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Tag: Richard Petty

The Near Infallible & Unstoppable Force That Is Jimmie Johnson & Team 48

In racing, there are three kinds of champions. The first one is obvious; it’s the driver who hoists the Cup at season’s end after they out-perform their adversaries on the track. Then there are the ones that were born champions but hold no such trophies. The ones of impeccable character who only speak when they have something say. They are humble, tenacious, self-motivated and are incapable of comprehending the words, “it can’t be done.” Then we have the racers that are both. Jimmie Johnson is among that elite contingent.

Jimmie Johnson is now a six-time NASCAR Sprint Cup Series champion which is a feat accomplished only by Richard Petty and Dale Earnhardt until now. That team has gone into the final race of the season with a mathematical shot at winning the championship nearly every season since 2004 with the exception of 2011. Over the years, he’s battled and defeated great drivers such as Jeff Gordon, Matt Kenseth, Carl Edwards, Denny Hamlin, Kevin Harvick, and Mark Martin in his pursuit of six championships.

Why Is The No.48 Team So Good?

When you take one of the most talented drivers out there, put him in the best equipment there is and combine that with a genius like Chad Knaus, magical things are going to happen. This is the era of the No.48 and in my eyes; it’s the greatest race team to ever exist in the history of NASCAR. Rick Hendrick doesn’t need to give pep talks to his guys as motivation. Hendrick Motorsports employees know what is expected of them and they always deliver.

Jimmie has the car control, the mental fortitude, the natural talent to wheel the fastest cars in the field to the max of their capabilities and most crucially, he thrives when the pressure is applied. Chad Knaus is an innovator that takes the fastest and most durable cars in the field and somehow, makes them go even faster. You can put their backs against a wall, throw as much adversity as you want their way and they will still find a way to emerge victorious. That is why this group is always at or near the top every single year. They are the complete package. There is no Achilles Heel.

What Does Title No.6 Mean?

When this team won a 5th straight, that was a remarkable accomplishment but there is something about winning a 6th that takes them to whole new level. Jimmie is plus two titles over any other driver in history besides Petty and Earnhardt who hold a coveted 7th. Less than a decade ago, he didn’t even have a single championship to his credit and to think that Jimmie Johnson is just one more stellar year away from matching those two immortals of stock car racing is nearly incomprehensible to me. The No.48 team can certainly be beat, they are human believe it or not but take away the rear gear failure at Homestead in 2012, the wreck they had there in 2005 and we may be looking at an eight-time champion right now.

Impact On NASCAR

For NASCAR, Jimmie Johnson winning yet another championship is a double-edged sword. It’s great because Jimmie is a perfect representative for the sport. He is a family man, a class act, articulate, engages with the fans on social media and never ruffles any feathers. Now here’s why it’s a double-edged sword. Johnson’s dominance has led a lot of fans to greatly dislike him. (That’s the nice way of putting it) In fact, I read countless tweets from people saying that they were not going to watch the season finale just because he was most likely going to win the title.

Some of his detractors have quit watching the sport altogether and then there are others who come up with eccentric theories in an attempt to deny the incontrovertible fact that he is one of best drivers of all-time. Last year, NASCAR’s champion was the highly outspoken and sometimes brash, Brad Keselowski. It’s obvious that someone stirring the pot all the time and giving interviews to SportsCenter while drunk is going to get more eyeballs turned our way compared to a driver such as 6-time (gotta get used to saying that sooner than later) who is never embroiled in any controversies.

What The Future Holds

Chad Knaus issued an ominous warning Sunday night when he said that the No.48 team isn’t even close to their full potential yet. Cue the audible gulp from the racing community. When will this dynasty finally come to an end? At seven? Maybe eight? Heck, could they even reach 10? I see no team, no driver that is capable of taking this team down for good. The thing that will permanently end the reign of Jimmie Johnson will most likely be something you can’t fight back against and that’s time. He’s 37 years old and considering how fit Jimmie is, he could have well over ten more years left in him although I don’t see 42 year old Chad Knaus sticking around that long. Keep in mind that he’s won six titles and sixty-six races in eight years when thinking about how many he’s got left behind the wheel.

One day, Jimmie Johnson will be inducted into the NASCAR HOF and people will watch old videos of him in absolute awe of what he accomplished. He will be labeled a legend and revered by all. Fans will want to be edified about his career and wish they could have been there in person to witness it. He will be idolized, immortalized and no longer criticized. That day is not here yet though.

We are witnessing history right now with Jimmie Johnson. You don’t have to like it but you better respect it.

November 18, 2013
NASCAR Champions Featuring Lee Petty

Cup Champion 1954, 1958, 1959
March 14, 1914 – April 5, 2000
Hometown: Randleman, N.C.
Career: 1949-1964

Petty is one of the most recognized names in the history of NASCAR. But Lee Petty didn’t begin competing in NASCAR for fame or fortune. It was a means to an end. On a good day it was a way to put food on the table and pay the bills. His career bore little resemblance to the pampered lifestyle of today’s stock car racing elite.

“We had to win,” he once said. “We was lucky to have enough food and enough gas to get to the racetrack. That’s the truth. We even carried our sandwiches. We even drove the racecar to the racetrack. We didn’t have no luxury at all.”

The desire to succeed and provide for his family made Petty a tough competitor on the track. His won 54 Grand National Series (now Sprint Cup Series) races, more than any other driver, until his son, Richard, passed him. He ranks ninth today on the all-time wins list. Petty went on to become the first driver to capture 3 championships (1954, 1958 and 1959) in the series.

