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  • Tony Stewart returns to track with his new ride

    Tony Stewart returns to track with his new ride

    Three time NASCAR Cup Series champion, Tony Stewart, is known for his tough, outspoken attitude and for his love and passion for racing. He has driven many different types of race cars. In addition to NASCAR stock cars, he has spent time behind the wheel of Indy cars and dirt Modifieds.

    Perhaps his strongest passion though is for sprint cars. Tony grew up racing these high horsepower, lightweight machines. He has also been sprint cars most outspoken proponent in the wake of recent tragedies that took the lives of Jason Leffler and Kramer Williamson.

    In an interview he chastised the media for their criticism of sprint car racing in the wake of Leffler’s death saying, “You guys need to watch more sprint car videos and stuff. It’s starting to get annoying this week about that. That was just an average sprint car wreck. When they wreck they get upside down. That’s not a big deal.”

    In an ironic twist of fate, Stewart was injured doing the very thing he loved. Driving a sprint car at a half-mile dirt track in Iowa. The injury was very severe, breaking the bone in his lower leg in two places. The injury ended his season and doctors are saying everything will have to go well for him to be back in time for the season opening Daytona 500.

    For a hardcore racers like Tony, one thing is worse than the injury itself – being away from the racetrack. Fortunately for Tony, he found himself a nice set of wheels and made his way back to the garage area this weekend at Richmond. On Friday Tony said, “Being at the track the track is the best medicine for me.”

    Tony had time to some shopping on the internet and discovered great motorized scooter. After removing some parts and adding some team graphics the cart was ready to go! It is definitely one of the coolest modes of transportation around the track this weekend.

    Tony was all over the garage area Friday watching his cars, checking in on his team members, and getting back up to speed with everything that is going on. As Tony had said, the team business keeps going on, this gave him the opportunity to get his hands back on it.

    Like him or not, Tony is all racer and it is always better to have him at the track than to not. He brings a unique perspective to the sport than no one else can bring.

  • Brian Scott dominates but comes up short at Richmond

    Brian Scott dominates but comes up short at Richmond

    Richard Childress Racing driver, Brian Scott, had only led 38 laps in his Nationwide Series career before the Virginia 529 College Savings 250 at Richmond International Raceway.

    Tonight, however, he dominated, leading 240 of 250 laps yet still came up short due to a controversial late race restart. Eventual race winner Brad Keselowski, took the lead with ten laps to go, when it appeared to team owner Richard Childress that Keselowski beat Scott to the line. Childress asked his team over the radio, “The 22 beat us to the line, is somebody hollering about that?”

    Later, on the last restart of the night with six laps to go, Keselowski hit the gas two car lengths before the restart line. Scott complained, but the complaint fell on deaf ears. No call was made, and Keselowski easily drove to victory in the Nationwide Series’ 1,000th race.

    After the race, Scott said he was mostly mad at himself for not understanding the restart rules. When asked to ignore the controversy and focus on the first 239 laps of the race, Scott replied, “Fun, we had a great car and when you have a car like that it’s easy to lead that many laps. I haven’t had a car that good in my Nationwide career, I have had a couple of them in the truck series and that’s something to be proud of. We had a great showing here tonight, a great race. Um, you know Richmond, me and Richmond have a bittersweet love affair. Looking at replays from last one, obviously there was a pretty infamous incident that happened after that and obviously even with all the laps led, to lose one like that, I still feel the same afterwards.”

    Tonight’s win made number five on the season for Keselowski and number ten for his team, Penske Racing. Keselowski commented about the controversy with Scott saying, “Well, first off, Brian Scott did a tremendous job today. He has a lot to be proud of. If he keeps running like he is, he will win races. I think I just caught him off guard. The restart box is a zone and we went right at the start of it and didn’t give him a second to catch up. That probably wasn’t key to victory but it sure didn’t hurt.”

    Sam Hornish extended the series points lead to 16 points over Austin Dillon. Third place Regan Smith edges a little closer and is now 26 behind leader Hornish with Elliott Sadler just points back in fourth.

