Testing SpeedwayMedia.com

Tag: Dale Earnhardt Jr

HOF Revisited: Dale Earnhardt Jr. Talks Heroes, History and Superstitions

Whenever I’m covering a NASCAR race or other event, I often record countless driver interviews. Some of them find their way into articles and some are set aside.

I recently ran across an audio recording that I made in November 2011 when Dale Earnhardt Jr. visited the NASCAR Hall of Fame for a fan question and answer session. Winston Kelley, the Executive Director of the Hall of Fame, hosted the event.

Dale Jr. was in rare form. I distinctly remember thinking to myself that he was more relaxed and confident than I had seen him in quite some time. He didn’t seem like a driver fulfilling an obligation. It was more like a conversation among friends and as usual, he left his fans wanting more.

Winston Kelley: “In addition to your father, who were the guys you looked up the most to, that you admired or wanted to be like? Who were the guys that were Dale Earnhardt Jr’s heroes growing up?”

Dale Earnhardt Jr.: “I always liked Jimmy Means a lot. He was a driver and now is a car owner in the sport. His son was a friend of mine so we palled around the racetrack together every weekend. So I spent some time around Jimmy and watched Jimmy do what he did. I just admired how hard he worked and how dedicated he was to what he was doing.

Cale Yarborough was a guy that I thought a lot of, how he carried himself around the racetrack and how he handled his business.

I thought David Pearson was pretty cool but I didn’t really know him enough or get to know him well enough as a driver. But watching old films and old footage, reading and stuff like that, he seems like an interesting character.”

Winston Kelley: “When you did the “Back in the Day” show, you seemed to really enjoy the history of the sport.”

Dale Earnhardt Jr.: “I do. I’m sort of mystified on how the cars have changed over the years and how much they’ve changed. It really is interesting to me to look back at some of the older machines and wonder as a driver how they drove and how they went around the track and what those cars felt like when you raced with them compared to what we have today.

I wish that if I could go back in time I could race in the 70’s with the old Chargers and old Oldsmobiles and stuff like that. It would be a lot of fun to be a part of.

I think the sport was different then and simpler in a lot of ways but I definitely enjoy the history a lot.”

Fan: “Are you superstitious?”

Dale Earnhardt Jr.: “I’m not really that superstitious. I believe in the typical things that your parents or your family teaches you when you’re growing up like breaking mirrors or stuff like that but nothing else.”

Winston Kelley: “Green used to be a really big deal. Was that something your Dad was superstitious about? You’re driving a green car now. It kind of started to go away with the Mountain Dew car.”

Dale Earnhardt Jr.: “I don’t think Dad was that superstitious but I’ve heard through my grandmother that Ralph Earnhardt was pretty superstitious about the color green and peanuts and stuff like that. They say in racing you’re not supposed to eat peanuts around the race cars. I don’t know why. Apparently at Concord Motor Speedway one night he chased some fellow off with a gun for eating peanuts around his racecar.”

Fan: “Whenever you’re racing, do you ever feel your father watching over you?”

Dale Earnhardt Jr.: “I think so. I think you carry that with you all the time with everything you do. If I need to make a decision I’ll bank on what he taught me or what we talked about or if we ever discussed it before and try to make the right decision with his help. And I do feel like his spirit rides with me and keeps me safe.”

December 6, 2012
Surprising and Not Surprising: Ford EcoBoost 400

[media-credit name=”David Yeazell” align=”alignright” width=”300″][/media-credit]In a weekend full of champion-crowning, here is what was surprising and not surprising from the NASCAR Sprint Cup season finale at Homestead-Miami Speedway.

Surprising: For a driver known, as ‘bad’, brash and cocky, there were some surprisingly humble moments from the 28 year old driver who brought Penske Racing its first ever NASCAR championship.

“It means the world, it really does,” Bradley Aaron Keselowski, driver of the No. 2 Miller Lite Dodge and Sprint Cup Champion, said after finishing 15^th and securing the ultimate prize. “I’ve got the best team in racing and I’m just so thrilled to be a part of it.”

“From the top down, Roger Penske, Paul Wolfe, everybody else, the crew guys and my family, that means so much,” Keselowski continued. “You can’t do this sport by yourself no matter how good you are.”

“My family made incredible sacrifices and I’m just so fortunate to have them around me,” Keselowski said. “Without them, none of this is possible and they deserve way more credit than I do.”

Keselowski’s parents, who gave up their lives to their son’s racing career, were equally proud and humble in Victory Lane.

“How many people get to realize this dream?” Bob Keselowski, Brad’s dad and a racer in his own right, said. “There’s a million short track racers out there.”

“I’m just so blown away.”

“He has reached the pinnacle of success and I’m so unbelievably proud of my son,” Brad mom’s Kay said. “I’m ecstatic, just ecstatic.”

“I was holding my breath all race long and praying to God that it would all come together.”

Not Surprising: Of course, once the Miller Lite started to flow in celebration of his championship, Keselowski, sporting a good-sized beer glass, returned to his usual self, tweeting from the media center and wise-cracking in fun with all.

“I’ve got a little bit of a buzz going on right now,” Keselowski said after his victory on the show LIVE on ESPN. “I’ve been drinking for a little bit.”

After checking his phone and adding about 6,000 new followers on his Twitter account, Keselowski, with 5 wins, 13 top-five and 23 top-ten finishes, discussed how he will now approach being the NASCAR champion.

“Expect the unexpected,” Keselowski said, with his trademark grin. “That’s my MO, right?”

And on how being the NASCAR champ might change his life, Keselowski replied, “I’ve always wanted to date a celebrity….but not a Kardashian.”

And finally, Keselowski revealed his surprising powers of prediction, especially as it related to the points needed to secure the Sprint Cup.

“I predicted that the champion would need 2400 points to win,” Keselowski said. And that was the exact number of points, 2400 total, that the second driver in history to win the Cup and Nationwide championships had when the checkered flag flew.

“I feel like the best is yet to come,” Keselowski said as he wrapped up his media availability for the final time of the 2012 season.

Surprising: While not surprising to see team owner Rick Hendrick in Victory Lane, it was surprising that he was not there to see his driver Jimmie Johnson crowned six time champion.

Hendrick instead celebrated his team’s first ever win and the first ever win at Homestead-Miami Speedway for driver Jeff Gordon, commemorating his 20 year partnership with sponsor Dupont in the HMS No. 24 Chevrolet.

“Yeah, it’s disappointing,” Mr. H. said. “If you let that destroy you, you’ll never be able to win again.”

“It’s racing,” Hendrick continued. “I’m celebrating Jeff’s win and letting the other deal go.”

Driver and four-time champion Jeff Gordon might have been surprised to even be in the race, let alone Victory Lane, after his fracas the week before with competitor Clint Bowyer. The four-time champ was able to put the drama behind him, however, to score his 87^th career victory and his second win of the 2012 season.

“This is just huge,” Gordon said. “It’s been an emotional week and a hard one; one of the hardest ones I’ve ever gone through just looking back on my decision.”

“So to come here and focus on the car with this silver commemorative paint scheme for 20 years of Dupont and to be able to end in Victory Lane, it was just an awesome team effort.”

Not Surprising: Even though starting the race behind the leader in the point standings, five-time champion Jimmie Johnson and crew chief Chad Knaus seemed on target to parlay some pit strategy into that coveted six pack.

But an uncharacteristic lug nut issue and an even more unusual oil leak that proved fatal closed the door on the championship hopes for the driver of the No. 48 Lowe’s Chevrolet. And Johnson, not surprisingly, found it a bitter pill to swallow.

“You know, to be close, it just sucks to be close and not get it,” Johnson said. “Pretty heartbreaking.”

“We were doing what we needed to and certainly in position to put a lot of pressure on the No. 2 car.”

“Stuff happens,” Johnson continued. “It’s racing.”

“I just have to reflect back on an amazing year.”

Surprising: Probably the most surprised driver coming out of the Ford EcoBoost 400 was none other than Clint Bowyer. Not only did he finish second in the race to nemesis of the week before Jeff Gordon, but he also scored second place in the point standings in his first season with Michael Waltrip Racing.

“To be honest, I didn’t even think I could reach second,” the driver of the No. 15 5-Hour Energy Toyota said of his runner up spot in the points. “That was the goal I’d set.”

“And I just wanted to catch the 24,” Bowyer said of his runner up race finish. “That was the only what-if that went through my mind at the end.”

“Probably went through your mind too.”

“Now I’m going to do whatever I want to do next week.”

Not Surprising: As with every end to the season, there were plenty of farewells to be said. Ryan Newman, who finished third in the season finale, bade farewell to the US Army as his sponsor.

“The US Army Chevrolet, four years strong,” Newman said. “We’re proud to represent them and proud of their support and we wanted to finish on a great note.”

Another farewell was said by Matt Kenseth, leaving the only race team home that he has ever known with Roush Fenway Racing and moving on to Joe Gibbs Racing.

