Testing SpeedwayMedia.com

Author: SM Staff

NCAT: Mark Dilley Looks To Turn Season Around in Toronto

Going in Toronto, Mark Dilley is looking for the season to turn around as so far the best finish for the No. 9 Rheem/PartSource Dodge team is a fifth place finish at Circuit ICAR.

The bad luck this season that has the hurt Dilley sees him sitting 10th in points, almost 200 points behind points leader Scott Steckly.

“It hasn’t been very good for us,” he said of the season so far. “We’ve had a lot of bad luck, that’s for sure. But hopefully that’s all behind us and we just look forward to get going again and getting everything switched around here.”

Heading into the Honda Indy Weekend in Toronto this weekend, Dilley is looking turn things around with a strong run.

“It’s just a great event,” he said. “Anytime you can race through the streets of the biggest city in Canada, it’s pretty exciting. It’s a great event and we get to showcase ourselves from the NASCAR side in front of a lot of people who wouldn’t see us, if it wasn’t for that event. So pretty excited about it. We’ve always been pretty good there. Just need to have a good, strong run.”

Last year wasn’t that great for Dilley in Toronto as he finished 24th due to a rear-axle issue after qualifying ninth.

Unlike the top NASCAR levels, the Canadian Tire Series is split down the middle almost with ovals and road courses, as there are five road courses in the 12 race schedule. With that said, there are those who have brought up the discussion of which they’d perfer, in which Dilley points more towards ovals for him.

“I’m more of an oval racer,” he said. “I raced ovals all my life, but I just think that unfortunately, the biggest events in the country are the road course racing so we have to be at those, too. I can see both sides of the coin, but for me personally, I’m more of an oval racer.”

Though on the bright side of things, things have been good for Dilley once he’s outside of the racecar this year. The track in Innisfil, Ontario, in which he manages called Sunset Speedway has seen a very good season so far with lots of success. Its not the easiest job for Dilley to have, however he thanks his staff for their work they do in helping.

“It’s tough,” he said of trying to balance racing and managing the track. “There’s a lot of stuff that goes on at the same time; that’s the biggest thing. We do have good staff that work for us at Sunset that can take up a lot of slack, but there’s just a lot of things that happening on the same weekends. Like, this weekend for example, we have Toronto Indy Thursday, Friday, Saturday, we also have two events at Sunset on Saturday and Sunday, so I’m going to be back-and-forth and running around and that, but its been pretty good so far.”

He got into the ownership side of things back in the 1990s when he was the part-owner of Barrie Speedway.

“Well, I actually owned Barrie Speedway back in the early 1990s with a buddy of mine – Brad, who actually runs the Canadian Tire Series now, we owned Barrie before,” he said. “I’ve just always liked it. When we got involved in this, they put a team of owners together that had money to back it and really wanted to make a difference and they’ve done that by the investment they’ve made into the track, redoing the track. Just whatever they said they’d do, they’ve done and it’s been good to work with partners like that where they have the money to repave the track, redo it and a real fast and exciting place to be. So that was really what the biggest part of me was when they put the owners group together, they made a commitment that they’d put money in and they’ve stayed to their word 100%.”

So far this season, the competition level at Sunset Speedway has been great with the amount cars and differnet winners, however Dilley admits the crowds have been down.

“The crowds have been a bit light,” he said. “On the initial part, but its just weather, but now its getting better. But when it rains every weekend on Saturday, its hard to get people to come; nobody is going to sit around in the rain, that’s for sure.”

This summer marks an important time for Sunset Speedway as the Sunset will be one of the five tracks that are part of the Richard Petty Driving Experience Canadian Summer Tour.

“I’m excited about it,” he said. “I think it’s a great opportunity for people to be able to get in a car, the same as what they see on Sundays with the Sprint Cup level. I think that its very exciting and I really believe that the pricing is right with it and I think it’ll be a huge success once it gets rolling. I just think that it’s an awesome opportunity and it’s really awesome of the Richard Petty Driving Experience to come to Canada and showcase what they have.”

Dilley got his start in racing through go-karts at the age of six after watching his grandpa race and has since been winning races, with his most memorable coming in Nova Scotia a couple years ago.

“It was pretty good for me,” he said of the win. “My mom had just passed a couple weeks before so it was kind of a big one.”

July 5, 2011
Iowa Speedway Moves Ahead

Iowa Speedway announced a change of ownership today with the original financial team giving way to the Clement Corporation owned and run by Conrad Clement, of Featherlite Corp. fame.

Clement stated that there would be no fan or staff changes and that the track would continue to bring bigger and better racing events to the speedway. Although, he stated that the Sprint Cup schedule is full, but he felt that if they could continue to have sold out races a spot would open in the future.

The change over will continue to feature Rusty Wallace as a minority owner. The Clement family has been involved in the speedway operation and acquiring sponsorship and racing events to the track from its inception.

Clement emphasized that the fans will remain the focus of Iowa Speedway as them move forward into this new phase of existence and No staff changes would occur. “You build businesses on people.” Clement stated, “ And I want all of the staff and the sponsors to understand that these people will still be doing their jobs next week, next month and as long as we are here.”

