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Happy Thursday!
Today In Nascar History
04/06/1952-Dick Rathmann wins at Martinsville, win #1 of the season, and #1 of his career.
04/06/1967-Richard Petty wins at Columbia, win #3 of the season, and #51 of his career.
04/06/1969-Bobby Isaac wins at Hickory, win #3 of the season, and #7 of his career.
04/06/1975-Richard Petty wins at North Wilkesboro, win #4 of the season, and #168 of his career.
04/06/1985-Dale Earnhardt wins at Bristol, win #2 of the season, and #13 of his career.
04/06/1986-Rusty Wallace wins at Bristol, win #1 of the season, and #1 of his career.
04/06/1997- Texas Motor Speedway hosts a pair of first for Jeff Burton. Jeff takes the checkered flag at the Interstate Batteries 500 at the speedway. It’s the first Winston Cup race ever run at TMS and is also Jeff’s first win of his career.
04/06/2003-Dale Earnhardt, Jr. wins at Talladega, win #1 of the season, and #8 of his career.
"I think he's one of the most talented drivers that we have on the circuit, one of the most talented drivers I've ever raced against. He's got a short fuse, and it shows up sometimes. But it's only because he cares. You can't knock a guy for that."
--Jeff Gordon talking about Tony Stewart
"It is outrageous that a news organization of NBC's stature would stoop to the level of going out to create news instead of reporting news."
-- NASCAR's Ramsey Poston~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
NASCAR 'outraged' about targeting of track - and fans - for 'Dateline NBC' segment
By JENNA FRYER
CHARLOTTE – American stock car racing's governing body called a network television news magazine "outrageous" on Wednesday, saying it tried to provoke anti-Muslim reactions from spectators at last week's race for a story about growing U.S. sentiment against Islam.
The National Association of Stock Car Auto Racing said the NBC network's "Dateline NBC" confirmed it was sending Muslim-looking men to a race, along with a camera crew to film fans' reactions. The NBC crew was "apparently on site in Martinsville, Virginia, walked around and no one bothered them," NASCAR spokesman Ramsey Poston said Wednesday.
"It is outrageous that a news organization of NBC's stature would stoop to the level of going out to create news instead of reporting news," Poston said.
"Any legitimate journalist in America should be embarrassed by this stunt. The obvious intent by NBC was to evoke reaction, and we are confident our fans won't take the bait," he said.
NASCAR grew out of the rural southern United States and its history of modifying street automobiles outrun authorities in transporting illegal alcohol. Because of its southern origins, NASCAR has been cricitized for its fans displaying numerous flags of the Confederacy from the American Civil War in the 19th century, an emblem many associate with racism.
"Dateline NBC" also has been criticized in the past. In 1992, it aired a critical story about fuel tanks on a brand of pickup trucks, using video of the tanks exploding on impact. However, the network later apologized for using toy rockets to ignite the explosion.
NASCAR is in the final year of a broadcasting agreement with NBC Sports.
"'Dateline' is looking into this story," NBC said in a statement. "We were intrigued by the results of a recent Washington Post/ABC News poll and other articles regarding increasing anti-Muslim sentiments in the United States.
"It's very early on in our newsgathering process, but be assured we will be visiting a number of locations across the country and are confident that our reporting team is pursuing this story in a fair manner," it said.
Hook 'Em NASCAR Style: NCAA National Champion University of Texas head football coach Mack Brown will be the grand marshal and wave the green flag for the Samsung/RadioShack 500 on Sunday, April 9. In 2005, Brown led the Longhorns to a perfect 13-0 record, a victory over the University of Southern California in the Rose Bowl, and the national title. UT snapped the two-time defending National Champion Trojans NCAA-leading 34-game winning streak in the process. He has an83-19 record in eight seasons in Austin, including a current 20-game winning streak. The 83 wins are the nation's most over that eight year stretch. He also has led UT to a bowl game every year, including victorious trips to Pasadena, Calif., and the Rose Bowl the past two years. "I'm sure the crowd attending Sunday's Samsung/RadioShack 500 will be excited to see Coach Brown drop the green flag to start the race," Texas Motor Speedway President Eddie Gossage said. "It was exciting to see the Texas Longhorns win the National Championship and I'm sure the fans here respect the team's accomplishment. Fans will likely mix in a great deal of burnt orange along with their t-shirts, hats and jackets with the colors of their favorite race teams."
"We're going to run (the Intrepid) in the Texas race. That will probably be the final race for us," said Robbie Loomis, director of operations for Petty Enterprises. "If we went to Texas, led the most laps and won the race, it would be hard to do something different for Charlotte. But right now we're 99.9% (sure) it's going to be Chargers the rest of the year. Dodge re-entered Nextel Cup in 2001 with the Intrepid after a 24-year absence. The Charger has four wins since its debut in the 2005 Daytona 500.(USA Today)
1999 Primestar 500
By Mark Aumann, NASCAR.COM
The eyes of Texas were truly upon Terry Labonte at the end of the 1999 Primestar 500.
A crowd of 200,000 -- including Governor George W. Bush -- were on hand to see the Corpus Christi native pass Dale Jarrett with 11 laps to go and take the checkered flag under caution when Jimmy Spencer wrecked seven laps later.
"I saw the crowd and they were all standing up, cheering," Labonte said. "All the other drivers pulled up beside me and congratulated me. That's a good feeling.
"When you don't win a lot of races like some of these other guys do, guys will do that."
Labonte's younger brother, Bobby, made it two Texans in the top three with his third-place finish, despite driving with a broken shoulder. Matt Kenseth was standing by as a relief driver in case Bobby couldn't go the distance.
Avoiding tire troubles that put Jeff Gordon, Mike Skinner and Mark Martin hard into the wall, Terry Labonte ran steadily in the top four for most of the race, leading a total of 124 laps and overtaking Jarrett for the final time when the leader was slowed by lapped traffic.
"I thought maybe if I could use up enough race track, I could keep Terry behind me," Jarrett said. "But the lapped cars were wanting to stay on the lead lap, I guess. As I caught one of them in 3 and 4, my car pushed up as I tried to get back in the throttle and that hurt me then."
While Jarrett was trying to deal with Robert Pressley and teammate Kenny Irwin, Labonte was able to get his Chevrolet to the outside of Jarrett's Ford and make the pass.
"I was wearing his tires out, I wasn't wearing [Jarrett] out," Labonte said. "The groove had come in pretty good. I was surprised to get a run off Turn 4 and get by him."
For Labonte, it was the first time he had won a Cup race in his home state. Terry Labonte would add a 22nd victory -- the 2003 Southern 500 at Darlington -- four years later.
"To me, this is the biggest race I've ever won," he said.
Rusty Wallace and Jeremy Mayfield completed the top five, while rookie Tony Stewart, Jeff Burton, Dale Earnhardt, Sterling Marlin and first-year driver Elliott Sadler rounded out the top 10.
Gordon's hit left him with bruised ribs and a 43rd-place finish.
"It's pretty much the hardest I've ever hit a wall, that's for sure," Gordon said. "Somehow the right front tire went down, but we're not exactly sure why yet. I'm real sore, but I don't think anything's broke. We took some X-rays the next couple of days, I'll be pretty stiff, but I believe I'll be all right."
Texas remains one of four tracks where Gordon has not won, although he's come close, finishing second in 2002 and third in 2003 and 2004.