His career was further distinguished by winning the first Daytona 500, although it took three days for NASCAR to officially announce Lee Petty as the winner. Petty and Johnny Beauchamp battled for the lead on the final lap and when they both crossed the finish line, it was too close to call. Photos and newsreel footage taken at the event were used to finally confirm Petty’s victory in one of the closest finishes in Daytona 500 history.

One could argue that Petty’s most significant contribution to NASCAR was the legacy he passed on as patriarch to one of NASCAR’s most influential dynasties. After his driving career was over, the company he formed, Petty Enterprises, continued for many years as an integral part of the sport. Petty was father to Richard “The King” Petty, grandfather to Kyle Petty, and great-grandfather to Adam Petty.

He passed away on April 5, 2000 at the age of 86. On May 23, 2011, Lee Petty was inducted into the NASCAR Hall of Fame.

Accomplishments/Awards:

1954 Cup Champion
1958 Cup Champion
1959 Cup Champion
1959 Winner of the first Daytona 500
1966 Inducted into the North Carolina Sports Hall of Fame
1990 Inducted into the International Motorsports Hall of Fame
1996 Inducted into the Motorsports Hall of Fame of America
1998 Selected as one of NASCAR’s 50 Greatest Drivers
2011 Inducted into the NASCAR Hall of Fame

November 13, 2013
Surprising and Not Surprising: Goody’s Headache Relief Shot 500

With NASCAR legend and Hall of Famer Junior Johnson giving the command to get the action started and a grandfather clock trophy on the line, here is what was surprising and not surprising in the 65th annual Goody’s Headache Relief Shot 500 Powered by Kroger at Martinsville Speedway.

Surprising: Jeff Gordon had some pretty surprising thoughts in the waning laps of the race as he battled with Matt Kenseth for the race lead at Martinsville and then motored on to Victory Lane.

“I was thinking, what would Jimmie Johnson do?” the driver of the No. 24 Drive to End Hunger Chevrolet said. “Or better yet, maybe what would Richard Petty do?”

“I was just hoping that no cautions were going to come out and they didn’t,” Gordon continued. “That clock, there’s nothing better than getting a clock at Martinsville.”

This was Gordon’s first win of the season and his 88^th victory in his career, tying him with Jimmie Johnson and trailing only Richard Petty and Darrell Waltrip on the all-time wins list at Martinsville.

And with the win, Gordon climbed two spots in the all-important point standings to third, now 27 points behind the leaders.

Not Surprising: While the inside lane was definitely the preferred one at Martinsville, the outside lane seemed especially cursed during this seventh race of the Chase at the short track.

“It’s just the nature of the beast here,” Clint Bowyer, driver of the No. 15 5-Hour Energy Toyota said. “That’s how important it is to get to the inside on these restarts.”

“You’d better get your business done quick,” Bowyer continued. “If you don’t, within two corners you’re in trouble because they’re stacked up on the bottom.”

Bowyer survived the curse of the outside lane to finish third, his tenth top-10 finish in 16 races at Martinsville Speedway.

Surprising: While Matt Kenseth was surprisingly confident at a track where he has no wins, only three top fives and a 15^th best driver rating of 80.5, his confidence did indeed bear fruit, with a runner up finish in his No. 20 Dollar General Toyota and a bump back up in the Chase standings.

“I felt like today was an opportunity to get the points lead back,” Kenseth said. “I know Jimmie (Johnson) is always the man here, and he’s still the man here along with Jeff (Gordon) and Denny (Hamlin) for sure.”

“I haven’t had that many good runs here, but we ran good in the spring, we were terrific at Loudon which has always been my worst track and this has probably been my second-worst track, and Jason (Ratcliff, crew chief) and the whole group at JGR gave us such good cars to drive.”

“I couldn’t be much happier, but I am disappointed I got beat there at the end,” Kenseth continued. “I feel like we can go do some racing here in the next three weeks.”

With his good finish, Kenseth actually tied Jimmie Johnson for the point’s lead, however, has the advantage due to his number of overall wins.

Not Surprising: Tempers abound at any short track so it was not surprising that some apologies were due, some were made, and some will remain to be made potentially in the upcoming week as a result of the Martinsville race.

Kevin Harvick, behind the wheel of the No. 29 Rheem Chevrolet, made several apologies, first to Ty Dillon for his harsh words after the Truck race and then to Ryan Newman for hitting him during the Cup race.

“Yeah, first thing I want to do is apologize to Ryan Newman,” Harvick said after finishing sixth. “I tried to shoot in a gap there and just barely clipped the right rear of his car.”

Carl Edwards also acknowledged that he owed a few apologies after a ‘terrible’ day at the race track.

“I caused the first two cautions when the car was real hard to drive on entry,” the driver of the No. 99 Geek Squad Ford said. “I felt bad about that.”

“The car was real, real loose in and that was the reason I hit Kvapil there like that,” Edwards continued. “I’m going to apologize to him right now.”

There were two drivers, however, who were in no way, shape or form in the apologizing mode, at least after the race ended.

“We made contact, but I couldn’t quite understand why he was down here pulling on my collar like he just did,” Jimmie Johnson, driver of the No. 48 Lowe’s Chevrolet, said after his pit road interview was interrupted by a visibly upset Greg Biffle.

“You knocked my (expletive) back bumper off mother (expletive)”, the driver of the No. 16 3M Ford said to the five time champ after finishing ninth. “You (expletive) ran into the back of me.”

“Dude, if you want to talk about it, let’s talk about it” Johnson said during the exchange.

“We just did,” Biffle countered as he walked away after being separated from Johnson by a NASCAR official.

