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Tag: Daytona 500

  • Trevor Bayne – ‘I Missed you Guys’

    Trevor Bayne – ‘I Missed you Guys’

    Trevor Bayne met with the media Thursday at Charlotte Motor Speedway to discuss his return to racing. His first words to the press were, “I missed you guys.”

     

    [media-credit name=”Brad Keppel” align=”alignright” width=”233″][/media-credit]Bayne has been sidelined since the end of April when he experienced symptoms of fatigue and double vision. He was hospitalized at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn. where he underwent a battery of tests but no definitive diagnosis has been made.

     

    When asked about the nature of his illness, Bayne explained, “Their biggest hope is that it was an isolated event that is temporary and is gone now. The diagnosis, I don’t have it yet. I don’t know. It could be just a series of events where you get a bug bite and your immune system is down and we had been running for a couple months hard every day after Daytona and it wears down your immune system. That is what I am hoping for.”

    He went on to say, “Whether that is it or not, only time will tell with that.  I still don’t have an official diagnosis but they treated everything they thought it could be and since then everything has gone away. To me, they hit something.”

    Steve Newmark, President of Roush Fenway Racing said that even though there has been no official diagnosis, that Bayne has been declared fit to race by the doctors at the Mayo Clinic.

    He is currently scheduled to be back in his No. 16 Roush Fenway Nationwide car next week at Chicagoland Speedway. His next Sprint Cup appearance will be in two weeks at Michigan.

    Bayne says he has been symptom free for over a week and is obviously anxious to resume his normal schedule.

    “I have been fine for over a week now. Last weekend I took it off as a caution and this week they made me take it off as a caution. This weekend I would have been fine to run I think but we want to just make sure.”

    “I am 20 years old and everyone keeps telling me I have a long time to run. I am trying to listen to them, even though I am 20 and stubborn and want to be in a race car every weekend. I would be riding around with an eye patch if they would let me. It is all good. I think we have waited long enough.”

    Although he admitted that the last few weeks have been hard, the situation has done nothing to dampen his enthusiasm and love for the sport.

    This season started out on a high for the 20 year old Bayne with a win at the Daytona 500 in only his second Cup start. He was supposed to run a full schedule with Roush Fenway Racing in the Nationwide Series and a limited schedule in the Sprint Cup series driving the famed No. 21 Wood Brothers Ford.

    Everything changed when he woke up one morning with double vision. You might think the young driver would be bitter at the interruption in his career. But you would be wrong.

    Bayne handles life with a maturity and grace far beyond his years.

    “I think this year is just helping me figure out what I am made of. I think if you can handle the biggest high you can have and the largest bottom you can have then the rest of the year should be easy from here.”

    Throughout it all his faith has helped him maintain a positive attitude.

    “I do have my faith and that is what defines me because if I was defined by this I would be in trouble right now.”

    The biggest surprise for him has been the tremendous support he has received from everyone.

    “Carl Edwards flew up and saw me in Minnesota and Tony Stewart was using his plane to fly my family back and forth and Jack (Roush) was sending me back and forth on his plane and these guys come out and hang out for the night. Michael McDowell is there for five days with me. Everybody in the garage texted me at least once to see how I was doing and that means a lot to me.”

    Wood Brothers Racing has also stood firmly behind their driver.

    Eddie Wood, co-owner of Wood Brothers Racing said, “Trevor is our guy and he is our driver and whatever he is going through we are going through,” Wood said. “If it had worked out that we could have sat this race out and waited on him we would have done it. It just got too far down the road.”

    “I am just glad he is back. You guys can see how he has that warm and fuzzy feel again. I am happy.”

    This weekend, Bayne will be at Charlotte Motor Speedway to help his pal, Ricky Stenhouse Jr. as he attempts his first Cup start subbing for Bayne in the No. 21 Wood Brothers car.

    You might think it would be difficult for Bayne to see another racer in that car. Wrong, again.

    “He is an awesome kid and I am pumped for him, said Bayne. “ I texted him yesterday and told him to own this thing because he deserves it. I think he is going to do a great job. “

    Welcome back, Trevor Bayne. We’ve missed you too.

  • NASCAR’s Wish For Race Track in New York Area Finally A Reality…Sort Of

    NASCAR’s Wish For Race Track in New York Area Finally A Reality…Sort Of

    Gary BuchananFor years, NASCAR has been trying to site a track in the New York, New Jersey, Connecticut metro area without success.
    But there finally is a race track in the area, although it might not be exactly what the NASCAR had in mind.

    Pole Position, an indoor karting track, recently opened in Jersey City, New Jersey, bringing racing of at least some sort to one of the country’s biggest markets. While a ‘road course’ for electric open wheel go karts, Pole Position is chock full of NASCAR references.

    For example, a giant picture of Trevor Bayne celebrating his Daytona 500 victory is displayed on the outside of the massive racing facility. Bayne was one of the first guests at the facility introducing it to the world by racing Robin Roberts on ‘Good Morning America.’

    Another NASCAR past champion Kurt Busch is also involved with the Pole Position brand nationally. In fact, Pole Position’s Co-Owner Eyal Farage advised that Busch was the witness during the signing of their franchise paperwork that paved the way for the Jersey City track location.

    “He was the witness,” Farage said proudly.” He signed my contract on February 25, 2010.”

    Another NASCAR tie-in comes when every Pole Position customer watches the safety video in preparation for their race. Jamie Little, NASCAR pit reporter for ESPN and racer herself, stars in the video and is also an investor in the national Pole Position brand.

    “She’s a good friend of the company,” Karen Davis-Farage, Co-Owner/General Manager of Pole Position Raceway in Jersey City, said.

    The 80,000 square foot facility, featuring two quarter-mile tracks, is also filled with racing gear from all over the world.

    “We’ve got hundreds of thousands of dollars of race memorabilia,” Davis-Farage said. The facility sports racing suits, helmets and other items from various types of racing personalities, including NASCAR’s Kurt Busch, Jeremy McCrath, seven-time AMA Supercross champ, and Mike Metzger, X-games free style gold medalist.

