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Today In Nascar History
8/08/1962-Richard Petty wins at Huntsville, win #4 of the season, and #9 of his career.
8/08/1963-Richard Petty wins at Columbia, win #12 of the season, and #25 of his career.
8/08/1965-Richard Petty wins at Weaverville, win #2 of the season, and #38 of his career.
8/08/1968-David Pearson wins at Columbia, win #11 of the season, and #41 of his career.
8/08/1971-Richard Petty wins at Ona, win #16 of the season, and #135 of his career.
8/08/1976-Dave Marcis wins at Talladega, win #2 of the season, and #3 of his career.
8/08/1993-Mark Martin wins at Watkins Glen, win #1 of the season, and #8 of his career.
8/08/2004-Jeff Gordon wins at Indianapolis, win #5 of the season, and #69 of his career.
"To be a real, true NASCAR driver, you have to know where the sport came from and you have to respect that history and tradition. The guys that don't respect that history and tradition, I don't think they're going to be around all that long. And those guys who don't know the history and tradition, I think it's upon them to learn about it pretty quick if they want to be a success."
– Richard Petty
Quote of the Day
"I wish I could put it in words. I've wanted this my entire life."
-Tony Stewart after winning at the Indy
from Bob
O great priestess of the bowtie, your negative kharma when unleased toward DJr's fading championship hopes is awesome to behold. I'm almost sorry that I pointed out that #8's only chance was to disrupt JJ's almost faultless run toward the chase. I counted four, nay five uncharacteristic lightning bolts striking the #48.
I fear for the unsuspecting Messers Stewart and Biffle who also need to lose some points cushion to advance Ironhead Jr!
The next five races should be filled with targeted black clouds floated down from Colorado!
lol....seeing as how I really like Tony Stewart, it will be very difficult to do that. But, you never know................
from Jeff
Momma;
NBC would not know an F-15 if it straffed their broadcast trailer at the track. The last several races they had F-15's listed when they flew over. Well I know my jets and they were not F-15's. F-15's have twin tails & engines, while the jets that flew over were single tail and engines and were F'16s. Someone needs to show them what an F-15 & F-16 look like so they get it right the next time, then again they still would get it wrong. Look what they did to Alan Bestwick, took him out of the booth and put him on pit road as a reporter and put Bill Weber in the booth. They should have put Benny Parsons on pit road as a reporter as I think he is worse than Fox's Larry MacReynolds.
Jeff24Pa
Johnson released from hospital after hard crash
By Greg Engle
Cup Scene Daily
Jimmie Johnson certainly had a forgettable weekend, literally.
He went to Methodist Hospital in Indianapolis for precautionary evaluation after he appeared dazed.
Johnson started 42nd after his car failed inspection in Saturday's qualifying and his team wasn't able to make the fixes in time for him to get into the qualifying line.
He entered the race as the Nextel Cup points leader but dropped to second behind race winner Tony Stewart. Johnson was hurt when his right front tire blew and he slammed into the fourth turn wall on lap 146. He drove the car into the pits where it caught fire.
Crew chief Chad Knaus climbed through the window on the passenger side and assisted Johnson as the cockpit filled with smoke.
"His bell has definitely been rung,'' Knaus said. ``That was a pretty hard hit that he took out there.''
Johnson called it the hardest hit he'd ever taken and said he didn't remember anything from the time he crashed until after he returned to pit road.
"That's by far, I think, the hardest hit I've taken," Johnson said. "Just blew a right front tire and away I went, head first, so thank god for the soft walls and HANS device (head and neck support system) and everything. I'll be OK. I'll be scratching my head for the next day or two, though."
"I don't remember coming from turn four to the pits," Johnson added. "I just remember kind of waking up on pit road and the guys were pulling me out of the car. So it's all good."
Johnson had raced back to seventh place after 120 laps. He was 11th after 130 and 140 laps.
"We definitely had a roller coaster day," Knaus said. "You know, back to the front, to the back. We had a lot of weird things go on. But that's part of racing. You're going to have days like that. We'll bounce back.
"The car was fine. We didn't have any issues with the car. We were just battling track position."
Knaus isn't worried about losing the points lead.
"Once we get to Loudon (N.H., on Sept. 18), it basically starts over at zero," Knaus said of the points chase for the final 10 races. "So I'm really not concerned about points. As long as we stay in the top 10, that's really all we need to be focused on."
Casey Mears says he won't leave Chip Ganassi Racing to drive for Dale Earnhardt Inc.'s No. 15 Chevy next year, even though the team apparently is interested in him.
"I'd say right now I'm 99.9 percent sure I'm going to be with Ganassi next year," Mears said Saturday. "We had a meeting a few days ago, and everything looks real positive to do something for next year."
DEI vice president Richie Gilmore hinted the team was interested in Mears as a replacement for Michael Waltrip. He said the team was pursuing a driver who is young and marketable, and was fast in Saturday's practice. Mears is 27 and articulate, and he topped the speed charts in practice.
Asked whether the driver's car had a target on it, Gilmore said, "all over his car, in fact." Mears' No. 41 Dodge is sponsored by Target.
But Mears said he hasn't spoken to DEI.
"I haven't talked to anybody," he said. "Almost every team that's had some sort of availability for next year has mentioned, 'Hey, if you are let go for next year, we are interested in having you.' But nothing has gone beyond that."
Mears said he feels he owes Ganassi because he came to NASCAR from Indy-style racing with no NASCAR experience, and Ganassi stuck with him the past three years.
An Internet report named Matt Kenseth as a candidate for the No. 15 car, but Kenseth said he's staying at Roush Racing.
The future of the No. 15 team depends on sponsorship. NAPA Auto Parts has not said yet whether it will stay, follow Waltrip or chose another path. DEI will have at least two full-time cars next year for Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Martin Truex Jr. and plans to run Paul Menard in about seven races.
UPDATE: GM Racing needs to get its house in order. NASCAR didn't appreciate Joe Gibbs Racing bringing a 2006 Monte Carlo to Atlanta last week that was unprepared to get through the on-track portion of NASCAR's approval process. The car didn't make a target speed. How bad was the car? The team had to borrow springs from rival Ford, which had the Wood Brothers auditioning the new Fusion. "We dropped the ball," JGR team manager Jimmy Makar says. "There's really no excuse." NASCAR agreed to allow JGR and Bobby Labonte to return to Atlanta on Tuesday in an attempt to get the Monte Carlo up to speed.(Sporting News)
NASCAR's top series could soon have its first African-American driver in nearly 20 years, as Bill Lester and team owner Bill Davis have discussed the possibility of putting Lester in a Nextel Cup car later this season.
"We've kicked it around, definitely," Lester said Saturday.
Lester, 44, has been a regular in NASCAR's Craftsman Trucks Series — stock car racing's equivalent to Class AA baseball — since 2002. If he qualified for a Cup race, he would become the first African-American driver to race in NASCAR's top series since Willy T. Ribbs, who ran three races in 1986.
Lester said he has made it clear to Davis that his goal is to race in the Nextel Cup, and Davis has been receptive. "It's just a matter of all the planets lining up," Lester said.
According to Buz McKim, NASCAR's coordinator of statistical services, eight non-white drivers have competed in NASCAR's top series. The most successful was Wendell Scott, who made 494 starts between 1961 and 1973, finishing in the top 10 147 times and winning a race in Jacksonville in 1963. There also have been 15 female drivers in NASCAR's top series.
As NASCAR has emerged from its Southeastern roots over the past decade, there has been growing attention paid to the sport's lack of diversity. In response, NASCAR officials have encouraged corporate sponsorship of young minority drivers racing at grassroots short tracks. They have spoken of trying to get more minority-owned businesses involved in racing.
They also hired former NBA star Magic Johnson as a consultant last year; Johnson has built a reputation as a minority business magnate in retirement, although his role in NASCAR remains somewhat unclear.
Still, confederate flags dot the infield at many racetracks. An overwhelming majority of the fans are white. And Lester is the only African-American driver racing in NASCAR's top three series.
That makes Lester unique, but it's hardly the only thing that makes him unique.
A graduate of the University of California-Berkley with a degree in electrical engineering and computer science, Lester quit a high-paying job at Hewlett-Packard in the late 1990s to pursue his hobby, sports-car racing, full time.
He ran his first NASCAR race in 1999, a Busch Series race on the road course in Watkins Glen, N.Y. Bobby Hamilton hired him to drive in the trucks series in 2002 and he moved to Davis' team last season.
So far, Lester has shown speed but hasn't achieved consistent good finishes. He ranks 18th in the trucks series points standings this season, qualifying on the pole for two races but finishing in the top five only once.
BUT: ....there were reports yesterday that Roger Penske had indeed approached Jack Roush with an offer of some sort for Kenseth, but that Roush had dismissed it out of hand. Penske continues to decline comment on his driver search. Is Kenseth's contract for sale? "Absolutely not," Roush Racing's Geoff Smith said. However, Smith said he hasn't had an opportunity yet to talk with Kenseth about the Penske report. "I've been traveling around on sponsorship business, and I've been trying to track him down to ask him," Smith said. Smith says he's confident that Kenseth will remain with Roush: "Matt is very happy about being at Roush Racing, and we've had some discussions about going forward." Kenseth's contract with Roush runs through the end of 2006, and Smith says he is working on a long-term renewal. Penske is down to two men in his search for a driver to replace Rusty Wallace next season. Penske will make his announcement by Sept. 1.(Winston Salem Journal)
UPDATE: Micheal Waltip denied one of this weekend's hottest rumors that he will replace Jason Leffler in the Joe Gibbs Racing #11 Chevrolet starting at Watkins Glen. When asked directly by Yahoo! Sports, Waltrip emphatically said that he intends to honor the remainder of his contract – unless he's fired.(Yahoo Sports)
"[NAPA] has some options with us, Michael and some other race teams," Gilmore said. "We've put about a two-week window on it where they've got to make the decision and we've got to make a decision and go forward. But we have a driver kind of laid out, and everything laid out."(Richmond Times Dispatch)
MORE: The rumor mill says Matt Kenseth [#17 DeWalt Ford, contract thru 2006] will be leaving the Roush stable soon and that a spot at DEI [#15?] may be in his future.(RacingOne)(8-5-2005)
UPDATE: DEI's bid to hold sponsor NAPA to field a third team next season hinges on DEI's signing one particular, unnamed driver, which DEI executives yesterday said they didn't expect to happen. Earnhardt said he hopes to have a third team running next season, "But we don't know quite what we're going to do with that team." NAPA could stay with Michael Waltrip, who is finishing his DEI contract, and that could mean Waltrip would be able to field his own Cup team next season.(Winston Salem Journal)(8-6-2005)
UPDATE 2 - Denials: #17-Matt Kenseth and #41-Casey Mears on Saturday denied recent speculation that they would leave their respective teams in favor of driving the #15 Chevrolet at Dale Earnhardt Inc. "Am I going to DEI? No," Kenseth said following Nextel Cup Series practice at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. "I'm happy at Roush Racing."
