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  • Kurt Busch Wins First Gatorade Duel; Bill Elliott and JJ Yeley Race Into the Show

    Kurt Busch Wins First Gatorade Duel; Bill Elliott and JJ Yeley Race Into the Show

    On a balmy Thursday afternoon in the heart of NASCAR racing, Kurt Busch went two for two at Daytona, wining  the first of two Gatorade Duel races after his Bud Shootout victory.   JJ Yeley, who had to race his way into the show, did just that, along with veteran driver Bill Elliott.

    [media-credit name=”CIA Stock Photo” align=”alignright” width=”238″][/media-credit]”This is just an incredible  Speed Weeks,” Busch said.  “I just don’t want it to end.  We just keep doing everything right and it’s just amazing to be able to do this, find the right drafting partners out there to make it happen.”

    “This is sweet,” Busch continued.  “It’s amazing what partnerships can do out on the race track.  When two guys can think the same way without saying a word, things are going to happen for those two guys.”

    Busch also paid tribute to young driver Regan Smith, in the No. 78 for Furniture Row Racing, who successfully pushed not only Busch to victory but many of the other drivers who were in the lead throughout the race.  Busch also gave credit to Brad Keselowski, his teammate with whom he has tested and who he  hopes to partner with  in the race on Sunday.

    Bill Elliott, who has been having a very good weekend so far between his own performance and the signing of his son Chase by Hendrick Motor Sports, also raced his way in on time.  Given that, Michael Waltrip, Daytona 500 winner from ten years ago, has a guaranteed starting spot in this special anniversary year.

    “Coming in today we had a little bit of a cushion,” Elliott said.  “But the key thing is when you get two really good cars working together, they’re going to be hard to beat.  This is the same thing you’re going to see Sunday.”

    JJ Yeley, driver of the No. 46 Red Line Oil Chevrolet, also raced his way onto NASCAR’s biggest stage.  The driver, who had to have surgery to fuse his neck just last fall, was thrilled to have made the show.

    “It’s awesome,” Yeley said.  “I’ve never had to make the race on my own without being locked in.  The stress that comes with not being locked in is tough and to know we had a lot of help out there, especially with Marcos Ambrose, we got where we needed to be.”

    From the drop of the green flag, the race mirrored the Bud Shootout, with drivers almost immediately finding a partner and buddying up.  Further back in the field, the drivers raced as a pack, at least for a bit,  until finding their ideal mate.

    Ryan Newman was the first driver to have problems early in the race, getting a nudge and going for a spin.  Newman was able to recover, however, and ended the race in the tenth position.

    While the duos found their speed together, some swapping back and forth was indeed needed to keep the engines cool, just as NASCAR had intended.  Also interesting in this first true race on the new surface at Daytona was the fact that no teams had to take tires, most pitting for their sole stop to take fuel only.

    The only other caution came late in the race for Michael McDowell, the driver of the No. 66  MRO HP Racing Toyota.  McDowell’s chances at a place in the Daytona 500 expired in a huge puff of smoke, forcing a green white checkered finish.

    But when the green flag flew for the final laps of the race, Busch, being pushed by Smith, emerged as the front runner, taking the checkered flag.  With his win in the first Duel race, Busch will now move up into the pole position with Dale Earnhardt, Jr. having to go to the back of the field due to a practice wreck.

    “It’s just going to be one of those moments in time that I’ll remember for a long time, leading the field to green,” Busch said.  “I’ll just make sure to massage my calf so I don’t cramp up with Regan Smith behind me.”

    With Kurt Busch as victor, Regan Smith, Kevin Harvick, Matt Kenseth and Kasey Kahne rounded out the top five finishers.  Juan Pablo Montoya finished sixth, AJ Allmendinger finished seventh, and Mark Martin, Paul Menard and Ryan Newman completed the top ten in the first Duel race.

  • What?! Tony Stewart Has a Girlfriend…Say It Ain’t So!

    What?! Tony Stewart Has a Girlfriend…Say It Ain’t So!

    [media-credit id=22 align=”alignright” width=”225″][/media-credit]It’s just days away from the 53rd running of the Daytona 500. Finally, after three long months NASCAR fans have something with a little substance to talk about; but forget all the hype of who is sitting on the pole, all of those crazy conspiracy theories and speeds reaching upward of 206 MPH during last weekend’s Budweiser Shootout and focus on something that really matters…Tony Stewart’s love life.

    Last week female fans across the land collectively lost their minds when former crew chief, Larry MacReynolds commented on the Stewart’s relationship status during the driver’s Shootout qualifying lap, naming Sprint Car driver Jessica Zemken as his girlfriend.

    Like a dog whistle blowing in the wind, Stewart’s lady fans instantly stopped what they were doing, cocked their heads to the side to ensure proper processing of what they were hearing and then promptly freaked the hell out!

    I know this because suddenly my Facebook, Twitter and cell phone blew up with messages and texts in an outrage over the news.  It was like animal instinct Armageddon. You would have thought that the nation was under attack again based solely on the intensity of how fast my social networks were working; instead it was just poor Jessica who was taking the brunt of the terrorist attacks.

    Naturally, in an attempt to write something factual and well researched, I Googled my subjects. In my quest to search of the real truth behind the vicious rumor, I stumbled upon a website dedicated to the brutal dissection of Stewart’s private life.  Sweet Jesus, it was like striking gold! How did I go so long as a NASCAR fan without realizing that sites like this actually exist? Does every driver have one?

    It was like hot buttered bliss drizzled atop a train wreck.  It was cat calling at it’s finest from a bunch of house fraus that would never in a million years be able to snag themselves their own Tony Stewart, but by-god they can dream can’t they and once they realize that the glass slipper will never fit their own foot, they do what they do best, talk some smack until it makes them feel better about their own lives.

    Ladies, are you really that surprised? This can’t possibly be the first time that you have heard her name romantically linked to Stewart. In 2009, she was photographed multiple times on pit road and in Victory Circle at Watkins Glen, a spot traditionally held for the driver’s wives or girlfriends.

    That same year I ran into her while covering a race on the east coast. I was heading into an infield bathroom that is primarily used by media, track employees, drivers and their crews, along with their families and friends while Ms. Zemken was heading out. When I say ran into her, I mean I literally ran into her. I was the victim of an accidental “motor boating,” not sure what that term means? Google it, I promise it will not disappoint! While I can say that I do admire a good pair of chest cushions when I see one, my face had no business being in between them! Talk about your awkward situations, but let’s just say for the record that Tony is a very lucky man!

