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  • NASCAR Beginnings Featuring ‘Mad’ Marion MacDonald, Herman ‘The Turtle’ Beam & More

    NASCAR Beginnings Featuring ‘Mad’ Marion MacDonald, Herman ‘The Turtle’ Beam & More

    The best thing about researching NASCAR history is the little nuggets you find along the way. Many

    of these jewels never find their way into an article, but they are all worth remembering. Some of the names you’ll recognize and some may be unfamiliar. Not everyone can be a star, but that doesn’t mean they don’t have a story to tell.

    If you think racing in NASCAR is more competitive today than it’s ever been, you might want to think again. Back in the day, some drivers would do anything for that little extra advantage.

    “Mad” Marion MacDonald is a perfect example. He was born in Florida in 1918 and learned to drive in the family orange orchard.

    “One day I hit the railroad tracks and my car jumped a four-foot gate on the other side. After that I never opened that gate again,” he said.

    MacDonald began his flirtation with racing In 1938 when he went to work for Bill France at his gas station in Daytona Beach. He had his own unique way of doing things. No one can say for certain where he got his nickname, but there are plenty of tales to choose from.

    At age 21 he entered the beach road course at Daytona driving his personal car. He tied himself into the car with a rope and had a knife taped to the dash so he could cut himself free if an emergency arose. During a pit stop, MacDonald grabbed a hamburger from one of his crew during a pit stop and continued to eat it as he raced around the track. Maybe he was simply hungry or maybe he just loved showing off for the fans.

    Later in that same race, MacDonald came upon a stalled car. The driver had climbed out of the car and to avoid hitting him Mad Marion had to go high. The next thing you knew, he was up on the dunes on two wheels, as he drove past the stunned driver.

    But the story doesn’t end there. MacDonald had figured out that taking the turn on two wheels improved his speed so he repeated the maneuver throughout the race, taking several of the turns on two wheels.

    Most would agree that going fast is the best way to win races. It may surprise you to know that at least one driver took the opposite approach.

    Herman “The Turtle” Beam drove in the Grand National series from 1957 to 1963. His claim to fame comes from holding the record for the longest streak of races without a DNF, with 84. Beam was a master at getting the most out of a dollar. He built his own cars, towed them himself and knew exactly what he had to do to make a little money.

    Gene Glover, a fellow racer, said of Beam, “he knew the distance to each racetrack, how many gallons of gas it took to get there, what you had to do to qualify for the race, how much money the race paid for each position, and where he thought he could finish.”

    “They called him ‘Herman the Turtle’ because he had good equipment, but he just didn’t want to drive fast, so he just got down on the apron and stayed out of the way. A lot of times, he’d end up with good finishes.”

    This may sound a little crazy, but you have to remember that back in those days, it wasn’t unusual for half the field to fall out of a race with mechanical issues or due to crashes. Beam’s survival strategy often netted good results. In 194 races, he had 57 top ten finishes.

    “Everybody respected Herman and his mechanical abilities,” Johnson City racer Paul Lewis said. “He was very intelligent and very articulate, and he always had good equipment.”

    “He just didn’t like to drive fast.”

    Many of today’s drivers have been groomed from an early age to appeal to the corporate sponsors that have allowed NASCAR to flourish. For the most part, we never get to see the men or women behind this polished image. But NASCAR history is littered with colorful characters. What you see is what you get. Their antics both on and off the track speak of a time when racing was fueled by testosterone and you never knew what was going to happen next.

    Joe Weatherly had a short but significant career. He only ran two full seasons in NASCAR’s premier series and won Cup championships both seasons, in 1962 and 1963. He was known for his hard racing and famous for his practical jokes. “The Clown Prince of Racing,” Weatherly never missed an opportunity to have some fun.

    In the days before cars had start switches, Weatherly would sneak along pit road and steal the keys to all the cars. When the command, “Gentlemen, start your engines,” was given, Joe’s car was the only one to fire up. In Darlington for a race, Weatherly came up with one of his most well-known pranks. He paid a farmer $100.00 for a mule. The next day, Weatherly proudly rode the mule, complete with race stickers, in the Darlington parade.