Skinner's crash resulted in a broken right shoulder, almost the exact same injury he had the previous season.
"There was no warning," he said. "No nothing. The car was running great and then, all of a sudden, we were into the wall."
Jarrett lost that race but won the 1999 championship by 201 points over Bobby Labonte, who has never won at Texas but has two poles there.
Three drivers named "Junior" -- Johnny Benson Jr., Kenny Irwin Jr. and Wally Dallenbach Jr. -- competed in the 1999 race at Texas. Dale Earnhardt Jr. wouldn't make his Cup debut for another six races.~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
NASCAR ON TV THIS WEEK
Qualifying: Nextel Cup Series Samsung/Radio Shack 500 Friday, April 7 4:30 p.m. Speed
Practice: Nextel Cup Series Samsung/Radio Shack 500 Saturday, April 8 2 p.m. FX
Busch Series O'Reilly 300 Saturday, April 8 3 p.m. Fox
Nextel Cup Series Samsung/Radio Shack 500 Sunday, Aprill 9 1:30 p.m. Fox
All time Eastern. Times and station subject to change.
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 wins'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
04/06/1952-Dick Rathmann wins at Martinsville, win #1 of the season, and #1 of his career.
04/06/1967-Richard Petty wins at Columbia, win #3 of the season, and #51 of his career.
04/06/1969-Bobby Isaac wins at Hickory, win #3 of the season, and #7 of his career.
04/06/1975-Richard Petty wins at North Wilkesboro, win #4 of the season, and #168 of his career.
04/06/1985-Dale Earnhardt wins at Bristol, win #2 of the season, and #13 of his career.
04/06/1986-Rusty Wallace wins at Bristol, win #1 of the season, and #1 of his career.
04/06/1997- Texas Motor Speedway hosts a pair of first for Jeff Burton. Jeff takes the checkered flag at the Interstate Batteries 500 at the speedway. It’s the first Winston Cup race ever run at TMS and is also Jeff’s first win of his career.
04/06/2003-Dale Earnhardt, Jr. wins at Talladega, win #1 of the season, and #8 of his career.
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Did You Know
Roush drivers have won five of the 10 NASCAR NEXTEL Cup events held at Texas Motor Speedway, including a sweep last season with Greg Biffle winning the Samsung/RadioShack and Carl Edwards capturing the inaugural Dickies 500. Jeff Burton is the first Roush driver to be victorious at Texas Motor Speedway, winning the inaugural Interstate Batteries 500 in 1997. The other Roush winners were Mark Martin in 1998 and Matt Kenseth in 2002... Since the speedway opened in 1997, there has never been a repeat winner in any of the nine spring races and the inaugural Dickies 500 last November. Mark Martin, the 1998 Cup winner at Texas, came closest to being a repeat winner with his runner-up finish in November's Dickies 500 when he finished just 0.584 of a second behind race winner Carl Edwards. ...No driver has ever won a NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series race at Texas Motor Speedway from a front-row starting position in the 10 races. In fact, three of the last five Cup races at Texas have been won from starting position of 19th or deeper. ...Texas Motor Speedway is one of only four current NASCAR NEXTEL Cup tracks Jeff Gordon has yet to win at in his career (Chicagoland, Phoenix and Homestead are the others). The closest he has come to that elusive victory at Texas was in the 2002 Samsung/RadioShack 500, when he finished runner-up to Matt Kenseth. - Texas Motor Speedway PR
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Quote of the Day"I think he's one of the most talented drivers that we have on the circuit, one of the most talented drivers I've ever raced against. He's got a short fuse, and it shows up sometimes. But it's only because he cares. You can't knock a guy for that."
--Jeff Gordon talking about Tony Stewart
"It is outrageous that a news organization of NBC's stature would stoop to the level of going out to create news instead of reporting news."
-- NASCAR's Ramsey Poston
News gathered from multiple sources, including but not limited to: Jayski.com, Cup Scene Daily, Thatsracin.com, catchfence.com, nascar.com, yahoo!, espn.com and others.
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Bits and PiecesNASCAR 'outraged' about targeting of track - and fans - for 'Dateline NBC' segment
By JENNA FRYER
CHARLOTTE – American stock car racing's governing body called a network television news magazine "outrageous" on Wednesday, saying it tried to provoke anti-Muslim reactions from spectators at last week's race for a story about growing U.S. sentiment against Islam.
The National Association of Stock Car Auto Racing said the NBC network's "Dateline NBC" confirmed it was sending Muslim-looking men to a race, along with a camera crew to film fans' reactions. The NBC crew was "apparently on site in Martinsville, Virginia, walked around and no one bothered them," NASCAR spokesman Ramsey Poston said Wednesday.
"It is outrageous that a news organization of NBC's stature would stoop to the level of going out to create news instead of reporting news," Poston said.
"Any legitimate journalist in America should be embarrassed by this stunt. The obvious intent by NBC was to evoke reaction, and we are confident our fans won't take the bait," he said.
NASCAR grew out of the rural southern United States and its history of modifying street automobiles outrun authorities in transporting illegal alcohol. Because of its southern origins, NASCAR has been cricitized for its fans displaying numerous flags of the Confederacy from the American Civil War in the 19th century, an emblem many associate with racism.
"Dateline NBC" also has been criticized in the past. In 1992, it aired a critical story about fuel tanks on a brand of pickup trucks, using video of the tanks exploding on impact. However, the network later apologized for using toy rockets to ignite the explosion.
NASCAR is in the final year of a broadcasting agreement with NBC Sports.
"'Dateline' is looking into this story," NBC said in a statement. "We were intrigued by the results of a recent Washington Post/ABC News poll and other articles regarding increasing anti-Muslim sentiments in the United States.
