth have been made for Daytona. NASCAR: Truck Series Safe: Despite reports from independent blogger Mike Mulhern, NASCAR Vice President of Communications Jim Hunter says emphatically that there is no validity to a story circulating that the Camping World Truck Series will shut down. "There's no truth to it whatsoever," Hunter said. "It's total B.S. The demise of the truck series is the figment of one person's imagination. (Mulhern) has a history of fabricating false stories and this is another example of it. We're very aware that (the Camping World Truck Series) is affected the hardest during this economic recession. We're currently looking at options. We've never given up on a series and we're not going to start now." That said, NASCAR is looking at options to reduce costs such as decreasing the schedule, increasing the number of single-day dates and bringing back the half-time pit stops that could eliminate the traveling crews to five or six members. One possible solution that is off the table is the use of crate engines. NASCAR VP of Competition Robin Pemberton said they are not a viable option because "they're not durable to last much beyond one race" which would raise costs, not lower them. Pemberton feels the sanctioning body has made "good gains with new rules and regulations" and the series "still makes sense." (FoxSports) Johnson’s Team Captures Tissot Pit Crew Award in New Hampshire: Jimmie Johnson’s crew grabbed the Tissot Pit Road Precision Award in Sunday’s Sprint Cup race at New Hampshire Motor Speedway. It was the second Tissot victory of the season for the #48 crew, which also won at Bristol in March. The win lifted Johnson’s crew to sole possession of third place in the Tissot standings. The crews for Jeff Gordon and Greg Biffle lead the weekly competition with three wins each. The #48 Lowe’s Chevy spent the least amount of time on pit road – 136.490 seconds -- during the New Hampshire rain-shortened event. The pit crew effort helped Johnson to a top-10 finish (ninth). Johnson’s over-the-wall crew consists of: Mike Lingerfelt (front-tire changer), Art Simmons (front-tire carrier), Jeremy West (rear-tire changer), Andy Brown (rear-tire carrier), Kenneth Purcell (jackman), Rich Gutierrez (gasman), Mike Knauer (catch can) and Ron Malec (eighth man). The team’s pit crew coach is Greg Morin. The #48 crew will collect $5,000 for the pit road win. The team with the most Tissot Pit Road Precision Award wins at the completion of the 36-race Sprint Cup schedule will receive a $100,000 bonus plus Tissot watches for the crew and driver.(Tissot) Zipadelli Named Wypall Wipers Crew Chief of the Race at Loudon: Greg Zipadelli, crew chief for the #20 Home Depot Toyota driven by Joey Logano, has been named the Wypall Wipers Crew Chief of the Race following Sunday's Lenox Industrial Tools 301 at New Hampshire Motor Speedway. Running mid-pack for most of the afternoon, Logano's left rear tire went down around Lap 180, sending him spinning and bringing out the caution. The #20 crew fixed the car and sent him back onto the track, one lap down. Shortly after restarting the race, the yellow came out once again on Lap 190, giving Logano the free pass. With rain in the area, crew chief Greg Zipadelli decided to gamble and leave his 19-year-old driver on track, saving fuel and hoping for a good finish. Because Zippy had brought his driver in just 80 laps earlier, Logano, who had plenty of gas, stayed out on Lap 273 while all the other lead-lap cars pitted under green, and was in the lead when the rains came and the red flag came out on. Shortly after, the race was made official and Zipadelli's daring pit call helped the #20 team score its first victory with rookie Joey Logano. In addition to the $1,000 check, the winning crew chief will receive signage to announce the win on their pit box the following week. The crew chief with the most weekly wins will be honored as the Wypall Wipers Crew Chief of the Year and will be presented a $20,000 check at the season finale in Homestead.(Wypall) Milwaukee Mile track faces uncertain future in sport Track owes fees to both NASCAR and Indy Racing League By The Associated Press MILWAUKEE -- The historic Milwaukee Mile race track faces an uncertain future with its promoters behind on payments due to NASCAR and the Indy Racing League. While track promoters have paid prize money to teams, they have not fully paid sanctioning fees owed to NASCAR and the IRL, according to reports in the Charlotte Observer and Indianapolis Star. Both leagues confirmed those reports to The Associated Press on Tuesday. The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reported that promoters owed NASCAR nearly $1.9 million. A track spokesman said officials had no comment. NASCAR confirms Mayfield tested positive for meth By The Associated Press CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- NASCAR