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Today In Nascar History
05/05/1956-Speedy Thompson wins at Columbia, win #1 of the season, and #5 of his career.
05/05/1957-Paul Goldsmith wins at Richmond, win #2 of the season, and #3 of his career.
05/05/1962-Jack Smith wins at Hickory, win #4 of the season, and #20 of his career.
05/05/1963-Jim Paschal wins at Randleman, win #4 of the season, and #17 of his career.
05/05/1968-David Pearson wins at Weaverville, win #4 of the season, and #34 of his career.
05/05/1974-David Pearson wins at Talladega, win #2 of the season, and #79 of his career.
05/05/1985-Bill Elliott wins at Talladega, win #4 of the season, and #8 of his career.
05/05/1996-Rusty Wallace wins at Sonoma, win #2 of the season, and #43 of his career.
05/05/1997-Mark Martin wins at Sonoma, win #1 of the season, and #19 of his career.
05/05/2001-Tony Stewart wins at Richmond, win #1 of the season, and #10 of his career.
05/05/2002-Tony Stewart wins at Richmond, win #2 of the season, and #14 of his career.
"It was a beautiful day here in New York. It was unbelievable. It was so great I pretended I was an immigrant and took the day off."
--David Letterman~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Kentucky Speedway wants all tracks' records
In trying to prove that NASCAR and International Speedway Corp. illegally work together to keep Nextel Cup events at ISC tracks, Kentucky Speedway is asking for lots of sensitive financial and business records.
That was to be expected as far as NASCAR and ISC were concerned. But now virtually every track that has a national NASCAR race will be asked to give up its records, too.
Kentucky Speedway has asked a U.S. District Court judge in Kentucky to allow it to serve subpoenas to request information from companies that are not parties in the lawsuit. Those parties include Speedway Motorsports Inc., Dover Motorsports, Indianapolis Motor Speedway, Pocono Raceway, the Milwaukee Mile and New Hampshire International Speedway.
Among the documents Kentucky will ask from SMI, which has 11 Nextel Cup events at its tracks, will be for all documents and depositions from the Ferko v. NASCAR anti-trust case that was settled out of court in 2004. Ferko was an SMI shareholder.
The proposed subpoena - filed as an exhibit to the motion to allow Kentucky to subpoena companies that aren't parties to the case - also asks for SMI to produce sanctioning agreements, ticket sales information, advertising revenue, safety records and documents relating to any attempt to purchase another racetrack.
The subpoenas have not been served, and it is expected that once they are served, the tracks will challenge how much information they will have to provide. Disagreements and arguments over the production of documents are typical in cases such as this.
"Anytime that happens, usually the judge intervenes and says that you can only take those things pertinent to the case," said SMI President H.A. "Humpy" Wheeler, who said he has not seen the subpoena but heard about the issue. "When subpoenas are issued, they always ask for the world. It's not unusual."
Kentucky Speedway alleges that ISC and NASCAR work together to keep non-ISC tracks from obtaining Nextel Cup events and is asking for it to be awarded a Cup date as well as having a standard set for the allocation of Cup dates.
NASCAR is a private company owned by the France family. ISC, which promotes many NASCAR-sanctioned races including 20 of the 38 Cup events, is a public company in which a majority of stock is owned by the France family.
NASCAR and ISC deny Kentucky Speedway's claims. The case won't go to trial until at least summer 2007.
Bobby Hamilton now hopes to be back driving his Craftsman Truck Series entry by late October after starting radiation treatments to treat his head and neck cancer sooner than expected.
Hamilton, the series' 2004 champion, turned his truck over to his son, Bobby Hamilton Jr., after the year's third race of the season at Atlanta to begin chemotherapy and radiation treatments for the cancer. He was initially set to begin radiation treatments on May 30, but he's now on his second week of treatments.
"As far as my return, I said in my press conference in Atlanta that I would love to make my comeback the last race of the season [at Homestead in November]," Hamilton said Wednesday. "That would just mean so much to me, and this is the first time I've said this ... the rehab for this thing is two to three months. Until this past week, I probably could have raced every week - there haven't been that many races, I wouldn't have had to step out of the truck. But for the safety of my competitors, the welfare of my business and my race teams and all the people surrounding me, I just felt like the best guy to do the job would be Bobby Jr. The next best thing for me, when I get done with all these treatments and they say everything is OK, is that I would love to come back at Atlanta where I got out of the truck."
CONCORD, N.C. -- Jeff Gordon says Rusty Wallace is his friend, but that didn't stop the four-time Nextel Cup champion from getting a dig in on Wallace during a media session Wednesday afternoon at Lowe's Motor Speedway.
Gordon was responding to a quote from Wallace in The Roanoke (Va.) Times.
"I don't think Jeff is as focused right now as he's been in the past," Wallace, an ESPN analyst and 1989 series champ, told the paper. "I think he's got a lot of other things going on that are a lot of fun to him, a lot of vacationing, a lot of cool places that he's been to around the world, and he's really enjoying himself. These race cars take 100 percent of your concentration."
Gordon's response?
"Anytime when the performance is not there, it's easy for people to judge and to criticize," Gordon said. "I am doing the same thing I'm doing now that I have been doing for the last seven or eight years.
"If there is an off-weekend, I take the time to do personal things - I really see it as rejuvenating myself ... to come back strong and more focused. This year, I have been very focused and on top of my game."
And then came the dig.
"Rusty doesn't really know where I go on vacation, what I do," Gordon said. "I laugh because a lot of people could have said [about] him, 'Well, had he stopped being the crew chief and the driver years ago, he may have won more races and championships.'"
NASCAR, like you’ve never seen it before: Starting next season, NASCAR fans can expect to see Nextel Cup races in ways they never have. Plans are for races to be shown on multiple channels and broadcast over the Internet. Expanded race information will be available on network-related Web sites and NASCAR.com. Even cell phones will provide an outlet. “We’re kind of in a different age,’’ said David Berson, senior vice president, program planning and development for ESPN and ABC Sports. “People consume things in many different ways. ...ESPN and ABC will show the final 17 Cup races next season, with all 10 championship chase races on ABC — the first time a network has shown all of those events. ESPN also will broadcast the Busch series. Speed Channel will air the all-star event, and both Fox and TNT return to cover the other Cup races. ESPN has provided glimpses of what some NASCAR broadcasts might be like. The network showed a Duke-North Carolina men’s basketball game in March on ESPN, ESPN2 and ESPNU , giving fans three versions of the same contest . - The Virginian-Pilot
Personnel swapping in high gear early in Busch and Cup seasons
By Dave Rodman, NASCAR.COM
RICHMOND, Va. -- For the second time in the 2006 Nextel Cup Series season, rookie Brent Sherman will have a weekend off as a replacement driver steps into BAM Racing's No. 49 Dodge for Saturday night's Crown Royal 400 (7 p.m. ET, FX).
Veteran Mike Wallace, who is already serving a replacement stint in owner James Finch's No. 1 Busch Series Dodge, will attempt to make his 12th Cup start at the .750-mile banked oval while giving BAM some insight into its program.
"We are making every effort to improve our short-track program," team co-owner Beth Ann Morgenthau said. "Our goals for this weekend are to begin regaining positions in the owner points standings and to assess our equipment.
"Mike came highly recommended due to his experience and success at Richmond. We hope to make great strides this weekend."
