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Author: SM Staff

The Gradual Extinction of the Neandertal Southern NASCAR Driver

[media-credit name=”CIA Stock Photo” align=”alignright” width=”248″][/media-credit]The original working title for this essay was originally going to be called, “Absence of Alice”, however, considering I’m halfway through an Archaeology class this term, and I didn’t want a general confusion to erupt, with the one or two people who might actually read this sitting there, scratching their heads, and wondering out loud, “Uh, who’s ‘Alice’? Do I need to call the police?”…that was shelved, in favor of this obviously more-boring, yet quasi-professional title.

I was reading an article from the Speed TV site, “Where have all of the Southern drivers gone?”, from a few days ago, and it got me to thinking just a bit. My going into ‘thinking’ mode usually involves an arrest, life-threatening injuries, a smashed box of Twinkies, and an unhappy child somewhere in Florida, so I warned my family to put on their ‘Dear God, Dad is thinking again!’ body armor, we primed the indoor fire sprinkler system, they ran to the basement, I sat down to my computer, put my hands on the keyboard, turned my head away as if the keyboard was going to explode in my face, and I began typing this.

While the author of that article throws around a few salient observations, she completely misses the point in such a way that it makes the captain of the doomed Exxon Valdez appear as if he had a mild ‘whoops!’ when he somehow missed the entire coastline of Alaska sitting there right in front of him: The dirty little secret is that the France Cartel has been attempting to weed the ‘South’ out of NASCAR for quite some time…but they’re still milking this geographic area for all it’s worth. Follow me a bit as I attempt to explain the logic behind my reasoning.

1. Where are the major race shops located? If you guessed, “North Carolina”, you win $100,000 Space Bucks. (Disclaimer: You have to drive into space to get it)

2. The actual drivers put aside, where do all of the remaining crew members usually hail from? Even though you obviously have crew members and engineers from various parts of the country (and out of the country), yep, you guessed it…they’re from the South.

3. Say that you are an up-and-coming NASCAR driver. Kids, can anyone tell me what geographical part of the country you have to spend the bulk of your time racing in, so you might have a shot at being ‘noticed’? While there are clearly exceptions to this suggestion (the ‘West’ series, obviously)… if you absent-mindedly murmured ‘The South’, before actually finishing this sentence, you’re more than likely correct. An example? I know of a talented local youth here who couldn’t find a ride to save his life…his dad spent himself into oblivion attempting to purchase a ‘career’ in modifieds for his son…the young man in question had to move (South) to get a job, and apparently, he now works for the Richard Petty Racing Experience…which is based…in the South. You can’t find this type of job most anywhere else.

4. Where are vast offices of NASCAR located? Oh, wait, ‘The South’. Does South Florida still reside ‘in the South’, or has that area of the country been labeled ‘another planet entirely’ yet?

5. If I ever wish to transcend past the ‘unoffical smart ass of NASCAR’ stage of my career, and do something where I might actually stand a chance of making any sort of measly stipend, guess where I need to relocate to? Yep, that’s right, Da’ South.

6. Need more proof of how NASCAR is attempting to ride both sides of the fence, by only catering to its (rapidly dwindling) Southern base when it’s convenient? http://espn.go.com/racing/nascar/cup/story/_/id/7586239/nascar-turns-bubba-watson-general-lee-car-pheonix-race The General Lee is merely an over-glorified TV car from a long-dead TV show based in the South, and yet NASCAR has to engage in revisionist history by banning a version of this car from pacing the field at Phoenix next month, because apparently, someone, somewhere might get upset by it (http://www.amazon.com/Shakedown-Exposing-Real-Jesse-Jackson/dp/0895261650 and http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/905242/posts, oh yeah, and http://www.spofga.org/corporations/2003/aug/nascar.phtml just in case you’d like some reading). Just in case some idiot at NASCAR might be reading this? Going politically correct tends to piss off your fans, sir (as evidenced by the comments on the ESPN page), and oh yeah, by the way? The flag painted on top the roof of the General Lee isn’t ‘the’ Confederate flag, however, I’m glad you decided it would be a great idea to force Bubba through the 1984-style, NASCAR Political Correctness re-education camp, so he could tout the France cartel party line about just how evil ‘The’ (singular, as in according to the morons at Daytona Beach, the Confederate States only had one flag) Confederate flag is, never mind ten seconds of searching on any search engine reveals sites such as, http://www.loeser.us/flags/civil.html, which show the ‘General Lee’ flag to merely to be a…Confederate Navy Jack…out of somewhere around 37 or so flags used by the Confederacy. This also begs the question; were the producers who originally designed the world’s most famous 1969 Dodge Charger cognizant of this fact, or did they just pick what appeared to be the most ‘popular’ Confederate flag (as do most apologist politicians and marketing morons at NASCAR do) and slap it on top? Taking various TV series writer commentaries into account (one good example being Harlan Ellison), most producers, when dreaming up stuff like what to paint on cars for a TV show, they rarely actually use any intelligence or logic in their decisions; one casual glance at the ‘Fast and Furious’ car movie disaster series should be an indication as to how clueless these people are. To summarize; According to NASCAR, it appears that certain parts of Southern history can be loosely construed as racist, therefore we should blot out all mention of them so we don’t drive away yet another Official Something-Or-Another Of NASCAR.

