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Did You Know
Tony Stewart was the 1997 IRL Champion. A quick study, this accomplishment came only one year after winning the Rookie of the Year award in 1996.
Do You Think Dale Earnhardt Jr. Should Have Been Given the Black Flag for the Pass on Kenseth Under the Yellow Line at Talladega?
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from JollyToop (my mom)
Yes our daughter picked us up from the airport but we think she has
been watching TOO much Nsascar. Whenever we got behind a truck she
said " Let's draft", and when the traffic slowed due to road work she had
to keep her tires warm so she was weaving all over the road. Me thinks
she is just watching too much Nascar. Her loving mother
from Andrea
Congratulations Nanna! May you really enjoy your little one.
God's Blessings on you all. Thanks too for a great newsletter.
We really enjoy it. Your friends from Tenn...Louie and Andrea Bailey
from Bob
“I had to pick up my parents from the airport, and I’m a new Grandma
– Just call me Nanna! Kaitlyn Rose was born on April 7, at 11:39
am and weighed in at 6lbs 5oz and was 19 ½” long!”
Congrats to the parents, and especially the mother, and special happiness to the "Greats!"
“LOL Bob…hope the dog is full! Did they show the padding coming from Park’s car? Now, I’m not being sarcastic, I just didn’t see it happen.”
This was reported briefly by the TV crew, saying they saw it come out of one of the cars, and someone else mentioned Parks. Makes sense to sacrifice him, "take one for the team"!
Check the tape if you have it. Also look for Gordon going under the line, creating that crash, and somehow no one mentioned it even though it was rerun again and again.
I am not for or against any driver in any of this, but would be happier with some consistency. But we know there is a puppet master culture at play here, and it seems to work in the big picture. BTW, in making Tony Tiger the FIRST to get a car CONFISCATED, are they subtly telling him that he might be getting a little big for his britches. Everyone is saying, "Whew, no fine" but don't those things cost $150K to build?
BTW#2 - Can anyone explain why NASCAR seems to have it in for Roush? What other team has had penalties (VERY gray areas regarding manifolds that I tried as a journalist to get explained and got either ignored or gobbledygook) that cost them championships? Martin in Cup and Biffle in Truck. At the same time, name another team that has been so active in enhancing the general safety. Roush paid for and developed the roof flaps, better shoulder harness mounts, and protective braces, all of which NASCAR now mandates. I didn't start as a Roush fan, but with kind of a "root for the underdog" streak, NASCAR has made me one.
Cheers Nanna, Bob
Also recently a grand uncle for Natalie
And here is a quote from Matt Kenseth on Dale Jr’s pass: “A lot of people are asking about the final pass for the lead with Dale Earnhardt, Jr. It stirred some controversy, but from my angle, I think he was just taking evasive measures as we headed into the corner. I was so caught up with dealing with Jimmie Johnson that I really didn't notice him sneaking up on my inside. I don't have a problem with what he did at all. He wasn't sure how far down the track I was coming if I chose to block aggressively.”
from Karen
“PS-anyone note that E Jr. did his spin through the Pepsi logo in the
grass -- isn't he a Coke driver?)”
NOPE!!
“Gee! How come no one noted that the caution was for roll bar padding
that "fell out of" Steve Park's car!”
Cheers, Bob
PS - This comes under the "dog ate my Homework" category. I had this all written and edited, and my computer locked up. So I had to wait until later to resend.
LOL Bob…hope the dog is full! Did they show the padding coming from Park’s car? Now, I’m not being sarcastic, I just didn’t see it happen.
It was Jamie McMurray's car and he was called to the "big red trailer"
for it.
Karen
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This is such a hoot, I had to put it in. This was sent to me by my hubby…..
Top 10 Things You'll Never Hear a Nascar Driver Say
10 - I would like to thank the Devil for my win today....
9 - I lost because my pit crew is bunch of morons.
8 - I could win 10 races a year too, if my sponsors weren't such a cheap bunch of......
7 - I wouldn't feel safe, if it weren't for that restrictor plate.
6 - You better put that down or Tony Stewart will come over here and kick your butt.
5 - My crew chief is an idiot.
4 - Has anyone seen my Jerri-Curl?
3 - We would have won, but Jesus loves Dale JR. more.
2 - (At Winner's Circle) Talk Later, Pee NOW!
1 - My car sucked today! We're taking a wrecking ball to it ASAP!
Tryson fined $10,000 for Talladega infraction
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. -- NASCAR officials announced Wednesday that Pat
Tryson, crew chief for the No. 21 Wood Brothers racing Ford that competes
in the NASCAR Winston Cup Series, has been fined $10,000 for rule violations
on April 5 during practice for the Aaron's 499 at Talladega Superspeedway
(held April 6).
