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Tag: Dale Jr

  • Dale Earnhardt Jr.’s Victory at Martinsville – A Story of Celebration and Loss

    Dale Earnhardt Jr.’s Victory at Martinsville – A Story of Celebration and Loss

    His smile is infectious and his exuberance contagious. Nowhere was that more evident than in victory lane after Dale Earnhardt Jr. finally won at Martinsville Speedway. He’s an unexpected combination of vulnerability and a hidden strength born of tragedy that endears him to not only his fans but his fellow competitors as well. When Earnhardt wins it’s difficult not to get caught up in his joy.

    He grew up at racetracks all over the country but Martinsville and the iconic grandfather clock given to its winners has always held a special place in his heart as it conjures memories of his Dad.

    “Been coming here so many years,” Earnhardt begins, painting a picture as he remembers. “I’ve been coming here since the early ’80s, watching races here. Dad won several races here, brought home several clocks. As I remember one in particular that set at the front door, in the hall by the stairs. Had this little round rug right in that hallway that I’d run my Matchbox cars on, listening to the race on the Racing Motor Network. That clock would ring on the hour.”

    “I still really can’t believe it,” he continued. “The clock seems so hard to get. This is so special. I try not to get too caught up in the emotion of it because it’s a team deal, but this is very personal and very special to me to be able to win here.”

    The victory comes one week after Earnhardt was eliminated from NASCAR Sprint Cup championship contention after failing to advance to the Eliminator Round. In a year that began with a second Daytona 500 trophy, it was a surprising twist in a season that held such promise. Although he’s disappointed, the win at Martinsville, his fourth this year, serves as affirmation that the future is bright for this team.

    “I don’t believe in fairytales, Earnhardt said. “It’s only destiny in hindsight, you know. This wasn’t our year.  It’s only magical after the fact when you see it happen. But it just wasn’t our year, man. It feels good not to sit there and watch everybody else just finish the year off. I’m glad we were able to get a win, remind ourselves that if we keep working hard, keep trying, maybe we will win the championship like we want to.”

    The victory was even more poignant as it was ten years ago that a Hendrick Motorsports plane crashed, killing all ten passengers aboard while en route to Martinsville Speedway, including team owner Rick Hendrick’s son, brother and two nieces.

    As the two men hugged in victory lane, it was impossible to miss the heartfelt bond that they share.

    “I could feel how important it was to him and his embrace, when he would hug me. You just know there’s a genuine hug and there’s a hug. His was the real deal,” Earnhardt observed. He went on to say, “There’s a part of you that loves to celebrate those people’s lives. But there’s the other half of you that can’t forget the loss.”

    Dale Earnhardt Jr.’s life has been shaped by both triumph and tragedy. But on this day, he chooses to savor the good times with a passion that is irresistible. He may have fallen short of his goal to become a NASCAR Sprint Cup Champion this season but there’s always next year. And, if that dream becomes a reality, it’s going to be one hell of a party.

     

     

     

  • Dale Jr. Takes Home Martinsville Clock

    Dale Jr. Takes Home Martinsville Clock

  • Possible Engine Failure Terminates Dale Earnhardt Jr.’s Night in Charlotte

    Possible Engine Failure Terminates Dale Earnhardt Jr.’s Night in Charlotte

    Dale Earnhardt Jr.’s night in the Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway went drastically haywire after engine issues, during the latter stages, prohibited him from competing inside the top dozen.

    Earnhardt Jr., who’s never won the famed Memorial Day event at Charlotte, finished 19th, two laps down, after nursing his machine to the checkered flag with a sour engine an intense vibration.

    “(The car) was trying to blow up. We had a lot of real high water pressure and a real bad vibration,” Earnhardt Jr. explained. “The vibration was so bad I was afraid to hold it wide open because it would just get so bad at the end of the straightaway. I thought we were about to break the motor. “

    “We came in (to the pits) and knocked the pressure out of it and the vibration slowly got better and never completely went away. Something (was) wrong with the car.”

