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  • The France Legacy Continues With Ben Kennedy

    The France Legacy Continues With Ben Kennedy

    Over 65 years ago, visionary Bill France Sr. gathered 35 roughneck racers, track promoters and businessmen alike for the “First Annual Convention of the National Championship Stock Car Circuit.”  At the conclusion of the 4 day meeting, the National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing or more commonly referred to as NASCAR was born. The first race took place at the Daytona Beach road course on February 21st, 1948. World War II air gunner, Robert “Red” Byron won the race driving a car prepared by legendary owner Raymond Parks. Together, they went on to win 11 of the 52 races on the schedule that year in route to what is now known as the first ever Modified championship.

    “Big” Bill France created what would become the largest spectator sport on the planet attracting millions of fans and bringing in billions of dollars. In 1972, he handed control of the sport over to his 38 year old son; Bill France Jr. Bill Jr. took this predominantly southern sport and made it a nationwide spectacle. Jr. put together a deal with CBS Sports to have them nationally televise the 1979 Daytona 500 flag-to-flag which had never happened before. To this day, all race fans from every generation know about that historic race that put NASCAR on the map. The nation watched as Cale Yarborough and Donnie Allison battled fiercely for the win on the final lap crashing into the turn three wall giving the victory to Richard Petty. Just when you thought it was over, a brawl ensued between Cale and the Allison brothers in the infield which was just icing on the cake for NASCAR.

    During Bill Jr.’s tenure, big money sponsors entered the sport and multi-million dollar TV deals made NASCAR easier to watch than ever before. After being diagnosed with cancer in 2000, he made his son Brian France the new chairman and CEO of NASCAR. With Mike Helton by his side, the two led the sport through some tough times including the tragic death of Dale Earnhardt in 2001, the free fall in TV ratings around 2008 and a major drop in fan attendance. They are finally beginning to turn things around and 2013 will undeniably be looked back on as a major turning point in NASCAR’s history. The racecars actually look like their street counterparts again, we are returning to a dirt track for the first time 40 years, TV ratings and attendance have been up at almost every event and the drivers are actually showing emotion and passion for what they do.

    A 4th generation France is coming up through the ranks but he isn’t dressed in a three-piece suit. No, the great grandson of Bill France Sr. is instead walking around the garage area in a fire suit with a helmet in his hand. His name is Ben Kennedy and he is the newest winner in the NASCAR K&N East Series. Last weekend, he led flag-to-flag at Five Flags Speedway winning in dominating fashion over Gray Gaulding. It was technically his second NASCAR sanctioned win but it’s his first on American soil. He won a NASCAR Euro Racecar event last year in a race that featured both wet and dry conditions. He currently sits 5th in the K&N East standings with two top 10’s after three races. In August, the 21 year old racer will make his Camping World Truck Series debut driving for Turner Scott Motorsports at Bristol. The future looks bright for this kid as he looks to make his mark on this sport not off the track like those who came before him did but behind the wheel of a racecar.

  • Dr. Lapchick Starts Diversity Rehab with Jeremy Clements

    Dr. Lapchick Starts Diversity Rehab with Jeremy Clements

    Early next week, Dr. Richard Lapchick, Founder and Director of the Institute for Diversity and Ethics in Sport, will begin his diversity rehabilitation with NASCAR driver Jeremy Clements.

    The 28-year-old NASCAR Nationwide Series driver was suspended by the sanctioning body for an “intolerable and insensitive remark” during an MTV interview before the Nationwide race at Daytona. He was remanded to rehabilitation with Dr. Lapchick as part of his recovery program.

    Delray Rehab, located in Delray Beach, FL, offers outpatient treatment using specialized therapies created for sustainable health and recovery and is dedicated to helping anyone that is suffering from alcohol and drug addiction and mental health issues in a compassionate and welcoming environment.

    So, who is this Dr. Lapchick who will work with Clements and how did he become such a passionate expert in racial diversity in sports?

    “It started pretty young,” Lapchick said. “My dad was a coach of the Knicks and as a five year old I looked outside my bedroom window and saw my father’s image swinging from a tree and overheard calls meant for him calling him all kinds of racial obscenities.”

    “So, I was drawn to civil rights since I was a teenager,” Lapchick continued. “I went to graduate school and wrote my doctoral dissertation on how South Africa used sports as part of its foreign policy and then went on to found the Institute for Diversity and Ethics in Sports at the University of Central Florida.”

    “I learned that sports were a powerful platform to communicate about important social issues such as racism and sexism,” Lapchick said. “I think you can use the sports platform to talk about any social issue but that was the beginning.”

    Lapchick may be working with Clements for the first time but he is no stranger to working with the sport of NASCAR on diversity initiatives. In fact, his association with the sport goes all the way back to 1997 when he met with NASCAR Chairman and CEO Brian France.

