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Chase Elliott Steps Forward While Bill Elliott Claims Last Good Chance

The father and son combination of Bill and Chase Elliott are at a crossroads in both of their careers. For young Chase Elliott, fresh off his recent win at Speedfest 2011, the sky is the limit as he steps forward in his career.

[media-credit name=”Brad Keppel” align=”alignright” width=”225″][/media-credit]Yet his father Bill, who will drive for James Finch’s Phoenix Racing in 2011, is most likely taking advantage of the last great ride of his career.

“This may well be my last really good chance as a driver,” Bill Elliott, age 55, said. “I’m going to give it my best shot. I feel like I’m still in good shape, and I thought we ran pretty good last year.”

Elliott will run the No. 09 car for Phoenix Racing in at least 18 NASCAR Sprint Cup races in the 2011 season. The No. 09 has special meaning to Elliott and his family, the car number having been driven by his late father George Elliott, as well as being his own car number, the 9, in 1975.

Along with the other NASCAR greats, Elliott will start his season by competing in the 53rd running of the Daytona 500. The veteran ‘Awesome Bill from Dawsonville’ is no stranger to the Daytona International Speedway.

Elliott first raced at DIS on July 4th, 1976 in the Firecracker 400. He finished that race in the 19th position in his No. 10 Ford.

Elliott will, however, be changing manufacturers for his 2011 Daytona 500 bid. For the first time in many years in his career, Elliott will be racing in a Chevrolet.

“It’s big for us and big for Chevrolet to get Bill Elliott,” James Finch, Elliott’s new team owner, said. “It’s the first time in his career that he’s committed to race a Chevrolet.”

Finch also expressed confidence that Elliott, who has previously driven primarily Fords and Dodges, would be able to get the job done in a Chevrolet. He cited Elliott’s 44 Cup wins, 55 poles, as well as his 1988 championship, as reasons for his confidence.

“With the right equipment, he’s ready,” Finch said of Elliott. “He was just a couple of hundredths of a second off the pole at Homestead last year.”

Elliott will be teaming with crew chief Nick Harrison in his new Phoenix Racing ride. The team plans to get their horsepower from Hendrick Motorsports.

“I think this will be a really good deal,” Elliott said. “James has really good race cars, and there’s no doubt about the Hendrick equipment. After all, look at all the championships they’ve won.”

While father Bill Elliott looks at starting the 2011 season staking claim to what will probably be the last chance for glory in his career, his son Chase has already gotten his young career off to an amazing start in the New Year.

Chase Elliott swept the two Late Model features in Speedfest 2011 at Lanier National Speedway in Braselton, Georgia. Elliott beat many of the nation’s best short track racers, in addition to Cup racer David Ragan.

Elliott, driving the No. 9 Aaron’s Dream Machine, started third in the first race for the Pro Late Models. He quickly moved forward and took the lead, which he held until the 100 lap break.

After the break, the young driver fell back to the third position. But he was quickly on the move again, battling David Ragan for the lead and the eventual win.

Elliott then moved on to the Super Late Model race, the main attraction of Speedfest 2011. In this race, he started eighth, but again moved forward quickly.

After two green-white-checkered finish attempts, Elliott finally prevailed. Favoring the outside line, Elliott finally took the checkered flag to win his second race of the day.

“My team is absolutely the best,” Elliott said. “I wouldn’t trade Ricky (Turner), my crew chief for anyone out there. We had some great drivers that I raced with today, and they definitely made me work hard to get here.”

While Bill Elliott will start his 2011 season by competing in one of the sport’s biggest races, the Daytona 500, his son Chase will next race on March 6th at the South Alabama Speedway. Young Chase will compete in “The Rattler”, the second event in the 2011 CRA Southern Six Pak Tour.

February 7, 2011
Daytona’s Magical Aura: Jamie McMurray’s 2010 Daytona 500

Daytona has always had this magical aura with stories surrounding the Daytona 500 that everybody loves to tell over and over. As we near closer to the Daytona 500, here is a look back through some of the highlighted moments in Daytona 500 history.

[media-credit name=”Brad Keppel” align=”alignright” width=”212″][/media-credit]When it got near the end of the 2009 season, there was a lot in question with many drivers and teams.

Jamie McMurray had been let go from Roush-Fenway Racing as the odd man out when Roush has to downsize his team, looking for a new ride.

Earnhardt-Ganassi had just lost Martin Truex Jr. to Michael Waltrip Racing and was now looking for a driver to go with sponsor Bass Pro Shops. Earnhardt-Ganassi Racing found themselves also in question with the status of the team after the merger between Chip Ganassi Racing and Dale Earnhardt Incorporated.

Both needed somebody and needed to turn their ship back upstream so they went to each other – Chip Ganassi called on Jamie McMurray to drive for the No. 1 car for him.

They had worked together as McMurray began his Sprint Cup career at with Ganassi in 2002. It was announced at Richmond that he’d drive the No. 42 Dodge for the 2003 season full-time, although after Sterling Marlin was injured at Kansas, those plans were accelerated. McMurray began driving the car at Talladega in 2002. They had success quickly together then as in his second-ever start, he led 96 of the final 100 laps to win the UAW-GM Quality 500. The following seasons produced positive final standings finishes as he finished 13th, 11th and 12th in points, despite zero wins. During this time, he accumulated 18 top fives and 46 top 10 finishes.

At the end of the 2005 season, McMurray left Chip Ganassi Racing to drive the No. 26 Roush-Fenway Ford, hoping for bigger results. Though in return, the point finishes weren’t there: He finished 25th 17th, 16th and 22nd over the next four years with a total of 11 top fives and 42 top 10s. He did manage to win two races (2007 Coke Zero 400 and 2009 Amp Energy 500), but for the most part, the expected success wasn’t there.

