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Today In Nascar History

April 4, 1982

Dale Earnhardt, the 1980 Winston Cup champion, wins at Darlington to earn one of Ford's two victories in '82. Earnhardt, who has gone on to win six more championships, also collected one of Ford's two poles during the season.

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  ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ Bits and Pieces

MEARS TOPS DAY 2 AT MARTINSVILLE
Chip Ganassi Racing says Casey Mears lapped Martinsville Speedway at 92.597 mph in the team's No. 41 Dodge in what the track says was the fastest reported lap as two days of testing wound up Wednesday. The second-fastest reported lap was recorded by Jack Sprague in Haas/CNC Racing's No. 0 Pontiac at 92.461, while Ricky Craven was third at 92.101 in PPI Motorsports' No. 32 Pontiac. The other five Winston Cup teams testing included Joe Nemechek, Tony Raines, David Hyder (subbing for Kyle Petty), Greg Biffle and Steve Park.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ TALLADEGA TAPS JIM KELLY
Talladega Superspeedway officials have named former National Football League quarterback Jim Kelly as grand marshal for Sunday Aaron's 499 Winston Cup race. Kelly, who led the Buffalo Bills to four straight Super Bowls and is in the NFL Hall of Fame, is now a part owner of a Busch Series team with Frank Cicci. ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ TRACK APPOINTS EMERGENCY MEDICAL DIRECTOR
Las Vegas Motor Speedway says it has hired Brett Olbur to be the director of emergency medical services. Olbur will be responsible for the management of the infield care center, the scheduling of safety and rescue vehicles for on-track events and working with all sanctioning bodies who hold events there. Olbur, who has 17 years of experience as a paramedic and emergency room technician, will also supervise the facility's fire and safety team and work with the track's physician, Dr. Dale Carrison, during all events. ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ Hmiel's sponsor less Busch team could fold
By JIM UTTER
ThatsRacin.com Writer

TALLADEGA, Ala. - Despite four consecutive finishes of 13th or better and his seventh-place position in points, Busch driver Shane Hmiel still needs a primary sponsor for his Innovative Motorsports team to continue his season beyond this weekend.

"I can't continue to fund the team myself," said George deBidart, the team owner. "If it weren't for these guys on my team and their families, I would have stopped racing the car a long time ago."

Hmiel finished third last weekend at Texas and will start 25th Saturday.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ Jimmie Johnson To Be An Awards Presenter At CMT FLAMEWORTHY 2003 VIDEO MUSIC AWARDS: Country music's hottest celebrities will be joined by stars from across the entertainment world when they share the stage at the CMT FLAMEWORTHY 2003 VIDEO MUSIC AWARDS live on Monday, April 7 at 8:00-10:00 PM, ET* on CMT: Country Music Television. Appearing with co-hosts Pamela Anderson ("Baywatch" and "VIP") and country superstar Toby Keith will be presenters Brett Butler ("Grace Under Fire"), Mo Rocca ("The Daily Show"), Wilmer Valderrama ("That '70s Show"), NFL superstar and Tennessee Titan Kevin Carter, and NASCAR racing phenomenon Jimmie Johnson. Country stars presenting awards include Martina McBride, Keith Urban, Deana Carter, Hank Williams Jr., Trace Adkins, Jessica Andrews, Terri Clark, Chris Cagle, and Steve Azar. Also in the spotlight will be infamous New York City street performer The Naked Cowboy. The CMT FLAMEWORTHY 2003 VIDEO MUSIC AWARDS is country music's only fan-voted awards show and only video music awards. CMT viewers have cast more than 2.5 million votes online at CMT.com for their choices in each of the Flameworthy categories. The final five nominees for the Flameworthy Video of the Year will be announced at the beginning of the live telecast on Monday, April 7, and viewers will choose the winner at CMT.com during the show. The winner will be announced live during the telecast. Tickets for the CMT FLAMEWORTHY 2003 VIDEO MUSIC AWARDS are on sale now at CMT's Web site CMT.com, and through Ticketmaster at 615/255-9600 or ticketmaster.com. In Nashville, tickets are available at all Ticketmaster locations and at the Gaylord Entertainment Center box office. - CMT PR ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ Drivers do much more than go fast and turn left - Did you Know...?: Johnny Benson's father competed in one Winston Cup event during his racing career, finishing 21st in the Motor State 400 at Michigan International Speedway in 1973. Dave Blaney's brother, Dale, played college basketball at West Virginia and was drafted by the Los Angeles Lakers. Ward Burton once spent two years living in a cabin and surviving off the land. He also owns a World War II-vintage jeep. Dale Earnhardt Jr. began his racing career when he and his brother, Kerry Earnhardt, sold a go-kart for $500 to purchase a beat-up Chevy Monte Carlo street stock car for $200. Robby Gordon eats a turkey sandwich before every race. Kevin Harvick has a dog named "Backup," which he got in 2001 after his first dog died. Casey Mears began racing BMX bicycles at the age of 4. Kyle Petty was recruited by several college football teams to play quarterback. Shawna Robinson is an interior decorator who has decorated the homes of driver Michael Waltrip and owner Robert Yates. Mike Skinner has won amateur pool tournaments in five states. Rusty Wallace once crashed while waving to the crowd following a victory at a short track in Springfield, Mo. Well, now you know. - The Birmingham Post-Herald ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ The Composite Seat, The Wave Of The Future:? After Kyle Petty's 80-G crash at Bristol, the hardest hit yet recorded on NASCAR's black box data recorders, drivers may be shuddering a bit here. Petty suffered either cracked or broken ribs and bad bruises, but he will try to start Sunday after sitting out the Texas 500. His high-tech seat, body-fitted in composite carbon-fiber, may have been critical in protecting him from more serious injuries. And that has caught everyone's attention. "Hendrick Motorsports has been designing and working on a composite seat," Jimmie Johnson says. "It just reconfirms that this is the way to go, that composite seat is the wave of the future. We need to get these seats into effect. We're ready and prepared to be building these seats and put them out there, but we still need to get them approved by NASCAR. Hopefully this will help speed up that process."