"It's very early on in our newsgathering process, but be assured we will be visiting a number of locations across the country and are confident that our reporting team is pursuing this story in a fair manner," it said.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
NASCAR Autocare by Ecolab Features Darrell Waltrip in TV Commercial Debut: NASCAR® Autocare by Ecolab® will launch a new television commercial introducing its full line of auto appearance products. Featuring NASCAR personality and FOX Sports Broadcast Analyst Darrell Waltrip, the commercial is scheduled to appear on ESPN, ESPN2, OLN and SPEED, early April. Using the theme "The quickest way to a great finish!" the commercial highlights NASCAR Autocare by Ecolab's full line of car care products. As a Chevrolet Corvette speeds to a stop on pit road, a pit crew of seven specialists wash and wax the car, shine the tires and clean the windows, all to "crew chief" Darrell Waltrip's approval - "14 (seconds) flat - not bad!" "By combining the strength of both the NASCAR and Ecolab brands, we feel the NASCAR Autocare by Ecolab line of appearance products will garner attention from a wide audience," said Elizabeth Dolphin, Director of Marketing, Specialty Markets, Ecolab. "And with Darrell Waltrip's great personality, we've created a captivating television commercial, communicating the excitement and quality of our auto care product line. We are pleased with the commercial's outcome and the support it will offer our ongoing advertising program." Along with Darrell Waltrip's appearance, country music newcomer Taylor Swift, who is currently recording her debut album of self-penned songs, appears in the commercial. Swift recently signed a record deal with Nashville's Big Machine Records. She will release her first single to country radio in June with her album to follow in the fall. The NASCAR Autocare by Ecolab line includes seven professional car care products: Ultra Foam Car Wash, Ultra Foam Quick Detail Wax, Ultra Foam Wheel Cleaner, Ultra Foam Glass Cleaner, Ultra Shine Tire Finish, Professional Leather Cleaner & Conditioner and a Professional Wax Kit. The commercial will be available for online viewing at ecolabathome.com/. With 2005 sales of $4.5 billion, Ecolab is the leading global developer and marketer of premium cleaning, sanitizing, pest elimination, maintenance and repair products for the hospitality, foodservice, institutional and industrial markets. - EcoLab PR~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Rule Violations Result in Suspension, Fine for NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series Team: NASCAR has announced that one member of the No. 07 Chevrolet team has been suspended and another has been fined, as a result of rule violations during this past Sunday’s NASCAR NEXTEL Cup event at Martinsville Speedway. Crew member Clint Almquist has been suspended from NASCAR until April 19, 2006 and placed on probation until June 7, 2006 for violating Section 12-4-A (actions detrimental to stock car racing) of the 2006 NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series rule book. During Sunday’s race, Almquist on one occasion did not place racing fuel in the designated collection area. Crew chief Gil Martin was fined $2,500 for violating Section 12-4-A (actions detrimental to stock car racing) and 9-4-A (crew chief assumes responsibility for the actions of his team members). - NASCAR PR ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
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Carl Edwards looking forward to hosting show with his cousin, Ken Schrader: Edwards returns to the television screen one week after his big debut on FOX's, "24." Last Monday night, Edwards played Jim Hill, a Homeland Security Director, who made a surprise visit to C.T.U. This coming Monday, Edwards will play himself, the NASCAR star that has a personality perfect for the show. Edwards will join regular hosts Dave Despain, Michael Waltrip, and relative, Ken Schrader for a roundtable discussion of the Samsung/Radio Shack 500 in Ft. Worth, TX this Sunday. "Inside NEXTEL Cup", will air Monday, April 10th at 7:00 p.m. (EDT). "I am really looking forward to being on the show. It will be awesome joining Kenny and Michael on Monday night. I hope we have a great weekend in Texas, so it will give me even more to talk about on Monday night," said Edwards. "We're appreciative of the time Carl is giving SPEED and we expect his return engagement on Inside NEXTEL Cup will be very well-received by NASCAR fans," said Chris Long, SPEED VP of Studio Production. "Carl handles himself extremely well in front of the camera -- he makes our jobs much easier." Edwards returns to Texas Motor Speedway this weekend as the defending race winner. Last November, Edwards won his fourth race of 2005 and marched his way into second place in the point standings. Currently, Edwards finds himself in the 19th position and looks to improve that position this Sunday in the Samsung/Radio Shack 500. - Roush Racing PR ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Teams stretching the rules
By Lee Spencer
The Sporting News
Before NASCAR has time to rewrite the testing rulebook, teams are thinking outside the box to get an advantage on the racetrack.
In the ultracompetitive arena that is Nextel Cup racing, and as the gray areas of testing continue to evaporate, crews are constantly brainstorming to circumvent the system, regardless of the cost of equipment, travel or education. Several options are well within the rules and readily available.
For example, the increasing number of Cup drivers in the Busch Series is not a coincidence. Some of the sport's young hotshoes are too green for Cup and need additional seat time. Owners have a tendency to placate youngsters by graduating them to Cup prematurely rather than run the risk of offending a youngster who has had smoke blown up his butt by an agent who tells him he's the next Jeff Gordon.
And NASCAR hasn't helped the situation by cutting rookie tests this season. NASCAR's philosophy is that by the time a driver reaches the Cup level, he should have enough experience that additional testing isn't necessary.
In the Craftsman Truck and Busch series, rookie drivers receive an additional 30 minutes of practice during a race weekend. Still, that didn't stop the Wood Brothers from enrolling rookies Marcos Ambrose and Bobby East in the Richard Petty Driving Experience at Martinsville before last weekend's race. That also was the game plan for Richard Childress Racing's Cup rookie Clint Bowyer, but the team canceled those plans when the Atlanta Cup race was rained out. However, Childress still ran Bowyer in the truck race, and crew chief Gil Martin plans to race Bowyer in an ARCA race at Pocono and send him to the Bob Bondurant and Jim Russell driving schools.
With RCR, Dale Earnhardt Inc. plans to send its drivers to Infineon Raceway in Busch cars to gather more seat time before the Cup race. Because there's no Busch race at Infineon, that road course is fair game for tests. And the opportunities don't stop there. Expect half the field for the Martinsville Busch race in July to be Cup drivers. Martinsville will return as race No. 6 in the Chase for the NASCAR Nextel Cup.
If NASCAR officials thought decreasing the number of tests and scheduling the sessions at the same tracks would be the great equalizer, they were wrong. As long as teams have a free day in the week, expect well-heeled organizations to pack up and go.
By Lee Spencer
The Sporting News
Before NASCAR has time to rewrite the testing rulebook, teams are thinking outside the box to get an advantage on the racetrack.
In the ultracompetitive arena that is Nextel Cup racing, and as the gray areas of testing continue to evaporate, crews are constantly brainstorming to circumvent the system, regardless of the cost of equipment, travel or education. Several options are well within the rules and readily available.
For example, the increasing number of Cup drivers in the Busch Series is not a coincidence. Some of the sport's young hotshoes are too green for Cup and need additional seat time. Owners have a tendency to placate youngsters by graduating them to Cup prematurely rather than run the risk of offending a youngster who has had smoke blown up his butt by an agent who tells him he's the next Jeff Gordon.
And NASCAR hasn't helped the situation by cutting rookie tests this season. NASCAR's philosophy is that by the time a driver reaches the Cup level, he should have enough experience that additional testing isn't necessary.
In the Craftsman Truck and Busch series, rookie drivers receive an additional 30 minutes of practice during a race weekend. Still, that didn't stop the Wood Brothers from enrolling rookies Marcos Ambrose and Bobby East in the Richard Petty Driving Experience at Martinsville before last weekend's race. That also was the game plan for Richard Childress Racing's Cup rookie Clint Bowyer, but the team canceled those plans when the Atlanta Cup race was rained out. However, Childress still ran Bowyer in the truck race, and crew chief Gil Martin plans to race Bowyer in an ARCA race at Pocono and send him to the Bob Bondurant and Jim Russell driving schools.
With RCR, Dale Earnhardt Inc. plans to send its drivers to Infineon Raceway in Busch cars to gather more seat time before the Cup race. Because there's no Busch race at Infineon, that road course is fair game for tests. And the opportunities don't stop there. Expect half the field for the Martinsville Busch race in July to be Cup drivers. Martinsville will return as race No. 6 in the Chase for the NASCAR Nextel Cup.
If NASCAR officials thought decreasing the number of tests and scheduling the sessions at the same tracks would be the great equalizer, they were wrong. As long as teams have a free day in the week, expect well-heeled organizations to pack up and go.
