Tag: Jr.

Tony Stewart Edges Clint Bowyer for One, Two KHI Nationwide Punch at Daytona

[media-credit id=22 align=”alignright” width=”246″][/media-credit]In the third closest finish in Nationwide racing history at Daytona, Tony Stewart edged out Kevin Harvick Inc. teammate Clint Bowyer by .007 seconds to win the DRIVE4COPD 300.

This is Stewart’s 10th NASCAR Nationwide victory in 91 races and his sixth victory at Daytona International Speedway.

“Wow is the first thing,” Stewart said simply when asked about his win. “We got to the front pretty early and once we got to Clint (Bowyer), we knew we would be a pretty potent combination.”

“We knew it was going to be between the KHI cars and the Gibbs cars,” Stewart continued. “We were sacrificing the speed to get air in the grille. You didn’t really know which strategy was best”

“We had the caution and the flat tire,” Stewart said. “I didn’t realize we had as many cars a lap down, but that is what saved us.”

Clint Bowyer, behind the wheel of the No. 33 Rheem Heating Cooling Chevrolet, came up just short of accomplishing the victory. Bowyer, who posted his 10th top-10 finish at Daytona, started the race from the pole.

“A lot of work goes into these race cars for this place,” Bowyer said. “Hats off to these guys for sitting on the pole and I had a car capable of being up front and winning the race.”

“The race was a little bit slow,” Bowyer said. “But then I found my dancing partner and we were able to make some ground and have some fun with the No. 18 and the No. 20.”

Bowyer said that he was glad to see Dale Earnhardt, Jr. at the front in his Chevrolet and the two were able to work their way toward the front. Earnhardt, Jr. finished in the fourth position.

“What do you do?” Bowyer said, reliving the end of the race. “I tried to block and then all hell broke loose. Awesome ending and that’s the thing that’s so much fun about this place. No matter what the race is, the ending is always great.”

Bowyer also worked with JR Motorsports driver Danica Patrick during the race, at one point pushing her to the front. Patrick finished the race in her No. 7 GoDaddy.com Chevrolet in the 14th position.

“Why not put her in the show?” Bowyer said of his push. “She did a good job today.”

One of the best finishes was for young driver Landon Cassill, piloting the No. 1 Phoenix Construction Chevy. Cassill managed to finish in the third position right behind both of the KHI teammates.

“It was just a crazy day,” Cassill said. “We didn’t draft at all in practice today, so it was a learn on the fly deal.”

“Towards the end there Tony got lined up behind me on the restart and pushed me through,” Cassill continued. “I just followed directions and when we had to swap with two to go, I was just glad to push him.”

“James Finch gave me this race as a gift pretty much for running his Cup car last year,” Cassill said. “I wouldn’t be here without James Finch. He got me back in the sport.”

NASCAR confirmed that Cassill is now the official points leader, by just two points over Reed Sorenson,in the Nationwide Series. Ironically, the driver shared that he does not even have a ride lined up for the next race of the season.

“I don’t have a ride next week, so I’m just going to bask in this for the next seven days,” Cassill said of his points lead. “But if I don’t get a ride, Reed (Sorenson) will be back in the lead.”

The potential points leader, Reed Sorenson, driver of the No. 32 Dollar General Chevy, scored a top five finish. Sorenson thought this was “pretty good”, especially since he was racing against so many Cup drivers.

“The 4 and the 1 came down and we had to check up,” Sorenson said of the last lap of his race. “That pretty much ended our run. We were coming and we were going to have a shot to at least finish second or third or fourth there.”

“This is my first time racing and it’s pretty much what I expected,” Sorenson said of the new racing style. “I guess we’re going to have to get used to it.”

Jason Leffler, Kyle Busch, Ricky Stenhouse, Jr., Michael Waltrip, and Trevor Bayne rounded out the top ten for the DRIVE4COPD 300.