    Hendrick Motors – which supplies for multiple teams in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series – will have to return to shop and diagnose the problem this week, according to Earnhardt.

    ‘We don’t know (what happened). We have to find out,” Earnhardt Jr. further expressed. “They’ll take it back and see what’s wrong with (the car). I’m glad we tried to keep going. I don’t know what’s wrong with it but we’ve got a little problem with that car. But it was very fast. I’m very happy with the speed.”

    ‘June Bug’, who won the Daytona 500 earlier this season, told reporters he felt fortunate to finish the race rather then in the garage, making his night easier to cope with.

    “I’m real happy with the speed in the car. We were able to at least finish 19th tonight. We could have blown up and finished in the back. We had a really good fast car and I’m really excited about all the races coming up,” Earnhardt added.

    Though, after having a disappointing result, Junior understands that teams struggle on occasions, however, he wants to dismiss the negative and begin exploiting the positives heading into the summer months

    “You’re going to have some bad weeks and you’ve got to be able to roll with them. This was one of them and we just have to look at the positives and try not to dwell too much on what happened,” Earnhardt concluded with. “We just need to go home and find out what it was and see if we can learn something.”

  • After four years and millions of tears, Jr. nation sees victory lane again

    After four years and millions of tears, Jr. nation sees victory lane again

    [media-credit name=”Dan Sanger” align=”alignright” width=”246″][/media-credit]Well after 143 races, rumors of conspiracy, alien abduction, and sabotage, Dale Jr found victory lane again today at Michigan International Speedway. As big a story as that is it is questionable whether it is the biggest story of the weekend. But it is without question a much bigger story than what his girlfriend thinks of his win or the fact that he kissed her in victory lane.

    Let’s take a look at the other stories the weekend brought to us. The first and probably the most important was the tire situation. Although Goodyear tested tires on the new surface at MIS in April the tire compound that they brought to Michigan was not suitable for the new surface in the heat of summer. The speeds and the ambient air temperature and the heat of the new pavement caused the tires to blister badly.

    A tire builds heat inside. That heat has to dissipate. If it has a thin enough face, or the surface of the tire that is on the track, the heat dissipates harmlessly through the face. If the face is too thick it dissipates through the face and blisters the layers of rubber, or it dissipates through the side walls. A tire that face blisters is at risk for blowing out. A tire that dissipates through the side wall will blow out.

    Goodyear recognized the problem on Thursday afternoon. They instructed teams to scuff in the tires and put them through a heat cycle in order to harden the surface of the tire. It was a logical solution and sound in principle. NASCAR was sure the speeds would drop as the weekend progressed and that would cool the tire down.

    But the speeds didn’t drop. In the heat of the day on Friday, Greg Biffle turned a mock qualifying lap of nearly 205 mph. The tires on his car were badly blistered. With qualifying to be the next afternoon, Goodyear could chance waiting no longer. They announced a tire change would take place on Saturday and there would be an emergency practice session on Saturday after the Nationwide Series race.

    The practice session was a chaotic mess of drivers who were limited in practice time because of engine concerns, drivers whose cars were vastly changed because of the new tire, and drivers who damaged engines seriously by practicing on the new tires. The outlook was bleak to say the least. The drivers were reduced from skilled pilots to helpless bystanders as crew chiefs and engineers scoped engines and designed changes and researched performances and histories. Many were unnerved and unhappy about it. But it was the same for all of them. No one would truly know what they had until the green flag dropped on Sunday.

    When the green flew there were a lot of cars that simply wouldn’t adjust to the new rubber. Then came the shock, the new tires fixed the left side of the car but not the right. Teams were blistering right rear tires now instead of the left side tires. After two competition cautions, the cards had been dealt. You had what you had or what your crew could give you.

    It was familiar faces that rose to the top of the mountain, Jimmie Johnson, Jeff Gordon, Matt Kenseth, and the days super hero Batman. Dale Jr climbed to the top of the mountain after falling back to 37th and he never looked back. Tony Stewart would challenge but would fall short in the long run.