As a result, the 2010 Daytona 500 became the perfect story for both McMurray and Ganassi as it began the start of the second partnership. The race couldn’t had gone any better as McMurray took the lead with a pass by Kevin Harvick on the second green-white-checkered after a big push from ex-teammate Greg Biffle. McMurray never looked back as he took the win over Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Greg Biffle.

When it came to McMurray’s victory celebration, he let all the emotions out that he had gone through during this time as fans saw him fall to his knees in tears on the Daytona logo, followed by more tears in victory lane.

“Unbelievable,” McMurray said in victory lane in tears. “Unbelievable. I told my wife today, she was like if you win tonight….oh I am going to cry…it is so unreal. I thought if I made it without seeing my Dad or my wife, I’d be ok. It is unbelievable really. I can’t explain it. It is a dream. I mean it really it is.

“Where I was last year…and for Johnny Morris (Bass Pro Shops) and Chip (Ganassi) and Felix (Sabates), Bass Pro Shops to take a chance on me and let me come back, it means a lot to me. What a way to pay them back. Happy Valentines Day to my wife. My Dad is here, it is just very emotional.

“After we won Talladega, we went to McDonald’s. I think tonight we will have a Big Mac.”

McMurray said earlier in the weekend that he was glad that he kept a good relationship with Ganassi and Sabates since he was able to get this chance again.

With the Daytona 500 victory, he certainly proved he was worthy of a second chance and that their second time together could equal to lots of success.

McMurray’s dream season this past didn’t just end with the Daytona 500 as he won the second biggest race of the year—the Brickyard 400, which gave Chip Ganassi the Indy sweep as Dario Franchitti won the Indy 500 earlier in the year.

“I think it’s just a situation where you got to get the guys in the right position with the right crew chief and the right team and the right owner,” McMurray said following the Brickyard win. “I’ll tell you something that [team owner] Chip [Ganassi] said to me right before I got in the car. He said, ‘Let’s go out and do this thing.’ I said, ‘I’ll give you everything I got.’ He said, ‘I know, that’s why I hired you. I believe in you. You go out and do your best, that will be enough.’

“I think every driver is different, but for me that’s what drives me, is having somebody behind you. I think it’s been really good for both Chip and I to experience all of this together because we were together when things weren’t great and we kind of built this together along with the 1 team to where it is.”

McMurray then finished NASCAR’s version of the triple crown by winning in NASCAR Central, winning the Bank of America 500 at Charlotte Motor Speedway.

“I also want to take the time to explain something: as the laps were winding down, I was thinking about Daytona and crying in victory lane,” McMurray said in victory lane at Charlotte. “I don’t think I ever really got to explain that, and why I cried, and what was going on there. As those laps were winding down I was thinking about Daytona and why I cry and the power of prayer. I had a tough year last year. I found out the power of prayer and what that can do for you.

“When you get to victory lane, and you get to experience this, it just makes you a believer. I talked to Chip earlier today, and we were discussing sponsorship and where this organization was a year ago, and how far we’ve come.

“To be in victory lane four times this year, and to have both cars (teammate Juan Pablo Montoya) run as well as they do, and to have the support we do from Target and all these sponsors now, it’s incredible. And I just feel very blessed to be a part of it.”

As a whole, McMurray had one of the best seasons that any driver could have. One of the downsides is yes, he did miss the Chase, however, it still was a great year, considering how lost things were at the beginning.

“We’ve had a really good season,” McMurray said in the media center following his Charlotte win. “Our successes have been in some really big races, and it’s really been a gratifying year. You just drive your heart out. If you’ve got the car, you can make those passes, and we had the better car at the end.”

In the end, he finished the year off 14th in points with three wins, nine top fives and 12 top 10s.

McMurray’s season allowed Ganassi to establish himself as a valid NASCAR owner by winning two of the biggest races in the sport. Ganassi also completed what he calls the “Ganassi Slam” as his team won the Rolex 24 Hours of Daytona, giving him four of the biggest wins at the two of the biggest tracks in a 12-month span.

This story proves that anything is possible and when times get tough, there are ways to get through and make a positive at the end of the journey. The magical side of the emotions and how it played out go back to the Daytona’s Magical Aura of creating stories that fans will remember forever.

February 7, 2011
NOTES FROM THE NASCAR NATION: Hendrick Motorsports gets a leg up on the 2011 season

Let’s face it, when it comes to available resources to get just about any job done Hendrick Motorsports, (HMS), is very hard to beat. Their five consecutive championships from Jimmie Johnson, and the Lowes #48 team, certainly proves that point.

[media-credit name=”Mike Finnegan” align=”alignright” width=”225″][/media-credit]Well aware that NASCAR Sprint Cup races are often won or lost on pit road, HMS rented the Charlotte Motor Speedway last Thursday so their four teams could participate in pit stop practice under full racing conditions.

It also gave Chad Knaus, crew chief for the #48 team, an opportunity to test his new pit crew platoon system that will be used this year by both his team as well as the #88 team of Dale Earnhardt Jr. These two teams, located under the roof of the same HMS shop, will have access to a total of 18 men on race day. That’s the standard six men over the pit wall for each team plus an extra six crew members to cover pit road situations such as injury or an individual lack of job performance. It will allow Knaus, and crew chief Steve Letarte, the opportunity to mix and match crew members on an as needed basis. The other two teams, the #5 of Mark Martin and the #24 of Jeff Gordon, will have their standard six man pit crews with an additional four men for back up.