7. Only a small (as in global tectonic plates shifting) paradox here: Almost all of the ‘Technical Experts’ that are used to supplement the on-air talent just happen to be…Southern. Whoops. I don’t know how that one slipped by the Anti-South Gestapo at NASCAR, but the funny thing is that I don’t know how they’re going to get around that little problem…

Judging by the amount of capable Southern drivers who have been quietly herded out of the Sprint Cup series, in favor of non-accented, colorless, bland, boring, and in some cases, not-so-talented robot drivers from other parts of the country, corporate sponsors don’t appear to want supposedly illiterate-sounding Southerners being the face of their product. One such Southerner that comes to mind is one Elliott Sadler (Fried Bologna Sandwiches!), who must make Northeastern marketing types scream in horror like a teenaged girl if he ever shows up in an interview—he can drive, but he’s nowhere to be found, for all intents and purposes.

While both you and I know better, in that I’ve known incredibly intelligent and talented people whose only supposed ‘curse’ was to be born somewhere around this geographical area, the fact remains that NASCAR only conveniently embraces their roots when it assists in attempting to plant butts in the seats during events in the Southern market.

Gee, could this phenomenon be taken into consideration as to why track attendance is dwindling in these key markets? Has NASCAR, being a typical corporation, in an attempt to shed itself of the ‘Southern’ roots and become (in their eyes, anyway) marketable to all types of sponsors, trying to expand to markets all across the country, trying to be something for everyone? And have they, in the process of telling their original fan base to go pound sand, as evidenced by something as stupid as going Orwell on pro golfer Bubba Watson, not only alienated the hardcore fans, but created a laughingstock out of themselves with the rest of the USA audience that they were targeting?

In a commercial aired during Saturday night’s Bud Shootout, in touting the excitement generated by the Daytona 500 throughout the decades, the NASCAR marketing team went right to the old video library and dredged up the old crashes and THE 30-something-year-old fist-fight to give us, the schmoes at home, a historical perspective on why we should waste a perfectly good Sunday afternoon and watch the race…but apparently, judging by other actions, in which they attempt to cover up their Southern roots, these people could care less about their history (and yours). They’re moving forward, and if you’re in the South…you’re the cold dead past to them, to be shunted aside unless they want to sell you some merchandise, or have you go to a race.

By the way, concerning the Neandertal part of the title of this essay? A heck of a lot of research has been done over the last few years concerning these ‘cave men’, yes, the same people that Geico have been doing (apparently) humorous commercials about for the last few years. According to a lot of researchers, they were superior to homo sapiens (us) in many ways…which vaguely reminds me of the almost-superhuman NASCAR drivers who were the past heroes of this sport…and just happened to be supposedly cursed with being born and raised in that part of the country; two certain seven-time series champions come to mind.

Neandertals (yes, correct spelling) were in Europe for a lot longer time period than regular homo sapiens; they lived hard, they worked hard, and they died hard. You did not want to face one in combat; imagine going toe-to-toe with a slightly-less-annoyed, but much more intelligent silverback gorilla. Basically, these humans were just as smart as us (larger cranial capacity in some instances), but a heck of a lot stronger, and almost fearsome in their capabilities.

The somewhat-current theory is that Neandertal man was simply too specialized to continue their existence, however, they have been in Europe for somewhere around 200,000 years, and in some cases, lived in the same cave systems for thousands of years, where in the case of the homo sapien (us), we’re merely a speed bump in Europe’s history. The funny part in all of this? NASCAR is threatening to become a speed bump in the history of the South, unless they quit treating this market like redneck cousins who live in a trailer park, to be ignored and chastised until Daytona beach wants to sell them something.

The Southern NASCAR Neandertals aren’t going away quietly. Daytona Beach can shun them all they want, using them when it’s convenient, but apparently, judging by the empty seats (entire sections in some cases) that I’ve seen during races last year…with some of these races being in the South…it would appear that that the South isn’t playing along any longer…and is voting with their feet. I’m wondering if the France cartel is going to realize this before it’s too late.

Until next time.

If at first you don’t succeed, call it “The Car of Tomorrow”.

February 20, 2012
Carl Edwards Make Statement with Daytona 500 Pole

[media-credit id=22 align=”alignright” width=”189″][/media-credit]Since the last lap of the Ford 400 at Homestead-Miami Speedway last season, the question for Carl Edwards has been what was it like to finish second?

Now with Daytona 500 qualifying done, Edwards doesn’t have that to answer that question as he won the Coors Light Pole for the biggest race of the season. Instead of talking about last season, the talk will be centered around that pole.

“It’s an amazing feeling,” Edwards said after winning the pole. “I just cannot thank Jack Roush enough for all the work that he’s put in.  Doug Yates, I feel like he should be sitting up here with us.  Those guys have done an unbelievable job of working through the transition to the EFI.  It’s just amazing.  To know for the next week Bob and all of us are going to be working on the fastest racecar here at Daytona and preparing it for the biggest race of the season is a lot of fun.  It’s great.”

So does this pole actually mean anything?

Well, for starters, he will get to lead the field to the green flag to start the season in the biggest race. That’s always good for team confidence.

He also gets to savor the moment for an entire week, unlike any other pole throughout the season.

He has locked himself into next year’s Bud Shootout already as it returns back to its original format.

He doesn’t have to worry in the Gatorade Duels as he can as hard as he wants and as long as he avoids trouble, he’s locked in. Edwards says that he’ll still go out and mix it up because, “If I were to not race and not understand the dynamics that are going to happen during the daytime here at this racetrack with this package, I’d be giving them something.  I have to go out there as a driver and mix it up, race, see how our car handles.

Beyond that, to win the Daytona 500 pole, it takes a lot of prep from the team with regards to working on the car, testing the car in the wind tunnel and perfecting the engine package during the two-month off-season.