Sherman made his Nextel Cup debut as a guaranteed starter in the Daytona 500, but after five races BAM fell beneath the top-35 cutoff mark for owners. Jimmy Spencer replaced Sherman for the Martinsville short-track race, but failed to qualify.
Since then, Sherman has failed to make races at Texas and Talladega. He qualified at Phoenix and finished 32nd, his second-best finish in six starts.
BAM comes to Richmond 41st in owner points.
"I'm excited to work with Mike this weekend," BAM crew chief Ron Otto said. "I hope his experience and insight will help us with our cars and give us a better direction in our short-track program.
"The challenge, of course, is working with a different driver this weekend. However, I think his experience and feedback will help me in my communications with both driver and team."
The team said it anticipates having Sherman back in the car for next week's race at Darlington Raceway.
The driver swap is no less than the seventh in Cup and Busch despite being only a quarter of the way through the schedules.
By Dave Rodman, NASCAR.COM
Michael Waltrip's No. 55 Cup Dodge is in the middle of personnel shifts after sitting 35th in driver points but 36th in owner points with the potential of not qualifying for a race.
"This obviously isn't where we had hoped to be coming into the 10th race of 2006," Waltrip said. "In an effort to address the situation, we decided to make some changes."
Crew chief Derrick Finley has returned to an engineering role at Bill Davis Racing. Starting this weekend, the team will be under the group care of Michael Waltrip Racing director of competition Bobby Kennedy, Larry Carter (Rusty Wallace's former crew chief) and Jason Overstreet (Darrell Waltrip's Truck Series crew chief).
"It is extremely important that we use all of the resources we have at both Bill Davis Racing and Michael Waltrip Racing to get our program where it needs to be," Waltrip said. "Bobby, Larry and Jason have been working on getting our Burger King [Busch Series] cars built that we will run with Bill Elliott this year.
"Getting those guys to the track and working with our NAPA car will not only help us now, but it will also allow them to gather at-track data for that effort as well."
Moves are also being made this weekend on Waltrip's Busch team, as veteran Jerry Baxter steps in as crew chief on the No. 99 Dodge, replacing the departed Cully Barraclough.
By Dave Rodman, NASCAR.COM
Busch Series veteran Jason Keller, who has missed the last two races after being released from his ride at Phoenix Racing, will return to the series and attempt to make his 400th career start in owner Frank Cicci's No. 34 Chevrolet.
A.J. Foyt IV, who was the victim of a performance shortfall and a manufacturer change at Braun-Akins Racing, steps into the Busch Series' No. 14 FitzBradshaw Racing Dodge courtesy of that team's engine supplier, Evernham Motorsports. Foyt is a development driver for Evernham.
For the second week in a row, ppc Racing's Todd Gordon will be Kenny Wallace's crew chief on the No. 22 Ford in the Busch Series. Gordon stepped into Randy Cox's role at Talladega.
On the Cup side, Kertus Davis, who has started six of the 10 Busch races in his under-funded family team, steps into Morgan Shepherd's No. 89 Dodge in an attempt to qualify for Saturday night's race. It would be Davis' Cup debut.
1986 Miller High Life 400
By Mark Aumann, NASCAR.COM
After getting caught up in a 10-car accident earlier in the 1986 Miller High Life 400 at Richmond Fairgrounds Raceway, fifth-place Kyle Petty was content just to stay on the lead lap and get a good finish.
June 21, 1959: "Tiger Tom" Pistone leads just one lap to beat Glen Wood and Buck Baker and claim the $900 first-place check.
April 7, 1963: Virginia native Joe Weatherly wins for the third and final time at Richmond, leading 63 laps in front of 15,000 on the dirt half-mile.
March 24, 1968: David Pearson beats Charlie Glotzbach by more than a lap to win the final dirt race at Richmond. The track is paved in time for the fall event.
Feb. 23, 1975: Richard Petty's No. 43 Dodge dominates, beating second-place Lennie Pond by six laps for his ninth Richmond victory in a 10-race span.
Feb. 21, 1988: Neil Bonnett edges Ricky Rudd by a second in the final race on the half-mile. The track will become a .75-mile D-shaped oval by the fall.
Imagine his surprise when a full straightaway ahead, leaders Darrell Waltrip and Dale Earnhardt commenced to wrecking with four laps remaining.
When the smoke cleared, literally and figuratively, Petty went from fifth to first, capturing the first Cup victory of his seven-year career and ending a three-year winless drought for the Wood Brothers.
"We'd been in that earlier wreck and the car just didn't handle right all day," Petty said. "It was a fifth- or sixth-place car the way we were running until the leaders wrecked."
While Petty celebrated, Waltrip and Earnhardt pointed fingers and traded barbs over the Lap 397 incident that ended Waltrip's day and collected third-place Joe Ruttman and fourth-place Geoff Bodine.
Glued to Earnhardt's bumper for several laps, Waltrip's No. 11 got beside his rival's No. 3 in the backstretch and attempted to complete the pass heading into Turn 3. However, Earnhardt's left front and Waltrip's right rear touched, sending both Chevrolets hard into the wall.
"Going down the backstretch, I thought I was all the way past him," Waltrip said. "Then in the third turn, it felt like my car had run over a land mine.
"It snapped my neck, blurred my vision and for a moment there, I was somewhere else."
Earnhardt took the blame, but claimed it was "just one of them racing deals."
"At the end, I didn't do anything [Waltrip] wouldn't do," The Intimidator said. "It was racing.
"To be honest, I was trying to dive under him in the third turn and I didn't make it. I barely clipped him in the rear and spun us both. I hated to tear up both cars since we had been racing so hard. I know he was a little upset with me because he hit me as we came around the track afterward."
Ruttman and Bodine, following closely behind, had nowhere to go, spinning into the fray. As Ruttman attempted to get his No. 26 Buick pointed in the right direction, Petty flashed past.
"Even when I got through the wreck, I didn't see Ruttman's car sitting down there in the infield," Petty said. "I thought for a minute that he'd made it through, too, and that I was going to finish second."
Instead, it was Ruttman who was the runner-up, followed by Earnhardt, Bobby Allison and Waltrip, who rammed Earnhardt's car as the field rolled to the checkered flag under caution.
Kyle joined father Richard and grandfather Lee as Richmond winners. The Woods hadn't won since Buddy Baker's 1983 victory in the 400-miler at Daytona.
"When you win a race, you're marked down as a winner," Petty said. "I'm tickled to death. This builds confidence for the future."
Earnhardt had the best line to sum up the day's fortunes: "You win some, lose some and crash some."~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
NASCAR ON TV THIS WEEK
Final practice: Nextel Cup Series Crown Royal 400 Friday, May 5 1:30 p.m. Speed
Qualifying: Busch Series Circuit City 250 Friday, May 5 4 p.m. Speed
Qualifying: Nextel Cup Series Crown Royal 400 Friday, May 5 6 p.m. Speed
Busch Series Circuit City 250 Friday, May 5 7:30 p.m. FX
Nextel Cup Series Circuit City 400 Saturday, May 6 7 p.m. FX
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
05/05/1956-Speedy Thompson wins at Columbia, win #1 of the season, and #5 of his career.
05/05/1957-Paul Goldsmith wins at Richmond, win #2 of the season, and #3 of his career.
05/05/1962-Jack Smith wins at Hickory, win #4 of the season, and #20 of his career.
05/05/1963-Jim Paschal wins at Randleman, win #4 of the season, and #17 of his career.
05/05/1968-David Pearson wins at Weaverville, win #4 of the season, and #34 of his career.