July 5, 2011
Matt Crafton No. 88 Kentucky Speedway Race Advance

No. 88 Menards / Tarkett Chevrolet Silverado

NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Race 10 of 25 – Kentucky Speedway

MATT CRAFTON TEXAS PREVIEW

Driver of the No. 88 Menards/Tarkett Chevrolet Silverado

NASCAR CAMPING WORLD TRUCK SERIES * UNOH 225 * Kentucky Speedway

No. 88 Menards / Tarkett Chevrolet Silverado

NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Race 10 of 25 – Kentucky Speedwa

BLUEGRASS BOUND: Returning from the longest break of the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series season, Matt Crafton heads to the “Bluegrass State” to take on the D-shaped oval of Kentucky Speedway. Crafton has a decade of experience and success at 1.5-mile track, earning three top-five and seven top-10 finishes in 10 previous starts. Crafton has been running at the finish of each of his past 10 starts, and has completed 98.9% of the scheduled laps in those events. With an average finish of 9.5, it’s likely that Crafton will bring home another top-10 finish in the Thursday night race.

BUILT LIKE FORT KNOX: Crafton and his ThorSport Racing teammates Johnny Sauter and Dakoda Armstrong are making a special stop during their trip to Kentucky. The three drivers are scheduled to visit Fort Knox for a hands-on day of training and meeting with military members at the U.S. Army post.

CHASSIS HISTORY: The No. 88 team will utilize chassis No. 041 this weekend at Kentucky Speedway. This is a brand-new chassis which will make its first laps when it hits the track in Kentucky.

THOUGHTS FROM THE DRIVER: Matt Crafton

How do you feel going into the race in Kentucky?

“I love going to Kentucky, It’s one of the places I’m always looking forward to. The fans there are just awesome, and the Truck Series has always drawn a good crowd here. Everyone always wants to talk about the ‘cookie cutter’ mile and a half racetracks, but Kentucky is so, so different. Some of these mile and a half tracks you can hold it wide open so long and whoever has the most horsepower and the best body is going to go fastest that day. But a place like Kentucky, where there’s so much character and a lot less banking, we really have to drive the truck a lot more. You have to lift through the corners and the bumps make it a real challenge, so you need the entire package when it comes to good handling.”

You’re bringing a brand new chassis to Kentucky Speedway. Do you prefer to bring a new truck versus a chassis you’ve raced in the past?

“New trucks have always been good to us in the past. Each and every time ThorSport brings something new to the racetrack, they show just how much they improve. It’s nice to bring something to the track that you know you’re familiar with, but when we bring something to the track that’s new, 9 times out of 10 it’s better than anything we’ve raced in the past. We’re hoping our batting average stays the same with the new truck this weekend.”

Did you do anything exciting during our longest break of the season?

“In our time off, I went up to the shop, checked out the new building and hung out with the guys, which is always fun. I also spent a lot of time at home getting all my spring cleaning done. Getting stuff done around the house was the biggest thing I did in these last three weeks.”

Are you looking forward to spending some time at Fort Knox with the military?

“Our trip to Fort Knox is going to be great, I’m looking forward to that, without a doubt. You can’t thank those people in the military enough for what they do for us. Without them, we don’t have jobs and we don’t have a free country, so it’s always special to spend time with those people and show how grateful you are.”

Race Info:

July 7, 2011

Kentucky Speedway

1.5-Mile D-Shaped Oval

UNOH 225

150 Laps/225 Miles

Broadcast Info:

TV: SPEED will broadcast live at 8:00 p.m. EST

Radio: MRN will broadcast live at 7:45 p.m. EST

Team Facts:

Current Point Standings: 5th

Crew Chief: Bud Haefele

Chassis: 41

Engine: Earnhardt-Childress Racing (ECR)

Matt Crafton

NASCAR Camping World Truck Series results at Kentucky Speedway:

Starts: 10

Wins: 0

Poles: 0

Top 5: 3

Top 10: 7

Laps Led: 9

Average Start: 12.4

Average Finish: 9.5

Find Matt Crafton on Social Media

Facebook:

ThorSport Racing

Matt Crafton Official Fan Page

Twitter:

@ThorSportRacing

@Matt_Crafton

YouTube:

ThorSport Racing

July 5, 2011
Ten Ways NASCAR Can Improve Tandem Racing

Debates started last year about the likability of two by two racing that is now occurring at both Daytona and Talladega on the NASCAR superspeedway circuit. Some tolerate it and others despise it, particularly fan favorite Dale Earnhardt, Jr., who has taken to calling it “foolish racing.”

[media-credit name=”David Yeazell” align=”alignright” width=”259″][/media-credit]So, what can NASCAR do about this kind of racing? While the sanctioning body could follow Jack Roush’s advice to “fix the front and the back of the car so if they have contact, there is an inclined angle that would drive the rear wheels off the ground to stop it,” there are indeed some other possibilities.

Here are ten ways that NASCAR could improve the two by two racing that has become the norm at restrictor plate tracks.

10. Since some have dubbed the style “Noah’s Ark racing”, with the two by twoing like the animals trudging onto the ark before the flood, NASCAR should definitely have the drivers come out two by two for driver introductions.