"I'll say right now I'm 99.9 percent sure I'm going to be with Ganassi next year," Mears said. "We had a meeting a few days ago and everything looks real positive to do something for next year, and right now we're 100 percent effort to try to make something happen for here, next year, for Ganassi. Without making any announcements, we're trying to put things together for here at Ganassi."(NASCAR.com)
DRIVER HINT: Richie Gilmore, vice president of DEI, refused to name the driver, but dropped several hints saying he was currently in the Nextel Cup series, was younger than 30, marketable, and fast in Saturday's practice sessions. NAPA, the sponsor of that car, could choose to leave DEI and go with Waltrip to his next team. But Gilmore indicated the team would stay if DEI could sign the driver they are eyeing. Should they fail to get him, then DEI will essentially fold the team. Gilmore said Busch Series driver Paul Menard would drive seven Cup events next season, then move up full-time in 2007.(ESPN.com RPM) using the criteria Gilmore mentioned, in thee top 25 in Saturday's practice, who are under 30 and could be looking at rides: Brian Vickers, Bobby Hamilton Jr. and Kyle Busch. Why no Mears? read above the HINT part where he says he is staying at Ganassi.
UPDATE on HINT: folks at Hendrick Motorsports tell me Brian Vickers and Kyle Busch are both in the middle of multi-year deals with Hendrick Motorsports, so remove their names from the rumor mill.
UPDATE: Earnhardt said his own team is facing a post-season shakeup, with crew chief Steve Hmiel expected to return to technical director and with a new boss coming in. But Earnhardt said he's trying not to upset his own team right now: "For example, if we said Tony Eury Jr. was coming back to run our team, then our team right now might implode the rest of the year. "We definitely have to make some changes at the end of the season. But I don't have an answer to what we're going to do. I do want to work with Tony Jr. again. But personally I think we're both immature for our age... and the more mature we get, the easier it will be for us to work together."(Winston Salem Journal)(8-6-2005)
UPDATE 2: Dale Earnhardt Jr. and former car chief Tony Eury Jr. are making plans to reunite in 2006, with Eury taking over as the crew chief for NASCAR’s most popular driver. “Me and Dale Jr. are pushing pretty hard for it,” Eury said Friday at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, where practice for Sunday’s AllState 400 was washed out. “The people upstairs are the ones that have a problem with it. We’re trying to sort through that now. Me and him are gung-ho ready to go.” Eury, who was moved from car chief of Earnhardt’s car to crew chief of Michael Waltrip’s #15 car during the offseason after helping Earnhardt to six wins and a fifth-place finish in the championship chase, said a decision could be finalized in the next few weeks. Waltrip has announced he will leave Dale Earnhardt Inc. after this season because the organization would not assure him that Eury would be his crew chief next year. Earnhardt has been looking for a full-time crew chief since Pete Rondeau, who began the season with him, was replaced by interim crew chief Steve Hmiel in May. “We’re supposed to have several meetings this week,” Eury said. “I’d say the next few weeks they ought to really know something about who is going where. We’re kind of waiting on NAPA (sponsor for Waltrip’s car) to tell us what they want to do, whether they want us to have a third car at our place.”(The State)
In lieu of flowers, please consider sending a donation to the Hunter's Hope Foundation. The Kelly Family has requested a private family viewing. A celebration of Hunter Kelly's life will be held on Tuesday, August 9, 2005 at 1pm at the Wesleyan Church of Hamburg.
Aside from his activities with the Hunter's Hope Foundation and the Kelly for Kids Charities, Jim Kelly is also part of the ownership group of Frank Cicci Racing, a NASCAR Busch Series #34 race team sponsored by the Dollar General Corporation. The team is in Indianapolis this weekend for the running of the Kroger 200 at Indianapolis Raceway Park. 2-time NASCAR Busch Series driver Randy LaJoie is the team's driver.; more on the Busch Series site.
Rusty gets Sirius: #2-Rusty Wallace will run a Miller Lite/Sirius Satellite Radio scheme at Watkins Glen International on August 14th
Mears to run Cancer Awareness scheme in Oct: during Speed Channel's NASCAR This Morning, Casey Mears, driver of the #41 Target Dodge, said he will driver a pink Cancer Awarenss scheme in the October races.
Back to School: hearing that #99 Carl Edwards will run a special Office Depot 'Back to School' scheme, probably at Watkins Glen, maybe a few more races.
By Greg Engle
Cup Scene Daily
On obviously dejected Dale Earnhardt Jr. may have had the final nail put into the coffin of his dismal season Sunday at Indy, at least when it comes to winning the championship. His mangled car in the garage area while the race was still in progress seemed to say it all.
Starting the day 27th, the DEI Chevrolet didn’t seem much better in one piece, especially on restarts when it took 10 to 15 laps for the tires’ air pressures to come up. Junior slid backwards rapidly all the while complaining that the car was a handful to control.
The crew made major wedge and air pressure adjustments over the course of four pit stops, but their day seemed to be characterized by a miscommunication on lap 48 stop when interim crew chief Steve Hmiel called for a four-tire stop, but Junior – not hearing the call – drove off after only the right-side tires were changed. From the there, the day quickly went from bad to worse, much worse.
Earnhardt Jr. took the green-flag on a lap-62 restart in 31st place, but as he climbed through the gearbox, he was nailed in the left-rear quarter-panel by Mike Skinner’s #23 car, careening him directly into the wall. The Chevy ricocheted back into traffic, where the out-of-control cars of Martin Truex Jr. and Robby Gordon hit it again.
Hmiel blamed the cars in front of his driver for the restart pile up. “It was a pretty lousy restart, to be honest with you. NASCAR took note of it. They’re not happy, either,” Hmiel said.
“They (the leaders) kinda went and then they didn’t go,” Hmiel said. “Junior had a lot of room in front of him. He always does the right thing on the restart by just kind of hanging back. He got driven into the back, tore the race car up.”
Earnhardt didn't blame Skinner, whose view was obscured by the cars ahead of both of them.
"I don't think Skinner knew what was going on," he said.
After the car was dragged to the garage, Earnhardt's crew worked feverishly to repair the No. 8 Budweiser Chevrolet. They sheared off the pieces of damaged sheet metal, pulled out the mangled radiator and began to replace the hood and rear bumper when the decision was made to pack it in for the day. Earnhardt himself agreed and could do nothing but shake his head in frustration.
"I just hope I don't have to get into that today. Hopefully, I can go home,'' he said.
Already a long shot to qualify for the season-ending 10-race shootout Earnhardt's race -- and most likely his shot at a 2005 Cup title -- ended after 63 laps.
“I ain’t a fortune teller, but it ain’t looking good", a clearly disappointed Earnhardt said afterwards. “I mean, it’s obvious, we’re way behind and there’s not many races left.”
The confidence displayed earlier in the week had evaporated along with the title hopes.
“I had a terrible racecar today, “Junior said. “We tested real good here, and we thought we’d come here with something. But from the moment we got here, we’ve been junk. It was real frustrating that the car wouldn’t drive right. I was in the back and trying to work on it every pit stop to get it better. It’s all we could do.”
"We can't bring cars like this to the racetrack and you know I knew when the race started, man, it was going to be a miracle to get a top 10 with that car,'' he added. "As long as we bring cars like that to the track, that's the way we're gonna finish.''
Earnhardt trailed leader Jimmie Johnson by 537 points entering Sunday's race and desperately needed a strong finish to even be in contention for the 10th and final qualifying spot in the standings.
Instead, Earnhardt’s sank lower into the depths of his pit of misery. His second DNF (did not finish) of the year dropped him to 16th and left him 627 points behind new points leader Tony Stewart. He trails Carl Edwards, now 10th, by 191 points.
"It's gonna take something extraordinary to make the chase at this point, this far behind now,'' Junior said.
"If we make the Chase, we make it. If we don't, we don't. We'll still try to win some races before the year is out.''
Johnson stumbles, Earnhardt tumbles at Indianapolis
By MICHAEL MAROT, AP Sports Writer
INDIANAPOLIS (AP) -- Jimmie Johnson endured the harder hit. Dale Earnhardt Jr. took the tougher blow.
For two of NASCAR's biggest stars, the Allstate 400 at the Brickyard proved to be more than a race; it was a survival test.
Johnson was released from the hospital Sunday night after surrendering his Nextel Cup points lead for the first time in a month, while Earnhardt's quest for his first title likely ended.
"That's life,'' Earnhardt said. "You've got to deal with it good and bad. We'll be all right.''
Earnhardt and his team appeared resigned to the probability he would miss the season-ending Cup chase in what has easily been his most difficult season on the NASCAR circuit.
He entered Sunday trailing Dale Jarrett by 158 points for the 10th and final qualifying spot in the shootout. But instead of closing the gap with a desperately needed top-10 finish, Earnhardt lost ground when Mike Skinner pushed him into the wall on an early restart.
Earnhardt hit the inside wall then careened across the track, hitting the outside wall and bouncing off three other cars -- including teammate Martin Truex Jr. -- before rolling to a stop.
His day ended after just 63 laps, leaving him with a 191-point deficit to make up on Carl Edwards, who took over the 10th spot in points.
"We got wrecked and just tore up a race car,'' crew chief Steve Hmiel said. "That's what this year's looked like.''
Johnson's second-worst finish of the season, 38th, dazed him but didn't hurt his title chase.
He crashed in the fourth turn wall on Lap 146 when his right front tire blew. Johnson called it the hardest hit he'd ever had, but somehow managed to drive the car to pit road where crew chief Chad Knaus climbed through the passenger window and helped Johnson out.
"Man, that was hard,'' Johnson said. "I really don't remember coming from turn four to the pits. I just remember kind of waking up on pit road and the guys were pulling me out of the car. So it's all good.''
Johnson's team didn't seem bothered by his slip in the standings. Race winner Tony Stewart passed him in the standings; Johnson is second, 75 points back.
"Once we get to Loudon, it all starts over at zero, so I'm really not concerned about points,'' Knaus said.
Little else changed.
Mark Martin and Ryan Newman, switched spots at Nos. 6 and 7, while Jarrett moved up one place to ninth. Edwards jumped from 12th to 10th and pole-winner Elliott Sadler dropped from ninth to 11th after finishing 32nd.
But the big story was the latest chapter in Junior's miserable season.
NASCAR's most popular driver in 2003 and '04 has been jeered by fans and criticized by his most loyal supporter, uncle Tony Eury Sr., his former crew chief. In May, he fired another crew chief, Pete Rondeau.
His problems on the track have been even worse. He has just one win and eight top-10 finishes in 21 starts, and has struggled since swapping crews with teammate Michael Waltrip before the season started.
But in the past few weeks, Earnhardt appeared to be rallying. He finished third at Daytona, won at Chicago and was ninth in New Hampshire.
Skinner's push may have been too much.
Already saddled with a car Earnhardt didn't think was competitive, he drove down the front straightaway in a single-file line on the fourth restart. With cars in front of him starting and slowing, Skinner tapped Earnhardt in the back, turned him sideways and sent him into the wall.
Earnhardt's crew, knowing the predicament, worked frantically in Gasoline Alley to repair the No. 8 Budweiser Chevrolet. They spent nearly 20 minutes cutting pieces of damaged sheet metal, pulling off the mangled radiator and were ready to replace the hood and rear bumper when they finally stopped.
The latest failure may be too much for Earnhardt to overcome.
"It's gonna take something extraordinary to make the chase at this point, this far behind now,'' he said.
By Greg Engle
Cup Scene Daily
The dog had company last night at Tony Stewarts house.
‘Kylie’, Stewarts’ Chihuahua, normally shares a pillow with Stewart. After winning his first race at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Sunday though, Stewart knew what he
was going to do with his trophy.
“My dog is going to be really mad tonight, she's 6 pounds and sleeps right by my knees. She's going to have to move over because I'm sleeping with that trophy in the bed tonight“ Stewart said with a smile during a national television interview.