05/05/1974-David Pearson wins at Talladega, win #2 of the season, and #79 of his career.
05/05/1985-Bill Elliott wins at Talladega, win #4 of the season, and #8 of his career.
05/05/1996-Rusty Wallace wins at Sonoma, win #2 of the season, and #43 of his career.
05/05/1997-Mark Martin wins at Sonoma, win #1 of the season, and #19 of his career.
05/05/2001-Tony Stewart wins at Richmond, win #1 of the season, and #10 of his career.
05/05/2002-Tony Stewart wins at Richmond, win #2 of the season, and #14 of his career.
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Quote of the Day"It was a beautiful day here in New York. It was unbelievable. It was so great I pretended I was an immigrant and took the day off."
--David Letterman
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 PiecesKentucky Speedway wants all tracks' records
In trying to prove that NASCAR and International Speedway Corp. illegally work together to keep Nextel Cup events at ISC tracks, Kentucky Speedway is asking for lots of sensitive financial and business records.
That was to be expected as far as NASCAR and ISC were concerned. But now virtually every track that has a national NASCAR race will be asked to give up its records, too.
Kentucky Speedway has asked a U.S. District Court judge in Kentucky to allow it to serve subpoenas to request information from companies that are not parties in the lawsuit. Those parties include Speedway Motorsports Inc., Dover Motorsports, Indianapolis Motor Speedway, Pocono Raceway, the Milwaukee Mile and New Hampshire International Speedway.
Among the documents Kentucky will ask from SMI, which has 11 Nextel Cup events at its tracks, will be for all documents and depositions from the Ferko v. NASCAR anti-trust case that was settled out of court in 2004. Ferko was an SMI shareholder.
The proposed subpoena - filed as an exhibit to the motion to allow Kentucky to subpoena companies that aren't parties to the case - also asks for SMI to produce sanctioning agreements, ticket sales information, advertising revenue, safety records and documents relating to any attempt to purchase another racetrack.
The subpoenas have not been served, and it is expected that once they are served, the tracks will challenge how much information they will have to provide. Disagreements and arguments over the production of documents are typical in cases such as this.
"Anytime that happens, usually the judge intervenes and says that you can only take those things pertinent to the case," said SMI President H.A. "Humpy" Wheeler, who said he has not seen the subpoena but heard about the issue. "When subpoenas are issued, they always ask for the world. It's not unusual."
Kentucky Speedway alleges that ISC and NASCAR work together to keep non-ISC tracks from obtaining Nextel Cup events and is asking for it to be awarded a Cup date as well as having a standard set for the allocation of Cup dates.
NASCAR is a private company owned by the France family. ISC, which promotes many NASCAR-sanctioned races including 20 of the 38 Cup events, is a public company in which a majority of stock is owned by the France family.
NASCAR and ISC deny Kentucky Speedway's claims. The case won't go to trial until at least summer 2007.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Hamilton hoping to drive by OctoberBobby Hamilton now hopes to be back driving his Craftsman Truck Series entry by late October after starting radiation treatments to treat his head and neck cancer sooner than expected.
Hamilton, the series' 2004 champion, turned his truck over to his son, Bobby Hamilton Jr., after the year's third race of the season at Atlanta to begin chemotherapy and radiation treatments for the cancer. He was initially set to begin radiation treatments on May 30, but he's now on his second week of treatments.
"As far as my return, I said in my press conference in Atlanta that I would love to make my comeback the last race of the season [at Homestead in November]," Hamilton said Wednesday. "That would just mean so much to me, and this is the first time I've said this ... the rehab for this thing is two to three months. Until this past week, I probably could have raced every week - there haven't been that many races, I wouldn't have had to step out of the truck. But for the safety of my competitors, the welfare of my business and my race teams and all the people surrounding me, I just felt like the best guy to do the job would be Bobby Jr. The next best thing for me, when I get done with all these treatments and they say everything is OK, is that I would love to come back at Atlanta where I got out of the truck."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Jeff Gordon takes dig at RustyCONCORD, N.C. -- Jeff Gordon says Rusty Wallace is his friend, but that didn't stop the four-time Nextel Cup champion from getting a dig in on Wallace during a media session Wednesday afternoon at Lowe's Motor Speedway.
Gordon was responding to a quote from Wallace in The Roanoke (Va.) Times.
"I don't think Jeff is as focused right now as he's been in the past," Wallace, an ESPN analyst and 1989 series champ, told the paper. "I think he's got a lot of other things going on that are a lot of fun to him, a lot of vacationing, a lot of cool places that he's been to around the world, and he's really enjoying himself. These race cars take 100 percent of your concentration."
Gordon's response?
"Anytime when the performance is not there, it's easy for people to judge and to criticize," Gordon said. "I am doing the same thing I'm doing now that I have been doing for the last seven or eight years.
"If there is an off-weekend, I take the time to do personal things - I really see it as rejuvenating myself ... to come back strong and more focused. This year, I have been very focused and on top of my game."
And then came the dig.
"Rusty doesn't really know where I go on vacation, what I do," Gordon said. "I laugh because a lot of people could have said [about] him, 'Well, had he stopped being the crew chief and the driver years ago, he may have won more races and championships.'"
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
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Toyota...no plans to expand past three teams in 2007: Toyota has no plans to expand its team lineup beyond the three -- Michael Waltrip Racing #00, #55), Red Bull Racing (#83, #80) and Bill Davis Racing (#22, #23) -- it announced in January. Robby Gordon's [#7] team, whose contract with Chevrolet ends following this season, is not under consideration.(CNNSI)~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Rookie News and Notes: #11-J.J. Yeley was the Raybestos Rookie of the Race in the May 1 Aaron's 499 at Talladega Superspeedway. Yeley finished 11th and took Raybestos Rookie of the Race honors for the second time this season. He was also the top freshman driver in the Auto Club 500 at California Speedway. The Aaron's 499 is the third consecutive race where TWO or more Raybestos Rookie drivers have led a lap.