    The Nationwide race was story number 2. Although they had no tire problems they seemed to have difficulties in getting cars to handle at those speeds. Danica Patrick would spin 3 times finally causing large amounts of damage to the Go Daddy car after spinning while being passed by Austin Dillon. Although there was no contact between the two cars the aero pull, pulled Danica into a spin when she sought the lower line while Dillon was going by on the low side.

    The three spin day prompted response from her crew chief Tony Eury Jr saying she wasn’t getting respect from other drivers because they didn’t like getting beat by her. He endorsed the Dale Earnhardt School of driving and response for his driver to take the respect he felt she deserved.

    Sadly, the skills needed for that school of competitive driving are severely lacking on the part of his driver whose statistics do not show her to be a proficient driver nor a good judge of competitive driving skills. A driver who claims to not be able to read a tachometer and to not know whether stock cars can roll over is probably not going to be accepted in the school or on the track until those skills are improved.

    The final story of the weekend was a bit sadder. When a TV broadcaster makes inappropriate comments about a driver’s girlfriend/wife/significant other on live TV, the professionalism of the journalism becomes zero. When a professional print journalist asks a question of a highly competitive driver who has just finished second if he is happy he finished second so another driver could win. The intelligence factor involved in that just hit the zero mark. When the driver being asked is known for being the king of deadpan humor and sarcasm what answer would you expect to get? For fans and journalists to then react negatively to that driver is unimaginable.

    First of all, as a journalist the lack of bias involved was phenomenal. Much more so than someone clapping and shaking a first time winner’s hand at the Daytona 500.

    Second, for fans of a driver who is known for his level of respect for other competitors and fans of those competitors to react with such venom and ugly was completely uncalled for.

    Third, for anyone to believe that every driver in that garage was not happy to see Dale Jr win is ridiculous. If for no other reason than they wouldn’t be asked if he was going to win anymore.

    Was the win of NASCAR’s legacy the biggest story of the weekend? Maybe but it certainly wasn’t alone on the top of the mountain, any more than Dale Jr was alone in victory lane.

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

  • The Coke 600: Why Did So Many Stay Away?

    The Coke 600: Why Did So Many Stay Away?

    [media-credit name=”Credit: Tyler Barrick/Getty Images for NASCAR” align=”alignright” width=”225″][/media-credit]The weather was perfect, if not hot, and the pre-race show was amazing. No one does the patriotic opening act like Charlotte Motor Speedway, so why was the attendance so bad? That’s a good question that comes in the form of multiple choice. Take any of these and you may win, but picking just one will not answer the question.

    The Economy – This has long been the excuse for people not attending the races this season, but gasoline was down to $3.29-3.49 all along the way, with the highest prices being in West Virginia. With the economy improving somewhat, it might be ticket prices which have tripped in 20 years.

    The Saturation of Information – No longer do fans have to come to the track to see what is going on. Even though many newspapers don’t send writers to many of the races anymore, we have the internet, Twitter, Facebook, a bevy of television shows, and Sirius XM Radio that keeps everyone up to date. Long gone are the days waiting for SouthernMotorRacing or Grand National Scene to come in the mail. Most fans simply get more information than they can handle. With most of the tracks being built during the boom era of the sport, a lot of seating was the norm. Today, there are just too many seats. Although the official press release said that 140,000, the printed capacity of the track, large blocks of empty seats could be seen in the third and fourth turns, as well as the backstretch. There were lots of fans there, but nowhere near 140,000.

    The Racing – Here’s where it gets sticky. Many close to the sport continue to insist that the racing is “better than it ever has been before.” They reference the 1960’s and 1970’s races where only ten cars were on the lead laps and so on, but the truth is, most races have not had the excitement factor we saw a few years ago. Why? Some of it has to do with the pressure drivers feel to make The Chase. It’s hard to be aggressive and rub fenders when one mistake puts you out of the race and not in The Chase. Sunday night, we saw a long train of competitors driving around in line. Most of the small number of cautions were mostly for debris. Many fans left early or spent time in the concourses during the race just to get a break.

