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  • Brian Vickers Hopes Exhilaration of Daytona Skydive Carries Over to Pocono Win

    Brian Vickers Hopes Exhilaration of Daytona Skydive Carries Over to Pocono Win

    [media-credit name=”Ed Coombs” align=”alignright” width=”236″][/media-credit]Brian Vickers, driver of the No. 83 Red Bull Toyota, is still flying high after skydiving into Daytona International Speedway. He is now hoping that the exhilaration will just continue right into one of his better tracks Pocono Raceway.

    “It was incredible,” Vickers said. “To be able to jump into Daytona was amazing.”

    “Jumping into any other track would have been incredible but Daytona is the biggest event and the biggest track,” Vickers continued. “I thought it would be pretty appropriate and pretty cool to jump in there first.”

    “To be able to see the track from that height was cool and it was beautiful,” Vickers said. “That picture is just burned in my mind for sure.”

    Not only was the Daytona jump exhilarating for Vickers, but it was also a piece of unfinished business for the young driver. Finishing the Dover race this year also fell into that category as well.

    “We had this scheduled last year and it got cancelled due to my health reasons,” Vickers said of his skydive. “So to be able to come back and finish it and to finish what we started meant a lot.”

    “Jumping into Daytona and then finishing Dover were two very important things to me personally,” Vickers said. “Dover was the first race I missed so to finish that race and finish it well was important to me.  Skydiving at Daytona was something we started in 2010 and to go back and finish that was very special.”

    Vickers is counting on that exhilarating feeling from his jump carrying right over into his run at Pocono Raceway, one of his favorite tracks. In fact, Pocono is one of Vickers better tracks, having spent 73.4 percent of the laps in the top 15 in his last ten starts at the ‘Tricky Triangle.’

    Vickers has started in the top ten in eight of his twelve starts at Pocono and he has had four top-five and five top-10 finishes. Pocono Raceway ranks second as far as top average-finish tracks for Vickers, with an average finish of 14.3 there.

    “Pocono has been a good track for me,” Vickers said. “We’ve run well. I’ve sat on poles, we’ve been fast and I’ve finished second but we haven’t won here so there is unfinished business here too for sure.”

    Vickers acknowledges that, as good as he is at Pocono, he along with all of the other drivers, will face some significant challenges. Among those are facing yet another potential fuel mileage race, as well as the new ability to shift.

    “This race has been fuel strategy before but sometimes it’s just been a battle at the end,” Vickers said. “It just depends.”

    “You can’t just plan on doing fuel strategy because it just depends on when the last caution falls,” Vickers continued. “It just depends on how the race plays out.”

    “The shifting is going to be power shifting again and I think it’s better for the racing,” Vickers said. “We’ll see more passing.”

    “I never understood why they stopped us from shifting,” Vickers continued. “It didn’t save anything or serve any purpose to my knowledge and it was harder to pass. It was a great decision to start shifting again.”

    Another issue making the Triangle tricky in Vickers’ opinion is the heat, which is a bit of a carryover from the Kansas inferno of last weekend. Yet, Vickers definitely feels that plays right into his hands.

    “It’s been very hot lately and the last couple of races have been very hot,” Vickers said. “I love it because I’m in the best shape of my life. It’s just an advantage that I have.”

    Vickers also admitted that the heat not only makes the drivers miserably physically but can also lead to some heated emotions as well.

    “There have been a lot of hot tempers lately,” Vickers said. “That’s just the emotional part of our sport.”

    “It’s also just the personalities of each individual,” Vickers continued. “The hot head or temper has never been my thing.”

    Vickers also acknowledged that the length of the race, the Five Hour Energy 500, can also take its toll, physically and emotionally.

    “It’s a very long race and it’s actually too long,” Vickers said. “I love Pocono and I want to see them keep their race dates but I think to do that, they’re going to have to shorten the race.”

    “The fans here are amazing and they almost always fill the stands,” Vickers continued. “I really enjoy racing on the track, but it’s too long. But it is what it is for now.”

    Vickers’ final challenge at the ‘Tricky Triangle’ is figuring out his qualifying order strategy.

    “You want to go out early for qualifying so you have to sandbag a little bit,” Vickers said. “But if it rains, you want to be in the front. So, it’s tough.”

    “A lot of it is just going to be playing the weather and whoever makes the best guess for the weather will have that advantage,” Vickers continued. “If it looks like it’s going to rain, they’ll go as fast as they can to qualify late.  But if it looks sunny and hot, you’ll see some guys lay off in practice.”

    “It’s hard because you want to go fast,” Vickers said. “But there’s ways to do it without compromising the performance of the set up or the car.”

    Vickers is also hoping, very earnestly, that Pocono will not only yield a good finish but will also help him continue to climb in the point standings. And, of course, he too has his eye on making the Chase, currently sitting 26th in the point standings, just 29 points shy of the 20th spot.

    “We need to keep climbing,” Vickers said. “We got in a hole at the beginning of the year and we got into some wrecks early in the season. So, we need to get out of this hole.”

    “I still think we can get there,” Vickers continued. “A win or two would put us in the Chase for the wild card and hopefully we can climb our way back up the hard way. But either way, I still think we have a shot at it.”

    What was truly amazing to Vickers, however, was that he actually skydived into Daytona at 5,000 feet, which is just slightly longer than the front stretch of the Pocono Raceway at 3,740 feet.

    “That’s crazy,” Vickers said. “It was exhilarating.”

     

  • Jeff Gordon’s Crew Chief Alan Gustafson Likes It Hot, Hot, Hot

    Jeff Gordon’s Crew Chief Alan Gustafson Likes It Hot, Hot, Hot

    [media-credit id=18 align=”alignright” width=”242″][/media-credit]After a scorching race weekend in Kansas, the Cup Series is at an equally warm Pocono Raceway in Long Pond, PA this weekend.  And yet, Jeff Gordon’s crew chief, Alan Gustafson, could not be happier.

    “I love the heat,” Gustafson said. “I would much rather be hot than cold.”

    “I think mental toughness in the driver and the team comes out under those conditions,” Gustafson said. “And if you’re mentally tough and strong, that will give you an advantage.”

    “Obviously the slicker and the hotter the conditions, it is more difficult, but that’s where the best come out,” Gustafson continued. “I do think the hotter conditions also help better cars.”

    “When it’s cool, anybody who gets out front is going to be good because the grip is there,” Gustafson said. “But when it’s hot and slick, it doesn’t matter, the good cars get on it.”