Surprising: Brad Keselowski finally had a surprisingly good day, with his career best finish, fourth place, at Martinsville Speedway. And with that, the driver of the No. 2 Miller Lite Ford said that he took the checkered flag exactly where he thought he had a car to do so.

“It was a decent day,” Keselowski said. “We weren’t where we wanted to be at the start, but we worked on our car and got it better at the end.”

“The last run was by far the most competitive we were and had probably about a fourth or fifth-place car and that’s where we finished at the end,” Keselowski continued. “It was a solid effort.”

Not Surprising: Chevrolet yet again secured the 2013 NASCAR Sprint Cup manufacturer’s championship and did so even with three more races left in the season.

This was the 37^th manufacturer’s title for Chevrolet and the eleventh year in a row taking the honors. This was also the 16^th win of the season for Team Chevy.

“To wrap it up with a win, with a great, exciting finish battling it out with a Toyota (the No. 20 driven by second-place finisher Matt Kenseth) is awesome,” Jeff Gordon said. “I know how much that means to Chevrolet.”

Surprising: In spite of his record setting qualifying effort, putting his No. 34 Taco Bell Ford in P8 in time trials, engine woes bit David Ragan and he finished dead last with a broken valve spring.

The driver, however, found the bright spot in his surprisingly bad finish with the positive evolution of his team over this past season, from testing to better work coming from the shop.

“We’ve built some new cars in-house and that’s doing the chassis work, the body work and building the components, so we’ve really evolved a lot,” Ragan said. “We’ve done it from within and I think long-term that’s a big positive for the whole Front Row Motorsports team.”

Not Surprising: Denny Hamlin, traditionally strong at Martinsville and pole sitter for the race, not surprisingly scored another top-ten run in his No. 11 FedEx One Rate Toyota, even with some damage incurred from one of the race’s early wrecks.

And with that finish, Hamlin pronounced the team as finally going in the right direction after a very difficult season.

“We ran decent,” Hamlin said. “Even though the car drove as bad as it did, we still were able to be at least somewhat competitive.”

“Seventh isn’t what we like here at Martinsville, but still it’s a step in the right direction,” Hamlin continued. “We’re just trying to get our feet under us.”

“Then that’s going to set us up pretty good for next year.”

Surprising: Sticking with the theme of blown engines, another one bit one of NASCAR’s most promising young drivers Kyle Larson who blew up for the second race in a row. The driver of the No. 51 Target Chevrolet suffered the mechanical issue on lap 165, spinning in his own fluid and bringing out the caution.

“We just can’t seem to catch a break in these two Cup starts that I’ve had,” Larson said. “We blew up in Charlotte and not sure we had a rear end blow up here or what.”

Larson’s day went from bad to worse as he tweeted after the race.

“What a bad last couple of hours. Engine blew up, got a speeding ticket, now my cat just puked and pooped in the car.”

Not Surprising: Kurt Busch admitted right up front that he does not have Martinsville Speedway circled on his calendar. And the track again was a struggle yet again for him as he finished 18^th with a banged up race car.

“We didn’t qualify well (19th), didn’t practice well and obviously didn’t race well,” the driver of the No. 78 Furniture Row/Denver Mattress Chevrolet said. “I don’t know what it is but there’s something about this track that doesn’t suit me.”

“It was a very disappointing performance today,” Busch continued. “Our Furniture Row Chevrolet got banged up early when it took a big hit to the right side.”

“But no excuses, we just didn’t have it.”

The Cup Series next heads to Texas Motor Speedway for the AAA Texas 500, the eighth race in the Chase.

October 28, 2013
NASCAR, we have a problem

It has been said that there has been cheating going on in NASCAR since they first started. Yes, advantages were sought, but usually it was to make the car go faster in order to win, not to throw the race in order to fix an outcome.

Richard Petty, the King himself, got caught winning with an engine that was not just a bit too big but more like super sized. Country singer Marty Robbins turned down rookie of the race honors after racing at Talladega in 1972 as he had modified the restrictor plate just to see what it was like to run like Richard Petty. Some boys have run with nitrous oxide bottles, some with expanded gas tanks, others with modified car frames, and the list goes on and on.

So, what is the big deal? Well, fixing the outcome of a contest gets you tossed for life out of baseball. Shoeless Joe Jackson would have been in the Hall of Fame 60 years ago if not for that 1919 World Series. Fixing the outcome in NASCAR should come with consequences, as well, if you do not want it to go the route of professional wrestling. Goodbye six figured prize money, multi-million dollar sponsorship deals, national television contracts, and goodbye to all those fans who expect to see a real contest presenting an outcome not fixed before or during a race.

If not for Michael Waltrip Racing, Joey Logano would probably have finished 25th instead of 22nd at Richmond. If he had, Logano would have needed to use his wild card eligibility to make it through, beating out both Martin Truex Jr and Ryan Newman, with Jeff Gordon advancing by finishing 10th in the standings. If not for David Gilliland, Logano would have finished 23rd, tied with Gordon in points but still finishing tenth due to having a win, something Gordon does not yet have this season.

From listening to the in-car radio, it appears Logano’s team big wigs made a deal with Gilliland’s outfit to allow Joey to move past and into 22nd spot on the final lap. Just some insurance, as in the end the spot was not crucial to deciding the final pre-Chase standings. Still, the fix was in, even if it turned out to be unnecessary. Of course, it become unnecessary only because of Bowyer’s spin and the fact both his car and that of Brian Vickers made, some contend, very unnecessary pit stops to allow Logano to move up a couple of spots in the first place.