    While Pole Position may not be a NASCAR-sanctioned track, its owners take as much pride in their track as America’s fastest growing sport does when it comes to the grip of their racing surface and safety for all involved. They even have professional mechanics and trained pit crews on board to make sure that every race car runs to perfection.

    “We bit blast the cement on our race track,” Davis-Farage said. “The traction optimizes the driving experience itself so it’s as realistic as possible.  We do everything we can to create the best racing experience.”

    “We have multiple jobs in the pits and they work together just like a race pit crew,” Ayal Farage said. “We have a maintenance program that is very important to us. We stay on top of that.”

    “We want to give the racers the best experience in their vehicles,” Farage continued. “We are ‘built for racers by racers,’ which just happens to be the Pole Position motto.”

    While the co-owners of Pole Position want everyone to have fun at their facility, whether it is for an ‘arrive and drive’ event, a charity event, or a league competition, there are definitely rules to be enforced. In fact, the Farages have their own version of the NASCAR hauler.

    “They get one warning,” Davis-Farage said of anyone breaking the rules of engagement and safety. “And then they get taken out.”

    While NASCAR racing may not have been in their blood, for Karen and Eyal Farage, as well as their family, opening Pole Position Raceway has been the culmination of the most important race that they have been running, that of surviving this tough economy.

    “I was in the software industry for 30 years and I was the member of the executive team that lost my job,” Karen-Davis Farage said. “In the meantime with the recession in full swing Ayal, who was a contractor for thirty years, was also feeling it.”

    “Ayal has an old antique Porsche and always had a dream to drive cross country with his first born before sending him off to college,” Davis-Farage continued. “He did so with our son Andrew and when they got to Las Angeles the last thing they did before delivering my son to the dorm was to go indoor electric karting.”

    “And I was hooked,” Ayal said simply.

    “Andrew got out of his kart and said to Ayal, ‘Daddy this is what you should do for the rest of your life,’ Davis-Farage continued. “I said you’ve got to be kidding. But I saw the passion and excitement and I said to him ‘If you’re going to go down this road, we’re going to do this together, with a template for success.”

    So, indeed the couple as well as their children have sunk everything they have into making their new race track in Jersey City a success. They have already seen their customer base, from those who love racing to those who have never set foot in a race car, blossom and grow.

    “We have an opportunity to provide and sell racing fun,” Davis-Farage said. “Racing is the biggest sport in the country and because of the technology, providing it indoor, year-round in a safe environment really makes sense.”

    Perhaps the racers, however, sum up the Pole Position experience best. Gilbert Williams, an admitted racing junkie who has visited the race track at least five or six times to date, said that he comes to the track for the excitement, the competition, and to satisfy his ‘need for speed.’

    “I’ve been a NASCAR fan for a long time, since I was a young fellow, I’m talking Neil Bonnett and Cale Yarborough days,” Williams said. “My driver now sentimentally is Dale Junior because Earnhardt was my favorite.”

    “But this is totally exciting,” Williams continued. “It gives you a different feel in a car, two or three inches off the ground, doing 30 or 40 miles per hour.”

    “It’s great,” Williams said. “It gives me a deep appreciation for what the NASCAR drivers go through. I like road courses and I’m looking at it now in a totally different light.”

    Pole Position Raceway is located at 99 Caven Point Road in Jersey City. For more information, visit the website at www.polepositionraceway.com/new-york-jersey-city.

  • David Ragan: Record Setter, Shriner and Driver in Search of a Good Finish

    David Ragan: Record Setter, Shriner and Driver in Search of a Good Finish

    Driver of the No. 6 UPS Ford for Roush Fenway Racing David Ragan is a man of many talents, from setting a world record to pursuing the status of Mason and supporting the Shriners Hospitals for Children.

    [media-credit name=”Barry Albert” align=”alignright” width=”291″][/media-credit]But most of all, Ragan is a driver in search of a good finish, one that seems to be so elusive early in his 2011 NASCAR Cup season. Yet in spite of that, he is managing to not only keep the faith, but keep it all in perspective.

    Two weeks ago after the race at Bristol Motor Speedway, Ragan had the distinction of breaking a world record on the very track on which he had competed in the Cup Series. Ragan scored the fastest lap for a passenger car around the world’s fastest half-mile race track.

    Behind the wheel of a Ford Mustang GT 5.0, Ragan scored the fastest time ever at 19.481 seconds, with a speed of 98.497 mph.

    “I drove the production Mustang and we broke the world half mile speed record,” Ragan said. “It was pretty cool.”

    In addition to being a world record setter, Ragan has also devoted himself to supporting the causes of the Shriners, especially the Shriners Hospitals for Children. Ragan has supported this as his charity of choice since 2008.

    Ragan took time out of his hectic schedule prior to the racing at Auto Club Speedway this past weekend to visit the Shriners Hospital for Children in Los Angeles. Ragan toured the facility and also had plenty of time to interact with some of the children recuperating at the hospital.

    “Anytime we get to visit a hospital, that’s cool,” Ragan said. “We get to meet a lot of the patients and the families and the whole staff. It’s neat to show them our support.”

    “Some of the kids had bandages or prosthetic arms,” Ragan shared. “Just to spend a little bit of time with them was awesome.”

    Ragan also has his sights set on becoming a Shriner himself. He has currently completed the first degree of Masonry.

    “My uncle is a Shriner and we are close friends with many Shriners,” Ragan said. “The Shriners have just stood out, especially with their treatment of kids for free of charge.  It’s just a really good group of people who are passionate about what they do.”

    Most of all, however, David Ragan is in search of a good finish to a race in this 2011 season. It all started at the first race of the season, the Daytona 500, where Ragan was black-flagged for changing lanes before crossing the start/finish line during a second green, white, checkered finish.

    After serving the stop and go penalty, Ragan restarted 15th and could only rally his car to finish 14th.

    At the second race in Phoenix, Ragan again had a fast race car, with the third fastest time in practice and qualifying 11th. The driver first got caught up in a wreck and, after recovering from that, blew a tire and hit the wall, ending his day with a 36th place finish.