    “When I moved to Orlando in 1997, I called on various sports leaders in the area and obviously Brian France was on that list,” Lapchick said. “I didn’t know NASCAR very well at that point and had only seen a few races on television.”

    “When I met Brian France, he had done his homework and told me that he wanted NASCAR to look like America,” Lapchick said. “For some reason, I totally believed that he genuinely meant that not just because I was in the room.”

    “Every dealing that I’ve had with NASCAR over these years has reinforced that,” Lapchick continued. “Brian asked me to be on the Diversity Council and appointed Magic Johnson and myself as Co-Chairs.”

    “The turning point for NASCAR was when they hired Marcus Jadotte about six years ago,” Lapchick said. “We started talking about the diversity management training that we did and we ended up doing five consecutive years of training every NASCAR employee.”

    “No other sport or entire industry has done it more than once,” Lapchick continued. “NASCAR is really trying to make a difference in changing the culture.”

    “The Drive for Diversity program has started to move things forward and has made women and people of color more comfortable in the sport.”

    So, how exactly will Dr. Lapchick work specifically with Jeremy Clements during his diversity rehabilitation?

    “It will be educational to a large degree,” Lapchick said. “We will try to make him feel comfortable and safe.”

    “Obviously he is in a difficult position right now,” Lapchick continued. “I’ll spend the first hour with him next Monday and then our team, that has done the diversity training for many sports, will meet with him for three hours.”

    “We’ll take him through some exercises as we would do with anyone,” Lapchick said. “We’ll make it interactive and make him feel safe that he can say things that are important to him and to share feedback on those things.”

    “We did this once before for NASCAR with a crew chief in 2009 and it was a positive experience,” Lapchick continued. “We’re anticipating that this will be as well.”

    Lapchick admits that the length of the diversity education will be totally dependent on Clements.

    “We’re also open, as is NASCAR, if we feel at the end of this that there is an ongoing need, we will recommend that,” Lapchick said. “With the crew chief we worked with, he was so open with the session that we didn’t think that additional time was necessary.”

    “So, we will see how Monday goes and are open to ongoing discussions if needed.”

    Given the Clements remark and suspension, is Lapchick concerned about the status of diversity in NASCAR?

    “I think they are where the NBA was when David Stern became Commissioner,” Lapchick said. “In terms of the decision makers, there is representation of diversity in the leadership area.”

    “But on the track, they are significantly further behind than the NBA or NFL in the 1980s,” Lapchick continued. “That will take time to catch up there.”

    “But with who is in the pipeline in the Drive for Diversity program and their level of talent, I do see the possibility of more and more women and people of color in the sport,” Lapchick said. “And with Danica Patrick now in the sport she will inspire a whole lot of young girls to consider racing a car as a possibility.”

    “I do see the progress,” Lapchick continued. “We do Racial and Gender report cards for the leagues and for various sports.”

    “Now, they use that as a benchmark and leverage with their teams so that they can move to a better grade and build momentum,” Lapchick said. “That helps me want to stay doing what I’m doing.”

    Lapchick was also impressed with some of the other drivers, especially those with a large fan base the likes of Dale Earnhardt, Jr. and Jeff Gordon, speak out and support the NASCAR diversity policy.

    “I think that was really important for the fans and other drivers to hear that these influential leaders on the track were willing to speak out and say what some would consider risky,” Lapchick said. “There are people who are pushing back on the fact that Jeremy was suspended.”

    “But much to NASCAR’s credit, they decided that there is a zero tolerance policy about racism,” Lapchick continued. “The reaction of the drivers in the sport is important.”

    While Lapchick is prepared to meet with Clements next week, he is currently engrossed in another social justice effort. He is at present assisting with rebuilding efforts in Long Island as the New York area recovers from Hurricane Sandy.

    “It really started with New Orleans,” Lapchick said. “I was really disappointed and angry at the response after the storm.”

    “We formed the organization that this week went to Long Island to help,” Lapchick continued. “Along with my diversity work, that has been most one of the most fulfilling things I’ve ever done.”

  • NASCAR Mourns Two Legends Chris Economaki and Bob Newton

    NASCAR Mourns Two Legends Chris Economaki and Bob Newton

    In this undated photo provided by CBS Sports, journalist Chris Economaki is shown at Daytona International Speedway in Daytona Beach, Fla. Economaki, regarded as the authoritative voice in motorsports for decades, died Friday, Sept. 28, 2012. He was 91. (AP Photo/File)

    NASCAR and the racing world in general lost two legends this week, Bob Newton and Chris Economaki. As news filtered through the NASCAR garage and media center at Dover International Speedway of Economaki’s passing and of the passing earlier in the week of Newton, many in leadership roles, as well as the drivers themselves, took time to remember.