More worrisome, there was already chatter to play “Let’s Make A Deal” between Penske and Front Row before Bowyer even went for his slide. That should be a huge red flag for anybody. It may have turned out to be unnecessary in the end, but that was not the case when they started talking.

Just as you can not fix a baseball game, in this day and age you can not fix a NASCAR race. If you do not believe me, check out the reaction of those MWR sponsors who do not seem very happy about all this. If I have not yet made my point, imagine a major league baseball player going on Twitter to even jokingly discuss fixing a game. That boy’s ass would be grass and the Commissioner would be just jumping at the bit to take his mower to that lawn.

Can we stop cheating in NASCAR? Nope. Can we make damn sure those on whom we have evidence that they did cheat pay the price? Damn right we can. Cheat if you must, bu if you get caught cheating there should be hell to pay. If NASCAR prefers to continue having its big awards banquet at venues like the Wynn Las Vegas Luxury Resort and Casino instead of the Economy Motel in Rockingham, North Carolina, they damn well better make sure that is the case.

September 12, 2013
NASCAR Champions Featuring Tim Flock

Cup Champion 1952 and 1955
May 11, 1924 – March 31, 1998
Hometown: Fort Payne, AL
Career: 1949 – 1961

Julius Timothy “Tim” Flock was born in Fort Payne, Alabama and grew up in one of the most famous racing families of early stock car racing. His two brothers, Bob and Fonty were both NASCAR drivers, as well as his sister Ethel Flock Mobley.

Both brothers tried to discourage Tim from following in their footsteps. It was his sister Ethel and her husband who helped him get his start in racing in 1948.

In 1949, Tim, Bob, Fonty and their sister Ethel became the only four siblings to drive in the same NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race.

Flock won his first championship in 1952 while driving Ted Chester’s Hudson Hornet. In 33 starts, he earned eight wins and had 22 top five finishes.

In 1955, Flock won his second series title driving a Carl Kiekhaefer Chrysler. It was a record breaking season that included 18 wins, 32 top fives and 18 poles in 39 races. Flock’s 18 wins in a single season was a record that would remain unbroken until 1967 when Richard Petty captured 27 wins in one season.

Flock also won NASCAR’s only sports car race, in 1955, driving a Mercedes-Benz 300 SL.

He was one of the most colorful characters of the sport and a fan favorite. Flock competed in eight races with his pet monkey, Jocko Flocko, as a passenger in his racecar.

In May 2013, it was announced that Flock would be inducted into the 2014 class of the NASCAR Hall of Fame. Richard Petty, an inaugural member of the Hall of Fame, cast his vote for Flock and spoke highly of his driving prowess.

“I have never in my life seen a smoother driver than what Tim was,” said Petty. “When I started along, I said look, he’s one of the guys that I want to be as good as, be as smooth as what he is. A lot of times he was in a race and you’d never know he was in it, until they threw the checkered flag and he’d won it.”

Flock died on March 31, 1998 at the age of 73. However, his wife, Frances, and son Carl, were in attendance to hear the news.

“I was very surprised and very shocked,” Frances Flock said. “I’m still just shaking all over.”

Carl Flock was ecstatic, saying, “Coming from the King, saying how smooth Daddy was, that’s a big honor.”

Accomplishments:

1952 – NASCAR Grand National Champion
1955 – NASCAR Grand National Champion
1955 – NASCAR Most Popular Driver Award
1972 – Inducted into the National Motorsports Press Association Hall of Fame
1972 – Inducted into the State of Georgia Hall of Fame
1991 – Inducted into the International Motorsports Hall of Fame
1994 – Inducted into the Charlotte Motor Speedway Court of Legends
1998 – Named one of NASCAR’s 50 Greatest Drivers
1999 – Inducted into the Motorsports Hall of Fame of America
2006 – Inducted into the Alabama Sports Hall of Fame
2010 – 2013 Nominee to the NASCAR Hall of Fame
2014 – Will be inducted into the NASCAR Hall of Fame

September 9, 2013
Ryan Truex Feeling Fortunate and Lucky After Bristol Debut

While Ryan Truex’s Sprint Cup Series debut might not have turned out exactly as he had hoped, the 21 year old development driver for Richard Petty Motorsports and past K&N Series Champion left Bristol feeling ‘fortunate and lucky’ to be where he is at currently in the sport today.

First and foremost, the youngest racing Truex feels lucky to be able to get back in a race car after a dirt bike accident over the Easter holiday left him injured with a broken collar bone.

“I went to the doctor and we hoped it would heal on its own,” Truex said. “We went six weeks and it hadn’t healed so then we had to have surgery.”

“I have a plate and twelve screws in there,” Truex continued. “It’s fine now but it wasn’t fun at the time.”

“I had to go through the surgery plus the physical therapy, which was twelve weeks from the time I had surgery to the time I was cleared to race.”

“And that didn’t include the six weeks of hoping that it would heal on its own,” Truex said. “It’s been a challenge and I’m apparently now banned from dirt bikes.”

Truex also feels fortunate and lucky to have signed with Richard Petty Motorsports as a development driver and to have been able to maintain a relationship with Phoenix Racing that allowed him to make his Cup debut in the No. 51 at Bristol Motor Speedway.

“Before I signed with Richard Petty Motorsports, I was supposed to drive the No. 51 in Richmond and Dover,” Truex said. “And then I went and got hurt and messed those plans up.”

“Phoenix Racing was able to plug me into their schedule later in the year and Bristol was the first opening,” Truex continued. “So, that was the first one we chose being a half mile and I was approved for it by NASCAR to run in the Cup Series.”