    “I prefer the heat,” Gustafson said. “I hope it stays hot and gets hotter. I think that will be an advantage to us.”

    [media-credit id=18 align=”alignright” width=”225″][/media-credit]Gustafson is not only happy with the heat but also with his evolving relationship with his driver, four-time champion Jeff Gordon.

    “I think the relationship is good,” Gustafson said. “Personally we get along really well and the communication’s been good.”

    “There has been a little bit of a learning curve knowing his driving style and what he needs in the car,” Gustafson continued. “Early on that was a hurdle that we struggled with and had to get over.”

    “But now as of late, I feel like we’ve got a really good handle on what Jeff needs and what he looks for in his adjustments,” Gustafson said. “So, that’s going good.”

    “It’s always going to be an evolution for anybody, even if you’ve been together ten years,” Gustafson said. “Tires change and cars change and rules change so you’ve got to continue to work hard and to grow and improve.”

    “But I feel like we’re getting to the point where we should be, competing for top-10s and top-fives every week,” Gustafson continued. “We’re getting a whole lot closer to that.”

    Gustafson knows that these next few months are going to be critical for his Hendrick Motorsports team. He also knows that driver Jeff Gordon needs to get a few more wins under his belt to make it into the Chase whether by the wild card or on points.

    “For me the summer’s the most important stretch of the season,” Gustafson said. “That’s when you’re in a position for the Chase and gives you the momentum in the Chase.”

    “We may have struggled early but we had to put ourselves in the position to be going through this summer push and really strong in the Chase,” Gustafson continued. “We’ve got ourselves in a really strong position.”

    “But we’ve got to win,” Gustafson said. “I feel like we’re going to get in on points and that’s our goal, but I’d still like at least two more wins. That would put us in really good position.”

    Gustafson has been working around the clock on his strategy, especially fuel mileage strategy, to continue to get his driver into Chase contention.

    “We work really hard and you have to utilize all hours of the day,” Gustafson said. “I feel like we can work on a little bit of the extracurriculars or the intangibles, like fuel mileage.”

    “At Kansas, we had a car to win and things didn’t work out,” Gustafson continued. “As we evolve and improve, not only do we have to have fast cars but we have to have the fuel mileage to go with it.”

    Fuel mileage is obviously on Gustafson’s mind, as well as on the minds of all of the crew chiefs as they attack the ‘Tricky Triangle.’

    “This is a fuel mileage track,” Gustafson said of Pocono Raceway. “If you’re just working on your fuel mileage now, you’re too late.”

    In addition to fuel mileage, crew chiefs and drivers alike will have to deal with another wrinkle at the ‘Tricky Triangle,’ that of being able to shift.

    “It’s another variable which we can use and which I like,” Gustafson said. “We can tune to that and it plays to Jeff and good drivers for sure.”

    “Shifting is going to change depending on how your car is,” Gustafson said. “If your car is not very good, shifting may be a huge advantage but if your car is really good, shifting may not be that big of a problem or that big of an advantage.”

    “I’m glad that NASCAR made the decision to give us that ability,” Gustafson said. “I think Jeff will be really good at it. He’s had the experience of doing it here in the past and he’s really good.”

    Another issue on Gustafson’s mind is the new qualifying rules, which sometime entails further strategy, and even some sandbagging, in order to get into the best qualifying order at each track.

    “It’s just part of it,” Gustafson said. “It’s very counter-intuitive to me for someone to get rewarded for being slow. I don’t think that’s right.”

    “I think NASCAR will look at that, Gustafson continued. “What I would like to see is that the fastest guy chooses when he wants to go in qualifying.”

    “That would be really ideal if in the practice, the guy who is fastest gets to choose if he wants to go first or last,” Gustafson said. “Then that way, that takes the sandbagging out of it. I think being rewarded for going fast is the way our sport is built.”

    Whether fuel mileage, shifting or qualifying strategy, Gustafson feels very strongly that he, his driver and his No. 24 Dupont Chevrolet team have to have the entire package to win, get into the Chase, and win another championship. He sees several factors, including versatility, adaptability and even perfection, as the most critical.

    “It used to be where the strategy didn’t have to be pin-point perfect,” Gustafson said. “Now, you do have to be perfect.”

    “I think what it takes to win these races is to be very versatile,” Gustafson continued. “You have to have a fast car and you have to adapt to whatever circumstances come up.”

    “Now you have to have a good, fast car and the ability to be good in a multiple strategy situation,” Gustafson said. “And that’s a little bit tougher than it used to be.”

    “You can be good on two tires, you can save fuel, you can be good on four tires, you can be good on a five lap shoot out at the end,” Gustafson said. “A champion is going to be good at all of those situations.”

  • Joey Coulter Still Feeling Awesome After Career Best Truck Run

    [media-credit id=62 align=”alignright” width=”260″][/media-credit]While much of the attention was focused on what happened after the Truck race at Kansas Speedway, Joey Coulter was still riding on a self-proclaimed high of awesomeness after his career best finish.

    The driver of the No. 22 Richard Childress Racing/Darrell Gwynn Foundation Chevrolet started eighth in the O’Reilly Auto Parts 250 at Kansas this past weekend. Yet he was able to finish the race with the first top five of his rookie season.

    “It was huge,” Coulter said of his run at Kansas. “We’ve had some good runs in the ARCA Series at a mile and a half but to run as good as we did at Kansas was awesome.”

    Coulter contributes his great run to a combination of great pit strategy, keeping up with the race track and working with his RCR teammate Austin Dillon.

    “Austin (Dillon) is a great teammate,” Coulter said. “His crew chief and my crew chief, me and Austin, we talk a lot.”

    “We sit down all the time during practice and talk about what we are fighting,” Coulter continued. “Austin has brought me up to his level really quick.”

    “He’s done a great job explaining to me the different ways to drive these trucks,” Coulter said. “I’ve watched a lot of video and I’ve talked to a lot of drivers and it’s just all that combined that contributed to our run at Kansas and we were just able to put it all together.”

    “We both know that if he is faster than me, he’s the guy I can go to and find out why,” Coulter continued. “That’s going to bring me to his speed. Then once I get there, I might hit on something and end up a little bit faster than him.”

    “He’s going to come to me and we’re going to tell him what we did and it’s just going to keep going back and forth until we’re both really, really fast,” Coulter said. “The great thing about a teammate is that open line of communication is there and you can always get the information you need.”

    “It works and I love having a teammate,” Coulter said. “It’s my first time having one and I love it.”