Unofficial Race Results

DRIVE4COPD 300, Daytona Int’l Speedway

February 19, 2011 – Race 1 of 34

Pos.	St.	No.	Driver	Make	Pts.	Bon.	Laps	Status
1	–	4	Tony Stewart	Chevrolet	0	0	120	Running
2	–	33	Clint Bowyer	Chevrolet	0	0	120	Running
3	–	1	Landon Cassill	Chevrolet	41	0	120	Running
4	–	5	Dale Earnhardt Jr.	Chevrolet	0	0	120	Running
5	–	32	Reed Sorenson	Chevrolet	39	0	120	Running
6	–	30	Jason Leffler	Chevrolet	38	0	120	Running
7	–	18	Kyle Busch	Toyota	0	0	120	Running
8	–	6	Ricky Stenhouse Jr.	Ford	36	0	120	Running
9	–	99	Michael Waltrip	Toyota	0	0	120	Running
10	–	16	Trevor Bayne	Ford	35	1	120	Running
11	–	38	Kasey Kahne	Chevrolet	0	0	120	Running
12	–	20	Joey Logano	Toyota	0	0	120	Running
13	–	19	Mike Bliss	Chevrolet	31	0	120	Running
14	–	7	Danica Patrick	Chevrolet	31	1	120	Running
15	–	87	Joe Nemechek	Toyota	29	0	120	Running
16	–	51	Jeremy Clements	Chevrolet	28	0	120	Running
17	–	52	Bobby Santos	Chevrolet	27	0	120	Running
18	–	15	Todd Bodine	Toyota	0	0	120	Running
19	–	88	Aric Almirola	Chevrolet	25	0	120	Running
20	–	66	Steve Wallace	Toyota	24	0	118	Running
21	–	5	David Starr	Chevrolet	0	0	118	Running
22	–	70	Shelby Howard	Chevrolet	22	0	118	Running
23	–	81	Donnie Neuenberger	Dodge	21	0	118	Running
24	–	141	Patrick Sheltra	Ford	20	0	118	Running
25	–	28	Derrike Cope	Chevrolet	19	0	118	Running
26	–	89	Morgan Shepherd	Chevrolet	18	0	117	Running
27	–	31	Justin Allgaier	Chevrolet	17	0	116	Running
28	–	9	Kenny Wallace	Toyota	16	0	115	Running
29	–	60	Carl Edwards	Ford	0	0	107	Running
30	–	22	Brad Keselowski	Dodge	0	0	105	Running
31	–	39	Josh Wise	Ford	13	0	103	Running
32	–	23	Robert Richardson Jr.	Dodge	12	0	103	In Pit
33	–	14	Eric McClure	Chevrolet	11	0	95	Running
34	–	11	Brian Scott	Toyota	10	0	70	In Pit
35	–	40	Scott Wimmer	Chevrolet	9	0	57	Out
36	–	12	Sam Hornish Jr.	Dodge	8	0	53	In Pit
37	–	1	Mike Wallace	Chevrolet	8	1	51	Running
38	–	2	Elliott Sadler	Chevrolet	6	0	45	Running
39	–	62	Michael Annett	Toyota	5	0	26	In Pit
40	–	44	Jeff Green	Chevrolet	4	0	18	In Pit
41	–	24	Kevin Lepage	Ford	3	0	12	In Pit
42	–	27	J.R. Fitzpatrick	Ford	2	0	10	In Pit
43	–	25	Kelly Bires	Ford	1	0	5	In Pit

February 19, 2011

Nationwide Insurance Adds Danica Patrick to You and Me Both Junior Team

Move over ‘You and Me Both Junior’ as there is a new girl on the team. Nationwide Insurance announced today that Danica Patrick, driver of the No. 7 GoDaddy.com Chevrolet Impala for JR Motorsports, will join her boss and the Earnhardt family as part of the Nationwide promotion team.

[media-credit id=11 align=”alignright” width=”257″][/media-credit]Patrick, who is also a Nationwide customer as are Dale Jr. and his sister Kelley Earnhardt, met with the media at Daytona International Speedway to announce the new partnership.

“We are thrilled to be here to talk today about our relationship with JR Motorsports,” Jennifer Hanley, Senior Vice President of Marketing for Nationwide, said. “We have been in a relationship from a motor sports perspective for four years.”

“One of the nice things that happened when we came together is that we learned that the Earnhardt family has been long-time customers of Nationwide,” Hanley continued. “In fact, the relationship spanned over thirty years. So, it was a great story for us to tell together.”

“With the addition of Danica now to JR Motorsports, it gives us a fresh, new opportunity to talk about new products and services that our company has,” Hanley said. “One of those new products is the vanishing deductible. We were able to bring Danica together with Dale to bring some humor to a spot that features both racers.”

The commercial, shot on location at Charlotte Motor Speedway, shows Jr. and Danica on pit road. Danica encourages Junior to “Go Long” and tells him to “Keep Going” until he vanishes from the picture, all the while explaining the benefits of Nationwide’s new Vanishing Deductible plan.