confirmed Wednesday that suspended driver Jeremy Mayfield tested positive for methamphetamines. The confirmation came outside federal court after Mayfield's attorney mentioned the illegal substance several times during a 45-minute argument against the driver's indefinite suspension. Court recessed after Bill Diehl's argument and is set to reconvene Wednesday afternoon. "We will prove beyond a shadow of a doubt that Jeremy Mayfield did violate the NASCAR substance abuse policy and tested positive for methamphetamines," spokesman Ramsey Poston said. Diehl argued in court that Mayfield has never shown any characteristics of a meth abuser. "His teeth were never rotting out, his eyes were not sunken," Diehl said. "He never displayed any characteristics that are commonly seen by everyone among people who use meth." In an affidavit filed last week, Mayfield denied ever using methamphetamines and said he didn't know how he failed a random drug test taken May 1. He was suspended eight days later after his backup "B" sample also came back positive for a banned substance. Previously, NASCAR had refused to disclose what substance Mayfield tested positive for, and blacked out the name of the drug in all court filings leading up to Wednesday's hearing. Mayfield has blamed his positive test result on the combination of Adderall for Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder, and Claritin-D for allergies, an explanation repeatedly debunked by NASCAR's program administrator. Mayfield is challenging the validity of NASCAR's testing system, and Diehl argued it's flawed because Mayfield never had the opportunity to get his backup "B" sample tested by an independent laboratory. Nashville, Tenn.-based Aegis Sciences Corp., which runs NASCAR's testing program, tested both of Mayfield's samples. Diehl argued that federal guidelines allow an individual a 72-hour window to have an independent lab analyze a sealed backup sample. He said that when Aegis tested the backup "B" sample two days after the "A" sample came back positive, Mayfield lost any opportunity to challenge the results because the seal had been broken on the second sample. He also condemned NASCAR for acting as if its policies are above federal guidelines. "They say 'We're not bound by anything. We're NASCAR. We can do what we want to do,"' Diehl said. Diehl wants U.S. District Court Judge Graham Mullen to reinstate Mayfield on Wednesday in time to travel to this weekend's race at Daytona International Speedway. He said NASCAR would not be harmed by Mayfield racing this weekend, and the sanctioning body can drug test Mayfield every day going forward. "Independence Day for Jeremy ought to be today," Diehl told Mullen, noting that Saturday night's race falls on the holiday. Mayfield indicated outside court he will go to Daytona if he's reinstated, but he was not clear in what capacity. He owns his own low-budget team, but said in court documents last week that he's had to lay off 10 employees, borrow money from family and sell personal assets to meet his living expenses. "I want to drive and would love to be there driving," he said. "But obviously it's late in the week. But we'll definitely be there." Ownership of the No. 41 Toyota was transferred to his wife, Shana, following his suspension, but she cited financial reasons in not sending the team to the past five races. The team used J.J. Yeley in the first two races following Mayfield's suspension. Mullen advised the court he would recess after 75 minutes because he had a funeral to attend and said he'd hear NASCAR when he returned. "What Bill Diehl proved [Wednesday] is that he has a remarkably vivid imagination in terms of what the procedures are," Poston said. "NASCAR followed all its procedures. The samples are pristine, and this afternoon we have the opportunity to speak to the judge." The fans are helping Wallace race in Montreal No sponsor last year left Kenny with DNF, wife in tears By Dave Rodman, NASCAR.COM "The Fans" are going to sponsor Kenny Wallace's Nationwide Series entry in a couple months when NASCAR's No. 2 national tour goes to Canada for its third annual visit. For a minimum of 20 bucks, you too can get your name on owner Jay Robinson's No. 28 Chevrolet -- the owner has guaranteed it, Wallace says. More than 3,500 people have already pitched-in -- including one woman who "came into some money" and donated $10,000 because Wallace is upbeat and makes her happy. Wallace swears it's a one-time deal, ignited by a fan in Alabama, Jim Ryan. Wallace didn't even want to do it, and after the suggestion first appeared on his Facebook page "I spent six weeks trying to make it go away," Wallace said last weekend in New Hampshire. "I really didn't want to do it, I didn't want to look bad for doing it," Wallace swore. "But the people wouldn't let it go away. They really wanted me to