    Coulter also contributes his success to the equipment available to him at Richard Childress Racing. And finally Coulter gives all the due to his family, who has stood with him since he began his racing journey.

    “RCR in my opinion is the best equipment in the Truck Series,” Coulter said. “The guys that build those trucks are the same guys that go to the race track and work on them at the track.”

    “So, when they build something at the shop, they really put everything they’ve got into it,” Coulter continued. “Everybody puts so much pride into their work that when the race truck rolls into the trailer on the way to the race, it looks more like something that would roll through the block on Barrett Jackson.”

    “These things come out looking great.”

    “My family has been there since the beginning,” Coulter said. “Mom, dad and my girlfriend have been there since I was short track racing in Florida.”

    “It’s really hard for them to miss a race, which is cool,” Coulter continued. “I love having them there.”

    Coulter did take at least a little bit of time to celebrate his great finish. But that run actually made Coulter even more anxious to get to the next track.

    “When I got back after the race, I hung out with my parents and soaked it all in,” Coulter said. “I kept watching the highlights on Speed Center and reading the articles on line, just soaking it all in.”

    “We really enjoyed it, but at the same time it just made me a lot more excited to get to Texas,” Coulter said. “I just kept telling my crew chief, ‘Let’s go to Texas right now. I’m ready to go.’”

    Coulter has actually been to Texas Motor Speedway before, running there last year in the ARCA Series.

    “I love that race track,” Coulter said. “It is so much fun. It’s unreal how fast you can go through the corners with so much grip.”

    “It’s wide open from what I’ve heard,” Coulter continued. “It’s going to be an experience to go around the track and never take your foot off the gas. I can’t wait to do that.”

    Coulter admits that he expects more of the same at Texas as at Kansas in terms of the weather and the intense heat. He credits his growing up in Florida for his ability to handle the heat, that and a new tip that his teammate recently gave to him.

    “I’m very glad that I was born in Florida, where there are two seasons, hot and very hot,” Coulter said. “It’s just something I’ve gotten used to over the years.”

    “My teammate actually got me drinking Pedialyte this weekend and I felt way better before and after the race this time,” Coulter continued. “I’m working out every day like I have been for awhile and that helps with the heat too.”

    Coulter will also be celebrating a personal milestone when he reaches Texas this week. He will turn 21 years old on Wednesday, June 8th.

    “We are actually going to head to Texas a day early so I don’t have to be traveling on my birthday,” Coulter said. “I’m definitely not going to do anything crazy because we have to work this weekend.”

    “I’ll probably go some place and see if they card me,” Coulter said with a chuckle. “I’m excited about it. It’s really kind of like the last real exciting age.”

    For his birthday, Coulter may also indulge in one of his favorite confectionaries. In fact, he is nicknamed after one of them, “Cupcake”.

    “Before the Darlington race, we did a media event, me and Johanna Long,” Coulter said. “We got to talk to a bunch of young kids about how important it is to stay in school.”

    “There was this little hole in the wall, family cupcake place and somehow I got stuck carrying the box of cupcakes,” Coulter continued. “I guess that’s where I got the nickname of ‘cupcake’ from.”

    From celebrating his birthday to his top-five finish, Coulter has just one word to sum up his life at present.

    “Awesome,” Coulter said. “It’s a great feeling to be in the situation I am.”

    “I’m extremely fortunate to have the opportunities I’ve had,” Coulter continued. “My dad has always been sure to tell me that there are plenty of unemployed race car drivers.”

    “I’m grateful for this opportunity,” Coulter said. “RCR is an awesome organization and there are an awful lot of awesome people that have gotten me to where I am.”

  • Cole Whitt Is Just Being Cole Whitt

    Cole Whitt Is Just Being Cole Whitt

    On the heels of the induction of the second class of the NASCAR Hall of Fame, young up and coming driver Cole Whitt is just taking it all in and learning from the masters of the sport.

    [media-credit name=”Photo credit: redbullusa.com” align=”alignright” width=”225″][/media-credit]But most of all, the soon to be twenty year old rookie who is now leading the point standings in the Camping World Truck Series is forging his own path. And yes, he is just being Cole Whitt.

    “Anyone that is going to be inducted in the Hall of Fame is going to be someone that I look up to for sure,” Whitt said. “I look up to all of them.”

    “But at the end of the day, you have to have your own style and your own way of doing things,” Whitt continued. “I’m really just pushing my own road and doing things the way I need to do them for myself.”

    “Cole Whitt is going to be who Cole Whitt is.”

    Right now Cole Whitt is currently the youngest points leader ever in the Truck Series. After his second consecutive top-three finish, the driver of the No. 60 Red Bull/ Fuel Doctor race truck leads veteran Johnny Sauter by a mere point.

    “It’s pretty amazing to think we did it, especially where the team has come from the beginning of the year,” Whitt said. “We really didn’t have that great of a Daytona outing but the team really turned things around.”

    “To come this far into the season and already grab the points lead, it’s been pretty cool,” Whitt said. “The team has really come together and things are clicking really well. It’s awesome to see this team come as far as we have.”

    While Cole Whitt preaches just being who he is, the young driver also credits his success solely with his race team. For him, the team is his main motivating source.

    “I think it’s just a matter of having a lot of good people,” Whitt said. “We’re not a big team, which makes it tough. But at the same time it’s easy to keep everyone on the same page.”

    “I try to keep the guys really motivated,” Whitt continued. “I’m at the shop every day and I try to put in as many hours as they do and work hard with them.”

    “I think the main thing is trying to keep everyone having fun,” Whitt said. “At the same time, we care about it a lot. When we don’t run good, we’re upset. But at the same time, we push each other to be better.”

    Whitt realizes that his team, with owner Stacy Compton, is one of those small team ‘Davids’ fighting some of the ‘Goliaths’ of the sport.

    “Stacy’s team has never been one of the biggest teams or one of the teams that is looked to as the one to beat but we’re trying to be that team,” Whitt said. “When everyone shows up at the track, we want them to say ‘We want to beat that team.’

    Whitt knows that it is just a matter of time until he and his team win a race this season. He currently is the only Truck Series driver to complete all 1,134 laps for the season, with five top-10s, finishing no lower than 14th to date.

    “So far, we haven’t really been the team to win races but we’ve been so consistent, driving up front,” Whitt said. “I think that win is just really going to come as long as we keep running as good as we have.”

    Whitt’s success in the Truck Series has also caught the eyes of others in the sport. He recently was offered the chance to run for Pastrana-Waltrip Racing in their No. 99 Nationwide car at Charlotte Motor Speedway on Memorial Day weekend.