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Too Many Cautions? If you think too many caution flags interrupt NASCAR action these days, you're not alone. #6-Mark Martin believes excess cautions not only diminish the racing on the track but creates more conflict. "We have 10 times more cautions than we used to," Martin said. "If a drink bottle or a spring rubber falls out on the track, we have a caution flag. We used to run over starters and alternators and all kinds of stuff. We'd hit them and knock them out of the way and we could keep racing. But things have changed. We have a lot of debris cautions." As Martin points out, the cautions enable the field to pack in behind the leader, increasing the likelihood of contact — and more cautions. "Every time we pack the cars up, we have another caution," Martin says. "Then the kids get excited, run over one another and we have another one. It seems that 10-15 laps is all we can go, typically. I don't feel like we get a chance to race anymore. We run short little 10-lap bursts for 500 or 400 miles. It's not a chance to really get out there and do your business. And it's tough on the cars. They get wrecked a lot." NASCAR spokesman Kerry Tharp said it all boils down to safety. "Perhaps we look at it a little differently than they did years ago. Perhaps they did run over some things years ago. We don't want to have anything on the racetrack at all that could pose a safety threat to drivers or the spectators." Sunday's race produced 16 cautions (only one for debris on the track) and meant 87 of the 500 laps were run under yellow. That wasn't as disruptive as the 19 cautions last October at Martinsville Speedway.(USA Today) ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Mikey in Stars and Stripes again at Daytona: #55-Michael Waltrip will run his annual Stars and Stripes NAPA scheme for the Pepsi 400 at Daytona, this year on his #55 Dodge.~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Last Race for Intrepid at Texas: NASCAR's last glimpse of the Intrepid — a car that Dodge no longer produces — is expected to come this weekend at Texas Motor Speedway. #12-Ryan Newman, the final Intrepid holdout, will run the car one more time before the Penske South team switches to the Charger full time. Matt Borland, Newman's crew chief, said he expects the transition to go a little easier than last year when Newman found the Charger wanting on intermediate and larger ovals. Roger Penske said recently that he's pleased with the strides the Charger has made of late, noting Kasey Kahne's victory at Atlanta Motor Speedway on March 27. "It's good to see those cars run well," Penske said. "They had a good car in Atlanta, and we were not where we wanted to be with the Intrepid." Penske Racing's other driver, Kurt Busch, also has run the Intrepid at times this season, as has Petty Enterprises' Bobby Labonte. All the Dodge [supported] teams have run the Charger exclusively at the smaller ovals this season."We're going to run (the Intrepid) in the Texas race. That will probably be the final race for us," said Robbie Loomis, director of operations for Petty Enterprises. "If we went to Texas, led the most laps and won the race, it would be hard to do something different for Charlotte. But right now we're 99.9% (sure) it's going to be Chargers the rest of the year. Dodge re-entered Nextel Cup in 2001 with the Intrepid after a 24-year absence. The Charger has four wins since its debut in the 2005 Daytona 500.(USA Today)
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NBC: Stupid is as Stupid Does
By Greg Engle
Cup Scene Daily
On my radio show, Speed Talk Live this week, I had George McNeilly as a co-host.
George is a seasoned radio and media veteran who is now part of the team at ESPN preparing to bring the network back in 2007 to replace NBC. We talked on and off the air about how wonderful and exciting it will be to have ESPN back in the NASCAR fold after an absence of several years.
After hearing about Dateline NBC’s weak attempt at generating a story this past weekend at Martinsville by bringing ‘Muslim-looking’ men to the track, I want to ask NASCAR; do we really have to wait until next year?
Lets’ play catch-up for a moment.
NASCAR said Wednesday that NBC had confirmed it sent Muslim-looking men to the race at Martinsville, along with a camera crew to film fans' reactions for a possible segment on anti-Muslim sentiment in the United States for the news magazine Dateline.
The NBC crew "apparently walked around and no one bothered them," NASCAR spokesman Ramsey Poston told the Associated Press.
"It is outrageous that a news organization of NBC's stature would stoop to the level of going out to create news instead of reporting news," Poston added.
"Any legitimate journalist in America should be embarrassed by this stunt, “he continued. “The obvious intent by NBC was to evoke reaction, and we are confident our fans won't take the bait," he said.
"'Dateline' is looking into this story," NBC said in a statement. "We were intrigued by the results of a recent Washington Post/ABC News poll and other articles regarding increasing anti-Muslim sentiments in the United States.
"It's very early on in our newsgathering process, but be assured we will be visiting a number of locations across the country and are confident that our reporting team is pursuing this story in a fair manner," it said.
Well here’s a message to you guys at NBC; you’re barking up the wrong tree.
NASCAR fans are historically so anti-biased towards people of other races and ethnic origins that the country as whole could learn a lesson from what we like to call our NASCAR Nation (remember the group last year who insisted that NASCAR was discriminating against African-American fans? The group that hired ‘protesters’ to bring to the track, well that didn’t get very far did it.) .
Sure you’ll see a few Confederate flags flying in the infield, but that doesn’t mean that a black person would be strung up should they dare wander into the infield.
In fact and I swear I’m not making this up, at Daytona this year I specifically remember inching my way through the infield and seeing a group of fans watching a large screen TV, drinking beer and having a great time. I remember this because, A) I was jealous that they were having a good time while I was working and B) among the group was an African-American man having just as good a time as the others. By the way, the other reason I remember this was that the RV they were in front of had a Confederate flag flying underneath a large driver flag and I thought to myself ‘that just about says it all’.
The NASCAR Nation is not a nation of white, black, yellow and red people, it’s a nation of green and checkered fans and whatever colors their driver of choice happens to be running on their car.
So here comes the NBC crew this weekend bringing ‘Muslim-looking’ men (why not simply real Muslim men?), to the track in order to ambush fans and try to film their reactions. Guess what NBC, you’re boys apparently got no reaction according to all accounts, because as my dad used to say, ‘That dog don’t hunt’.
NASCAR fans are NASCAR fans; fiercely loyal to their drivers and their sport and it seems that the only reaction that NBC will getting for their ‘story’, after stirring up the hornets nest, will be a stinging rebuke of their efforts.
To be fair to the guys at NBC, we could wait for the story to come out, we might just see that NASCAR will be made the shining example of parity and racial equality that it is.
Or since NBC obviously used their status as a broadcast partner to gain entry into a track in order to stage an ambush, without at least consulting NASCAR first, NASCAR could ask Rusty Wallace and Jerry Punch (the two confirmed members of the ESPN NASCAR broadcast team for 2007) to warm up their microphones and get ready to take over in July of this year instead of 2007.
Then tell NBC: “Bye-bye…don’t let the door hit you on the way out.”
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~By Greg Engle
Cup Scene Daily
On my radio show, Speed Talk Live this week, I had George McNeilly as a co-host.
George is a seasoned radio and media veteran who is now part of the team at ESPN preparing to bring the network back in 2007 to replace NBC. We talked on and off the air about how wonderful and exciting it will be to have ESPN back in the NASCAR fold after an absence of several years.
After hearing about Dateline NBC’s weak attempt at generating a story this past weekend at Martinsville by bringing ‘Muslim-looking’ men to the track, I want to ask NASCAR; do we really have to wait until next year?
Lets’ play catch-up for a moment.
NASCAR said Wednesday that NBC had confirmed it sent Muslim-looking men to the race at Martinsville, along with a camera crew to film fans' reactions for a possible segment on anti-Muslim sentiment in the United States for the news magazine Dateline.
The NBC crew "apparently walked around and no one bothered them," NASCAR spokesman Ramsey Poston told the Associated Press.
"It is outrageous that a news organization of NBC's stature would stoop to the level of going out to create news instead of reporting news," Poston added.
"Any legitimate journalist in America should be embarrassed by this stunt, “he continued. “The obvious intent by NBC was to evoke reaction, and we are confident our fans won't take the bait," he said.
