The 2013 season of NASCAR will be remembered as one of the most tumultuous in recent memory. The year would not be complete without a few snapshots to commemorate the highs and lows.
Favorite Couple: Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Steve Letarte
The partnership between the most popular driver and his Hendrick Motorsports crew chief continues to improve with each passing year. In 2013 the pair had their best season together earning fifth place in the Chase point standings.
Dale Jr. had an impressive run during the final 10 races of the Chase with five top-5s that included three runner-up finishes and 8 top-10 finishes. His most disappointing result was due to a blown engine at Chicagoland Speedway.
“I don’t know what would have happened if we could have done Chicago over but we ran so good in the other nine races, we’ve just got to be real proud of ourselves,” Earnhardt said.
“We’ve got nothing to be disappointed about. We’ve gotten better each year, and that’s what we’re supposed to do.”
Worst Breakup: Kevin Harvick and Richard Childress Racing
Few in NASCAR will ever forget how Harvick took over the vacant seat at RCR after Dale Earnhardt’s tragic death in 2001. They were shoes that could never be filled but Harvick handled the challenge with humility and respect.
When Kevin Harvick first announced that he was leaving Richard Childress Racing after the end of the 2013 season, many were surprised. However Harvick emphasized that he and the team were committed to finishing the year on a positive note by contending for the championship. From the outside, it appeared to be an amicable split.
But appearances can be deceiving.
During a NASCAR Camping World Truck Series race at Martinsville Speedway, tempers flared between Harvick and Ty Dillon as they were competing for second place during the final laps of the race and got together. The two drivers spun out and continued to show their displeasure with each other on the track. Things disintegrated further when Dillon’s crew members got involved by going after Harvick on pit road.
It was Harvick’s comments after the race that sealed the end of this partnership.
“The 3 just dumped me,” he said. “Exactly the reason why I’m leaving RCR because you’ve got those kids coming up that got no respect for what they do in this sport and they’ve had everything fed to them with a spoon.”
Although Harvick later apologized, it was obvious that the relationship had actually ended long before the season came to a close.
Most Popular Race: Eldora Speedway – The Mudsummer Classic Camping World Truck Series race
The race at Eldora Speedway was one of the most highly anticipated events of the 2013 NASCAR season and it lived up to expectations. It wasn’t the biggest or the fastest but it showcased the best short track competition that NASCAR has to offer.
Austin Dillon won the inaugural event becoming the first driver to win a Camping World Truck Series race on dirt.
The event marked NASCAR’s first national series dirt race since 1970. It was filled with side-by-side racing action, exciting passes and enough beating and banging to keep the sold out crowd on their feet. This back to basics, stripped down version of racing is the heart and soul of a sport that many feel has lost its way.
Biggest Controversy: The September 7th race at Richmond International Raceway
The final race of NASCAR’s 2013 regular season will be remembered as a turning point in the sport’s history. A suspicious spin by Clint Bowyer led to an investigation and NASCAR determined that Michael Waltrip Racing (MWR) manipulated the race results at Richmond. Penalties were issued, points were deducted and as a result MWR teammate Martin Truex Jr. lost his spot in the Chase to Ryan Newman.
But that was only the beginning. Further allegations of cheating by two other teams led to more investigation by NASCAR and an unprecedented decision to add a 13th driver, Jeff Gordon, to the Chase for the Championship.
Brian France explained, “We believe that there were too many things that altered the event that gave an unfair disadvantage to Jeff and his team, who would have qualified. It’s just the right thing to do. I have the authority to do that, and we are going to do that.”
Many fans applauded NASCAR for doing the “right thing” but just as many were appalled at what they saw as NASCAR “fixing” the Chase to include one of its most influential drivers. The fact that Gordon drives for Hendrick Motorsports, arguably the most powerful team in NASCAR, only added fuel to the fire.
Has the integrity of NASCAR been irreparably damaged by this incident? Only time will tell.
Most Likely to Continue to Succeed: Jimmie Johnson
Jimmie Johnson’s sixth championship title has catapulted him into an elite group of NASCAR champions. Only Richard Petty and Dale Earnhardt have more with seven each. Johnson already has the record for most consecutive championships with five titles between the years 2006-2010. It is entirely within the realm of possibility that he will not only equal but surpass the record set by Petty and Earnhardt.
There is no doubt that Johnson has earned his place as one of the best drivers in the history of NASCAR and he’s not done yet. The more intriguing question is this. Does success equal greatness?
Best Move: Matt Kenseth
Matt Kenseth’s move from Roush Fenway Racing to Joe Gibbs Racing has provided what Kenseth called an “unbelievable” year.
“Obviously it’s been a great year, best year I’ve ever had,” said Kenseth. “I think when you look at our season overall, when I talk about it being the best season of my career, we didn’t come up with the championship, the championship is the ultimate goal, you always want that, but from a competitive standpoint it’s been by far the best season of my career.
“We lead the most laps, qualified the best, most wins, all that stuff. From a competitive standpoint, it was our best year.”
Kenseth scored a career best seven Sprint Cup wins in one season, a career best of 1,783 laps led and captured three poles along the way.
Most Significant Victory: Darrell Wallace Jr.
When Darrell Wallace Jr. won the Kroger 200 Camping World Truck Series race at Martinsville Speedway in October, he became the first African-American driver to win a NASCAR national series race since Wendell Scott’s win on December 1, 1963.
After the race, Wallace spoke passionately about the impact of this win.
“It means everything,” Wallace said. “This is an emotional one for me, especially to do it in Wendell Scott’s backyard. I love coming here to Martinsville. It’s always good to me, and it finally paid off.”
He also hopes that it will help propel his career forward.
“Winning, there’s nothing better than winning,” he said. “And I think that’ll help kind of pave its own way there, and hopefully get my name out there even more. Winning this big race can always do that, and that’s what I’ve been trying to do all year is to get my name out there, to keep pushing, to strive for kids younger than me to get in the sport and be here sitting here talking to you guys one day.”
Best Comeback: Shane Hmiel
Shane Hmiel’s story is one of triumph over adversity. As he made his way through the ranks of the Busch Series (now Nationwide Series), his career was put on hold when he failed a drug test in 2003 and was suspended indefinitely. He was reinstated in 2004 but over the next couple of years failed two more drug tests and in 2006 was banned from NASCAR for life.
Hmiel fought his way back to sobriety and began competing in the touring divisions of the United States Auto Club (USAC) Series. Then, in 2010 he faced the biggest challenge of his life.
While attempting to qualify for a USAC Silver Crown race, his car hit the outside wall and rolled several times. The roll cage was damaged and Hmiel suffered head and spinal injuries that left him paralyzed. He wasn’t expected to live but once more, Hmiel defied the odds.
In January 2013 his recovery took another leap forward when he was given the chance to get behind the wheel of a racecar one more time at Rockingham Speedway.
Accessible Racing co-founder and president, Brian Hanaford, Hmiel’s mother, Lisa, and Andy Hillenburg, president of Rockingham Speedway, were instrumental in giving Shane this unique opportunity. Randy LaJoie whose company ‘Joie of Seating’ makes custom seats for race cars, provided the specialized seats.
Hmiel drove 10 laps around the track and as he headed into the pits, the huge grin on his face spoke volumes.
“I don’t want to get out, let’s go again,” he exclaimed!”
Shane Hmiel’s tenacity is a testament to the strength of the human spirit.
“It felt so great to be back,” he said. “The conceited side of me loves this. It proves to people, do not quit. You can always do more. Believe in that. It’ll get you so far.”
These are only a few of the most memorable NASCAR moments in 2013. Records were broken, champions were crowned and controversy abounded. The new season begins in less than three months. Will you be watching?
A mulligan is a do over, a chance to remove from consideration what one has done in the hopes of replacing it with something done better. This year in the Chase, a mulligan was no more than the name of a steam shovel operator from a book in primary school.
So, what would constitute a mulligan in Jimmie Johnson’s world? The closest he came during the Chase would have been his 13th place finish at Talladega. It was the only track he failed to record a Top Ten, one of just three he was not in the Top Five in those ten events. Matt Kenseth was 20th at Talladega and 23rd at Phoenix. Kevin Harvick was 20th at Loudon. Dale Earnhardt Jr had a 35th place result in Chicago, and 15th at Charlotte. All in all, pretty darn good, just not good enough when compared to the six time champion.
Johnson won the title by 19 points over Kenseth in the official standings and he was best over the ten Chase races by 22. Even if we went old school with a 36 race tally, Six Pack would have beat out Harvick by 41 points over the season and Kenseth by 56 to claim the crown. In short, Johnson did not allow any mulligan’s to be used, as a finish outside the Top 13 pretty much ended one’s hopes. His average finish in the Chase was a very hot 5.1.
The good news is that his standard, this hot streak, can, and has been done better. From August 12 through October 1st in 1967, Richard Petty’s average finish was 1…with a record of ten straight victories. Yes, it can be done but something tells me that this might not offer much solace to those hoping to keep J.J. from tying the King and the Intimidator in season championships in 2014.