As team owner Jack Roush said, “It obviously starts in the shop.  Robbie Reiser, he’s under the weather today as well.  But he’s worked really hard all winter.  Great manufacturing program for us.  Chip (Bolin) is behind the scenes leading the engineering group with the simulations, with the predictive things, the wind tunnel, kinematics and suspension.  I tease him as he’s writing up new stuff all the time. There’s a lot to this.  There’s a lot more than driving a car fast and having a fast engine.  You have to coordinate every piece so it’s ready to do its job when it’s time.”

Edwards adds, “After seeing how hard everybody works all winter, how much pride the guys take in how these cars qualify, it does mean something to me.  It’s a sign of the strength of your team.  It’s not that we just have one car up there.  To have two cars, to have that whole front row, I mean, that says a lot about Roush Fenway Racing, about Ford.”

By winning the pole, it sets out a statement in some respect that this team is ready to come back strong in 2012 and contend once again. It already has people thinking of Edwards and the No. 99 Fastenal team for the championship. If he doesn’t do well in the Daytona 500, it may take away from that but with finishing off strong last season and the pole, things look good for 2012 early.

“Feels nice to pick up right where we left off,” Edwards said. “I’ve been telling everybody, it seems like every media question, How great would it have been to have one more point?  How did you deal with that this off-season? I think this is nice to come here and show everyone that, hey, it isn’t just talk.  Everybody at Roush Fenway went back and worked hard and kept their heads down and dug for, just like Chip said, the best racecars we’ve had in a long time.  I thank Jack, Chip, Bob, Robbie Reiser, Doug Yates, everybody who has built these racecars, for not letting the disappointment of not winning that championship, not letting that slow us down, but instead giving us real motivation.”

In looking back at last season, there is no regrets as Edwards said they had a good season despite some of their luck.

“Bob said, No, if we started the Chase again, we’d do the same thing, put our efforts in the same places, I wouldn’t change a thing,” Edwards said. “As we sat there and talked about it, there was Martinsville and Kansas in particular where we were truly running somewhere in the high 20s or low 30s, running laps down.  We were able to come back those days and finish, I don’t know what it was, ninth in Martinsville and fifth at Kansas. That doesn’t seem as exciting as a victory.  But those days I was more proud of our ability to gather up those points.  Those two days themselves were probably 40 points that we didn’t really deserve.  So at the end of the championship, when you look at it, we tied a guy who won half of the races.  I venture to say if we would have been able to win half of those races, we would have just dominated that thing

“So I guess that’s the long version of me saying we did the very best we could and there weren’t any races where I got out of the car and felt like, Oh, man, I could have got another spot.  I got out of the car at seven or eight of those races and thought, Thank you, Lord, for the spots you gave me and we were able to capitalize on it.  In the end it ended up a tie.

“Another simple way to put it is we didn’t lose it.  We didn’t go out and do anything wrong.  We went out, raced hard, did well, and they came in and beat us.”

February 20, 2012
GERHART TAKES ARCA SERIES SEASON OPENER UNDER THRILLING CONDITIONS

When a primary sponsor, on the hood of a race car, is the same corporation that’s also sponsoring the race it often makes a race driver dig a little deeper, and race a little harder. That’s exactly what racing veteran Bobby Gerhart did on the afternoon of February 18th at the Daytona International Raceway. Despite a weekend filled with obstacles, Gerhart dug deep and raced hard. The reward was the right to park his Lucas Oil Slick Mist Chevrolet in victory lane after winning the Lucas Oil Slick Mist 200.

The event was the official season opener of the ARCA Racing Series, presented by Menards. The Lucas Oil Slick Mist 200 also marked the Automobile Racing Club of America’s 60th anniversary season. The event also sent Gerhart to Daytona’s victory lane for the eighth time in 25 starts as well as his third consecutive win at the famous raceway.

However, Gerhart’s day of Daytona jubilation came at series’ rookie driver Brandon McReynolds’ expense. The Lucas Oil Slick Mist 200 was scheduled for 80 laps around Daytona’s massive 2.5 mile oval. The race distance was actually 83 laps due to a late race caution. McReynolds’ Chevrolet, entered by Turner Motorsports, just simply didn’t have enough fuel in the tank to run those extra three laps. McReynolds helplessly watched his first series win at Daytona turn into an 11th place finish after the engine sputtered and silently rolled across the finish line. Making that sinking feeling even deeper was the fact that McReynolds drove a brilliant race and led 64 laps. That’s when Gerhart, with a massive bump draft from series newcomer Drew Charlson, moved from fifth to first to steal the win during the final few feet of the race.

Gerhart’s latest ARCA Series win was not an easy one. The day before the race the Pennsylvania driver scorched the competition in qualifying to claim what would have been his fifth pole position at Daytona. However, during a post qualifying tech inspection, his car failed an engine vacuum leak check and Gerhart was informed that he would be starting the race from the rear of the 43 car field. Despite that disappointment, the team installed their back up power plant and then topped the speed charts during the final practice session held that morning.

Knowing that the Lucas Oil Slick Mist 200 was bound to become a fuel mileage race, Gerhart surprised everyone by coming down pit road, to pack his tank with gas, on the first lap. He repeated that procedure on lap ten. It would turn out to be a race winning moment. It was later revealed that this move was planned prior to the start of the race.

The pit stops placed Gerhart a lap down but, with 24 of the 43 drivers in the field being ARCA and Daytona rookies, the team knew there was bound to be an early caution flag. They didn’t have to wait very long. A single car spin brought out the first yellow of the race on lap six. Gerhart was awarded the Lucky Dog pass to place him back on the lead lap and began the process of working his way towards the front of the field.