    “It came together pretty quick,” Whitt said. “Jay Frye (Red Bull Racing) had been talking to me before about doing some Nationwide stuff and I just wasn’t really sure where it was going to go from there. He called me up and asked if I wanted to do this one weekend deal.”

    “I’m really excited to run for Pastrana-Waltrip Racing and give that 99 car a good run,” Whitt continued. “I’m excited more than anything to go back to a track that I’ve already been on and made laps on where it’s a little more familiar.”

    Whitt is also excited to celebrate the Memorial Day holiday at the race track as well as at home, a real treat for any professional stock car driver.

    “More than anything, I’m looking forward to getting into that Nationwide car,” Whitt said. “That’s kind of like my celebration I guess you could say.”

    “I’m going to hang out around the house more than anything,” Whitt continued. “The best part about Charlotte is sleeping in your own bed.”

    While Whitt could not be more excited to take on the new Nationwide ride, he is realistic about his expectations. And that is just another way that the young driver is being true to himself.

    “I wouldn’t say I expect anything,” Whitt said. “At the beginning of the season, if you had asked me, I would have never thought we’d be leading the points.”

    “Would I have really thought it would be possible? Probably not,” Whitt continued. “But that’s cool. We pushed forward and we have a team that’s better than we expected to be.”

    “There’s so much to grasp and I’ve just been absorbing everything that’s been thrown at me,” Whitt said. “I’m so thankful for the chance to learn.”

  • Steve Wallace and Michael Annett See Light at the End of the Tunnel Leading to Iowa

    Steve Wallace and Michael Annett See Light at the End of the Tunnel Leading to Iowa

    As Steve Wallace and Michael Annett put Dover in their rear view mirror and head to the stand alone Nationwide race in Iowa, the teammates of Rusty Wallace Racing agree that they both see the light at the end of the tunnel for Rusty Wallace Racing.

    [media-credit name=”nascar.com” align=”alignright” width=”230″][/media-credit]“Well, I’ll tell you the whole deal,” Wallace, driver of the No. 66 5-Hour Energy Toyota, said.”We thought we were going to start the year pretty good.”

    “We got a new teammate this year and built a bunch of new race cars,” Wallace continued. “We thought we were going to be really fast and felt like we had a pretty good idea going into this year.”

    “But as it turned out we didn’t,” Wallace said. “And we really, really struggled early there in the year.”

    Wallace’s teammate Michael Annett, driver of the No. 62 Pilot Flying J Toyota, could not agree more with the assessment of their early going this season.

    “We went into the season doing a ton of stuff thinking we had the best thing we could bring to the track,” Annett said. “And then we unloaded and realized we had a lot of work to do.”

    Both drivers and teams went back to the drawing board and after multiple meetings and changing up some personnel, they hit on another idea. They signed up one of the Cup drivers, David Reutimann, to help them shake out the problems on their team.

    “We went to Nashville and we ran a third car with David Reutimann,” Wallace said. “He had a completely, way different, odd-ball set up and it ran really, really good.”

    “He ran good and I struggled so we went back to the shop and we mended all the set ups and ever since then our cars have unloaded a lot better,” Wallace continued. “We’re still not where we need to be but we’re definitely going in the right direction.”

    “We’re getting better and better,” Wallace said. “It’s exciting knowing that we’re not so lost as we were before.”

    “There is light at the end of the tunnel.”

    Annett used almost identical language regarding the difference the third car of Reutimann has made for both he and his teammate.

    “We started having our Monday morning meetings and we made a list of what we needed to do,” Annett said. “We did all on the list and moved some people around and added the third car.”

    “They went completely different and they were better,” Annett continued. “They just hit on something and from then on we hit on something. Both teams went that direction and from then on, we started running better.”

    “All the hard work is paying off and we can see the light at the end of the tunnel,” Annett said. “For awhile there at the beginning of the season, it was a small light but we knew we had the people, the parts and the cars to get the job done.”

    “We are getting closer and closer to the end of that tunnel and everything’s finally moving in the right direction.”

    While both Rusty Wallace Racing teammates did not have the best of days at last weekend’s race at Dover’s Monster Mile, with Wallace wrecking hard at the end and Annett never quite finding the handling on his car, the duo managed to salvage top-20 finishes when all was said and done.

    Both now go to the track designed by their team owner Rusty Wallace, Iowa Speedway, for this weekend’s stand alone Nationwide race. Again, Annett and Wallace agreed that the John Deere Dealers 250 presented by Pioneer might just be their best chance to head to the winner’s circle.

    “I have a big bull’s eye on Iowa,” Wallace said. “That’s my favorite track,”

    “We had a really good shot there to win last year and had a problem in the pits,” Wallace continued. “We’re taking a brand new car, our best most state of the art piece.”

    Interestingly, Wallace will be running for the first time ever the chassis matching his car number, RWR-066, this weekend in Iowa.

    “It’s lighter and better and it’s been in the wind tunnel,” Wallace said.” That’s going to be a good deal.”

    For teammate Annett, Iowa Speedway is coming home. The Des Moines, Iowa native has already scored an 11th and 7th place finish in 2009 and 2010 respectively at his home track.

    “I take a lot of pride in my home track,” Annett said. “With the race just down the road from where I grew up, it’s a fun weekend.”

    The teammates are convinced that the Nationwide race, with only two Cup drivers competing, is also the best chance for a Nationwide-only driver to take the checkered flag. And both are motivated by that opportunity to have that Cinderella finish.

    “It drives me 100% to be the first Nationwide driver to get a win,” Wallace said. “It makes you feel really good when you can run up front with those guys. That’s what I’m excited about.”

    “Trevor Bayne winning that race was amazing because he’s such a young kid and a Nationwide guy,” Annett said. “But Regan Smith winning at Darlington is really something.”

    “Steven and I were talking about it and we agreed,” Annett said. “Him winning that race shows that if you do your job right, you can get the job done.”

    With both Annett and Wallace headed into a track that means so much to the team owner and father respectively, one question that many have asked is if the two feel any added pressure.

    “I get that question a lot,” Wallace said. “Iowa’s a cool track, but not just because my Dad’s involved with it.”

    “As far as I’m concerned, we can’t let any of that change the way we approach the weekend at all,” Wallace continued. “We still have to keep our focus on the race.”

    “We’ve had a real chance to win there the last two years in a row,” Wallace said. “Hopefully we’ll be able to put our team in Victory Lane and win one for the Nationwide guys.”