    The Lack of a Driver like the Late Dale Earnhardt – Earnhardt was unique, but not so far off from the other drivers of his era who were hell-bent on winning a race. In today’s environment, if you make The Chase, you still have a chance to win the title. Witness Tony Stewart last year. Yes, he won half the Chase races, but he overcame a bunch of very consistent teams who sat back and watched the magic Smoke brought to the final ten races. In other words, keep you nose clean for 26 races, make The Chase, and do your work there.

    Of course, I didn’t mention Dale Earnhardt, Jr., which is in error. Junior is by far the most popular driver in NASCAR and yet he has a large losing streak that can be counted instead of races. More than a few of his father’s fans picked the son as their favorite driver. Let it be said that Junior is nothing like Senior on the track. Many believe that a win by the No. 88 would cure the sport, but I feel that any revival will come from one or more remedies from above.

    There are many who think there is nothing wrong these days, but dwindling ticket sales and TV ratings say otherwise. The early ratings tell us that the Indianapolis 500 drew more viewers than the Coke 600. I find that hard to believe. Has America lost their love of stock car racing?

    So take your pick and let’s see what the results are.

  • Matty’s Picks 2012 – Vol. 10 Richmond International Raceway – Capital City 400 presented by Virginia is for Lovers – April 27, 2012

    Matty’s Picks 2012 – Vol. 10 Richmond International Raceway – Capital City 400 presented by Virginia is for Lovers – April 27, 2012

    [media-credit id=42 align=”alignright” width=”234″][/media-credit]Virginia is for Lovers, except when you are talking about the four weekends the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series goes short-track racing Old Dominion. The beating and banging of Martinsville Speedway and Richmond International Raceway mirror the short-track action Friday and Saturday nights that we all grew up on, and really take me back to some of my best times as a race fanatic. The race Saturday Night will surely be filled with fireworks and the Virginia beating and banging we’re all so fond of.

    Before I get into last week’s recap, I’d like to extend a thank you to Mr. Bruton Smith and all of Speedway Motorsports Inc. for listening to the fans regarding the modifications of Bristol Motor Speedway. Since the reconfiguration and addition of progressive banking in 2007, attendance at Bristol has steadily on the decline. I was in complete awe this March when The Last Great Coliseum was half-full at best for the spring race. I can remember a few of my first trips to Bristol when there were 10,000 race fans standing in front of the gates looking for extra tickets. It was a miracle to scalp the hardest ticket in NASCAR back then, and was a miracle if you could find a seat at face-value.

    Ultimately, it’s the fans that keep our sport alive, not the drivers, not the sponsors, not the owners… The fans are the ones spending the money to travel to the track week-in and week-out to watch 43 of the most talented drivers in the world, and when they speak, those with decision-making abilities must listen. Its not the drivers (unless they feel changes would render the track unsafe or un-drivable) that should be the tell-all in these types of decisions. If they’re not happy with the decision to tighten up the corners at Bristol, too bad, SMI must act in the best interests of NASCAR and what will put fans in the grandstands. The drivers may have liked the wide-open racing grooves over the past 5 years at Bristol Motor Speedway, but 300-something laps without a caution flag is not Bristol.

    I am excited to get back to the way racing used to be in Eastern Tennessee, and I think the track change will boost attendance back to the days when the night race at Bristol was the toughest ticket in all of NASCAR.

    Kansas Recap

    I can’t say too much about the race last week because I didn’t catch a single lap of the STP 400. My race recap will be as exciting as the race itself last week (so I hear)…

    My winner pick was points-leader Greg Biffle last week, and all I really know is he finished 4th last week, giving me my second top-5 in as many weeks.