The pit crew practice was no sooner underway when speculation began wondering if this session was a violation of NASCAR’s test policy implemented last year. That policy placed a ban on individual team testing at any and all race tracks that are NASCAR sanctioned even the ones that aren’t on the schedules of the sanctioning body’s three national touring series.

It was quickly pointed out that last Thursday’s HMS pit crew practice was not in violation of the policy. That’s because the parameters of the session was limited only to the speedway’s pit road. At no time did any of four race cars go out onto the track for some hot laps.

Noticeably absent from the pit crew practice was Jeff Gordon’s #24 Chevrolet. The Gordon crew used a second #5 Chevrolet to practice with. So, where was the #24 Chevrolet? It seems it was inside of a car hauler on the way to Fountain-Colorado for yet another HMS test.

Jeff Gordon flew to Colorado Friday morning to test his car last weekend at the Pikes Peak International Raceway. The plan was to prepare for the February 27th Sprint Cup event at the Phoenix International Raceway. The team reportedly was especially interested in checking the area of their car’s down force which is a huge factor while racing on the Phoenix flat track surface.

But, with all of the non NASCAR sanctioned race tracks located within the HMS south east home base, why transport a car, driver and test crew all the way to Colorado during the dead of winter? That’s because the Pikes Peak International Raceway is remarkably similar to the Phoenix track. Both are one mile ovals with low banked turns: 11 degrees at Phoenix and ten degrees at Pikes Peak. Because of the configuration of these two speedways, down force is an important factor. That means Gordon and company will be bringing back a lot of pertinent data that they can share with their team mates.

There’s a phrase that adequately describes the time, effort and expense that comes with these two tests. It’s called getting a leg up on your competition. Extensive preparation has always been a trademark at Hendrick Motorsports and many times the result has been raising the bar on performance levels which means their competition also has to work a little harder to keep pace. These are the type of moves that often leads to race wins and championships.

February 7, 2011
Kenny Wallace Proves A Man of Many Talents

Kenny Wallace, known as the ‘Hermanator’ and for his unusual laugh that he sports so often on his SPEED TV gig, is indeed a man of many talents. His newest talent is as stand in for Roush Fenway Racing driver Matt Kenseth, who is expecting a new baby with wife Katie to be delivered right around the Daytona 500.

Wallace has announced that he is ready to step into Kenseth’s No. 17 Cup car for practice and qualifying during Speedweeks at Daytona International Speedway if needed. Wallace’s first chance at stepping into the car will be for practice on February 11th in preparation for the Bud Shootout.

“I got a call last night from (Roush Fenway Racing GM) Robbie Reiser, and he said Katie Kenseth is due to give birth to their second baby in a couple of weeks,” Wallace said on the radio show Sirius Speedway. “They want me to be on standby in case she goes into labor before the Bud Shootout or Gatorade Duel.”

“Matt will run the Daytona 500 no matter what, but they want me there in case they need me earlier in the week,” Wallace continued. “Even though it’s probably because I’m the same size as Matt and will fit into the seat easily, it took me about a quarter of a second to agree.”

In addition to being on baby watch, Wallace is also preparing for his talents to start his own upcoming race season. He will be driving full-time for RAB Racing in the Nationwide Series, marking his 22nd year in that Series in 2011.

“I’ve been nervous since the final 2010 Nationwide Series race at Homestead trying to find the right fit for next year and now I can finally sleep at night,” Wallace said of his new ride. “My goal was to find a team with whom I could be competitive and I believe I have found that with RAB Racing.”

“I’m ready to go for 2011,” Wallace continued. “I have known Robby (Benton) and watched him grow his team for the past few years. The relationship with Toyota Racing Development (TRD) is huge and will allow me to be able to work with at least three other Toyota teams, including my brother Rusty (Wallace) and gain valuable information that will help us with the Nationwide program at RAB Racing next year.”

Robby Benton, RAB Racing Co-Owner could not agree with Wallace more. “Having our plans in place before the Christmas holiday was great for team morale and will provide us with ample time to prepare for what we need to do for the upcoming season.”

“We’ve made significant changes at RAB Racing over the last few months in an effort to elevate our program,” Benton continued. “Our alliance with Toyota, the relationship we have with TRD and now adding Kenny to the mix, will bring some depth to our program.”

Benton also acknowledged that Wallace, with his many talents, will bring his own sense of style and personality to the team.

“It also helps tremendously having a driver with Kenny’s notoriety,” Benton said. “People love him and hopefully we’ll be able to reinvigorate his fan base.”

Wallace will be piloting the No. 09 Toyota Camry for RAB Racing in the Nationwide Series. To date, he and the team have secured several sponsors, including the University of Northwestern Ohio, Federated Auto Parts, and Family Farmers, the latter being a coalition of soybean and corn farmers.

These sponsors are on board for at least 16 races as primary sponsors. As with most race teams, however, Wallace and Benton are still looking to fill their sponsorship dance card for the remaining 18 races of the Nationwide season.

“We have a lot going on within our marketing department right now,” Benton said. “I feel pretty confident about having all 34 races sold before the Daytona event in February.”

Lest anyone think that Wallace has just been waiting around for the NASCAR season to start, he has already been busy at the track in Daytona. He participated in the Rolex 24, racing under the banner of TRG and the Children’s Tumor Foundation.

Wallace teamed up for the 24 hour race with fellow drivers Ron Yarab, Pierre Bourque, and Daniel Graeff. While the team sought success on the track, they were also seeking to raise more than $1 million for the Foundation.

“I am really honored to help represent the Children’s Tumor Foundation, it’s very near and dear to my heart,” Wallace said prior to the event. “Along the way I’m a competitor, a winning race driver, and it’s fun to team up with a winning organization like TRG.”