    At the season’s third race at Vegas, Ragan was once again fast in practice, in fact second fastest. When it came time to qualify, however, Ragan spun on his time trial run, relegating him to start the race from the rear of the field.

    Ragan battled a loose race car throughout, ending the race in the 22nd position.

    Ragan qualified fifth for the next race at Bristol Motor Speedway. Believing that this was finally a track where he could rebound, the driver was definitely looking forward to a decent finish.

    Alas, it was not to be yet again. Tire troubles plagued all of the teams at Bristol, including Ragan’s, who struggled mightily on the new tires.

    The UPS Ford team finished the competition at ‘Thunder Valley’ in the 16th spot.

    This weekend, buoyed by his visit to the Shriners Hospital for Children, Ragan was ready to take on the big, wide track at Auto Club Speedway in Fontana, California. Ragan had a great qualifying run, scoring sixth in the time trials.

    Ragan also won final practice and looked to be poised for that elusive good finish. His team kept tuning on his car, yet it kept vacillating between too tight and too loose conditions.

    “We just made adjustment after adjustment and never could make it right,” Ragan said. “There at the long part of the race when we had some clean traffic, we were trying to tighten the car up because it was too free.”

    “Then when we got into traffic during those last few restarts with all the dirty air, our UPS Ford just got too tight,” Ragan continued. “You know, me and Drew (Blickensderfer) and our team engineer have just got to sit down and take a look at the adjustments we made and see where we can make it better.”

    “I think we had an opportunity to finish better than we did.”

    David Ragan, record setter, Shriner and driver in search of a good finish plans to take his quest next to the short track in Martinsville. Yet he is still managing to stay upbeat, keeping it all in perspective, especially after his visit to the Shriners Hospital.

    “We often think our lives are hard and we have a lot of pressure on us to win races or to make up points, but then you see an eight year old girl who was in a fire and half of her body is burned and she doesn’t have an arm,” Ragan said. “And yet she is there and she is recovering.”

    “That puts things in perspective.”

  • Amanda Speed Is Keeping It All In Perspective

    Amanda Speed Is Keeping It All In Perspective

    [media-credit name=”ScottSpeed.com” align=”alignright” width=”236″][/media-credit]In spite of the trauma of husband Scott losing his Cup ride with Red Bull Racing last season, Amanda Speed is keeping the couple’s spirits up, preparing to have their child, and coping with her mother-in-law’s cancer.

    And even with those major highs and lows in their lives, Amanda Speed is working hard to keep it all in perspective.

    “Well the day he got the fax from Red Bull was the same day we found out his mother had cancer,” Speed said. “So that put things into perspective real quick.”

    “Scott and I have always been the type that love to enjoy life no matter what we are doing,” Speed continued. “So spending time with our family and friends is what is helping this process.”

    Speed may have perspective but she is still understandably shaken by the seemingly abrupt firing of her husband in November 2010. The fact that the news was delivered to them via the fax machine was especially distressing.

    “I was sick to my stomach honestly,” Speed said. “Especially with the way it was handled, I mean, a fax… Come on seriously.”

    “You renew his contract halfway through the year, fit him for his 2011 firesuit in October and then a week after the last race of the year, you fire him through a fax,” Speed continued. “Just unbelievable.”

    In response to being released from Red Bull Racing, the couple decided they needed to take action. Scott Speed filed a $6.5 million lawsuit against the race team, alleging breach of contract.

    Amanda Speed admits that the filing of a lawsuit has not been easy for her husband or for her. She also noted that the experience has changed how they relate to people, particularly in the racing world.

    “It is difficult that’s for sure, and I will be glad when it is over,” Speed said of the lawsuit. “But Scott would have never filed the suit if he was not 100% sure of it.”

    “You can only take so much of being run over,” Speed continued. “In the long run I think it has made us both stronger, but also both very conscious of the people that we are around.”

    “We have always been people who trust everyone until they break that trust,” Speed said. “However, now it is the opposite. You will now have to gain our trust. It is just really hard.”

    Although the experience of the firing, the breaking of trust, and the lawsuit have been most difficult, the Speeds have some good news recently.

    Scott Speed reached an agreement with Kevin Harvick, Inc. to run two Nationwide Series races, one at Iowa Speedway on August 6th and the other on the road course in Montreal on August 20th.

    Amanda Speed is thankful for the new ride coming Scott’s way, especially since it will return the couple to the race track.

    “It is so hard not being at the track each weekend,” Speed said. ” Before I met Scott I was working at the track, and I grew up at the drag races, so to not be at a racetrack at all is wearing on us both.”

    “I hate watching the races on television,” Speed continued. “It is very hard.”

    “The thing I miss most about being at the track is just the racing,” Speed said. “I live for that competiveness, heck we both do.”

    The couple did take in the Daytona 500 this year and also plan to get to a few more races this season before Scott Speed gets behind the wheel of the KHI Nationwide car.

    “We both went to Daytona,” Speed said. “It was very different, very emotional being at a racetrack and not racing, but we talked with a lot of people, so it was good to be there.”

    The Speeds also recently announced their most special news, that they were expecting a baby together, due in September. The newest Speed will join big brother Rex, Amanda Speed’s child from a previous relationship.

    “The pregnancy was actually a BIG surprise,” Speed said. “I mean, we had been trying, but we thought it wasn’t possible, so it was definitely a surprise.”

    “We don’t know yet what we are having, but we will find out soon,” Speed continued. “Rex is very excited. He wants a girl and Scott wants a boy.”

    “I just want it to be healthy, so it is going to be very entertaining when he/she gets here.”

    Speed has also been very busy during this time with her marketing efforts, taking every opportunity to keep her husband’s name and his brand present in the racing marketplace.  She and Scott have also been active in the social media world, keeping up with fans via Facebook and Twitter.

    “I do as much as I can on contacting media reps and people from different areas of racing,” Speed said. “I try to do what I can to keep him out there.”

    “We have also got a guy redesigning his website, and other people that are out seeking sponsorship,” Speed continued. “We are all working very hard.”

