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Happy Monday all. Hope the Mother's out there had a wonderful Mother's Day.
Today In Nascar History
05/15/1955-Danny Letner wins at Tucson, win #1 of the season, and #2 of his career.
05/15/1955-Tim Flock wins at Martinsville, win #5 of the season, and #22 of his career.
05/15/1958-Jim Reed wins at Roanoke, win #2 of the season, and #2 of his career.
05/15/1964-Ned Jarrett wins at Hampton, win #4 of the season, and #26 of his career.
05/15/1965-Junior Johnson wins at Winston-Salem, win #6 of the season, and #43 of his career.
05/15/1966-David Pearson wins at Richmond, win #5 of the season, and #18 of his career.
05/15/1970-Bobby Isaac wins at Beltsville, win #1 of the season, and #22 of his career.
05/15/1977-Cale Yarborough wins at Dover, win #6 of the season, and #46 of his career.
05/15/1983-Bobby Allison wins at Dover, win #2 of the season, and #76 of his career.
05/15/1994-Ernie Irvan wins at Sonoma, win #3 of the season, and #12 of his career.
05/15/1999-Dale Jarrett wins at Richmond, win #1 of the season, and #19 of his career.
05/15/2004-Dale Earnhardt, Jr. wins at Richmond, win #3 of the season, and #12 of his career.
As a result of the May 1st " Illegal Alien Boycott " the National Retailers Association reported 4.2% lower sales for that day, with a 67.8% reduction in shoplifting.
Quote of the Day
"They made him an offer he couldn't refuse. That part doesn't surprise me because Toyota's history and background is throwing a lot of money around and here is one of those examples. It is what it is."
--Robert Yates on losing Dale Jarrett to Toyota~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
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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.
from Dave
Momma: not sure how you did it, but my newsletter came a mile long and two inches deep. Had to keep going right to left to read it.
I really enjoy your news and comments, but please go back to the old way of sending it.
dave
from my Mom
For the NASCAR-OBSESSED MOM to do on Mother's Day........go visit the mother of the NASCAR-OBSESSED MOM. lol lol
See you then!!!!!!!!!
from Kenny
Has nascar ever considered running body styles of the 60's or 70's during theseason? Also have they ever considered an "Old Timers" race?
Richert Wins WYPALL® Wipers Crew Chief of the Race Award: Greg Biffle and his crew chief Doug Richert finally shook their spell of bad luck this weekend at Darlington Raceway. Biffle dominated the Dodge Charger 500, leading a race-high 170 laps before claiming his first Nextel Cup victory of the season. Biffle’s wining performance earned Richert the WYPALL® Wipers Crew Chief of the Race award. Although Biffle was up front for the majority of the event, on the second-to-last run, his car’s handling began to fade and relegated him to fourth-place before the final round of pit stops. Richert called Biffle into the pits earlier than the rest of the field for fresh tires, which moved him into the lead once the stops cycled around. The No. 16 National Guard Ford remained on point until the checkered flag. “I actually wanted to bring Greg (Biffle) in a few laps earlier than I did, but I was worried the caution might come out,” said Richert. “The way our luck has been going I thought that would happen for sure. But it all worked out.” A panel of voters; including a member of the local media, Tony Eury Sr. and a WYPALL® Wipers representative; all cast their vote for Richert as the crew chief who did the best job. “Pit strategy is so important at Darlington,” said Eury Sr. “Your tires wear out so fast here, so you want to have your car come in as soon as possible for fresh rubber. You’ve got to be careful not to come in too soon, though, or the caution could come out and trap you, but you can’t stay out too long either. If you do that, your car’s handling will go away and you’ll slide back. Doug (Richert) pitted at just the right time tonight. The fresh tires allowed him to pass the leaders under green and hold them off until the end. It was a great call.” For winning the Crew Chief of the Race award, WYPALL® Wipers presented Richert $1,000. At the end of the season, the Nextel Cup crew chief with the most weekly wins will receive $20,000 and be crowned the WYPALL® Wipers Crew Chief of the Year. This was Richert’s first Crew Chief of the Race award in 2006, which ties him with Darian Grubb, Todd Berrier Chad Knaus and Roy McCauley for second-place in the Crew Chief of the Year standings. Robbie Reiser, Tony Eury Jr. and Kenny Francis are tied for first, each with one win. - SMC 500 Press Release
With flu along for the ride, Earnhardt Jr. hangs on for fifth-place finish
By JIM UTTER
The Charlotte Observer
DARLINGTON, S.C. - Dale Earnhardt Jr. spent the weekend fighting the flu, but still managed a fifth-place finish in Saturday night's Dodge Charger 500, just his second top-five finish at Darlington Raceway.
His best finish, fourth, came in the 2002 season.
At one point during the race, Earnhardt Jr. suggested to his team they might want to consider having a relief driver standing by, but crew chief Tony Eury Jr. said he was confident his driver would make the distance.
"I was going to be able to finish the race. I told them to maybe have someone on stand by just in case, but I wasn't planning on getting out," Earnhardt Jr. said.
"Just screaming over the motor really tore my voice up. I don't know whether they could hear me or not. It's a tough race, man. Whether you're sick or not, you're going to be tired."
Earnhardt Jr. gained a spot in points, to fifth, 226 behind leader Jimmie Johnson.
By DAVID POOLE
The Charlotte Observer
One year ago, the Dodge Charger 500 at Darlington Raceway marked a turning point in Matt Kenseth's season.
"We were so bad," crew chief Robbie Reiser said of the No. 17 Ford in which Kenseth finished 26th, three laps down, in 2005.
After that race, Reiser said he went back to the Roush Racing shop in Concord and decided to stop trying to keep up with all of the latest tricks in setting up Kenseth's car.
He went back to things that had worked for the team in previous years, and tried to get better from there.
Kenseth was 24th in the standings when he left Darlington a year ago, but after a couple of weeks he began a rebound at Dover that carried him back into the Chase for the Nextel Cup.
That success has carried over into 2006, too.
Kenseth's third-place finish in this year's race was his best career finish in 13 Darlington starts, and it kept him third in the current standings.
"When you come to your bad tracks and really run well it feels good," Kenseth said. "We haven't run well in a Cup car here in a long, long time."
It was also a nice rebound from his 38th-place finish at Richmond last week, which happened after a brake rotor fell off and knocked a hole in his oil tank.
"You know you're going to have some bad things happen during the year and some good things," said Kenseth, who now has six top-five finishes in 11 races this year.
"I kind of just chalked it up as one of the bad things and moved on."
By DAVID POOLE
The Charlotte Observer
Ryan Newman still has a ways to go before climbing back into the thick of the Chase for the Championship picture, but his sixth-place finish Saturday night was his second best run of the season and his second straight top-10 finish.
"I think everybody else got a little better and we stayed about the same," Newman said of his No. 12 Dodge.
"We were the highest finishing Dodge, and that's the first time all year."
Newman finished third in the Daytona 500, but Casey Mears finished a spot ahead of him in that race.
"That's our second straight top 10, and that's great, but it doesn't turn anything around," said Newman, who's up to 19th in the points standings after being as low as 26th.
"We've got it going in the right direction. We've got to keep our chins up and marching forward."
By DAVID POOLE
The Charlotte Observer
Mark Martin's eighth-place finish was the ninth time he's finished between sixth and 12th in this year's 11 races.
He's fourth in the points, 199 points behind Jimmie Johnson, but can't decide quite how he feels about that.
"Every race, we run better than we finish," Martin said. "I don't know if that's frustrating or a good thing. We're not finishing as good as we run, so if we can fix that and not lose the other part, we should be pretty stout."
Two of Martin's favorite tracks, Lowe's Motor Speedway and Dover, are next on the Nextel Cup schedule.
"We've been running well at the places I don't run well at and hate," Martin said.
"So I don't know what that means. I hope we'll run well at the places I love, too."
By DAVID POOLE
The Charlotte Observer
Kasey Kahne started first, and the past three times he's done that in a Nextel Cup race he's also won.
But he finished 21st Saturday night, which was his lowest finish in four career starts at Darlington.
"We've had success here in the past and thought we could duplicate that kind of performance," said Kahne, who led 41 of the first 103 laps before fading.
"The car was pretty good the first 100 laps, and then I couldn't get it to turn in and off the corner.
"We stayed in the top 15 and thought we would get things sorted out the last 100 laps. I brushed the wall and that didn't help the handling."
By JIM UTTER
The Charlotte Observer
Jeff Burton's ninth-place finish allowed him to break into the top 10 in points, giving Richard Childress Racing two drivers in that group.
Teammate Kevin Harvick is ninth, one slot ahead of Burton.
"We struggled all night on the long runs," Burton said. "We were real fast for about 30 laps and then we'd get really loose.
"The guys in the pits stepped up and did a great job. Certainly we wanted to be able to run better than that, but we feel good about where we are."
By JIM UTTER
The Charlotte Observer
Rookie Denny Hamlin completed a strong weekend at Darlington, following up his Busch Series victory Friday night with a 10th-place finish Saturday in the Cup race.
It's Hamlin's second consecutive top-10 finish in Cup racing. He was second last weekend at Richmond.
"You really have to have a lot of patience here. You really can't burn your stuff up early," Hamlin said.
"I just seemed like we were giving up more on the long run. It's something we've got to work on. Four different races here and top 10s in all of them, I'm very happy."
By DAVID POOLE
The Chcarlotte Observer
Short takes from aturday night at Darlington ...