One thing Stewart certainly didn’t have to dream about Sunday night was what it would be like to win at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. He woke up Monday morning after realizing his boyhood dream; taking the checkered flag at the 400 at the Brickyard Sunday. He can now say: “Been there, done that.”
Stewart, who was born in Rushville, Ind., and grew up in nearby Columbus, led 44 laps of the 160-lap race and held off a hard charging Kasey Kahne to score the fourth victory of the year, and the biggest win of his career.
It was also the seventh top-10 finish in a row for Stewart and more importantly moved him into the lead in the Nextel Cup standings for the first time since he wrapped up his only Cup title in 2002.
The race saw 10 cautions for 43 laps, slowing the average speed to 118.782 mph, the second-slowest NASCAR race in Brickyard history. The 2004 race was slowed by 13 cautions for 47 laps, with an average speed of 115.037.
Pole winner Elliott Sadler looked strong at the beginning of the race, pulling out to a 1.340 second lead by the end of Lap 2. He led the first 22 laps in the No. 38 M&M’s Ford, lost the lead for a lap to pit and then led another 15 laps before surrendering the lead to Vickers. Sadler remained in the top 10 for most of the race until he had a tire go flat on Lap 150, forcing a pit stop. He lost a lap and finished 32nd.
Stewart took the lead for the first time on Lap 100 – amid thunderous applause from the throng of spectators – and stayed in control of the race until Lap 134, when Kahne moved past him in Turn 4. But Stewart kept the pressure on Kahne, and as the two drivers dueled, they pulled away from the rest of the field.
Fuel mileage became a concern as the leaders approached Lap 150, since most of the field last pitted on Lap 118 during a caution period.
Jimmie Johnson, who entered the race as the points leader, gave the leaders the break they were looking for on Lap 146, when a tire problem caused him to hit the SAFER Barrier in Turn 4.
The green flag flew on Lap 150, and Stewart got a good run on Kahne through Turn 1 and took the lead at the exit of Turn 2.
“You can imagine my surprise when we take the green and go into (Turn 1), and he (Kahne) gets tight and can’t close the door,” Stewart said. “Knowing Kasey as well as I do, and the respect we have for each other, that’s the guy I wanted to race with for the win.
“When I sailed off into (Turn 2), I had the attitude that I was going to win it or wear it. I knew I was going to do something stupid, I knew Kasey wouldn’t. He knows what this race means to me.”
Stewart weaved back and forth down the straightaways after taking the lead to break Kahne’s draft. The maneuvering was successful as Stewart gradually pulled away, winning by a margin of .794 of a second.
Afterwards Stewart overcome with emotion and exhaustion, celebrated by taking a backwards victory lap and adding not one but by two climbs up the IMS catch fence: in front of his Turn 2 suite filled with family and friends, and at the Speedway’s Yard of Bricks with his crew.
“I’m dying right now,” Stewart said with a laugh, after climbing off the main straightaway fence and lying down on the outside retaining wall. “I’m too tired to chase fences right now. Give me five minutes, and I’ll be ready.
“I wish I could put it in words,” Stewart said. “Today has been my entire life. This is one of those days I don’t want to end; I don’t want to see the sun set. This is definitely the greatest day of my life, professionally, personally. I couldn’t ask for more. Part of it hasn’t sunk in yet. I’m sure when I’m over there with my family and friends, it will hit me.”
Stewart’s win in the No. 20 Home Depot Chevrolet makes him the first Indiana-born driver to win a NASCAR Nextel Cup Series race at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
The emotion of the day also overcame Stewart’s crew chief, Greg Zipadelli, immediately following the checkered flag.
“I thank the good Lord, man, I’ve never prayed that much in my life,” said Zipadelli, his voice cracking. “Just to see the expression on his face when I get over there will be worth everything.”
In the end, an estimated 300,000 partisan fans chanted, "Tony! Tony! Tony!" for several minutes following Stewart's emotional victory.
Hendrick Motorsports' young gun Brian Vickers was third, Jeremy Mayfield fourth, and Matt Kenseth, fifth.
Kylie, will no doubt have to find another place to sleep from now on.
The Associated Press
INDIANAPOLIS -- Tony Stewart finally has his "Holy Grail."
It wasn't his beloved Indianapolis 500, but the former IndyCar champion, who has longed to win a race at historic Indianapolis Motor Speedway, held off a determined
challenge from Kasey Kahne to grab an emotional victory Sunday in the Allstate 400 at the Brickyard.
It was the fourth victory in the past six races and seventh top-10 finish in a row for the hottest driver in NASCAR, moving him into the lead in the Nextel Cup standings for the first time since he wrapped up his only Cup title in 2002.
This one was up for grabs nearly to the end, with Stewart taking his first lead by passing Brian Vickers 60 laps from the end. But the 25-year-old Kahne, last year's top rookie, didn't make it easy, passing Stewart for the lead with 27 laps to go in the 160-lap event.
That brought a groan from the partisan crowd of more than 250,000, who were rooting hard for Stewart, a native Hoosier.
Stewart stayed with Kahne, though. After Jimmie Johnson -- who came into the race as the points leader -- blew a tire and hit the wall on Lap 144, bringing out the last of nine caution flags in the race, Stewart took advantage of the restart on Lap 150 to regain the lead.
Kahne hung onto the rear bumper of Stewart's No. 20 Chevrolet for a couple of laps, but Stewart finally began pulling away and raced on to win by 0.794-seconds -- about 5 car-lengths.
Stewart, who has climbed the fence to the flagstand after his most recent victories this year, jumped out of his car after the cooldown lap and stood at the bottom of the fence, popping open a can of soda and sipping.
After getting hugs from his crew, he laid down on the concrete wall at the bottom of the fencing, holding a checkered cloth to his forehead.
"I'm dying right now," Stewart said, grinning. "Too tired to chase fences right now. Give me five minutes and I'll be ready."
Asked about finally winning at Indy, he said, "I wish I could put it into words. It's been my entire life."
Kahne, who got his first Nextel Cup victory earlier this season at Richmond, was disappointed for himself but happy for Stewart.
"We had an awesome car," he said. "I just gave up a little bit through the restart. I couldn't do anything with it.
"It was a big win for Tony. He wanted to win this real bad."
Vickers finished third, followed by Jeremy Mayfield, Matt Kenseth, Casey Mears, Mark Martin and four-time Brickyard winner Jeff Gordon.
By DAVID POOLE
The Charlote Observer
INDIANAPOLIS - Of all the laps he's turned at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, the one Tony Stewart will always remember was probably the slowest one - and he was going
in the wrong direction.
"I am going to take a little detour, boys," Stewart said to his crew over the radio moments after winning the Allstate 400 on Sunday. "I am going to enjoy this one."
He rolled slowly down the frontstretch toward Turn 4, his helmet off and his window net down, drinking in the cheers from a crowd of more than 200,000 at the historic track that he said, during a prerace lap, was his "holy grail."
He eased his No. 20 Chevrolet around the track's north end, then down the long backstretch toward the second turn.
There, in a suite that Stewart has at this track barely 40 miles from his hometown of Columbus, Ind., waited his family and some of his closest friends who'd just seen, at long last, something they'd waited a lifetime to see.
Stewart, a 34-year-old Indiana native who cut his racing teeth on short tracks from one corner of this state to another and who has never tried to hide his aching desire to taste victory here, had won at the Brickyard.
He climbed atop the wall, slapped a high-five through the fence with one fan, and popped open a cold soda he'd been handed by his crew back over on the frontstretch.
"TONY! TONY! TONY!" the crowd yelled as he toasted his family in the suite and his friends - all of them, symbolically - who'd been there to witness him do the one thing he'd always most wanted to do.
"Today," he would say a few moments later, "has been my entire life."
With just 11 laps left in what would turn out to be Stewart's fourth victory in the past six Nextel Cup races, it appeared as though this dream might be denied.
Stewart started 22nd and had clawed his way toward the front slowly, making it up to fifth by the halfway point. Finally, on Lap 100, he passed Brian Vickers to take the lead and then took off, building an advantage of nearly four seconds at one point.
But it wouldn't be that easy. It couldn't be here, at the 2.5-mile track where Stewart had been in five Indianapolis 500s and six Cup races before without finishing better than fifth. Not at a place where his frustrations had boiled over so badly after a particularly frustrating setback during his 2002 championship season that it nearly cost him is ride with Joe Gibbs Racing.
When teammate Bobby Labonte's blown right-front tire brought out a caution on Lap 116, Stewart came in for what would be his final pit stop. He'd need a few fuel-saving circuits under subsequent yellows to go the distance on fuel, but in a race slowed 10 times by cautions that certainly appeared doable.
But after that pit stop, Stewart faced his biggest challenge of the day.
Kasey Kahne, who'd spent three summers in Indiana racing on the same tracks in the same midget and sprint cars for the same team Stewart had before he'd moved on, got his No. 9 Dodge working right and mounted a charge.
Stewart staved off Kahne for a while, but on Lap 134 Kahne powered by to take the lead. Stewart chased Kahne's No. 9 Dodge doggedly, but it wasn't until points leader Jimmie Johnson crashed on Lap 145 to bring out another caution that Stewart got the chance he really needed.
First, however, came an anguished debate with crew chief Greg Zipadelli over pit strategy. Stewart initially wanted to come in for fresh tires, but Zipadelli argued they should stay out to keep track position.
"I'm too nervous to make the call," Stewart said finally.
"Stay out," Zipadelli said.
As Kahne passed the entrance to pit road, Stewart made a move toward the commitment line and then quickly swerved back onto the track. He had what he was going to have to try to get this job done.
"We aren't done yet," Stewart told Zipadelli. "I've come too far to give up now. I want this more than I want anything."
Zipadelli answered, "I know."
As the leaders came to the restart on Lap 150 in the 160-lap race, Stewart marshaled his desire and talent toward the task at hand.
"I am just trying to pull something out of my bag of tricks here to see what I have left," Stewart said.
The winning move wasn't terribly tricky, however. He laid back a bit on the restart and then dove hard into Turn 1, edging himself underneath Kahne and sliding into the lead. Kahne fought back as hard as Stewart had earlier, shadowing Stewart's zigs and zags down the straightaways.
When Kahne won his first Nextel Cup race at Richmond earlier this year, he had to battle Stewart to win it. Afterward, Stewart was the first to congratulate the 25-year-old on that win.
Here, it was Kahne trying to deny Stewart a coveted victory. With three laps to go, Stewart had padded his advantage to eight-tenths of a second. But would it hold up? Did he have the fuel, or would cruel fate intervene and break Stewart's heart at Indianapolis one more time?
"Four more corners," Stewart's spotter said as the No. 20 came off Turn 4 and saw the white flag.
The massive crowd in Indy's grandstands rose to its feet
There would be no heartbreak this time. Only elation.
"YES!" Stewart yelled after taking the checkered flag. "I love you guys, you've helped me live my lifelong dream today. I appreciate it."
The team was prepared to help its driver continue the fence-climbing ritual he'd started after a victory at Daytona last month, supplying a ladder and offering to make the climb with him.
"I'm too tired to get to the top," he'd said from inside the car.
After the slow victory lap, Stewart did get part of the way up the fence.
But then he came down and reclined on the wall.
"I feel like crap right now," said Stewart, who also took over the Nextel Cup points lead with the victory, "but in five minutes I am going to feel real good."
No way it took that long.