“The team really proved that they gave me all they’ve got this season regardless of my plans for the future,” Kenseth said.

Joey Logano, who leaves Joe Gibbs Racing to partner with new champ Keselowski at Penske Racing, had some interesting words to mark the end of his tenure in the No. 20 Home Depot Toyota.

“And that’s the way the cookie crumbles,” Logano tweeted. “Thanks to all of @JoeGibbsRacing for 7 great years.”

The final farewell was most poignant, however, as Dodge won the championship and bid adieu to the sport of NASCAR.

“It’s been a long run,” Ralph Gilles, President and CEO of the SRT Brand and Senior Vice President of Design at Chrysler Group, said. “I’m still pinching myself.”

“It’s not bittersweet,” Gilles continued. “If anything, it’s an exclamation point on an effort that’s 11 years in the making.”

Surprising: Another Hendrick Chase driver was surprisingly upbeat, particularly since his teammate lost the championship to Keselowski.

And in spite of missing two races due to a concussion, Dale Earnhardt, Jr. was also upbeat about finishing the season with a top-10 in his No. 88 National Guard/Diet Mountain Dew Chevrolet.

“I want to congratulate Brad on his championship,” Junior said. “He’s a buddy of mine and he did everything he had to do to win this thing.”

“This has been a really good season for me personally,” Dale Junior continued. “I’ve had a blast.”

“I can’t wait to test the new car and get to Daytona,” Junior said. “It will be a whole new ball game.”

Not Surprising: Yet again, Kyle Busch led the most laps in the race and failed to find Victory Lane, instead coming in fourth. In fact, this was the ninth race in a row where the driver of the No. 18 M&M’s Toyota led the most laps and did not win.

“I think I’ve said it the last five weeks – that’s our year,” Busch said. “It’s just a shame that we were not able to come out here and put it in Victory Lane like we should.”

“We’ll have to see what we look forward to next year.”

Surprising: The driver of the No. 78 Furniture Row Chevrolet not only finished ninth but had a surprisingly record-setting day in the process. Kurt Busch scored his third straight top-10 finish, the first time ever that Furniture Row Racing has had three consecutive top-10 finishes.

“Finishing the season with three straight top-10s and four straight top-15s – you just can’t ask for much more in a short period of time together,” Busch said. “We’ve made a tremendous amount of progress in the last six weeks and that gives us all plenty of confidence heading into the off season.”

Not Surprising: The young driver of the infamous No. 43 for Richard Petty Motorsports continued his great streak of race runs, finishing seventh in the season finale.

“We had a strong car all day,” Almirola said. “That was a great way to go out.”

“I’m excited about next year,” Almirola continued. “These guys give me great race cars so we’re gonna win races.”

As the 2012 season comes to a close, here’s to a Happy Thanksgiving, a blessed Christmas and a truly amazing New Year! See you at Daytona in 2013!

November 21, 2012
NASCAR Top-10 Power Rankings: Texas

[media-credit name=”Credit: Jerry Markland/Getty Images for NASCAR” align=”alignright” width=”236″][/media-credit]Note: The quotes in this article are fictional.

1. Jimmie Johnson: Johnson passed Brad Keselowski with two laps to go at Texas and pulled away to win at Texas, his second consecutive win in the Chase. Johnson extended his lead in the point standings, and now holds a seven point edge on Keselowski.

“That may have been the second-best ‘restart’ of my career,” Johnson said. “The best, of course, would be the ‘restart’ to another multi-Cup championship run.

“Of course, it was quite fitting that I fired the celebratory ‘six-shooter’ after the race, a sound which heralded my quest for my sixth Cup title. The bullets weren’t real, mind you. Judging by the number of pregnant wives and girlfriends in NASCAR this year, I must have been the only one ‘shooting blanks.’”

2. Brad Keselowski: Holding the lead with two laps to go at Texas, Keselowski was passed on the restart by Jimmie Johnson and finished second. After leading the championship standings with four races to go, Keselowski is now seven points back of Johnson.

“Seven points is not insurmountable,” Keselowski said, “but Johnson may be. Unfortunately, I find myself behind the ’48-ball.’”

3. Clint Bowyer: Bowyer finished sixth in the AAA Texas 500, earning his 21^st top-10 result of the year. He is third in the point standings, 26 behind Jimmie Johnson.

“Until someone tells me otherwise,” Bowyer said, “I’ll keep racing like I have a chance to win the Cup. Keep in mind, I don’t like people telling me things.”

4. Denny Hamlin: After his disastrous result at Martinsville two weeks ago, Hamlin finished a disappointing 20^th at Texas. Deemed a threat to win the Cup just three weeks ago, Hamlin is now well out of the championship picture, 49 out of first in the point standings.

“Our Sprint Cup championship hopes came ‘unplugged’ last week at Martinsville,” Hamlin said. “At Texas, we didn’t have electrical issues, but after finishing 20^th, there was an ‘outage’—I’m further ‘out’ of the championship picture.”

5. Kyle Busch: Busch finished third at Texas, backing up his runner-up finish at Martinsville on October 27^th. It was his fifth top 5 of the Chase, and tenth of the year.

“Just once,” Busch said, “I’d like to be dangerous in a ‘Chase’ that doesn’t involve a policeman.”

6. Kasey Kahne: Kahne finished well out of contention at Texas, finishing 25^th, one lap off the lead. He is now fourth in the point standings, 29 out of first.

“It’s come down to a battle between Jimmie Johnson and Brad Keselowski,” Kahne said. “I’m sure Keselowski doesn’t mind hearing, ‘And then there were two.’ But I think he’d much rather hear, ‘And then there was ‘2.’”

7. Jeff Gordon: Gordon finished 14^th in the AAA Texas 500, and is now sixth in the point standings, 54 out of first.

“Brad Keselowski is giving Jimmie Johnson all he can handle,” Gordon said. “You could it’s a ‘handful, and then some.’ You could also say that about Jimmie’s soon-to-be growing Sprint Cup championship haul.”

8. Matt Kenseth: Kenseth led one lap and came home fourth at Texas, posting his 12^th top-5 finish of the year. He is eighth in the point standings, 65 out of first.

“I was out of the title hunt early,” Kenseth said, “but don’t tell me I’m not a man of my word. I told Jack Roush I’d ‘be there at the end’ and I will be, because I’ve got two more races with Roush Fenway.”

9. Tony Stewart: Stewart finished fifth in the AAA Texas 500, equaling his best finish of the Chase. He is 71 out of the lead in the point standings.

“We’re mathematically still alive,” Stewart said, “but there’s no chance we’ll win the Cup. And don’t make me say it again. Believe me when I say there will be ‘no repeating.’”

10. Greg Biffle: Biffle finished 10^th at Texas, joining Roush Fenway teammate Matt Kenseth, who finished fourth, in the top 10. Biffle is 83 out of first in the point standings.

“I could be the next to ‘go,’” Biffle said. “No, I’m not leaving Roush Fenway; I’m the next driver soon to be mathematically eliminated from Sprint Cup contention.”

November 7, 2012
NASCAR Top-10 Power Rankings: Martinsville

[media-credit name=”Brad Keppel” align=”alignright” width=”239″][/media-credit]Note: The quotes in this article are fictional.

1. Jimmie Johnson: Johnson started on the pole at Martinsville and captured a huge win, his sixth at the .526-mile track. Johnson passed Brad Keselowski with about 20 laps to go, and held off Kyle Busch down the stretch. He now leads the points standings with a two-point edge over Brad Keselowski.

“I’ll echo the sentiments of Dale Earnhardt, Jr.,” Johnson said. “It’s good to be back in the ‘driver’s seat.’ Up to this point, Keselowski had a lock on the points lead. Well, that lock’s been ‘Jimmied.’”

2. Brad Keselowski: Keselowski opted to stay out on a late caution at Martinsville while the leaders pitted. He was quickly passed by Johnson and others on fresher tires. Still, Keselowski finished sixth, his best career finish at Martinsville, but lost the lead to Jimmie Johnson in the points standings.

“For refusing to play ‘follow the leader,’” Keselowski said, “I was relegated to playing ‘follow the leader.’ I’ve lost my points lead, but not my spirit. Which is good, with it being Halloween. I may need a costume change, since I’ve been posing as a Sprint Cup champion.”

3. Clint Bowyer: Bowyer finished fifth in the Tums Fast Relief 500, leading 154 of 500 laps, second only to Jimmie Johnson’s 193. Bowyer moved up one spot in the point standings, and trails Jimmie Johnson by 26.

“I’ll certainly need a boost,” Bowyer said. “Luckily, as the driver of the 5-Hour Energy car, I’ve got that. Also, 5-Hour Energy helps you avoid the ‘crash,’ of which I’m hoping one will strike at Texas.”

4. Denny Hamlin: Disaster struck at Martinsville for Hamlin, as electrical issues ruined his chances in the Tums Fast Relief 500, and likely the Cup championship. He finished 33^rd, 34 laps down, and is now 49 points out of the lead in the point standings.