On lap 74, the field was under caution again and McReynolds was observed driving on the track’s apron, wiggling the car from side to side, to save all of the badly needed fuel he would require for the final laps of the race. Unfortunately the field only ran two green flag laps before a single car accident brought out the final yellow. The Lucas Oil Slick Mist 200 was going into overtime.

Following the green-white-checker restart, it appeared that McReynolds, despite running on gas fumes, might have just enough left in the tank to take the win. Unfortunately while coming off of the final turn of the final lap, with the checkered flag in sight, that’s when McReynolds’ engine sputtered. The outstanding, dominant, run by this young driver was now over.

That’s also when the tandem of Gerhart and Charlson jumped to the outside lane which led to their one-two finish. Will Kimmel, Steve Blackburn and Mark Thompson followed them under the checkers to complete the top five rundown.

In victory lane, an ecstatic Bobby Gerhart patted the roof of his car with his hand and screamed “you should never, I mean never ever, rule out this Lucas Oil hot rod.” On this afternoon at Daytona, no truer words were ever spoken.

February 20, 2012
DJ Kennington Continues Partnership with Castrol Edge

[media-credit id=4 align=”alignleft” width=”150″][/media-credit]Early last week, DJ Kennington and Castrol Edge announced that once again they’d be partnering up to compete for the 2012 NASCAR Canadian Tire Series Championship. The St. Thomas, Ontario racer will pilot the No. 17 Castro Edge Dodge to continue one of the longest partnerships in the series as it approaches two decades.

“I’ve said this for many years, I simply wouldn’t be where I am and would not have been able to win races and a championship without the backing from Castrol,” the 2010 series champion says. “They have welcomed me into their family from the beginning and our relationship continues to grow, nobody’s had better support than me.”

The company is excited about the continued partnership as Marketing Communications Manager for Wakefield Canada, which distributes Castrol Edge, Marsha McLaughlin says, “partnering with DJ Kennington has been an important part of our marketing program with Castrol for nearly two decades. We’re proud of all that DJ has accomplished in racing and look forward to another exciting season together helping him edge his way to another championship.”

Last season, Kennington won two races – Mosport and Kawartha – though fell short in going back-to-back, as he finished second to Scot Steckly.

“We gave it a good run last year but came up just a little short repeating,” Kennington says. “Our guys are all anxious to get back and get back on top because we like finishing first better.”

The 2012 season opens up on Sunday May 20^th at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park, formerly known as Mosport International Raceway. All the races during the 2012 season will be televised on TSN.

For more information on DJ Kennington, check out , follow DJ on twitter (@djkracing) and join the Facebook group DJK Racing.

February 19, 2012
IndyCar: Michael Shank Racing Still in Search for Sponsorship

After winning the Rolex 24 at Daytona, Michael Shank Racing continues his search for sponsorship in the IZOD IndyCar Series. Shank hoped to make an announcement in October, but that didn’t come together. If nothing is found soon, the team may not run the season-opening Honda Grand Prix of St. Petersburg on March 25^th.

“We’ve got the car in the shop and the people we need to go run the car, but at this point we are still working to have the full budget in place to go racing,” Shank says. “I don’t want to be in a position to just go out and make up the numbers. We want to show up and have a competitive presence.”

Shank partnered with NASCAR driver AJ Allmendinger and business man Brian Bailey to form the Indy portion of MSR.

“My main goal is to make this thing work, and if that means working with a technical partner to make it happen or just focusing on particular races then so be it,” he says. “Obviously, there are folks out there testing right now, and that is the best-case scenario to be in. We’ve got a little bit bigger hill to climb at the moment, but we are not giving up by any stretch.”

If sponsorship comes together, Shank is expected to compete in the IndyCar Series with Paul Tracy.

February 19, 2012
Science, Skill and Lady Luck Decide Shootout Winner

[media-credit id=22 align=”alignright” width=”228″][/media-credit]Last nights Budweiser Shootout was an incredible display of talent and mayhem with the return to pack racing. We all learned something. We learned that packs breed multi-car wrecks. But wait we learned that tandems cause wrecks too. So when we look at it what we really learned is that speed causes wrecks. However, I can’t think of a single fan that I have talked to that would want to see them go to racing 4 cylinders. Not that that would matter they would find a way to make them lightening fast anyways.

The Shootout was marred by 5 caution flags for a total of 22 laps including one red flag situation for Jeff Gordon’s roll over, 25 cars started the race, 13 cars finished the race, 10 on the lead lap at the end and approximately 6 of those were undamaged.

Even with those stats in hand, the drivers were happy with the return to pack racing. “I actually had fun racing at Daytona again which I haven’t had for a while, so I’m really, really appreciative to the work that NASCAR has done in the off-season and the test session and even after the test of the changes that they made to try to make it better for us out there,” Tony Stewart said. “I had more fun as a driver tonight than what we’ve had in the past.”

Dale Earnhardt Jr, whose night ended early when Joey Logano and Marcos Ambrose got together taking out 6 of the top 10, had been a very vocal detractor of the tandem racing echoed Stewart’s sentiments, “I liked (this package) better. At least I know what to expect. I feel like I have a better chance with this style than what I had last year. These cars have massive closing rate. When you get out front your car just bogs down, and they come flying by you. You just really have to be on your toes, because they get to you really quick. There’s really no place to block. When guys would catch up with me, I wouldn’t try to block… we just raced it out. But I feel really happy with all the work NASCAR has done in the off-season. It can get better, and I hope they strive to improve. But they should be excited about what they saw tonight.”