Your
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
This list is authored by:
Sandra Monacelli
221 W. 57th Street 18B
Loveland, CO 80538
970/663-6967
Today In Nascar History
8/08/1962-Richard Petty wins at Huntsville, win #4 of the season, and #9 of his career.
8/08/1963-Richard Petty wins at Columbia, win #12 of the season, and #25 of his career.
8/08/1965-Richard Petty wins at Weaverville, win #2 of the season, and #38 of his career.
8/08/1968-David Pearson wins at Columbia, win #11 of the season, and #41 of his career.
8/08/1971-Richard Petty wins at Ona, win #16 of the season, and #135 of his career.
8/08/1976-Dave Marcis wins at Talladega, win #2 of the season, and #3 of his career.
8/08/1993-Mark Martin wins at Watkins Glen, win #1 of the season, and #8 of his career.
8/08/2004-Jeff Gordon wins at Indianapolis, win #5 of the season, and #69 of his career.
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Quote of the Year"To be a real, true NASCAR driver, you have to know where the sport came from and you have to respect that history and tradition. The guys that don't respect that history and tradition, I don't think they're going to be around all that long. And those guys who don't know the history and tradition, I think it's upon them to learn about it pretty quick if they want to be a success."
– Richard Petty
Quote of the Day
"I wish I could put it in words. I've wanted this my entire life."
-Tony Stewart after winning at the Indy
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Comments from the Peanut Galleryfrom Bob
O great priestess of the bowtie, your negative kharma when unleased toward DJr's fading championship hopes is awesome to behold. I'm almost sorry that I pointed out that #8's only chance was to disrupt JJ's almost faultless run toward the chase. I counted four, nay five uncharacteristic lightning bolts striking the #48.
I fear for the unsuspecting Messers Stewart and Biffle who also need to lose some points cushion to advance Ironhead Jr!
The next five races should be filled with targeted black clouds floated down from Colorado!
lol....seeing as how I really like Tony Stewart, it will be very difficult to do that. But, you never know................
from Jeff
Momma;
NBC would not know an F-15 if it straffed their broadcast trailer at the track. The last several races they had F-15's listed when they flew over. Well I know my jets and they were not F-15's. F-15's have twin tails & engines, while the jets that flew over were single tail and engines and were F'16s. Someone needs to show them what an F-15 & F-16 look like so they get it right the next time, then again they still would get it wrong. Look what they did to Alan Bestwick, took him out of the booth and put him on pit road as a reporter and put Bill Weber in the booth. They should have put Benny Parsons on pit road as a reporter as I think he is worse than Fox's Larry MacReynolds.
Jeff24Pa
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Bits and PiecesJohnson released from hospital after hard crash
By Greg Engle
Cup Scene Daily
Jimmie Johnson certainly had a forgettable weekend, literally.
He went to Methodist Hospital in Indianapolis for precautionary evaluation after he appeared dazed.
Johnson started 42nd after his car failed inspection in Saturday's qualifying and his team wasn't able to make the fixes in time for him to get into the qualifying line.
He entered the race as the Nextel Cup points leader but dropped to second behind race winner Tony Stewart. Johnson was hurt when his right front tire blew and he slammed into the fourth turn wall on lap 146. He drove the car into the pits where it caught fire.
Crew chief Chad Knaus climbed through the window on the passenger side and assisted Johnson as the cockpit filled with smoke.
"His bell has definitely been rung,'' Knaus said. ``That was a pretty hard hit that he took out there.''
Johnson called it the hardest hit he'd ever taken and said he didn't remember anything from the time he crashed until after he returned to pit road.
"That's by far, I think, the hardest hit I've taken," Johnson said. "Just blew a right front tire and away I went, head first, so thank god for the soft walls and HANS device (head and neck support system) and everything. I'll be OK. I'll be scratching my head for the next day or two, though."
"I don't remember coming from turn four to the pits," Johnson added. "I just remember kind of waking up on pit road and the guys were pulling me out of the car. So it's all good."
Johnson had raced back to seventh place after 120 laps. He was 11th after 130 and 140 laps.
"We definitely had a roller coaster day," Knaus said. "You know, back to the front, to the back. We had a lot of weird things go on. But that's part of racing. You're going to have days like that. We'll bounce back.
"The car was fine. We didn't have any issues with the car. We were just battling track position."
Knaus isn't worried about losing the points lead.
"Once we get to Loudon (N.H., on Sept. 18), it basically starts over at zero," Knaus said of the points chase for the final 10 races. "So I'm really not concerned about points. As long as we stay in the top 10, that's really all we need to be focused on."
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Mears Expects To Stay With Ganassi Casey Mears says he won't leave Chip Ganassi Racing to drive for Dale Earnhardt Inc.'s No. 15 Chevy next year, even though the team apparently is interested in him.
"I'd say right now I'm 99.9 percent sure I'm going to be with Ganassi next year," Mears said Saturday. "We had a meeting a few days ago, and everything looks real positive to do something for next year."
DEI vice president Richie Gilmore hinted the team was interested in Mears as a replacement for Michael Waltrip. He said the team was pursuing a driver who is young and marketable, and was fast in Saturday's practice. Mears is 27 and articulate, and he topped the speed charts in practice.
Asked whether the driver's car had a target on it, Gilmore said, "all over his car, in fact." Mears' No. 41 Dodge is sponsored by Target.
But Mears said he hasn't spoken to DEI.
"I haven't talked to anybody," he said. "Almost every team that's had some sort of availability for next year has mentioned, 'Hey, if you are let go for next year, we are interested in having you.' But nothing has gone beyond that."
Mears said he feels he owes Ganassi because he came to NASCAR from Indy-style racing with no NASCAR experience, and Ganassi stuck with him the past three years.
An Internet report named Matt Kenseth as a candidate for the No. 15 car, but Kenseth said he's staying at Roush Racing.
The future of the No. 15 team depends on sponsorship. NAPA Auto Parts has not said yet whether it will stay, follow Waltrip or chose another path. DEI will have at least two full-time cars next year for Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Martin Truex Jr. and plans to run Paul Menard in about seven races.
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GM Not Happy With Monte Carlo Testing so far UPDATE: Chevrolet officials were scrambling this week after the 2006 version of the Monte Carlo did not perform as expected in its first on-track test. Joe Gibbs Racing [#18-Bobby Labonte] took the car to Atlanta Motor Speedway this week and everyone was surprised when it struggled during the test. So GM Racing director Pat Suhy spent much of his time at Indianapolis Motor Speedway this weekend, meeting with NASCAR officials to discuss what they should do. Suhy said GM will test the car again. NASCAR officials have not yet approved the car for competition. "I think everyone was a little overconfident and got a little complacent and didn't pay attention to the details when building this car," Suhy said.(ESPN.com RPM)(8-7-2005)UPDATE: GM Racing needs to get its house in order. NASCAR didn't appreciate Joe Gibbs Racing bringing a 2006 Monte Carlo to Atlanta last week that was unprepared to get through the on-track portion of NASCAR's approval process. The car didn't make a target speed. How bad was the car? The team had to borrow springs from rival Ford, which had the Wood Brothers auditioning the new Fusion. "We dropped the ball," JGR team manager Jimmy Makar says. "There's really no excuse." NASCAR agreed to allow JGR and Bobby Labonte to return to Atlanta on Tuesday in an attempt to get the Monte Carlo up to speed.(Sporting News)
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Kahne, Newman sign contract extensions
Two more Nextel Cup drivers kept their names from entering the rumor mill for years to come as Kasey Kahne and Ryan Newman signed long-term extensions.
Penske Racing South President Don Miller said Newman, whose original contract ran through 2006, signed a three-year deal through '09 with an option for three more years. In an active "Silly Season" of lineup changes, Newman said he was courted by Roush Racing but had no intentions of leaving Penske.
"I never had any temptation," he said. "I had teams looking at me for the first time in my career, and that was unique for me."
Terms of Kahne's contract weren't announced, but team owner Ray Evernham said the deal would keep the 25-year-old in the No. 9 Dodge past 30.
Two more Nextel Cup drivers kept their names from entering the rumor mill for years to come as Kasey Kahne and Ryan Newman signed long-term extensions.
Penske Racing South President Don Miller said Newman, whose original contract ran through 2006, signed a three-year deal through '09 with an option for three more years. In an active "Silly Season" of lineup changes, Newman said he was courted by Roush Racing but had no intentions of leaving Penske.
"I never had any temptation," he said. "I had teams looking at me for the first time in my career, and that was unique for me."
Terms of Kahne's contract weren't announced, but team owner Ray Evernham said the deal would keep the 25-year-old in the No. 9 Dodge past 30.
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African-American driver Lester may get Cup ride NASCAR's top series could soon have its first African-American driver in nearly 20 years, as Bill Lester and team owner Bill Davis have discussed the possibility of putting Lester in a Nextel Cup car later this season.
"We've kicked it around, definitely," Lester said Saturday.
Lester, 44, has been a regular in NASCAR's Craftsman Trucks Series — stock car racing's equivalent to Class AA baseball — since 2002. If he qualified for a Cup race, he would become the first African-American driver to race in NASCAR's top series since Willy T. Ribbs, who ran three races in 1986.
Lester said he has made it clear to Davis that his goal is to race in the Nextel Cup, and Davis has been receptive. "It's just a matter of all the planets lining up," Lester said.
According to Buz McKim, NASCAR's coordinator of statistical services, eight non-white drivers have competed in NASCAR's top series. The most successful was Wendell Scott, who made 494 starts between 1961 and 1973, finishing in the top 10 147 times and winning a race in Jacksonville in 1963. There also have been 15 female drivers in NASCAR's top series.
As NASCAR has emerged from its Southeastern roots over the past decade, there has been growing attention paid to the sport's lack of diversity. In response, NASCAR officials have encouraged corporate sponsorship of young minority drivers racing at grassroots short tracks. They have spoken of trying to get more minority-owned businesses involved in racing.
They also hired former NBA star Magic Johnson as a consultant last year; Johnson has built a reputation as a minority business magnate in retirement, although his role in NASCAR remains somewhat unclear.
Still, confederate flags dot the infield at many racetracks. An overwhelming majority of the fans are white. And Lester is the only African-American driver racing in NASCAR's top three series.
That makes Lester unique, but it's hardly the only thing that makes him unique.
A graduate of the University of California-Berkley with a degree in electrical engineering and computer science, Lester quit a high-paying job at Hewlett-Packard in the late 1990s to pursue his hobby, sports-car racing, full time.
He ran his first NASCAR race in 1999, a Busch Series race on the road course in Watkins Glen, N.Y. Bobby Hamilton hired him to drive in the trucks series in 2002 and he moved to Davis' team last season.
So far, Lester has shown speed but hasn't achieved consistent good finishes. He ranks 18th in the trucks series points standings this season, qualifying on the pole for two races but finishing in the top five only once.