Wallace and company finished 20th overall in the Rolex 24, after starting in the 24th position.

In addition to the Rolex 24, Wallace has been showing off his dirt track racing talent, kicking off his season for 2011. He has seen action at East Bay Raceway Park in Tampa, Florida and will next travel the circuit from Volusia to Eldora Speedways throughout the year.

Wallace’s final talent will emerge later in 2011 after the finale of his NASCAR Nationwide season, when he once again assumes the duties of cruise director. Wallace will sponsor yet again his ‘Kenny Cruise 2011″ on the Royal Caribbean Cruise Line.

Wallace will socialize on the Allure of the Seas ship, which will cruise the western Caribbean for a week. Kenny’s 2011 cruise will leave Ft. Lauderdale on December 4th, 2011 traveling to Haiti, Jamaica and Mexico, before returning back to Florida on December 11th.

From Rolex and NASCAR Nationwide racing to filling in for an expectant Cup driver and father, as well as social directing on his own cruise, the ‘Hermanator’ is indeed a man of many talents. And just in case that is not enough Wallace for the year, fans can also check out his famous laugh on Race Day by the Home Depot and Victory Lane on SPEED TV for yet another season.

February 6, 2011
NASCAR’s Digital Fan Clubs Who is best? Who is biggest? Who has the best value?

In this digital age NASCAR and its drivers have begun to reach out to their fan bases via the internet. Fan based websites have gotten bigger and better every year with fan clubs going completely electronic in place of the old school paper newsletter that came through the mail.

This is the time of year that hosts the launch of most of the new fan clubs and their websites. Ryan Newman, Kyle Busch, Dale Jr, Kevin Harvick, Tony Stewart and others all either have or will soon launch their new fan clubs and in some case’s their websites. So the Fourth Turn ventured out to see what was out there. The results might surprise you.

The biggest site is not the best site. The best is not whose you might think. The most well known is light years behind and disappointing. And by the replies from the organizations combined with their sites the drivers who are most committed to their fans would perhaps surprise you. But the biggest surprise is who has the biggest and most loyal following behind them.

[media-credit name=”Brad Keppel” align=”alignright” width=”180″][/media-credit]Jimmie Johnson’s fan club takes a very fresh approach towards his fan club. Their club is free and powered by Lowes. They offer perspectives from Chad Knaus and Earl Barban, in car audio, as well updates from Jimmie. A quick registration process has you ready to be in the middle of the quest for the 6-Pack.

Their store is powered by Sports Today and offers a variety of merchandise and team 48 encrested items. Although they do offer a live race day chat and live in car audio, I was not able to find a message board or an actual chat room. The site is however, packed with information and fun things for fans of all ages. It is definitely the championship contender of the free sites. Lowes has left no corner unturned to bring the 48 fans in close to their team. Their approach is very reminiscent of Football’s extra man. By educating and illustrating they eliminate the unproductive fuss seen in many places.

Kyle Busch does not offer a fan club dedicated website. His communications director Ryan Kingsbury stated, “I really see no value in an exclusive website for fan club members, we have a very powerful online presence for all our fans via our websites and social media assets. (KyleBusch.com, Twitter.com/KyleBusch, Facebook.com/KyleBusch) We offer an exclusive e-newsletter to the Fan Club members that we give them special offers, giveaways, first details on appearances, etc…In fact we will be giving away tickets to Daytona to a couple lucky Fan Club members in the coming weeks. Aside for the items they receive in the kit, Fan Club members receive a 10% discount on all purchases at our online store (RowdyBusch.com). We will also have an autograph session at KBM in May, Fan Club members will be able to RSVP and be assured an autograph, as well as an invitation to an exclusive Fan Club meeting in October at KBM. (Which will be well worth the price of the membership) Our Fan Club numbers are up 80% over last year already, for a once a year price of $35 it’s a great value.”

Kevin Harvick’s club offers a great exclusive membership package that features lots of sponsorship involvement in the form of coupons that are included in the package sent to members. According to Fan Club President Tyler Patterson, the kit includes, a t-shirt, membership card, merchandise discount card, Kevin Harvick autograph card, decal, keychain, ink pen and mouse pad that is also a calendar complete with race dates.

Patterson added, ”Each fall, we host an open house where fan club members can come and have the opportunity to meet Kevin and get a photo/autograph and tour the race shop. This year we have decided to take our fan club event on the road and will host gatherings at Martinsville in April and Phoenix in November.”

Fan Central is an extension of KevinHarvick.com and is a basic social network site that allows fans to interact with one another. Kevin “really only uses his Twitter to interact with the fans now,” According to Patterson.

You can also follow Kevin and Delana on Twitter. Their adventures with Mother Function and Lo are definitely not only entertaining but Delana offers Question and Answer on Race Day most weekends.

Ryan Newman will also be launching a new fan club based web site that will celebrate their 10^th year of operation. They will be doing so with an entirely new concept for fan clubs. Their new site will be a micro social network. The social network style will be the first of its kind in regards to NASCAR based fan clubs.

By utilizing all of the best things about Facebook along with the NASCAR/Ryan Newman theme and connection, they hope to improve their fan experience several fold. It will work very similar to Facebook, with profiles, post interactions like Facebook and like buttons that will be race points. The race points will be used in a leader board style to allow recognition to the fan club members that post the most participated in conversations and the most well liked pictures and videos.

Ryan Newman himself will also have a profile allowing him to participate as a part of the fan club. As a part of the group he can interact with the group as a member of the fan club family rather than as an outside object of conversation. The new site will allow Ryan more transparency and proximity to his fan base.