Clint Bowyer holds a four-point lead (91-87) over Denny Hamlin in the Raybestos Rookie standings entering the May 6 Crown Royal 400 at Richmond (Va.) International Raceway. Bowyer has led the standings in eight of the nine races this season. Since 1975, only one Raybestos Rookie has won the spring race at Richmond: Earharhardt Jr. in 2000. He led the race just once covering the final 31 laps and officially scored his second career win by .159 second over Terry Labonte. Only once since 1975 have TWO or more Raybestos Rookies finished in the top-10 in the Crown Royal 400. In 1979, Joe Millikan finished sixth followed by Terry Labonte, who claimed an eighth place finish.(Raybestos PR)
Clint Bowyer holds a four-point lead (91-87) over Denny Hamlin in the Raybestos Rookie standings entering the May 6 Crown Royal 400 at Richmond (Va.) International Raceway. Bowyer has led the standings in eight of the nine races this season. Since 1975, only one Raybestos Rookie has won the spring race at Richmond: Earharhardt Jr. in 2000. He led the race just once covering the final 31 laps and officially scored his second career win by .159 second over Terry Labonte. Only once since 1975 have TWO or more Raybestos Rookies finished in the top-10 in the Crown Royal 400. In 1979, Joe Millikan finished sixth followed by Terry Labonte, who claimed an eighth place finish.(Raybestos PR)
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NASCAR to name race after fan: NASCAR races have been sponsored by companies that make popcorn, sandwiches and soft drinks, but never before have they been sponsored by fans. That will change next year as one lucky fan will have his or her name on the Nextel Cup Series race at the Richmond International Raceway in Richmond. Sources have told ESPN.com that Diageo, producers of the Crown Royal whiskey brand, will announce Friday that one lucky consumer will win that right by entering the company's sweepstakes. The race will tentatively called the "The Your Name Here 400 presented by Crown Royal" until the Daytona 500, when a grand prize winner will be chosen from a pool of 10 finalists. The fan's name will be recognized by NASCAR and on television as the race's official name. The sweepstakes winner is also expected to present a trophy to the race winner in Victory Lane. The last time anything like this happened was in Boston when FleetCenter owner Delaware North auctioned off single-day naming rights to the venue where the Boston Celtics and Boston Bruins play. The company sold naming rights to the highest bidder 30 different times last winter. As part of the NASCAR promotion, Crown Royal will make a donation for every submission received -- up to $50,000 -- to RADD (Recording Artists, Actors & Athletes Against Drunk Driving). The brand is the primary sponsor of Jamie McMurray's #26 car. This year's Crown Royal 400 will take place Saturday night.(ESPN.com)~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Johnson helps with Soap Box Derby Workshop: #48-Jimmie Johnson introduced an American tradition to boys and girls of the Greater Washington, D.C. area as the Levi Strauss Signature brand hosted a Soap Box Derby car-building workshop in the nation's capital. Youths ages 10 to 17 constructed gravity-powered cars with the help of the Daytona 500 champion and adult volunteers from the Greater Washington Soap Box Derby (GWSBD) chapter. Johnson, the national spokesperson for the All-American Soap Box Derby (AASBD), assisted in the assembly and construction of the cars and offered his racing knowledge to the children who will now have an opportunity to race in the 65th GWSBD championship race on June 17. Local winners across the nation will advance to the 69th AASBD World Championship scheduled to take place on July 22, 2006, with Levi Strauss Signature awarding college scholarships to the winners. For more information on how to become involved with the All-American Soap Box Derby, an official youth initiative of NASCAR, visit aasbd.com.~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Waltrip discusses Jarrett: Michael Waltrip says he and several other teams have talked with Dale Jarrett about his future plans; however Waltrip downplays a report Jarrett was offered a two year, $10-million contract [see below] to join his Toyota team. “I haven’t made him any offer monetarily and I think I’m pretty sure I can tell you no one has offered him that (10-million) but it makes for pretty good print.” Waltrip said he’s more interested in Jarrett’s services than sponsor UPS. “We have our second car pretty much agreed upon with the sponsor and we’ve got a list of drivers that would be approved by the sponsor and he’s on that list. Anybody would hire Dale Jarrett, former cup champion and his sponsor UPS. We just want to hire Dale because we think he can win races and because that being our focus and the reason our drive for hiring him then I think he appreciates that."(PRN's Garage Pass Radio Show)~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Sadler hopes Jarrett stays at RYR: Elliott Sadler hopes Dale Jarrett will stay at Robert Yates Racing however he told Jarrett not to reveal to him too many of his future plans. Sadler joked, “I just told him to keep me out of it. I don’t want to know about it. I want to find out when everybody else does that way I won’t get into trouble." Sadler added, "If he stays that great, I would love to keep him as a teammate and love to keep him at Robert Yates Racing. If he goes I’d hate to lose him as a teammate but still I’m going to keep him as one of my best friends. I want to be there as a friend first, but if he decides to stay I defiantly want to be his teammate again."(PRN's Garage Pass Radio Show)~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Petty to run MyCokeRewards scheme at Coke 600 - IMAGE: Not only will Kyle Petty run a special MyCokeRewards-themed car in the Coca-Cola 600, but some lucky fans will have a chance earn pieces of the #45 Petty Enterprises Dodge, and a piece of Coca-Cola 600 history, as part of the $50 million MyCokeRewards prize package. By collecting MyCokeRewards points, fans of the Coca-Cola 600 will have the chance to obtain hundreds of unique NASCAR-themed prizes, including the hood, deck lid and side panels from Petty's #45 MyCokeRewards Dodge. Other rewards include Petty's helmet, driver's uniform, shoes, and gloves, as well race-worn crew uniforms and other NASCAR-themed collectibles. Go to mycokerewards.com for more info.(Petty Racing PR)~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Mike Wallace to replace Sherman at RichmondPersonnel swapping in high gear early in Busch and Cup seasons
By Dave Rodman, NASCAR.COM
RICHMOND, Va. -- For the second time in the 2006 Nextel Cup Series season, rookie Brent Sherman will have a weekend off as a replacement driver steps into BAM Racing's No. 49 Dodge for Saturday night's Crown Royal 400 (7 p.m. ET, FX).
Veteran Mike Wallace, who is already serving a replacement stint in owner James Finch's No. 1 Busch Series Dodge, will attempt to make his 12th Cup start at the .750-mile banked oval while giving BAM some insight into its program.
"We are making every effort to improve our short-track program," team co-owner Beth Ann Morgenthau said. "Our goals for this weekend are to begin regaining positions in the owner points standings and to assess our equipment.
"Mike came highly recommended due to his experience and success at Richmond. We hope to make great strides this weekend."
Sherman made his Nextel Cup debut as a guaranteed starter in the Daytona 500, but after five races BAM fell beneath the top-35 cutoff mark for owners. Jimmy Spencer replaced Sherman for the Martinsville short-track race, but failed to qualify.
Since then, Sherman has failed to make races at Texas and Talladega. He qualified at Phoenix and finished 32nd, his second-best finish in six starts.
BAM comes to Richmond 41st in owner points.
"I'm excited to work with Mike this weekend," BAM crew chief Ron Otto said. "I hope his experience and insight will help us with our cars and give us a better direction in our short-track program.
"The challenge, of course, is working with a different driver this weekend. However, I think his experience and feedback will help me in my communications with both driver and team."
The team said it anticipates having Sherman back in the car for next week's race at Darlington Raceway.
The driver swap is no less than the seventh in Cup and Busch despite being only a quarter of the way through the schedules.
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Changes for Waltrip's Cup and Busch teams By Dave Rodman, NASCAR.COM
Michael Waltrip's No. 55 Cup Dodge is in the middle of personnel shifts after sitting 35th in driver points but 36th in owner points with the potential of not qualifying for a race.
"This obviously isn't where we had hoped to be coming into the 10th race of 2006," Waltrip said. "In an effort to address the situation, we decided to make some changes."
Crew chief Derrick Finley has returned to an engineering role at Bill Davis Racing. Starting this weekend, the team will be under the group care of Michael Waltrip Racing director of competition Bobby Kennedy, Larry Carter (Rusty Wallace's former crew chief) and Jason Overstreet (Darrell Waltrip's Truck Series crew chief).
"It is extremely important that we use all of the resources we have at both Bill Davis Racing and Michael Waltrip Racing to get our program where it needs to be," Waltrip said. "Bobby, Larry and Jason have been working on getting our Burger King [Busch Series] cars built that we will run with Bill Elliott this year.
"Getting those guys to the track and working with our NAPA car will not only help us now, but it will also allow them to gather at-track data for that effort as well."
Moves are also being made this weekend on Waltrip's Busch team, as veteran Jerry Baxter steps in as crew chief on the No. 99 Dodge, replacing the departed Cully Barraclough.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Drivers and crewmen rotate for RichmondBy Dave Rodman, NASCAR.COM
Busch Series veteran Jason Keller, who has missed the last two races after being released from his ride at Phoenix Racing, will return to the series and attempt to make his 400th career start in owner Frank Cicci's No. 34 Chevrolet.