    Look, who am I to judge anyone? I’m okay with a little harmless trash talking now and again, because somewhere, someone is talking smack about me, we are all fair game when it comes to scrutinizing and I admit that I enjoyed reading some of the posts on this bitchy blog, it was a good laugh, but before you go judging a pretty blond by her cover, open the book and flip through a couple pages and you’ll find that this one has a good storyline as well.

    Zemken may look like a living Barbie, but she grew up with racing in her blood. Her father Ray was a DIRT modified racer who spawned Jessica’s passion for driving.  She began racing on the go-kart track at the age of eight and with over 100 victories in that genre, set her sights on modified sprint cars just prior to her high school graduation.

    Realizing at an early age that nothing comes easy and if you want it done right, then do it yourself. At the age of 17 she assembled her own race team and won the 2004 Utica-Rome Speedway Track Championship (located in Central N.Y.).

    The following year she was competitively kicking ass and taking names. In 2010 she completed her first year as a driver with Tony Stewart Racing as a “true outlaw,” competing in 410 and 360 sprint car races, including stints in the World of Outlaws and All Star Circuit of Champions. The girl has a couple other assets under her fire suit, not just the obvious ones.

    Alright, alright…I know that you don’t always want the meat because you’re too distracted by the potatoes and sadly this is one of those cases where others will overlook true attributes for the analyzing of the cosmetic appeal.

    Beauty is in the eye of the beholder and if your driver is happy, can’t you just be happy for him? Maybe you should take a step back and give your own lives a little attention and stop playing the “Bitter, party of one” card.

    The truth of the matter is that no one would ever be good enough for “your man” unless it were you. Am I right? We cut down others in order to make ourselves feel better, it is a glorious little savior at times, but some have turned it into a destruction filled art form. It has become a habit or hobby if you will to talk hurtful gibberish, add to that the veil of anonymity that the Internet provides and it becomes a cesspool for like-minded behavior.

    Who has that kind of time? Not this girl and if I did, I would certainly be spending it on more valuable and rewarding activities, like writing about you! If I had a sassy little emoticon, I’d insert it right here. Probably that cute little winking smiley face that says “just kidding y’all,” or am I?

    We are NASCAR fans ladies and to read that if you will “no longer buy” No. 14 swag or are setting your sights on another, more romantically available driver just because you hate who your driver has chosen as a mate is downright embarrassing to the rest of us!

    Just know that I’ll still be wearing my Smoke gear proudly and will delight in the satisfaction of knowing that his soft cottony touch be all over me and not you. Scandalous isn’t it? See you on the message boards! (Insert big toothy smiley grin emoticon here.)

  • Justin Allgaier Leads Nationwide Series Practice, Bobby Santos III Wrecks Hard

    Justin Allgaier Leads Nationwide Series Practice, Bobby Santos III Wrecks Hard

    Following last night’s practice, NASCAR decided on a tapered spacer/restrictor-plate combination designed to disrupt airflow to the carburetor after the speeds were at 200mph. The spacer openings go up to 1 1/16th inches with the openings in the plate, which is positioned beneath the spacer, at 61/64ths inches.

    However, during the first practice this morning, Trevor Bayne had a speed of 198.627mph, so NASCAR changed the restrictor plate to a smaller size.

    “NASCAR is in a hard position where they don’t know what to do with the plates with the speeds and the smooth track,” Tony Stewart commented. “NASCAR is doing a good job with it and I don’t think we’ll know what we got till qualifying on Saturday.”

    “We didn’t get to test at Daytona so now we’re finding out that NASCAR is not happy with the tapered spacer and restrictor plate,” Dale Earnhardt Jr. said. “So we’ve got to practice a lot as we’ve got to try different things with the gears.”

    The only incident during practice was when Bobby Santos III wrecked hard, causing practice to currently be delayed. Santos said the wreck happened as something broke in the steering.

    “I’m fine – just a little sore,” Santos said. “Walked away from the wreck; it could’ve been a lot worse than that.”

    Car Owner Jimmy Means said they were done as they had no cars left, though Earnhardt Jr. said that they’re going to donate Aric Almirola’s backup to Means to try to get Santos qualified in the race.

    That’s pretty neat,” Santos said. “It’d be an honor to have anything to with Dale so that’d be cool to do.”

    Once the cars got going again after they repaired the wall from Santos wreck, Justin Allgaier topped the charts at 194mph.

    “Yeah, it’s a lot of fun,” Allgaier said. “They changed the restrictor plate a little bit ago and it actually made it a lot easier.

    “Its all about going out there and staying center – staying center is the key. It’s actually harder to be the follower than the leader. As you’re the follower, you got to make sure you stay in their tire tracks and watch the RPMs. If you’re the leader, all you got to do is worry about staying connected.”

    Helping Allgaier get to the top of the chart was Jason Leftler.

    “Wow, the motor program is awesome,” Leftler said. “Got to thank all the people at Hendrick Motorsports as they got a lot of power. The cars are awesome. The cup guys are going to partner up, so Justin and I partnered up and worked together. There’s been a lot of changes at Turner Motorsports and hopefully they’re all for the good. Hopefully we’ll be at the front tomorrow with how fast and slick this car is, but if not, we’ll hook up with Justin and get up there.”

    Meanwhile, Stewart felt that NASCAR went too far with the change.

    “My personal opinion is that they went too much on the plate here,” Stewart said. “The air now has more power than the cars to. It’s really hard now to pass. I think if they leave it the same, we know what to do. I think they just went too far, but we’ve got some tricks in our bag.”

    Meanwhile, Danica Patrick focused on getting to even know the draft at all.

    “We got going with some people yesterday and I found that you need to make friends – you need to get some people to run with you,” Patrick said. “It seems as they slow you down more and more, they’re going to run a lot like the Cup cars – or at least Jr says that so I’m going to take it as truth.”

    While all the focus was on the drafting, defending champion Brad Keselowski was working on getting to know his new team.

    “It’s good to go into the off-sesason with momentum and we spent a lot of time trying to move that momentum over to the Cup side,” Keselowski said. “The cause-and-effect is that we’ve got a bunch of new guys on the Nationwide side so we’re just ready to get out there and see how things go.”

