Testing SpeedwayMedia.com

Category: NASCAR Cup Series

NASCAR Cup Series

  • Jeff Gordon Spotter Jeff Dickerson Is Home With Hendrick Motorsports

    Jeff Gordon Spotter Jeff Dickerson Is Home With Hendrick Motorsports

    In the early part of the 2010 season, Jeff Dickerson was on the spotter’s stand for driver Kyle Busch, a former Hendrick Motorsport team member.  But a change was made midway in the season and Dickerson returned home to HMS to spot for four-time champion Jeff Gordon.

    [media-credit id=22 align=”alignright” width=”267″][/media-credit]Dickerson is most excited to be reunited with crew chief Alan Gustafson, Busch’s former crew chief while at Hendrick.  Gustafson was part of the major crew chief swap at Hendrick Motorsports, moving from the pit box of Mark Martin to Jeff Gordon.

    “Alan Gustafson is one of my true loves in that garage,” Dickerson said.  “He is responsible for my success in this sport as much as anybody.  So to be reunited with him and those guys, it’s kind of like going home.”

    “It didn’t really take much to get re-acclimated with those guys because those relationships never really ended,” Dickerson continued.  “That’s really just been a lot of fun.”

    “Alan and I approach the race the same,” Dickerson said.  “He taught me everything I know.”

    As far as working with driver Jeff Gordon, Dickerson is feeling equally at home on the spotter’s stand.

    “Everything’s been good,” Dickerson said. “I’m obviously excited as everybody to get a chance at that championship.  But we have to close some races out.”

    “Last year, we were so close to winning some races and we couldn’t close them out.  Hopefully we can get that monkey off our back.”

    Dickerson said that his transition to Gordon was made most easy by the driver himself.

    “Jeff basically said for me to do my deal and he would figure it out,” Dickerson said.  “When they came and got me Jeff was looking for something different so he has done a really good job adapting to me.  He’s really made a nice soft landing for me.”

    “Any feedback that he has for me is in real time,” Dickerson continued.  “He is very open as far as feedback from me as far as what he needs to be doing.  No one is worried about hurting anyone’s feelings.  We’re just always trying to learn.”

    As at home with Jeff Gordon that Dickerson feels, he is definitely not feeling comfortable quite yet with the style of racing that has presented itself so far at Daytona.

    “We’re all still learning about this tandem racing,” Dickerson said.  “I’m as curious as anybody how this is going to go with 43 of us out there.  The cars on the race track are also still trying to figure that out.”

    Dickerson is also trying to figure out just how to make the appropriate deals up on the spotters’ stand that will most benefit his driver and team.

    “In the past, it was let’s make a deal, but you knew you were going to get screwed,” Dickerson said.  “If it was one big pack, you could jump in and jump out and everything was great.”

    “But now when you make a deal with someone, you sit in tandem and it’s a deal,” Dickerson continued.  “Now you need somebody more than you needed them before.”

    Dickerson described the spotters’ stand at Daytona as basically a “train wreck” given this new style of racing.

    “You’re running around making deals with whoever the guy is that’s ahead or behind or who is lined up behind you,” Dickerson said.  “We’re all running into each other just trying to adapt.”

    Dickerson also predicted that the partnerships that are formed in the Daytona 500 will last throughout most of the race.  This very situation occurred in Gordon’s duel, where he worked with young Trevor Bayne throughout, only to get caught up in a wreck at the end of the race.

    “I think Trevor Bayne did a great job,” Dickerson said.  “Can you only imagine being that old and having Jeff Gordon coming to you saying ‘Hey bud, we’re going to be working together today?’  It was just unfortunate that we all got caught up there in the end but he kept his poise.”

    “It could have been David Pearson in the car,” Dickerson continued.  “He looked beyond his years.  There’s been a lot of great guys that have run that car and it looked like anyone of them was in there.  He did a great job.”

    “Jeff would have no problem working with him again.”

    Unfortunately the two working together did not last during the final laps of the race.  Both Bayne and Gordon wrecked, with Bayne finishing 19th and Gordon finishing in the 12th position.

    “We were very fortunate to get through that with what we got,” Dickerson said.  “We’re really lucky because we could have been in the same position that the 88 is having to start at the back.  And that’s not what you want to do when you’re guaranteed a starting spot from the front row in this deal.”

    When Sunday rolls around and the Daytona 500 gets underway, Dickerson said that what he will be most surprised about is if the cars can really run like they did in the duel races for 500 miles.

    “I will be surprised if these guys can do this for 500 miles,” Dickerson said. “I am also curious to see how we are going to do that with 43 guys out there.”

    “It’s going to be as intense and crazy as you’ve ever seen.”

    Dickerson will get the opportunity to see just how intense the racing will be when he takes the spotter’s stand for America’s Super Bowl of racing.

    Until then, he will continue to savor his homecoming with the No. 24 team and his Hendrick Motorsports family.

  • Dodge Motorsports Notes & Quotes – Keys to the Daytona 500

    Dodge Motorsports Notes & Quotes – Keys to the Daytona 500

    Saturday, Feb. 19, 2011 Denny Darnell Scott Sebastian Dodge Motorsports PR Daytona Int’l Speedway Daytona 500 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series

    Keys for Success: Daytona 500

    DAYTONA BEACH, Fla., (Feb. 19, 2011) – Each race weekend, select Dodge Motorsports engineers, crew chiefs, drivers, engine specialists and team members give their insight on the ‘Keys for Success’ for the upcoming race. This week, the green flag drops at the ‘World Center of Racing’.

