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  • Jeff Gordon’s Win At Phoenix Spurs A Dream Week For One Lucky Fan

    Jeff Gordon’s Win At Phoenix Spurs A Dream Week For One Lucky Fan

    [media-credit name=”CIA Stock Photo” align=”alignright” width=”229″][/media-credit]Not long after Jeff Gordon’s landmark win at Phoenix last weekend, the social media website Twitter was buzzing with news of the “hiccups girl”- a devoted fan who predicted the driver’s win just hours before when she got hiccups- quickly becoming Jeff Gordon’s lucky charm.

    Gordon was quick to take notice of his lucky charm, Courtniee, who has been getting the lucky hiccups since Darlington in 2007. “I just thought it was a one time thing, then I had them the hiccups) again the day of Pocono 2007, and the next two races and realized that maybe they were lucky,” said Courtniee.

    Until last Sunday, it had been nearly two years and 66 races since the lucky hiccups surfaced. “I just would try not to think about having them or not and just enjoy watching the race,” said Courtniee. “When Jeff would have those good runs, I was hoping he would win. When he did not win, I felt just like every other fan would, but kept saying there’s always next week.”

    Rooting for Jeff Gordon is not a new phenomenon for the Pennsylvania native, but a 17 year journey that has seen both wins and heartbreak. “I saw his rainbow car and thought it was the coolest thing and have been a fan since,” said Courtniee, who has an entire corner of her room dedicated to Jeff Gordon collectibles. “It’s actually the only part of my room that I keep clean.”

    With all the buzz surrounding Courtniee and her lucky hiccups, it wasn’t long before Jeff Gordon took notice of her. During all of Gordon’s appearances and interviews following the win, he has mentioned Courtniee by name, calling her his lucky charm. Appearances including radio interviews, newspaper columns, and spots on NASCAR Race Hub and Jay Leno were just a few of the places where Courtniee has received publicity.

    Aside from the shoutouts, Courtniee has also appeared on Sirius NASCAR Radio this past week and has been asked for multiple interviews. “This week has been one of the best weeks of my life,” said Courtniee. “It’s not every day that someone you look up to will mention your name.”

    Among all the publicity she has received, Courtniee says that Jay Leno was her favorite part. “I was not expecting him to bring me up at all on the show and when I heard it, I was in shock,” she replied. “All my friends and family members are still surprised that a girl from a small town in Pennsylvania was mentioned on Leno.”

    Through all of the hype and excitement of this week, Courtniee remains determined to have the opportunity to meet Gordon in person.” I would first tell him that I have been trying to meet him for 17 years. Then I would tell him that he has been an inspriration to me for most of my life,” she said. “He has taught me to never give up and to chase my dreams.”

    With the 2011 season just beginning, it will be interesting to see how many more times Courtniee gets her lucky hiccups, pushing Jeff Gordon to victory. In the meantime, Courtniee will continue to bask in the glory of all the media attention, dreaming for the chance to finally meet her favorite driver.

  • Regan Smith Thinks His Team is Best Kept Secret in NASCAR

    Regan Smith Thinks His Team is Best Kept Secret in NASCAR

    Regan Smith has been described by Mark McCardle, managing director of competition for Furniture Row Racing, as one of the best-kept secrets in the garage area. But Smith puts the credit solely on his team, crowning them the true best kept secrets in NASCAR.

    [media-credit name=”Gary Buchanan” align=”alignright” width=”266″][/media-credit]Smith and his No. 78 Chevrolet Furniture Row Racing team have indeed had an eventful start to their 2011 racing season. Right out of the box, the young driver led several laps of the Daytona 500 before being caught up in a late race crash, yet still managing to finish seventh.

    “It felt great to lead,” Smith said. “I think more importantly than that, it felt great to lead with five to go.”

    “And how good that felt went downhill pretty quick from there,” Smith continued. “We had a strong car and we were in a position where we wanted to be.”

    Smith had been working with Kurt Busch at the time and the two were committed to each other since their cars were so good together. Busch unfortunately got separated from Smith, then got an unexpected push from Tony Stewart, and the wreck was on.