     

  • Steve Letarte: Encouragement Key to Crew Chiefing Dale Earnhardt, Jr.

    Steve Letarte: Encouragement Key to Crew Chiefing Dale Earnhardt, Jr.

    When listening to the in-race audio channel for the Hendrick Motorsports No. 88 AMP Energy/National Guard Chevrolet, many credit crew chief Steve Letarte with being the consummate cheerleader and encourager for his driver Dale Earnhardt, Jr.

    [media-credit name=”Photo by Tom Pennington/Getty Images” align=”alignright” width=”220″][/media-credit]While Letarte admits that he is a positive kind of guy, he also credits NASCAR’s most popular driver as being equally encouraging.

    “Being positive is not something that I consciously do,” Letarte said. “I think it’s just my personality.”

    “Mr. Hendrick is big into personality tests and I’m a green,” Letarte continued. “I normally look at the brighter side of things.”

    “They all think it’s a plan or a theory on how we’re going to run the best,” Letarte said. “It’s just who I am and how I work.”

    “I’ve always worked this way,” Letarte continued. “I worked the same way with Jeff (Gordon) and Mr. Hendrick decided that I’d work very well with Dale (Earnhardt, Jr.) and so far it’s worked out.”

    “It’s different for each race car driver but for Dale, I think being upbeat on the radio helps him,” Letarte said. “But there’s a line too. You can’t be a cheerleader with no facts, because that gets old and you kind of see right through it.”

    “I think Dale understands that I’m realistic about what I’m talking about and I’m not going to sit there and try to motivate him to do things I don’t think we are capable of doing,” Letarte said. “I think we’ve found a very good line of what’s a realistic goal and then we try to motivate and encourage each other to get to those goals.”

    “And it’s worked,” Letarte continued. “Dale’s done a tremendous job in the race car and he’s encouraged us and given us a lot of confidence in ourselves setting up race cars.”

    “His driving style suits our cars very well,” Letarte said. “So, overall it’s been a success.  It’s still early but so far, so good.”

    While Letarte admits that his team owner no doubt purposely paired him with Earnhardt, Jr., he feels that a positive and encouraging crew chief is good for any driver, particularly at NASCAR’s highest level, the Sprint Cup Series.

    “It’s good for anybody,” Letarte said. “I always put myself in their shoes.”

    “The difference between a crew chief and a race car driver is that I can take a break,” Letarte continued. “I can get down off the pit box and go get a water and relax and take a 30 second break from the race, and they can’t.”

    Letarte has indeed learned his encouraging crew chief style from some of the best in the business, from Ray Evernham to Robbie Loomis, both former crew chiefs for four-time champion Jeff Gordon.

    “The biggest thing I’ve done is been able to work with so many good motivators and encouragers that I’ve been able to take a piece of all of them,” Letarte said. “Ray (Evernham) was the ultimate motivator.”

    “Ray motivated by the fear of not being good enough,” Letarte continued. “Robbie (Loomis) was the opposite.  He motivated with the excitement of being good enough.”

    “And I try to be somewhere in the middle,” Letarte said. “I want everybody to have enough desire to try and succeed but at the same time be balanced.”

    While Letarte works hard to be that consummate encourager and motivator, Letarte admits that he sometimes succumbs to the dark side.

    “I’m the guy that everyone has to be careful of because I’m a little Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde,” Letarte admits. “I’m really, really easy going but when practice or the race starts, I’m really, really not.”

    “The guys that have been around me a long time have learned that and they almost go two separate ways because they know,” Letarte continued. “It gets some of the newer employees in trouble because they will come across light-hearted and I’m not light-hearted at that moment.”

    Letarte also admits that he has little tolerance for driver to crew chief chatter that in any way is not encouraging or worse yet, berates the team. He acknowledges that his driver may get animated or excited but he would in no way allow his driver to throw the team under the bus.

    “I don’t think I would have the tolerance that some of the other crew chiefs have,” Letarte said. “I’m fine with the driver being frustrated and I’m fine with him being animated or disappointed.”

    “But I’m not OK with any personal attacks on the race team or anyone on the team,” Letarte continued. “If you put me with a driver like that, we wouldn’t last very long.”

    “I handle all my issues behind closed doors,” Letarte said. “That’s how Dale and I handle all our stuff.”

    “We close the door and he can say anything he wants to me and I can say anything I want to him,” Letarte continued. “That’s the only way you can move forward.”

    With that open communication style, Letarte is most encouraged that his driver, and most important, his team will soon be in Victory Lane.

    “I am absolutely hungry for a win,” Letarte said. “It’s been a long time since I’ve been to Victory Lane.”

    “Of course, I would like to get to Victory Lane but more than anything else, my driver and these guys deserve to get to Victory Lane,” Letarte said. “I have a group of guys who have stuck with me through the ups and downs. They work tireless hours. They’re the guys that deserve to have that feeling.”

    Given that he has not been to the winner’s circle yet this season, to whom does Steve Letarte turn to when he needs a little encouragement? For that, he moves from his driver and race team to his family for encouragement, particularly his children.

    “I think having kids has also helped me,” Letarte said. “I have a 5 and 7 year old so maybe I take things a little slower and enjoy it a little more.”

    “Family, I think, it puts it all in perspective,” Letarte said. “I remember in 2005 when I took over as crew chief, we went to Martinsville and we won.”

    “And I came home and I was so excited and my little boy at the time was not quite two and he could have cared less,” Letarte continued. “He didn’t even realize there was a race that day.”

    “I realized at that point that the whole world didn’t revolve around the garage and the whole world didn’t revolve around my performance at the race track,” Letarte said. “And while that’s hard to understand because you’re caught up in it so much, that’s true.”

    “Life is way more important than your job,” Letarte continued. “While our jobs here feel like life, and they are, at some point you have to pull away.”

    “I think that’s my ticket as I have an outlet outside this garage where I spend time with my kids and my family,” Letarte said. “I realize at that point that the world’s not coming to an end if we run bad.”

    “I enjoy my job and I love what I do,” Letarte continued. “I don’t take that for granted. I love to race but I race for a living.”

    “At the same time it’s important to be successful and to be successful in this sport, it’s all about having to run well on Sunday afternoon,” Letarte said. “And that’s what Dale Junior and I encourage each other to do.”

  • DeLana Harvick’s Advice for Women in Business: Be Who You Are

    DeLana Harvick, co-owner of Kevin Harvick, Inc., was recently recognized as an extraordinary businesswoman and for her outstanding contributions to her profession by The Business Journal at their 12th annual Women in Business Awards ceremony.

