Today In Nascar History

6/17/1955-Tim Flock wins at Rochester, win #7 of the season, and #24 of his career.
6/17/1961-Emanuel Zervakis wins at Norwood, win #2 of the season, and #2 of his career.
6/17/1973-Bobby Allison wins at Riverside, win #1 of the season, and #41 of his career.
6/17/1979-Buddy Baker wins at Michigan, win #2 of the season, and #15 of his career.
6/17/1984-Bill Elliott wins at Michigan, win #1 of the season, and #2 of his career.
6/17/1990-Harry Gant wins at Pocono, win #1 of the season, and #11 of his career.
6/17/2001-Ricky Rudd wins at Pocono, win #1 of the season, and #21 of his career.

6/18/1950-Bill Blair wins at Vernon, win #1 of the season, and #1 of his career.
6/18/1955-Junior Johnson wins at Fonda, win #4 of the season, and #4 of his career.
6/18/1959-Lee Petty wins at Columbia, win #6 of the season, and #43 of his career.
6/18/1967-Richard Petty wins at Rockingham, win #11 of the season, and #59 of his career.
6/18/1972-Ray Elder wins at Riverside, win #1 of the season, and #2 of his career.
6/18/1978-Cale Yarborough wins at Michigan, win #4 of the season, and #53 of his career.
6/18/1989-Terry Labonte wins at Pocono, win #1 of the season, and #9 of his career.
6/18/1995-Bobby Labonte wins at Michigan, win #2 of the season, and #2 of his career.

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Quote of the Year

"To be a real, true NASCAR driver, you have to know where the sport came from and you have to respect that history and tradition. The guys that don't respect that history and tradition, I don't think they're going to be around all that long. And those guys who don't know the history and tradition, I think it's upon them to learn about it pretty quick if they want to be a success."
– Richard Petty

Quote of the Day

“Bad luck is being in the wrong place at the wrong time. ”
—Ricky Rudd

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Bits and Pieces

Darlington officials seek new television role for track: Darlington Raceway does not have a second date this season, but that doesn’t mean the track will not be used. Track president Chris Browning said he is working on details of a deal to play host to the speed test for Roush Racing’s “Gong Show,” a driver discovery program that is being turned into reality television show for the Discovery Channel this fall. “It looks very positive,” he said. Geoff Smith, the president of Roush Racing, said Darlington’s unique egg shape would make it “fabulous place” to test a driver’s speed because few if any of the 25 finalists will have experience on the track. “We don’t want to give anybody an edge for experience,” he said, noting Greenville-Pickens Speedway is a candidate for the short track test. Browning said he also is exploring the possibility of building a karting track in the infield of NASCAR’s oldest superspeedway. - The State

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Crocker qualifies seventh behind Krisiloff for ARCA race
BROOKLYN, Mich. (AP) -- Erin Crocker overcame an accident in practice and finished seventh behind pole-winner Kyle Krisiloff in Thursday's qualifying for an ARCA series race at Michigan International Speedway.

Crocker, one of stock car racing's promising young female drivers, crashed during practice when the right front tire on her Dodge blew out. The right front fender was damaged, but Crocker was not injured.

She qualified for Friday's Hantz Group 200 at 184.781 mph, well off Krisiloff's 187.598.

``Qualifying is not the important thing. The race is,'' said Crocker, who won the pole and finished 12th in her first ARCA race last month at Nashville.

Krisiloff, driving a Chevrolet, also had the fastest practice lap at the 2-mile oval. A developmental driver for Hendrick Motorsports, Krisiloff has finished in the top 10 once in five ARCA races this season.

``This year has been a little bit of a struggle,'' he said. ``I just want to get out there and have a good finish. We are finally getting our act together and it should be a good race.''

Krisiloff narrowly won the pole over Ken Weaver, who qualified second at 187.524.

Six-time ARCA series champion Frank Kimmel qualified third at 185.333.

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Alltel Fan Bash near the Michigan Motor Speedway:  Have you ever dreamed of sitting in the driver seat of a NASCAR car, well now you can make that dream a reality! Ryan Newman and his #12 ALLTEL Dodge are giving fans the opportunity to do just that and experience the excitement of NASCAR off the track in Brooklyn, MI across from the Michigan Motor Speedway. This weekend, at the ALLTEL FAN BASH, race fans will have the opportunity to feel what it is like to be a race car driver as they climb into the drivers seat of the #12 ALLTEL Dodge and experience first hand the flurry and excitement of being a pit crew member via an interactive tire changing station. The bash will also include the ALLTEL Freedom Tour, an exciting interactive experience highlighting why ALLTEL is the total telecommunications source for sports fans. The customized semi-trailer features: a racing simulator, Ryan Newman sports memorabilia, LIVE texting and photo activities, and ALLTEL phones where patrons can place a call to anywhere in the US. Location: Juniper Hills Campgrounds – Off Brooklyn Hwy, Directly across from Michigan International Speedway. Event Schedule: Friday (6/17) 1pm – 6pm & 8pm – 10pm (concert: CREEM); Ryan Newman Appearance: 5:45 PM. Saturday (6/18) 11am – 2pm & 6pm – 10pm (concert: Freshwater Collins); Sunday (6/19) 9am – 1pm - Alan Taylor Communciations

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Different look for Burton at MIS: This Week's Race Car at Michigan International Speedway. Jeff Burton will have Beneficial being the primary sponsor on Jeff Burton's #No. 31 Chevrolet for Batman Begins 400 at MIS. The consumer lending company joined Richard Childress Racing's family of sponsors this season as an associate sponsor of the #29 GM Goodwrench and #31 Cingular Wireless teams driven in the NASCAR Cup Series by Kevin Harvick and Jeff Burton, respectively, and is the official consumer lending company of RCR.(RCR).

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Goodyear tire notes: This is the first year Goodyear has brought this specific combination of left- and right-side tires to Michigan . . . both the NASCAR Nextel Cup and Craftsman Truck Series will run the same tire codes this weekend, though the Cup tires will be branded "Goodyear Eagle" and the Truck tires will be branded "Goodyear Wrangler" . . . this is the second of six races in which Nextel Cup teams will run this tire set-up in 2005 . . . Cup teams will run this exact combination at four tracks this season -- twice each at Michigan and California and once each at Chicagoland and Kansas . . . Truck teams will also run this set-up at Kentucky . . . this left-side code (D-6852) will also be run with a different right-side code at Charlotte in 2005 . . . as on all NASCAR ovals greater than one mile in length, teams are required to run inner liners in their tires at Michigan . . . air pressure in those inner liners should be 12-25 psi greater than that of the outer tire.(Goodyear PR).

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By the Numbers: MIS
By Dave Rodman, NASCAR.COM
 

Michigan International Speedway has hosted two NASCAR Cup races a year since it joined the series in 1969.

The fast, wide-open two-mile trioval puts competitors in a position of having to balance good-handling racecars with a perfect strategy based on possible extended green flag runs.

Defending race winner Ryan Newman -- who, surprisingly, has no Bud Poles at Michigan -- and Greg Biffle are in great position to expand the track's statistical legacy.

The following numbers refer to Michigan International Speedway, unless otherwise noted:

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For all my friends and family out there who sometimes thought I was a little "nuts" and had lost it...read this and weep!

Statewide search yields biggest NASCAR fan
By Mark Story
Lexington (Ky.) Herald Leader


On the eve of the biggest NASCAR event our state gets (and, yes, we're still batting Triple-A), I'm here with an announcement.

My one-man, three-month, highly unofficial search for the (Ringo, a drum roll) Biggest NASCAR Fan in Kentucky (end drumming) has yielded results.

Initially our quest to find the one person in all this commonwealth who has it the worst for NASCAR looked toward Louisville.

There, Rebecca Taylor resides in a two-bedroom apartment. She uses one of those rooms as a place of slumber.

The other houses "DJ's room."

Inside, more than 1,100 Dale Jarrett-themed items -- shot glasses, coffee cups, die-cast cars, an autographed jacket, a red Coca-Cola softball jersey bearing the No. 88 that a man literally took off his own back to donate -- fill what Taylor, 41, calls her "mini-museum."

What, you ask, could motivate a gainfully employed, grown woman to turn one room of her domicile into a shrine to a NASCAR driver?

For a good bit of her adult life, Taylor reports she was indifferent to the vroom, vroom, vroom of big-time stock-car racing.

But back in 1994, while caring for a friend, Mona Seabolt, who had had a stroke, she began watching the NASCAR races on TV because they lifted Mona's spirits.

"All she watched was NASCAR," Becky says. "She'd tape things and watch them."

Soon enough Becky was hooked, too. And when she heard Jarrett speak on TV, "I thought, this man sounds like an angel on Earth," she said of the driver who now pilots the No. 88 car. "Why, I thought, he ought to be president."

So, if you happen to find yourself dining in an Applebee's on Dixie Highway in southern Jefferson County and needing the attention of a waitress, just call out "hey, Becky88."

Says Taylor: "That's what they call me. Of the 1,100 items in the mini-museum, I figure I've probably bought, like, 50. The rest are from family or customers who know how much they mean to me."

Becky Taylor has it bad for NASCAR.

But she's not the Biggest NASCAR Fan in all Kentucky.

'Full-blown' fan

Next, our quest took us to Bath County.

Growing up in Owingsville in the 1980s, Kenny Williams was always intrigued by King Richard Petty and other NASCAR legends.

"But there wasn't enough media coverage in this part of the country to really follow it," he says.

So Kenny didn't get "full blown" into the sport until he joined the Army and was stationed in the very heart of NASCAR Country at Ft. Bragg, N.C.

Today, to be any more "full-blown" into NASCAR, Kenny would have to spend weekends rubbing fenders against Tony Stewart and Jeff Gordon.

His wife, Lisa, jokes that Kenny -- who owns a convenience store in his hometown just off I-64 -- decided instantly to buy the home the couple moved into in February when he went to the basement and saw shelves lining one wall.

See, for a man who has spent the past five, six years of his life collecting any and all die-cast cars (in this case, 1/24 scale models that are painted to look exactly like the real thing) that sprang from the Dale Earnhardt driver's tree, it was the perfect display option.

Kenny's collection of miniature stock cars -- mainly the No. 3 of Earnhardt, the No. 8 of Earnhardt's son and the No. 29 of Earnhardt's successor, Kevin Harvick -- exceeds 300.

Yet, the miniature cars are just the start. Unlike many Dale Earnhardt fans, after the legend's death, Kenny transferred his main loyalty not to Dale Jr. but to Harvick.

Because of his store, Kenny, 32, has been able to build connections within the intricate web of NASCAR's commercial sponsors.

As a result, twice he's been able to watch Cup races from Harvick's pits.

In his house, he has two life-size cardboard cutouts of Harvick and an autographed hood off one of the trucks Harvick's team ran in a Craftsman Truck Series event.

When Kenny bought the latter, he had to drive to Harvick's race shop to pick it up. The Nextel Cup driver himself helped load it.

Yet, the most telling item of all about Kenny passion for NASCAR is his tool box.

We're not talking the little red kind your dad putters around with in the garage.

Envision 6-feet-tall, on wheels, the type that you see in the NASCAR pits.

When Snap-On came out with a custom Dale Earnhardt Jr. model, Kenny just had to have it.

Never mind that he-doesn't work with tools.

Kenny figures he paid between $2,500-$3,000 for the prized tool box.

"I had to make payments on it," he says. "And what makes it really dumb, I don't work on cars. It has no use for me. But, at the time, I had to have it."

Kenny Williams has got it bad for NASCAR.

But he's not the Biggest NASCAR Fan in all Kentucky.

Biggest fan

Finally, our quest took us south to Russell County.

Of all games of chance, the ultimate lottery is life itself.

Some people -- think Alex Rodriguez or Jessica Simpson -- are born both with splendid good looks and the drive and talent to gain a life of unimaginable celebrity and abundance.

As random as a roulette wheel, life deals others a more challenging lot.

Jamestown's Allen Conner was born with spina bifida, a congenital defect that leaves parts of the spine exposed. In the course of 15 short years on Earth, he's already had 30 surgeries.

After one operation, he was essentially required to lie on his stomach for eight months.

He is confined to a wheelchair.

"Yet, I've never heard the kid complain," says Russell County Principal Darren Gossage. "He rolls in here every morning with a smile on his face."

Conner also rolls into Russell County High every single day flying the banner of Jeff Gordon.

The driver that so many NASCAR fans love to hate? Allen Conner is his unyielding champion.

Folks say it's a rare day in Russell County if you see Allen wearing anything other than a Jeff Gordon T-shirt.

"Half the school is Junior fans," he says, disgustedly. "They all say Junior is bigger and better than Gordon. I say Gordon is better than Earnhardt -- which he is."

In middle school, Allen used to go on the down low and put No. 24 stickers on the desk of a teacher who backed Dale Jr.

Now, his own wheelchair is decked out in Gordon stickers. Allen also has a Gordon coat, gloves and watch.

Once, a Russell County teacher good naturedly offered Allen $1,000 cold cash if he would drop the Gordon stuff and become a Dale Jr. man.

"I told him I would not do it," Allen reports.

When searching for the biggest fan of anything, I'd like to think you judge not just by the passion one puts in, but also what one gets back.

In a life that one suspects has been too often defined by what he isn't, being Russell County's "Jeff Gordon guy" is a chance for Allen Conner to be known for what he is.

Which is why our search stopped in Russell County.

Allen Conner is the Biggest NASCAR Fan in Kentucky.

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Conversation: Ken Schrader
By Ryan Smithson, NASCAR.COM
 

Somehow, while driving for a single-car team and conceding nothing to age, Ken Schrader keeps finding ways to improve.

He's 28th in the Nextel Cup standings -- hardly heady stuff -- but he's got a good chance at improving for the second straight year. His points standing assures him a spot in the field every week, which is a luxury he wished he had in 2003, when he missed four races.

Schrader, who turned 50 in May, plans on driving in the Nextel Cup Series for at least another year and a half, and BAM Racing is trying to make sure he ends his Cup career in the No. 49 Dodge.

Schrader talked with NASCAR.COM's Ryan Smithson at Pocono Raceway, where he finished 20th.

Ken, how worried were y'all before the season concerning the top-35 rule?
 
Well, I was excited about it. We hovered around there last year, so we knew hovering around it wasn't going to be good. I think it's the best it's ever been to go to a race and try to qualify.

Granted, we have a couple of legit full-time teams that are out of the top 35. But having eight spots open is pretty big.

I guess I never thought of it that way. Now you guys won't have to worry about missing Indianapolis anymore.

First off, you're not out of provisionals. (Last year) you could be 30th in points out of provisionals and not make the race. So yeah, that is a lot better, you're unlimited now as long as you're in the top 35.

How much of a relief was it when you went to Fontana, had a decent run, and that took some pressure off?

We ran the first four races off last year's points. Going to Daytona and knowing you were in, you know, other than wherever we were last year, and wondering whether that position would get a provisional, that is a huge difference.

And I think we lost four spots last week, and now we are 30th, that is still a little ways away [from 35th] and we had a couple of races where we were really close, 34th or whatever, but hopefully we can keep going in the right direction.

Ken, you are 50 years old and had a bad crash last week at Dover. How do you bounce back from that as opposed to 20 years ago?
 
I've hit so much stuff, I couldn't tell. When I woke up Monday, everything that was sore is sore everyday I wake up, so I figured it was no big deal.

Remember your bad crash here [at Pocono] in 2003?

That was a big deal! Ha! Got down in 1, early, early in the race, seven or eight laps.

Eighth lap. Yeah.

Smoked down in there, and the brakes pedal went to the floor. I was like, "Dang! Brake pedal really went to the floor!" I was watching qualifying the day before and guys were running 200 miles per hour right here.

And we got turned around, so it backed in. That made it a lot easier. It wasn't that bad. Got it turned over, got out, and got to beat traffic home.

I know you're good friends with Mark Martin, but it seems to me you've got a funnier story about Rusty Wallace.

Well, I grew up with Rusty. I was a year older than Rusty and we raced right there together at home in the St. Louis area. We did a lot of things together.

Some of them you wouldn't want to mention. We had a lot of fun together and obviously I know Rusty a lot better than I know Mark. But Mark and Rusty raced together a bunch in the ASA deal.

Rusty has always been so wide open and focused the whole time, we went our different ways. He went ASA racing and I went dirt racing. We started out together then we didn't race together for quite a while.

Were you surprised he didn't run a couple more years?
 
Uh, nah. Rusty has got so much other stuff going on. Business-wise and that. I think he was ready to quit.

I think maybe he questions it now, you hear him say he might have pulled the plug up one year too early, but he's got his son coming up and doing some racing, I think he was ready to do some other stuff.

I mean, the Cup schedule, 36 weekends is a lot of weekends.

You said earlier about having a lot of stuff going on and we know you're going to be in a Darrell Waltrip truck temporarily. Are you going to drive for yourself in the Craftsman Truck Series in a couple of years or for another team?

That is definitely the plan. The plan is to grow Schrader Racing into a two-truck team and we don't know exactly what we're doing next year yet; but as far as the truck schedule, if we're going to run the truck full-time with someone else or myself and someone else with it, the D.W. truck at Michigan, that just came out of the blue. I got a phone call the other day. Heck yeah, I will drive that thing. That will be fun.

Ken, when they gave you that wheelchair a couple of weeks ago [for your 50th birthday], I heard you weren't too amused.

No. It's not really a wheelchair. It just got wheels on it. It doesn't roll, that way I don't have to worry about hurting myself.

I haven't got to get it over to my shop now, it's sitting in the lobby over at the BAM shop, the boys really did a nice job on it, it's a neat little piece of work.

I went to the driver's meeting and I came back and there was a bunch of people by the truck. I knew I wouldn't get out of this day -- this 50-year-old deal -- clean, but it was pretty painless.

You were expecting something even worse?

I wasn't expecting anything. In my mind, I had thought that nothing had happened yet, and I didn't know what to expect when I saw all the people gathered around. I knew who was going to be the center though.

Was 50 an 'Oh, no!' Or just a birthday?

Just a birthday. Just a birthday. Kind of neat, boys at the shop -- Brian at the shop, he runs my office, he got me an AARP card, so hey, I can get some savings now. I am trying to get something with it at Goodyear but they won't accept it yet.

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Dull dominance
By Jerry Bonkowski, Yahoo! Sports
 
 
BROOKLYN, Mich. – Without question, competition is the lifeblood of NASCAR – be it from behind the wheel, along pit road, watching from the stands or in front of a TV.

Without it, we might as well be playing tiddlywinks or cross-stitching cardigan sweaters. B-o-r-i-n-g.

Because the sport is so competition-driven, with high speeds, daring and dicing maneuvers between cars, and yes, the invariable crashes, it's no mystery why NASCAR has grown into the second most popular sport in the U.S., with some of the most diehard and devoted fans in all of sports.

Yet NASCAR has a problem that, unless it changes soon, could lead to a nasty negative backlash from those fans – and some teams – in the very near future.

I'm referring to the sheer domination this season by just two teams: Roush Racing and Hendrick Motorsports. Heading into Sunday's Batman Begins 400 at Michigan International Speedway, the Roush and Hendrick organizations have combined to win 12 of the first 14 races.

Those two teams are blowing away the competition, and NASCAR may need to do something about it.

For those keeping score at home: Roush has seven wins (including four by Greg Biffle) and Hendrick has five (including three by Jeff Gordon). Combined, the teams are winning at a nearly 86-percent clip.

Yes, 86 percent! That's almost as high as the house's winning percentage at a casino. Ask any bookie and he'll tell you picking against Roush or Hendrick winning is a sucker's bet.

It's enough to make fans of other teams and drivers – let alone the actual teams and drivers themselves – become increasingly discouraged week after week as yet another Roush or Hendrick driver motors into victory lane.

With 22 races left in the season, and more importantly, just 12 races left to qualify for the Chase for the Nextel Cup, the list of notable drivers not from the Roush or Hendrick camps who have yet to win a race this season reads like a who's who: Tony Stewart, Dale Earnhardt Jr., Bobby Labonte, Dale Jarrett, Elliott Sadler, Ryan Newman, Rusty Wallace, Jamie McMurray and Ricky Rudd.

Usually by this point in the season, a few of those guys would have collected at least one win. Only Richard Childress Racing's Kevin Harvick (Bristol) and Evernham Motorsports' Kasey Kahne (Richmond) have managed to keep Roush or Hendrick out of victory lane on any given weekend.

Don't get me wrong, I'm not knocking the Roush or Hendrick organizations. I give them credit for finding various ways to take the checkered flag, with much of the reason for their success being their ability to master this season's new spoiler/tire combination better than any other organization.

But having a Roush or Hendrick car in victory lane week after week after week is starting to become, well, pick a word: mundane, dull, routine, commonplace, unexciting, humdrum, monotonous, tedious, uninteresting …

Or perhaps the best word truly is "boring."

NASCAR chairman Brian France and president Mike Helton should be very concerned. Because they seemingly have smarter engineers and crew chiefs right now, the Roush and Hendrick camps not only are winning but also are inadvertently doing damage to the sport.

If the Roush/Hendrick dominance continues, fans of other teams and drivers soon may turn their loyalties away, feeling the sport isn't fun anymore. And if other drivers don't think they have a chance to win, the No. 1 element that has made stock car racing so popular – intense competition – will be diminished.

There's no easy solution to the problem. How do you keep a certain organization from winning without sheer and utter discrimination against them? How can you penalize someone for winning too much? Intentionally stacking the deck against a certain team or organization wouldn't be fair.

But there is one possibility. If there ever were a time for NASCAR to contemplate limiting organizations to two or three cars/teams to make things more competitive and give more drivers a chance to win, now is obviously that time.

Does Jack Roush really need five Nextel Cup teams? Can't Rick Hendrick get by with only two or three Cup teams?

More cars per team means more information gained and shared, and more chances to win. Limiting the number of cars per stable could curb a team's strength.

Sure, NASCAR is as much a business as it is a sport. And if business generates opportunity, that typically translates into more cars. But at some point, NASCAR as a sanctioning body has to step in and tell organizations and sponsors that they have to spread the wealth around.

Otherwise, if things continue going the way they are now, don't be surprised if teams that continue to be shut out of victory lane begin closing up shop and, like their fans, start fading away.

Winning is the fun part of racing. As the old saying goes, to the victors go the spoils.

But what fun is it if you can't win because the other guys have a stranglehold on success that they won't give up?

Veteran motorsports writer Jerry Bonkowski is a Yahoo! Sports NASCAR analyst.

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At NASCAR, family-oriented sponsors rise in tobacco ads' wake
BY KORTNEY STRINGER
FREE PRESS BUSINESS WRITER


The smoke has cleared at NASCAR.

Since Nextel Communications replaced cigarette-maker RJ Reynolds Tobacco's Winston brand in 2003 as the title sponsor of its popular stock car races, NASCAR has benefited from a new generation of corporate sponsors and licensees with messages of family and healthy living.

The race has gone from cigarettes to Nicorette. The new list of sponsors and licensees includes GlaxoSmithKline's consumer health care unit, which makes the nicotine chewing gum.

Fans attending this weekend's Batman Begins 400 Cup at Michigan International Speedway in Brooklyn will see ads, promotions and products from companies selling everything from baby bibs to smoking-cessation patches.

One of the most recognizable signs of this new wave of "clean living" sponsorship at the race will be the so-called Winner's Circle exhibit created by GlaxoSmithKline's consumer health care division, which makes smoking-cessation products.

In addition to being able to drive various racetracks using a simulator in the tent, fans will be able to speak with counselors who can help them quit smoking.

So far this year, an average of between 3,500 and 4,500 fans at each race have spoken with counselors in Glaxo's tent, the company said. Additionally, the company's initial sales data indicate double-digit percentage increases of purchases of

Glaxo's products and those of its competitors within a 100-mile radius of the races.

"If you look at what NASCAR is trying to do, it's definitely interested in projecting healthy lifestyles to their fans," said Steve Kapur, a Glaxo senior brand manager. "They're pursuing marketing in a responsible fashion."

Corporate sponsorship of sporting events and licensing of professional sports logos can be an effective way to market a company's products and services to millions of potential customers who may not otherwise be exposed to them.

But in recent years, erratic behavior by National Basketball Association players both on and off the court and steroid scandals plaguing Major League Baseball have made sponsorship and licensing in professional sports more of a gamble for companies.

Additionally, the decision to sponsor can be risky if the title sponsor sells a product or markets an image that's inconsistent with a company's core philosophy. For instance, it could have been a marketing faux pas for Glaxo to sponsor auto racing while a tobacco company held title sponsorship.

"RJR leaving the sport certainly presented some opportunities for other sponsors," said Andrew Giangola, a NASCAR spokesman. "There's been a diversification of sponsors in the sport over the last few years."

For NASCAR sponsors and licensees, the auto races can be a marketing dream. The sport has a fan base of 75 million Americans. Seventeen of the 20 highest-attended sporting events in the United States each year are NASCAR events and the sport is the No. 2 full-season sport in the United States on network television, with ratings trailing only the National Football League. Additionally, licensing sales of NASCAR logo products have jumped from $80 million in 1990 to $2 billion last year.

And nobody embraces corporate sponsorship like auto racing fans. According to a 2004 study by researchers at James Madison University in Virginia, one-third of NASCAR fans can name the sponsors of the top 20 drivers, whose cars and outfits are jammed with corporate logos. And fans are three times more likely to purchase products and services of sponsors compared with companies not sponsoring the sport, according to the Canadian research firm Ipsos Reid.

"Sponsorship is a part of the sport's DNA -- fans understand, appreciate and embrace sponsorship," Giangola said.

Some new sponsors, such as Gulfstream business-jet company, Jackson Hewitt tax-preparation service and Home123 mortgage company, also are driven by the increasing diversity and wealth of NASCAR fans. Black and Hispanic people now make up about one-fifth of NASCAR fans, according to NASCAR. And the typical NASCAR fan is wealthier than the average American.

Some sponsors and licensees see even more opportunities to hawk their products to families, being that women now represent about 40% of NASCAR fans. This year, Crown Crafts began using the NASCAR logo on a line of infant bibs sold in discount and department stores and plans to roll out NASCAR crib bedding this fall.

"We're looking for new moms to market to," said Laurie Berkin, Crown's director of licensing and marketing. "Obviously, you can market products more to children when NASCAR doesn't have a cigarette manufacturer as a title sponsor."

Toy maker Mega Bloks also rejoined the list of corporate licensees after a hiatus, offering two products that use the NASCAR logo. The toys allow adults and children as young as 4 to build a race car with building blocks and are available in mass retailers such as Wal-Mart and Kmart.

"There's growing mass appeal" in auto racing, said Andrew Witkin, Mega Bloks director of marketing. "There is more family appeal to NASCAR."

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that's racin' (phrase): Expresses frustration or emotion. 1. When a small part costing just a few dollars fails and stops a $150,000 race car, that's racin'. 2. When you race a competitor for 500 miles and lose to him by just a few feet, that's racin'. 3. When a hot dog wrapper blows out of the stands, gets caught across the air vent on the front of your car and causes your engine to overheat, that's racin'.

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NEXTEL CUP PRACTICE	4 p.m. Friday	Speed Channel
NEXTEL CUP QUALIFYING	Noon Saturday	FX
BUSCH SERIES MEIJER 300	7:30 p.m. Saturday	FX
NEXTEL CUP BATMAN BEGINS 400	1:30 p.m. Sunday	Fox
All times Eastern. Times and stations subject to change.

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Well, that's all for today.  Until the next time, I remain,

Your Momma
"Don't come here and grumble about going too fast.  Get the hell out of the race car if you've got feathers on your legs or butt.  Put a kerosene rag around your ankles so the ants won't climb up there and eat that candy ass." - Dale Earnhardt – 1998

Happy Thursday all! 



Today In Nascar History

6/16/1951-Frank Mundy wins at Columbia, win #1 of the season, and #1 of his career.
6/16/1962-Johnny Allen wins at Winston-Salem, win #1 of the season, and #1 of his career.
6/16/1968-Donnie Allison wins at Rockingham, win #1 of the season, and #1 of his career.
6/16/1974-Richard Petty wins at Michigan, win #5 of the season, and #159 of his career.
6/16/1985-Bill Elliott wins at Michigan, win #7 of the season, and #11 of his career.
6/16/1991-Darrell Waltrip wins at Pocono, win #2 of the season, and #81 of his career.
6/16/1996-Jeff Gordon wins at Pocono, win #5 of the season, and #14 of his career.
6/16/2002-Matt Kenseth wins at Michigan, win #3 of the season, and #4 of his career.

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Top Ten Things a Crew Chief Should Never Say to the Race Leader with 2 Laps to Go
Mistie Bibbee

10. Hmmm, wonder where this extra spring and screw go?
9. Lugnuts?!? They’re supposed to hold the tires on? Oooops!
8. (To the spotter) Let’s blindfold you and see how well you can spot for the next two laps.
7. Was that smoke I saw coming out of your tailpipe?
6. (To the crew) Ok guys, as soon as he pulls the car into the pits, scrape his name off from above of the driver’s door. We won’t need it there next weekend.
5. Hey, about that fuel mileage we were talking about. My math was a little off—You need to come in and pit next time around. (As the driver slows to pit) Just kidding! HAHA!
4. NASCAR said the check didn’t clear. You’re going to have to slow down and let the car in second place pass you for the lead.
3. Hmmm, I hope NASCAR doesn’t notice that we have the “special engine” in the car.
2. Anyone know who’s leading the race? I fell asleep because it’s been such a snoozer.
1. Hey, your wife is hot. You don’t mind if I ask her out to dinner next week do you?

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Quote of the Year

"To be a real, true NASCAR driver, you have to know where the sport came from and you have to respect that history and tradition. The guys that don't respect that history and tradition, I don't think they're going to be around all that long. And those guys who don't know the history and tradition, I think it's upon them to learn about it pretty quick if they want to be a success."
– Richard Petty

Quote of the Day

"I'm probably not the person to ask, but hopefully there ain't no driver changes -- that's all I'm worried about."
-Dale Earnhardt Jr. was asked, following his 33rd-place finish Sunday at Pocono Raceway, if there would be any additional personnel changes on the No. 8 Budweiser team.

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Comments from the Peanut Gallery

from RD
NASCAR Eyes Buschwhacker Rules

I think this is a good step, in the right direction.
rd
FORD = First On Race Day
Subscribe:AutoRacingAnarchy-subscribe@yahoogroups.com

from Shareen
Momma,

Thank you for the article about Allison Duncan winning the race at Stockton.  I live in Stockton and I missed the race (SHAME ON ME). We have the only NASCAR sanctioned track in this area of California, and it was nice to see that a woman won the race here.
THANKS.  SHAREEN in California.

Thanks....glad I could please you....It makes my day when I get emails like this.

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Bits and Pieces

NASCAR Eyes Buschwhacker Rules
NASCAR officials are considering a plan for 2006 that would either handicap Nextel Cup teams appearing sporadically in Busch Series races or reward the Busch regulars, this week's NASCAR Scene reports. NASCAR Vice President Jim Hunter says the sanctioning body is looking at the possibility of a system that gives more points or money to the Busch-only teams on a weekly basis. NASCAR is trying to find a way to reward the Busch regulars without eliminating the Cup competitors, who are popular with track owners who want to draw as many spectators as possible. "We're going to try to target more of the prize money to the teams that are running all of the Busch races, which should help them," Hunter said. "I think we'll have [some] form of a program like that in place for next year."

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Rudd Set For Michigan Record
NASCAR says Ricky Rudd is scheduled to set the record for the most starts at Michigan International Speedway in Sunday's Batman Begins 400. The driver of Wood Brothers Racing's No. 21 Ford is scheduled to make his 57th start at the track, which would surpass the record he currently shares with the retired Dave Marcis.

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Backup Drivers Lined Up
NASCAR says backup drivers have been lined up for three Nextel Cup regulars planning to take part in Saturday night's Meijer 300 Busch Series race at Kentucky Speedway and Sunday's Batman Begins 400 Nextel Cup race at Michigan International Speedway. Jay Sauter is lined up to practice and qualify the No. 66 Ford of Greg Biffle if necessary. Kerry Earnhardt will do the same for Michael Waltrip in his No. 99 Chevrolet and Hank Parker Jr. will be available to help Carl Edwards in the No. 60 Ford. Nextel Cup regulars Rusty Wallace and Sterling Marlin are also scheduled to take part in both races.

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NASCAR Memorabilia Available on eBay to Benefit NASCAR Day 2005
Fans can have a final opportunity to support the 2005 NASCAR Day designated charities by visiting eBay, The World’s Online Marketplace, beginning this Friday night, June 20.

Listings of NASCAR and driver memorabilia that will be available for online bidding for the next seven days on eBay include:

Six autographed NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series Championship banners. These banners were displayed at the inaugural NASCAR NEXTEL Cup awards banquet last December at the Waldorf=Astoria in New York City and each measure 107 inches tall.

Two autographed Victory Lap driver uniforms. The uniform was created to commemorate Winston’s sponsorship of the NASCAR Cup series from 1971-2003. Each was worn during the final race of the NASCAR Winston Cup Series.

One special Olhausen Pro Player’s Pool Table, designed with custom laminates and chrome accents that make this sleek and championship caliber table true to the racing world. It would be a great addition to any NASCAR enthusiast’s game room.

An assortment of NASCAR and driver autographed memorabilia, including hats, die-casts and apparel. NASCAR Day 2005 was observed this past May 20.

Money raised through the sale of NASCAR Day lapel pins will be donated to the three NASCAR Day designated charities – Victory Junction Gang Camp, Speediatrics and Speedway Children’s Charities. Approximately 60,000 NASCAR Day lapel pins were sold on NASCAR.com and more than 2,500 companies nationwide participated in the NASCAR Day employee program this year.

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Legendary Bakersfield bullring to close in October
Mesa Marin Raceway in Bakersfield, Calif., part of NASCAR's short-track racing program since 1977, will close at the end of the 2005 season.

General manager Larry Collins, son of track founder Marion Collins, said the final race on the half-mile, high-banked paved oval will be Oct. 15.

Cajon Speedway in El Cajon was closed prior to the start of the 2005 season and the closure of Mesa Marin will leave only Bakersfield Speedway, a third-mile Clay oval, operating in the area.

NASCAR's Craftsman Truck Series was developed at Mesa Marin when a prototype was built by off-road racers Jimmy Smith, Dick Landfield, Jim Venable and Frank Vessels in 1994.

Saturday night races will continue at Mesa Marin until the closing.

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Mark Martin Honored At Daytona International Speedway - Daytona Beach Resident Preps For Final NEXTEL Cup Series Start At DIS:  Hundreds of Mark Martin fans showed up at Daytona International Speedway on Wednesday to help celebrate "Mark Martin Day." Martin, longtime Daytona Beach area resident who is scheduled to make his final NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series start at Daytona International Speedway in the 47th annual Pepsi 400 on Saturday, July 2, was honored with "Mark Martin Day" in the NEXTEL FANZONE, located in the heart of "The World Center of Racing." Both Daytona Beach Mayor Yvonne Scarlett-Golden and Volusia County Chairman Frank Bruno delivered proclamations declaring June 15 "Mark Martin Day." The ceremony was emceed by 1975 Daytona 500 champion and NBC Sports analyst Benny Parsons. Martin, competing in his final full season in the NEXTEL Cup Series, was thankful for the honor and participated in a brief question and answer session with fans.

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NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Drivers to Compete in Blue Lizard Australian Suncream 200: There will certainly be a NASCAR NEXTEL Cup flavor on Saturday, June 25, when the Blue Lizard Australian Suncream 200 takes the green flag at Infineon Raceway. Five NEXTEL Cup drivers are slated to compete in the NASCAR AutoZone Elite Division, Southwest Series event, highlighted by Michael Waltrip, a two-time winner of the Daytona 500 (2001, 2003). Other NASCAR NEXTEL Cup drivers scheduled to compete include Kyle Busch, Travis Kvapil, Boris Said and Hermie Sadler. This will mark the first Southwest Series event for four of the five drivers at Infineon Raceway — Said has competed a number of times, including a 25th –place effort in last year’s Snap-on Tools 200. “We’re looking forward to getting some track time in the Southwest Series,” Kvapil said. “This will be my first race in Sonoma so I’ll need to get as many laps in as I can.” Busch will drive for the same team that saw David Gilliland take the checkered flag at Infineon Raceway in 2004 (MRG Motorsports). Kyle’s brother, Kurt Busch, won the Southwest Series race in the Sonoma Valley in 1999. NASCAR NEXTEL Cup regular Kevin Harvick also won the event in 2003. Jim Pettit II tops the standings after five events in the Southwest Series this season with one victory and five top-10 finishes. West Sacramento’s Burney Lamar is just 12 points back (794-782) in second place. Practice and qualifying for the Blue Lizard Australian Suncream 200 takes place on Friday, June 24, with the green flag set to drop on the 64-lap feature on Saturday at 1 p.m. (Pacific). For ticket information, call 800-870-RACE or visit infineonraceway.com or ticketmaster.com. - Infineon Raceway PR

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Skinner Challenges The NASCAR Elite Off the Track - Walgreens to Sponsor the 11th Year of Race Week Celebrity Golf:  It's pretty normal for NASCAR driver Mike Skinner to challenging his fellow competitors on the race track every weekend, but this time the challenge is on a different course – the golf course! Race Week Celebrity Golf will host its 11th annual charity tournament on June 29th at LPGA in Daytona Beach, Florida. This will mark Skinner’s third year hosting the event. In 2004 the tournament raised $118,000 for a local teenage boy with cancer and gave additional proceeds to Arnold Palmer Children’s Hospital. This year the dollars raised will again benefit the Arnold Palmer Children’s Hospital, as they are building a new wing for their women’s and prenatal facility, and for The Victory Junction Gang Camp. Skinner was excited to give the money last year to a local friend suffering from a form of bone cancer and, he is equally excited to donate this year’s proceeds to The Victory Junction Gang Camp after his wife Angela visited the facility in May, “Angela came home after attending the camp’s first year birthday party and was ecstatic about raising money and volunteering for the camp in the future. She could not believe the depth and heart that Patty Petty put into the children’s camp geared toward children with life threatening illnesses. After I saw the excitement in her eyes, I knew we were raising money for the right cause.”

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From Race Track To Dentists’ Offices - John Andretti Featured In Reader’s Digest:  The world’s largest circulated magazine features NASCAR driver John Andretti in its July, 2005, edition. Reader’s Digest used Andretti, driver of the #14 VB/APlus At Sunoco Ford, to explain car care and avoidance of passenger car problems in its latest issue. The segment ran with a photo of Andretti. “It’s kind of neat, especially with a magazine I first saw when I was a kid because my grandmother subscribed to it,” Andretti laughed. “My first thought was, ‘I’ll be in dentists’ offices all over the country.’” Reader’s Digest has an international circulation of 19 million, and is estimated to be read by 85 million people each month. - The Williams Co., Of America, Inc.

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Ganassi Announcement Sunday at MIS:  Chip Ganassi and Felix Sabates [owner's of tht #39, #40, #41, #42 teams in Cup] will be on hand for a special announcement on Sunday, June 19th at Michigan International Speedway regarding new sponsor activities and plans for the 2006 NASCAR NEXTEL Cup season.(Chip Ganassi Racing with Felix Sabates).....#40 with Stremme???

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Skinner in the #23 at Michigan: Mike Skinner will again pilot the #23 History Channel AUTOMANIAC Dodge in this weekend’s NASCAR Nextel Cup Batman Begins 400 at Michigan International Speedway. Skinner most recently raced the #23 AUTOMANIAC car in the Coca-Cola 600 at Lowe’s Motor Speedway in May. He was scheduled to drive the same car at Dover International Speedway just a couple of weeks ago, but rain forced NASCAR to cancel the Friday afternoon qualifying session, putting the brakes on the #23 Bill Davis Racing team’s plans to race that weekend. Since Skinner and the #23 BDR team do not run a full-time schedule in the Nextel Cup Series, they did not have enough owners’ points to make it into the show at Dover. The make-up date for the missed Dover race has yet to be designated. Skinner’s recent NASCAR Nextel Cup Series entries are part of The History Channel’s recent launch of its inventive new series—“AUTOMANIAC.” Hosted by pro wrestling and feature film star Bill Goldberg, AUTOMANIAC episodes focus on unique vehicles that have made a mark in history in the last century, including gangster cars, muscle cars, extreme bikes and more. The AUTOMANIAC series premiered on The History Channel at the beginning of June and airs every Wednesday at 10:00pm/et. To learn more about AUTOMANIAC, go to historychannel.com. Before climbing into the #23 History Channel AUTOMANIAC Dodge this Sunday at MIS, Skinner will race the #5 Toyota Tundra truck Saturday in the 10th NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series race of the 2005 season.(Bill Davis Racing)

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SpeedTV Driver of the Year 2nd Atr Vote: Danica Patrick is the first woman nominated for SpeedTV's DRIVER OF THE YEAR AWARD in the second quarter 2005. Concluding an exciting month of May, Patrick, 23, becomes a breakthrough driver for the fan vote. Driving for Rahal/Letterman Racing her late race battle, with eventual Indy 500 winner Dan Wheldon, has attracted media attention around the World.  The list of nominated drivers includes Greg Anderson (NHRA) Greg Biffle (NASCAR ) Sebastien Bourdais (Champ Car), John Force (NHRA) Jimmie Johnson (NASCAR), Steve Kinser (World of Outlaws), and Patrick Wheldon of the IRL.  In its 39th year, the Speed Channel DRIVER OF THE YEAR's award for this quarter will be determined by an independent vote of the 18-member panel of blue ribbon auto racing journalists and broadcasters and one vote based on the cumulative tally of fans' voting at speedtv.com.  At the end of the year a special, separate, vote will be held for the SPEED Channel 2005 DRIVER OF THE YEAR. The panelists will have their quarterly vote on June 22nd and the fan vote will close soon thereafter.

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Jeff Gordon and Kyle Busch in SI of Kids:  #5-Kyle Busch and #24-Jeff Gordon are featured in the July edition of Sports Illustrated for Kids magazine. Dubbed as a "Rookie to Watch," Busch answers questions about his racing career in the Teen bonus section.(Hendrick Motorsports)(6-16-2005)

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Menards to sponsor Gordon at Michigan:  Robby Gordon Motorsports [RGM] will debut its #7 Menards Chevrolet at Michigan International Speedway this weekend in the Batman Begins 400. This will be the first of three races Menards will serve as the team's primary sponsor, with races at Chicagoland Speedway and the second Michigan race in August. Menards, the country's third-largest home improvement store chain with more than 200 stores, serves as an associate sponsor on all of the RGM #7 NASCAR Nextel Cup Series entries. In addition, Menard Engineering Group, a separate company also owned by Menards' owner John Menard, builds the engines for the team's Nextel Cup cars."It's been a long time since I have had the opportunity to drive a Menards sponsored car," Gordon said. "John and I have had a long friendship and close working relationship, and the last time I drove a Menards’ sponsored car we almost won a pretty big race. With the way our team has been improving over the last four weeks or so, particularly with how much stonger the engine program has become, maybe this will be the turning point of our season and we'll win that big race that we've been looking for." Gordon and Menard were co-owners in the Menards’ sponsored 1999 Indianapolis 500 effort where Gordon led the field by a wide margin coming to the white flag, only to run out of fuel and finish fourth. In addition to Menards, the #7 Chevrolet will also have sponsorship from Fruit of the Loom, Harrah's and Jim Beam at Michigan. Harrah's will return to the track as the primary sponsor for the team's effort at Infineon Raceway next week, while Fruit of the Loom will take the team to Daytona for the Pepsi 400 at Daytona on July.

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Racer Profile: Marty Robbins
By Allen Madding

 
Martin David Robinson, “Marty”, was born on September 26, 1925 in the desert near Glendale, Arizona as one of nine children raised in poverty. Robbins dropped out of school to serve in the Navy from 1943-1945, where he learned to play guitar. Upon returning to the Glendale/Phoenix area, he took jobs from driving a truck to hauling ice. In the mid-40's, Robbins joined a country music band at a local bar as a guitar player, and was soon asked to sing. It wasn't long before Robbins was given a radio program on the Mesa, Arizona radio station, KTYL. He went on to perform on KPHO in Phoenix, as the star of "Chuck Wagon Time" on radio, and "Western Caravan" on television. In 1951, Columbia Records signed Robbins to a recording contract. In April of 1952, his first record, "Love Me Or Leave Me Alone" was released. That year he became an official member of the Grand Ole Opry, and he moved to Nashville. In 1953, Robbins had his first hit song, "I'll Go On Alone". He followed it with 15 more #1 hits, including "Singing The Blues", "A White Sport Coat", "El Paso", "Devil Woman", and "Begging To You".