“I got ‘clocked’ at Kansas,” Hamlin said. “I was hoping for the same at Martinsville by winning and receiving the grandfather clock trophy. As it was, I did get a clock, albeit one that struck midnight, which is obviously not our ‘time.’”

5. Kasey Kahne: Kahne finished third at Martinsville, posting his 11^th top-5 finish of the year. He is up to fourth in the point standings, and is still alive in the Chase For The Cup, albeit as a decided long shot.

“I’m having a great Chase run,” Kahne said. “Not good enough to win this year’s Cup, but good enough to be the favorite for next year’s Cup. That’s not really a position I want to be in. I don’t want to be ‘next year’s Carl Edwards,’ or any year’s Carl Edwards, for that matter.”

6. Jeff Gordon: Gordon led 92 laps and finished seventh at Martinsville, as three Hendrick cars finished in the top 7. Gordon is now sixth in the point standings, 54 out of first.

“It’s good to run up front again,” Gordon said. “For several laps near the end, I was running second to Jimmie Johnson, which is also known as running ‘interference.’”

7. Kyle Busch: Busch chased Jimmie Johnson to the finish line at Martinsville, but couldn’t get close enough for the pass and settled for second. It was Busch’s fourth top-5 finish of the Chase.

“I’m usually good in the Chase,” Busch said, “unless I qualify for it.”

8. Martin Truex, Jr.: Truex struggled at Martinsville, finishing 23^rd, one lap down. He is seventh in the point standings, 63 out of first.

“We know what we have to do in the last three races,” Truex said. “How do we know? Because, in a winless season, it’s the exact opposite of what we’ve done in the first 33 races.”

9. Matt Kenseth: Kenseth finished 14^th in the Tums Fast Relief 500. He is eighth in the Sprint Cup point standings, 65 behind Jimmie Johnson.

“I’ve got three more races with Roush Fenway,” Kenseth said. “Hopefully, I can win one or more of those three contest. Or, I could, like many other drivers this year, announce that my wife and I are expecting another child. Either way, I would go out with a bang.”

10. Greg Biffle: Biffle was the only Roush Fenway driver in the top 10 at Martinsville, his tenth besting the 14^th of Matt Kenseth and 18^th of Carl Edwards. Biffle is ninth in the point standings, 69 out of first.

“It’s been a tough year for Jack Roush,” Biffle said, “one that may require him to go back to the drawing board. For the man they call ‘The Cat In The Hat,’ I’m sure it won’t be difficult to find a ‘thinking cap.’”

October 30, 2012
Jamie Little Ready to Host Fourth NASCAR After the Lap Event

[media-credit name=”Photo Credit: nascar.com” align=”alignright” width=”236″][/media-credit]She is a new mom and an intrepid ESPN pit reporter but in just a few weeks Jamie Little will be host as she returns to one of her favorite events, NASCAR After the Lap, in her hometown Las Vegas during Champion’s Week.

For the fourth year and since its inception, Little will be trying her best to herd the NASCAR champion and the other top 12 cats during the special event, which serves as a prequel to the 2012 Sprint Cup Series Awards banquet.

“I have been the host since it was created,” Little said. “NASCAR was trying something new when they brought the championship to Las Vegas and they asked me to host it.”

“And we hit on something and people just really liked it and the drivers really enjoyed themselves,” Little continued. “It was a hit and I can’t believe it’s already the fourth time.”

Little said that although the venue is new, this year at Planet Hollywood Resort and Casino, she is preparing for what always is a spontaneous, fly by the seat of your pants evening. And she does her best to loosen up the tongues of the driver with her questions, from the quiet drivers to those that need no encouragement.

“We try to set it up to elicit some comedy from the drivers but with some of them, it doesn’t take much to get them going,” Little said. “There is going to be some, shall we say, flash back photos from their high school days.”

“So, that will be fun.”

“The fun of the show is that it’s unscripted,” Little said. “And all I can say that with Clint Bowyer back in the Chase that will be a big hit because he just takes over and pokes fun at every other driver.”

“So, we’ll have some fun with Clint,” Little continued. “He is a loose cannon and has ADD as well.”

“I will use him to try to pull out things from Dale Junior, Matt Kenseth and the guys that are a little more quiet.”

Little acknowledged that she often does not have to look far for roasting inspirations, especially given her relationship with many of the drivers in the Chase. For example, she already has a bit of fodder to use on the current point’s leader in the Chase hunt.

“Obviously I’m covering the whole Chase so there are things during the final ten races that I’ll jot down and bring up so we can laugh about it,” Little said. “For instance, last week I ran back to interview Brad Keselowski right when he crawled out of his car.”

“So, he gets out of his race car and his phone falls out of his pocket,” Little continued. “And I’m like, ‘Did you just have your phone with you in the car? And he picked it up and said, ‘Of course I did,’

“And I looked at the screen and it was on Twitter.”

“So obviously he’s not tweeting from the car but he’s reading Twitter under all the caution laps that we had last week,” Little said. “So, things like that, we can bring up and have fun with.”

Little has had too many favorite moments in the NASCAR After the Lap event to count, but her highlight was a moment that happened just last year.

“One thing that really stands out was Jeff Gordon break dancing,” Little said. “That was a highlight.”

“It was peer pressure from the other drivers to get him to do it,” Little continued. “He did not want to do it but he came out and broke it down.”

While every moment of the event is interesting, Little said that what makes the event so special is that it is completely candid.

“These guys sit up there with a beer bottle in hand and it’s like having a fire side chat with the drivers,” Little said. “You might hear some swear words or some salty language but it’s just a casual, fun, ‘have at it’ time with the guys.”

“We’ve been through 36 races and all the fans have seen them interviewed, but this is so different,” Little continued. “They are up close and personal with the guys, watching them all interact.”

“These fans are so connected with their drivers and to see the drivers interact with each other is so much fun.”

Although the drivers are usually so scheduled, with multiple appearances at track, Little said that they absolutely enjoy the NASCAR After the Lap event because it is so relaxed, quick and fun.

“I think they really do get into it,” Little said. “The guys get to drive their race cars down the Vegas strip and they always have funny stories after that.”

“Then they come to us and there is a green room where they are all together,” Little continued. “There is beer flowing and they are already busting on each other at that point.”

“This event is just fun for them to kick back, make fun of each other and laugh at each other and themselves,” Little said. “They don’t have to be on guard and be so careful about mentioning all their sponsors.”

Little also enjoys being able to let her own hair down a bit during NASCAR After the Lap, giving herself a chance to leave the seriousness of the racing season behind.

“It’s fun for me to show another side of my personality, especially being loose and funny,” Little said. “I’m out of the fire suit and just get to be me.”

“I show our relationship and this is a good time for them to poke fun at me as well,” Little continued. “It’s just all in good fun.”

“That’s special for me as well.”

Little said another special aspect about NASCAR After the Lap is that it takes place right in her home town, giving her a bit of a chance to mix her family with friends and NASCAR racing. This year, however, she has plans right after the event involving one of NASCAR’s most recognizable names.

ugg boots sale

“Since I’m here in my hometown, it is special,” Little said. “It’s fun to mix family and friends.”

“My brother-in-law is marrying Danica Patrick’s sister on December 1^st so I have to get on the plane right after the event and go to a wedding this year.”

An aspect of NASCAR After the Lap that has really taken off is the interaction on social media.

“We saw that last year how Facebook and Twitter were so involved in the event,” Little said. “And this year there will be an element where the funniest tweets of the year by the drivers will be showcased.”

“So, we will really be incorporating social media for sure.”

The event will also be streamed live on NASCAR.com and will be broadcast live on SiriusXM NASCAR Radio Channel 90.

Finally, Little acknowledged that the event was special for two other reasons, one that it benefits charity and the other that she gets to give away some really cool prizes.

“The first year we did this, it was free to see what kind of feedback and turnout we would get,” Little said. “When it became such a great event, we started charging $20, with all the proceeds benefitting the NASCAR Foundation, a non-profit that raises funds for children’s charities all over the nation.”

“There is also a sweepstakes where one fan gets the chance to win a 2013 Ford F150 and an all expense paid trip to Las Vegas to the event,” Little continued. “Every year, it’s so much fun to meet that fan, bring them up on stage, they get to meet a driver and get their pictures taken.”

“Then, to see someone win a truck is awesome,” Little continued. “It’s always fun giving stuff away.”

“Everyone’s a fan of that.”

NASCAR After the Lap will be held on Thursday, November 29^th from 5:00 to 6:30 PM at PH LIVE located in the Miracle Mile Shops at Planet Hollywood Resort & Casino. For more information about NASCAR After the Lap Sponsored by Ford and Coca-Cola or to purchase tickets, visit www.NASCARafterthelap.com.