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Roush Releases Wood From Contract: Jon Wood has been released from his contract with Roush Racing. The Stuart native had been on loan from Roush to a Busch team this season and had been considered seriously as a replacement for Mark Martin in the No. 6 Ford. When Jamie McMurray was signed for the 6, Roush Racing President Geoff Smith said it left Wood without a spot for advancement with the team. Smith said the parting was amicable and added the team's investment in Wood was in the "mid-seven figures." "It's less hard to walk away from it when a driver like Jon Wood is acting as honorably and honest as anybody could imagine in wanting to stay and do whatever the team would ask," Smith said. "The ones that get to you is more if you made all the investment, and they won't stay. Then they start orchestrating how to accept your millions of dollars and don't want to give anything back. When we get people like Jon that have been totally honorable all the way, we just have to let it go. We made another choice, and part of the cost was giving up the investment that we had in Jon." - The Richmond Times-Dispatch ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Waltrip Thinks Announcement of His Future Can Be Announced At The Glen Or A Little Thereafter: "I'm getting closer, I think. I have a couple of meetings this week that might shed some light on where I'll be. Maybe by Watkins Glen or shortly thereafter I'll be able to tell what I'm going to do," stated Michael Waltrip when asked if any closer to signing a contract for next season. "Just don't have it all worked out yet. I feel pretty good about where I wind up."
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Tony the 1st since 1940: the last Indiana native [born in] to win a race at Indy had been the late Wilbur Shaw, who won the Indy 500 in 1940. Shaw was born in nearby Shelbyville, just 20 miles from Stewart's hometown of Rushville [he lives in Columbus now].(Yahoo Sports)~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Kenseth and Penske? Rumors persist that Roush Racing's Matt Kenseth is the top choice to replace Rusty Wallace, who's retiring, in the #2 Penske Racing car. Sources say Kenseth is sponsor Miller Brewing Co.'s first choice. Plus, Kenseth and his wife, Katie, are good friends of Penske driver Ryan Newman.(Sporting News)BUT: ....there were reports yesterday that Roger Penske had indeed approached Jack Roush with an offer of some sort for Kenseth, but that Roush had dismissed it out of hand. Penske continues to decline comment on his driver search. Is Kenseth's contract for sale? "Absolutely not," Roush Racing's Geoff Smith said. However, Smith said he hasn't had an opportunity yet to talk with Kenseth about the Penske report. "I've been traveling around on sponsorship business, and I've been trying to track him down to ask him," Smith said. Smith says he's confident that Kenseth will remain with Roush: "Matt is very happy about being at Roush Racing, and we've had some discussions about going forward." Kenseth's contract with Roush runs through the end of 2006, and Smith says he is working on a long-term renewal. Penske is down to two men in his search for a driver to replace Rusty Wallace next season. Penske will make his announcement by Sept. 1.(Winston Salem Journal)
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Leffler could be a free agent? Cary Agajanian, #11 Jason Leffler's attorney, would not confirm reports that car owner Joe Gibbs has offered to buy out the remaining 18 months of Leffler's contract for $5 million, but Agajanian would not deny that such an offer could be on the table. "I can't comment on that ... but I'm not denying it either," Agajanian said. "There could be talks. We're not in the middle of everything that goes on. There could be talks. A car owner has the right to speak to his driver, and we encourage that. Honestly there could be discussions between them. But we're not involved in them. That's a very personal thing between Jason and the Gibbs folks." If Leffler were free, Agajanian said he would be negotiating any contract with a new team. Terry Labonte substituted for Leffler at Sonoma in June, and Labonte could apparently be called upon again [at Watkins Glen and a few others races].(Winston Salem Journal)~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Mikey to stay at DEI? not much info here, but the Winston Salem Journal reports: Michael Waltrip may not be leaving Dale Earnhardt Inc. [#15 NAPA Chevy] at the end of the season after all.(Winston Salem Journal)~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Penske down to two drivers for the #2...but who? Penske Racing South is down to two drivers in its search for a replacement for Rusty Wallace in the #2 Miller Lite Dodge, but the team isn't saying who those drivers are. The team has been successful in keeping its opening out of the middle of most speculation so far. It may be early next month before a decision comes.(ThatsRacin.com/David Poole)~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Pruett to run triple at Watkins Glen: Pulling triple-duty in next weekend's race at Watkins Glen is Scott Pruett, who, if he qualifies for each, will drive Chip Ganassi Racing cars in Friday's Rolex Series race; Saturday's Busch Series race and Sunday's Nextel Cup race. If that isn't enough, in September Pruett is scheduled to test a CGR IndyCar at Watkins Glen for a race there later in the month.(Daytona Beach News Journal)~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
DEI close to signing Eury Jr.: DEI director of motorsports Richie Gilmore said he is close to signing Tony Eury Jr., an employee of 15 years who is currently crew chief for the #15 for Michael Waltrip. "The Eurys have never had contracts; they've always just been there," Gilmore said. "It's always been an agreement and a year-to-year deal and Tony Jr. has told me he's not going anywhere. We're working on a deal and it would be his first contract ever."(St Petersburg Times)~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Waltrip to the #11? before end of the season? UPDATE Denied: Motorsport.com is reporting: Speculation has arisen that Michael Waltrip may vacate his seat in the #15 DEI Chevy prior to the end of the 2005 season. Rumors are swirling around the garage that Waltrip has been offered to drive the No. 11 Chevy at Joe Gibbs Racing for the last ten races of the season and next year. Both teams have denied the report.(Motorsport.com)(7-22-2005)UPDATE: Micheal Waltip denied one of this weekend's hottest rumors that he will replace Jason Leffler in the Joe Gibbs Racing #11 Chevrolet starting at Watkins Glen. When asked directly by Yahoo! Sports, Waltrip emphatically said that he intends to honor the remainder of his contract – unless he's fired.(Yahoo Sports)
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DEI has a driver for the #15...if NAPA stays UPDATE 2 Denials: If Dale Earnhardt Inc. [DEI] can keep NAPA as a sponsor for a third car next season, an already topsy-turvy "Silly Season" could get even wilder. DEI Director of Motorsports Richie Gilmore said yesterday the team is negotiating with the auto-parts supplier about staying with the #15 being vacated by Michael Waltrip after 2005. Gilmore said DEI already has lined up a driver to team with Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Martin Truex Jr. for the 2006 Nextel Cup season. Gilmore wouldn't disclose a name but said it was someone prominent on another race team "that's been on our wish list for some time.""[NAPA] has some options with us, Michael and some other race teams," Gilmore said. "We've put about a two-week window on it where they've got to make the decision and we've got to make a decision and go forward. But we have a driver kind of laid out, and everything laid out."(Richmond Times Dispatch)
MORE: The rumor mill says Matt Kenseth [#17 DeWalt Ford, contract thru 2006] will be leaving the Roush stable soon and that a spot at DEI [#15?] may be in his future.(RacingOne)(8-5-2005)
UPDATE: DEI's bid to hold sponsor NAPA to field a third team next season hinges on DEI's signing one particular, unnamed driver, which DEI executives yesterday said they didn't expect to happen. Earnhardt said he hopes to have a third team running next season, "But we don't know quite what we're going to do with that team." NAPA could stay with Michael Waltrip, who is finishing his DEI contract, and that could mean Waltrip would be able to field his own Cup team next season.(Winston Salem Journal)(8-6-2005)
UPDATE 2 - Denials: #17-Matt Kenseth and #41-Casey Mears on Saturday denied recent speculation that they would leave their respective teams in favor of driving the #15 Chevrolet at Dale Earnhardt Inc. "Am I going to DEI? No," Kenseth said following Nextel Cup Series practice at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. "I'm happy at Roush Racing."
"I'll say right now I'm 99.9 percent sure I'm going to be with Ganassi next year," Mears said. "We had a meeting a few days ago and everything looks real positive to do something for next year, and right now we're 100 percent effort to try to make something happen for here, next year, for Ganassi. Without making any announcements, we're trying to put things together for here at Ganassi."(NASCAR.com)
DRIVER HINT: Richie Gilmore, vice president of DEI, refused to name the driver, but dropped several hints saying he was currently in the Nextel Cup series, was younger than 30, marketable, and fast in Saturday's practice sessions. NAPA, the sponsor of that car, could choose to leave DEI and go with Waltrip to his next team. But Gilmore indicated the team would stay if DEI could sign the driver they are eyeing. Should they fail to get him, then DEI will essentially fold the team. Gilmore said Busch Series driver Paul Menard would drive seven Cup events next season, then move up full-time in 2007.(ESPN.com RPM) using the criteria Gilmore mentioned, in thee top 25 in Saturday's practice, who are under 30 and could be looking at rides: Brian Vickers, Bobby Hamilton Jr. and Kyle Busch. Why no Mears? read above the HINT part where he says he is staying at Ganassi.
UPDATE on HINT: folks at Hendrick Motorsports tell me Brian Vickers and Kyle Busch are both in the middle of multi-year deals with Hendrick Motorsports, so remove their names from the rumor mill.
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Dale Jr. and Eury Jr....back together in 2006? UPDATE 2: DEI Director of Motorsports Richie Gilmore pooh-poohed the idea of reuniting Earnhardt Jr. with Tony Eury Jr. if the #8 Chevrolet were to qualify for the Chase for the Nextel Cup. Earnhardt won a career-high six races last year with Eury as car chief. An offseason shake-up moved Eury to Waltrip's team as crew chief this year. "I would say that scenario would take away from both teams, so we wouldn't even look at that," Gilmore said. "That would affect both teams in a negative [way]." Gilmore said the possibility of naming Eury as Earnhardt's crew chief for next season hadn't been discussed much. "It's still too early," he said. "There's been a lot of talk outside of DEI but not at our company."(Richmond Times Dispatch)(8-5-2005)UPDATE: Earnhardt said his own team is facing a post-season shakeup, with crew chief Steve Hmiel expected to return to technical director and with a new boss coming in. But Earnhardt said he's trying not to upset his own team right now: "For example, if we said Tony Eury Jr. was coming back to run our team, then our team right now might implode the rest of the year. "We definitely have to make some changes at the end of the season. But I don't have an answer to what we're going to do. I do want to work with Tony Jr. again. But personally I think we're both immature for our age... and the more mature we get, the easier it will be for us to work together."(Winston Salem Journal)(8-6-2005)
UPDATE 2: Dale Earnhardt Jr. and former car chief Tony Eury Jr. are making plans to reunite in 2006, with Eury taking over as the crew chief for NASCAR’s most popular driver. “Me and Dale Jr. are pushing pretty hard for it,” Eury said Friday at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, where practice for Sunday’s AllState 400 was washed out. “The people upstairs are the ones that have a problem with it. We’re trying to sort through that now. Me and him are gung-ho ready to go.” Eury, who was moved from car chief of Earnhardt’s car to crew chief of Michael Waltrip’s #15 car during the offseason after helping Earnhardt to six wins and a fifth-place finish in the championship chase, said a decision could be finalized in the next few weeks. Waltrip has announced he will leave Dale Earnhardt Inc. after this season because the organization would not assure him that Eury would be his crew chief next year. Earnhardt has been looking for a full-time crew chief since Pete Rondeau, who began the season with him, was replaced by interim crew chief Steve Hmiel in May. “We’re supposed to have several meetings this week,” Eury said. “I’d say the next few weeks they ought to really know something about who is going where. We’re kind of waiting on NAPA (sponsor for Waltrip’s car) to tell us what they want to do, whether they want us to have a third car at our place.”(The State)
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Sad News: Hunter James Kelly entered Heaven this morning, Friday, August 5, 2005. Hunter, the beloved 8-½ year old son of Hall of Fame Quarterback Jim Kelly and his wife Jill, staged a valiant lifelong battle with Krabbe Leukodystrophy. Hunter was the longest living survivor of infantile Krabbe disease and served as an inspiration to thousands of other children and their families. The Hunter's Hope Foundation was founded in his name to fund research into the fatal disease and to offer hope and support to its victims worldwide. Jim and Jill Kelly remain grateful for your continued prayers and support and ask that you respect their privacy as they mourn the sudden loss of their beloved son and offer comfort to his sisters Erin and Camryn.In lieu of flowers, please consider sending a donation to the Hunter's Hope Foundation. The Kelly Family has requested a private family viewing. A celebration of Hunter Kelly's life will be held on Tuesday, August 9, 2005 at 1pm at the Wesleyan Church of Hamburg.