As Danica rambles on, the commercial turns to Dale Junior driving away from the track, sharing the fact that something else has been vanishing besides his presence on pit road. In fact, Junior shares that Danica’s ride home as just vanished, as he smirks in a self-satisfied way and drives off pit road.

The commercial was previewed in the media center and drew an enormous laugh, particularly after Junior’s wicked grin and ditching of his protege.

“Thank you for laughing because that really was the reaction we wanted,” Patrick said. “It was really fun to shoot.”

“Dale and I had worked together on a music video but it’s been a while,” Patrick said. She and Junior had shot a Jay-Z music video “Show Me What You Got” in Monaco in 2006.

“So, it was nice to do that and nice to do that with my boss as well,” Patrick said. “I really like the commercial and I felt like I was getting it as we were doing it. I think that in any successful campaign the product is good too.”

“I’m honored to be with Nationwide now,” Patrick continued. “But being with Dale is icing on the cake.”

For his part, Junior also enjoyed his time shooting the commercial with Danica.

“I expect the ‘Go Long’ TV spot will be one of the most popular,” Junior said. “This was my first commercial with Danica Patrick so everyone will have to determine who played their role the best.”

While both of the ‘stars’ were praising each other, they both acknowledged that shooting the commercial was quite a bit of work. They still worked through it in record time, completing their task in about four hours.

“Well, we did many shots,” Patrick said. “Dale did his share of running. He got himself a work out.”

Patrick also joked that the filming had to be completed expeditiously on her account.

“It’s really about my hair,” Patrick said. “It’s about the hair blowing in my face, so it was about getting it out of my mouth.”

As does her boss, Patrick too has absolute faith that the commercial will be a hit, especially as she watched the reaction of all in the media center. Nationwide is also sure that the commercial will benefit their product.

“In pre-market testing, the 2011 ad featuring Dale Earnhardt, Jr. and Danica Patrick has shown double digit increase over the 2010 ads.” Hanley said. “We think NASCAR fans will enjoy the banter between the two superstars.”

Kelley Earnhardt also echoed the commitment of JR Motorsports, as well as the Earnhardt family, to Nationwide Insurance.

“Pretty much what it means to our family is an authentic long-standing relationship,” Earnhardt said. “To have this partnership has been a win win for JR Motorsports and Nationwide. We’ve done a lot of fun things together and it’s been fun to add Danica to that mix.”

Dale Junior added his appreciation to Nationwide Insurance, not just from a business perspective as sponsor of the Nationwide Series, but also on a personal level.

“One of the best things that I can do is align myself with companies and brands that I actively use,” Junior said. “This is a partnership that is as genuine as they come.”

“Nationwide was recognized by NASCAR this past year for their marketing achievements and TV campaigns,” Junior continued. “It’s an honor to be a part of it.”

The new Nationwide commercial will debut nationally on ESPN during the Daytona Nationwide race. It will also be run for audiences outside of motor sports, which is intended to reach an even broader audience.

February 18, 2011
Miss Coors Light Is Living Her NASCAR Dream

Kicking off her first official year as ambassador not only for Coors Light, the official beer of NASCAR, but for the sport itself, Rachel Rupert could not be more excited to be in Daytona for the first race of the season.

“I started out last year and had the ten races of the Chase,” Rupert said. “So, that was really exciting and kind of got my foot in the door to see what my job was going to be about.”

[media-credit name=”David Yeazell” align=”alignright” width=”113″][/media-credit]One of the primary functions of her role is to celebrate with the top qualifier for the Cup race, as Coors Light is the official sponsor of the pole award.

“Each week, the driver of the pole position receives the award,” Rupert said. “And every Thursday evening, we have appearances at different bars around the track in celebration of the pole award.”

Miss Coors Light is not just busy on pole night, but is also on the move morning, noon and night throughout the race weekend, including appearances at the track and in the local area.

“I love doing the appearances,” Rupert said. “It’s so much fun.” The only down side that she has currently identified is that often she is mistaken for a driver in her fire suit uniform.

At the track, Miss Coors Light’s major duty is mixing it up with the fans. She poses for countless pictures with the fans, as well as encouraging fans to follow her on her Facebook page, www.facebook.com/misscoorslight.

Rupert got her gig as the spokesperson for Miss Coors Light after an intense audition, that not only tested her interaction with people but also her knowledge of the sport. Lest anyone think Rupert is just a pretty face, she is in fact an absolute, die hard race fan. In fact, her father started taking her to races at the ripe old age of seven years and she has loved the sport ever since.