Most drivers acknowledge that they have already paired up prior to the event. But just in case the fans are not aware of the duos, NASCAR could really spice up the driver intros by having them come out in their pairings, one in front and one behind, to build suspense as to who is partnering with whom. Then the drivers could separate for the big ‘tandem reveal.’

Better yet, instead of some of those cheesy driver intro stagings where drivers come out to wild music or crazy drumming, NASCAR could literally build an ark and have the tandem pairings appear together out of that.

NASCAR may just have to keep the drumming for that style driver introduction or at least consult with Humpy Wheeler, retired track promoter extraordinaire, for some suitable side effects.

9. Since one of the biggest complaints regarding tandem racing is the inability of driver of the push car to see, NASCAR should encourage a new activity for the fans in the Fan Zone, that of making cardboard periscopes.

The sponsors, such as Home Depot and General Mills, ought to be all over this one. Home Depot could supply the building materials and General Mills, who has already done a special Wheaties cereal box promo with driver Clint Bowyer, could provide the cardboard boxes (for those old enough to remember the cardboard cereal box periscopes, this one is a no brainer).

Fans could make the periscopes as a fun-filled race day activity and the best fan concoction could be presented to each pushing driver at driver introductions.

Just in case NASCAR needs some advice on how to build these cardboard up periscopes, here is a helpful link: http://www.instructables.com/id/Cardboard-Periscope/.

8. Again, since NASCAR is trying to engage new fans in the racing experience, another fan promotion could be encouraged at tandem race tracks, that of honorary pit crew stenciler.

One of the biggest issues that has now evolved with this form of racing is that the manufacturer’s brand name is being rubbed off the front and back bumpers of the race cars. To solve that concern, each manufacturer could have a fan contest to select fans that could very quickly, in 13 seconds or less, stencil the names back on the cars during the pit stops.

This would not only encourage brand identity, but would also get the fans involved in a whole different aspect of the sport. And there would be no better way than brand stenciling to get up close and personal with the race team.

7. Speaking of brand identity, while this may not make the racing any more exciting but to appeal to the adult fans in the crowd, NASCAR may just have to invite one of its primary sponsors, RJ Reynolds Tobacco Company, back to the track for a special cigarette promotion. After all, the ‘friends with benefits’ type racing may just necessitate a bit of a short smoke break after the intense on-the-track coupling experiences.

6. NASCAR may also need to make a change to address the fact that there is inherently an odd number of cars on the track, with 43 starters.

So, to increase interest, the last car qualified in should get to select a car from outside the field with whom to partner. Just think how interesting this past weekend’s race could have been if Joe Nemechek had selected say Kyle Petty or Rusty Wallace or even better yet Danica Patrick as his wing person.

5. In the interest of interest as well as safety, it would also behoove NASCAR to install the back up beeping devices in every race car. In this way, fans at the track and at home would hear the beep, beep, beeping and immediately know who is backing up in the field to find their tandem partners.

Not only can fans and announcers alike track the cars going forward, but all could keep track of those purposefully dragging their brakes to find the second half of their particular dynamic duo throughout the race and especially on those fateful restarts.

4. Another way to involve the fans that NASCAR should consider for this style of racing is to allow a lucky fan at home to do the spotting for their particular race tandem. This would eliminate the wacky practice of having the pushee driver in the front’s spotter take over the spotting duties for the tandem.

Heck, most of the drivers were confused anyway about who was in their ears from the perches high above on the spotters’ stand so one more weird voice should not be too disconcerting. And it would most certainly liven up the action for all stuck at home unable to attend the race for whatever reason.

3. Since the two car tandem style of racing has also been compared to the tango, NASCAR should insist that the dancing pairs perform at least one dip together below the yellow line at some point during the race. Additional points toward the Chase may also be awarded for style, control, and degree of difficulty of the dance by visiting NASCAR officials of the day Carrie Ann Inaba, Len Goodman and Bruno Toniolli.

2. One of the most intriguing ways that NASCAR could make the tandem racing more interesting is to utilize the now defunct qualifying draw to select a very special surprise.

Just as in days of old, the driver, crew chief or team designee would need to visit the NASCAR spinning ball area outside of the famed NASCAR hauler to select their number.

But instead of determining the qualifying order, a random number will be designated for that the one special team that will get super glue instead of Vaseline or Pam on their car on the very last pit stop of the race.

Won’t that be an interesting twist for whoever decides to hook up with that particular car at the tail end of an upcoming Daytona or Talladega race?

1. The final way that NASCAR could make the tandem racing more interesting is to approach it all strictly as the square dance that it truly is. Each tandem racing pair should be instructed prior to the race to carefully monitor the NASCAR channel for their calling instructions.

Drivers will be instructed to “Circle Left, Come Down the Middle, and Do Sa Do.” But the best part will be when NASCAR, sometime during the race but hopefully in the second green, white, checkered attempt, will call “Partner Trade” and the cars will have to scramble to find a whole new partner for the race finale.

Oh, but that already happened this past race weekend, didn’t it?

God bless tandem racing and God bless NASCAR. See you next in Talladega!

