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NASCAR Canada gives green light to business, a yellow flag to expansion
Chris Mayberry
Canadian Press
Tuesday, June 29, 2004

TORONTO (CP) - NASCAR now has a business home north of the border. But don't expect a NEXTEL Cup race in Canada anytime soon.

NASCAR's recent announcement heralding the formation of NASCAR Canada, a collaboration with television partner TSN, is aimed at opening a door for - and to - Canadian business interests. With an office in Toronto, Canadian companies intrigued by the NASCAR brand name will have a place to seek out marketing agreements.

At the same time, corporations already aligned with North America's most popular racing series can now make inroads into Canada.
But that doesn't mean racing here.

"It's unlikely the Nextel Cup will ever leave the United States anytime in the near term," said George Pyne, NASCAR'S chief operating officer, before offering a sliver of hope regarding NASCAR's minor leagues running races in Canada.

"We wouldn't rule in or out the Busch series or the truck series."

The major issue preventing a Canadian NASCAR race is lack of venue. There is no major oval track in Canada that could handle NASCAR's preferred form of racing.

"NASCAR isn't in the business of building race tracks," said Pyne, suggesting that if Canada does eventually get a Nextel Cup race, it would likely be on a road course.

The series currently has just two road events in its 36-race schedule, one in California's Sonoma Valley and the other at Watkins Glen, N.Y.

Plus, NASCAR's sponsorship base is overwelmingly American. And there is already a lengthy waiting list of American tracks, eager to lure the giant stock car series.

NASCAR Canada is a joint venture with TSN, and its marketing division, TSN Events.

The sports network currently broadcasts 16 Nextel Cup races and has forged a new three-year extension with NASCAR to continue that commitment. TSN Events maintains exclusive rights to NASCAR marketing.

In a country that hosts three Champ Car events and a Formula One race, NASCAR remains the most popular form of racing for Canadian racing fans in terms of television audience.

And studies suggest that Canadians represent up to 10 per cent of overall ticket sales for its races.

Randy Paul, managing director of sponsorships for TSN Events, says while the parent company recognizes the keen Canadian fan interest, it still needs to gauge potential corporate support and suggests NASCAR Canada will allow it to do that.

"They need to see the support of an initiative like this corporately, to see how licensed goods do and to make sure it's a market that can mature into a desirable location to expand," Paul said.
TONY THE TAME
Tony Stewart says he's just a simple guy
June 29

Tony Stewart could get word today or Wednesday from NASCAR officials about his run-in with rookie Brian Vickers after Sunday's Dodge/Save Mart 350.

Sunday, Stewart confronted Vickers in the garage area as Vickers sat in his car. Stewart and Vickers made contact on the track with about 25 laps left in the race, and Vickers spun.

Vickers said Stewart wanted to discuss the situation.

As Stewart talked, Vickers laughed.

"I was trying to figure out why he was coming to me, mad at me, when he hit me," Vickers said.

Vickers said Stewart then struck him in the chest with an open hand and knocked the wind out of him.

Stewart declined to comment after he and Vickers met with series officials. Stewart's spokesperson said Stewart admitted grabbing Vickers' uniform to get the driver's attention.

NASCAR is investigating.

"We summoned both drivers to the NASCAR hauler following Sunday's race to find out what occurred," NASCAR spokesman Mike Zizzo said Monday. "We are continuing to gather facts on the incident and should we deem that action needs to be taken we will announce it at the appropriate time."

If Vickers' allegations are true, Stewart could face a suspension.

Last August, NASCAR suspended Jimmy Spencer for one race after he punched Kurt Busch while Busch was still in his car after a race.

Stewart declined to comment after he and Vickers met with series officials. Stewart's spokesperson said Stewart admitted grabbing Vickers' uniform to get the driver's attention.

This incident comes a week after Stewart left the Michigan driver's meeting early. Stewart was bored with the numerous questions being asked.

"OK, let's go race," an exasperated Stewart said before walking out.