    Besides the plates, teams are also having issues with the new ethanol fuel system as they find that it is leaking fuel.

  • NOTES FROM THE NASCAR NATION: The tail gate parties start at Daytona

    NOTES FROM THE NASCAR NATION: The tail gate parties start at Daytona

    The NASCAR Camping World Truck Series will officially launch the first of 25 tail gate parties this Friday, February 18th at the Daytona International Speedway, with the running of the Next Era Energy Resources 250. It appears that NASCAR’s truck drivers are going to be in for a highly competitive season based on a mix of returning veterans, hopeful new comers and some new driver-team owner configurations.

    [media-credit name=”Barry Albert” align=”alignright” width=”300″][/media-credit]THE STORY BREAKDOWN

    One of those major changes in team configuration involves Germain Brothers Racing, the defending series champions. The Germain’s will be kicking off the 2011 racing season Friday night with four truck teams.

    First, and foremost, is their No. 30 Toyota Tundra driven by defending series champion Todd Bodine who has already served notice that he will be seeking his second consecutive, and third overall, title. Bodine will have a very busy Daytona weekend doing triple duty. He’s entered in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series, Nationwide Series and Sprint Cup Series races. Tire Kingdom will be the primary sponsor for all three events.

    After a 2010 season of part time runs in trucks and Sprint Cup, Max Papis will be running the full truck series schedule this year driving the No. 9 Germain Toyota with GEICO Insurance on the hood.

    New to Germain Racing this year will be their No. 77 Toyota with Justin Lofton behind the wheel who is considered by many to be one of the up and coming young talents with a very bright future. Lofton Cattle, the driver’s family owned business, will be the team’s primary sponsor.

    Making his return to the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series will be Brendan Gaughan. The eight time series race winner will be driving the Germain Brothers’ No. 62 Toyota Tundra. He’s also sponsored by a long time family owned business: the Las Vegas based South Point Hotel and Casino. Gaughan has a guaranteed start in the Daytona season opener, as well as the first five races of the season, due to his team recently acquiring the owner’s points from the No. 6 team operated last year by Rick Ware Racing.

    ***************

    There has also been some significant changes at  Kevin Harvick Inc (KHI) for the 2011 truck season. Former NASCAR Sprint Cup Series driver Elliott Sadler will be making his official debut Friday night as a new KHI full time driver. Sadler will be behind the wheel of the No. 2 One Main Financial Chevrolet at Daytona for the first of a series of truck racing appearances. Sadler will be driving a KHI Chevrolet full time in the Nationwide Series and, because of that arrangement, he is ineligible to collect championship points in the truck series. That’s due to the recent change in NASCAR policy that states a driver must choose only one series championship to compete for. However, Sadler’s appearances in the KHI truck can be used to help them win the coveted owner’s championship.

    Also new from KHI is their No. 8 Chevrolet that will be driven by Nelson Piquet Jr with sponsorship from Qualcom. The 25 year old Brazilian raised more than a few eyebrows with his NASCAR debut last season and will be a driver to watch this year.

    His truck will convey a special decal at Daytona commemorating the victims of last month’s devastating flooding in Rio De Janerio.

    Piquet also hopes to get a leg up on the series’ Rookie of the Year title with guaranteed starts in the first five races. KHI has transferred the owner’s points from their signature team, the No. 33 driven by Ron Hornaday Jr, to Piquet’s No. 8. Hornaday, a four time series champion, has past champion’s provisionals to fall back on in case he has trouble qualifying for a race. Needless to say, no one expects that to happen.

    **************

    One of the major team changes for the new season involves Randy Moss Motorsports. While International Truck and Monaco RV returns as the team sponsors, long time driver, and former series champion, Mike Skinner will not be there. He has been replaced by Travis Kvapil, another former series champion, who will have a very busy year racing the full time schedules in both the NASCAR Camping World Truck and Sprint Cup Series. This driver change was a move that surprised a lot of series observers.

    Speculation that said this change was coming began just prior to last Christmas and was officially announced during the final days of last month. That didn’t leave Skinner a lot of time to put a new ride together. But the good news here is the fact that Skinner was able to make an eleventh hour deal with Eddie Sharp Racing to drive a second team Toyota with Cushman Utility Vehicles on the hood. There is just enough sponsorship available for the team to participate at Daytona and the second event on the schedule at Phoenix. The hunt is on to see if they keep this arrangement on a full time basis.

    *****************

    Also a new configuration is the official debut of Vision Aviation Racing, the Las Vegas based team who recently merged with Billy Ballew Motorsports. Las Vegas drivers Justin Johnson and Dusty Davis will be the principals for the 2011 season except for Daytona. Feeling like their young drivers were not ready for the high banks of Daytona just yet, the team has placed Aric Almirola, who drove very well for Ballew last year, in their lead No. 51 truck with Vision Airlines as the primary sponsor.

    The second truck, the No. 15 Toyota, is considered to be a part time, development, ride for 2011 but it will be at Daytona with NASCAR veteran Michael Waltrip behind the wheel. Raceview Dot Com, Vision Airlines and the Wounded Warrior Project will be the sponsors.

    **************

    Up and coming driver Jason White will be bringing his Gunbroker Dot Com sponsorship to a new team this year owned by Joe Denette. This is the guy who won the Virginia State Lottery in 2009 and decided to invest some of his new found fortune into NASCAR team ownership.

    *************

    On the subject of up and coming drivers, Joey Coulter will be making his series debut at Daytona driving a second team Chevrolet for Richard Childress Racing. Coulter has a guaranteed start for the Daytona race. Childress recently acquired the 2010 owner’s points from Brent Raymer Racing and that places his new driver within the top 25 in those standings.

    Coulter has spent the last two seasons developing his skills in the ARCA Series where he scored his first series win last year. He will be having a very busy 2011. Coulter is also a full time mechanical engineering student at the University of North Carolina-Charlotte campus.

    *************

    What would a national NASCAR series be without Kyle Busch? The “Rowdy One” will be driving his self owned Toyota in 15 truck series events this year with all of the races fully sponsored. The remaining ten events will be driven by a returning Brian Ickler with some of the sponsorship program still pending. As a full time Sprint Cup driver, Busch has opted to compete for that series’ title and cannot win the truck title per NASCAR’s new title. But he’s definitely in the running to win his second, consecutive, truck series owner’s championship.