July 4, 2011
From Victory Lane to the Garage: Trevor Bayne Doesn’t Get Chance at Daytona Sweep

The hardest part for Trevor Bayne was not being able to show what his No. 21 Motorcraft Ford could do. Standing in the garage area looking at a race car that was just as good if not better than the one sitting just out front in the museum, Bayne was suddenly brought back down to earth.

“If it was going be a winner, we’ll never know, but I think it could have been for sure,” said Bayne.

[media-credit name=”CIA Stock Photo” align=”alignright” width=”253″][/media-credit]Instead, just five laps after the green flag the team was packing up and heading home, memories of February long gone. After starting on the outside of the front row, Bayne found a drafting partner early in Clint Bowyer before he started to fall through the field. He landed on the front bumper of the No. 2 Dodge of Brad Keselowski but found out that these dancing partners had two left feet.

“I wanted to be a pusher because I know that these things can happen,” Bayne explained. “He got to us and was pushing us down the frontstretch and I was still kind of lifting a little bit, letting him get to my bumper and then I got back to the gas wide-open. I don’t know if I turned down more getting in or if he kind of came up across our bumper, but either way, our bumpers caught wrong and it sent up spinning.”

Keselowski turned the No. 21 entering turn one and Bayne starting spinning toward the inside of the track. Bowyer and Jeff Burton who were drafting on the inside of the No. 2 and No. 21 got collected as Bayne clipped Bowyer’s machine and shot back up into the wall head-on.

“It happens all the time but it’s tough that it is our car,” said Bayne. “I hate tearing up a good race car and they duplicated what we had here in February, which is hard to do, so I’m thankful for the Wood Brothers standing behind me through everything I’ve been through this year.”

The 20-year-old has been through more than he and the rest of the sport could imagine. Just 24 hours after his birthday in February he won the Daytona 500 for one of the most famous teams and family in the sport. It was just his second career NASCAR Sprint Cup Series start and it shot him to super stardom.

Bayne can no longer walk through the garage or any area for that matter without being recognized. Something that seemed unimaginable a year ago when he saw the likes of Jeff Gordon or Kyle Busch and the swarms of fans around them. Bayne has his own following now and no longer has to think about how cool it would be like Gordon or Busch.

Yet, for all the good there has been the bad. What started in Daytona in February came full circle Saturday night at the same track.

“It’s not fun, I can promise you,” said Bayne of his trouble. “It takes about a half-second and you say, ‘Oh, here it goes,’ because you get sideways and you know the point of correction. You know at what point you can still correct and then you know when it’s too far … It’s going to happen again tonight, I’m sure, but it’s just really unfortunate for us. I wanted to back-up what we did here in February, obviously, but we aren’t going to get the chance to do that.”

He would have given it a valiant try though. On top the speed and qualifying charts, Bayne was storyline “a” entering the weekend. There was never any doubt that he was going to be fast or would have a drafting partner. All eyes were on the red and white Ford that while able to fly under the radar in February was now expected to be at the front of the field on Saturday night.

Except the fan favorite and fantasy league shoe-in, Bayne finished 41st on Saturday night. And while he was disappointed at the turn of events Bayne left Daytona with the right mindset, something he’d been praised for since he arrived on the NASCAR scene.

“I can’t explain what I’ve been through this year,” he said. “It’s tough at times and it’s good at times, but I just know that I’ve got really good people behind me and that’s why I say that about Ford and everybody at Wood Brothers and Roush Fenway on the Nationwide side. I’ve got great people behind me, so that gives me confidence. If I didn’t have that and I didn’t have my faith and everything else, right now that would be a pretty bad blow I can promise you that.”

July 4, 2011
NCAT: Scott Steckly Carries Momentum and Points Lead in Toronto

[media-credit id=4 align=”alignleft” width=”200″][/media-credit]The beginning of the 2011 NASCAR Canadian Tire Season couldn’t had gone any better for Scott Steckly as so far he sits first in points, 48 points ahead of J.R. Fitzpatrick.

“It’s a great start to the season that we’ve had so far,” he said. “We have a win, two seconds and a fifth place finish, which is very important to get off to a good start in our series, which only has 12 races. One or two bad races can take you out of the points so to get out off to a good start is very important and that’s what we’ve done.”

The win, which came in the first race of the season at Mosport Raceway, opened up the gates to a season that has been full of success for the driver of the No. 22 Canadian Tire Dodge. The win was followed by a pair of second place finishes at Circuit ICAR and Delaware. The last race for the series was last month back at Mosport, though on the road course, which resulted in a fifth place finish after starting on pole.

This weekend, the Canadian Tire Series will be running the Exhibition Place course located in Toronto, as part of the Honda Indy Toronto weekend.

“It’s a very important race for us,” he said. “There’s going to be a lot of cars at Toronto so we definitely don’t want to get a DNF. The road courses attract a lot of cars so we need a good solid finish here at Toronto. We definitely are going to try for a very first road course win. It’s definitely very important for our sponsors to be in Toronto racing at the Indy so we’re looking for great things this weekend.”

For Steckly, his first start in Toronto came last year in which he finished 11th after starting 10th. Though for the most part, road courses aren’t the better area of emphasis for the driver from Milverton, Ontario as he grew up racing on ovals. However, the current Canadian Tire Series schedule has five road courses with a total of 12 events.