Give Jamie McMurray points for honesty. He and teammate Carl Edwards both had belts powering their oil pumps break during the race, leading to engine failure. McMurray stopped his car on what used to be the backstretch pit road, which is no longer used, and was towed away as the race remained green. "If there was any night you wanted something like this to happen, this was the night," McMurray said, "because our car wasn't very good."
Kyle Petty had finished on the lead lap just four times in 48 career Darlington races, so he was trying hard to get back on the lead lap near the end of Saturday night's race. "I ran over the wall there four or five times in the last 20 laps trying to get the 'lucky dog,' but then I realized I wasn't going to get it," Petty said. He finished one lap down in 18th.
By JIM UTTER
The Charlotte Observer
DARLINGTON, S.C. – Jeff Gordon went back to school – old school – to rejuvenate his season and came away from Saturday night's Dodge Charger 500 with a passing grade.
Gordon, relying on some "old school" setups that have proved successful for Hendrick Motorsports in the past at tricky Darlington Raceway, nearly ran down eventual winner Greg Biffle in the closing laps.
"This is huge. We needed a boost, we needed some momentum, we needed points, we needed a lot of things," said Gordon, who matched his season's best performance, a second last month at Martinsville, Va.
"We haven't been able to show it. Darlington, I love this place, but there is nothing that we do here that we do anywhere else, except maybe Martinsville, and we're good there, too.
"It's not a mile-and-a-half. That's why we were strong tonight. We have to figure out that other stuff so we're strong at those places, too."
Gordon's finish – his fifth top-10 finish of the season – moved him up three spots to sixth in the Nextel Cup standings. He is 295 points behind leader Jimmie Johnson, and 69 behind fifth place Dale Earnhardt Jr.
Gordon said he was surprised he was able to run down Biffle in the closing laps of the race, but crew chief Steve Letarte said he could see the finish develop by following lap times.
"He, unfortunately, doesn't have a monitor (in his car), but we really knew watching that monitor all day long that after about 35 laps, that thing just came on," Letarte said.
"He's said in an interview about being 'old school.' We used an old school setup like we always run here and don't worry about all the new tricks. We knew on old tires we'd be good, and that's exactly what happened today."
Gordon entered Saturday's race having finished 15th or worse in three of his past four races and had slipped to ninth in points.
"We always need good runs and as tight as the competition is, we can't give up any week," Letarte said. "I was happy with our car last week at Richmond, but unfortunately we had a mechanical problem.
"To gain back some of the points we lost was really important."
DARLINGTON, S.C. (May 13, 2006) -- No matter what adjustments were made to the Ginn Clubs & Resorts Chevrolet during Saturday night's Nextel Cup race nothing clicked and the end result for Sterling Marlin was a 28th-place finish.
"This wasn't a great day for us," said Marlin. "We struggled from the beginning and could never really get going. We started behind the eight ball and never got around it."
Marlin is referring to the fact that, despite a 27th-place qualifying effort, the No. 14 MB2 Motorsports team was forced to start the event at the rear of the field after the Ginn Clubs & Resorts Chevy had an engine expire during the first lap of Friday's final practice session.
"This is one of those weekends you want to forget," offered Marlin. "We didn't get much practice time Friday and then we struggled tonight. It's time to start thinking ahead to next week."
The next event for the No. 14 team will be the Nextel All-Star Open Saturday night at Lowe's Motor Speedway in Charlotte. The next points race will also be contested at Lowe's -- the Coca-Cola 600, May 28th.
DARLINGTON, S.C. (May 13, 2006) -- Joe Nemechek finished 16th in Saturday night's Nextel Cup race, but the U.S. Army driver felt the result could have been better had his 01 Chevrolet run as strong the entire race as it did at the beginning and end.
Nemechek, who started 36th at Darlington Raceway, steadily made his way through the 43-car field at the beginning of the event and by Lap 60 of 367 he was running in the top 15.
But an extremely loose race car during two runs mid-way through the race, caused Nemechek to lose positions on the 1.366-mile, egg-shaped oval.
"I think the U.S. Army Chevrolet was much better than the 16th place finish we were credited with," said Nemechek. "There were two runs where we were way too loose and weren't able to drive off the corner and that's where we lost so much time."
With fifty laps to go in the 367-lap event, the team made its final pit stop and suddenly Nemechek found himself turning in lap times as good as the leaders.
"We put tires on and tightened up the Army Chevy a little bit and all of a sudden we were as fast as the leaders-- the whole last fifty laps," said Nemechek. "Unfortunately it was too late by then-- we weren't on the lead lap and we couldn't do anything with it."
"We'll take it though," continued Nemechek. "I'm proud of my guys and the job they did in the pits all night. We're trying to get our season back on track and hopefully this is a good step toward turning our year around. We have a mission to complete for our soldiers and we will get it done."
The next event for the Army team will be the Nextel All-Star Open Saturday night (May 20) at Lowe's Motor Speedway in Charlotte. The next points race will also be contested at Lowe's -- the Coca-Cola 600, Sunday, May 28th.
Former Cup Series champ will end 12-year relationship with Yates
By Ryan Smithson, NASCAR.COM
DARLINGTON, S.C. -- When Michael Waltrip went shopping for a driver for his Toyota-backed program in 2007, he looked at the list of those who would be contractually available.
His search stopped when he found that Dale Jarrett was willing to talk.
Jarrett, 49, was officially named as one of Waltrip's drivers for next season when the Toyota Camry makes its debut in the Nextel Cup Series. Waltrip and Jarrett will be teammates on the two-car team of Michael Waltrip Racing.
The move ends Jarrett's 12-year relationship with Robert Yates Racing, where 29 of his 32 career Cup victories came.
"We're obviously not happy Dale is leaving Robert Yates Racing because he's been a champion and a great ambassador for Ford fans," said Dan Davis, director of Ford Racing Technology. "We understand his decision, but we are disappointed."
RYR co-owner Doug Yates said the team is committed to finishing out the season.
"It's sad because we've had a great time together, but we just need to make sure we remember all the good things and finish it off on a good note," Yates said. "... I want to make sure that everybody knows that we are fully committed to Dale Jarrett and UPS and Ford in carrying this thing out to the end of the year."
According to team officials, RYR was willing to match the offer Jarrett received from Toyota.
Jarrett, who is 12th in points heading into Saturday's Dodge Charger 500 at Darlington, denied published reports that suggested he was lured with an eight-figure salary and the promise of Toyota dealership options.
"[There is] a lot of stuff out there that I came here because I was getting paid millions and millions of dollars and Toyota dealerships here and there. It is just funny to see what people think and how things get started," Jarrett said. "I know there is a value for some things that I have being a former champion, so all of those things added up to a lot.
"The reason I am doing this is not about money. This is to help Michael. I told my wife that this was going to be one of the biggest things to happen in NASCAR, for a driver with a new manufacturer to start his own organization."
Waltrip also said it had nothing to do with money.
"I never asked Toyota to subsidize any of that," Waltrip said. "My job is to run my team. I knew if I got [Jarrett], [Toyota] would smile."
Jarrett already has said that 2008 will be his final season behind the wheel, and last week at Richmond confirmed he has had discussions with ESPN about joining the network as a television analyst. ESPN will take a leading role in Cup coverage beginning in 2007. Jarrett has also reportedly expressed interest in team ownership or managment.
A sponsor and a car number were not immediately announced, but Waltrip said that he had funding in place for his programs. Waltrip did not say whether Jarrett's current sponsor, UPS, would go along with him.
"One of those sponsors is not UPS," Waltrip said. "Our team has sponsorship for our cars in '07, '08 and beyond that. This isn't about UPS, this is about Michael Waltrip Racing signing Dale Jarrett to drive our cars. We have a sponsor for Dale's car, but that is as far as that is going right now."
Yates said he hopes UPS will be back, but no matter who is on the No. 88 the team will field two cars next season.
"Whether they're [UPS] here or not, we're committed to the future of Robert Yates Racing and making it strong," he said. "We're going to race two cars next year, and I think there will be a lot of people out there that would like to be on that 88 Ford Fusion."
Waltrip said he has already started the car-building process and will use Bill Elliott to run five Nextel Cup races later this season. Elliott will drive Chevrolets, which will be reskinned over the winter as Toyotas.
The move gives Waltrip a much-needed veteran presence for his new two-car team, which announced its alliance with Toyota in January. The hiring of Jarrett gives Waltrip a near-guarantee that Jarrett will make the Daytona 500 field next February. Since Jarrett's team will have no car owner points, his status as a past champion gives him a guaranteed spot in the field each week.
"Dale will grow this team at a faster rate than we could have done any other way," Waltrip said. "I knew he was a champion and I knew he had all those credentials, but what I put the most value in -- I didn't pay him because he had that provisional, I had paid him because of how smart he is and how much he knows about racecars. That is why I wanted him on my team."
The move opens up a coveted spot with Robert Yates Racing's No. 88 program, which Yates created specifically for Jarrett in 1996. Jarrett went on to win the Daytona 500 that year, a race he won again in 2000.
Jarrett made his Cup debut April 29, 1984, at Martinsville, and his first victory came Aug. 18, 1991, at Michigan.
Jarrett has 32 victories in 613 starts, including a streak of 11 consecutive years with at least one win between 1993 and 2003. His career peaked in the late 1990s, as he won 18 times from 1996 to 1999, including a seven-win season in 1997.
He won the 1999 championship by 201 points over Bobby Labonte. That season Jarrett had four victories, 24 top-five finishes and 29 top-10s in 34 starts to give owner Robert Yates his only Cup title.
His father, Ned Jarrett, was the series' champ in 1961 and '65.
Darlington
The Lady in Black has questions that are too tough to tame
By Mark Spoor, NASCAR.COM
... how long before Luke Perry stars on The Surreal Life?