    Chris Economaki, who died at the age of 91, was so important to the world of motorsports. The ‘Dean of Motorsports’ worked for more than forty years for venues including CBS, ESPN and ABC’s Wide World of Sports.

    “The passing of Chris Economaki is a tough loss for me on both a personal and professional level, having known Chris throughout my life,” Brian France, NASCAR Chairman and CEO, said. “Many people consider Chris the greatest motorsports journalist of all time.”

    “He was, indeed, the ‘Dean’ and was a fixture for years at NASCAR events, playing a huge role in growing NASCAR’s popularity,” France continued. “I’ll miss seeing him and of course, I’ll miss hearing that voice.”

    “Our thought and prayers are with his daughters Corinne and Tina and the rest of Chris’ family.”

    In addition to NASCAR leadership, the leadership of Ford Motor Company and Ford Racing Communications also paid tribute to Economaki.

    “All of us at Ford Motor Company are sorry to hear of Chris Economaki’s passing,” Edsel B. Ford II, said. “He was an icon of the sport of auto racing a familiar, knowledgeable face and voice to millions of race fans around the world.”

    “Chris’ passing marks the end of a great era of auto racing and how it was covered in this country,” Kevin Kennedy, Ford Racing Communications Director, said. “He truly loved the sport, probably more than any journalist I knew, but he also loved the people who made up the sport and was quick to tell a great story, say a kind word to those new in the sport, and hold court on any subject the sport could dish out.”

    “I’ll miss that great voice.”

    In addition to NASCAR leadership, the drivers themselves also weighed in on Economaki’s passing, including Jeff Gordon, four-time champion; Tony Stewart, reigning champ; Danica Patrick, making her way in the Nationwide and Cup Series; and past champion Matt Kenseth.

    “Speed Sport News was something that I read religiously,” Jeff Gordon said. “Chris did a lot for that newspaper and for motorsports and he was passionate about all of it.”

    “The last time I saw him was earlier this year and still, that is all he thought about was racing,” Gordon continued. “And he cared so much about what was happening in this sport and wanted to make a difference and wanted to get those stories out there.”

    “It’s just not very often that you come across somebody that puts their heart and soul and entire life mission into that.”

    “Obviously, Chris has covered racing for so long, not only been a journalist but a great announcer at the same time and pit report,” Tony Stewart said. “I don’t think anybody here that has been involved in racing for very long didn’t get Speed Sport News every week.”

    “Luckily, Speed Sport News is still going on and then it got turned over to some really good hands,” Smoke continued. “The guy that started it all unfortunately we lost.”

    “I’ve met him a couple times and am aware of what he’s done and how much he means to journalism and motorsports,” Danica Patrick said. “I just know how instrumental he’s been and how long he’s been around.”

    “It’s sad that any time someone who has been around forever and is a legend dies.”

    “You would hear him when NASCAR racing first started being on TV, or at least being on TV in Wisconsin before I could see it in person, and you couldn’t help but notice Chris,” Matt Kenseth said. “He was one of the first and probably the most recognizable and famous voices there was with motorsports.”

    “I’m sad about his passing.”

    The racing world, including NASCAR, also lost another member of the family with the death of Bob Newton this week. Newton founded the company that produced tires for NASCAR cars in the 1980s and in other racing series as well.

    “What an impact he made,” Jeff Gordon said. “Bob Newton with Hoosier Tire really changed what short track racing his today.”

    “His efforts and that family certainly made a big impact on my life, and racing, and what I raced on for years before I ever got tot eh Cup Series.”

    “So, two big losses this week.”

    “Bob Newton, I don’t even know where to start,” Tony Stewart said. “There is so much I can say about him.  He is just a great guy.”

    “I’ve worked with Hoosier Racing Tire since I was probably 20 or 21 years old,” Smoke continued. “They have been a sponsor of mine ever since.”

    “The thing about Bob is he always cared about the racers more than he cared about himself.”

    “You hate it when you have a week where you lose two great people that meant so much to the sport like this.”

  • Surprising and Not Surprising: Homestead Ford 400

    Surprising and Not Surprising: Homestead Ford 400

    In a championship battle between two drivers separated by a mere three points going into the race, it was no surprise that Carl Edwards, driver of the No. 99 Aflac Ford and Tony Stewart, driver of the No. 14 Office Depot/Mobil 1 Chevrolet, participated in a battle of epic proportions that did not end until the checkered flag flew.

    [media-credit name=”CIA Stock Photo” align=”alignright” width=”225″][/media-credit]Here is what was surprising and not surprising from the final race of the 2011 season, the 13th annual running of the Ford 400 from Homestead-Miami Speedway.