But perhaps the most tremendous part of the show was the display of talent put on by Kyle Busch and Tony Stewart. Busch made three miraculous saves in the course of the event. Saving cars that most competitors would have lost. “There are a lot of guys that wouldn’t have caught that. He did a fantastic job with that save,” Stewart said of Busch. “I’m sitting there and the green is still out. I’m like, ‘Man, that’s the coolest save I’ve seen in a long time.’ ” “I don’t know how many times I spun out but didn’t spin out,” Busch exclaimed. “Amazing race. I’m glad to be standing in victory lane – starting off the year right, hopefully.”

Stewart who lead for 7 laps at the end of the race lost the race late off of turn-4 when Busch set up and perfectly executed the old school sling shot move into the tri-oval. Pulling even with Stewart the drag race was on. At the line it would be Kyle Busch by the closest margin in Bud Shootout history .013 seconds.

When asked what position he would have rather been in Stewart responded, “First, I was just happy that I was in the pairing at the end, to be up there. But I think history shows that you want to be that second guy I think in all reality. Especially here, it just seems like for some reason you can make that move here. Talladega for some reason, it seems like you make the move, the start/finish line being further around the tri-oval, almost seems like it’s too early when you make it. It just seems like that second spot is kind of the one you want to be in.”

Busch stated he was not concerned with the move out of four, “He knew he was a sitting duck as soon as we got clear of everybody. It was over. He knew who the winner was. I’m trying to think of a better way to explain it. That’s what it was. If I would have been in his spot, I would have known, too. The car behind has the momentum because you’re pushing the car in front. You can use the side draft and get by him. The only thing I could have screwed up on is if I would have gone low, and Stewart forced me below the yellow line, I could have gotten posted for that, so it’s a good thing I went high.”

But Stewart was not without his show of skill as well. Running back in the pack when the first caution flew, Stewart sliced and diced his way thru the carnage like a skilled surgeon removing a growth from a bundle of nerves. Though he picked up debris and felt that he had tire going down, Stewart’s race car was intact. With the break coming up the minor adjustment needed to improve it to race contender was merely a matter of patiently waiting for that yellow flag to fly.

The Shootout has always been an exciting test session. It has always been full of wrecks and blown up cars. But the last couple of years it had become dreary and weary. The work that NASCAR has done in the off season restored it’s excitement. No I still don’t like wrecks. But what I did like was the fact that a 4-time champion ended up on his roof and crawled out with a scratched finger. Scratched not cut. What I did like was that Kevin Harvick was able to drive to his garage with out injury even though the Budweiser Chevy was badly damaged and on fire all around him. He was unhurt and climbed from the car amidst a cloud of extinguisher fluid. What I did like was that a tandem of cars pulled away at the end but this time it was to race for the prize not to share it.

Is the package perfect? No. But NASCAR didn’t say it was. Are there issues with cooling systems and spoilers and bumpers and lots of other factors? Sure there are. But lets be honest here folks there always has been. Too fast they fly. Too slow they can’t get away. Too hot they blow up. Too cool they are too fast. It’s a vicious puzzle of check and balance and sacrificing one thing to ensure another. Frankly, Kudos to John Darby and Robin Pemberton and all the NASCAR engineers that worked their butts off to give the fans and the drivers what they wanted and what they asked for.

Congratulations and thanks to Kyle Busch on his victory in the Bud Shootout. Incredible display of an incredible amount of talent. Kudos to Tony Stewart on starting his championship reign with honesty and class. Also a big shout out to HMS chassis department and safety engineers absolutely awesome job folks! There was a time when God forbid the 24’s wreck would have had tragic results. Finally, allow me to say it was awesome to see Dale Earnhardt Jr., Steve Letarte and the 88 National Guard/Diet Mtn Dew team lead the race and being a strong contender!

That said, to all the competitors in the series thanks for giving us everything you have to give, you are our heroes. Most importantly, thanks to all the families who shared their loved ones with us so we could cheer our favorite driver and favorite teams. You are the true heroes of the sport and we are forever in your debt.

February 19, 2012
Why Did We Ever Change It To Begin With?

[media-credit id=22 align=”alignright” width=”256″][/media-credit]What is it with the young people in my generation? Why did we ever change from the traditional pack racing to the two-car tandem bore fests that have ruined the true art of restrictor plate racing? It seems like a trend especially here in the United States that is not only affecting NASCAR, but it also reflecting in choices of our own government. President Obama said he wanted to “completely transform America.” What has happened? The economy is crap and gas prices are up 92%.

Now, what about NASCAR? The two-car tandem style racing has made the races at Daytona and Talladega pretty much unbearable. One fan may say, “OMG! See that? Look at that finish! Screw all you people who like pack racing!! (Random animal noises made). Here is the big problem. 90% of the fans had fallen asleep prior and weren’t awake to see the finish. Trevor Bayne wins the Daytona 500!!! Omg!!! At only 20 years old! He’s going to be the best racer, ever!! What did Bayne do after winning the 500? Phoenix? Crashed. Las Vegas? Hit the wall. A lot. Bristol? Crashed.

Of the 17 races Bayne ran in 2011, he finished 30th or worse 47% of the time. Daytona and Talladega no longer came down to luck from missing the Big One or skill, it came down to mostly luck from who was pushing you at the right time. And some fans have the nerve of calling pack racing “demolition derbies.” For your information, a 15-car accident on Lap 29 of the 500 last year took out most of the top contenders. The Big One started by David Ragan last night at the Shootout was started because it takes more skill to bump-draft under this style. Under the tandems you could just slam into your guy and not worry about a thing because Brian France turned it into bumper cars at 200 mph. That’s not racing. Bayne’s win was a fluke and so was Ragan’s.