Here is a look at our hottest 20 drivers over the ten Chase races.
In racing, there are three kinds of champions. The first one is obvious; it’s the driver who hoists the Cup at season’s end after they out-perform their adversaries on the track. Then there are the ones that were born champions but hold no such trophies. The ones of impeccable character who only speak when they have something say. They are humble, tenacious, self-motivated and are incapable of comprehending the words, “it can’t be done.” Then we have the racers that are both. Jimmie Johnson is among that elite contingent.
Jimmie Johnson is now a six-time NASCAR Sprint Cup Series champion which is a feat accomplished only by Richard Petty and Dale Earnhardt until now. That team has gone into the final race of the season with a mathematical shot at winning the championship nearly every season since 2004 with the exception of 2011. Over the years, he’s battled and defeated great drivers such as Jeff Gordon, Matt Kenseth, Carl Edwards, Denny Hamlin, Kevin Harvick, and Mark Martin in his pursuit of six championships.
Why Is The No.48 Team So Good?
When you take one of the most talented drivers out there, put him in the best equipment there is and combine that with a genius like Chad Knaus, magical things are going to happen. This is the era of the No.48 and in my eyes; it’s the greatest race team to ever exist in the history of NASCAR. Rick Hendrick doesn’t need to give pep talks to his guys as motivation. Hendrick Motorsports employees know what is expected of them and they always deliver.
Jimmie has the car control, the mental fortitude, the natural talent to wheel the fastest cars in the field to the max of their capabilities and most crucially, he thrives when the pressure is applied. Chad Knaus is an innovator that takes the fastest and most durable cars in the field and somehow, makes them go even faster. You can put their backs against a wall, throw as much adversity as you want their way and they will still find a way to emerge victorious. That is why this group is always at or near the top every single year. They are the complete package. There is no Achilles Heel.
What Does Title No.6 Mean?
When this team won a 5th straight, that was a remarkable accomplishment but there is something about winning a 6th that takes them to whole new level. Jimmie is plus two titles over any other driver in history besides Petty and Earnhardt who hold a coveted 7th. Less than a decade ago, he didn’t even have a single championship to his credit and to think that Jimmie Johnson is just one more stellar year away from matching those two immortals of stock car racing is nearly incomprehensible to me. The No.48 team can certainly be beat, they are human believe it or not but take away the rear gear failure at Homestead in 2012, the wreck they had there in 2005 and we may be looking at an eight-time champion right now.
Impact On NASCAR
For NASCAR, Jimmie Johnson winning yet another championship is a double-edged sword. It’s great because Jimmie is a perfect representative for the sport. He is a family man, a class act, articulate, engages with the fans on social media and never ruffles any feathers. Now here’s why it’s a double-edged sword. Johnson’s dominance has led a lot of fans to greatly dislike him. (That’s the nice way of putting it) In fact, I read countless tweets from people saying that they were not going to watch the season finale just because he was most likely going to win the title.
Some of his detractors have quit watching the sport altogether and then there are others who come up with eccentric theories in an attempt to deny the incontrovertible fact that he is one of best drivers of all-time. Last year, NASCAR’s champion was the highly outspoken and sometimes brash, Brad Keselowski. It’s obvious that someone stirring the pot all the time and giving interviews to SportsCenter while drunk is going to get more eyeballs turned our way compared to a driver such as 6-time (gotta get used to saying that sooner than later) who is never embroiled in any controversies.
What The Future Holds
Chad Knaus issued an ominous warning Sunday night when he said that the No.48 team isn’t even close to their full potential yet. Cue the audible gulp from the racing community. When will this dynasty finally come to an end? At seven? Maybe eight? Heck, could they even reach 10? I see no team, no driver that is capable of taking this team down for good. The thing that will permanently end the reign of Jimmie Johnson will most likely be something you can’t fight back against and that’s time. He’s 37 years old and considering how fit Jimmie is, he could have well over ten more years left in him although I don’t see 42 year old Chad Knaus sticking around that long. Keep in mind that he’s won six titles and sixty-six races in eight years when thinking about how many he’s got left behind the wheel.
One day, Jimmie Johnson will be inducted into the NASCAR HOF and people will watch old videos of him in absolute awe of what he accomplished. He will be labeled a legend and revered by all. Fans will want to be edified about his career and wish they could have been there in person to witness it. He will be idolized, immortalized and no longer criticized. That day is not here yet though.
We are witnessing history right now with Jimmie Johnson. You don’t have to like it but you better respect it.
I know this is going to cause a lot of flack and comments, but this is my opinion to which I am entitled to. So for those that disagree with me fine I understand, that’s your opinion and I have no grudge against that so, to each their own.
I realize that so many think the #3 should be out on the track in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series (NSCS). I disagree and think the #3 should be retired out of respect to the man that made the number something more than just a number, Dale Earnhardt. I know that many are not going to understand this, as many new fans were little when he died and have no clue the kind of impact he had on NASCAR. He was NASCAR, he was the best driver to so many fans, to others he was the one to cheer against.
We avid fans know that the #3 was driven before him by other drivers and that Richard Childress owns the right to use that number however he wants. We also know that not even Richard Petty’s number has been retired, and we also know that Dale Jr has stated his consent, but what about us fans? Why do we not get a say? Dale made the number 3 more than a number, something no other driver will do and I dare say even Richard Petty is included in that category. Dale made that car and number a part of himself almost as if car, driver, and number were one unit that became the Intimidator. It was as if car and number were an extension of what he was on the track as a driver.
The day Dale died is the day the car and number for so many of us died too. I know people will say it’s time to bring it back etc, but how many of them watched their favorite driver/icon die in the car? Most of them saw it perhaps when they were young, many that disliked him will say it was just a number and can’t fathom how a number can come to mean so much to his fans, but it did, and it should rest with the man that made it famous. Why? Because any driver you put in it will never be seen as part of that number, it will always be seen by fans as Dale’s and no amount of time will change that.
I have nothing against RCR for wanting to use it but as a fan I don’t think you should but, realistically I know you will so as a fan honor Dale make it different. Does it have to be black and white? Can you make the #3 look different so it does not look like Dales? Compromise let us keep our memories in tact while you still use that number. Is that really asking too much? I don’t think so.
For those of you that will think this is something you don’t “get”, let’s pray you never find out what it feels like to lose your hero because that is the only way to understand what I am talking about.
You just never know. After what seemed like the worst race of all time, a race broke out in Charlotte (actually Concord) over the last 23 laps. On the rather pleasant night, the race had been dominated by Hendrick Motorsports. At one point, Hendrick Chevrolet’s held the top four positions and seemed to dominate. So complete was the domination that the quartet made up of Jimmie Johnson, Kasey Kahne, Jeff Gordon, and Dale Earnhardt, Jr. had led 313 of the first 325. When the caution flag flew with only 25 laps remaining, many fans headed for the exits to get a head start on traffic. Some left even earlier.
What happened next was a script straight out of Hollywood, specifically “Days of Thunder.” Leader Johnson was no longer the leader, but Kahne led them to the green flag and then it happened. Out of nowhere came Brad Keselowski, the reigning Sprint Cup champion—the same one who had not won this year and who had missed the coveted Chase. They restarted at Lap 311, and after quickly getting into second place, he started to work on Kahne. Johnson hadn’t come up to speed even with four new tires. What resulted was a tight side-by-side battle between Keselowski and Kahne, who had only taken two tires. Keselowski drove like it was his last race and finally passed Kahne for his first win of 2013. Like on wag said, “He came out of nowhere.” Not exactly.
Keselowski has had his share of bad luck this year. After a decent start, his Penske Racing Ford team was heavily penalized early on. Then there was the racing luck. Though always competitive, it appeared that he couldn’t get a break to go his way. He didn’t make the cut for the championship run and it looked bleak for any success on Saturday night. A pit miscue caused him to carry his jack around the track underneath his car and put him far behind. Never giving up, Keselowski worked hard, first moving into the top 15, the top 10, and starting just outside the top 5 on the restart at Lap 309, he made his move. All of a sudden, what was a runaway became a race. Sorry so many missed that last 25 laps.
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Earlier, it was Speedway Motorsports and Charlotte Motor Speedway mogul Bruton Smith made another threat to move a race from CMS to Las Vegas Motor Speedway, specifically the October date. Losing an appeal in court over an $80 million agreement on infrastructure improvements between the county where the speedway sits and Speedway Motorsports prompted the threat. It has happened before. When there was protest about building the Z-Max Dragway that sits adjacent to Charlotte Motor Speedway, the county backed down, making some promises but never signing a contract. Local businesses were outraged, but Smith contends he can make “a lot more money” in Las Vegas. We will see how this all plays out.
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Much buzz was created in Friday night’s Nationwide Series race over the performance of youngster Kyle Larson. Larson has been tabbed as the drier to replace Juan Pablo Montoya in Chip Ganassi’s No. 42 Chevy in the Sprint Cup Series next year. Just barely old enough to vote, Larson thrilled the crowd by moving through the field and leading 17 laps. He wasn’t so lucky in the Sprint Cup race, finishing 37th and retiring with a blown engine. He will be interesting to watch in 2014.