    In spite of the melee on the track, Smith still counted his Daytona experience as a “really good day.”  He was also most pleased that he and his team were able to rebound from the accident to salvage a good finish.

    “To be honest, I was surprised that the car was able to finish,” Smith said. “Usually when you wreck at Daytona, there are two options, one being that you are t-boned and the other that you are airborne. I never thought option three would be that we drove off and finished the race.”

    “Just that quick I had to switch my brain off from trying to win the 500 to realizing that this is a 36 race season and we need points right now,” Smith said. “As soon as I finished spinning on the back stretch, that was my mindset.”

    Smith admitted that he was definitely angry after the race and “pretty bummed out.” As he was riding to the airport with his fiance after the race, it hit him just how close he had come to winning the Great American Race.

    “That’s when it sunk in,” Smith said. “I realized how close we were to this deal. But we recovered well as a team.”

    Smith credits his Daytona recovery full to his team, who he says has worked hard to calm him down and keep his head in the game.

    “Last year, I would have imploded,” Smith said. “That goes a long way to say how good of a team I’ve got around me.”

    After putting Daytona in his rear view mirror, Smith turned his attention to discussing his Phoenix race. He qualified fifth for the second race of the season, but again got caught up in a big wreck that relegated him to finishing 34th, dropping him to the 19th position in the point standings.

    “I think we had a bigger wreck at Phoenix than we did at Daytona,” Smith said ruefully. “Last week was just circumstances. We had a fast race car and I was fast all weekend. It was just bad luck.”

    While Smith acknowledged that there were many different strategies playing out in the race, with varying tire and pit sequences in play, he also admitted surprise at just how racy many of his fellow competitors were.

    “The whole race was like that and I wondered why they were so aggressive so early on,” Smith said. “I don’t know if that all caused the wreck. I think it was just ignorance.”

    This weekend, Smith is ready to tackle Las Vegas Motor Speedway. He practiced well and qualified 12th for the Kobalt Tools 400.

    “Off the truck, the car was good,” Smith said. “We have some ideas for what we want to change in race trim. But overall, we had another solid day with our Furniture Row Chevrolet.”

    “I feel strong about this weekend,” Smith said. “We’re looking at this weekend just like we did Daytona and Phoenix. We’re here to get top tens now.”

    “That’s our goal and there will come a point when we get top fives,” Smith continued. “That will be cool.”

    Smith admits that he and his team are focused but also have a bit of a chip on their shoulders, especially since they are the only team based out of Denver, Colorado, not Charlotte, North Carolina.

    “We’ve all got a little chip on our shoulder being from Denver,” Smith said. “We want to prove that we can not only run good from Denver but we can run as good as these big super teams.”

    “I don’t think anybody in this trailer or on this team is surprised about how we are starting this year off,” Smith continued. “We’re kind of off the radar. But I know this is what I expected and this is what all these guys expected.”

    “I look at it as I’m with a team that’s the best kept secret in the garage,” Smith said. “I know the people that I get to work with and I wouldn’t trade it for any other team in this garage.”

  • Robby Gordon Slapped with Probation for Kevin Conway Altercation

    Robby Gordon Slapped with Probation for Kevin Conway Altercation

    Robby Gordon, driver of the No. 7 Speed Energy Dodge for the team that bears his name, was placed on immediate and indefinite probation today by NASCAR. Gordon apparently had an altercation in the garage area Friday evening with Kevin Conway, another Cup driver with whom Gordon had prior business dealings that went south.

    [media-credit name=”Gary Buchanan ” align=”alignright” width=”214″][/media-credit]In fact, Robby Gordon Motorsports had filed a lawsuit against Extenze, Conway’s primary sponsor, for $690,000 in damages based on the failure to pay their portion of the sponsorship to Gordon after Conway came to race with him to continue his Rookie of the Year run in 2010.

    The disagreement stemmed from the fact that Gordon replaced Conway in the car in order to keep it in the top 35 in the point standings and Extenze refused sponsorship payment based on their contention that they did not approve the driver change.