Wasn't seeing Luke Perry on pit road at Darlington on Saturday night a little bit like seeing that guy who was the star athlete at your high school at a reunion, only you find out that instead of throwing touchdown passes in the NFL, he's selling encylopedias door-to-door?
If this guy isn't tailor-made for a run on The Surreal Life, I don't know who is. I envision a love triangle with him, Donny Most and that model who left The Price is Right in scandal.
Come to think of it, you'll probably see him going, "NASCAR. How bad have you got it?" first.
... will it take Jeff Burton more than four seconds to get a TV job after he retires?
My bet is no. Every time a network puts a microphone in Burton's hand, we NASCAR fans get a little smarter, as happened Saturday night before and during the Busch Series race. You can't say that about everybody that has a microphone hooked to their tie on raceday -- or gameday, for that matter.
How refreshing is it to hear a commentator talk and not be in business for himself the entire time? Burton reminds me of a day when color commentators were hired to be experts, not comedians, singers or caricatures.
Or sponsor shills.
We want more.
... can we please put a moratorium on drivers making appearances at baseball games?
You've heard the phrase "three strikes and you're out"? We'll, Michael Waltrip just took strike three with that ridiculous toss at a Florida Marlins game last week.
I personally loved the excuse that he was throwing the ball to Braves third baseman, Chipper Jones, who was nowhere near the camera shot.
Riiiiiiiiiiight.
Let's look at the on-track statistics of drivers who have made appearances at Major League Baseball games in the past 12 months: Jeff Gordon hasjust one win in the year since his trip to "Wrigley Stadium," Kurt Busch's average finish since his toss in Phoenix is 18th and Waltrip finished 35th on Saturday night.
Get the hint.
... what in the world were Dale Jarrett and Bucky from American Idol talking about before the race Saturday night?
Ya think ol' D. J. is a big Taylor Hicks fan? After all, they have the same hair color. My guess is Bucky was asking Jarrett, "you're gonna make how much next season?"
... could somebody please get Dale Earnhardt Jr. a pair of sunglasses?
Did you see more Junior squinting during his in-truck interview during driver introductions? Poor guy was struggling to focus on the questions because he couldn't open his eyes.
If we can get him some glasses, let's not make them the kind that cover half your face, which seem to be the style these days. Has the sun gotten a whole lot brighter recently? Are your cheeks now in danger of melting off after 20 minutes at the beach and nobody told me?
... is there a pit road in NASCAR that doesn't have "one of the most treacherous pit-road entrances in all of NASCAR?"
This isn't just leveled at the FOX guys, the NBC guys do it, too. Every single week we hear, "The pit road here at [insert track name here] has one of the toughest entrances in the sport."
And if it's not that, it's that the pit stalls are too small.
We get it. Pitting is difficult.
... how did Billy Dean become "The World's Biggest NASCAR fan."
He was introduced as such before he sang the national anthem Saturday night. Did he win some sort of contest? How did he find the time to become the world's biggest NASCAR fan splitting time between being an heir to a sausage throne and the hours and hours he spends in the gym getting biceps that are bigger than my head?
I'll say this: The guy can sing. Two weeks in a row of solid national anthem performances? What's the world coming to?
The opinions expressed are solely of the writer.~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~NASCAR driver's personal track riles neighbors
Motocross course is noisy, stirs dust, foes say; others hold Nemechek should get to do as he pleases with property
KATHRYN THIER
On the race circuit, NASCAR driver Joe Nemechek is used to the rumble of cars roaring by.
But some of his neighbors aren't familiar with racing's din and don't appreciate the noise coming from a private motocross track that driver No. 01 has built near his home outside Mooresville.
About 70 people attended a meeting in March to hash out the issue with him. Nemechek made changes, but some still aren't satisfied, and a few are talking about a lawsuit.
"It's just very aggravating, because I spent a lifetime saving money to buy a nice house in this neighborhood," said resident Julie Turbeville. "I can guarantee you if it was me, Julie Turbeville, who had motorcycles running around in her yard, it would've been stopped a long time ago."
The track, which the racer built for his 8-year-old son and others, is just off Langtree Road, about 15 miles north of Charlotte in Iredell County. It's on about 17 acres where Nemechek is building a house and across the street from the neighborhood where he now lives.
Completely rural just 20 years ago with a few hundred residents, the Langtree Road peninsula on Lake Norman now has more than 1,500 homes, many ranging in value from $300,000 to $1 million.
While rural-suburban conflicts are common as sprawl eats into the countryside, in this case the high-end subdivisions were there before the dirt-bike track.
Neighbors from several subdivisions say that when the weather's nice, the track is often in use. On some weekends, up to 20 riders are on the course and trailers arrive loaded with motorbikes, neighbors say.
The motocross course basically consists of large dirt mounds, or moguls, in an open field next to the road. At sunset, the dust from the track hangs in the air, visible from a quarter-mile away down Langtree Road.
And so as motocross meets suburbia and homeowner is pitted against homeowner, the one thing residents seem to agree on is: People have the right to enjoy their property.
Except, what do you do when one person's hobby is another's headache?
If you're Nemechek, you plant trees, put up fencing and start watering the course to keep the dust down.
But some residents say he's not doing everything he promised, such as building sound-barrier berms, completely screening the course with trees and moving the racing to another part of his property away from their homes.
"They're expecting me to do everything," said Nemechek, who got his start racing motocross at 13 and has since won four Cup races. "If they want some more privacy, they can plant trees, too."
But Turbeville said trees aren't the issue.
"There's no way that that dinky little shrubbery is going to stop (the noise of) any motorcycle," she said of the young foliage Nemechek planted.
The Iredell County noise ordinance prohibits the "creation of any unreasonably loud, disturbing and unnecessary noise" in general. With regard to motorcycles, it prohibits their use if they are "so out of repair, so loaded or operated, or used to create loud, unnecessary and disturbing noises."
Nemechek is in compliance, said Capt. Harold Miller, with the Iredell County Sheriff's Office. The office has double-checked its interpretation of the ordinance with the local district attorney and concluded there is no violation.
Miller said he's a NASCAR and Dale Earnhardt Sr. fan from way back, but flatly dismisses the notion that Nemechek is getting special treatment.
The Sheriff's Office receives complaints about dirt bikes and four-wheelers from across the county, but as long as they're being properly operated on private property, it's a legal use of legal equipment, he said.
And because Nemechek is using the track for personal enjoyment and is not running a business, he's not violating zoning rules.
Margaret Meade, who lives less than a half-mile from the track, said it's a shame some neighbors are fussing about it.
"It just seems like (Nemechek's) bending over backwards to try to make it right and that's just not good enough for some people," she said. And after all, she said, it is his property.
Carl Willeford, whose backyard abuts the track, sees both sides.
On the one hand, he raced motocross in his youth and doesn't begrudge his neighbor and guests enjoying the sport.
On the other, his daughter once came inside coughing up dust, and his family finds it hard to sit outside or garden in peace when the bikes are running.
"I'm all about doing what you want to do and enjoying life, but I think it needs to be considerate of others, as well," he said.
For now, he's willing to give Nemechek more time to tone it down.
Capt. Miller said his office hasn't received any complaints lately about the track. For a while, the letters and e-mails were flying in, both pro and con.
"And quite frankly, they've been about equal," he said.
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
05/15/1955-Danny Letner wins at Tucson, win #1 of the season, and #2 of his career.
05/15/1955-Tim Flock wins at Martinsville, win #5 of the season, and #22 of his career.
05/15/1958-Jim Reed wins at Roanoke, win #2 of the season, and #2 of his career.
05/15/1964-Ned Jarrett wins at Hampton, win #4 of the season, and #26 of his career.
05/15/1965-Junior Johnson wins at Winston-Salem, win #6 of the season, and #43 of his career.
05/15/1966-David Pearson wins at Richmond, win #5 of the season, and #18 of his career.
05/15/1970-Bobby Isaac wins at Beltsville, win #1 of the season, and #22 of his career.
05/15/1977-Cale Yarborough wins at Dover, win #6 of the season, and #46 of his career.
05/15/1983-Bobby Allison wins at Dover, win #2 of the season, and #76 of his career.
05/15/1994-Ernie Irvan wins at Sonoma, win #3 of the season, and #12 of his career.
05/15/1999-Dale Jarrett wins at Richmond, win #1 of the season, and #19 of his career.
05/15/2004-Dale Earnhardt, Jr. wins at Richmond, win #3 of the season, and #12 of his career.
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Monday to Friday, Joke of the day brightens up your working day with a British Slant of clean humour.
To join send a blank e-mail to
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Thought of the Day As a result of the May 1st " Illegal Alien Boycott " the National Retailers Association reported 4.2% lower sales for that day, with a 67.8% reduction in shoplifting.
Quote of the Day
"They made him an offer he couldn't refuse. That part doesn't surprise me because Toyota's history and background is throwing a lot of money around and here is one of those examples. It is what it is."
--Robert Yates on losing Dale Jarrett to Toyota
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Comments from the Peanut Galleryfrom Dave
Momma: not sure how you did it, but my newsletter came a mile long and two inches deep. Had to keep going right to left to read it.
I really enjoy your news and comments, but please go back to the old way of sending it.
dave
from my Mom
For the NASCAR-OBSESSED MOM to do on Mother's Day........go visit the mother of the NASCAR-OBSESSED MOM. lol lol
See you then!!!!!!!!!
from Kenny
Has nascar ever considered running body styles of the 60's or 70's during theseason? Also have they ever considered an "Old Timers" race?