Series officials were not pleased. They forced Stewart to start at the rear of the field.

Since Fox has in-car cameras, NASCAR officials presumably have access to video that would explain the situation. However, it is unclear if NASCAR would be willing to release any of that video. After the yellow-light controversy at Charlotte last month, NASCAR was apparently upset over how in-car video of that race was released

Rusty Wallace said he sees the attitudes in the garage area moving to the track.

"I think there's been some real, real aggressive driving going on," said Wallace, who is in his 21st full-time season. "The pressure to win and run up front, all these big drivers are feeling that, and it's causing them to drive beyond their capability a lot.

"There's been a lot of stuff happening on the race track that wouldn't have happened a long time ago because there is not as much respect out there."

Two weeks ago at Pocono, defending series champion Matt Kenseth and Kevin Harvick made contact during a caution and Kenseth spun, causing him to lose several positions. Kenseth raced back through the field and ran into the back of Harvick's car, spinning Harvick.

"I thought if I was going to lose those spots, then he was going to lose his, too," Kenseth later said of his attempt at vigilante justice.

Both of them lost. Sort of.

The drivers were fined $25,000 and placed on probation until Aug. 11. But the fine represents only about 1/150th of Kenseth's earnings so far this season.

Thus, if NASCAR's investigation proves Stewart struck Vickers, a fine might not invoke fear in the garage.

Neither will probation.

"There's repeat offenders that keep doing the same thing over and over again, and they have a little smirk on their face afterwards," said third-year driver Ryan Newman. "They think that they're cute, and all they get is probation."

For his part, Tony Stewart has remained silent on the incident.

Perhaps further fueling his "bad boy" image.
 
But Stewart believes that image isn't accurate. He says he's a simple guy who loves fishing and hunting and who is friendly and down to earth in ways most of his fans never see.

The first time I met Tony Stewart was in 1998 at the grand opening of the NASCAR Cafe in Orlando Florida.

This was his rookie year in NASCAR, he had qualifyed second in his first Daytona 500 the day before and he seemed to be a quiet, shy young man who mixed easily with fans and enjoyed the attention.

When I saw him again a few days later at the Daytona 500, I stopped and wished him luck, he acted as though he remembered me, asked how my daughter was (she had been with me during the grand opening) and thanked me.

I was impressed by this and to this day always think of him as nothing more than an highly focused competitor driven to win on one of the most intense arenas in motorsports.

Stewart was asked recently about his "bad boy" image among other things.

Q There's a magazine and the headline says "mean and nasty." That seems to be the impression that has stuck with you. Are you a hard ass?

Stewart: I can be when I need to be. Basically, I take my job seriously. If someone does me wrong, I'll tell them. I'm not going to pull punches. People know where they stand with me, but when I go home at night, I can sleep with a clear conscience. But that's not the entire picture. You can ask anyone (close to me), when I'm away from the track, I'm totally the opposite.

Q What's the one thing about you that would most surprise your fans?

Stewart: Well, just what we were talking about there. Ninety-nine per cent of the fans never see us away from the track. I'm not a Jekyll and Hyde ... but people don't see me with my friends, playing with my dogs ... they see the work side, the intense side. I think they know it (other side) exists, but they don't see it. Four days a week, I'm not a race car driver if I don't have to be. Hey, look here, you see me in jeans, tennis sneakers, a baseball cap. That's as fancy as I like to get.

Q NASCAR is currently engulfed in a controversy surrounding caution lights. Fans are hurling debris on the track when races end under caution. The core of the problems seem to be surrounding the rules that freeze the field when a caution flag is out and when pit lanes open for drivers. What's your take on the issue?

Stewart: The reaction is basically because they're freezing the field. If you look at the big picture, freezing the field is a good thing. It keeps people from racing from the back of the field to get back on a lap, or coming around on a wreck and possibly running into someone while they're doing it. The theory is patience ... they (NASCAR) told us last year at Delaware that this was a work in progress. Any time you change the rules, you're going to run into little speed bumps.