Also... Despite War, TV Ratings Hot: Despite the intensive coverage of the war in Iraq, NASCAR's television ratings remain hot. Sunday's Texas 500 pulled a 6.3 rating, beating all the competition, including the NCAA regional finals on CBS (Syracuse-Oklahoma, with a 4.8) and golf's Players Championship (3.7). For the season Fox' NASCAR coverage is still averaging a 6.3 rating, up slightly over last year's 6.1 over the same period.
- The Winston-Salem Journal

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ Motorsports Hall of Fame inducts diverse Class of 2003: TALLADEGA The International Motorsports Hall of Fame inducted its 2003 class Thursday night a class with a background as varied as racing itself. Mel Kenyon races and builds United States Auto Club midgets. Ray Fox built stock cars and served as a NASCAR inspector. Briggs Cunningham built and drove sports cars that competed with the best in the world. A.J. Watson built cars that won the Indianapolis 500, and Emerson Fittipaldi raced to the top of the Formula One and Indy car worlds. Kenyon told his audience he was especially glad he was being inducted by Winston Cup driver Ryan Newman, who won a United States Auto Club midget series rookie championship while driving for Kenyon in 1995. "When the hall asked if I wanted Ryan to be a presenter, I said that would be great. His mother and sister used to polish his race car when he drove for us," Kenyon said. - The Birmingham News ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ Three Consecutive Weeks Of NASCAR Testing Starts Tuesday At Richmond International Raceway: April 3, 2003 --The first NASCAR testing of the season at Richmond International Raceway starts next week, as NASCAR Busch Series drivers Ron Hornaday, Johnny Sauter and Troy Cline are scheduled to test on Tuesday, April 8 and Wednesday, April 9. Scheduled to test NASCAR Winston Cup Series cars April 15-16 are Ricky Rudd and Kurt Busch, along with Dave Blaney, Coy Gibbs, Stacey Compton, Lyndon Amick, Martin Truex Jr., and Chad Blount who will test NASCAR Busch Series cars. Sterling Marlin and Jason Rudd will test on April 16-17 only. More drivers are expected to test on April 22-23 and other drivers may be added to the two other sessions. Check back to www.rir.com for updates. Fans are invited to watch testing each day. The gates will be open from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. each day. ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Credit: Autostock

Earnhardt Jr. a clear favorite in Aaron's 499
By Jenna Fryer, The Associated Press

TALLADEGA, Ala. (AP) -- Jimmie Johnson would love to be the driver to unseat Dale Earnhardt Inc. in restrictor-plate races.

Johnson has had his ups and downs at Talladega Superspeedway, site of Sunday's race, and hopes a little help from his Hendrick Motorsports teammates can push him to his first win of the season.

"I almost won the Daytona 500,'' he said. "If we can keep the DEI cars separated and get some help from one of my teammates, I think we have a shot at the win.''

Johnson did challenge for the win at Daytona, only to finish third after Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Michael Waltrip ganged up on him on a restart.