Robbins also had a passion for racing. He began racing late models at Nashville Speedway in 1965 driving a Plymouth. In 1966, he made his debut in the NASCAR Grand National Division driving David Warren’s #53 Ford at Nashville Speedway. In 1968, Robbins competed in the NASCAR Grand National Division National 500 at Charlotte driving Dick Behling’s #32 Dodge starting 32nd and finishing 12th.

In 1969, Robbins suffered a massive heart attack and did not compete in the NASCAR Series. In 1970, he underwent a then-experimental triple bypass operation. The same year, Robbins drove his own #42 Dodge in the National 500 at Charlotte, but an engine failure dropped him from the event.

In 1971 NASCAR signed RJ Reynolds Tobacco and renamed the Grand National Division the Winston Cup Series. Robbins competed in 5 NASCAR Winston Cup Series events that year. His best finish of the season was a 7th place finish in the Southern 500 at Darlington. In 1972, he started another 5 Winston Cup Series events. In the Winston 500 at Talladega, Robbins finished 18th. But Robbins told NASCAR to disqualify him for running the last 100 laps without the required restrictor plate. He refused to accept the "Rookie of the Race" award, the money for an 18th place finish, or the Grand National Driver points. NASCAR fined him $250 and paid him for finishing 50th. He went on to record an 8th place finish in the Miller High Life 500 at Ontario, California and a 9th place finish in the Southern 500.

In 1973, Robbins started in 4 Winston Cup events. He finished 8th in the Firecracker 400 at Daytona. During the 1974 NASCAR Winston Cup Series National 500 at Charlotte, Robbins attempted to miss hitting a stalled car. He struck the outside wall at 160mph and suffered two broken ribs, a broken tailbone, and required 37 stitches in his face. He recorded a 5th place finish in the Motor State 360 at Michigan and a 9th place finish in the Talladega 500.

In 1975, Robbins ran two Winston Cup Series events. In 1977, he made another two Winston Cup Series races. In 1978, he started one event. In 1979, he competed in 3 events. He ran the #42 for the final time at Michigan allowing Kyle Petty to use the number and began using the #6, and the #36. In 1980, he started in 4 Winston Cup Series races. In 1981, Robbins suffered his second heart attack.

In 1982, Robbins started 2 Winston Cup events. In October 1982, Robbins was voted into the Country Music Hall of Fame adding to his numerous awards for his musical career. The last race of his career came in the Atlanta Journal 500 on November 7, 1982. He was involved in a crash on lap 89 that put him out of the event. On December 2, 1982, after returning home from his last concert of the year, Robbins had a massive attack and immediately underwent quadruple bypass surgery. For six days he struggled to live, but the damage to his heart had been too significant. After his kidneys and liver failed, Robbins died on December 8, 1982.

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Norris' new project
By Jerry Bonkowski, Yahoo! Sports
 
 
If Dale Earnhardt Jr. ever wonders whether there would be life for him after DEI, all he has to do is look to Ty Norris.

Norris served as Dale Earnhardt Inc.'s vice president/director of motorsports for nearly eight years. But 16 months after leaving the post, Norris is thriving in a less pressure-packed environment as one of the principals behind the new Official NASCAR Members Club – though he still keeps tabs on his former employer.

Launched in February at Daytona, the fan-based club has quickly grown to more than 10,000 members with little publicity or advertising. And Norris hopes the membership will continue to expand.

"We're now going to start to turn on the faucet for acquisition in June and start to bring a lot more people in," said Norris, who is one of four senior vice presidents of the NMC. "Our desire is to be the largest-based affinity program ever created, and with 75 million fans to pull from, you'd think we could reach it."
 
The NMC is a club for fans of the sport, with a frequent flyer-style program that awards members with discounts and other special offers that, according to Norris, include deals and access traditionally reserved for those within the garage. Memberships run $40 per year, but the return on investment is immediate: in the initiation kit, members receive roughly $700 in discount coupons and offers.

"When you're sitting in the grandstands and say 'how do those people get to the driver introduction stage area,' well, this is now a channel where if you're a fan and a member, you can get the opportunity to maybe get [there] or get to go on a garage tour," Norris said. "Things that have maybe been designed for executives, now fans can do them, too.

"It's designed to get the fans closer, more informed, see things they haven't seen before and get to experience things they haven't experienced before."

While Norris realizes the NMC is a radical departure from his role at DEI – and from his subsequent 10-month stint as a vice president of Speedway Motorsports Inc. – he's at peace with himself and having a blast.

"I felt like I really had a lot of energy to give, wanted to give it to a new project, and this seemed like a good opportunity to pour some energy into because I thought my background and experience could help them," Norris said.

Had someone suggested to Norris when he left DEI that a little over a year later he'd be running what some might call a fan club, he'd have thought it unlikely. But things have worked out better than he could have expected.

For Norris, the perks of the job can't be beat. He's able to spend more time with his family and doesn't have to constantly be on the road. At the same time, Norris is still involved knee-deep in the world of NASCAR, but on his terms.

"I made a promise to myself that I was going to get involved with something that kept me home more," Norris said. "My son, in the summer he was between the second and third grades, told me the only thing I did around the house was pack. So I made a commitment that whatever I was going to do, I was going to try and reintroduce myself to my family.

"I had some opportunities with other teams right away, but again, they involved being gone 40 weekends a year. I felt that I'd paid 15 years of dues."

Those dues include helping the late Dale Earnhardt and his wife Teresa build DEI virtually from the ground up. But Norris shocked the NASCAR world when he abruptly resigned from the company on Feb. 1, 2004. That came exactly two weeks before Dale Earnhardt Jr., for whom Norris had also served as a spotter, won the Daytona 500.

During his time at DEI, the team grew into one of Cup racing's most successful organizations, with 65 event wins – including 14 in Cup competition – as well as two Busch and two Craftsman Truck championships

While he won't give specifics about why he left DEI, Norris can't help but still feel some emotional attachment to the team – particularly with the organization's current struggles, most notably with Earnhardt Jr.'s under-performing No. 8 team.

"It's really heartbreaking, to be honest with you," Norris said. "I left eight years of 24 hours a day laying on the concrete at the shop when I left. It's hard for me not to have an opinion about it. I'm disappointed they're not doing better. I still have a lot of passion for the place."

Like many observers, Norris is baffled by some of the changes that have occurred since he left, including some of the same changes bandied about while he was still there.

"Some of the things that are happening were discussed when I was there, and I didn't agree with them," Norris said. "But they felt like they had to make some changes, and I think 14 races into the season, they're discovering they now have to make changes to change their changes.

"If they slip a little more, it'll be really hard to catch up."

Norris even wishes he could help, if from a distance.

"I still lay in bed thinking about it and it's been nearly 18 months," he said. "It still consumes my every spare thought. I wish I could pick the phone up, call and say, 'How about this?' or 'Why don't you think about this?' kind of like leave an anonymous message and then hang up.

"But, obviously, they feel like they've got the right things going. I just wish I could help 'em, because it's tearing me up to watch 'em."

Veteran motorsports writer Jerry Bonkowski is a Yahoo! Sports NASCAR analyst. 

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NASCAR plays doubles with sport's future
By Marty Smith, Turner Sports Interactive


Holding NASCAR accountable has gotten cumbersome, exasperating even.

There are countless positives in and outside the garage that merit recognition, but until the sanctioning body gets its act together it is warranted -- if not vital -- that the media unveil their oft-shady practices.

On tap this week: double standards.

If it's not scoring it's procedure. If it's not procedure it's rules enforcement. If it's not rules enforcement it's sponsorship.

First, scoring.

Though there have been countless scoring snafus in 2004, the one that bewildered me beyond description was the Charlotte Truck Series caution light fiasco.

How can NASCAR expect its drivers to let off the throttle -- no questions asked -- any time the caution flies, when it can cost them a race? Carl Edwards did as instructed at Charlotte in May, got out of the gas when he saw an illuminated caution light, enabling Dennis Setzer to scream by and on to Victory Lane.

Someone somewhere screwed up, inadvertently turned the light on, and then wouldn't fess up to it until Edwards himself went to SPEED Channel studios and found evidence that he did in fact see a yellow light. He was right, NASCAR was wrong. And they wouldn't fess up to it until four days after the fact? Please...

Second, rules enforcement.

In the quest for Victory Lane at Daytona and Talladega, blocking is part of the game. A guy gets a run, you slice in front of him to cut off his advance. Some drivers may not like it as it's often dangerous. But nonetheless it's accepted. Most of the time.

When Jason Leffler slid up the track to block Dale Earnhardt, Jr. last weekend at Daytona, he inadvertently put Junior in the fence, a punishable offense according to NASCAR. Many were baffled, including yours truly. Leffler was merely trying to maintain his position by cutting off the best restrictor-plate racer alive, and miscalculated.

Honest mistake, right? Wrong. According to NASCAR, anyway. They penalized Leffler 11 positions in the final running order, from second to 13th.

"I was trying to hold people off. At Talladega, Junior knocked me out of the way with like two to go when I was behind Martin (Truex, Jr.)," Leffler said. "I just didn't want to give up. It was nothing against him. Whoever was behind me I was just trying to hold them off.

"I expected a bunch of them to come by me and I was just trying to hold them off and try to get to the end. That's what you have to do, otherwise they would have just ate me up and I would have finished further back in the field. (The penalty) is a shame. It was rough driving, but I'll take that finish and go with it."

Put in Leffler's situation, Junior would've used similar strategy. As I said, it's part of restrictor-plate procedure. But if Junior were to accidentally misjudge and subsequently cause an accident, would he be penalized 11 positions?

Hypothetical as it is, I deemed it a worthy question. So I asked several crew chiefs and drivers, and the unanimous answer was no.

Third, sponsorship.

This one baffles me, as well. So you're telling me Daytona International Speedway can promote Crown Royal as it's "official whiskey," yet Jeff Burton can't run the brand on his hood? How's that work?

NASCAR says DIS promotions are an International Speedway Corp. deal, that the two are separate companies and therefore have separate policies regarding sponsorships.

Fair enough. I would be more than accepting of that explanation were the higher-ups at ISC and NASCAR not of the same bloodline, nor NASCAR the sanctioning body at 13 ISC venues.

I've seen no contracts, but it's hard to fathom that NASCAR isn't in some way benefiting financially from Crown Royal's involvement with ISC. If I'm Jack Roush, Geoff Smith or Jeff Burton, I'm seething.

And don't pull the IROC card, either. I understand that Crown Royal is the series sponsor of the International Race of Champions, which holds one of its four races at ISC-owned Daytona International Speedway. That makes the signage viable on track grounds.

But don't Cup cars run on that track, which boasts Crown Royal as it's "official whiskey," as well? Isn't there a possibility that that signage could end up on Nextel Cup network broadcasts, as well? Sure. So isn't it odd that Brian France said just last week that television relationships are a large aspect of the decision?

With such a long list of discrepancies, I had to know why NASCAR refuses to allow Burton to run the brand on his sponsorship-starved Ford Taurus.

"NASCAR has a long-standing policy prohibiting spirits and our recent internal discussions relate to that policy overall rather than specifically to a team or car such as the No. 99," spokesman Mike Zizzo said.

"This is a policy that dates more than 30 years in our history and there are a lot of factors and circumstances that must be considered as we have those internal discussions.

"Although we understand the sponsorship situation with the No. 99 entry, it is very unlikely at this time that we would change such a long-standing policy for this instance. We don't feel the timing is right at this juncture in time."

Chairman France was posed the hard liquor vs. beer question last week. His response was as follows:

"What's at issue here is a long standing rule going back into the '70s, of a cooperation that the network television partners would have when it comes to hard liquor and spirits, and you know, a lot of our events, 80 percent of them, are on network television. That's a different challenge than other motorsports series have or other people might have.

"So, we have to understand that we've got to be in step, and that's not to say that our television partners are for or against allowing spirits. That's one thing that we've got to understand as we go along. Another is the hard liquor and cars have another element that you have to consider.

"And timing of such a thing, we're all going through now, the incident at the Super Bowl and other incidents where there's a real crackdown of what's, you know, broadcast on national television, how it's treated, how it's presented.

"There's a lot we have to consider before we just throw out a 30-year policy. And that's what we did consider. We looked at all of the circumstances that we thought Roush could provide. They did a nice job of laying out some things in the end. We think the timing is just not right now, and we're going to leave it at that and we'll review it down the road."

Hopefully sooner rather than later.

Burton deserves the sponsorship and many great things could come from it. If there is concern about any stigma that might coincide with "hard liquor," run alcohol awareness PSAs. Promote the importance of designated drivers.

Turn that stigma into an educational tool. Obviously, Crown Royal's parent company, Diageo, is more than willing. They've done awareness advertisements with Matt Kenseth, whose Ford carries Diageo's Smirnoff Ice brand in several races throughout the season.

NASCAR must begin to spread the wealth and help its teams financially.

It'd be a significant step in the right direction, one deserving of positive reinforcement rather than analytical cynicism.

Marty Smith is a senior writer for NASCAR.COM. His column appears weekly.  The opinions expressed are solely of the writer.

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that's racin' (phrase): Expresses frustration or emotion. 1. When a small part costing just a few dollars fails and stops a $150,000 race car, that's racin'. 2. When you race a competitor for 500 miles and lose to him by just a few feet, that's racin'. 3. When a hot dog wrapper blows out of the stands, gets caught across the air vent on the front of your car and causes your engine to overheat, that's racin'.

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NEXTEL CUP PRACTICE	4 p.m. Friday	Speed Channel
NEXTEL CUP QUALIFYING	Noon Saturday	FX
BUSCH SERIES MEIJER 300	7:30 p.m. Saturday	FX
NEXTEL CUP BATMAN BEGINS 400	1:30 p.m. Sunday	Fox
All times Eastern. Times and stations subject to change.

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Well, that's all for today.  Until the next time, I remain,

Your Momma
"Don't come here and grumble about going too fast.  Get the hell out of the race car if you've got feathers on your legs or butt.  Put a kerosene rag around your ankles so the ants won't climb up there and eat that candy ass." - Dale Earnhardt – 1998

Happy Hump Day everyone.... 



Today In Nascar History

6/15/1952-Herb Thomas wins at Charlotte, win #4 of the season, and #12 of his career.
6/15/1956-Speedy Thompson wins at Charlotte, win #5 of the season, and #9 of his career.
6/15/1957-Fireball Roberts wins at Newport, win #6 of the season, and #12 of his career.
6/15/1958-Junior Johnson wins at Reading, win #4 of the season, and #9 of his career.
6/15/1966-Tiny Lund wins at Beltsville, win #1 of the season, and #3 of his career.
6/15/1969-Cale Yarborough wins at Michigan, win #2 of the season, and #11 of his career.
6/15/1975-David Pearson wins at Michigan, win #2 of the season, and #86 of his career.
6/15/1980-Benny Parsons wins at Michigan, win #2 of the season, and #16 of his career.
6/15/1986-Bill Elliott wins at Michigan, win #1 of the season, and #16 of his career.
6/15/1997-Ernie Irvan wins at Michigan, win #1 of the season, and #15 of his career.
6/15/2003-Kurt Busch wins at Michigan, win #3 of the season, and #7 of his career.

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Did You Know

There are 6 first time winners for this week?

Jim Roper- 6/19/1949
Bill Blair- 6/18/1950
Frank Mundy - 6/16/1951
Johnny Allen- 6/16/1962
Donnie Allison- 6/16/1968
Tim Richmond - 6/13/1982

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Top Ten Things a Crew Chief Should Never Say to the Race Leader with 2 Laps to Go
Mistie Bibbee

10. Hmmm, wonder where this extra spring and screw go?
9. Lugnuts?!? They’re supposed to hold the tires on? Oooops!
8. (To the spotter) Let’s blindfold you and see how well you can spot for the next two laps.
7. Was that smoke I saw coming out of your tailpipe?
6. (To the crew) Ok guys, as soon as he pulls the car into the pits, scrape his name off from above of the driver’s door. We won’t need it there next weekend.
5. Hey, about that fuel mileage we were talking about. My math was a little off—You need to come in and pit next time around. (As the driver slows to pit) Just kidding! HAHA!
4. NASCAR said the check didn’t clear. You’re going to have to slow down and let the car in second place pass you for the lead.
3. Hmmm, I hope NASCAR doesn’t notice that we have the “special engine” in the car.
2. Anyone know who’s leading the race? I fell asleep because it’s been such a snoozer.
1. Hey, your wife is hot. You don’t mind if I ask her out to dinner next week do you?

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Quote of the Year

"To be a real, true NASCAR driver, you have to know where the sport came from and you have to respect that history and tradition. The guys that don't respect that history and tradition, I don't think they're going to be around all that long. And those guys who don't know the history and tradition, I think it's upon them to learn about it pretty quick if they want to be a success."
– Richard Petty

Quote of the Day

"Elvis made a few bad movies and this, too, shall pass."
—Dale Earnhardt Junior after Pocono

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New Poll

Should Shane Hmiel be Allowed back in NASCAR after Failing Drug Test for a Second Time?
 
http://de3fan4.tripod.com/

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Bits and Pieces

3 Drivers To Share Busch Ride
Unilever Foods and Evernham Motorsports announced today that Casey Atwood, Tracy Hines and Mike Wallace will each get time behind the wheel of the No. 6 Dodge in upcoming six Busch Series races as part of the sponsor's "Hungry Drivers" promotion. Atwood, a 24-year-old Nashville, Tenn., native who drove for Evernham in NASCAR's Cup series and later for a joint venture between Evernham and Ultra Motorsports, will run at Kentucky and New Hampshire. Wallace, who is competing full-time in the Nextel Cup Series with Morgan-McClure Motorsports, will drive in Daytona and St. Louis. Hines, who is competing full-time in the Craftsman Truck Series, will race in Milwaukee and Indianapolis.

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WALLACE ON MICHIGAN:  Rusty Wallace has earned five career victories and 20 top-10 finishes in 42 starts at Michigan International Speedway, site of Sunday's NASCAR Nextel Cup Series race.

But not everyone at Penske Racing looks forward to the series' two annual visits to the 2-mile superspeedway, Wallace said.

"(Michigan) can be a driver's dream but an engine man's nightmare," Wallace said. "We drivers are out there grinning from ear to ear and blasting down those long straightaways.

"I'll bet you don't see too many of the engine guys smiling and cutting up back in the pits; most of them are nervous as heck. The place is really tough on engines."

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BRIEFLY:  Las Vegas native Kyle Busch has been the top rookie finisher in five consecutive Nextel Cup races and 10 times in 14 races this season. Busch has climbed from 26th to 18 in points during the past five races. ... Meanwhile, Kurt Busch has dropped from second to 11th in Nextel Cup points in the past five races. ...

Through 14 Nextel Cup races this season, there are nine drivers who won in 2004 but have yet to score a win in 2005: Dale Earnhardt Jr., Mark Martin, Tony Stewart, Ryan Newman, Matt Kenseth, Elliott Sadler, Jeremy Mayfield, Rusty Wallace and Joe Nemechek. ... Roush Racing drivers have won seven of the 14 Cup races this season. Hendrick Motorsports drivers have won five while Richard Childress Racing and Evernham Motorsports each have one victory. Greg Biffle (Roush) leads all Cup drivers with four victories.

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Renowned Pianist Set to Perform National Anthem at Dodge/Save Mart 350:  Renowned jazz pianist Eric Lewis has been selected to perform the national anthem at the Dodge/Save Mart 350 NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series event at Infineon Raceway on Sunday, June 26. Lewis, a native of New Jersey, has put together quite a career at the young age of 32, having played for President Clinton at the 1996 Democratic National Convention. He has also played for the world-famous Lincoln Center Orchestra with Wynton Marsalis.

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NASCAR driver, Kevin Harvick, owner of the No. 33 Yard-Man Chevy, will make an appearance in Hastings, Michigan to mow the soccer fields at Tyden Park. Harvick is mowing the fields as part of a sweepstakes prize won by Hastings resident, Mary Parsons. Parsons, the winner of Yard-Man’s “I Can’t Believe Kevin Harvick is Mowing my Lawn” sweepstakes, chose to donate the chance to have her lawn mowed by Harvick to the town of Hastings. - Edelman Group

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Woman winner at Stockton:  Allison Duncan, piloting the #20 Miller Lite/NAPA AUTO PARTS Chevrolet, won her first NASCAR Havoline Western Late Model race and becomes the first female to ever win the feature main event at Stockton 99 Speedway. "This is the most awesome experience," said Duncan. "Winning my first Havoline Western Late Model race at Stockton 99 is just the best feeling. We've been close earlier in the season but tonight we did it. We did it with the great support from our sponsors Miller Lite, NAPA AUTO PARTS, Domino's Pizza, Berco Redwood, Inventory Sales, Chevrolet and Snap On. Our success on the track is due to the great driver development program between Bill McAnally Racing and Richard Childress Racing and their joint commitment to the Driver for Diversity Iniative. This is great and we can't wait to do it again." For more information on Bill McAnally Racing (BMR), Richard Childress Racing (RCR), and the Driver for Diversity Iniative (D4D) logon to www.billmcanallyracing.com.(BMR PR)

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Hermie Sadler in the Booth at Kentucky: Hermie Sadler, 1993 NASCAR Busch Series Rookie of theYear, will join Mark Garrow and Phil Parsons in the broadcast booth for FX's coverage of the Meijer 300 Presented by Oreo Saturday night, live from the Kentucky Speedway. Sadler, who has experience reporting for MRN Radio, is excited about this opportunity to cover the Busch Series for FX. "The people calling the action play a major role in helping the viewers understand what is happening on the track and on pit road, and why. I look forward to using my experience and knowledge of the Busch Series to compliment the excellent job that Phil [Parsons] and Mark [Garrow] already do" stated Sadler. Glenn Jarrett and Hank Parker, Jr. will serve as pit reporters for the race. FX will begin its coverage from Kentucky with the pre-race show at 7:30pm/et. The green flag will fall at 8:12 pm. In addition to the race broadcast on FX, Sadler will also be in the booth to cover qualifying on Speed Channel, which begins at 5:00pm/et.(PSE-3 PR)

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LABONTE, HARVICK HEADLINE NEXTEL CUP DRIVERS WHO WILL COMPETEIN CRAFTSMAN TRUCK SERIES AT MIS
BROOKLYN, Mich.- NASCAR NEXTEL Cup drivers Bobby Labonte and Kevin Harvick, along with two other Cup regulars, will be competing in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series Paramount Health Insurance 200 on Saturday, June 18. In addition, Kyle Busch and Ken Schrader will also compete in the truck event on Saturday.

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Who Tamed Tony Stewart?
By Rebecca Gladden


I first posed this question several months ago when it became apparent to me that Tony Stewart's public persona had undergone a dramatic transformation.

Stewart has always been considered one of NASCAR's "bad boys", and proudly so. After seven years as a Cup driver, he had earned legions of fans - and many detractors - with a hard-driving style on the track and a reputation for brutal honesty off the track.

Stewart's forceful personality has always been a double-edged sword. His intensity led him to championships in several racing series including Kart, USAC, IRL, and, of course, NASCAR. But he has also been accused of numerous tussles with fellow drivers, members of the media and even with fans, at one point prompting his semi-voluntary participation in anger management counseling.

For years, Stewart seemed to embrace this bad-boy persona. Last July in Chicago, when his #20 Home Depot car made contact with the #9 of rookie driver Kasey Kahne just after a restart, the question of Stewart's combative style was front and center once again. While Stewart defended his actions, critics accused him of being impatient and overly aggressive.

After the race, Stewart was asked about his bad-boy image. "I think it's what adds character to our sport," he responded. "You look at wrestling and you had all the 'popular guys' and 'the good guys' in the sport, and you had them wrestling each other each week. I'm not sure it would be as appealing to the fans as if you got somebody that people like and somebody that they dislike. So I think that adds flavor to the sport. I don't really take it personal. I don't think it's a personal deal. It's just a title that's given to many of us. I guess I lead the pack of the bad-boy group. I think there are fans out there that are looking for that guy. Dale Earnhardt didn't get his reputation or popularity by being a good guy. He got it by being aggressive and he was probably the bad boy in his era. So I don't think it's such a bad thing after all."

Then, Stewart was asked whether he intended to make any changes in order to become more popular with the fans. Referring to himself in the plural as he often does, Stewart replied, "I think we already have a fan following that likes us for the way we speak our mind, and we're aggressive on the racetrack. That's the kind of fans that we attract nowadays. I think there's plenty of them out there. If you look out there on Sunday, you look at the amount of orange [the color of Stewart's racecar] in the stands, I think that speaks for itself and tells the story."

But the story doesn't end there. Stewart's public comportment has changed over the past season or two. After the last few racing incidents involving the #20 car, Stewart's comments have been subdued, even reticent.

The most recent conflict involving Stewart occurred at Dover two weeks ago, when Stewart's car touched the left rear bumper of Gordon's on Lap 41, sending the #24 spinning into the wall and out of the race. Gordon was infuriated after the incident and immediately put Tony Stewart on notice: "All I can say is that the next time Tony's holding me up, it won't be very long for him to be out of my way."

In the past those would have been fightin' words, and fans could have anticipated a spirited and colorful response from Stewart. This time, he was uncharacteristically reserved: "That's fine. We can get into a car-crashing war - it doesn't matter to me," Stewart said flatly. And by week's end, Stewart was all but apologizing for even those mild comments. "I know the stuff he (Gordon) said after the race was harsh, and then it kind of got me wound up, too. But I think that's heat of the moment stuff. Jeff is a professional and I don't think Jeff would ever take anybody out intentionally anyway. So after I got home, I didn't think there was too much truth to that, anyway."

Some of Stewart's new-found self control may be attributed to the process of maturing or even to learned anger management techniques.

But many fans find themselves clamoring for a return of the "old" Tony, and wondering why he changed.

So the question remains, who tamed Tony Stewart?

The answer was disclosed by Stewart himself in a brief but telling exchange between the driver and a phone-in caller on Speed TV's "Wind Tunnel" program, when Stewart was a guest on the show a few weeks ago.

Caller: I thought it was going to be such an honor to talk to Tony tonight, but then I've been sitting on hold for an hour and a half and all of a sudden he turns into this nice guy! He's turned into the NASCAR vanilla bean. What's up with this? Please, Tony, go back, be the real person, give us the emotion, give us everything that we've learned to love about you! Bring it back!

Stewart: I'll make you a deal. You get Corporate America and NASCAR to follow the lead with that and you can have me back. But right now, I'm happy being me. I'm happy not having to wake up on Monday morning and justify something that I said or something that I did. I'm honestly just much happier not having to be so angry about so many things all the time that I can't control. So, you may have to just get over it.

Well, there you have it. Stewart has been muzzled by NASCAR and "Corporate America," presumably the multi-million dollar companies associated with the sport. He tells the caller that he would go back to being the "real" Tony if not for the demands of those two entities.

NASCAR admittedly has a vested interest in presenting a family-friendly image of stock-car racing's elite series. But by holding the reins too tightly, they run the risk of creating robotic drivers who no long stir the passions of the fans. Drivers are being forced to walk a fine line between controlling their emotions and being emotionless; between maintaining their cool and becoming robotic.

It would be in NASCAR's best interest to let loose the reins and give the drivers the freedom to be themselves. Without the colorful personalities and fiery passions of its competitors, the sport runs the risk of becoming what it's critics have always claimed it is: just a bunch of guys driving in circles.

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We wonder ... Pocono
Plenty of things boggle our minds in the mountains
 

... can Dale Earnhardt Jr. still make the Chase for the Nextel Cup

It's tough to be on the positive side of this one. Junior hasn't even been in a position to win a race in what seems like forever. If he is going to make it, it's going to take quite an effort from now to Richmond.

The bigger question is how many NBC/TNT and NASCAR executives will have to be talked down from the ledge if that happens.

... how opinionated Delana Harvick is on the pit box during races.

Anyone who watched NASCAR Drivers:360 on Friday knows that she's very competitive and very opinionated about things like when to pit. We don't think she would have much to say on raceday -- at least we hope not.

And we'd like to play Uno with the Harvicks whenever they're available.

... why the Busch race was run Sunday instead of Monday.

Carl Edwards must have been livid. The Busch Series points leader heading into Nashville, Edwards lost the lead and probably any chance he had at the title when the race was rescheduled for Sunday when he'd be at Pocono.

Fans who had tickets to the race can't be happy, either. Sterling Marlin -- a hometown guy -- was unable to run because of the same problem.

Plus, from a marketing standpoint, Monday is better. The race got little or no play Sunday when it could have been the story in NASCAR on Monday.

Although we doubt Clint Bowyer cares.

... when Greg Biffle will get recognized as a superstar in the sport.

Maybe he's not as flashy as Junior, Stewart, Gordon or Johnson, but the fact is that the guy is good on every type of racetrack.

Plus, he makes some funny commercials. The Subway ad from last year where he sprays the soda bottle was priceless. This new one with the police? It has a lot of us shaking our heads.

Watch it closely next time you see it and you'll know what we mean.

... why didn't Steve Hmiel put his foot down.

When Dale Earnhardt Jr. had a left-front tire go down on Lap 57, interim crew chief Hmiel wanted to take four tires. Junior said he didn't want to take a lot of time on pit road and wanted to take just two. Hmiel gave in.

As they said on the FOX broadcast, if there had been a quick caution, the 8 team would have been sunk. Why would you risk that?

You'd believe that the reason for Hmiel being brought in was so that he could make the tough calls. He missed one there.

... how Dale Jarrett almost beat Dale Earnhardt Jr. in the sexiest driver poll.
 
There are two schools of thought here: One says that all the Junior haters -- a growing breed, we might add -- voted to overthrow Junior. The other says the -- how can we put this -- more mature fans really got behind D.J.

We think it may be a bit of both.

... why the media gets blamed for everything.

It's not a new concept, but Tony Stewart took the latest shot saying Sunday's pre-race show when he said that the media blew his tiff with Jeff Gordon out of proportion. Did Tony not say the things he was quoted as saying at Dover? If you don't want to talk right after the incident, tell everyone you have no comment.

If you don't want things blown out of porportion, don't say anything that can be blown out of porportion.

... how something can be the most unique or very unique.

Mike Joy and Chris Myers used those terms to describe Pocono Raceway on Sunday. Unique is a binary term. In other words, something is unique or it isn't. Hence, something can't be very unique or the most unique.

One thing is for sure: The FOX guys are unique.

... if Robert Yates Racing needs new tachometers.

Dale Jarrett has been known as a pit speeder this season. On Sunday, Elliott Sadler got nabbed twice: once entering pit road and once exiting pit road.

Both drivers are having good seasons. You have to wonder how much better they could be without the lead feet.

... what the No. 12 team was thinking taking no tires on the final pit stop Sunday.

Left-front tires were blowing like balloons. It seemed that no driver was immune. Yet Ryan Newman's team took a big gamble -- and they busted.

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Martin hoping for storybook ending
Popular veteran driver striving for shot at first Cup championship in his final season
COMMENTARY
By Allen Bestwick


It sounds like something a Hollywood script writer would come up with: A popular veteran stock-car driver winning his first Cup championship in his last season of racing. The NASCAR world could have such a movie-like ending this season if the chips fall right for Mark Martin.

A classy competitor

Martin, an Arkansas native, has become one of the sport’s most popular figures, adored by fans and supremely respected by the drivers he competes against.

He has earned the fans' adoration by winning a lot of races. With 34 victories, Martin is 17th on NASCAR’s all-time win list and jumps up to 10th when you consider just the modern era, the period from 1972 to the present when the schedule was 30 or so races per year instead of the 50 or more run annually prior to that time.

The respect from his fellow racers has come from the way Martin determinedly pursues his craft. Martin pours his heart and soul into each lap of every race in pursuit of victory, yet never steps over the line between good sportsmanship and foul play.

He offers advice to those younger drivers who seek his counsel, and seems to genuinely appreciate all of the hard work and exhausting hours put in by his crew to prepare competitive cars for races.

For all of the success and admiration Martin has achieved there is one major hole in his resume: He’s never won a Cup championship, but he just may this year.

Giving up the grind

Last October Martin announced that 2005 would be his final season of racing on the Nextel Cup circuit.

Though 46 years old, age and competitive performance have nothing to do with Martin’s decision to step away. The decision is rooted in the demanding grind of travel that today’s corporately-sponsored race drivers face.

After spending over 20 years barnstorming from town to town, track to track, and appearance to appearance, Martin will answer his heart’s call to spend more time with his family, more time with his son Matt as he embarks on a racing career of his own.

Martin won’t quit racing. He plans on competing in NASCAR’s Craftsman Truck Series in 2006, but that series features a much less demanding schedule of races and a comparable reduction in sponsor-related appearances, allowing more time for other things in life that have been secondary for many years for Martin.

So with the end of a fabulous career in sight can one of the sport’s most popular drivers claim what would be his only top-level championship in his final season?

Absolutely.

All-Star momentum

Under NASCAR’s “Chase for the Nextel Cup” format instituted last year the top 10 drivers after race 26, plus any other drivers within 400 points of the standings leader, enter a playoff over the season’s final 10 races to determine the Cup champion.

Through eleven races, nearly half of the regular season, Martin is in position to qualify for the title chase as he is 10th in the standings.

The 2005 campaign for Martin has been one of decent results punctuated by some highs and lows. There’s a trio of top-five finishes, but those are offset by a trio of poor finishes. Martin’s average finish is 15th, not great but not bad.

A good bit of positive momentum was gained last weekend in Charlotte when Martin won the “Nextel All-Star Challenge.” While the race offered no championship points, in NASCAR any win, even in the non-championship special events is huge.

There’s no telling how much of a boost that victory might turn out to be in terms of propelling Martin and company through the tough summer months of racing.

Keeping pace is key

Martin and his team must continue to log consistent results and stay off the high-low roller coaster they’ve been on at times this year.

Having not won this year prior to the Charlotte All-Star event, Martin still had not been lower than 11th in points all year.

When you’re hanging with the leaders while still not running as good as you’re capable of, that’s a good sign as far as I’m concerned.

The whole key to this new championship system is simply to get into the Chase. It really doesn’t matter how many races you win or how many points behind the leader you are. If you are in the Chase you have just about an equal shot at the title since the points are reset in five-point increments based on the standings to start the 10-race playoff.

Just like another sport where a team qualifies for the postseason as a wild card and then gets hot, if Martin is simply able to get into the Chase the opportunity exists to get hot over the final 10 weeks of the season and walk off with the big trophy.

So from here on out Martin needs to just simply match the pace of Jimmie Johnson, Greg Biffle and the others at or near the top of the championship points standings. Gaining ground on them would be a bonus, but simply matching their average finish over the next 15 events will get the job done.

That’s very well within the capability of the Roush team fielding Martin’s cars.

Dream ending

If Martin does qualify for the Chase and enters the season’s final race with a shot at the title there will be an unbelievable tide of emotional support behind him.

If he somehow claims the title in the final race of his final season, there will be a lot of teary eyes in the house, but those will be tears of joy as the driver so many love to cheer for rides off into the sunset with a long-sought-after Cup championship in hand.

There certainly could be a movie in that someday.

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Young Labonte fills in at DIS
By BUDDY SHACKLETTE
Staff Writer


DAYTONA BEACH -- His famous dad, Terry, was in The Keys fishing and enjoying semi-retirement, but Justin Labonte was busy Tuesday. The younger Labonte was in town to help out NASCAR Nextel Cup Series teammate Mike Bliss.

Although Bliss had hernia surgery last Monday, he qualified the No. 0 Chevrolet ninth at Pocono (Pa.) Raceway. But he was relieved on Lap 30 of the 200-lap Pocono 500 on Sunday by Brendan Gaughan. With Bliss still on the mend, Labonte stepped in to test Haas CNC Racing's newest speedway car at Daytona International Speedway.

"It was tough to get out of the car last week and let Brendan take over at Pocono, even though that was the plan from the start," Bliss said. "It's hard to watch from the sidelines."

Labonte, who drives the No. 44 Chevrolet in the Busch Series, was joined by another Busch Series driver, C.W. Smith, to test for next month's races at the Speedway.

"They called me last weekend and asked me if I would come and drive," Labonte said. "I didn't have anything else to do, so here I am. They've got a new car they needed to come and test so I'm down here to shake it down for them. Any laps I can get on a track are helping me."

Because of the rules differences between the two series, Labonte won't be able to apply much of what he pulled from the test to the July 1 Winn-Dixie 250 Busch Series race, but at age 24 any experience is good experience.

"We were going to go to Michigan, but Mike had a hernia operation so that kind of botched that test," said Bootie Barker, Bliss' crew chief. "We had a new speedway car and whenever you have one of those you've got a lot of things that you never know, so we figured we'd take a day and smooth it out, and we wanted to improve our speedway program as much as we can."

Justin, the son of two-time Cup champion Terry Labonte and nephew of 2000 Cup champion Bobby Labonte, has 55 Busch Series starts under his belt. He is currently running his first full season for Labonte Motorsports with Haas CNC Racing.

The Trinity, N.C., native won at Chicago last year, but that has not carried over into a solid 2005 season. It took Labonte 18 starts to make his way back to a top-10 finish.

"I'm not that happy with it. We've had a lot of better runs going than where we finished," Labonte said. "We've just had some bad luck and are hoping to get better at it. That's what we're focused on this season and getting this Busch program going as good as we can."

Labonte started eighth in the Hershey's Take 5 300 here in February and finished 18th. In 15 starts this year he has qualified in the top 10 four times and finished in the top 15 three times.

A season-best 10th-place finish at Talladega six weeks ago has Labonte excited about returning to a restrictor-plate track in two weeks at Daytona.

"I'm excited. We had a good car at Talladega," he said. "We're bringing the same car we had here in the spring. I think coming back here for the second time, I think we're going to have a better car. We've got everything it takes, but you've got to have all of your pieces together."

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Dodges aren't leading NASCAR charge
BY MIKE BRUDENELL
Detroit Free Press


DETROIT - When he's uptight, NASCAR team owner Ray Evernham often throws a left jab, followed by a right cross. His target is a heavy boxing bag, dangling from the rafters of a gym.

Evernham finds boxing a release from the pressures of the racetrack. This year, his Evernham Motorsports team is struggling in Nextel Cup, and he has been pulling on the gloves and belting the bag more than usual.

The punching bag helps, Evernham said, but so would winning more races or recording more top-five and top-10 finishes.

Heading into Sunday's Batman Begins 400 at Michigan International Speedway , neither of Evernham's regular drivers, Jeremy Mayfield and Kasey Kahne, is in the top 20 in series points. Mayfield is 13th, Kahne 19th.

Their position reflects the general lack of success among Dodge drivers. Dodge has won only one of 14 races and has put a car in the top three only four times. Chevrolet, by contrast, has had a top-three car in every race.

It's not where Evernham, a meticulous planner, wants his team and its pair of cherry-red Dodge Chargers to be.

"Frustrated is probably not the right word to describe how I feel," Evernham said Tuesday. "We had high expectations. "The cars have shown speed but little consistency. I guess I'm more disappointed than frustrated."

Across the board, Dodge has slipped well behind Chevrolet and Ford this year. When Kahne won at Richmond last month, it marked Dodge's first Cup victory since Ryan Newman won at Dover in September.

Evernham is puzzled, but he's not blaming NASCAR or the aerodynamic and tire rule changes this season for Dodge's absence from victory lane.

"We have a lot of smart people working for us," Evernham said. "They're working hard, but we haven't hit the target yet. We haven't been able to get the full potential out of the Dodge package."

Evernham doesn't have any miracles in mind. He will attack the problem methodically, as is his manner, until he gets it right.

"We have a plan and the infrastructure in place," Evernham said. "Consistency is our issue. We've had trouble finding consistency during the same race, not just the season."

Dodge teams have shown good speed, winning six poles , but haven't converted it to victories. Penske Racing South's Newman and Rusty Wallace are the leading Dodge drivers, with Newman sixth and Wallace eighth in points.

Chip Ganassi driver Jamie McMurray is the next-best Dodge driver at 12th.

Dodge Motorsports boss John Fernandez isn't pleased with the results, but he's not giving up on the year just yet.

"I'm not going to be happy until we have a lot more wins and are racing for the championship," Fernandez said. "But based on how we started the year, with a brand new car and spoiler and tire changes, we're starting to come on strong."

Kahne, 25 , was the Nextel Cup rookie of the year last season after he finished 13th in points. This season, he has finished in the top 10 only four times.

"Dodge is definitely behind a bit," Kahne said. "We are as fast as anyone at times, but we're not doing it all weekend."

After getting his first career victory at Richmond, Kahne thought things would get easier. He admits now he was wrong.

"It's exactly the opposite," said Kahne, who drives the No. 9 Dodge Dealers/UAW Dodge . "Since then, it's been the toughest month I've had in racing. I even lost sleep over it."

Evernham won't grade Kahne on his topsy-turvy season, which has included two poles and several wrecks, but he's expecting better from him and Mayfield before the Chase for the Championship begins Sept. 18 at New Hampshire. Otherwise, they might be racing for best of the rest, not a title.

"Things aren't going right, but no one is quitting," Evernham said. "If Dodge circles the wagons and puts in the necessary resources, we can win races and championships."

Evernham, 47, isn't quite fighting mad over Dodge's position, but he's using the boxing ring as therapy.

"You get in there and beat the hell out of the bags," Evernham said. "It's great for you physically and mentally. It helps you relax. Make fewer mistakes. It's the way I unwind."

Even during a stressful front half of the year, Kahne cracked a smile Tuesday over Evernham's pugilistic passion.

"I guess Ray's been punching the bag a lot lately," Kahne said. "Wish I could learn to relax like him."

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10 Questions: Kevin Harvick
By Dave Rodman, NASCAR.COM


Even if he does nothing to provoke it, Kevin Harvick can't seem to escape being noticed.

Whether it's in his role as driver for Richard Childress Racing's Nextel Cup and Busch Series operations or as an owner/driver of his own Craftsman Truck Series team, Harvick makes a lot of headlines.

After the season-opening Daytona 500, Harvick sat down to answer 10 questions not specifically directed at his racing career.

1. What's your dream vehicle that you don't already own?

Kevin Harvick: The dream vehicle that I don't already own is probably not the politically correct GM answer -- but it's probably a Porsche Carrera GT.

Q: How much opportunity have you had to drive one of those and what is the most impressive aspect?

Kevin Harvick: I really haven't had the opportunity to drive one, but I've seen it in Car & Driver and other magazines, and on TV and I saw one at the dealership.

But I knew I really didn't need to drive it because my wife would have an absolute fit for buying a $450,000 car.

2. If time on the road weren't an issue, what would be your ideal pet?

Kevin Harvick: I think we actually have our ideal pets. We have four dogs and two cats so we probably have all the pets that we'd want even if we weren't on the road.
 
Q: DJ has got the same situation, with dogs and cats -- and he manages to figure out which one is in the house and out of the house at the right time. How do they all get along?

Kevin Harvick: Well, we have a Teacup Chihuahua and a hundred-and-fifteen pound German Shepherd -- and the Chihuahua thinks it's the same size as the German Shepherd.

We usually keep the Chihuahua in the motorhome. It stays on the road and the big dog usually stays at home.

Q: Sounds like race drivers -- attitude is everything, right?

Kevin Harvick: Exactly.

3. What's your pet peeve driving on the road?
 
Kevin Harvick: My pet peeve is just the fact that some people just really don't understand how important things are and how unsafe that they actually drive.

I'm kind of the really conservative driver on the road that drives just five miles an hour over the speed limit and doesn't tailgate.

So that's probably my worst pet peeve, is somebody that rides right on your tail.