A.J. Foyt IV, who was the victim of a performance shortfall and a manufacturer change at Braun-Akins Racing, steps into the Busch Series' No. 14 FitzBradshaw Racing Dodge courtesy of that team's engine supplier, Evernham Motorsports. Foyt is a development driver for Evernham.
For the second week in a row, ppc Racing's Todd Gordon will be Kenny Wallace's crew chief on the No. 22 Ford in the Busch Series. Gordon stepped into Randy Cox's role at Talladega.
On the Cup side, Kertus Davis, who has started six of the 10 Busch races in his under-funded family team, steps into Morgan Shepherd's No. 89 Dodge in an attempt to qualify for Saturday night's race. It would be Davis' Cup debut.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Nextel Cup Report Cards--First Quarter
© by Jeremy Dunn
A+
Jimmie Johnson: 2 wins—5 top fives—7 top tens—8 top fifteens—1 pole
Anytime a driver wins three races in a nine-race segment, he deserves and A+. Johnson has yet to display the dominance that Tony Stewart and Matt Kenseth have, but he has more wins than they have combined, so he’s doing something right. Johnson has finished outside of the top eleven in one race so far in 2006.
A
Matt Kenseth: 1 win—5 top fives—6 top tens—8 top fifteens—0 poles
Kenseth is a mere step behind Johnson as far as results are concerned. Kenseth could easily have 3 wins this year, but as fate would have it, he only has one. Still, Kenseth may be the man to beat for the Nextel Cup championship as we advance deeper into the season.
Tony Stewart: 1 win—6 top fives—6 top tens—7 top fifteens- 0 poles
Stewart and the #20 team have yet to decelerate after capturing the 2005 Nextel Cup championship. They continue to be a force to be reckoned with week in and week out. The level of competition up front is more intense now than it was a year ago now that Johnson, Kenseth, and Kasey Kahne seem to be performing at the same level as Stewart.
Kasey Kahne: 2 wins—4 top fives—6 top tens—7 top fifteens—2 poles
What a difference a year makes. After a shoddy 2005 season in which he was cursed with the sophomore jinx, Kahne has bounced back splendidly in 2006. Only Johnson has won more races, and he leads the series in Bud Pole awards with two. Kahne’s weaknesses are more perceptible than those of Kenseth, Stewart, and Johnson, but as of now, Kahne is equally as good.
A-
Mark Martin: 0 wins—1 top five—5 top tens—8 top fifteens- 0 poles
Only once has Martin finished outside of the top fifteen in 2006. That brand of consistency is what locks a driver into the Chase for the Championship. Martin has been a fixture in the top ten ever since the Chase for the Championship format was implemented prior to the 2004 season.
Kevin Harvick: 1 win—3 top fives—4 top tens—6 top fifteens—0 poles
After a rocky start to the 2006 Nextel Cup season, Harvick and the #29 team have picked up the pace. A win at Phoenix solidified the fact that this team will be a factor in the race to the Chase. Harvick has materialized as a weekly threat and if it wasn’t for the sluggish start, Harvick would be grouped with Stewart, Johnson, Kenseth, and Kahne.
B +
Jeff Gordon: 0 wins—3 top fives—4 top tens—6 top fifteens—0 poles
Gordon has improved a great deal since 2005, but he hasn’t reached elite status quite yet. Gordon seems to be a couple of steps behind his teammate Jimmie Johnson, and some would even give the nod to Kyle Busch has far as performance is concerned. Gordon and the #24 team will continue to improve and will likely qualify for the 2006 Chase for the Championship.
Dale Earnhardt Jr: 0 wins—2 top fives—3 top tens— 6 top fifteens—0 poles
Like Gordon, Earnhardt Jr has vastly improved from his appalling 2005 campaign, but the team isn’t quite where they need to be in order to be identified as a serious championship contender.
Kyle Busch: 0 wins—2 top fives—4 top tens –6 top fifteens – 1 pole
The younger of the Busch brothers has endured a hit or miss season thus far. Busch has looked strong on occasions, but he hasn’t made many friends on the track. His tendency to be inconsistent could be his Achilles heel.
Jeff Burton: 0 wins—2 top fives—5 top tens—5 top fifteens- 1 pole
If it were not for some misfortune at Atlanta and Martinsville, Burton could easily be listed somewhere in the A category. At times, Burton has looked just as strong, if not stronger than his teammate Kevin Harvick. Burton will win a race this season, and his experience and poise will catapult him into the Chase for the Championship.
B
Dale Jarrett: 0 wins—0 top fives—2 top tens—4 top fifteens—0 poles
Jarrett was challenging to grade. He is in the top ten in the Nextel Cup standings, but he has been invisible from the top five. Jarrett has made his way into the top ten in the standings because of sheer consistency. He has yet to finish a race outside of the top 20 this season. Hopefully, the silly season rumors won’t affect this team’s performance when it becomes crunch time.
Casey Mears: 0 wins—1 top five—3 top tens—4 top fifteens—0 poles
Mears scored a top ten in the first three races of 2006, but his results have waned since then. Mears and the #42 team really lost their momentum when the Nextel Cup series hit the short tracks of Bristol and Martinsville. Mears must figure out how to be more productive on the tracks that are 1-mile or shorter.
B-
Clint Bowyer, Denny Hamlin, Martin Truex Jr:
The trio of rookies have had an up and down start to the 2006 season. While they have all appeared impressive at times, they haven’t been a threat to win on a consistent basis. However, I think that will change in the near future.
Kurt Busch, Carl Edwards, Brian Vickers, Elliott Sadler, Bobby Labonte:
Kurt Busch has won a race, but other than that, he hasn’t accomplished much, except irritate some of his competitors. Edwards has been consistently inconsistent. Labonte merits a spot in the B category because he could have about 5 or 6 top tens. Neither Sadler nor Vickers has lived up to expectations, but they both hold a spot in the top fifteen in the Nextel Cup standings.
C
Greg Biffle, J.J. Yeley, Scott Riggs, Jamie McMurray, Reed Sorenson, Robby Gordon, Jeff Green
D
Ryan Newman, Jeremy Mayfield, Joe Nemechek, Kyle Petty, Ken Schrader, Dave Blaney, Sterling Marlin, Scott Wimmer, Tony Raines
F
Michael Waltrip, Travis Kvapil, David Stremme, Brent Sherman
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~© by Jeremy Dunn
A+
Jimmie Johnson: 2 wins—5 top fives—7 top tens—8 top fifteens—1 pole
Anytime a driver wins three races in a nine-race segment, he deserves and A+. Johnson has yet to display the dominance that Tony Stewart and Matt Kenseth have, but he has more wins than they have combined, so he’s doing something right. Johnson has finished outside of the top eleven in one race so far in 2006.
A
Matt Kenseth: 1 win—5 top fives—6 top tens—8 top fifteens—0 poles
Kenseth is a mere step behind Johnson as far as results are concerned. Kenseth could easily have 3 wins this year, but as fate would have it, he only has one. Still, Kenseth may be the man to beat for the Nextel Cup championship as we advance deeper into the season.
Tony Stewart: 1 win—6 top fives—6 top tens—7 top fifteens- 0 poles
Stewart and the #20 team have yet to decelerate after capturing the 2005 Nextel Cup championship. They continue to be a force to be reckoned with week in and week out. The level of competition up front is more intense now than it was a year ago now that Johnson, Kenseth, and Kasey Kahne seem to be performing at the same level as Stewart.