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Bits and PiecesRichert Wins WYPALL® Wipers Crew Chief of the Race Award: Greg Biffle and his crew chief Doug Richert finally shook their spell of bad luck this weekend at Darlington Raceway. Biffle dominated the Dodge Charger 500, leading a race-high 170 laps before claiming his first Nextel Cup victory of the season. Biffle’s wining performance earned Richert the WYPALL® Wipers Crew Chief of the Race award. Although Biffle was up front for the majority of the event, on the second-to-last run, his car’s handling began to fade and relegated him to fourth-place before the final round of pit stops. Richert called Biffle into the pits earlier than the rest of the field for fresh tires, which moved him into the lead once the stops cycled around. The No. 16 National Guard Ford remained on point until the checkered flag. “I actually wanted to bring Greg (Biffle) in a few laps earlier than I did, but I was worried the caution might come out,” said Richert. “The way our luck has been going I thought that would happen for sure. But it all worked out.” A panel of voters; including a member of the local media, Tony Eury Sr. and a WYPALL® Wipers representative; all cast their vote for Richert as the crew chief who did the best job. “Pit strategy is so important at Darlington,” said Eury Sr. “Your tires wear out so fast here, so you want to have your car come in as soon as possible for fresh rubber. You’ve got to be careful not to come in too soon, though, or the caution could come out and trap you, but you can’t stay out too long either. If you do that, your car’s handling will go away and you’ll slide back. Doug (Richert) pitted at just the right time tonight. The fresh tires allowed him to pass the leaders under green and hold them off until the end. It was a great call.” For winning the Crew Chief of the Race award, WYPALL® Wipers presented Richert $1,000. At the end of the season, the Nextel Cup crew chief with the most weekly wins will receive $20,000 and be crowned the WYPALL® Wipers Crew Chief of the Year. This was Richert’s first Crew Chief of the Race award in 2006, which ties him with Darian Grubb, Todd Berrier Chad Knaus and Roy McCauley for second-place in the Crew Chief of the Year standings. Robbie Reiser, Tony Eury Jr. and Kenny Francis are tied for first, each with one win. - SMC 500 Press Release
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Greg Biffle WIX Filters Lap Leader of the Race at Darlington: Greg Biffle led seven times for 170 laps to win the WIX Filters Lap Leader of the Race Award in the Dodge Charger 500 at Darlington. Biffle led the most laps of any driver in the race and took the honor for the fifth time this season. Biffle stretched his lead in the WIX Filters Lap Leader standings to two over Tony Stewart (5-3). Biffle won Saturday night’s race at Darlington, scoring his first victory of the 2006 season by .209 second over Jeff Gordon. Biffle has led at least one lap in nine of the 11 NEXTEL Cup Series races this season and has led the most laps in four races (Darlington, Phoenix, Atlanta and California). Biffle gained six positions in the NEXTEL Cup Series championship standings, moving up to 14th. WIX FILTERS LAP LEADER AWARD WINNERS BY RACE: Daytona 500 - Dale Earnhardt Jr. (32 laps); Auto Club 500 - Greg Biffle (168 laps); UAW-DaimlerChrysler 400 - Matt Kenseth (146 laps); Golden Corral 500 - Greg Biffle (128 laps); Food City 500 - Tony Stewart (245 laps); DIRECTV 500 - Tony Stewart (288 laps); Samsung/RadioShack 500 - Tony Stewart (99 laps); Subway Fresh 500 - Greg Biffle (151 laps); Aaron’s 499 - Jeff Gordon (62 laps); Crown Royal 400 - Greg Biffle (54 laps); Dodge Charger 500 - Greg Biffle (170 laps) - Camp & Associates, Inc. Press Release ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Childress to Receive Honorary Degree: Championship NASCAR team owner Richard Childress will be awarded an honorary degree from the board of trustees of Davidson County Community College (DCCC) during tonight’s commencement ceremony on the school’s campus in Lexington, N.C. Childress’ wife, Judy, will accept the award as he will be busy directing his NASCAR Busch Series teams’ efforts in tonight’s Diamond Hill Plywood 200 at Darlington (S.C.) Raceway. “I’m honored to receive this recognition from Davidson County Community College and I’m sorry I won’t be there to accept it in person,” said Childress, President and CEO of Richard Childress Racing (RCR). “Davidson County Community College provides its students with a great opportunity to continue their education and prepare for better jobs in the future. It’s also an honor to be rewarded at the same time as my friend Bob Timberlake.” Childress and Timberlake, a world renowned artist, are only the fourth and fifth community leaders to receive such recognition from DCCC. “Both Timberlake and Childress have generously given their time, talent and resources to better our community. My fellow trustees and I value their support, dedication, and concern for the people and businesses that make up our educational service area,” said Dr. Barbara Leonard who chairs the DCCC Board of Trustees. - Richard Childress Racing Press Release ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
By JIM UTTER
The Charlotte Observer
DARLINGTON, S.C. - Dale Earnhardt Jr. spent the weekend fighting the flu, but still managed a fifth-place finish in Saturday night's Dodge Charger 500, just his second top-five finish at Darlington Raceway.
His best finish, fourth, came in the 2002 season.
At one point during the race, Earnhardt Jr. suggested to his team they might want to consider having a relief driver standing by, but crew chief Tony Eury Jr. said he was confident his driver would make the distance.
"I was going to be able to finish the race. I told them to maybe have someone on stand by just in case, but I wasn't planning on getting out," Earnhardt Jr. said.
"Just screaming over the motor really tore my voice up. I don't know whether they could hear me or not. It's a tough race, man. Whether you're sick or not, you're going to be tired."
Earnhardt Jr. gained a spot in points, to fifth, 226 behind leader Jimmie Johnson.
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Former NASCAR champion Matt Kenseth posts his best Darlington finishBy DAVID POOLE
The Charlotte Observer
One year ago, the Dodge Charger 500 at Darlington Raceway marked a turning point in Matt Kenseth's season.
"We were so bad," crew chief Robbie Reiser said of the No. 17 Ford in which Kenseth finished 26th, three laps down, in 2005.
After that race, Reiser said he went back to the Roush Racing shop in Concord and decided to stop trying to keep up with all of the latest tricks in setting up Kenseth's car.
He went back to things that had worked for the team in previous years, and tried to get better from there.
Kenseth was 24th in the standings when he left Darlington a year ago, but after a couple of weeks he began a rebound at Dover that carried him back into the Chase for the Nextel Cup.
That success has carried over into 2006, too.
Kenseth's third-place finish in this year's race was his best career finish in 13 Darlington starts, and it kept him third in the current standings.
"When you come to your bad tracks and really run well it feels good," Kenseth said. "We haven't run well in a Cup car here in a long, long time."
It was also a nice rebound from his 38th-place finish at Richmond last week, which happened after a brake rotor fell off and knocked a hole in his oil tank.
"You know you're going to have some bad things happen during the year and some good things," said Kenseth, who now has six top-five finishes in 11 races this year.
"I kind of just chalked it up as one of the bad things and moved on."
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Difficulty on pit road hampers NASCAR points leader Jimmie Johnson
By JIM UTTER
The Charlotte Observer
Jimmie Johnson kept pace with Greg Biffle most of the night, leading five times for 81 laps, while Biffle led seven times for 170.
What may have cost Johnson a shot at chasing Biffle for the win during the final 115-lap green-flag run may have occurred on pit road, not on the track.
While making a green-flag stop on Lap 316, Johnson got boxed in by Ken Schrader and was slowed exiting pit road. Johnson was heading out of his pit stall as Schrader was coming in.
"I think it affected us from finishing third or second or somewhere in there," said Johnson, who finished fourth and still leads the points race.
"We worked very hard trying to get this race car situated in the last practice. We had a good car and came from 25th (his starting spot) to the front. We were a little loose all night long."
By JIM UTTER
The Charlotte Observer
Jimmie Johnson kept pace with Greg Biffle most of the night, leading five times for 81 laps, while Biffle led seven times for 170.
What may have cost Johnson a shot at chasing Biffle for the win during the final 115-lap green-flag run may have occurred on pit road, not on the track.
While making a green-flag stop on Lap 316, Johnson got boxed in by Ken Schrader and was slowed exiting pit road. Johnson was heading out of his pit stall as Schrader was coming in.
"I think it affected us from finishing third or second or somewhere in there," said Johnson, who finished fourth and still leads the points race.
"We worked very hard trying to get this race car situated in the last practice. We had a good car and came from 25th (his starting spot) to the front. We were a little loose all night long."
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Newman gets second straight top 10 NASCAR finish, hopes to keep marchingBy DAVID POOLE
The Charlotte Observer
Ryan Newman still has a ways to go before climbing back into the thick of the Chase for the Championship picture, but his sixth-place finish Saturday night was his second best run of the season and his second straight top-10 finish.
"I think everybody else got a little better and we stayed about the same," Newman said of his No. 12 Dodge.
"We were the highest finishing Dodge, and that's the first time all year."
Newman finished third in the Daytona 500, but Casey Mears finished a spot ahead of him in that race.
"That's our second straight top 10, and that's great, but it doesn't turn anything around," said Newman, who's up to 19th in the points standings after being as low as 26th.
"We've got it going in the right direction. We've got to keep our chins up and marching forward."
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Mark Martin keeps piling up points, has a pair of his favorite tracks coming up on the NASCAR scheduleBy DAVID POOLE
The Charlotte Observer
Mark Martin's eighth-place finish was the ninth time he's finished between sixth and 12th in this year's 11 races.
He's fourth in the points, 199 points behind Jimmie Johnson, but can't decide quite how he feels about that.