Q Critics say NASCAR is in trouble. The caution flag controversy at Pocono and Dover was the latest incident that left the governing body with egg on its face. They're saying a separate body should administer the rules during a race, and not the front office.

Stewart: Critics are critics. I haven't seen them build a governing body from the ground up and run it. I haven't seen them try to make things better. Their lives are miserable so they go out and try to make other people's lives miserable. NASCAR didn't get to where it is by making mistakes. People don't like changes. It takes time to smooth the edges.

Q You are currently ranked fifth in the championship points race. Only the top 10 get to challenge for the Nextel Cup with 10 races remaining. While you are situated very well, this is the longest you've gone into a season (17 races) without a win. How much does this concern you?

Stewart: It's not a concern at all. It'd be a concern if we were 25th overall and not running well. It's how many points you have in the last 10 weeks. If you look at it anyway, usually only about six or seven cars, or so, are really in the running at the end of the season. This way we know there's going to be 10, and it should make it more exciting. The only concern I have is that someone outside the top 10 can affect the guys running for the championship. But we need to see how this goes. Give it a chance.

Q Your nickname is Smoke. How did you get it?

Stewart: When I first began racing sportsman cars, there was a problem with the tires and the right rear would blister all the time. Every time I came off a corner, the car would get loose and there'd be smoke. Even my dad was watching me on TV and he'd phone and say, `Why you smoking the tires all the time?' I'd say, `Well, Dad, the car was loose,' then he'd say something and it got pretty funny. Then in IRL, one of the crew guys started calling me Smoke. It might have had something to do with the fact we were using Buick V6 engines and they'd blow up all the time, but ... and by the time I got to NASCAR, well Smoke just stuck.

Q Is there anything you'd rather do more than drive a race car?

Stewart: Well, something comes to mind but I'm not going to say it (laughs). Seriously, there isn't anything. I'm 33, and I've been racing for 25 years. If I had to start all over again, well, I'd like to do better in school and not drive my mom nuts being an ornery kid. But being a driver and getting to meet the people I have met, is one of the best things I think I could have done. It's the people that you always remember. If I wasn't a driver, I'd be involved in racing in some way. That's who I am.

Q How old were you when you first drove a car?

Stewart: I think I sat on my uncle's lap and drove a white Chevette when I was 5 or so. I was little, I couldn't reach the pedals.

Q What was your first ever race and did you win?

Stewart: A go-kart race in 1979 in Whiteland, Ind., and I have no idea where I finished. But I do know four weeks later I got my first win at the same track.

Q What's the worst crash you've ever been in?

Stewart: (In) 1996, Las Vegas in IRL. The right rear tire blew and I ended up with a broken collarbone, a broken hip and pelvis.

Q What car do you drive most when you are at home?

Stewart: A Jeep Wrangler. A 2000, I think it is. I leased a car for a long time. I live in North Carolina and Indiana, and one time I came home and I didn't even have keys to get into my own house. I had to go over to a friend's house and get him to let me in. It was just the way things were, so the next day I went out and bought myself a Jeep.

Q How many people see you driving about town and want to race you - and what do you do?

Stewart: I always win. And not very many people try me because the reputation gets out that I can't be beat on the street.

Q What music do you play on your car stereo?

Stewart: Classic rock, I'm a classic rock guy ... Led Zeppelin, The Who. I get Kid Rock on there sometimes, and Diamond Rio. I like rock, country, blues.

Q What's you favourite all-time film?

Stewart: I've really been into the Pirates of the Caribbean, it's pretty cool. I like that movie.

Q What person - film star, rock star, athlete or other personality - dead or alive, most resembles the person you are?

Stewart: I'd have to say A.J. (Foyt). He'd be close. As for views, I would have to say George Carlin. I saw George Carlin in Bakersfield and I said this guy is a genius, he has to run for president.

Q Are you a good passenger in a car, or are you a back seat driver?