    Surprising:  While NASCAR Chairman Brian France wanted a ‘Game 7’ moment, it was most surprising that this race was not only that, but also an amazing story of comeback, guts and determination.

    From a hole in the grille to a fuel mileage gamble, several rain delays, and pit problems causing him to have to pass over 116 cars, Tony Stewart seemingly battled every element known to man to win the race, his 44th in 464 Cup races, as well as the championship.

    Stewart actually tied in championship points with Edwards, 2403 to be exact, but won the tie-breaker due to his five wins. Doing just what he needed to do, Stewart, principal of Stewart-Haas Racing, became just the second owner/driver since Alan Kulwicki in 1992 to score the coveted championship.

    Stewart is the seventh champ to win the season finale in his championship run. This was Smoke’s third championship, the others coming in 2002 and 2005.

    Stewart also becomes the ninth driver to win three or more championships, joining drivers Darrell Waltrip, Lee Petty and Cale Yarborough, all of whom are Hall of Famers or nominees for the Hall.

    “I felt like when we took the white flag, that I could do what I needed to do,” Stewart said. “To be able to fight our way up there, what a dream come true.”

    “As far as the owner’s side, it was more important to me to get Gene (Haas) that championship,” Stewart continued. “That’s a big deal in this sport. I’m so proud that we were able to get him up on that stage.”

    “I’m in awe,” team owner Gene Haas said of his driver. “I think Tony proved he’s the greatest driver in the world today.”

    Not Surprising:  Although exuding total class, as well as being the first person to congratulate the race winner and champion, it was not surprising that there was no one at Homestead more disappointed than Carl Edwards in coming up short for the Cup.

    Yet even in defeat, Edwards was able to at least be a bit philosophical through his disappointment.

    “It’s difficult but to put it in perspective, I plan to be here next year and the next year,” Edwards said. “I just appreciate having this opportunity. I feel like I became a better racer through this.”

    “This was a very mentally tough thing, from Tony’s win at Martinsville until now,” Edwards continued. “I’ll be tougher next time too.  I learned a lot.”

    This second place finish was Edwards’ seventh top-10 in eight races at Homestead-Miami Speedway. It was also his 26th top-10 finish in 2011, proving that he earned the title of ‘Mr. Consistency’ throughout the season.

    Surprising:  At a track far from his hometown of Mayetta, New Jersey, it was surprising to see just how well Martin Truex, Jr. ran at Homestead, Florida.

    The driver of the No. 56 NAPA Auto Parts Toyota not only scored the outside pole to begin the race, but finished a strong third in the Ford 400. This was Truex’s fifth top-10 finish in seven races at Homestead-Miami Speedway.

    “It’s a lot of fun when you can run like that,” Truex, Jr. said. “Just proud of everybody for sticking together.”

    “I’m looking forward to next year,” Truex Jr. continued. “It’s going to be fun.”

    “Everyone here has put such effort into making our cars better,” Truex, Jr. said. “We’ve had a pretty good season and have had fast race cars.”

    “If we can take care of a lot of little things this winter, hopefully we will have three cars capable of winning races week in and week out.”

    Not Surprising:  Matt Kenseth, who has been ultra-steady all season long, did not disappoint and not surprisingly scored a fourth place finish in his No. 17 Crown Royal Ford Fusion in this year’s race finale.

    “It was a good run for us in spite of hitting the wall early,” Kenseth said. “We did all that stuff, we just didn’t have the grip and speed they had.”

    “I thought it was Carl’s, to be honest with you,” Kenseth said of his teammate’s championship battle. “He had tires and Tony didn’t, but he just couldn’t quite catch him.”

    Surprising:  Jeff Burton, admittedly running some experimental set ups in his No. 31 Caterpillar Chevrolet for Richard Childress Racing, scored a surprising top-10 finish. Even more surprising, Burton achieved his goal of claiming 20th in the point standings.

    “Everyone is working on next year and everybody’s experimenting a little bit,” Burton said. “We’ve done a lot of testing the second half of the year with the 31 car. Really feel like we’ve moved the ball forward.”

    “We had a tight battle for 20th in points,” Burton continued. “I know that doesn’t sound like much but it means something to us. We had a tight battle for bragging rights.”

    Not Surprising:  While Brad Keselowski’s Cinderella story did not result in a championship, to no one’s surprise, last year’s Nationwide champ finished fifth in points, in spite of his 20th place finish at Homestead.

    “I don’t think anyone really expected that out of us, but I never stopped believing that we could be, you know, a contender and have a lot of fun and do well as a team,” the driver of the No. 2 Miller Lite Dodge Charger said. “I think we’ve got a lot to build off of.”