    I picked my Dark Horse last week before the STP 400 qualifying session, and after I found out my Dark Horse eventually turned into last week’s pole-sitter, I was even more excited about my pick. But like many of my picks this season, he let me down. I now see that AJ Allmendinger finished 10-laps down in 32nd, adding to my less than impressive string of finishes this season.

    Richmond Picks

    Some people say you must hit rock bottom before you can start your climb to the top. I’m hoping that I’ve hit rock bottom just 1/4th of the way through this 2012 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series season, and can still salvage a respectable average finish with the remainder of my picks.

    Winner Pick

    It shouldn’t be much of a surprise as to who I pick this week to win the Capital City 400 as his stats at the ¾-mile short track. He is the defending winner of this spring race, and has two other victories at RIR under his belt. In total, Kyle Busch has finished first or second in 7 of the last 11 races at Richmond, an absolutely phenomenal statistic. He has won the race at Richmond from as far back as 20th, and came from 34th in the spring of 2007 to finish second.

    Overall, Kyle Busch has an average finish of 5.0 in 14 races in Virginia’s capital city, and is desperate to boost his points resume as he currently sits 13th, out of the Chase for the Sprint Cup. In the other two short-track races at Bristol and Martinsville this season, Rowdy finished 32nd and 36th respectively, a stat unfitting for a guy who has won nearly 20% of the races he’s started on a short-track.

    He’s struggling to find speed as I look at the current charts (23rd fastest after 69 laps in this first practice session), but when the green flag flies, Rowdy will kick into high gear and wind up in Victory Lane.

    Dark Horse Pick

    This pick is what those of us involved with fantasy drafts often like to call “a reach”. I’m going way out on a whim to say that the JR Nation winless streak has a better chance than any race thus far to come to a close this weekend. It has been 1,412 days, 137 races, and a lifetime supply of Kleenex since JR Nation was graced with a win, and quite frankly I am ready for the streak to end.

    Besides Chicago Cubs Fans, JR Nation may be the second-most cursed fan base in the country. 137 races is unthinkable for the sport’s most popular driver, and Richmond is a fine place for the streak to end. Earnhardt Jr knows his way to victory lane at the short-track with three wins, eight top-5’s, and five top-10’s in 25 starts. Each of the four Hendrick Motorsports drivers is gunning for Hendrick Motorsports’ 200th Sprint Cup Series victory.

    It may be coincidence that JR’s last win before his victory at Michigan in June 2008 was at Richmond International Raceway, or it may just be time for the streak to come to a close.

    Either way, JR is 4th in points and 15th on the speed charts following the first practice session of the day in Old Dominion.

    That’s all for this week so until we head to Talladega…You Stay Classy NASCAR NATION!

  • Race No. 2 – 54th Annual Daytona 500 Daytona International Speedway, February 26, 2012

    Race No. 2 – 54th Annual Daytona 500 Daytona International Speedway, February 26, 2012

    [media-credit name=”daytonainternationalspeedway.com” align=”alignright” width=”288″][/media-credit]Happy Birthday to Me!

    This year’s Great American Race happens to fall on my quarter-century milestone, and what a better way to spend my birthday than with some 200 mph high octane pack racing! My living room will be transformed into a pit of NASCAR fans on Sunday afternoon, but could never rival the ‘stadium-seating’ that was brought in during my brother’s collegiate days in the Delta Sigma Phi house at Clarkson University. This was hands-down the coolest Daytona 500 party I was ever able to (and will probably ever) attend, however I am excited for this year’s racing season to formally kick-off on Sunday.

    In an effort to expand the sport’s following I’ve decided to share my Daytona 500 this Sunday with some non-NASCAR/non-racing fans. My living room will be full on Sunday of half die hard’s and half newbies; the die hard’s pleading their case on why each of their drivers are the best and cheer for. Nonetheless, it will be exciting to watch the action in my living room and exciting to see the pack duke it out for one of the most prestigious crowns in all of motorsports.

    Bud Shootout Recap

    Just like each restrictor plate race, last weekend’s Bud Shootout turned out to be a roll of the dice. It’s either feast of famine with these races, and I (just like most fantasy players) ended up on the short end of the stick when the dust settled last Saturday Night.