    **************

    THE RACE BREAKDOWN

    Friday’s Next Era Energy Resources 250 is 100 laps, 250 miles, around the Daytona International Speedway’s 2.5 mile tri oval.

    The race has a healthy 45 entries for the 36 truck starting field. 18 of those entries are on the go or go home list. That means these teams are outside of the top 25 in owner’s points and do not have a guaranteed start in the race. These teams will have to rely on qualifying speeds to make the race.

    The defending race champion is Timothy Peters.

    The Next Era Resources 250 will be broadcast live by the SPEED Channel with the pre race show beginning at 7 pm eastern time.

  • Dale Earnhardt Jr. Crashes At Daytona: Goes From Pole to Hole In Daytona 500

    Dale Earnhardt Jr. Crashes At Daytona: Goes From Pole to Hole In Daytona 500

    [media-credit id=22 align=”alignright” width=”225″][/media-credit]After waiting several hours for the weather to clear, Sprint Cup practice for the Gatorade Duels finally started. It took only a few moments before the new “love bug” drafting claimed its first victims.

    Coming off turn four, Dale Earnhardt Jr. was linked nose to tail with Jimmie Johnson. Just as Earnhardt Jr. started to move left, Martin Truex Jr. came hard into his right rear bumper and sent both cars spinning into the infield wall, just at the entrance to pit road.

    NASCAR started the day by issuing teams smaller sized restrictor plates, 57/64 diameters, along with mandated smaller radiator grill openings.
    These changes were implemented in an effort to slow the 200+ mph race speeds and reduce the two by two drafting to a minimum.
    Unexpected rain showers had dampened the speedway and delayed early morning practice for several hours.

    Once the track was cleared for practice, it didn’t take long for teams to start testing their new restrictor plates and resume their two-by-two drafting around the 2.5 mile super speedway.

    After just a few green flag laps, it was once again Earnhardt Jr. posting the fastest times with speeds in excess of 195 mph.

    Once he was tagged in the rear bumper, the car of Earnhardt Jr. went tail first into the inside retaining wall, bounced off and then collected the car of Martin Truex Jr. with the front bumper of the No. 88 Amp Energy Chevrolet.

    With his primary car all but destroyed, Jr’s Hendrick Motorsports crew immediately pulled out a back up car.

    Qualifying for the front row of Sunday’s Daytona 500 has already been completed, and, with Dale Jr. winning the pole position, this unfortunate series of events will have huge impacts on tomorrows first Gatorade Duel and Sunday’s Daytona 500.

    Earnhardt Jr. will be relegated to the rear of the field in both events.

    His efforts in the Gatorade Duel will have no impact on this situation. According to NASCAR rules, Earnhardt Jr. cannot improve his starting position unless some other unfortunate driver crashes, changes an engine or has to go to a back up car.


    No one has ever come from the last starting position to win the Daytona 500.

  • On Pit Road: NASCAR Tracks react to stop the bleeding

    On Pit Road: NASCAR Tracks react to stop the bleeding

    When the nations economy tanked in 2008, the ticket renewals for 2009 suddenly slumped. Track operators scrambled for a way to keep the fans coming back. Some did media blitzes touting lower concession prices (usually lowered by a few pennies) and their overstated special fan activities. Needless to say, all these new fan activities were coming at higher prices. Some tracks that in the past had demanded that season ticket holders pay in advance, sometimes nearly a year in advance for their tickets, suddenly began payment plans. These plans of course, did not involve any kind of price reductions.

    [media-credit name=”David Yeazell” align=”alignright” width=”300″][/media-credit]Although ticket sales did fall in 2009, it wasn’t enough for NASCAR or the track operators to take it all that seriously. When the 2010 season arrived it was obvious by the empty seats for the Daytona 500 that the lack of response was noticed by the fans. When the series moved on to California Speedway, it was all but impossible for the TV cameras to avoid showing the thousands of empty seats. In fairness of course, the left coast track has always had a dismal attendance record. If these facts didn’t get their attention, it was in March when the series headed to Bristol Motor Speedway, a track that held the record of 55 straight sellouts for NASCAR’s top series events. The cameras panned and attempted to miss the empty seats, but it was a lost cause. The fans at home could clearly see the empty seats on the front stretch. Despite NASCAR and BMS claiming that the sellout only missed by about 22,000 seats, it was evident that the number was much higher, estimated to be 45,000 empty seats.

    I did a story that week http://www.onpitroad.com/2010/03/bristol-sellout-is-no-more.html about the wake up call evolving from that race, and how BMS had made attempts to stop the bleeding. In addition to the failure of the tracks to address the situation, I made an observation that the surrounding service industry refused to make any concessions on their part. BMS has begun taking steps to address that and I will cover that in a later column.

    Ten years ago NASCAR was experiencing a robust economy, it was the fastest growing fan sport in America. Ticket sales were so brisk that many of the established tracks were quickly gearing up to add more seats. The TV networks were battling each other over the right to broadcast races. NASCAR and the largest track owners, International Speedway Corporation (ISC) and Speedway Motorsports Inc. (SMI) were recording record profits. They had a product so popular folks were begging them to take their money.

    Two new tracks were opened in 2001 by ISC, Chicagoland Speedway and Kansas Speedway. Not to abandon the thoughts of increased profits both tracks prohibited fans from bringing coolers into the grandstand. There was a specific prohibition against bringing any food or beverages into the grandstands. This ensured the increased sales of highly overpriced food and beverages and a guarantee to maximum profits.

    The older tracks allowed the long tradition of fans being able to bring coolers into the stands and the fear that race fan protest could effect ticket sales kept those policies in place. When the Twin Towers were attacked on September 11, 2001 the whole nation reeled in shock and horror that such an attack could have happened. NASCAR quickly cancelled the race scheduled for that weekend as the government had grounded air traffic in a knee jerk reaction. That pause gave NASCAR and the track owners time to consider a more permanent response. They responded by using the fear instilled in Americans to finally take a swipe at those dreaded coolers. “In the interest of security” the tracks had developed a new marketing plan. Knowing that the fans would protest outright bans on coolers, the plan was to downsize the coolers allowed. From a 14”x14”x14” cooler allowed at most tracks, the new 6”x6”x 12” cooler rule was implemented. This size of course was not an industry standard size, but lucky for the fans, each track would have just such coolers available for sale. The new rule did draw some protest, but ISC quickly waved the American flag and proclaimed the Patriotic nature of the change.