"'Dateline' is looking into this story," NBC said in a statement. "We were intrigued by the results of a recent Washington Post/ABC News poll and other articles regarding increasing anti-Muslim sentiments in the United States.
"It's very early on in our newsgathering process, but be assured we will be visiting a number of locations across the country and are confident that our reporting team is pursuing this story in a fair manner," it said.
Well here’s a message to you guys at NBC; you’re barking up the wrong tree.
NASCAR fans are historically so anti-biased towards people of other races and ethnic origins that the country as whole could learn a lesson from what we like to call our NASCAR Nation (remember the group last year who insisted that NASCAR was discriminating against African-American fans? The group that hired ‘protesters’ to bring to the track, well that didn’t get very far did it.) .
Sure you’ll see a few Confederate flags flying in the infield, but that doesn’t mean that a black person would be strung up should they dare wander into the infield.
In fact and I swear I’m not making this up, at Daytona this year I specifically remember inching my way through the infield and seeing a group of fans watching a large screen TV, drinking beer and having a great time. I remember this because, A) I was jealous that they were having a good time while I was working and B) among the group was an African-American man having just as good a time as the others. By the way, the other reason I remember this was that the RV they were in front of had a Confederate flag flying underneath a large driver flag and I thought to myself ‘that just about says it all’.
The NASCAR Nation is not a nation of white, black, yellow and red people, it’s a nation of green and checkered fans and whatever colors their driver of choice happens to be running on their car.
So here comes the NBC crew this weekend bringing ‘Muslim-looking’ men (why not simply real Muslim men?), to the track in order to ambush fans and try to film their reactions. Guess what NBC, you’re boys apparently got no reaction according to all accounts, because as my dad used to say, ‘That dog don’t hunt’.
NASCAR fans are NASCAR fans; fiercely loyal to their drivers and their sport and it seems that the only reaction that NBC will getting for their ‘story’, after stirring up the hornets nest, will be a stinging rebuke of their efforts.
To be fair to the guys at NBC, we could wait for the story to come out, we might just see that NASCAR will be made the shining example of parity and racial equality that it is.
Or since NBC obviously used their status as a broadcast partner to gain entry into a track in order to stage an ambush, without at least consulting NASCAR first, NASCAR could ask Rusty Wallace and Jerry Punch (the two confirmed members of the ESPN NASCAR broadcast team for 2007) to warm up their microphones and get ready to take over in July of this year instead of 2007.
Then tell NBC: “Bye-bye…don’t let the door hit you on the way out.”
Jeff Gordon shows he has a rough side
Four-time champion contends Kenseth incident is more realistic than his squeaky-clean image
By MIKE FINNEY
The News Journal
Is Jeff Gordon the new bad boy of NASCAR?
Gordon's squeaky-clean image was left with a black smudge after he shoved Matt Kenseth following the Food City 500 Nextel Cup Series race at Bristol Motor Speedway two weeks ago.
It was an uncharacteristic display of emotion by the normally stoic four-time series champion, who for the most part has steered away from controversy since beginning his Cup career in 1993.
Gordon was unapologetic for his actions, believing he was robbed of a top-five finish when he was spun out by Kenseth in the waning laps at Bristol. Then it was back to business as usual for Gordon at Martinsville last Sunday, as he drove to an uneventful second-place finish.
Gordon said the Bristol brouhaha was a chance for NASCAR fans to get a peek at his true personality.
"What you see is a more truer Jeff Gordon and who I really am," Gordon said. "I'm not a robot. I have a personality and I have emotions, and I have a humorous side to me and an angry side to me.
"If fans like that or don't like that is really not what I'm out for. I love the fans and I want them to pull for me, but I only want them to pull for me if they find something about me that is something that they like or something that they respect or appreciate."
Other drivers have made a living out of pushing and shoving on and off the racetrack, such as the late seven-time champion Dale Earnhardt Sr.
However, Gordon always has projected an image of professionalism, staying away from the red-hot emotional embers of the sport, much like seven-time champion Richard Petty was able to do throughout his career.
Kyle Busch laughed when asked if he thought the shove would damage Gordon's reputation.
"Jeff Gordon is a four-time champion. He is what he is," Busch said. "He's been around for a while. He's won the most races out of any driver that is still running.
"He's got enough on his side where he could probably screw up a couple of times and be all right."
NASCAR fan Paula Higgins, who works in the acquisitions department of the Morris Library at the University of Delaware, does not buy into Gordon's story.
"I have always felt that Jeff Gordon is the type of driver who doesn't mind showing his bumper to another driver, yet he gets upset if another driver does it to him," Higgins said. "I still remember the Bristol race where Jeff pushed Rusty [Wallace] out of the way coming into turn four on the last lap. If he's going to give, he needs to be willing to take.
"Kenseth just wanted to talk the situation over, and Gordon never gave him the chance."
Instead, at Bristol, Gordon rushed straight at Kenseth and shoved him, drawing a look of shock from Kenseth.
Paul Quirk, of Dover, said he gained some respect for Gordon following the Bristol incident.
"He kept his helmet on when he went up to Kenseth," Quirk said. "That shows me just what an incredibly smart driver he is. No wonder he wins so many races and championships."
Kenseth, in fact, disagreed with NASCAR's decision to fine Gordon $10,000 following the incident.
"I would have been ticked off, too," Kenseth said. "I probably should have known better than to go over there, but I just think when you do something wrong, you should try to be a man about it and apologize."
So Kenseth ventured toward Gordon's car on pit road -- and a melee almost ensued.
"I was very angry at the time, and I got out of the car and Matt walked over to my car," Gordon said. "I think [Kenseth] said it best. It's not the best time to walk over to me, and I was angry and I showed it.
"I told NASCAR that had I been thinking more clearly at the time without being so angry, then I'm sure I wouldn't have shoved him."
Gordon has had a couple of weeks to reflect on the incident. He still insists the moment was closer to his roots as a sprint-car phenom than has been the case since he joined the glitter of the Cup Series 13 years ago.
"I guess I understand why I did some of the things that I did coming into this sport," Gordon said. "I felt like an outsider. I felt like I wasn't a guy that is your typical NASCAR driver at that time, a guy who grew up in stock cars or from the Southeast, and I felt like I needed to do extra things to be accepted.
"Some fans did and some fans didn't, but more of it was about being accepted within the garage area and earning respect within the garage area, so I chose to go that path."
Gordon still has had his moments, with Wallace at Bristol and Tony Stewart at Watkins Glen and again at Dover last spring.
After Gordon would not get out of Stewart's way at Dover last June, Stewart tapped his rear bumper, causing both to crash. Gordon emerged from his car saying Stewart needs to learn to become more patient.
Stewart quickly fired back, "Jeff is always whining like that. Everyone else is doing a pretty good job of give and take. I guess when you get around Jeff, the rules are different. He does more taking than giving."
While NASCAR levies fines for instances such as the one involving Gordon and Kenseth, it also is quick to promote such feuds on its television broadcasts, creating a sense of hypocrisy.
"I know that NASCAR's concern is that this is a family sport and that children are watching," said Higgins, the fan. "However, I don't think it hurts the sport when altercations like this happen.
"They've been happening for years -- the most famous being the one between Cale Yarborough and the Allisons [Bobby and Donnie] at Daytona -- and look how much the sport has grown since then."