4. Racing means travel, so what is your worst hotel experience?

Kevin Harvick: The worst experience I ever had was actually when I was racing go-karts. We couldn't find a hotel in the town because we waited 'til the last minute to decide to go race.
 
We wound up somewhere out 30 or 40 miles away from the racetrack and it was the only room that we could find.

The woman that was running the desk didn't have the keys to the room so she went in through the window and unlocked the door.

We went in the room and turned on the shower and cockroaches ran up the drain, out of the bathtub and -- I think we slept in our clothes that night.

So that was the worst hotel experience by far.

5. I hate the way these questions come together, but what's your favorite food?

Kevin Harvick: I enjoy Mexican food.

Q: On the road, where's your favorite place to get Mexican?

Kevin Harvick: Really, there's no comparison to West Coast Mexican food. We'll actually fly to Bakersfield to see my sister and mom and go to the little Mexican restaurant that I always ate at when I was home.

6. If you had to choose, would it be being honest or being nice?

Kevin Harvick: Honest. I think sometimes honesty is not the nicest thing in the world, but it's always the thing that you don't have to worry about or to have to go back and cover your tracks.

7. What's your fondest childhood memory?

Kevin Harvick: I think I was pretty lucky growing up to do a lot of different things, but it probably was just the time I got to spend on the road racing go-karts.
 
Winning my first Grand National championship in Medford, Ore., was neat. We were kind of the underdog and didn't have a lot of money when we were growing up.

So that was probably the coolest thing that happened to me, when I was young.

8. What would be your dream date: Where and with whom?

Kevin Harvick: I'd say my dream date would probably be with my wife, DeLana.

We spend a lot of time together and do a lot of different things and have been to a lot of different places together.

I really don't know where we would go that we haven't been. We've been all over the country and been to the nicest places you could go, so we've been pretty fortunate on that end of it.

9. Racing and pranks kind of go hand in hand, and you've raced a lot of different series, so what's the worst prank that you either perpetrated or had played on you?

Kevin Harvick: I think the worst prank probably never got to happen just because I started to feel bad as I started to do it.

After Stewart won at Watkins Glen last year, I was going to go get him a box of Depends and put them in his car.

But I never did that because I felt like that would probably be (too bad). I didn't want everybody else to see, so I didn't do it.

10. What would you consider your "Welcome to NASCAR moment?"

Kevin Harvick: That was probably the win at Atlanta, in 2001. Just the way it changed everything that was going on in the sport, it changed the way our race team was headed and it changed a lot of attitudes of everything that was going on.

I think that was a point in my career that really opened my eyes because all of a sudden the world really changed in a hurry, so that had to be the biggest one.

Q: Was that kind of an instant gratification -- or an instant awareness when you crossed the finish line -- of what that win meant to people?

Kevin Harvick: I don't think it was instant because I don't think any of us expected anything like that to happen so fast.

I think with everything that went on after that -- there were probably many moments that really kind of made us aware of how big everything was.

I don't think any of us realized how much it meant at that particular time.

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that's racin' (phrase): Expresses frustration or emotion. 1. When a small part costing just a few dollars fails and stops a $150,000 race car, that's racin'. 2. When you race a competitor for 500 miles and lose to him by just a few feet, that's racin'. 3. When a hot dog wrapper blows out of the stands, gets caught across the air vent on the front of your car and causes your engine to overheat, that's racin'.

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NEXTEL CUP PRACTICE	4 p.m. Friday	Speed Channel
NEXTEL CUP QUALIFYING	Noon Saturday	FX
BUSCH SERIES MEIJER 300	7:30 p.m. Saturday	FX
NEXTEL CUP BATMAN BEGINS 400	1:30 p.m. Sunday	Fox
All times Eastern. Times and stations subject to change.

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Well, that's all for today.  Until the next time, I remain,

Your Momma
"Don't come here and grumble about going too fast.  Get the hell out of the race car if you've got feathers on your legs or butt.  Put a kerosene rag around your ankles so the ants won't climb up there and eat that candy ass." - Dale Earnhardt – 1998

 


Toon of the Week

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New Poll

Should Shane Hmiel be Allowed back in NASCAR after Failing Drug Test for a Second Time?
 
http://de3fan4.tripod.com/

Remember, only one vote per day!

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Comments from the Peanut Gallery

from LRTOW
Whats with the sprint cup series? Nascar isn't about Sprint Cars. That sure is bad marketing.   lrtow B.C. CANADA

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Bits and Pieces

More crew changes at DEI
Dale Earnhardt Inc. made a few more crew changes yesterday. The front tire changers and carriers were switched between the teams of Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Michael Waltrip during the race after Earnhardt fell out of contention because of tire problems. The swap helped Waltrip finish fifth after starting on pole.

"We just had some trouble today, and they wanted to address it," Waltrip said. "Boy, when we needed a great stop, the combination of the Bud boys and the NAPA boys pulled it off. It was obviously a smart decision."

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Happy Monday all....hope you enjoyed the weekend, and hope you all have a great week! 


Today In Nascar History

June 13, 1954:
Jaguar collects its first Grand National victory when Al Keller wins a 100-mile race at Linden Airport, a two-mile road course in Linden, N.J. It’s the first road race in Grand National history.

June 13, 1959:
A Ford wins the 400th race in Grand National history when Junior Johnson finishes first at Greenville, S.C. It is the 15th victory of Johnson’s career.

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Quote of the Year

"To be a real, true NASCAR driver, you have to know where the sport came from and you have to respect that history and tradition. The guys that don't respect that history and tradition, I don't think they're going to be around all that long. And those guys who don't know the history and tradition, I think it's upon them to learn about it pretty quick if they want to be a success."
– Richard Petty

Quote of the Day

"Pocono is unique in every sense of the word: its shape, its front straightaway, its scenery, location … everything. The track’s a triangle, but you don’t think about that when you’re out there. It’s not like you’re sitting in the car waiting for that fourth turn … and waiting and waiting and then going, ‘Oh yeah.’”
—Ken Schrader

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Comments from the Peanut Gallery

from Alfa
For qualifying they can set the car up anyway they want it to be. But since the car will be impounded until the race most qualify with the car in race set up except for taping the front for additional down force on  the front of the car and tire pressures and backing off the brake pads when qualifying and at High speed tracks such as Daytona. There normally is a sign on the steering wheel that says do not touch brake peddle. 

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Goodyear called to the trailer: Goodyear officials were called to the NASCAR trailer after 11 drivers blew out a total of 22 left front tires Sunday at Pocono. Goodyear product manager Rick Heinrich said Goodyear engineers noticed several setups that "were very abusive to the left front outside shoulder" of the tires and that low air pressure could have compounded the problem. "It's never the tires' fault, is it?" says crew chief Fatback McSwain, whose driver, Ricky Rudd, was the victim of six cut tires.(Sporting News)
AND Goodyear field manager Rick Heinrich blamed most of the problems on a combination of overly-aggressive chassis setups and running over the rough rumble-strip curbing at the inside edge of the tunnel turn.(Winston Salem Journal)

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Gordon Shifts...loses tranny: Despite NASCAR's new gear rule that supposedly eliminated the ability to shift, word was that #7-Robby Gordon – ever the rebel – did shift, which is what caused the transmission failure that put him out of the race.(Yahoo Sports)

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Scary Moments Flying With Jack Roush: Roush flew Saturday to Nashville, Tenn., for the Busch Series race on a plane that included Edwards, his girlfriend, Olympic swimmer Amanda Beard, and Sterling Marlin. The plane returned to Pennsylvania on Saturday night after the race was postponed because of rain. Cloud cover forced Roush to land near Wilkes-Barre instead of at Mount Pocono, and Edwards said it was an experience. "I stayed up until 4 in the morning doing missed approaches with Jack Roush, which, by the way, are way scarier than the tunnel turn over there," Edwards said. "My heart was pounding." "I have more and more trouble getting people to fly with me," quipped Roush, an accomplished pilot who survived a crash three years ago. "Getting them to fly with me the first time is not a problem, but getting them to go with me a second time is an issue." - The Richmond Times-Dispatach

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Cancer Takes The Life Of Racing With Jesus Ministry Founder: Rev. Pat Evans, founder of Racing with Jesus Ministries and familiar face to race car drivers all over the country died today (06/12/05) from cancer. Racing with Jesus Minstries, Incorporated in 1980 as a 5013c non-profit, non denominational organization was born as a result of bringing the word of God to drivers at the racetrack on Sunday afternoons. Now with branches on the east and west coast, Racing with Jesus Minstries is the largest such organization serving the motorsports community. For more information on RWJM and donations to help offset funeral expenses, please visit their website at RWJM.com . Our thoughts and prayers are with Rev. Pat's wife, Betty, Joe Bubbico, Gary Dionne, and the entire Racing with Jesus Minstries staff.

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Rumors, Rumors,Rumors
Monte Dutton
Gaston Gazette

Talk in the Nextel Cup garage area turned away from technical issues – like it or not, everyone is resigned to the fact that shifting gears is, for now, a thing of the past at Pocono Raceway – to good, old-fashioned rumors and strife.

Kevin Harvick summoned the media to strenuously deny a televised report that he was leaving Richard Childress Racing to replace Rusty Wallace at Penske Racing South next year, and another report -- this one on the Internet, regarding Ken Schrader and BAM Racing -- drew similar fire.

Harvick said he had another year on his contract with Childress and that, “in another month or so, they’re going to be embarrassed that they reported what they did,” the intimation being that Harvick will be agreeing to either an extension or a stake in ownership with Childress, for whom he has worked since 2000, first in the Busch Series.

Schrader, 50, will apparently be back for another year at BAM, according to a statement from owner Beth Ann Morgenthau:

“While we’re certainly going to make the changes and additions we need to make to improve our race team now and in the future, we are very much planning on Ken Schrader remaining in our car, and every indication Kenny has given us is that he plans on remaining in our car. We’ve already begun discussions with (sponsor) Schwan’s in regards to our plans for 2006 and the future, as well as the years following that. We’ve discussed marketing and promotional plans for the future, and those involve Ken Schrader, too.”

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Sterling Marlin to the No. 6?

David Stremme, presently in the Busch Series, will likely succeed Sterling Marlin in Chip Ganassi’s No. 40 Dodge, with Lone Star replacing Coors Light as the primary sponsor.

Also on the verge of official announcement is Martin Truex Jr. running regularly in Cup next year with the sponsorship of Bass Pro Shops.

Marlin, by the way, is having discussions with Jack Roush about the possibility of replacing Mark Martin next year in the No. 6 Ford.

MB2 Motorsports will shortly announce the buyout of Valvoline, which had held partial ownership of its No. 10 Dodge under the name MBV. That buyout would free Valvoline to move over to sponsor a third Ray Evernham Dodge in 2006.

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Tradegy at Iowa raceway: One man is dead and another seriously injured after one race car struck two others in the pit area of a southeast Iowa race track. The Iowa State Patrol says 28-year-old Brenton Slocum, of Burlington, died after he was pinned underneath a race car he was working on at the 34 Raceway. Investigators say 16-year-old Michael Mott, of Wapello, is undergoing treatment at University Hospitals in Iowa City. The patrol says a sprint car driven by 61-year-old John Batchelor, of Illinois, exited the oval racetrack and was heading into the pit area of the track when is struck two cars in the pits.(kwqc.com)

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Sad News: Robert Ray "Bud" Hutchens, 63, father of Richard Childress Racing's Bobby Hutchen's, passed away Saturday, June 11, 2005, at his home. He was retired from Leaseway Motor Cars. Mr. Hutchens was an avid NASCAR fan and had cars that raced at Bowman Gray Stadium for over 40 years. Surviving are his wife of 46 years, Mrs. Carol Long Hutchens; two sons, Bobby Hutchens and wife Sharon, Kenny Hutchens and wife Robin, all of Winston-Salem. NC; a daughter, Lisa Thomas and husband Chris of Greenville, NC; seven grandchildren; and two sisters, Margaret Edwards and Nancy Tulbert, both of Winston-Salem. A graveside service will be conducted at 11:00am/et Monday, June 13, at Waughtown Cemetery with the Rev. Norwood Green officiating. The family will receive friends from 7 to 9 this evening, June 12, at Hayworth-Miller Silas Creek Chapel. In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to American Cancer Society, 4A Oak Branch Drive, Greensboro, NC 27407 or to the Bowman Gray Neurosurgery Dept., Medical Center Blvd. Winston-Salem, NC 27157.(Winston Salem Journal)

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Rondeau sticking with DEI thru 2005, Menard to run some Cup races: Dale Earnhardt Inc. director of racing Richie Gilmore Saturday said #8-Dale Earnhardt Jr.'s former crew chief Pete Rondeau has made a commitment to the organization for the rest of 2005. Gilmore said he was not aware if Rondeau was seeking other crew chief opportunities outside DEI. Gilmore confirmed plans to place DEI's other Busch Series driver, Paul Menard, in several Nextel Cup races later this season and said Rondeau would be involved.(NASCAR.com)

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MBV/MB2 Motorsports plans expansion
Lee Spencer
  
MBV/MB2 Motorsports is expanding in August to a 144,000-square-foot facility in Mooresville, N.C., and to a third full-time team in 2006 with Centrix as the sponsor. But G.M. Jay Frye wanted to get his house in order before the move. Car chief Rodney Childers was promoted to crew chief on Scott Riggs' No. 10 car, which lets Doug Randolph, the former crew chief, move into a manager role with the organization. Frye says the team needs to create a driver development program. One young driver the team would like to bring in is Kraig Kinser, son of World of Outlaws legend Steve Kinser. But first, Frye must re-sign Riggs, whose contract expires at the end of the year.

Bobby Hamilton Jr. has one year left on his contract, but should his status in the No. 32 Tide ride change, he has a backup plan — race for his father. Bobby Hamilton Racing fields three teams in the Craftsman Truck Series and just opened a new shop. With sponsorship, BHR could start a Cup team. "We haven't figured out what we're doing yet," Hamilton Jr. says. "If Tide leaves — and there's been pretty strong rumors about them leaving — you have to be prepared for what happens. Dad's deal is there. It's always been there, but you hate to throw this deal away based just on rumors.". . .

Goodyear officials were called to the NASCAR trailer after 11 drivers blew out a total of 22 left front tires Sunday at Pocono. Goodyear product manager Rick Heinrich said Goodyear engineers noticed several setups that "were very abusive to the left front outside shoulder" of the tires and that low air pressure could have compounded the problem. "It's never the tires' fault, is it?" says crew chief Fatback McSwain, whose driver, Ricky Rudd, was the victim of six cut tires. . . .

Terry Labonte is expected to substitute for Jason Leffler in the No. 11 car in the June 26 race at Sonoma if Leffler fails to climb into the top 35 in points by then. Drivers in the top 35 are guaranteed starting spots. Labonte is the safety net for the team because he has a champion's provisional, which guarantees him a starting spot. Leffler has run just one road course race, a Busch race in 2000 at Watkins Glen. Leffler crashed at Pocono but remained in the same points position, 36th, meaning he has to improve by one spot Sunday at Michigan to lock in for the race at Sonoma. Leffler says he has wrecked so many cars that "we're bringing cars back to the track that aren't in the best shape" because the fab shop hasn't had enough turnaround time. . . .

Is International Speedway Corp. adding to its track holdings? Sources say an announcement that New Hampshire International Speedway will join the ISC family could be made in July, but NHIS public relations director Fred Neergaard denies a sale is in the works.

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Looks like a 3rd full-time team for Evernham in 2006 UPDATE: Ray Evernham, chief of Dodge-backed Evernham Motorsports [#9, #19, #91], says chances are "better than 50%" that he will have a third Cup team in 2006. He said he has tentative agreements with significant sponsors, and he pulled up short when asked who would drive the car [Jayski Note: Brendan Gaughan has been rumored]. Evernham says he has constructed a building for the proposed new team and has personnel aboard. "I think you can get the team started and kind of take it from there. The sponsor is going to have to have realistic expectations. For a first-year team, to jump right up there and win races, there's not too many people who do that. "I'm fortunate enough to say I'm one of the people who have done it, but it's still very difficult. There are [drivers] out there that can win races, and the sponsor has to go into it realistically. Every sponsor says they want a top 10 car, top 10 driver, well, there's 15 top-10 cars out there, which one do you want?(Speed Channel)(6-11-2005)
UPDATE: another rumor floating around has Casey Mears, current driver for #41 Ganassi Racing going to Evernham, with Reed Sorenson moving up from Busch into the #41 Target Dodge. And Scott Riggs, driver of the #10 MBV team could end up at Evernham.
AND Valvoline also apparently will become at least partial sponsor of a proposed third team out of Evernham Motorsports, with driver to be determined.(Speed Channel Notebook)

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New 2006 Sponsor for Ganassi....team? #40? Stremme? UPDATE: Chip Ganassi Racing with Felix Sabates announced the signing of Lone Star Steakhouse and Saloon to a multi-year sponsorship. The long-term agreement begins with the 2006 NASCAR season. Specific details are to follow at a later date. Lone Star Steakhouse & Saloon is a restaurant chain that offers full-service casual dining, featuring Texas-style ambiance. There are over 300 locations nationwide.(Chip Ganassi Racing with Felix Sabates PR)
AND Though no further details were announced, sources tell the Observer the new sponsor will pair with Coors in sponsoring David Stremme in the #40 Dodges in Nextel Cup next year.(Charlotte Observer/David Poole)(6-9-2005)
UPDATE: Although driver Sterling Marling has all but confirmed that he’s on his way out of the #40 Ganassi Dodge, team manager Tony Glover, a long-time associate of Marlin, said Saturday that he’s staying with the organization, despite rumors of an impending shake-up. "To be quite honest with you, what’s going on with Chip [Ganassi] and Felix [Sabates] and Sterling, I’m not exactly 100 percent sure of the plan” Glover said. "As far as me being back, I plan on being here a long time." Questions remain, however, about the future of general manager Andy Graves, who has been with Ganassi since his entry into stock cars in 2002. Next week at Michigan, Ganassi is expected to announce that David Stremme will replace Marlin in the #40 in 2006, with sponsorship split between Coors and Lone Star Steakhouse.(Speed Channel Notebook) (6-12-2005)

and More on Ganassi possible changes: How big a shakeup is in the works in the Ganassi Racing camp? Busch driver David Stremme is considered the heir apparent in the #40 to replace Sterling Marlin. He could do so for the last seven races of the season, and not jeopardize his rookie status for next season. Changes are expected involving the #41 team and driver Casey Mears. Sources say owner Chip Ganassi plans to clean the entire house, making way for Busch Series rookie sensation Reed Sorenson and crew chief Brian Pattie. Mears' crew chief, Jimmy Elledge, has been mentioned as a potential crew chief for Stremme. (Daytona Beach News Journal)

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Kvapil wins ARCA Race at Pocono: In the end, no one had anything for Penske Racing powerhouse #27-Travis Kvapil, who in his first ARCA RE/MAX Series attempt, handily won the Pocono 200 Saturday afternoon at Pocono Raceway, Kvapil also won the pole for the event. Kvapil crossed the final stripe just over two seconds ahead of #46-Frank Kimmel in second. Rounding out the top five were #9-Joey Miller, #11-Chad McCumbee [played Dale Jr. in ESPN's movie '3'] and #4-Michael Guerity. See results at ARCARAcing.com.
Also: Ted Olswfski, who was injured in a crash during practice Friday, was released from Lehigh Valley Hospital in Allentown. He was taken there as a precaution.(Times Leader)

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NASCAR's top series to take Sprint name in '07
By JIM UTTER
ThatsRacin.com Writer


LONG POND, Pa. – Barring an unexpected snag, NASCAR's top series will undergo another name change, beginning with the 2007 season.

The company created by the merger of Sprint and Nextel is expected to take on the name Sprint. And the name of what is now known as the Nextel Cup Series will also change to the Sprint Cup Series, ThatsRacin.com has learned.

Executives of both companies are expected to formally approve the company's new master brand name within the next two weeks. An announcement of the branding change for the Cup series would follow, sources said.

Sprint in now headquartered in Overland Park, Kan., and Nextel in Reston, Va.

"No decision has been made. Obviously, we are conducting extensive research because we want to do this right," NASCAR spokesman Michael Mooney said Sunday.

"We expect to make a decision (on the company name) by the end of the month."

The $35 billion merger, announced in December, is expected to create a company with more than 35 million wireless subscribers. Sprint would gain access to Nextel's 15.3 million subscribers, a number that increased last season as many NASCAR fans switched to Nextel as their cell phone provider.

The new company, which has used the name Sprint-Nextel since the merger was announced, is expected to keep Nextel's predominantly black-and-yellow color scheme in its marketing, including in the Cup series.

Last month, Nextel's senior vice president of marketing, Mark Schweitzer, said he believed the new company would have its branding plans completed and presented to NASCAR by the middle of July.

Schweitzer also said the new company was leaning toward using 2006 as a transition year and keeping the Nextel Cup name for at least one more season.

Nextel in 2003 signed a 10-year deal to sponsor NASCAR's top racing series, replacing R.J. Reynolds and its Winston brand as the title sponsor. The deal called for NASCAR to receive at least $75 million a year in cash and promotional concessions.

RJR had been with NASCAR for 31 years, signing in 1972 to take over what was then called the Grand National Series. The company teamed with NASCAR to build the Winston Cup Series into one of the country's fastest-growing sports properties.

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'We'll just try to keep working at it,' Dale Earnhardt Jr. says
By JIM UTTER
ThatsRacin.com Writer

LONG POND, Pa. - Signs of frustration continue to show with Dale Earnhardt Jr.'s No. 8 Chevrolet team.
Earnhardt Jr. qualified poorly and then ran into trouble early in Sunday's Pocono 500 at Pocono Raceway with two blown left-front tires.

Earnhardt Jr. moved as high as 22nd before he blew his first left-front on Lap 56. The flat dropped him a lap down, but things got worse soon after, as a second left-front let go on Lap 67.

Earnhardt Jr. finished 33rd, six laps behind winner Carl Edwards. He is now 16th in points, 500 behind leader Jimmie Johnson and in danger of not making the cut for the Chase for the Nextel Cup.

"Just going through it ain't no fun, but, hopefully, we'll just keep working," he said. "We work hard just like everybody else around here.

"As long as it's mathematically possible (to make the Chase), we'll just try to keep working at it. Even when the Chase opportunity is gone, we've still got to show up at the race track and try to win races."

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Tuning in to Channel 8

Thanks at least a million and change to the good people who do public relations work for Anheuser-Busch and Dale Earnhardt Jr. for sending this along. Pretty rich stuff.

Best Radio Chatter:
Dale Jr. remained calm, but frustrated, after a second flat tire caused a fairly ominous fire and damage to the left-front corner of the car.
Dale Jr: “Flat tire. Left front’s flat.”
Steve Hmiel (crew chief): “10-4. Gotcha.”
Jimmy Kitchens (spotter): “There’s a lotta sparks. It looks like it’s down on the front sway bar.”
Hmiel: “The left front’s not turnin.’ Let’s get those fire extinguishers…. (to Junior) Do you have brakes? Put that fire out first. Put out the fire… you alright in there June?”
Dale Jr: “’Bout as good as I could be, I guess….”
Hmiel: “Just makin’ sure you’re still breathin’ alright in there.”
Dale Jr.: “What’s cutting the left fronts down?”
Hmiel: “We don’t know. We aren’t crazy on air pressures or camber. It’s the fourth one so far today.”
Dale Jr.: “I’ll ride it to the third flat tire, but then you can get somebody else to get in here for the fourth…”

And the candidates are?

Lap 98, while five laps behind…
Dale Jr: “The 21 (Ricky Rudd) has another flat tire…”
Hmiel: “If ya think ya got one, c’mon on in.”
Dale Jr.: “NO! The 21! The 21 has another flat!”
Hmiel: “Oh, OK. Sorry. I’m just nervous.”
Dale Jr.: “Heh. Yeah, me too.”

Good thing they're the only ones, huh?

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By Mike Mulhern
JOURNAL REPORTER

 
LONG POND, Pa.  Dale Earnhardt Jr., and a number of NASCAR drivers and crew chiefs were not pleased with yesterday's amazing run of blown tires during the Pocono 500.

Goodyear's tire selection was criticized by some, with the question raised, will Goodyear bring this same tire back for next month's race here?

Andy Graves, Chip Ganassi's general manager, said, "Goodyear is cutting it pretty close.

"It's probably setup problems, because it's the same guys blowing tires over and over.... But Goodyear is cutting it a little too close. This is the same type of problem we had at Indy last year, a lot of failures."

Greg Zipadelli, Tony Stewart's crew chief, was upset, although he tried to be diplomatic: "It's hard to understand how we ran half the race without any problems, then had two go down at the end. And we didn't change air pressure, we obviously didn't change camber, and we were not aggressive on our shock package at all, not even close to what a lot of these people have.

"We had that long run at the beginning and our tire wear looked good. I don't know what to say, other than we've had this problem before.

"I don't know if it's anybody's fault, it's just the product of what we're forced to do: We come here with cars that have no spoiler, so they don't turn, so you've got to find grip.

"I was as low on air pressure as I was here last year. I was lower than this at Vegas on the left-sides. And if you look at this track vs. Vegas, it's not really that different.

"I don't know that you can blame the tire or blame the teams. It's just circumstances: you can't make any long runs in practice here, only four or five laps, and then you come in to work on your car. This is not a place like Bristol or Dover where you can rip some laps off and get a good look at tire wear."

Tommy Baldwin, Kasey Kahne's crew chief, said "most of the tire problems were self-inflicted. I don't think it was the rumble strips. I think a lot of us were too low on air."

With NASCAR's new no-shifting rules here, teams spent their one day of practice learning new lines around the track and guessing at setups.

Ryan Newman, who shook off his hard hit, thanks to the new soft walls, was surprised: "A lot of people had tire problems ... we waited til the end to have one. We had a top-10 finish going, but the left-front didn't make it."

NASCAR spokesman Kate Davis said that the numerous blown tires were "an isolated incident, but we plan on following up with Goodyear."

It probably wasn't surprising that Earnhardt wound up in the middle of the tire madness, too.

This is not shaping up as a memorable year for Earnhardt.

Earnhardt's day went sour early, with his first flat left-front tire on lap 56 of the 201-lap race. And things got worse 10 laps later, with a second flat that wrapped around the brake rotor, causing a fire.

So Earnhardt is 500 points behind tour leader Jimmie Johnson heading to Michigan this week for the year's 15th race.

Johnson finished sixth and stretched his lead over Greg Biffle, who finished 30th, to 119 points. Elliott Sadler, 21st, is third in the standings 277 points behind.

"It's hard to find anything positive about a day like today," Earnhardt said. "It's been a struggle all season, and today was another frustrating race.

"We had those flat tires, and there wasn't much we could do. We fixed it as best we could, and then just went out made laps.

"But we're going to walk out of here with our heads high. It's the only thing you can do, put it behind you and make it better for next weekend. Look forward.

"It ain't no fun. But hopefully we'll just keep working. We're not doing anything different that we can change or point to and say 'this is why we're not running good,' or 'this is how to get back on top.'

"We're not doing anything crazy.

"We really should have been running better. We're trying to make the move. We need to make the move now. We're trying. We just had a bad day."

Goodyear's Rick Heinrich pointed to the rumble strips as probably key.

"I don't think it's the particular tire being used; rumble strips are always very hard on tires," Heinrich said. "The positive camber on the left tire stands the tire up on the left shoulder, and with these long straightaways you're running down the straight on that shoulder of the tire.

"These rumble strips are pretty big, pretty harsh on tires. We like to see drivers stay off them.

"Not every team is having problems. Some of the fastest cars out there are having no problems at all.

"Raising the tire pressure can help; it really depends on the setup."

This left-side tire is the same used at Las Vegas in March. "We had no problem like this at Vegas," Heinrich said.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Motor Angst: Squabble over engines continuing
By Mike Mulhern
JOURNAL REPORTER

 
LONG POND, Pa. - Engines, engines, engines. It's all about engines this weekend, to hear drivers and engine men tell it, now that shifting is no longer an option around this road-course type high-speed track.

Then again, as loopy as qualifying yesterday was for today's Pocono 500, with so many big guns mired back in the pack, on a track where passing may be tougher than usual, there is an ominous feel about what is about to unfold. Particularly in light of how these guys had such a difficult time adjusting to the new lines around Humpy Wheeler's Charlotte track just two weeks ago.

And there are threatening clouds over the NASCAR trailer, where the unexpectedly swift and sudden death of NASCAR's proposed and intricately documented "engine of the future" appears to be a major triumph for Ford.

Ford guys Jack Roush and Robert Yates were never high on the project to begin with, and pointed out the great cost involved in throwing everything away and starting all over in time for the 2007 season.

The decision by Mike Helton, NASCAR's president, to put the new engine on the back burner isn't setting well a bit with General Motors. But the most curious aspect of Helton's surprising decision is that he is now, according to industry sources, telling Toyota officials they will have to come up with a new engine design if they want to move up from the Truck tour to either Busch or Nextel Cup.

Toyota had a Busch program planned for 2006, according to Detroit sources. NASCAR has been expected to run secret tests to evaluate the new Toyota against Ford, GM and Dodge models, both on the track and in the wind tunnel.

But now NASCAR's push for Toyota to come up with a new engine, rather than use a version of the NASCAR Truck engine its teams have been running, appears to have become a major stumbling block. It could lead to a standoff between NASCAR and Toyota.

Toyota's ace in the hole in all this is its considerable TV ad-buying power. Toyota is spending about $100 million a year in the Indy Racing League, and there is widespread speculation that Toyota may follow Chevrolet and pull out of that series.

So while Helton fiddles with the technical details of keeping the four car makers relatively happy, NASCAR CEO Brian France is working the other end of the financial equation - putting together a big new TV package, in which 30-second ad-buying power could be significant leverage.

Turning things around

Down in the trenches, Robby Gordon is finally having some engine success of his own, with NASCAR's newest engine builder, John Menard.

Gordon, one of the most popular and talented if rowdiest racers on the stock-car tour, may have finally turned things around. At least Gordon finally has some things to smile about, after such a hard, disappointing spring in this his second run at being a NASCAR owner-driver.

The next Alan Kulwicki? Gordon could be.

Kulwicki did it the hard way too, against the odds, and made himself a legend with a thrilling 1992 championship that he never got a chance to really enjoy.

Gordon's season began with a floundering at Daytona, when engine issues and qualifying rules left him outside the gates for the season opener, scratching his head. A seventh-place run in the 150-mile qualifier should have, under the old rules, put him comfortably in the field. But NASCAR has new rules this season - rules designed to protect the top-35 owners and their sponsors - rules that make it very, very difficult for a new owner such as Gordon to wedge his foot in the door.

The season didn't get much better the ensuing weeks. Engine problems continued to confound the team. Gordon shook things up three weeks ago and brought in Greg Erwin as new crew chief.

"And Frank Kerr is a very experienced team manager and car chief," Gordon said. "They're both doing a good job in getting us back on track."

Since then, things have stabilized.

It may be noteworthy that Erwin ran the computer-simulation program for Gordon last season when he was driving for Richard Childress.

But it was a win in the Baja 500 last weekend, by nearly five minutes, that has been clearly a major boost to Gordon's sagging spirits.

"The last three weeks we have been extremely competitive," Gordon said. "We have had a top-10, if not a top-five, car each of those races. Greg and the guys have given me cars that have been very driveable.

"And I'm willing to bet good money that no other team in this garage has worked the amount of hours we have, trying to get competitive."

Gordon has staked a lot on his new engine program. Rather than lease engines from one of the NASCAR tour's few engine companies, he's been working with Menard.

"Menard Engineering has been doing a very good job," Gordon said. "The motors have made it through some demanding races, and I would say the intermediate motor program is close to being on par with the top teams.

"Looking at the schedule, there is going to be an opportunity to make some headway in the points the next three weeks....

"We are testing a new road-course car where we traditionally we have been very competitive. Our goal is to get the team into the top 35 in points by the time we get to Daytona (in three weeks)."

But the engine program?

"It's not fixed, but John Menard, well, it's a work in progress and there is no budget - we can spend wisely with the best of them to be successful," Gordon said. "This is a guy who has raced successfully against Roger Penske in the Indianapolis 500 for many years, and he wants to show that his engines can perform.

"Now it's up to us to show our cars can perform as well, to keep him happy. We have to work together, and I think our relationship is going well.

"We've had some really, really tough times, we've struggled, and our sponsors have been asking us. We tell them we're working on it, and obviously we are. We're only a third of the way through the season, let us get our feet on the ground.

"Everybody loves winners, but they love that agony of defeat too. Remember that opening shot in ABC's Wide World of Sports and that skier crashing. That's part of competition.

"Certainly I don't want to see anybody fail. I've been through that myself way too many times this year.

"Right now I believe we're heading in the right direction with our own team, and our sponsors - Red Bull, Harrah's, Jim Beam, Fruit of the Loom, Menards - all believe in my driving talent. That's our selling point.

"So we're going to continue to grow our company.

"We will get it right."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Edwards gives Roush first victory at Pocono
The Associated Press

 

LONG POND, Pa. -- Carl Edwards turned his first laps at Pocono Raceway playing a video game.

He paid attention, and when it came time for the real thing, nobody was better.

Edwards raced to his second Nextel Cup victory of the year Sunday, easily adjusting to a new gearing rule and avoiding the tire woes that plagued other drivers.

The Missouri driver, who celebrated his first Cup victory three months ago in Atlanta with a backflip from the window of his car, did it again Sunday.

His Ford led 45 of 201 laps and beat the Chevrolet of Brian Vickers in a race that ended under caution on the 2.5-mile triangle. Edwards took the lead for the fourth and final time on Lap 187. Vickers led six times for 121 laps, both race highs.

While he was winning, Edwards lost the points lead in the Busch Series because a rainout Saturday night in Nashville prevented him from racing there Sunday. Reed Sorenson took the Busch lead and Edwards fell to fourth.

When he didn't race in Nashville, Edwards jumped on a plane piloted by car owner Jack Roush, who nearly died a few years ago when he crashed into a lake in Alabama. The flight proved back more adventurous than the race because an airport near the track was fogged in.

"I stayed up until 4 in the morning practicing missed approaches with Jack Roush, which, by the way are scarier than the tunnel turn,'' Edwards said. "My heart was pounding.''

Eventually, Roush diverted to Scranton-Wilkes-Barre International and landed without incident.

"I have more and more trouble getting people to fly with me,'' Roush said. "Getting them to fly with me the first time is not a problem. But getting them to go with me a second time is an issue.''
 
Edwards might be among the reluctant after his experience in the fog.

"Trust is a big thing,'' he said. "You're looking at that gauge and it says you're 500 feet above the ground, but do you really know?''

Edwards, who moved from ninth to fourth in the Cup standings, set a Pocono record for winning from the deepest in the field. He started 29th. Terry Labonte held the record by winning from the 27th position in 1995.

It was the seventh victory for Roush Racing in 14 races this season but its first here since the team entered the sport in 1988. Roush's cars had 11 previous second-place finishes at Pocono.

Roush Racing, led by Greg Biffle with four victories, and Hendrick Motorsports, have combined to win all but two of the races.

Jimmie Johnson, who swept the races here last year and was trying to become only the third driver to win three in a row on the mountaintop, finished sixth and increased his points lead to 123 over Biffle. Biffle finished 30th.

The gearing rule being used at certain events was in force, making this the first Pocono race in many years without drivers downshifting to gain quick acceleration exiting the sharp turns. The rule is designed to cut rpms and reduce the number of engine failures.

There was just one of them among the 43 cars in this race on a hot and humid day when cut tires were the main problem for the drivers. Both Kasey Kahne and Dale Earnhardt Jr. came in numerous times. Most of the cut tires were on the left front wheels, due perhaps to setups used to counter the lack of shifting.
 
Edwards had some help others lacked. Most of it came from Michael "Fatback'' McSwain, crew chief for the team of Ricky Rudd, which buys its motors from Roush-Yates Engines.

"Fatback stopped me about halfway through the race,'' Roush said. "He told me to tell Carl to beware of the curbs. Ricky figured that whenever he bumped the curb he was hurting his sidewall.''

Pocono and the road courses in Watkins Glen, N.Y., and Sonoma, Calif., are the only venues where downshifting made the cars go faster through the turns. Drivers will continue to change gears on the road circuits.

In an era where speeds continue to accelerate at most NASCAR tracks, Michael Waltrip's qualifying lap for this race was 169.052 mph, down from Kahne's year-old track record 172.533.

Vickers said his only chance to beat Edwards was to be in front of him.

"We were better than those guys on the short runs, but not on the long runs'' Vickers said. "We would have had to beat them out of the pits.''

Third in the $4.75 million race was Joe Nemechek in a Chevy. Next came the Chevy of rookie Kyle Busch and the that of Waltrip. After Johnson came Mark Martin, Kevin Harvick, Jeff Gordon and Jamie McMurray.

The winner averaged 129.177 in a race slowed eight times by 32 of caution. There were 14 lead changes among seven drivers.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Vickers finishes second in nip-'n'-tuck shootout
By Ryan Smithson, NASCAR.COM


LONG POND, Pa. -- After a year-and-a-half in the Nextel Cup Series, it's all starting to come together for Brian Vickers.

For the second time in three weeks, Brian Vickers threatened to win, and Sunday's Pocono 500 was his closest call yet.
 
But this wasn't like the Coca-Cola 600, when Vickers crashed after leading 98 laps. This time, he dominated, leading 121 of 201 laps. And for the first time, Vickers had a real shot at breaking the No. 25's win drought, which extends back two years.

Vickers had plenty of time to think about scoring that long-awaited first victory. Pocono's massive straightaways gave Vickers several seconds to think about things.

Several seconds. That's an eternity in a stock car, but Vickers said it wasn't tough to remain on task, especially with a mirror-full of Carl Edwards.

"I felt like we had a shot to win, but it's easy for your mind to wander in those situations," Vickers said. "The only thing that needs to be on your mind is Turn 1 on that lap, when you get off there, Turn 2, same thing for 200 laps."

Vickers wound up second -- easily a career-high -- and in the end, it was an extensive long run that did him in. The race stayed green from Lap 151 to Lap 196, and Edwards' Ford ran him down.

"We slowed down and he didn't. Those guys [the No. 99 team] did an awesome job on long runs," Vickers said. "We were hoping a caution would come out with 20 to go, come in, get four tires."

In an otherwise boring event, the fans at Pocono were treated to a brilliant battle between Vickers and Edwards, who repeatedly swapped the lead in the last 60 laps. Edwards would lose ground to Vickers in Turn 1, only to gain the edge right back in the critical Tunnel Turn.

Edwards joked that it was the most time he had ever spent with Vickers.

"We don't talk much. It was neat," Edwards said. "We were really working each other really hard, I have a lot of respect for him.

"He raced a lot more respectable manner than I was ready to and it brought out the best of both of them."

Vickers pitted for the final time on Lap 182, but he only got right-side tires, and he said he didn't have a shot on the final two-lap shootout because Edwards was so much better on old tires.

"I was hoping our tires would cool down and we take him," Vickers said. "The car just got a little tight."

The finish moved Vickers up three spots in the standings to 21st, putting him on the verge of cracking the top 20 for the first time in a year.

Sunday was the first time Vickers had ever scored back-to-back top-10 finishes, and the 21-year-old says it's because of crew chief Lance McGrew, who was reunited with Vickers before the season.

"We had a year apart," said Vickers, who won the 2003 Busch Series title with McGrew. "New shop, new people. We were behind the eight ball the whole time.

"We want to run top-five every week and go after championships in the long run."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Earnhardt's season spinning out of control
By Gary Graves, USA TODAY


LONG POND, Pa. — This time last year Dale Earnhardt Jr. was riding high atop NASCAR with the points lead and three victories en route to six wins and a fifth-place finish in the 10-race, playoff-style Chase for the Nextel Cup.

This season he faces the possibility of not only watching the Chase from the outside but also going winless for the first time since 1999. Few would have expected Junior to have led just five laps all year, recorded more worse-than-30th-place finishes (four) than top-five efforts (three) and failed to earn a pole halfway through the 26-race regular season.

Earnhardt has fallen from ninth to 16th in the past four races. He is 124 points out of the 10th place in the season standings, the last spot assured of advancing to the Chase, which also includes any driver within 400 points of the season leader. But Earnhardt is 504 behind leader Jimmie Johnson.

On the other hand, at least the Chase exists. Under the previous season championship system, Earnhardt — one of the sport's most marketed drivers — would be all but done.

Sunday's Pocono 500 typified his season. He started 34th, moved up to 20th and then fell back after his left front tire blew for the second time in the race and caught fire when the wheel locked. He finished 33rd. (Related item: Edwards takes checkered flag in Pocono debut | Earnhardt's statistical profile)

"It's hard to find anything positive about a day like today," Earnhardt said after the race. "It's been a struggle all season, and today was another frustrating race. We had those flat tires — and there wasn't much we could do."

Earnhardt's struggles have been magnified in recent weeks by the improvement of teammate Michael Waltrip, who inherited his cars, car chief Tony Eury Jr. and crewmen when Dale Earnhardt Inc. (DEI) switched drivers in a wholesale shakeup this offseason. Team owner Teresa Earnhardt and vice president Richie Gilmore made the decision to avoid stagnation and to separate Earnhardt and Eury, who clashed at times.

After being initially hampered by engine failures and on-track mishaps, Waltrip has finished better than Earnhardt in six of the past seven races, and he started Sunday's race with his first pole position since 1991. His fifth-place finish vaulted him past Earnhardt to 15th in the season standings, 103 points out of 10th.

Fans and media wondered whether Earnhardt's frustration came to a head May 29 at Lowe's Motor Speedway when Earnhardt bumped Waltrip into the wall and out of the Coca-Cola 600 while both were running in the top 10. Earnhardt apologized, but that incident and the numbers have fueled the perception that DEI is in turmoil. Earnhardt's firing last month after just 10 races of new crew chief Pete Rondeau, who was Waltrip's crew chief for the final few races last season, also was viewed as a panic move.

"When teams implode, sometimes you can't fix them," said three-time champion and Fox Sports analyst Darrell Waltrip, Michael's brother. "I'm not sure that's the case, but it sure looks that way."

But Michael Waltrip said looks are deceiving, especially as the object of the change in crews was DEI's long-term health.

"They've had some change," he said of Earnhardt's situation. "I, quite honestly, wanted some change if I was going to drive that car again this year (the one Earnhardt is now driving). So I guess I'm not overly surprised. I do believe, though, that Dale Jr. has the talent and ability to work with his crew. And then Richie Gilmore is bringing both teams together to share information more than we've ever done before. The change is going to be good for DEI."

Through it all Earnhardt tries to be upbeat and confident, seeing everything that has happened as means to an end. He said interim crew chief Steve Hmeil, DEI's director of technical information, has addressed several problem areas - communication between the teams being the most obvious.

"You want (changes of crews cars with Waltrip) to work out the best you can, but you kind of prepare yourself and understand it might not work out," Earnhardt said Saturday. "I wish we could've run better at a couple of racetracks and I'd like to have (won) by now, but I'm not surprised.

"I feel you just work and work and work, and we're not doing anything drastically different than our other team, and they're running pretty good every week. You can blame a little of it on the swap, but we were basically in a rut. We have to break that string and get some good fortune going our way and we might not be so bad off."

But late Sunday afternoon, after nothing had gone his way — again — Earnhardt's outlook had changed. "Just going through (the season) ain't no fun," he said.

Risky move

Earnhardt and Waltrip agree that change was difficult after being around the same people for several years, particularly in Junior's case. Since beginning in NASCAR, Earnhardt had worked with Eury Jr., his cousin, or uncle Tony Sr., now DEI's competition director. The familial relationship became tense and heated at times, but they always understood each other.

Waltrip had forged a similar if calmer bond with crew chief Richard "Slugger" Labbe the past four years up to last October, when Rondeau took over. It was a period in which Waltrip and Labbe found common ground through risk-taking and unconventional thinking. Vague as that sounds, it yielded results with two Daytona 500 wins and four superspeedway triumphs overall, as well as a top-20 standing.

"With Michael, his notes were my notes," Labbe, who joined Evernham Motorsports this season as Jeremy Mayfield's crew chief, said Saturday. "The thing we were good at, we went outside the box. ... Sometimes it worked and sometimes it didn't, but we had success by doing that."