    Then there’s the story of Jim Vandiver who put new meaning into the phrase “running from the law.”

    Jim Vandiver began racing in NASCAR’s top division in 1968. His Cup career spanned 14 seasons with 24 top ten finishes. But he’s most famous for an incident that happened at the 1973 Darlington Southern 500. During the race, he spun and brought out a caution. He came to a stop in turn 3, jumped from his car, ran up the banking and disappeared from the track. It seems that two deputy sheriffs had been standing in Vandiver’s pit, waiting to arrest him after he finished the race.

    Vandiver was in the middle of a child custody dispute and was supposed to be in court the same day as the race. He thought his lawyer had taken care of things, but the judge had charged him with contempt of court. He had been tipped off ahead of the race that the law would be waiting for him.

    “When the field got slowed down I jumped out of my car,” Vandiver said, “ran across the track and jumped the wall. When I got to a chain linked fence it was like someone knew I was coming because right there the fence had been cut like somebody done snuck into the race so I went right through it to the road outside the track.”

    I’d like to leave you with two more stories. NASCAR is all about statistics. New records are set and old records are broken. However, there are a couple of NASCAR finishes that were so unique that it is unlikely they will ever be repeated. Both happened in the 1950’s.

    On September 30, 1956, at Asheville-Weaverville Speedway, there was a 200 lap race with 24 cars in the field. On lap 181, Curtis Turner took the lead. There were only 14 other cars left in the race. Suddenly a huge crash broke out behind Turner and he was the only one to get through it unscathed.  He pulled into his pit and the race was called. To this day, it’s the only race that has ever ended with just one car running.

    Raleigh Speedway was the site of another unusual finish. The 100 mile race took place on September 30, 1952 and two sets of brothers would accomplish something that had never been done. Fonty Flock finished first and Herb Thomas took second place. But it’s the third and fourth place finishes that will amaze you. Fonty’s brother Tim finished third and Herb’s brother Donald finished in fourth place.

    From the astounding to the hysterical, NASCAR history is a treasure trove waiting to be explored. You never know what you’re going to discover but one thing is certain. You always leave with a smile on your face.

    Thanks to legendsofnascar.com, Tom Higgins and laidbackracing.com, Patty Kay at insiderracingnews.com and David Scercy at bleacherreport.com

  • NASCAR Top-10 Power Rankings: Texas

    NASCAR Top-10 Power Rankings: Texas

    Note: The quotes in this article are fictional.

    1. Carl Edwards: Edwards took third at Texas, passing Tony Stewart’s gassed out car on the final lap, as Roush Fenway Racing placed all four cars in the top 7. Edwards battled stomach problems all day, as well as handling issues in the No. 99 Scott’s Ford, but hung in to post his fourth top-5 result of the year. He vaulted passed Kyle Busch in the point standings, and holds a nine point lead.

    “We were loose all day,” Edwards said. “And when I say ‘we,’ I mean the car and me. It’s hard to find a rhythm when you’re constantly telling your car to ‘go’ and only your stomach is listening. It was a day of ‘fits and sharts.’ My teammate David Ragan may drive the UPS car, but it was me who truly found out what brown could do for me. The answer was very little.

    “As you may know, I’m in the last year of my contract, and I’m currently in talks with Roush Fenway concerning a contract extension. I’m pretty confident we’ll get it done, especially after Saturday night’s performance, because I seriously doubt anyone else would want my ‘seat’ after that.”

    2. Kyle Busch: Busch was running third and primed to contend for the win at Texas, but a left-rear tire vibration forced a late pit stop, putting the No. 18 Interstate Battery Toyota a lap down. Busch never got a caution to get back on the lead lap, and settled for a disappointing 16th, which knocked him from the Sprint Cup points lead. He trails Carl Edwards by nine points.

    “Given the circumstances,” Busch said, “I’d rather not be behind Edwards at this point. As it stands, though, Carl’s the only driver in front of me, and that makes him the public enemy No. 1. Ironically, public enemy No. 1 faced a devious nemesis at Texas, ‘public enemy No. 2.’    