    “The fan support has been overwhelmingly good,” Speed said. “Scott is so grateful for that.”

    “He has a great following on Twitter, and he is very glad to see his fans stick by him through this crazy period in his life,” Speed continued. “For all the haters, he will be glad to get back out on the track and say, “I told you so.”

    In spite of it all, Amanda Speed acknowledged that there have been many life lessons in this whole process, some positive and some more difficult.

    “I think there is always a life lesson in any step you go through in life,” Speed said. “The darkest moment through all of this was finding out Scott’s mom had cancer,” Speed said. “One minute she is as healthy as a horse, and the next minute, she is getting chemo and radiation.”

    “It was just very devastating to us all,” Speed said. “It’s like, how did this happen so quickly?”

    “Obviously finding out that I am expecting is very exciting and rewarding,” Speed said. “But I would have to say that the most triumphant moment has not come yet, but it will soon and we both can’t wait for that moment.”

  • Regan Smith Thinks His Team is Best Kept Secret in NASCAR

    Regan Smith Thinks His Team is Best Kept Secret in NASCAR

    Regan Smith has been described by Mark McCardle, managing director of competition for Furniture Row Racing, as one of the best-kept secrets in the garage area. But Smith puts the credit solely on his team, crowning them the true best kept secrets in NASCAR.

    [media-credit name=”Gary Buchanan” align=”alignright” width=”266″][/media-credit]Smith and his No. 78 Chevrolet Furniture Row Racing team have indeed had an eventful start to their 2011 racing season. Right out of the box, the young driver led several laps of the Daytona 500 before being caught up in a late race crash, yet still managing to finish seventh.

    “It felt great to lead,” Smith said. “I think more importantly than that, it felt great to lead with five to go.”

    “And how good that felt went downhill pretty quick from there,” Smith continued. “We had a strong car and we were in a position where we wanted to be.”

    Smith had been working with Kurt Busch at the time and the two were committed to each other since their cars were so good together. Busch unfortunately got separated from Smith, then got an unexpected push from Tony Stewart, and the wreck was on.

    In spite of the melee on the track, Smith still counted his Daytona experience as a “really good day.”  He was also most pleased that he and his team were able to rebound from the accident to salvage a good finish.

    “To be honest, I was surprised that the car was able to finish,” Smith said. “Usually when you wreck at Daytona, there are two options, one being that you are t-boned and the other that you are airborne. I never thought option three would be that we drove off and finished the race.”

    “Just that quick I had to switch my brain off from trying to win the 500 to realizing that this is a 36 race season and we need points right now,” Smith said. “As soon as I finished spinning on the back stretch, that was my mindset.”

    Smith admitted that he was definitely angry after the race and “pretty bummed out.” As he was riding to the airport with his fiance after the race, it hit him just how close he had come to winning the Great American Race.

    “That’s when it sunk in,” Smith said. “I realized how close we were to this deal. But we recovered well as a team.”

    Smith credits his Daytona recovery full to his team, who he says has worked hard to calm him down and keep his head in the game.

    “Last year, I would have imploded,” Smith said. “That goes a long way to say how good of a team I’ve got around me.”

    After putting Daytona in his rear view mirror, Smith turned his attention to discussing his Phoenix race. He qualified fifth for the second race of the season, but again got caught up in a big wreck that relegated him to finishing 34th, dropping him to the 19th position in the point standings.

    “I think we had a bigger wreck at Phoenix than we did at Daytona,” Smith said ruefully. “Last week was just circumstances. We had a fast race car and I was fast all weekend. It was just bad luck.”

    While Smith acknowledged that there were many different strategies playing out in the race, with varying tire and pit sequences in play, he also admitted surprise at just how racy many of his fellow competitors were.

    “The whole race was like that and I wondered why they were so aggressive so early on,” Smith said. “I don’t know if that all caused the wreck. I think it was just ignorance.”

    This weekend, Smith is ready to tackle Las Vegas Motor Speedway. He practiced well and qualified 12th for the Kobalt Tools 400.

    “Off the truck, the car was good,” Smith said. “We have some ideas for what we want to change in race trim. But overall, we had another solid day with our Furniture Row Chevrolet.”

    “I feel strong about this weekend,” Smith said. “We’re looking at this weekend just like we did Daytona and Phoenix. We’re here to get top tens now.”

    “That’s our goal and there will come a point when we get top fives,” Smith continued. “That will be cool.”

    Smith admits that he and his team are focused but also have a bit of a chip on their shoulders, especially since they are the only team based out of Denver, Colorado, not Charlotte, North Carolina.

    “We’ve all got a little chip on our shoulder being from Denver,” Smith said. “We want to prove that we can not only run good from Denver but we can run as good as these big super teams.”

    “I don’t think anybody in this trailer or on this team is surprised about how we are starting this year off,” Smith continued. “We’re kind of off the radar. But I know this is what I expected and this is what all these guys expected.”

    “I look at it as I’m with a team that’s the best kept secret in the garage,” Smith said. “I know the people that I get to work with and I wouldn’t trade it for any other team in this garage.”

  • NASCAR’s New System Pointing To Problems

    NASCAR’s New System Pointing To Problems

    NASCAR’s new simplified points system was designed to make it easier for fans to know right away where their favorite driver is located in the points standings.

    Right about the time NASCAR was putting the final touches on this new system, another change concerning points had already been finalized.

    NASCAR informed drivers they could only earn points in one series this year and must declare pre-season which series it was.

    After two weeks of points earning races, the combination of changes are not quite as simple as thought and could be pointing to a need for further review.

    As the races are unfolding, historians may have already begun re-writing the season ending record books.

    2011 will go down in history as the first time all of NASCAR’s available points will not be awarded, and quite possibly the first time in Nationwide history the crowned champion did not win a race or post a top three, four, or five finish through out the season.

    It took NASCAR six tries before finally issuing points to the race winner. For the first time, the Daytona 500 winner was not the point’s leader entering the second race of the season.

    No series regular in the Camping World Truck Series, Nationwide Series or Sprint Cup Series, visited Victory Lane at Daytona, leaving all first place points un-awarded.