Although the results are just starting to show, Waltrip said he and Eury Jr. hit it off right away. Earnhardt, on the other hand, concedes it was difficult conveying his thoughts and terminology to Rondeau, to say nothing of getting used to a new set of cars.
 
House divided

What nobody foresaw with the swap was how fiercely competitive the teams and drivers would become against each other. Little information was shared, and the teams functioned separately under one roof.

The problems didn't seem apparent at the Daytona 500 as Waltrip started third and Earnhardt fifth. Earnhardt was in the middle of the pack for much of the race before rallying late and leading two laps en route to a third-place finish behind Gordon and Kurt Busch. (Waltrip had engine trouble and finished 37th.)

But the silence continued, which might explain why it seemed more than a coincidence when the teammates collided two weeks ago.

"Tony Jr. said it was hard for him to open a line of communication and information flowing to my team because of the swap and because he wanted to focus on getting Michael in the Chase," said Earnhardt.

"And he didn't want us to hand over the information to the new chief and not garnish any of the credit. It was just shy of spiteful, you know what I mean? ... It was just pride getting in the way, and all the knowledge he gained over the years, he was too proud to basically do the job for Pete. And I was too proud to say, 'Yo, man, why don't you help us out a little bit?' "

One upside to that wreck was that it helped both teams recognize the problem, and Earnhardt said, "Hmeil has worked to keep both teams talking." Eury Jr. even stopped by his motorcoach after qualifying Saturday. The two talked briefly about what worked for Waltrip and how Earnhardt's Chevy responded.

"You can't take four shocks and springs out of Michael's car and throw them in Dale's Jr.'s car and he's going to like it," Eury said. "It doesn't work that way. The people working on Dale's car just have to take our setup and convert it (to his car), just like I would take their information and translate it into Michael's situation and try to get the best out of it."

But time is becoming a factor in this season — and DEI's future. Waltrip's contract is up after the season, while Eury, who's unsigned, has been mentioned as a candidate for several high-profile operations.

However the season ends, Earnhardt believes he and DEI will be stronger. So he's willing to endure second-guessing, as long as it's coming from outsiders.

"You have to be careful not to make things worse than they are," he said. "There's a big difference between understanding what you need to improve and beating yourself up about it. ... I see it as a very steep mountain, but I'm in it to win it."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

that's racin' (phrase): Expresses frustration or emotion. 1. When a small part costing just a few dollars fails and stops a $150,000 race car, that's racin'. 2. When you race a competitor for 500 miles and lose to him by just a few feet, that's racin'. 3. When a hot dog wrapper blows out of the stands, gets caught across the air vent on the front of your car and causes your engine to overheat, that's racin'.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Well, that's all for today.  Until the next time, I remain,

Your Momma
"Don't come here and grumble about going too fast.  Get the hell out of the race car if you've got feathers on your legs or butt.  Put a kerosene rag around your ankles so the ants won't climb up there and eat that candy ass." - Dale Earnhardt – 1998

Habbajeeba.....Congratulations!  You made it through the week! 




Today In Nascar History

6/10/1951-Tim Flock wins at Columbus, win #2 of the season, and #3 of his career.
6/10/1955-Junior Johnson wins at New Oxford, win #3 of the season, and #3 of his career.
6/10/1956-Ralph Moody wins at LeHi, win #1 of the season, and #1 of his career.
6/10/1961-Rex White wins at Winston-Salem, win #4 of the season, and #17 of his career.
6/10/1962-Fred Lorenzen wins at Atlanta, win #1 of the season, and #4 of his career.
6/10/1967-Bobby Allison wins at Birmingham, win #3 of the season, and #6 of his career.
6/10/1973-Richard Petty wins at College Station, win #4 of the season, and #152 of his career.
6/10/1979-Bobby Allison wins the NAPA 400 at Riverside International Speedway to move past Lee Petty into fourth place on NASCAR’s career wins list with 56. Allison would go on to win 28 more races before retiring in 1986. His 84 career victories tie him with Darrell Waltrip for third place on the all-time list, trailing only Richard Petty and David Pearson.
6/10/1984-Cale Yarborough wins at Pocono, win #3 of the season, and #81 of his career.
6/10/1990-Rusty Wallace wins at Sonoma, win #2 of the season, and #18 of his career.
6/10/2001-Jeff Gordon wins at Michigan, win #3 of the season, and #55 of his career.

Useless and Proud of It
Amy Henderson


Ever wonder why you know some of the stuff you know? Like your phone number from 1978 or all the words to the Gettysburg Address? It seems like I have a vault of racing information that is at least as useless as that. (Not that the Gettysburg Address is useless; but I’m not really convinced that being able to recite it verbatim will really get you anything.) Some of it is interesting, like Ford’s first victory at what is now the Nextel Cup level came in 1950 and was won by Jimmy Florian. Some of it is just downright silly, like the Labonte brothers’ favorite memory is not of racing, but of putting their father’s old pickup truck out of its misery with a shotgun. Whatever it is, there sure is a lot of it up there, crowding out the constructive thoughts in my brain. So in the interest of sharing, or at least of filling up someone else’s head with useless information, I share ten following useless (but fun) gems. For instance:

Besides Ford, fourteen other manufacturers have found victory lane at NASCAR’s highest level, including Jaguar.
NASCAR at one time planned on making the now long-defunct convertible division its premier series.

While current Cup driver Jimmie Johnson had season sweeps at three tracks in 2004, the all-time record is five. David Pearson swept the season’s races in 1966 at Columbia, Greenville, Hickory, Richmond, and Winston-Salem.

Mike Skinner, Robert Pressley, and Kasey Kahne all won their first-ever Craftsman Truck Series starts. Kahne liked it so much he won his second start, too.
The Flock family holds the record for most siblings in a race when Tim, Fonty, and Bob all raced along with their sister Ethel Mobley at the Daytona beach-road course in 1949.

The first Busch Series race held west of the Mississippi River was the Las Vegas 300 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway on March 15th, 1997.

Rusty Wallace’s current Busch Series team is not his first foray into team ownership. Wallace fielded a Busch team for youngest brother Kenny and almost won the series title in 1991. They finished second to Bobby Labonte, who was driving a car owned by HIS older brother, Terry.

Jack Roush is the all-time winningest owner in both the NASCAR Busch Series and Craftsman Truck Series.

Not only do Cup champs Jeff Gordon and Kurt Busch share a birthday (August 4), but they are tied for third –youngest champions of all time, because both clinched the title at exactly 26 years, 3 months, and 27 days. (In case you were wondering, Bill Rexford was the youngest at 23, and Gordon is also second youngest, at 24.

Speaking of birthdays, Cale Yarborough twice won a Cup race on his birthday (March 27), making him the only driver in history to do so
There you have it, ten completely useless (but darn fun) facts that you can use to impress (or really frighten) your friends, spice up those boring office meetings, or bore those non-fans out of their socks. You can always tell people, sure it’s totally useless, but it’s history!
Quote of the Year

"To be a real, true NASCAR driver, you have to know where the sport came from and you have to respect that history and tradition. The guys that don't respect that history and tradition, I don't think they're going to be around all that long. And those guys who don't know the history and tradition, I think it's upon them to learn about it pretty quick if they want to be a success."
– Richard Petty

Quote of the Day

"I really don't know what I'm doing, but I'm getting better at it."
—Kenny Wallace after winning the 25-lap feature at Eldora Speedway Wednesday night
New Poll

Should Shane Hmiel be Allowed back in NASCAR after Failing Drug Test for a Second Time?
 
http://de3fan4.tripod.com/

Only ONE vote per day PLEASE!
Comments from the Peanut Gallery

from Judy
Mom,  Got ya two days in a row.       YAHOO no pun intended.          Judy

from Paula
Hi Sandra(NascarMomma)
Here's something I did so that I was sure to receive newsletter. On Yahoo, just add "KnowYourNascar" to your main page. I did this by going to MyYahoo, click"Add Content" located in the top left, the under"Find", type in Know your Nascar, then click thebox"find".  Scroll down to #7 and then click"Add"  I haven't had any problems since. Hope it helps Yahoo subscribers.
Paula

Thanks Paula....hope this helps everybody!

from Pixie
WHOOPEE!  Don't know what it took to straighten the mess out with Yahoo, but I am again receiving your letter.  Thanks!
Pixie429

from RD
from Vivien
Please explain to me the rules for impound races, especially what can and\or can't be done to the cars.  Thank you sooo much in advance!          
Vivien 

The teams can do very little, basically they qualify on their race setup.  The only thing they CAN do to the car for qualifying, is to adjust air pressures in the tires, put tape on the grill, and any other air intakes that might cause drag.  When it's time for the race, the teams take the tape off the areas that need a lot of air to function properly during a long race.  They may make minor wedge adjustments, and air pressure but nothing that could not be done in a regular pit stop.  I'm dong this from memory, but you can go to Jayski's, and find the rules stated exactly as NASCAR put them out.
rd

from Alfa
nothing can be  done while car is impounded

from Pauli
Whats up Mama,
I have never had a problem receiving your letters on Netzero.  We love what you do.  Keep it up, and please don't appologize for taking care of you and yours.  Family is whats important to us all.
Much Love,
PAuli NLR Ar
Bits and Pieces

No Toyota car in 2006? The rumors of an earlier than expected entry by Toyota into the Nextel Cup Series appear to be unfounded. There had been speculation that Toyota already had built and tested cars, but no one seems to have seen the car. Most insiders say Toyota, which competes in the Craftsman Truck Series, won't move up before 2007.(Atlanta Journal-Constitution)
Sadler to extend contract with RYR/M&M's: there is a scheduled press conference at Pocono Raceway on Friday, June 10th to announce the driver Elliott Sadler will extend his contract with Robert Yates Racing and that M&M's will also extend it sponsorship contract of the #38 Ford.(PR)
Testing at Daytona: Testing in preparation for the 47th annual Pepsi 400 NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series race and the fourth annual Winn Dixie 250 presented by Pepsico NASCAR Busch Series race will be held Monday, June 13 and Tuesday, June 14, 9:00am to 5:00pm/et. Drivers scheduled to test: #33-Kerry Earnhardt [both days], #0-Mike Bliss [on Tuesday if recovered from hernia operation] and Busch driver #67-C.W. Smith [Tuesday]. The test sessions are free and open to the public with access to the Oldfield Grandstand through the lobby of DAYTONA USA.(DIS)
TV Ratings from Dover UPDATE: hearing that the TV Ratings for the MBNA RacePoints 400 at Dover International Speedway on FX was a 3.9 rating/10 share (6.1 million viewers), up +15% over last year's 3.4/9.(6-7-2005)  UPDATE: FX says it recorded its highest figure ever for a NASCAR Cup race with a 4.9 Nielsen Media Research rating for Sunday's MBNA 400 at Dover International Speedway. The cable station says the race drew 6.1 million viewers. FX also says its three Nextel Cup events (two points races and the NASCAR Nextel All-Star Challenge) this year averaged a 4.5 rating, up from the 4.0 last year. FX also says its coverage of Busch Series races this year has earned a 1.8 average rating, up 38 percent from the 1.3 last year, and an average of 2 million viewers per race, up from 1.5 million in 2004.(NASCAR Scene Daily Newsletter)
Vickers visits camp: On Tuesday, #25-Brian Vickers made the first of four scheduled trips to GMAC’s community outreach program, Team Focus. The weeklong summer camps provide fatherless boys ages 9-18 with leadership skills, guidance, Godly values and a continual relationship with a mentor. Vickers routinely spends time speaking with the youngsters about leadership, answering questions about racing and occasionally catching up with them on the baseball diamond or basketball court. In addition to visiting the Team Focus camp in Mobile, Ala., this week, Vickers will attend sessions in Michigan and Tennessee later this summer.(Brian Vickers site)
Pocono Tire Stuff: This is the first year Goodyear has brought this specific combination of left- and right-side tires to Pocono . . . this is the second of four races in which Nextel Cup teams will run this tire set-up in 2005 . . . teams ran this exact combination earlier this season at Las Vegas and will run it again at Pocono in July and at Bristol in August . . . as on all NASCAR ovals one mile or greater in length, teams are required to run inner liners in their tires at Pocono (Goodyear PR).
Hmiel has no appeal option, NASCAR says
By JIM UTTER
ThatsRacin.com Writer


LONG POND, Pa;. – Busch Series driver Shane Hmiel will not be allowed to appeal his indefinite suspension for a second violation of NASCAR’s substance abuse policy, a NASCAR official confirmed Thursday.

“It cannot be appealed. We have a very structured process for violations of our substance abuse policy,” said Jim Hunter, NASCAR’s vice president of corporate communications.

“Right now, he is suspended indefinitely. If that were to change, we would inform everyone.”

Hmiel was suspended last Thursday after NASCAR recieved results from a drug test administered after Busch Series qualifying the previous weekend at Charlotte.

Himiel, 24, was suspended nearly five months at the end of the 2003 season, also for violation of the sanctioning body’s substance abuse policy. At that time, NASCAR spelled out several steps Hmiel would need to complete before he could apply for reinstatement.

No such such steps were included in last week’s statement announcing Hmiel’s suspension.

Since then, there has been widespread speculation about an appeal by the driver.

NASCAR created its substance abuse policy in 1988. In part, the policy provides for testing of drivers and all crew members under “reasonable suspicion.”

NASCAR participants are required to read and sign a copy of the policy at the start of each season.

Craftsman Truck Series driver Ron Hornaday stepped into Braun Racing’s No. 32 Chevrolets at Dover, Del., as a last-minute replacement for Hmiel. He will driver the car again this weekend at Nashville, Tenn.
Charlotte lands NASCAR reality show
25 drivers will compete to join Roush Racing


Want to be a TV star and a NASCAR driver?

Twenty-five aspiring drivers will compete in a new reality-TV show filmed in Charlotte starting this month and shown next fall on The Discovery Channel.

The winner will compete in the 2006 NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series.

The producers for "America's Next Top Driver" -- still a working title -- are now in Charlotte and hiring crew members for the four to six weeks of shooting.

The 13-episode series will be filmed here to take advantage of Charlotte's racing ties and to capture the talent hunt conducted by Concord's Roush Racing team, said Beth Petty, director of the Charlotte Regional Film Office, a division of Charlotte Regional Partnership. The Film Office is working on the project with TV production company BrainBox Productions.

"We're thrilled they're here, to showcase Charlotte and to bring these jobs," said Petty.

The show will chronicle how the Roush team evaluates rookie drivers. A field of 25 young racers will be put through a barrage of tests to gauge their physical and mental strengths (and their media savvy and fan appeal). The competition will be filmed at Lowe's Motor Speedway and other Charlotte-area locations. Applicants are asked to list racing experience and references.

Recently the Charlotte area has served as the location of "3: The Dale Earnhardt Story" and a racing-themed episode of the WB Network's "One Tree Hill" TV series. In Rock Hill, Hollywood actor Sam Shepherd is filming the feature film "Walker," a movie about a small-town family in the 1950s.

"This is just another great example of the synergies that exist between our film industry and the motor sports industry in the Charlotte region," Petty said.

The payoff for the show's winner is a shot at professional racing through a fully sponsored deal with team owner Jack Roush.

The Roush team also points out that unlike other reality TV shows, this scenario is real. What the drivers will go through is the Roush process for finding talent. But this time it will be filmed and include drivers who applied.

The Roush team could not be reached for comment, but team members discussed the project on its Web site.

"Our unique format captures the best elements from all the ... reality shows I've seen, except ours is totally genuine, totally us, conceived to find Roush a champion and not just conceived for TV," said Geoff Smith, President of Roush Racing.

"We found Kurt Busch through a similar program in 1999," Roush said . "Todd Kluever was given a long-term contract last year through this program, and we plan on finding that next talented driver who will fit into the Roush Racing winning tradition."

Busch said, "This is a great opportunity for a talented, up-and-coming competitor."

So You Think You Can be a Racer?

To apply for The Discovery Channel's NASCAR reality show, go to www.roushracing.com, e-mail roushride@... or mail to Roush Ride, 4600 Roush Place, Concord, N.C. 28027, Attention Rory Connellan. Online applications are preferred.

Apply before June 15.
Schrader to pilot Waltrip truck at Michigan

Darrell Waltrip Motorsports and Toyota announced Thursday that Ken Schrader will pilot the No. 11 Federated Auto Parts Toyota Tundra in the upcoming Craftsman Truck Series Paramount Health Insurance 200 on June 18 at Michigan International Speedway.

Schrader has his own Truck Series operation that fields Federated Chevrolets in a limited schedule, while the veteran drives Dodges in Nextel Cup for BAM Racing.

"After a successful second half to the 2004 season, we've had a rather slow start this year," said Pat Wall, NCTS program manager at Toyota Racing Development. "We've asked Darrell Waltrip Motorsports to help us evaluate the overall Tundra package in order to enable us to continue to be successful."

Overall, Toyota has recorded four wins, seven pole positions, 31 top-five and 68 top-10 finishes since the beginning of the 2004 season.

"Toyota was very successful during their first year of NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series competition," Waltrip said. "We welcome the opportunity to field a third truck for Toyota.

"I know that Bobby Kennedy and our group will do everything possible to make this a successful endeavor. Having a third truck at Michigan will not only be valuable to TRD, but it will be beneficial to both of our teams throughout the rest of the season."

Live race coverage of the Craftsman Truck Series event at Michigan begins at 3:15 ET on SPEED Channel and the affiliate network of MRN Radio.
Earnhardt insurance trial recessed until Monday

The civil trial on a lawsuit pitting the owner of the racing team of the late Dale Earnhardt and the insurance company that refused to pay $3.7 million in benefits when he died has been postponed until next week.

Superior Court Judge Kimberly Taylor told jurors at the close of the day Tuesday that she needed a recess in the trial until Monday because of a scheduling conflict.

The trial began May 24 and is not expected to end until sometime next week.

The plaintiffs have finished presenting their case. The defense will resume Monday, according to the court clerk's office in Davidson County.

Earnhardt's racing team, Richard Childress Racing, is seeking payment from United of Omaha Life Insurance Co., a subsidiary of Mutual of Omaha, on claims the company failed to conduct a proper investigation before deciding not to pay the claim.

Earnhardt died Feb. 18, 2001, while in a last-lap crash at the Daytona 500.

His insurer denied the claim because several policy requirements, including a physical, were never completed.

Childress Racing took out the policy on Earnhardt's behalf and made a $5,000 payment in January 2001.

The policy was part of $7.2 million in benefits, according to the driver's contract, which was described in court. A $3.5 million policy with a second insurer, set up in 1996, was paid to Childress Racing and signed over to Earnhardt's widow, Teresa.
Junior Needs Something DEI Can't Give Him
MARTIN FENNELLY
Published: Jun 10, 2005 
 
 
TAMPA - Dale Earnhardt Jr. needs a driving instructor. He looks like he's going in circles. Well, actually, he is. But he's lost.

Junior sure could use Senior.

Dale Earnhardt died four years ago at Daytona as he blocked for his boy and Michael Waltrip in the 500. His son, the new face of NASCAR, lies face down in this racing season.

Junior hasn't won. Thirteen races in, he's already on his second crew chief, having dumped one, this after swapping cars and race teams with Waltrip before the season. Junior is 15th in the points standings and under fire inside Dale Earnhardt Inc., named for his daddy and headed for disaster.

Junior wrecked teammate Waltrip in the Coca-Cola 600, irking DEI insider Tony Eury Sr. - Junior's uncle. Throw in mysterious widow/stepmom/queen bee Teresa Earnhardt. What a family circus. This soap opera needs a restrictor plate.

Gone is happy Junior, the kid we love. Now it's brooding Junior, aimless Junior. Bet his father could snap him out of it. Calm him down, kick his butt, whatever. Senior would light that fire.

So could Richard Childress.

The Evil Empire

Maybe it's a pipe dream, but a break from his father's empire might be the best thing for the son. He needs a true mentor.

Who better than Richard Childress?

Where better than Richard Childress Racing?

We know it's more complicated than that. There's contractual stuff. There's loyalty to DEI. But it was Childress who paired up for good with Dale Sr. in 1984 for one of the best tandems in NASCAR history. They won six points titles. They were buddies. They looked out for each other.

Junior could use some of that. Look, he helped make this mess. But a mess it is. The entire DEI operation has become a reality show on wheels.

We know Childress already has drivers: Kevin Harvick, Dave Blaney and Jeff Burton. But try telling us Junior doesn't have more talent. And the Budweiser sponsorship of Earnhardt's car is with Junior, not DEI.

Know that Junior's future is NASCAR's future. He is the sport's most popular driver. Would we care if there was trouble on Greg Biffle's team? Who cares if Ryan Newman qualifies well but doesn't win on Sundays? With Junior, we care.

The Good Son

Childress has the money, the power and the program to make things right in Junior's world. It's not about escaping the father's shadow. It's about learning from the man who helped make it. It's about the dark clouds at DEI, and the kid being devoured by them.

Where's the fun of Junior?

We want it back.

Sooner rather than later, Dale Earnhardt Jr. needs a fresh start, free from family feuds. He has the talent to win a points title. He turns 31 this season. His father was 29 when he won his first title.

Junior could use someone to trust. His daddy isn't here. Richard Childress would be the next best thing. It might be what Junior needs to run up front again. Then we all win.
It's only June, but it's already been a wacky year in racing
By MIKE BRUDENELL
The Detroit Free Press


DETROIT - This already has been one of auto racing's most intriguing seasons in years, with favorites taking a backseat to lesser-known drivers and some history being made. Just think:

It's June, and Michael Schumacher hasn't won a race. The Formula One ace is driving like Grandma and is eighth in points. Spaniard Fernando Alonso, who has four victories, leads the standings.

Danica Patrick, a rookie driver from Illinois, is auto racing's biggest story, by a straightaway. Patrick showed a clean pair of heels - excuse the expression - to champions such as Helio Castroneves, Tony Kanaan and Scott Dixon at the Indianapolis 500, finishing fourth, the best result by a woman.

Greg Biffle has won four NASCAR Nextel Cup races, and Dale Earnhardt Jr. has yet to win. Who would have thought?

Genial Jimmie Johnson has turned rough boy, joining Kevin Harvick, Tony Stewart and Robby Gordon as the NASCAR driver most likely to spin you in a race.

Veteran Rusty Wallace, who won his only Nextel Cup championship in 1989, is running strong enough to win one again in his farewell season. Wallace, who drives for Penske Racing South, is seventh in points.

Dan Wheldon won the Indy 500, becoming the first English-born driver to do so since Graham Hill in 1966, which, incidentally, was the last time the Old Country won soccer's World Cup.

Wheldon gave team owner Michael Andretti his first victory at Indianapolis, breaking the Andretti father-son Brickyard hoodoo, which had lasted since Mario Andretti won as a driver in 1969.

Open-wheel racing drew higher television ratings than NASCAR during the Memorial Day weekend, with the Indy 500 getting a 6.5 Nielsen rating to 6.1 for the Coca-Cola 600. Both were up sharply from last year - 65 percent higher for Indy, 22 percent for the Coke race at Concord, N.C.

Ryan (Rocketman) Newman: four poles, no victories, go figure.

Californian Scott Speed will compete for the Red Bull Racing team at Sunday's Canadian Grand Prix in Montreal and the June 19 U.S. Grand Prix in Indianapolis. He's America's first Formula One driver since Michael Andretti in 1993.

Champ Car now owns the Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach, fending off the Indy Racing League and nemesis Tony George - for now.

Australian Dave Grubnic won an NHRA top fuel event Sunday - the first non-North American driver to win in drag racing's premier class.

That followed an IROC victory in April by Champ Car driver Sebastien Bourdais of France at Texas Motor Speedway. It was the first victory by a foreign-born driver in the series since Australian Geoff Brabham's victory at Michigan in 1992.

Kenny Brack virtually returned from the dead to compete in the Indy 500 with the month's fastest qualifying speed. In an ironic twist of fate, Brack replaced injured Buddy Rice, who had filled in for the Swedish driver after Brack suffered near-fatal injuries at Texas in 2003.

Wheldon has four victories in the first five IRL races, something no other driver has done in the series' 10-year history.
By the Numbers: Pocono
By Dave Rodman, NASCAR.COM


LONG POND, Pa. -- Pocono Raceway has hosted two NASCAR Cup races a year since 1982, after eight years of single-event schedules that began in 1974.

The unique 2.5-mile triangular oval has always presented competitors with a challenge, but Sunday's Pocono 500 has a new twist thanks to a gear rule that will virtually eliminate shifting gears during a hot lap.

Defending race winner Jimmie Johnson -- who swept Pocono's events a year ago -- along with 2004's Bud Pole winning youngsters, Casey Mears and Kasey Kahne, are in great position to expand the track's statistical legacy.

The following numbers refer to Pocono Raceway and the Pocono 500, unless otherwise noted.

• 1 -- The number of father-son combinations who have won: Richard and Kyle Petty.
• 1 -- The number of brother combinations who have won: Terry and Bobby Labonte.
• 1 -- The number of active drivers who won their first race: Jeremy Mayfield (1998).
• 1 -- The fewest caution periods, in 1978.
• 2 -- The number of drivers who have won three consecutive races: Bobby Allison and Tim Richmond.
• 2 -- The number of drivers who have scored top-five finishes in at least half of their starts: Mark Martin (18 of 36) and Ryan Newman (three of six).
• 2 -- The fewest finishers on the lead lap, most recently in 1982.
• 3 -- The fewest caution laps, in 1978.
• 4 -- The number of drivers who scored top-10 finishes in both races in 2004: Jimmie Johnson, Jeff Gordon, Robby Gordon and Jeremy Mayfield.
• 4 -- The number of races shortened by rain.
• 4 -- The fewest laps led by a race winner, by Bobby Labonte in 2001.
• 4 -- The fewest leaders, most recently in 1985.
• 5 -- Bill Elliott's leading number of victories.
• 5 -- Ken Schrader and Bill Elliott's leading number of pole positions.
• 5 -- The number of drivers who have won in Rick Hendrick-owned cars.
• 5.17 -- Jimmie Johnson's average starting position in six races, best among active drivers.
• 6 -- Mark Martin's number of second place finishes, most recently in 2004.
• 6.9 -- Mark Martin's average starting position in 36 races, the best of all drivers with at least 10 starts.
• 7 -- Jeff Gordon's leading number of top-10 finishes in his last 10 starts.
• 7.83 -- Jimmie Johnson's average finish in six races, best among all drivers.
• 9 -- The number of the 54 races won from the pole position.
• 10 -- The fewest lead changes, in 1998.
• 10 -- Rick Hendrick's leading number of victories by a car owner.
• 12 -- Ricky Rudd's leading number of DNFs by an active driver.
• 12 -- Elliott Sadler's career starts at Pocono without a DNF.
• 13 -- The most caution periods, in 1990.
• 16 -- The number of different pole winners since 1996.
• 16 -- The most leaders, most recent of three times in 2004.
• 18 -- Mark Martin's leading number of top-five finishes.
• 18 -- The fewest cars running at the finish, in 1982.
• 24 -- Jeff Gordon's age when he became the youngest winner.
• 25 -- Mark Martin's leading number of top-10 finishes.
• 26 -- Rusty Wallace's string of races running at the finish, the longest current streak.
• 26 -- The most finishers on the lead lap, in 2002.
• 27 -- Terry Labonte's starting position in 1995, the farthest back a race winner has started.
• 27 -- Tony Stewart's best finish in his last three starts.
• 31 -- The number of the 54 races won from starting positions within the first two rows.
• 39 -- The number of the 54 races won from starting positions inside the top 10.
• 39 -- The most cars running at the finish, in 2001.
• 50 -- Harry Gant's age when he became the oldest winner in 1990.
• 56 -- The most lead changes, in 1979.
• 57 -- The most caution laps, in 2004.
• 144.893 -- Rusty Wallace's 500-mile race record average speed in miles per hour, set in 1996.
• 164 -- The most laps led by a race winner, by Jeff Gordon in 1998.
• 172.533 -- Kasey Kahne's Bud Pole Qualifying record lap, in miles per hour, set in 2004.
• 841 -- Jeff Gordon's leading number of laps led.

Marlin may lose ride before season is over
BY MARK DECOTIS
FLORIDA TODAY 


Racing has been Sterling Marlin's life.

And though it appears one of the last remaining "good old boys" could be headed to the unemployment line, Marlin refuses to do the hound-dog hang.

"I just never give up," Marlin told a NASCAR teleconference on Tuesday. "I mean, it's something that you always enjoy doing. I've seen the highs and lows. Just got to work through it."

Things can't be much lower than right now for Marlin, who has been racing at NASCAR's elite Winston Cup and Nextel Cup levels since 1976. He is scuffling around at 23rd in points with one top five and three top 10s in 13 races this year. He has not won since the spring Darlington race in 2002, a season that was especially cruel.

Marlin led the points for 25 straight weeks that season, only to suffer a neck injury in a wreck at Kansas that forced him out of his Ganassi Racing machine for the season's final seven races. He finished 18th in points that year, 18th again in 2003 and 21st in 2004.

His performances this year have been lackluster, and Marlin said it's basically a done deal that he won't be back in Ganassi's Dodge in 2006 -- especially since his contract with sponsor Coors Light expires at the end of the season. In fact, speculation is Busch Series driver David Stremme might replace Marlin before the season is complete.

Marlin appears resigned to his fate.

"It's stuff out of your hands, you can't control, so that's about it," Marlin said.

Getting the cold shoulder from Ganassi has not extinguished Marlin's fire to compete.

"I've been approached by some teams," Marlin said, "and I'm talking to some teams to try to get something lined up by the time I get to Daytona (July 2) and get your sights set up for next year.

"I still have fun. Every day you get up and I think about a race car, what you can do to make it better. Working on one when you was a kid and going to the races and still enjoy seeing the fans and racing. And you wake up and you just say, 'I'm tired,' that's the day you need to quit."

Marlin, who turns 48 on June 30 and is the son of stock-car racing pioneer Clifton "Coo Coo" Marlin, has been involved in the sport since he was 12. He has raced for 17 different owners in his 29-year career, including the legendary Junior Johnson for two seasons. In fact, he joked he still might be an employee of Johnson, though they parted company in 1992.

"I never got a pink slip from him," Marlin said. "So I guess I'm still driving for him. Never told me nothing. So (I) got to read between the lines, (and I) went and got another job."

That's where Marlin finds himself 13 seasons later, reading the tea leaves and shaking the bushes once again.

"I'm definitely still trying to do everything I can," Marlin said. "You do all you can do. Just, you know, talk to Chip Monday and just try to figure out what all three teams are going to do. So (I've) just got to back up and see what you've changed the last couple of years, get back to the basics and plan on stuff that's worked and go from there."

Marlin would be within his rights to be angry about getting the bum's rush -- Dodges have been less than competitive this season compared to Ford and Chevy. Marlin says the cars just are not handling, but he is not harboring any ill will, at least outwardly.

"Back in 2001 (Ganassi) didn't have to sign me up to drive the car, and I got an opportunity to get a good race car and good stuff and won races," he said. "Had a good chance to win the championship for two years and things kind of went south on us, and we ain't got the cars back to where they need to be. My contract is up and they want to do some different things, and I guess I'll go do some different things and we'll still be friends.

"We need to look at what we're doing if I stayed there. You know, we're just, like I said, just get cars back to where they was. And you know, I'd like to retire driving for the Coors car. But that's not going to happen."
Some big names may miss the Chase
Two former Cup champs among those struggling halfway to NASCAR's playoff
COMMENTARY
By Allen Bestwick
NBC Sports


With 13 races down and 13 races left before the cutoff for qualifying for the Chase for the Championship, it’s a good time to look at which drivers are in the best shape and which are struggling to make the 10-race playoff.

At this point some drivers must be considered virtual locks to make the Chase while others are longshots whose chance to be in the title hunt rests on turning in a strong summer of results.

When I was asked to write on this topic I felt like the guy in “Mission Impossible.” You know, the “your mission, should you accept it” thing where the result is noble but figuring out how you’ll get there is a little tricky.

The idea of figuring out which drivers will qualify for the Chase and which will miss out is fun, but trying to predict anything in NASCAR racing these days is dicey, so the potential to look foolish in a few months is very real!

That said, I forge ahead for the greater good and make my fearless predictions, hoping that if I’m somehow way off base then this column will self-destruct in five seconds…yeah, right.

Looking like locks

Mathematically, no driver is a lock to get into the Chase, but with the way Jimmie Johnson and Greg Biffle are running I figure they easily make the playoff.

Johnson, who after 13 races led the championship points standings by 46 points over Biffle, recorded 10 top-10 finishes in the first 13 races, seven of those top-five results. That kind of pace makes him pretty much a lock in my book.

Here’s another way to look at the first three-plus months of Johnson’s season: Of the three races in the first 13 in which he did not record a top-10 result, two were events he failed to finish -- both because of accidents.

Summation: If Johnson's on the track at the checkered flag, he’s very likely in the top 10 somewhere, and quite possibly in the top five. That kind of consistency is a sure way to make it into the Chase.

As for Biffle his four wins over the first 13 races were the most of any driver. And his nine top-10 finishes are second most among drivers.

More importantly Biffle and his team are on top of their game in several different ways that will really help them over the summer.

First, Biffle is simply up on the wheel, driving with a blend of intensity and confidence that’s hard to beat.

Biffle gets that confidence from not only his own skills, but from his team, which is putting sound, speedy cars together and backing that up with solid pit stops and in-race chassis adjustments to keep the speed all race long.

Biffle seems to be really thriving with this season's new rules package featuring shorter rear spoilers and softer tires.

His wins this year have come on high speed tracks where a car is teetering on the edge of disaster all through the race.

He and his team are not just winning races, they're dominating them and with several more such tracks on the schedule over the summer, I think that gives Biffle a great shot to pick up some more wins and cruise into the Chase.

After 13 races Ryan Newman and Mark Martin were fourth and sixth respectively. I think they’re both going to be in the Chase.

While Newman hasn’t won yet this year, he has shown the consistency needed to win a championship, something not always evident in his past results.

Though not by choice, Newman had a kind of win-or-bust thing going in years past, but in 2005 he has failed to finish only one race and that was Talladega, where getting caught up in a big wreck is not something you can hold against a driver or a team.

I think Newman will get his share of wins over the summer. And the consistency he has shown  will put him into championship contention.

Martin scored a win in the Nextel All-Star Challenge in late May, but his results over the first 13 races were maddeningly inconsistent.

Though Martin had six top-10 results in the first 13 races, he also had five results in the 20s or 30s -- numbers very much out of character for Martin.

After a strong month of May and a solid start to June, I think Martin will show well over the summer and I expect him to make the Chase and contend for the title in his final season of Cup racing.

I would love to see both Martin and Rusty Wallace, who's also leaving the Cup scene after this year, have a shot at the championship this fall.

The final driver I feel is certain to make the Chase is Jeff Gordon, but things will have to get better for Gordon to contend for the title.

Halfway to the Chase Gordon's number of top-10 finishes equaled the number of races in which he failed to finish. In the first 13 races, Gordon had three wins and five top-fives which were offset by five DNFs -- a very strange ledger.

But if past performance is even a slight predictor of future trends the wins will continue for Gordon but the problems won’t. It will be a huge surprise to me if Gordon does not make the Chase.

Longshots for the Chase

I’ll start with Matt Kenseth, the 2003 Cup champion, who has endured a miserable first third of the season. After 13 races Kenseth was 22nd in the championship point standings with only two top-10 finishes.

By Kenseth’s own admission he and his team have tried some new things with their cars that just didn't pan out. So they have gone back to the more tried-and-true things.

Halfway to the Chase, Kenseth was 278 points out of 10th place, a gap that is not insurmountable but certainly is a tall hurdle to clear.

Kasey Kahne is another driver who had his share of struggles over the first 13 races.

Kahne had four top-five finishes, but also had four DNFs. While only 164 points out of 10th place halfway to the Chase, Kahne was looking at having to get past five drivers to make it into tenth.

Kahne can do it, but in order to qualify for the playoff he really can’t afford to fall out of any more races and give up any more ground to the competition.

After 13 races Jeff Burton stood 16th in the championship points standings, 121 points out of 10th.

But to me Burton is a longshot for the Chase because he and his team haven’t been able to finish in the top 10 consistently enough to make me think they'll make the playoff.

Halfway to the Chase Burton had only two top-10 results and most of his finishes were between 12th and 20th. That range -- 12th to 20th -- isn’t likely to produce enough points for Burton to make Chase so he and his team need to step it up if they're going to be racing for the championship this fall.

Kyle Busch was 19th in the championship points standings halfway to the Chase, and while a longshot for the playoff Busch did display an upturn in performance as the summer approached.

The 20-year-old younger brother of last year’s Nextel Cup champion Kurt Busch, Kyle scored top-five finishes in two of the last three races before the midway point to the Chase.

Busch came home fourth at Richmond and second at Dover -- plus he won a couple of support races, further building his confidence and experience.

If Busch is able to sustain that kind of momentum over the summer, he could well sneak into the Chase. It’s a longshot, but not out of the question.

Bobby Labonte, the 2000 Cup champion, had a miserable time through the first 13 races.

Labonte recorded an unbelievable six DNFs -- a stunning total chalked up to both mechanical gremlins (four engine failures) and wrong-place, wrong-time wrecks (at Las Vegas and Atlanta).

Halfway to the cutoff for making the Chase, Labonte was a whopping 381 points from 10th place, an Everest-like mountain to climb under NASCAR’s point system.

Calling Labonte a longshot for the Chase may simply be polite, but as the Kentucky Derby proved, sometimes even a polite longshot can make a stretch run.
that's racin' (phrase): Expresses frustration or emotion. 1. When a small part costing just a few dollars fails and stops a $150,000 race car, that's racin'. 2. When you race a competitor for 500 miles and lose to him by just a few feet, that's racin'. 3. When a hot dog wrapper blows out of the stands, gets caught across the air vent on the front of your car and causes your engine to overheat, that's racin'.
NASCAR ON TV THIS WEEK

NEXTEL CUP PRACTICE	4 p.m. Friday	Speed Channel
CRAFTSMAN TRUCK SERIES CHEX 400	9 p.m. Friday	Speed Channel
NEXTEL CUP QUALIFYING	Noon Saturday	FX
BUSCH SERIES QUALIFYING	5 p.m. Saturday	Speed Channel
BUSCH SERIES FEDERATED AUTO PARTS 300	7:30 p.m. Saturday	FX
NEXTEL CUP POCONO 500	1 p.m. Sunday	Fox
All times Eastern. Times and stations subject to change.

Well, that's all for today.  Everyone have an awesome weekend.  Until the next time, I remain,

Your Momma
"Don't come here and grumble about going too fast.  Get the hell out of the race car if you've got feathers on your legs or butt.  Put a kerosene rag around your ankles so the ants won't climb up there and eat that candy ass." - Dale Earnhardt – 1998

"It's nothin' personal, it's just racin'
-Dale Earnhardt Sr.

This list is authored by:

Sandra Monacelli
221 W. 57th Street 18B
Loveland, CO  80538
970/663-6967

Happy Thursday....WooooHoooo, only one more day! 



Today In Nascar History

6/09/1963-Richard Petty wins at Birmingham, win #9 of the season, and #22 of his career.
6/09/1966-David Pearson wins at Maryville, win #8 of the season, and #21 of his career.
6/09/1974-Cale Yarborough wins at Riverside, win #6 of the season, and #24 of his career.
6/09/1985-Bill Elliott wins at Pocono, win #6 of the season, and #10 of his career.
6/09/1991-Davey Allison wins at Sonoma, win #2 of the season, and #10 of his career

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Quote of the Year

"To be a real, true NASCAR driver, you have to know where the sport came from and you have to respect that history and tradition. The guys that don't respect that history and tradition, I don't think they're going to be around all that long. And those guys who don't know the history and tradition, I think it's upon them to learn about it pretty quick if they want to be a success."
– Richard Petty

Quote of the Day

"He's the guy who likes to play give and take — point people by if they're faster and better — which is very respectful and nice to do. In today's racing, you can't do that, and you have to race every lap and fight for every square inch."
—Jimmie Johnson on Tony Stewart

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Comments from the Peanut Gallery

from Jo
Hmiel
Does anyone else out there notice how his eyes dart back and forth when being interviewed; that he can't stand still; always moving.  So what causes that?  Jo

from Bob S
I suspect something is going on, and you're in a lot of thoughts.

Bless you fair lady, Bob

Welcome back, and my thoughts are with you both. Take your time for the important stuff.

Cheers, Bob

from RD
I watched the Champ Car race this morning, that I recorded Saturday.  It ran long, so the CCWS officials made it a timed event.  Some other racing sanctions do that as well.
 
I think it would be a great idea for NASCAR to do that.  They could take the average race time of a particular event, then  say you have 4 hours, or what ever to complete this event.  This would be good for the TV Networks, and for people recording, or taping at home. 
 
What are some of your thoughts on this matter?
rd

 

Nope, can't say as I agree with ya RD....especially if one of your silly dang drivers is leading at the end of the time....I'd never hear the end of it!

from Tim
Just figured I would let you know that Yahoo help is useless. They are worse than AOL, and you know I fight AOL. Aol blames Yahoo, Yahoo blames AOL. Guess it is time to give up and not waste everyones time and energy. Thanks for everything mama... Tim

from Pixie
Have tried sending request to Yahoo to remove block on my mail with no results, SO, how 'bout if I just subscribe again?

Therefore, please include me on your daily mailing list of KnowYourNascar and I will be eternally grateful to once again be able to receive your entertaining and informative newsletter.  e-mail is:  Hope to find it in my mailbox soon.  Thanks
Pixie429

from Vivien
Please explain to me the rules for impound races, especially what can and\or can't be done to the cars.  Thank you sooo much in advance!          
Vivien  

Ok guys....let's hear your answers!

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Bits and Pieces

Wallace wins at Eldora
By Jerry Bonkowski, Yahoo! Sports
 
 
ROSSBURG, Ohio – The $10,000 winner's paycheck was far from the standard amount that Nextel Cup or the Busch Series award. What's more, there were no points to be won, either.

Yet Kenny Wallace had one of the best times he's ever had behind the wheel of a race car Wednesday night, winning the inaugural Nextel Prelude to a Dream late model modified stock car race at the Tony Stewart-owned Eldora Speedway.

Although the main event was just a 25-lap sprint, the nearly 20,000 fans in attendance saw plenty of action, including a surprise pole-winning performance by 70-something-year-old – he admits to being "somewhere between 75 and 70" – stock car legend Red Farmer, and a surprise appearance and strong fifth-place performance by semi-retired NASCAR great Bill Elliott.

Given the success – and the nearly $75,000 raised for Kyle Petty's Victory Junction Gang Camp (Petty finished 13th out of 14 cars) – Stewart said what started out as an experiment will return for an encore performance next year.

"The people have spoken and it will happen," said a smiling Stewart, who bought the legendary race track during the offseason.
 
Wednesday's race was Stewart's first major event as the new owner and he pulled off an exciting night of racing that had fans on their feet and cheering as if they were at a Nextel Cup event.

The finishing order was Wallace, followed by Stewart and sprint car ace Danny Lasoski.

"I thought I was seeing double out there, with two No. 20s in my mirror," Wallace quipped.

Ken Schrader was fourth, followed by Elliott, Dave Blaney, Bobby Labonte, Farmer, drag racer Ron Capps, Matt Kenseth, Jeff Green, Kevin Harvick, Petty and Mike Wallace, who was the only driver who failed to finish, suffering a blown motor midway through the race.

With nearly a dozen of Stewart's Nextel Cup buddies in the field, Wallace predicted the pressure will be on even more Cup drivers to take part in next year's race.

"I think you'll see a Nextel Cup dirt race here next year," Wallace said.

Playing off the celebrated run-in Stewart had with Jeff Gordon this past Sunday at Dover, Del., Wallace then added the line that drew the most applause and cheers of the night: "What I think everybody will be looking for next year is Jeff Gordon going head-to-head with Tony Stewart. Now that should be interesting."

Veteran motorsports writer Jerry Bonkowski is a Yahoo! Sports NASCAR analyst.