     “Joe Gibbs Racing is still experiencing engine problems. Luckily, we’ve identified the issues—they’re apparently called ‘Denny Hamlin’ and ‘Logano.’ I think those two have answered the age-old question: ‘What happens when a driver and car run out of talent at the same time?’ 

    3. Matt Kenseth: Kenseth ended a 76-race winless streak with an assertive victory in the Samsung Mobil 500 at Texas, leading 169 of 334 laps and winning by over eight seconds over Clint Bowyer. Kenseth donned the ceremonial ten-gallon hat and six shooters afforded the Texas winner in victory lane, celebrating his first win since California in 2009. He leapt six places in the Sprint Cup point standings to third, 13 behind Carl Edward and four behind Kyle Busch.

    “Surprise!” Kenseth said. “It’s Matt Kenseth with the ‘hat trick,’ and not Kevin Harvick. And it’s not just Carl Edwards ‘shooting blanks;’ it’s me as well.

    “I’ve always ran well at Texas, and I knew we were capable of winning here. I just had to go out and do it. Much in the same way that Edwards did, I told myself, ‘I’ve got to go.’ Luckily for me, and for Carl, I did, and he didn’t.”

    4. Jimmie Johnson: Johnson battled loose-handling conditions for the majority of Texas’ 334 laps on Saturday night, but still managed a solid eighth-place finish. Johnson dropped one spot in the point standings, and now trails Carl Edwards by 13 points.

    “We’ve gone seven races this season without a win,” Johnson said. “I could be a whiner and blame everybody, which would be a case of a ‘critical ass’ calling out the ‘critical mass.’ But I’ve learned that criticism is a useless endeavor—it can only lead to forced, insincere apologies to NASCAR.

    “But it is much too early in the season to be worrying about my deficiencies. I should know that better than anyone. I’ve made a habit of spending the first 26 races showing I’m mortal, and the last ten proving I’m immortal. I’ve spent five years perfecting the art, and it’s a cause I’m proud to champion.”

    5. Kevin Harvick: Harvick’s effort to win his third-straight race was derailed early after a right-side tire violation penalty on his first pit stop. With track position compromised, he eventually fell two laps down and never returned to the lead lap, finishing 20th. He tumbled four places to ninth in the point standings, and trails Carl Edwards by 28.

    “Unfortunately,” Harvick said, “I won’t be saying ‘three in a row.’ They say good things come in three’s, except for four-tire pit stops.”

    6. Dale Earnhardt, Jr.: Earnhardt posted his second-straight top-10 finish, and fourth of the season, with a ninth in the Samsung Mobil 500. He moved up two places in the point standings to sixth, and trails Carl Edwards by 21.

    “It’s now been 100 races since my last win,” Earnhardt said. “That’s a dry spell any member of Junior Nation could be proud of. But that’s a long time to go without a win. Now, when I see a ‘three-finger salute,’ I’ll know it means ‘three digits.’ Of course, that’s opposed to the normal ‘three-finger salute,’ in which three of my fans stand in unison and flip the bird to the driver that just passed me on the track.

    “Now, that 100-race winless streak could very well come to an end at Talladega. I hear two-car tandems again will be the norm as they were at Daytona, and the multi-car draft seems to be a thing of the past. So, Sunday’s race will be a lot like a typical weekend in the Talladega infield, with multiple hookups with 10-15 partners, and the occasional threesome, with feelings of regret when it’s over.”

    7. Kurt Busch: Busch led five times for 50 laps at Texas, but found himself in an off-sequence pit situation without a much-needed caution. Forced to pit late while running second, Busch settled for a 10th, and fell one spot in the point standings to fifth, 16 out of first.

    “We qualified 10th and finished 10th,” Busch said. “That’s what I call ‘running in place.’ And speaking of ‘running in place,’ the No. 22 Shell/Pennzoil Dodge team could use a ‘jog,’ preferably to the noggin, to rouse us from the doldrums of mediocrity. I’ve told my team the same thing I‘ve told my cosmetic surgeon: ‘You can do better than this.’”