    At Phoenix Kyle Busch won the Nationwide race and led all the laps. Therefore, first place points and all bonus points were left on the table.

    No championship points were issued for first, second, third, fourth or sixth place in the Nationwide race at Phoenix. This situation, while unusual, is likely to happen again before the season is over.

    Rusty Wallace, owner of Rusty Wallace Racing, bought enough owner points in the pre-season from Roger Penske to put himself among the top 35 in owner’s points in the Sprint Cup Series.

    When I asked Roger Penske about this transaction, he said Wallace was a longtime part of his organization and doing this was a no-brainer.

    I also asked Penske if he felt this was setting a precedent for future races. Penske assured me this type of thing has been going on for years and happens often behind the scenes among other teams.

    Wallace’s newly purchased position in owner’s points guaranteed his driver, Steven Wallace, who also happens to be his son, a spot in the Daytona 500.

    It has never been disclosed just how much Wallace paid for the points, or what the going rate for owner’s points is.

    Criteria for price and value are almost certainly determined by how lucrative the event would be to a driver, or potential sponsor, and the guaranteed prize money.

    Last place prize money for the season opening Daytona 500, arguably the biggest race of the season, was $268,550.00.

    Rusty Wallace Racing didn’t submit an entry for the Subway Fit 500 at Phoenix, so his purchased points lay dormant.

    Front Row Motorsports, benefiting from RWR’s non-entry, moved into the top 35 in owner’s points and were instantly assured a starting position at Phoenix.

    Business practices like this allow the boardroom to be used as the qualifying vehicle instead of a race car.

    Unregulated, this type of purchased qualifying will become more business as usual among owners. Points will be used as bargaining tools and may begin to change owners quicker than Charlie Sheen’s latest date.

    On the other side of this coin, how do you take away points from a driver when no points are given?

    Michael Waltrip won the Camping World Truck Series event at Daytona, but earned no points for the win because that’s not the box he checked.

    His winning truck subsequently failed post-race inspection.

    When a penalty is issued, and the offending driver collected no points, how do you penalize them, unless it’s monetary only?

    Point’s penalties came about as a way to punish drivers and teams more severely when infractions occurred.

    Taking away points dramatically changes the championship landscape.

    In a nutshell, a non-points participating driver doesn’t have as much to lose.

    If the owner is docked points for an infraction, they can, as in Rusty Wallace’s situation, purchase points from another owner to meet their needs.

    There is no longer a big picture for non-points drivers. Each race can be seen as a battle that has to be entered, and, or won, at just about any cost.

  • David Ragan: I Will Think About It the Rest of My Life

    David Ragan: I Will Think About It the Rest of My Life

    Even as David Ragan, driver of the No. 6 UPS Ford for Roush Fenway Racing, prepares for the upcoming Phoenix race, Daytona is still on his mind.

    In the final laps of the Daytona 500, Ragan was in charge, working with Trevor Bayne in tandem and leading the pack. Yet on the final green, white, checkered restart, Ragan made a major mistake, changing lanes before the start finish line.

    [media-credit name=”CIA Stock Photo” align=”alignright” width=”300″][/media-credit]Ragan was black flagged and his error cost him the victory in one of NASCAR’s most prestigious event.

    “I absolutely thought we were going to win,” Ragan said. “We had a great car all day and we had an opportunity there at the end.  The violation, the black flag, took the wind out of our sails.”

    “I didn’t want to believe it at first,” Ragan continued. “I felt like the black flag was for Tony Stewart for passing on the outside.”

    “I knew that I had started to make my way toward the bottom but didn’t feel like that I changed lanes to improve my position because I was the leader,” Ragan said. “So, I didn’t fully interpret the rule like NASCAR did. Therefore, I didn’t think we did anything wrong.”

    “I thought they were warning us or that the black flag was for someone else,” Ragan continued. “So, I denied it for a lap or so.  Then I finally realized this is really happening.”

    Ragan still does not fully understand the interpretation of the rule that resulted in the penalty. After the race, he said that he most definitely wanted to seek out Mike Helton, President of NASCAR, to further discuss the situation.

    “I haven’t talked to him yet,” Ragan said of Helton. “I’ll catch him in Phoenix. I understand what the deal is but I’d like to hear it from those guys as well.”

    In spite of finishing top 15 and currently being 13th in the Sprint Cup standings, his mistake, the black flag and his win slipping away from him will always haunt him.

    “I’ll always think about it, I’m sure, the rest of my life,” Ragan said. “Until we get another opportunity to win another Daytona 500 or another Sprint Cup race, I’ll always think about it.”

    “But we have to stay focused on what’s in front of us,” Ragan continued. “We learn from the past.  Of course, you’ll never completely forget about it but we’ll take from that day and hopefully it will make us stronger.”

    Now that Ragan has also had a few days to reflect, he has realized that there were many positives for him and his team to take forward from his experience.

    “Throughout the whole race, we put ourselves in position to win,” Ragan said.  “We didn’t make any mistakes on pit road.  I did a nice job on the race track not getting caught up in any of the wrecks.”

    “So, those are some positives to look at,” Ragan continued.  “And then the last call, I’ll always make sure now that on any restart that I’m aware of the rules and the way that the governing body interprets them.”

    Ragan also could not be more pleased for Trevor Bayne, NASCAR’s youngest Daytona 500 winner.

    “I’m happy for Trevor,” Ragan said.  “If our UPS team couldn’t win it, I couldn’t think of any other guy to do it.”

    “The Wood Brothers deserve the win, and Ford Racing, and this kid, I say a kid even though he’s just a few years younger than me, he promotes believing in the Lord and I think that’s great,” Ragan continued. “It’s good for NASCAR.”

    “I’m not going to lie, I wish I were there,” Ragan said of his missed chance to be in Victory Lane.  “But if we couldn’t do it, I’m proud for Trevor and I feel like we played a part in getting him there.”

    Having said that, however, Ragan acknowledged that he is more than ready to put the Daytona finish in his rear view mirror and move forward.