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Speed Weeks shuffle: The Rolex 24 At Daytona is moving up -- to a new date on the calendar. And the focus of next year's Speed Weeks will be different. The Rolex 24 At Daytona is being moved from its normal first weekend of February one week earlier to Jan. 28-29. The move is believed to be permanent, and is designed to end a longstanding first-Sunday-in-February schedule conflict between the race and the NFL's Super Bowl. Daytona International Speedway and Rolex Series officials will announce the move today. The move breaks the Rolex 24's longstanding tradition of being DIS' opening act in a three-week glut of car racing to follow. The NASCAR portion of the schedule remains unchanged, although the switch may affect testing dates. By slating the race's 44th edition for an off-weekend falling between the NFL's conference championships and ultimate game, those connected with the event say the move will allow fans to participate in both, instead of having to choose one over the other. ...Though Speedway officials were mum beyond comments on the Rolex 24, sources familiar with the new schedule say DIS' wall-to-wall January test dates will have to be shifted as well, with Nextel Cup or Busch Series testing -- perhaps a combination of both -- likely to fill the one-week void created by the Rolex 24 move. Seen as a transportation cost-saving bonus for Cup teams, tests done in the week previous to NASCAR's portion of the schedule will allow the teams to arrive and stay, instead of testing, leaving and returning over many different weeks, as has been the case for years. - The Daytona Beach News-Journal

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Rain Cancels Second Day of NASCAR Testing; Robby Gordon Will Return for Test on June 14: The second day of a two-day NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series test session was canceled on Wednesday at Infineon Raceway because of rain. Boris Said (Centrix Financial Chevrolet), who has placed sixth the last two years at Infineon Raceway in the Dodge/Save Mart 350, posted the top time on Tuesday over the 10-turn, 1.99-mile road course at 1 minute, 16.50 seconds. Jeff Gordon (DuPont Chevrolet) holds the track qualifying record of 1:15.968, set in 2004. The NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series will visit the Sonoma Valley, June 24-26, for the Dodge/Save Mart 350 weekend. Other testers on Tuesday included: Scott Pruett (Target Dodge, 1:16.60); Jamie McMurray (Texaco Havoline Dodge, 1:16.60); Kyle Busch (Kellogg’s Chevrolet, 1:17.25); Brian Simo (Richard Childress Racing, 1:17.49); and Chris Cook (NEMCO Motorsports, no time). Robby Gordon (Harrah’s Chevrolet) was scheduled for a one-day test on Wednesday, but will return to Infineon Raceway next Tuesday (June 14). Gordon is the only driver scheduled to return to the Sonoma Valley next week. “The rain hurt us today but we’ll come out here next week and get some work in,” said Gordon, winner of the 2003 Dodge/Save Mart 350. “I’ve always performed pretty well here and we can use the work to get ready for the race.” Great tickets are still available for the Dodge/Save Mart 350 by calling 800-870-RACE or visiting infineonraceway.com or ticketmaster.com. - Infineon Raceway PR

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Lone Star Steakhouse and Saloon Joins Chip Ganassi Racing with Felix Sabates: Chip Ganassi Racing with Felix Sabates announced today the signing of Lone Star Steakhouse and Saloon to a multi-year sponsorship. The long-term agreement begins with the 2006 NASCAR season. Specific details are to follow at a later date. “The team is very excited about adding Lone Star as an important partner,” team owner Chip Ganassi said. “It is always exciting when you can bring a new sponsor into the sport, and we are looking forward to a very long and mutually beneficial partnership together.” “We couldn’t be happier to add another first-class company to our stable of partners,” said Felix Sabates. “Lone Star is a great company with great people, and we’re excited to build on what we started with them at the end of 2004.” Lone Star Steakhouse & Saloon is a restaurant chain that offers full-service casual dining, featuring Texas-style ambiance. The first Lone Star Steakhouse and Saloon was opened in October 1989 in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. Lone Star Steakhouse and Saloon concepts include Sullivan’s, Del Frisco’s Double Eagle Steak Houses, Texas Land & Cattle restaurants and Frankie’s Italian Grille. There are over 300 locations nationwide. “This is an important initiative for our restaurants, our customers and our Lone Star team Members,” Lone Star Steakhouse and Saloon CEO Jamie Coulter said. “We’re excited to join the NASCAR community, and we’re happy to be sponsoring an organization in Chip Ganassi Racing with Felix Sabates that focuses on partnership, performance, and integrity.” - Chip Ganassi Racing with Felix Sabates PR  - I knew I liked that place for a reason!

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Brendan Gaughan To Relieve Bliss In NetZero Best Buy Chevy At Pocono: NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series driver Brendan Gaughan will share driving duties in the No. 0 NetZero Best Buy Racing Chevrolet with Mike Bliss, who underwent successful hernia surgery Monday morning, for this weekend’s event at Pocono (Penn.) Raceway. “When it became obvious to us that Mike would need some help this weekend our thoughts immediately went to Brendan,” said Joe Custer, General Manager of Haas CNC Racing. “Brendan, along with Orleans Racing and its sponsor Jasper Engines and Transmissions, have been gracious enough to agree to let us borrow him for the weekend even though he is competing for his fifth win at Texas Motor Speedway Friday night. A big part of what is great about this sport is the willingness of the competitors to jump right in and help each other out in situations like this. Our main focus is to make sure that Mike is healthy for the remainder of the season and whatever we need to do this weekend to make sure that happens is what we will do.” Gaughan will take part in the scheduled practice and qualifying sessions at Texas Motor Speedway before heading to Pocono Raceway Friday. Bliss plans to make several laps during practice for the Pocono 500 Friday afternoon before Gaughan takes over. Bliss is scheduled to qualify the car Saturday and start the race before giving up his seat in the NetZero Best Buy Chevy during the first possible opportunity. “I was hoping it wouldn’t come to this, but I think it’s in our best interest to make sure we have a plan in place before we get to Pocono,” stated Bliss. “Obviously if the surgery was something that could have waited until the end of the season that’s what I would rather have done, but it couldn’t, so we’ll make the best of a difficult situation this weekend. I appreciate Brendan helping us out, especially since he’s racing in Texas this weekend, and I know he’ll do a good job for the team. We’ve got a little momentum going, having picked up a couple of spots in the points after last weekend’s race, and hopefully I’ll do a good job qualifying the NetZero Best Buy Chevrolet and will be able to get the job done until we get a caution on Sunday and can make the switch.” - Motorsports Marketing Solutions, Inc.

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Peak Performance Announces Garvey As Driver - Jani-King Will Sponsor No. 66 in Six Races: Peak Performance Motorsports owner Jeff Stec announced Mike Garvey as the driver of the No. 66 Ford Wednesday, June 8. Garvey, a winner in the ASA and USAR Hooters Pro Cup Series, will take over the driving responsibilities this weekend at Pocono. Jani-King, a long-time sponsor of Garvey, will follow him to the Nextel Cup Series for a six-race sponsorship package.

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Singer/Songwriter JoJo To Perform National Anthem Before 47th Annual Pepsi 400: Blackground/Universal recording artist JoJo will perform the National Anthem before the 47th annual Pepsi 400 NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series race on Saturday, July 2 at historic Daytona International Speedway. "Over the past year, R&B sensation has created a buzz on the music scene by reaching No. 1 on the Billboard's Top 40 with her first single 'Leave (Get Out),' "Daytona International Speedway President Robin Braig said. "It seems like a natural that she would lend her dynamic voice to another number one - the biggest nighttime motorsports event in America - the Pepsi 400. She's sure to have the crowd pumped up for this year's Independence Day holiday weekend classic with her rendition of the National Anthem." The 14-year-old singing sensation from Foxboro, Mass., first appeared on the music scene at the age of 6 when she appeared on Bill Cosby's "Kids Say the Darndest Things." Her performance led to appearances on "America's Most Talented Kids," "The Rosie O'Donnell Show," "The Oprah Winfrey Show" and the 2000 Republican National Convention in Boston. - Who the heck is JoJo?

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Dale Jarrett Racing Adventure may have to close CORRECTION NOT TRUE: Dale Jarrett Racing Adventure Inc. incurred a net loss for the quarter ended March 31 and says its auditors have expressed reservations about the company's ability to continue operating. The Denver, N.C., company, which operates a stock-car fantasy driving school at several tracks around the country, including one at Lowe's Motor Speedway, says in its SEC filing it has experienced a significant loss from operations, a result of investments necessary to achieve its operating plan. From the company's creation in 1998 through March 31, Dale Jarrett Racing has incurred net losses of nearly $4.8 million. The company has a working capital deficit of more than $1 million. The company says failure to secure equity financing, raise additional capital or attain profitable operations may result in the company depleting its available funds and not being able pay its obligations. This month, Dale Jarrett Racing announced it changed from a fiscal year ending June 30 to a calendar year ending Dec. 31 to better coincide with business planning and strategy.(Business Journal - Looks like they took the article off the site)(6-3-2005)
CORRECTION: Dale Jarrett Racing Adventure says "We are not closing, in fact we are expanding our business:" Dale Jarrett Racing Adventure, a company that has provided the thrill of driving a Nextel Cup car around NASCAR tracks nationwide to thousands of customers over the last 5 years, is going strong and growing every year. Dale Jarrett Racing Adventure is a publicly traded company under the symbol DJRT and files financial reports with the SEC every quarter. According to Tim Shannon, President, "Our first quarter, being winter, is traditionally our slowest. This is when the auditor usually is required to add the "going concern" statement which is based on only a few factors and does not accurately reflect the entire dynamic of the company. We have grown by 35% and more every year of the last four and have not had to raise any outside capital in the process and have no plans to do so in the near future. In fact, we are so pleased with our development that we have implemented a strategy to expand our business into other areas where the respected Dale Jarrett brand can bring benefit to companies and shareholders alike." Readers are encouraged to not only review all Dale Jarrett Racing Adventure filings with the SEC but to visit their website for more information about their unique product which features side by side racing and passing at racingadventure.com.(Dale Jarrett Racing Adventure, 888-GO-RACE-1)

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New 2006 Sponsor for Ganassi....team? Chip Ganassi Racing with Felix Sabates announced the signing of Lone Star Steakhouse and Saloon to a multi-year sponsorship. The long-term agreement begins with the 2006 NASCAR season. Specific details are to follow at a later date. Lone Star Steakhouse & Saloon is a restaurant chain that offers full-service casual dining, featuring Texas-style ambiance. There are over 300 locations nationwide.(Chip Ganassi Racing with Felix Sabates PR)

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Marlin says he is out at Ganassi, expects to finish year: Reports have recently circulated that Sterling Marlin might not drive the final seven races of the season for Chip Ganassi Racing. Marlin, the guest driver on yesterday's weekly NASCAR Nextel Cup conference call, said he "feels pretty certain they'll honor the deal," but added: "Some things are out of your hands." The veteran driver from Columbia said he is "100 percent sure I won't be back (with Ganassi) next year," and said he is currently looking for a new ride. Marlin also announced plans to run Saturday's Busch race at the Nashville Superspeedway.(Tennessean)
AND When it comes to determining his future in the NASCAR Cup Series, it's a different matter. Marlin actively has several lines in the water trying to land a ride for next season. "I've been approached by some teams and I'm talking to some teams," Marlin said. Marlin said he hasn't officially received word that he won't be back for a ninth season with the team that Chip Ganassi bought from Felix Sabates in 2000. But Marlin knows which way the wind is blowing as Ganassi grows dissatisfied with not winning.(High Point Enterprise)

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#675 for Rusty: #2-Rusty Wallace will be making his 675th consecutive NASCAR NEXTEL Cup start [684 races total] in Sunday's Pocono 500 at Pocono Raceway. In 42 career starts on the triangular-shaped 2.5-mile Pocono track, he has recorded 4 wins, 9 top-5 finishes, 16 top-10 finishes and 3 poles. He ranks third in career laps led on the track with 735.(Tom Roberts PR), unless Rusty comes back in 2006 for the first three races, his consecutive streak will stop at 697.

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Driver honored: ARCA and part-time NASCAR driver, Bobby Gerhart Jr. was honored yesterday morning by the [Pennsylvania] House of Representatives for his success in the ARCA Series at Daytona International Speedway, where the 46-year-old driver from Lebanon became only the second series driver to win at Daytona three times. Gerhart won there in February. He also won in 1999 and 2002. State Rep. Peter Zug (R-Myerstown) presented Gerhart with a copy of a House resolution. Gerhart was joined by his crew chief and brother, Billy; Drs. Joseph and Rose Mattioli of Pocono Raceway; Don Radebaugh, ARCA media and public relations director; Andy Papathanassiou, director of driver development of Hendrick Motorsports, and several crew members. Also, Lt. Gov. Catherine Baker Knoll and Rep. John Payne (R-Derry Twp.), motorsports caucus chairman, took part in the ceremony, which could become an annual event on the House floor. He started 28 races in the NASCAR Nextel Cup (formerly Winston Cup) dating back to 1985. His best finish was a 17th at North Wilkesboro Speedway, which is no longer in operation.(Patriot News)

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Stewart caught speeding, will enter deferral program
Associated Press

SEYMOUR, Ind. - Former NASCAR champin Tony Stewart had the pedal to the metal, but not on a racetrack. Instead he was caught speeding on a rural Jackson County highway.

An Indiana State Police trooper said he clocked Stewart, 33, of Columbus, traveling in his 2004 Humvee at 80 mph. The posted limit was 55 mph north of Seymour, 60 miles southeast of Indianapolis.

Stewart at first decided to fight the May 5 citation in court, but since has said he will instead pay $141 to enter a deferral program.

The program would keep points off of the 2001 NASCAR champion's Indiana driver's license if he remained citation-free for the next year.

Stewart initially pleaded not guilty May 17 to the speeding charge and requested a trial date. Jackson Superior Court Judge Frank W. Guthrie had set for July 26 before the NASCAR driver of the No. 20 Home Depot Chevrolet Monte Carlo changed his mind. - Ok, now how many of you out there have been busted for speeding....Is this really newsworthy?

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JOHN ANDRETTI MOVES TO TELEVISION - Texas-Style

John Andretti Trying TV... From Other Side Of Camera[Henry, Bob (kr.com)] Winning driver color analyst Friday at Texas

MOORESVILLE, N.C. - A view for which some race fans might mortgage their homes will be further away than usual for John Andretti, the NASCAR Nextel Cup winning driver.

Andretti will be in the television booth during Friday night's Chex 400 at the 1.5-mile Texas Motor Speedway, serving as an analyst for SPEED's national broadcast of the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series race.

"Usually I am sitting behind the steering wheel so I guess this will be a little further away than usual," said Andretti, "but I am really looking forward to it. I've worked some with SPEED on its television programs in the past and I am a regular contributor to WIBC Radio (Indianapolis) but this will be my first shot as a color analyst for a live race broadcast."

He has also worked on FOX Sports Net's Totally NASCAR show as a regular contributor, and the Brickyard 400 broadcast last year as color analyst for the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Radio Network.

Andretti, who has two NASCAR Nextel Cup Series race wins, has not driven in the Truck series but follows it closely.

"I'd love to try it sometime because it is great racing," Andretti said. "I love the side-by-side stuff and the close finishes. I can't think of a racer anywhere who wouldn't want to try the Truck series."

The Indianapolis, Ind., native who now lives in Mooresville has driven - and won - in just about every form of motorsports. He is one of just three drivers in motorsports history with major race victories in NASCAR Nextel Cup, Indy Car and major league sports car racing. In 1994, he became the first driver to run both the Coca-Cola 600 at Lowe's Motor Speedway and the Indianapolis 500 in the same day; no other driver had even attempted the feat prior that.

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Earnhardt Junior hopes to fall in love at Pocono
By Greg Engle


Other than the two NASCAR races held there each year, the Pocono area is best known for romance.
 
But for Dale Earnhardt Junior, Pocono could be best characterized as a love-hate relationship considering some of the struggles he’s had there in the past.

"I don't know if I'd even call it a love-hate relationship...,”he said,” I've yet to fall in love with the place. But I'm getting used to it. It was a really difficult place for me when I started out in the Cup Series, but we've figured some things out about the race set-up, and I've figured some things out on how to drive it.

We had a pretty good race at Pocono last year, finished in the top-10. The second race there (in August) wasn't that great, but I was banged up (from injuries sustained in an American Lemans Series crash a few weeks earlier in Sonoma, Calif.) and had to get out of the car, so that one doesn't count (laughing)!"

Dale Jr. enters the Pocono race weekend 15th in the Nextel Cup point standings after a 22nd-place finish in the MBNA RacePoints 400 at Dover last Sunday. This season, the team has scored three top-5s and five top-10s in 13 races. Dale Jr. is 79 points out of the top-10 and 94 points out of sixth.

And other than last years August race, Junior seems to have learned his lessons well about what it will take to begin a much-needed turnaround for his season with a strong run at Pocono.

"Track position is so critical at that place, because if you can get out front in clean air, you can check out and leave 'em in the dust. ”He said,” It’s tough to get comfortable and find a fast and consistent set-up. Pocono can wear you out, and 500 miles there is a long race. -(cont'd from front page)You also hear people talk about finding a good balance -- a happy medium -- in getting the car to handle through all three corners. That's all true. But you really want to be sure you're car is handling in (turn) 3, so you can get that good momentum down the straightaway."

Junior still sits 15th in points and realizes he needs to make it the deficit pretty swiftly.

"Yeah, as much as we've struggled, we're 15th and still less than 100 points from sixth. ”He said,” I feel like we can make that up pretty quick; just need a couple good races here the next two or three weeks and we'll be right back in it. We don't think week-to-week. We're thinking long term. We're trying to do what's best for our race team, and what gives us the best chances of getting into the Chase for the Championship."

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Rockingham adjusts to life without NASCAR
By KEITH PARSONS
AP Sports Writer
 
 
ROCKINGHAM, N.C. — The billboards still stand around the countryside as they have for the better part of 40 years, promoting the NASCAR race at North Carolina Speedway.

But a closer look reveals a date more than a year old — Feb. 22, 2004. For the first time since it opened, the track known as "The Rock" isn't on the schedule, one of the losers as NASCAR has grown into a national phenomenon.

"NASCAR has made a decision to move beyond its roots," said Rockingham Mayor Gene McLaurin. "Maybe neglect is too strong a word, but I don't think so."

The track hosted two races a year from 1966-2003, then dropped to only one last season when California Speedway near Los Angeles got a second date. Even then, when the Nextel Cup Series came for what most people knew was the last chance for Rockingham, the crowd fell well short of a sellout, with about 10,000 empty seats at a track that holds 60,000.

This year, Texas Motor Speedway got Rockingham's remaining spot on the schedule, part of a lawsuit settlement last year between NASCAR and Speedway Motorsports Inc. shareholder Francis Ferko.

Another part of the settlement awarded North Carolina Speedway to SMI founder Bruton Smith for $100.4 million. The track had been owned by International Speedway Corp., which is run by the France family that controls NASCAR.

"There are no plans to take a race back to Rockingham,"

NASCAR spokesman Jim Hunter said. "And that's all I can say about that."

The change was particularly disappointing to Kyle Petty, a native of Randleman, N.C., who watched as NASCAR dropped two of his home tracks in the past decade. North Wilkesboro Speedway was cut from the circuit in 1997, and, like Rockingham, it sits within 100 miles of Petty's hometown.

North Carolina Speedway provided some of the best side-by-side action on the circuit, thanks mostly to an abrasive surface that chewed up tires and made aerodynamics virtually useless. Matt Kenseth nipped Kasey Kahne by .010 seconds in the finale, the fourth-closest finish in series history.

"It just so happens Rockingham ain't L.A., and it ain't Chicago, and it ain't Kansas, and it ain't Dallas," Petty said. "They just market races now, and that's the only way you can look at it. It doesn't make a difference what the race track is like or how good the racing is, they're going to go to major markets."

At least Petty has gotten a chance to visit the track. He took his team there a few months ago for a test session, running all day to check gear and suspension pieces.

"It's kind of a sad place to go, because they don't race there anymore," he said. "And it is such a good race, and they haven't had a lot of good races this year. You wish it was still on the schedule, but things change."

Through a spokesman, Smith said he is willing to listen to offers for the track, and he has tried to push events that way. The Sports Car Club of America rented the track earlier this year for a weekend of racing, and there's a chance similar festivities will keep people coming to Rockingham.

So far, other than the loss of a little pride, the town and surrounding area haven't felt any dramatic difference.

"We were expecting to see a tremendous drop, but we've had a fair amount of construction going on around here, and our hotel numbers were up in February '05 from February '04," said Bennett Deane, president of the Richmond County Chamber of Commerce. "We only had 550 rooms here, so once they were booked, the other impact was — I don't want to say insignificant — but it was simply pass through."

The state's General Assembly made a futile attempt to help the track keep its spot on the schedule, and saw firsthand how little history and longtime support seem to mean these days in NASCAR.

Charlotte is among the cities bidding for the sport's hall of fame, and state legislators have approved an increase in the Charlotte-area hotel room tax.

The change would increase the local occupancy tax from 6 percent to 8 percent, making it the highest in the state. The estimated $65 million in revenue would help finance the museum and a new ballroom for the Charlotte convention center, next to the proposed site.

The state has put together a total package worth $137.5 million. Atlanta, Kansas City, Kan., Richmond, Va., and Daytona Beach, Fla., also submitted proposals.

"I think if it doesn't come to Charlotte or somewhere in that area, it's going to the wrong place," said Junior Johnson, one of the sport's greatest drivers and car owners. "They can talk about all these other places all they want, but the people who started this sport are from here, and it should stay here. The hall of fame wouldn't be attractive somewhere else."

Unfortunately, a similar argument couldn't stop Rockingham from losing out.

"I don't want to get despondent about it, I don't want to get discouraged about it," McLaurin said. "I think NASCAR made a mistake, but mistakes are made. Maybe there's a chance in the future for Rockingham and the track to be a part of it again."

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No cheers and all jeers for Jeff Gordon these days
Brandon Daun


He can never reach the legendary status of a Petty. He will never be as famous as Earnhardt. However Jeff Gordon is an icon in NASCAR racing, and the accomplishments he has made have helped to raise the standards of success in Nextel Cup competition. Yet time and time again fans in this sport seem to express their displeasure of Jeff Gordon for reasons which I have yet to understand.

There are no on the fence Jeff Gordon fans. People either worship the ground he walks on or cheer triumphantly at any setbacks he encounters on race day. Such was evident at Dover last weekend, when the cheers in the grandstand were deafening when Gordon crashed early in the event. Baffled, I turned to internet forums and fellow NASCAR fans to try and determine what Gordon could have done to lose so much respect from the fans.

Jeff Gordon had a good rookie year, and was quick to find championship success. It was unheard of for a driver to find success so quickly, however Gordon accomplished both feats early in his career. This anti Gordon atmosphere was developed because Jeff Gordon was quick to find success, and managed to win a lot of races in his career. Basically, Jeff Gordon is an accomplished race car driver, which results in a loss of fans. Kevin Harvick, Jamie McMurray, Tony Stewart, and even Carl Edwards were quick to find success on the track, and their success in their early careers have led to popularity and respect among the fans. Today, a successful rookie year is a necessity in an established career. If a driver can’t win races in their rookie year, more often times than not the team will find a driver that will. Fans will continue to boo Jeff Gordon for his continued success, however will cheer every week when any other driver runs up front all race long, then earns a top finishing spot each week.

A second reason for the anti Gordon atmosphere at NASCAR events is because of his off track personality. Gordon lost many fans when he entered a winless streak in previous seasons when he allowed his personal life to become the focal point of NASCAR racing. Once his marital problems were resolved, and the NASCAR community had a new story to gossip over, Gordon was back celebrating in Victory Lane. Gordon attempted the seventh inning stretch at Wrigley Field recently, and reminded all the fans why he races a car for a living. Gordon does not have the best off track personality, and his personal life and outside engagements has led to a strained relationship between NASCAR fans and himself. Jeff Gordon does act properly off the track, as he has yet to take a punch from Jimmy Spencer or to violate NASCAR’s substance abuse.

Jeff Gordon is a four time champion and has many trophies on his shelf, however seems to be unable to find success with the fans. Every fan has a driver they love to hate, and more often times than not that driver is Jeff Gordon. The reasons for this displeasure seem to be unfounded, as fans will cheer drivers on for the same reasons they would chastise Gordon. Only time will tell if fans can come to accept Jeff Gordon as an accomplished driver and an icon in this sport, but don’t expect Jeff Gordon to be winning any NASCAR popularity contests in the near future.

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Q&A: Sterling Marlin
Veteran doesn't expect to be back with Ganassi team next year


In 39 starts at Pocono Raceway, Sterling Marlin has 16 top-10s and six top-5s. He's also seen the evolution of how racing has changed at Pocono over the years.

Marlin spent some time with members of the media recently to discuss Pocono, his future and the state of Chip Ganassi Racing.

Q: Sterling, there is just nothing quite like Pocono anywhere on the NASCAR Nextel Cup schedule and I know it's a track that inspires a lot of loyalty among the drivers who have been there multiple times. Why is that? What's your take on that?

Marlin: I don't know, like you said, it's a completely different track than we're normally used to. I've enjoyed racing there since the mid-80s when I went up there for the first time. Went really good the first time there and really good every time I've been there. It's just, you've got three different corners and two long straightaways, and this year is going to be a totally different field because we're not going to be able to shift this year, and it's going to be a lot different and take some getting used to again.

Q: You're already busy today. You've got a charity golf tournament today in Franklin, Tenn. that you're working on and participating with us today on the teleconference. And you're going to be busy this weekend while the NASCAR Nextel Cup Series is at Pocono, one of the NASCAR Busch Series standalone events is going to be at Nashville this weekend. And you'll be doing double duty driving the No. 40 Ferris Industries Dodge in that race, too, I hear.

Marlin: Well, they called me Monday, and I guess Scott [Lagasse] couldn't get OKed to run Nashville. And I told him fine, I'm just going to try to hook a ride with Carl Edmondson and going back and running both Nashville and Kentucky next week. So I'll be running a few more Busch Race weekends than initially thought this year.

Q:: That's a big race weekend for the Busch Series, too, isn't it?

Marlin: It is. We ran the first race, cut out some tires and had a lot of trouble. The Busch car's really been quick the last four race weekends, had a chance to win all four race weekends and led them all and want to Charlotte with it, carried same car we had at Charlotte, and it would be nice to get a win; it's your hometown.

Q: With all the reports that are going around, I'm just going to straight out ask you: Is this your last season with Ganassi? And the other report that I saw yesterday is that you may not run the last seven race weekends with Ganassi. How much truth is there to this?

Marlin: Well, I'm not 100 percent sure I'm won't be back next year with them. I don't read all of the stuff on Internet and don't turn the computer on really, but they put out a lot of things. But basically, contract is up with Chip at the end of the year and with Coors. It's a full, complete year, so we'll have a tough six races, last six races. And it's stuff is out of your hands, you can't control, so that's about it.

Q. Are you at this point talking to other teams?

Marlin: Yeah, I've been approached by some teams and I'm talking to some teams to try to get something lined up by the time I get to Daytona July 4 and get your sights set up for next year.

Q. Kasey Kahne was on this morning talking about the Dodges and how they have been inconsistent and how they are just having a hard time with the front end, getting them to steer; has that been your experience, too?

Marlin: Well, we changed chassis last year, and we've been hot and cold with them, run cold and run bad, and kind of going back to old hat this year a little bit and back to what we did have, and we just haven't hit the right combination.

Last six race weekends we had a really good car the last six races, we had a really good car. We had a shot to win the race both at Motor and Talladega, we were second and got caught in a big wreck. But the Dodge seems to me really hasn't been there, Casey run really, really good at Richmond, but, you know, to me, the car leading most laps at least two or three race weekends, we haven't had it this year.

Q: Why are developmental series like USAC, ARCA, etc., important to the industry of racing?

Marlin: Well, I mean, the ARCA guys wanting to come in and run Winston Cup and they can go to the tracks or Nextel Cup, the tracks that we race on. The cars weigh the same. The motors are pretty close to the same. And the only difference, we've got Goodyear tires and they have Hoosiers, and they run with bigger spoilers.

Just give the guys the opportunity to race where we race and get a feel of the track and how the car is feeling, what you need to do to adjust it.

Q: We mentioned Pocono up in the Pocono Mountains, and pretty soon you're going to be back in Florida in the heat of July. Tell me, are you a summer or a winter person, and why?

Marlin: I'm a summer guy. I like it 90, 95 degrees. I used to love racing at Daytona, July 4, the day races. The track hot and got slick and drivers got hot. So always liked it hot for the races.

Q. So you like the hot weather racing?

Marlin: Oh, yeah, you get past 40, I'm froze stiff.

Q: Take us through a lap at Pocono what makes it demanding from start to finish for you guys.

Marlin: You get the long straightaway, and it's pretty sweeping corner, Turn 1, and the grooves right on the bottom, which it is all three corners. Like I said it's just a totally, totally different track, Turn 2, a pretty tricky corner. You've really got to get our bearings and you can make a lot of time up, and to me, one of the most important corners, Turn 3, because it's such a long straightaway. You've really got to get your car working good up off that corner and make your time up on that straightaway.

Q: What kind of drivers do well there as far as driving styles?

Marlin: I don't know about driving styles. If the car drives good and you drive it good, you can run good. We've always seemed to have a pretty good setup at Pocono. Been on the pole there and come close to winning two or three races and just got away from us. Hopefully this year we can get a win at Pocono. Led a whole lot of laps the past two or three years but had a little trouble.

Q: Is this one of those places where you have to have both horsepower, you have to have handling, you have to have set up and everything has to work together? Because I know there's some places that put a premium on one or the other, but this is one of those places where you've got to have horsepower and that car has to handle perfect.

Marlin: Yeah, I think a good handling car, good tires, you can inaudible but when you get 30 laps, 40 laps on tires, I'd definitely take a good handling car over power. But good motor worst you can do at Pocono, like I said, you've really got long straightaways and need all you can do get.

Q: Do you see a lot of passing there?

Marlin: Do I see a lot of passing? Pocono is a good track to pass on. You can shoot somebody on the high side on turn one or low side, and get you get a good run up off the corner and you can get by them on that second straightaway. And a good place to pass is off the tunnel turn, each car working really good, get up under somebody when they are pushed and get loose, and same thing in turn three. So it's not a track that's one groove track is definitely a track you can pass on.

Q: Tell me about that tunnel turn, because almost every conversation you hear going into Pocono, "the tunnel turn, the tunnel turn," that's what you hear. What makes that thing so tough?

Marlin: Well, it's a pretty sharp corner where guess we're running about 200 when we get to it and it pretty much funnels down to a one groove deal and you have got to be in line when you get there. It's hard to one through there side to side. If somebody does go side to side and you're behind them you can let off a real early and they are going to really slow down and pass them both before you get to Turn 3, but it's a pretty sharp, tricky corner.

Q: Your first time at Pocono, what was it like compared to now, do you drive the track any different?

Marlin: No, I mean, back then, it's the same track. We probably ran it 30 miles an hour slower. I remember was running really good the first time there and, at the time they didn't have the turn two, the ripple strip (ph), and people race through, got through and got dirt ran through the radiator and knocked us out of the race.

Q:: Has it changed? Has the track changed any, or is it pretty much the same surface that you saw the first time you came?

Marlin: It's the same. I mean, they haven't moved the walls, moved nothing. They re paved it, but like I said, it's a fun track. I enjoy racing there.

Q: What makes it fun?

Marlin: You can pass. I mean, it's not one of them deals where you just, wide open, just throttle, wide back wide open and everybody nose to tails and you can't pass. It's a hatted (ph) track, comes with the place, and like I said, it's a pretty easy track to pass on if you have a good working car.

Q: When a driver comes there for the first time they have never seen it, what's the most common what's the thing they have to battle the most, or what's the most common mistake you see?

Marlin: Well, you know, I normally don't pay any attention to any of them until you guys come along. Like I said when we first started, we didn't shift, and decided about the mid 90s, started shifting one time. And this year, last year, they shifted three times a lap. So guys really busy shifting gears and you just look for all of the eggs (ph) you can get and Quigley was one of first ones to figure out shifting part. It just evolved back to the don't shift. So it's going to be real key to each car who gets off Turn 3 because you won't be able to come off that third gear and do run offs and be in fourth, the car is going to get really bogged down coming off to the corner.

Q: Jimmie Johnson is going for three straight, won both races last year, what have you guys got for him? Who is going to catch the 48 this year at Pocono?

Marlin: I don't know, [Greg] Biffle's team is looking pretty stout and Ryan [Newman], he's run really good up there. I think Jeremy [Mayfield] has won up there, and we've run awful good. I think we led, look at last spring, and like I said, we've dominated up there a couple of years ago and lost the thing at the end, got by us with six to eight laps to go on the outside and got real loose at the end. You know, you can have a dominant car all day and not win the thing.

Q: You've seen some deer peeking at you through the fence a couple teams, haven't you?

Marlin: I've never seen any deer, but you see them coming to the racetrack, you see the bears last year on the trace for the first time. Always heard about bears at Pocono, just came out in the middle of nowhere.

Q: That part about being out in the rural part of the state there in the Poconos in Pennsylvania is a lot of fun, too, because that's a place that you guys can go and get away a little bit, too. There's a lots of fishing holes, quiet and a lot of guys enjoy that, don't they?

Marlin: Yeah, I mean, the place where we stay, they have got some skiing, no snow when we are there, but they have the deals you can ride I guess a grass sack or something, they about killed two or three of my team last year. They fell off and just come back and skinned up. There's a lot to do outside the racetrack at Pocono.

Q: What's your favorite thing, do you grab a fishing pole and try to fish?

Marlin: No, I ain't got that much patience for fish. We have the lake at the hotel, some of the crew guys bring poles, but I'd rather sit at the pool than fish out of it.

Q: The fan base that comes to see you guys up there twice a year at Pocono, they are definitely one of the more rabid crowds that you guys play to, aren't they?

Marlin: These people, you leave Saturday night and you come in Sunday morning and the whole infield is covered up, and pretty rowdy bunch, they have a good time.

Q:: Let's go to Nashville for just a minute, what makes that place such a good place for racing? I know you're a Tennessee native and you have a soft spot for it anyway, but that place, they love their Busch Series there, don't they?

Marlin: They do. They pack a good crowd in. Kind of like the old fairgrounds, it was a good track and they built, it's a concrete track and just you couldn't ask for any better stuff at the racetrack. So they got a good site.

Q. You're on such a high at the end of the 2001 season and you led through the first half of the 2002 season. What impact has that had on your career from there?

Marlin: It hasn't had any. We come back 2003 and it was pretty good in 2002 and we got a little slack and kind of got the car back toward the end of the year, but by the time we got it back was when I got hurt. Things change and we tried some new chassis and don't know if it's good or bad or any different, but just haven't got the combination that we needed to get back to where we needed.

Two-thousand-and-three -- showed up and dominated Pocono and dominated Michigan, so should have won both race weekends and we didn't. Just have a lot of trouble, a lot of DNFs, and doing stupid things to knock yourself out of the races and about the same thing in 2004. Just got to, you know, get your car back, motor has done a great job, had great motors and just getting the car to drive. Talk to Jamie and Casey, the same thing, the cars just don't drive like they used to. We don't know if it's the spoiler we've cut off or don't have the balance right on the cars or the chassis or what.

Q. Somebody was asking me the other day how in the world Sterling Marlin keeps his spirits up and such a positive attitude with all of the aggravation you've gone through. What's your secret? Do you think you ought to write a book, or sometimes would you like to go by the barn and just kick something?

Marlin: I just never give up. I mean, it's something that you always enjoy doing. And just like Sunday, we had a terrible car to start. We got it fixed and come from 31st to 17th and the wheels come loose. We pitted, let of the wheels loose on the pit stop, get on the green and lose two laps and then you get going good again and I think somebody ran into 22 and tore the back end off the car. So there it is again, just get caught up in somebody else's mess. But just have to I've seen the highs and lows. Just got to work through it.

Q. Some of your stuff, we saw you at Talladega, you come in third, come out 17th, but for whatever reason you just don't criticize people. You don't shift the blame to the pit crew. Why not when sometimes other people are to blame, why don't you stand up and say something like, "I drove my tail off and I got beat somebody because somebody else made a mistake." Why don't you do that once in awhile?

Marlin: Well, I think at the end of the day, when you get out of the car, you give 100 percent. You've done all you can do. And whatever whoever is doing what has got to get up tomorrow and look in the mirror, too, so we've just go to get better at what we're doing and try to fix it. Usually with those things, you get a lot more sugar than you can, whatever. So you just kind of learn and just roll with the flow and try not to complain so much. You hear a lot of teams, you hear all the drivers complaining all the time. I don't think I've ever complained.

Q. With Bill Elliott coming out of the series, full time basis and then next year Mark Martin and Terry and Rusty will be absent from the Nextel Cup Series, how do you feel about that? You've been racing with these guys for a long time.

Marlin: Yeah, I think they are still as good racers as they ever was. Mark is having a good year. Rusty is having a good year. We started off good, we just had a terrible six races. I think Mark's son is coming along and he's wanting to help him get racing. You know, Rusty is, I guess, just, I don't know why he's quitting, but he's still going to do it. I think a lot of it, you get tired of all the travel, all the testing, all the PR stuff you've got to do and it just gets old.

I think down the road, you're going to see drivers not last past 40. Guys they make a ton of money now coming in, and they can make a pretty good living and just drag (ph) up the wheel by 40.

Q. Is it still worth it for you?

Marlin: I still have fun. I mean, it's a deal that since I've been 12 years old, every day you get up and I think about a race car, what you can do to make it better. Working on one when you was a kid and going to the races and still enjoy seeing the fans and racing. And you wake up and you just say, "I'm tired," that's the day you need to quit.

Q. Is that a big distraction for you, having people talking about your future job prospects and all that kind of junk?

Marlin: No, it not a distraction. I've been through it before, not a whole lot, but no, I don't think about it. Just try to do the best we can with Coors Light Dodge and try to get us a win before the year is out and give my guys 100 percent. We just have to work hard. We just haven't had in six races here, there's nothing that can't do, get took out in some wrecks, and then lost the engine and crashed and had two races we just didn't run good in. So we just have to work through it and try to get better.

Q. Can you give me sort of a behind the scenes peak at like what happens when your contract is up and you're looking at, you know, re-signing? Do you talk to Ganassi about this kind of stuff or what's going on?

Marlin: I mean, it's pretty much known last year I wasn't going to be back. My contract was up. I mean, it was up in 2002 or sometime in there, 2001, 2002. We just sat down in April, May and signed a new three-year deal, wasn't nothing to it and figured out what he wanted to do and I said that's fine and got the lawyers and got it done. Some guys contracts up this year, I think Chip's got options on Casey [Mears] and Jamie [McMurray] if he wants to renew them, so who knows what's going to happen.

Q. So right now don't really know what you're going to be doing next year?

Marlin: No, I don't know right now. I mean, just can't tell you that, but definitely going to be in the Nextel Cup and run a couple three years.

Q. When you were with Junior [Johnson], in terms of just did he never even talk to you in that last year; he just never even looked at you or talked to you?

Marlin: No, I never got a pink slip from him. So I guess I'm still driving for him. Never told me nothing. So got to read between the lines, went and got another job.

Q. I've seen Chip on TV say that he hopes that you have a great season and pick it up and win races, etc., etc. Is that just blowing smoke on his part, do you really feel you're [about to leave Ganassi]?

Marlin: Yeah, I do, you've got to read between the lines and what's going on, and I'm definitely still trying to do everything I can do to win a race for him. You do all you can do. Just you know, talk to Chip Monday and just try to figure out what all three teams are going to do. So just got to back up and see what you've changed the last couple of years and get back to basics and plan on stuff that's worked and go from there.

Q. Would you consider a ride in a Truck Series full time if nothing else opened?

Marlin: No, I kind of doubt it. I have a Busch deal laid out and I was going to run some those races next year anyway. One reason I did the Busch thing this year was because the car is more closer now than it ever was and just try to run it. And if you learn something on Saturday with springs or shocks or sway bars or air pressure, adjustments you make during the race, it can help you on the Cup side. So that's the only reason I done it.

Q. Does it seem like a series you would like, the truck series, where everything is so close and less aero and all that?

Marlin: I never drove a truck. I drove a street truck all my life, just about, but as far as the Truck Series, they definitely put on a good show. Not saying I wouldn't drive one, but if I was running the whole circuit on one, I don't think I would.

Q. The question I have for you really gears around, you've been around racing a long time and you've seen a lot of the feuds and you've seen a lot of the in fighting, do you think this year, whether it's Jimmie Johnson and Tony Stewart or Tony Stewart and Jeff Gordon or Michael Waltrip and Green, do you think there's a little more of that, I want to say, angry racing this season than any season you've ever seen in your history?

Marlin: Well, you've always had feuds on and off, and I think Tony and Jeff got into it at Watkins Glen three or four years ago. I don't know, the cars are really equal now and everybody's just real competitive. Everybody is real close to each other, and sometimes, you know, Gordon turns to Kurt Busch at Martinsville, I don't know if he meant to, but they got together in a wreck and I guess Jim got wrecked Sunday. I ain't seen how it happened, but like I said, it's just real tight racing. And sometimes guys will give you a hood (ph) and you don't, it gets turned around. The points are so important and emotions get involved and everybody gets pissed off and they good to next week.

Q. As you've gotten older, have you kind of learned that while you might get heated on the track over something, that the overall goal is the points and you need to stay focused on that and forget something, at least while you're on the track, that somebody might have done?

Marlin: Yeah, if you come back next week for two weeks and retaliate there's a good possibility this will retaliate against you. So that would be two strikes for them and one for you and them two strikes will cost but 200 points. So you have to look at the big picture and look at it like that.

Q. Talking about the Busch race this weekend, the Easter weekend race was your first race at Nashville Superspeedway, correct?

Marlin: Yeah.

Q. And what did you learn during that weekend that might help you win this weekend?

Marlin: Learned not to cut right-front tires down. We made a chassis change right before qualifying, and each car was impounded. And we had a sway bar that was rubbing the right front tire and kept cutting the right front tire down. I think we learned from that and just didn't get a good balance on the car. We had a good car, almost got it fixed and was, almost, 15 laps down by the time we got all the stuff fixed. You know, we've been running really good the past four races with the Busch car and had a chance to win all four and hopefully that can continue and gives us a good run.

Q. What are Steadman's plans, is there any chance we might see him taking over your ride next year?

Marlin: Well, we don't know. Talking to Mondo (ph) , may run some more Busch races next year and may run some races and just have a father-son team and see how it shakes out. I guess right now we just talked about it, but hopefully that's what we can do.

Q. I want to follow up, this situation with Chip, have you guys discussed this, and is this a mutual agreement that it will end at the end of this season?

Marlin: Yeah, I mean, it pretty much is, yeah. I mean, I pretty much know what's going on and you know. Like I said, just appreciate the opportunity that Chip has given me. Back in 2001, they didn't have to sign me up to drive the car, and I got an opportunity to get a good race car and good stuff and won races. Had a good chance to win the championship for two years and things kind of went south on us and we ain't got the cars back to where they need to be.

My contract is up and they want to do some different things and I guess I'll go do some different things and we'll still be friends.

Q. Would you rather it have stayed the way it was?

Marlin: Yeah, we need to look at what we're doing if I stayed there. You know, we're just, like I said, just get cars back to where they was, and you know I'd like to retire driving for the Coors car, but that's not going to happen.

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that's racin' (phrase): Expresses frustration or emotion. 1. When a small part costing just a few dollars fails and stops a $150,000 race car, that's racin'. 2. When you race a competitor for 500 miles and lose to him by just a few feet, that's racin'. 3. When a hot dog wrapper blows out of the stands, gets caught across the air vent on the front of your car and causes your engine to overheat, that's racin'.

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NEXTEL CUP PRACTICE	4 p.m. Friday	Speed Channel
CRAFTSMAN TRUCK SERIES CHEX 400	9 p.m. Friday	Speed Channel
NEXTEL CUP QUALIFYING	Noon Saturday	FX
BUSCH SERIES QUALIFYING	5 p.m. Saturday	Speed Channel
BUSCH SERIES FEDERATED AUTO PARTS 300	7:30 p.m. Saturday	FX
NEXTEL CUP POCONO 500	1 p.m. Sunday	Fox
All times Eastern. Times and stations subject to change.