    8. Ryan Newman: Newman faced an uphill battle on Saturday night at Texas, as the No. 39 U.S. Army Chevy lacked the necessary handling and speed to be a factor in the Samsung Mobil 500. Newman salvaged a 14th-place result, scrapping until the end. He dropped one place in the point standings to seventh, 23 out of first.

    “It was a tough day for Stewart-Haas Racing,” Newman said. “I struggled all day, and Tony Stewart ruined a potential race-winning fuel strategy by speeding in the pits on his final stop. So, I was ‘sorry,’ and Tony apologized. I’m sure Tony had a horrible feeling in his gut after that huge mistake. It seems that, much like Carl Edwards, Tony was suffering from his own case of ‘botch-ulism.’” 

    9. Clint Bowyer: Bowyer’s runner-up finish at Texas gave him three consecutive top-10’s after an early season of struggles, and solidified much-needed momentum for the No. 33 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet team. Bowyer nearly wrecked while leading when contact with Brian Vickers sent him spinning, but a miraculous save kept him in the running.

    “My sympathies go out to Carl Edwards,” Bowyer said. “I can certainly relate to the ordeal he experienced on Saturday, because I nearly crapped my pants too. If not for our abilities to avoid catastrophe, we both could have had a mess on our hands.”

    10. Tony Stewart: Stewart’s shot at a Texas victory ended when a late pit road speeding penalty ruined what appeared to be a winning fuel strategy by the No. 14 Office Depot/Mobil 1 team. Stewart ran out of fuel on the final lap while running third, and finished 12th. 

    “In times like these,” Stewart said, “I must choose my words wisely. Criticizing NASCAR’s pit road speed monitoring system so soon after being penalized would be a case of bad timing. And explaining the use of sarcasm and puns right now would be a case of good timing. And you know me. If you believe overly embellished Rolling Stone accounts of my life as a playboy and hard partier, then I certainly know everything possible about ‘good time-ing.’”

  • NASCAR’s Ratings Continue To Rise Despite An Unpredictable Economy

    NASCAR’s Ratings Continue To Rise Despite An Unpredictable Economy

    [media-credit id=22 align=”alignright” width=”225″][/media-credit]We are three races into the 2011 season, and already NASCAR is seeing a trend which hasn’t been witnessed since the series went to National television in 2001. Attendance is once again on the rise, and the television ratings were up from last year for the season opening Daytona 500.  Fox Sports drew an 8.7 rating and a 20 share, which is up 13-percent from 2010. Fox also earned a 5.3 rating and an 11 share from Phoenix last Sunday, making it the highest rating of the weekend for any sports event.

    The first two races of the season have seen NASCAR’s ratings increase 13 percent over last year’s numbers. Sure we are only talking about the first two races, and for those who tuned into the race this past weekend in Las Vegas, it was clear to see the stands were once again full for the third straight weekend. NASCAR could very well be getting a second wind from its decline which began around 2007 and as recent as 2010, the fans seemed to lose interest and attendance quickly declined in a sport when names such as Tony Stewart, Jimmie Johnson, Dale Earnhardt Jr., Jeff Gordon, and Matt Kenseth quickly became household names.

    Interest in the sport along with some rule changes were targeted as the reason for the decline in viewership, along with the addition of a dwindling economy which boosted the cost to attend a race for the average fan.  The latest word on the street from the nay sayers is that NASCAR is continuing down a road of destruction, and it won’t be long before the sport quickly disappears into its own self-made black hole.

    Of course, none of this news is coming from the big man himself; instead, most of it gets started around these highly sophisticated tailgate parties, where the fans congregate to see who can conjure up the best destructive scenarios. For those fans who really feel the need to challenge themselves, try visiting one of the hundreds of NASCAR social sites which can be found on the Internet.

    There you will find every rule or regulation that NASCAR has ever implemented, along with the current state of the sport broken down to the root while being argued with the basis being, “Because I said so, and I have been a fan for x amount of years.” Now given the fact throughout the years, NASCAR just like any other sport is and always will be debated amongst its fans, try naming one person, or a group of people who could do a better job at managing one of motorsports’ biggest organizations?