    “We’ll work on it, build off it too,” Keselowski continued. “I’m real proud of the effort for the whole team.”

    Surprising:  Since Jeff Gordon, behind the wheel of the No. 24 Drive to End Hunger, seemed to be on a down-hill slide at Chase-end, it was surprising that he was able to bounce back for a top-five run. His finish also propelled him three positions up in the point standings to the eighth spot.

    “It was a great day, a top-five, a great year,” Gordon said. “We had three wins, got number 85, and came up short in the Chase, but we look forward to next year and battling it out for the Sprint Cup.”

    As a champion himself, Gordon also had nothing but praise for NASCAR’s newest king.

    “Congratulations to Tony Stewart, my gosh, what an amazing run he had in these final ten races,” Gordon said. “He has done some incredible things in his career but I’m guessing that this one is going to top them all.”

    “He did it in a fashion that everybody dreams of doing.”

    Not Surprising:  Kasey Kahne, winner of last weekend’s race at Phoenix, continued his good run, finishing seventh for the last time in the No. 4 Red Bull Toyota Camry. Kahne will now take all his marbles and head to Hendrick Motorsports for the 2012 season, replacing Mark Martin.

    “I think we had the best car there those couple runs before the final run,” Kahne said. “We were flying. It felt really good and then we just got tight in that final run.”

    “It was crazy,” Kahne said of the race and the championship battle. “That’s as close as a championship can be, will ever be. Those two guys both deserve to be champions if you ask me.”

    Surprising:  While both Busch brothers, Kurt and Kyle, have experienced some troubles both on and off the track this season, it was surprising to see just how far they fell, finishing eleventh and twelfth in the points standings respectively.

    Kyle Busch, behind the wheel of the No. 18 Interstate Batteries Toyota, not the M&Ms Toyota due to his bad behavior with Ron Hornaday in the Truck race two weeks ago, showed moments of brilliance in the race finale. Busch, however, then faded to finish well back in the back in pack in the 23rd spot.

    Big brother Kurt Busch, driving the No. 22 Shell/Pennzoil Dodge Charger, had troubles early in the Homestead race when on Lap 4, something broke in the engine. He officially finished 34th.

    “I’ve never been so disappointed in my life,” Kurt Busch said. “I think I missed a race once my rookie year and this almost tops that.”

    Not Surprising:  As exciting as the 2011 season has been, including the race finale and championship, it is not surprising that all good things must come to an end. In addition to the close of Jimmie Johnson’s reign as champion, other goodbyes, including David Reutimann leaving Michael Waltrip Racing, as well as Red Bull Racing pulling out of the sport, need to be said.

    “It’s been a good five years,” Brian Vickers, driver of the No. 83 Red Bull Toyota, said of his run with the team. “We had some ups and downs. The only goal we didn’t accomplish was the championship.”

    “I want to thank everyone at Red Bull, Toyota and all the guys for their hard work through the years,” Vickers continued. “This is it.”

    “It’s disappointing,” David Reutimann, driver for the final time of the No. 00 Aaron’s Dream Machine Toyota, said. “I love my guys. A lot of these guys have been with me since the Truck Series and have come up with me.”

    “I’m going to miss them,” Rooty continued. “It’s certainly a lot more bitter than it is sweet for sure.”

    “We think we had a motor problem,” Jimmie Johnson, driver of the No. 48 Lowes Chevrolet, said. “I started getting some warning signs in the way to the pits.”

    “We had a fast car but I worked my way up and was having some fun,” Johnson, who finished 32nd, continued. “Sad way to end the season but it’s racing and we’ll come back next year.”

    Speaking of next year, it is most surprising just how quickly this 2011 season has flown. Yet it is not surprising that testing at Daytona and Speedweeks is literally just around the corner.

    So, until 2012 brings us all back together at the track, happy holidays and God bless!

  • Watkins Glen – A Siren’s Song

    Watkins Glen – A Siren’s Song

    If Sonoma is the wicked witch of the west, with her short track tendencies and her hot temper attitude. Then Watkins Glen is the evil witch of the east, with her high speeds and dangerous tempting of drivers to drive in just a little deeper go just a little faster. After a days delay due to rain, she rewarded patience and collected those who gave into her sirens song.

    After coming close enough to see the checkers wave. After having fate rip the flag from his hands. Marcos Ambrose finally silenced the reminiscing of his close calls when he took the checkers in very convincing style. Ambrose held off a hard charging Brad Keselowski in the final turns to bring home his first Sprint Cup win.

    [media-credit name=”Jeff Zelevansky/Getty Images for NASCAR” align=”alignright” width=”234″][/media-credit]Although the checkers flew with the yellow for two serious wrecks on the final lap both occurred behind the leaders leaving Ambrose, Keselowski and Kyle Busch to bring them all to the finish line wide open and going for broke.