Stewart: I'm an all seat driver, I'm not a good passenger. I'm definitely a back seat driver. Most people drive me nuts when they're driving. I give driver's education classes when someone else is driving.
'Little E' Has Big Presence
By Patrick Zier
Lakeland Ledger,FL June 29

There is little question DEI, in general, and Dale Earnhardt Jr., in particular, have dominated restrictor-plate racing over the past few years. The larger question is just how dominant he has become in the sport.

Earnhardt Jr. and Michael Waltrip, DEI's other full-time driver, return to Daytona for Saturday's running of the Pepsi 400, where, once again, they will be odds-on favorites. 

In the 14 races held at Daytona and Talladega since 2001, Earnhardt Jr. has won six and has been second three times, and Waltrip has won four and has been runner-up in two others.

So, their superiority is clearly established. What is not quite so clear is where Earnhardt Jr. stands in the hierarchy of Nextel Cup drivers, how much the others defer to him on the issues of the day -whether or not he is their de facto leader.

There is no question that as far as most of the racing public is concerned, Earnhardt Jr. is the face of Nextel Cup racing.

In itself, that means his words carry weight. Even if he doesn't particularly want to be out front, Earnhardt Jr. is out front.

And to some extent, everybody has to recognize that, both in the NASCAR garage and front office.

Former driver Chad Little, commenting on television's "NASCAR This Morning," summed it up well.

NASCAR's new point system was discussed, and Little remarked, "Dale Jr. really hasn't said where he stands yet, and we really don't know where we all stand until he speaks."

While the remark was made somewhat in jest, it also illustrates how much stature Earnhardt has in the sport.

Should his career continue along its present path, there is almost no doubt that, at some point, Earnhardt Jr. will be universally recognized as stock car racing's chief spokesman.

Earnhardt Jr., who will be 30 on Oct. 10, is still maturing as a driver, and he is currently having his best year ever.

With three wins already, he could wind up with five or six victories and his first championship, which would further define his place in the sport.

But while he aggressively pursues getting in front on the race track, Earnhardt Jr. is in no hurry to take the lead as spokesman for his peers.

If there is one thing that sets NASCAR apart from other sports, it is that most competitors have a sense of history.

They know where they came from. They know who Richard Petty is. They know about David Pearson and Dale Earnhardt and those who paved the way.

And Earnhardt Jr. respects the past. At this point, despite public perception, he does not think he is entitled to speak for the group.

"I wouldn't like it if somebody came out and said he was the lead guy," Earnhardt Jr. said. "There are other guys out there with a lot more experience than me, who have done a lot more. Who am I to tell everybody what to do?

"In that respect, I can show new people the sport, do more things like this (press conferences), but there are a lot of guys out there like Rusty Wallace and Terry Labonte and others who don't need me telling them anything," Earnhardt Jr. said.

He does, though, understand that how he is viewed by his peers and his public are two different things.

"A lot of times, I feel like that football player in Jerry Maguire," Earnhardt Jr. said. "Everybody tells me how great things are. Everybody around me is making a lot of money."

Whatever else people want to say about him, they can't deny that Earnhardt Jr. has his feet solidly on the ground.

He didn't ask for fame and celebrity, but he accepts it. And he will deal with it, just like he deals with an ill-handling race car on the track.

Whatever role is thrust upon him, he will adapt.

And before we forget, just what does he think of NASCAR's new point system?

"The setup is what it is," Earnhardt Jr. said. "Whatever happens, happens."

With 10 races to go, everyone except the top 10 drivers and any others within 400 points of the leader will be eliminated from the championship.

There will then be a 10-race "playoff" between those drivers, with the leader starting with 5,050 points, second place 5,045 and continuing five-point drops for the other contenders.

Drivers will then be awarded the normal amount of points in the 10 remaining races, and the one with the most points wins.

So, if the leader after 26 races has a 300-point advantage over the second-place driver, it would be wiped out.

"I just think it lets everybody take more risks the first part of the year," Earnhardt Jr. said. "I don't think anybody cares where they are in the top 10 as long as they're in the top 10.