    Track: Daytona International Speedway (race 1 of 36 NSCS point events)

    Race: 53rd annual Daytona 500

    Track Length: 2.5-miles (200 laps)

    Race Record: Buddy Baker, 177.602 mph (Feb. 17, 1980)

    Trivia Question: What is the record for laps led by a race winner at the Daytona 500? (Answer Below)

    HOWARD COMSTOCK (Dodge Motorsports Engineering) “You can’t ignore how important good drafting partners will be. In the Duels, we saw drafting partners lead the race, but once they broke apart during a pit stop, they couldn’t get hooked back together and fell back into the field. That’s key because based upon everything that we’ve seen in Speedweeks thus far, unless you have a good drafting partner, you’re not going to be able to get to the front of the field and have a shot at winning the Daytona 500.

    “A second key to the Daytona 500 will be how drivers manage engine temperature while in the draft. If you get the engine too hot, you lose water. If you lose water, the engine will get hotter and you won’t be able to run 500 miles. You can see the catastrophic potential.

    “Finally, pit stops are always critical, but with the elimination of the catch can man, the choreography is different this year. The fueling process has changed and, on most teams, chassis adjustments will no longer be made by the gas man. Tomorrow, a fraction of a second will be critical in maintaining contact with the drafting partner.”

    Answer to Trivia Question: 184 – (Richard Petty – 1964)

  • Race Schedule App For Droid Smart Phones

    What Time is the Race? There’s Now an App for That

    Android App Provides Instant TV Information for Fans of Eight Racing Series

    Asheville, NC, February 18, 2011 – SpeedWeekly Magazine, “Your Racing News Source,” is living up its billing by providing auto racing fans with a free Android App for the most popular auto racing television schedules. The App includes the start time and network of every nationally-televised race in eight different race series. A similar App for the Apple iPhone will soon be available.

    The free App, available for download from the Android Market on your phone or by visiting SpeedWeekly.net, provides the schedules for NASCAR’s Sprint Cup, Nationwide and Camping World Truck Series, along with the complete schedules for ARCA, IndyCar, Formula One, Grand Am and American LeMans. The App premieres during NASCAR’s SpeedWeeks, the week leading up to the Daytona 500.

    “This new SpeedWeekly App is a major advancement for race fans on the go,” said Rick Bradham, Publisher of SpeedWeekly Magazine. “Other Apps may offer TV information about a specific network or racing series, but ours is the first to cover all nationally-televised races for eight of the world’s most popular auto racing series.”

    The user-friendly App allows fans to select a series and date and find the name of the race, the track, the start time, and the network televising the race. After each race, the name of the winning driver will replace the start time and network on the App.

    “Whether fans are on the road, in a different time zone, or just away from their computers, they can easily find the start time and network for all their favorite races. This exclusive new App puts the power of a complete program guide in the palm of your hand,” said Bradham.

    In addition to the new App, SpeedWeekly offers two website widgets that provide an auto racing TV schedule. To grab a widget for your site, go to speedweekly.net and select “TV Schedules” from the toolbar. Choose either the small or large widget, grab it and paste it to your website.

    –

    # # #

    –

    SpeedWeekly Magazine, “Your Racing News Source,” is a weekly publication dedicated to NASCAR and local racing. SpeedWeekly is distributed weekly at local race tracks, auto racing museums, race team facilities, select retailers and by subscription service. Local racing coverage includes all divisions and classes at 27 asphalt oval tracks in the Southeast along with 12 traveling series including ARCA, UARA, USAR and PASS South.

  • Pearson’s Daytona 500 Winner Was One Memorable Mercury

    Pearson’s Daytona 500 Winner Was One Memorable Mercury

    As he watches his rookie driver Trevor Bayne work his way into a job in the Sprint Cup Series, Eddie Wood can’t help but think back to the days when he was just coming into his own as a mechanic on his family’s race team.

    [media-credit name=”woodbrothersracing.com” align=”alignright” width=”193″][/media-credit]One race that stands above the rest from Wood’s early days as a full-time mechanic was the 1976 Daytona 500, a race that is rated by many as having the most exciting finish ever in NASCAR.

    In that race, the Woods’ driver David Pearson drove a 1976 Mercury Montego.

    Eddie Wood, now a co-owner of the No. 21 Motorcraft/Quick Lane Ford Fusion driven by Bayne, remembers that the car arrived at the team’s race shop in Stuart, Va., as just a rolling chassis with the roof and quarter panels tack welded on. It was built up to that point by famed car builder Banjo Matthews, and it was up to the team to complete the car and prepare it for racing. Unlike today, where teams prepare fleets of cars to start the season, the Woods had just one car to build. And whereas today’s race teams have dozens of mechanics assigned to car preparation, the Woods handled that basically by themselves.

    Team founder Glen Wood, his brother Leonard, and Glen’s sons Eddie and Len had just one full-time employee besides themselves working in the shop.

    Eddie Wood, then 24, said he and his brother decided they’d like to paint the inside of their car something other than the dull flat black that it had been in the past. Their inspiration came in part from seeing their friends and rivals at Petty Enterprises paint the insides of their cars blue.

    Wood said the first color chosen for the Mercury’s interior was silver.

    “We painted it in the middle of the floor,” Wood said.

    But when it was done, it just didn’t look right.