“My dad loves this sport,” Rupert said. “When I was a little girl, we would watch the race every Sunday and he made me pay attention.”

“I knew I wanted to be involved in this sport,” Miss Coors Light said. “So I started doing promotional work with an agency and that’s when they asked me to try out for this position.”

Rupert now invites her father to go to the track with her, which is he does, particularly at the tracks close to home. Her role has also given her father access to special NASCAR experiences, which he would not have had otherwise.

“Being Miss Coors Light and having my job, it has opened a lot of doors,” Rupert said. “So, I’m getting him experiences that he would have never dreamed of. He is loving it.”

This weekend is especially important to Rupert and her family as her father was a huge Dale Earnhardt, Sr. fan. While she would often devil him by claiming Jeff Gordon as her driver, Rupert said that both Dale Earnhardt, Sr. and Jr. have special places in her heart.

“That kind of breaks my heart,” Rupert said of the tenth anniversary this weekend of the loss of Earnhardt. “It’s very touchy. Ten years, that’s tough.”

“But Dale Jr. won the Coors Light Pole award so that was very emotional.”

[media-credit name=”David Yeazell” align=”alignleft” width=”148″][/media-credit]While Rupert considers herself blessed to have met so many of the drivers, including some of her favorites, it is the fans that really keep her going.

“I just love the fans,” Miss Coors Light said. “Their passion is like no other sport.”

Unfortunately, sometimes the fans may just get a little too passionate. One of the most common occupational hazards for her are marriage proposals, in addition to the occasional product being spilled on her at events.

“I get marriage proposals like you wouldn’t believe,” Rupert said. “I’ve also been asked if I was the pot hole girl, from the GEICO commercial.”

Miss Coors Light is also not the only Miss in the garage area, including several Miss Sprint Cups, who also serve as ambassadors for the sport.

“We all get along so well,” Rupert said. “We hang out outside of the track and since we are the girls in fire suits, we have to relate to each other.”

While she and the girls get along famously, enjoying their time at the track and with the fans, Rupert is also a self-proclaimed homebody. In fact, she describes the perfect evening as being at home with her poodle Daisy curled up on the couch.

Rupert’s other major hobby, which many may find surprising, is fishing, which she loves to do in the Lake Norman area.

Whether at home or at the track, Miss Coors Light is most appreciative of her current assignment. In fact, she states there is nothing else in the world she could imagine herself doing.

“I’m definitely living my dream this year,” Rupert said.

February 18, 2011
AJ Allmendinger Reflects on the Duels, Daytona 500, and Earnhardt’s Legacy

A J Allmendinger, still battling flu-like symptoms which he has experienced most of the weekend, took a moment outside his motor home to reflect on his Gatorade Duel race, the upcoming Daytona 500, and the tenth anniversary of the death of Dale Earnhardt.

[media-credit name=”Al Bello/Getty Images” align=”alignright” width=”215″][/media-credit]”The day of the duel race was better than I thought,” Allmendinger said. “When I woke up, I didn’t think I was racing because I was so sick.”

Allmendinger credits the “kind ladies of the medical center” with getting him back in shape enough to race. “They gave me some fluids and gave me some IVs,” Allmendinger said. “That got me through the day.”

Getting through the day and not crashing his car was Allmendinger’s major focus during his duel race.

“Overall, I thought it was OK,” Allmendinger said. “First things first, we didn’t wreck the car. You don’t want to wreck your primary in the duels when really all it means is starting position.”

“I felt like we had a chance to win the race,” Allmendinger continued. “Me and Jimmie (Johnson) got hooked up and anytime you get hooked up with a five-time champ, you hopefully make friends. I thought we worked really well together.”

“There is a couple of things that we need to work on a little bit,” Allmendinger said. “Overall I thought it was good and we put ourselves in position to at least have a chance to win it. Seventh isn’t terrible.”

“I feel like the Fords are working really hard on keeping the engines cool,” Allmendinger continued. “Watching the second duel, we learned a few things we need to do. But overall it was good.”

Allmendinger’s duel finish places him 13th in the running of Sunday’s Great American Race, the Daytona 500. The Richard Petty Motorsports ace also acknowledges that with the two car tandem racing, this years’ Daytona 500 will definitely be different from any others.

“I wouldn’t say it’s any better or worse. It is just different,” Allmendinger said. “In one way, it saves you from having to run three or four wide the whole race, which as a driver is a lot better.”