"Every race, we run better than we finish," Martin said. "I don't know if that's frustrating or a good thing. We're not finishing as good as we run, so if we can fix that and not lose the other part, we should be pretty stout."
Two of Martin's favorite tracks, Lowe's Motor Speedway and Dover, are next on the Nextel Cup schedule.
"We've been running well at the places I don't run well at and hate," Martin said.
"So I don't know what that means. I hope we'll run well at the places I love, too."
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Kahne's 21st-place showing kind of kills that NASCAR pole-to-victory thing he had goingBy DAVID POOLE
The Charlotte Observer
Kasey Kahne started first, and the past three times he's done that in a Nextel Cup race he's also won.
But he finished 21st Saturday night, which was his lowest finish in four career starts at Darlington.
"We've had success here in the past and thought we could duplicate that kind of performance," said Kahne, who led 41 of the first 103 laps before fading.
"The car was pretty good the first 100 laps, and then I couldn't get it to turn in and off the corner.
"We stayed in the top 15 and thought we would get things sorted out the last 100 laps. I brushed the wall and that didn't help the handling."
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Burton moves into top 10 in NASCAR Nextel Cup standingsBy JIM UTTER
The Charlotte Observer
Jeff Burton's ninth-place finish allowed him to break into the top 10 in points, giving Richard Childress Racing two drivers in that group.
Teammate Kevin Harvick is ninth, one slot ahead of Burton.
"We struggled all night on the long runs," Burton said. "We were real fast for about 30 laps and then we'd get really loose.
"The guys in the pits stepped up and did a great job. Certainly we wanted to be able to run better than that, but we feel good about where we are."
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Hamlin tops the NASCAR rookie class By JIM UTTER
The Charlotte Observer
Rookie Denny Hamlin completed a strong weekend at Darlington, following up his Busch Series victory Friday night with a 10th-place finish Saturday in the Cup race.
It's Hamlin's second consecutive top-10 finish in Cup racing. He was second last weekend at Richmond.
"You really have to have a lot of patience here. You really can't burn your stuff up early," Hamlin said.
"I just seemed like we were giving up more on the long run. It's something we've got to work on. Four different races here and top 10s in all of them, I'm very happy."
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NASCAR's Jamie McMurray should at least score points for his candorBy DAVID POOLE
The Chcarlotte Observer
Short takes from aturday night at Darlington ...
Give Jamie McMurray points for honesty. He and teammate Carl Edwards both had belts powering their oil pumps break during the race, leading to engine failure. McMurray stopped his car on what used to be the backstretch pit road, which is no longer used, and was towed away as the race remained green. "If there was any night you wanted something like this to happen, this was the night," McMurray said, "because our car wasn't very good."
Kyle Petty had finished on the lead lap just four times in 48 career Darlington races, so he was trying hard to get back on the lead lap near the end of Saturday night's race. "I ran over the wall there four or five times in the last 20 laps trying to get the 'lucky dog,' but then I realized I wasn't going to get it," Petty said. He finished one lap down in 18th.
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Jeff Gordon's run moves him up in NASCAR Nextel Cup standingsBy JIM UTTER
The Charlotte Observer
DARLINGTON, S.C. – Jeff Gordon went back to school – old school – to rejuvenate his season and came away from Saturday night's Dodge Charger 500 with a passing grade.
Gordon, relying on some "old school" setups that have proved successful for Hendrick Motorsports in the past at tricky Darlington Raceway, nearly ran down eventual winner Greg Biffle in the closing laps.
"This is huge. We needed a boost, we needed some momentum, we needed points, we needed a lot of things," said Gordon, who matched his season's best performance, a second last month at Martinsville, Va.
"We haven't been able to show it. Darlington, I love this place, but there is nothing that we do here that we do anywhere else, except maybe Martinsville, and we're good there, too.
"It's not a mile-and-a-half. That's why we were strong tonight. We have to figure out that other stuff so we're strong at those places, too."
Gordon's finish – his fifth top-10 finish of the season – moved him up three spots to sixth in the Nextel Cup standings. He is 295 points behind leader Jimmie Johnson, and 69 behind fifth place Dale Earnhardt Jr.
Gordon said he was surprised he was able to run down Biffle in the closing laps of the race, but crew chief Steve Letarte said he could see the finish develop by following lap times.
"He, unfortunately, doesn't have a monitor (in his car), but we really knew watching that monitor all day long that after about 35 laps, that thing just came on," Letarte said.
"He's said in an interview about being 'old school.' We used an old school setup like we always run here and don't worry about all the new tricks. We knew on old tires we'd be good, and that's exactly what happened today."
Gordon entered Saturday's race having finished 15th or worse in three of his past four races and had slipped to ninth in points.
"We always need good runs and as tight as the competition is, we can't give up any week," Letarte said. "I was happy with our car last week at Richmond, but unfortunately we had a mechanical problem.
"To gain back some of the points we lost was really important."
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Marlin finishes 28th at DarlingtonDARLINGTON, S.C. (May 13, 2006) -- No matter what adjustments were made to the Ginn Clubs & Resorts Chevrolet during Saturday night's Nextel Cup race nothing clicked and the end result for Sterling Marlin was a 28th-place finish.
"This wasn't a great day for us," said Marlin. "We struggled from the beginning and could never really get going. We started behind the eight ball and never got around it."
Marlin is referring to the fact that, despite a 27th-place qualifying effort, the No. 14 MB2 Motorsports team was forced to start the event at the rear of the field after the Ginn Clubs & Resorts Chevy had an engine expire during the first lap of Friday's final practice session.
"This is one of those weekends you want to forget," offered Marlin. "We didn't get much practice time Friday and then we struggled tonight. It's time to start thinking ahead to next week."
The next event for the No. 14 team will be the Nextel All-Star Open Saturday night at Lowe's Motor Speedway in Charlotte. The next points race will also be contested at Lowe's -- the Coca-Cola 600, May 28th.
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Midrace troubles drop Nemechek to a 16th-place finishDARLINGTON, S.C. (May 13, 2006) -- Joe Nemechek finished 16th in Saturday night's Nextel Cup race, but the U.S. Army driver felt the result could have been better had his 01 Chevrolet run as strong the entire race as it did at the beginning and end.
Nemechek, who started 36th at Darlington Raceway, steadily made his way through the 43-car field at the beginning of the event and by Lap 60 of 367 he was running in the top 15.
But an extremely loose race car during two runs mid-way through the race, caused Nemechek to lose positions on the 1.366-mile, egg-shaped oval.
"I think the U.S. Army Chevrolet was much better than the 16th place finish we were credited with," said Nemechek. "There were two runs where we were way too loose and weren't able to drive off the corner and that's where we lost so much time."
With fifty laps to go in the 367-lap event, the team made its final pit stop and suddenly Nemechek found himself turning in lap times as good as the leaders.
"We put tires on and tightened up the Army Chevy a little bit and all of a sudden we were as fast as the leaders-- the whole last fifty laps," said Nemechek. "Unfortunately it was too late by then-- we weren't on the lead lap and we couldn't do anything with it."
"We'll take it though," continued Nemechek. "I'm proud of my guys and the job they did in the pits all night. We're trying to get our season back on track and hopefully this is a good step toward turning our year around. We have a mission to complete for our soldiers and we will get it done."
The next event for the Army team will be the Nextel All-Star Open Saturday night (May 20) at Lowe's Motor Speedway in Charlotte. The next points race will also be contested at Lowe's -- the Coca-Cola 600, Sunday, May 28th.
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Larry Mac...owner? hearing Fox broadcaster Larry McReynolds is looking into becoming a NASCAR team owner again, supposedly with John Dangler. Supposedly a Busch Series deal in 2007 that would move up to Nextel Cup in 2008, McReynolds was part owner of the ill-fated BANG Racing team in 2004.~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
New Team plans to debut later this year: H&K Motorsports says they have signed Socko Energy Drink as the primary sponsor of their #58 Dodge and continue thru 2008. The team plans to race later this season and have Truck Series team. H&K Motorsports is based in Denton, TX with a secondary shop in Statesville, NC. No driver has been named, but fomer Cup driver, Trevor Boys [1983-1993] had been mentioned in a Fort Worth Star Telegram article back in March to run at Texas, but the team was not ready for the race. Larry Pryor will be the crew chief. Socko Energy is the flagship product of Bliss Beverage from Scottsdale, AZ.(H&K Motorsports PR)~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Ford furious with Jarrett's defection UPDATE: Ford officials are none too pleased with the apparent loss of Dale Jarrett, who will announce his decision to join Michael Waltrip Racing later this weekend (live on SPEED, Saturday at 12:00pm/et). All but two of Jarrett's 32 career Cup wins have come behind the wheel of a blue-ovaled automobile, as did his 1999 Winston Cup title. In addition, Jarrett's father, Ned, won both of his Cup titles as a Ford factory driver, and Dale Jarrett Ford is one of the largest Ford dealerships in the country, located in Monroe, NC about one hour north of Darlington. Priority number one for the suits in Dearborn? Making sure the rest of their camp stay put, in particular Jarrett's current teammate Elliott Sadler.(FoxSports), actually Ned Jarrett drove a Chevy for most of the 1961 season when he won his first championship.(5-13-2006) UPDATE: Ford officials responded quickly to [Saturday's] announcement that 1999 NASCAR Cup champion Dale Jarrett is leaving the manufacturer for a Toyota team in 2007. Shortly after Jarrett and his future team owner Michael Waltrip held a joint news conference to make the announcement, Dan Davis, director, Ford Racing Technology, issued a statement concerning the loss of Jarrett from Ford and team owner Robert Yates. We're obviously not happy Dale is leaving Robert Yates Racing because he's been a champion and a great ambassador for Ford fans," the statement read. "We understand his decision, but we are disappointed. Toyota is going to have its work cut out for them competing in Nextel Cup, no matter how much they plan on spending. Our plan is to keep winning races and championships."(SceneDaily.com)~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Rusty's son wins Kentucky ARCA race Steve Wallace placed a punctuation mark on a dominating weekend at Kentucky Speedway by racing to victory in the ARCA RE/MAX Series "Harley-Davidson of Cincinnati" 150 tonight. The 18-year-old son of former NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series champion Rusty Wallace led 63 of 103 race laps in the #61 Nu South Lemonade Dodge en route to taking his first victory of the 2006 season and the second of his series career. Wallace led the race four times for a total of 63 laps before winning a green-white-checkered flag finish 0.229 of second ahead of second-place driver Brad Coleman in the #62 Federated Car Care Ford. Matt McCall finished third in the #55 Citifinancial Ford, Justin Allgaier was fourth in the #16 Hoosier Tire Midwest-Trashman-USAF Chevrolet and Ryan Foster placed fifth in the #47 Frank Kimmel Racing Ford. Brewco Racing development driver Coleman led 21 laps and posted his second top-five finish of the season. McCall, a Robert Yates Racing development driver who brought home his second top-five ARCA Series finish of the season through two starts. Four-time Kentucky Speedway winner and seven-time series champion Frank Kimmel made his second early exit through 12 series starts at the track. He closed out the race in 28th place, his personal worst at the track, after his #46 Pork The Other White Meat Ford spun and hit the Turn 3 wall following a battle for track position with Wallace.Eleven-thousand-six-hundred-and-nineteen fans witnessed the event that saw six caution periods that devoured 46 laps. The race was delayed one hour and 40 minutes due to rain.(Kentucky Speedway PR)~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Jarrett joining Waltrip to drive Toyotas in 2007Former Cup Series champ will end 12-year relationship with Yates
By Ryan Smithson, NASCAR.COM
DARLINGTON, S.C. -- When Michael Waltrip went shopping for a driver for his Toyota-backed program in 2007, he looked at the list of those who would be contractually available.