    The series now heads to Chicagoland Speedway on September 14 for the Dollar General 300.

  • Can Dale Jr. step up performance in the Chase?

    Can Dale Jr. step up performance in the Chase?

    Dale Earnhardt Jr. is in what is arguably his best season in several years. Currently seventh in points and is all but locked in to the Chase. He has 14 top-10’s and five top-5’s. The question is -Is it good enough?

    When Earnhardt made the move to Hendrick Motorsports in 2008, his massive legion of fans were very excited. The general consensus was that he would now be in the best equipment and will now have the opportunity to showcase his talents.

    The excitement was further backed up by his win that season in the qualifying race at Daytona. Jr. Nation was buzzing! It was short lived however. He did manage a win that season and made the Chase. The team struggled in the Chase, however, finishing 12th, last amongst Chase contenders.

    The following season results were dismal.  So bad that, after just 12 races, crew chief and cousin Tony Eury Jr, was replaced. Brian Whitesell sat atop the pitbox for one race, but the team settled on Lance McGrew to take over the crew chief duties. There was no real improvement. With no wins, only two top-5’s and five top-10’s. Earnhardt finished 25th in the final standings.  Jr. Nation was not happy.

    The woes continued in 2010. Results were again dismal. Three top-5’s and eight top-10’s were not the stats the team needed. After finishing 21st in the points, again a change was needed. Enter Steve Letarte.

    2011 brought renewed vigor into the team and the Jr. fans. Starting from the pole in the season opening Daytona 500, the fans had something to cheer about. Though the team did not manage to find victory lane, they were able to score 12 top-10 finishes, make the Chase and ended up seventh in the final standings.

    2012 brought more success. Earnhardt scored the much needed win at Michigan. He also stayed in the top five in points for most of the season, made the Chase, but tragedy struck at Talladega. A huge crash near the end of the race ended the season early for Earnhardt due to a concussion. A win and 20 top ten finishes were definitely an improvement.

    This season Earnhardt has been one of the most consistent drivers, at least early in the season. He was in the top five in standings until Charlotte, where he finished 39th with an engine failure. Through the middle of the season, results have still been solid, but he has been slowly sliding back. Though, he has 14 top-10’s, he has not led a lot of laps and still is yet to find victory lane. Finishes of tenth to fifteenth will keep a driver close in the standings, but it will not win championships.

    Earnhardt is probably under more pressure to perform than any other driver in the garage area. Fans and some media are constantly comparing him to his father. His stats pale in comparison to dad, but so do many others.

    The reality of the situation is that the entire team has to step up and perform better once the Chase starts. When competing against teams who have four and five wins, tenth place is not good enough. Letarte has without a doubt been a good change for Earnhardt. Additionally, Earnhardt has become more involved with the team from a technical standpoint. He is giving much better feedback now than he did in previous seasons. The pieces are definitely coming together.

    To do well in the Chase, the team will have to take more risks and quit playing it safe. In the last several races the performance has been off a little compared to earlier this season and the team has been playing defense trying to stay in the top ten.

    Earnhardt continues to sound confident and was quoted earlier this week saying, “I feel like we belong in the Chase, feel like if we can put ten races together – I think we can do it as good as anybody when it comes down to it.” Once they are locked in, it is time to take a chance, try different strategies, and hope that rolling the dice will put them in victory lane. There is no way to beat Jimmie Johnson, Kyle Busch, and Matt Kenseth without winning.

    The bar is set high, but that is to be expected. After-all, this is the premier racing division in the country – just average is just not good enough.

  • 1,000 races for the Nationwide Series

    1,000 races for the Nationwide Series

    In 1982, NASCAR changed the Late Model Sportsman series to the Busch Grand National Series, now known as the Nationwide Series, becoming the number two NASCAR touring series behind the premier Cup Series. The first race for the new series was the Goody’s 300 at Daytona.

    NASCAR legend, Dale Earnhardt would take the victory in that first event. He went to win the season opener six more times in his Nationwide Series career including five in a row from 1990 to 1994.