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Hendrick Motorsports had a good night at CMS, finishing second (Kahne), fourth (Johnson), seventh (Gordon), and 15th (Earnhardt). Dale Earnhardt, Jr. gave his fans a thrill by leading 19 laps and staying up front until he developed handling problems late in the race. Joe Gibbs Racing had a successful night with all three drivers finish in the top 10. Roush-Fenway Racing and Richard Childress Racing didn’t do so well. RFR placed only Carl Edwards in the top 10 and RCR’s Kevin Harvick finished sixth. Otherwise, only Ricky Stenhouse, Jr. (RFR) finished in the top 20.
Dale Earnhardt Jr. visited the NASCAR Hall of Fame Tuesday afternoon for a question and answer session with fans and the media. This event is designed to celebrate the drivers who are contending for the NASCAR Sprint Cup championship. The drivers will participate in these Q&A sessions in the High Octane Theater at the NASCAR Hall of Fame on Tuesday afternoons from Sept. 17 – Nov. 5.
The topics covered everything from the Chase, to team meetings, to pets, to girls, to girl fights and an unexpected remembrance of his late father.
Winston Kelley, Hall of Fame Executive Director, began by asking Earnhardt to assess his season and talk about the ups and downs the team has experienced this year.
“You’re gonna have some ups and downs,” Earnhardt said, “but I thought last year we were more consistent as far as just finishing where I felt like the car was capable of running. When we started this season we had more speed which was good to see. That’s the hardest thing to achieve and find in the shop, is more speed. We started off the year really strong. We came out of the gate and had a lot of top fives and top tens and was leading the points and then we started having problems; motors and different things, maybe mistakes I made or calls Steve made that didn’t go the way we wanted (them) to or getting caught on pit road under cautions and stuff like that. But the car’s been faster, like I said, which is one of the hardest things to find in the sport.”
“We’ve gotten better each year as a team since I’ve started working with Steve,” he continued. “We started off together in our first year really working hard just to crack the top ten. Last year we were a consistent team that was running in the top ten every week. This year I think we’re a little bit faster yet we just didn’t quite have the luck we had last year but it’s been good.”
Kelley then asked Earnhardt to describe a typical Hendrick Motorsports team de-brief. His explanation provides a unique perspective on the inner workings of one of NASCAR’s premier teams.
“It’s about the last race,” he explains. “We go over the whole process. It’s basically all four crew chiefs and all four drivers and a couple of guys from management sitting at a table. Each driver goes in turn and talks about the race; everything that they can remember that was unique. We’ll talk about how our cars drove and the changes we made to our cars we liked or didn’t like. The crew chiefs will pitch in if there’s something the driver didn’t think about or want to add. Then we’ll move on to the next race. The crew chiefs will talk about how they’re gonna start the first practice, whether we’re gonna be in qualifying trim or race trim.
He went on to add, “While all this is going on, on a big old projector, there are all four cars’ setups from the last race, basically how we ended the race. All four cars’ setups are on the wall so we all can see what everybody had. Then as we lead into the next event they might bring up the setups for all the other cars, how they’re gonna leave the shop and unload. Some cars might be in qualifying trim, others might be in race trim. So you can kinda see what people are doing.
Earnhardt summed up the process by saying, “it’s really an open book.”
Below are some of the highlights from the fan Q&A session.
The fan questions are always fun and this year was no exception. The first question was asked by a young boy who charmed the crowd with his enthusiasm.
Question: “Dale, it’s been kind of like a blast this year. You might not have had the luck to go to the Chase last year but it’s pretty cool that you’re in the Chase. Dale, how does this feel for you?”
Dale Earnhardt Jr.: “It feels good. We had such a good year last year. We were really excited about going into the Chase because we felt like we were a strong team and we didn’t get that opportunity last year due to the concussion. So this year having the chance to be in there, be in the car racing, even though we did have tough luck at Chicago, we still feel like we got a shot. We’re still gonna go to the racetrack with the attitude that we can get ourselves back into it and it’s just fun to be in the car. It’s fun to be racing. It’s fun to make the Chase. When you don’t make the Chase, that can bum you out. It’s hard being on the outside looking in; watching those guys all race for that championship knowing that you think you’re good enough and your team’s good enough to be in there, but you’re not. It feels good to make it. Hopefully if I’ve got to go through all the stuff in Vegas that they put us through during championship week, hopefully, I’m holding that trophy. We’re working real hard to do that.”
The next fan used her time to voice the sentiments of Junior Nation, amid cheers and applause.
Question: “It’s not really a question, it’s a comment. I just wanted to tell you that Junior Nation has faith in you and we believe in you. Keep the spirits up because you’re going to get it. You’re going to get it one day before you retire. I promise you, you’re going to get one!”
Dale Earnhardt Jr.: “I appreciate it. I feel the same way. I think I got a lot of racing left. I feel like I was saying about our team, I think we’ve gotten stronger each year. I tell Steve and Steve agrees. He thinks we’ve gotten better each year. If we just stick together and keep working on the team in the off season, moving a few pieces around and keep getting the team better, it’s gonna happen. Our hard work’s gonna pay off.”
The next question took an unexpected turn and we learn how Dale Jr. used to impress the ladies.
Question: “Do you do doughnuts in your street car?”
Dale Earnhardt Jr.: “I’ve done some doughnuts in my street cars from time to time. Yes, I have. It’s usually to show off for a girl. They make you do some crazy things. You’ll find out.”
Earnhardt’s pets are almost as famous as he is so it’s no surprise that someone asked a question about those pets.
Question: “Do you take any of your pets with you to stay in the motorhome with you at the racetracks?”
Dale Earnhardt Jr.: “Yeah, I do. I used to have this cat named Buddy and he lived on the bus. After the race was over with he stayed on the bus. The bus driver would drive to the next race track and he’d be there on the bus. The only time he was off the bus was when the season was over.
I’ve been dating Amy (Reimann) for several years now and she has a Pomeranian. I don’t claim it. He’s pretty cool but I don’t admit it. He goes every week because he’s so small, he’s easy to carry around.
Killer, my boxer, he goes every once in a while if the grass is close to the bus. But if there’s a lot of concrete I don’t take him because you have to walk all the way across the track to get him to use the bathroom.”
The next question was about football but elicited memories of a son and a race team who were left without a father and a leader in the wake of Dale Earnhardt’s passing.
Question: “I’m a big Jr fan. I’m also a two time graduate of Clemson University and I recently heard that you’re a USC fan so I’m debating if I can stay a fan. Why are you a USC fan?”
Dale Earnhardt Jr.: “I’ll explain how that happened. I wasn’t always a South Carolina Gamecocks fan. Back when my dad passed away I was trying to think of this cool idea to boost the spirits of all the employees at Dale Earnhardt Inc. I was trying to think of something we could do. Dad wasn’t there. The whole company had no direction. I thought that I would call Lou Holtz and see if he could come talk to us and sort of get everybody fired up and give us all direction so we could go into Daytona and work hard. We’d get some encouraging words from Lou because apparently he’s really good at motivational speaking. He was the (football) coach of South Carolina at the time. So he came out and talked to us and blew everybody away. He got us all started on the right foot and we went on about our way and everything was fine. So I started watching Lou and pulling for the Gamecocks. “
One of the last questions prompted Earnhardt to tell a hilarious story about his sister Kelley Earnhardt Miller.
Question: “I know you have a go-kart track at your house. Have you ever beat a woman on your go-kart track at your house?”
Dale Earnhardt Jr.: “We’ve always had Powder Puff races where all the women race by themselves. Normally what we do with the go-kart track is we use it about once a year. I invite all the employees from JR Motorsports and all the employees from the 48/88 shop over and we have races all night.”
He then went on to tell about one particular race that happened not long after he began racing for Rick Hendrick.
“All the women had a race. Kelley and the wife of one of the guys in management had a disagreement on the last lap. My sister’s pretty fiery plus she had raced some cars before so she thought she had a leg up on the competition out there. But this girl didn’t like what Kelley did to her in the last corner. I guess Kelley had shoved her out of the way to get by her. They threw the checkered flag and they went into the last corner, slowing down, the race is over. That lady dumped Kelley and flipped her over.
Now we had raced these karts hundreds of times and never flipped one. I looked over there and I’m like, that’s the bottom of a kart. What is one doing upside down? I’ve never even seen the bottom of one of these things before.
I didn’t know who it was. Then Kelley crawled out from under it and she was high tailing it across the racetrack to get to this lady. They were gonna have a knock down drag out.”
Earnhardt didn’t usually drive in these events. He had much more fun choreographing the races. But on this night he stood up, threw on a helmet and jumped in a kart to prevent the fight that he knew was about to happen.
He finished the story saying, “We haven’t had a Powder Puff race since.”
Please check the NASCAR Hall of Fame website for future driver appearances as the race for the championship continues.
In 1982, NASCAR changed the Late Model Sportsman series to the Busch Grand National Series, now known as the Nationwide Series, becoming the number two NASCAR touring series behind the premier Cup Series. The first race for the new series was the Goody’s 300 at Daytona.