    While Conway was not named in the lawsuit by Robby Gordon Motorsports, Conway did have a financial stake in the deal.  Conway reaped approximately $116,000 in a percentage of the purse as well as his Rookie of the Year winnings.

    In the midst of Nationwide qualifying and the start of Cup practice, Kerry Tharp of NASCAR made the surprising announcing about Gordon’s probation in the media center this afternoon at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.

    “We met about the situation this morning and reacted accordingly,” Tharp said. “We will continue to look at this situation involving Robby Gordon.”

    “We took emergency action that is stipulated in the rule book for us to be able to react this way and place him on probation.”

    Tharp announced that although Gordon would still be able to compete in this weekend’s race, his probation was indeed indefinite.

    “There is no time frame on it right now,” Tharp said. “It could be revised as we move along but the action we took today, we just placed him on probation, period.”

    Tharp advised that he did not witness the incident so felt that he could not elaborate on it.

    “It was an incident in the garage between him and another driver that took place,” was all that Tharp would confirm.

    Gordon qualified 38th for the Kobalt Tools 400 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.

  • NASCAR: Incident Between Gordon and Conway Results in Immediate Probation

    NASCAR: Incident Between Gordon and Conway Results in Immediate Probation

    NASCAR has placed Robby Gordon on immediate probation after an incident involving he and Kevin Conway occurred Friday following Sprint Cup qualifying.

    Vice President of Competition Robin Pemberton described the episode as a “heated debate,” but would not confirm whether or not it was a physical confrontation.

    Conway stated he had filed a police report regarding the incident, but offered no more information.

    Conway drove for Gordon in six races last year, and the two are currently involved in a legal battle over disputed money.

    NASCAR officials said Gordon will be allowed to race in tomorrow’s Kobalt Tools 400 and that his probation may be revised as more information becomes available.

    Neither driver could be reached for immediate comment.

  • Kobalt Tools 400: Who And What To Look Out For

    This weekend the Sprint Cup Series visits the Las Vegas Motor Speedway for the Kobalt Tools 400. Matt Kenseth will start from the pole, an extreme rarity for the driver who usually qualifies towards the middle or back of the pack eventually making his way to the front. Kenseth also was fastest during the first practice session of the weekend. Lining up behind him is his Roush Fenway Racing teammate, David Ragan, then Juan Montoya, and teammates Carl Edwards, and Greg Biffle.

    [media-credit id=41 align=”alignright” width=”293″][/media-credit]What do you  see here? All Roush Fenway Racing drivers were in the Top 5 in the first session of practice. The entire team will be tough to beat on Sunday. Jimmie Johnson and Jeff Gordon seem to be the favorites to win the race and they were were 12th and 19th quickest in the morning session, but don’t be fooled by the practice numbers. Gordon was 20th and 28th quickest during the practice sessions in Phoenix and yet he led the most laps and won the race to end the 66 race winless streak. Last year, Gordon led the most laps, but a bad call in the pits to go for two-tires on the last pit stop backfired when Johnson took four and he went on to win the race. Gordon faded to third as Kevin Harvick took second. Look out for Hendrick Motorsports and Roush Fenway Racing.

    So, you know the practice results, so we shall compare that with how the drivers qualified for the race. Marcos Ambrose improved from being sixth quickest during practice to earn a front row seat with Kenseth for the pole. Carl Edwards, Greg Biffle, and Kyle Busch rounded out the Top 5. One person missing from this is David Ragan. Well, what happened? Ragan choked yet again and spun on his qualifying lap. He managed to keep it off the wall, but never completed the lap and will start from the rear. Great. When is this kid going to just calm down and focus? If he doesn’t get it together, I can say good-bye to Ragan at the end of the season.

    Now, to the drivers who really need a good finish…one of those is Jeff Burton. He qualified for the Chase last season and has had 2 DNF’s to start the new season with the new points system. Not good, but wait! He may have just lucked out. NASCAR began racing here in 1998 and the first 3 finishes for Burton here were 2nd, 1st, 1st. Burton has won here before and this may be the track where he can have a good finish. Depending on how many drivers drop out, Burton can gain a significant amount of points. Burton’s teammate Kevin Harvick, as stated earlier, was runner-up here last year.