Chad Knaus, Johnson's crew chief, has put his car on the pole at Talladega for four straight races -- twice with Stacy Compton in 2001 and with Johnson earning the top spot both times last year.

Johnson parlayed his strong start into a seventh-place finish in the spring. But his chances for a win in October were wrecked in the fall in a prerace accident with Mark Martin.

Regardless, he and the rest of the field recognizes that Earnhardt is the clear favorite in the Aaron's 499.

He's won three straight races at Talladega, but isn't talking about a four-peat. After winning three preliminary races in the seven days before the Daytona 500, a failed alternator eliminated him from the main event.

"They can say or write whatever they want, but I'm not going to talk about winning four in a row,'' he said. "I talked too much at Daytona and it jinxed us. Our record speaks loud enough at Talladega.''

That it does.

In six career starts at Talladega, Earnhardt has led five races for 392 laps. He dominated both events a year ago, leading 240 of the combined 376 total laps. No one in the field could catch him in the spring, when he led 133 of 188 laps to earn a $1 million bonus.

Now the only real question is whether all the parts and pieces on the No. 8 Chevrolet will hold up through the entire Aaron's 499.

"The Daytona race still bothers me, but we'll have a new alternator in the car,'' he said.  "I promise.''

Broken parts are about the only thing that can slow Earnhardt when it comes to restrictor-plate racing. He inherited his father's ability to master drafting through traffic on the 2.66-mile oval and is chasing the late Dale Earnhardt's mark of 10 Winston Cup victories on NASCAR's longest and fastest track.

Earnhardt made restrictor-plate racing a priority for his son, and Talladega was the first track on which he allowed Junior to test a Cup or Busch series car. He gave his son a few hours' notice that they were going and only a quick bit of advice: "Don't let off the throttle in the turns or you'll crash.''

Since that day, Earnhardt Jr. has excelled at Talladega. The only Winston Cup race he hasn't led at least one lap was his first, in April 2000, when he was involved in an accident when the car in front of him missed a shift as they rolled toward the start.

In the years since, restrictor-plate racing has become paramount at Dale Earnhardt Inc., and the rest of the Winston Cup garage is wondering how to stop the three-car stable.

Although DEI teammate Steve Park has yet to win a plate race, Waltrip has three victories -- all at Daytona, including the season-opening 500 in which Junior was favored.

“I keep expecting the rest of the field to catch up to us, but we're not sitting still,'' he said. "We're working on our restrictor-plate program just as hard as we always have.''

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ By The Numbers: Aaron's 499
By Dave Rodman, Turner Sports Interactive

TALLADEGA, Ala. -- Talladega Superspeedway staged its first Winston Cup race in 1969, and in that lengthy history, the Aaron's 499 has created a sizeable log of statistical nuggets interspersed with facts and notes about the sport's best drivers.

0 -- The number of Bud Pole Awards in 2003 by a Pontiac.

1 -- The number of top-10 finishes by Bill Elliott in his past 14 races at Talladega.

2 -- The number of Bud Pole Awards each in 2003 by Dodge and Ford.

2.66 -- The length in miles of a lap at Talladega Superspeedway. The track has 33-degree banking in its four turns, 18-degree banking in its frontstretch tri-oval and two-degree banking on its other straightaways. The frontstretch is 4,300 feet long and the backstretch is 4,000 feet long.

3 -- The number of consecutive Talladega Superspeedway Winston Cup races won by Dale Earnhardt Jr..

4 -- Michael's Waltrip's average finish in four 2002 restrictor plate races.

5 -- The number of top-10 finishes in seven starts this season by Kurt Busch.

6 -- The number of consecutive Bud Pole Awards captured by Bill Elliott at Talladega between 1985 and 1987.

6 -- The number of times a driver has swept both Talladega races in one year: Pete Hamilton (1970), Buddy Baker (1975), Darrell Waltrip (1982), Dale Earnhardt (1990 and 1999) and Dale Earnhardt Jr. (2002).

7 -- The number of different winners in the first seven Winston Cup races this season, including Michael Waltrip, Dale Jarrett, Matt Kenseth, Bobby Labonte, Ricky Craven, Kurt Busch and Ryan Newman.

8 -- Consecutive Winston Cup races at Talladega that have been won by Chevrolets.

8 -- The number of Bud Pole Awards at Talladega Superspeedway by Bill Elliott, who leads all drivers in that category.

8.5 -- Dale Earnhardt Jr.'s average starting position at Talladega Superspeedway, best of all active drivers with five or more starts.