NASCAR legend, Dale Earnhardt would take the victory in that first event. He went to win the season opener six more times in his Nationwide Series career including five in a row from 1990 to 1994.
The series, though not officially deemed so, is a stepping stone to the Cup Series. A place where up and coming drivers can hone their skills. There are, however, several very talented, very accomplished drivers who stayed in the series and made a career of it.
The first series champion, Jack Ingram, was one such driver. Ingram was known for his aggressive, hard driving style. He raced hard every lap, start to finish. Ingram had an amazing season in 1982. He scored seven wins, 23 top-5’s, and 24 top-10’s en route to the inaugural championship. Ingram has been chosen to enter the NASCAR Hall of Fame in January 2014.
He was known for driving No. 11. Elliott Sadler, who carries the number this season, is paying tribute to Ingram this weekend in the Virginia College Savings Plan 250, by carrying a paint scheme that has the stylized number 11 that Ingram used for years.
Photo by ISC Archives via Getty Images
Ingram compiled 275 starts, scoring 31 wins, 122 top-5’s and 164 top-10’s. The 78 year old driver was still racing a NASCAR Late Model as recent as September 2012 at Greeneville-Pickens Speedway in Greeneville, SC. He finished a very respectable fifth.
Another Nationwide Series legend is Sam Ard. Ard’s career was cut short by brain injury resulting from a hard crash in 1984. After finishing second to Ingram in the points standings in 1982, Ard went on to win the series title in 1983 and 1984. His final race was at Rockingham in the next to last race of the season. Even though he did not compete in the final race, he still won the championship.
Like Ingram, Ard made a number and paint scheme famous. He drove the familiar white and red No. 00 Thomas Brothers Country Ham car. Ard compiled one of the most impressive list of stats in any NASCAR series. In just 92 starts, Ard scored 22 victories, 67 top-5’s, and 79 top-10’s. That is an 85.8% top ten average. A record that would be envied by any driver. It is impossible to tell how great his career could have been if not cut short by injury.
Though this series is billed as NASCAR’s number two series, it has written many interesting stories of its own over the last 1,000 races. This season is no different. The 2013 Nationwide Series season is one of the most competitive in series history. Recent changes in the points system that does not award points to series’ non-regulars, has given series regulars a better chance at the limelight. Also, Cup teams who field Nationwide team are now moving to assigning drivers to their cars full time instead of splitting amongst several drivers. This has opened up full-time, quality rides to accomplished drivers that have found themselves without one. All of these factors are a recipe for a highly competitive, successful series.
As we celebrate the 1,000th race, we look forward to the next 1,000 and to what legendary drivers find their home in the Nationwide Series.
(Images used in this article are courtesy of ISC archives/Getty Images)
This weekend’s race at Indianapolis Motor Speedway marks the 20th running of the Brickyard 400 on the hallowed ground that was only graced by open-wheel cars until 1994, when NASCAR came to town and stock cars began racing on the famed 2.5 mile speedway as well. Since the inaugural running of the race, the Brickyard 400 has become one of the most prestigious races on the circuit, joining the Daytona 500, Southern 500, and Coca-Cola 600 as the “crown jewels” of the schedule.
Richard Childress has become one of the most successful owners at Indianapolis, winning the Brickyard 400 three separate times and with three different drivers, including Dale Earnhardt in 1995, Kevin Harvick in 2003, and Paul Menard in 2011. Childress is the only owner in the Sprint Cup Series to accomplish that feat.
Childress shared his thoughts on Indianapolis during a teleconference this week in the lead up to the 20th running of the Brickyard 400 this weekend.
“You know, when you said 20 years, it kind of reminds me of that old song Bob Seger sings, 20 Years Ago, Where Does It Go? It doesn’t seem 20 years ago when Dale Earnhardt pulled up there to run our first test. I guess that was a year or so before we went up there and raced, just to see how the Cup cars would do.To be able to see that car go around the racetrack in such a historical place as Indy with all the history there, to have Dale go around there, it was pretty amazing.”, Childress said.
“Then coming back in 2003, we won with Kevin Harvick up there. That was a special win, as well, because we did start from the pole that day. We’ve been right there to win other Brickyards, but unfortunately we didn’t pull them off. One that ranks really high, maybe above the other two, was when Paul Menard won in 2011. What made that so special was knowing that Paul’s family was there. Knowing what John Menard had put into that, I think he had entered like 30 some car over 20 years at Indy, in the Indy 500. To be part of watching his son win that race was such a special day. Riding around the track, that’s the neatest part of Indy, is getting to ride around the track, seeing all the fans hollering. That’s really a cool thing right there.”
Childress elaborated further on why he thinks the 2011 Brickyard 400 win by Menard ranks highly among the three Brickyard 400 wins that RCR has. “Not taking anything away from Dale or Kevin’s first win there, but that one was so special I think because of being able to win a race with Paul, being able to win at Indy where that whole family had put so much into the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. John Menard played a huge role for many years. To be able to win that race with him, have his whole family there that day, it was almost like a storybook ending to a great venture in Indy for John Menard.”
Over time, the Brickyard 400 has lost some luster in the eyes of some in the sport, but Childress still believes that Indianapolis is one of the marquee events in the sport. When asked about that he said, “ If you want to win a race, you want to win the Daytona 500, you want to win the Coke 600, and Indy, the Brickyard 400. Those are the three, in my opinion, of the biggest crowns you can win”
Chevrolet has an impressive record at Indianapolis, winning the last 10 and 14 out of the 19 total Sprint Cup Series races at the track. Childress also shared his thoughts on that: “I think the caliber of the teams, the effort that every team puts in to go win at Indy, because we know it’s a big deal for Chevrolet to go up there and win. I think it’s just that extra motivation for all of us. The other guys have it, too. But I think we know how important that win is for Chevy.”
Richard Childress Racing will have the opportunity for a fourth win this weekend with four cars out of the RCR stable entered. In addition to regular drivers Kevin Harvick, Paul Menard, and Jeff Burton, Austin Dillon will also be making his Cup Series debut at Indianapolis this weekend.
Jeff Burton not only has a new sponsor this year in Kwikset, a major manufacturer and supplier of residential locks, but he is also all atwitter over their sweepstakes “I Heart the Mayor.”
The special Twitter promotion will be ending this weekend at the July 6th Daytona race. In celebration of the sweepstakes finale, Kwikset will be the primary sponsor on the hood of the No. 31 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet for the Coke Zero 400.
“Quite simply, any fan can go to www.iHeartTheMayor.com and from there you can send a tweet which goes directly to me,” Burton said. “You hashtag #TweetToWin and then you’re done.”
“Hopefully you’ll be chosen and the winner will come to Richard Childress Racing for the October race weekend in Charlotte for a behind the scenes tour of how we build our race cars, how we build our engines, and how we get ready to race,” Burton continued. “And then from there the fans will go to the winery and have lunch, which is a very special treat.”
“Finally the winners will wrap up the weekend as the guests of Kwikset at their VIP hospitality area for the Bank of America 500 race,” Burton said. “They will really get an inside look at the race and at the shop and get to do it in a VIP way.”
“It’s a neat deal that Kwikset has done and somebody is going to have a really great time.”
While Burton is atwitter about the sweepstakes and what it may mean to one of his lucky fans, he also is thrilled to have Kwikset come on board as a sponsor, for his team as well as for the sport.
“Over the years, the economy took a downward turn and we haven’t seen a lot of new companies come in to NASCAR,” Burton said. “So, to have a company like Kwikset come in, a big company with name recognition because people have their product on their front doors, as the primary sponsor at Daytona is good for us and good for the sport.”
“I’ve been really fortunate in my career to represent some ‘who’s who’ in American business,” Burton continued. “I’ve been blessed with that and this is another example of a company with quality products and cool, innovative stuff that they will talk about this weekend that makes the product more usable.”
Kwikset also feels fortunate to have a driver like Burton, known for his advocacy for safety, as a spokesperson for their product.
“Family, safety and innovation are Kwikset’s core tenets,” Greg Gluchowski, President of the Hardware & Home Improvement Group at Spectrum Brands, said. “Once we learned that Jeff had similar passions, we knew this partnership would be beneficial for both parties.”
“The ‘I Heart the Mayor’ sweepstakes is a fun way for motorsports and Kwikset fans to learn more about our products and Jeff, while also giving them the opportunity to win a once-in-a- lifetime experience.”
In their special promotion, Kwikset has indeed capitalized on one of their driver’s most notable monikers, ‘Mayor’ of the NASCAR garage area. Burton’s ‘Mayor’ moniker has evolved over time and goes back to one of the darker times in the sport when Dale Earnhardt was tragically killed at Daytona.
“It all started a long time ago as it related to safety, prior to Dale Earnhardt’s death,” Burton said. “I was working hard and trying to make things happen and when Dale was killed, I was one of the more outspoken in the sport about safety.”
“We had been working on new seat technology and I was involved in the very first carbon seat brought into NASCAR,” Burton continued. “I ran the very first head surround that is now the rule.”