“I would rather have more ovals,” Steckly commented. “That’s just because I grew up racing on oval tracks. We get better results on oval tracks, that’s for sure. We do decent on the road courses. We’ve had four or five second place finishes. We can normally run in the top five, but we’ve never got a win on a road course. We getting closer every year so we’re putting a lot of emphasis on the road courses this year and trying to get a win.”

Steckly got into racing originally through some friends, which saw them build a street stock and have him as the driver in 1992. From there, he progressed through the local ranks till he joined the CASCAR ranks in 1999, winning rookie of the year his first year out. He continued to compete in CASCAR till it was renamed the NASCAR Canadian Tire Series in 2007.

Since the series has been called the Canadian Tire Series, Steckly has won one championship, which came in 2008 after winning four races and having four second place finishes that season.

Throughout the years, there have been many memorable highlights, though a win in 2009 at Auto Clearing Speedway in Saskatoon is the highlight.

“I would say my most memorable win is Saskatoon in 2009,” he said. “We blew a motor in practice. We had to borrow a motor from another competitor and we started at the rear of the field and we came from the rear of the field to win the race. So I’d say that’s my memorable win.”

There also have been many lessons learned behind the wheel, but the one that still stands out is respect.

“The biggest lesson I’ve learned is to treat the other competitors and people the way you would like to be treated. Its not like anybody is going away in this sport. I’ve raced against the same guys for the past 10 years so I think its really important to be yourself and treat people the way you would want to be treated.”

July 4, 2011
Notes From The NASCAR Nation: Is Danica Patrick The Secret Sauce?

Is Danica Patrick the “secret sauce” in a highly successful marketing concept. It recently became apparent that the answer is a resounding yes.

Over the years it has been very well known that “Go Daddy.Com” has been the primary sponsor for Danica Patrick’s racing career both in the Indy Racing League and her proposed transition to NASCAR. Let’s face it, the fact that this very attractive race driver has been the face, and in all honesty the body, of the Internet domain company’s advertising campaign has become a marketing marriage made in heaven.

[media-credit id=22 align=”alignright” width=”258″][/media-credit]However there was some brief speculation regarding the future of this marketing relationship, following a report initiated by “The Wall Street Journal”, that said “Go Daddy.Com” had been sold. The story confirmed the fact that the company’s founder and CEO, Bob Parsons, had indeed sold his company to a trio of investors that included KKT and Company, Silver Lake Partners and Technology Crossover Ventures. The sale price of the ultra successful company was a whopping $2.25 billion.

It turns out that Danica Patrick fans have no reason for concern here. First off no has a stronger belief in her future in motorsports than Bob Parsons. While he will no longer be the “Go Daddy” owner, he has to agreed to stay on as the company’s CEO. He’s also made it crystal clear that the sale of the company he founded will not have any impact on “Go Daddy’s” relationship with his favorite race driver.

In a comment made to “ESPN” following the announcement that “Go Daddy” had been sold, Elizabeth Driscoll, the company Vice President of Public Relations, said: ” I can tell you that Bob’s been very vocal about how well Danica Patrick has fit into “Go Daddy’s” marketing efforts. The new investors have specifically said they don’t want to mess with “Go Daddy’s” secret sauce.”

If you’re like me then you probably found yourself wondering why Patrick was being referred to as “secret sauce?” Driscoll’s statement became just a little bit more clear when it was revealed that she meant Patrick was the magic ingredient in the company’s customer service and marketing and they were “very much looking forward to the future on the Internet and the race track.”

At least we’re now sure that Danica Patrick is going to have full sponsorship for her future racing endeavors. We’re just not exactly sure at the moment where these endeavors will take place.

But seriously, secret sauce? Isn’t that something they put on hamburgers at fast food restaurants?

July 4, 2011
Alex Tagliani Ready For Toronto After Early Season Success

After fighting to keep a float last year and stay in the IZOD IndyCar Series, Alex Taglani is back and ready to make a run at it.

The Lachenaie, Quebec, Canada native teamed up with Sam Schmidt at the beginning of the season to get things back on track this season.

“Last year, he fought and fought to have that team and this year, he was able to partner Sam Schmidt – here’s a guy that was paralyzed in a car – and the fact that they’ve come together and been very successful,” Randy Bernard, IZOD IndyCar CEO, said during his presentation at the media luncheon in Toronto last week.

This year for Tagliani has been successful, espically on the series’ biggest stage. Back in May, it was Tagliani taking the pole for the Indianapolis 500, which marked a surprise to a lot of people.

“To me, in my sixteen months I’ve been here, I will say that’s in the top three highlights of my career here so far,” Bernard said of the moment. “The fact that I was sitting up in the grandstands and here’s a small team, not a Penske or Ganassi that just took the pole for the Indy 500, was a pretty amazing event.”

The pole also equaled Tagliani being the first Canadian in history to win the pole for the Indianapolis 500 in its 100 year history. He backed that pole up two weeks later at the next event at Texas Motor Speedway, where he sat pole for the IndyCar Firestone Twin 275s.

Tagliani has also had success beyond Indy, including a fifth place at the Grand Prix of Long Beach.

“Slowly but surely this season is showcasing the results that comes from good teamwork and good sponsorship,” he said. “Now we look like a race team. Now we are really going after wins.”