The Gordon-Kenseth incident probably will just turn into another quickly forgotten fine -- and another highlight-reel moment for NASCAR.
Four-time champion contends Kenseth incident is more realistic than his squeaky-clean image
By MIKE FINNEY
The News Journal
Is Jeff Gordon the new bad boy of NASCAR?
Gordon's squeaky-clean image was left with a black smudge after he shoved Matt Kenseth following the Food City 500 Nextel Cup Series race at Bristol Motor Speedway two weeks ago.
It was an uncharacteristic display of emotion by the normally stoic four-time series champion, who for the most part has steered away from controversy since beginning his Cup career in 1993.
Gordon was unapologetic for his actions, believing he was robbed of a top-five finish when he was spun out by Kenseth in the waning laps at Bristol. Then it was back to business as usual for Gordon at Martinsville last Sunday, as he drove to an uneventful second-place finish.
Gordon said the Bristol brouhaha was a chance for NASCAR fans to get a peek at his true personality.
"What you see is a more truer Jeff Gordon and who I really am," Gordon said. "I'm not a robot. I have a personality and I have emotions, and I have a humorous side to me and an angry side to me.
"If fans like that or don't like that is really not what I'm out for. I love the fans and I want them to pull for me, but I only want them to pull for me if they find something about me that is something that they like or something that they respect or appreciate."
Other drivers have made a living out of pushing and shoving on and off the racetrack, such as the late seven-time champion Dale Earnhardt Sr.
However, Gordon always has projected an image of professionalism, staying away from the red-hot emotional embers of the sport, much like seven-time champion Richard Petty was able to do throughout his career.
Kyle Busch laughed when asked if he thought the shove would damage Gordon's reputation.
"Jeff Gordon is a four-time champion. He is what he is," Busch said. "He's been around for a while. He's won the most races out of any driver that is still running.
"He's got enough on his side where he could probably screw up a couple of times and be all right."
NASCAR fan Paula Higgins, who works in the acquisitions department of the Morris Library at the University of Delaware, does not buy into Gordon's story.
"I have always felt that Jeff Gordon is the type of driver who doesn't mind showing his bumper to another driver, yet he gets upset if another driver does it to him," Higgins said. "I still remember the Bristol race where Jeff pushed Rusty [Wallace] out of the way coming into turn four on the last lap. If he's going to give, he needs to be willing to take.
"Kenseth just wanted to talk the situation over, and Gordon never gave him the chance."
Instead, at Bristol, Gordon rushed straight at Kenseth and shoved him, drawing a look of shock from Kenseth.
Paul Quirk, of Dover, said he gained some respect for Gordon following the Bristol incident.
"He kept his helmet on when he went up to Kenseth," Quirk said. "That shows me just what an incredibly smart driver he is. No wonder he wins so many races and championships."
Kenseth, in fact, disagreed with NASCAR's decision to fine Gordon $10,000 following the incident.
"I would have been ticked off, too," Kenseth said. "I probably should have known better than to go over there, but I just think when you do something wrong, you should try to be a man about it and apologize."
So Kenseth ventured toward Gordon's car on pit road -- and a melee almost ensued.
"I was very angry at the time, and I got out of the car and Matt walked over to my car," Gordon said. "I think [Kenseth] said it best. It's not the best time to walk over to me, and I was angry and I showed it.
"I told NASCAR that had I been thinking more clearly at the time without being so angry, then I'm sure I wouldn't have shoved him."
Gordon has had a couple of weeks to reflect on the incident. He still insists the moment was closer to his roots as a sprint-car phenom than has been the case since he joined the glitter of the Cup Series 13 years ago.
"I guess I understand why I did some of the things that I did coming into this sport," Gordon said. "I felt like an outsider. I felt like I wasn't a guy that is your typical NASCAR driver at that time, a guy who grew up in stock cars or from the Southeast, and I felt like I needed to do extra things to be accepted.
"Some fans did and some fans didn't, but more of it was about being accepted within the garage area and earning respect within the garage area, so I chose to go that path."
Gordon still has had his moments, with Wallace at Bristol and Tony Stewart at Watkins Glen and again at Dover last spring.
After Gordon would not get out of Stewart's way at Dover last June, Stewart tapped his rear bumper, causing both to crash. Gordon emerged from his car saying Stewart needs to learn to become more patient.
Stewart quickly fired back, "Jeff is always whining like that. Everyone else is doing a pretty good job of give and take. I guess when you get around Jeff, the rules are different. He does more taking than giving."
While NASCAR levies fines for instances such as the one involving Gordon and Kenseth, it also is quick to promote such feuds on its television broadcasts, creating a sense of hypocrisy.
"I know that NASCAR's concern is that this is a family sport and that children are watching," said Higgins, the fan. "However, I don't think it hurts the sport when altercations like this happen.
"They've been happening for years -- the most famous being the one between Cale Yarborough and the Allisons [Bobby and Donnie] at Daytona -- and look how much the sport has grown since then."
The Gordon-Kenseth incident probably will just turn into another quickly forgotten fine -- and another highlight-reel moment for NASCAR.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Stewart has become the great entertainer
Fans are finding more reasons to love him
By MIKE FINNEY
The News Journal
The mere mention of Tony Stewart's name is sure to bring mixed emotions.
Much like the late Dale Earnhardt Sr., Stewart is a love-him-or-hate-him kind of guy. He does not leave much wiggle room in between.
Over the past two years, Stewart has given NASCAR fans plenty of reasons to love him.
Not only has he mellowed somewhat off the racetrack, he won his second championship last year and developed a bond with the fans in the grandstands by climbing the fences after his wins and celebrating with them.
His latest impromptu post-race party came on top of the flag stand at Martinsville Speedway last Sunday, after he held off Jeff Gordon to win the DirecTV 500.
"I wish everybody had the opportunity to be up there during something like that, because that is the coolest view - to see people cheering, because they know that before you even celebrate with your race team, you're celebrating with them," Stewart said. "If they don't enjoy that and they don't like it anymore, then that's the day I'll quit doing it."
Stewart is off to a strong start this season as he tries to become the first driver since Gordon to win back-to-back championships. Gordon accomplished the feat in 1997-98.
The 34-year-old driver from Columbus, Ind., stands eighth in the Nextel Cup Series points standings and has finished among the top five in three of the first six races of the year.
Of course, it has not been without controversy here and there.
First off, Stewart made NASCAR officials wince in a postrace interview following a crash-filled Budweiser Shootout at Daytona leading up to the Daytona 500, which marked the fifth anniversary of the death of Earnhardt.
"Five years from now, we're probably going to have to do another tribute to another driver, because we're going to kill somebody," Stewart said. "It could be me or Dale [Earnhardt] Jr. or anybody out there. This isn't a new topic."
Stewart then went and spun out Matt Kenseth in the Daytona 500, sending Kenseth's Ford careening out of control down the backstretch. It was simply payback, he said, for an earlier incident.
Then there have been multiple run-ins with Kyle Busch, at Daytona and Las Vegas. Following his altercation with Busch in the Budweiser Shootout at Daytona, Stewart called the driver "a dart without feathers."
Now, that is classic Stewart.
Then at Martinsville last Sunday, Stewart tapped the rear of Jimmie Johnson's Chevy several times before finally getting past him en route to the victory.
"I have to give [Stewart] some credit," Johnson said. "He did it in a way that didn't wreck me, but it had my rear tires off the ground where I couldn't touch the gas pedal.