    “We got together, Len, myself and Leonard and got lacquer thinner and some rags and wiped all that paint off,” he said. “Then we painted it in red lacquer.”

    Wood said that experience illustrated how his uncle Leonard, who is still regarded as one of the brightest minds in the NASCAR garage, was patient with his nephews and willing to try their ideas on a race car.

    But, as Wood pointed out, Leonard’s primary focus was on that No. 21 and making it fast. And at the race tracks, when Len and Eddie would wander around the garage and check out other cars, Leonard never ventured far from the No. 21’s garage stall.

    “He stuck close with the car,” Wood said. “It was his baby.”
     

    For the ’76 Daytona 500, Leonard’s baby was one of the best in the field.

    A former Woods driver, A.J. Foyt led the most laps that day, but his Hoss Ellington Chevrolet blew an engine. Buddy Baker, who would eventually drive the No. 21, led 28 laps in Bud Moore’s Ford, but also blew an engine.

    But all the while, from the drop of the green flag, the two drivers at the head of the class were Pearson and Richard Petty, just as they were at countless other races and countless other tracks back in the day.

    The Pettys and Woods were fierce rivals, but also friends. It was true then, and it’s true today. “We’ve always been friends with the Pettys,” Wood said. “When we were running a limited schedule and happened to fall out of a race, we’d go stand with Dale Inman in Petty’s pits. It’s still that way today.”

    As the laps wound down back in February of 1976, Pearson led from Lap 177 to 187. Then Petty led from 188-199.

    As usual for those times, Eddie Wood was the only team member in radio contact with Pearson. “Leonard was the crew chief and changed tires, and he didn’t want to be bothered with the radio,” Wood said.

    As Pearson trailed Petty under the white flag, Wood keyed his radio and asked his driver:

    “Can you get him?”

    The reply was brief: “I don’t know.”

    The cars went out of sight into Turn One. With no TV monitor and no vantage point providing a view of the backstretch, Wood and the rest of the people on pit road were left to wonder what was happening.

    As the cars roared off Turn Two down the backstretch, the crowd began to stand up. A roar was building.

    Pearson came on the radio with a simple update: “I got him.”

    Pearson went high to the lead, but Petty came back on the low side. The two future Hall of Famers ran side by side, but a slight bump set in motion a series of events that have become an unforgettable part of Daytona and NASCAR lore.

    Wood still couldn’t see what was happening and only got a brief report from Pearson over the radio: “He hit me.”

    By this point, everybody at Daytona International Speedway was going wild. “Especially me,” Wood said. “I knew what had happened before they came into sight.”

    Wood looked to his right and saw Petty’s Dodge sliding through the grass toward the plane of the finish line. But he slid to a stop just shy of victory.

    Then Wood heard Pearson on the radio, asking: “Where’s Richard?”

    It was a moment that clearly illustrated just how calm Pearson was in that situation compared to everyone else around him.

    “I couldn’t even find the button to push to answer him,” Wood said.

    When Wood finally got the message back to Pearson that Petty had not crossed the finish line, Pearson responded, as calm as ever: “I’m coming.”

    And he won the Daytona 500, at about 20 miles per hour.

    Wood said that over the years, he’s watched replays of that finish, and come to appreciate even more just how calm the Silver Fox was in those critical moments.

    “When he asked me ‘Where’s Richard’ he was spinning,” Wood said. “He had clutched the car and was keeping it running, which was using both feet. He had to use one hand to push the talk button, which was on his shoulder harness, and he still had to steer the car.

    “And there was no emotion in his voice.”

    In the years since, moments like that have helped build a special bond between Pearson and Wood.

    “There was nobody monitoring the radio,” Wood said. “I’m the only one that knows just how calm he was.”

    But the story of that Mercury and David Pearson didn’t end with that finish. The car was rebuilt and Pearson drove it to victory in the sport’s other two big races that year – the World 600 at Charlotte and the Southern 500 at Darlington, all won with the same engine block that was in the car at Daytona.

    The car later served as a show car for series sponsor Winston, then ended up parked out back of the Woods’ shop in Stuart, made obsolete by NASCAR’s downsizing of the Cup cars.

    “We sold it for $200 just to get it out of the way,” Wood said.

    The car found its way to a junkyard in Florida, where it was rescued and restored. At last report it was on display in the Museum of American Speed in Lincoln, Neb.

  • EXPERIENCE TWICE THE THRILLS WITH THE KURT BUSCH DOUBLE DEUCE TICKET PACKAGE

    ~It’s a win-win for race fans when Kurt Busch driver of the No.22 won the Budweiser Shootout and the Gatorade Duel Race 1~

    SAN BERNARDINO COUNTY, Calif. (Feb. 18, 2011) – Whether you’re a fan of NASCAR Sprint Cup Series driver Kurt Busch or you’re a fan looking for an incredible deal for the upcoming Auto Club 400 Sprint Cup race at Auto Club Speedway, don’t pass up the opportunity to experience twice the excitement with the Kurt Busch Double Deuce ticket package.

    Kurt Busch, driver of the No. 22 Dodge sailed into Gatorade Victory Lane twice this week winning Saturday’s Budweiser Shootout and the first Gatorade Duel race on Thursday. By winning the first Gatorade Duel, Busch set the starting order for the inside row for NASCAR’s “Great American Race” – the Daytona 500 on Sunday, February 20.