    Who are you guys picking for the race? I have Jeff Gordon. He is back in the DuPont Chevrolet for this race and he gained me a lot of fantasy points last week. In fact, I was last coming into Phoenix and left as the points leader after having a 1, 2, 3 weekend. I don’t expect to do it again this weekend, but I do want the lead to stay in tact. I want to hear from you guys. Leave your comments and picks in the box below and have an amazing weekend.

    Email me at therhino.ryan@gmail.com, Facebook, or Twitter http://www.twitter.com/RyanOHaraNASCAR

    Thank you guys!

  • SM PICK ‘EM: Kobalt Tools 400

    SM PICK ‘EM: Kobalt Tools 400

    Overall, out of the nine writers who sent in picks last week, only two went 0-0 in their picks: Matt LaFlair and Kyle Ocker. Ryan O’Hara and Mark Odor both correctly picked Jeff Gordon as the race winner at Phoenix. O’Hara was also able to pick Ryan Newman, who finished fifth, as his dark horse pick.

    Updated standings after Phoenix:

    Kyle Brandt 16
    Kyle Ocker 11
    Ryan O’Hara 11
    Roberta Cowan 9
    Jeffrey Boswell 6
    Mark Odor 6
    Ed Coombs 5
    Barry Albert 3
    Ashley McCubbin 0
    Ben Gunby 0
    Matt LaFlair 0

     

    Barry Albert
    Who I Think Will Win: Jimmy Johnson
    My Dark Horse Pick: Jeff Gordon

    Jeffrey Boswell
    Who I Think Will Win: Jimmie Johnson
    My Dark Horse Pick: David Reutimann

    Kyle Brandt
    Who I Think Will Win: Jimmie Johnson
    My Dark Horse Pick: Clint Bowyer
    Comments: It’s no secret that Jimmie Johnson has been of the strongest drivers at Vegas, and has been dominant on the 1.5 mile cookie-cutters. Clint Bowyer has the second best average finish among active drivers since 2009 (5.00), and looks to Vegas to get his season back on track after a rough start.

    Matt LaFlair
    Who I Think Will Win: Jimmie Johnson
    My Dark Horse Pick: Jeff Burton
    Comments: Well against all my inner thoughts and feelings as a fan on all racing, I have to go with history on these picks. As much as I hope he hits the wall on lap 1, Jimmie Johnson has an extensive history at Las Vegas Motor Speedway including 4 wins. He will be there at the end on Sunday. As for Jeff Burton, another history pick. He has the most laps led at Las Vegas with 453 out of 3293 in 12 races at LVMS.

    Ed Coombs
    Who I Think Will Win: Kyle Busch
    My Dark Horse Pick: Jack Rousch
    Comments: Neither pick is a surprise or dark horse. Kyle Busch and his brother Kurt want to win soooo badly at their home track that either one should be my pick but I will take Kyle. Matt Kenseth is really my dark horse for points purposes. He has always done well at Vegas and barring any on track incident I expect him to be a factor all day long.

    Roberta Cowan
    Who I Think Will Win: Kyle Busch
    My Dark Horse Pick: Dale Jr.

    Kyle Ocker
    Who I Think Will Win: Matt Kenseth
    My Dark Horse Pick: Marcos Ambrose

    Ryan O’Hara
    Who I Think Will Win: Jeff Gordon
    My Dark Horse Pick: Mark Martin
    Comments: Jeff Gordon dominated the race last year and would have won if not for a bad pit call for two-tires. Mark Martin won the inaugural race and is dedicated to making the best out of his final year with Hendrick Motorsports.

     

  • Kurt Busch Wants to Even the Score with Brother Kyle and Las Vegas Win

    When Kyle and Kurt Busch had their media availability scheduled back-to-back on Friday afternoon it became family hour.