    As the policy continued over the years, most tracks continued the upward spiral of ticket and concession prices, showing no mercy on the fans. However at Kansas Speedway the expected sellouts did not occur and as ticket sales continued to lag it forced the track in 2006 to join most of the other tracks with the 6x6x12 cooler policy. Of course at Chicagoland Speedway the ban continued, although they did allow fans to bring ONE factory sealed plastic bottle of water in with them.

    Back to 2011, the wake up call has finally arrived at ISC headquarters and some new changes are coming in 2011. The NORMAL size coolers are back! Yep, you read that correctly. The NEW Daytona international Speedway gate admission policy now allows the old familiar 14”x14”x14” soft sided coolers. In addition, the 18” clear plastic bag rule has made way to allow one school sized backpack. That’s a pretty good start, but I wonder if it has come too late.

    OK, that takes care of Daytona, let’s see what’s happening at the other ISC tracks:

    Phoenix International Raceway – Larger cooler, still 18×18 plastic bag
    California Speedway- Small coolers, backpacks
    Martinsville Speedway- Large cooler, backpack
    Talladega Superspeedway- Large cooler-backpack
    Richmond International Raceway – Large cooler, backpack
    Darlington Raceway – Large cooler, 18×18 bags
    Kansas Speedway – Larger cooler, backpack
    Michigan International Speedway – Large cooler, backpack
    Watkins Glen International – Large cooler, backpack
    Chicagoland Speedway – Small cooler, no backpack
    Homestead-Miami Speedway – Large cooler, backpack

  • NASCAR 2011 Predictions

    NASCAR 2011 Predictions

    *In response to NASCAR’s requirement that drivers can only compete for the title in a single series, Jimmie Johnson quickly proclaims his intentions for the Sprint Cup championship. In a related development, Sam Hornish, Jr. declares that although he will be racing, he won’t be competing for titles in any series.

    *Jeff Gordon slips past Clint Bowyer on the final turn to win at Phoenix on February 27th, snapping his 65-race losing streak. Riding a wave of momentum not felt in nearly three years, a jubilant Gordon vows to “finish what he started,” and does exactly that, finishing 34th the following week at Las Vegas, ending his one-race winning streak.

    *Dale Earnhardt, Jr. wins the Daytona 500 by .33 seconds over the No. 33 car of Clint Bowyer, leading 33 laps.   

     *NASCAR’s new points system, which logically awards 43 points to the race winner down to one point for 43rd place, is a big hit, particularly among math-challenged racing fans. However, midway through the season, NASCAR’s dimwitted CEO Brian France inexplicably orders a return to the old format, deeming the month of July “Throwback Month” in NASCAR. Then, just as suddenly, he demands a change back to the 43-point system. Subsequently, Brad Daugherty creates a firestorm when, on Showtime’s “Inside NASCAR” program, he says that the points system “has seen more ‘tweaking’ than the Mayfield family.”

     *Tony Stewart is involved in his second altercation with an Australian in less than three months when he slugs a kangaroo at a roadside petting zoo in rural Tennessee. Stewart is charged with assault and is ordered to undergo counseling under the conditions of a plea deal. As an extra measure of good will towards Australians, Stewart finances a new racing team, called Gibb Racing, and presents it to the Bee Gees. In addition, at Stewart’s Prelude To A Dream charity race at Eldora Speedway, Stewart has participants draw qualifying numbers from the pouch of his new pet wallaby, “Mojo-ey.”

     *After a solid 13th-place finish in the Daytona 500, Kevin Conway’s Nemco Motorsports No. 97 ExtenZe Toyota fails a post-race inspection due to a rear spoiler that measures 3/16 of an inch too high. The No. 97 team proclaims innocence, and cunningly claims that the increase in length must be due to ExtenZe sponsorship. This leads to a huge marketing push for the brand in ads featuring the catchy slogan, “ExtenZe: For Those Times When You (Or She) Can’t Take It No Longer.”

     *After Jimmie Johnson opens up a sizable lead four races into the season after a controversial win at Bristol on April 3rd, a radical group of conspiracy theorists coin Johnson’s quest for six straight Sprint Cup titles as “The Fix For Six.” However, an injunction filed by twice-dead Motley Crue bassist Nikki Sixx, who had previously copyrighted “The Fix For Sixx” as the title of the sequel to his 2007 autobiography The Heroin Diaries, puts an end to the use of the title.

     The conspiracy theories live on, to such a degree that Jesse Ventura is seen lurking around the Lowe’s hauler at Daytona in July.   

     *Kurt Busch, in the No. 22 car sporting the Shell/Pennzoil paint scheme made famous by Kevin Harvick, revels in his newfound ability to “get under Harvick’s skin.” Busch and Harvick tangle at Bristol on March 20th as Busch sends Harvick’s No. 29 Budweiser car spinning. Harvick exacts revenge later, jumping Busch in the garage area, where he backhands the Penske driver, who falls and bumps his head on his car. Busch loses all memory of his time in the Miller Lite car, and Harvick boasts of his ability to slap the “tastes great” out of Busch’s mouth.  

     *Denny Hamlin sweeps the 2011 season’s two Martinsville races, outdueling Jimmie Johnson on both occasions. After winning the Tums Fast Relief 500 in October, Hamlin takes the Chase lead by a 21-point margin. Crew chief Mike Ford unwisely questions the ability of the No. 48 team, and all but guarantees Hamlin will end Johnson’s five-year reign.

     Later, at the NASCAR awards banquet in December at the Wynn Las Vegas, Johnson is feted as champion, while Ford amazes those in attendance, including magician Criss Angel and illusionists Penn and Teller, by eating crow with a foot in his mouth.

     *After a sparse crowd of 45,000 attends March 27th’s Auto Club 400 in Fontana, heated arguments ensue, not only among those debating whether or not California should remain on the Sprint Cup schedule, but also between pessimists and optimists, who can’t decide if the stands were half-empty or half-full.