    My Dark Horse pick wasn’t really a Dark Horse because he does have 2 wins at Daytona, but like I said last week, the criteria for entrance to the Bud Shootout doesn’t yield many Dark Horses in general. Jamie Mac found the front quickly last week in the first segment, reaching the point just four laps in. He showed that the No. 1 Bass Pro Shops Chevrolet would be a contender all night, leading a total of 5 times for 11 of the 75 laps. My misfortune came on the final lap of the Bud Shootout last week when McMurray was collected in a multi-car incident, which sent the No. 24 of Jeff Gordon for a wild ride on his roof, netting McMurray a 16th-place finish when all was said and done.

    My Winner Pick last week is the guy that can “see the air” on the Superspeedways (despite the fact that he hasn’t won in 3 years). Dale Earnhardt Jr. is a fan of the way the racing has morphed back to the pack at Daytona, “I like it better. The closing rate is a little fast. Guys will go flying backwards and forwards. I think we made a lot of great improvements don’t get me wrong. I think we have really made a lot of great improvements and I have more of my destiny in my hands in this type of racing.” said Jr. following his Bud Shootout efforts.

    Despite being a bit more comfortable behind the wheel on Saturday Night, Dale Jr couldn’t make it through a lap 55 incident that collected his No. 88 National Guard/Diet Mountain Dew Chevrolet. Jr. finished 20th and I finished the weekend looking like a buffoon.

    Daytona 500 Picks

    With complete disregard for claiming to know what I am talking about, I’ve decided to make my picks a little bit differently this week…
    It is probably not a great idea because of Ford’s complete dominance of Daytona 500 practice and qualifying sessions, but I would like to have a little fun this weekend for my birthday and also bring in some outside help in making my picks.

    Because of my rocky start last week, and the complete craps-shoot it is to choose a driver to win a restrictor plate race, I’ve decided to make my picks based off a total random draw. My picks this week will be based off my girlfriend’s random draw of playing cards (0-9), and I will provide historical data and insight as to why that driver stands a chance to take the Checkered Flag on Sunday Afternoon.

    So using Price is Right rules, I will have my girlfriend Casey select four cards at random, and the closest driver (by car number) to the cards selected (without going over of course) will be the drivers I will pick this week for Matty’s Picks.

    Here’s a photo of the draw:

    [media-credit id=24 align=”aligncenter” width=”169″][/media-credit]

    Dark Horse Pick

    Via random draw (and a pre-determined list of possible Dark Horses and Winners), Casey selected the 10 of Spades (0) and the 6 of Diamonds. So on the nose for the Dark Horse this week is a Roush Fenway Racing driver that everyone can agree on as a Dark Horse, Ricky Stenhouse Jr.

    Not much Sprint Cup history here for my Dark Horse pick, as Stenhouse will make just his second start in the Sprint Cup series on Sunday, but based off his practice speeds, it looks like Casey didn’t do too bad picking my Dark Horse this week.

    Last year’s NASCAR Nationwide Series Champion didn’t stretch his points lead when it came to the three races on Superspeedways in 2011, (8th at Daytona in February, 38th at Talladega in April, and 28th back at Daytona in July), but his practice speeds for this year’s Daytona 500 have been nothing to frown at. He was 12th quick in the first practice session, 14th in the second, his highest mark on the leaderboard came in the third practice session, and his most recent efforts landed him seventh in the sixth session earlier today.

    I’m not emptying my bank account on Stenhouse for Sunday’s race, but with his Roush-Fenway FR9 Ford Fusion looking strong in practice, I will not count him out just yet.

    Winner Pick

    Casey selected the Ace of Clubs and the Deuce of Spades when it came down to my winner pick, and via Price Is Right rules, (with no driver in the No. 12 car) this would bring us to the No.13 of Casey Mears. I’m not sure that Mears is shown on anyone’s list of ‘Winner Picks’, so I will bypass that pick and head for the No. 14 Office Depot/Mobil 1 Chevrolet of Tony Stewart.