Kasey Kahne: 2 wins—4 top fives—6 top tens—7 top fifteens—2 poles
What a difference a year makes. After a shoddy 2005 season in which he was cursed with the sophomore jinx, Kahne has bounced back splendidly in 2006. Only Johnson has won more races, and he leads the series in Bud Pole awards with two. Kahne’s weaknesses are more perceptible than those of Kenseth, Stewart, and Johnson, but as of now, Kahne is equally as good.
A-
Mark Martin: 0 wins—1 top five—5 top tens—8 top fifteens- 0 poles
Only once has Martin finished outside of the top fifteen in 2006. That brand of consistency is what locks a driver into the Chase for the Championship. Martin has been a fixture in the top ten ever since the Chase for the Championship format was implemented prior to the 2004 season.
Kevin Harvick: 1 win—3 top fives—4 top tens—6 top fifteens—0 poles
After a rocky start to the 2006 Nextel Cup season, Harvick and the #29 team have picked up the pace. A win at Phoenix solidified the fact that this team will be a factor in the race to the Chase. Harvick has materialized as a weekly threat and if it wasn’t for the sluggish start, Harvick would be grouped with Stewart, Johnson, Kenseth, and Kahne.
B +
Jeff Gordon: 0 wins—3 top fives—4 top tens—6 top fifteens—0 poles
Gordon has improved a great deal since 2005, but he hasn’t reached elite status quite yet. Gordon seems to be a couple of steps behind his teammate Jimmie Johnson, and some would even give the nod to Kyle Busch has far as performance is concerned. Gordon and the #24 team will continue to improve and will likely qualify for the 2006 Chase for the Championship.
Dale Earnhardt Jr: 0 wins—2 top fives—3 top tens— 6 top fifteens—0 poles
Like Gordon, Earnhardt Jr has vastly improved from his appalling 2005 campaign, but the team isn’t quite where they need to be in order to be identified as a serious championship contender.
Kyle Busch: 0 wins—2 top fives—4 top tens –6 top fifteens – 1 pole
The younger of the Busch brothers has endured a hit or miss season thus far. Busch has looked strong on occasions, but he hasn’t made many friends on the track. His tendency to be inconsistent could be his Achilles heel.
Jeff Burton: 0 wins—2 top fives—5 top tens—5 top fifteens- 1 pole
If it were not for some misfortune at Atlanta and Martinsville, Burton could easily be listed somewhere in the A category. At times, Burton has looked just as strong, if not stronger than his teammate Kevin Harvick. Burton will win a race this season, and his experience and poise will catapult him into the Chase for the Championship.
B
Dale Jarrett: 0 wins—0 top fives—2 top tens—4 top fifteens—0 poles
Jarrett was challenging to grade. He is in the top ten in the Nextel Cup standings, but he has been invisible from the top five. Jarrett has made his way into the top ten in the standings because of sheer consistency. He has yet to finish a race outside of the top 20 this season. Hopefully, the silly season rumors won’t affect this team’s performance when it becomes crunch time.
Casey Mears: 0 wins—1 top five—3 top tens—4 top fifteens—0 poles
Mears scored a top ten in the first three races of 2006, but his results have waned since then. Mears and the #42 team really lost their momentum when the Nextel Cup series hit the short tracks of Bristol and Martinsville. Mears must figure out how to be more productive on the tracks that are 1-mile or shorter.
B-
Clint Bowyer, Denny Hamlin, Martin Truex Jr:
The trio of rookies have had an up and down start to the 2006 season. While they have all appeared impressive at times, they haven’t been a threat to win on a consistent basis. However, I think that will change in the near future.
Kurt Busch, Carl Edwards, Brian Vickers, Elliott Sadler, Bobby Labonte:
Kurt Busch has won a race, but other than that, he hasn’t accomplished much, except irritate some of his competitors. Edwards has been consistently inconsistent. Labonte merits a spot in the B category because he could have about 5 or 6 top tens. Neither Sadler nor Vickers has lived up to expectations, but they both hold a spot in the top fifteen in the Nextel Cup standings.
C
Greg Biffle, J.J. Yeley, Scott Riggs, Jamie McMurray, Reed Sorenson, Robby Gordon, Jeff Green
D
Ryan Newman, Jeremy Mayfield, Joe Nemechek, Kyle Petty, Ken Schrader, Dave Blaney, Sterling Marlin, Scott Wimmer, Tony Raines
F
Michael Waltrip, Travis Kvapil, David Stremme, Brent Sherman
Hamilton is living life to the fullest
By Mike Mulhern
JOURNAL REPORTER
RICHMOND, Va.
Bobby Hamilton, forced out of his Craftsman Truck series ride six weeks ago to begin cancer treatment, was back at the track yesterday.
"I went to St. Louis (last weekend) and felt like a million bucks," Hamilton said. "I sat out at the back of the hauler and signed autographs and shook hands - and did exactly what the doctors told me to beware of.
"The weather was bad, and I'm sure there were people with flu symptoms - and I caught something. I had to go to the emergency room Sunday, my temperature was so high. The doctor wouldn't give me my chemo this week. They told me to lay at home and sweat it out.
"It's the first little setback I've had. I've been doing my radiation, and staying close-knit with everyone at the shop.
"I feel pretty good," Hamilton said. "But I said the other day that if this is what it feels like, I don't think I'll live another 12 minutes. I knew it wasn't the treatments, because we had my blood count done, and my blood count is actually high. The thing about the treatment is it gets your blood count down, it makes you susceptible to infection.
"Come to find out, it was just a bad stomach virus going around. But I have never felt so miserable as I felt Monday."
Hamilton, who has head-and-neck cancer, said, "Cancer is a strange deal. We've learned when it starts up around the head area it travels downward toward the right side of your body. It sort of embedded in the right side of my neck, froze there.
"I have been very fortunate it didn't move anywhere. I've had many biopsies to make sure. I've had lung washes, and I have nothing in my lungs. Still, it doesn't even show in my blood work.
"We were able to surround ourselves with good people and get started early. We don't know if we're ahead of schedule or behind schedule. I wasn't even set up for (initial rounds of) radiation until May 30, and I'm on my second week of radiation. The rehab for this thing is two to three months.
"As far as my return, I would love to make my comeback the last race of the season (at Homestead, Fla., in November). That would just mean so much to me.
Like many other cancer patients, Hamilton says that the disease has changed his perspective of life in general.
"It just makes you think of things different," he said. "I look at human life different. I see people at the hospital, I talk to patients every day.
"I've had the hospital call me and want to give me VIP treatment: 'We'd like to bring you in the back door. We have a CEO room.' I said 'I don't want you to touch me. I want to sit right out there with them. Leave me alone. I'll learn a lot. I just want to sit with the rest of the folks.'
"I have learned to cherish anybody's life. Do some of us live them right? Probably not. Do all of us live them halfway right? Probably so.
"Somebody will call, or stop by and say 'Is there anything we can do? We're praying for you.' And I'll say 'That's all I need. Just keep doing that.... And don't forget to hug your wife or your kids or your grandkids tonight, and tell them you love them. Make sure you do that every night.'
"That's just the difference you learn going through something like this."
Things have also changed for his son Bobby Jr., who is as stoic and introverted as his father is extroverted.