    The reason being is because once again, the integrity of those who are running the sport has come under intense enemy fire from the fans, with most of the ammo targeting a false sense that the sport is in dire need of another rebuilding process. One area which is being falsely attacked is the decline in viewership, along with the current rule changes that some feel are not helping to boost the ratings. Viewership along with the fan base within the sport believe it or not, is up from where it was before NASCAR went full-time to national television in 2001.

    NASCAR is still the third most popular professional sport in the United States, behind the National Football League and Major League Baseball. What other sport comes close to averaging 70 to 80 thousand fans per event, and that’s without the other three or four million who are watching at home? Last year’s night race at Bristol attracted 5,322,537 viewers, and this increase was from the Sprint Cup race alone.

    An average of 5,841,952 viewers tuned in on Saturday, which is still above the 4.5 million average who were watching back in the 90’s when attendance jumped from 3.3 million to 6.5 million between that 10-year time span (1990-99). It’s no big secret the sport has seen a steady decrease in the last few seasons, but not all is lost in the game of love and war when looking at the numbers from a broader perspective.

    When NASCAR went to national television in 2001, the attendance at each track grew, which forced a lot of the smaller tracks to add more seating to accommodate the rapid growth of the sport. As an example, Bristol alone added an additional 90,000 seats between 1996 and 2002 which brought their total up to 160,000 from the 71,000 they were at before the increase. Dover also added an additional 20,000 seats between the same time periods, along with Richmond, which joined in with 10,000 of their own.

    So as the sport continued to grow and become more popular, so did the fans who flocked to the various race tracks to get their fill of the fastest growing sport in the Nation. The sudden growth left even the biggest critics scratching their heads in amazement, as America fell in love with the color, the speed, and the fast-paced excitement that at one time could only be viewed from one of the cable networks who covered the series. NASCAR reached its peak amid the 2004-06 seasons, even though the fans began to complain about some of the rule changes, with the biggest one being the institution of the Chase format. Between the 2007 and 2009 seasons, it became obvious the numbers began to taper off, and all you had to do was look at the empty stands which at one time were hard to come by.

    Many of the fans began expressing their displeasure with the way the sport was being run, with much of the speculation focused on the Chase format along with the introduction of Car of Tomorrow in 2008. No longer was NASCAR outpacing all other professional sports, and it was because the majority of the younger fans between the ages of 18-34, began looking elsewhere to get their adrenaline fix. In the meantime, the core of older fans continued to stick next to a sport that most grew up with, and NASCAR began to once again take action in hopes of keeping them from wandering off.

    “Our core fan is older, said NASCAR spokesman Ramsey Poston back in 2010. Poston also added, “That’s a fact. Our strategy and focus the last couple of years has been to target our core fan base. If we’re making strides with that fan base, it shows that our strategy is working.” NASCAR took it a step further by getting a fans perspective as far as what changes needed to be made to keep the sport exciting, and to bring the fans back when they created a 12,000 member online fan council. The fan council was responsible for a series of rule changes which included the double-file restarts, multiple attempts at overtime finishes, and a return to the traditional spoiler.

    NASCAR also added the Citizen Journalists Media Corps in 2009, which consists of 28 additional websites which are dedicated to providing information about NASCAR to a growing readership. Ever since the invention of the Internet, more fans have become dependent on the various websites that provide up to the minute news and information about the sport. The newspaper is quickly becoming obsolete around the world of sports, and NASCAR felt that a lot of the independent websites are becoming more professional with their content.

    NASCAR has been taking the necessary steps to keep the fans involved in the sport, even though the economy has taken its toll on the sport as a whole. Just like any other craze or trend, NASCAR reached its peak, and now it’s beginning to level off after going through a normal drop-off period. When you look at the viewership numbers from 10 to 15 years ago, NASCAR is still above their average, even though the teams and the tracks look as if they too are scaling-down. Don’t think for a second that most of the fans who no longer attend a race are not sitting at home watching on television.