“Now it’s just strategy,” Allmendinger said. “You’ve got to find a friend and if you can find someone you can work with, you can consistently work with, I feel like maybe it’s easier to work with that one guy all race.”

Allmendinger admitted that going into Sunday’s race, he did not know who he might be working with, contrary to several other drivers who already have their plans in place.

“I think there may be some people who have already plotted out who they are going to work with,” Allmendinger said. “But sometimes plans don’t work out.”

Allmendinger said that this definitely was the case in his Gatorade duel race, as he had planned to work with Mark Martin but instead got hooked up with Jimmie Johnson. Martin, however, starts right behind Allmendinger in the Daytona 500, so he is hoping that some partnership will develop.

“Since Mark starts behind me in the 500, maybe there is some way we can hook up like we planned,” Allmendinger said. “The quicker you find somebody that you work with and work well with, the better off you’ll be.”

Allmendinger admitted that not only has he been working on this new two-by-two style of racing in practice, but he has also been focusing on how to make the swap from lead car to pusher, or vice versa.

“Yes, that is something that I worked with in testing and all the practices,” Allmendinger said of the swap. “I felt like that was something that me and Jimmie (Johnson) were really quick at.”

“But at the same point, you saw certain guys that didn’t have to change over,” Allmendinger said. “That comes back to the cooling and having to figure out what we had to do to make our stuff cool even better.”

In addition to the partner racing and the swap, Allmendinger stated that it will be essential for all of the racers on the track for the Daytona 500 to respect the closing rates, as well as respecting each other.

“If they understand the closing rates and how big they are, they give you room and understand this is the way we got to race, than it is OK and we run three-wide pushing each other,” Allmendinger said. “It’s that one guy that tries to make the block and everything goes wrong.”

Along with every driver in the Daytona 500, Allmendinger will indeed be looking for his best dance partner. He also hopes that he will get to work with his new teammate, Marcos Ambrose, in the No. 9 for Richard Petty Motorsports.

“Marcos (Ambrose) brings something new to the race team,” Allmendinger said. “He’s really cool and he is fun to work with. He definitely brings a different style.”

Unfortunately, Allmendinger’s Aussie teammate starts toward the back of the pack in the Daytona 500. Ambrose will take the green flag in the 35th position.

Allmendinger also thinks that the key to the Daytona 500 will be making good decisions, in addition to finding the right partners with whom to dance.

“We just have to go out there and make good decisions,” Allmendinger said. “Last year, we were really fast and I got spun and we had a bad finish because of it. “We just have to be smart.”

“Of course, we want to go out there and win the race,” Allmendinger continued. “But if we come out in the top 15, it’s a good weekend.”

As is everyone at the track this week, Allmendinger also reflected on the tenth anniversary of the death of NASCAR icon Dale Earnhardt.

“I never got to meet Dale but I grew up watching NASCAR and I remember that day,” Allmendinger said. “I was at home watching the race with my parents.”

“When it happened, I knew it was a big deal,” Allmendinger continued. “But at that point I was only racing go karts, so I really didn’t know the significance.”

“There have been a lot of good things that came about because of it,” Allmendinger acknowledged, noting the enhanced safety features in racing. “But there is a huge void in the sport that honestly will probably never be filled.”

“I just wish I had the opportunity to meet him. I think the coolest thing is the fact that he was always known as the Intimidator and that was his persona on the track. But to hear all the stories about the things he did off the race track that were never in the press and that he did out of the kindness of his heart, just shows how cool the guy was.” ”

“There’s not any more words you can say about what the sport is missing,” Allmendinger continued. “There are certain things that have been made better but they sure are overshadowed by how much he is missed being in the sport.”

“Hopefully, just like with any death, you celebrate the good things about the life and the good things that have come out of it,” Allmendinger said. “I just feel bad for Junior that he has to answer all the questions and live up to that. Hopefully, we will put on a good race and have good things to remember.”

February 18, 2011
Jeff Burton Claims Second Duel Victory; Brian Keselowski Makes the Show

The second Gatorade Duel race was all about teamwork and brotherly love. Clint Bowyer pushed his Richard Childress Racing teammate Jeff Burton to the checkered flag and victory, while Brad Keselowski pushed his brother Brian into a place in the Daytona 500.

[media-credit name=”David Yeazell” align=”alignright” width=”225″][/media-credit]”It’s a shame two cars can’t fit in here,” Burton said in Victory Lane. “Clint and I decided that we would find each other early and it worked out well. For us, this is a good start and being in Victory Lane means a great deal.”