    [media-credit id=41 align=”alignright” width=”290″][/media-credit]The two tell their tales well. From growing up and going into different racing directions to competing against each other when they could, both have come a long way. And depending on whom you ask, you’ll get different versions of whose better and who won the most races.

    Kurt will even tell you that their father told him he had to let Kyle win every once in a while. Being the older brother though, that was hard to do. Good thing that was then and this is now, there’s no way either one would lift for the other.

    Reaching the highest level in NASCAR, the Sprint Cup Series, there’s no one they’d rather beat than each other. Family members competing against each other in NASCAR is nothing new, the Busch brothers are the latest to do so and come to Las Vegas with a little more than bragging rights on the line.

    In 2009 Kyle won the Daytona 500 of the family, capturing the win in their hometown at their home track.  Kurt hasn’t been a slouch here either, making it no surprised that the two are favorites heading into Sunday. It’s also not surprising that it’s a race that’s looked forward to.

    “Coming out here to the hometown is always exciting,” said Busch. “There’s a lot of friends and family, the exciting part just being in the hometown.”

    While the Kobalt Tools 400 will only be the third race of the season, the two sit atop the Cup Series point standings and ready for a family battle for the championship. While Kurt sits behind his brother an argument can be made that he’s one of the drivers that is off to the best start of the 2011 season.

    After going two-for-three in Daytona, a fifth in Daytona and an eighth place last weekend in Phoenix, Busch heads into Vegas with one thing on mind: even the score with his brother.

    “The fact that he’s won here, yeah it stings a little bit,” said Busch about little brother Kyle.

    “I’ve been on pole, he’s been on pole here. It’s Vegas. It’s one of the top five marquee events of the year. For Daytona, Indy, Charlotte, I think Vegas ranks up there with a lot of guys. With him winning here it was great for our family and all the friends that have supported us over the years. I just want to be able to do it as well.”

    Being a past champion, something Kyle has yet to accomplish, there comes a time when it seems there’s not a lot left for the driver to accomplish. Not for Busch, he’s never won the Daytona 500 or the Brickyard 400 and he does want to, but winning at Las Vegas would just mean more. If he is to do so on Sunday it’ll have to come after saying working on what he says is a No. 22 Shell / Pennzoil Dodge that was “off” in practice.

    “You’ve got to get through the bumps that we’ve been struggling with in Turn 1 and 2,” said Busch

    “You also have to have a car that doesn’t burn off the front tires which we might struggle with on Sunday. We’ve definitely got our work cut out for us on what we can do to improve our car.”

    The hope is that their finish on Sunday will propel the team into a season in which they’ll be championship contenders.

    “Hopefully, we leave here with a solid finish knowing that we’ve accomplished something special. It’s only three races in. There’s still a long way to go. I always look at the season as the first seven to nine races on where you rank; after that point in the season is how you’re going to settle in for the long summer runs.”

    While that sounds great on paper, this is a race he badly wants to win. In order to do so, Busch said his team will be making sure they do and use everything they learned from this race last year over the course of this weekend. He won the pole with a new track record but finished a disappointing 35th last year.

    This Sunday Kurt will start behind Kyle on the starting grid. It will make for a long and interesting day as he tries to not only get his Vegas win but keep Kyle from getting another. It shouldn’t be too hard because as Kurt says, whenever it comes to a battle with Kyle, big brother always wins because he know more.

  • AJ Allmendinger, Bobby Labonte and David Gilliland Part Of Unusual Top Ten

    While it is most certainly early in the NASCAR season, with just two races under their collective belts, a few unusual names are present in the top ten in points.

    With Kyle Busch, his brother Kurt Busch and Tony Stewart forming the familiar trio at the top, AJ Allmendinger, driver of the No. 43 for Richard Petty Motorsports, sits in the fourth position in points.  Other relatively unfamiliar drivers, at least in the top ten standings, are Bobby Labonte who currently sits in the seventh spot, and David Gilliland, who rounds out the top ten.