For the driver that most refer to just as Tag, he credits the sponsorship package from electronic entertainment experts Bowers and Wilkins.

“The big thing is that our association with Bowers &; Wilkins was so good last year that it allowed us to develop the car this past winter,” Tagliani told the Toronto Sun last month. “It made a 180 degree difference. Instead of being a team that was 90% focused on building walls and floors (on the Indianapolis race shop) we were able to work on the car and nothing else for the 2011 season.”

He’s also had success this year outside of the IndyCar Series as he ran the NASCAR Canadian Tire Series race at the ICAR Circuit in Montreal. He sat on the pole for that event and led till being spun by his own teammate with less than five laps to go.

Tagliani, who began his professional open-wheel career in the Toyota Atlantic Championship Series in 1996, will be one of the three Canadians trying to win the Honda Indy Toronto.
The Honda Indy Toronto, which is set to be run July 10th, is the first of three events for the IZOD IndyCar Series in Canada.

Last year, Tagliani finished 17th last year, however had better success the year before with a ninth place finish. For Tagliani, the success has been better in Toronto for him when he was running the Champ Car World Series, which saw a second in 2002 and a third in 2005.

For team owners Sam Schmidt, it’d mark a great milestone in the climb from being an Firestone Indy Lights owner to a IZOD IndyCar Series owner after winning four Indy lights championships.

Part of getting that first win will be about getting the No. 77 car more consistent.

“We still have a couple of thing to figure out how to make our set up more consistent during the race,” Tagliani said. “Once we solve that, and we are close, I want to find a way to win the championship.”

For more information on Sam Schmidt Motorsports, check out http://www.samschmidtmotorsports.com/.

For more information on Alex Tagliani, check out http://www.tagliani.com.

July 4, 2011
Surprising and Not Surprising: Daytona Coke Zero 400

With firecrackers sparkling, patriotism soaring and flags flying high in celebration of the July 4^th holiday weekend, here is what was surprising and not surprising from the Coke Zero 400 run under the lights at Daytona International Speedway.

[media-credit name=”David Yeazell” align=”alignright” width=”261″][/media-credit]Surprising: Sentimental favorite Trevor Bayne and points leader Carl Edwards both surprisingly had a world of trouble at the world center of racing.

Bayne, piloting the famed Wood Brothers No. 21 Motorcraft/Quick Lane Tire and Auto Center Ford, was making his triumphant return to the superspeedway after winning the Daytona 500 and then having to get out of the car for a bit as a result of a never-diagnosed illness.

The young driver’s high hopes were dashed early, when he was turned by Brad Keselowski, in the No. 2 Blue Deuce for Penske Racing, on Lap 5 of the race. Bayne and team were unable to repair the car and he finished 41^st.

“I don’t know if I turned down more getting in or if he (Keselowski) kind of came up across our bumper, but, either way, our bumpers caught wrong and it sent us spinning,” Bayne said. “You know that can happen here.”

“It happens all the time, but it’s tough that it was our car,” Bayne continued. “I hate tearing up a good race car. If I didn’t have my faith and everything else right now, that would be a pretty bad blow I can promise you that.”

Bayne was not the only one that had a tough night. Points leader coming into the race Carl Edwards had his hands full as well behind the wheel of the No. 99 Subway Ford for Roush Fenway Racing.

Edwards was running third, being pushed by teammate Greg Biffle, when he hit the wall on lap 23. Edwards’ car was severely damaged, allowing fumes to get into the car and sickening the driver.

While Edwards did get his car back on the track, he finished 37^th, losing the points lead to Kevin Harvick.

“We don’t ever give up and that’s the thing,” Edwards said. “I told my guys to keep their heads up. We’ll take this bad day and keep our pride.”

“We knew coming here we could come out losing a bunch of points and we lost about as many as we could, but that’s OK,” Edwards continued. “We’re still right there. Hopefully we’ll be leading it after next week.”

Not Surprising: There was another Cinderella glass slipper waiting and not surprisingly this one was polished with redemption for one driver who was definitely due one at Daytona.

David Ragan, who had come so close to winning the Daytona 500 but was penalized for changing lanes in the waning laps, was pushed to his first ever Cup victory by teammate Matt Kenseth.

This was Ragan’s first victory in 163 Cup races but his fifth top-10 finish in 2011. The driver of the No. 6 UPS “We Love Logistics” Ford for Roush Fenway Racing scored his fourth top-10 finish in ten races at Daytona.

“It was a tough one in February and coming back here we knew that we’d have a shot to win,” Ragan said. “When we qualified, that’s probably the first time I really felt like we’ve got a car that’s fast enough that we can win this thing, so we made a pact with our teammate Matt Kenseth that we were gonna work together through thick or thin.”

“I just tried to not make any mistakes, tried to put ourselves in good position and we wound up obviously being in the lead on the last restart and that was the winning moment for us,” Ragan said. “I’m happy about the win.”

Surprising: While this year has been one of change on pit road, particularly for the over the wall gang with the new fueling system and the elimination of the catch can man, there was another surprising change on pit road during this race. The gas can man became the grease man as well.