“So, I was ahead of the curve and I was willing to talk about it because I knew we had major problems,” Burton said. “Some people thought I was committing professional suicide by doing it but I never felt like that or that I’d wake up with the horse head in my bed so to speak.”
“Someone had to speak out and be educated about it and I was that person at that time,” Burton continued. “That got me into the media coming to talk to me about difficult things and the topic of the day.”
“So, that’s what started the ‘Mayor’ label.”
“I think we always have to stay ahead on safety,” Burton said. “NASCAR has done a phenomenal job on becoming the leader in motorsports as it relates to safety.”
“In the past they were followers and were reactive but now they are so proactive,” Burton continued. “My role is now to just remind all that we don’t quit and keep on it.”
While Burton is passionate about his mayoral role and has the ear of the sanctioning body, he also feels that NASCAR needs to pay attention to the voice of the fans as well.
“I have a good relationship with NASCAR and we talk about ways now to make the sport even better,” Burton said. “We don’t always agree but they always listen and that’s all you can ask.”
“I think it’s important for our sport,” Burton continued. “We have to have the competitors involved and able to give their opinion but we don’t always need to be listened to.”
“One of the major problems with other sports in my opinion is that they listen to the athletes and the owners too much instead of listening to the fans,” Burton said. “In our sport, the fans get a vote before I do and I’m OK with that.”
While Burton has been atwitter about this social media campaign with Kwikset, he has also been pretty pleased about his performance on the track, in spite of not always getting the finishes he and his team would like.
This past weekend at Kentucky, Burton rebounded from two speeding penalties to run in the top-five until several pit and on-track incidents left him to take the checkered flag in the 19th position.
“The speeding penalties were just a mistake on our tachometer,” Burton said. “We recovered and got ourselves in the top five.”
“Then it went downhill quickly after a brush up with Kasey Kahne on pit road and having a hole knocked in the nose,” Burton continued. “So, now instead of being a fifth place car, we were a tenth place car.”
“And then on the last restart, Ryan Newman and I went three-wide into Turn 3 and Montoya didn’t know we were three-wide,” Burton said. “And we all crashed into each other, I got the right side of my car all torn up, and we went from running ninth to finishing 19th.”
“It wasn’t a good finish but we did run well,” Burton continued. “We’ve been running well lately and last week I think we could have won the race.”
“I feel good about what we’re doing but we’re just a little late doing it.”
Burton is also looking forward to some strategy plate racing at Daytona and hopes to come out of it just a little better than his other experiences so far this year on the superspeedways.
“Daytona is a little bit of a crap shoot,” Burton said. “You have to miss the wrecks.”
“It’s just a tough race,” Burton continued. “I’ve been in two restrictor plate races this year and got caught up in two wrecks not of my doing.”
“Last year, we had an average finish of fifth at plate races and this year we haven’t been able to finish a race because of wrecks,” Burton said. “We’ve just got to go there, put ourselves in position to be running at the end of the race, and then anything can happen.”
But what Burton hopes most of all this weekend is that his fans take to Twitter, just as he does, and participate in Kwikset’s special sweepstakes.
“I’ve really become interested in social media and check Twitter at least two or three times a day,” Burton said. “I follow the people that I want to follow and I follow the organizations that I want to follow.”
“I get a lot of my news through Twitter, following different news and sports outlets,” Burton continued. “I really don’t watch the news anymore because I follow it on Twitter and then investigate it further.”
“There are some things that are disappointing but overall it’s a very positive outlet and I’ve really been impressed with it.”
And this race weekend, Burton will be even more closely watching his Twitter feed, especially with the hash tag #TweetToWin as all of his fans have the opportunity to participate for a chance at one of the most unique behind-the-scenes experiences in the sport.
For more information about Kwikset’s sweepstakes in partnership with Jeff Burton, visit www.iHeartTheMayor.com.
We are closing in fast on a very prominent day in the motorsports world. The Monaco Grand Prix will be held on Sunday, followed by the 97th edition of the Indianapolis 500, and the day will conclude with the longest race in NASCAR, the Coke 600. Whoever wins these races will forever solidify their position in racing lore as others aspire to replicate previous triumphs. The talk in the racing community includes picking favorites for the races, discussing qualifying results or recalling memories from past events, but I want to look at something a little bit different than all that. On this weekend of legendary races, I want to remember some legendary racers who lost their lives in pursuit of racing immortality, and their untimely death only helped to further solidify their position in time.
We all know the names Gurney, Petty, Andretti, Schumacher, and Foyt. All are obvious legends but that’s not who I will be focusing on here. We are blessed that these brave men are still with us today and are capable of telling their astonishing tales from when they strapped into race cars wearing blue jeans and blasted to speeds nearing 200mph with no fear, only desire. Instead, I am going to talk about the legends who can no longer tell their harrowing stories. I want to remember the ones that strapped into their cars with no fear of death but unlike the men mentioned above, never came back. I mean the men that paid the ultimate price and whose stories live on only in the voices of those who are willing to tell them. Today, I want to be that voice as I take some time to remember some of racing’s fallen heroes. These are all names every race fan should know, although some unfortunately do not. I can assure you that by the time you finish reading, you will surely know every single one of these remarkable men.
Jim Clark
Photo Credit: http://www.gzlpw.com/ 1936-1968
Jim was a Scottish born racer and was one of the more versatile drivers of his time. He won in sports cars, open wheel, touring cars and even tried his hand at NASCAR. In 1965, he succeeded in winning the Indianapolis 500 with help from the famous Wood Brothers pit crew. He thought he had it won again in 1966 before a scoring debacle that officially placed him 2nd to Graham Hill. Jim had a lot of Formula 1 success, winning 25 races and 33 poles in just 72 starts. He was also crowned champion in both 1963 and 1965. Clark won titles in British Touring Cars as well as in the old Tasman Series. Nothing could shake this man and he could not be forced into a mistake. Jean-Pierre Beltoise insisted on calling him a “demi-god” when asked about Jim’s superb driving ability. His fellow competitors recognized his extraordinary talent and respected him for it while the humble Clark rarely cared to discuss how good he really was, although he knew.
In 1968, Clark was riding a high after concluding the 1967 season with back-to-back victories. He continued the streak by winning the opening round of the season in South Africa. Little did he know that he would never get the chance to make it four in succession. In April of that year, he competed in a F2 race at the notorious Hockenheimring in Germany. During the event, he crashed into a group of trees due to what was thought to be a flat tire but that was never officially confirmed. No matter what caused him to wreck, all that was certain was that we had lost Jim Clark at the age of 32. Jimmy Clark is remembered for his uncanny ability to adapt to any kind of car and excel in it. He was a man of impeccable character who never showed fear. Jackie Stewart said following Clark’s death, “He was so smooth, he was so clean, he drove with such finesse. He never bullied a racing car, he sort of caressed it into doing the things he wanted it to do”
Evans grew up in Rome, New York. At the age of 16, he left the family farm to pursue a career driving race cars. The “Rapid Roman,” as many insisted on calling him, was the King of the Modifieds. He amassed nine titles in the series, including a record eight in-a-row, which the International Motorsports Hall of Fame calls “one of the supreme accomplishments in motorsports.” Along with nine championships in just 13 years, he also collected over 400 feature wins. His orange No.61 is just about as iconic in NASCAR as Dale Earnhardt’s black No.3 or the “Petty blue” No.43. If he wanted to, he could have gone and raced in NASCAR’s premier series but he was perfectly content doing what he loved and that was racing modifieds at local short tracks. He was certainly a character who loved to have fun but when he was on the track, Evans turned into a ruthless opponent that was near-infalliable. Everybody knew he was one of the greatest, he knew he was one of the greatest, but he never bragged on himself and frankly, he didn’t need to.
It was practically impossible to beat this man; he even won a race sliding on his side across the line after he and Geoff Bodine collided as they roared towards the checkered flag. His car owner said once that Richie didn’t know the words “it can’t be done.” He worked on his own cars from dusk till dawn and was a true grassroots racer. He would even help fellow competitors out with setups knowing that no matter how fast they made their cars, he’d still triumph over them in the end. In 1985, Evans clinched his 9th title with a few races remaining and was just out there to add some more trophies to his vast collection. During practice at Martinsville though, tragedy struck when the 44 year old Evans crashed heavily into the wall, perishing in the accident. His friends, family and fans were left in utter shock. After all these years, all these races, he dies in an accident during practice. Who knows how many more races and championships he would have accumulated but one thing’s for certain, what he had already accomplished was more than enough to secure him a spot in racing history. In 2011, he became the first regional racer of NASCAR to be inducted into the NASCAR Hall of Fame, beating legends such as Rusty Wallace, Bill Elliott and Tim Flock. He may be gone but because of the people that devoted their lives to keeping his memory alive, no one has forgotten about this true legend of NASCAR.