After being out recuperating from his injury, the opportunity to be back behind the wheel of a race car, especially in the Cup Series at one of the most noted tracks on the circuit in a race under the lights was not only exciting but a bit overwhelming for the young up and coming driver.

“It was really cool but a little intimidating being in a field with guys like Jeff Gordon and Mark Martin and Jimmie Johnson, all those guys who have proven themselves in the Cup Series,” Truex said. “And that was my first race since the Daytona Truck race so it had been about six months since I had raced anything.”

“The week before, I practiced and qualified Marcos Ambrose’s Nationwide car so I had a little seat time in something but other than that, that was the first weekend back in a race car and the first time in the Gen 6 car at all,” Truex continued. “So, it was a bit of a curve ball for me and it was a steep learning curve.”

Truex did indeed have challenges in his Cup debut, struggling with his car race, hitting the wall and finishing 42^nd in the Bristol Irwin Tools Night Race.

“We qualified really well and I was really happy with that,” Truex said. “We practiced pretty good and I thought we were a top-20 car at least.”

“In the race, we started off the first few laps and did alright but for some reason our car was just really, really loose and I ended up getting up out of the groove,” Truex continued. “I got up in the marbles and got freight trained.”

“Once I gathered it back up and got the junk off my tires, we started riding and were way back,” Truex said. “I was biding my time and then we started to get really, really tight and, being a rookie, I didn’t realize the problem at the time but it turns out that we ran over some debris and we had a cut in the left front tire.”

“It was slowly going down and then it blew out and ended our night.”

Fortunately, the rookie driver did not re-injure his collar bone although his older brother Martin Truex Jr. did not fare so well. After Martin’s hard hit late in the race at Bristol, an MRI showed that he had broken his right wrist and will have to wear a special cast for the rest of the racing season.

Although Ryan’s Cup debut race night was shortened by the blown tire and wreck into the wall, the younger Truex did learn some lessons from the evening and even got some advice and counsel from some of the biggest names in the sports.

“The biggest lesson for me is that I just need to be out there every weekend,” Truex said. “Since I stepped up from the K&N Series to Nationwide in 2011, I’ve been running part-time, once or twice a month at the most.”

“Last year, I had seven races with Joe Gibbs Racing, plus a couple of other races with some other teams, which added up to about eleven races for the year,” Truex continued. “That’s been the biggest challenge for me is just having some repetition in my racing and going out every weekend in my race car and be familiar with it.”

“One of the people that I talked to before driver intros standing in the tunnel at Bristol was Jeff Burton,” Truex said. “I thought that was really cool.”

“Mark Martin came up to my car and talked to me for a few minutes and told me what to expect and what to do,” Truex continued. “So, there were a couple of guys that I respect who talked to me and I thought that was awesome.”

“I grew up watching them race so for them to come over and give me words of advice was really cool.”

Another of Truex’s idols has been Richard Petty and the young driver feels especially fortunate and lucky to be invited into the fold of the ‘King’ and a part of Richard Petty Motorsports.

“It’s a huge deal for me to be with Richard Petty Motorsports,” Truex said. “In the past few years, I’ve been jumping around between teams and had some one-off deals, but since I’ve left Michael Waltrip Racing, I’ve never really had a true home.”

“So, they’ve taken under their wing and committed to developing me as a driver in the Cup Series,” Truex continued. “I’ve signed a multi-year deal with them with the goal of running full-time in the Cup Series one day.”

“So, that feels really good to just have one place to focus on and not have to worry about where I’m going to race week to week.”

For this year, Truex will continue to run some races in the No. 51 car for Phoenix Racing and hopes to be back in that car as early as the Richmond race. But his real focus is on the 2014 season when, sponsorship pending, he hopes to race full-time for Richard Petty Motorsports in the Nationwide Series.

“That’s the goal for me personally and for the team to be out there next year running for a championship,” Truex said. “But the biggest thing is finding the funding to do that.”

“Now that I have a team out there searching and helping me find the funding to run full-time, it takes a lot of pressure of me and makes me feel more secure with my future.”

Most of all, Ryan Truex is feeling fortunate and lucky to be a part of a family that has supported and nurtured his racing career every step of the way.

“My brother has always been there for me my whole career, and my parents are at my races every single weekend giving me support,” Truex said. “My dad always tells me that if you work as hard as you can and take advantage of every opportunity, there is no reason why you can’t reach your goal.”

“That’s been my philosophy too,” Truex continued. “There has been plenty of frustrating moments but then you step back and look at how far I’ve come and at the people I have around me, and it’s a pretty awesome deal for me.”

“I’m fortunate and lucky to be able to be where I’m at,” Truex said. “And I know that if I keep working at it, never give up and get down on myself that eventually it will work out.”

August 28, 2013
Ryan Truex makes Sprint Cup Debut at “World’s Fastest Half-Mile”

With the support of Richard Petty Motorsports and Phoenix Racing, the Richard Petty Motorsports development driver, Ryan Truex, will make his first Sprint Cup series start this weekend at Bristol Motor Speedway.

Truex, a Mayetta New Jersey native, comments on his upcoming debut, “I’m excited to make my NASCAR Sprint Cup Series debut at Bristol. It has been tough waiting on the sidelines while I healed from my collarbone injury, but now I am ready to go…It’s pretty awesome that it’s coming at Bristol at the night race. This is a premier race on the Sprint Cup circuit.”

Truex will be driving the No. 51 car for Phoenix Racing. Phoenix Racing is notorious for giving young drivers opportunities to drive for their team. Ryan’s older brother Martin is also a former Phoenix Racing driver.