Aside from his activities with the Hunter's Hope Foundation and the Kelly for Kids Charities, Jim Kelly is also part of the ownership group of Frank Cicci Racing, a NASCAR Busch Series #34 race team sponsored by the Dollar General Corporation. The team is in Indianapolis this weekend for the running of the Kroger 200 at Indianapolis Raceway Park. 2-time NASCAR Busch Series driver Randy LaJoie is the team's driver.; more on the Busch Series site.
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Paint SchemesRusty gets Sirius: #2-Rusty Wallace will run a Miller Lite/Sirius Satellite Radio scheme at Watkins Glen International on August 14th
Mears to run Cancer Awareness scheme in Oct: during Speed Channel's NASCAR This Morning, Casey Mears, driver of the #41 Target Dodge, said he will driver a pink Cancer Awarenss scheme in the October races.
Back to School: hearing that #99 Carl Edwards will run a special Office Depot 'Back to School' scheme, probably at Watkins Glen, maybe a few more races.
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Stick a fork in Earnhardt, he may be done By Greg Engle
Cup Scene Daily
On obviously dejected Dale Earnhardt Jr. may have had the final nail put into the coffin of his dismal season Sunday at Indy, at least when it comes to winning the championship. His mangled car in the garage area while the race was still in progress seemed to say it all.
Starting the day 27th, the DEI Chevrolet didn’t seem much better in one piece, especially on restarts when it took 10 to 15 laps for the tires’ air pressures to come up. Junior slid backwards rapidly all the while complaining that the car was a handful to control.
The crew made major wedge and air pressure adjustments over the course of four pit stops, but their day seemed to be characterized by a miscommunication on lap 48 stop when interim crew chief Steve Hmiel called for a four-tire stop, but Junior – not hearing the call – drove off after only the right-side tires were changed. From the there, the day quickly went from bad to worse, much worse.
Earnhardt Jr. took the green-flag on a lap-62 restart in 31st place, but as he climbed through the gearbox, he was nailed in the left-rear quarter-panel by Mike Skinner’s #23 car, careening him directly into the wall. The Chevy ricocheted back into traffic, where the out-of-control cars of Martin Truex Jr. and Robby Gordon hit it again.
Hmiel blamed the cars in front of his driver for the restart pile up. “It was a pretty lousy restart, to be honest with you. NASCAR took note of it. They’re not happy, either,” Hmiel said.
“They (the leaders) kinda went and then they didn’t go,” Hmiel said. “Junior had a lot of room in front of him. He always does the right thing on the restart by just kind of hanging back. He got driven into the back, tore the race car up.”
Earnhardt didn't blame Skinner, whose view was obscured by the cars ahead of both of them.
"I don't think Skinner knew what was going on," he said.
After the car was dragged to the garage, Earnhardt's crew worked feverishly to repair the No. 8 Budweiser Chevrolet. They sheared off the pieces of damaged sheet metal, pulled out the mangled radiator and began to replace the hood and rear bumper when the decision was made to pack it in for the day. Earnhardt himself agreed and could do nothing but shake his head in frustration.
"I just hope I don't have to get into that today. Hopefully, I can go home,'' he said.
Already a long shot to qualify for the season-ending 10-race shootout Earnhardt's race -- and most likely his shot at a 2005 Cup title -- ended after 63 laps.
“I ain’t a fortune teller, but it ain’t looking good", a clearly disappointed Earnhardt said afterwards. “I mean, it’s obvious, we’re way behind and there’s not many races left.”
The confidence displayed earlier in the week had evaporated along with the title hopes.
“I had a terrible racecar today, “Junior said. “We tested real good here, and we thought we’d come here with something. But from the moment we got here, we’ve been junk. It was real frustrating that the car wouldn’t drive right. I was in the back and trying to work on it every pit stop to get it better. It’s all we could do.”
"We can't bring cars like this to the racetrack and you know I knew when the race started, man, it was going to be a miracle to get a top 10 with that car,'' he added. "As long as we bring cars like that to the track, that's the way we're gonna finish.''
Earnhardt trailed leader Jimmie Johnson by 537 points entering Sunday's race and desperately needed a strong finish to even be in contention for the 10th and final qualifying spot in the standings.
Instead, Earnhardt’s sank lower into the depths of his pit of misery. His second DNF (did not finish) of the year dropped him to 16th and left him 627 points behind new points leader Tony Stewart. He trails Carl Edwards, now 10th, by 191 points.
"It's gonna take something extraordinary to make the chase at this point, this far behind now,'' Junior said.
"If we make the Chase, we make it. If we don't, we don't. We'll still try to win some races before the year is out.''
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Shake-Ups: Talk heats up on potential driver moves
By Mike Mulhern
JOURNAL REPORTER
INDIANAPOLIS
The NASCAR driver-swap pot is boiling over, and the latest word in the stock-car garage includes some potential blockbusters:
?Toyota may be making a run at Ford star Matt Kenseth for a 2007 Nextel Cup bid.
?Jason Leffler could be NASCAR's newest free agent.
?Michael Waltrip may not be leaving Dale Earnhardt Inc. at the end of the season after all.
? Ryan Newman has signed a new contract with Roger Penske that will keep him there through the 2009 season, and crew chief Matt Borland also has a Penske contract through 2009.
? Kasey Kahne has signed a new contract with Ray Evernham that will keep him with Dodge for at least the next five years.
? Penske is down to two men in his search for a driver to replace Rusty Wallace next season. Penske will make his announcement by Sept. 1.
Cary Agajanian, Leffler's attorney, would not confirm reports that car owner Joe Gibbs has offered to buy out the remaining 18 months of Leffler's contract for $5 million, but Agajanianwould not deny that such an offer could be on the table.
"I can't comment on that ... but I'm not denying it either," Agajanian said. "There could be talks. We're not in the middle of everything that goes on. There could be talks. A car owner has the right to speak to his driver, and we encourage that.
"Honestly there could be discussions between them. But we're not involved in them. That's a very personal thing between Jason and the Gibbs folks."
If Leffler were free, Agajanian said he would be negotiating any contract with a new team.
"Jason is such a good race driver ... but you need the right chemistry," Agajanian said. "It's difficult. I'm not critical of their organization, because Tony Stewart seems to be doing very good right now.
"But I think a lot of it is chemistry and getting the time to meld as a group. And when you've got a new team, it's not going to come together in 10 races."
Sources familiar with Gibbs' negotiations say that, earlier this year, an offer was made to car owner Jack Roush to hire away Greg Biffle for the FedEx-sponsored team, basically an open-ended offer in which Roush could set the price. Biffle, however, decided to sign a new contract to remain with Roush.
Terry Labonte substituted for Leffler at Sonoma in June, and Labonte could apparently be called upon again.
If Leffler were free, it would be a good time to be a driver, because there are a number of job openings, and very few top-notch drivers available.
"There are very few drivers around that you could plug in ... but they're all on our roster," Agajanian says. "So we can help any car owner who's looking."
Meanwhile, car owner Chip Ganassi raised a few eyebrows yesterday morning when he tossed out a rumor he said he'd heard about Penske making an offer to Roush for $12 million to buy out Kenseth's contract in order to put Kenseth in Rusty Wallace's ride next season.
"And I heard Jack was going to keep $2 million and turn around and give me $10 million to buy Jamie McMurray's contract," Ganassi said with a laugh. "If so, I want to make sure Jack has my phone number."
Geoff Smith, the head of Roush Racing, didn't find Ganassi amusing.
"That is Chip pulling everyone's legs. That is 100-percent fabricated," Smith said.
"What that does tell you is his decision (to keep McMurray in 2006, despite McMurray's new 2007 contract with Roush) might not be being made by what is right for Jamie or for the sponsor or for racing, but 'Hey, maybe I can make a buck.' That's what it feels like."
Nevertheless, there were reports yesterday that Penske had indeed approached Roush with an offer of some sort for Kenseth, but that Roush had dismissed it out of hand.
Penske continues to decline comment on his driver search.
Is Kenseth's contract for sale? "Absolutely not," Smith said.
However, Smith said he hasn't had an opportunity yet to talk with Kenseth about the Penske report. "I've been traveling around on sponsorship business, and I've been trying to track him down to ask him," Smith said.
Kenseth's comments at Pocono about possibly not being around at Roush Racing in 2007 - when McMurray is to join the Roush team - has sparked considerable speculation as to what Kenseth was really talking about. Kenseth has been rather nebulous when questioned about his Pocono comments.
Smith says he's confident that Kenseth will remain with Roush: "Matt is very happy about being at Roush Racing, and we've had some discussions about going forward."
Kenseth's contract with Roush runs through the end of 2006, and Smith says he is working on a long-term renewal.
"I think Matt just wanted to point out to Jamie that he is a senior driver," Smith said of the Pocono flap. "And we've always had a sense of deference, in relationships, from the young drivers toward the senior drivers. So I think that was Matt talking to Jamie and not to Roush Racing."
By Mike Mulhern
JOURNAL REPORTER
INDIANAPOLIS
The NASCAR driver-swap pot is boiling over, and the latest word in the stock-car garage includes some potential blockbusters:
?Toyota may be making a run at Ford star Matt Kenseth for a 2007 Nextel Cup bid.
?Jason Leffler could be NASCAR's newest free agent.
?Michael Waltrip may not be leaving Dale Earnhardt Inc. at the end of the season after all.
? Ryan Newman has signed a new contract with Roger Penske that will keep him there through the 2009 season, and crew chief Matt Borland also has a Penske contract through 2009.
? Kasey Kahne has signed a new contract with Ray Evernham that will keep him with Dodge for at least the next five years.
? Penske is down to two men in his search for a driver to replace Rusty Wallace next season. Penske will make his announcement by Sept. 1.
Cary Agajanian, Leffler's attorney, would not confirm reports that car owner Joe Gibbs has offered to buy out the remaining 18 months of Leffler's contract for $5 million, but Agajanianwould not deny that such an offer could be on the table.
"I can't comment on that ... but I'm not denying it either," Agajanian said. "There could be talks. We're not in the middle of everything that goes on. There could be talks. A car owner has the right to speak to his driver, and we encourage that.
"Honestly there could be discussions between them. But we're not involved in them. That's a very personal thing between Jason and the Gibbs folks."
If Leffler were free, Agajanian said he would be negotiating any contract with a new team.
"Jason is such a good race driver ... but you need the right chemistry," Agajanian said. "It's difficult. I'm not critical of their organization, because Tony Stewart seems to be doing very good right now.
"But I think a lot of it is chemistry and getting the time to meld as a group. And when you've got a new team, it's not going to come together in 10 races."
Sources familiar with Gibbs' negotiations say that, earlier this year, an offer was made to car owner Jack Roush to hire away Greg Biffle for the FedEx-sponsored team, basically an open-ended offer in which Roush could set the price. Biffle, however, decided to sign a new contract to remain with Roush.
Terry Labonte substituted for Leffler at Sonoma in June, and Labonte could apparently be called upon again.
If Leffler were free, it would be a good time to be a driver, because there are a number of job openings, and very few top-notch drivers available.