    As the wind caught the checkered flag, a sickening stillness spread on the breeze as the carnage of the wreck involving David Ragan and David Reutimann became apparent via the big screen on the front stretch. Reutimann was air born. He hit two walls and the car appeared to disintegrate around him. Ragan hit an oblique wall dead head on after contact from Boris Said and then bounced into Reutimann sending him airborne when they both hit the outside Armco retaining wall.

    This was the third serious wreck of the day. The first saw Kurt Busch lose his brakes entering turn 5 and go head on into the tire barrier. “I had a big problem getting into the braking zones today — just rear brakes locking up,” Busch said after the crash. “I had to crank eight rounds of front brake into our [car] just to survive. All that does is generate brake heat, and I blew out the left-front tire.

    “It was a bummer of a day and not anything that we expected. It must have been something with the brake package. Whatever Keselowski found at Road Atlanta [during his Aug. 3 testing accident], I had a problem with today.”

    The second of the day was Denny Hamlin’s crash in turn 1 on lap 65. Hamlin’s car lost its brakes and hit a tire barrier and guard rail head on at 60mph moving a fence backwards almost 2 feet whose posts were set in concrete.

    “This was just terrifying,” Hamlin said, “because you know there’s nothing you can do, and you’re heading straight for the fence. It’s the [most scared] I’ve been, by far.”

    “You’re obviously traveling fast. This is obviously the fastest road course,” said David Ragan after his crash, “It’s crazy, though, in this day and age to not have SAFER barriers and a little better design. That guardrail and all has probably been here since the 1900s when this race track was built. It’s kind of absurd. There are dirt tracks that have better SAFER barriers and wall systems.”

    Reutimann who was struck in the leg by a piece of flying debris that cut through his uniform, when he became air borne and struck both inside and outside armco guard rails. “This is one of the bigger hits I would say, but it’s part of the gig,” Reutimann said. “You sign up to do this stuff, every once in a while you’re going to hit something. As fast as we’re going, you hit stuff pretty hard. I’m good and will be ready for Michigan next week. I’m thinking where I hit would probably be a good place for SAFER barriers. So, maybe we should look at that next time we come back. Overall, I’m OK and ready to get out of here.”

    Jeff Gordon was a victim in the same spot in the track last year and was fortunate enough to walk away from a very nasty crash. Although Gordon finished 13th and was not involved in the wreck, he certainly sympathized with the drivers who were involved.

    “You can’t have walls like that. You’re going to find those places eventually, so they’ve got to fix them. And unfortunately, this one has been found before. And we’ve seen what can happen, and we’re very fortunate we don’t have any injuries coming from that, because obviously it could have been much worse. But anytime you’re in a race car and you’re trying to go fast, accidents are going to happen. And when they do, you have to make sure they have a clear path for cars to exit the race track. In this situation, they’ve got a wall that [produces] not only a big impact, but puts it right back out into traffic.” Stated the four time champion.

    In fairness not every driver voiced a concern about the barriers. Race winner Marcos Ambrose had a different perspective on the tracks barriers coming from a road course back ground. “I don’t drive around this place looking at any one spot saying, ‘Ooh, that looks nasty to me.’ I think they’ve done great with what they’ve got,” he said. “If you don’t have a guardrail off Turn 2, you end up going down a bank, so that’s not good, either. So I think the track itself is fine. I think we just have to keep working on safety. All the drivers walked away. I’ve got no complaints about this place. I think it’s a safe race track. We’re just driving these cars flat out, and it creates problems. … I think the track is a classic road-racing circuit. You don’t want to make it too sterile. You’ve got to have bumps and lumps and change of camber and roughness and all that kind of stuff that makes it what it is.”

    But the facts remain that one more time NASCAR has taken a wait and see attitude. It took the death of J.D. McDuffie here to create the bus stop chicane to insure that the heavy high powered stock cars could make the turn safely. One would think with the history of serious career and life threatening injuries that Watkins Glen has that NASCAR would want to take a proactive stance and say Ok we need you to look into making changes here and here. But that is simply not the case.

    Nascar will review the black box information from all the wrecked cars and see if the G Spikes were high enough to warrant S.A.F.E.R. barriers being placed in the trouble spots. G Spikes occur at impact and are a measurement of the gravitational force that the driver sustains. It takes a certain level for the sanctioning body to mandate the S.A.F.E.R. barrier technology be placed in the area by the track.

    For the third week in a row, there were safety concerns for drivers. For the third week in a row lives were at risk. Again it calls into question the Driver Safety First Initative of NASCAR. Obviously this car has incredible safety systems. But is that enough?