    While Harvick was flattered, as well as surprised to be counted in such great company, she shared just one piece of advice to all women in business, “Be who you are.”

    “Honestly, it caught me off guard,” Harvick said of her award. “I was really honored to be included in such an impressive group of women.”

    “When I got there, I really enjoyed learning about all the other accomplishments that these fourteen women had made in their lives,” Harvick continued. “Accolades and awards, it’s not that they don’t mean much to me, they do. But in order to be included in such an impressive group actually means more to me.”

    “The awards are really flattering, but I would say to anyone, just be you,” Harvick said. “Be who you are.”

    Harvick was nominated for the award by UNC Greensboro, where she graduated from college. She was specifically honored for turning a negative, the wearing of the fire suit issue, into a positive, using the controversy to develop a T-shirt which raised money for charity.

    Harvick’s role in the sport of NASCAR was also honored, particularly as a female team owner in a primarily male-dominated sport.

    “To me, I grew up in the sport so I never really viewed this as a male-dominated sport,” Harvick said. “Clearly it has been in the past, but in the last ten years or so you can see the impact that women have had in the sport from the business side and even women engineers and drivers.”

    “This was where I was going to be whether it was male-dominated or not.”

    Harvick has indeed been involved in the sport, growing up in fact as the only daughter of a racer. Her father, John Paul Linville, was a contractor by profession but a racer by passion, sinking all of his earnings into his race car and shop.

    “When I grew up and my dad raced in the Nationwide/Late Model Sportsman/Busch Grand National Series, we didn’t have a lot of money,” Harvick said. “My dad was a contractor and what he was able to put into the racing is what he made. There were no sponsors so I really learned a whole different side of the business based on how I grew up in the sport.”

    “I spotted for my dad and I did the travel,” Harvick continued. “I learned by just having to do.”

    “I’m a doer and I think that has played a big part into why Kevin and I and KHI are successful because we both grew up that way,” Harvick said. “We both had to do things and were not handed things.”

    Before KHI was even a glimmer in anyone’s eyes, however, DeLana Harvick as she was growing up wanted to be a racer herself.

    “Growing up I always envisioned myself racing,” Harvick said. “But my dad was a very old-school, Southern kind of guy. Women didn’t do that at the time.”

    “My dad was quite surprised with my level of determination about racing,” Harvick continued. “I definitely didn’t grow up the Southern belle that I think he may have wanted. So, I pushed and pushed and pushed but it just wasn’t something that he was willing let me do.”

    “Our deal was that if I graduated college, he would get me a car,” Harvick said. “Well, he got me a chassis so I had to build me a car and that took, between trying to work and everything else, a couple of years after I graduated.”

    “And at that point, I had met Kevin and really my life was in a different place,” Harvick continued. “So, it just never worked out for me.”

    “I did run a late model and my dad and Kevin were both there at the time,” Harvick said. “But I don’t think either one of them could have taken it with their nerves. They just couldn’t bear it.”

    “It never worked out and that’s okay,” Harvick said. “I think it was probably meant to be.”

    Rather than being behind the wheel, Harvick graduated college and went to work interning at Performance PR Plus. She shadowed the staff who handled Jeff Gordon’s public relations at the height of the Gordon frenzy which she acknowledges was a great learning experience.

    “I think that has served me well and I think I’ve probably gained the respect of people in this sport,” Harvick said. “I started out in PR so I certainly knew a lot of the media at that time. But I also knew a lot of the crew members, owners, and drivers because I had grown up in the sport.”

    In addition to her mother and father, Harvick also credits role model, mentor and friend Richard Childress as one of the most important influences in her life.

    “Richard (Childress) has been a very, very integral part of what Kevin and I have done,” Harvick said. “He’s always had the door open.”

    “He could have easily have seen this as a distraction for Kevin but he hasn’t,” Harvick continued. “Richard has embraced everything that we’ve done and for that we have truly been fortunate.”

    Harvick says that her other role models have been her parents, both of whom she admires for their passion and determination, especially after her father’s diagnosis of cancer when she was a young girl.

    “When I was twelve, my dad was diagnosed with a very rare form of cancer and they told him he only had six months to live,” Harvick said. “Well, he lived for over twenty years.”

    “So, I think that spirit of pushing forward no matter what the challenges are, whether an illness or not having as much money as the guy parked next to you in the pits, is just to continue to press forward,” Harvick continued. “I learned so much from my dad in that aspect that really helped me in everything that I do.”

    Although Harvick’s father passed away in November 2005, she is still quite close with her mother, who lives nearby her home and the race shop.

    “While my dad went through his treatment, my mother had to work in order to support the family,” Harvick said. “I actually had gone to NC State for school and then came home because I had to take my dad to treatments while my mom worked.”

    “I really admire my mom’s strength,” Harvick continued. “She is way more outgoing and fun-loving than I am. I’m more straightforward and focused like my dad. I admire that about her.”

    Harvick has also learned from her parents, as well as through her own experience, that dealing with challenges is one of life’s most important lessons. She also credits having supports around her as a key element to her success.

    “I have good days and bad days and some turn out better than others,” Harvick said. “You have to surround yourself with good people and come to the realization that you cannot do it all.”

    What’s next for this accomplished woman, who has not only built her own career but also a thriving race team business?

    “A lot of people assume that Cup has to be the next step,” Harvick said. “That’s interesting to me and I certainly believe that KHI has built a foundation that could support that.”

    “Whether that happens or not, I don’t know,” Harvick continued. “I believe it has to be the right situation and the right time and place. And certainly sponsorship plays a huge part in that.”

    “More than anything I think KHI solidifies our place in the sport,” Harvick said. “At some point when Kevin stops driving, and he will, we still have an avenue to be involved in a sport that we’re both passionate about.”

    “So, I think that’s what I’m most proud of,” Harvick said. “You have to live out your dreams and do what makes you happy and what you’re passionate about, because you only get a chance to do this once.”

  • Joey Logano Dishes on Dover, His Season, Boys Have at It, Turning 21 and Farmville

    Joey Logano Dishes on Dover, His Season, Boys Have at It, Turning 21 and Farmville

    From his most eventful Nationwide race that featured everything from rain delays to a late race crash that sent him from second to thirteenth in the final green-white-checkered attempt, Joey Logano always seems to have a most eventful time at Dover International Speedway.