do it. It was their idea." And despite the generally bogus nature of the many previous attempts at fan-backed cars -- and Wallace's hesitance to go that route on account -- he was finally compelled to let the tide take its course. And he can't believe with a little less than a month to go before the July 31 deadline Wallace set in order to get in a road course test and finalize the car's graphic design, that he's well over halfway to the sizeable goal he set when the project began. But he's bluntly aware of why he's in this position, too. Sometimes -- more often than not in racing -- moments of searing pain have a profound impact on future decisions. And we're not just talking about the pain of broken bones here -- though that would surely get your attention. This is a violent business we're dealing with, but even at that, sometimes there's no anguish greater than mental. Just ask Wallace about Montreal 2008, when a complicated deal between three car owners resulted in one of the most shocking things Wallace said he's ever seen behind the wheel of a race car. It's the deal that's ultimately put him in the position he hesitantly got into. He hesitated, but more than anything Wallace is a racer, so raising enough sponsorship "to do the race the right way," which would be testing and having enough tires to practice and race all-out, stripped away his reluctance. That wasn't the case a year ago. As Wallace rolled off pit road to begin the pace laps for the second annual Nationwide Series road race at Circuit Gilles Villeneuve, he looked at his No. 28 Chevrolet's pit stall and all he saw was his wife Kim, tears filling her eyes as she sat, alone, on the Jay Robinson Racing pit box. There wasn't another soul there. "I was stunned -- I thought, 'is this what my career's come to?'" Wallace recalled recently. "I had no pit crew, because my car owner had a deal with James Finch, who was running Landon Cassill for Rick Hendrick, and they had to pit Landon's car first, then come and pit mine on another lap. "We had no tires to practice or really, to race. The car wasn't wired for a windshield wiper. When it started raining, I had to drive over next to the guard rail because I couldn't see. That's how I managed to find my way back to the pits and I had to pull out of the race because I couldn't see." "I said, right then and there, that I would never let that happen again," Wallace said. "I told the team I'd get the sponsorship to do the race in Canada." Wallace has continually sworn there's no one better than his car owner at formulating a budget for his race teams and then staying within it. Robinson's a rarity at his level, a racer who won't go into debt to race. But when Wallace's car's sponsor, the U.S. Border Patrol, couldn't participate in the event that's obviously way north of the border; and without the sponsorship money, Robinson couldn't properly field the car, it left Wallace biting his lip and his wife in tears. And so 2009 rolled in and finding sponsorship is obviously easier said than done. But while he's spent decades developing his racing career, Wallace has also taken pains to stay media savvy -- and for him that means cultivating a presence on Facebook and Twitter, which fans can reach from kennywallace.com. "We've got a lot of passionate Canadian fans, so I put up a post -- a feeler -- to see if there was any corporate interest up in Canada for doing anything with the race in Montreal," Wallace said. "Several people suggested doing a fan's car, but one of them, Jim Ryan, stood out. We were trying to keep it on the down-low; I didn't want to get embarrassed. "But the people have stepped-up. I'm going to be part of NASCAR's press conference at Daytona with Carl Edwards, promoting the race. The race track up in Montreal was so excited about it; they've set up a meet-and-greet at the track for everyone who's sponsored the car who's up there." Wallace is one garage rat who generally operates at a fairly high RPM level, but the support he's seeing with his latest crusade has added a few hundred revs to his personal tachometer. "I'll tell you, only a therapist could get some of the stuff out of me that I felt after that deal in Montreal last year -- it was devastating," Wallace said. "That's no knock on Jay, because he's an incredible car owner. He budgets everything, he's months ahead on that and the car has to support itself. "A week after Montreal, we had a beautiful U.S. Border Patrol car at Watkins Glen, ran pretty well and nearly got a top-20 out of it. I can't get over the way that people are stepping up to make this happen for us. But even so, this is a one-time deal only -- I just couldn't do it again." But at least for one priceless time, when the pain just overwhelmed him, Wallace decided he'd let the fans' support heal him. Did You Notice? Ganassi Kept The Wrong Guy, Logano's A Little Too