    If the technology exists to make the enviroment safer to race in why on earth would you not have it in place? If driver safety first is your first priority, so much so that unlike other series, Sprint Cup does not race in the wet, why would you not insist that the technology be in place at tracks where they race?

    Spokesman for Watkins Glen International Speedway, Ryan Lake stated post race, “Driver safety is certainly our No. 1 concern, and I think our past shows that we’re more than willing to do what’s necessary — such as two years ago, when we made those changes with the extended runoffs and SAFER barriers,” track spokesman Ryan Lake said. “After this race, we’ll certainly speak with NASCAR, and if they come back and say we need to make changes, we’re certainly going to do that.” The key words here are “if they come back and say we need to make changes, we’re certainly going to do that.”

    Why after the crashes we saw this weekend would you need NASCAR to tell you that you have a problem? It’s apparent that there is a problem and it’s not the first time the problem has shown itself. Why? Because S.A.F.E.R. barriers are expensive. Very expensive. It’s in the neighborhood of $500 a foot. That isn’t the only problem. Dr. Dean Sicking, creator of S.A.F.E.R. barriers said, “The truth is, along with the expense, there wasn’t enough steel tubing in the world to do it. [put safer barriers on every wall]

    “We would have used it all and still come up short. We had to select the areas where a crash was most likely to occur.”

    The S.A.F.E.R. barrier is comprised of hollow rectangular tubes in front of foam padding, which is in front of the concrete walls. S.A.F.E.R. stands for Steel and Foam Energy Reduction.

    NASCAR is aware of the risks. “Obviously, we want to have the S.A.F.E.R. walls in the areas where we have the most risk,” NASCAR CEO Brian France said, “I know we’re always looking at it, and every track is a little bit different.

    “Some are road courses, so you can’t just say every wall. It may not be practical or it may not be necessary. But clearly in areas of high risk, we have to do better.”

    Now, the restrictions are understandable. The outside factors are very apparent. But the fact remains that if NASCAR is going to put driver’s safety first then as a whole the sport should be proactive in the area of driver safety not reactive. It should not take losing a driver or having one seriously injured before we take the steps to prevent it. This is the second consecutive year that this turn and area of the track has been shown to be unsafe. Yet we wait and see what happens. The time is here for NASCAR to say this is what happens and if you want to keep this date, you will fix this area of the track.

    The sky was growing dark over the track and teams were hurriedly preparing to finally go home. Some breathed sighs of relief. Some celebrated a victory over the evil witch. Some just sighed happy to be returning home with limited pain. As the thunder rumbled far off more than one looked over their shoulder towards the chicane where the destruction had occurred and wondered out loud, how close did we really come? The slowly falling rain drops seemed to whisper the answer they all knew as they hit the tops of metal trailers and sent a universal shutter down the spines of all present.

    ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ * * * * ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

    Congratulations to Kurt Busch and the Ruby Tuesdays/Discount Tire team on their victory in the NNS this weekend. Kudos to Jimmie Johnson on racing to win a race in a series, where he had nothing to gain or lose.

    Congratulations to Marcos Ambrose and his Stanley Tools team. It was awesome to see the King and Todd Parrot back in victory lane. It’s been too long. It was also a great thing to watch Marcos finally put to bed all the almosts.

    That said, to all the competitors in all the series thanks for giving us everything you have to give, you are our heroes. Most importantly, thanks to all the families who shared their loved ones with us so we could cheer our favorite driver and favorite teams. You are the true heroes of the sport and we are forever in your debt.

  • Fox Sports Chairman David Hill and Dale Earnhardt Jr. Eye Shorter Races

    Fox Sports Chairman David Hill and Dale Earnhardt Jr. Eye Shorter Races

    The Associated Press released a report today stating that Fox Sports Chariman David Hill would like to see shorter races. His ideal is set at having a four-hour broadcast with 40 minutes of pre-race coverage and 20 minutes of post-race coverage.

    [media-credit name=”David Yeazell” align=”alignright” width=”225″][/media-credit]Shortening races could be a step in the right direction as the newer generation of fans has a lot of different forms of entertainment to choose from so condencing the races down allows for better focus.

    Also, some races can tend to be boring in the middle with how the action dies down, which at this poin is what draws fans away. Some fans have said that they just go watch the final 20 to 50 laps, plus the recap, and they’ve got their dose as the middle does dry them out. Some fans find themselves watching the beginning, falling asleep during the middle and then in the end, they wake up and catch the tail of the race feeling complete.

    NASCAR’s most popular driver Dale Earnhardt Jr. agrees with the sentiments, reciting examples from this past season with some races.