Drivers like Ragan have been babied throughout their careers and now they will have to learn how to really race. Ragan will not finish well in the Daytona 500 and he certainly won’t finish well in any of the restrictor plate races. These are the only races that Ragan ever had a chance of doing well in. This is why he races now for Last Row Motorsports. He simply does not have the skill yet.

NASCAR has undergone a lot of changes as of late. The Bud Shootout is back to its old format in 2013. What’s next? No more Chase? No more yellow line rule? What will it be? Enjoy the Daytona 500! It will be the best we’ve seen since 2007.

February 19, 2012
HOORAHS AND WAZZUPS: THE BUDWEISER EDITION

[media-credit id=22 align=”alignright” width=”225″][/media-credit]When the 34th annual Budweiser Shootout received the green flag, it was immediately apparent that the overall scope of restrictor plate racing had changed dramatically. Virtually gone were the two car tandems from the recent past. That was replaced by a return of the more traditional pack racing from years gone by. The final result of the 75 lap Budweiser Shootout was a very exciting finish peppered with the presence of three separate “big ones.”

However, with a million dollar purse on the line, with $200,000 plus going to the winner, combined with no championship points implications and a winner take all mentality, how could the Budweiser Shootout not be exciting? With those thoughts in mind, let’s begin with:

HOORAH to Kyle Busch for scoring his first ever Budweiser Shootout win in a highly dramatic fashion under green-white-checker conditions. Using old school drafting tactics, coming to the checkered flag, Busch’s Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota pulled a perfectly timed “sling shot” maneuver, another old school racing tactic, to pass Tony Stewart for the win. The margin of victory was a mere 0.013 seconds, a new race record.

The fact that Kyle Busch was even around for the finish of this race is amazing. He more than deserves a never before issued MAJOR HOORAH for saving his car not once, but twice, during some very tense on track moments. With approximately 28 laps remaining in the event, Busch was tapped by Jimmie Johnson and spent several nail biting moments gathering his car in and avoiding a major crash. It was a stunning display of car control and you’ll be seeing that piece of video a lot during the days to come. Then, with two laps remaining, the last of the three big wrecks erupted. Busch, tapped by Jeff Gordon, again launched a stunning display of car control to again steer his way through a potentially bad scenario.

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On the topic of the race’s three “big ones,” once again a HOORAH goes out to NASCAR and their mandated safety improvements implemented in recent years. During the Budweiser Shootout there were three major examples of issues that could have impacted driver safety. From the severe crash damage to the cars, the two cars that caught on fire and the one car that landed on its roof, all of the drivers walked away from it unharmed.

This was especially true of Jeff Gordon. With two laps remaining in the race, the final “big one” erupted. Gordon’s Chevrolet went up on its side and then barrel rolled two and one half times before coming to a rest on its roof. The following day Gordon commented that he felt more physical discomfort trying to climb out of the car, while hanging upside down in the cockpit, that he did during any portion of the savage wreck. Again, that’s a testimony to the outstanding safety features placed within these NASCAR stock cars.

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Okay, let’s get to the big story from the Budweiser Shootout weekend which actually had nothing to do with this race. WAZZUP with Jimmie Johnson’s Daytona 500 car failing to pass the first round of the NASCAR inspection procedure?

The problem centered around the C posts, a piece of sheet metal that attaches the car’s roof to the rear quarter panels. During the course of attaching their templates to the #48 car, NASCAR tech officials noticed that the C posts had an unusual curved design to them. The C posts were ruled as being unacceptable and were removed and confiscated. Because the car had yet to go out on the track, the team was informed that they still could race in the Daytona 500. However, the team had to make quick of fabricating new C posts that satisfied the inspectors.

In the aftermath, NASCAR official spokesman Kerry Tharpe said that “any sanctions are unlikely until after the February 26th, (Daytona 500), race.” John Darby, NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Director, called the incident “a major violation of NASCAR’s policy banning alterations” and added “suspensions are not out of the realm of possibility.”

Are you surprised that a race team attempted to slip something by the NASCAR tech team to gain an advantage in the Daytona 500? I know I wasn’t. We’re you surprised that this particular incident had the name Chad Knaus attached to it? You shouldn’t, we’ve heard this story from the past.

So, what’s the big deal here? According to reports, the curve design of the confiscated C posts could have deflected air flow away from the rear spoiler of the car. That would have created less drag on the rear of the car which could have led to a very slight increase in speed. In the world of restrictor plate racing, is a few minor ticks on a stop watch an advantage in the Daytona 500? You bet it is.

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A GOD BLESS goes out to the family of NASCAR on FOX television host Chris Myers over the recent loss of his son. 19 year old Christopher Myers was tragically killed in a February 16th automobile accident in the southern California community the family resides in. Our heart felt condolences and prayers goes out to the Myers family during this truly tragic time in their lives.

Also a GOD Bless goes out to the family of Bob Osbourne, and his family. The crew chief of driver Carl Edwards’ #99 Roush Fenway Racing Ford, had to leave Daytona Raceway last week following notification that his father had passed away. Our condolences and prayers also goes to the Osbourne family during their time of loss.