    To help celebrate the pair of wins for the Automobile Club of Southern California sponsored driver, Auto Club Speedway is offering race fans the chance to purchase the Kurt Busch Double Deuce ticket package for just $99 (a $200 value), which includes:

    . Pair of tickets to the Auto Club 400 (rows 11-14) on Sunday, March 27

    . Pair of Pre-Race Pit Passes

    . Scanner Rental with a pair of headphones

    In addition to the Kurt Busch Double Deuce ticket package, Auto Club Speedway offers free parking and allows fans to bring in their own food, making race weekend an incredible value full of fun and entertainment.

    The Kurt Busch Double Deuce ticket package is available now through February 28, 2011, while supplies last. For more information or to purchase tickets call 800-944-RACE (7223), log on to www.autoclubspeedway.com www.autoclubspeedway.com or visit the Auto Club Speedway Ticket Office.

    ###

    About Auto Club Speedway

    Look for some amazing racing when the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series returns to Auto Club Speedway for the Auto Club 400 on March 27. After October’s NSCS race, drivers, media and spectators proclaimed that race as possibly the best ever at Auto Club Speedway- five-wide racing at over 200 mph on the NASCAR circuit! For tickets call 800-944-RACE (7223) or visit www.autoclubspeedway.com www.autoclubspeedway.com for more information.

  • Miss Coors Light Is Living Her NASCAR Dream

    Miss Coors Light Is Living Her NASCAR Dream

    Kicking off her first official year as ambassador not only for Coors Light, the official beer of NASCAR, but for the sport itself, Rachel Rupert could not be more excited to be in Daytona for the first race of the season.

    “I started out last year and had the ten races of the Chase,” Rupert said.  “So, that was really exciting and kind of got my foot in the door to see what my job was going to be about.”

    [media-credit name=”David Yeazell” align=”alignright” width=”113″][/media-credit]One of the primary functions of her role is to celebrate with the top qualifier for the Cup race, as Coors Light is the official sponsor of the pole award.

    “Each week, the driver of the pole position receives the award,” Rupert said.  “And every Thursday evening, we have appearances at different bars around the track in celebration of the pole award.”

    Miss Coors Light is not just busy on pole night, but is also on the move morning, noon and night throughout the race weekend, including appearances at the track and in the local area.

    “I love doing the appearances,” Rupert said.  “It’s so  much fun.”  The only down side that she has currently identified is that often she is mistaken for a driver in her fire suit uniform.

    At the track, Miss Coors Light’s major duty is mixing it up with the fans.  She poses for countless pictures with the fans, as well as encouraging fans to follow her on her Facebook page, www.facebook.com/misscoorslight.

    Rupert got her gig as the spokesperson for Miss Coors Light after an intense audition, that not only tested her interaction with people but also her knowledge of the sport.  Lest anyone think Rupert is just a pretty face, she is in fact an absolute, die hard race fan.  In fact,  her father started taking her to races at the ripe old age of seven years and she has loved the sport ever since.

    “My dad loves this sport,” Rupert said.  “When I was a little girl, we would watch the race every Sunday and he made me pay attention.”

    “I knew I wanted to be involved in this sport,” Miss Coors Light said.  “So I started doing promotional work with an agency and that’s when they asked me to try out for this position.”

    Rupert now invites her father to go to the track with her, which is he does, particularly at the tracks close to home.  Her role has also given her father access to special NASCAR experiences, which he would not have had otherwise.

    “Being Miss Coors Light and having my job, it has opened a lot of doors,” Rupert said.  “So, I’m getting him experiences that he would have never dreamed of.  He is loving it.”

    This weekend is especially important to Rupert and her family as her father was a huge Dale Earnhardt, Sr. fan.  While she would often devil him by claiming Jeff Gordon as her driver, Rupert said that both Dale Earnhardt, Sr. and Jr. have special places in her heart.

    “That kind of breaks my heart,” Rupert said of the tenth anniversary this weekend of the loss of Earnhardt.  “It’s very touchy.  Ten years, that’s tough.”

    “But Dale Jr. won the Coors Light Pole award so that was very emotional.”

    [media-credit name=”David Yeazell” align=”alignleft” width=”148″][/media-credit]While Rupert considers herself blessed to have met so many of the drivers, including some of her favorites, it is the fans that really keep her going.

    “I just love the fans,” Miss Coors Light said.  “Their passion is like no other sport.”

    Unfortunately, sometimes the fans may just get a little too passionate.  One of the most common occupational hazards for her are marriage proposals, in addition to the occasional product being spilled on her at events.

    “I get marriage proposals like you wouldn’t believe,” Rupert said.  “I’ve also been asked if I was the pot hole girl, from the GEICO commercial.”

    Miss Coors Light is also not the only Miss in the garage area, including several Miss Sprint Cups, who also serve as ambassadors for the sport.

    “We all get along so well,” Rupert said.  “We hang out outside of the track and since we are the girls in fire suits, we have to relate to each other.”

    While she and the girls get along famously, enjoying their time at the track and with the fans, Rupert is also a self-proclaimed homebody.  In fact, she describes the perfect evening as being at home with her poodle Daisy curled up on the couch.

    Rupert’s other major hobby, which many may find surprising, is fishing, which she loves to do in the Lake Norman area.

    Whether at home or at the track, Miss Coors Light is most appreciative of her current assignment.  In fact, she states there is nothing else in the world she could imagine herself doing.

    “I’m definitely living my dream this year,” Rupert said.