Fireball Roberts
1929-1964
Commonly referred to as NASCAR’s first superstar, Edward Glenn “Fireball” Roberts was one of the few men in the 1950’s and 60’s that could go wheel-to-wheel with the likes of Richard and Lee Petty and defeat them. Fireball was not only a talented racer, but also a pretty good baseball player. In fact, his fast ball is what earned him the nickname, “Fireball” Roberts. He never won a NASCAR championship but that is simply because he never felt like trying to. Only twice in his fifteen year career did he even run more than half the races on the schedule. In 1950, he just about won the title despite failing to start 10 of the 19 races that season. That’s how good this guy was. His 33 wins and 32 poles surpass the numbers of many NASCAR champions today including Matt Kenseth, Terry Labonte and Dale Jarrett. When the helmet was off, he was a fun-loving guy who liked to joke around but when he got into that car, he morphed into a very different man. Fireball’s highly aggressive, balls to the wall style of driving, struck fear into the minds of his adversaries and captured the hearts of thousands of fans.
Fireball was a very unique driver for his time in the fact that he was a college graduate and very articulate when he spoke. In 1962, he won the Daytona 500 in dominating fashion over Richard Petty. Fireball started the 1964 World 600 (now known as Coke 600) from the 11th position but only completed seven laps before he was involved in a vicious crash that also took out superstars Junior Johnson and Ned Jarrett. Roberts’ car flipped over and erupted into a fiery inferno. Ned was able to pull him from the wreckage and it seemed like he would miraculously pull through, despite his horrendous injuries, until he contracted phenomena. At 7:13am in room 3305 at Charlotte Memorial Hospital on Thursday, July 2, 1964, Fireball Roberts’ six week struggle for survival came to a tragic and unfortunate end, succumbing to blood poisoning and an incredibly high fever. Due to his death, NASCAR mandated that all drivers must wear flame retardant coveralls at all times and steel fuel tanks were replaced by rubber fuel cells.
Mark Donohue
1937-1975
The New Jersey native won the 1961 SCCA national championship, but his racing career really kicked into high gear when he met a man by the name of Walt Hansgen. He recognized the natural talent Donohue possessed and took it upon himself to give him a shot as his teammate in 1965. He edged closer and closer to a major breakthrough after finishing on the podium in both the 12 Hours of Sebring and 24 Hours of Daytona in 1966. Sadly, Walt was killed that same year while testing a GT40 in preparation for Le Mans.
The following year, Donohue and another racing genius (Bruce McLaren) were paired up for Le Mans and the two clashed over setups on more than one occasion. Mark Donohue is responsible for putting car owner Roger Penske on the map and it all started when he won the 1967 United States Road Racing Championship with Penske (Evolved into what is now the Rolex Sports Car Series),and they would hold that title for two consecutive years. The pair decided to take on Trans-Am where they also dominated, winning three titles in a period of four years. Along with multiple class wins at Sebring, Donohue claimed the overall victory in the 1969 24 Hours of Daytona. Penske and Donohue decided to tackle Indianapolis where they would finish 7th in their first attempt. Three years later, they found themselves in victory lane after winning this highly prestigious race by a hefty margin over Al Unser. It was the first of what would be many Indy 500 victories for “The Captain,” Roger Penske. Mark also tried his hand at NASCAR with backing from Penske and in just his 5th start, he took the checkered flag at Riverside over NASCAR HOF’er Bobby Allison. It was the first win in NASCAR for the now championship winning car owner, Roger Penske.
Donohue was asked by Porsche to test their new 917/10 in the early 70’s (aka the “Can-Am Killer”) and he was more than willing to help them try to suppress the stranglehold McLaren had on Can-Am at the time. They were successful but there were certainly some bumps in the road along the way, including Mark’s violent wreck during a test at Road Atlanta. Donohue recommended larger brake ducts in order to provide more efficient cooling, which would consequently, cause less degradation as a race wears on. They obliged him but the new brake ducts interfered with the bodywork closure pins which hold the bodywork on the car. The bodywork flew off at full speed, resulting in a terrifying airborne accident that left Donohue with a broken leg, but he was lucky to escape with his life. George Follmer was his replacement while he recovered and drove the car to the 1972 Can-Am championship before Mark returned to repeat Follmer’s performance in ’73.
The pressures of racing and the death of his friend Swede Savage in the Indy 500 pushed Donohue to retire, but he didn’t stay away long. When racing is in your blood like that, it’s nearly impossible to walk away from it. It’s a hunger that you must suffice. The desire to win supersedes the fear of what could go wrong. In 1974, Donohue dominated the inaugural season of IROC, taking the championship after winning three out of four races on the schedule. Roger coaxed him into competing full-time in the 1975 Formula 1 season but the unthinkable happened towards the end of the year. He crashed violently during practice for the Grand Prix of Austria which resulted in the death of a track marshal due to flying debris. Mark seemed fine at first, only complaining about a headache. It worsened though and he was taken to a hospital the next day where he lapsed into a coma from a cerebral hemorrhage and died. Mark Donohue is remembered as one of the most versatile drivers that ever lived and a true engineering genius who helped build Penske Racing into the powerhouse it is today.
This NASCAR pioneer lived a life style that isn’t one for the faint of heart. He loved to behave outrageously and do some pretty crazy things with best friend and fellow NASCAR legend, Curtis Turner. His antics earned him the nickname “The Clown Prince of Racing,” which he lived up to on more than one occasion. One of his favorite jokes was throwing a rubber snake at people who were of course, terrified of them. When he wasn’t busy pulling pranks on fellow drivers, he was kicking their butt’s on the racetrack. The 1953 NASCAR Modified champion won his first race at the Cup level in 1958 at Nashville Speedway.
In 1961, he teamed up with World War II veteran and NASCAR HOF’er Bud Moore and together, they won nine races, en route to a respectable 4th place result in the championship standings. He won the 1961 American Challenge Cup at Daytona International Speedway, which some people consider to be NASCAR’s unofficial first All-Star Race. 1962 was his year. After emerging victorious nine times during the year, he won the title by a massive margin over Richard Petty. Joe did something in 1963 that had never been done before or since; he won his second championship while driving for NINE different race teams! That’s a spectacular feat for any driver from any era and in any discipline. Weatherly was a stock car driver and he could care less about sports cars or open wheel. In fact, he described the American open wheel cars of the time as “cucumbers with hayraker wheels.” Between Cup, Modifieds and the NASCAR Convertible series, “Little Joe” had amassed well over 100 race wins in his career along with three championships.
One of the many wild stories involving pugnacious Joe Weatherly was when he and Curtis Turner decided to race their rental cars back to the motel and the prize for being the first one there; well it was a bottle of Canadian Club Whiskey. The two slammed fenders as they raced down the road and this should sound oddly familiar to anyone who has seen the movie “Days of Thunder” and it should…where do you think they got the idea from? As the two neared the motel, Weatherly was hell bent on winning and applied the brakes too late, ending up in a swimming pool. Soaking wet and grinning from ear-to-ear, he stood triumphant as he gulped down that coveted bottle of Canadian Club. That’s Joe Weatherly for you.
In 1964, it looked like he would win his 3rd straight championship but all that changed when NASCAR visited Riverside. Early in the race, he crashed his Mercury and hit his head on the guardrail, killed him instantly. He never got a shot at winning three in-a-row and who knows if he could have won a 4th or maybe even a 5th championship, had he survived. He was the first death of many in 1964 which is considered one of the darkest years in NASCAR history. His death prompted NASCAR to institute better roll cages to keep drivers hands and head inside the car during wrecks. He was lost well before his time and I truly believe he would have put up numbers rivaling stock car racing’s best. 50 years later, he is remembered for being a wild, on the edge character that loved to take risks, could wheel a race car better than most and most important of all, he always lived life to the fullest.
Bruce McLaren
1937-1970
I’m sure you all know of that last name even if you don’t know the face behind it. Bruce McLaren is the founder of the famous McLaren Formula 1 team and European manufacturer of high performance vehicles. In 1959, he won the United States Grand Prix at Sebring, after a riveting last lap where he made a risky pass for the lead. In 1962, Bruce emerged triumphant in the Monaco Grand Prix; arguably Formula 1’s most important race. Bruce was the inaugural Tasman champion, a 2x Can-Am titlist as a driver and the winner of the 1966 24 Hours of Le Mans. Although he had a very impressive career as a driver, it’s what he put on the track that he’s best known for. His car designs won five straight Can-Am championships and even won every race on the schedule in 1969. During a test once, he noticed that the fuel filler access door was flapping up and down and common knowledge at the time said that it should be pressed more firmly in place. Well, he immediately pulled into the pits, ran to the tool box, grabbed some shears and started cutting the bodywork away from behind the radiator. When he went back out, he was turning much faster lap times and just like that, the “nostrils” were born; a key feature utilized by McLaren to this day.