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A GOD BLESS goes out to the newest member of the NASCAR Nation as well as the new member that’s on the way. Kelley Earnhardt-Miller and husband L W Miller welcomed the arrival of their new baby son. Wyatt Wayne Miller arrived on February 16th weighing in at eight pounds 13 ounces. Mom is the manager of her famous brother’s racing career as well as overseeing the J R Motorsports’ NASCAR Nationwide Series teams which she is also a co-owner. Dad is a prominent race driver currently campaigning in the NASCAR Whelen Southern Modified Tour.

A GOD BLESS also goes out to Kevin and DeLana Harvick who recently announced that their first child was going to be a boy. Overwhelmed by the outpouring of love and support from the fans, the always fun DeLana has created a special Internet blog to keep us all updated on the arrival of the baby. You can find “Delana’s Baby Blog” at www.kevinharvick.com.

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We have a trio of final HOORAHS for you this week with two of them featuring some one liners that we felt deserved to be repeated.

The first HOORAH goes to SPEED Channel reporter Danielle Trotta. In a televised report, Trotta was previewing the winning contenders of the Budweiser Shootout. At the conclusion of an interview with Kevin Harvick, she said “we know he’s not shooting blanks because he has a baby boy on the way.”

During the Friday night Budweiser Shootout qualifying draw program, aired live by SPEED, Kyle Busch was introduced and the giant bushel basket of boo berries instantly followed. With a big grin on his face, Busch said “haters are motivators.” I wonder if he learned that from counseling sessions with Coach Joe Gibbs. By the way, following his outstanding driving display in the Shootout, those boo berries seemed to be nonexistent.

The final HOORAH goes to the country music group Little Big Town for their outstanding performance of “The National Anthem” prior to the Budweiser Shootout. I’ve always been a huge admirer of layered harmony singing and this group nailed the song like they wrote it themselves.

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The final WAZZUP, for this special Budweiser edition, has nothing do with the Shootout or, for that matter, the Daytona International Raceway. It actually concerns “The General Lee,” the #01 bright orange Dodge Charger from the hit CBS television series “The Dukes of Hazard,” which aired from 1979 to 1985. The car is now owned by famed PGA professional golfer Bubba Watson who bought it at an auction for $110,000.

It seems that Watson was recently named as an “honorary official” for the upcoming, March 4th, NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race at the Phoenix International Raceway. Everyone thought it would be a great idea if he drove “The General Lee” around the speedway during the pre race ceremonies.

Unfortunately, NASCAR wasn’t too thrilled with the plan and expressed concern over the presence of the confederate flag prominently painted on the roof of the car. Following a meeting ,between NASCAR and Phoenix Raceway officials, it was determined that displaying the car on race weekend was “not in the best interest of the sport.” In a more detailed statement, NASCAR said “the image of the confederate flag is something that shouldn’t play an official role in our sport as we continue to reach out to new fans and make NASCAR more inclusive.”

In a less than detailed report, Watson issued a “Twitter” message that read: “dream crushed !”

So, why do I have a problem with this story? Like many of you I still haven’t found a way to get comfortable with living in the age of so called political correctness. I’m now old, and I’m old school. Someone who subscribes to the theory that says: “if it looks like a duck, walks like a duck, quacks like a duck then it’s a damn duck.”

Yeah I know, I’m probably going to receive a nasty note from PETA for making fun of a duck.

February 19, 2012
‘Wild Thing’ Kyle Busch end wild night in Daytona victory lane

[media-credit id=22 align=”alignright” width=”241″][/media-credit]Kyle Busch wouldn’t say that he impressed himself in the way that he won Saturday night’s Budweiser Shootout but he thought it was pretty cool.

After what sure were going to be hard wrecks on two different occasions Busch was able to save his No. 18 M&M’s Camry from trouble and win the season opening race for the first time in his career. Whereas he should have been on a hook in the garage Busch beat defending champion Tony Stewart coming off turn four in a photo finish, 0.013 seconds.

“Man, it was exciting from where I was at a few times certainly,” Busch said afterwards. “Can’t say enough about all these guys, bringing out a backup car like that making another fast M&M Camry out of Joe Gibbs Racing, come out here and winning the thing. First time might have been luck. I’m going to say the second time was all skill.

“It was interesting from my seat. I was steering, stabbing, braking, gassing, everything in between, trying to keep the thing straight, get it back under control.”

The first of Busch’s trouble came on lap 48 when Hendrick Motorsports driver Jimmie Johnson got into him in turn two. Busch’s car slid down the apron and Busch was able to regain control twice as it tried to get sideways. In doing so he and the drivers who slowed behind him lost ground to the leaders who sped away. The caution never flew and Busch was left playing catch up.

“Hard to say whether you impressed yourself,” said Busch. “Never thought about that. It was certainly cool. I enjoyed it. I wouldn’t recommend everybody do it everyday. But certainly it got my attention. I was just glad that I was able to pull through it, to be honest with you, to be able to straighten it back out, keep going. Check my mirror. Everybody was stabbing the brakes, trying to slow down, thinking I’m going to wreck. We got it back going, they’re like, huh, all right.”

That included Stewart who had a front row seat. The three-time champion said it was one of the coolest things that he’s ever seen and that it was also cool to see a driver come back from big moments such as those during the race and win. Even though it would be at his expense in the end.

Said Stewart, “He had to catch it three times before he saved it. You get 3400 pounds moving like that, to catch it once was pretty big, to get away from it and catch it again was big and the third time was big. That’s three big moments in one corner and he never quit driving. There’s a lot of guys that wouldn’t have caught that. He did a fantastic job with that save.”

Busch chuckled when hearing about Stewart’s praise and said that it was probably because of the shower of sparks that flew. To Busch though he had gotten lucky and it was hard to explain.