"There are very few drivers around that you could plug in ... but they're all on our roster," Agajanian says. "So we can help any car owner who's looking."
Meanwhile, car owner Chip Ganassi raised a few eyebrows yesterday morning when he tossed out a rumor he said he'd heard about Penske making an offer to Roush for $12 million to buy out Kenseth's contract in order to put Kenseth in Rusty Wallace's ride next season.
"And I heard Jack was going to keep $2 million and turn around and give me $10 million to buy Jamie McMurray's contract," Ganassi said with a laugh. "If so, I want to make sure Jack has my phone number."
Geoff Smith, the head of Roush Racing, didn't find Ganassi amusing.
"That is Chip pulling everyone's legs. That is 100-percent fabricated," Smith said.
"What that does tell you is his decision (to keep McMurray in 2006, despite McMurray's new 2007 contract with Roush) might not be being made by what is right for Jamie or for the sponsor or for racing, but 'Hey, maybe I can make a buck.' That's what it feels like."
Nevertheless, there were reports yesterday that Penske had indeed approached Roush with an offer of some sort for Kenseth, but that Roush had dismissed it out of hand.
Penske continues to decline comment on his driver search.
Is Kenseth's contract for sale? "Absolutely not," Smith said.
However, Smith said he hasn't had an opportunity yet to talk with Kenseth about the Penske report. "I've been traveling around on sponsorship business, and I've been trying to track him down to ask him," Smith said.
Kenseth's comments at Pocono about possibly not being around at Roush Racing in 2007 - when McMurray is to join the Roush team - has sparked considerable speculation as to what Kenseth was really talking about. Kenseth has been rather nebulous when questioned about his Pocono comments.
Smith says he's confident that Kenseth will remain with Roush: "Matt is very happy about being at Roush Racing, and we've had some discussions about going forward."
Kenseth's contract with Roush runs through the end of 2006, and Smith says he is working on a long-term renewal.
"I think Matt just wanted to point out to Jamie that he is a senior driver," Smith said of the Pocono flap. "And we've always had a sense of deference, in relationships, from the young drivers toward the senior drivers. So I think that was Matt talking to Jamie and not to Roush Racing."
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Johnson under care, but Knaus livid with EMTs
By Marty Smith, NASCAR.COM
INDIANAPOLIS -- Jimmie Johnson suffered what he called the hardest hit of his career Sunday in the Allstate 400 after the right-front tire blew on the Lowe's Chevrolet, sending him hurtling into the outside retaining wall 15 laps from the finish at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
Johnson, woozy while sitting on the pit wall after the accident, was transported via helicopter to Methodist Hospital for further precautionary evaluation. He was treated, then released.
"Man, that was hard," Johnson said. "That's by far, I think, the hardest hit I've taken. Just blew a right-front tire and away I went, head first.
"So thank God for the soft walls and HANS device and everything. I'll be OK. I'll be scratching my head for the next day or two, though."
Crew chief Chad Knaus said he didn't think Johnson had suffered "any serious injuries," but that he was "definitely dizzy, he definitely blacked-out."
Johnson said he was unable to remember steering the car to the pits following the accident.
"I don't really remember coming from Turn 4 to the pits," he said. "I just remember kind of waking up on pit road the guys pulling me out of the car. So it's all good."
When Johnson pulled to a stop in his pit stall, the No. 48 Chevrolet was on fire underneath the hood. Smoke filled the cockpit as the crew rushed to extract Johnson from the car.
Knaus was incensed with the timeliness of NASCAR's response to the accident.
"You come to these events and make a mistake as a team and get penalized for it, and there's a driver that's sitting on pit wall out there in need of an ambulance and NASCAR doesn't even send an ambulance down there, what happens to them?" Knaus said.
"I think it's ridiculous. We walked all the way from 39th pit stall into the garage area before we had any medical attention whatsoever."
NASCAR said two emergency personnel were on site, spoke with Johnson and that he declined treatment.
"Here's what we know, there were two EMT personnel on site and they spoke with Jimmie and Jimmie declined treatment, said he was fine," said NASCAR spokesman Ramsey Poston.
"The EMTs called up to the tower and said he was declining to be seen, so then no other further medical assistance was sent. However, after he was sitting there a while an official did walk him to the infield medical center for further treatment, once they realized he needed to be seen."
Running 11th at the time of the accident, Johnson finished 38th and forfeited the series points lead to race winner Tony Stewart. He trails Stewart by 75 points.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~By Marty Smith, NASCAR.COM
INDIANAPOLIS -- Jimmie Johnson suffered what he called the hardest hit of his career Sunday in the Allstate 400 after the right-front tire blew on the Lowe's Chevrolet, sending him hurtling into the outside retaining wall 15 laps from the finish at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
Johnson, woozy while sitting on the pit wall after the accident, was transported via helicopter to Methodist Hospital for further precautionary evaluation. He was treated, then released.
"Man, that was hard," Johnson said. "That's by far, I think, the hardest hit I've taken. Just blew a right-front tire and away I went, head first.
"So thank God for the soft walls and HANS device and everything. I'll be OK. I'll be scratching my head for the next day or two, though."
Crew chief Chad Knaus said he didn't think Johnson had suffered "any serious injuries," but that he was "definitely dizzy, he definitely blacked-out."
Johnson said he was unable to remember steering the car to the pits following the accident.
"I don't really remember coming from Turn 4 to the pits," he said. "I just remember kind of waking up on pit road the guys pulling me out of the car. So it's all good."
When Johnson pulled to a stop in his pit stall, the No. 48 Chevrolet was on fire underneath the hood. Smoke filled the cockpit as the crew rushed to extract Johnson from the car.
Knaus was incensed with the timeliness of NASCAR's response to the accident.
"You come to these events and make a mistake as a team and get penalized for it, and there's a driver that's sitting on pit wall out there in need of an ambulance and NASCAR doesn't even send an ambulance down there, what happens to them?" Knaus said.
"I think it's ridiculous. We walked all the way from 39th pit stall into the garage area before we had any medical attention whatsoever."
NASCAR said two emergency personnel were on site, spoke with Johnson and that he declined treatment.
"Here's what we know, there were two EMT personnel on site and they spoke with Jimmie and Jimmie declined treatment, said he was fine," said NASCAR spokesman Ramsey Poston.
"The EMTs called up to the tower and said he was declining to be seen, so then no other further medical assistance was sent. However, after he was sitting there a while an official did walk him to the infield medical center for further treatment, once they realized he needed to be seen."
Running 11th at the time of the accident, Johnson finished 38th and forfeited the series points lead to race winner Tony Stewart. He trails Stewart by 75 points.
By MICHAEL MAROT, AP Sports Writer
INDIANAPOLIS (AP) -- Jimmie Johnson endured the harder hit. Dale Earnhardt Jr. took the tougher blow.
For two of NASCAR's biggest stars, the Allstate 400 at the Brickyard proved to be more than a race; it was a survival test.
Johnson was released from the hospital Sunday night after surrendering his Nextel Cup points lead for the first time in a month, while Earnhardt's quest for his first title likely ended.
"That's life,'' Earnhardt said. "You've got to deal with it good and bad. We'll be all right.''
Earnhardt and his team appeared resigned to the probability he would miss the season-ending Cup chase in what has easily been his most difficult season on the NASCAR circuit.
He entered Sunday trailing Dale Jarrett by 158 points for the 10th and final qualifying spot in the shootout. But instead of closing the gap with a desperately needed top-10 finish, Earnhardt lost ground when Mike Skinner pushed him into the wall on an early restart.
Earnhardt hit the inside wall then careened across the track, hitting the outside wall and bouncing off three other cars -- including teammate Martin Truex Jr. -- before rolling to a stop.
His day ended after just 63 laps, leaving him with a 191-point deficit to make up on Carl Edwards, who took over the 10th spot in points.
"We got wrecked and just tore up a race car,'' crew chief Steve Hmiel said. "That's what this year's looked like.''
Johnson's second-worst finish of the season, 38th, dazed him but didn't hurt his title chase.
He crashed in the fourth turn wall on Lap 146 when his right front tire blew. Johnson called it the hardest hit he'd ever had, but somehow managed to drive the car to pit road where crew chief Chad Knaus climbed through the passenger window and helped Johnson out.
"Man, that was hard,'' Johnson said. "I really don't remember coming from turn four to the pits. I just remember kind of waking up on pit road and the guys were pulling me out of the car. So it's all good.''
Johnson's team didn't seem bothered by his slip in the standings. Race winner Tony Stewart passed him in the standings; Johnson is second, 75 points back.
"Once we get to Loudon, it all starts over at zero, so I'm really not concerned about points,'' Knaus said.
Little else changed.
Mark Martin and Ryan Newman, switched spots at Nos. 6 and 7, while Jarrett moved up one place to ninth. Edwards jumped from 12th to 10th and pole-winner Elliott Sadler dropped from ninth to 11th after finishing 32nd.
But the big story was the latest chapter in Junior's miserable season.
NASCAR's most popular driver in 2003 and '04 has been jeered by fans and criticized by his most loyal supporter, uncle Tony Eury Sr., his former crew chief. In May, he fired another crew chief, Pete Rondeau.
His problems on the track have been even worse. He has just one win and eight top-10 finishes in 21 starts, and has struggled since swapping crews with teammate Michael Waltrip before the season started.
But in the past few weeks, Earnhardt appeared to be rallying. He finished third at Daytona, won at Chicago and was ninth in New Hampshire.
Skinner's push may have been too much.
Already saddled with a car Earnhardt didn't think was competitive, he drove down the front straightaway in a single-file line on the fourth restart. With cars in front of him starting and slowing, Skinner tapped Earnhardt in the back, turned him sideways and sent him into the wall.
Earnhardt's crew, knowing the predicament, worked frantically in Gasoline Alley to repair the No. 8 Budweiser Chevrolet. They spent nearly 20 minutes cutting pieces of damaged sheet metal, pulling off the mangled radiator and were ready to replace the hood and rear bumper when they finally stopped.
The latest failure may be too much for Earnhardt to overcome.
"It's gonna take something extraordinary to make the chase at this point, this far behind now,'' he said.
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Stewart wins at the Brickyard By Greg Engle
Cup Scene Daily
The dog had company last night at Tony Stewarts house.
‘Kylie’, Stewarts’ Chihuahua, normally shares a pillow with Stewart. After winning his first race at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Sunday though, Stewart knew what he
“My dog is going to be really mad tonight, she's 6 pounds and sleeps right by my knees. She's going to have to move over because I'm sleeping with that trophy in the bed tonight“ Stewart said with a smile during a national television interview.
One thing Stewart certainly didn’t have to dream about Sunday night was what it would be like to win at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. He woke up Monday morning after realizing his boyhood dream; taking the checkered flag at the 400 at the Brickyard Sunday. He can now say: “Been there, done that.”
Stewart, who was born in Rushville, Ind., and grew up in nearby Columbus, led 44 laps of the 160-lap race and held off a hard charging Kasey Kahne to score the fourth victory of the year, and the biggest win of his career.
It was also the seventh top-10 finish in a row for Stewart and more importantly moved him into the lead in the Nextel Cup standings for the first time since he wrapped up his only Cup title in 2002.
The race saw 10 cautions for 43 laps, slowing the average speed to 118.782 mph, the second-slowest NASCAR race in Brickyard history. The 2004 race was slowed by 13 cautions for 47 laps, with an average speed of 115.037.