His search stopped when he found that Dale Jarrett was willing to talk.
Jarrett, 49, was officially named as one of Waltrip's drivers for next season when the Toyota Camry makes its debut in the Nextel Cup Series. Waltrip and Jarrett will be teammates on the two-car team of Michael Waltrip Racing.
The move ends Jarrett's 12-year relationship with Robert Yates Racing, where 29 of his 32 career Cup victories came.
"We're obviously not happy Dale is leaving Robert Yates Racing because he's been a champion and a great ambassador for Ford fans," said Dan Davis, director of Ford Racing Technology. "We understand his decision, but we are disappointed."
RYR co-owner Doug Yates said the team is committed to finishing out the season.
"It's sad because we've had a great time together, but we just need to make sure we remember all the good things and finish it off on a good note," Yates said. "... I want to make sure that everybody knows that we are fully committed to Dale Jarrett and UPS and Ford in carrying this thing out to the end of the year."
According to team officials, RYR was willing to match the offer Jarrett received from Toyota.
Jarrett, who is 12th in points heading into Saturday's Dodge Charger 500 at Darlington, denied published reports that suggested he was lured with an eight-figure salary and the promise of Toyota dealership options.
"[There is] a lot of stuff out there that I came here because I was getting paid millions and millions of dollars and Toyota dealerships here and there. It is just funny to see what people think and how things get started," Jarrett said. "I know there is a value for some things that I have being a former champion, so all of those things added up to a lot.
"The reason I am doing this is not about money. This is to help Michael. I told my wife that this was going to be one of the biggest things to happen in NASCAR, for a driver with a new manufacturer to start his own organization."
Waltrip also said it had nothing to do with money.
"I never asked Toyota to subsidize any of that," Waltrip said. "My job is to run my team. I knew if I got [Jarrett], [Toyota] would smile."
Jarrett already has said that 2008 will be his final season behind the wheel, and last week at Richmond confirmed he has had discussions with ESPN about joining the network as a television analyst. ESPN will take a leading role in Cup coverage beginning in 2007. Jarrett has also reportedly expressed interest in team ownership or managment.
A sponsor and a car number were not immediately announced, but Waltrip said that he had funding in place for his programs. Waltrip did not say whether Jarrett's current sponsor, UPS, would go along with him.
"One of those sponsors is not UPS," Waltrip said. "Our team has sponsorship for our cars in '07, '08 and beyond that. This isn't about UPS, this is about Michael Waltrip Racing signing Dale Jarrett to drive our cars. We have a sponsor for Dale's car, but that is as far as that is going right now."
Yates said he hopes UPS will be back, but no matter who is on the No. 88 the team will field two cars next season.
"Whether they're [UPS] here or not, we're committed to the future of Robert Yates Racing and making it strong," he said. "We're going to race two cars next year, and I think there will be a lot of people out there that would like to be on that 88 Ford Fusion."
Waltrip said he has already started the car-building process and will use Bill Elliott to run five Nextel Cup races later this season. Elliott will drive Chevrolets, which will be reskinned over the winter as Toyotas.
The move gives Waltrip a much-needed veteran presence for his new two-car team, which announced its alliance with Toyota in January. The hiring of Jarrett gives Waltrip a near-guarantee that Jarrett will make the Daytona 500 field next February. Since Jarrett's team will have no car owner points, his status as a past champion gives him a guaranteed spot in the field each week.
"Dale will grow this team at a faster rate than we could have done any other way," Waltrip said. "I knew he was a champion and I knew he had all those credentials, but what I put the most value in -- I didn't pay him because he had that provisional, I had paid him because of how smart he is and how much he knows about racecars. That is why I wanted him on my team."
The move opens up a coveted spot with Robert Yates Racing's No. 88 program, which Yates created specifically for Jarrett in 1996. Jarrett went on to win the Daytona 500 that year, a race he won again in 2000.
Jarrett made his Cup debut April 29, 1984, at Martinsville, and his first victory came Aug. 18, 1991, at Michigan.
Jarrett has 32 victories in 613 starts, including a streak of 11 consecutive years with at least one win between 1993 and 2003. His career peaked in the late 1990s, as he won 18 times from 1996 to 1999, including a seven-win season in 1997.
He won the 1999 championship by 201 points over Bobby Labonte. That season Jarrett had four victories, 24 top-five finishes and 29 top-10s in 34 starts to give owner Robert Yates his only Cup title.
His father, Ned Jarrett, was the series' champ in 1961 and '65.
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Biffle breaks through with win at Darlington
Leads most laps for fourth time but bad luck turns good
By Jenna Fryer, The Associated Press
DARLINGTON, S.C. -- Greg Biffle finally snapped the streak of bad luck that has plagued his season, holding off a late charge from Jeff Gordon to win at Darlington Raceway on Saturday night.
It was the first win of the season for Biffle, who had been unable to catch a single break all year. He led the most laps in three other races, only to see his shot at a win evaporate because of a wide-ranging batch of mishaps.
It made for an agonizing start for the driver who had a series-high six victories last season and finished second in the final standings. But Biffle never allowed the bad breaks to frustrate him, focusing instead on solid finishes that would turn around his season.
He did it last week in Richmond, Va., settling in for a fourth-place finish. But when his Ford proved strong enough to win Saturday night, he set out to take his second consecutive Darlington race.
Biffle did it in dominating fashion, leading 170 of the 367 laps, but had to keep a close eye on Gordon in his rearview mirror while navigating through traffic.
"I was praying for help, I was begging, 'Let them give me a lane,'" Biffle said. "A lot of guys just showed respect out there."
Gordon, a six-time Darlington winner who also was looking for his first victory of the season, used the final 25 laps to chip away at Biffle's lead. Gordon cut the margin down to just about a second over the final few laps and had a clear shot at running Biffle down with one to go.
But he never could pull onto Biffle's rear bumper -- partly because he couldn't cleanly pass the lapped car of Ken Schrader -- and Biffle held on to beat Gordon by two car lengths.
"The two leaders are battling and we've got a lane out of him, and you would just expect like the other lapped cars for him to give more room," Gordon said. "I felt like a little bit of extra room there ... it killed all of my momentum and made the car push into the wall and I lost any chance I had."
The win pushed Biffle up a whopping six spots in the standings, to 14th, and only 97 points out of qualifying for the Chase for the Nextel Cup.
"I think he's a very solid bet to make it," said third-place finisher Matt Kenseth, Biffle's teammate at Roush Racing. "He'd have to have a lot of things happen for him not to be a contender."
Points leader Jimmie Johnson finished fourth.
Dale Earnhardt Jr., who was coming off a win last weekend in Richmond, battled flu-like symptoms throughout the race and even asked his crew to find a possible replacement driver in case he had to get out of the car.
But he hung tough and finished fifth.
Ryan Newman was sixth, followed by Kyle Busch, Mark Martin, Jeff Burton and Denny Hamlin.
Defending series champion Tony Stewart had a long night, starting with his spin 150 laps into the race. He looped his Chevrolet through the fourth turn, but avoided hitting anything and was able to continue.
But his car wasn't competitive and he finished 12th.
As always, the egg-shaped oval known as the "Track Too Tough To Tame" proved challenging to even the most veteran of drivers. At least 20 cars brushed the wall, earning an infamous Darlington stripe.
Leads most laps for fourth time but bad luck turns good
By Jenna Fryer, The Associated Press
DARLINGTON, S.C. -- Greg Biffle finally snapped the streak of bad luck that has plagued his season, holding off a late charge from Jeff Gordon to win at Darlington Raceway on Saturday night.