Then it happened again with two laps remaining. This time it was Jeff Gordon who got into Busch and as Busch again went into a long slid and save Gordon went back up the track and collected others. He ended up flipping and barrel rolling towards the entrance of pit road.

“Three and four with Jeff Gordon behind me, I got him pushing on me through one and two making me really loose,” described Busch. “I’m glad the straightaway came when it did because otherwise I was going to spin out. He got back on me a few more times on the straightaway moving me around, I think trying to move me out of the way. Getting into three, hit me again, hit me on the left rear corner, spun me out. I don’t know what the deal was there.”

The lengthy caution gave Busch plenty of time to head to pit road for more repairs before lining back up for the restart. NASCAR had deemed the race not yet to be over and there would be a green-white-checkered finish.

“It was a lot going on,” he said. “It’s so hard to explain everything you do, but you’re doing it all at the same time. That’s just the way it is. Certainly I was like, ‘Man, that was pretty lucky the first time.’ It happened the second I’m like, ‘Well, I guess I’m lucky again. We’ll see where we end up when the checkered flag flies.’”

On the restart Busch was eighth but coming to the white flag was already on the back bumper of Stewart who he pushed to the lead and away from the field. Using the two-car tango Busch and Stewart were able to separate from the field and decide the race themselves as Busch pulled off the pass coming off turn four and to the finish line.

The victory was the first for both Busch and Toyota in the event but fifth for Joe Gibbs Racing. It was also the closest finish in Budweiser Shootout history and it gave Busch a nice shot in the arm after how his 2011 season ended.

“It is great that we were able to come out first race back in the M&M’s car and get back to victory lane,” he said. “It means a lot to myself and this team, Joe Gibbs Racing. Can’t say enough about all the support around, M&M’s being back, us being able to get to victory lane like we did, carry that Toyota right through victory lane like we did.

“Certainly there’s situations and stuff like that that got really tense out there and really hectic. You’re not sure how you’re going to come out of it sometimes. You just do the best you can with what you got going on at that particular moment, try to come through it. Sometimes we were pushing three rows deep, I was in the middle, I thought I could spin out on the straightaway.”

Busch though, as many others enjoyed Saturday’s racing, which was back to the big pack instead of two-by-two for the entire event. While he says that it may have looked crazy it was because of how short the race was and that next weekend’s Daytona 500 will either be as crazy or boring as the drivers make it. At the end though when it comes to deciding the winner, things will be just as interesting.

“There’s going to be moments like that in the 500,” he said. “There’s going to be more cars. It’s going to be 50 times more pressure packed at the end of the race like that and more intense because it is the Daytona 500. There’s going to be guys going for everything that it’s worth.”

February 19, 2012
Sam Hornish ready for ‘great opportunity’ that he sees ahead

[media-credit id=13 align=”alignright” width=”225″][/media-credit]Sam Hornish Jr. knows what winning can do for a career but when it ended up sealing the deal for him to run a full Nationwide Series schedule in 2012 he understood and appreciated it that much more.

“It sure made everything a lot better, but at the end of the day it helped us in a lot of things,” said Hornish about his Phoenix win last November. “We were really close to being able to sign our deal to be able to run full-time. We were trying to figure out which sponsors were going to do how many races and then, when we won, we had more races sold than we had races.”

Hornish went to victory lane in Phoenix while competing in a limited schedule for Penske Racing while hoping to put together plans for 2012. At the time the whole season hadn’t been sold to sponsors and he was in jeopardy of again not running a full season, something he hasn’t been accustomed to during his career.

Then came Phoenix where Hornish has found magic before. Following the win sponsorship from Alliance Truck Parts and new partner WURTH has the Chad Walter led team ready to chase a championship.

Hornish said the win also helped solidify everything the team had worked hard for. Also setting up a great opportunity ahead for them even though they would rather had just started the season the day after Homestead. It was hard sitting home for three months and not put to good use the momentum that had been built.

In only 13 starts in 2011 Hornish compiled six top 10s, two top fives and his one win. It was Hornish’s 32^nd career start, he started fifth and then led 62 laps and held off teammate and Sprint Cup stars Brad Keselowski and Carl Edwards. And while Hornish wants to keep his expectations for the upcoming season in check, there’s no denying the excitement for it.

“I’m really excited about it,” he said last week in Daytona. “I feel like we’ve got a great opportunity with our Alliance Truck Parts and WURTH Group Dodge Challenger. I just feel like we’ve got a lot of things that we are capable of doing if we are smart and get some good finishes to start off the year, build up our point base. We want to run for the championship and we need to continue to work well with our teammates and try to learn as much as we can to have both of the Penske Dodge Challengers running up front.”

Cautiously optimistic says Hornish. Starting off the season on the right foot will be key toward heading in the right direction. Be smart, work hard and most importantly work together as a team. Drivers and teams always mark the first five races as a starting point and baseline of their program.

Where do we stand after leaving California and how do we stack up against the competition? Evaluations will be made of what the team is doing right and wrong as they move toward trying to put themselves in championship contention. But Hornish knows it will be a tall task.

“Well, I sure hope it’s easier for us than some other people,” he said. “I look at Ricky [Stenhouse Jr.] who returns as the champion and Austin Dillon coming in as the truck series champion. There’s a lot of guys who are going to be strong, a lot of well-funded cars, because it’s one thing to have the drivers and the car counts there, but to have the driver and a well-funded car running every weekend for the championship, there’s some good teams out there.”

February 18, 2012