October 29, 2012
Surprising and Not Surprising: Kansas Hollywood Casino 400

[media-credit name=”Credit: Wesley Hitt/Getty Images for NASCAR” align=”alignright” width=”236″][/media-credit]On a repaved track that even team owner Jack Roush pronounced surprisingly fast and treacherous and with a record number of cautions to boot, here is what else was surprising and not surprising in the 12^th annual Hollywood Casino 400 at Kansas Speedway.

Surprising: While many know his wicked sense of humor through social media, they now know just how much it means for him to stand in Victory Lane, not as a lame duck with a team he will leave at year end, but as the first time race winner on the newly repaved Kansas Speedway.

“It really means a lot,” Matt Kenseth, driver of the No. 17 Zest Ford for Roush Fenway Racing said in Victory Lane, his voice choked with emotion.” I really got to thank God for all the opportunities he’s put in front of me.”

Kenseth’s victory was not an easy one, having hit the outside wall hard and sustaining right side damage to the car. This was Kenseth’s first Kansas win, his third victory of the season, and his 24^th career victory, moving him into a tie for 26^th on the all-time Series win list.

“You never know when your next win is,” Kenseth said. “Especially as you get older, you appreciate it more.”

“I’m really thankful and humbled to be here honestly.”

Not Surprising: Whether the lucky horseshoe or shades of the ‘Six Million Dollar Man’, Chad Knaus and team 48 proved they could rebuild the battered back end of Jimmie Johnson’s wrecked race car, making it better, stronger and faster.

In fact, Johnson was so much better, stronger, and faster that after the on pit road rebuild, he rallied back to finish ninth in his Lowe’s Chevrolet. And with that comeback, Johnson, not surprisingly, also had a message to share with his fellow Chase competitors.

“I’m just now getting a chance to look at the damage on the car and it was pretty severe,” Johnson said after the race. “I’m definitely proud of this team and the fact that we never give up.”

“It’s more mature racing here in 2012,” Johnson continued. “We showed what our team is capable of.”

“I hope the other guys are paying attention.”

Surprising: The championship point’s leader surprisingly continued to have survival on his mind, a theme that carried over from Talladega right into the race in the Midwest heartland.

Brad Keselowski, driver of the No. 2 Blue Deuce, managed to finish eighth, one spot ahead of Chaser Jimmie Johnson, over whom he maintains a seven point lead in the standings.

“I said when we finished Talladega that somebody should make ‘I Survived Talladega’ t-shirts,” Keselowski said. “Well, I didn’t know coming to Kansas it was going to be the same.”

“Just wrecks and accidents and blown tires; everything you can imagine happened,” Keselowski continued. “It seemed like every wreck happened in front of me.”

“I felt really lucky to survive it.”

Not Surprising: While Kansas broke many hearts on race day this past weekend, there was no one more heart broken than the driver of the No. 43 Farmland Ford Fusion. Aric Almirola qualified fifth and led over 60 laps of the race before blowing a tire and slamming into the wall so hard that it took his breath away.

“I have never in my entire life had a race car that good,” Almirola said. “It was just so fast and so easy to drive.”

“I hate that it ended like this but I have always been told you have to give a few away before you can win one,” Almirola continued. “We certainly gave one away today.”

Surprising: It was indeed a tale of two Kansas races, yet with a surprisingly similar result. Martin Truex Jr., in the No. 56 NAPA Auto Parts Toyota finished second for the second time at Kansas Speedway.

“Well, it’s a lot different mood after this one,” Truex said after the race. “After the first one I was disappointed. Today, I’m happy with my team and my race car.”

“We really had to battle for this one,” That’s a good run for us for sure.”

With his bridesmaid finish, Truex Jr. gained one position in the point standings to sixth, 43 points out of first.

Not Surprising: Unfortunately, Kansas was killing Clint Bowyer softly with its song, even though he finished sixth in his No. 15 5-Hour Energy Benefitting Avon Foundation Toyota for Michael Waltrip Racing.

“I think I started on the outside one time early in the race and just every time it just killed me,” Bowyer said. “I don’t know what the hell was going on behind us.”

“They kept wrecking,” Bowyer continued. “Restarts kind of killed us all day long.”

Surprising: There were a surprising number of temper tantrums, more typical of a short track like Martinsville than the mile and a half at Kansas. Tempers flared between Danica Patrick and Landon Cassill, as they did between Kyle Busch and Ryan Newman.

Patrick, in her No. 10 GoDaddy.com Chevrolet actually took herself out on lap 155 as a result of her on-track tiff with the driver of the No. 83 Burger King Toyota.

“I have just been really frustrated with the No. 83,” Patrick said. “It’s been pretty consistent with him getting into me.”

“So, at some point in time, I have to stand up for myself,” Patrick continued. “The bummer is I’m out of the race and he’s not.”

Patrick finished 32^nd, while Cassill brought home his race car for a much better 18th place finish.

Kyle Busch, in the No. 18 M&M’s Halloween Toyota, finished 31^st after a scuffle with the driver of the No. 39 Code 3 Associates Chevrolet. And this one might result in some payback as the 2012 season winds down.

“Everything is just on edge,” Busch said. “Newman just ran up on the back of me and got me loose.”

“So, just impatience,” Busch continued. “I’m glad he’s wrecked along with me and he’ll get another one here before the year is out.”

Not Surprising: With his crew chief back after suspension, it was not surprising for this driver to pull off a top five finish. In fact, Paul Menard, in the No. 27 Certainteed Insulation/Menards Chevrolet, finished third at Kansas.

“We had Slugger (Labbe, crew chief) back this weekend,” Menard said. “He is well rested after six weeks off and had some good ideas to try this weekend.”

“We had a good car,” Menard continued. “It was just a matter of getting us up there.”

Surprising: The ‘uh oh’ uttered by Hendrick Motorsports teammate Jeff Gordon surprisingly captured the moment late in the race for Kasey Kahne, driver of the No. 5 Farmers Insurance Chevrolet.

Kahne, who started out on the pole after shattering the track qualifying record, had a chance to win before he shut off his engine during a caution in an attempt to save fuel.

As a result, he lost several spots on the race track before getting his car back up to minimum speed, managing a fourth place finish instead of that oh-so-close victory.

“It just wouldn’t re-fire,” Kahne said after the race. “Disappointing.”

“It was coming to me at the end,” Kahne continued. “We just weren’t close enough at that point in time.”

Not Surprising: From telling his team to get their heads out of their ‘expletive’ to praising them effusively after the race, Tony Stewart did, in his own words, have ‘an eventful day.’

The driver of the No. 14 Office Depot/Mobil 1 Chevrolet started 33^rd, had to overcome a pit stop where his crew left a wrench in the car, battled an incident with Jeff Burton and a spin to finish fifth.

This was Smoke’s sixth top-five in Sprint Cup starts at Kansas, pre and post repaving, having to pass 74 cars during the race to do so.

“We had some stuff to deal with, but our guys never gave up,” Stewart said. “We probably had to pass more cars than anybody today, but that seems to be our MO.”

“That’s how we won a championship last year, by never giving up.”

Surprising: While there was a surprising bit of a confusion on the part of team owner Rick Hendrick about the status of Dale Earnhardt Junior’s return to the race car (and he will return at Martinsville), substitute driver Regan Smith was feeling surprisingly right at home in the No. 88 National Guard/Diet Mountain Dew Chevrolet.

In fact, Smith felt so much at home that he finished top-ten, in the seventh position.

“It’s been nice to be able to step in and have them treat me like a normal driver,” Smith said. “I know Dale (Earnhardt, Jr.) is excited to get back so that is going to be good for him.”

“Looking forward to whatever comes next for me.”

Not Surprising: The other drivers in new seats struggled on the newly repaved Kansas track. Kurt Busch, in the No. 78 Furniture Row/Farm American Chevrolet, finished 25^th and A.J. Allmendinger, in the No. 51 Phoenix Construction Chevrolet, finished even further back in 35^th.

But not surprisingly, both drivers and teams looked on the bright side of life in spite of the wrecks and results.

“Kurt Busch showed all of us today what an impressive driver he is,” Todd Berrier, crew chief, said. “It was the performance that counted today, not the finishing result.”

“The car was fast and we were running well,” Allmendinger said. “Tried to save it and I feel bad.”

“I hope I’m in the car next week, but if not, it’s meant the world to get back to the sport,” Dinger continued. “I love the sport.”

October 24, 2012
NASCAR Top-10 Power Rankings: Kansas

[media-credit name=”Credit: Geoff Burke/Getty Images for NASCAR” align=”alignright” width=”224″][/media-credit]Note: The quotes in this article are fictional.

1. Brad Keselowski: Keselowski finished 8^th at Kansas, better than all but Clint Bowyer among Chase contenders. Keselwoski leads Jimmie Johnson by seven, and has a 15-point edge over Denny Hamlin.

“It was a caution-filled race,” Keselowski said. “With Election Day approaching, it’s no surprise to see so many ‘spins.’ Even Danica Patrick got into the act. She’s just like a woman—can’t get upset without dragging a man down with her.”