On June 2nd, 1970, Bruce crashed during a Can-Am race when the rear bodywork came adrift, destabilizing the car. The 32 year old was killed instantly.He wrote this very eerie paragraph six years before his own demise when referring to the death of Timmy Mayer in his book, From the Cockpit. “The news that he had died instantly was a terrible shock to all of us, but who is to say that he had not seen more, done more and learned more in his few years than many people do in a lifetime? To do something well is so worthwhile that to die trying to do it better cannot be foolhardy. It would be a waste of life to do nothing with one’s ability, for I feel that life is measured in achievement, not in years alone.” It was almost as if he was writing his own epitaph. His team is one of the most successful in F1 history winning near 200 races, 12 drivers’ championships, eight constructors’ titles and continues to win Grand Prix’s to this very day. McLaren was certainly an innovative genius, a gifted racer and his legacy will live on forever in the form of a car…fitting, isn’t it?
Dan Wheldon
Photo Credit: Michael Conroy / News Limited 1978-2011
This truly remarkable race car driver left his mark on the motorsports community in more ways than he could possibly imagine. Dan took up karting when he was just four years old. During his young career, he formed a rivalry with Jenson Button who went on to be a Formula 1 World Champion. In 1999, Dan made a decision that would change his life forever. He left Europe and moved to the United States. If he had found the funding needed to stay in the UK, he would have probably went on to be a Formula 1 World Champion but as fate would have it, he became an open wheel superstar on the other side of the pond. He quickly found success, winning the 1999 US F2000 National Championship before moving to Indy Lights in 2001 and then Indycar one year later.
In 2004, he won his first Indycar race at Motegi and ended the year as the championship runner-up to Tony Kanaan with three victories to his credit. In 2005, he obliterated the competition with six wins, as he captured his first Indycar championship. One of those wins came in the 89th running of the Indy 500 where he led 30 laps after starting 16th. In 2006, he won another historic race…the Rolex 24 Hours of Daytona. In Indycar, he tied Sam Hornish Jr. for the title but lost due to the series’ tiebreaker policy. When he returned to Panther Racing in 2009 after driving for both Ganassi and Andretti, he failed to reach victory lane and the two cut ties at the end of the 2010 season.
Wheldon did not have a ride in 2011 but managed to get a seat with Bryan Herta Autosport for the Indianapolis 500. It looked like Wheldon was going to finish 2nd in the legendary race for the 3rd consecutive year until race leader JR Hildebrand hit the wall just a few hundred feet from the line and no one, including me, could believe what we were witnessing. As he tried desperately to limp the car home in a shower of sparks, Wheldon blew by and stole the victory in spectacular fashion. Dan raced one other time that year…in the season finale at Las Vegas where he was hoping to win the $5,000,000 that Bruton Smith promised he would give to the winner if it wasn’t a full time Indycar driver. Obviously, that challenge set forth by Smith attracted a lot of ringers to the race and consequently, a lot of inexperience as well. The night prior to the event, Dan got his wife’s initials tattooed on his wrist and he recently found out that he would return full-time to Indycar in 2012 with Andretti as well as make his V8 Supercar debut in the Gold Coast 600 next weekend. Everything was going right for Dan Wheldon before it all went wrong on that Sunday afternoon in Las Vegas.
There was an intense feeling of trepidation among the drivers as they prepared for what was sure to be a wild race with a record number of cars entered. Just ten laps into the event though, disaster struck when two cars went spinning and half the field was wiped out in mere seconds. Fans and teams looked on in horror as car after car was launched into the air flying over one another at speeds upwards of 200mph. The lucky ones weaved through the debris field in shock and multiple drivers were injured in the vicious crash but none more so than Dan Wheldon. As cars slowed in front of him, he made contact with the rear wheel of I believe Paul Tracy sending him airborne for a few hundred feet. The car tumbled through the air before making hard contact with the wall and the catch fence causing the car to burst into flames and the commentators to cringe. Dan was killed instantly when his helmet struck a post in the catch fence. Like Dale Earnhardt, he lives on through a racecar. It’s called the DW12; the next generation Indycar that Wheldon helped develop and it was named after him in his honor. It is a safer, more durable car that will hopefully prevent another tragedy like what we had to endure on October 16th, 2011. Death may have taken the man but in its wake, a legend remains.
Ayrton Senna
Photo Credit: Formula1.com 1960-1994
Ayrton Senna…..the greatest Formula 1 driver that ever lived. Michael Schumacher may have twice as many wins and seven titles to his credit but numbers aren’t everything. The remarkable way Senna could handle a race car like no other is what sets him apart from the rest Senna and longtime McLaren teammate Alain Prost were engaged in one of the most controversial and legendary rivalries in motorsports history. Their first encounter was long before they were paired up at McLaren though. Ayrton was a rookie in 1984 and stunned everyone when he started 13th in the Monaco Grand Prix and charged towards the front in treacherous wet conditions. Prost was leading the race and I can only imagine what he was thinking when he realized a rookie, in an inferior car nonetheless, was running him down. Prost used hand gestures to signal that he felt the race shouldn’t go on (even though the conditions had gotten slightly better) and the stewards listened to him…or should I say Jacky Ickx (clerk of the course) who designed Prost’s engine ended the race without consulting the stewards. Prost was declared the winner, Ickx was suspended for making the call on his own and the soon to be legendary Ayrton Senna had made his presence known.
The two became teammates at McLaren in 1988 and it didn’t take long for their relationship with one another to dissolve and turn quite hostile. Some say that Alain felt threatened by Ayrton’s arrival and that their distinctly different personalities combined with their unwavering need to out-do each other led to their now infamous rivalry. Senna once called Prost a coward in a press conference and Prost stated on another occasion that “he never wanted to beat me, he wanted to humiliate me” referring to Senna. Their tumultuous relationship came to a head in the 1989 Japanese Grand Prix. While battling for the lead in a race that would decide which one would emerge as the 1989 champion, the two collided. Prost calmly got out of his car knowing that the title was his but to his and everyone else’s surprise, Ayrton got his car fired back up and took off. After replacing his damaged front nose piece, he drove like a man possessed, winning the race and the championship. Following the event though, he was disqualified after Prost pleaded with the stewards for what most call a bogus penalty…he was disqualified for “cutting the track” when he got back going but if you look at the video, there was no other logical route to take back onto the course and he obviously gained no advantage by it. When the team protested, the stewards suspended Senna and claimed he was a “dangerous driver.” Due to the penalty, Alain Prost won the championship that would have otherwise belonged to Senna. The bridge between Prost and Senna was withering before this race and with everything that went down in Suzaka, you could say that the proverbial bridge went up in flames.
The following year, Senna would have his vengeance in the very same race. Like 1989, the politics of the sport were going against Senna and in favor of Prost. The two were once again battling for the title and started 1st and 2nd for the race. Ayrton went to the stewards because he thought hat as pole sitter, he shouldn’t be put on the dirtier side of the track. They initially agreed until FISA president and Prost’s fellow countryman, Jean Marie Balestre stepped in and rescinded the initial decision. Senna was not going to bow to the politics of the sport though. He vowed that he would do whatever he could to take the lead in the first corner, no matter the consequences. If they both were to wreck, Senna would clinch the title by the way. Surprise, surprise, the two crashed in the first corner and Ayrton Senna was crowned the 1990 Formula 1 champion.
Ayrton could put his car places that few would dare, and even fewer could pull off. Sennawas “a powerful combination of spectacular raw talent and sometimes terrifying determination” as BBC puts it. He seemed to enjoy to push the boundaries between absolute control and utter disaster saying once “On a given day, a given circumstance, you think you have a limit. And you then go for this limit and you touch this limit, and you think, ‘Okay, this is the limit.’ As soon as you touch this limit, something happens and you suddenly can go a little bit further. With your mind power, your determination, your instinct, and the experience as well, you can fly very high.” Just one of Senna’s many famous quotes.
He took the car beyond its own limits and somehow made it work with both the finesse of Jimmy Clarke and the ruthlessness of the highly aggressive Michael Schumacher. One of his greatest performances came in a rain marred race at Brazil in 1991; his home track. He amazingly held on in the slick conditions with only sixth gear, pushing himself past the point of exhaustion, and he collapsed in agony after winning the race. He won over 25% of the races he entered in, captured pole position 65 times in 161 starts and finished on the podium in half the races he was in. The 3x Formula 1 World Champion won at F1’s most difficult track (Monaco) six times including five in a row between 1989 and 1993.
In the three races he competed in during the 1994 season, Senna captured pole position for every single event. The San Marino Grand Prix on May 1st, 1994 was the final time the world would get the chance to witness this man’s incredible ability before he would be taken from us forever. On Friday, there was a vicious airborne accident involving Rubens Barrichello who escaped the crash with only a broken nose. A day before the event, Austrian Roland Ratzenberger lost his life in a practice accident. When a tearful Senna arrived on the scene, Chief Medical Professor Sid Watkins suggested that Ayrton retire and go fishing which is a hobby the two men shared but Ayrton told him he could never quit racing. Everyone could tell that the usually cool and collected Senna was distressed and uneasy prior to the race commencing. At the start, a crash ensued at the finish line and debris flew into the grand stands injuring eight people. Perhaps all this was an ominous warning of what was to come.