    Now how can I be mad at the random draw of the No. 14 car this week? Coming off a second-place (closest finish of the Bud Shootout by the way) in last Saturday’s race at Daytona, and a win in the first of the two Dual races Thursday, what is there not to like? Yes, I know he’s not in an FR9, but really, what is there not to like about this pick?

    Smoke will be making his 14th start in the Great American Race on Sunday, a race that has evaded him 13 times before. Despite being winless in the big dance, Smoke has tallied an impressive 16 victories at the World Center of Racing including:
    3 – Sprint Cup wins in the July race
    3 – Bud Shootout Wins
    2 – Gatorade Dual Wins
    2 – International Race of Champions (IROC) Wins
    6 – NASCAR Nationwide Series Wins

    This Stewart-Haas racing team is so confident in their chances that after his win on Thursday, Stewart came across the radio and said “Keep it clean, please“. Spotter Bob Jeffrey added “Don’t put anything on our race car. That’s going to be the Daytona 500 winner.”

    Seriously, what’s not to like about this? He’s starting third on Sunday and has a race record that rivals anyone in history…

    That’s it for this week. I’d like to thank Casey for her help with my picks this week and until next time, you stay classy NASCAR NATION!

  • Will We Ever See The ‘1100’ Again?

    Will We Ever See The ‘1100’ Again?

    Memorial Day weekend plays host to arguably, three of the biggest races on the motor racing calender. It all kicks off with the Formula One aces taking there shots on the tight and twisting street course in the Principality of Monaco. The men and women of Indianapolis then take center stage with “The Greatest Spectacle In Racing”, The Indianapolis 500 mile race. The night cap brings us to the hub of NASCAR where the season’s marathon race, the Coca Cola 600 goes into the wee hours of the night. In the past, many drivers have attempted to run both the Indy 500 and the Coca Cola 600 on the same day. But recently, no driver has made an attempt at the famous feat.

    [media-credit id=22 align=”alignright” width=”225″][/media-credit]With so many current NASCAR Sprint Cup drivers with some form of open wheel experience, many race fans wonder why we haven’t seen the double. Drivers such as; Tony Stewart, Robby Gordon, A.J. Allmendinger, Kasey Kahne, Jeff Gordon, even Dale Earnhardt Jr and Jimmie Johnson are drivers that fans wonder why they haven’t done it. All of these men have said previously that they would love to take a swing at Indianapolis and Charlotte. But why haven’t they done it?

    With all the pressure involved today driving in NASCAR, it isn’t likely that we will see a full time NASCAR driver do the double. With all the media and sponsor obligations that are required for a driver to just drive in NASCAR, it would be too much to juggle and be competitive in one, let alone both. The issue of travel also comes into play. Although Indy has moved their start time back to the original one, the driver attempting to get back to Charlotte would have a long night ahead of them as they would miss the drivers meeting and start in the back. And what if they said driver wins the Indy 500!? They would have to do all the photos and the traditional interviews that go with winning the race. It would just be too much to handle now days with how much more media attention and pressure is on each and every one of these drivers in both series.

    Tony Stewart has been very add in saying that in order to do both things well, you need to be full time in both racing series. Seeing a driver that would run both the IZOD Indy Car Series and the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series would be truly astonishing. But the chances of something like that happening are slimmer than a piece of paper. As much as race car drivers love to race anything they can get their hands on, there is no foreseeable way that one driver can run full time in two of the biggest racing series in the world.

    Seeing drivers attempt to run two crown jewel races in the same day is a site that both fans and media members would love to see. It would make for a capitulating story of a man (or Danica) trying to accomplish the unthinkable dream of winning the Indianapolis 500 and then winning the marathon race in North America’s most popular racing series. But unfortunately, the dream of that story may have to wait for a driver with the right opportunity to do it. When that will happen, no one knows.