2. Jimmie Johnson: Johnson salvaged a ninth-place finish after spinning and nailing the wall in the Hollywood Casino 400. Johnson remained second in the point standings, seven behind points leader Brad Keselwoski.

“I’ve got to hand it to Chad Knaus,” Johnson said. “He had to do a lot to get us in position for a respectable finish. It was some of Chad’s best work, but not his best. I’ve seen him do more to a car that still passed inspection.”

3. Denny Hamlin: Hamlin finished 13^th at Kansas and lost ground to both in the point standings to both Brad Keselowski and Jimmie Johnson, who finished 8^th and 9^th, respectively. Hamlin is 20 out of the lead in the point standings.

“My weekend didn’t get off to a good start,” Hamlin said. “I crashed on Thursday in a test session at Kansas Motor Speedway. After that, I wasn’t sure if I was in Kansas anymore.

“With four races left, I need to make a move. The clock is ticking. Luckily, it’s the grandfather clock given to the winner at Martinsville, where I’m always a threat to win. Hopefully, it won’t strike midnight before I put my hands on it.”

4. Clint Bowyer: Kansas native Bowyer followed his win at Charlotte with a solid 6^th in the Hollywood Casino 400, posting his 19^th top-10 finish of the year. He is fourth is the Sprint Cup point standings, 28 behind Brad Keselowski.

“Just call me ‘Clint ‘Home’ Bowyer,’” Bowyer said. “I’m sorry I couldn’t give my fans what they wanted. But they weren’t the only natives who were restless—I’m desperate for a win. I’m even more desperate for a three-car pileup in Turn 1 of lap 1 at Martinsville that wipes out Keselowski, Johnson, and Hamlin. That ‘cream’ of the crop would put me in the cream of the crop.”

5. Kasey Kahne: Kahne scored his ninth top 5 of the year with a fourth at Kansas. He is now 35 points behind Brad Keselowski in the point standings.

“I still have a mathematical chance to win the Cup,” Kahne said. “Unfortunately, I’m not good at math, like some drivers. Denny Hamlin, for example, is good at ‘multiplication.’ Matt Kenseth is good at ‘subtraction.’ And Kurt Busch is good at ‘division.’”

6. Matt Kenseth: Kenseth took his second win of the Chase, and third of the year, with the victory at Kansas. Kenseth, in the No. 17 Zest car, led a race-high 78 laps and outgunned Martin Truex, Jr. at the end.

“That’s two wins in the Chase,” Kenseth said, “but despite that, I’m still out of the title picture. Does the Chase points format need to be tweaked to place more importance on wins in the Chase? I think so, and I’ll get on a soapbox to say so.”

7. Martin Truex, Jr.: Truex scored the runner-up finish in the Hollywood Casino 400, as his No. 55 NAPA car was the top Toyota in the field. He is sixth in the point standings, 43 out of first.

“With no wins at all this year,” Truex said, “you could say I’m ‘55 out of first.’NAPA ‘knows how,’ except to win.”

8. Tony Stewart: Stewart finished fifth at Kansas, his first top-5 result since a fourth at Richmond in September. He is seventh in the point standings, 47 out of first.

“I should give Danica Patrick a lesson in offensive driving,” Stewart said. “If you want to spin someone, you can’t spin yourself. This may or may not be in the Bible, but Ice Cube once said, ‘Check yo’self before you wreck ‘yo’self.’”

9. Jeff Gordon: Gordon led two laps and finished 10^th at Kansas, joining Hendrick stablemates Kasey Kahne and Jimmie Johnson in the top 10. Gordon is eighth in the point standings, 51 out of first.

“Dale Earnhardt, Jr. has been cleared to race this weekend at Martinsville,” Gordon said. “I wouldn’t be surprised in the people of Junior Nation commemorate the event with a new drinking game in which you drink for six hours prior to the checkered flag, then try to pass a concussion test.”

10. Kevin Harvick: Harvick, in the No. 29 Budweiser Chevy, rolled to an 11^th in the Hollywood Casino 400. He is tenth in the point standings, 59 behind Brad Keselowski.

“When I say ‘I’m out of it,’” Harvick said, “it has multiple meanings. I’m too far behind to care, matter, or believe. The only close race I’m involved in is what I give more of—a ‘damn’ or a ‘rat’s ass.’”

October 23, 2012
Surprising and Not Surprising: Charlotte Bank of America 500

[media-credit name=”Greg Arthur” align=”alignright” width=”241″][/media-credit]In a race now known as one without an Earnhardt and without a North Carolina born driver, here is what else was surprising and not surprising from the Bank of America 500 at Charlotte Motor Speedway.

Surprising: At his worst track statistically and on a mile and half track where he has never won, this driver, although thrilled to be in Victory Lane after a fuel mileage battle extraordinaire, seemed also to be strangely depressed.

“I can’t do a burnout,” Clint Bowyer said woefully after having his No. 15 5-Hour Energy/Avon Foundation for Women Toyota pushed to the winner’s circle. “The thing doesn’t have enough fuel in it to do a burnout.”

“I’d like to practice a burnout,” Bowyer continued ruefully. “It’s so much fun burning rubber.”

“Oh hell, I don’t care,” Bowyer then said. “It’s a lot more fun getting handed that trophy – that’s what it’s all about.”

Not Surprising: Although Chaser Clint Bowyer survived on fumes to end the race, it was not surprising that his other Chase contenders, in fact the top three in the points battle, were also challenging their own fuel demons, literally having to slow down in order to finish the race.

“Yeah, you’re just running the race backwards basically,” Denny Hamlin, driver of the No. 11 FedEx Ground Toyota, said after finishing second. “You’re just seeing how slow you can go and maintain your track position.”

“It’s tough because I’m sitting there thinking I can go by this 15 (Bowyer) or catch him just about any time I want, but Darian (Grubb, crew chief) is screaming at me to back off.”

“We started saving with double the distance to just be cautious,” Jimmie Johnson, who finished third in the No. 48 MyLowe’s Chevrolet, said. “We didn’t want to go up there and chase the No. 11 (Hamlin) and get ourselves in trouble.”

Brad Keselowski, usually known as an excellent fuel-mileage racer, actually sputtered, coasting to pit road after running out of fuel. “I didn’t know what was going on,” the driver of the No. 2 Miller Lite Dodge said. “I think we probably would have finished fourth or fifth if we didn’t run out of fuel.”

“I had to coast for quite a ways and it wouldn’t start when I got back to pit road.”

This small fuel sputter, along with having to stop for fuel in the waning laps, cost Keselowski a top-5 finish, landing him in the 11^th spot instead when the checkered flag flew.

Yet, in spite of the fuel challenges at Charlotte, Keselowski maintained P1 in the Chase standings but is now just seven points ahead of Jimmie Johnson and fifteen points ahead of Denny Hamlin.

Surprising: Jeff Gordon and team 24 Drive to End Hunger made some surprisingly costly errors in the Bank of America 500. Gordon, fighting an ill-handling race car most of the night, incurred a speeding road penalty and struggled to regain track position from that point on.

“We missed the setup at the beginning, but we worked on it and worked on it and had it driving good there at the end,” Gordon said. “We just couldn’t catch a caution to get us back on the lead lap.”

“It was just one of those nights.”

Gordon finished 18th, his fourth finish of 18^th or worse in his last five races at Charlotte. He also fell three positions, from sixth to ninth in the Chase standings, 50 points back from the Chase leader.

Not Surprising: Pole sitter Greg Biffle had a good enough run to actually swap point’s positions with Jeff Gordon in the Chase standings. The driver of the No. 16 3M Ford Fusion finished fourth, gaining three Chase positions, from ninth to sixth in the standings, 43 points out of the lead.

“We had the fastest car, but couldn’t make it on fuel,” Biffle said. “We had the fastest car at the end, but didn’t quite get there.”

“It hurts to get beat on fuel mileage, but we were the first car behind the three that made it on fuel mileage, so I feel pretty good with fourth.”

Surprising: Stewart Haas Racing faced some surprising challenges at Charlotte Motor Speedway under the lights.

SHR Chase driver Tony Stewart started from deep in the field and got into an accordion-style accident on a restart that damaged the front of his No. 14 Mobil 1/Office Depot Chevrolet.

“I was following the 2 car (Keselowski) there and he had to check up,” Smoke said. “Man, I drilled him and it screwed up the nose of our race car.”

SHR teammate Ryan Newman forfeited a great starting spot in the front of the field due to an engine change, which forced him to the rear of the field in a race where track position was key.

“We definitely took a hit with the engine change,” Newman said. “We had a really fast car in practice and qualifying and it wasn’t the same in the race.”

“It was a tough night for us.”

Stewart rallied to finish 13th, while Newman, in the No. 39 Quicken Loans Chevrolet, finished a disappointing 20^th.