“I learned a lot of things,” Bowyer said for his part, acknowledging the pusher role. “I don’t know if there will be another rule change. It was fun out there.”

While Bowyer and Burton were high fiving one another after taking the checkered flag, Brad Keselowski was leaning in to congratulate his brother Brian, newly announced Rookie of the Year candidate, who made the biggest race of his life.

“I owe my brother in a thousand ways,” Brian Keselowski said. “We wouldn’t have made it here without him.”

Keselowski, racing an old Ray Evernham car built in 2006, seemed almost in shock that he had raced his way in to the Daytona 500. “I owe everything to eveybody right now,” Keselowski said.

“I didn’t get to start driving until I was 18 years old,” Keselowski said. “But I had to do it all on my own. If I didn’t put it together, I wouldn’t be racing right now.”

Michael Waltrip, former Daytona 500 winner, also made it in on time, thanks to his third place finish. While he felt “blessed to be here,” Waltrip also admitted that he was really “tired”, particularly mentally after that challenging race.

“You wouldn’t believe how relieving it is to get in no matter how you get in,” Waltrip said.

Thanks to Waltrip’s finish, Travis Kvapil secured his place in the race on his time. This was his first time to really experience the two car tango in race conditions.

“Well it feels great,” Kvapil said about racing his way into the show. “Last year, we missed this race and we have worked really hard over the wintertime. It paid off for us and it’s great for our team.”

The second duel race had a record 22 lead changes and also had a few more cautions than the first race. One of the first drivers to get involved in a wreck was Joey Logano, driver of the No. 20 Home Depot Toyota.

“Sometimes you’re the bug and sometimes you’re the windshield,” Logano said. “Today I was the windshield. Wrong place, wrong time.”

Denny Hamlin also had a less than stellar day. The driver of the No. 11 Toyota for Joe Gibbs Racing had a tire go down and then was involved in a single car spin.

“I have to have a sense of humor I’ve learned this weekend,” Hamlin said. “What’s so crazy is the fact that we were spun out and three laps later we go from deal last to second or something like that.”

“This has been an amazing ride and hopefully our weekend is steadily improving,” Hamlin continued. “We finally did finish. It’s going to be interesting to see what happens from this day forward.”

One of the most heartbreaking wrecks occurred late in the race, when Trevor Bayne, who had been stellar all race long, tussled with Jeff Gordon, causing a multi-car accident. David Ragan was also a significant victim in this wreck as well.

“I really had a blast working with Trevor Bayne,” Gordon said. “He’s a good kid. He’s a heck of a race car driver.”

For his part, Bayne was thrilled to have been working with his boyhood hero, Jeff Gordon.

“Gordon and I worked awesome together and it was just down there at the end,” Bayne said. “I hate it for all these guys because we were doing awesome, but that’s part of it. That’s racing. We’ll get there.”

In addition to the two car tandem of Jeff Burton, winner, and runner up Clint Bowyer, Michael Waltrip, Kyle Busch and Brian Keselowski rounded out the top five finishers. Jamie McMurray, Brad Keselowski, Denny Hamlin, Martin Truex, Jr. and Carl Edwards completed the top ten in the second Gatorade duel.

February 17, 2011
And the First Shall be Last…

It didn’t even take 24 hours for Dale Earnhardt, Jr. to make ESPN start Tony Kornheiser look foolish. Kornheiser had made a statement on his “Pardon the Interruption” TV show on Tuesday that had NASCAR Nation boiling. His comment that a female reporter who had covered NASCAR for years told him that there was a 60% chance that Junior winning the pole was “fixed” had everyone in an uproar. And then Dale Junior met Martin Junior. Or maybe the other way around.

In a practice long delayed by rain, the two juniors came up on some slower traffic and Martin Truex, Jr. nudged Dale Earnhardt, Jr. into the infield and introduced him to the wall. Earnhardt will not start on the front row for one of the Gatorade Duel qualifying races, and most likely, since he had to go to a backup car, not start on the pole for Sunday’s Great American Race.

What stock car novices like Kornheiser fail to understand is that it is nearly impossible to fix the outcome of anything in this sport, be it qualifying or the race itself. Why? Mainly because it’s an individual sport in many ways. Yes, one baseball player can attempt to throw a game by striking out on purpose with the bases loaded in a crucial situation or one football player can not run so hard to make a tackle, but they play on teams. And regardless of how much NASCAR folks talk about teams, it’s still an individual sport. Just watch how these drivers will abandon a teammate on the last lap if they think they have a chance to win.