Shy, And Money Talks Thomas Bowles · Frontstretch.com Did You Notice? … That for all the Joey Logano hype, not everyone is jumping on the bandwagon quite yet? Certainly, Sunday’s race was a bonified step in the right direction for establishing the 19-year-old as a national superstar. But while Logano shattered the record for being the youngest race winner in NASCAR history, what we’ve yet to see from him – and what I’m excited to see develop – is his personality. What we’re witnessing, folks, for better or for worse is a driver who could very well turn out to be the dominant Sprint Cup force over the next decade. And because of that, it’s critically important that a sport more and more people are referring to as “vanilla” gets its next superstar packaged with a little extra spice of personality. That’s not to say Logano’s a bad kid, by any means. Everything that we’ve seen so far has been positive, from his refusal to get caught up completely in Kyle Busch’s “Bad Boy” antics to his heartfelt emotion towards his parents in Victory Lane Sunday night. But for this kid to really shine over the long-term, he needs to differentiate himself from the cookie-cutter, sponsor-spouting generic driver cutouts we’ve seen develop into superstars as of late. Instead, he’s got to have that little extra “something” people latch onto, a personality unique enough that fans gravitate to him the way they do the sport’s other superstars. That niceness needs to come complete with a full slate of emotional characteristics: frustration, excitement, charisma, aggression (at the right times, of course) … traits that will help him relate to people that may not even know what NASCAR is yet. If Logano is the future, he needs to be able to make those connections; those empty seats in the stands depend on it. Of course, as an optimist I have faith that personality growth will come … although right now, I just don’t see it yet. Instead, I see a 19-year-old still adjusting to his surroundings, in shock he already has victory in the Cup Series and not quite at the confidence level yet where he’ll come out of his shell and be Joey Logano, not the Joey Logano he was programmed to be from an early age. There’s too much “say what I think I should say” and not “say what I really mean…” but maybe it’s just me. And hopefully, a year from now we’re talking about how he’s becoming one of the most popular drivers in the garage, with a marketability and talent level that’s capable of reaching heights seen only by the best of the best. Because after seeing the same ten drivers week in, week out, dominate the top of the standings for several years, it’s clear this sport is ready for a new contender to enter the fold. Did You Notice? … Money can’t always buy you success? Paul Menard is in his third year in the Cup Series, on the strength of a multi-million dollar sponsorship that just happens to be connected to his dad. But as this season has painfully shown, he just doesn’t seem to have the basic talent capable of keeping him racing at NASCAR’s top level. Menard’s one of just two drivers (David Stremme is the other) to qualify for every race without scoring a top 10 finish this season – in his 17 starts, the best he could come up with is a pair of 13th place performances at Texas and Talladega. Rookies Max Papis, Scott Speed, and the perpetually underfunded Robby Gordon all have better top finishes so far this season. However, the real disappointment in Menard’s case is that the much-needed cash infusion his sponsor was supposed to give Yates Racing hasn’t resulted in a competitive boost. At the moment, the team has neither of its two vehicles in the top 25 in owner points (Bobby Labonte sits 28th) and has led a grand total of 17 laps all year. Compare that with this point a year ago, when Travis Kvapil already had three top 10 finishes in Yates’ primary car and was sitting 19th in the standings, and you’ll see why Menard’s move proved to be such a downer. With that type of track record, you’d expect at the end of this year Menard would be thinking retirement ala Michael Waltrip or at least stepping back into the Nationwide Series – a place he was far more competitive. But in this dog-eat-dog world, there are teams right now that would kill for the kind of cash he brings to the table. Money talks these days, and the men who produce lifelines of cash are going to be the ones sitting in the driver’s seat. It was a Catch-22 for Yates Racing to pick up Menard during the offseason, knowing his talent level was below that of both drivers already in the fold. But it was a choice teams hope they’ll never have to make: take the cash and ensure their survival, regardless of the finishes, or build on their recent improvement while taking a gigantic risk both Kvapil and David Gilliland would be able to bring in sponsorship to keep them from going broke. Five months