Not Surprising: Kyle Busch, in the No. 18 M&Ms Toyota, finally had a good finish, in fact a top-five finish, to show for his efforts in front of the home crowd.

“The car was really good,” Busch said. “I felt like we had a winning car barring circumstances and how they played out.”

“But that just wasn’t there for us at the end with the strategy and everything,” Busch continued. “We came home okay.”

Surprising: With every other driver so fixated on fuel, it was surprising that this driver, who finished seventh, could have cared less.

“We got good fuel mileage, but that wasn’t our focus,” Carl Edwards, driver of the No. 99 Fastenal Ford, said. “Our focus was going as fast as we could and I think we showed a little more promise than we have in a long time.”

“It’s been a long time since we’ve been this competitive on a mile-and-a-half, so I’m very happy with it.”

Not Surprising: With Dale Earnhardt, Jr. out of the race car due to a concussion, it was no surprise that all eyes were on Regan Smith, substituting for Junior in the No. 88 Amp Energy/National Guard Chevy, and also on Kurt Busch, who took over Smith’s No. 78 Furniture Row/Farm American Chevrolet ride for the first time this season.

Busch finished 21^st while Smith finished 38^th with an engine failure.

“The important part was that we had a really fast race car,” Smith said. “It’s disappointing and it’s a shame.”

“Finishing 21^st might not appear that we made progress,” Busch said. “But the fact of the matter is that we did in our first three days together at the track.”

“It was an uneventful race, but an eventful weekend.”

Surprising: With the shuffling of Kurt Busch to Furniture Row and Regan Smith to Dale Earnhardt Junior’s seat, there was one surprising opening for a driver that needed a second chance.

A.J. Allmendinger, returning from suspension after completing NASCAR’s Road to Recovery program, took the wheel of the No. 51 Phoenix Construction Chevrolet and finished 24^th at Charlotte under the lights.

“I have a lot of unfinished business,” the ‘Dinger said. “I have a lot of things I want to accomplish still.”

“It’s not going to be easy,” Allmendinger continued. “I’m going to have to do a lot of work for it, but I’m willing to do it.”

Not Surprising: Michael Waltrip Racing had another stellar day at the race track. One MWR driver, Clint Bowyer, was in Victory Lane while the other two MWR drivers both had top-ten runs.

Mark Martin, in the No. 55 Aaron’s Dream Machine Toyota, finished sixth and Martin Truex, Jr., behind the wheel of the No. 56 NAPA Auto Parts Toyota, finished tenth.

“We started racing in 2007 and here we are in 2012 racing for a championship,” Michael Waltrip, team owner, said. “There are a few things that have happened to me over my racing career that are really special and this is one of those.”

October 16, 2012
NASCAR Top-10 Power Rankings: Charlotte

[media-credit name=”Credit: Streeter Lecka/Getty Images” align=”alignright” width=”241″][/media-credit]Note: The quotes in this article are fictional.

1. Brad Keselowski: Keselowski ran out of fuel while leading on lap 59 at Charlotte, and that miscalculation may have cost him the win. After a late stop for gas, Keseklowski emerged 16^th and finished 11^th. He now leads Jimmie Johnson in the point standings by seven.

“The Miller Lite Dodge was the hottest car in the Chase until Saturday,” Keselowski said. “And we all know what happens with a cold Miller Lite—you get a ‘coaster.’

2. Jimmie Johnson: Johnson finished third in the Bank Of America 500 after fuel mileage concerns forced him to race conservatively. Still, Johnson cut into Brad Keselowski’s points lead, and now trails by only seven.

“Keselowski led for 139 of 334 laps,” Johnson said. “It was his race to lose, and he did. But I don’t mind trailing in the point standings right now. I’m a five-time champion; Keselowski’s got no titles to his name. That puts me ‘second to none.”

3. Denny Hamlin: Hamlin led 36 laps at Charlotte and finished third behind Clint Bowyer and Jimmie Johnson, while Brad Keselowski finished 11^th. Hamlin is now 15 behind points-leader Keselowski, and eight behind Johnson in second.

“The No. 11 Fed Ex Toyota was not made to conserve gas,” Hamlin said, “so we have to savor every drop. It seems that my pregnant girlfriend isn’t the only one carrying ‘precious cargo.’”

4. Clint Bowyer: After a beneficial fuel gamble, Bowyer held off a charging Denny Hamlin to take the Bank Of America 500, his third victory of the year. Bowyer is now fourth in the Sprint Cup point standings, 28 behind Brad Keselowski, and well within striking distance for the Cup.

“I proved I’m still a force in the Chase,” Bowyer said. “But I realize I’m gonna need some luck as well. So I’ve got to ask myself, “Do you feel lucky, punk?’”

5. Kasey Kahne: Kahne finished eighth at Charlotte, one lap down to the leaders. He is now fifth in the point standings, 35 out of first.

“It was weird not seeing Dale Earnhardt, Jr. in the No. 88 car,” Kahne said. “I’m sure Junior was disappointed. But look on the bright side: he found another way to break a winless streak.”

6. Greg Biffle: Biffle started on the pole at Charlotte and led 71 laps before finishing fourth, his best finish of the Chase. He leaped three spots in the point standings to sixth, and is 43 out of first.

“Carl Edwards couldn’t win with the points lead in last year’s Chase,” Biffle said. “Matt Kenseth is leaving Roush Fenway. And I couldn’t win from the pole at Charlotte. It doesn’t seem that anyone at Roush Fenway Racing can finish what they started.”

7. Martin Truex, Jr.: Truex posted his 17^th top-10 finish of the year with a 10^th at Charlotte. He is seventh in the Sprint Cup point standings, 49 out of first.

“I’ve got five races to make up 49 points,” Truex said. “I’m guessing the five races beats the 49 points to the finish line. And that’s one more win than I have this year.”

8. Kyle Busch: Busch finished fifth at Charlotte, one of only six cars on the lead lap. It was his ninth top-5 result of the year.

“I didn’t qualify for the Chase For The Cup,” Busch said, “so I, like about 8 of 12 Chasers to far behind to matter, am not eligible to win the title. It may be lonely at the top, but not at the bottom.”

9. Tony Stewart: Stewart sustained front-end damage after an early re-start went awry. He recovered to finish 13^th, one lap down, and now finds himself in a 50 point hole to points leader Brad Keselowski.

“If it’s not someone going too fast behind me,” Stewart said, “it’s someone going too slow in front of me. Normally, I’m more prepared in crunch time.”

10. Jeff Gordon: Gordon’s day was ruined by a pit road speeding penalty that put him one lap down. He finished two laps down in 18^th for his worst finish of the Chase. He trails Brad Keselowski by 50 points in the Sprint Cup point standings.

“That’s a deficit from which I can’t escape,” Gordon said. “I was once married to a ‘gold digger;’ she, in turn, was married to a ‘hole digger.’”

October 16, 2012
Dale Earnhardt Jr. suffers concussion

[media-credit id=22 align=”alignright” width=”221″][/media-credit]Sorry Larry’s parody was removed……. due to it being a little too controversial. It was meant with no disrespect, just a take on Earnhardt’s unusual season and not the serious situation on hand.

Below is the official Press Release:

NASCAR SPRINT CUP SERIES

BANK OF AMERICA 500

CHARLOTTE MOTOR SPEEDWAY

TEAM CHEVY DRIVER PRESS CONFERENCE TRANSCRIPT

OCTOBER 11, 2012

DALE EARNHARDT JR., NO. 88 AMP ENERGY/NATIONAL GUARD CHEVROLET met with media to discuss the fact that he will not be competing at this weekend’s race at Charlotte Motor Speedway nor at next week’s race at Kansas Speedway after being diagnosed with a concussion following the Oct. 7 race at Talladega Superspeedway. Also included in the discussion: Rick Hendrick, Owner of Hendrick Motorspots, Steve Letarte, Crew Chief, and Dr. Jerry Petty, neurosurgeon. Full Transcript:

KERRY THARP: Joining us up front we have Steve Letarte, crew chief of the No. 88; Dale Earnhardt, Jr., driver of the No. 88; team owner Rick Hendrick; and Dr. Jerry Petty, neurosurgeon. At this time I’m going to call on Dale Earnhardt, Jr., who has some things he’d like to share with everyone.

DALE EARNHARDT, JR.: I guess I’ll just start out with where this all kind of began. We had a test at Kansas about five weeks ago, and we blew a right front tire going into Turn 1, and I remember everything about that accident and everything after that accident, but I knew that I didn’t feel — you know your body, and you know how your mind works, and I knew something was just not quite right.

But I decided to just try to push through and work through it. I’d had concussions before and knew exactly kind of what I was dealing with.

I felt pretty good after a week or two and definitely 80, 90 percent by the time the Chase started, and by the time we got to Talladega I felt 100 percent, felt really good.