Truex is no stranger to the NASCAR Nationwide Series, Camping World Truck Series, and the K&N Pro Series East with thirty-five Nationwide Series starts, three Camping World Truck Series Starts, and twenty-two K&N Pro Series East starts. During his three years in the K&N Pro Series East, Truex claimed five victories, seventeen top-ten finishes, and won the championship in back-to-back seasons in 2009 and 2010.

Truex signed a multi-year development contract with Richard Petty Motorsports earlier this year, and Richard Petty commented on Ryan’s Bristol debut. He said, “It will be a big night for Ryan. He is a talented driver, and we look forward to his future with our team. We are working hard to find funding support to give him more opportunities behind the wheel.”

Sprint Cup practice at the “World’s Fastest Half-Mile” will begin Friday at noon, with final practice and qualifying following. The Irwin Tools Night Race will be Saturday August 24^th at 7:30 pm EST.

August 21, 2013
NASCAR Champions Featuring Herb Thomas

Cup Champion 1951 and 1953
Birthday: 04/06/1923
Death: 08/09/2000
Hometown: Olivia, NC

Richard Petty gave high praise to Herb Thomas upon his induction into the 2013 NASCAR Hall of Fame.

“He was as good as they come,” Petty said. “There have been very few guys who had more confidence in what he could do than Herb. He was so strong-minded that he ‘willed’ his wins and what he was doing on the track. He was going to beat the guys on the track no matter what was going on. That was his mind set.”

NASCAR historian Buz McKim echoed Petty’s sentiments saying, ‘He (Herb Thomas) might have had probably the most natural talent of nearly anyone in the early days of the sport. The minute he got behind the wheel, he was phenomenal.”

Herbert Watson Thomas was born in the small town of Olivia, North Carolina in 1923. He farmed, worked at a saw mill and eventually started racing as a hobby.

When Bill France began organizing races under the newly formed NASCAR, Thomas saw the possibilities and decided to pursue a career in racing.

Thomas raced as an owner/driver and put most of his winnings back into his cars. In his first full season of competition in 1950, Thomas captured his first victory at Martinsville Speedway.

His career took off in 1951 when he began driving what would come to be known as the “Fabulous Hudson Hornet.” Thomas also joined up with the legendary Smokey Yunick and began a legendary partnership.

Thomas was one of the most successful drivers of his era. Although he only drove for seven full seasons, his list of accomplishments speaks volumes.

Herb Thomas was the first driver to win two Cup Championships, the first owner/driver to win a championship and the first three-time winner of the historic Darlington Southern 500.

He earned two championships in 1951 and 1953, finished second in the point standings in 1952 and 1954 and finished fifth in 1955.

Thomas won 48 times in 228 starts giving him a winning percentage of 21.05. His winning percentage set a record which remains unbroken today.

He retired from racing at the end of the 1962 season and went back to tobacco farming. Thomas also owned a trucking company which he operated on a part time basis.

He passed away on August 9, 2000 after a heart attack, at the age of 77.

In racing and in life Herb Thomas always gave 100 percent. The legacy he left for his family was not all about trophies but more about life lessons.

“Most of what I know about his racing, I learned from my Grandma Helen,” his grandson, Chris, told me. “You would have never known he was a NASCAR driver simply because he just did not talk about those days much. You did know that he was a very hard working farmer who expected the best. I think he wanted to be remembered for being the best that he could be at everything he did.”

Accomplishments:
1951 Cup champion
1953 Cup champion
1957 Recipient of the Buddy Schuman Award
1965 Inducted into the National Motorsports Press Association Hall of Fame
1992 Inducted into the North Carolina Sports Hall of Fame
1994 Inducted into the International Motorsports Hall of Fame
1998 Named one of NASCAR’s “50 Greatest Drivers”
2010 Nominee to the NASCAR Hall of Fame
2011 Nominee to the NASCAR Hall of Fame
2012 Nominee to the NASCAR Hall of Fame
2013 Inducted into the NASCAR Hall of Fame

August 1, 2013
Marcos Ambrose Hoping for a Million Miracles at the Monster Mile

While Marcos Ambrose, driver of the No. 9 DEWALT Racing Ford for Richard Petty Motorsports, is not only hoping for a victory at the Monster Mile, he is also racing for a miracle to help children who are ill and being treated at Children’s Miracle Network hospitals.

Ambrose will also have some additional inspiration with special children’s names on his race car, as well as the incentive of a $1 million donation to the Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals if he wins.

“Today we’re here to race for a miracle,” Marcos Ambrose said as he and the children unveiled the special paint scheme on his car for the weekend. “We have the names of a whole bunch of kids being treated and what they are treated for on the car.”

“If we win on Sunday, we will donate one million dollars,” Ambrose said. “If we finish second, we will donate $500,000 and third, a quarter million.”

“Even if I crash on lap one, they will donate $100,000,” Ambrose continued. “It’s a real inspiration to race for these kids and we’re going to do everything we can to race for these kids this Sunday.”

One of the children that Ambrose is racing for is Grayson, a three year old who was diagnosed with a brain stem tumor on Halloween.

“We are currently being treated at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia,” Jaclyn Savery, Grayson’s mom, said. “Through CHOP, the Children’s Miracle Network asked us to participate in this event as a way to give Grayson a special memory to go through fifteen months of chemotherapy.”

“He’s had four brain surgeries,” Savery continued. “So, this is an experience for him.”

“Every little boy likes race cars so he is very excited to be part of this.”

Savery and her family have been most impressed with how kind and friendly all the NASCAR stars and community, even icon Richard Petty, have been to them at the track so far.