  • Dodge Motorsports Notes & Quotes – Kurt Busch Open Interview – Daytona 500

    Friday, Feb. 18, 2011 Denny Darnell Scott Sebastian Dodge Motorsports PR Daytona Int’l Speedway Daytona 500 Kurt Busch Open Interview NASCAR Sprint Cup Series

    KURT BUSCH (No. 22 Shell/Pennzoil Dodge Charger R/T) TALK ABOUT HOW YOU’RE FEELING HEADING INTO THE DAYTONA 500? “We’re just trying to stick with our game plan. We still want to push forward; this Daytona 500 is what we came here for. The tokens that we have with the Shootout and the Gatorade are nice, but we’re here after the big ultimate prize. We’re just sticking with our game plan of going out there today and shake down the car to get the (Daytona) 500 motor up to temperature…transmission, gears, rear axle…just to make sure things were singing smoothly. And then we found that the brakes were rubbing a bit, so we had to take the brakes apart and just re-evaluate that tomorrow when we get back out on track and just take advantage of the time that we have. Today, if we hadn’t gone out, we would have found that problem tomorrow. We would have been in a big panic and Sunday morning would have been real iffy if we would have gotten the problem fixed. I’m glad things happen today and we got the bugs worked out. The week just seemed to be going too smooth. You know that something was going to jump up and bit us. So we got that scienced out. Teammates like (Brad) Keselowski out there… a guy like Ryan Newman and I have a great rapport. Right now there’s just communication going on between all the spotters, crew chiefs and all the drivers with how you can hook-up and stay hooked-up.”

    ARE YOU WORRIED ABOUT THE DREADED “FAVORITE” ROLE FOR SUNDAY? “I’m not worried about it. It’s just nice to get back out and practice today, get back into the swing of things and try to keep it as normal as possible. The normal part will be exciting when we fire up the engines and see Dale Jr. drop to the back and we’ll be leading the field to start the 53rd running of the ‘Great American Race’. I’ve got to put all those emotions aside and get into the groove of the 500-mile race. We’ll do that during Lap 1. I hope that Regan Smith and are tied-up together like we need to be and we lead Lap 1. We’ll just settle in after that.”

    IF YOU’RE SECOND GOING INTO THE LAST LAP THIS TIME, DO YOU STAY THERE? “Absolutely not. I think that everybody knows that if you’re the guy that’s pushing, you’re in the catbird seat. If you’re separated from the guys behind you, that’s the position to be in. You really want to be pushing. I really expect a green-white-checkered to happen and we’ll see how it all plays out. You’ve got your buddy that you’ve been with all day long. When you get to the end of the race, you never know who’s going to tie up, but everybody wants their best shot at victory and there’s no guarantee of anybody staying behind you. If Newman’s pushing me and I’m leading and he’s second coming off of Turn 4, I’ve got to expect that’s he’s going to pass me and win his second-career Daytona 500. It’s just the product of how this two-car draft is.”

    ARE ALL THE CARS IN 500 TRIM OR ARE YOU AWARE THAT NASCAR MAY BE LOOKING AT SPEEDS AND MORE CHANGES MAY COME, SO NOBODY IS SHOWING WHAT THEY HAVE FOR THE 500? “Everybody is set for 500 miles. It’s not sprint racing any more. On the other token, it’s just that you haven’t seen the two-car drafts in quantity. Nobody is really teamed-up, had the lead group ahead and chased them down; that’s when you see the big numbers. Just the lack of quantity of cars is going to keep the speed down.”

    DO YOU FEEL LIKE GOODYEAR HAS MADE THE PERFECT TIRE FOR YOU GUYS? “They have to be commended for the job that they’ve done finding a tire that allows the cars to have the grip as well as maintain that free wheel-type movement. We tried a set of tires during a tire test that actually just locked down the inside lane. It was like it didn’t let the cars free-wheel enough, so you saw everybody in the high lane drafting like we see at Talladega. All of us in the garage area were like, ‘No, no, no. We can’t have that.’ So Rick Campbell, the guys at Goodyear, Stu (Grant) and the gang, yes, they deserve all the accolades for bringing such a great tire. It’s just unique that we really don’t have to change it all that often. It’s so good; we don’t have to change it. It’s a weird feeling to have. Once we settle into next week’s race in Phoenix, that track is really old, it chews up tires. You change tires quite often. Then you’ll settle into the regular season…Vegas, Bristol, Martinsville and so on.”

    DID YOU WATCH YESTERDAY’S SECOND DUEL RACE? WHAT WERE YOUR THOUGHTS? “You always see one Duel more exciting than another. It’s tough to duplicate even though you’re calling it a “duel”. You’re splitting up all the top teams in points from the order they finish in the previous year. I watched the race and definitely was very tuned into who was drafting with who; how they were doing it; who was switching more often than actually trying to breath the radiator. There’s all types of scenarios. I just can’t wait for the race to start, to get settled in and make it the best run of our life on Sunday with our Shell/Pennzoil Dodge.”

  • Ford Friday Advance (Matt Kenseth)

    Matt Kenseth, driver of the No. 17 Crown Royal Black Ford knows what it takes to win the Daytona 500 after claiming victory in 2009. Kenseth will start 9th in this year’s version of the Great American Race and answered questions from the media on Friday.