     *Pop diva Christina Aguilera returns to Texas after botching the national anthem at February’s Super Bowl in Dallas, this time to perform the song before the Samsung Mobil 500 on April 9th in Fort Worth. Bolstered by a throng of over 90,000 appreciative fans, all holding placards that, when raised, spell out the words to the “Star Spangled Banner,” Aguilera nails the lyrics. Aguilera then jams with Texas icons ZZ Top on “Got Me Under Pressure” during an after-race concert, where she fails to see the irony of the song.

     Kasey Kahne wins the race, giving Red Bull Racing its first and only win of the year.   

     *After Carl Edwards and Brad Keselowski crash at Kansas on June 5th in the Kansas Speedway 400, tensions flare in the garage area as Edwards stalks his nemesis, while Keselowski angrily does the same. The two finally meet near the NASCAR hauler, where the two rivals feverishly engage, surprisingly in a passionate embrace, as both later cite the need to “keep their friends close, and their enemies closer.”

     Keselowski’s father, Bob, is moved to tears, of disgust, and disowns his son.

     *Matt Kenseth takes a stroll through the Talladega infield on April 16th, the day before the Aaron’s 499, and goes unnoticed. He then takes the same walk wearing his drivers suit, yet still goes unrecognized. He finally experiences a moderate level of acknowledgement when he dons a Dale Earnhart, Jr. baseball cap, and is mobbed by adoring fans, of Earnhardt’s.

     In Sunday’s race, Kenseth survives three big crashes that take out a total of 21 cars, including the rest of the Roush Fenway stable, and holds on for the win after two attempts at a green-white-checkered finish.

     *Danica Patrick wins the Nationwide NAPA Auto Parts 200 at Circuit Gilles Villeneuve when leader Marcos Ambrose stalls his car on lap 73 under caution, causing a 13 car pileup behind him. Patrick, running 14th, takes the checkered flag under caution.

     A wild celebration in Victory Lane ensues, as the No. 7 GoDaddy.com team pops the tops on a case of champagne, dousing Patrick, who then invites viewers to log on to GoDaddy.com, where, for a nominal fee of $9.95, they can view the unrated remainder of the celebration, as well as receive a four-pack of ShamWows and a t-shirt that reads “Sucker” across the front.    

     *Jimmie Johnson heads into the 2011 season finale at Homestead with a 19-point lead over Kevin Harvick, and secures his sixth consecutive Sprint Cup championship with a fourth-place finish. Johnson, only one title shy of the 7 achieved by Richard Petty and Dale Earnhardt, sports a t-shirt that reads “I Am Legend.” Meanwhile, Hendrick teammate Jeff Gordon, finding his legacy of 4 Cups diminishing with every Johnson triumph, dons a similar t-shirt, with a design that asks “Am I Legend?”

    *A rejuvenated Kyle Busch, buoyed by a new, calmer demeanor resulting from a Far Eastern-flavored regimen of hypnosis and acupuncture, adopts the nickname “Rowdy Doody,” and enjoys the support of a new, appreciative fan base, dubbed the “M&M Peanut Gallery.”

    *Busch wins 7 races and heads into the Chase with the top seed, but falters at New Hampshire after winning the previous week at Chicago. Busch prematurely declares his Cup hopes dashed, then whines incessantly about his bad luck, leading to an ESPN.com headline of “Over And (P)out.”

    *After a broken drive shaft on lap 153 knocks Mark Martin out of the race at Dover on May 15th, Martin takes to Twitter via his mobile phone to report the situation. Martin draws comparisons to Brett Favre after texting a photo of the damaged equipment, a picture he unfortunately tags with the caption, “Take a good look at my shaft.”

     Martin misses the Chase and finishes 18th in the standings, then announces his retirement in an echo chamber. 

     *Clint Bowyer wins the One Last Race To Make The Chase 400 at Richmond on September 10, and thanks his teammates, and Dr. Seuss, for making the win possible. Bowyer earns the sixth seed in the Chase For The Cup. The Chase field is set as follows (in order): Kyle Busch, Denny Hamlin, Kevin Harvick, Jimmie Johnson, Carl Edwards, Bowyer, Matt Kenseth, Greg Biffle, Jeff Gordon, Kurt Busch, Joey Logano, and Juan Montoya.

     *Chicago Bears head coach Lovie Smith gets the 2011 Chase For The Cup underway, waving the green flag at Chicagoland Speedway on September 18th under threatening skies. With Kyle Busch leading after 200 laps, the skies open up, and thunderstorms drench the track. Fittingly, Bears quarterback Jay Cutler mans the red flag, signaling the field that the race is over at the halfway point.

  • J.R. Fitzpatrick To Run For Baker Curb Racing in Nationwide Series at Daytona

    J.R. Fitzpatrick To Run For Baker Curb Racing in Nationwide Series at Daytona

    J.R. Fitzpatrick announced that he’d begin his 2011 season with the Saturday’s DRIVE4COPD 300 at Daytona, which is the opening race for the NASCAR Nationwide Series season.

    [media-credit name=” JRFitzpatrick” align=”alignright” width=”141″][/media-credit]The 22-year-old, Cambridge, Ontario native will race the No. 27 Shick Hydro/Energizer Ford Mustang for Baker Curb Racing. This marks a continued partnership with Fitzpatrick and Shick Hydro as they sponsored him during the 2010 NASCAR Canadian Tire Series season and the three Nationwide Series races he ran last year for JR Motorsports. Though this marks the first time that Fitzpatrick has come together with Energizer Canada Inc.

    “I can’t think of a better race to start the new season with,” Fitzpatrick commented in a press release.  “Daytona boasts an atmosphere like no other and to be in a race with the opportunity to compete against guys like Dale Earnhardt Jr and Tony Stewart is fantastic.  I’ve raced at Daytona before, a couple of years ago in the Truck Series, and ran well leading the most laps in that event before taking fourth.”

    “I’m sure that experience and knowledge will help combined with my time in the NASCAR Nationwide Series last season.  This is definitely where I want to be competing on a regular basis so I’m looking to make a strong start to the year on Saturday.  I’m obviously grateful to Schick Canada and Energizer Canada for their support this week and I look forward to flying the maple leaf flag for Canadian fans!”

    Fitzpatrick finished fourth a couple years ago when he ran the truck series opener at Daytona for Kevin Harvick Incorporated, and last year finished in the top 10 at both Montreal and Road Atlanta in the Nationwide Series.