The No. 21, driven by Ricky Rudd, was in violation of Section 12-4-A in the NASCAR Winston Cup rule book (actions detrimental to stock car racing) and Section 12-4-W (improperly attached weight). As the No. 21 was preparing to go onto the race track, the improperly attached weight fell off the car.
On Saturday afternoon, a 35-lb. lead block, scuffed and deformed on one end and tagged with the No. 21, sat on the inside counter of the Winston Cup office trailer with several other confiscated parts, including two sheared driveshafts.
A.J. Foyt Racing today announced that it was withdrawing its No. 14 Dodge driven by Larry Foyt from this weekend's Virginia 500 Winston Cup race at Martinsville Speedway. The team says the move is being made " to catch up on building up resources and test for upcoming events." "It was a very tough decision to not go to Martinsville this weekend, but we think it's the best choice for us right now," said Larry Foyt. "We got such a slow start at the beginning of the year, and this will give us a chance to catch up, build up our resources and actually test, something we haven't been able to do since the season started." The team plans to test next week at Richmond International Raceway.
Evernham Motorsports' No. 9 crew for Bill Elliott captured the $20,000 prize in McDonald's Drive-Thru Pit Championship fueled by Powerade for the fastest pit work among participating teams in last Sunday's Aaron's 499 at Talladega Superspeedway. Elliott's car spent 310 seconds on pit road to beat Chip Ganassi Racing's No. 40 crew for Sterling Marlin by 18 seconds. In the race for the $200,000 prize at the end of the season, Dale Earnhardt Inc.'s No. 15 crew for Michael Waltrip leads DEI's No. 8 crew for Dale Earnhardt Jr., 289 points to 277.
Bad weather, a weak economy and the war in Iraq have prompted International Speedway Corp. to lower its expectations for the year, according to a Reuters report. ISC says race attendance was off slightly in the first quarter that ended Feb. 28 and in the early part of the second quarter. ISC, which owns Daytona International Speedway and also owns or operates 11 other tracks, said first quarter earnings were $25.4 million, or 48 cents per share, the same as last year. The company says revenue rose 4 percent from a year earlier, to $130.9 million. For the second quarter, the company says it now expects to earn 25 to 27 cents a share on revenue of $115 million to $120 million. It lowered its full-year profit forecast to $2.07 to $2.12 a share from a previous forecast of $2.10 to $2.18, according to the report.
Team Racing says it is looking to replace Lance Hooper, one of four drivers scheduled to drive its No. 86 Chevrolet in this year's Craftsman Truck Series. "Lance Hooper has decided to pursue other options in racing," said Phil Bonifield, co-owner of Team Racing.
By JIM PEDLEY
The Kansas City Star
Apparently time is not healing the wounded relationship between Winston Cup drivers Jimmy Spencer and Kurt Busch.
Asked Tuesday about his relationship with the young driver, Spencer
didn't hold back.
"I don't talk to Kurt," Spencer said. "I don't get along with Kurt.
I think he has a lot of problems mentally that Jack Roush is working on
so to me, I think Kurt Busch is a heck of a competitor and a great racer."
The feud between Spencer and Busch goes back to last year. They had on-track incidents at Bristol and Indianapolis.
Busch let go after the Indy incident by calling Spencer a "decrepit
old has-been."
Then, he retracted that, saying instead, "I guess never-was is the
term we need for Jimmy Spencer."
And who can forget Busch saying Spencer had "the brain of a peanut"? Busch is impressing a lot of people with his driving skills, but is making enemies with his driving tactics and people skills.
After Sunday's race at Talladega, defending champion Tony Stewart had words with Busch and reportedly not friendly ones. Busch had made contact with Stewart during the race.
And Busch's comments about Roush engines after four of them blew at Atlanta in March could not have endeared him to the boys in the engine shop.
And even Roush has said that Busch needs some work on the old attitude. "To me, the drivers I talk to," Spencer said, "think he's cocky; he doesn't respect them. He's got a lot of things he needs to address himself. He's no Bobby Labonte, Bill Elliott, Jeff Burton or Mark Martin. He's no Matt Kenseth. You can win races and contend for the championship and not have the attitude he has."
By JIM UTTER
ThatsRacin.com Writer
Winston Cup car owner Richard Childress confirmed Wednesday he has sold partial equity in his Richard Childress Racing company to Chartwell Investments, a private New York City-based equity firm.