    MATT KENSETH – No. 17 Crown Royal Black Ford Fusion – CAN YOU TELL US HOW THINGS HAVE GONE FOR YOU SO FAR LEADING UP TO SUNDAY? “It has gone alright. Saturday was disappointing because we didn’t get in the right place and had a disappointing finish. Yesterday was good. I think that was the best finish we have had in a 150. We were in position to have a shot at the win and the late caution took us out to fourth. I was happy with that. The car is in one piece and we had good speed and worked out most of the things that we could work out with the way the track is and the rules and all. Everything seemed to be going pretty good and it has been pretty smooth so far.”

    CAN YOU PUT INTO WORDS WHAT IT WAS LIKE COMING BACK TO DAYTONA THE YEAR AFTER YOU WON IT? “It was fun. We came down a little early and did some media stuff which was fun because when we came back last year, well it has been almost two years since we won a race now, we are kind of on a dry spell. It was fun to come back and be the defending champion. You got to think about the year before and it put me in a better mood for the season. It is fun whenever you can win a race, especially one as big as the Daytona 500. The sport is still more of a what have you done for me lately deal. It is more about what we can do today and tomorrow and down the road.”

    YESTERDAY YOU WERE ABLE TO DRAFT FOR LONG PERIODS OF TIME. WHAT IS THAT ATTRIBUTED TO IN YOUR MIND? “I don’t think our stuff is any different or we have any advantage over anybody necessarily. There are probably a few circumstances where I got some air in there and kept it kind of cool or maybe didn’t take care of that engine as much as I would the 500 engine because I knew we were going to change engines anyway and I didn’t care if it got overheated. It was more important to me to keep our car in position and get a decent starting spot for Sunday. I didn’t want to be in the back and get wrecked. I wasn’t as careful with it as I should have been. I don’t know how you get away from two car drafts, whether they are good, bad or indifferent. You kind of knew it was going to be that way since the last Talladega race and Jeff Burton and I got in front and kept swapping positions until we finally couldn’t get back together for whatever happened there. That is the way the ending the last couple of races there have been. You knew when they paved this place that handling wasn’t going to matter for a lot of years. With these cars and the way they are set up, two cars pushing each other is faster than a big group of cars and that is what everybody is going to try to figure out how to do.”

    AS A DRIVER, CAN YOU EXPLAIN THE DIFFERENCE IN THE PAVEMENT FROM LAST YEAR TO THIS YEAR? “It is totally different. The old pavement was like driving down a gravel road and the new pavement is like driving down a freshly paved road with your street car. It is really that extreme. With the old pavement you could run wide open for five to 12 laps and then you had to start letting off the gas and it was almost like a plate race for 5 or 10 laps and a big track race after that where you had to start hitting marks exactly right. Toward the end of the run a lot of people would be lifting and you could pass by yourself. It was a lot different race. There is so much grip right now and they are so good at making asphalt now so I think it will be like that for a long time. Handling is such a non issue that you can run 210 or 215 at least before you have to start getting off the gas. It is going to be more of a Talladega style race.”

    CAN YOU TELL IF THE MOMENTUM ROUSH FENWAY HAD THE SECOND HALF OF LAST SEASON HAS CARRIED OVER TO THIS YEAR? “I think you have to at least get through Phoenix, Las Vegas and probably a couple races further than that down the road to really see where you are at compared to your competition. I do feel like we are prepared for Daytona. Although qualifying was disappointing, it seemed like we had good speed out there. I don’t think that will matter a whole lot because of the draft, but I would still rather have a fast car than a slow one. People will want to hook up with you more if you are fast. At the end of last year we got much stronger and finished the season on a good note with Carl winning a couple races and Greg winning a couple races. We were more competitive toward the end of the year even though we didn’t win, so that has our hopes up for this year.”

    HOW DID YOU GUYS ARRIVE AT YOUR PRACTICE DECISIONS FOR TODAY? “We didn’t, Jimmy did. Basically we just changed engines today and put a couple laps on our 500 engine to make sure there were no vibrations or oil leaks or anything. Tomorrow we will practice a little bit to make sure the cooling system and everything is okay. Try to draft just a little bit. We did the tire test for two days and the other test for three days and with the amount of grip you have here, there are no handling issues to work on. Once you get the car trimmed out and the platform right and the aero and all that stuff, there is really not a lot to work on. The rules are pretty tight and they don’t allow you to work on much, so there isn’t much reason to put a bunch of laps in practice. I don’t think a big group is going to win the race, so I don’t think you want to go out there and get behind 15 cars to see how your car reacts. Maybe you want to push and look for a car your car reacts well with and go out there and race.”

    WHAT DO YOU THINK NASCAR COULD HAVE DONE TO PREVENT THIS TYPE OF RACING AND DO YOU THINK NASCAR MIGHT CHANGE ANYTHING BEFORE TALLADEGA? “First of all I don’t know that it is a bad thing. We had a really good finish to the shootout. It is just different. Once they paved it, we knew this is how it would be like. I guess if they don’t like the product and want to change it I don’t know what they would be. I guess you would have to go test stuff at Talladega to see. I don’t know that there is a lot more they can do this week to get a big group together, although I will say that in the second 150 there was a bigger group and the cars got shuffled and didn’t lose a couple spots, they lost eight or 10 spots. I think when you get twice as many cars out there; the potential is there to have a lot bigger pack and more jockeying for position. I think you will get some groups in the front that get locked up, but I think you will have a lot more action and a bigger pack.