    “We’re really looking forward to teaming up with J.R.,” commented Baker Curb Racing’s Team President, Matt Crews.  “I’ve had the opportunity to spend some time with him this off season and get to know him.  His attitude and dedication to his sport is certainly very impressive and his potential is limitless!”

    This past year, Fitzpatrick took on running the entire NASCAR Canadian Tire Series schedule, with his goals set on winning the championship. He was in the thick of the battle all year long, though after a bad finish at Circuit Gilles Villeneuve and a broken clutch at Riverside Speedway, he ended up second, 40 points behind champion D.J. Kennington.

    “It’s good,” Fitzpatrick told me. “I took all of last year off as I was racing stuff in the States. But after taking a year off, the series has definitely grown quite a bit. It does need more cars but competitive wise, it is doing very well. To finish second in the championship after taking a year off, I am pretty pleased about that.”

    Fitzpatrick got started in the series when it was named CASCAR and became the youngest champion at the age of 18 in 2006.

    The following year, NASCAR took over rights to the series and it has been debated as to whether that was a positive move or not for the series. Fitzpatrick said he’s seen the influence, though thinks it’ll still take time.

    “It’s helped in a way,” he said. “But I think it’s going to take some time to get some more people in the series because it does cost a lot to run that deal. The series is slowly going and it’s going to take a few years for it to grow to its full potential.”

    On top of running the Canadian Tire Series and the Nationwide Series when time allows, Fitzpatrick hits the local tracks and races at the grass roots level where it started.

    “I support it 100 percent anyway I can,” he said of grass roots racing. “At the end of the day, that’s where we all started and guys that don’t feel like coming back, I don’t get it. I wish I had a late model as that’s where I started but super stocks are a lot of fun.”

    For this year, he put a Super Stock race car together with some friends.

    “Its fun,” he said of running the car. “It’s definitely a different kind of car for me. Me and my friend built this car and it’s been working fairly well. We’re starting ninth out of 45 cars so we’re pretty happy about that.”

    Fitzpatrick had a successful year with that as he got his first feature  Super Stock win at Flamboro Speedway during FrostFest.

    Fitzpatrick got started in racing at the age of six running a Jr. Late Model.

    “I got started through Jr. Late Models when I was six years old at Sauble Beach,” he said. “Then I moved on to Delaware (Speedway) and when I was 13 years old, I got a late model and then from there, I just stayed in heavy stock cars.”

    Fitzpatrick then moved up to the CASCAR Super Series, where he finished second in the Rookie of the Year standings in 2004 at the age of 16.

    At the age of 17, he scored his first win and got three top-fives and five top-10 finishes.

    Then in 2006, he became the youngest Canadian Tire Series National Champion with a win, five podium finishes and two pole awards at the age of 18.

    Over the next three years in the Canadian Tire Series, Fitzpatrick would earn a total of four wins, 10 top-fives, 14 top-10s and five pole awards.

    Fitzpatrick made his first in the NASCAR Busch Series (now Nationwide Series) at the Telcel-Motorola Mexico 200 at the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez in Mexico City, where he finished 33rd due to an ill-handling car.

    Fitzpatrick’s last race at Daytona was when he made his first start in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series in 2009 where he finished fourth, driving the No. 7 Mammoet Chevrolet Silverado at Daytona International Speedway for TRG Motorsports.

    Fitzpatrick will be on-track on Wednesday and Thursday of this week with four NASCAR Nationwide Series practice sessions scheduled before Friday hosts qualifying at 4:10pm EST.  The ‘DRIVE4COPD 300’ starts on Saturday 19th February at 1:15pm EST.  Race fans in Canada can watch the ‘DRIVE4COPD 300’ live on TSN2 with broadcast coverage starting at Noon EST on Saturday.

  • Daytona: Changes, Domination, and a New Star

    Daytona: Changes, Domination, and a New Star

    As the NASCAR Sprint Cup season begins, there has been change after change. The new surface of Daytona International Speedway has given the teams a smoother track with more grip than ever before. It also created the new popular custom of pairing up with another car to gain speed. In practice, the two-car drafts achieved speed in excess of 200 mph, and in the Bud Shootout exhibition race, speeds were recorded as high at 207 mph. You just knew something had to be changed before the Daytona 500.

    [media-credit name=”David Yeazell” align=”alignright” width=”225″][/media-credit]Sunday evening, NASCAR introduced what they called two technical changes. Frontal openings that cool the engine were reduced in size and the pressure release valve on the water system is to be set at 33 pounds per square inch. The intent is to make it impossible for cars to stay in prolonged, close drafting. Thus, the high speeds seen in the two-car drafting will be lowered.

    Many fans found the racing in the Budweiser Shootout to be exciting, but it had its drawbacks. It made it nearly impossible for one car to pull out and slingshot past even its drafting partner and it created the necessity for a “dancing partner” to be competitive. That has always been the case, but the practice favored multi-car teams and made the field less competitive from first to last place. Regardless of the praise from the media covering the race, it was less than what people expect from the Daytona experience. Practice and the Gatorade Duels will be the first indication of whether or not the rules change will accomplish what NASCAR is trying to do…

    ***

    I’ve been watching this whole Dale Earnhardt love fest signifying the 10th anniversary of his death at the speedway, and I have to admit I’m a bit perplexed. There is no doubt that Earnhardt was special and I loved to watch him race, but it seems that concentrating on his death a decade later is a little much. I found it interesting that his son is finding it hard to deal with now. On an ESPN interview shown today, he admits that he doesn’t dwell on that sad Sunday in 2001, and that he was sure that his father would have a problem with it. It’s almost like NASCAR, in hard times, is reaching for anything that will create interest in today’s less than attractive product. If you have to use a tragic event to do it, well, why not?

    It was also announced that there will be a “silent lap,” which will be Lap 3 and have asked fans to hold up three fingers during that lap. That’s almost the same scenario we saw ten years ago. Judging by the number of Earnhardt flags and stickers on campers at the tracks today, it will be a popular thing to do, but it cannot take away from what we saw today in qualifying—complete domination from one organization and once manufacturer. If NASCAR wants to boost interest, that’s where to start, but I realize that they can’t do anything about a team being better than everyone else. It’s up to the other teams to catch up.