Pole winner Elliott Sadler looked strong at the beginning of the race, pulling out to a 1.340 second lead by the end of Lap 2. He led the first 22 laps in the No. 38 M&M’s Ford, lost the lead for a lap to pit and then led another 15 laps before surrendering the lead to Vickers. Sadler remained in the top 10 for most of the race until he had a tire go flat on Lap 150, forcing a pit stop. He lost a lap and finished 32nd.
Stewart took the lead for the first time on Lap 100 – amid thunderous applause from the throng of spectators – and stayed in control of the race until Lap 134, when Kahne moved past him in Turn 4. But Stewart kept the pressure on Kahne, and as the two drivers dueled, they pulled away from the rest of the field.
Fuel mileage became a concern as the leaders approached Lap 150, since most of the field last pitted on Lap 118 during a caution period.
Jimmie Johnson, who entered the race as the points leader, gave the leaders the break they were looking for on Lap 146, when a tire problem caused him to hit the SAFER Barrier in Turn 4.
The green flag flew on Lap 150, and Stewart got a good run on Kahne through Turn 1 and took the lead at the exit of Turn 2.
“You can imagine my surprise when we take the green and go into (Turn 1), and he (Kahne) gets tight and can’t close the door,” Stewart said. “Knowing Kasey as well as I do, and the respect we have for each other, that’s the guy I wanted to race with for the win.
“When I sailed off into (Turn 2), I had the attitude that I was going to win it or wear it. I knew I was going to do something stupid, I knew Kasey wouldn’t. He knows what this race means to me.”
Stewart weaved back and forth down the straightaways after taking the lead to break Kahne’s draft. The maneuvering was successful as Stewart gradually pulled away, winning by a margin of .794 of a second.
Afterwards Stewart overcome with emotion and exhaustion, celebrated by taking a backwards victory lap and adding not one but by two climbs up the IMS catch fence: in front of his Turn 2 suite filled with family and friends, and at the Speedway’s Yard of Bricks with his crew.
“I’m dying right now,” Stewart said with a laugh, after climbing off the main straightaway fence and lying down on the outside retaining wall. “I’m too tired to chase fences right now. Give me five minutes, and I’ll be ready.
“I wish I could put it in words,” Stewart said. “Today has been my entire life. This is one of those days I don’t want to end; I don’t want to see the sun set. This is definitely the greatest day of my life, professionally, personally. I couldn’t ask for more. Part of it hasn’t sunk in yet. I’m sure when I’m over there with my family and friends, it will hit me.”
Stewart’s win in the No. 20 Home Depot Chevrolet makes him the first Indiana-born driver to win a NASCAR Nextel Cup Series race at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
The emotion of the day also overcame Stewart’s crew chief, Greg Zipadelli, immediately following the checkered flag.
“I thank the good Lord, man, I’ve never prayed that much in my life,” said Zipadelli, his voice cracking. “Just to see the expression on his face when I get over there will be worth everything.”
In the end, an estimated 300,000 partisan fans chanted, "Tony! Tony! Tony!" for several minutes following Stewart's emotional victory.
Hendrick Motorsports' young gun Brian Vickers was third, Jeremy Mayfield fourth, and Matt Kenseth, fifth.
Kylie, will no doubt have to find another place to sleep from now on.
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Hoosier native Stewart wins at the BrickyardThe Associated Press
INDIANAPOLIS -- Tony Stewart finally has his "Holy Grail."
It wasn't his beloved Indianapolis 500, but the former IndyCar champion, who has longed to win a race at historic Indianapolis Motor Speedway, held off a determined
It was the fourth victory in the past six races and seventh top-10 finish in a row for the hottest driver in NASCAR, moving him into the lead in the Nextel Cup standings for the first time since he wrapped up his only Cup title in 2002.
This one was up for grabs nearly to the end, with Stewart taking his first lead by passing Brian Vickers 60 laps from the end. But the 25-year-old Kahne, last year's top rookie, didn't make it easy, passing Stewart for the lead with 27 laps to go in the 160-lap event.
That brought a groan from the partisan crowd of more than 250,000, who were rooting hard for Stewart, a native Hoosier.
Stewart stayed with Kahne, though. After Jimmie Johnson -- who came into the race as the points leader -- blew a tire and hit the wall on Lap 144, bringing out the last of nine caution flags in the race, Stewart took advantage of the restart on Lap 150 to regain the lead.
Kahne hung onto the rear bumper of Stewart's No. 20 Chevrolet for a couple of laps, but Stewart finally began pulling away and raced on to win by 0.794-seconds -- about 5 car-lengths.
Stewart, who has climbed the fence to the flagstand after his most recent victories this year, jumped out of his car after the cooldown lap and stood at the bottom of the fence, popping open a can of soda and sipping.
After getting hugs from his crew, he laid down on the concrete wall at the bottom of the fencing, holding a checkered cloth to his forehead.
"I'm dying right now," Stewart said, grinning. "Too tired to chase fences right now. Give me five minutes and I'll be ready."
Asked about finally winning at Indy, he said, "I wish I could put it into words. It's been my entire life."
Kahne, who got his first Nextel Cup victory earlier this season at Richmond, was disappointed for himself but happy for Stewart.
"We had an awesome car," he said. "I just gave up a little bit through the restart. I couldn't do anything with it.
"It was a big win for Tony. He wanted to win this real bad."
Vickers finished third, followed by Jeremy Mayfield, Matt Kenseth, Casey Mears, Mark Martin and four-time Brickyard winner Jeff Gordon.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Hoosier hysteriaBy DAVID POOLE
The Charlote Observer
INDIANAPOLIS - Of all the laps he's turned at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, the one Tony Stewart will always remember was probably the slowest one - and he was going
"I am going to take a little detour, boys," Stewart said to his crew over the radio moments after winning the Allstate 400 on Sunday. "I am going to enjoy this one."
He rolled slowly down the frontstretch toward Turn 4, his helmet off and his window net down, drinking in the cheers from a crowd of more than 200,000 at the historic track that he said, during a prerace lap, was his "holy grail."
He eased his No. 20 Chevrolet around the track's north end, then down the long backstretch toward the second turn.
There, in a suite that Stewart has at this track barely 40 miles from his hometown of Columbus, Ind., waited his family and some of his closest friends who'd just seen, at long last, something they'd waited a lifetime to see.
Stewart, a 34-year-old Indiana native who cut his racing teeth on short tracks from one corner of this state to another and who has never tried to hide his aching desire to taste victory here, had won at the Brickyard.
He climbed atop the wall, slapped a high-five through the fence with one fan, and popped open a cold soda he'd been handed by his crew back over on the frontstretch.
"TONY! TONY! TONY!" the crowd yelled as he toasted his family in the suite and his friends - all of them, symbolically - who'd been there to witness him do the one thing he'd always most wanted to do.
"Today," he would say a few moments later, "has been my entire life."
With just 11 laps left in what would turn out to be Stewart's fourth victory in the past six Nextel Cup races, it appeared as though this dream might be denied.
Stewart started 22nd and had clawed his way toward the front slowly, making it up to fifth by the halfway point. Finally, on Lap 100, he passed Brian Vickers to take the lead and then took off, building an advantage of nearly four seconds at one point.
But it wouldn't be that easy. It couldn't be here, at the 2.5-mile track where Stewart had been in five Indianapolis 500s and six Cup races before without finishing better than fifth. Not at a place where his frustrations had boiled over so badly after a particularly frustrating setback during his 2002 championship season that it nearly cost him is ride with Joe Gibbs Racing.
When teammate Bobby Labonte's blown right-front tire brought out a caution on Lap 116, Stewart came in for what would be his final pit stop. He'd need a few fuel-saving circuits under subsequent yellows to go the distance on fuel, but in a race slowed 10 times by cautions that certainly appeared doable.
But after that pit stop, Stewart faced his biggest challenge of the day.
Kasey Kahne, who'd spent three summers in Indiana racing on the same tracks in the same midget and sprint cars for the same team Stewart had before he'd moved on, got his No. 9 Dodge working right and mounted a charge.
Stewart staved off Kahne for a while, but on Lap 134 Kahne powered by to take the lead. Stewart chased Kahne's No. 9 Dodge doggedly, but it wasn't until points leader Jimmie Johnson crashed on Lap 145 to bring out another caution that Stewart got the chance he really needed.
First, however, came an anguished debate with crew chief Greg Zipadelli over pit strategy. Stewart initially wanted to come in for fresh tires, but Zipadelli argued they should stay out to keep track position.
"I'm too nervous to make the call," Stewart said finally.
"Stay out," Zipadelli said.
As Kahne passed the entrance to pit road, Stewart made a move toward the commitment line and then quickly swerved back onto the track. He had what he was going to have to try to get this job done.
"We aren't done yet," Stewart told Zipadelli. "I've come too far to give up now. I want this more than I want anything."
Zipadelli answered, "I know."
As the leaders came to the restart on Lap 150 in the 160-lap race, Stewart marshaled his desire and talent toward the task at hand.
"I am just trying to pull something out of my bag of tricks here to see what I have left," Stewart said.
The winning move wasn't terribly tricky, however. He laid back a bit on the restart and then dove hard into Turn 1, edging himself underneath Kahne and sliding into the lead. Kahne fought back as hard as Stewart had earlier, shadowing Stewart's zigs and zags down the straightaways.
When Kahne won his first Nextel Cup race at Richmond earlier this year, he had to battle Stewart to win it. Afterward, Stewart was the first to congratulate the 25-year-old on that win.
Here, it was Kahne trying to deny Stewart a coveted victory. With three laps to go, Stewart had padded his advantage to eight-tenths of a second. But would it hold up? Did he have the fuel, or would cruel fate intervene and break Stewart's heart at Indianapolis one more time?
"Four more corners," Stewart's spotter said as the No. 20 came off Turn 4 and saw the white flag.
The massive crowd in Indy's grandstands rose to its feet
There would be no heartbreak this time. Only elation.
"YES!" Stewart yelled after taking the checkered flag. "I love you guys, you've helped me live my lifelong dream today. I appreciate it."
The team was prepared to help its driver continue the fence-climbing ritual he'd started after a victory at Daytona last month, supplying a ladder and offering to make the climb with him.
"I'm too tired to get to the top," he'd said from inside the car.
After the slow victory lap, Stewart did get part of the way up the fence.
But then he came down and reclined on the wall.
"I feel like crap right now," said Stewart, who also took over the Nextel Cup points lead with the victory, "but in five minutes I am going to feel real good."
No way it took that long.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"Championships have always driven me to win races. That 3 car pulling into the track would cause people to look around and wonder what we were doing, to see how to beat us."
-Dale Earnhardt
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Friday, August 12
| 8:00PM | NASCAR Nextel Cup HAPPY HOUR ~ Watkins Glen |
SPEED |
Saturday, August 13
| 9:00AM | NASCAR Busch Qualifying ~ Watkins Glen Live! | SPEED |
| 11:00AM | NASCAR Nextel Cup Qualifying ~ Watkins Glen Live! | SPEED |
2:00PM NASCAR Busch Series Race ~ Watkins Glen Live TNT
| 5:00PM | NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series ~ Nashville Live! | SPEED |
Sunday, August 14
| 1:00PM | NASCAR Nextel Cup Sirius at the Glen, Watkins Glen, NY | TNT |
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Well, that's all for today. Until the next time, I remain,Your
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
"It's nothin' personal, it's just racin'
-Dale Earnhardt Sr.
This list is authored by:
Sandra Monacelli
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