    WAS THERE ANY DROP OFF IN TIRES YESTERDAY AND HOW FAR DO YOU THINK YOU CAN RUN ON THEM? “I think you could run the whole race on one set of tires with absolutely zero issues. There have been no tire issues at all. I think people will get tires just because if you are getting 16 or 18 or 14 second of fuel, or you get a yellow then you might as well put tires on. I think that honestly you could go the whole 500 miles on one set of tires because we didn’t see any wear at all.”

    NASCAR HAS BEEN TALKED ABOUT IN TERMS OF TV RATINGS AND LENGTH OF RACES. WHAT CAN HAPPEN IN THIS RACE ON SUNDAY TO REVERSE THAT TALK? “How do I answer this one? I think the product is pretty good. Last year I think was the closest Chase in history and there were a lot of really exciting races. Texas comes to mind. There was a fight and a guy flipping off an official and two lead changes in the last two laps. There was a little bit of everything. I think the product has been really good. As far as being picked apart, you guys do that. The media writes the stories. I know you guys don’t create TV ratings and attendance numbers, but you guys do that more than we do and that is your job. I think that last year the racing was pretty good and pretty competitive. The Chase was competitive right down to the end. I know we have a different point system this year, but I thought last year was good with different winners. Denny dominated most the season and Jimmy came on at the end and won again. I thought that was pretty exciting.”

    HOW IS KATIE DOING AND TO WHAT DEGREE HAS THE IMPENDING BIRTH AFFECTED YOUR SPEEDWEEKS? “She is doing pretty good. I am probably doing better than she is, but she is doing alright. It hasn’t affected me yet. I told her to wait until Monday and she always listens to me, so I am not too worried about it. I hope it will be next week. I am not a woman, but I would assume when you get to the end of a pregnancy that you are ready for it to be over. Hopefully that happens next week when we are getting ready to go to Phoenix.”

  • AJ Allmendinger Reflects on the Duels, Daytona 500, and Earnhardt’s Legacy

    AJ Allmendinger Reflects on the Duels, Daytona 500, and Earnhardt’s Legacy

    A J Allmendinger, still battling flu-like symptoms which he has experienced most of the weekend, took a moment outside his motor home to reflect on his Gatorade Duel race, the upcoming Daytona 500, and the tenth anniversary of the death of Dale Earnhardt.

    [media-credit name=”Al Bello/Getty Images” align=”alignright” width=”215″][/media-credit]”The day of the duel race was better than I thought,” Allmendinger said.  “When I woke up, I didn’t think I was racing because I was so sick.”

    Allmendinger credits the “kind ladies of the medical center” with getting him back in shape enough to race.  “They gave me some fluids and gave me some IVs,” Allmendinger said.  “That got me through the day.”

    Getting through the day and not crashing his car was Allmendinger’s major focus during his duel race.

    “Overall, I thought it was OK,” Allmendinger said.  “First things first, we didn’t wreck the car. You don’t want to wreck your primary in the duels when really all it means is starting position.”

    “I felt like we had a chance to win the race,” Allmendinger continued.  “Me and Jimmie (Johnson) got hooked up and anytime you get hooked up with a five-time champ, you hopefully make friends.  I thought we worked really well together.”

    “There is a couple of things that we need to work on a little bit,” Allmendinger said. “Overall I thought it was good and we put ourselves in position to at least have a chance to win it.  Seventh isn’t terrible.”

    “I feel like the Fords are working really hard on keeping the engines cool,” Allmendinger continued.  “Watching the second duel, we learned a few things we need to do.  But overall it was good.”

    Allmendinger’s duel finish places him 13th in the running of Sunday’s Great American Race, the Daytona 500.  The Richard Petty Motorsports ace also acknowledges that with the two car tandem racing,  this years’ Daytona 500 will definitely be different from any others.

    “I wouldn’t say it’s any better or worse.  It is just different,” Allmendinger said.  “In one way, it saves you from having to run three or four wide the whole race, which as a driver is a lot better.”

    “Now it’s just strategy,” Allmendinger said. “You’ve got to find a friend and if you can find someone you can work with, you can consistently work with, I feel like maybe it’s easier to work with that one guy all race.”

    Allmendinger admitted that going into Sunday’s race, he did not know who he might be working with, contrary to several other drivers who already have their plans in place.

    “I think there may be some people who have already plotted out who they are going to work with,” Allmendinger said.  “But sometimes plans don’t work out.”

    Allmendinger said that this definitely was the case in his Gatorade duel race, as he had planned to work with Mark Martin but instead got hooked up with Jimmie Johnson.  Martin, however, starts right behind Allmendinger in the Daytona 500, so he is hoping that some partnership will develop.

    “Since Mark starts behind me in the 500, maybe there is some way we can hook up like we planned,” Allmendinger said.  “The quicker you find somebody that you work with and work well with, the better off you’ll be.”

    Allmendinger admitted that not only has he been working on this new two-by-two style of racing in practice, but he has also been focusing on how to make the swap from lead car to pusher, or vice versa.

    “Yes, that is something that I worked with in testing and all the practices,” Allmendinger said of the swap.  “I felt like that was something that me and Jimmie (Johnson) were really quick at.”

    “But at the same point, you saw certain guys that didn’t have to change over,” Allmendinger said.  “That comes back to the cooling and having to figure out what we had to do to make our stuff cool even better.”

    In addition to the partner racing and the swap, Allmendinger stated that it will be essential for all of the racers on the track for the Daytona 500 to respect the closing rates, as well as respecting each other.

    “If they understand the closing rates and how big they are,  they give you room and understand this is the way we got to race, than it is OK and we run three-wide pushing each other,” Allmendinger said.  “It’s that one guy that tries to make the block and everything goes wrong.”