later, it does appear Yates made the right move on that front as Kvapil sits on the sidelines without sponsorship at the same time Gilliland is driving the near-equivalent of a start and park. But don’t you wish their hard work actually paid off? Instead, Yates Racing took the survivor’s way out … in the end, they just wanted to get paid. And as long as Menard gets to keep racing, everyone on the team will be assured of that … it’s just an ominous look into the sport’s future should sponsorship money and cost of competition continue to keep going up. Did You Notice? … The nickname “double-file restarts, SHOOTOUT STYLE!” seems to be dying a slow, painful death? It’s taken a couple of weeks to start fading a bit, and I think if we cross our fingers and don’t mention it anymore beyond this column… maybe it will actually disappear for good. And thank God, because I think that replaced “Boogity, Boogity, Boogity!” as the most annoying NASCAR catch phrase for both fans and garage members alike. Whenever I heard it, it made me think of a wrestling ring, not a race track… “DOUBLE FILE RESTARTS, SHOOTOUT STYLE!! HERE COMES GORDON, TAKING THE CHAIR AND SMASHING IT OVER DALE JUNIOR’S HEAD! BUT HOLD ON, FOLKS… OH MY, IT’S BRIAN VICKERS WITH THE BODYSLAM!! CAN YOU SMELL … WHAT THE BUSCH IS COOKING!” Seriously, all we needed was Ric Flair going “WOOOO!” and the transition from NASCAR to wrestling would have been complete. Did You Notice? … Earnhardt Ganassi Racing kept the wrong guy? Let me explain: after seven races, their struggling No. 8 car driven by Aric Almirola was shut down due to a combination of poor performance and a lack of sponsorship money. Almirola was initially supposed to return to the Cup Series this weekend at Daytona, as well as the rest of the 2009 season. Now, EGR President Steve Lauletta says the earliest he expects to bring back the team would be mid-August … pending sponsorship (there’s that ugly word again). Sounds more and more to me like a whole lot of hype with no substance behind it. The problem with Almirola is, although he’s such a great guy off the track the results just don’t back him up to potential sponsors. In just 25 career starts, he’s got just one top 10 to go along with 6 DNFs and a pitiful average finish of 29.4. Considering the performances of some of the rookies or “almost” rookies this season, Almirola’s lackluster results clearly indicate he needs about a year to two years of time in a development series before moving up. Here’s the issue for EGR, though; they already had a proven driver that could have stepped behind the No. 8 car this season, and that man was Regan Smith. Let’s take a look at the results of second-year driver Smith, who EGR promptly let go at the end of last season in favor of keeping Almirola. As a result, he ended up landing with the small, single-car outfit of Furniture Row Racing, a team with maybe a third of the budget big time organizations like EGR, Roush, Hendrick, and others have in their arsenal. But not only has Smith finished each and every one of the races he’s run all year, but collected five finishes of 22nd or better in nine starts. In fact, Smith has finished all 50 races he started – remember, 41 of those were for DEI – and shown a remarkable knack for keeping his car out of trouble. At the moment, Smith and FRR look to be in serious talks to gain sponsorship to run a full season in 2010. But with a ride open at EGR and Bass Pro Shops available to team up with somebody, EGR would be prudent to take a good look at Smith – especially considering the small number of actual free agents available. Giving the kid a second chance might not be a bad thing. NASCAR Then and Now: Gordon Wins First Night Race at Daytona Rob Tiongson/bleacherreport.com Prior to 1998, the Daytona International Speedway was one of the few super speedways on the NASCAR circuit that lacked a permanent lighting system. After all, who thought about racing at night around the "The World Center of Racing"? It was home to two of the most exciting events of the year with the season-opening Daytona 500 in February and the mid-summer classic in the Firecracker 400. In no way did it need to be like rival tracks in Concord, N.C., Bristol, Tenn., or other small tracks across the country. Not a chance. Well, the powers that be at International Speedway Corporation, who own a majority of the venues on the NASCAR schedule, wondered "what the night could do," as Steve Winwood once sang in 1988. Over the winter of 1997-1998, the diligent staff of Daytona installed MUSCO lighting systems all around the track, completing the ambitious project in anticipation of the Pepsi 400 scheduled for Saturday, July 4th. Fans, competitors, and the media were left in awe at the beautiful sights of the newly-lit 2.5-mile superspeedway. "This place is so lit up, it almost looks like a day race in