The site boasts bright colors and ease of use as well as its revolutionary concept. The site offers a live chat capability for its members based on events such as the Daytona 500 or news events that are taking place within the network itself. The site will be very much picture driven and allows I-Phone and I-Pad access.

The site, scheduled to launch before the Daytona 500, will seamlessly integrate the old site and its members into the new one. New members will have instant access once the new site has launched.

Four time Champion Jeff Gordon’s fan site has multiple levels. He has a pay site that features chats with Jeff and his wife. Contests and features like message boards and 24 hour chat. But he also offers a basic package that does not require a financial investment but offers family photos messages from Jeff and video’s of “Network” meetings.

His general site gives a glimpse into the world of Jeff Gordon, with information about everything from his racing and foundation to his winery and their offerings. Gordon also has launched a Hologram program to protect all of his fans from fake autographs and he allows you to enter the number from your hologram to see if yours is real.

Jeff’s commitment to his fans appears to be all year long as there were holiday messages found in archives from the last several years. Though Gordon’s blog appears to be more video in nature he keeps touch with scheduled regularity and offers a very close up view of his thoughts, his life, and his career.

The shining star of the new stars that we checked out is just getting started. His name is familiar but his face will surprise you. Bobby Dale Earnhardt’s fan commitment is second to none. His website is just forming but his internet presence is growing on a daily basis. Between Twitter and Facebook, Team Earnhardt is turning heads. Bobby isn’t just the object of this effort. Bobby is a part of this effort.

Bobby is Dale Earnhardt’s oldest grand child. He is the oldest son of Kerry Earnhardt. He is choosing to make his own way in the racing world without relying on his family or his family name although obviously he can not change that. He is determined to make his way the old fashioned way, the way his Grandfather did, on his own. It may seem a lonely way to get there but Bobby is gathering a great many fans to walk the road with him and maybe have a good time with it too.

Although nearly every driver’s fan club was contacted, only a handful responded. These are the most dynamic and the best of the offerings sampled. It is interesting to note, that in a time when NASCAR is suffering from a lack of people in the seats and on the couch, the common course in regards to its fan clubs is distant anonymity. The drivers who seem to be making the efforts to remain accountable to the fans and to stay close to their fan base are the drivers we see time after time rise to the top of the popularity charts and on the race track as well.

It is amazing that people have missed one of the greatest stories of the off season, that of the fans of Richard Petty. The king has been off the track for quite some time as a driver but his dedication and loyalty to his fans has never changed. That dedication and loyalty was returned when the King of stock car racing entered a different kind of race one to regain control of his name, it was his faithful following that provided the muscle to make that happen. Is there a lesson to be learned in that, most definitely. Will it be embraced? Only time will tell. But it is interesting to note that the largest fan base in all of NASCAR belongs to a man who hasn’t turned the wheel of a stock car since 1992.

February 6, 2011
NASCAR By the Numbers: Day 14 in the Countdown to the DAYTONA 500

We are counting down the days until the DAYTONA 500 using some fun facts.

Number 14

Number of Sprint Cup wins held by each Kevin Harvick and Ryan Newman.

Poles won during the 1980 Cup Series by Cale Yarborough. In 1984, he became the first driver to qualify for the Daytona 500 with a top speed of more than 200 miles per hour.

Total number of races where Dale Earnhardt completed all 500 laps of the Daytona 500, which is the track record.

Car No. driven by Tony Stewart. Stewart has 39 Sprint Cup wins and two Cup Series championships in 2002 and 2005. In 2009, Stewart became the first driver/owner to win a Sprint Cup race since Ricky Rudd in 1998. He went on to win four Sprint Cup races and the Sprint Cup All- Star Challenge that season. Most recently, Stewart has been in the news for a confrontation he had with the co-owner of the Sydney Speedway over track safety concerns.

February 6, 2011
Frankie Stoddard: Still Chasing the Dream

You have to admire Frankie Stoddard. He was the boy genius that came on the scene with Roush Racing and led the No.99 Jeff Burton team to 14 Sprint Cup wins. That’s more victories than the entire Hendrick Motorsports crew chiefs, with the notable exception of Chad Knaus, have combined. Sponsorship problems led Burton to leave for Richard Childress Racing and Stoddard headed to Bill Davis Racing. Stoddard has not visited victory lane since.

[media-credit name=”FAS Lane Racing, LLC” align=”alignright” width=”153″][/media-credit]The New Hampshire native has had to lead teams with limited financial support since. His last gig was with the Latitude 43 team of Bob Jenkins. Jenkins, also a New England native, started that team when Roush-Fenway Racing had to downsize to four teams after the 2009 season. The team that formerly had Jamie McMurray as driver was bought by Jenkins. The No. 26 team had its good moments, staying in the top 35 for most of the season and having one top 10 finish, but the resources were just not there to compete for wins and the championship, something that Stoddard has had to deal with since leaving Roush.

Today, Stoddard made the first step of what he hopes will be a competitive NASCAR Sprint Cup team, but the odds are long. Few victories come from teams other than the super teams of Hendrick Motorsports, Joe Gibbs Racing, and Richard Childress Racing. Stoddard’s former team, Roush Fenway Racing has struggled these last few years, and yet Stoddard is assembling Fords bought from Roush and Richard Petty Motorsports. They will be good cars, but they will be the make that hasn’t won half dozen races in the last three years. Stoddard’s cars will carry the number 32. With no hope from Jenkins that his team would move forward, Stoddard made a move.

“We’re not going to be out there knocking off Hendrick Motorsports, Joe Gibbs Racing and Roush,” Stoddard said. “Our goal will be to run between 15th and 30th, and by doing that, to give a smaller sponsor a ton of exposure.”