"It was really hard racing on the racetrack from Tony and I throughout the whole day, so there just at the end he got aggressive with me and I had a fading car."
Stewart's 25th career victory should send a warning to his fellow competitors. It was just the second time in his career that he won a race before May. His earliest win came in Atlanta in the fourth race of the season in 2002 -- the year he won his first series championship.
However, he is not ready to make predictions that he is set to embark on a hot streak like he had last summer, when he won five races -- Sears Point, Daytona, New Hampshire, Indianapolis and Watkins Glen -- over a seven-race stretch.
"We won a race, but next week we might fall on our face," Stewart said. "Next week, we might win again. Who knows? We don't know if this is a momentum builder. I hope it leads to a streak, but there is not any evidence to back that up right now."
Nothing Stewart accomplishes will surprise Gordon, a four-time series champion.
"I find Tony to be extremely entertaining, in a positive way, really," Gordon said. "You know, the guy is passionate about what he's doing. He wants to win as bad as anybody, or more, out there. He's talented.
"I think he's one of the most talented drivers that we have on the circuit, one of the most talented drivers I've ever raced against. He's got a short fuse, and it shows up sometimes. But it's only because he cares. You can't knock a guy for that."
No, you can just watch in admiration as he climbs the fence and waves the checkered flag at his adoring fans.
Stewart has come a long way, whether you love him or not.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Fans are finding more reasons to love him
By MIKE FINNEY
The News Journal
The mere mention of Tony Stewart's name is sure to bring mixed emotions.
Much like the late Dale Earnhardt Sr., Stewart is a love-him-or-hate-him kind of guy. He does not leave much wiggle room in between.
Over the past two years, Stewart has given NASCAR fans plenty of reasons to love him.
Not only has he mellowed somewhat off the racetrack, he won his second championship last year and developed a bond with the fans in the grandstands by climbing the fences after his wins and celebrating with them.
His latest impromptu post-race party came on top of the flag stand at Martinsville Speedway last Sunday, after he held off Jeff Gordon to win the DirecTV 500.
"I wish everybody had the opportunity to be up there during something like that, because that is the coolest view - to see people cheering, because they know that before you even celebrate with your race team, you're celebrating with them," Stewart said. "If they don't enjoy that and they don't like it anymore, then that's the day I'll quit doing it."
Stewart is off to a strong start this season as he tries to become the first driver since Gordon to win back-to-back championships. Gordon accomplished the feat in 1997-98.
The 34-year-old driver from Columbus, Ind., stands eighth in the Nextel Cup Series points standings and has finished among the top five in three of the first six races of the year.
Of course, it has not been without controversy here and there.
First off, Stewart made NASCAR officials wince in a postrace interview following a crash-filled Budweiser Shootout at Daytona leading up to the Daytona 500, which marked the fifth anniversary of the death of Earnhardt.
"Five years from now, we're probably going to have to do another tribute to another driver, because we're going to kill somebody," Stewart said. "It could be me or Dale [Earnhardt] Jr. or anybody out there. This isn't a new topic."
Stewart then went and spun out Matt Kenseth in the Daytona 500, sending Kenseth's Ford careening out of control down the backstretch. It was simply payback, he said, for an earlier incident.
Then there have been multiple run-ins with Kyle Busch, at Daytona and Las Vegas. Following his altercation with Busch in the Budweiser Shootout at Daytona, Stewart called the driver "a dart without feathers."
Now, that is classic Stewart.
Then at Martinsville last Sunday, Stewart tapped the rear of Jimmie Johnson's Chevy several times before finally getting past him en route to the victory.
"I have to give [Stewart] some credit," Johnson said. "He did it in a way that didn't wreck me, but it had my rear tires off the ground where I couldn't touch the gas pedal.
"It was really hard racing on the racetrack from Tony and I throughout the whole day, so there just at the end he got aggressive with me and I had a fading car."
Stewart's 25th career victory should send a warning to his fellow competitors. It was just the second time in his career that he won a race before May. His earliest win came in Atlanta in the fourth race of the season in 2002 -- the year he won his first series championship.
However, he is not ready to make predictions that he is set to embark on a hot streak like he had last summer, when he won five races -- Sears Point, Daytona, New Hampshire, Indianapolis and Watkins Glen -- over a seven-race stretch.
"We won a race, but next week we might fall on our face," Stewart said. "Next week, we might win again. Who knows? We don't know if this is a momentum builder. I hope it leads to a streak, but there is not any evidence to back that up right now."
Nothing Stewart accomplishes will surprise Gordon, a four-time series champion.
"I find Tony to be extremely entertaining, in a positive way, really," Gordon said. "You know, the guy is passionate about what he's doing. He wants to win as bad as anybody, or more, out there. He's talented.
"I think he's one of the most talented drivers that we have on the circuit, one of the most talented drivers I've ever raced against. He's got a short fuse, and it shows up sometimes. But it's only because he cares. You can't knock a guy for that."
No, you can just watch in admiration as he climbs the fence and waves the checkered flag at his adoring fans.
Stewart has come a long way, whether you love him or not.
''Lady In Black'' opens new grandstand
By PETE IACOBELLI, AP Sports Writer
DARLINGTON, S.C. (AP) -- Harold Brasington Jr. would drive by the track his late father helped create the last couple of years, see the gradual demolition of the grandstand named for his dad and think to himself, "Well, that's it, it's over."
On Wednesday, Darlington Raceway made sure founder Harold Brasington remained in NASCAR, naming its new, 6,300-seat grandstand after the man who built the sport's first superspeedway.
"It makes me proud to see this," said Brasington Jr., 63 and still living in Darlington.
There had been a 3,300-seat covered grandstand in turn two named for Brasington. The roof came off two years ago to accommodate Darlington's lighting project with the rest taken out last fall.
Track leaders considered several options in naming the new stands, including drivers with strong track connections like South Carolina native Cale Yarborough and nine-time Darlington winner Dale Earnhardt. There was even talk of selling the naming rights.
In the end, raceway president Chris Browning kept returning to the man who got the whole thing started with his wacky idea to carve a track out of a peanut farm in the Pee Dee nearly 60 years ago.
"It was the number one priority to keep his name at this place," Browning said.
Brasington was a local builder who was so taken with racing after a visit to Indianapolis Motor Speedway, he wanted something similar in South Carolina.
Brasington met with several people about his idea, including NASCAR pioneer "Big" Bill France. France told Brasington a banked speedway probably wouldn't work. "I don't think you're right about that," Brasington Jr., then in grade school, remembers his father saying.
Soon enough, Brasington was clearing farm land in the fall of 1949 for his vision. He had to change the plans for a true oval, however, after promising a neighbor that a nearby minnow pond would not be destroyed. The result was Darlington's famous egg-shape layout that has vexed NASCAR's best drivers for years. The first Southern 500, won by Johnny Mantz, took place in 1950.
Brasington died in 1996 at age 86.
While Brasington built Darlington, his son and grandson, Harold Brasington III, say he didn't linger long on past projects. "He was always thinking about what he wanted to do next," said Brasington III, who lives in Florence.
The idea that anyone would be honored by new construction at Darlington seemed laughable a year ago. But a sold-out night race last May and a strong buzz about this year's race convinced track owners, International Speedway Corp., to invest the $6 million for the project.