    “If we can go to Phoenix, if we can lead some laps and run in the top ten throughout the race, I would be happy with that,” Ragan said. “I have a lot of confidence in our team.”

    “The sooner that we can get there, the sooner we can forget about this one,” Ragan said. “It’s a long season.  I have to keep my head up and keep our eyes on the prize.”

  • Trevor Bayne – ‘To Everything there is a Season’

    Trevor Bayne – ‘To Everything there is a Season’

    Like every other NASCAR fan I had been looking forward to the Daytona 500 since the end of last season.  The track repaving and the anticipation of not knowing what to expect created a new buzz for NASCAR’s premier race of the season.

    Then in the blink of an eye, everything changed. I received a call on February 2nd and found out that my brother had been killed in a senseless accident.

    Suddenly I seemed stuck in a vacuum while the rest of the world swirled around me. Time stood still and the only thing that mattered was that I had lost my big brother.

    He was six years older than me and I always looked up to him. I listened to the same music and shared his love of fast cars. I even had a few teenage crushes on his friends.

    As the days passed, my emotions took over and I all I could do was hang on and try to ride out the storm. For the first few days, I couldn’t bear to close my eyes. All I could see was the tragedy that took my brother’s life. One minute my heart was breaking and the next moment I found myself angry at the world.

    This isn’t the way it was supposed to happen. I never even got to say goodbye.

    I watched the Budweiser Shootout, qualifying and the Duels through clouded vision as I struggled to find my way out of the fog that had enveloped me.

    As the Daytona 500 approached, I wasn’t even sure if I would watch. I could just imagine all the stories that would be told on the 10 year anniversary of Dale Earnhardt’s death. My loss was too fresh and I didn’t know if I could handle the remembrances of another life lost far too soon.

    Race day came and I guess old habits die hard as I found myself in front of the television watching the race. As I was waiting for the race to start I remembered a conversation I’d had with some fellow race fans on a NASCAR fan site.

    Dale Earnhardt Jr. had just won the pole for the Daytona 500 and we talked about the very real possibility that he might have a shot at winning the race. We also discussed Trevor Bayne and how strong his car had been in qualifying.

    This is what I told my friends.

    “Highly unlikely, probably impossible, but wouldn’t it be cool to see Bayne win the 500 in the No. 21 car for the Wood Brothers? That, my friends, would be a story!”

    Perhaps it’s just that Bayne was on my mind because, ironically, my brother was also born on February 19th.

    I first got to know Trevor Bayne when I interviewed him in October 2009. My first impression was that this was a kid who had the potential to become one of NASCAR’s future stars. Since then I’ve had the opportunity to speak with him on several occasions and I’ve continued to follow his career closely.

    As I watched the final laps of the race unfold, I had no idea who was going to win. Was Bayne really going to be able to win the 500 in only his second Cup start?

    As he crossed the finish line in first place, I found myself grinning from ear to ear and I couldn’t help but laugh out loud as I heard him scream, “Are you kidding me?”

    For the first time in weeks, I had completely forgotten everything else and was lost in that moment.

    The excitement soon faded and I know that I will struggle daily to come to terms with my brother’s death. But I also realize that I am beginning to heal and will once again be able to feel not only life’s heartbreak but embrace its joy.

    Ecclesiastes 3:1-4
    “To everything there is a season and a time to every purpose under heaven.
    A time to be born and a time to die, a time to plant and a time to uproot,
    A time to kill and a time to heal,  a time to tear down and a time to build,
    A time to weep and a time to laugh,  a time to mourn and a time to dance.”

  • NASCAR Top-10 Power Rankings: Daytona

    NASCAR Top-10 Power Rankings: Daytona

    Note: The quotes in this article are fictional.

    1. Trevor Bayne: Bayne, in the No. 21 Wood Brothers Motorcraft car, stunned the racing world, becoming the youngest Daytona 500 winner in history. With a momentous push from Bobby Labonte’s No. 47 car, Bayne held off the hard-charging Carl Edwards, taking the victory in only his second Sprint Cup start. Afterwards, the deeply-spiritual Bayne thanked the Lord, who brushed off the comment, saying He was a Junior fan.

    “That’s called ‘using the Lord’s name in Bayne,’” Bayne said, “and then being told you’re ‘using the Lord’s name in vain.’

    But I made history. Not only by becoming the youngest winner in history, but by becoming the first Daytona winner to be eliminated from Cup championship contention before the race. And I can’t think of a better birthday present for my 20th birthday. Hopefully, this win will lead to a long NASCAR career, because I’ll need plenty of time to live up to this.

    As for now, the team and I are trying to make this moment last, and sell as many ‘Got Wood?’ merchandise as possible.”

    2. Kurt Busch: Busch, with wins in the Bud Shootout and Gatorade Duels already under his belt, was in contention in his bid to complete the triple with a Daytona 500 win. But the driver of the No. 22 Shell/Pennzoil Dodge came up a bit short, unable to find a path to the lead, and settled for fourth. Busch lamented that he should have gone low on the back straightaway instead of selecting the middle line.

    “I just couldn’t find the right partner at the right time,” Busch said. “And that’s quite ironic in a race characterized by more coupling than a Tim Richmond key party, circa 1986. And one marked by just as many partner exchanges, as well.”

    3. Carl Edwards: As the green flag waved for the final green-white-checkered finish, Edwards was 10th, seemingly out of position to make a run for the win. But after linking up with David Gilliland’s No. 34 Taco Bell car, Edwards and the No. 99 Aflac Ford surged forward and into second behind Trevor Bayne. Edwards tried a pass for the lead, unsuccessfully, and finished second.

    “How about this new points system?” Edwards said. “I love it. You finish second, and you’re in first. I’m sure Mark Martin could appreciate it as well.

    I really got a strong push from Gilliland. I must say, it’s not the first time I’ve been backed up by Taco Bell. And it’s quite unfortunate that my Roush Fenway teammate David Ragan was black-flagged for passing before the start-finish line on the penultimate restart. I know UPS prides itself on promptness, but this time, they were a bit too early. David learned the hard way that ‘once you get ‘black,’ you can’t go back,’ to the front.”