these cars", which then TNN Motorsports personality Dr. Dick Berggren said during the race broadcast. The late Dale Earnhardt piloted his No. 3 Goodwrench Service Plus Chevrolet for a few circuits around the track in front of a relatively tremendous crowd who were essentially watching a media-driven test session. With Earnhardt giving the thumbs up, fans counted down to the race date of Independence Day. All the ingredients for a perfect race were there: · It was NASCAR's 50th Anniversary, with huge merchandising gimmicks and media tributes for fans to immerse themselves in. · "The Man In Black" had won—finally—the Daytona 500 earlier in the year, thus making him the odds-on favorite for the Pepsi 400. · And oh yea, it was going to be held on July 4th, America's birthday. Who needed fireworks when you got the sparks flying off of 43 cars? Unfortunately, not so much for the race, but for residents of central and southern Florida, there was a bigger concern to worry about. The summer of '98 wasn't exactly kind to Floridians, with the wildfires threatening homeowners as well as the countless animal sanctuaries around the region. Families fled from their homes, wondering if they would return back to a place that was intact or destroyed in the fire's wake. Volusia County was declared a disaster area by the federal government—significant because it is the home to Daytona International Speedway. The track, sponsors, and the sport reached a decision, and a right one at that, to postpone the Pepsi 400 to the Cup Series' open weekend date of Saturday, Oct. 17th. With the wildfire threat eventually eliminated within a month, the NASCAR circuit pressed on, with records breaking, cheating accusations a plenty, new stars emerging, and a championship race that was basically won in the heat of the summer months. The Winston Cup championship chase came down to a two man show between Jeff Gordon and Mark Martin. In essence, it was the classic battle pitting Chevrolet versus Ford, Hendrick Motorsports against Roush Racing—sounds exciting, right? Wrong. Gordon essentially stunk up fans' hopes for a close points race for the title, assuming the points lead with his fourth win of the year on the newly-configured Sears Point Raceway—a lead he would never relinquish despite the strong efforts of Martin and Dale Jarrett. By the time the tour hit up the high banks of Daytona for an October classic, the complexion of the sport was starting to change. Dale Earnhardt, Jr. was tabbed to drive in five races in the Cup ranks, Darrell Waltrip was essentially racing into the twilight of his career, a new event at Homestead-Miami Speedway was announced, and some guy named Gordon was en-route to his third championship in his sixth season. Still, with races at Phoenix, Rockingham, and Atlanta to be run, a mistake on Gordon's end would essentially breathe a bit of life into the title hunt. Are you kidding? Coming off a runner-up finish in the Winston 500 at the hands of victor Jarrett, Gordon and the No. 24 DuPont Chevy team licked its chomps to win their sponsor's showcase. Racing conservatively for the early going, "The Rainbow Warrior" hovered around the top five for the first half of the race as contenders Rusty Wallace, Jarrett, Earnhardt, and Bobby Labonte led the field. Earnhardt would be eliminated from contention when he drove his No. 3 Chevy into a stray tire on pit road, damaging the front valence of his car and his hopes for a win. Jarrett would contend until the near bitter end of the race, when his No. 88 Quality Care Ford Taurus cut down a tire which sent him from the lead lap to the lap behind pack. With Wallace, Bobby Labonte, Terry Labonte, Jeremy Mayfield, and Mike Skinner left to play "prevent defense" against "The Wonderboy," their hopes to deny the 27-year-old from Victory Lane were unsuccessful. Gordon led for 49 circuits, on laps 88-90, 100-107, and most importantly, the final 37 trips around DIS. Taking the lead from Kenny Irwin, Jr. on lap 123, the only thing standing in the No. 24's way was Mother Nature. Even the brief rain showers could not deter the road to victory for the points leader, as Gordon held off Labonte, Skinner, Mayfield, and Wallace to the stripe for his 11th victory of 1998. The win, which increased Gordon's point lead over Martin from 288 to 358, essentially ended any hopes for challengers Martin and Jarrett to dethrone "The Kid." It was also the No. 24 team's 17th straight top-five finish, which played a pivotal role into the substantial points lead held for the remainder of the season. Eleven years later, there have been some dramatic finishes and stories from this 400-miler, now known as the Coke Zero 400 powered by Coca-Cola. From Jarrett's fuel mileage win in 1999 to Kyle Busch's thriller last year, the action of this July classic is unlike any other race in the dog days of summer. So fans, what's