    Here are just a few of the musings from the driver of the JGR No. 20 Home Depot Toyota Camry on everything from racing the Monster Mile to playing his favorite game, Farmville.

    [media-credit id=26 align=”alignright” width=”238″][/media-credit]“This is my favorite race track,” Logano said of Dover International Speedway. “We did roll over there a few years back but this is where I started my first Nationwide race.”

    “I’ve always run good here,” Logano continued. “I’ve always had fast cars and I like the place.”

    “I have no reason to not like it,” Logano said. “It’s not the track’s fault that I rolled over. You always remember it, but it’s no big deal.”

    While he enjoys Dover, Logano acknowledges that he has not enjoyed the struggles his team has experienced so far this season. In fact, he would give himself a ‘C’ so far if he had to assign a letter grade for his performance.

    “It’s a passing grade,” Logano said. “But it’s not a stellar one.”

    “This season has not been so hot,” Logano said. “We’re not where we want to be in points or where we thought we would be.”

    “From the beginning part of the year, we had fast cars but everything you could ever imagine has gone wrong,” Logano continued. “Now our cars are not as fast as what they were, so we’re trying to figure out what we need to do to get them where we need to be.”

    Logano believes that most of his struggles, as well as his team’s, have been as a result of not fully understanding the tires this year.

    “The big thing is really the tires this year,” Logano said. “It suits some guys driving styles better than others.”

    “I think it plays right into Kyle’s (Busch) hands the ways he drives the race car,” Logano continued. “But for me and Denny (Hamlin), we’ve had to do a lot of different stuff to try to make a go of it.”

    Although struggling with the tires, Logano has taken some solace, and even finding some amusement, in the ‘boys have at it’ controversies currently surrounding the sport.

    “Lucky for me, I don’t have any problems yet so far, but last year I had plenty,” Logano said. “I just think it’s funny that all of them are fighting each other now.”

    “I’m just standing here watching,” Logano continued. “It’s pretty funny and really cool when you get to watch them all fighting and you’re not involved with it.”

    “I like it,” Logano said, with his trademark grin. “It’s very entertaining.”

    Logano grew more philosophical, however, when talking about the balance between standing up for yourself and crossing that ‘boys have at it’ line.

    “That’s a hard question to answer,” Logano said. “Every situation is different.”

    “But if it happens over and over, you’ve got to do something different,” Logano continued. “You talk to them first and if not, I don’t know, then if you’ve got to wreck them, you’ve got to wreck them.”

    Unlike Jeff Gordon, who in the media center said that he never made or took a call from a driver with whom he had had issues and did not want anyone to call him, Logano definitely thinks a call is warranted.

    “Every time I’ve had an issue that’s my fault, I’ll call,” Logano said. “I feel like people should call me if something happens or at least talk to me if it’s before practice or before the next race.”

    “Just talk to me, Logano continued. “That’s just how I feel about it. It may or may not settle the waters but at least you’ve talked.”

    While continuing to enjoy the fracas around him, Logano is also looking forward to several other events coming up on his horizon. One of those events is personal as Logano will also turn 21 years of age in the next few weeks, a major milestone for anyone.

    What has the young man planned for his special day?

    “I won’t do anything,” Logano said. “I hate going out.”

    “I’ll probably grill out at my house with a group of friends,” Logano continued.”We’ll probably play ping pong, or other games. My house is full of games like that. I enjoy that.”

    After his birthday celebration, Logano has another date circled on his calendar, that of the Prelude to the Dream race at Eldora Speedway.

    “It’s cool,” Logano said of the Prelude race. “We’ve done it the past two years. It’s interesting because it’s completely different.”

    “I’ve never, ever been on dirt,” Logano continued. “It’s not what I grew up doing. The way you drive your car is backwards.”

    “When you’re naturally doing something, you have to tell yourself not to do it,” Logano said. “It’s weird until you get used to it.”

    One of the other weird factoids about Joey Logano is one that many fans may find surprising.

    “I play the hell out of Farmville,” Logano said, sharing one of his most surprising features. “That and the fact that I really do smile that much.”

  • David Ragan Has Every Intention of Being NASCAR’s Next Cinderella Story

    David Ragan Has Every Intention of Being NASCAR’s Next Cinderella Story

    From Trevor Bayne’s win of the Daytona 500 to Regan Smith’s win last weekend at Darlington, Cinderella stories have been all the rage in NASCAR.

    [media-credit name=”Barry Albert” align=”alignright” width=”279″][/media-credit]One driver who is ready to put on the glass slipper in Victory Lane is David Ragan, driver of the No. 6 UPS Ford for Roush Fenway Racing. In fact, Ragan is indeed planning to be that next big underdog winner.

    “Absolutely, I will be the next Cinderella story,” Ragan said. “I feel like we’re in a position to win a race. And if we can get a little more consistent, I think we have a team that can make the Chase.”

    “From our practice and qualifying efforts, our races and our pit stops, everything is a couple of notches better than what it was even in the year when we finished 13th in the points,” Ragan continued. “I feel like any weekend we go, we’ve got the attitude to win the race.”

    While Ragan may have the winning attitude for that Cinderella finish, he acknowledged that the upcoming race at Dover International Speedway will be a challenge.  In fact, he has one word for the track affectionately known as the Monster Mile and that is “breathtaking.”

    “You almost have to hold your breath all the way around,” Ragan said. “Even on the straight-aways, you still have to drive the car so you’re holding your breath most of the way around.”

    Ragan also affirmed that Dover, in addition to earning the nickname ‘Monster Mile’ has also earned its stripes as ‘Bristol on Steroids.’

    “If you took Bristol by your hands and stretched it out, you’d have Dover,” Ragan said. “You get a lot of speed and a lot of banking so ‘Bristol on Steroids’ is a good way to describe it.”

    “It’s real intimidating the first time you get there,” Ragan continued. “But once you get the hang of it, you actually look forward to it.”

    “You go into the corner and it feels like you fall down a story or two and as you get back on the throttle, you’re driving out of the corner,” Ragan said. “It’s a very cool sensation and when you have a fast car, it makes it even more fun.”

    In spite of the monster challenges at Dover, Ragan takes solace in the fact that his team, Roush Fenway Racing, has a history of running well there.

    “Clearly that’s a track that Roush cars are good at,” Ragan said. “So even in down years, we’ve been good there.”

    “The concrete doesn’t change,” Ragan continued. “Dover stays pretty much the same so we’ve got a good set up we can work with, which makes life a lot easier.”