“This is all very brand new to us,” Savery said. “Mr. Petty went right up to Grayson, gave him an autograph and took pictures with him.”

“We spent yesterday and today with Marcos and it was the same thing,” Savery continued. “He was so warm and Grayson thinks Marcos and Mr. Petty are very cool people.”

Grayson not only unveiled Ambrose’s race car with his name on it, but he also toured the track and will be an honorary pit crew member on Sunday. What he hopes most to do, however, is to present Children’s Miracle Network with the million dollar check in Victory Lane with his new friend Marcos.

“So, he is right in the thick of it all,” Savery said. “Grayson was just diagnosed so this is not an easy time in our family.”

“But experiences like this bring us together as a family,” Savery continued. “It’s memories and things we look at during this dark time in our lives as a bright spot.”

Racing relationships like this have been critical for the Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals, which includes 170 children’s hospitals across North America.

“It’s just incredible for our families and our children to see the support of the racing community,” Miranda Barnard, Vice President of Communications for Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals, said. “This is our 30^th year and every single hospital needs donations.”

In fact, Barnard advised that their network of children’s hospitals provides $6,500 dollars every minute in charitable care so programs like this one are critical. With the exception of special programs like ‘Racing for a Miracle’, she also shared that most of their other donations come in one dollar at a time.

“Through ACE, we have been able to have the ‘Racing for a Miracle’ program,” Barnard continued. “Through partners like the Ace Foundation, who has raised $54 million for us over the years, we’re able to cover much of the care that is not covered by insurance.”

“So, all the kids at the hospitals are cheering for Marcos and hoping he wins.”

The Children’s Miracle Network is also fortunate to have Ambrose’s sponsor Stanley behind the promotion as well.

“StanleyBlack and Decker has been a partner with Ace and the Children’s Miracle Network for years,” Tony Merritt, Director of Corporate Motorsports Marketing, StanleyBlack & Decker, Inc., said. “This has grown from a paint scheme on the car to a full-blown promotion.”

“Individual ACE stores participate by running their own promotions,” Merritt continued. “We are doing a hospital event in each city, with games and even a pit stop demonstration.”

“In our busy, busy lives, we get stressed about things,” Merritt said. “When you spend time with these kids, you understand we don’t have stress in our lives.”

“These kids are fighting the biggest battles of their lives,” Merritt continued. “The last couple days have been very humbling to everybody.”

“We just wanted to bring a little joy to the lives of these children.”

Ambrose and his team most certainly brought joy when they all made the visit to Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia to meet the children.

“We had some fun with the kids, setting up a display area and got to play games,” Ambrose said. “We brought the show car and had a race car at the front.”

“They appreciated and enjoyed it,” Ambrose continued. “It’s good to do and spread a bit of sunshine.”

But for driver Marcos Ambrose, carrying the names of sick and struggling children on his race car is personal. And he intends to get the best finish he can at the Monster Mile for each and every one of them.

“I’ve got two young kids at home so seeing kids at the hospital this weekend, I’m reminded of how lucky we are as a family,” Ambrose said. “I will use this as an inspiration because these kids getting treated at the hospitals all have such a positive outlook, in spite of going through these tough times.”

“They are an inspiration,” Ambrose continued. “To have a chance to win a million dollars for these kids is inspiring.”

May 31, 2013
Reaction to NASCAR Legend Dick Trickle Death Complicated by Suicide

While any death is tragic, especially when it is unexpected, reactions are even more complicated when the person takes his own life. This was definitely demonstrated after the NASCAR family learned of Dick Trickle’s death of an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound in a local cemetery.

As a NASCAR fan and citizen journalist, as well as a mental health professional, I was most interested to see how the NASCAR community would react on learning this news. And as the story has unfolded, the reactions did indeed mirror those that are normal when learning of a death by suicide.

When news of Trickle’s suicide first broke, there was the most normal initial reaction of shock. Most expressed that they could not understand how someone with Trickle’s apparent love of life could turn around and end his own.

“He had a special personality,” Mark Martin, veteran NASCAR Cup Series driver, said. “He was tough, but he was fun.”

“He was just a very unique person,” Martin continued. “He was doing it his way.”

Jimmie Johnson, five-time NASCAR champ, also expressed his feelings on Trickle’s death in much the same way as his colleague Mark Martin. While Johnson had never raced with Trickle, he had gotten to know Trickle while racing in the IROC Series.

“I’m shocked and saddened by it,” Johnson said. “His stories were legendary.”

NASCAR racer and now television analyst Rusty Wallace described it best.

“I am in 100 percent shock,” Wallace said on learning the news of Trickle’s suicide. “Dick Trickle was my mentor.”

“He was a legend,” Wallace continued. “He was a role model to many short track racers coming up.”

Geoff Bodine, another veteran racer of the genre of Trickle, was also shocked by his passing at his own hand.

“He was fun. Just plain fun,” Bodine said. “People everywhere knew his name.”

“That’s why they used his likeness in the movie ‘Days of Thunder’ with Tom Cruise portraying a driver named Cole Trickle,” Bodine continued. “He was such a character.”

There was also a real sense in the NASCAR community after the news broke of responsibility and even some guilt. Many of those calling in to Sirius XM NASCAR Channel 90 wondered why they did not see the signs and why they had not reached out to Trickle sooner in the hopes that the suicide could have been prevented.

“It’s crazy surprising news,” Matt Kenseth, NASCAR champion and fellow Wisconsin native to Trickle, said. “I don’t really know all the circumstances.”

“I’m still in shock,” Kenseth continued. “I don’t really get it.”