    The series, though not officially deemed so, is a stepping stone to the Cup Series. A place where up and coming drivers can hone their skills. There are, however, several very talented, very accomplished drivers who stayed in the series and made a career of it.

    The first series champion, Jack Ingram, was one such driver. Ingram was known for his aggressive, hard driving style. He raced hard every lap, start to finish. Ingram had an amazing season in 1982. He scored seven wins, 23 top-5’s, and 24 top-10’s en route to the inaugural championship. Ingram has been chosen to enter the NASCAR Hall of Fame in January 2014.

    He was known for driving No. 11. Elliott Sadler, who carries the number this season, is paying tribute to Ingram this weekend in the Virginia College Savings Plan 250, by carrying a paint scheme that has the stylized number 11 that Ingram used for years.

    Photo by ISC Archives via Getty Images
    Photo by ISC Archives via Getty Images

    Ingram compiled 275 starts, scoring 31 wins, 122 top-5’s and 164 top-10’s. The 78 year old driver was still racing a NASCAR Late Model as recent as September 2012 at Greeneville-Pickens Speedway in Greeneville, SC. He finished a very respectable fifth.

    Another Nationwide Series legend is Sam Ard. Ard’s career was cut short by brain injury resulting from a hard crash in 1984. After finishing second to Ingram in the points standings in 1982, Ard went on to win the series title in 1983 and 1984. His final race was at Rockingham in the next to last race of the season. Even though he did not compete in the final race, he still won the championship.

    Sam Ard - 1980sLike Ingram, Ard made a number and paint scheme famous. He drove the familiar white and red No. 00 Thomas Brothers Country Ham car. Ard compiled one of the most impressive list of stats in any NASCAR series. In just 92 starts, Ard scored 22 victories, 67 top-5’s, and 79 top-10’s. That is an 85.8% top ten average. A record that would be envied by any driver. It is impossible to tell how great his career could have been if not cut short by injury.

    Though this series is billed as NASCAR’s number two series, it has written many interesting stories of its own over the last 1,000 races. This season is no different. The 2013 Nationwide Series season is one of the most competitive in series history. Recent changes in the points system that does not award points to series’ non-regulars, has given series regulars a better chance at the limelight. Also, Cup teams who field Nationwide team are now moving to assigning drivers to their cars full time instead of splitting amongst several drivers. This has opened up full-time, quality rides to accomplished drivers that have found themselves without one. All of these factors are a recipe for a highly competitive, successful series.

    As we celebrate the 1,000th race, we look forward to the next 1,000 and to what legendary drivers find their home in the Nationwide Series.

    (Images used in this article are courtesy of ISC archives/Getty Images)

  • Five Spots + Ten Drivers = Excitement At Richmond

    Five Spots + Ten Drivers = Excitement At Richmond

    Since the first season of NASCAR’s Chase format, the last race of the “regular season” has been and at the three-quarter mile short track at Richmond International Raceway. Richmond has provided several fantastic finishes that made some drivers’ seasons a success and left others licking their wounds as they came to the realization that they were not eligible for a series championship.

    In the first Chase season Jeremy Mayfield was faced with the ultimate challenge – win to get in. The entire race was drama filled as lap after lap the topic of conversation was Mayfield and his quest to stay in contention.

    Last season it was four time series champion, Jeff Gordon. Gordon came into the event 13th in the standings, battling Kyle Busch for a Chase spot. Coming fresh off a second place finish at Atlanta, Gordon seemed to have momentum in his corner. Handling problems, however, plagued the No. 24 team in the first half of the race.

    The handling issues were so bad, the car would not respond to normal adjustments, leading crew chief, Alan Gustafson to throw a hail-mary in a last ditch effort to stay in contention for the title.  Gustafson disconnected the rear sway bar and the car came alive! Gordon drove to a second place finish, with Busch only managing a 16th place finish, one lap off the pace. When the dust cleared, Gordon beat Busch by a mere three points.

    The scenario this season may lead to the most exciting regular season final ever. Ten drivers are going for five spots. The number of variables that could change the outcome would rival any NFL playoff race. A fact that NASCAR, I’m sure, had in mind when the concept of the Chase was designed.