    4. Kyle Busch: Busch finished 8th at Daytona, remaining in the hunt until the end after surviving several incidents, early and late in the race, before closing strong. The No. 18 M&M’s Toyota was spun by Michael Waltrip on lap 5, and a lap 198 melee clipped Busch and caused a tire rub that forced a late pit stop. He led 3 laps on the day and led the way in an otherwise disappointing day for Joe Gibbs Racing.

    “It’s unfortunate to be wrecked by another driver,” Busch said. “It’s even more unfortunate to be wrecked by another Toyota driver. Sure, these cars are Japanese, but I didn’t order ‘take out.’

    Then, Waltrip triggered another crash, the Big One, on lap 29, by doing the same thing to David Reutimann, another Toyota driver, and Waltrip’s teammate. I think it’s official: when Waltrip trails you, it’s like being followed by the ‘Grim Reaper.’ When it happens again, it’s akin to being stalked by the ‘Grim Reappear.’”

    5. Tony Stewart: Stewart started second on the final restart at Daytona, but the line led by race leader Trevor Bayne got the jump on the restart. Stewart attempted to slide in to the fast lane, but was shuffled back in the scramble, and ended up a disappointing 13th.

    “Trevor Bayne ran a great race,” Stewart said. “It’s a life-changing experience that I hope he’s ready for. He’ll soon be deluged with an onslaught of ‘yes men,’ and, if he’s lucky, even more ‘yes women.’

    As you know, I won the Nationwide race on Saturday, while Michael Waltrip won the Camping World trucks race on Friday night. That means all three Daytona winners are not even eligible for the respective series championships. Brian France was right; the new scoring system is much simpler. There’s a common leader among all three series, because, whether Camping World, Nationwide, or Sprint Cup series, ‘confusion’ reigns.”

    6. Juan Montoya: Montoya led 5 laps and finished sixth in an action-filled Daytona 500 after surviving two skirmishes that slightly damaged the No. 42 Target Dodge. Montoya teamed up early with teammate Jamie McMurray, but when McMurray lost a cylinder, Montoya was forced to look elsewhere for a draft partner.

    “I thought Jamie did well considering he was driving on 7 cylinders,” said Montoya. “He should be used to it. With the exception of Daytona, Indianapolis, and Charlotte, he drove that way in all of 2010.”

    7. Jimmie Johnson: Johnson’s defense of his five consecutive Sprint Cup titles started auspiciously with a 27th-place finish, 19 laps off the pace. Johnson’s No. 48 Lowe’s Chevy was sucked into a lap 29 pileup started when Michael Waltrip sent David Reutimann spinning. Johnson nearly escaped danger, but was collected by the spinning No. 00 car.

    “First,” Johnson said, “the good news for all of the anti-Jimmie Johnson factions: I didn’t win the Daytona 500. Now, the bad news: I didn’t win the Daytona 500, in 4 of the last 5 years. And, as everyone is well aware, I’ve got enough Cups to outfit the starting five to any basketball team.

    Daytona boasted a record 74 lead changes. Just don’t expect one at the end of the year.”

    8. Bobby Labonte: Labonte, the 46-year-old 2000 Winston Cup champion, pushed 20-year-old Trevor Bayne to a lead on the final restart the No. 21 Wood Brothers car would never relinquish. Labonte eventually finished fourth, his first top-5 finish since Las Vegas in 2009, and places him third in the Sprint Cup point standings.

    “Just call me ‘The Cougar,’” Labonte said. “Because I pushed someone much younger than me into something for which he probably wasn’t quite ready. Does that make me a ‘statutory racer?’ Not in Florida.

    Anyway, I’m proud to give JTG Daugherty Racing such a great finish. They have a great program with great leadership, as well as great ownership. I love working for Brad Daugherty. Among former NBA player/black hillbilly car owners, he’s by far my favorite.”

    9. Dale Earnhardt, Jr.: With several notable favorites, including Hendrick teammates Jeff Gordon and Jimmie Johnson, as well as the entirety of Richard Childress Racing, nursing battered cars, the stars were aligning for what would have been a historic and sentimental Earnhardt victory. But after surviving one green-white-checkered restart, the No. 88 Amp Energy car was collected in the second, and Earnhardt finished 24th, six laps down.

    “That’s when ‘Junior Nation’ becomes ‘Junior Damn! Nation,’” Earnhardt said. “And that’s the nature of superspeedway racing. Some drivers take the attitude of ‘going for broke’ a bit too literally.”

    10. Clint Bowyer: Bowyer led 31 laps at Daytona, second only to Ryan Newman’s 37, and was charging with 4 laps to go before being victimized in the final pileup of the day. Bowyer, despite extensive damage, stayed on the lead lap and finished 17th.

    “It was an up-and-down day for Richard Childress Racing,” Bowyer said. “While Paul Menard scored a top-10 finish, Kevin Harvick and Jeff Burton suffered engine failures. In his first Cup race with the ‘King Of Beers’ on the hood, Harvick’s No. 29 car said ‘This Bud Is Through.’ Burton’s Caterpillar Chevy wasn’t much better, and became ‘heavy equipment’ only for a tow truck when the No. 31’s engine expired on lap 92.”

  • Daytona 500 Square-Dance: Strategy Comes To The Forefront Of 500

    Daytona 500 Square-Dance: Strategy Comes To The Forefront Of 500

    This year’s Daytona 500 brought forth a whole new type of racing that fans have been trying to figure out whether if it is good or bad.

    On track, arguments have persuaded if fans like the way it looks and if they agree with the type of presence it has taken.

    Though beyond what is seen on track is the type of strategy that is needed to be employed for this form of racing to work, and that my friends is why this form of racing is interesting.

    [media-credit name=”David Yeazell” align=”alignright” width=”225″][/media-credit]If you listened to radios, you would have heard some interesting conversations between drivers, you’d be intrigued to the type of conversations that they were having.

    For example, when the caution came out early in the Daytona 500, Marcos Ambrose and David Ragan spoke of how they were going to get lined up on the restart.