In addition to that wondering and guilt about being able to step in and stop the suicide, anger is also a very normal reaction when someone has taken their life, especially someone so vibrant and colorful.

“I know one thing: next time I see him I’m going to slap him,” Butch Fedewa, who raced against Trickle in the 1960s said. “I had just talked to him a few weeks ago.”

“He wasn’t a coward,” Fedewa continued. “I don’t understand it. I don’t.”

“But he had to have a reason.”

Unlike many suicides, where the reason is never known to those left behind, the motive for Dick Trickle’s suicide has been made public. This may assist those in the NASCAR community to understand Trickle’s taking of his own life, however, still does not totally ease the pain of the manner in which he died.

Trickle shot himself in the Forest Lawn Cemetery, the same cemetery where his granddaughter was buried, in Boger City, North Carolina. Police revealed a note was found with the body and the audio from the 911 call that Trickle placed himself said “There’s going to be a dead body. Suicide. I’m the one.”

When emergency responders went to the scene after being unable to reach Trickle, they did indeed find his body lying next to his 1993 Ford pickup in the cemetery.

Chuck Trickle shared after the suicide became public that his brother Dick had been having chest pain that no doctor seemed to be able to diagnose or ease. In fact, Trickle had just been to the local hospital at Duke University for testing to try to identify the cause of the pain, which he described as being under his left breast.

“He was very down,” Chuck Trickle said, sharing some insight into the why of his brother’s suicide. “He more or less said he didn’t know how much longer he could take the pain.”

“He must have just decided that the pain was too high, because he would have never done it for any other reason.”

“I thought about it pretty hard last night,” former Sprint Cup crew chief and now television analyst Ray Evernham, said. “The only thing you can say is Trickle lived on his own terms and died on his terms, and that’s the only sense I can make of it.”

“He raced the way he wanted to race,” Evernham continued. “He came up with that one hour sleep rule for every hundred miles he raced.”

“He partied hard and he raced hard,” Evernham said. “He didn’t conform.”

“That’s helping me try to make sense of it in my mind.”

Perhaps the biggest reaction in the garage, especially now that the potential cause for Trickle’s suicide is somewhat explained, is that of loss and sadness for Trickle’s passing and his legacy and meaning to the sport of racing.

Not only was Trickle a character of the largest proportions, he was also an outstanding short track racer, winning around 1,200 feature races throughout his time on the track. He had 303 career starts in the NASCAR Cup Series from 1989-1998 and also had two NASCAR Nationwide Series wins under his belt.

“The era of stock car racing up in that area really died with him,” Matt Kenseth said of his fellow Wisconsin racer. “He had a unique way of looking at things, a ton of common sense and he was really smart.”

“He was a very talented racer,” Jimmy Fennig, Trickle’s former crew chief, said. “The one thing about Dick, he built his own cars, he knew his cars inside and out.”

“He was fantastic.”

“A guy like Trickle and Richie Evans (another modified racer great), they wanted to race on their own terms and they raced a lot,” Ray Evernham said. “I’m glad that there are some guys like that.”

“You don’t have to be Richard Petty or Dale Earnhardt or Jeff Gordon to be a racing legend,” Evernham continued. “Those guys, Trickle and Evans, are racing legends too.”

Reigning champ Brad Keselowski also paid tribute to the late Dick Trickle.

“He was ‘the guy’ during the great short-track era,” Keselowski said. “His loss, in some ways, is a symbol of the end of that era.”

“That’s very sad to see.”

The NASCAR community will no doubt continue to remember and mourn the passing of Dick Trickle throughout the All-Star race weekend. One of the most touching tributes has been Dick Trickle’s name over the door of All-Star pole sitter Carl Edwards, particularly with Jimmy Fennig, Trickle’s former crew chief, now on the box for Edwards.

Trickle’s obituary best sums up his life, as well as his death at his own hands, as follows. Rest in peace now Dick Trickle.

Richard Trickle (October 27, 1941-May 16, 2013)

Richard “Dick” Trickle, age 71, of Iron Station, NC died of a self inflicted gunshot. He had been suffering for some time with severe chronic pain, had seen many doctors, none of which could find the source of his pain. His family as well as those who knew him, find his death very hard to accept, and though we will hurt from losing him for some time, he’s no longer suffering and we take comfort knowing he’s with his very special angel.

He is survived by his wife Darlene (McMahon) Trickle, three children Victoria Bowman (John), Tod Trickle, and Chad Trickle (Shannon), and 3 grandchildren, Lucas Bowman, Courtney Trickle and Carlee Trickle. He lost his oldest grandchild Nicole Bowman in a tragic car accident nearly 12 years ago. He was the son of the late Leo and Lauretta Trickle and is survived by his brothers Duaine Trickle, Charles Trickle and sisters Delores Iwanski and Susan Trickle.

Dick’s passion in life was his racing. He touched many lives throughout his career, provided memories for many that will last a lifetime. Many thought when he retired he would continue as a car owner, but he was a driver at heart, he wanted to be behind the wheel and be in control of his destiny. We believe he felt himself no longer able to be behind that wheel of life or be the man he only knew how to be because of the pain and suffering.

“His passion was racing but his love was his family. This is a very difficult time for the family, they hope everyone will understand and respect their wishes to have private services for his funeral. They appreciate all the calls, messages, and letters of support, but at this time need to be together as a family.

There have been requests for where to send flowers, in lieu of flowers the family has asked that a donation be made in Memory of Dick to: Victory Junction, 4500 Adams Way, Randleman, NC 27317. They thank you for all your love, thoughts and prayers.

May 18, 2013