That’s a heck of goal for a man who has been to victory lane as much as Stoddard. While major Sprint Cup teams command $20-25 million in sponsorship for a full season, Stoddard said his new operation can do the job – on a smaller scale – for as little as $3-4 million. “There’s an untapped market out there,” he said. “There are sponsors that want to be in this sport, but don’t have that $20 million to spend. We’re going to reach out to those companies and give them a chance to be involved.”

He is joining with Bob Reath, owner and CEO of US Chrome Corporation in this venture. Stoddard and Reath have a history. Reath and US Chrome hired Stoddard to guide driver Dana Patten in five Sprint Cup races back in 1988. With the sponsorship of Reath’s company as well as others, Stoddard hopes for the best.

As of today, no driver has been announced and no other sponsors have been announced. With the Daytona 500 only two weeks away, it appears that making the field might be a long shot, but that’s been the story of “boy genius” Frankie Stoddard since the Roush days. He has quite a resume, but this may be his biggest challenge.

February 4, 2011
HOORAHS AND WAZZUPS: It was a rather vague interview that offered nothing new

During the course of the past few days we waited in anticipation for a supposed titillating tell all interview with former NASCAR driver Jeremy Mayfield only to discover that he had nothing to say. We were puzzled by a bizarre, million dollar, offer from an Indy Car official that doesn’t seem to have any takers. We learned what the Ganassi slam is and then we marveled at the prospect of a former unemployed home developer who is now the newest NASCAR team owner. With those thoughts in mind let’s begin with:

WAZZUP with last Tuesday’s live television interview with Jeremy Mayfield on the SPEED Channel’s “Race Hub” program? The promos for this interview suggested that the embattled driver was “finally going to get to tell his side of the story.” What we saw instead was a vague interview that offered nothing new. I truly felt sorry for “Race Hub” host Steve Byrnes who had to carefully navigate his way through an interview that was clearly going to be a waste of perfectly good television time.

The lengthy saga of Mayfield versus NASCAR began with the driver failing a mandatory drug test, back in May of 2009 that led to his indefinite suspension from the sport. It was later revealed that this test was positive for methamphetamine. However Mayfield claimed he had taken a doctor prescribed drug for an allergy condition with the over the counter medicine known as Claritin D and that combination produced a false positive. He filed suit against NASCAR and demanded his reinstatement. That action led to a lengthy series of court hearings that are still ongoing. Mayfield himself said on Tuesday that the latest round of court arguments could last as long as a year and a half.

One had the feeling that Mayfield had been carefully coached by attorneys to be extremely careful regarding comments on his legal issues with NASCAR. “I’ve got a lot things to say that I can’t obviously because of the litigation,” he said during the interview adding “I don’t want to get into anymore trouble whatsoever by what I’m saying. It’s just hard because, when you’re in this situation, there’s a lot of anger now and things could come out that wouldn’t be good for either one of us. It’s tough when you walk around everyday and you get the chance to finally tell your side of the story, there’s so much more to it that would really enlighten a lot of things that you just can’t tell.”

WAZZUP with that moment of murky confusion? That alone should have had Mayfield escorted to the men’s room with a plastic cup.

When asked by Byrnes about the prospect of his future, Mayfield said he was excited about starting a new metal recycling business but offered no details. Regarding the prospect of returning to racing. Mayfield did mention the possibility of driving for the owner of a dirt car team but again offered no details. He also expressed an interest in driving for an Indy Car, as well as drag racing, if the conditions were right saying “I don’t want to struggle anymore.”

Perhaps Mayfield is saving all of the enlightening details for some future tell all book. Again, his appearance on the “Race Hub” last Tuesday was a vague interview that offered nothing new.

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HOORAH to five time NASCAR Sprint Cup champion Jimmie Johnson for placing his family first and declining a high dollar offer that would have had him driving in the Indianapolis 500 and the Coca Cola 600 on the same day. That offer came from Indy Car CEO Randy Bernard who offered some high profile NASCAR drivers $1 million for taking on both prestigious events plus a $20 million bonus to any driver who could win both of the races on the same day. This high dollar offer was reported to be part of the celebration of the 100th anniversary of the Indianapolis 500.

Although he said there’s a part of him that always wanted to drive the Indy 500, Johnson’s decision to decline the offer was based on the time he would have to spend away from his wife and daughter during the month of May. Preparations for the Indy 500 alone take approximately three weeks. That schedule would have been in addition to his NASCAR Sprint Cup commitments which includes stops at Darlington and Dover during the month of May as well as the All Star Race and the Coca Cola 600 at the Charlotte Motor Speedway.

By the way, another HOORAH goes to Rick Hendrick, Johnson’s team owner, for a great comment after learning his champion driver had turned down the Indy offer. Hendrick described Johnson’s potential time away from family as a “deal breaker” and said “his wife’s against it, and she’s got a lot of stroke in that deal.”

WAZZUP with this Indy Car offer being made to begin with? Recent reports indicates that drivers Juan Pablo Montoya and Kasey Kahne have not responded to Bernard’s double duty race day offer and driver Sam Hornish Jr. has made it clear that he doesn’t want to return to the Indy Car ranks.

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Talk about a way to start off a new year: HOORAH to team owner Chip Ganassi who had the pleasure of watching his Grand American Rolex Series teams, with drivers Scott Pruett and Scott Dixon, finish one-two at the conclusion of 24 Hours of Daytona last weekend. Ganassi teams has now won four of the most prestigious motorsports events in the nation within a period of 12 months. That list includes the Daytona 500, the Indy 500, the Brickyard 500 and now the 24 Hours of Daytona. That accomplishment has been appropriately titled “The Ganassi Slam.”