"The last 10 races, you might see guys being a little more careful about the decisions they make," he added.

That's his opinion. And, he would remind you, at least for now, he isn't speaking for anybody but himself.
Despite loss, Childress still has love
By Godwin Kelly
Daytona Beach News Journal, FL, June 27

In the weeks that followed Dale Earnhardt's death at Daytona International Speedway, his best friend, car owner Richard Childress, wondered if he had the strength to stay in the business.

Childress and Earnhardt raced as a team for 17 consecutive years, winning 67 races and six Winston Cup Series championships. They were gearing up for another title run in 2001.

Their dream perished in Turn 4 at Daytona when Earnhardt's car slammed into the concrete retaining wall on the last lap of the Daytona 500. He died instantly from head injuries.

"We've had a lot of sad times," Childress said. "We lost my best friend and the greatest race driver in the history of our sport."

"That was one of the lowest points at RCR. At that point, I was willing to get out of the sport."

Now two and a half years later, RCR has expanded to three Nextel Cup teams: the No. 29 of Kevin Harvick, the No. 30 now occupied by Dave Blaney and the No. 31 of Robby Gordon.

The Speedway has changed, too. The area where Earnhardt crashed is now protected by SAFER barriers, which were installed earlier this month in key locations around the 2.5-mile tri-oval.

The SAFER barrier is designed to protect drivers from serious injuries when their stock cars hit the wall.

In the days following Earnhardt's death, Childress decided to press forward. He changed Earnhardt's No. 3 into No. 29 and gave the wheel to Harvick, his young Busch Series protege.

RCR employed more than 125 people in those days, a number that has since doubled.

"I looked around at all the people and I was convinced to keep going forward," Childress said. "I'm glad I did. It wouldn't have been right to have left. Dale wouldn't have wanted it that way."

Harvick declined comment, but Gordon, who joined the team near the end of the 2001 season, said Childress is one of the bravest men he has met.

"I believe Richard did take a serious look at that (leaving the sport), but when you look at his employees, when you have that many people involved you can't stop," Gordon said. "You have to keep going. I know there were many hard days for Richard."

Despite heavy turnover in the No. 30 entry -- Mike Skinner to Jeff Green to Steve Park to Johnny Sauter and now to Blaney -- RCR has seen several good days since "Black Sunday."

Harvick won at Atlanta only weeks after stepping into the No. 29 in '01. He went on to win the Busch Series championship and NASCAR Cup rookie honors.

The 2003 season was exceptionally good for Childress.

Sauter and Harvick shared the RCR No. 21 Busch Series entry and captured the owner's championship for Childress.

Harvick and Gordon provided Childress with a one-two punch last August. Harvick captured the Brickyard 400 at Indianapolis and a week later Gordon won at The Glen. "For some reason at RCR, we come on in the summer months," Gordon said. "We are a summer team. I don't know why or how that is. It's been really good. As a team, we're coming into our stretch and starting to grow our legs and we'll be sprinting here in the summer."

And an Earnhardt will join the RCR summer sprint at Daytona. Childress has entered a fourth car, the No. 33 Chevy with Kerry Earnhardt, for the Pepsi 400.

Kerry is Dale Earnhardt's oldest son. Dale Earnhardt Jr. drives the No. 8 Chevrolet for Dale Earnhardt Inc.

"Working with Richard is a positive, definitely," Kerry said. "I've had a lot of help and assistance from him on several levels.

"During a race he talks to me on the radio. He has also taught me the best things about life. His message? Get through life and race and work on cars."

Childress formed his team as a driver-owner in 1972. Seven years later he slithered out of the cockpit to concentrate his efforts on team ownership.

The guy who took his place? Dale Earnhardt, who raced the last 11 events of the 1981 season after leaving car owner Rod Osterlund. Earnhardt spent the 1982-83 seasons with Bud Moore before returning to RCR and finding his permanent racing home in '84.

"It's been a hell of a ride," Childress said. "I'd like to say we could do it 35 more years. Hopefully we can. You have to think positive."