"We have had an investor in RCR since I expanded with (Mike) Skinner in the No. 31 (in 1996), but on a limited basis. This is more extensive," Childress said.
"Nothing will look different. I still have control of the company, I own the majority of the company and I'm still the CEO."
Chartwell's investment was not disclosed, but Childress said he holds more than a 50 percent interest in RCR. The addition of Chartwell, Childress said, strengthens his organization.
"We aren't a little corporation any more," he said. "They can help RCR Enterprises go to another level in this sport. There are a lot of ways you can grow your business in this sport without adding race teams.
"I've made a long-term commitment to Chartwell, to my employees and to the sport."
RCR has approximately 260 employees and last season opened a new 86,000-square foot shop in Welcome, N.C. The company fields three Cup teams - with cars driven by Kevin Harvick, Jeff Green and Robby Gordon - and two Busch teams, with Harvick and Johnny Sauter splitting time in one car and Ron Hornaday driving the other.
RCR is the only team in NASCAR to win championships in Cup, Trucks and Busch. The late Dale Earnhardt, driving RCR's No. 3 Chevrolet, won six Cup championships.
Less than two months ago, Brad Parrott (left) was celebrating a Winston Cup win with Dale
Jarrett. Credit: Autostock
B. Parrott released in RYR shakeup
Todd Parrott also takes 'indefinite leave of absence'
By Lee Montgomery, Turner Sports Interactive
Dale Jarrett won the Subway 400 at North Carolina Speedway in February, but that wasn't enough for Brad Parrott to keep his job as crew chief with the Robert Yates Racing team.
Parrott, who worked with the No. 88 team for only eight races, was fired
as Jarrett's crew chief. Also,
Parrott's brother and the team's competition director, Todd Parrott, has
taken an "indefinite leave of absence," according to a statement.
Team engineers Garth Finley and Richard Buck will take over temporary leadership of the team for this weekend's Virginia 500 at Martinsville Speedway.
General manager Doug Yates said h e hopes the change in management will give the team a chance to "step back, regroup and get the race program on target" for the rest of the 2003 season.
"We are in the business of winning races and championships," Doug Yates said. "For the last several races, this team hasn't performed to the level that we know it is capable of performing. We said at the beginning of 2003 we would do whatever it took to get the No. 88 team and Dale Jarrett back to championship-contending form.
"This wasn't an easy decision but it was a necessary one, and we hopefully will be able to get the No. 88 team back to Victory Lane and back to where they are the team everyone looks to beat."
The change mirrors a similar switch made last year. Jimmy Elledge was hired as crew chief, and Todd Parrott was moved to an administrative position. But Elledge lasted only six races, and Parrott returned as crew chief.
Brad Parrott served as Jeff Burton's Busch Series crew chief in 2002 before returning to Yates in 2003. RYR made numerous management changes in the offseason, with Doug Yates taking over the general manager's role, Brad Parrott becoming crew chief and Todd Parrott moving to competition director.
After finishing 10th at Daytona and battling Kurt Busch for the victory at Rockingham, Jarrett has had all kinds of trouble. Through the season's first eight races, Jarrett's average finish is 19th.
Buddy Baker, right, talks with Ryan Newman at Talladega. Baker compares Newman to a
son. Credit: AP
Baker: Newman the perfect protégé
By Mike Harris, Associated
Buddy Baker's heart was pounding as he watched Ryan Newman, his prize pupil, ricocheting off walls, with cars erupting in flames near the start of the Winston Cup race at Talladega Superspeedway.
Newman, who ignited a 27-car wreck when a cut tire sent his Penske Racing South Dodge into the wall, walked away Sunday without injury. That was a relief to Baker, a former Winston Cup star who has helped bring last year's top rookie to the brink of superstardom.
"If I had a third son, he'd be it," said Baker, the son of two-time
NASCAR champion Buck Baker
and whose own boys, Bryan and Brandon, briefly tried their hand at racing.
"They had talent, but it never was what they wanted to do more than anything else," Baker said. "With me, I never thought about doing anything else. Ryan Newman never did, either. From the time he was 5 years old until now, he's never wanted to be anything else."
Baker, who retired as a competitive driver in 1992, is an instructor at his father's driving school at North Carolina Motor Speedway in Rockingham.
He was contacted late in 1999 by team co-owners Roger Penske, Don Miller and Rusty Wallace to see if Baker, winner of 15 Cup races, would be willing to work with the then 22-year-old Newman.
Baker, whose teaching had consisted almost entirely of three-day courses at his father's school, hesitated, insisting on first meeting Newman and his family.