Many of us old-timers remember the Autoweek article penned by Al Pearce from several years ago. Pearce wrote a story called “The Call,” in which he said that many teams had intimated to him that NASCAR from time to time would “look the other way” for certain teams so that they would have a better chance to win. NASCAR denied it and there was no evidence that anyone ever got “the call.” Same situation here. Earnhardt beat Gordon on Pole Day by such a close margin that it seems impossible there was any hanky panky going on here.

It did seem like it was going to work out, though. Earnhardt has had many of those historic moments in his career, most recently his win in a Nationwide Series at Daytona last July in a car made to look like his father’s Wrangler car of days gone by. It made for good PR, but no one could ever say it was scripted.

So on the 10th anniversary of his father’s death, Dale Junior will have to race his way to the front without help from the sanctioning body. Just like he won the pole without NASCAR’s help. Feeling a little foolish, Tony? I didn’t think so.

February 17, 2011
Hard Cards Available at NASCAR Hall of Fame

Every race fan dreams of having a NASCAR hard card, providing full access to the garage area, the drivers, and all of the behind the scenes action at every NASCAR race. While limited only to those involved full-time at the top levels of the sport, every fan can now get a hard card just by visiting the NASCAR Hall of Fame.

[media-credit id=11 align=”alignright” width=”200″][/media-credit]Indeed, I got my very own hard card personalized upon entry to the HOF, located in Charlotte, North Carolina. And I used it throughout the building, from the opening film about the history of the sport to participating in the myriad of interactive exhibits throughout the Hall.

After hard carding my way into the Belk High Octane Theatre for a truly big screen NASCAR movie adventure, I used my card to wind my way onto Glory Road. Here, poised on a race track with several degrees of banking, were actual race cars, from the Hudson Hornet to Jimmie Johnson’s most recent championship No. 48.

My hard card gave me access to go up onto the track and snap a picture of those race cars coming right at me, as well as access to try out the banking at Daytona, which I admit that I would have tumbled down without the hand rails to which I was holding on for dear life.

With my hard card in tow, I next entered the Hall of Honor, featuring the five inaugural inductees into the Hall of Fame, Junior Johnson, Richard Petty, Bill France, Sr., Bill France, Jr. and Dale Earnhardt. There was almost a hush that fell upon us as we entered that room and paid tribute to these jewels of the sport.

I also did indeed get misty-eyed on seeing that famed black No. 3 car, complete with many mementos from the Intimidator’s days gone by and glory lost just ten years ago.

After leaving the solemnity of the Hall of Honors, I took myself and my card and headed to the interactive exhibit area. This was where the fun began as my hard card was my access to the accumulation of points, fueling the competition with others in everything from hoisting a gas can to removing those pesky lug nuts during a pit stop.

One of the most interactive areas in the Hall was solely designed for children, focusing on educating the next generation of NASCAR fans. The best part of that section was seeing the memorabilia from the childhoods of the likes of Jeff Gordon, Tony Stewart and Jimmie Johnson. They were so cute as little boys, as well as just being a bit geeky too.

Another interactive exhibit in this section allows the hard card holder to actually call a race. Donning the head sets and the microphone, I suddenly discovered how difficult that actually was to do and have renewed respect and regard for the MRN, PRN, ESPN and all of those broadcast professionals who call the races for us each and every weekend.

My favorite interactive exhibit was the race simulators, whereby you can race other fans sitting in actual race cars, driving like you stole it. Yes, I do realize that this is all simulated but after five minutes, I was definitely working up a bit of a sweat trying to keep my car on the track and keep out of the way of all the others who were intent on either passing or wrecking me.

I am pleased to report that, after a rather difficult start where I did indeed pass the pace car, resulting in a trip to pit road to serve my penalty, I got the hang of it and actually stayed out of harm’s way. In fact, I finished first and then promptly ran over the official on my way to Victory Lane, a first or so they tell me at this exhibit.

Waving my hard card, I admit that I immediately hurried on over to get my picture taken with the Sprint Cup. And yes, I did hold up my index finger, striking the No. 1 pose, and yelling woo. Unfortunately, thanks to my hard card, as well as my debit card, I have the pictures to prove it.

My NASCAR Hall of Fame hard card took me inside a race team hauler, inside a race shop of days gone by, and right past the exhibit filled with various race trophies, from the Martinsville Granfather’s clock to Dover’s Miles the Monster.