    ***

    The most pleasant surprise of qualifying today was the performance of Trevor Bayne in the Wood Brothers Ford. Bayne flirted with the pole on his run and initially wound up third before he was bumped back to fourth at the end of the day. Some forget that Bayne is a 19-year old rookie and the Woods have been struggling the last few years. Who knows how he’ll race, but if his performance at Texas last season is any indication, he’s going to only get better. It’s good to see a team that has the longevity of the Wood family perform like this. It’s enough to make me forget that Hendrick and RCR Chevrolets have dominated Speedweeks so far, and anyone in a Toyota is out to lunch in speed.

    ***

    Another driver to watch in the Gatorade Duels is Chevrolet driver Bill Elliott in the No. 09 Phoenix Racing entry. Although he only qualified 17th, he has Hendrick power under the hood and engineering help from the front row owner. Match that with Elliott’s experience at this track, and Awesome Bill might have a really good day. That would be special for everyone.

  • Delana Harvick: Gaining Respect, One Win at a Time

    Delana Harvick: Gaining Respect, One Win at a Time

    On Valentine’s Day, everybody thinks about the one that they love. NASCAR drivers are no different as most of them have that significant other that means a lot to them. Each week, us fans see them holding hands together on pit road before a race, sharing a moment before the driver goes to battle. However, there are some wives that find themselves in the spotlight more than others – such as Delana Harvick.

    [media-credit name=”SM.com” align=”alignright” width=”226″][/media-credit]While most wives can be seen at the track looking fancy, dressed up, she shows up for ready for the day of racing. Wearing a firesuit that looks her husband’s, she can be seen on racedays taking down Kevin’s lap times on Sundays. She has mentioned on many occasions that she wears the firesuit for safety reasons as you never know what can happen on pit road.

    On Saturdays, she can be seen running around, helping with keeping all things to do with Kevin Harvick Incorporated (KHI) in line at he track.

    She has found her way to the spotlight moreso than most wives through partly owning Kevin Harvick Incorporated and running daily operations, though also found herself in the middle of a feud last year.

    At Pocono after Kevin Harvick spun Joey Logano and they had a scuffle on pit road, Logano released a quote that became the quote of the season in many people’s eyes.

    “It’s probably not (Harvick’s fault),” Logano said. “His wife wears the firesuit in the family, tells him what to do, so it’s probably not his fault.”

    Delana Harvick turned the quote on its tails as she raised money for the Kevin Harvick Foundation by selling t-shirts for $15 each that said, “I wear the t-shirt in the family.”

    Delana Harvick knew racing way before her and Kevin got together as her father, John Paul Linville, was a driver in the Nationwide Series until 1995 and she’d be seen with him at the track. She used this time to learn more about the sport and in 1997, became a public relations representative for two-time Nationwide Series champion Randy LaJoie, among others. During that time, she met Kevin Harvick and they married on February 28th, 2001.

    “Kevin and I are not only husband and wife, but we’re best friends and we’re business partners,” Delana is quoted on Answer This… “I look back at some of my boyfriends and I think ‘what would have happened if, what if?’ I don’t think I could have been as truly happy professionally and personally as I am. I think you’re just destined to meet that person and for me that was Kevin.”

    The show NASCAR 360 in 2004 showed that type of love that they share between each other and how close it is. They are also known as a pair of pranksters, who are always trying to prank each other. On top of that, they are also business partners.

    “He and I balance each other,” she says. “The racer in him says if something new comes available you’ve got to have it. But I’m the most frugal person you’ll meet. It’s like being married. What we do wouldn’t work for everybody. We’re together 24 hours a day, seven days a week. When people say you can’t bring work home with you, that’s never going to happen for us.”

    With her professional background knowledge of racing and Kevin’s knowledge of the racing side, she helped Kevin build Kevin Harvick Incorporated and grow it to what it is today. 

    “There’s no handbook on how to run your own race team,” she told the USA Today on the owning experience in late 2010. “It’s somewhat trial by fire. I think we’ve done a good job with it. We’ve definitely made mistakes. The good thing about the Nationwide and truck series is those mistakes aren’t multimillion-dollar mistakes. And we knew we were going to make mistakes. But we were willing to learn and take it slow. That’s the one thing I’m really proud of is that we didn’t try to burst on the scene and do all these things. We were really methodical about how we built KHI.”

    Some of the mistakes she admits to making are how to correctly manage people.

    “Learning the business side of the sport and trying to manage a sponsor’s needs,” she said. “Because if they’re not happy, it’s not enough to put the decal on their car. If they’re not happy overall, they’re not going to stay with you. Early on, we had some sponsors come in, and I don’t think we did the best job in helping them figure out that motor sports was a good fit for them. But I’m actually proud that a lot of the sponsors we’ve had for a couple of years stayed with us. I think we’ve learned how to be really serviceable when it comes to that side of the business. That doesn’t come with a manual. That comes with learning and making mistakes.”

    Since it’s humble beginnings in 2001, they have built it to be one of the top organizations in both the Camping World Truck Series and Nationwide Series. They have won two truck series championships with Ron Hornaday and over 30 wins between the two divisions.

    This year marks another key year for KHI as they have Elliott Sadler lined up to drive their Nationwide Series car all year, along with Hornaday and new driver Nelson Piquet Jr. in the Camping World Truck Series. Add in some one-off races that they have planned for  Tony Stewart, Harvick, and Austin Dillon, this year could easily equal to be a multi-championship, multi-win season. Is the Sprint Cup Series coming in the future though?

    “People ultimately think Cup racing is in our future,” she said. “We’ll never say never. It could be. I think we’ve really laid the foundation. I think we could do it. It would have to be right time, right place, right sponsor. Ultimately we don’t have to be Sprint Cup team owners to be successful in the sport. Ultimately that’s probably to our benefit. That may not always get us in trouble. People come in and automatically think we’ve got to be in the Sprint Cup Series. We don’t. We want to be successful in what we do and contribute to the sport.

    “If the time comes that we can do that in the Sprint Cup Series, we’ll look at it. The only thing we’ve ever wanted from KHI is to be able to sustain itself. I think anybody that goes into business for themselves and thinks they won’t have to invest a lot of their own money is probably kidding themselves. KHI can sustain itself at this point. I’m proud we’ve gotten to that point. For us, it’s not something we look at to generate income. It’d be great if it did. But we’re happy just being involved and being a part of it.”

    With the success of KHI, Delana Harvick has gained a lot of respect in the garage that has many followers of NASCAR respecting her for what she’s been able to accomplish.