On lap seven, race leader Ayrton Senna suffered a mechanical failure and his Williams hurled towards into a concrete barrier at 135mph. The right front tore from the car and a suspension arm pierced his helmet during the wreck causing fatal head injuries. When he was extracted from the mangled car, an Austrian flag was found that Senna had apparently planned to raise following the event in honor of the late Roland Ratzberger who had died just one day earlier. Erik Comas, who’s life was saved by Senna two years earlier after a scary crash, immediately withdrew from the race. This man who spoke so eloquently and drove so ferociously striking fear into the hearts of his competitors was gone just like that. Over 3,000,000 mourners showed up for the funeral which is considered one of the largest ever next to Princess Diana’s. Since that fateful day in May of 1994, not another Formula 1 racer has lost his life due to the advancement in safety following the loss of this legend. No one before or since Ayrton Senna in Formula 1 has showed the passion and raw talent that he possessed and I doubt we will ever get the chance to witness it again.
Dale Earnhardt
Photo Credit: TONY RANZE/Getty Images 1951-2001
Dale Earnhardt; to understand what made this man so incredible you must first know where he came from. While Ayrton Senna was solidifying himself as the greatest Formula 1 driver that ever lived, Earnhardt was doing the same thing in NASCAR. He came from very humble beginnings that started in Kannapolis, North Carolina. His father Ralph was widely considered the best short track racer in North Carolina but he didn’t want his son to follow in his footsteps. Dale dropped out of high school and ignored his father’s wish as he set his sights on racing. The thing that made Dale such a formidable opponent was not only the obvious fact that he could wheel a race car better than most, but that he was willing to do whatever it took to win. If he failed, he knew that he was going to have to spend the rest of his life working at that mill in Kannapolis, North Carolina and no way was he going to settle for that. He carried that mentality through his entire career; even when he was a multimillionaire. Dale’s story is one of perseverance, tragedy, hardship and tough love. Dale lost his father when he was still relatively young, forcing him to grow up real fast. His first wife left him because he couldn’t pay the bills and Earnhardt was basically broke.
He kept fighting though and made his NASCAR debut in 1975 at Charlotte Motor Speedway, finishing one spot ahead of a man by the name of Richard Childress. Those two had no idea at the time that they were destined for greatness with each other. In 1978, Rod Osterlund offered the young Earnhardt a one race deal at Atlanta Motor Speedway. Earnhardt exceeded all expectations, finishing a very impressive 4th which prompted Osterlund to give him a full time ride in 1979. Dale won the championship in just his second full-time season in 1980. The likes of Neil Bonnett, Dan Gurney and Buddy Baker were unable to win a single race for Osterlund, but somehow this kid goes out and wins the title just like that. He partnered with Richard Childress Racing in the early 80’s and quickly took this team that ran mid-pack for years and made them championship caliber. Drivers that can take sub-par equipment to victory lane on a regular basis are a rare breed. As Dale kept winning and the money kept pouring in, the cars got faster and Earnhardt got harder to beat. Dale won six more title in 1986, 1987, 1990, 1991, 1993, and 1994.
He started off as the loud mouth kid with a cowboy hat, known as “Iron head” and quickly became the most feared competitor on the tracj, commonly referred to as “The Intimidator.” He claimed he could see the air and made moves that baffled all those fortunate enough to witness it. The final win of his career came in spectacular fashion at Talladega, when Earnhardt took a car that was beat all to hell, passed nearly the entire field in just a few laps and won the race. Another example of his extraordinary talent was when he got turned completely sideways and into the grass at 180mph during the 1987 All-Star Race but amazingly, he kept the car pointed in the right direction and in the lead. He went on to win the event in the move now famously known as “The Pass in the Grass.” His driving style was rough and merciless, never willing to give anyone an inch. He once said “The winner ain’t the one with the fastest car, it’s the one who refuses to lose”
Along with a NASCAR record of seven championships, he was a 4x IROC titlist and a runner-up in the 2001 24 Hours of Daytona. In 1994, tragedy struck close to Dale when his best friend Neil Bonnett was killed in a crash in turn 3 during practice for the 1994 Daytona 500; Dale would strangely meet a similar fate in the same spot seven years later. He won almost everywhere but ironically, the one race that eluded him was at the track that he won at more than any other; the Daytona 500. His 34 victories at Daytona is a record no one has even come close to but no matter how hard he tried, he couldn’t win the Daytona 500; NASCAR’s biggest race. He finished 2nd multiple times, ran out of fuel in the lead, blew a tire with ¼ of a lap to go, flipped over, and even hit a seagull. In 1998, a little girl in a wheel chair gave Earnhardt a penny for good luck and Dale decided to glue it to the dashboard of his racecar. Perhaps the lucky penny from that sweet little girl kept the bad luck that had plagued Earnhardt for so long here away. After 20 years of failed attempts, Dale Earnhardt finally won the Daytona 500 that year and in an unprecedented move by his competitors, every member from every crew lined up to congratulate “The Man in Black.”
Three years later, Dale owned his own team and was hoping to win another 500 after his 2nd place finish in the championship at the age of 49; not many people that age still had the ability to run competitively. It was a wild Daytona 500 and late in the race, there was a scary crash where Tony Stewart flipped over wading up nearly the entire field. The very first car to emerge from the carnage unscathed was the black No.3 of Dale Earnhardt. At the end of the event, the Dale Earnhardt owned cars of Michael Waltrip and Dale Jr. led the race with Dale Sr. following close behind. For the first time ever, Earnhardt drove defensively and showed no interest in going after the victory. In a very selfless act that proved costly in the end, he threw his chances of winning away and instead, intended to hold off the snarling pack of 15 drivers’ hell bent on taking the win for themselves. He succeeded; that is until the last turn of the last lap of the race. The field was spread out three wide behind him and as Dale came down to block Sterling Marlin just a few hundred feet from the line, he got hit. His car went onto the apron and Dale yanked the wheel to the right attempting to straighten it out but to no avail. He shot up the track and went head-on into the wall. During the impact, his seat belt snapped and he hit the steering wheel while wearing an open face helmet at 170mph killing this NASCAR legend instantly. The world was shocked and no one could bring themselves to believe it.
Fans loved him because he was a good ‘ol boy and drivers admired and envied his incredible abilities. Even when he was making millions, he decided to spend his days away from the track hunting and working on his farm. He was the real deal, nothing fake about him. One week after Daytona, Dale Earnhardt Inc. driver Steve Park won at Rockingham. Two weeks after that, rookie Kevin Harvick who took over Earnhardt’s seat won at Atlanta. Five months later when NASCAR revisited Daytona for the first time since that tragic day, Dale Jr. took the victory with none other than DEI teammate, Michael Waltrip 2nd. Dale Earnhardt affected NASCAR in so many different ways and the sport has never been the same since Black Sunday. Hans Devices became mandatory, the Car of Tomorrow was developed and safer barriers were mandated at every track that sanctioned a NASCAR race. Since his death, not a single national touring driver has lost his life and we can thank Dale Earnhardt for that. When people think of the word NASCAR, they instantly think of the name Earnhardt because he was the face of NASCAR; always was and always will be.
Epilogue
These are just nine of the many men that have paid the ultimate price, in the endless crusade to capture the checkered flag. Drivers such as Tiny Lund, Neil Bonnett, Gilles Villeneuve and Peter Brock are some that I was forced to leave out of this story due to time restrictions but they are certainly legends in their own right. Some were taken from us outside the race car too, such as Graham Hill, Tim Richmond, Davey Allison, Alan Kulwicki and Colin McRae. I hope you learned something from this article and that it helped you better understand these fantastic racers and who they really were. Please share this piece so that others may know about these brave men and what they did.
There are drivers that win a lot, others that make it into Hall of Fames all across the motorsports world, but there are a select few that reach a heroic level of immortality. These nine made it to that point; they will never be forgotten and will always be missed. They race on and I’m sure it’s quite a sight up there with Earnhardt and Senna dueling wheel-to-wheel, neither giving an inch as they battle for racing supremacy. Turner and Weatherly are most likely looking on and fighting over a bottle of Canadian Club Whiskey. I bet Jimmy Clarke and Graham Hill are reminiscing about their many battles as Bruce McLaren looks over some new car designs. Mark Donohue is probably close by, trying to tell Bruce what he’s doing wrong and bragging about how the Porsche 917/10 stopped the McLaren domination in Can-Am. The Rapid Roman is certainly searching around for a short track race to dominate while Dan Wheldon looks down on his family as he waits for the day when they will be reunited. I’d like to end this with a famous quote that I think best describes these nine racers…”Heroes are always remembered, but legends…legends never die.”
“The winner ain’t the one with the fastest car, it’s the one who refuses to lose” –Dale Earnhardt
“If you no longer go for a gap that exists, you are no longer a racing driver.” –Ayrton Senna
“We’re far from having too much horsepower…my definition of too much horsepower is when all four wheels are spinning in every gear.” –Mark Donohue
“I’m a racing driver, always was, always will be” –Bruce McLaren
“You got to be mentally tough, you got to physically tough, you got have good endurance…it’s all part of being an Indycar series driver. It’s that kind of element of fear that makes it so exciting to watch….lose the fear, win the race.” –Dan Wheldon