It was the first win of the season for Biffle, who had been unable to catch a single break all year. He led the most laps in three other races, only to see his shot at a win evaporate because of a wide-ranging batch of mishaps.
It made for an agonizing start for the driver who had a series-high six victories last season and finished second in the final standings. But Biffle never allowed the bad breaks to frustrate him, focusing instead on solid finishes that would turn around his season.
He did it last week in Richmond, Va., settling in for a fourth-place finish. But when his Ford proved strong enough to win Saturday night, he set out to take his second consecutive Darlington race.
Biffle did it in dominating fashion, leading 170 of the 367 laps, but had to keep a close eye on Gordon in his rearview mirror while navigating through traffic.
"I was praying for help, I was begging, 'Let them give me a lane,'" Biffle said. "A lot of guys just showed respect out there."
Gordon, a six-time Darlington winner who also was looking for his first victory of the season, used the final 25 laps to chip away at Biffle's lead. Gordon cut the margin down to just about a second over the final few laps and had a clear shot at running Biffle down with one to go.
But he never could pull onto Biffle's rear bumper -- partly because he couldn't cleanly pass the lapped car of Ken Schrader -- and Biffle held on to beat Gordon by two car lengths.
"The two leaders are battling and we've got a lane out of him, and you would just expect like the other lapped cars for him to give more room," Gordon said. "I felt like a little bit of extra room there ... it killed all of my momentum and made the car push into the wall and I lost any chance I had."
The win pushed Biffle up a whopping six spots in the standings, to 14th, and only 97 points out of qualifying for the Chase for the Nextel Cup.
"I think he's a very solid bet to make it," said third-place finisher Matt Kenseth, Biffle's teammate at Roush Racing. "He'd have to have a lot of things happen for him not to be a contender."
Points leader Jimmie Johnson finished fourth.
Dale Earnhardt Jr., who was coming off a win last weekend in Richmond, battled flu-like symptoms throughout the race and even asked his crew to find a possible replacement driver in case he had to get out of the car.
But he hung tough and finished fifth.
Ryan Newman was sixth, followed by Kyle Busch, Mark Martin, Jeff Burton and Denny Hamlin.
Defending series champion Tony Stewart had a long night, starting with his spin 150 laps into the race. He looped his Chevrolet through the fourth turn, but avoided hitting anything and was able to continue.
But his car wasn't competitive and he finished 12th.
As always, the egg-shaped oval known as the "Track Too Tough To Tame" proved challenging to even the most veteran of drivers. At least 20 cars brushed the wall, earning an infamous Darlington stripe.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Illness doesn't slow Junior at Darlington
Fifth-place run builds nicely on last week's win at RIR
By Ryan Smithson, NASCAR.COM
DARLINGTON, S.C. -- Want to know how Dale Earnhardt Jr. was able to make it through the Dodge Charger 500?
Ask a pharmacist.
Earnhardt Jr. battled flu symptoms all weekend, but a healthy dose of Zithromax made him feel better, and he wound up fifth Saturday night at Darlington.
Earnhardt Jr. could barely speak after 500 hard miles, but his car handled well. His Chevrolet spent 275 laps in the top 10 after starting a lackluster 22nd, but he could hardly draw his voice above a whisper after shouting over the engine for four hours.
"I was sick when I got here and I went to the infield care center and they helped me out a little bit, but shouting into the mic tore my voice up a little bit," said Earnhardt Jr., who moved from sixth to fifth in the series standings. "I was going to finish the race no problem. Just [shouting] over the motor tore my voice up. I didn't know if they could hear me or not.
"I told them to maybe have [a driver] on standby just in case, but I wasn't planning on getting out."
Earnhardt Jr. didn't lead any laps -- he was the only top-five finisher to fail to do so -- but he said he wasn't really worried with catching the leaders.
"I don't worry about who is up front, I just watch the guys behind us and whether they are coming or not," said Earnhardt Jr, who was gunning for back-to-back wins for the first time in his Nextel Cup career. "That is sort of my style."
Darlington is always a welcome stop for Earnhardt Jr. -- he was eighth here last year -- but the race's length and constant wheel-handling left him exhausted.
"It was a tough race. It's hard," said Earnhardt Jr. "I am tired [here] whether I am sick or not."
Fifth-place run builds nicely on last week's win at RIR
By Ryan Smithson, NASCAR.COM
DARLINGTON, S.C. -- Want to know how Dale Earnhardt Jr. was able to make it through the Dodge Charger 500?
Ask a pharmacist.
Earnhardt Jr. battled flu symptoms all weekend, but a healthy dose of Zithromax made him feel better, and he wound up fifth Saturday night at Darlington.
Earnhardt Jr. could barely speak after 500 hard miles, but his car handled well. His Chevrolet spent 275 laps in the top 10 after starting a lackluster 22nd, but he could hardly draw his voice above a whisper after shouting over the engine for four hours.
"I was sick when I got here and I went to the infield care center and they helped me out a little bit, but shouting into the mic tore my voice up a little bit," said Earnhardt Jr., who moved from sixth to fifth in the series standings. "I was going to finish the race no problem. Just [shouting] over the motor tore my voice up. I didn't know if they could hear me or not.
"I told them to maybe have [a driver] on standby just in case, but I wasn't planning on getting out."
Earnhardt Jr. didn't lead any laps -- he was the only top-five finisher to fail to do so -- but he said he wasn't really worried with catching the leaders.
"I don't worry about who is up front, I just watch the guys behind us and whether they are coming or not," said Earnhardt Jr, who was gunning for back-to-back wins for the first time in his Nextel Cup career. "That is sort of my style."
Darlington is always a welcome stop for Earnhardt Jr. -- he was eighth here last year -- but the race's length and constant wheel-handling left him exhausted.
"It was a tough race. It's hard," said Earnhardt Jr. "I am tired [here] whether I am sick or not."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Park trying to resurrect once-promising career
Former Cup driver back at site of horrific accident five years ago
By Ryan Smithson, NASCAR.COM
DARLINGTON, S.C. -- It is with great irony that Steve Park's hauler is parked just 100 yards away from the accident that nearly killed him here almost five years ago.
Park was 34 when he was hit in the driver's side door during a caution lap at Darlington Raceway in 2001. The crash caused head injuries that kept him out of the sport until the following spring, and Park's once-promising career never really recovered.
That hasn't stopped him from trying to resurrect that career via one of the hardest roads in NASCAR.
Park is currently running a combined Busch and Craftsman Truck Series schedule with a pair of teams that operate on a budget that pales in comparison to what is found among the sport's elite teams.
"You come to the tracks with 15 Cup guys in it -- and it's not so much drivers, but teams -- they get 15 million in the Cup side and they take that technology to the Busch Series," Park said.
This weekend at Darlington, Park is in the No. 31 Chevrolet of Ted Marsh -- the same team and the same car he was driving when he was hurt here in 2001.
"I don't hold anything against the track or the cars or anything," Park said. "It was just a circumstance that we tried to avoid. It happened under caution. It is behind us now."
Park knows that the car doesn't have much of a chance against the well-funded Busch teams with Nextel Cup affiliations, but that is hardly why he is choosing to buckle himself in. He finds it too tough to merely sit at home and wait for something to happen.
"It is a tough sport that we are involved in," said Park, who turns 39 in August. "It's, 'What have you done for me for me lately?'"
Park won a Craftsman Truck Series event at Fontana last year while driving for Orleans Racing, but he lost his job in the fall when financial woes cut his tenure short. The win gave Park a much-needed boost in visibility, but it didn't lead him back to the Nextel Cup Series, where he last raced in 2003.
"Until you win, you are labeled as the guy who got hurt," Park said. "Winning in the Truck Series out in California kind of lifted all the pressure off me."
Park isn't experiencing much pressure this season in his Busch and Truck jobs. This year, he has been driving Jim Harris' No. 59 truck while moonlighting with Marsh's Busch program, and neither team has the resources to compete with the juggernauts that dominate at those levels.
"[Harris has] a team I can feel can grow into a team that can win week in and week out," Park said. "Their [truck] gives me the opportunity to get back in the Busch Series, too.
"You hate the fact that you are bouncing back and forth between Busch and Trucks, trying to settle into a ride. I am confident in a short amount of that something is going to come up and I can get back to running full time in Trucks or Busch."
While Park has found sporadic work, the same can't be said for Ricky Craven, whose Nextel Cup career can be compared to Park's.
Both men won two Nextel Cup races; devastating head injuries sidelined both for long periods of time; both eventually went to the Craftsman Truck Series, where each won in 2005 for the first time.
Craven lost his ride with Roush Racing last fall and has not yet returned in 2006.
"I think me and Ricky are both picky," Park said. "We are not just jumping at opportunities and getting in stuff that we feel will run in the back. We want to be in stuff that we know can win races."
Former Cup driver back at site of horrific accident five years ago
By Ryan Smithson, NASCAR.COM
DARLINGTON, S.C. -- It is with great irony that Steve Park's hauler is parked just 100 yards away from the accident that nearly killed him here almost five years ago.
Park was 34 when he was hit in the driver's side door during a caution lap at Darlington Raceway in 2001. The crash caused head injuries that kept him out of the sport until the following spring, and Park's once-promising career never really recovered.
That hasn't stopped him from trying to resurrect that career via one of the hardest roads in NASCAR.
Park is currently running a combined Busch and Craftsman Truck Series schedule with a pair of teams that operate on a budget that pales in comparison to what is found among the sport's elite teams.
"You come to the tracks with 15 Cup guys in it -- and it's not so much drivers, but teams -- they get 15 million in the Cup side and they take that technology to the Busch Series," Park said.