Nextel Cup star Greg Biffle joined track leaders and Brasington's relatives to cut the ribbon on the structure, which increases seating to about 63,000.
As of this morning, Browning said just one seat remained unsold in the new Brasington Grandstand. The section features seatback chairs with random white, red and blue colors -- called "confetti seating" -- that make the stands appear full even if they're not. Those who sit there will have an unmatched view of the start-finish line and the first-two turns. "Not only is this the best seat in the house, it's one of the best seats in racing," Browning said.
Brasington III said growing up nearby made it easy to take his grandfather's track for granted. "It was kind of natural thing for us," he said. "But as I've gotten older, I realized what a special thing he accomplished. It's great to have that recognition revived for him."
By PETE IACOBELLI, AP Sports Writer
DARLINGTON, S.C. (AP) -- Harold Brasington Jr. would drive by the track his late father helped create the last couple of years, see the gradual demolition of the grandstand named for his dad and think to himself, "Well, that's it, it's over."
On Wednesday, Darlington Raceway made sure founder Harold Brasington remained in NASCAR, naming its new, 6,300-seat grandstand after the man who built the sport's first superspeedway.
"It makes me proud to see this," said Brasington Jr., 63 and still living in Darlington.
There had been a 3,300-seat covered grandstand in turn two named for Brasington. The roof came off two years ago to accommodate Darlington's lighting project with the rest taken out last fall.
Track leaders considered several options in naming the new stands, including drivers with strong track connections like South Carolina native Cale Yarborough and nine-time Darlington winner Dale Earnhardt. There was even talk of selling the naming rights.
In the end, raceway president Chris Browning kept returning to the man who got the whole thing started with his wacky idea to carve a track out of a peanut farm in the Pee Dee nearly 60 years ago.
"It was the number one priority to keep his name at this place," Browning said.
Brasington was a local builder who was so taken with racing after a visit to Indianapolis Motor Speedway, he wanted something similar in South Carolina.
Brasington met with several people about his idea, including NASCAR pioneer "Big" Bill France. France told Brasington a banked speedway probably wouldn't work. "I don't think you're right about that," Brasington Jr., then in grade school, remembers his father saying.
Soon enough, Brasington was clearing farm land in the fall of 1949 for his vision. He had to change the plans for a true oval, however, after promising a neighbor that a nearby minnow pond would not be destroyed. The result was Darlington's famous egg-shape layout that has vexed NASCAR's best drivers for years. The first Southern 500, won by Johnny Mantz, took place in 1950.
Brasington died in 1996 at age 86.
While Brasington built Darlington, his son and grandson, Harold Brasington III, say he didn't linger long on past projects. "He was always thinking about what he wanted to do next," said Brasington III, who lives in Florence.
The idea that anyone would be honored by new construction at Darlington seemed laughable a year ago. But a sold-out night race last May and a strong buzz about this year's race convinced track owners, International Speedway Corp., to invest the $6 million for the project.
Nextel Cup star Greg Biffle joined track leaders and Brasington's relatives to cut the ribbon on the structure, which increases seating to about 63,000.
As of this morning, Browning said just one seat remained unsold in the new Brasington Grandstand. The section features seatback chairs with random white, red and blue colors -- called "confetti seating" -- that make the stands appear full even if they're not. Those who sit there will have an unmatched view of the start-finish line and the first-two turns. "Not only is this the best seat in the house, it's one of the best seats in racing," Browning said.
Brasington III said growing up nearby made it easy to take his grandfather's track for granted. "It was kind of natural thing for us," he said. "But as I've gotten older, I realized what a special thing he accomplished. It's great to have that recognition revived for him."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"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
-Dale Earnhardt
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Enduring Performance
1999 Primestar 500
By Mark Aumann, NASCAR.COM
The eyes of Texas were truly upon Terry Labonte at the end of the 1999 Primestar 500.
A crowd of 200,000 -- including Governor George W. Bush -- were on hand to see the Corpus Christi native pass Dale Jarrett with 11 laps to go and take the checkered flag under caution when Jimmy Spencer wrecked seven laps later.
"I saw the crowd and they were all standing up, cheering," Labonte said. "All the other drivers pulled up beside me and congratulated me. That's a good feeling.
"When you don't win a lot of races like some of these other guys do, guys will do that."
Labonte's younger brother, Bobby, made it two Texans in the top three with his third-place finish, despite driving with a broken shoulder. Matt Kenseth was standing by as a relief driver in case Bobby couldn't go the distance.
Avoiding tire troubles that put Jeff Gordon, Mike Skinner and Mark Martin hard into the wall, Terry Labonte ran steadily in the top four for most of the race, leading a total of 124 laps and overtaking Jarrett for the final time when the leader was slowed by lapped traffic.
"I thought maybe if I could use up enough race track, I could keep Terry behind me," Jarrett said. "But the lapped cars were wanting to stay on the lead lap, I guess. As I caught one of them in 3 and 4, my car pushed up as I tried to get back in the throttle and that hurt me then."
While Jarrett was trying to deal with Robert Pressley and teammate Kenny Irwin, Labonte was able to get his Chevrolet to the outside of Jarrett's Ford and make the pass.
"I was wearing his tires out, I wasn't wearing [Jarrett] out," Labonte said. "The groove had come in pretty good. I was surprised to get a run off Turn 4 and get by him."
For Labonte, it was the first time he had won a Cup race in his home state. Terry Labonte would add a 22nd victory -- the 2003 Southern 500 at Darlington -- four years later.
"To me, this is the biggest race I've ever won," he said.
Rusty Wallace and Jeremy Mayfield completed the top five, while rookie Tony Stewart, Jeff Burton, Dale Earnhardt, Sterling Marlin and first-year driver Elliott Sadler rounded out the top 10.
Gordon's hit left him with bruised ribs and a 43rd-place finish.
"It's pretty much the hardest I've ever hit a wall, that's for sure," Gordon said. "Somehow the right front tire went down, but we're not exactly sure why yet. I'm real sore, but I don't think anything's broke. We took some X-rays the next couple of days, I'll be pretty stiff, but I believe I'll be all right."
Texas remains one of four tracks where Gordon has not won, although he's come close, finishing second in 2002 and third in 2003 and 2004.
Skinner's crash resulted in a broken right shoulder, almost the exact same injury he had the previous season.
"There was no warning," he said. "No nothing. The car was running great and then, all of a sudden, we were into the wall."
Jarrett lost that race but won the 1999 championship by 201 points over Bobby Labonte, who has never won at Texas but has two poles there.
Three drivers named "Junior" -- Johnny Benson Jr., Kenny Irwin Jr. and Wally Dallenbach Jr. -- competed in the 1999 race at Texas. Dale Earnhardt Jr. wouldn't make his Cup debut for another six races.
Qualifying: Nextel Cup Series Samsung/Radio Shack 500 Friday, April 7 4:30 p.m. Speed
Practice: Nextel Cup Series Samsung/Radio Shack 500 Saturday, April 8 2 p.m. FX
Busch Series O'Reilly 300 Saturday, April 8 3 p.m. Fox
Nextel Cup Series Samsung/Radio Shack 500 Sunday, Aprill 9 1:30 p.m. Fox
All time Eastern. Times and station subject to change.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
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 wins't climb up there and eat that candy ass." - Dale Earnhardt – 1998
"It's nothin' personal, it's just racin'
-Dale Earnhardt Sr.
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