And then the accident at the end of that race, I was hit in the left rear quarter panel, and it was sort of an odd kind of a collision where the car spun around really quick and just sort of disoriented me, and I knew that I had sort of regressed and had a bit of a setback and knew — again, you know how your body is and you know when something is not quite right, and I knew as soon as it happened that I had reinjured myself, for lack of a better way to describe it.

It didn’t feel — it was not even half of the impact that I had at Kansas, but it was enough to cause me some concern.

So I went a couple days wondering how my body would react and sort of waiting for it to process what was happening. About Wednesday I was still having some headaches, just that was really the only symptoms that I was having was the headaches. So I took it upon myself to — I contacted my sister, and we talked about seeing a neurosurgeon, and we ended up getting steered toward Dr. Petty. Met with him, ran through a couple tests, everything was checking out, and did an MRI, everything looked good there. But I was really honest with him about how I felt and honest with him about the whole process from Kansas all the way on.

He spent the night thinking about what we discussed and everything that we did on Wednesday and couldn’t clear me to race this weekend. I trust his opinion. That’s why I went to see him. He’s been a good friend of mine for a long time and has helped me through a lot of injuries before, so I believe when he tells me I don’t need to be in the car and I need to take a couple weeks off that that’s what I need to do.

That’s pretty much the extent of it. I got a lot of support from my team. I’m excited about their opportunities the next couple weeks with Regan, and just looking forward to getting this cleared up and getting back in the car as soon as I can so I can get back to work with my team and getting back to competing on Sundays.

Q. Dale, did you see anyone for the Kansas — the issues you had at Kansas, and if you knew immediately that something was off on Sunday, why did you wait until Wednesday?

DALE EARNHARDT, JR.: No, I didn’t see anybody at Kansas. I was — I regret not seeing somebody after that happened. I was stubborn, and I’d had concussions before and knew what I was — thought I knew what I was dealing with and felt like that I was capable of doing my job.

I had called Steve. We talked about how I was feeling, and I told him that I really — I felt pretty good, but I really wouldn’t know if I would be able to compete until I got into the car. When you have a concussion, the symptoms can be really mild, and then they’ll typically go away after a couple days and you feel perfectly normal. But then when you get in a car and you go around the track at a high rate of speed, you start to understand that some things just aren’t quite where they need to be and some reactions just aren’t as sharp.

You really can’t get a measurement of that until you’re in the car. You can’t even — there’s just no way of knowing until you can drive. I wasn’t willing to — with the Chase coming up, I didn’t know how difficult — if I was to volunteer myself to medical attention and be removed from the car, I didn’t know how difficult it would be to get back in. But I was honest with Steve and told Steve, I said, when we get to Atlanta and if I don’t feel good, I’m going to be honest with you and tell you that we need to have something as a backup plan for me to get out of the car. I wasn’t going to drive the car if I felt like I was going to deal my crew chief and my team a shorthand that weekend.

That’s kind of the same reason I waited until Wednesday. The shot at Kansas was — I think we got the data, but it was around 40 G’s, and the shot at Talladega was only around 20 G’s. It wasn’t really that big of a wreck, and the fact that I felt the way I did was what concerned me after the accident at Talladega because it wasn’t that hard of a hit.

I wanted to process how I felt over a couple days. I went to the doctor Tuesday, actually.

Anyways, we — you know, I just wanted to process what was happening, and I knew having them two concussions back-to-back was not a good thing. So I needed to go see somebody regardless of whether I wanted to get out of the car or not. Just for my own well-being, I couldn’t — if I didn’t need to go get in a race car and get hit again, I needed somebody to tell me that because I was going to have a hard time making that decision for myself. I feel perfectly fine, but I don’t want to keep getting hit in the head.

Q. Because you drove your car away at Talladega, you weren’t required to go to the care center. We’ve come a long way from where drivers would lie and not say that they have concussions or Ricky Rudd taped his eyes open. What do you feel about concussions in general, and do you think you wouldn’t have made the decision yourself to have it checked out because you were able to drive your car away at Talladega?

DALE EARNHARDT, JR.: I just felt like that once — if you have more than one in a small period of time, you need to take that quite seriously. That’s how — I mean, I had — the one in Kansas was really bad, and then to get shaken up so quickly over something to kind of trivial. That accident was — I’ve been through tons of last lap wrecks at Daytona and Talladega, and that one shook me up, and I just thought maybe I should take this seriously.

Q. Dr. Petty, Dale has been saying he kind of knows what he’s dealing with as far as concussions. What is he dealing with and what does he need to do to be cleared to race?

DR. PETTY: So far what we’ve done is Dale — the first thing he had was an impact test, which is a test that we’ve been using more and more with drivers. His exam was entirely normal except that his main thing — we were seeing him for symptoms. He had very few signs at that time. In other words, his neurological exam was normal.

We wanted to get an MRI scan, and we did an MRI that following morning, a special MRI. I think we had to wait a while to get it because we wanted to get a special method they have of looking for previous injuries and so forth. That was entirely normal. The whole — that was very encouraging.

Then we talked to Dale, and he — I couldn’t give you a better history than he just did. He had no amnesia on either side of either of the incidents, which is very important, and I think that there’s every reason to expect — what we’ll do now is we want him to have four or five days after he has no headache, and then we’ll give him some sort of test like to get his pulse rate up, see if we can provoke a headache, and then if we can’t, we’ll let him go out and drive a lap or two and see how that goes, and if that goes well, we’ll probably clear him to race.

Q. For Mr. Hendrick, you’ve been racing a long time and you’ve done it with a whole lot of different men. What level of courage does it take for someone to take it upon themselves at the highest level, when all of them talk all the time about how terrified they are that somebody is going to take their wheels, for him to walk in and admit that he had this pain?

RICK HENDRICK: Well, I think that’s one thing everybody admires about Dale is how honest and up front he is. He cares a lot about the team, his fans, and the sport in general. But when he knew that there was something not right, he went to see Dr. Petty here, and I admire him. I think a lot of guys would try to play hurt, but when the doctor tells you if you get hit again like right away, it could be catastrophic, so I think this deal has worked out extremely well as it could. I mean, we were so happy yesterday that the MRI was completely normal, no damage. We don’t have a problem there.

And for these two guys to have the kind of year they’ve had, to lead the points and get in the Chase, we’ve got a lot of years left to race, I always want to be on the side of safety, and I applaud Dale for raising his hand and going in there and getting checked out.

Q. For Dale, you said you’ve had other concussions in the past. We know there was the one in 2002. Have there been others in between then and now, and have there been other instances where you haven’t gotten it checked out and you’ve just known that the symptoms were going to clear and you’re going to be okay once you get back in the car?

DALE EARNHARDT, JR.: Well, I can’t really recall precisely every run I’ve had. Me and Dr. Petty were trying to count them the other day. But those were really mild and you were fine in 48 hours. For whatever the reason the wreck at Kansas was just really severe and really surprised me how tough it was to get past that.

I thought I was in the clear, but just that little accident at Talladega, I started having headaches and stuff immediately after the wreck, and then into the next day and into Tuesday, and I thought, man, this is pretty soon after the other accident in Kansas. I should probably take this really seriously and seek some professional opinions on this.

Typically they only last 24 to 48 hours and go away, and sometimes you don’t even — sometimes to be honest you don’t even really know you have a mild concussion.

Q. Concussions have been in the news quite a bit lately, particularly with the NFL. In light of that how much of a concern is this for your long-term health, and did that kind of play into it at all?

DALE EARNHARDT, JR.: I think that you just — I don’t think that it played into it a whole lot. When something happens to your body, I want to live a healthy life so I’m going to make sure that I’m doing the right thing, and that’s all I felt like I was doing here.

I think if I give myself time to get healed up, I can race for as long as I want to race, and that’s my objective.

RICK HENDRICK: I think the real good news is it has come to light with the NFL and Dr. Petty handles NFL guys with the Panthers, too, and there’s another doctor here, too, with him, and there’s some things they can do to help it along and protect him, and he was explaining all that. So the good news is it’s — this is kind of preventative maintenance not to take a chance and there’s no damage.

But I think when you find out that you’re okay, but if you were right away to have another one, it could be a big problem, then I think guys are going to have to pay attention to it, just like the NFL, just like I heard on SportsCenter talking this morning about two or three different people they were waiting to get cleared to play this weekend.

So as Dr. Petty said, he can’t drive until these things happen. I think it’s good that it’s — all the safety stuff we have in the cars today, this probably was a lot of — I can remember in my career broken legs, broken arms, guys sitting out for different stuff, and we don’t have that. I remember Terry Labonte having to sit out when he had that inner ear problem, and I think the good news is the cars are so safe, the medical field is so advanced, and if we do what they tell us, we shouldn’t have any trouble.

Q. For Dr. Petty, it seems like a lot of people when we talk about concussions make it seem to be a cut-and-dry thing, but in this instance, Dale Jr. talked about the tests being normal, and a lot of it seems to be him telling you the symptoms that he’s experiencing. I was just wondering in your dealing with athletes, is it mostly listening to them tell you the effects of after an incident, or is it a combination generally of test results and them telling you what’s going on?