From rags covered in lard to cans of Pam, greasing the bumpers became a part of the pit crew dance. And another pit road command from atop the boxes became “Right side tires and grease the bumpers.”

Not Surprising: With the new style of tandem racing, it was not surprising to see a race record high of 57 lead changes. There was also a track record broken for 25 different leaders, with the previous record being 22 set in this year’s Daytona 500.

It was also not surprising that after all of the racing, the finale came down to the second attempt at a green, white, checkered finish.

Clint Bowyer, who had been at the front of the pack in his No. 33 Wheaties Fuel Chevrolet, ended up finishing 36^th, thanks to that final green, white, checker attempt.

“We got some damage in the beginning of the race and laid back in the field with our RCR teammate Jeff Burton until about 30 to go,” Bowyer said. “That last caution came out at the wrong time as we were making a run at the leaders.”

“Nothing we could have done there at the end,” Bowyer concluded. “That’s just restrictor plate racing for you I guess.”

Surprising: The surprising tandem dubbed ‘Harvard’, comprised of Kevin Harvick, driving the No. 29 Budweiser Folds of Honor Chevrolet, and Paul Menard, behind the wheel of the No. 27 Quaker State/Menards Chevrolet, finished strong.

In fact, Harvick’s finish was strong enough to catapult him over Edwards to lead the point standings by five.

“We had a plan to stick with the No. 27 (Menard) all night and I think we ran every lap with him,” Harvick said. “The first green-white-checkered, we had a great run and the timing was perfect.”

“The second one, we just didn’t have quite the timing and got a couple of guys underneath us and then we just got a little bit too far behind,” Harvick continued. “But still, everything worked pretty good.”

Not Surprising: In contrast to the relief of the ‘Harvard’ tandem, it was not surprising to see equal if not more amounts of frustration boil over for many of the traditionally good plate race drivers who did not have the finish they, or their fans, envisioned.

In addition to Jimmie Johnson, who finished 20^th in his No. 48 Lowes Summer Salute, fan favorite Dale Earnhardt, Jr. also struggled late in the race, finishing 19^th in his camouflaged No. 88 National Guard Heritage/Amp Energy Chevrolet.

“Oh man, I don’t know,” Junior said after the race. “I’m really ticked off. Damnit. I was just trying to get to the finish line.”

“What kind of move can you make in racing like this?” Junior continued. “There ain’t no move you can make.”

“You just hold it on the mat and try not to wreck into each other,” Earnhardt Jr. said. “You see how good we are at that.”

Surprising: In addition to his appearance in the movie ‘Cars 2’, it was a bit surprising to see Jeff Gordon, this week piloting the No. 24 Pepsi Max Chevrolet, starring as the race’s Lucky Dog. Gordon used his veteran skills for an incredible save after a wild spin on lap 157 to finish sixth.

“Somebody got in the back of the No. 4 (Kasey Kahne) and pushed him up into me and I had nowhere to go,” Gordon said. “Then the car came around and luckily I straightened it out somehow and came back and fixed it.”

“Miraculously there on those last two restarts we avoided more wrecks,” Gordon continued. “It was awesome and how we finished sixth is unbelievable.”

Not Surprising: One other driver benefitted greatly from the Lucky Dog phenomenon. AJ Allmendinger, driver of the No. 43 Air Force Ford Fusion for Richard Petty Motorsports, got the distinction after the first green, white, checkered attempt and went on to power his way to a top-10 finish.

“I felt kind of bad because Marcos (Ambrose) and I were racing for the lucky dog, but I was happy the yellow came out twice so we both got our laps back,” Allmendinger said. “After that, it was just trying to miss the wreck.”

“We didn’t quite miss it but I stayed wide open and kind of bulled my way through there and finished 10^th.”

July 3, 2011
Fireworks on the track and in the sky

Daytona’s Coke Zero 400 showed promise. Time and experience had improved the Nationwide race immensely so the Cup series should be just as good. Realistic expectation perhaps, but it didn’t come to pass.

[media-credit id=22 align=”alignright” width=”219″][/media-credit]All week drivers had been asked about the two car tango. There were many opinions and explanations on how it worked. Some liked it. Some didn’t. One of the biggest detractors of the tandem drafting was Dale Earnhardt Jr. “I’d rather have control of my own destiny and be able to go out there and race and just do my own work and worry about my own self. It’s really weird and kinda wrong on some levels to race that way and to think like you think. You take care of somebody and you feel this obligation to take care of them and then worry about having them take care of you and how that makes them feel. Been growing up all these years racin’ for number one-lookin’ out for number one. Doing my job. This is what I need to do. I need to do this to get up through the pack. This is how my car drives and now you are doing it so different. Your thought process and everything you think about during the race is nothing near that. It is just different and weird. It won’t be like that forever I assume and hopefully I am alive and still racin’ when it goes back to the way it was because I just really enjoy lookin’ out for number one, man. If you had a car that drive up through there and you were smart about drafting and knew what you were doing, you could make some cool things happen and that was pretty fun.”