    “We haven’t had the finish that we deserved,” Ragan said of his own Dover history. “We’ve had some crazy things happen there, from very bad pit stops under green to being caught up in a wreck or two.”

    In addition to hoping for better Dover luck, Ragan and team are also bringing a brand new chassis, Primary RK-759, to the FedEx 400 benefiting Autism Speaks race.

    “So, far having a brand new car has been very good,” Ragan said. “Our pole winning car at Texas was a brand new car. Our top five car at Richmond was a brand new car. The Daytona 500 car was a new car.”

    “So, that’s a testament to how good our new cars are,” Ragan continued. “That gives me some extra confidence that we’re taking the best car we can take to the track.”

    Last fall’s Dover race was also the first pairing of driver Ragan with crew chief Drew Blickensderfer.

    “This is the first track where Drew and I got to work together, so we’re going back to a track that we’ve run at before,” Ragan said. “That’s shown to have been better for us, going back to Texas and Martinsville where we’ve run at before last year and scored top tens.”

    “We have a great relationship,” Ragan continued about his crew chief pairing with Blickensderfer. “We’re both pretty young and we’re not afraid to venture out and be aggressive and try some different things on the race cars.”

    “Drew and I are both very hungry so we know we are capable of winning and want to make it happen,” Ragan said. “So, we definitely have high hopes this weekend.”

    One thing that Ragan wants to avoid happening this weekend is to get caught up in any of the ‘boys have it’ shenanigans that have occurred over the past two race weekends.

    “I don’t know if you’ll have the same couple of characters that we’ve had the past few weeks, but Dover is an exciting track and there’s not a lot of give and take there,” Ragan said. “Accidents do happen so I would say that you probably have a good chance of having a little more fireworks this weekend.”

    “I haven’t gotten into it with anyone but there’s always the next week,” Ragan said with a chuckle. “We’re just trying to stay focused on our plan and stay out of all that. But if something comes up, we’ll be ready.”

    But what David Ragan is most ready for is that first, and to date elusive win, which for him would complete his dream of a Cinderella race weekend.

    “Your first win is always special and at a track like Dover, it would be very special to get a win,” Ragan said.

    “Regan Smith proved that if you’re in a position to win, it can happen,” Ragan continued. “If we put ourselves in the top five or top ten, anything can happen.”

    “I can tell you one thing, there won’t be anybody trying any harder this weekend.”

  • Blaney; Baldwin; Example of Hard Work

    Blaney; Baldwin; Example of Hard Work

    Team’s owner expresses gratitude for outpouring of fan support

    [media-credit name=”Steven Iles” align=”alignright” width=”289″][/media-credit]Amid little fanfare, Tommy Baldwin launched Tommy Baldwin Racing (TBR) in 2009.  Baldwin hired experienced crew members from other teams, preventing people from becoming unemployed.  After the 2008 season, several teams were in the process of closing up shop.  In TBR’s first season, their high watermark was an 18th at Talladega.  The team finished six of the races they entered that year; a considerable feat for a new start-up team.  2010 showed signs of improvement, highlighted by Steve Park’s 13th place run at Daytona.  Some of the races were used as a “start-and-park”, something most owners truly don’t want to do, but are forced to do so because of the cost of racing.

    In January of this year, Dave Blaney was named as driver for a full 36 race campaign.  TBR defied the odds as an independent, underfunded team when they qualified for their third consecutive Daytona 500. Golden Corral came on board to sponsor the team for the race. After leading early, a promising run was scuttled when Blaney was forced into the grass during a multi-car accident late in the race.

    Recently, the teams’ fortunes began to change.  At Talladega, Golden Corral returned for their second stint as sponsor.  Blaney led 21 laps, second-most among all drivers. Unfortunately, another promising run ended in disappointment when the #36 car was turned off the front bumper of Kurt Busch, resulting in a 27th place finish.  The strong performance did not go unnoticed, as the team’s one-race deal turned into a multi-race sponsorship. Golden Corral extended their support for an additional 19 races.  Big Red Soda also came aboard for an additional five races, leaving the team with a mere handful of races without major sponsorship.  This marks a turning point from two year’s ago when the “sponsor” was listed as Tommy Baldwin Racing.  Having well-known corporation adorn the hood and quarterpanels isn’t just a financial boost—it’s a motivational one as well.

    Blaney has shown the sponsorship dollars are well-deserved. Following Talladega, the circuit headed to Richmond, where Blaney stormed home to a 13th place finish; beating the likes of Dale Earnhardt Jr., Kurt Busch, and Matt Kenseth.  While Rick Hendrick, Roger Penske, and Jack Roush have hundreds of people working in their shops; Baldwin has slightly more than a handful.  Whoever said you can do more with less was right.

    The strong finish also propelled TBR into the coveted top-35 in owner’s points, guaranteeing the team a starting position each weekend.  The 24th place finish at Darlington gave TBR a 16 point cushion in the owners’ standings.

    Q: How much does the recent outpouring of fan support mean to you, as an independent team owner?

    Baldwin: It’s meant a lot. I think most people out there can relate to what we are going through as it mirrors what most are going through with today’s economy.

    Q: How does being in the top-35 in owner’s points change a team’s outlook come race weekend?

    Baldwin: It’s been a big relief. Now, we can plan all week on racing instead of trying to make the race first and then shifting our focus to racing.

    Q: Many fans don’t understand the true costs of racing and don’t understand a team’s decision when they do a so-called “start and park”. Can you outline how much it costs to operate a team from week-to-week and how unprofitable it can be?  How frustrating was it knowing you had the equipment to compete, but not the financial resources?

    Baldwin: The engine and tire cost per race is about $100,000, depending on where you race. Last week for example, we finished 24th at Darlington. The point money for that was $99,258, which obviously is less than $100,000. Now imagine if we were involved in an incident or had a problem and finished outside the top-30, the point money for that would be $70,000-80,000. So really if you run the entire race, it is impossible to cover your expenses without a sponsor. It’s been very frustrating not being able to compete at the level I know our team can, but if we work hard, we will succeed.

    Q:  You’ve successfully competed this season against some of NASCAR’s top teams, many who have large staffs.  How many employees do you have working on the car?

    Baldwin: We have 12 full time employees.

    Q: With Golden Corral coming on board for Daytona, what are the plans for Steve Park and the “Ole Blue” car?

    Baldwin: Dave Blaney will be driving the No. 36 Golden Corral Chevrolet, and we will move Steve over to the No. 35 Chevrolet for the “Old Blue” tribute.