HOORAH to NASCAR Sprint Cup team owner Kevin Buckler primary owner of TRG, The Racer’s Group, who watched his team, led by driver Andy Lally, win the GT Class portion of the 24 hour race. Lally, an occasional visitor to the Sprint Cup Series, won the pole during qualifying but a technical glitch during post race inspection put the car at the back of the field. Making this win even more difficult was the fact that the TRG driver team ran the last 17 hours of the race without a working clutch.

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The final HOORAH of the week goes to Joe Denette a long time native of Spotsylvania County-Virginia. Who’s that you ask? Denette is the newest team owner in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series under some very special circumstances.

In 2009 economics found Denette laid off from his long time job in the home development industry. But that all changed in May of that year when Denette won the Virginia Lottery Mega Millions worth $75.6 million. He opted for the lump sum payment of $47.8 million.

A long time NASCAR fan, Denette decided to create his own race team and enlisted the aid of Hermie Sadler, NASCAR driver-SPEED Channel reporter, to help him with the massive details. Denette Racing will begin its maiden voyage this year working out of a newly acquired shop in Huntersville-North Carolina. They have already made a very smart move by aligning themselves with Kevin Harvick Inc who will provide the new team with chassis and technical support. Another smart move was the recent signing of up and coming truck series driver Jason White who will be bringing his long time sponsor, Gun Brokers Dot Com, with him.

February 4, 2011
NASCAR Beginnings Featuring Wendell Scott

Wendell Oliver Scott, born in 1921 in Danville, Virginia, was an American stock car driver and a pioneer of NASCAR. On March 4, 1961 in Spartanburg SC, he broke down racial barriers to make his first start in the NASCAR Grand National (now Sprint Cup) division. Scott went on to become the first and to date, the only, African-American to win a NASCAR Sprint Cup event.

A look into his life gives us insight into a tumultuous part of NASCAR and American history.

Scott didn’t know what he wanted to do with his life but was sure of one thing. Whatever it was, he would be his own boss.

As a youngster he loved going fast, racing his bicycles against other kids and speeding around town on roller skates. Scott also grew up learning about cars at his father’s side. His Dad worked as a driver and mechanic for two wealthy white families and was well known for his prowess behind the wheel.

Eventually Scott quit high school, became a taxi driver and later served in the segregated Army in Europe during World War II. After the war, he ran an auto-repair shop and ran moonshine on the side.

Like others before him, he used the moonshine business to hone his driving skills and learn how to build fast race cars. Scott was only caught once and was sentenced to three years probation but continued to make whiskey runs.

On May 23, 1952, a set of unusual circumstances gave Scott his first racing start.

At that time the races in Danville were run by the Dixie Circuit, a competing organization to NASCAR. In order to bring in more money, they decided that they needed a gimmick. Their idea was to bring in a black driver who was fast enough to compete with the usual white drivers. They chose Wendell Scott.

That first race wasn’t a success. His car broke down and many spectators booed him. But at that moment, Scott realized this was what he wanted to do with the rest of his life.

The next day brought Scott back down to earth. He repaired his car and decided to tow it to a NASCAR-sanctioned race in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. The NASCAR officials refused to let him compete telling him that black drivers weren’t allowed.

He left the race with tears in his eyes but he didn’t quit.

A few days later he went to another NASCAR event in High Point, North Carolina but was once again told he couldn’t race. They suggested he get a white boy to drive his car.

“I told ’em weren’t no damn white boy going to drive my car,” Scott said.

Instead, he left the track and decided to avoid NASCAR races for the time being.

He raced with the Dixie Circuit and at other non-NASCAR speedways and won his first race at Lynchburg, Virginia, only twelve days into his racing career.

As time passed, he still got boos but more and more fans began rooting for him. Although some of the drivers were prejudiced and would wreck him deliberately, many drivers came to respect Scott. They saw him as a driver no different from themselves, just another hard-working guy who loved racing.

Soon, some of the newspapers began writing positive stories about Scott and his popularity increased.

Scott understood, though, that in order to really succeed in the sport, he had to gain admission to NASCAR. He didn’t know NASCAR founder and president, Bill France, so Scott found a less direct way to get into NASCAR.

He towed his racecar to a local NASCAR event at Richmond Speedway and asked the steward, Mike Poston, to grant him a NASCAR license. Poston was only a part-timer in NASCAR but he did have the authority to issue licenses.

Poston told him, “We’ve never had any black drivers, and you’re going to be knocked around.”

“I can take it,” Scott told him.

Poston approved Scott’s license but his decision wasn’t popular.

Scott finally met Bill France for the first time in April of 1954. The night before they met, the promoter at a NASCAR event in Raleigh, North Carolina, had given gas money to all of the white drivers who came to the track but had refused to pay Scott. Scott approached France at the Lynchburg speedway and told him what had happened.

France immediately reached into his pocket, gave Scott thirty dollars and assured him that NASCAR would never treat him with prejudice.

“You’re a NASCAR member, and as of now you will always be treated as a NASCAR member.”

In 1961, Scott moved up to the NASCAR Grand National division.

On December 1, 1963, driving a Chevrolet Bel Air purchased from Ned Jarrett, he won his first race at Speedway Park in Jacksonville, Florida — the first and only top level NASCAR event won by an African-American.

Ironically, Scott almost didn’t make the race.

Scott didn’t have enough cash in his pocket to make the long trip. So he asked Jarrett if he could borrow $500.00.

“He was a race-car driver and I was a race-car driver,” Jarrett said.