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Well, that's all for today.  Until the next time, I remain,

Your Momma
"Don't come here and grumble about going too fast.  Get the hell out of the race car if you've got feathers on your legs or butt.  Put a kerosene rag around your ankles so the ants won't climb up there and eat that candy ass." - Dale Earnhardt – 1998

Happy Hump Day all...hope you have a fantastic day! 


Today In Nascar History

6/08/1952-Tim Flock wins at Hillsboro, win #3 of the season, and #11 of his career.
6/08/1957-Eddie Pagan wins at Los Angeles, win #2 of the season, and #3 of his career.
6/08/1961-Jack Smith wins at Greenville, win #1 of the season, and #15 of his career.
6/08/1967-Richard Petty wins at Maryville, win #10 of the season, and #58 of his career.
6/08/1968-Richard Petty wins at Birmingham, win #6 of the season, and #81 of his career.
6/08/1975-Richard Petty wins at Riverside, win #7 of the season, and #171 of his career.
6/08/1980-Darrell Waltrip wins at Riverside, win #4 of the season, and #26 of his career.
6/08/1986-Tim Richmond wins at Pocono, win #1 of the season, and #5 of his career.
6/08/1997-Jeff Gordon wins at Pocono, win #6 of the season, and #25 of his career.
6/08/2003-Tony Stewart wins at Pocono, win #1 of the season, and #16 of his career.
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Quote of the Year

"To be a real, true NASCAR driver, you have to know where the sport came from and you have to respect that history and tradition. The guys that don't respect that history and tradition, I don't think they're going to be around all that long. And those guys who don't know the history and tradition, I think it's upon them to learn about it pretty quick if they want to be a success."
– Richard Petty

Quote of the Day

"I'm not sure where we finished, but I know it wasn't good."
—Dale Earnhardt Junior after a 22nd place finish at Dover
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New Poll

Should Shane Hmiel be Allowed back in NASCAR after Failing Drug Test for a Second Time?
 
http://de3fan4.tripod.com/
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Bits and Pieces

Jeff Hammond, Red Horse Racing Purchase Clean Line Motorsports

A NASCAR Nextel Cup Series champion and a veteran motorsports business executive are joining forces with a top up-and-coming NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series team.

Jeff Hammond, national television analyst and former Cup crew chief, and Thomas C. DeLoach, Jr., a successful corporate executive who is now heavily involved in motorsports, will partner with Marty Gaunt as co-owners of Red Horse Racing LLC. The new organization has purchased Clean Line Motorsports, which fields the #38 McMillin Homes/Cure Autism Now Toyota Tundra, from Dan and Karen Whitt.

“We are very pleased to have Tom DeLoach and Jeff Hammond joining the team,” said Gaunt, who has been part Owner and General Manager of the team since its inception.

“Dan and Karen (Whitt) worked very hard and did a great job in helping start this race team but they realized we needed to do more to move it ahead,” Gaunt said. “Tom DeLoach’s business and marketing savvy, and Jeff Hammond’s motorsports knowledge will complement our team perfectly, and will give us what we need to take our next step.”

Brandon Whitt will continue as driver and team personnel are anticipated to remain the same, Gaunt said. The #38 Truck has been one of the better qualifiers throughout this season and has run exceptionally strong at nearly every speedway. This is its second full year of operation.

“We’re ready for Texas and the Chex 400 this week, and we won’t miss a beat as we continue moving forward,” Gaunt said. “We’re proud of our association with Toyota and feel the Tundra is a terrific vehicle for the Craftsman Truck Series. We’re planning on doing some great things with ours.”

“This is a great time for Tom DeLoach and myself,” said Hammond. “We are very excited about being part of an up-and-coming team like this, especially one that has enjoyed such strong support from Toyota. That support has already shown itself on the track this year, and we’re excited about the future.”

Gaunt and DeLoach worked together at Penske Racing’s winning Cup organization, where Gaunt was General Manager and DeLoach part Owner. DeLoach and Hammond  own and operate PIT Instruction and Training LLC, the number one pit crew training center in the world.

Hammond has been in motorsports his entire adult life. Starting as a tire changer for an independent team in 1974, Hammond became crew chief for Junior Johnson racing in 1982 and won two NASCAR Nextel Cup championships with Darrell Waltrip and 43 Cup races, and has participated in six Cup championship teams. He is currently a lead television analyst for FOX Sports, FX and SPEED channel.

DeLoach came to motorsports from the Mobil Oil Corporation, where he was Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer, and later President of Global Midstream, which included global hydrocarbon supply and trading, marine operations, and worldwide natural gas sales and marketing.  Worldwide coordinator of Mobil’s motorsports operations, DeLoach gained a unique knowledge of the racing world and gained insight into NASCAR.

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Leffler gets new crew chief

In its first year as a third team for Joe Gibbs Racing, the No. 11 Chevrolet has not performed to expectations. Through 13 races, Leffler is 36th in points with no top-10 finishes. His best finish this season was 12th at Martinsville, Va.

He also failed to qualify for the May 29 Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte forcing the sponsor, Fed-Ex, to scramble and put together a deal to have teammate Bobby Labonte carry the Fed-Ex colors for the weekend.

A spokesperson for the sponsor denied rumors that weekend that Leffler would be replaced as the driver, but hinted that changes were in the works.

That change occurred late Monday as Mike Ford was hired as the new crew chief for Joe Gibbs Racing's and the No. 11 team.

Ford spent last season and the first 11 races of this season as crew chief for Cup veteran Dale Jarrett and formerly served as crew chief for veteran Bill Elliott.

The status of Leffler's current crew chief, Dave Rogers, remains unclear.

Ford is expected to begin his new role with this weekend's Cup race at Pocono Raceway in Long Pond, Pa.. Look for the official announcement from JGR as early as today.

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Biffle's Crew Chief Takes Honor

Doug Richert has won the Wypall Wipers Crew Chief of the Race award for the fourth time this season after his driver, Greg Biffle, piloted Roush Racing's No. 16 Ford to victory in Sunday's MBNA RacePoints 400 at Dover International Speedway.

Wypall says Richert was the unanimous choice of a three-member panel in a contest that will give the crew chief with the most weekly selections $20,000 at the end of the season.

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Johnson not phased by NASCAR boo-boys

Every NASCAR fan that attends a race will have their own list of drivers they cheer for and a list of drivers they don't, and while Jimmie Johnson tends to crop up on the latter list more often than not, he isn't bothered.

Like his Hendrick Motorsport teammate Jeff Gordon a decade before him, Johnson has discovered that while the mention of his name over the loudspeakers often warrants a chorus of mainly good natured boos from NASCAR's vast grandstands. But while his reception at the track can be frosty, many of those fans that boo him still buy his merchandise.

Armed with those facts, Johnson isn't bothered about the fact that in recent months NASCAR fans have given him the kind of treatment usually saved for Jeff Gordon and Kurt Busch.

“I know my fan base and the interesting thing to me is that my sales are higher than they've ever been,” said Johnson, whose recent retirement from the Richmond race was met with delirium in the grandstands. “I think I'm third in sales right now, I think, to Junior and Jeff. And the boos have gone up. A lot like Jeff-Jeff's been #1 in sales and he's been boo'd the loudest. I don't think that it necessarily means that you're the bad guy or disliked.”

“I think a lot of depends on whose fans are attending that race, what part of the country you're in, those things all play into who boos for you and who cheers for you. When I look at the big picture and understand it, at least they know I'm there. It's a good thing, it doesn't bother me.

“It's a hard dynamic to understand, but all of my indicators are showing that everything's fine. My fan base is stronger than it's ever been.”

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Happy's Busch race ends sadly at Dover

REESE’S Racing driver Kevin Harvick dominated the first 130 laps of Saturday’s NASCAR Busch Series race at Dover International Speedway, but a crash with 54 laps remaining took him out of contention for the win. Harvick finished 29th.

“Our car was really fast today,” Harvick said. “This was the fastest Busch car that I have ever had at Dover. It’s just a shame that we got caught in a wreck. The REESE’S Chevrolet was fast enough to win the race.”

Qualifying was rained out, and the REESE’S Racing team merited the second starting spot since it is second in the owners standings.

Harvick, who started in front on the outside row, passed Carl Edwards on the first lap around Dover International Speedway and led 77 of the next 120 laps. Harvick would lead the field by as much as three seconds during parts of the race.

On lap 136 of 200, while in second place, Harvick brought the REESE’S Chevy down pit road for his fourth pit stop of the day. Harvick asked for some minor adjustments and four new tires due to tight conditions on the REESE’S Chevy. Harvick exited pit road in the third spot.

“Happy” Harvick’s good day ended there. While running in the third spot on lap 146, Harvick was involved in a wreck with Kyle Busch. The REESE’S Chevy suffered extensive damage, but was able to maintain minimum speed and tally laps to gain valuable points. Despite leading the most laps, 86, and having one of the strongest cars in the field, Harvick finished 29th.

Despite the poor luck, Harvick still beat Carl Edwards (31st), so the REESE’S Racing team continues to cut the gap between it and Edwards’ team in the Busch Series Owners’ Points Standings. Sixty-eight points separate the top two teams.

Harvick’s teammate, Clint Bowyer, finished 19th. Bowyer is fourth in the drivers standings, 140 points short of Edwards’ series-leading total.

Martin Truex Jr. stole the lead from Harvick and held the lead for the win. Reed Sorenson, Jamie McMurray, Dale Jarrett and Jimmie Johnson finished second through fifth, respectively.

Brandon Miller returns to the driver’s seat of the REESE’S Chevrolet Saturday, June 11, at Nashville Superspeedway. The FX television network will begin its coverage at 7:30 p.m. EDT. MRN will produce the live radio broadcast.

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Shifty days may be over at Pocono

NASCAR's new rear-end gear limiting rule could make this weekend's Pocono 500 a different race from years past, with no shifting, so says Tony Stewart.

With teams able to use only a 3.89-ratio gear, much higher than the 4.22 that teams used to use at Pocono for more punch up off the corner, drivers may not be shifting any more, because they no longer need overdrive on the long frontstretch. Some drivers have shifted as many as four times a lap at the high-speed 2.5-mile triangular speedway.

Stewart likes the new Pocono game: "We'll actually have a chance to enjoy the race because we won't have to do all that shifting. I really didn't enjoy shifting at high-speed places like Pocono anyway. If you shifted too early, some guys get loose, and I've had cases where I almost wrecked because of that."

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Co-founder of Bristol Motor Speedway dies: Larry Carrier, who helped start the race track now known as Bristol Motor Speedway, died Tuesday after a long illness. He was 82. A developer, Carrier worked with Carl Moore and R.G. Pope in building the half-mile oval track, which opened in 1961. Carrier bought the track out of bankruptcy in 1985, gave ESPN exclusive rights to broadcast Bristol's night race for years, and built the seating capacity to 71,000 before selling the track to Bruton Smith in 1996 for $26 million. Bristol now seats 160,000 and hosts two NASCAR Nextel Cup races each year. Carrier and Moore also built the Bristol International Dragway and started their own sanctioning body, the International Hot Rod Association, in 1965. The dragway was part of the sale in 1996. ...Carrier is a member of both the Tennessee Sports Hall of Fame and the Drag Racing Hall of Fame. He is survived by his wife, Shirley, and four children. Carrier's funeral was scheduled for Thursday at 8 p.m. at First Baptist Church in Blountville, with burial on Friday. - AP/FOXSports

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Update On The N0. 19 Dodge Dealers/UAW Dodge Charger Crew Chief "Slugger" Labbe's Medical Condition From Evernham Motorsports: “Slugger is getting ready to go to the shop today. He says he doesn’t know how well he’ll do, but he wants to go by the shop. He says his body is very sore. He’s had headaches since Sunday, extremely severe headaches Sunday. It was diagnosed by the NASCAR medical staff as Rocky Mountain spotted fever. The medication is working. He hasn’t eaten very much since then. He says he’s lost a lot of weight and you’ll see a lean, trim Slugger when you come to Pocono. He will come to Pocono, but he’s still having headaches and his body is sore. Other than that, that’s the update on Slugger and he says to assure everybody he’ll be at Pocono.”

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Hermie Salder Steps Down As Driver For Peak Performance - Veteran Driver Makes Decision to Leave Team: Hermie Sadler has officially resigned as driver of the No. 66 Peak Performance Motorsports Ford effective immediately. Sadler has attempted to qualify for all 14 NASCAR Nextel Cup Series events this season, successfully making eight races. The No. 66 currently stands 40th in the owners’ points. Sadler, a veteran racer of 13 years in NASCAR’s top three series, agrees that the split is amicable and is the right decision for all involved parties. “I appreciate the opportunity given to me at Peak Performance Motorsports, but I feel at this time it is best that I step aside and allow the team to search for the combination that will help it improve,” stated Sadler. Team owner Jeff Stec will make announcement of the team’s intentions for the race at Pocono later this week. “We know that Hermie gave us his best effort each week and we appreciate what he has done for the team,” Stec said. “Peak Performance Motorsports has been proud to associate itself with Hermie and we wish him all the best." - PSE-3

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Ride the Bus to Infineon Raceway on NASCAR Sunday: For the third consecutive year, you can leave the driving to Infineon Raceway on race day during the Dodge/Save Mart 350 NASCAR NEXTEL Cup weekend, June 26. The Ride the Bus program provides race fans with an alternative to driving their vehicles to the raceway for the biggest sporting event of the year in Northern California — more than 2,000 people have opted for the program over the last two years. Cost is just $125 and the package includes: * Transportation to/from the raceway. * Premium reserved seat for Sunday, June 26. * Infineon Raceway Prize Pack. * Commemorative souvenir race program. If you have already purchased your race ticket, you can add the Ride the Bus option for just $35. Four strategic locations have been targeted as pick-up/drop-off locations: Solano Community College (Solano County); Sonoma State University (Sonoma County); Diablo Valley College (Contra Costa County); and Fireman’s Fund-Novato (Marin County). Buses depart for the raceway beginning at 6:30 a.m. on Sunday, June 26. - Infineon Raceway PR

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Daytona International Speedway Offers Special Pepsi 400 Father's Day Package: If you've got your sights set on another Father's Day tie, Daytona International Speedway has a deal for you. In addition to a unique, one-of-a-kind rubber tie, "The World Center of Racing is offering a special $110 Father's Day Pepsi 400 ticket package through June 19 that includes: * One Pepsi 400 ticket located on the always unpredictable Superstretch; * A NEXTEL FANZONE pass/Pre-Race access; * The first 100 that purchase the Father's Day Pepsi 400 ticket package will also receive a pace car ride around the legendary 2.5-mile tri-oval on Saturday, July 2. The exclusive Father's Day package is available online at www.daytonainternationalspeedway.com or by calling 1-800-PITSHOP. Jeff Gordon, the defending Pepsi 400 champion, will be gunning for his third straight NASCAR NEXTEL Cup victory at "The World Center of Racing" in the exciting mid-summer classic under the lights. Gordon, who drives the No. 24 DuPont Automotive Finishes Chevrolet, has won the previous two NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series points events at the legendary 2.5-mile tri-oval - the 2004 Pepsi 400 and the 2005 Daytona 500. The only driver who accomplished three straight victories at Daytona was Cale Yarborough, who won the 1967 Pepsi 400 and the 1968 Daytona 500 and Pepsi 400. Also included in the Pepsi 400 Weekend is the Winn Dixie 250 presented by Pepsico on Friday night, July 1 and the Brumos Porsche 250 Rolex Sports Car Series race on Thursday night, June 30. - Daytona International Speedway PR

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Office Depot Launches New Nascar Program for Small Businesses at Five Speedways; Local Area Businesses Given Chance to be 'Official Small Business of the Race': Office Depot (NYSE:ODP), a leading global provider of office products and services, today announced a new promotion for its small business customers in five key markets across the country. Following the success of the Company's recent "Official Small Business of NASCAR" courtesy of Office Depot national sweepstakes, Office Depot is now offering small businesses in Chicago, Los Angeles, Atlanta, Dallas and Miami the opportunity to be named the "Office Depot Official Small Business of the Race." Each winning business will have its company name featured on the No. 99 Office Depot Ford driven by Carl Edwards in the NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series race located in that market. The winner will also receive a $1,000 Office Depot Shopping Spree, a VIP NASCAR Nextel Cup weekend experience, and a host of other prizes.

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Marlin's future still in question: Is a shakeup in the works in the Ganassi Racing camp? Sterling Marlin still hasn't been officially told what the plans are for the No. 40 Dodge in 2006, but he says he's not ready to retire. "I'd like to race another two or three years and then go fishing," says Marlin, who'll turn 48 on June 30. Marlin has spoken with several teams and hopes to have a plan solidified in the next two weeks. Busch driver David Stremme is considered the heir apparent in the 40. He could replace Marlin for the last seven races of the season, gaining experience while not jeopardizing his rookie status for next season. Changes are expected involving the No. 41 team and driver Casey Mears. Sources say owner Chip Ganassi plans to clean the entire house, making way for Busch Series rookie sensation Reed Sorenson and crew chief Brian Pattie. Mears' crew chief, Jimmy Elledge, has been mentioned as a potential crew chief for Stremme.

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DEInc., Tidbits: Richie Gilmore, vice president at Dale Earnhardt Inc., says Dale Earnhardt Jr. apologized to Michael Waltrip and Waltrip's team for the accident at Lowe's Motor Speedway. "They talked a couple of times during the week, and we don't think we have any problems," Gilmore says. Earnhardt invited both teams to his house to race go-karts, but the racing was rained out... DEI is close to completing Martin Truex Jr.'s deal for next year and asked NAPA for an extension on contract discussions with Waltrip. - FOXSports

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New Crew Chief for Riggs? hearing that car chief Rodney Childers will take over the crew chief job at the #10-Scott Riggs Valvoline team, for Doug Randolph.(jayski.com)

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Hmiel fighting NASCAR? the ANR-AtT site is reporting that Shane Hmiel has hired a lawyer to fight NASCAR about his latest drug suspension. According to sources Hmiel admitted that in 2003 he was on drugs when he was tested and failed, but he went on to say that he was not on drugs this time and had nothing in his system (he would not say what NASCAR suspended him for). The lawyer is going to have drug test run by Hmiel giving hair, urine and blood samples to prove the NASCAR test was wrong and try to get Hmiel reinstated as soon as possible.(ANR-AtT )

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TV Ratings from Dover: hearing that the TV Ratings for the MBNA RacePoints 400 at Dover International Speedway on FX was a 3.9 rating/10 share (6.1 million viewers), up +15% over last year's 3.4/9.

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DCT Motorsports Not For Sale, Owner Says

John McGill is flattered by the attention but wants to make it plain he and his co-owner, wife Nancy McGill, have long-term plans for DCT Motorsports in the NASCAR Busch Series.

Rumors of the team's possible sale are untrue, he said, and have no basis.

"Being in the rumor mill in this sport is almost a badge of honor. NASCAR racing was pretty much built on rumors," McGill laughed, "but this one has no foundation at all. We haven't talked with anyone at any level about selling DCT Motorsports, and we don't have any interest whatsoever in selling DCT Motorsports."

As far as McGill is concerned, the team is moving in the right direction. In its first full year of operation, it has picked up momentum over the past several weeks and has begun making something of a charge in the points standings.

Driver Stanton Barrett, who has 1259 points, is 17th in the NASCAR Busch Series standings, just 24 points out of the top 15 and just over 100 out of the top 13. In fact, if you take Barrett's points average over the past six races, he is running at a pace that would place him in the top 10 of the standings for the season. The team was first nationally noticed with Barrett's strong run on the road course at Mexico City, where he was at the front of the field most of the last part of the race before being tagged by a car behind him. His three top-19 finishes in the last six races have helped the team tremendously, giving them solid runs and lead-lap finishes, a string broken only when he was caught up in a large crash immediately in front of him at Talladega.

"We're working hard on sponsorship for the team and I want all of those companies we have talked with to know Nancy and I are here for the long haul," McGill said. "We've come up with some unique and cost-efficient ways for sponsorship to work for companies on a regional and national level, and we want to continue making headway in that direction."

The McGills are the only Cleveland, Ohio, residents to have owned a team full time in any of NASCAR's top three series. McGill has developed sponsorship packages that could incorporate the full remainder of the season or blocks of races. Utilizing his own business and marketing acumen, he brings creative and fresh approaches not just to team sponsorship itself but areas such as hospitality, cross-promotions and business-to-business possibilities.

Besides being one of the top younger drivers in the Busch Series, the 32-year-old Barrett is well known in other areas. An award-winning stunt man from Hollywood, Barrett has appeared in well over 100 movies -- including the soon-to-be-released Dukes Of Hazzard, Spiderman II and others -- as well as hundreds of television shows and commercials. Barrett, who is also running some NASCAR Nextel Cup Series events again this season, has been driving since he was 16 years old, and has competed on the highest levels of NASCAR racing. He is a native of Bishop, Calif.

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Atwood teaming with Evernham for 2 Busch races
Larry Woody
The Tennessean

It's not a full-time ride, but at least it will get Nashville's Casey Atwood back on the track for a couple of races.

Atwood is scheduled to compete in upcoming NASCAR Busch Series races at Kentucky Speedway (June 18) and Pikes Peak International Raceway near Colorado Springs, Colo., (July 23).

Atwood will drive a car fielded by Evernham Motorsports, for whom he once drove in the Nextel Cup Series.

The 24-year-old racer lost his Busch ride with Fitz-Bradshaw Racing late last season and has not landed another full-time ride. He drove a few NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series races for Mt. Juliet-based Bobby Hamilton Racing earlier in the year.

Atwood said recently that he was pursuing some opportunities and was confident that he eventually would race again.

Attempts to reach Atwood yesterday were unsuccessful.

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Nemechek hopes to give Army birthday present

Though Joe Nemechek will be a special guest of a major birthday celebration at Pocono Raceway this weekend, don't look for the U.S. Army driver to be going gift hunting. He knows exactly what the birthday recipient would relish.

"This is the weekend the Army celebrates its birthday and the present I have in mind is a big bow on the roof of the 01 car while it's parked in Victory Lane on Sunday afternoon," said Nemechek. "Luckily, I do have something in mind --it's never easy to shop for someone who is turning 230 years old."

As part of the Army's birthday celebration, Nemechek's 01 Chevrolet will carry a special paint scheme in the Pocono 500. The paint scheme will resemble the look of the new Army Combat Uniform that features a new digital camouflage pattern, a mix of green, tan and gray that is designed to help soldiers blend into the woodland, desert and urban environment more effectively. The new uniform was fielded to deploying units starting in April.

The hood of the 01 Army car will spotlight the theme, "Call to Duty: 230 Years." The Army's official theme for its 230th birthday is "Call to Duty: 230 Years of Service to Our Nation." To enhance the Army's birthday (which falls on June 14), 7,500 small American flags will be given to Pocono fans to celebrate not only the Army's birthday but Flag Day, which also falls on June 14.

"If you stop to reflect -- 230 years of protecting freedom is pretty awesome," said Nemechek. "I am deeply honored to drive the Army car."

When Nemechek talks about being in Pocono's Victory Lane, he has every reason to feel optimistic, based on last year's performance at the 2.5-mile tri-oval. He might have finished 18 and 16 at the two Pennsylvania races last year, but the results were not reflective on his performances. Nemechek's qualifying spots at the two races were third and second respectively. He ran up front at both events and led the first 31 laps of the second race. What eventually pushed him to back was a transmission failure at each race.

"We sure had a good book on Pocono last year," explained Nemechek. "We were capable of winning both races had we not experienced transmission problems. The good news for us is that the new rules for this race should take the transmission issue out of the picture. We will not be shifting on the long straightaway."

Nemechek is also looking to get back into a contender role after last week's disappointing race in Dover. "The week before Dover we almost won in Charlotte," said Nemechek. "But we were not good in Dover (finished 27th) and need to get back to running with the leaders and putting the Army car in position to win. We can do that at Pocono. I know we can and that would be the ultimate birthday present to the Army."

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Said leads testing at Infineon

Boris Said posted the fastest time on Tuesday during the first day of a two-day NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series test session at Infineon Raceway. Said, who has placed sixth the last two years at Infineon Raceway in the Dodge/Save Mart 350, turned the 10-turn, 1.99-mile road course in 1 minute, 16.50 seconds. Jeff Gordon (DuPont Chevrolet) holds the track qualifying record of 1:15.968, set in 2004.

“I’ve always enjoyed coming out here and I’m hoping we can have a good finish in a few weeks,” commented Said, who has won at Infineon Raceway in a variety of classes, including the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series in 1998. “I know this track pretty well and think we’ll have a good shot at it.”

The NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series will visit the Sonoma Valley, June 24-26, for the Dodge/Save Mart 350 weekend.

Said was one of six drivers testing the course on Tuesday. Scott Pruett (Target Dodge) and Jamie McMurray (Texaco Havoline Dodge) both posted identical times of 1:16.60, while Kyle Busch (Kellogg’s Chevrolet) clocked in at 1:17.25. Pruett, a road-race specialist and native of Sacramento, placed third in last year’s event, while McMurray took second.

“I wish they had more than just the two road courses on the schedule,” Busch said. “I’d like to see at least four, just to make the schedule more diversified.”

Brian Simo, a road-race specialist who will compete for Richard Childress Racing in Sonoma, ran a 1:17.49. Chris Cook (NEMCO Motorsports) did not report a time.

Testing resumes on Wednesday with a full day scheduled from 8 a.m.-5 p.m. (Pacific). Robby Gordon (Harrah’s Chevrolet) is scheduled to join the group on Wednesday. Gordon, the 2003 Dodge/Save Mart 350 champion, has decided to make this a one-day test.

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Getting dirty
By Jerry Bonkowski, Yahoo! Sports
 
 
You've got to hand it to Tony Stewart. When he wants to kick up his heels, not only does he do it in the dirt but he also invites several of his Nextel Cup buddies to play along.

Stewart and more than a dozen other big-name drivers – including Cup regulars Kevin Harvick, Ken Schrader, Kyle Petty, Bobby Labonte, Matt Kenseth, Dave Blaney, Jeff Green, Mike Wallace and Kenny Wallace – will get behind the wheel of super late models and race Wednesday night at Eldora Speedway in Rossburg, Ohio.

A standing-room only crowd of nearly 20,000 is expected to jam the small dirt track – which Stewart purchased during the offseason – about 40 miles north of Dayton for the first-ever Nextel Prelude to a Dream.

Although $10,000 is on the line for the race winner, Stewart and his Cup buddies are competing for the fun of it, with any of their winnings and most of the night's proceeds targeted for Petty's Victory Junction Gang Camp for ill and underprivileged children.

"It's a big honor to me that these guys care enough about me to want to come to my race track and help raise money for the Victory Junction Gang Camp and support what they're doing there," Stewart said. "It just shows how good a group of friends they really are."

They might be friends, but they're racers first and foremost. Even though they'll be raising money for a good cause, they're also coming to have some fun and try to win bragging rights in a virtually no-holds-barred environment.

"I think all of them are excited," Stewart said. "Matt Kenseth is one that hasn't raced on dirt a lot, but he's excited to do it. Then you've got my friend Kevin Harvick, who hasn't run on dirt but once and stuffed a dirt modified in the wall at Kenny Schrader's track [in Missouri]."

Stewart says he'll have the most fun watching Harvick compete.

"[Harvick is] so nervous about it. I think he's just worried about looking bad doing it," Stewart said. "But it's not about looking bad or looking good. It's just about going out and having fun and giving all our fans an opportunity to come watch us. No matter how good or bad we do, it's just a chance for them to watch us run something other than a Nextel Cup car."

Also on the bill are some of Stewart's other friends, including sprint car driver Danny "The Dude" Lasoski (Stewart owns the team Lasoski races for), drag racer Ron Capps and legendary stock car racer and Stewart mentor Red Farmer, who at the spry age of 70 is looking forward to teaching some of his competitors a trick or two.

"I love racing with these youngsters," Farmer said.

The evening will begin with practice, followed by single-lap qualifying efforts to determine the placement of drivers in two preliminary heat races. How drivers finish in both heats will determine their placement in the evening's featured event.

Since purchasing Eldora during the offseason, Stewart has helped make a legendary track even better and more popular, and it's a track at which Stewart has plenty of history.

"Eldora is a place where I've gone as a spectator, as a crew member, as a driver and as a car owner," Stewart said. "I know a lot about the facility. It's a new venture for me. Kenny Schrader and Dave Blaney are drivers that have gotten into owning race tracks and now I've added my name to the list."

Eldora hosts the two biggest dirt track races in the country and the second- and third-biggest sprint car races, as well.
"You can't go anywhere else in the country and find a facility that's like Eldora," Stewart said. "It's not like going to a regular race track. When you go to an event at Eldora, you go to a happening. If there are things I can do to help promote the sport and help the sport grow, I'm all for it."

Stewart plans on returning to Eldora to race again on Aug. 17 and already has promises from fellow Cup competitors Blaney and Kasey Kahne to attend, with another overflow crowd expected.

Stewart hasn't committed to making Wednesday's exhibition an annual event just yet, but given the response and excitement being generated, it's looking likely that it will.

"I'm going to go off of what the fans think," Stewart said. "If the fans enjoy it and enjoy having us up there, then we'll try to do it again every year, hopefully. As much excitement has gone around this event so far, I can see it being an annual event."

Veteran motorsports writer Jerry Bonkowski is a Yahoo! Sports NASCAR analyst.  

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Earnhardt Junior and team need to catch a break
By Greg Engle
Cup Scene Daily


Poor old Dale Earnhardt Jr. just can’t catch a break.  

So far this year he has only three top-fives and has led only five laps all season. This time last year Earnhardt had already scored three wins and led the series points.

His less than stellar season sank deeper into a pit of misery last Sunday with a 22nd place finish at Dover. Earnhardt now finds himself out of the critical 400-point cutoff in the Chase for the Nextel Cup.

There seemed to be a glimmer of hope going into the weekend as the Dale Earnhardt Incorporated team doused the firestorm that was created at Lowes Motor Speedway when Dale Jr. took out teammate Michael Waltrip along with two other cars in the Coca-Cola 600. Junior admitted fault, issued the appropriate apologies and the team along with new interim crew chief Steve Hmiel, headed north to the Delmarva Peninsula to a track where the star driver had one win, three top-5s and five top-10s in 10 starts.

And then on Thursday, disaster struck. Steve Hmiel’s son, Shane, was escorted from the track after testing positive for drugs, again. And surely the thoughts of the father were focused more on his son and less on his team heading into the weekend. Add to that the task of trying to turn around a struggling team and the weight on Steve Hmiel’s shoulders must have been great indeed.

Starting 15th by virtue of his position in the points after qualifying was rained out, the DEI Chevy never climbed higher than its opening position. Earnhardt Junior spent a hot miserable afternoon trying to hang on to his position finally being bypassed by the field on lap 273. When the checkered flag fell, Earnhardt was 3 laps down.

"We struggled with the car; never really could find out how to make it work through the corners, “ Junior said in his post race comments,” I'm not sure where we finished, but I know it wasn't good."

In the end he was emotionally and physically shattered after battling the Monster Mile for 400 laps.

-(cont'd from page 1) "I'm actually pretty sore from the car bouncing and throwing me around so much," he said after crawling from his car. "I felt like a paint-can shaker with a cinder block tied to my back. The car just bounced, bounced, bounced all day through the corners, and it didn't matter what we did, the bounce never went away.”

Of course there’s still 13 races until the cutoff, but unless Earnhardt finds his ripcord and deploys a parachute to slow his freefall, he could be in serious jeopardy of failing to be a contender for the Nextel Cup in the last ten races of the season.

It will be with renewed hope and a big dose of optimism that Earnhardt Junior and the DEI team will try and put Dover behind them and head for the hills of Pocono. Earnhardt Junior seemed to set the tone before disappearing into his hauler Sunday at Dover.

"We've got to get better and we know it," said Earnhardt. "This is a track we've never really been consistent at. Sometimes we do good, sometimes we do bad. But we'll learn from this. We're going to test at Michigan this week and then head to Pocono."

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10 Questions: Dave Blaney
By Dave Rodman, NASCAR.COM


Former World of Outlaws Sprint Car champion Dave Blaney is currently in the best opportunity of his NASCAR career, driving the No. 07 Jack Daniel's Chevrolet for Richard Childress Racing.

During a break in pre-season testing at Daytona International Speedway, Blaney sat down to answer 10 questions not specifically directed at his racing career.

1. What's your dream vehicle that you don't already own?

Dave Blaney: My dream vehicle would be a helicopter that I pay the price of a Volkswagen for.

Q: With all the aviation opportunities you guys have, it sounds like you've done a few helicopter rides?

Dave Blaney: Yeah, but I just didn't want to pay for them.

2. If time on the road weren't an issue, what would be your ideal pet?

Dave Blaney: I'm not much of a pet guy. If you had a lot of time to spend at home, a good dog is a great pet -- but you've got to have a lot of time for 'em.

Q: Do you favor any particular breed or size of dog?

Dave Blaney: Big, outside dogs -- Labradors.

3. What's your pet peeve driving on the road?
 
Dave Blaney: Slow guys in the left lane. Or slow women in the left lane -- I'm not sure, most of the time I think it's women (laughing).

I'm making fun of my wife, here (laughing) -- not all women.

Q: Have you figured out a solution for that -- and please don't say the median or the breakdown lane?

Dave Blaney: No, they should make -- no, I'm not going to say it. I'd get in more trouble.

4. Racing means travel, so what is your worst hotel experience?

Dave Blaney: I don't know. I've had stuff stolen out of hotels and you just wonder who's in there, when and all that.

But not having a hotel is worse sometimes and sleeping in that car is sometimes worse than having a bad hotel room.

5. What's your favorite food?

Dave Blaney: I've got a lot of favorite foods, as you can see. I don't shy away.

Q: Where do you like to eat the most, on the road?

Dave Blaney: I don't have a favorite. I like steak places, seafood places, Italian. I like to sample 'em all.

Q: So the depth and breadth of places the Nextel Cup Series goes is perfect for you in terms of finding new hot spots?

Dave Blaney: Yeah, but then, I don't ever leave the motorhome. I stay there most of the time, anyway. I'm too lazy to go find food.

6. If you had to choose, would it be being honest or being nice?

Dave Blaney: Honest.

Q: You find that comes around a little bit better?

Dave Blaney: Yeah -- every time.

7. What's your fondest childhood memory?

Dave Blaney: Watching my dad race. We grew up doing a lot of that. Watching him race, watching him win and watching the way he drove, and the way he won.

Those were good memories.

Q: How did the fans react to him winning all the time?

Dave Blaney: He was most all the time a fan favorite. For a lot of years he won more than anybody, and was still a fan favorite.

So that was kind of an odd combination, but it was pretty good.

8. What would be your dream date: Where and with whom?

Dave Blaney: Dream date (laughing)?
 
Q: Politically correct is all right, here.

Dave Blaney: I don't know -- I want to do it right, but I just can't single it out.

I'd probably say going out somewhere with Courtney Cox. I kind of like her, but I don't know -- I'm not much of a fantasy guy.

Q: Was it a bleak day when Friends went off the air?

Dave Blaney: No. There's re-runs.

9. Thinking of your Outlaw career particularly, what is the worst prank that you either perpetrated or had played on you?

Dave Blaney: I can't remember any good ones that I did. I remember, early in my career we went to Florida racing, and had an open trailer.

We went in to eat somewhere and one of the guys that I was racing with came into the place behind us. They unloaded my car off the trailer and rolled it into the bushes somewhere.

So we came out thinking it was stolen. That was a pretty good one.

10. What would you consider your "Welcome to NASCAR moment?"

Dave Blaney: I don't know. Boy, I got beat around a lot when I first came into NASCAR.

You kind of expect it. You don't enjoy it, but it's part of what you go through.

I remember having a couple rough moments with Earnhardt Jr. early on. We had a couple of them, but that's part of it.

I know when new guys would come into Sprint Car racing; I'd make it as hard on them as I could, so there's both sides to that.

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We wonder ... after Dover
 

...how the pressure of a tough season is affecting Dale Earnhardt Jr.

Junior just wasn't anywhere near himself during his pre-race interview at Dover. He seemed as though there was a lot more on his mind that how to attack the racetrack. If that's true, for the safety of everyone, DEI needs to help him get his head back on what he loves -- racing.

...what was up with Tony Stewart on Sunday?
 
First there was the incident with Jeff Gordon on Lap 41 on Sunday, then there was the bit of contact with Scott Riggs a little bit past halfway and then the tirade against Gordon after the race concluded. It appears that Stewart is prone streaks of frustration. Could this be one of those streaks?

... should we change the definition of a superspeedway?

Chris Myers called Dover's one-mile oval a superspeedway during the FOX pre-race show on Saturday and it got us thinking. If you ask the folks in the garage area, the only superspeedways on the NASCAR circuit are Daytona and Talladega.

However, in Myers' defense, the true definition has it stands now is any track of one-mile or longer. Still, it's awfully tough to think of some of the tracks that fit the strict definition as superspeedways.

On the other hand, there are tracks like Richmond and Bristol that seem to be super even though they don't fit the proper definition.

...does the FOX crew get paid every time they say "self-cleaning racetrack" at Dover.

Charlotte Observer writer David Poole made this point in his column Sunday morning, but it bears repeating. Guys, we get it. When cars crash up top, they slide on down. It's not a tough concept to get. There's no need to explain it 135 times during the weekend.

We will give them credit, however. At least the self-cleaning theory has merit, unlike that whole "when the weather's bad, we'll just run the cars around the track and it creates a vortex" thing they tried to pull on us a couple of years ago.

...couldn't somebody have gotten Jeremy Mayfield's dog some water during that interview with Matt Yocum on Sunday.

It's bad enough that "Izzy" was forced to wear a baseball cap, but the poor dog looked to be suffering in that pre-race interview. If we're not careful, PETA will start picketing NASCAR races, too.

...does anyone in America not know who's going to win the Sexiest Driver contest on FOX.

Here's a hint. He wears and drives red. The bigger question is who would have thought Dale Earnhardt Jr.'s first win of the year would come in a fan vote -- in June.

...was it just us, or did DW use the word, "butthead" Sunday?

We could have sworn we heard it. Isn't it priceless to hear a guy DW's age use that term. It's like the overused old lady character on all those bad 70s sitcoms saying things like "that really bums me out."

...which type of racing fans like more -- lots of wrecks like in the Coke 600 or more green-flag runs like we had last week at Dover.

Sure, every time we see a commerical for NASCAR, the networks like to promote the crashes, but a lot of us here think fans like side-by-side, green flag action.

...are Jack Roush or the folks in the Roush Racing shop upset at Greg Biffle for backing his winning car into the wall while doing victory burnouts?

Sure, you got the win, but now you have to hope that you can get the car back to where it was for the next race at Dover in September. Nice work.

...how great was that little discussion between Mark Martin and Kyle Busch on pit road after the race?

Two things to consider: That was a great job by the FOX crew to capture that moment. secondly, it's great to see Martin -- who for a long time had a reputation as a crumudegon -- warming up as his retirement looms.

Or maybe it was just the heat.

...is it that hard to find someone to sing the national anthem.

It seems like every week, we're talking about someone screwing it up. There was John Michael Montgomery's horrid version at Atlanta, Anthony Hamilton melodically-challenged verse at Charlotte and last Saturday Susanne Truitt had fans nationwide cringing before the Busch Series race at Dover.

Do us all a favor. Just play a tape of Whitney Houston version from Super Bowl XXV -- before crack was whack -- and be done with it.

"We wonder ..." appears each Wednesday. The opinions expressed reflect only those of the contributors.

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Last Lap: Zero Tolerance
By Marty Smith, NASCAR.COM


Considering Shane Hmiel's second drug-related suspension in less than two years and the heightened state of drug-awareness across the professional sporting landscape, it seems the time has come for NASCAR to stand up and ensure substance-free competition behind the wheel and on pit road.

But to do so properly, the sanctioning body must work in conjunction with its team owners. NASCAR teams are contract laborers. Drivers and crew members do not work for NASCAR. They work for a team owner who chooses to enter NASCAR-sanctioned events.

For example, Jeff Gordon does not work for NASCAR. He works for Rick Hendrick. And like any other job it is the boss' responsibility (Hendrick in this case) to ensure that Gordon is drug-free.

But NASCAR must reserve the right to test him, too, without warning, as a means of ensuring honesty. This is crucial. NASCAR can't assume its teams will inform them if someone tests positive.

Jeff Burton said it well Monday: "It's not NASCAR's position to make us be drug-free. It's NASCAR's responsibility to make us wish we were drug-free."

Therefore, the sanctioning body must implement, and strictly enforce, drug regulations on its team owners. These rules should require owners to randomly test employees without needing suspicion of usage, while also leaving room for a checks-and-balances system under which NASCAR reserves the right to randomly test at any moment to ensure honesty.

It's a complicated prospect.

"We don't work for NASCAR. We are not in franchise situations, so that complicates the issue greatly," Burton said. "We have a responsibility to our car owners. The duty of enforcement of the rules falls on NASCAR.

"They have to make the rules and enforce the rules. Without enforcement, they're guidelines. There's a huge difference there."

Defending Nextel Cup champion Kurt Busch said the competitors understand the depth of this issue and the ramifications involved, and would accommodate a stricter policy.

"With it being zero tolerance -- and the reasoning behind that is because it is a dangerous sport, and you have to rely on the other competitors out on the track, trusting them and racing them -- I'm sure all the drivers know what's going on and they'll be more than willing to go get tested," Busch said.

"This is something the sport has to take seriously. And they showed how serious they are with the way they reacted with Shane."

I spoke with NASCAR on Monday evening to get a gauge on when, or if, Hmiel may return.

"Don't expect him back any time soon -- indefinitely means indefinitely," NASCAR spokesman Jim Hunter said.

Should NASCAR's substance abuse policies be stricter than other major sports because of the dangerous nature of auto racing?
 
I asked Burton that question with a preface that, to my knowledge, NASCAR wasn't currently overrun with drugs. He agreed, and said it needs to stay that way and that NASCAR needs to set the standard for drug testing in professional sports.

"I like that we don't have unions, and that NASCAR says 'If you don't like how we're doing it, go the hell somewhere else,'" Burton said. "I may not always agree, but I like that they stand up for something.

"We have to lead all other professional sports on this. When I turn on the news and I see that some basketball player got caught smoking dope for a second time, and all he gets is 'Don't do that,' it makes me mad.

"We do so much good -- I'd put our athletes up against any other athletes in the world. We do so much good with fans, the media, our sponsors. I believe we have very little drug use in our sport. But we've got to be proactive and take the lead here."

dettigersnw2: There should be no tolerance at all. Shane Hmiel should be done. If they test positive, ban them for a year and give them a chance to clean up. If they fail the test again, that's it. It's dangerous.

Several garage sources indicated to me that some Busch Series drivers were livid when informed that Hmiel had tested positive and was still on the racetrack with them at Lowe's Motor Speedway.

I can't say I blame them. I'd be irate, too. But let's not judge too harshly just yet. It's moot, but we don't even know the drug in question. And when NASCAR tests samples, they test for everything. That takes far longer than attempting to pinpoint a single drug.

And we must remember: There's a lot at stake, here, possibly Shane Hmiel's driving career. NASCAR may have tested and re-tested the sample to give Hmiel the benefit of the doubt.

"It's unfortunate what happened to Shane, but the main thing within NASCAR is it's zero tolerance," Busch said. "He had his first shot at it, and was given a second chance. That was unique. And with the steroids case in baseball and Congress coming down, there's no room for it."

20Stewart02: Of course NASCAR, as with all forms racing, should have a strict substance abuse policy. Unlike most other sports, in racing not only are you jeopardizing your life doing 180 while on drugs, you're risking the lives of your fellow competitors.

Lives. Not just the reputation of the team, but their lives. No one should be allowed to race in any venue if they abuse drugs of any kind.

On that note, I would like to express that Shane Hmiel get the help he needs, and quickly. His whole life shouldn't be ruined because of his addiction. Should he be allowed to race again? If I were to have a say, I'd say no. At least not for quite some time.