"There's a lot of people who could have 10 driving coaches and they'd never make it," Baker said. "But there's just some people made out of the right cloth. I'm very selective in people I work with.
"When I started talking to Ryan, I could feel the energy that he had, and the passion he had for the sport.
"Then, I met his dad, and right there I knew, OK, he's got a good background. His father's been with him in go-carts, midgets. He turned the wrenches for his son. It was an automatic fit for me."
The program laid out by the Penske team leaders included lots of testing and some experience in ARCA and Busch races before moving up to Winston Cup.
"When we started out, we were not pressured to hurry him along," Baker said. "We went to all the racetracks and tested. We would go out in a passenger car and I'd show him the points on the racetrack that work, the points that don't work, things to do, things not to do."
Baker, the first stock car driver to run a 200-mph lap and a two-time
Daytona 500 winner, told
Newman to listen to what he had to say and then adapt it to his own style.
It's worked better than Baker could have hoped.
"If I told him that the seat needed to be on the roof, he'd listen. That's the kind of kid he is," Baker said. "He's never once questioned anything that I've told him, and therein lies our success.
"It's been a great relationship. When I tell him something, he takes it in, he refines and puts the Newman touch to it."
Newman, already one of the sport's top qualifiers, won his second Cup race two weeks ago in Texas.
“Buddy has helped me out a lot," he said. "Buddy told me he made mistakes when he was growing up driving or just as a person.
"He said, 'I don't want you to make those same mistakes. If you can avoid making those mistakes, you're going to make other ones, but I'll eliminate the variables for you.' He's helped me so much, in and out of the car."
It didn't start out so well, though.
Baker said the first test was at Gateway International Raceway near St. Louis, and Newman wasn't getting much out of the car. They went to Kentucky Speedway next, and again, Newman's performance was lacking.
"I was stumped," Baker said. "I said, 'Ryan, you giving me everything you've got?' He said, 'No, I'm taking it easy.' I said, 'You don't want to take it easy. You want to learn.'
"The next lap he came by, I ran to the other side of the truck and said to the crew, 'If he makes it, we've got a driver.' He was on the track record the next lap and he's been giving it everything he's got ever since."
Newman, who has a degree in mechanical engineering from Purdue, drove midgets and sprint cars on the U.S. Auto Club's short tracks before moving to stock cars. He won in every series and took the 1999 Silver Bullet Series championship.
He was an immediate hit in stock cars, too, winning in only his second ARCA event.
"For some reason, the champions in open-wheel cars, when they come in here, they have a leg up," Baker said. "Look at Tony Stewart, Jeff Gordon, Ryan Newman. They understand their equipment.
"We started out with the ABCs. We started in ARCA, then we went to Busch, then to Cup. The guys who work on that crew, all of them are young like Ryan. They're all computer whizzes and most of them are engineers, like Ryan. They get the resources they need. It's a great situation."
Baker said he doesn't need to preach to his protégé.
"He got the cap and gown last year. Ryan's an established star now and he's only going to get better and better and better," he said.
Dennis Michelsen
NASCAR might have fooled the fans but they couldn’t fool me! They obviously spent millions of dollars with sophisticated planning and tactical precision to fix the Aaron’s 499 at Talladega last Sunday. Many of the beat writers made the same claim that the “Earnhardt Fix” was in but used flimsy evidence to support their case. The pundits cited the “No Call” on the late race pass by Little E, but the conspiracy goes much deeper than that!
It all started on lap four with the “Big One.” When I looked at the video replay for the third time I noticed a man with an umbrella standing along the infield area. Why was he opening and closing that umbrella? I had the freeze frame image digitized and enhanced and sure enough that was John Darby! He must have been signaling another man with a blow dart gun to take out Ryan Newman’s tire. NASCAR of course contacted Dale Earnhardt Jr on a secret, encrypted channel to let him know the crash was coming! Dale masterfully nudged Jeff Green causing damage to his own car to conceal the plan and add to the drama!
NASCAR should have made this win even more dramatic by Black Flagging Dale Junior when the patch of aluminum on his front end started flapping. Imagine the drama with Dale rallying from a lap down. All it would have taken is a manufactured caution to get him back on the lead lap. Maybe next time they will have me write the script…those amateurs! The “Big One” eliminated so many of the contenders but this race was far from fixed.
There was a nice touch in the drama when Dale Earnhardt Junior lost the draft and got cussed out by Tony Eury, Sr. Not even Oliver Stone would have thought of that twist! All it took was another manufactured debris caution and Dale was ready to roll back to the front. I happen to think that NASCAR owes it to the media to do extensive testing of any debris on the pavement from an independent laboratory. How else will us writers KNOW for sure that caution was needed and not another NASCAR fix? If this master plan was going to work there were two other DEI cars to eliminate. Also compounding the problem was those pesky Roush cars that kept running fast despite all that damage.