    [media-credit id=41 align=”alignright” width=”300″][/media-credit]Of all the drivers new to the top ten, AJ Allmendinger seemed most surprised about being so high in the points this season. When Kerry Tharp of NASCAR introduced Allmendinger as fourth in the point standings, Allmendinger quickly asked “I am?”

    “I vote we just start the Chase right now,” Allmendinger said. “Right now. Starting now. Starting here.”

    Allmendinger was visibly excited to be so high in the points. But he also recognized that there is a great deal of racing left to do before he can truly celebrate.

    “It is still really early, just two races in,” Allmendinger noted. “But I feel like between Daytona and Phoenix we have had a good race car.”

    “We got through all the wrecks and have been a little bit lucky there,”Allmendinger continued. “This is definitely a lot better start than where we were last year at this point, but it is only two races in. We have to stay calm about that and can’t get too excited.”

    “I am happy with where our race team has started and if we can stay focused on getting through this weekend, which is a big one for us because we have really struggled here in Vegas,” Allmendinger said. “If we can get through this weekend we will have something to really build on.”

    Another surprising driver in the top ten is Bobby Labonte. While Labonte is a familiar name in the sport, he most certainly is another driver who is finding himself in unfamiliar territory in the point standings.

    Labonte, piloting the No. 47 for JTG Daugherty Racing, currently is in the seventh position in points and is quietly celebrating that feat.

    “Well a lot of hard work by the boys at the shop and we have had a good start to the season,” Labonte said. “It always builds confidence when you run good, have good finishes and get a good start to the season.”

    “I hope we can continue that,” Labonte continued. “I just know that watching the hard work that everyone puts into it and all the resources we have to work with, we are not leaving many stones unturned. It gives me confidence when you get to the race track that you should have all the stuff to put together when you get here.”

    Labonte noted that his good start to the season has already paid dividends when it comes to sponsorship and other support.

    “When you have a couple good weeks and things are starting off good, it helps out,” Labonte said. “Obviously when you get your name out there and your sponsor’s name out there, it definitely helps out.  All of our sponsors are happy about that.”

    “I think we are doing a lot of the right things and hopefully we can just continue that.”

    Another fairly unfamiliar name in the top ten in standings is David Gilliland, driver of the No. 38 for Front Row Motorsports.

    “Yeah, it is so far so good this year,” Gilliland said of his season beginning. “Front Row Motorsports is definitely off to a better start than last year.  I am really excited with everything we have accomplished so far.”

    Because of his performance to date, Gilliland has also been able to capitalize with additional sponsorship on the race car.

    “We have TM1 back as an associate sponsor for the second week and they are going to be a co-primary in two weeks at Bristol,” Gilliland announced. “We are excited to have those guys on board. They are one of the fastest growing companies in the heartland and they do a great job and we are happy to have them on board.”

    Gilliland is very much looking forward to the upcoming race at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.

    “I feel real good about this weekend,” Gilliland said. “Before we went to Daytona, this was the race that I was really looking forward to as far as our cars and motors and everything else. I feel like this can be a really good weekend for us.”

    While Allmendinger, Labonte and Gilliland may be relative strangers to the top of the heap in the points, they will have their work cut out for them to stay there. In the first practice for the Kobalt Tools 400 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, Allmendinger finished 16th, Labonte practiced 26th and Gilliland was in 42nd.

  • Firestone leaving IRL after 2011 season

    Firestone leaving IRL after 2011 season

    Longtime series partner Firestone will leave the IndyCar Series after the 2011 season, after Bridgestone and the Indy Racing League did not renew the contract that expires after this year. Firestone is the series’ tire supplier and the series sponsor of the Firestone Indy Lights series.

    “It’s unfortunate to lose a great partner and ambassador for the sport like Firestone,” IndyCar CEO Randy Bernard said. “We are actively engaged in discussions with other tire manufacturers on opportunities to get involved in our sport as we prepare to debut our new car in 2012.”

    Firestone has supplied tires for the IndyCar Series since 1996.