He's lost the trust of the NASCAR community right now, and it will take a lot to gain that back. What owner is going to risk millions, as well as his fellow competitors, on Hmiel when he proved twice he cannot control his addiction?

And what drivers are going to want to compete with him for those same reasons? I feel bad for Shane, but he was given a chance and he blew it. Maybe he could work for a team, as a spotter or in a shop after a period of time and after he's proven he's done with drugs.
 
Per usual, Burton nailed it: "We shouldn't just turn our backs on Shane," he said. "We need to ask what we can do to help. We think the whole world revolves around racing, because we live in this [racing] world. But a person's life is more important than racing, a lot more important. We need to help him."

I couldn't agree more. I'm sad for Hmiel. I'm sad that all that talent and all that opportunity were expendable in the name of a temporary high. I'm sad for the thousands of short track racers out there that would sever a limb for the opportunities Hmiel has squandered.

I'm sad he didn't take it seriously enough the first time. That, to me, is the key element here: Burn me once, shame on you. Burn me twice, shame on me.

NASCAR isn't keen on being burned twice.

Dale Earnhardt Jr. said last weekend he will stand by his friend. And while there is no denying Hmiel made a terrible decision, we should all join Earnhardt in supporting Hmiel during this time.

3Man: No it should not. Other sports should be just as strict as NASCAR. In the real world, doesn't matter what line of work it is, if you fail a drug test you're dismissed. The exception is the sports world. The other sports could learn from NASCAR on this one.

Like Burton said, NASCAR needs to set the standard.

RCR293107: Is this question serious? I think the rules NASCAR has regarding drug violations is much to harsh. I can't think of a single reason why you wouldn't want somebody that has a drinking problem, smokes too much weed, or abuses cocaine racing around at 200 mph with the sports top stars?

What is NASCAR thinking? Maybe we'll all get lucky and the drivers will form a union so the drivers will only miss a week or two of racing for putting the sports top stars in jeopardy. Just when I think the questions can't get any more ridiculous. Once again MartDope ... I mean MartDawg ... you never fail to let us down. Can I get a "JUUUUUUUUUUNNNNNNIORRRRRRR!

Hello class, and welcome to fifth grade...

Many responders (as you can see) had hoped this week to discuss Tony Stewart vs. Jeff Gordon. And Jimmie Johnson. And Ryan Newman.

But what's to say? Really? Regardless your allegiances, it's pretty simple: Smoke dumped the 24, had no remorse for doing so, and when asked about it labeled Gordon, Johnson and Newman crybabies with competitive double-standards.

Gordon is irate and warned Smoke to watch his back. (He said the same thing at Watkins Glen a few years back). Johnson laughed. Newman, to my knowledge, said nothing.

It makes for captivating television and sparkling sound bites. Do I love it? Hell yeah I love it. But spending time debating it? Nah. May as well just hop on a merry-go-round...

nascarlives: I would actually like to know what the rules are for NASCAR. When do they test? Do they test all drivers at certain times? Or just when someone in the garage feels you are using? And, of course, immediate suspension is a great idea. We can't have them running 200 mph and using ... not good!

Currently, NASCAR only tests under "reasonable suspicion," as laid out in the NASCAR substance abuse policy, which must be signed by each driver, crew member and official at the outset of every season.

"Reasonable suspicion" can mean many things, including erratic behavior, slurred speech, extreme mood swings, inability to remain focused, irritability, violent tendencies, deteriorating personal hygiene, etc.

The main method of reasonable suspicion, though, is information gathered from a reliable source. In other words, someone telling NASCAR to be on the lookout.

CDD20: Yes, the policy should be more stringent. Lets not let NASCAR become the joke that other professional sports has become with their spoiled, pampered athletes. Lets do all that can be done to help someone with a problem but NO excuses. It is not appropriate at any level of sports, especially one as dangerous as racing.

This post is a microcosm of this week's message board -- well, at least among those that chose to answer the question. Ninety-nine percent of responses agreed this is a serious issue and must be addressed.

I don't foresee NASCAR making rash changes to its policy or overhauling its stance on drugs. Zero tolerance needs to be zero tolerance.

"The big thing is it's a multifaceted issue," Burton said. "The responsibility starts with the individual. We need to be responsible for ourselves in a society that's always pointing fingers everywhere else.

"It does get complicated. Unlike most sports there is no players union. And that's a good thing. But if it were up to me, every driver could expect to be tested multiple times throughout the year without notice. First offense would result in a large penalty. Second offense would be a much stiffer penalty."

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that's racin' (phrase): Expresses frustration or emotion. 1. When a small part costing just a few dollars fails and stops a $150,000 race car, that's racin'. 2. When you race a competitor for 500 miles and lose to him by just a few feet, that's racin'. 3. When a hot dog wrapper blows out of the stands, gets caught across the air vent on the front of your car and causes your engine to overheat, that's racin'.

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NEXTEL CUP PRACTICE	4 p.m. Friday	Speed Channel
CRAFTSMAN TRUCK SERIES CHEX 400	9 p.m. Friday	Speed Channel
NEXTEL CUP QUALIFYING	Noon Saturday	FX
BUSCH SERIES QUALIFYING	5 p.m. Saturday	Speed Channel
BUSCH SERIES FEDERATED AUTO PARTS 300	7:30 p.m. Saturday	FX
NEXTEL CUP POCONO 500	1 p.m. Sunday	Fox
All times Eastern. Times and stations subject to change.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Well, that's all for today.  Until the next time, I remain,


Your Momma
"Don't come here and grumble about going too fast.  Get the hell out of the race car if you've got feathers on your legs or butt.  Put a kerosene rag around your ankles so the ants won't climb up there and eat that candy ass." - Dale Earnhardt – 1998

 

 



Quote of the Year

"To be a real, true NASCAR driver, you have to know where the sport came from and you have to respect that history and tradition. The guys that don't respect that history and tradition, I don't think they're going to be around all that long. And those guys who don't know the history and tradition, I think it's upon them to learn about it pretty quick if they want to be a success."
– Richard Petty

Quote of the Day

"Drivers have their own little club, and they handle things the way they handle it. The rest of us kind of stand back and watch."
—Steve Hmiel on Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Michael Waltrip mending fences 

 

Comments from the Peanut Gallery

from RD
#1 Why does it matter to NASCAR, or anyone else, what a driver does during his off time?
 
#2 As long as a driver is unimpaired by race time, should that not be the only criteria, for whether is is fit to drive?
rd

from Joyann
I'm new to nascar and wasn't around the last time he was suspended..is he on cocaine?  Does Jr get along with Michael?  Who sings the theme song on Jr's site..I love it ja

from Tom P
Hmiel's Big Deal: Shane Hmiel was second fastest in Busch Series practice.
After the first practice session, he was summoned to the NASCAR trailer where he met with a team of officials, and was escorted out of the Dover racetrack. speedwaymedia.com/Articles/05/060205Ewert.asp

After the last couple weeks,  I think it is time they test Jr...!

Bits and Pieces

On Hold: NASCAR's new-engine project has stalled: NASCAR's controversial engine of the future suddenly appears all but dead, according to engine builders and car owners, after the latest round of meetings between NASCAR executives and a few Nextel Cup team owners. However, that would lock in the current Toyota and Dodge engine designs as still technically superior to the present Ford and Chevrolet engines. And it would leave Honda - widely expected to make a run into NASCAR racing - with a clean sheet of paper to design its own new NASCAR V-8, which rivals worry would be even better than any engine in the sport right now. NASCAR's engine of the future was to have debuted at California in February 2007. Now it has been pushed back to 2009 or 2010. Add to that, word that NASCAR is apparently working with Honda on an engine development operation for the NASCAR Technical Institute in Mooresville, and it's easy to see why the NASCAR garage here has been in such turmoil the past 48 hours. That's not the only reason. NASCAR's turnaround in the engine of the future comes as NASCAR executives are also considering a dramatic change in the Busch tour schedule that could pair the Busch series with the Indy Racing League during a number of doubleheader weekends in 2006, according to some top NASCAR team owners. In turn, NASCAR would hope to raise the television profile of its struggling Truck series by moving it to several Saturdays as part of doubleheaders with the Nextel Cup tour. - The Winston-Salem Journal
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More On Fox/NASCAR TV Deal: Only half the NASCAR TV renegotiations story with Fox came out last week. NASCAR officials said they had decided not to renew the final two-year option with Fox for 2007 and 2008. But the real story, according to sources, is that Fox has proposed canceling that two-year option in order to sign a new six-year contract with NASCAR, for 2007 through 2112, for a slight bump in money. And Fox executives are reportedly pleased with David Hill's work last week at Charlotte in his negotiations with NASCAR. Hill is Fox's sports boss; his duties have also expanded to include running DirecTV, the satellite network. It is unclear what role DirecTV might play, if any, in any new Fox-NASCAR contract. NASCAR officials are very interested in expanding their sport's international television coverage.

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NNCS Crew Chief "Slugger" Labbe Slugged With Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever: Crew chief Richard "Slugger" Labbe is going to be out of action for a while, it appears, while battling a stubborn case of Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever. Engineer Francis Allen handled the pit-box action for Jeremy Mayfield yesterday. Questions are being raised by some teams about the late red flag thrown during the Coca-Cola 600. That red flag closed the field and could have played a role in Jimmie Johnson's victory. - The Winston-Salem Journal*
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Biffle Tackles the Monster; Richert Wins Fourth WYPALL® Wipers Crew Chief of the Race Award: Not even Miles the Monster could stop the tag team of Greg Biffle and Doug Richert this weekend at Dover International Speedway. Biffle blistered the intimidating high-banked, concrete oval in his Richert prepared Ford. The #16 Taurus took over the top spot on lap 241 and never looked back. Biffle led 150 of 400 laps before taking the checkered flag. His winning performance earned Richert his fourth WYPALL® Wipers Crew Chief of the Race award in 2005. ...With his fourth WYPALL® Wipers Crew Chief of the Race award, Richert stays in first place of the Crew Chief of the Year standings. Robbie Loomis is in second place with two wins. Tommy Baldwin, Scott Miller, Bob Osborne, Alan Gustafson and Pete Rondeau are in a tie for third place. At the end of the season, the crew chief with the most weekly wins will receive $20,000. For more information, log onto wypall.com.
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Mayfield, Evernham Motorsports Ink Multi-Year Agreement: Ray Evernham, president and CEO of Evernham Motorsports, announced today a multi-year contract extension with Jeremy Mayfield as the driver of the No. 19 Dodge Dealers/UAW Dodge Charger. Mayfield is in his fourth year at the helm of the No. 19 Dodge Charger for Evernham Motorsports. He claimed his first victory for Evernham with a win at Richmond last September that also earned Mayfield a berth in the inaugural Chase for the Nextel Cup. He finished 10th in the final season standings.
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Dupont Extends Long-Term Sponsorship With Hendrick Motorsports, Jeff Gordon: Going on its 13th full season as a primary car sponsor that took a chance on a young man with a lot of talent, DuPont has extended its long-term commitment to the Hendrick Motorsports No. 24 NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series team with four-time champion driver Jeff Gordon. The new contract extends the partnership through the 2008 season, with the option for two additional years. The DuPont Automotive Finishes business initiated sponsorship of the No. 24 car in 1992 with an iconic rainbow paint scheme designed by renowned motorsports artist Sam Bass to showcase the brilliance of DuPont's paint products. Gordon made his debut that year in the season-ending race at Atlanta Motor Speedway, which ironically, was the final race for seven-time series champion Richard Petty. Since that debut, the look of the car was transformed when the "fire and flames" paint scheme was introduced in 2001. In addition, Team DuPont has accumulated 72 wins and four championships leading DuPont, Hendrick Motorsports and Gordon to recommit to furthering their mutual success both on and off the race track.
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Ganassi Shake-up imminent? Marlin, Mears out? Is a shakeup in the works in the Ganassi Racing camp? Sterling Marlin still hasn't been officially told what the plans are for the #40 Dodge in 2006, but he says he's not ready to retire. "I'd like to race another two or three years and then go fishing," says Marlin, who'll turn 48 on June 30. Marlin has spoken with several teams and hopes to have a plan solidified in the next two weeks. Busch driver David Stremme is considered the heir apparent in the #40. He could replace Marlin for the last seven races of the season, gaining experience while not jeopardizing his rookie status for next season. Changes are expected involving the #41 team and driver Casey Mears. Sources say owner Chip Ganassi plans to clean the entire house, making way for Busch Series rookie sensation Reed Sorenson and crew chief Brian Pattie. Mears' crew chief, Jimmy Elledge, has been mentioned as a potential crew chief for Stremme.(Sporting News)
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Truex Jr. close to re-signing with DEI UPDATE: on Speed Channel's NASCAR This Morning, DEI's Richie Gillmore said they are close to signing Martin Truex. Jr. to a 3-year deal [with a 3 year option] and the contracts are in the laywers hands and hope to have something to announce in a few weeks.(6-5-2005)
UPDATE: If Martin Truex Jr. signs a new contract with Dale Earnhardt Inc. as a Nextel Cup driver, as DEI officials would like, Bass Pro Shops, a part-time Nextel Cup sponsor for Richard Childress, will become Truex's primary sponsor next season. DEI has offered Truex Jr. a three-year contract. Childress officials says they expect Bass Pro (privately held, with about $1.6 billion in annual sales) to remain a part-time sponsor for Childress' operation.(Winston Salem Journal)
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Biffle honors fallen soldier in car; to give trophy to injured: #16-Greg Biffle's racecar is sponsored by the National Guard, and Biffle had a picture of a young man named Ryan Doltz, a National Guard soldier, who was killed in Iraq exactly one year ago Sunday. It was taped to the roll bar of his racecar. Biffle also said "I'm so excited to win here in Dover (with) all the soldiers I met this weekend. I'm going to give the trophy to a soldier that's here this weekend. (He) lost his leg in Iraq, and he's up here from Walter Reed Hospital. He's around here somewhere. I can't wait to celebrate with him."(FoxSports)
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NASCAR declines TV option with Fox after 2006 UPDATE: NASCAR declined an option to extend its TV contract with Fox Sports past the 2006 racing season, said Dick Glover, NASCAR's vice president of broadcasting and new media. Fox, NBC and Turner Sports are in the fifth year of a six-year, $2.4 billion contract to televise NASCAR races. NASCAR had to decide by May 31 whether to pick up its option with Fox through 2008. Glover said the move was made to end all of its television contracts simultaneously. "All it means is we've synced up the agreements with our broadcast partners," Glover said. "We've said all along we'd like to renew with all of them. That hasn't changed." Glover didn't disclose the size of the option. "Our contract runs through 2006, and we are continuing discussions with NASCAR about a new deal," Fox spokesman Dan Bell said. Former ABC Sports Executive Steve Solomon said ABC and ESPN are possible bidders for NASCAR's rights when the current agreements expire after the 2006 season.(Tennessean)
UPDATE: Only half the NASCAR TV renegotiations story with Fox came out last week. NASCAR officials said they had decided not to renew the final two-year option with Fox for 2007 and 2008. But the real story, according to sources, is that Fox has proposed canceling that two-year option in order to sign a new six-year contract with NASCAR, for 2007 through 2112, for a slight bump in money. And Fox executives are reportedly pleased with David Hill's work last week at Charlotte in his negotiations with NASCAR. Hill is Fox's sports boss; his duties have also expanded to include running DirecTV, the satellite network. It is unclear what role DirecTV might play, if any, in any new Fox-NASCAR contract. NASCAR officials are very interested in expanding their sport's international television coverage.(Winston Salem Journal)
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More of new 2006 models: Both Chevrolet and Ford have been busy working on their new models for Cup and Busch competition starting next season. Chevrolet will debut the newly-redesigned Monte Carlo at Daytona in February 2006, while Ford will switch from the Taurus (which is no longer being built) to the Ford 500 [other reports have the car being the Fusion] next year.(Yahoo Sports)
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No Shifting at Pocono: Changes in NASCAR's gear rules mean competitors will not be able to shift through the turns this Sunday at Poco#"I disagree with the gear rule," Jeff Gordon says. "At Pocono, we'll be way down on RPM, and we won't be able to shift. It's like putting a restrictor plate on the cars at New Hampshire. We won't be able to pass, and that's not a good thing." Many competitors feel the lack of horsepower will produce single-file racing.(Sporting News)
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What's Up with Waltrip and the #15? #15-Michael Waltrip's future with DEI is still up in the air. DEI's Richie Gilmore said he would like to keep Waltrip and sponsor NAPA, but the ultimate decision is up to team owner Teresa Earnhardt, who could make a move in the next few weeks.(Winston Salem Journal)
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Trouble with Toyota? Honda looking? New Engine plans delayed? UPDATE: There are questions being raised about Toyota's commitment to a Busch series effort next season, and indications of a possible rift between NASCAR and the Japanese car maker about engine issues related to NASCAR's proposed engine of the future. NASCAR's meetings with the sport's four car makers about specifications for the engine of the future, tentatively designed to roll out in 2007, have been takin place since December. The Toyota engine, according to its rivals, has a technical edge in several respects, and the engine of the future project was in part designed to put all four car makers back on equal technical footing. The NASCAR-Toyota debate comes as word breaks that NASCAR and Honda are reported to be in talks for an engine program of some sort, still undefined, but apparently tied in with NASCAR's technical institute in Mooresville.(Winston Salem Journal)(6-5-2005)
UPDATE: NASCAR's controversial engine of the future suddenly appears all but dead, according to engine builders and car owners, after the latest round of meetings between NASCAR executives and a few Nextel Cup team owners. However, that would lock in the current Toyota and Dodge engine designs as still technically superior to the present Ford and Chevrolet engines. And it would leave Honda - widely expected to make a run into NASCAR racing - with a clean sheet of paper to design its own new NASCAR V-8, which rivals worry would be even better than any engine in the sport right now. NASCAR's engine of the future was to have debuted at California in February 2007. Now it has been pushed back to 2009 or 2010. Add to that, word that NASCAR is apparently working with Honda on an engine development operation for the NASCAR Technical Institute in Mooresville [NC], and it's easy to see why the NASCAR garage here has been in such turmoil the past 48 hours. On the engine front, Ford's Jack Roush says that Toyota has the best engine design in the sport at the moment and Dodge has the second-best. GM officials agree, which is one reason that GM has been promoting NASCAR's proposed new engine. Ford's Roush, however, says that such a new engine would be very expensive, though he has reluctantly hired engine designers for the project.(Winston Salem Journal)
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Some Good Mikey News: The National Motorsports Press Association announced that Michael and Buffy Waltrip had been named first-quarter nominees for the NMPA/Pocono Spirit Award. The Waltrips were honored for Operation Marathon, a fund-raiser that raised more than $1 million for the Victory Junction Gang Camp in Randleman. Michael Waltrip ran in the Las Vegas Marathon in conjunction with the project. Wife Buffy competed in a half marathon on the same weekend.(Gaston Gazette)
AND Victory Junction Gang Camp founders Kyle and Pattie Petty, along with NASCAR driver Michael Waltrip and his wife Buffy, dedicated the new Michael Waltrip Operation Marathon Sports Center at the 1 year birthday celebration on May 24th. The $1 million gift was made possible by the Waltrips’ Operation Marathon fundraising initiative, through the Michael and Buffy Waltrip Charitable Fund. The dedication ceremony featured the unveiling of an 18-foot tall caricature statue of Michael Waltrip.(Michael Waltrip site)
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Believe it: Biffle is true title contender
Associated Press


DOVER, Del. – Greg Biffle's surprising run to the top of Nextel Cup competition got a boost Sunday from a stunningly easy victory in a crash-filled race on the Monster Mile.

Biffle got his series-leading fourth win of the season to close within 46 points of pacesetter Jimmie Johnson. The victory in the $5.5 million MBNA 400 was Biffle's first at Dover International Speedway and the seventh of his career.

In a race slowed seven times for 33 of its 400 laps, Biffle won in part because he avoided traffic problems that resulted in hard crashes. Among those taken from the field were four-time Dover winners Jeff Gordon and Ricky Rudd, and Ken Schrader and Dave Blaney.

Biffle did crash once, but it was after the race: As crew chief Doug Richert was explaining that Biffle "drove the wheels off the thing," the winner smacked the wall hard during his burnout celebration.

Until this year, Biffle was largely overlooked among drivers for Roush Racing, which also fields cars for NASCAR great and four-time Dover winner Mark Martin, series champion Kurt Busch, former champion Matt Kenseth and exciting youngster Carl Edwards.

But Biffle, 20th and 17th in the final standings in his two years on the circuit, leads them all this season.

Biffle said the Roush organization's tightknit approach is behind its success. He said his car wasn't so good leading up to the race until Kenseth's team prepared it with a new shock package.

"That's what teamwork is all about," he said.

He did make one decision on his own – to take four tires on his final pit stop under green while most of the others were saving time by taking two.

"I said, 'I want four tires, and I don't care what happens,'" he explained. "I was prepared to put four on and race for the win."

Biffle started second because rain prevented qualifying Friday, forcing the field to be set by car-owner points. He bided his time over the first half of the race, then passed Elliott Sadler for the lead on lap 241.

After that, the field became strung out, allowing Biffle an open track with few traffic problems. He wound up leading a race-high 150 laps on the high-banked concrete oval.

It was the fourth straight finish for Biffle in the top six, including a victory last month at Darlington.

Roush had another magnificent day, taking four of the top nine spots in the field of 43. It was the team's sixth victory in 13 races this season; the only real competition for Roush this year has been Hendrick Motorsports, which has five wins between Gordon and Johnson.

Biffle's Ford beat the Chevrolet of Kyle Busch by 4.281 seconds. Martin was third, followed by Johnson in a Chevy and Rusty Wallace's Dodge.

The winner averaged 122.626 mph. There were nine lead changes among five drivers.

Brian Vickers, Kenseth, Ryan Newman, Kurt Busch and Elliott Sadler completed the top 10.

Gordon was spun out early in the race by Tony Stewart, and Rudd crashed in the wake of their contact. Blaney hit the inside wall on the backstretch and was fortunate not to be injured when he got sideways and a was clobbered by trailing Schrader on the 137th lap.

The race marked the halfway point toward the 26-race cut, after which only the top 10 drivers or those within 400 points of the leader will contest the championship over the final 10 events.
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Biffle wins at Dover for series-best fourth victory
The Associated Press
 

DOVER, Del. -- Greg Biffle's surprising run to the top of Nextel Cup competition got a boost Sunday from a stunningly easy victory in a crash-filled race on The Monster Mile.

Biffle got his series-leading fourth win of the season to close within 46 points of pacesetter Jimmie Johnson. The victory in the $5.5 million MBNA RacePoints 400 was Biffle's first at Dover International Speedway and the seventh of his career.
 
In a race slowed seven times for 33 of its 400 laps, Biffle won in part because he avoided traffic problems that resulted in hard crashes. Among those taken from the field were four-time Dover winners Jeff Gordon and Ricky Rudd, and Ken Schrader and Dave Blaney.

Biffle did crash once, but it was after the race: As crew chief Doug Richert was explaining that Biffle "drove the wheels off the thing," the winner smacked the wall hard during his burnout celebration.

Until this year, Biffle was largely overlooked among drivers for Roush Racing, which also fields cars for NASCAR great and four-time Dover winner Mark Martin; series champion Kurt Busch; former champion Matt Kenseth and exciting youngster Carl Edwards.

But Biffle, 20th and 17th in the final standings in his two years on the circuit, leads them all this season.

Biffle said the Roush organization's tightknit approach is behind its success. He said his car wasn't so good leading up to the race until Kenseth's team prepared it with a new shock package.

"That's what teamwork is all about," he said.

He did make one decision on his own -- to take four tires on his final pit stop under green while most of the others were saving time by taking two.

"I said, 'I want four tires, and I don't care what happens,"' he explained. "I was prepared to put four on and race for the win."

Biffle started second because rain prevented qualifying Friday, forcing the field to be set by car-owner points. He bided his time over the first half of the race, then passed Elliott Saddler for the lead on lap 241.

After that, the field became strung out, allowing Biffle an open track with few traffic problems. He wound up leading a race-high 150 laps on the high-banked concrete oval.

It was the fourth consecutive finish for Biffle in the top six, including a victory last month at Darlington.

Roush had another magnificent day, taking four of the top nine spots in the field of 43. It was the organization's sixth victory in 13 races this season; the only real competition for Roush this year has been Hendrick Motorsports, which has five wins between Gordon and Johnson.

Biffle's Ford beat the Chevrolet of Kyle Busch by 4.281 seconds. Martin was third, followed by Johnson in a Chevy and Rusty Wallace's Dodge.

The winner averaged 122.626 mph. There were nine lead changes among five drivers.

Brian Vickers, Kenseth, Ryan Newman, Kurt Busch and Sadler completed the top 10.

Gordon was spun out early in the race by Tony Stewart, and Rudd crashed in the wake of their contact. Blaney hit the inside wall on the backstretch and was fortunate not to be injured when he got sideways and a was clobbered by trailing Schrader on the 137th lap.

The race marked the halfway point toward the 26-race cut, after which only the top 10 drivers or those within 400 points of the leader will contest the championship over the final 10 events.
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Cross' Words: Dover
By B. Duane Cross, NASCAR.COM
 

Greg Biffle is a tweener -- he's not an old-school driver and, at 35, he isn't a Young Gun.

Mark Martin and Rusty Wallace ... well, they are as old-school as Pong, breakdancing and The Brat Pack. (Whatever happened to Judd Nelson?)
 
But those three drivers are old enough to remember a time before Rubik's Cube, Michael Flatley's "Lord of the Dance" or Valley Girl. (Better question: Where is Deborah Foreman?)

They also are three of the top seven drivers in the point standings.

During a season in which the the sport's youth movement was supposed to overwhelm the nouveau fandom, the party is being crashed by two guys who are retiring and another who is only in his third full season of Cup racing.

After 22 cautions slowed the Coca-Cola 600 to a crawl, many were quick to point to the shorter spoiler, softer tires and new gear ratio as reasons for the yellow fever sweeping the Cup series.

Sunday at Dover -- a 1-mile concrete track where the racing is much tighter than at Charlotte -- there were only seven cautions for 33 laps.

So have the rule changes leveled the playing field so that the older, seat-of-their-pants drivers have a better chance to compete with the new, seemingly computer-generated drivers?

"I haven't complained about the rear spoiler because I was one of the guys and advocates trying to get it out there, trying to get it shorter," Wallace said recently. "We're all getting accustomed to it.

"A lot of the new, young drivers aren't liking it, but they're all starting to come around now," Wallace said. "I'm hearing 'em shut up a little bit, and saying, 'Hey, it's not too bad. It's pretty good.' And a lot of those guys that hated it are starting to have some success."

Biffle, Martin and Wallace have combined for four wins (all by Biffle), 11 top-five finishes and 21 top-10s in 39 starts this year.

Sunday at Dover, Biffle showed the wares of a veteran by taking four tires on his final pit stop -- a lesson learned after opting for only two tires at Bristol when he had a chance to win before finishing ninth. This time, he turned a 1.5-second lead into a 4-plus seconds victory.

Despite the rule changes, Biffle remains defiant that the No. 16 team is merely continuing a roll that started last year -- with the taller spoiler.
 
"I wish that we could put the spoiler back on the car, and I think we [could] keep doing the same thing we're doing," he said Sunday. "I keep talking about Kansas [last year]. We cleaned their clock at Kansas. We were just murdering 'em like we did at Homestead and Texas. We had to stop with 14 [laps] to go and start 23rd because we weren't going to make it on gas. And got all the way back to second or third, catching [Joe] Nemechek and the 21 car [Ricky Rudd], just catching 'em half a second a lap.

"We were so dang fast, you know, there, Pocono, Indy, Michigan and Homestead and I think that we would've just kept going and been right where we're at today if they hadn't cut the spoiler off, I believe," Biffle added.

"But, has it hurt us? No. Has it helped us? I don't really think it's magic. It's not why we're winning all these races, I can tell you that."

Flags

• Red -- Would you believe: Jeff Burton (6) has led more laps than Dale Earnhardt Jr. (5) this year? Dale Jarrett has led only one lap. Ditto Ricky Rudd. Those drivers have combined for 86 wins -- but only 13 laps led this season. Stupefying.

• Yellow -- Tenth-place finisher Elliott Sadler led 128 of 400 laps Sunday at The Monster Mile, the most laps that he has led in a Cup race in 226 starts. His previous best was 70 laps while winning the Food City 500 at Bristol on March 25, 2001.

• Green -- Kyle Busch has four top-five finishes in his last six races: won the Truck and Busch series races and finished 25th in the Cup race at Charlotte; won the Truck race, finished 36th in the Busch race and finished second in the Cup race at Dover.
 
Quote, Unquote

"I got into the back of him. It doesn't take much of a rocket scientist to figure that out. Everybody else was doing a pretty good job of give-and-take. It's just when you get around Jeff I guess the rules are different with him. He does more taking than he does giving."
-- Tony Stewart, on his Lap 41 bump-and-run that sent Jeff Gordon into the wall

Around the Track

• Greg Biffle has scored nine top-10 finishes in 13 races this season, second only to Jimmie Johnson (10).

• Mark Martin, who finished third at Dover and moved up six spots to sixth in points, has led only 10 laps this year.

• Sixth to 10th in the point standings are separated by just 15 points: Mark Martin (1,588), Rusty Wallace (1,584), Kurt Busch (1,579), Carl Edwards (1,574), Kevin Harvick (1,573).

Up Next

Pocono Raceway

• Tony Stewart has eight top-10 finishes in 12 races at Pocono, but has finished 37th, 27th and 35th in his last three races there.

• Mark Martin leads all drivers with 18 top-fives and 25 top-10s in 36 races at Pocono. However he has never won there.

• There have been nine different winners in the last 10 races at Pocono. Only Jimmie Johnson has won twice (both in 2004).
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Gordon, Stewart trade barbs after early incident
By Ryan Smithson, NASCAR.COM
 

DOVER, Del. -- It wasn't quite the magnitude of their memorable war of words in 2000 at Watkins Glen, but Dover came close.

Jeff Gordon wound up 39th at Dover after he was tapped by Tony Stewart on Lap 41, sending Gordon into Dover's unforgiving Turn 2 wall.

Cue the accusations.

Gordon was upset that Stewart rubbed him so early in the race, but Stewart counterattacked, saying Gordon should have moved over and let him go.

"He just ran out of patience. I just think it's a little uncalled for to start something that fast," Gordon said. "I probably would have let him go once we got out there."

"He expects more patience out of everybody else, not himself," Stewart said. "I don't know what it is with him and Jimmie [Johnson] and Ryan [Newman], but it's a group of them that think the roads are named after them."

Stewart finished a lap down in 15th after he was caught speeding on the final pit stop. It was the first time Stewart had ever finished worse than 11th at the Monster Mile.

Gordon, was also caught up in wrecks at Richmond and Charlotte, now has a staggering five DNFs in the first 13 races this season. His car had heavy rear-end damage, forcing a third consecutive DNF for the first time since 1993.

But Gordon knows the incident could have been avoided, and he vowed to remember the day.

"All I can say that the next time Tony's holding me up, it won't be very long for him to be out of my way," Gordon said.

"That is fine," Stewart said. "We can get into a car-crashing war. It does not matter to me."

"Jeff is always whining like that. I mean, if somebody does something to Jeff, it's always their fault, that is just Jeff Gordon."

Stewart said he sees a trend in NASCAR where drivers have to constantly battle slower cars for position, and he cited Mark Martin and Jeff Burton as the two best examples of give-and-take.

"The best thing that can happen to NASCAR is Mark Martin giving a seminar on give-and-take," Stewart said. "It didn't used to be like this. Now you have got to race them to the death to get by them."
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More of what Tony Stewart has to say
ThatsRacin.com Report


Driver Tony Stewart's post-race quotes from Dover:

What happened with the #24?

"I got into the back of him. It doesn't take much of a rocket scientist to figure that out, now does it?"

Was he in the way? Should he have moved?

"Everybody else was doing a pretty good job of give-and-take. It's just when you get around Jeff (Gordon) I guess the rules are different with him. He does more taking than he does giving. But the intention wasn't to knock him up out of the way. I just wanted to get behind him close enough that he knew I was there to say, 'Hey, you know, let us go and if you're faster we'll let you go.' And we've always done that with him. I don't know why it is with him and Jimmie (Johnson) and Ryan (Newman), but it's a group of them that think that the roads are named after them - one way."

Jeff said the next time your in the way you'll get the same thing.

"That's fine. Jeff's always whining like that. If somebody does something to Jeff it's always their fault. That's just Jeff Gordon. That's the way he's been ever since he's been down here. So, that's fine. We can get into a car crash. It really doesn't matter to me."

Are all of these incidents happening week to week with various people because it's so tight and competitive on the race track?

"No, it's happening week to week because people are forgetting how to… you know they were talking about it today on the pre-race show about people being respectful. I remember when I started, I mean the best thing that could happen to NASCAR racing is Mark Martin give a seminar on give-and-take, because it didn't used to be like this. Now guys… I mean, you've got to race them to the death just to get by them, and if you have to do that then that's what you're going to have to do. You're going to have to get behind guys like that and then when Jeff (Gordon) checks up like that and I run into him, then it's his fault and not ours. All he had to do was move up and let us go and 20 laps later if he was faster we would've let him go right back by."

He said that he had a slower car.

"Then why didn't he move?"

He said he expected more patience.

"Yeah, he expects more patience on everybody else, not himself. Instead of him doing it he expects us just to let him go and wait until his car gets better."

Kevin Lepage said this week just what you said, that NASCAR should call all the drivers together and just talk to them about being respectful.

"Yeah, I mean, I didn't have any problems with Mark Martin. I didn't have any problems with Jeff Burton. The only guys I had problems with were Jeff Gordon and Jimmie Johnson and Ryan Newman. It's the same guys every week. Eventually, you finally got to stand up for yourself. You give so much that they expect you to just give it to them all the time. Well, by gosh, if I got a fast race car they're going to have to start giving me some now."
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DEI mends fences, Dale Jr. talks about Shane Hmiel


The members of Dale Earnhardt Incorporated family have seemingly kissed and made up.

Dale Earnhardt Jr. and teammate Michael Waltrip got together on Lap 246 at Lowe's Motor Speedway last week, ruining both cars and triggering a four-car pileup and an angry response from the Waltrip camp.

On Monday, Earnhardt Jr. apologized to Waltrip's crew at DEI.

Richie Gilmore, Director of Motorsports for DEI, said Saturday that he wanted Earnhardt Jr. and Waltrip to talk first, and that's what happened on Monday.

"We wanted the drivers to talk amongst themselves first," Gilmore said. "That was the most important thing that Teresa wanted to handle was talk about what happened and get past it."

"Junior apologized to Michael on Monday,” Gilmore said while describing the team meetings held to work through the tension in the air at the shop, ” First it was the managers. And then it was the teams after that, then drivers. You know, Michael has his show on Monday morning. And, so we did it with the manager, then the crew and then the drivers.

The biggest thing, we didn't want the drivers involved. We wanted the drivers to talk amongst themselves first. That was the most important thing that we wanted to handle-was them two had talked first and get it. Talk about what happened, and get past. Like I said, Junior came in and first thing he did was went to the #15 shop and apologized to them guys and then he went down to his team, the #8 shop.”

Gilmore also said and indicated that Dale Jr. seem to agree, that the wreck was caused -- in part -- because Earnhardt Jr.'s Chevrolet was so fast.

Gilmore said Earnhardt misjudged his closing rate when his No. 8 Chevrolet, turning laps faster than the leader, nailed the rear of Waltrip's No. 15 on the frontstretch. Both DEI cars were running in the top 10, which Gilmore credited to better teamwork and sharing of information.

"We had the first team meetings after every practice in the history of DEI, and the chemistry of the teams worked really well," he said. "I think [Earnhardt] was excited [because] that car hasn't run in contention to win for while. That was probably the best that car's been all year."

Steve Hmiel, Earnhardt's interim crew chief, said the focus has shifted to today's MBNA RacePoints 400. Earnhardt will start 15th, while Waltrip starts one row behind in 18th.

"Drivers have their own little club, and they handle things the way they handle it," Hmiel said. "The rest of us kind of stand back and watch."

"Those guys have talked a lot and everything is fine. It was just one of those racing incidents. It's not a deal breaker for sure. We hope it never happens again."

For his part Junior wouldn’t comment on last week’s incident and the subsequent aftermath, but he did talk about his close friend for years, Shane Hmiel

NASCAR suspended Hmiel indefinitely on Friday after he failed his second drug test in less than two years. Hmiel is the son of Steve Hmiel, and many expected the younger Hmiel to eventually wind up with DEI.

"I know that is a mistake you hate to see someone make twice, you know, he can still turn his life around," said Earnhardt Jr.

"I am just thinking about him, this weekend, I know he is probably down. But you know, that is a tough one."

Earnhardt Jr. said he would continue to support Hmiel's career.

"Whatever I can do to help him," Earnhardt Jr. said. "It's disappointing, but I won't turn my back on my friend. I'll help him however he needs to be helped."
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In Nascar Numerology, No. 3 Means Earnhardt
By VIV BERNSTEIN


There is an old joke about how children in the South are taught to count: one, two, Earnhardt, four, five and so on.

No need to say three.

Dale Earnhardt won six of his seven titles while driving the No. 3 Chevrolet for Richard Childress Racing, immortalizing his number in the hearts of devoted fans. Although Earnhardt was killed in a crash on the final lap of the Daytona 500 in 2001, his presence is still felt at speedways throughout the Nextel Cup circuit.

The No. 3 Chevy driven by Dale Earnhardt when he died in a crash at Daytona in 2001 seems to be everywhere but on Nascar tracks.

"It's sacred," said Scott Hunt of Centerville, Iowa, who flew to Concord, N.C., to watch the Coca-Cola 600 last Sunday. Hunt stopped at the Earnhardt merchandise trailer outside Lowe's Motor Speedway before the race and bought two No. 3 seat cushions because, he said, "I've got everything else."

But what is sacred to Hunt and many fans is not sacred to Nascar, which owns all numbers and assigns them to teams each year for a fee. Nascar does not retire numbers.

"We just haven't," Brian France, chairman and chief executive of Nascar, said earlier this season. "I can't tell you there's a technical answer. It's just not something that we've historically done."

It is one of the few traditions Nascar has followed. There have been no exceptions, not even when Richard Petty, known as the King, retired after 1992. Petty won 7 titles and 200 races - more victories than any other driver - in his five-decade career. He helped make the sport what it is today.

But each season, Petty still sends a $2,000 check to Nascar for an owner's license. He has to be assigned the No. 43 because teams keep their numbers each year as long as they continue to run them. Since Petty's retirement, Wally Dallenbach Jr., John Andretti, Bobby Hamilton, Christian Fittipaldi and now Jeff Green have raced in the No. 43 car.

Unlike Petty, who said he profited most by keeping the number on the racetrack, Childress has withheld the No. 3 from competition in the Cup series since Earnhardt's death. Childress said he still paid Nascar each year for the owner's license and held the rights to the No. 3 design that was on the Earnhardt racecar.

So what will become of the No. 3? Will it race again? Should it?

Some say yes, some no.

The most intriguing answer came recently from Childress, "Never say never."

The No. 3 was famous long before it was associated with Dale Earnhardt. Over the decades, David Pearson, Cale Yarborough, Junior Johnson, and Buck and Buddy Baker drove the No. 3, according to the Web site racing-reference.com.

When the number was rarely used in the early 1970's, Childress, then an independent driving No. 96, asked Nascar for No. 3. He had no connection to the number but saw the switch as a smart move.

"I wanted a small number, a low number, that was easier to paint, easier to get on the car," he said. "That's when we were painting them on the car. So I went after No. 3."

Childress drove the No. 3 for five-plus seasons without a victory before handing the ride to Earnhardt in the middle of 1981. That relationship lasted 11 races; Ricky Rudd drove the No. 3 in 1982 and 1983. The next year, Earnhardt returned to Richard Childress Racing and the No. 3 for good.

Earnhardt won 67 races and 6 Cup titles in the ensuing 17 years, building his reputation as the Intimidator with an aggressive style and menacing black racecar. A North Carolina native, he endeared himself to Southern racing fans while helping to build the sport nationally.

"Dale made that stylized 3 what it is today," Childress said.

The number became infamous on Feb. 18, 2001, when Earnhardt crashed into the outside wall at Daytona International Speedway and was killed on the final lap of the Daytona 500.

Kevin Harvick, an up-and-coming driver in the Busch Series that year, was quickly moved to Cup competition to take over the G.M. Goodwrench racecar. But Childress asked Nascar for the No. 29.

No one was going to drive the No. 3.

Earnhardt is still a top seller for Action Performance Companies, which handles merchandise sales for many of the drivers in the Nextel Cup. Childress said that he and Earnhardt's widow, Teresa, who owns the rights to Earnhardt's likeness, had an agreement to share profits of items that have both the likeness and the number.

Earnhardt merchandise is 10th in sales this year, down from sixth last year.

"There's been some legal battles on this insurance issue that Richard Childress is now going through," Fred Wagenhals, president, chairman and chief executive of Action Performance, said in a telephone interview Wednesday. "And I think once that's resolved, Teresa and Richard, if they get back together and start putting the 3 out there with Dale's name on it, I think you'll see our sales increase."

Richard Childress Racing has sued United of Omaha on behalf of Teresa Earnhardt over a $3.7 million life insurance policy it refused to pay her. The case is being heard in Lexington, N.C.

"We just haven't been getting as much stuff through the approval process that we need to," Wagenhals said. "I still think Dale, he's an icon like a James Dean and an Elvis Presley. I think he can go on forever if everybody works together."

And if they do not? Childress can build a new legacy with No. 3 by putting another driver in the racecar. But he knows that would be a hard sell not only in the Cup garage, but in the stands as well.

"I don't think it should be run out there," said the four-time Cup champion Jeff Gordon, Earnhardt's nemesis in his later years. "I think they should retire it, honestly. I think Nascar and Richard Childress should come up with a way to retire that and be the only number ever retired."

That would not sit well with Kyle Petty. He said it would not be right to snub his father, Richard, or to retire both numbers at this point.

"You didn't do it to the 43, so you can't go back and do it to the 3, " he said recently. "They missed an opportunity. So once you missed that opportunity to retire a seven-time champion, then the next seven-time champion, he should get the same play that Richard Petty got."

Meanwhile, the idea of another driver for the No. 3 is infuriating to some fans.

"Nobody else would ever live up to his standards," said Charles Trimble of Portsmouth, Va., who said he was at Daytona the day Earnhardt died.

For some, it depends on the driver.

"Well, there's probably only one person that could get in it," said Scott Hunt, the fan from Iowa, "and that'd be his boy."

Dale Earnhardt Jr. is without question the most popular driver on the Nextel Cup circuit. He won that title through an Internet poll the last two years, leads the voting this year and tops all drivers with an eight-figure yearly take on merchandise bearing his red No. 8 Chevrolet.

He has a contract to drive for Dale Earnhardt Inc., the company founded by his father and now run by Teresa Earnhardt. Even Childress said it would be hard to imagine Earnhardt Jr. driving for another team.

"He's put so much into D.E.I.," Childress said. "He's built his own following and legacy with the 8."

But the tension at Dale Earnhardt Inc. is palpable these days. Earnhardt, who opened the season poorly, was critical of the organization two months ago for falling behind top competitors like Hendrick Motorsports and Roush Racing.

Now Earnhardt is working on his third crew chief in seven months and is slipping out of the hunt for the Nextel Cup. He is 15th in the points standings after finishing 33rd in the Coca-Cola 600. He angered some at Dale Earnhardt Inc. by bumping his teammate Michael Waltrip during the race. Both were running in the top 10 at the time and crashed.

"I don't know what his problem is with Michael," Tony Eury Sr., director of competition for Dale Earnhardt Inc., told reporters after the wreck. "D.E.I. has enough problems. We don't need that."

That controversy came days after Earnhardt fired Pete Rondeau, who replaced Eury as crew chief after last season, and installed the technical director Steve Hmiel as crew chief.

The sudden decline of the program after Earnhardt finished in the top five each of the last two seasons has led to speculation that he will leave the team and join Childress. Earnhardt's contract with D.E.I. expires after the 2007 season.