This weekend at Darlington, Park is in the No. 31 Chevrolet of Ted Marsh -- the same team and the same car he was driving when he was hurt here in 2001.
"I don't hold anything against the track or the cars or anything," Park said. "It was just a circumstance that we tried to avoid. It happened under caution. It is behind us now."
Park knows that the car doesn't have much of a chance against the well-funded Busch teams with Nextel Cup affiliations, but that is hardly why he is choosing to buckle himself in. He finds it too tough to merely sit at home and wait for something to happen.
"It is a tough sport that we are involved in," said Park, who turns 39 in August. "It's, 'What have you done for me for me lately?'"
Park won a Craftsman Truck Series event at Fontana last year while driving for Orleans Racing, but he lost his job in the fall when financial woes cut his tenure short. The win gave Park a much-needed boost in visibility, but it didn't lead him back to the Nextel Cup Series, where he last raced in 2003.
"Until you win, you are labeled as the guy who got hurt," Park said. "Winning in the Truck Series out in California kind of lifted all the pressure off me."
Park isn't experiencing much pressure this season in his Busch and Truck jobs. This year, he has been driving Jim Harris' No. 59 truck while moonlighting with Marsh's Busch program, and neither team has the resources to compete with the juggernauts that dominate at those levels.
"[Harris has] a team I can feel can grow into a team that can win week in and week out," Park said. "Their [truck] gives me the opportunity to get back in the Busch Series, too.
"You hate the fact that you are bouncing back and forth between Busch and Trucks, trying to settle into a ride. I am confident in a short amount of that something is going to come up and I can get back to running full time in Trucks or Busch."
While Park has found sporadic work, the same can't be said for Ricky Craven, whose Nextel Cup career can be compared to Park's.
Both men won two Nextel Cup races; devastating head injuries sidelined both for long periods of time; both eventually went to the Craftsman Truck Series, where each won in 2005 for the first time.
Craven lost his ride with Roush Racing last fall and has not yet returned in 2006.
"I think me and Ricky are both picky," Park said. "We are not just jumping at opportunities and getting in stuff that we feel will run in the back. We want to be in stuff that we know can win races."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
We Wonder...
Darlington
The Lady in Black has questions that are too tough to tame
By Mark Spoor, NASCAR.COM
... how long before Luke Perry stars on The Surreal Life?
Wasn't seeing Luke Perry on pit road at Darlington on Saturday night a little bit like seeing that guy who was the star athlete at your high school at a reunion, only you find out that instead of throwing touchdown passes in the NFL, he's selling encylopedias door-to-door?
If this guy isn't tailor-made for a run on The Surreal Life, I don't know who is. I envision a love triangle with him, Donny Most and that model who left The Price is Right in scandal.
Come to think of it, you'll probably see him going, "NASCAR. How bad have you got it?" first.
... will it take Jeff Burton more than four seconds to get a TV job after he retires?
My bet is no. Every time a network puts a microphone in Burton's hand, we NASCAR fans get a little smarter, as happened Saturday night before and during the Busch Series race. You can't say that about everybody that has a microphone hooked to their tie on raceday -- or gameday, for that matter.
How refreshing is it to hear a commentator talk and not be in business for himself the entire time? Burton reminds me of a day when color commentators were hired to be experts, not comedians, singers or caricatures.
Or sponsor shills.
We want more.
... can we please put a moratorium on drivers making appearances at baseball games?
You've heard the phrase "three strikes and you're out"? We'll, Michael Waltrip just took strike three with that ridiculous toss at a Florida Marlins game last week.
I personally loved the excuse that he was throwing the ball to Braves third baseman, Chipper Jones, who was nowhere near the camera shot.
Riiiiiiiiiiight.
Let's look at the on-track statistics of drivers who have made appearances at Major League Baseball games in the past 12 months: Jeff Gordon hasjust one win in the year since his trip to "Wrigley Stadium," Kurt Busch's average finish since his toss in Phoenix is 18th and Waltrip finished 35th on Saturday night.
Get the hint.
... what in the world were Dale Jarrett and Bucky from American Idol talking about before the race Saturday night?
Ya think ol' D. J. is a big Taylor Hicks fan? After all, they have the same hair color. My guess is Bucky was asking Jarrett, "you're gonna make how much next season?"
... could somebody please get Dale Earnhardt Jr. a pair of sunglasses?
Did you see more Junior squinting during his in-truck interview during driver introductions? Poor guy was struggling to focus on the questions because he couldn't open his eyes.
If we can get him some glasses, let's not make them the kind that cover half your face, which seem to be the style these days. Has the sun gotten a whole lot brighter recently? Are your cheeks now in danger of melting off after 20 minutes at the beach and nobody told me?
... is there a pit road in NASCAR that doesn't have "one of the most treacherous pit-road entrances in all of NASCAR?"
This isn't just leveled at the FOX guys, the NBC guys do it, too. Every single week we hear, "The pit road here at [insert track name here] has one of the toughest entrances in the sport."
And if it's not that, it's that the pit stalls are too small.
We get it. Pitting is difficult.
... how did Billy Dean become "The World's Biggest NASCAR fan."
He was introduced as such before he sang the national anthem Saturday night. Did he win some sort of contest? How did he find the time to become the world's biggest NASCAR fan splitting time between being an heir to a sausage throne and the hours and hours he spends in the gym getting biceps that are bigger than my head?
I'll say this: The guy can sing. Two weeks in a row of solid national anthem performances? What's the world coming to?
The opinions expressed are solely of the writer.
Motocross course is noisy, stirs dust, foes say; others hold Nemechek should get to do as he pleases with property
KATHRYN THIER
On the race circuit, NASCAR driver Joe Nemechek is used to the rumble of cars roaring by.
But some of his neighbors aren't familiar with racing's din and don't appreciate the noise coming from a private motocross track that driver No. 01 has built near his home outside Mooresville.
About 70 people attended a meeting in March to hash out the issue with him. Nemechek made changes, but some still aren't satisfied, and a few are talking about a lawsuit.
"It's just very aggravating, because I spent a lifetime saving money to buy a nice house in this neighborhood," said resident Julie Turbeville. "I can guarantee you if it was me, Julie Turbeville, who had motorcycles running around in her yard, it would've been stopped a long time ago."
The track, which the racer built for his 8-year-old son and others, is just off Langtree Road, about 15 miles north of Charlotte in Iredell County. It's on about 17 acres where Nemechek is building a house and across the street from the neighborhood where he now lives.
Completely rural just 20 years ago with a few hundred residents, the Langtree Road peninsula on Lake Norman now has more than 1,500 homes, many ranging in value from $300,000 to $1 million.
While rural-suburban conflicts are common as sprawl eats into the countryside, in this case the high-end subdivisions were there before the dirt-bike track.
Neighbors from several subdivisions say that when the weather's nice, the track is often in use. On some weekends, up to 20 riders are on the course and trailers arrive loaded with motorbikes, neighbors say.
The motocross course basically consists of large dirt mounds, or moguls, in an open field next to the road. At sunset, the dust from the track hangs in the air, visible from a quarter-mile away down Langtree Road.
And so as motocross meets suburbia and homeowner is pitted against homeowner, the one thing residents seem to agree on is: People have the right to enjoy their property.
Except, what do you do when one person's hobby is another's headache?
If you're Nemechek, you plant trees, put up fencing and start watering the course to keep the dust down.
But some residents say he's not doing everything he promised, such as building sound-barrier berms, completely screening the course with trees and moving the racing to another part of his property away from their homes.
"They're expecting me to do everything," said Nemechek, who got his start racing motocross at 13 and has since won four Cup races. "If they want some more privacy, they can plant trees, too."
But Turbeville said trees aren't the issue.
"There's no way that that dinky little shrubbery is going to stop (the noise of) any motorcycle," she said of the young foliage Nemechek planted.
The Iredell County noise ordinance prohibits the "creation of any unreasonably loud, disturbing and unnecessary noise" in general. With regard to motorcycles, it prohibits their use if they are "so out of repair, so loaded or operated, or used to create loud, unnecessary and disturbing noises."
Nemechek is in compliance, said Capt. Harold Miller, with the Iredell County Sheriff's Office. The office has double-checked its interpretation of the ordinance with the local district attorney and concluded there is no violation.
Miller said he's a NASCAR and Dale Earnhardt Sr. fan from way back, but flatly dismisses the notion that Nemechek is getting special treatment.
The Sheriff's Office receives complaints about dirt bikes and four-wheelers from across the county, but as long as they're being properly operated on private property, it's a legal use of legal equipment, he said.
And because Nemechek is using the track for personal enjoyment and is not running a business, he's not violating zoning rules.
Margaret Meade, who lives less than a half-mile from the track, said it's a shame some neighbors are fussing about it.
"It just seems like (Nemechek's) bending over backwards to try to make it right and that's just not good enough for some people," she said. And after all, she said, it is his property.
Carl Willeford, whose backyard abuts the track, sees both sides.
On the one hand, he raced motocross in his youth and doesn't begrudge his neighbor and guests enjoying the sport.
On the other, his daughter once came inside coughing up dust, and his family finds it hard to sit outside or garden in peace when the bikes are running.
"I'm all about doing what you want to do and enjoying life, but I think it needs to be considerate of others, as well," he said.
For now, he's willing to give Nemechek more time to tone it down.
Capt. Miller said his office hasn't received any complaints lately about the track. For a while, the letters and e-mails were flying in, both pro and con.
"And quite frankly, they've been about equal," he said.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"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
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
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.
This list is authored by:
Sandra Monacelli
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