been your favorite night-time running of the 400? Does RCR have a long term future? Josh Lobdell/Detroit NASCAR Examiner Every so often we see a once elite team in NASCAR’s Sprint Cup series lose a step, fall behind their competition some of the time the team rights itself and continues on, but some of the time the once elite team simply fades away. Such as the teams of Robert Yates Racing or Petty Enterprises. It would now seem that Richard Childress Racing is at something of a cross roads. Sites like Jayski, autoracingsport.com and my fellow Sports Examiner Paula Duffy are reporting that RCR is set to lose both Shell Pennzoil and Jack Daniels as primary sponsors leaving this four car team with funding only for two. A lot of people will be quick to blame the economy and sure that may be factor but these people fail to understand that NASCAR racing is a performance industry, and one must perform to keep sponsors and stay funded. While it is true RCR has lost most, if not all, of its manufacturer support from GM, we are really talking about a team that so far in 2009 failed to perform. In fact really the performance of RCR has been somewhat lackluster for the past few seasons. In 2008 RCR won three races, in 2007 they took all three cars to victory lane including Kevin Harvick’s win in the Daytona 500. In 2006 this team won 6 races. The main problem here seems to be this is a team headed in the wrong direction. As it stands right now Clint Bowyer, by far the best running RCR car in 2009 is 94 points behind 12th place and a chase birth. After getting caught up in a wreck on Sunday Jeff Burton is 108 points behind 12th. The other two RCR cars of Harvick and #07 Casey Mears are 451 points and 302 points behind 12th respectively. It is these two cars we need to focus on since they are the one who seem most likely to lose their sponsor funding. It now appears likely that Harvick’s career at RCR has run its course. This is not the fault of any one thing, but happens so often in NASCAR when owner and driver need to separate and go down different paths. Ryan Newman came to this point with Penske Racing in 2008 made a change and looks likely to qualify for the chase in 2009. Ironically enough if Harvick were to leave RCR in 2010 he would be an ideal candidate for the third Stewart-Haas car. In the case of Mears I think enough time has passed to prove that this guy just isn’t a Sprint Cup driver. He has had every opportunity and drove in some very good equipment and the only thing he has to show for that is one Cup win. It may be time for Mears to go to a different form of auto racing. While there is a lot of bad news for RCR at the moment there is some light at the end of the tunnel. Given the economic crisis and the ever shrinking size of the NASCAR Sprint Cup garage, RCR could theoretically drop down to the two teams it has funding for in 2010 and team up with Earnhardt –Ganassi who seem poised to lose a driver and have a sponsor to spare. It seems that a four car effort out of a combined Earnhardt-Ganassi-Childress shop could be just the short term fix the team needs to survive in the short term. This move is not so farfetched when we consider that Childress and Earnhardt already are teamed up with a common engine shop. Add to that the fact that Childress and the Earnhardt family are extremely close and we could see a strong connection between these two once elite NASCAR organizations. While a lot of this is merely conjecture, NASCAR fans must realize that teams will do whatever is needed to survive the economic downturn, and sponsorship trouble. Top Ten Reasons New Hampshire Was the Only Race This Year To See a Ratings Increase Jeff Meyer/frontstretch.com 10. It’s the week before the Fourth of July, and most folks stayed home this weekend so they could afford to go out. 9. Most of “Junior Nation” cashed in their “end of the month beer cans” and got their cable reconnected. 8. Naysayers are still tuning in, hoping to be vindicated and see “double file restart mayhem.” 7. It was raining everywhere else, too. 6. Improvements to the track are finally starting to pan out. 5. It’s probably gonna lose a date, so you might as well watch while you can. 4. Word is finally spreading that there really is no more Digger or DW this year. 3. A Kyle Busch apology?! That’s worth tuning in for right there! 2. Well, it is the Lenox Industrial Tool 301! Not the 500. Does that tell you something, NASCAR? 1. One name: Ralph Sheheen! NASCAR ON TV THIS WEEK
All times Eastern 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!"
"Don't come here and grumble about going too fast. Get the hell out of the race car if you've got feathers on your legs or butt. Put a kerosene rag around your ankles so the ants won't climb up there and eat that candy ass." -Dale Earnhardt - 1998 |
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