    “I think it’s a great idea, especially at certain events. The Pocono races are entirely too long,” Earnhardt said during the Media Tour. “I think NASCAR should shoot for a three-hour or three-hour and 15-minute televised event, and try to fit into that sort of time frame. But it can’t be done at all times. I understand. I think you’ve got to have races like the 600-miler [Coca-Cola 600 in Charlotte] and the Daytona 500 and things like that — but there are certain events [that should be shortened].

    “For example, Phoenix was a good race. Adding that little bit to it didn’t make it better. It only made it longer; it only made it tougher to watch, tougher to witness. It was a good distance [prior to last year’s change], and the 300 laps at New Hampshire is the perfect distance.

    “Then you go to Pocono, and it’s entirely too long, obviously. It’s an obvious, glaring issue with everyone that’s there — but it’s like this huge, pink elephant that nobody wants to talk about. Maybe there was some kind of a guarantee or promise made in the deal years ago, and it’s something they won’t change. We’ll see how it goes.”

    Shortening the races would condense the amount of time allowed for drivers to make a move, therefore pushing them to drive harder. You see this at your local short track as the 50 to 100 lap features see drivers run hard every single lap. You also see this in the Camping World Truck Series with 150 to 250 mile races. This is the reason some have tuned over to the Truck Series as they like the excitement there. Could the same philosophy work in it’s big brother?

    Though, some changes would also have to be made if this change was to take effect. If fans were brought forth to pay the same ticket prices for a shorter span of time, you would see less fans traveling, espically since complaints about the prices have already been made. So therefore ticket prices would have to be dropped to go with the change. Some track owners may not be in the favor of this as this will reduce the profit made from their perspective.

    Also, Hill may think this is a good idea, though shorter time on television equals less time for him to display advertisements. As a result, he will be making less of a profit so will that be okay from his perspective?

    NASCAR CEO Brian France says the sport has taken a look at this and looking through the schedule, he says there are some changes that have been made.

    “We’ve done that over the last several years. I think you see with Atlanta being a 500-mile race, going to Kentucky, that’s a 400-mile race. California going to Kansas, you’re seeing that’s a 400-mile race,” France said during the Media Tour. “We awarded the second one in California. That is a 400-mile [race]. …

    “So there will be alterations as we go down the road to shorten them up by a little bit. [There are] no expectations from us to make any drastic changes — but 100 miles changes a complexion of a race, depending where you are, for sure. And we’re going to continue to look at that. And we’ll look at the Nationwide [Series] events where we want to have good separation between a Sunday and Saturday show. … [We] will be looking at the length of Nationwide events as we go down the road.”

    Another change to look at is the length of the season, in team owner Rick Hendrick’s opinion.

    “I absolutely think the races ought to be shorter, and I think the season ought to be shorter. It’s just so long,” Hendrick said. “We’ve got so much to look at — we’ve got baseball, basketball, football all going on at one time, and then [there is] our season.

    “Football players, I’ve got some friends, and they get to take months off. We get back from [Las] Vegas [and the banquet to cap off the season], we start testing, and we’re working harder in the offseason than in the regular season. If we had three more months off, I think the fans would be eager to watch it again. But I don’t know.”

    Making the season shorter could have some advantages as it would give the guys some time off so they wouldn’t be as worn out and with having less races during the year, it would make the fans more hungry to turn into the action when it did start up. Though a negative side is the waiting game and a lot of fans may not be happy with that as they already say that a two-month off-season is long enough for them to stand. Then bring in the financial deal in the fact that less races = less money for that and you may have partners dropping out as a result.

    “I think the financial rewards from having the season as it is are too great,” Earnhart said. “It’s almost as if each race is a limb that you can’t amputate. It’s too big a deal to shorten the season. It’s not a simple task to say, ‘All right, this guy is losing a date. Is everybody cool with that?’

    “It’s so challenging. There are tons of money involved and tons of livelihoods involved — and people’s careers and opportunities are involved. So I don’t believe we’ll ever see a shorter season. But I do believe that in my lifetime I will see the shorter races across the board at 80, 75 percent of the events.”

    All in all, this is a debate that considers a bunch of factors mixed together – fans and their feelings and the profit of all the companies that are connected to the ordeal. To come to any agreement, everybody will have to agree on something that works for all parties. Whether that equals shorter races or not, that will be a question that NASCAR faces in the future.

    Oh, by the way……

    40 minutes for the pre-race show and 20 minutes for post-race show is something that may have to be questioned.

    Pre-race shows have gotten to the point of including ridiculous content that has caused some fans to turn away. In contrast, post-race shows have been too short as they don’t contain the right amount of interviews to cover the events and speak to the drivers about what had happened throughout the race.

    To gain fans back to watching racing on television rather through radio or getting updates online, they will need to address this issue as this is another reason that television ratings have been going down. Maybe flip the two and have a short pre-race show, yet long post-race show.