    Along with every driver in the Daytona 500, Allmendinger will indeed be looking for his best dance partner.  He also hopes that he will get to work with his new teammate, Marcos Ambrose, in the No. 9 for Richard Petty Motorsports.

    “Marcos (Ambrose) brings something new to the race team,” Allmendinger said.  “He’s really cool and he is fun to work with.  He definitely brings a different style.”

    Unfortunately, Allmendinger’s Aussie teammate starts toward the back of the pack in the Daytona 500.  Ambrose will take the green flag in the 35th position.

    Allmendinger also thinks that the key to the Daytona 500 will be making good decisions, in addition to finding the right partners with whom to dance.

    “We just have to go out there and make good decisions,” Allmendinger said.  “Last year, we were really fast and I got spun and we had a bad finish because of it. “We just have to be smart.”

    “Of course, we want to go out there and win the race,” Allmendinger continued. “But if we come out in the top 15, it’s a good weekend.”

    As is everyone at the track this week, Allmendinger also reflected on the tenth anniversary of the death of NASCAR icon Dale Earnhardt.

    “I never got to meet Dale but I grew up watching NASCAR and I remember that day,” Allmendinger said.  “I was at home watching the race with my parents.”

    “When it happened, I knew it was a big deal,” Allmendinger continued.  “But at that point I was only racing go karts, so I really didn’t know the significance.”

    “There have been a lot of good things that came about because of it,” Allmendinger acknowledged, noting the enhanced safety features in racing.  “But there is a huge void in the sport that honestly will probably never be filled.”

    “I just wish I had the opportunity to meet him.  I think the coolest thing is the fact that he was always known as the Intimidator and that was his persona on the track.  But to hear all the stories about the things he did off the race track that were never in the press and that he did out of the kindness of his heart, just shows how cool the guy was.”  ”

    “There’s not any more words you can say about what the sport is missing,” Allmendinger continued. “There are certain things that have been made better but they sure are overshadowed by how much he is missed being in the sport.”

    “Hopefully, just like with any death, you celebrate the good things about the life and the good things that have come out of it,” Allmendinger said. “I just feel bad for Junior that he has to answer all the questions and live up to that.  Hopefully, we will put on a good race and have good things to remember.”

  • Dodge Motorsports Notes & Quotes – Brad Keselowski Open Interview – Daytona 500

    Friday, Feb. 18, 2011 Dodge Motorsports PR Daytona Int’l Speedway Daytona 500 Brad Keselowski Open Interview NASCAR Sprint Cup Series

    BRAD KESELOWSKI (No. 2 Miller Lite Dodge Charger R/T) AT SOME POINT ON SUNDAY, ARE GOING TO HAVE TO TEAM UP WITH KURT? “I hope so. We’ve worked really well together in both testing and practice here at the 500, but we haven’t seen each other in race trim yet and we’re not going to see each other until the 500. I think that if we can get together in the 500, we’ll be one of the combos to beat.”

    WHAT ABOUT TOMORROW’S NATIONWIDE RACE? “I think that there are going to be a lot of incidents. With the bumpers not lining up – they line up a little, but not a lot. What you’re seeing is as the fuel burns out of the cars, they go from lining up to not lining up. If you have a guy in front of you who’s halfway through a fuel run, you’re not going to line up bumpers and you’re going to wreck him. You don’t know those things. It’s just all these idiosyncrasies and it’s going to be a very tough race.”

    IT WAS STRANGE THAT ONLY 12 CARS PRACTICED TODAY; “I didn’t expect as many cars to be on the track as there has been so far. I think if you look back, traditionally at Talladega the way that practice works there, you get the big packs for the first hour and the second practice is single car runs. Quite honestly, if it wasn’t for the rule changes, I think there would be less practice than what we’ve seen. It’s part of the deal. You get a few laps on your motor…gears, tires and all that good stuff to make sure everything is good and get ready for the big race.”

    WAS IT MORE TO SAVE ENGINES OF THE CAR? “The engine is your car. There’s also the car itself, the body. Obviously there’s suspension components, but mostly the engines and the actual body on the car.”

    PEOPLE REALLY JUMPED ON BOARD WITH THE UNDERDOG STORY YESTERDAY WITH YOUR BROTHER? “It’s great to have fans. Fans continue to amaze me with the way that they pour in support. We’re really thankful for that. I didn’t actually do it to make more fans, I did it because it was the right thing and it felt good to work with him and get to the front.”

    DID YOU GET A LOT OF E-MAILS FROM FANS? “Oh yeah, it blew up on Twitter. My inbox was full and it took me like 15 refreshes to get to all of them. That was pretty cool. It’s amazing how people respond to things like that.”

    HAVE YOU HAD A CHANCE TO TALK TO YOUR BROTHER SINCE? “I haven’t. I’ve had appearances to do and I’m here for the PVA.org announcement. I’ve got one more thing to do. I haven’t made it into the garage yet. I’ve text messaged a couple of times and that’s as far as we’ve gotten.”

    HOW DID YOUR BROTHER GET TO BE SO HEFTY AND YOU SO SLIM (LAUGHTER)? “He was the first one to the table.”

    ARE YOU COMFORTABLE WITH THE TERM ‘SNOT-NOSED KID’? No (laughter)…it really doesn’t matter. I’m comfortable with the term Brian Keselowski, Daytona 500 starter.”