I was again moved to tears by the room honoring those lost in racing, including most recently NASCAR PR executive Jim Hunter, and moved to laughter by the staff person waving the yellow flag vociferously in the race flag display.

My final hard card stop was to purchase my souvenir pictures from my visit, as well as some shopping in the Hall of Fame gift store. Unfortunately, the big screen television there was showing the NFL play off game but I am sure that will change in just a few short weeks when the cars get back on the track in Daytona.

So, got get your own hard card for a once in a lifetime NASCAR experience. I will be keeping my card in a safe place in my wallet for the next time I make the trek to Charlotte and cannot wait to see what is next at the NASCAR Hall of Fame.

January 24, 2011
Brett Moffitt Plans to Follow MWR Teammate Ryan Truex to East Series Championship

Up and coming NASCAR driver Brett Moffitt will soon take the wheel of the race car formerly driven by Ryan Truex, the two-time K & N Pro Series East champion and little brother of Cup driver Martin Truex, Jr. Michael Waltrip Racing’s newest addition also plans to follow in Truex’s footsteps by winning the East Series championship in 2011.

“We’re really excited,” Moffitt said of his new Michael Waltrip Racing ride. “It’s really a good fit right now for where I’m at in my career and what they are looking to do. I’m really excited to try to run for their third consecutive championship in the East Series.”

[media-credit name=”Brett Moffitt Racing” align=”alignright” width=”300″][/media-credit]Moffitt credits his “good PR lady Michelle” for talking to Ty Norris at MWR and securing his new ride. As are many drivers, Moffitt continues to search for sponsors for the car, the No. 00 so familiar to Michael Waltrip Racing fans.

Moffitt will be running the full K&N Pro Series East schedule in 2011, from Greenville-Pickens Speedway where he won his first ever pole, to the Monster Mile where he won a race in the 2010 season. This is the third year that Moffitt has raced the East Series, finishing third and then second in points, last year and this year respectively.

“My first year in the Series, I ended up third in points with Andy Santerre Motorsports,” Moffitt said. “This past year with Joe Gibbs Racing, I ended up second in points. So, if I continue that trend, then I should be the champion next year.”

Moffitt will also have the same crew chief, Mike Greci, who took Ryan Truex to his championships. In addition to the two East titles with Truex in 2009 and 2010, Greci has won two other East championships, both with Mike Stefanik in 1997 and 1998.

“I’ll also have the same crew that Truex had on his team,” Moffitt said. “Travis Pastrana will also be running some West races for the team but they really don’t know what he’s going to do yet.”

Pastrana, who will be Moffitt’s teammate in the companion West Series, actually did some testing in Florida this week at New Smyrna Speedway. He intends to make his NASCAR debut at the Toyota All-Star Showdown at Irwindale in January 2011.

In addition to having an action sports star as a teammate, Moffitt also knows that he has big shoes to fill as he follows in Champion Ryan Truex’s footsteps.

“I’m excited. I’m ready to go out there,” Moffitt said. “I’ve had a lot of fast cars these past two years but a lot of bad luck. Hopefully we can turn that luck around and I’m looking forward to the first race just to see how we do.”

The young driver, just 18 years old, also knows that he is very fortunate to even have a ride, given the toll of the economy, especially on the more local tiers of NASCAR racing.

“This is an amazing opportunity,” Moffitt said. “At this point with how hard it is to find sponsors and what not, to be able to know during the off season what you are doing next year is really quite a relief. It’s stressful trying to find out what you’re going to do, but I’m definitely excited to be in the position I am right now.”

With his ride in hand and his plans secure, Moffitt now intends to focus on preparing for the 2011 season.
“I’ll be doing a lot of personal training,” Moffitt said. “We’re going testing right in the middle of January so that will help our team and help me more.”

Moffitt, a native of Grimes, Iowa, will continue to live with his parents next year. But he is anxious to move to North Carolina, “if only his parents would allow” him to make the move.

Moffitt will be celebrating the holidays in what he calls “snow-covered Iowa.” He, like so many others, has recently spent a great deal of time in airports, experiencing the delays that only Mother Nature can share at this time of year.

As he waits, however, he is most definitely counting all of his blessings as he contemplates the 2011 season.

“This is a heck of an opportunity,” Moffitt said. “I’m honored they chose me to contend for another championship. I plan to show them they made the right decision.”

“We have a lot of faith in Brett,” car owner Michael Waltrip said. “We saw what he did the last two years on the track and we are confident he will do well with us. I think MWR fans and NASCAR fans are really going to like him.”

December 14, 2010