"My way of dealing with it was not talking about it," Bobby Jr. said. "When people asked how my dad was, I said 'He's fine. There's nothing wrong. He's just taking a break.'
"I looked at it like he was just on a beach somewhere hanging out. The fact is he's battling cancer - and he's going beat it.
"But I know there might be a day - I hope to God it never happens - that I might lose him.
"We weren't a family that would pat each other or hug each other before a race," he said. "But now I make sure every time I leave him, I'll tell him I love him...."
By Mike Mulhern
JOURNAL REPORTER
RICHMOND, Va.
Bobby Hamilton, forced out of his Craftsman Truck series ride six weeks ago to begin cancer treatment, was back at the track yesterday.
"I went to St. Louis (last weekend) and felt like a million bucks," Hamilton said. "I sat out at the back of the hauler and signed autographs and shook hands - and did exactly what the doctors told me to beware of.
"The weather was bad, and I'm sure there were people with flu symptoms - and I caught something. I had to go to the emergency room Sunday, my temperature was so high. The doctor wouldn't give me my chemo this week. They told me to lay at home and sweat it out.
"It's the first little setback I've had. I've been doing my radiation, and staying close-knit with everyone at the shop.
"I feel pretty good," Hamilton said. "But I said the other day that if this is what it feels like, I don't think I'll live another 12 minutes. I knew it wasn't the treatments, because we had my blood count done, and my blood count is actually high. The thing about the treatment is it gets your blood count down, it makes you susceptible to infection.
"Come to find out, it was just a bad stomach virus going around. But I have never felt so miserable as I felt Monday."
Hamilton, who has head-and-neck cancer, said, "Cancer is a strange deal. We've learned when it starts up around the head area it travels downward toward the right side of your body. It sort of embedded in the right side of my neck, froze there.
"I have been very fortunate it didn't move anywhere. I've had many biopsies to make sure. I've had lung washes, and I have nothing in my lungs. Still, it doesn't even show in my blood work.
"We were able to surround ourselves with good people and get started early. We don't know if we're ahead of schedule or behind schedule. I wasn't even set up for (initial rounds of) radiation until May 30, and I'm on my second week of radiation. The rehab for this thing is two to three months.
"As far as my return, I would love to make my comeback the last race of the season (at Homestead, Fla., in November). That would just mean so much to me.
Like many other cancer patients, Hamilton says that the disease has changed his perspective of life in general.
"It just makes you think of things different," he said. "I look at human life different. I see people at the hospital, I talk to patients every day.
"I've had the hospital call me and want to give me VIP treatment: 'We'd like to bring you in the back door. We have a CEO room.' I said 'I don't want you to touch me. I want to sit right out there with them. Leave me alone. I'll learn a lot. I just want to sit with the rest of the folks.'
"I have learned to cherish anybody's life. Do some of us live them right? Probably not. Do all of us live them halfway right? Probably so.
"Somebody will call, or stop by and say 'Is there anything we can do? We're praying for you.' And I'll say 'That's all I need. Just keep doing that.... And don't forget to hug your wife or your kids or your grandkids tonight, and tell them you love them. Make sure you do that every night.'
"That's just the difference you learn going through something like this."
Things have also changed for his son Bobby Jr., who is as stoic and introverted as his father is extroverted.
"My way of dealing with it was not talking about it," Bobby Jr. said. "When people asked how my dad was, I said 'He's fine. There's nothing wrong. He's just taking a break.'
"I looked at it like he was just on a beach somewhere hanging out. The fact is he's battling cancer - and he's going beat it.
"But I know there might be a day - I hope to God it never happens - that I might lose him.
"We weren't a family that would pat each other or hug each other before a race," he said. "But now I make sure every time I leave him, I'll tell him I love him...."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
By the Numbers
Richmond International Raceway
"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
Richmond International Raceway
Richmond site of Kahne's first victory; now he wants his fourth
By Josh Pate, NASCAR.COM
After a season-low 39th-place finish Monday at Talladega and concerns of a possible concussion after the Lap 10 crash at the superspeedway, there might just be one remedy to get rid of Kasey Kahne's headache: Richmond.
Kahne, not known for his short-track mastry, has one top-10 at Bristol, one top-five at Martinsville and just one top-five at Richmond -- but that was his first victory.
Last year at this time, Kahne started from the pole, was in first at the halfway point, had the lead with 40 laps to go and after leading a race-high 242 laps, won the race. And if he wasn't leading, he was second ... or third ... or fourth.
But that was it.
What you didn't know
4 -- Lowest running position for Kasey Kahne during last year's race. He clocked the fastest speed in 105 of the race's 400 laps.
Driver Rating: Crown Royal 400
126.2 -- Kurt Busch, No. 2 Penske Racing South Dodge. One year ago, Busch was 17th and led 11 laps at Richmond, but in the fall he led 185 of the 400 laps and went to Victory Lane just before the start of the Chase.
NASCAR's driver rating combines the following categories: wins, finishes, top-15s, average lead-lap running position, average speed under green, fastest lap, led most laps and lead-lap finish. Statistics based on current and past year at track. Maximum rating: 150 points.
Numerology
Saturday night's Crown Royal 400 (7 p.m. ET, FX) will be the 100th Cup race held at Richmond. Only Daytona (118), Martinsville (115) and Darlington (104) have held more races.
The track has seen several reconfigurations since its debut April 19, 1953. Then it was a dirt track, and NASCAR ran on the surface for the first 24 races until March 24, 1968. The fall race that year was on a paved oval, making Richmond the most recent facility that remains on the schedule to transition from dirt to pavement (Martinsville is the only other, 1955).
That's not good for the other 42 drivers Saturday night at Richmond. In 14 starts, Stewart has three victories, five top-fives and nine top-10s. On top of that, he ranks second among full-time drivers with 764 laps led at RIR.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~By Josh Pate, NASCAR.COM
After a season-low 39th-place finish Monday at Talladega and concerns of a possible concussion after the Lap 10 crash at the superspeedway, there might just be one remedy to get rid of Kasey Kahne's headache: Richmond.
Kahne, not known for his short-track mastry, has one top-10 at Bristol, one top-five at Martinsville and just one top-five at Richmond -- but that was his first victory.
Last year at this time, Kahne started from the pole, was in first at the halfway point, had the lead with 40 laps to go and after leading a race-high 242 laps, won the race. And if he wasn't leading, he was second ... or third ... or fourth.
But that was it.
What you didn't know
4 -- Lowest running position for Kasey Kahne during last year's race. He clocked the fastest speed in 105 of the race's 400 laps.
Driver Rating: Crown Royal 400
126.2 -- Kurt Busch, No. 2 Penske Racing South Dodge. One year ago, Busch was 17th and led 11 laps at Richmond, but in the fall he led 185 of the 400 laps and went to Victory Lane just before the start of the Chase.
NASCAR's driver rating combines the following categories: wins, finishes, top-15s, average lead-lap running position, average speed under green, fastest lap, led most laps and lead-lap finish. Statistics based on current and past year at track. Maximum rating: 150 points.
Numerology
Saturday night's Crown Royal 400 (7 p.m. ET, FX) will be the 100th Cup race held at Richmond. Only Daytona (118), Martinsville (115) and Darlington (104) have held more races.
The track has seen several reconfigurations since its debut April 19, 1953. Then it was a dirt track, and NASCAR ran on the surface for the first 24 races until March 24, 1968. The fall race that year was on a paved oval, making Richmond the most recent facility that remains on the schedule to transition from dirt to pavement (Martinsville is the only other, 1955).