Elliott Sadler says he likes the two car draft and offered this explanation, “I like the 2 car drafting that we do now and I’ll you the reason behind it. Drafting – restrictor plates – are a tough part of our sport. We hear drivers talk about it all the time. Old drafting where you have 40 cars in one bunch in one pile a lot of the finishes you got are out of your control. A lot of the wrecks you get in, everything really is determined by everyone else around you. We have a lot of those same factors in the 2 car draft. Where things can happen around you and catch in a wreck not of your doing. But with the 2 car tandem if you know what you’re doing as a drafting partner and you make the right decisions as a 2 car tandem you can work your way to the front and actually the pack will split up a little more so actually the big wreck has a little bit less chance of happening and as a driver that’s a good thing. But I do think it’s harder to draft this way.”

Both drivers were involved in huge last lap crashes of their respective races. The Sprint Cup race ended with two crashes on the white flag lap. The crashes took out 15 cars in the first and 18 cars in the final wreck just yards before the start finish line. This is significant when you remember that the starting field is 43 cars. Many of the cars that did finish were damaged from earlier wrecks in the event.

At some point words from the drivers and NASCAR start coming back to you. Words like cost containment measures, no down force, racing for track position, driver safety is a priority. At that point you begin making observations.

Let’s start with cost containment. NASCAR implemented the COT and eliminated testing as cost containment measure for teams. They did so in 2008. Let’s take a good look at this race and ask about the cost containment. 30 cars were involved in the last lap melee. Several more were damaged in the wrecks that happened before the white flag. Let’s break it down to teams. HMS lost 3 cars and damaged the fourth significantly. Joe Gibbs had damage to 2 out of the 3. RCR lost 2 out of 4 with damage to a 3^rd. Roush Fenway, had significant damage to 2 out of the 4 but did win the race with a pristine car. Richard Petty Motorsports lost 1 and damaged a second. Red Bull lost 1 and damaged the other. Penske Racing seriously damaged both cars. Those are just the major teams. How cost effective is the decision to not make changes to the car? But even drivers do not believe there will be changes made. “I don’t think they’re going to address that to be honest with you. I think its goes against what they’re trying to do and we’re not turning each other around, the interface works really well and so well we can push.” Stated five time series champion Jimmie Johnson. But at what cost? How long will it be before a driver is seriously hurt?

NASCAR has stated since 2001, that driver safety is paramount and utmost on their list of priorities. Yet we still have not learned that three lap runs for the checkered flag on super speedways is always disastrous. In was disastrous in 1992 when Rusty Wallace took a wild ride through the tri-oval grass at Talladega. It was disastrous in 2001 when Dale Earnhardt lost his life in a turn 4 crash at Daytona. And it was disastrous in 2011 when 30 cars wrecked on the last lap of the Coke Zero 400. We lost a hero. We hurt another. We destroyed millions of dollars worth of equipment. What does it take for NASCAR to see that Green White Checker finishes don’t belong on restrictor plate tracks?

The COT’s safety systems have been tested and proven for sure. But they are not fail safe. The cage that surrounds the driver in the new car is stiffer and unyielding. This transfers more impact to the driver. “The driver compartment is stiffer and stronger than it has ever been before it’s going to absorb the impact far less even though we have some impact material and foam around the driver side,” stated Jeff Gordon. He did go on to add that he would not trade the safety measures for what they had before.

Injuries are not always obvious. In the case of Carl Edwards he lost a crush panel in front of the right rear wheel on his Subway Ford Fusion in an early race crash. After only a few laps on the track Edwards returned to the pits after becoming ill in the car from Carbon Monoxide poisoning. Edwards, who does not run a Koolbox system which would have provided him with a Carbon monoxide filter, did finish the race but was treated with Oxygen post race.

This race showed the instability in the cars. Numerous times we saw cars in tandem pairs be passed by another tandem and the pair be pulled apart as the side force of the cars was disrupted. The aero dynamic wave, if you will, caused the two cars to become unstable on the track with several cases of spins and wall contact resulting.

There is no doubt that this race was costly to teams. Thankfully there were no injuries. At least not physically but the financial injuries will take some of the smaller teams a great deal of time to recoup.

The cup race did not live up to its sister series race. It was a long fairly uninterrupted affair that saw teams dropping back and waiting to the very end to make a run for the front. Those were runs that simply didn’t happen. Some because the tandem was broken up by needed pit stops after the late caution that took pole sitter Mark Martin out of the race. Some because they had simply fallen too far back to make the run and then were caught in the final melees typical of Restrictor Plate racing. Sadly, there seems to be no hope of returning to the old school racing at Daytona or Talladega. But hopefully we will carry with us as a sport the lessons learned from this years Coke Zero Demolition Derby.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ * * * * ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Congratulations to TNT on a great broadcast with readable graphics and limited interruptions for commercials. This was definitely the best broadcast of the year.

Kudos to Wally Dallenbach and Kyle Petty for having the courage to get in to cars and demonstrate and describe what we were about to see even though they themselves had never done it before.

Congratulations to Joey Logano on his win in the Subway Jalapeno 250, and also to Kyle Busch for pushing him to that victory.

Congratulations to Danica Patrick for finally displaying the skills that all of her fans believed her to have in a stock car.

Congratulations to David Ragan on his victory in the Coke Zero 400 and also to Matt Kenseth for pushing him to that victory.

That said, to all the competitors in all 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.

July 3, 2011