    Entering the this weekend, six drivers are locked in – Jimmie Johnson, Clint Bowyer, Kevin Harvick, Carl Edwards, Kyle Busch, Matt Kenseth, and Kasey Kahne. Kahne is locked based on wins and a wild card spot. He is, however, only ten points out of tenth spot. Kahne will be a major player in several other driver’s Chase hopes. If he moves into the top ten, it completely changes the wildcard picture.

    Kahne will be chasing Kurt Busch, who is currently in tenth. Busch does not have a win this season, so it is crucial for him to stay inside the top ten. Busch’s fate is in his own hands. If he wins, he is in. A feat the No.78 Furniture Row team has been very close to achieving several times this season. This weekend would be the perfect time for them to find victory lane. Making the Chase not only would solidify the Denver based team as a major contender, it would also signify Busch’s return to the top after his fall from grace and his release from Penske racing. Busch talked about his position on Thursday, “You know, a few months ago we needed to put ourselves in position to control our own destiny. We’ve accomplished that. Is it the cushion we wanted? No. We only have a six point cushion. At the same time we can look forward and see Biffle is ninth in points, and he’s only eight points ahead of us.”

    Breathing down the neck of Kurt Busch, is Richmond miracle worker, Jeff Gordon. Gordon sits in 11th place in the standings, just six points behind Busch. One thing Gordon has in his favor is the fact that Kahne is his teammate. Kahne being locked in as wildcard could permit him to layback and to give Gordon every opportunity to lock into the top ten. Gordon could then focus on beating Busch. Gordon was asked about his scenario at Richmond, “I’ll be honest, I think we were in a tougher spot last year than this year. I think the way it prepared us was knowing no matter what happens, you can never give up.”

    The series’ most popular driver, Dale Earnhardt Jr., though not locked in, is pretty safe. Earnhardt currently sits seventh in the standings, 31 points ahead of tenth. He will lock himself in with a 32nd place finish. Earnhardt has a strong record at the speedway with three wins and 12 top-10’s. Earnhardt was asked about the possibility of team orders this weekend to help teammates. Earnhardt responded, “We haven’t really talked about that. I know from my point of view it would be hard to understand exactly what I could do to help one of my teammates. The crew chiefs can see the picture a lot clearer than the driver can. I want to help my teammates. I want my teammates to be in the Chase. I want Rick (Hendrick) to have as much opportunity to have a chance to win a championship as he can as an owner.”

    Joey Logano, in his first season with Penske Racing, is also in fairly comfortable shape. Logano currently sits eighth in points, ten points ahead of tenth place. He also has one win this season. Logano commented on Thursday about his Chase hopes, “We had a really good test here. I feel like our car is going to be pretty fast. We finished third here in the spring. Really, I mean, the only thing you can do is go out there and keep doing what you’ve been doing.”

    In addition to Kahne, Martin Truex Jr. also hold a wildcard spot. He will be battling with Ryan Newman for that spot, assuming Logano and Biffle stay inside the top ten. Of course, as stated before, the major domino, Kasey Kahne, could completely change everything if he moves into the top ten. Also, if Gordon, McMurray, or Keselowski win and end up with a higher point total, that will change the scenario for Newman and Truex.

    A major story this weekend is defending champion Brad Keselowski. He has a huge hurdle to overcome to make it into the Chase. He currently sits 15th in the standings, 28 points outside the top ten, without a win. Keselowski needs to win and beat out Truex and Newman by significant amounts to clinch a wildcard spot. Keselowski commented Thursday night, “I feel like we’re a great race team. I feel like in the sports world, especially racing, you can only really control how fast you are and how well you execute. You can’t control the luck side. We’ve had a lot of bad luck. There’s been some times when we haven’t executed.”

    All in all, it should be another great show at a great racetrack. NASCAR should be commended for their decision to put the final race of the regular season at Richmond. The speedway always provides drama and amazing battles. It will be one for the memory banks.

    The green flag for the Federated Auto Parts 400 will fall at 7:30 pm local time.