- 2 -- Drivers in the top 10 that did not change positions in the point standings following last week's Talladega race: Jeff Gordon (sixth) and Kyle Busch (ninth).
- 3 -- Victories for Dodge in the last five races at Richmond. Ryan Newman won the fall race in 2003, while Jeremy Mayfield (fall 2004) and Kasey Kahne (spring 2005) earned back-to-back wins for the manufacturer.
- 4 -- Full-time drivers who have multiple victories at Richmond: Tony Stewart (three), Dale Jarrett (two), Jeff Gordon (two) and Dale Earnhardt Jr. (two).
- 4 -- Finishing position for Kyle Busch in both Richmond races last year, leaving his average finish the only one inside the top 10 among full-time drivers.
- 6 -- DNFs for Kyle Petty in his series-high 48 starts at Richmond. Petty also has six lead-lap finishes.
- 6.56 -- Average starting position for Richmond winners, with 20 races being won from the pole. The average starting position for the last six spring race winners is 3.83. No winner has started worse than 30th (Richard Petty, 1971).
- 8 -- Drivers with average running positions of 10th or better at Richmond last year: Kevin Harvick (4.868), Tony Stewart (5.054), Kasey Kahne (5.161), Kyle Busch (5.878), Greg Biffle (6.028), Ryan Newman (5.608), Kurt Busch (6.823) and Jeremy Mayfield (8.933).
- 9 -- Winners in the last 10 races who started inside the top 10. Six of the last eight winners started inside the top five.
- 10.1 -- Average finish in 13 races for Dale Earnhardt Jr., the best among full-time drivers with more than two starts.
- 13 -- Victories by Richard Petty at Richmond, the most among all drivers. He won seven consecutive races there from 1970 to 1973, and two more after a runner-up finish in 1974 snapped his streak.
- 20 -- Of the fastest 25 laps at Richmond last season were recorded by Kasey Kahne or Kurt Busch, including the fastest 13.
- 36.31 -- Percent of passes made on the frontstretch at Richmond last year, the most popular place to pass on the short track. Turn 1 was second at 16.30 percent.
- 36.676 -- Average running position for Kyle Petty at Richmond last year, the lowest among former winners at the track. Petty won the 1986 Miller High Life 400.
- 136 -- Passes made by Dale Earnhardt Jr. last year at Richmond. He finished 14th in the spring and 20th in the fall.
- 215 -- Laps led by Kevin Harvick at Richmond, the most among active drivers without a victory there.
- 396 -- Lap in which Kurt Busch recorded the fastest speed (124.964 mph) in last year's spring race. The following lap -- 397 -- Kasey Kahne clocked the second-fastest speed of the race (124.914 mph).
- 685 -- Career starts for Sterling Marlin once he takes the green flag Saturday night, ranking him second among full-time drivers and 11th on the all-time list. Marlin's first Cup Series start came almost 30 years ago, May 8, 1976, at Nashville.
- 874 -- Laps led by Jeff Burton in 23 races at the short track, more than any other full-time driver.
- 1988 -- Year Richmond was reconfigured from a .542-mile oval to a .750-mile short track. Neil Bonnett won the last half-mile race on Feb. 21, 1988, and Davey Allison won the first three-quarter-mile race later that season, on Sept. 11.
That's not good for the other 42 drivers Saturday night at Richmond. In 14 starts, Stewart has three victories, five top-fives and nine top-10s. On top of that, he ranks second among full-time drivers with 764 laps led at RIR.
"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
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Enduring Performance
1986 Miller High Life 400
By Mark Aumann, NASCAR.COM
After getting caught up in a 10-car accident earlier in the 1986 Miller High Life 400 at Richmond Fairgrounds Raceway, fifth-place Kyle Petty was content just to stay on the lead lap and get a good finish.
June 21, 1959: "Tiger Tom" Pistone leads just one lap to beat Glen Wood and Buck Baker and claim the $900 first-place check.
April 7, 1963: Virginia native Joe Weatherly wins for the third and final time at Richmond, leading 63 laps in front of 15,000 on the dirt half-mile.
March 24, 1968: David Pearson beats Charlie Glotzbach by more than a lap to win the final dirt race at Richmond. The track is paved in time for the fall event.
Feb. 23, 1975: Richard Petty's No. 43 Dodge dominates, beating second-place Lennie Pond by six laps for his ninth Richmond victory in a 10-race span.
Feb. 21, 1988: Neil Bonnett edges Ricky Rudd by a second in the final race on the half-mile. The track will become a .75-mile D-shaped oval by the fall.
Imagine his surprise when a full straightaway ahead, leaders Darrell Waltrip and Dale Earnhardt commenced to wrecking with four laps remaining.
When the smoke cleared, literally and figuratively, Petty went from fifth to first, capturing the first Cup victory of his seven-year career and ending a three-year winless drought for the Wood Brothers.
"We'd been in that earlier wreck and the car just didn't handle right all day," Petty said. "It was a fifth- or sixth-place car the way we were running until the leaders wrecked."
While Petty celebrated, Waltrip and Earnhardt pointed fingers and traded barbs over the Lap 397 incident that ended Waltrip's day and collected third-place Joe Ruttman and fourth-place Geoff Bodine.
Glued to Earnhardt's bumper for several laps, Waltrip's No. 11 got beside his rival's No. 3 in the backstretch and attempted to complete the pass heading into Turn 3. However, Earnhardt's left front and Waltrip's right rear touched, sending both Chevrolets hard into the wall.
"Going down the backstretch, I thought I was all the way past him," Waltrip said. "Then in the third turn, it felt like my car had run over a land mine.
"It snapped my neck, blurred my vision and for a moment there, I was somewhere else."
Earnhardt took the blame, but claimed it was "just one of them racing deals."
"At the end, I didn't do anything [Waltrip] wouldn't do," The Intimidator said. "It was racing.
"To be honest, I was trying to dive under him in the third turn and I didn't make it. I barely clipped him in the rear and spun us both. I hated to tear up both cars since we had been racing so hard. I know he was a little upset with me because he hit me as we came around the track afterward."
Ruttman and Bodine, following closely behind, had nowhere to go, spinning into the fray. As Ruttman attempted to get his No. 26 Buick pointed in the right direction, Petty flashed past.
"Even when I got through the wreck, I didn't see Ruttman's car sitting down there in the infield," Petty said. "I thought for a minute that he'd made it through, too, and that I was going to finish second."
Instead, it was Ruttman who was the runner-up, followed by Earnhardt, Bobby Allison and Waltrip, who rammed Earnhardt's car as the field rolled to the checkered flag under caution.
Kyle joined father Richard and grandfather Lee as Richmond winners. The Woods hadn't won since Buddy Baker's 1983 victory in the 400-miler at Daytona.
"When you win a race, you're marked down as a winner," Petty said. "I'm tickled to death. This builds confidence for the future."
Earnhardt had the best line to sum up the day's fortunes: "You win some, lose some and crash some."
Final practice: Nextel Cup Series Crown Royal 400 Friday, May 5 1:30 p.m. Speed
Qualifying: Busch Series Circuit City 250 Friday, May 5 4 p.m. Speed
Qualifying: Nextel Cup Series Crown Royal 400 Friday, May 5 6 p.m. Speed
Busch Series Circuit City 250 Friday, May 5 7:30 p.m. FX
Nextel Cup Series Circuit City 400 Saturday, May 6 7 p.m. FX
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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