“But he was having a tough time because of his race at that particular period. He wasn’t going to get a lot of help. I thought he was a good race-car driver and he could be good for the sport.”

Wendell had won the race, by two laps over Buck Baker, but it wasn’t without controversy. NASCAR waved the checkered flag over Baker and awarded him the trophy.

Hours later, NASCAR officials admitted that Scott had won the race. They gave him a trophy about a month later in Savannah, but it wasn’t the real thing.

Buck got the real trophy.

He continued to race competitively through the rest of the 1960s but was forced to retire due to injuries from a racing accident at Talladega, Alabama in 1973.

Scott achieved one win and 147 top ten finishes in 495 career Grand National starts.

He died Dec. 22, 1990, after a long battle with spinal cancer. In 1999, Scott was inducted into the International Motorsports Hall of Fame.

I’m so glad we never gave up,” said Scott’s Widow Mary.

“When Ned Jarrett and all of those old drivers came to Scott’s funeral, they told us he had the respect of all the drivers. I’d say all of those older guys learned to like him and respect him. They knew he was a genuine person and he stood for what he believed. He didn’t give up.”

It has been 50 years since Scott’s first race in NASCAR’s premier series. His achievements will be honored on ESPN on February 20^th with a movie entitled “Wendell Scott: A Race Story.”

The film will air at 9 p.m. ET shortly after the 53^rd running of the Daytona 500 race. It was produced by the Emmy Award-winning NASCAR Media Group in conjunction with ESPN Films and Max Siegel Inc.

The docudrama will contain seldom seen historical footage plus interviews from members of Scott’s family and memories shared by some of stock car racing’s past legends.

“Wendell Scott faced overwhelming challenges throughout his life and as a pioneer in his sport,” said John Dahl, executive producer, ESPN Films. “The film captures his strong sense of determination and honor with a poignant look at his struggles as well as an examination of his legacy.”

Scott will always be remembered as the man who prepared the way for future generations of minorities in stock car racing.

But what we should never forget is this. Wendell Scott was at heart simply a racer.

All he wanted was a chance to prove himself out on the track. The real testament to his success is that he did just that and earned the respect of the other drivers in the process.

Achievements:

1963 – The first and only African-American to win a NASCAR Sprint Cup event.

1999 – Inducted into the International Motorsports Hall of Fame

2000 – Inducted into the National Motorsports Press Association Hall of Fame

Thanks to Brian Donovan – “Hard Driving: The American Odyssey of NASCAR’s First Black Driver” and NASCAR for quotes.

February 2, 2011
Rules, Regulations and the Speedway Mailbag. Welcome to the 2011 Racing Season

[media-credit id=22 align=”alignright” width=”301″][/media-credit]Welcome to another edition of Speedway Media mailbag.

Since our last meeting, Sprint Cup drivers have spent several days testing on the new Daytona International Speedway asphalt and interacting with media from around the world at the Sprint Media Tour presented by Charlotte Motor Speedway in Charlotte, North Carolina.

Congratulations to Chip Ganassi and his continued dominance at the Rolex 24.

Rumors from the Media Tour stated that invited guest at the wedding of Kyle Busch were made to sign a release. This release guaranteed none of the guest would take any unauthorized pictures, send tweets, or publish any inside information from the nuptials.
This high level of secrecy is more than likely because of a planned future show about the race car driver’s marriage to Samantha Sarcinella.
Busch has posted some pictures on his web site.

So, since I have been traveling for the past two weeks, our ratty ole Tupperware bowl is bursting at the seams with letters, so let’s get cracking.

Brian from Bakersfield writes:
Dear Speedway Media; Do you think NASCAR racing is fixed?
Wow Brian, what a question to start off our new year of racing.
Many sporting events through out the ages have been fixed. The most famous was the 1919 World Series.
While there have been several races where drivers, and fans, feel there have been some strange decisions by NASCAR that unfairly gave an advantage to select drivers, NASCAR has absolutely nothing to gain by fixing a race.
Given there are 43 drivers, pit stops, crashes and a multitude of changes during the race, the logistics alone make it impossible to fix a race.
On the other hand though, I have it on good authority there are other types of competitions that might be fixed.
Take the Miss Universe pageant for instance. Every Miss Universe winner, including the very first one in 1952, has been from the planet Earth.

Wally from Walla Walla writes:
Dear Speedway Media; Can you clarify NASCAR’s “Don’t ask, don’t tell” rule?
Thanks for the great question Wally. After spending hours reading the NASCAR rule book, I cannot locate anything that refers to “Don’t ask, don’t tell,” unless of course you’re referring to the rule book its self.

Cindy from Cincinnati writes:
Dear Speedway Media; Have you heard any rumors about new additions to the NASCAR families?
Well Cindy we have heard some good news from Roush-Fenway Racing. During the Sprint Media Tour presented by Charlotte Motor Speedway, Jack Roush announced that three of his four drivers at RFR, Carl Edwards, Matt Kenseth and Greg Biffle, are all expecting family additions in 2011. As luck would have it, all three drivers will welcome their new baby’s right around the same time.

During the recent test session at Daytona International Speedway, David Ragan, the fourth driver in the RFR stable, was seen with an unusual “O+” on his driver’s suit.
There is speculation that Ragan is joining a growing number of race car drivers who advertise their blood types on their driver suits. In Ragan’s case it could also be a representation of the number of Sprint Cup wins he has and that he’s remaining positive.

That’s all for this weeks edition of Speedway Mailbag. On a personal note, I want to extend congratulations to Urban Meyer on his new gig at ESPN.

Feel free to send your questions, comments and suggestions to mailbag@speedwaymedia.com.

Opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not reflect the opinion of management.

January 31, 2011