DR. PETTY: It’s a combination in some regard. If an MRI scan or a CT scan is abnormal, then it’s no longer a concussion, it’s a hemorrhage or a contusion. By definition it’s not a concussion.

So some of the testing that’s done like the impact tests that Dale had, those are tests that we can follow, and if he should have an injury again in the future, we can use that as a baseline. What we’d want to make sure is that baseline doesn’t start to fall off and even fall off without being tested.

The period of — what he has is really called a diffuse axonal injury, and it’s something that does not show on scans, and we don’t have test that will show that other than symptoms and signs. Sometimes there will be some residual signs left over, but Dale had none of those. He had no — his eyes did what they were supposed to do; his balance tests and so forth are perfect.

The biggest — the one test, the one symptom that is more important than all the tests is headache, and as long as there’s any headache, the brain is not healed, and until that’s healed and had some time to rest and then you provoke it again and can’t make it happen again, then that’s — then you feel like you’re on the road to recovery.

Q. When you look at Eric McClure, his concussion, you look at your concussions, Brad Keselowski broke his ankle, are the cars not as safe as they need to be right now?

DALE EARNHARDT, JR.: Oh, the cars are fine. There’s just some things that you can’t control. I don’t know that you can have a race car that’s completely 100 percent safe. But there’s been so much — so many advances in the last 10 or 12 years that have made this sport incredibly safe. So I have no worries about that.

Q. Dale or Rick, was there any consideration of having you possibly set out the rest of the season as opposed to just Charlotte and Kansas at any point in time?

DALE EARNHARDT, JR.: No, not really. I would love to race this weekend, and I feel perfectly normal and feel like I could compete if I were allowed to compete this weekend. But I think that the basis of this whole deal is that I’ve had two concussions in the last four to five weeks, and you can’t layer concussions. It gets extremely dangerous.

So I really don’t want to — I think that we could easily have chosen to do that, but I’d like to get back in the car and compete as soon as I can, as soon as the doctors feel like I’m able to do that.

Q. Dale, what’s your situation going to be like in the next two weeks? Are you going to be keeping the same role as a driver and working with Regan any since he’s taking over the car? What’s your role going to be like? Is it going to change any?

DALE EARNHARDT, JR.: Well, I really don’t know. I probably need to rest and relax as much as I can, allow my brain to take a break and get some healing done. You know, Regan doesn’t need any tutoring or anything like that. He’s ready to go. He’s going to do a great job. I’m excited for his opportunity. He’s a really good guy, been a good friend of mine for a long time.

Under the circumstances I think this is a really, really neat opportunity for him, and I think that Steve and the guys will enjoy working with him.

Q. Considering the incredible season you were having, did it make it even more difficult to make this decision the first time, the second time, and is it just frustrating because of how well you and Stevie were working together?

DALE EARNHARDT, JR.: It’s frustrating. I really didn’t get to make the decision. I left it in the hands of the Docs, and I’m going to do what they tell me to do. But it’s frustrating; I just enjoy driving cars week in and week out. I enjoy being at the racetrack with Steve, so I’m going to really miss that.

Q. I know in the NFL if you have a concussion they make you sit out six or seven days before you go back in. NASCAR drivers have kind of hid this fact like Dale did after the Kansas incident. Does there need to be more stringent rules that would prevent drivers from being on the track with concussions?

DR. PETTY: We’ve patterned our rules after the NFL to a degree. We would do the same procedure about giving them five or six days without a headache and then doing provocative tests.

I don’t think that, so far as I know, they’re not allowed to go back any earlier than some of the NFL guys are allowed to go back.

Q. Dale, one question for you: I know you said you have to rest up a little bit, but will you come to the race this weekend to support the team? And for Steve Letarte, what have you had to do to the car to prepare for Regan Smith to race this weekend?

DALE EARNHARDT, JR.: Yeah, I don’t have any plans of being here this weekend. I think that I’d be more of a distraction to the team and their efforts in the race. I think they’ve got a good opportunity to have a good run this weekend, and I feel like that — to minimize the distraction would help them out.

STEVE LETARTE: As far as preparing for the car for Regan, there’s not a whole lot to do. He’s been at the shop early this morning just to sit in his seat versus Jimmie’s. We have a lot of options at the company, and he found the one that fits him the best, so we’ll probably change the seat, the pedals, just adjust things to his driving style. He’ll probably have to get on the race track to really fine-tune everything like he really wants it. They’re reasonably close to the same size, so it shouldn’t be much of a problem at all.

Q. This is for Steve: When this happened at the tire test, it sounds like there wasn’t a lot of medical staff or he didn’t go to a care center. Is that standard for these tire tests; and is that something that you think should be changed? How does that usually work?

STEVE LETARTE: Well, there was a medical staff there, and he was seen in the ambulance after his accident. I think he was seen there.

As far as the care center and what should be standard, I kind of leave that to the experts above me. I stick with crew chiefing and race cars. I don’t know if I’m really the guy that can answer that question.

I think injuries are complicated, and I think every situation can be different. We test all over the country, whether it’s a tire test or whether we’re by ourselves at a straight-line test or Nashville, any type of cars on track there’s a risk of injury. I don’t know if there’s any real — I wish it would be a cut-and-dry answer, but I don’t really think there is a cut and dry answer.

Q. Rick, can you give us a precise as best you can remember timeline on when the decision was made yesterday, what time of day, when did you contact Regan? Kind of give us not a minute by minute but maybe an hour by hour progress of how all this came about?

RICK HENDRICK: Let’s see. Dale went in to have the — I talked to Dr. Petty Tuesday night. He had — Dale had an examination Tuesday. Wednesday he had an MRI. I went down with Stevie and Kelly to his office and saw the MRI, and it was normal. At that point Dr. Petty had already said to me in the morning, that morning that he was not going to clear Dale to drive.

But we were wanting to know if there was any damage or injury. Then because Kelly has been working with Regan and junior, I called James Finch last night about 10:00 and asked him could we use Regan. He agreed, and that’s — told Stevie last night at 8:00. So this morning he called Regan and we told him we’d had it cleared with James, and that’s where we are right now.

Q. I was there when you went into the corner. Can you just talk about that track and the rebanking of it, and is it safe, and what should we look for next weekend?

DALE EARNHARDT, JR.: I think it’ll be a great race. I think they did an awesome job on the track. I had a lot of fun when we were testing up there until the accident. I think they did a good job in Turn 1 and 2, sort of changing the banking of the track, and 3 and 4 seems relatively the same as it was before. But I really think it’s going to be a great racetrack. It was a good track beforehand, but I think they improved it.

Q. You’re not blaming the track?

DALE EARNHARDT, JR.: Absolutely not.

Q. Just going back to the Regan Smith decision, I’m sure you had other choices. Why Regan, and what might be the future for him in your organization?

RICK HENDRICK: Well, I think we’ve been talking about running him in the Nationwide car for a championship. He’s a good driver, and again, Dale likes him, and we’re familiar with him. So that was just — we knew he was going to be in James’ car. And that was just — it just seemed to fit. They’re about the same size.

STEVE LETARTE: I don’t really know if I’m the guy — Mr. Hendrick makes those decisions, but I agree that Regan is a great guy with a great attitude. Seems to be a remarkable talent. He’s part of the Chevrolet family, which obviously helps when he comes and drives our car. We were just looking for someone that could come in and do a great job, and we feel he can, and the fact that Dale believes in him so much really made the decision that much easier.

Q. What are your emotions right now? We’ve seen drivers on the verge of tears when they’ve had to give up their cars in mid-race and some very emotional feelings. How are you coping with that?

DALE EARNHARDT, JR.: I’m really going to feel pretty odd not being in the car. I’m anxious, real, real anxious just to get back into the car and get back to — I think you learn not to take things for granted, and I just hate that this has caused such a fuss.

Q. Dr. Petty, when it comes to concussions, are you more susceptible to them going forward when you get one?

DR. PETTY: Yes.

Q. And secondly, how much of diagnosing all this hinges on individual admission?

DR. PETTY: 90 percent of a concussion probably depends on individual information. The headache — people around you might notice that you’re different. By and large it’s a patient’s — the history that the patient gives is the thing that tells you that they’ve had a concussion. A concussion can be seeing stars. A concussion can be just being addled for a minute. Any time the brain is not doing what it’s supposed to be doing after an acceleration or deceleration, that’s a concussion.

THE MODERATOR: Thank you very much for being in here today, and good luck the rest of this season.

About Chevrolet

Founded in 1911 in Detroit, Chevrolet is now one of the world’s largest car brands, doing business in more than 140 countries and selling more than 4 million cars and trucks a year. Chevrolet provides customers with fuel-efficient vehicles that feature spirited performance, expressive design and high quality. More information on Chevrolet models can be found at www.chevrolet.com.

October 11, 2012