  • Michael Waltrip Gets Slapped By Rib for New Tums Commercial

    Just when it seems Michael Waltrip could get no more exposure, with his new book and his singing and dancing in the new NAPA commercial with teammate Martin Truex, Jr., Waltrip has taken yet another starring role.

    [media-credit id=41 align=”alignright” width=”269″][/media-credit]Waltrip’s newest commercial gig involves taking some licks from a mechanical rib slapping his face and begging for his sponsor’s newest product, fast acting Tums.

    Ty Norris, General Manager of Michael Waltrip Racing, announced the new commercial partnership between MWR and sponsor Tums in the media center at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.  The commercials will not only be aired on television but will also be featured on the Tums Facebook page.

    “What’s really neat today is how some of our sponsors are taking us even deeper into the digital space,” Norris said. “What you don’t see a lot of is activating with NASCAR celebrities.”

    “As you might know Tums has been actively involved in racing for a number of years,” Kent Christiansen, Sr. Brand Manager of Tums, said. “The theme of our advertising is when your favorite foods fight you, fight back fast with Tums.  We are happy to say that we are leveraging the appeal of David (Reutimann) and Michael (Waltrip) and bringing that into our advertising.”

    The commercial will debut this Sunday during the Kobalt Tools 400 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.  The commercials feature both Michael Waltrip and David Reutimann “interacting with foods in an interesting way,” according to Christiansen.

    Christiansen emphasized that Tums has focused on its younger fans, who “spend hours of their time online.” There are actually seven videos that have been filmed that will be available to fans on their Tums Facebook page over the next few months.

    “We think this content is exciting for the NASCAR community,” Christiansen continued. “And we think it will be exciting for fans to check out on the Facebook page.”

    The first of the new Tums commercials shows a barbecued rib slapping Waltrip’s face several times as he tries to eat it, with Reutimann watching in amusement. The second commercial shows a giant double stacked cheeseburger chasing Reutimann at the track, pulling him out of his race car and pummeling him repeatedly.

    In the latter commercial, fans will actually be able to vote on whether or not Reutimann will take his Tums, with the votes determining the ending. As usual, however, in both commercials Reutimann does not utter one word.

    “I don’t know if you notice the recurring theme, but David has another commercial without a speaking part,” Waltrip said. “We’re going to work on that.”

    “I’m good not speaking,” Reutimann countered quickly to his boss.

    “I can’t get enough of that hamburger kicking my butt,” Reutimann continued. “It was a pretty unique from the rib that Michael was trying to eat to the hamburger. We ended up having to do several takes just because I couldn’t stop laughing.”

    “Even when the hamburger comes riding up, thankfully I was wearing my helmet,” Reutimann continued. “I couldn’t stop laughing all day. If it makes me laugh, I hope it will make others laugh too.”

    Waltrip advised that he had the hardest commercial to make by far.

    “There was a guy sitting behind me and there was a wire in that rib,” Waltrip said. “It took about a hundred takes or at least that’s what it felt like being beat in the face by that rib.”

    “Anyways, 25 years of racing a car and that’s what it’s come to,” Waltrip said with a chuckle.

    For his part, Reutimann concurred with his boss that the slapping rib was by far the most challenging commercial to make.

    “I was covered with that sauce and we had to do all those different angles,” Reutimann said. “I asked Michael to go out for ribs for lunch after that and he was not up for that.  The amount of sauce flying everywhere, it was a dangerous area to be in.”

    “Thankfully, we all got through it.”

    Waltrip, as he does so often and so well, took the opportunity to plug not only Tums but also some of his other endeavors, including the Comedy Garage program and his new book, ‘In the Blink of an Eye.’

    “Speaking of making you laugh, Michael Waltrip’s ‘Comedy Garage’ is in town,” Waltrip said. “I have a book out too.  Four weeks in a row it’s been on the best seller list.”

    Waltrip did become a bit more serious, paying tribute to his team’s partnership, now in its second year, with Tums.

    “As a team owner the thing I most like about this ad campaign is that this is the first year they’ve used our team in their commercials,” Waltrip said. “This commitment to Tums is a great sign and we appreciate their enthusiasm for our sport.”