    Ambrose: I’m with you, David.
    Ragan: 10-4, we’ll just stay up high here for a little while.

    Some of the conversations at time got kind of awkward as when Jeff Gordon worked with Kasey Kahne, he said, “We had a good first date.” Gordon’s spotter, Jeff Dickerson, added to the fray when Gordon got lined up with Bayne, saying, “True love never dies.” in reference to how they worked together during the Duel. One of the most awkward was during the Nationwide race with Kyle Busch and Joey Logano.

    Busch: Hey, hey, look whose back.
    Logano: I like you.
    Busch: I love you…..I’ll give you the outside to make the switch.

    Due to the amount of different driver conversations and trying to achieve the best conversation, drivers even had huge switch pads to where they could switch to their teammate’s channel, but also other driver’s channels. This act of drivers having to work together had some frustrated, including Dale Earnhardt Jr.

    “If I just had to worry about my own (stuff), I’d be leading or top three,” Earnhardt Jr. said on the radio at one point. “But you gotta have someone w/you all the f@#$ng time.”

    The frustration with the style of racing for Earnhardt Jr. also led to some more comments later on in the race.

    “I think everybody’s brains fried,” Earnhardt said. “They can’t hardly pay attention. This style of racing man, it’s tough on your head. Let’s sit back and kill some laps. I don’t want to be pushed in the s&#$. Just seems like guys should be more cool. If we can’t beat the leader, I don’t want to race three-wide for f@#$ing fourth. You’d think guys would be more cool. The race is at the end, man. They’re going to knock some more s@#$ out of the race. They’re going to hit the wall a little more.”

    This frustration brought forth drivers trying to work out how they would work together, hence the conversation that took place between Kahne and crew chief Kenny Francis after Earnhardt’s comments.

    Kahne: So he (Earnhardt Jr.) just doesn’t want to be part of three-wide?
    Francis: Yeah, I think he’s just trying to be conservative there.

    In all, drivers were finding the need to find someone who was okay with their style of racing and didn’t mind being that partner. Earnhardt Jr. found that when he paired up with Tony Stewart.

    Earnhardt Jr.: I just wanna to stay outta the s@#$.
    Stewart: You read my mind, man.

    Even drivers that had been wrecked and we’re just trying to make laps found issues with finding that partner. Jeff Gordon was trying to ride around to log laps and gain positions when his partner Brian Vickers was not doing as he’d requested. Gordon came on the radio and said, “I’m tired of messing with the #83 if he keeps trying to push us too close to the pack I’m going to brake check him.”

    Sometimes, there’d be multiple drivers who had requests set forth to work with one another. Carl Edwards requested to dance with Kyle Busch; however Busch politely declined as Bayne had shown up first

    When communication was going well, it seemed to bring forth a certain chemistry that you normally don’t see. However, a failure communicate was not a good situation to have. One failure brought forth one of the wrecks during the day as David Reuitmann didn’t give Michael Waltrip a good enough warning before they approached a pack of cars.

    “Michael was pushing me and I don’t think I anticipated the guys in front of me and I don’t think I warned him quick enough,” Reuitmann said.

    The good thing about the quick communication is it allowed drivers to be able to quickly apologize to each other for accidents. After Juan Pablo Montoya spun, McMurray got on the radio to apologize.

    Montoya: I just kept getting loose.
    McMurray: Didn’t mean to spin you out, Juan. Sorry about that.
    Montoya: Don’t worry. No big deal.

    This communication also involved strategy in how to time the switch perfectly via making sure not to get your own motor hot, which brought forth communication through drivers and through the spotters. An example would be Montoya and McMurray trying to hook up correctly.

    Montoya: Dude, I tried so hard to back off
    McMurray: They kept getting on my outside and I just tried to get up to your bumper and they were there, Juan. It’s just so hard to get it.

    Kyle Busch and Denny Hamlin also talked together about when to make the switch as when Hamlin pushing wasn’t working, Busch suggested, “Try to go by me. My (motor) is pretty cool. I’ll push you.”

    In the Nationwide race, Busch worked with Logano and also played giving him suggestions on how to make the switch better, saying, “Hey Joe, when we switch, drag the break a little more so slow the slowdown. When we get out there, I just hit a wall of air.”

    Then it involved the strategy of making sure to pit together, as shown through Steve LeTarte, Earnhardt Jr.’s crew chief, passing on a message to Stewart.

    LeTarte: Hey Smoke, its Stevie. We’re going to get gas only if you can tell Darian.
    Stewart: All right, I’ll switch over.

    Beyond the drivers and crews, if you would have heard the spotters, at times they sounded like air traffic controllers with how they were working to make sure people didn’t wreck. This was needed as the driver who was pushing wasn’t able to see what was going on in front of the car he was pushing.

    “I’m driving blind,” Earnhardt Jr. told his spotter TJ Majors at one point. “I might as well not have any f@#$ing sight behind him. I know it’s hard to believe, but it’s true.”

    If you were up on the spotter’s stand with them, you would’ve seen how they were working to get partners to work with on track. It would’ve looked like a dance with how they were swinging between partners to pair up. As Brett Griffin, spotter for Jeff Burton said, “It’s like a square dace on the roof. Yellow comes out we scramble to find a new partner!”

    Even Majors made jokes with Earnhardt Jr. when he was trying to make a partnership between Earnhardt and Waltrip during the Nationwide race.

    Majors: I see Ty (Norris, spotter for Michael) up here. Got anything I can bribe him with?
    Earnhardt Jr.: I think I got a picture of him in drag somewhere.

    The strategy was so complex in how to run it that at lap 60, Steve LeTarte said over the radio, “We have not even run a 150-mile qualifying race yet. My head hurts.”

    In all, the race brought forth a new meaning to one of Darrell Waltrip’s favorite words – co-opetition. Now what is that? As Waltrip defines it, it is working with your competition for the benefit of yourself.

    Trevor Bayne did that best as he worked with Jeff Gordon on Thursday to learn the ways of drafting and many other different drivers on Sunday to stay up front and be there to win.