The combination of Earnhardt and the No. 3 in a Cup race could be priceless.

"If Dale Jr. ever got in a black No. 3 car, I don't think you'd have a bank big enough to hold all the money," Wagenhals said.

But Kyle Petty said it would be a mistake for Earnhardt to drive the No. 3. Petty has driven No. 44 and now No. 45 for Petty Enterprises, not the No. 43 made famous by his father.

"I think he would be the one guy who could do it," Kyle Petty said of Earnhardt. "But he would be the one guy who should never do it. Because he is not Dale Earnhardt. He is Dale Earnhardt Jr. So to put himself in that position would be more pressure, more fingers pointed, more questions asked, more of everything.

"I think it's like watching great actors come along like Michael Douglas and Kirk Douglas. Michael Douglas should never play Spartacus. You don't want the comparison. You forge your own niche and you're just as great an actor or you're just as great a driver, but you just did it different."

Earnhardt declined several interview requests and did not respond to questions sent by e-mail through his publicist.

As for Childress, he has seen the possibilities. At Daytona in 2002, Earnhardt Jr. won a Busch Series race driving the No. 3 for the first time. Childress called the moment "very special."

And he left the door open to running the No. 3 someday with Earnhardt Jr. or his half-brother Kerry Earnhardt.

"I don't ever have any intentions of putting it back on the racetrack, no," Childress said. "But who knows?"
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
that's racin' (phrase): Expresses frustration or emotion. 1. When a small part costing just a few dollars fails and stops a $150,000 race car, that's racin'. 2. When you race a competitor for 500 miles and lose to him by just a few feet, that's racin'. 3. When a hot dog wrapper blows out of the stands, gets caught across the air vent on the front of your car and causes your engine to overheat, that's racin'.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Well, that's all for today.  Until the next time, I remain,
Your Momma
"Don't come here and grumble about going too fast.  Get the hell out of the race car if you've got feathers on your legs or butt.  Put a kerosene rag around your ankles so the ants won't climb up there and eat that candy ass." - Dale Earnhardt – 1998

Happy Tuesday all...hope you had a great Memorial Day.

 

 

Did You Know

 

Rusty Wallace has been running at the finish in 25 consecutive races, the longest current streak. ... Greg Biffle is the only driver to lead at least one lap in nine of the 12 races in 2005. ... Dale Earnhardt Jr. has ranked among the top 10 in points after just three of the 12 races. He ranked first in the standings after 12 races one year ago. ... Only Ryan Newman has started every race this year from a top-10 starting position. He has 19 consecutive top-10 starts, since Kansas last October. Bobby Issac set the record of 66 consecutive top-10 starts between September 1969 and March 1971.

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 I search the web so you don't have to.
NobleEd News provides you weekly Website
Recommendations,tons of Educational Freebies and
a Feature Article. You can read the latest Edition at
http://www.NobleEdNews.com/newsletter.htm
To subscribe go to http://www.NobleEdNews.com
and put your e-mail address in the subscribe box.

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Quote of the Year

"To be a real, true NASCAR driver, you have to know where the sport came from and you have to respect that history and tradition. The guys that don't respect that history and tradition, I don't think they're going to be around all that long. And those guys who don't know the history and tradition, I think it's upon them to learn about it pretty quick if they want to be a success."
– Richard Petty

 

Quote of the Day

 

"I wish they would have run one last lap"

—Bobby Labonte after winning the Coca-Cola 600 

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 >:>:>:>:>:>:>:>:>:>:>:>:>:>:>:>:>:>:>:>:>:>:>:>:>:>:>:>:>

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Comments from the Peanut Gallery

 

From Tim

I just wanted to let you know that AOL has been blocking all your lists for the last couple of weeks. They are telling me this time that there is nothing they can do for me and that I have to go through you and your administrator to get anything done. They aresaying theat they have to contact AOL to fix the problem this time. I am so pissed off. Well happy racing and have a great holiday weekend. later Tim

 

Ok everyone, this is the response I received from Yahoo when I emailed them……

 

Hello,

 

 

Thank you for writing to Yahoo! Groups.

 

Please take note that we cannot review the case unless the complaint originates from the party involved and not from a third party.

 

We will need the user that is experiencing this problem to contact us through:

 

   http://help.yahoo.com/help/groups

 

and give us as clear a description as possible of the problem they are experiencing.  Please also suggest that they include explicit permission to enter their Yahoo! account and take those steps necessary to pinpoint the cause of this problem and explore possible solutions.

 

Thank you again for contacting Yahoo! Customer Care.

 

Regards,

Lucy

Yahoo! Customer Care

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New Poll Results

Should NA$CAR Allow Toyota in the Busch/Cup Series?

 

Answers Votes Percent

1.   NO  52  49% 

2.   YES  53  50% 

3.   NO OPINION  1  1% 

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Bits and Pieces

 

Drag racer killed at South Carolina track

 

ORANGEBURG, S.C. (AP) -- A drag racer was killed after his car crashed into a guard rail in front of about 100 spectators.

 

Dean Martin, 53, died at Orangeburg Drag Strip on Sunday afternoon due to severe head injuries after he was partially ejected from his 1960s-era Chevrolet Nova, coroner Samuetta Marshall said.

 

Martin was testing his car's engine to see how fast it could go, and crashed as he tried to slow down after topping 90 mph, said Zane DeWitt, the track's longtime operator. The car flipped after hitting the guard rail and Martin was partially thrown from the vehicle.

 

“The car was not in the best structural shape, so we are not real clear at this point whether speed was a factor,'' Marshall said.

 

Neither DeWitt nor Marshall could remember another fatality at the strip, which has been open for more than 40 years.

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NASCAR will take note of the Danica effect

By Lee Spencer - SportingNews

 

Don't think for a second that NASCAR will allow itself to be upstaged by the IRL's Danica Patrick. With all the exposure Patrick received before, during and after the Indy 500, it's just a matter of time before NASCAR accelerates its push to get seat time for Sarah Fisher, Erin Crocker and Allison Duncan.

 

Fisher, formerly of the IRL--she drove five times in the Indianapolis 500--is part of Richard Childress Racing's driver development program and currently is a middle-of-the-pack driver in the NASCAR West Tour.

 

Childress says he hopes to have her in a Busch Series car before the end of the year.

 

Lee Spencer covers NASCAR for the Sporting News.

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Wreck with Waltrip reveals friction and infighting surrounding Earnhardt Jr.

By JENNA FRYER, AP Motorsports Writer

 

CONCORD, N.C. (AP) -- Dale Earnhardt Jr. was jeered by the fans, criticized by his fired crew chief and ripped by his uncle, the man who typically has been his most loyal supporter.

 

Add in his season-long slump and the five-car accident he caused in the Coca-Cola 600 by running into his teammate, and the situation becomes all too clear: NASCAR's biggest star is in big, big trouble.

 

“It's been a rough week,'' Earnhardt said Monday, a day after finishing 33rd in his most tumultuous race of the year. ``All of us at DEI want to win so bad, things happen or are said in the heat of the moment. It's the way it always has been.

 

``That's family, ya know? Win or lose, with the focus from the fans and the media on me and on this team, we've had some sort of drama or controversy every other week for five or six years.''

 

Yes, but it's never been so obvious or so intense for Earnhardt, the flagship driver of the company his late father built.

 

He fired his crew chief, Pete Rondeau, last week in a shakeup designed to jump start his struggling team.

 

Earnhardt and DEI executives claimed the chemistry just wasn't there, even though the duo had worked together for just 11 races. Rondeau was hired at the end of last season, replacing the combination of Tony Eury Sr. and Tony Eury Jr.

 

The Eurys, who are Earnhardt's uncle and cousin, were the only crew Junior had ever worked with before they were sent en masse to work with teammate Michael Waltrip.

 

Earnhardt acknowledged it was difficult to part ways with the Eurys ``because my Dad put me with those guys,'' but said his working relationship with his cousin was too strained to continue.

 

So Rondeau was put in charge in his first stint as a crew chief. Junior maintained he liked Rondeau, but the two had a communication problem during races.

 

Then, on the eve of Sunday's race, Rondeau responded with his own set of complaints. He alleged his three-year contract was never signed by team owner Teresa Earnhardt and that the firing was out of the blue despite a clause that he be given six weeks notice if things weren't working out.

 

He also claimed that communication was an issue with both Earnhardt, and with Waltrip's crew.

 

``There was probably a little sore spot between the old eight team and us,'' Rondeau told The (Columbia) State. ``Tony Eury Sr. was supposed to be working amongst the two teams. I probably saw him once at Daytona and never saw him again after that.

 

``When you're a single-car team in a multi-car organization, that's not going to work.''

 

One thing is certain after Sunday night's race: If there weren't problems between the teams before, they most certainly exist now.

 

Waltrip and Earnhardt were both racing in the Top 10 when Junior rammed into the back of Waltrip's bumper and sent him spinning across the track. Earnhardt's car was damaged, along with three other drivers.

 

Earnhardt, who received a shocking smattering of boos during driver introductions, was jeered by the fans as he drove his car into the garage for repairs.

 

Once there, he was greeted by dirty looks from his cousin and former crew. Waltrip was very careful in choosing his words when asked what had happened.

 

``I don't know what happened, I felt like I was in front of Dale Jr. and he ran into me,'' Waltrip said.

 

Eury Sr. -- the man Junior affectionally refers to as ``Pops'' -- was a lot more blunt.

 

``I don't know what his problem is with Michael,'' he said of Earnhardt. ``It'll be fixed tomorrow, I guarantee it. He acts like he's friends with him, but every time he gets near him on the track he ends up wrecking him.

 

``DEI has enough problems. We don't need that.''

 

Eury also said the wreck wasn't an isolated incident: ``It's been happening for five years.''

 

Earnhardt maintained the wreck was not intentional and bristled at the criticism from his family members.

 

``I know some of the guys on Michael's team are probably upset, but don't really know,'' he said. ``If you're not in the race car, you don't know what the hell is going on out there. I can't expect anybody to understand exactly what was going on at that moment at that time.''

 

The only thing that is clear is that Earnhardt is in serious jeopardy of having the worst season of his six-year career. He dropped four spots in the standings to 15th after Sunday's race and has yet to score his first win of the season.

 

And he only has an interim crew chief right now in Steve Hmiel, the longtime technical director at DEI. Jimmy Elledge, currently the crew chief for Casey Mears and Earnhardt's brother-in-law, is considered the top candidate. But Elledge, who worked on crews for the late Dale Earnhardt, admitted the job won't be easy.

 

“If you get put in that position, you have to be ready for it,'' Elledge said. ``He's a little bit like his dad ... he's a strong personality. He can drive. He can get it done. But whoever takes that position just better be good at it, be ready to go for the ride. He's going to go to the top.''

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Vickers and Bliss have yet to make up

 

After last weeks wild last lap melee in the Nextel Open, that saw race winner Brain Vickers nudge Mike Bliss into a spin down the front stretch on the last corner on the last lap, Vickers acknowledged Friday that him and Bliss have yet to patch things up.

 

“No I haven’t talked to him at this point. The bad thing when things like that happen you want to get with the guy and work it out, but tempers are hot after a race and I’ve been sick this past week, I had strep throat but the time will come. You know me and Mike have gotten along in the past.

 

Vickers insists that the incident was merely hard racing.

 

“Nothing was intentional it was a racing deal. He was using up all the real estate he could and I was trying to find the little bit I could find and it ended up like that, it was not how meant it to be.”

 

At this point we just got to go on and do our own thing. And see what happens, but hopefully we’ll get it worked out.”

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No communication problems on Earnhardt’s Chance 2 team

 

The communication problem that led to the replacement of Pete Rondeau on the number 8 Budweiser Chevy of Dale Earnhardt Jr. doesn’t seem to be a problem on the Chance 2 Busch car owned by Dale and Teresa Earnhardt. Martin Truex Jr. said Friday that communication, at least between the Busch series teams is fine.

 

“We’ve (always) kind of done that in the past, we try to help each other as much as we can.”

 

I guess there were some things over on the Cup side (at DEI) that they wanted to work on.

 

We just want to get better at it with the Busch cars; the 11 and us have always helped each other pretty well.”

 

Truex also shed a bit of insight into DEI Director of Competition Richie Gilmore’s new philosophy for a cohesive team overall.

 

“They’re just trying to get all of us together, not just this team and that team. It went really well yesterday (Thursday) with the cup cars, we had a great meeting and everything’s looking good.”

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Fugitive involved in NASCAR conspiracy arrested in U.A.E.

Associated Press

 

A Texas woman who fled the country after she pleaded guilty to fraud in connection with a scheme to fund her NASCAR racing team has been arrested in the Middle East, the U.S. Marshals Service said Friday.

 

Fatemeh Angela Harkness, 29, admitted in January 2004 that she conspired with Austin banker Gary Jones to embezzle more than $1 million from his bank between 2000 and 2003.

 

Jones, a former Wells Fargo business banker who was vice president of his branch, prepared about 12 loans using several people's names and kept the money for himself, court documents show.

 

Jones and Harkness, a former stripper from Round Rock, used the money to assemble a NASCAR team called Angela's Motorsports. The racing team, featuring driver Mike McLaughlin, entered cars in the Busch Grand National Series starting in late 2002.

 

The Marshals Service learned Thursday that Harkness had recently been arrested in the United Arab Emirates on a U.S. warrant, agency spokesman Tim Hughes said. The agency is working with the government in Dubai on her extradition to the United States.

 

When she returns to the U.S., Harkness will be sentenced on the original charge and likely also will face charges for violating her bond, Hughes said.

 

Jones was sentenced to just under four years in prison in August after he pleaded guilty to fraud, theft and embezzlement charges.

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Judge in Earnhardt lawsuit agrees to withhold contract information

Associated Press

 

A judge hearing a challenge to an insurer's refusal to pay a $3.7 million death claim on the late race car driver Dale Earnhardt agreed Friday to withhold from the jury parts of Earnhardt's racing contract.

 

Superior Court Judge Kimberly Taylor extended an earlier protective order Thursday at the request of the attorney for Richard Childress Racing - Earnhardt's employer - who argued some of the documents, including Earnhardt's contract, were proprietary.

 

That ruling came after a reporter for The Associated Press asked to review evidence introduced to the jury in open court, but kept from the media and courtroom spectators. The reporter was told the information was under a protective order.

 

The AP, joined by The Charlotte Observer, NASCAR Scene and the North Carolina Press Association, later filed a motion asking the court to reconsider.

 

Taylor did not rule Friday on the AP request; the issue, along with a request by the AP and several news organizations to unseal documents in the case, is expected to be handled Tuesday, court clerk Brian Shipwash said.

 

The judge also issued an order prohibiting cameras from the courtroom.

 

RCR has accused insurer United of Omaha of cheating widow Teresa Earnhardt out of a $3.7 million payment after Earnhardt died in a crash at the Daytona 500 in 2001. RCR took out the policy and is pursuing the matter on the family's behalf.

 

The car owner said the insurer failed to properly investigate before denying payment just days after the driver's death. The company argues the policy was never valid for Earnhardt because he had not taken a required physical.

 

Testimony Friday included depositions from insurance company executives and investigators, who said they conducted an investigation into whether Earnhardt had a valid policy.

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Rondeau: DEI didn’t play fair

Former crew chief says Teresa Earnhardt never signed his contract, teams didn’t share info

By DAVID NEWTON

The State (Columbia, S.C.)

 

 

CONCORD, N.C. — Pete Rondeau said he signed a three-year contract when he agreed to be Dale Earnhardt Jr.’s crew chief before the Nextel Cup season that never was signed by owner Teresa Earnhardt.

 

In the contract, according to Rondeau, there was a clause that stated he was to be given six weeks notice if performance was in question.

 

“I just show up on Monday, and I’m out of a job,” he said on Saturday.

 

Richie Gilmore, the director of motorsports for Dale Earnhardt Incorporated, declined to comment on the contract or the clause.

 

Rondeau, who was replaced on an interim basis by Steve Hmiel, said that wasn’t the only promise the company failed to keep. He said Earnhardt’s former team, which is now with Michael Waltrip, never shared information.

 

“There was probably a little bit of a sore spot between the old eight team and us,” said Rondeau, who was Waltrip’s crew chief last season. “Tony Eury Sr. (Earnhardt’s former crew chief), was supposed to be working amongst the two teams. I probably saw him once at Daytona and never saw him again after that.

 

“When you’re a single-car team in a multi-car organization, that’s not going to work.”

 

Rondeau said he wasn’t aware of the communication problem Gilmore and Earnhardt cited as the reason for his dismissal. He reminded that the team was 11th in points and had five top-10s after a slow start.

 

“What he got during the race was what he asked for,” said Rondeau, who does not plan to bring legal action against DEI. “During the first two races I was giving too much, but he didn’t want to know the changes (to the car). He just wanted to be the driver and let me be the crew chief, so I backed off.

 

“The latest thing I heard was he wasn’t getting enough. I’m not sure he knew what he wanted. Maybe he just wanted somebody to argue with on the radio, and I wasn’t interested.”

 

Rondeau said Gilmore offered him a part-time job as the car chief for the No. 1 car the remainder of the season. Rondeau is supposed to make a decision by Monday, but because the car is scheduled for only four more races, he is leaning toward not accepting.

 

Rondeau said he has talked to several other teams about a crew-chief job.

 

Possible replacement? Earnhardt’s brother-in-law, Jimmy Elledge, is among the people being rumored to replace Rondeau on a permanent basis.

 

Elledge is in the final year of his contract with the Casey Mears team of Chip Ganassi Racing. Gilmore acknowledged he has had several conversations during the past few years about bringing Ellege into DEI but declined to speculate past that.

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Coca-Cola TV Ratings...and Indy 500: The holiday weekend continued to make for less-than-scintillating TV ratings Sunday, as FOX walked away with a win thanks to its NASCAR coverage. FOX averaged a 6.0 rating/12 share for the night (although, since its race telecast aired live, those numbers will change some in the final nationals) to beat second-place CBS' 5.6/11. ABC was third at 4.2/8, edging out NBC, 4.0/8. The WB barely registered with a 0.9/2. Coverage of the NASCAR Coca-Cola 600 put FOX on the pole at 7 p.m. with a 6.0/13. FOX held its lead at 8 p.m., even though its rating dipped slightly to 5.7/11. The NASCAR race closed with a 6.3/12 at 9 p.m.(Zap2It.com)

AND The NASCAR race drew a 4.8 rating and 10 share.(Indianapolis Star)

Indy 500: ABC's Indianapolis 500 broadcast on Sunday drew a 6.6 overnight rating and a 17 share, up 40% from last year and the highest since 1997. Danica Patrick, who became the first woman to hold the lead at the Indy 500, led several of the final laps before settling for fourth. The ratings during the last 15 minutes of the race spiked to 8.8/21. Last year's race, won by Patrick's Rahal-Letterman teammate Buddy Rice, drew a 4.7/11. Arie Luyendyk's victory in the 1997 race, which finished on a Tuesday because of rain, drew a 7.6/19. Each overnight rating point represents about 735,000 TV homes.(Philadelphia Daily News)

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Menard and DEI? been hearing that John Menard, who's son Paul, runs for DEI in the Busch Series [#11 Menard Chevy] may be buying into ownership of DEI...not sue if in part or whole....or at all.(5-20-2005)

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Leffler Safe? UPDATE until the end of June?: Joe Gibbs Racing President J.D. Gibbs said #11-Jason Leffler, who is ranked 36th in the points, isn't on the hot seat after missing his first race of the season. "FedEx and the whole group has been supportive of Jason, and he knows that," Gibbs said. "Obviously, a driver is going to feel pressure in a situation like this. None of us like going through this stuff. You want to make [FedEx] proud of your race team. They've been supportive through all of this, but the bottom line is you have to run well. Hopefully, we start making some races and this kind of goes away."(Richmond Times Dispatch)(5-28-2005)

UPDATE: hearing that Leffler has thru the end of June [4 races[ to up the performance or changes will be made. Who could be in the car? J.J. Yeley or Denny Hamilin...both Gibbs Busch Series drivers.(5-30-2005)

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Another Earnhardt: Another generation of the Earnhardt family visited victory lane at Wythe Raceway in Rural Retreat, Va., earlier this month. Jeffrey Earnhardt, son of NASCAR driver Kerry Earnhardt and the grandson of the late Dale Earnhardt, won the Hornet Division feature two weeks ago. Earnhardt took the lead halfway through the 15-lap race for drivers age 12-16 and steered his four-cylinder car to victory lane, where he celebrated with his father and a group of Earnhardt fans. (Atlanta Journal-Constitution)

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France Family Voted Newsmaker of the Half-Century by AARWBA Members: The France Family, whose vision and leadership turned NASCAR stock car racing from a loosely-organized Southern-based attraction into the country's second-most popular sport, Saturday was named Newsmaker of the Half-Century by the American Auto Racing Writers and Broadcasters Association during the annual AARWBA members breakfast. Newsmaker of the Half-Century, determined by vote of AARWBA members, is the most important event of AARWBA's 50th Anniversary Celebration. AARWBA is the country's oldest and largest organization of motorsports media professionals. The France family received 28.5 percent of the vote among 12 nominees for the award. A record number of AARWBA members participated, according to President Dusty Brandel. The Hulman-George family, owner of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway and responsible for building the Indy 500 into the world's largest single-day sporting spectacle, finished second in the voting with 26.3 percent. The two families combined to capture almost 55 percent of the total vote. Lesa France Kennedy, president of International Speedway Corp, was present for the announcement. She accepted a specially commissioned painting, by artist Hector Cademartori, depicting the family's 50 years of achievement from Brandel and AARWBA 50th Anniversary Celebration Chairman Michael Knight. AARWBA also will donate $1,000 to Speediactrics at the Halifax Medical Center in Daytona Beach, Fla., in honor of the France family. Mario Andretti was third in the voting, with 8.2 percent. Roger Penske and the late Dale Earnhardt tied for fourth, each with 6.7 percent. Also nominated were: Kenny Bernstein, John Force, A.J. Foyt, Jeff Gordon, Dan Gurney, Wally Parks and Richard Petty. To learn more about AARWBA, please visit the AARWBA.org web site.(AARWBA)

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Addington Wins Wypall Wipers Crew Chief of the Race: The Coca-Cola 600, NASCAR's longest and most exhausting race, lived up to the hype this weekend at Lowe's Motor Speedway. On a record setting night of cautions, a seemingly endless streak of wrecks and blown motors finally climaxed with #48-Jimmie Johnson crossing the finish line inches over #18-Bobby Labonte. Although Labonte didn't leave with the victory, his performance earned his crew chief, Steve Addington, the Wypall Wipers Crew Chief of the Race award.

Labonte, driver of the #18 Interstate Batteries Chevrolet, started the race in 34th place [fell to the rear due to a transmission change also]. In the initial sages of the event, he didn't appear to have a car capable of climbing into the top-five, but Addington took advantage of the numerous caution periods to adjust on the car and improve its handling. The panel of voters selecting the Wypall Wipers Crew Chief of the Race; including a reporter, a Wypall Wipers representative and Tony Eury Sr; all cast their vote for Addington. Addington received $1,000 for winning the Wypall Wipers Crew Chief of the Race award. He now joins Tommy Baldwin, Scott Miller, Bob Osborne, Alan Gustafson and Pete Rondeau in a tie for third place in the Wypall Wipers Crew Chief of the Year standings. Doug Richert stays in first place with three wins. Robbie Loomis is in second place with two wins. At the end of the season, the crew chief with the most weekly wins will receive $20,000. Fans can also vote for their choice at wypall.com.(SMC 500)

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Kurt Busch's contact with cameraman caught on tape

By JIM UTTER

ThatsRacin.com Writer

 

 

CONCORD, N.C. – Kurt Busch wrecked out of Sunday night's Coca-Cola 600.

Then, after his No. 97 Roush Racing team had made repairs, Busch went back out of the track and did it all over again.

 

It was long and frustrating night for the reigning Nextel Cup champion at Lowe's Motor Speedway, as he completed just 26 of the 400 laps and finished dead last (43rd).

 

"It just snapped around on me real quick," Busch said. "I don't know if there we fluid on the track or not. There was a bunch on the windshield and it just came around."

 

The race had not established a rhythm yet when Busch appeared to spin out all on his own on Lap 10, severely damaging his car.

 

Busch, obviously frustrated with the early exit, made a beeline from his car to his hauler once he parked his car in the Cup garage.

 

As he left the garage stall area, Busch appeared to lower his left shoulder and nudged Fox TV cameraman Mike Thomas out of the way, and came close to a similar incident with a female track safety worker.

 

The incident was caught on videotape by Fox and shown to the national television audience during the race. NASCAR spokesman Jim Hunter cleared Busch of any wrongdoing after watching that video.

 

A Charlotte station, News 14 Carolina, also had a cameraman catch the incident from another perspective and planned to play its video on its Sunday night broadcasts.

 

"It looked like he lowered his shoulder before he hit me, but I don't think he was trying to do anything on purpose," Thomas said. "He certainly didn't say anything to me to make me think I had done something wrong."

 

Once repairs were made, Busch took his No. 97 back on the track in an attempt to gain some points. But he spun again on Lap 162, and this time his team loaded up the car for the night.

 

"We had a car that was going to be competitive, but I don't know what happened," Busch said. The wreck "will hurt (in points) but we've got plenty of time."

 

Busch has already one well-publicized run-in with NASCAR officials this season, when he bad-mouthed officials over his team radio during the May 7 race at Darlington, S.C.

 

Busch was assessed a two-lap penalty during the race for passing the pace car under caution. He revved his engine while stopped in his pit and tossed a water bottle at a NASCAR official.

 

After the race, Busch was summoned to the NASCAR hauler where he was told series officials would tolerate no more verbal badgering.

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Johnson three-peats in crash-filled Coke 600

The Associated Press

 

 

CONCORD, N.C. -- Jimmie Johnson slid past Bobby Labonte in the final turn to win the Coca-Cola 600 for the third consecutive year Sunday night. This one was nowhere near as easy as his previous wins.

 

Unlike his past two dominating victories, Johnson had to come from fourth place to chase down Labonte after a restart with five laps to go. Labonte did his best to hold off Johnson, who needed just three laps around Lowe's Motor Speedway to pull onto the leader's bumper.

 

Johnson got there on the final lap and edged past coming out of the final turn to grab his second victory of the season.

 

Labonte, off to a horrid start this season, kicked his car in disgust as he climbed out of it.

 

Johnson, meanwhile, had a bottle thrown at his car during his victory lap and was slightly booed when he got out of it. He didn't seem to notice as he celebrated with his Hendrick Motorsports crew.

 

"Three 600s, that's just amazing," said Johnson, the Nextel Cup points leader.

 

Carl Edwards was third, followed by Jeremy Mayfield and pole-sitter Ryan Newman. Greg Biffle was sixth, Martin Truex Jr. was seventh and Dale Jarrett, Ken Schrader and Rusty Wallace rounded out the top 10.

 

A year ago, Johnson led 500 of the 600 miles.

 

This year, he didn't even have the best car of his teammates. But anything was possible in this race, NASCAR's longest of the year. It turned into a demolition derby with a series-record 22 cautions. The numerous wrecks ranged from isolated spins to the downright bizarre.

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Eury Sr. has stern words for Dale Jr. after wreck

Uncle says Junior's 'problem' with Waltrip will be addressed

By Marty Smith, NASCAR.com

 

 

CONCORD, N.C. -- Tony Eury -- Dale Earnhardt Jr's uncle and former crew chief -- was none too pleased with his nephew Sunday night after Earnhardt wrecked teammate Michael Waltrip in the Coca-Cola 600.

 

"I don't know what his problem is with Michael, but it'll be fixed [Monday] -- I'll guarantee it," an irate Eury said. "He acts like he's friends with [Waltrip], but every time he gets around him on the racetrack he ends up wrecking him."

 

Earnhardt feels Eury may be overreacting.

 

"There's no truth to that," Earnhardt said. "We don't get in the habit of running into each other, and we don't really race each other that hard. He was the last person I wanted to run into."

 

Waltrip was running in seventh position and Earnhardt eighth when Earnhardt got into Waltrip's Chevrolet exiting the tri-oval on Lap 246, sending the No. 15 Chevy hard into the wall and collecting Matt Kenseth and Terry Labonte in the process.

 

"I can understand [Eury's frustration]," Earnhardt said. "There's no problem between me and Michael, and I think Michael understands that. It's definitely not the person I wanted to run into. It's unfortunate.

 

"Hopefully everybody can come to terms with it in one way or another. I know some guys of the guys on Michael's team are probably upset, but don't really know.

 

"If you're not in the race car, you don't know what the hell's going on out there, so I can't expect everybody to understand how we all came together and wrecked. But the people that understand will move on."

 

Labonte was sore following the crash and was taken by ground to Carolinas Medical Center for precautionary reasons. He was seen and released.

 

Kenseth and Waltrip were uninjured, though Waltrip did have the wind knocked out of him.

 

"I was just in the wrong place at the wrong time," Kenseth said. "The 8 car just ran over the 15 in the straightaway.

 

"I had Michael passed two or three times, I had him passed in [Turns] 3 and 4, but I couldn't quite finish the pass. He'd go back by me in [Turns] 1 and 2, which there's nothing wrong with that because that's his job. I just couldn't get by him.

 

"Dale Jr. got by while I was trying to pass Michael. He tried going outside of Michael a little bit and then he just turned under him and just hit him in the straightaway."

 

Eury said any issue between Earnhardt and Waltrip would be addressed in short order.

 

"I don't know what the problem is, but DEI's got enough problems that we don't need that," Eury said.

 

Junior believes there are no off-track problems.

 

"Michael was running out there in front of me, and I got a real good run off the corner and looked to the outside of him on the front straightaway, and he either moved up or took his natural line through the front straightaway, and I was right there on him," Junior explained.

 

"Next thing I know he was spinning around in front of me. I didn't know I was as close as I was to him, to hit him. Just spun him out. I hate it for him and Tony Jr. and all those guys. Just made a mistake."

 

Earnhardt said the communication between he and Steve Hmiel was "awesome," and that he felt like the No. 8 team let one slip away.

 

"We could have had a good top-five or even a victory [Sunday]."

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Cross' Words: Charlotte

By B. Duane Cross, NASCAR.COM

 

 

Dale Earnhardt Jr. has 195 Cup starts under his belt. He's won 15 times, finished in the top five 55 times and has 84 top-10s.

 

So why the outrage over a guy who has won 7 percent of his races, and is struggling to find his bearings this season?

 

Being the son of a stock-car legend is enough of a burden, but for fanatics to heap on the expectations of a victory each week ... well, that's insane. It's too much to assume -- even for a top-tier Cup team.

 

Ponder this: After his first 195 Cup races, Dale Earnhardt had 13 victories, 70 top-five finishes and 113 top-10s. ... Considering the level of competition is higher now than the late 1970s - early '80s, Junior is holding his own when it comes to carrying the torch.

 

No one can imagine what it's like to be "Junior" -- the face of a sport, heir to an empire. It's not like he can swap his Wranglers for a pair of Levi's and try to go incognito. He lives in a bubble, one that some are waiting to pop.

 

After a 33rd-place finish in the Coca-Cola 600 -- mere days after a crew chief swap that many believe the driver necessitated -- the naysayers' fires are sure to be stoked to the nth degree. Maybe especially after a 33rd-place finish ... and punting teammate Michael Waltrip out of the race on Lap 246.

 

"We were real tight with the race car," Junior said. "We got to working on it, and it was real fast before we got into Michael, and I was pretty happy with it at that point. It still needed a little more work, but you saw how it turned out. It was anybody's race. I felt like we were in real good shape right up until the accident."

 

That accident drew the ire of Tony Eury Sr., Earnhardt's uncle and former crew chief.

 

"I don't know what [Earnhardt's] problem is with Michael, but it'll be fixed [Monday] I'll guarantee it," said Eury, DEI's director of competition. "He acts like he's friends with [Waltrip], but every time he gets around him on the racetrack he ends up wrecking him."

 

We'll leave Garage Mahal matters for those involved, but one piece of unsolicited advice: Junior is still growing as a driver. He's going to make mistakes, like Sunday night.

 

"I'm feeling really confident right now, real good about my team," Junior said. "We had a tough night, but the car was real fast before the crash. As long as the cars are fast, I've got to do the rest, and [Sunday] I slipped up a little bit."

 

Given the enormous pressure he's under, a few slips are acceptable. Then again, a few more slips and the issues facing DEI -- and Junior -- will be magnified even more.

 

"Hopefully everybody can come to terms with it one way or another," Junior said of his on-track run-in with Waltrip. "I know some guys on Michael's team are probably upset and don't really know. I mean, if you're not in the race car, you don't know what the hell's going on out there, so I can't expect anyone to understand what exactly was going on at that moment and time, and how we all came together and wrecked.

 

"The people that understand, they'll move on and we'll try to get better next week."

 

Which is what everyone should do for Junior -- move on, give him some room to breathe, let him grow into whatever type driver he can, not the one everyone wishes he was.

 

Flags

 

• Red -- Mark Martin finished 28th on Sunday and ended a series-best 33-race streak of running at the finish that began at Michigan last June. The last time he failed to finish was at Pocono, where engine troubles relegated him to 36th. He has been running at the end in 46 of the past 48 races.

 

• Yellow -- Kurt Busch had his second DNF of the year, finishing 43rd. This was the third time in his career that he finished 43rd in a race. He finished 43rd in both races at Michigan in 2001. Busch dropped from fifth to 10th in points -- but still holds a 47-race streak of ranking in the top 10 since Rockingham in February 2004.

 

• Green -- Bobby Labonte, who finished second on Sunday, posted his 11th top-five finish in 25 races at Charlotte. Labonte scored his first top-five finish since he was third at Pocono in June 2004, and moved from 31st to 24th in the point standings.

 

Quote, Unquote

 

"The 99 ran into the back of me going down the backstretch and I'm not taking anymore of his bull. If he wants to mess with me, we can calm him down -- I guarantee you that."

-- Dale Jarrett, on being hit from behind by Carl Edwards

 

Around the Track

 

• Jimmie Johnson became the first driver with three consecutive victories in the Coca-Cola 600. It was Johnson's fourth victory at Charlotte and his seventh finish of seventh-or-better in eight races at the track.

 

• The 21 lap leaders in the Coca-Cola 600 is a record for the event. The most leaders in a Cup race is 26 at Talladega set in July 1986 and April 2001. ... The 22 caution periods in the Coke 600 is an all-time record in a Cup race.

 

• Jeff Gordon, who finished 30th on Sunday, posted his fourth DNF of the season. No other driver in the top 10 in the point standings has more than two. He dropped from third to fifth in the standings.

 

Up Next

 

Dover International Speedway

 

• Eight active drivers have multiple victories at Dover: Bill Elliott (4), Jeff Gordon (4), Mark Martin (4), Ricky Rudd (4), Ryan Newman (3), Rusty Wallace (3), Jimmie Johnson (2) and Tony Stewart (2). ... Bobby Allison and Richard Petty hold the track record with seven.

 

• Mark Martin leads all active drivers with 17 top-five finishes, followed by Ricky Rudd (14), Bill Elliott (12), Jeff Gordon (12), Dale Jarrett (12), Bobby Labonte (11) and Rusty Wallace (10). ... Dale Earnhardt holds the track record with 19.

 

• Ricky Rudd tops all active drivers with 26 top-10s, which ties Richard Petty for most all-time at Dover. Only two other active drivers have at least 20 top-10s: Mark Martin (22) and Rusty Wallace (20). Sunday will be Rudd's 54th start at Dover, which will tie Dave Marcis for the most races all-time at the track. 

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Struggling NASCAR star booed at Coca-Cola 600

 

CONCORD, N.C. -- Dale Earnhardt Jr. was jeered by the fans, criticized by his fired crew chief and ripped by his uncle, the man who typically has been his most loyal supporter.

 

Add in his season-long slump and the five-car accident he caused in the Coca-Cola 600 by running into his teammate, and the situation becomes all too clear: NASCAR's biggest star is in big, big trouble.

 

"It's been a rough week," Earnhardt said Monday, a day after finishing 33rd in his most tumultuous race of the year. "All of us at DEI want to win so bad, things happen or are said in the heat of the moment. It's the way it always has been.

 

"That's family, ya know? Win or lose, with the focus from the fans and the media on me and on this team, we've had some sort of drama or controversy every other week for five or six years."

 

Yes, but it's never been so obvious or so intense for Earnhardt, the flagship driver of the company his late father built.

 

He fired his crew chief, Pete Rondeau, last week in a shakeup designed to jump start his struggling team.

 

Earnhardt and DEI executives claimed the chemistry just wasn't there, even though the duo had worked together for just 11 races. Rondeau was hired at the end of last season, replacing the combination of Tony Eury Sr. and Tony Eury Jr.

 

The Eurys, who are Earnhardt's uncle and cousin, were the only crew Junior had ever worked with before they were sent en masse to work with teammate Michael Waltrip.

 

Earnhardt acknowledged it was difficult to part ways with the Eurys "because my Dad put me with those guys," but said his working relationship with his cousin was too strained to continue.

 

So Rondeau was put in charge in his first stint as a crew chief. Junior maintained he liked Rondeau, but the two had a communication problem during races.

 

Then, on the eve of Sunday's race, Rondeau responded with his own set of complaints. He alleged his three-year contract was never signed by team owner Teresa Earnhardt and that the firing was out of the blue despite a clause that he be given six weeks notice if things weren't working out.

 

He also claimed that communication was an issue with both Earnhardt, and with Waltrip's crew.

 

"There was probably a little sore spot between the old eight team and us," Rondeau told The (Columbia) State. "Tony Eury Sr. was supposed to be working amongst the two teams. I probably saw him once at Daytona and never saw him again after that.

 

"When you're a single-car team in a multi-car organization, that's not going to work."

 

One thing is certain after Sunday night's race: If there weren't problems between the teams before, they most certainly exist now.

 

Waltrip and Earnhardt were both racing in the Top 10 when Junior rammed into the back of Waltrip's bumper and sent him spinning across the track. Earnhardt's car was damaged, along with three other drivers.

 

Earnhardt, who received a shocking smattering of boos during driver introductions, was jeered by the fans as he drove his car into the garage for repairs.

 

Once there, he was greeted by dirty looks from his cousin and former crew. Waltrip was very careful in choosing his words when asked what had happened.

 

"I don't know what happened, I felt like I was in front of Dale Jr. and he ran into me," Waltrip said.

 

Eury Sr. -- the man Junior affectionally refers to as "Pops" -- was a lot more blunt.

 

"I don't know what his problem is with Michael," he said of Earnhardt. "It'll be fixed tomorrow, I guarantee it. He acts like he's friends with him, but every time he gets near him on the track he ends up wrecking him.

 

"DEI has enough problems. We don't need that."

 

Eury also said the wreck wasn't an isolated incident: "It's been happening for five years."

 

Earnhardt maintained the wreck was not intentional and bristled at the criticism from his family members.

 

"I know some of the guys on Michael's team are probably upset, but don't really know," he said. "If you're not in the race car, you don't know what the hell is going on out there. I can't expect anybody to understand exactly what was going on at that moment at that time."

 

The only thing that is clear is that Earnhardt is in serious jeopardy of having the worst season of his six-year career. He dropped four spots in the standings to 15th after Sunday's race and has yet to score his first win of the season.

 

And he only has an interim crew chief right now in Steve Hmiel, the longtime technical director at DEI. Jimmy Elledge, currently the crew chief for Casey Mears and Earnhardt's brother-in-law, is considered the top candidate. But Elledge, who worked on crews for the late Dale Earnhardt, admitted the job won't be easy.

 

"If you get put in that position, you have to be ready for it," Elledge said. "He's a little bit like his dad … he's a strong personality. He can drive. He can get it done. But whoever takes that position just better be good at it, be ready to go for the ride. He's going to go to the top."

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Rockingham adjusting to life without NASCAR

By Keith Parsons, The Associated Press

 

 

ROCKINGHAM, N.C. (AP) -- The billboards still stand around the countryside as they have for the better part of 40 years, promoting the NASCAR race at North Carolina Speedway.

 

A closer look reveals a date more than a year old -- Feb. 22, 2004. For the first time since it opened, the track known as "The Rock" isn't on the schedule, one of the losers as NASCAR grew into a national phenomenon.

 

"NASCAR has made a decision to move beyond its roots," said Rockingham Mayor Gene McLaurin. "Maybe neglect is too strong a word, but I don't think so."

 

The track hosted two races a year from 1966-2003, then dropped to only one last season when California Speedway near Los Angeles got a second date. Even then, when the Nextel Cup Series came for what most people knew was the last chance for Rockingham, the crowd fell well short of a sellout, with about 10,000 empty seats at a track that holds 60,000.

 

This year, Texas Motor Speedway got Rockingham's remaining spot on the schedule, part of a lawsuit settlement last year between NASCAR and Speedway Motorsports Inc. shareholder Francis Ferko.

 

Another part of the settlement awarded North Carolina Speedway to SMI founder Bruton Smith for the price of $100.4 million. The track had been owned by International Speedway Corp., which is run by the same France family that controls NASCAR.

 

Unless something changes, NASCAR racing at "The Rock" might be gone forever.

 

"It just so happens Rockingham ain't L.A., and it ain't Chicago, and it ain't Kansas, and it ain't Dallas," veteran driver Kyle Petty said. "They just market race now, and that's the only way you can look at it. It doesn't make a difference what the race track is like or how good the racing is, they're going to go to major markets."

 

The change was particularly disappointing to Petty, a Randleman native who watched as NASCAR dropped two of his home tracks in the past decade.

 

North Wilkesboro Speedway, cut from the circuit in 1997, and Rockingham were both within 100 miles of Petty's hometown.

 

And North Carolina Speedway provided some of the best side-by-side action of the season, thanks mostly to an abrasive surface that chewed up tires and made aerodynamics virtually useless. Matt Kenseth nipped Kasey Kahne by .010 seconds in the finale, the fourth-closest finish in series history.

 

At least Petty has gotten a chance to visit the track. He took his team there a few months ago for a test session, running all day to check gear and suspension pieces.

 

"It's kind of a sad place to go, because they don't race there anymore," he said. "And it is such a good race, and they haven't had a lot of good races this year. You wish it was still on the schedule, but things change."

 

Through a spokesman, Smith said he is willing to listen to offers for the track, and he has tried to push events that way. The Sports Car Club of America rented the track earlier this year for a weekend of racing, and there's a chance similar festivities will keep people coming to Rockingham.

 

So far, other than the loss of a little pride, the town and surrounding area haven't felt any dramatic difference.

 

 "We were expecting to see a tremendous drop, but we've had a fair amount of construction going on around here, and our hotel numbers were up in Feb. '05 from Feb. '04," said Bennett Deane, president of the Richmond County Chamber of Commerce. "We only had 550 rooms here, so once they were booked, the other impact was -- I don't want to say insignificant -- but it was simply pass through."

 

The state's General Assembly made a futile attempt to help the track keep its spot on the schedule, and saw firsthand how little history and longtime support means these days in NASCAR. With Charlotte among the cities bidding for the sport's hall of fame, legislators have approved an increase of the Charlotte-area hotel room tax.

 

The change would increase the local occupancy tax from 6 percent to 8 percent, making it the highest in the state. The estimated $65 million in revenue would help finance the museum and a new ballroom for the Charlotte convention center, next to the proposed site.

 

The state has put together a total package worth $137.5 million. Atlanta and Kansas City also are interested, with proposals due by Tuesday.

 

"I think if it doesn't come to Charlotte or somewhere in that area, it's going to the wrong place," said Junior Johnson, one of the sport's greatest drivers and car owners. "They can talk about all these other places all they want, but the people who started this sport are from here, and it should stay here. The hall of fame wouldn't be attractive somewhere else."

 

Unfortunately, a similar argument couldn't stop Rockingham from losing out.

 

"I don't want to get despondent about it, I don't want to get discouraged about it," McLaurin said. "I think NASCAR made a mistake, but mistakes are made. Maybe there's a chance in the future for Rockingham and the track to be a part of it again."

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Well, that's all for today.  Until the next time, I remain,

 

Your Momma