If you watch real close at the replay of the Michael Waltrip accident what do you see? That’s right…a banana peel was thrown in the path of his car causing him to lose control! That chubby guy in the silly hat sure looked a lot like Mike Helton too. Now that Michael was out of the way Dale could just coast to an easy win. Orchestrating the fix at 190mph is not that hard, if you have the resources of NASCAR! These guys are brilliant and have been fixing races for the Earnhardt family for years!
In 1990 the NASCAR officials knew they had to penalize Mark Martin if Dale the Elder was to win the title. Even though Mark only had finished in the top ten in the Championship standings once in his career to that point, they knew better than all the experts that didn’t expect this young Roush Racing team to win a title so quick. NASCAR was even clever and penalized him in one of the early races of the season, just to keep the suspicion off the fix! These guys are good! Of course NASCAR did Black Flag Dale Earnhardt one time for rough driving and cost him lots of Championship points, but since that fact doesn’t fit with the conspiracy theory it is better to forget those facts don’t you think?
NASCAR officials can’t win no matter what they do. The previous race in Texas they flat out blew a call when Jeff Gordon raced back to the Yellow Flag. They should have kept several contenders a lap down! Mike Helton stepped up and bravely announced that NASCAR did blow the call. Last week at Talladega they chose to let a “Close Call” be a “No Call” and get crucified by the press again! There seemed to be a good split among fans on NASCAR message boards over this “No Call.” Some liked the call and some didn’t think it was right, which should have been the case in any close call. But the beat writers were as close to unanimous about this being the wrong call than almost anything else ever in the sport…except maybe how tasty the BBQ lunch is at Rockingham. (Yes it is that good!) It seems that the lack of an explanation to the press in the media room was what ticked everyone off. The “Intent” of the rule is to keep a driver from ducking below the yellow line to MAKE a pass, not to FINISH a pass. Once again NASCAR is their own worst enemy in some ways by not having the rule clearly stated in writing. But the call was certainly a classic “Judgment Call” which usually splits the press down the middle.
Ask any referee in any sport and they will tell you the last thing they want is for a close call to decide an event. Yes a foul should be a foul on the first lap or the last, in the perfect world. But when was the last time you saw a three second lane violation in the final minute of a close Championship basketball game? It never happens!
NASCAR took a while to make the “No Call” decision official last Sunday. That proved to me, an ardent critic of NASCAR in the past, that they looked at the evidence before deciding. Was it a close call? Yes. Did Dale the Junior benefit from a “Michael Jordan-like” no call? Maybe. Was this a grand conspiracy to assure an Earnhardt victory for the masses? NO WAY! If the “Fix” were in then NASCAR would have thrown the Yellow Flag when Dale led as Jimmie Johnson spun. Just like they did all day long NASCAR let the drivers on the track decide the race instead of a close call. Some of the same writers that screamed when NASCAR penalized Tony Stewart in the Firecracker 400 are now saying this “No Call” on a “Close Call” was sign of a fix? Give me a break!
Yes NASCAR needs to make their rules clear and available to the fans in writing. Everyone knows how the strike zone in baseball is defined, but there are still close calls! NASCAR could have Black Flagged Dale the Junior, Greg Biffle, and others for the flapping patches last Sunday. They could have Black Flagged Jimmie Johnson for the “Ben Hur-like” appendage sticking out of his left rear towards the end of the race. But NASCAR said “Play On” and was consistent with those calls all race long and still gets body slammed by the press! Just to make it clear that my viewpoint is not biased, I bet money on Harvick to win! At 27-1 I had a lot to win if they made the call! Next time I will consult Oliver Stone before making my wager.
Copyright, 2003, Frontstretch Enterprises, LLC
Dennis has followed NASCAR since the days when you were lucky to get a snippet of a race on ABC’s Wide World of Sports. His all time favorite drivers in the old days were Buddy Baker, Donnie Allison, and the “Silver Fox” David Pearson. A certifiable racing junky, he can be found on many summer evenings at Rockford Speedway.
Dennis is a fan of the sport more than any particular driver. But a race season is not complete unless Mark Martin, the Labontes, Dale Earnhardt JR, Kevin Harvick, and Tony Stewart find their way to Victory Lane!
You can find his coverage every week on Tuesdays (Odds and Ends) and Thursdays (Fantasy Insight) with occasional feature stories tossed in from time to time. you can E-mail Dennis at dennis@...
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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