9 -- The number of Winston Cup victories at Talladega by team owner Richard Childress.  Harry Ranier Racing is second in career owner victories with six, while Bud Moore Engineering, Wood Brothers Racing and Junior Johnson & Associates have five each.

10 -- The number of career victories at Talladega Superspeedway by the late Dale Earnhardt.

11.17 -- Dale Earnhardt Jr.'s average finish at Talladega Superspeedway, the best of all drivers with five or more starts.

12 -- The number of Talladega Superspeedway Winston Cup races that have been won from the pole.

13 -- The number of top-five finishes at Talladega by Terry Labonte, who leads all active drivers.

13.421 -- The difference, in miles per hour, between Bill Elliott's all time Talladega Bud Pole Qualifying lap record of 212.809 mph (April 1987) and the Talladega restrictor plate qualifying record, also set by Elliott, of 199.388 mph (May 1990).

16 -- The best finish (twice) by Terry Labonte in seven 2003 races.

22 -- The number of career top-10 finishes at Talladega by Bill Elliott and Terry Labonte, tops among active drivers.

24 -- The number of Talladega Superspeedway Winston Cup victories by Chevrolet since 1972. In that time span, Ford has 16 wins at Talladega.

25 -- The position in the 2003 Winston Cup owners' standings that is the cutoff for being charged with a provisional starting position.

31 -- The number of consecutive races in which Dale Earnhardt Jr. has been running at the finish, the longest active streak.

34 -- The number of Winston Cup races at Talladega that have been won from the first three starting positions.

36 -- The furthest back a Winston Cup winner has started at Talladega, by Jeff Gordon in the 2000 DieHard 500.

40 -- The number of races in which sophomore driver Jimmie Johnson has remained in the top-10 in the Winston Cup standings, the longest such streak among active drivers. Johnson moved into the top-10 after the fourth race of his rookie 2002 season, at Atlanta Motor Speedway.

52 -- The career leading number of starts at Talladega Superspeedway by Bill Elliott and Ricky Rudd. In those starts Elliott has eight Bud Poles, two victories, 10 top-five and 22 top-10 finishes. Rudd has 10 top-fives and 13 top-10s.

61 -- The number of Winston Cup restrictor plate races since 1988: 30 at Talladega and 31 at Daytona.

67 -- The number of Winston Cup races that have been held at Talladega Superspeedway since its 1969 inaugural.

69 -- The number of races since Rusty Wallace last won.  Wallace has posted only seven top-five finishes in 61 restrictor plate races since 1988.

70 -- The speed in miles per hour of the pace car under caution at Talladega Superspeedway. The pit road speed limit at Talladega is 55 mph.

76 -- The percentage of Talladega Superspeedway Winston Cup events that have been won from the top 10 starting positions.

155 -- Matt Kenseth's lead in the Winston Cup standings over Kurt Busch -- the largest margin between first and second this season.

188 -- The number of laps it takes to cover 500.08 miles at Talladega Superspeedway.

188.354 -- The Aaron's 499 race record average speed -- and the all time Winston Cup race record -- set in 1997 by Mark Martin, in two hours, 39 minutes and 18 seconds. Dale Earnhardt Jr., last year's event winner, averaged 159.022 mph for three hours, eight minutes and 41 seconds.

212.809 -- The all time Talladega Superspeedway and Winston Cup Bud Pole Qualifying record, set by Bill Elliott in April 1987, achieved in 44.998 seconds. Jimmie Johnson won the 2002 Bud Pole for the Aaron's 499 at 186.532 mph, 51.337 seconds.

500.08 -- The race distance, in miles, for the Aaron's 499 at Talladega.

523 -- The number of laps led in 52 races at Talladega by Bill Elliott, who leads all active drivers
in the category.

775 -- The number of career Winston Cup starts for Ricky Rudd if he starts the Aaron's 499, putting him fourth all-time behind Darrell Waltrip (809), Dave Marcis (882) and Richard Petty (1,177).

1,000 -- The number of laps led in 60 restrictor plate races by Sterling Marlin, tops among active drivers. Dale Earnhardt Jr. has led 469 laps in just 13 restrictor plate races.

80,000 -- The value of the NASCAR Winston Cup Leader bonus at Talladega Superspeedway. It is available to the driver that wins the Aaron's 499 if he is also the Winston  Cup point leader after the race.

4,952,015 -- The posted awards for the Aaron's 499.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ Well, that's all for today.  Until the next time, I remain,

Your  Momma
 

"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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