    The organization now has nine regional touring series, and three national series including the Nationwide Series, Camping World Truck Series, and its premier series, the Sprint Cup races. The season is still young and too early to predict if the attendance numbers will continue to rise, especially with gas prices soaring through the roof and an unpredictable economy. But one thing to remember is, NASCAR is not going to slowly disappear into the abyss known as another mismanaged business venture as many think it might. Instead, the sport will be here longer than either you or I, and when you sit back and think about the competition it faces every single day as a family-owned organization.

  • Denny Hamlin Could Find Redemption at Phoenix With Better Fuel Strategy

    Denny Hamlin Could Find Redemption at Phoenix With Better Fuel Strategy

    The last time Joe Gibbs Racing driver Denny Hamlin visited Phoenix International Raceway, he was only two races away from accomplishing what no other driver had been able to achieve since NASCAR brought into play the Car of Tomorrow for full time use in 2008. Hamlin came so close to winning his first championship, and putting an end to Hendrick Motorsports driver Jimmie Johnson’s four year championship reign.

    [media-credit name=”Patrick McBride” align=”alignright” width=”240″][/media-credit]Instead after leaving Phoenix, gone was the look of confidence the NASCAR Sprint Cup point’s leader displayed after his win in the AAA Texas 500 on Nov. 7. It was replaced with a look of repugnance, after watching his dominating performance take a backseat to Johnson’s late-race fuel strategy payoff. Hamlin, who led a race high 190 laps while Johnson failed to lead a lap and collect the extra five bonus points, quickly found himself having to protect a small lead against the four-time champion heading into the final race at Homestead.

    The day began to unfold for Hamlin on lap 233, when Robby Gordon spun which brought out the caution and the leaders headed to pit road. Kyle Busch beat Hamlin off pit road to grab the lead with 87 laps left in the race, and Johnson passed Kevin Harvick in the pits to take over fourth place. Mike Ford told Hamlin over the radio they’re about 12-13 laps short on fuel, and that’s when Johnsons crew chief Chad Knaus, began scheming with his driver to save fuel in hopes of cutting into Hamlin’s point lead. Knaus was listening to the radio chatter when he overheard Ford telling Hamlin he was not going to make it to the end.

    Knaus’s gamble paid off when Johnson started conserving fuel with 15 laps left, and the team was able to finish the race in fifth, seven positions ahead of Hamlin. More importantly Johnson was able to shave an additional 43 points with the gamble and put himself within 15 points instead of 58, had Hamlin also gambled and finished the race in second without running out of fuel.

    On lap 288 Hamlin told his crew chief, “Don’t let them short-pit us, Mike,” and two laps later Hamlin also begins saving fuel knowing that Ford had already told him earlier they would be 12-13 laps short. Finally with 14 laps left in the race, Ford called Hamlin in for two tires and fuel which took him 7.6 seconds and put him a lap back. It wasn’t until lap 301 when Hamlin would pass Edwards and get his lap back, and with five laps left he was still outside the top-10 in 15th place, while Johnson was in serious conservation mode running in sixth.

    By the time the checkered was thrown, Hamlin crossed the line in 12th; Johnson picked up a spot and finished fifth with Harvick right behind in sixth. Johnson as we know went on to win his fifth championship, while Hamlin would spend the off-season wondering how he could let the championship slip away so easily. Hamlin talked about what his off-season was like when he said that, “I think just getting in the offseason — getting away from racing for a little while definitely helps a lot.” Hamlin also added that, “When you look back at it and I look back at it; it was a heck of a career year for myself.  That’s something that can’t be overlooked because it’s the best I’ve ever performed throughout my career — my young career.”

    The loss not only affected his fans, but it also affected the mindset of Hamlin in a positive way when he spoke about the upcoming season by saying, “Obviously, my passion for one thing.  You look at the video of me after the race and you wouldn’t think we’d still be leading the points, but it was just the passion because I knew that I let a big opportunity slip away from us in the sense of we could’ve gone to Homestead and just kind of rode around and collected a championship.”

    “For me, it was just my passion.  It’s always been in me — the competitiveness has always been in me and it will never change.” Hamlin also added that, “I’ve only been around this team, me and this team, for five year.  We’ve accomplished a lot of things that a lot of guys never will.  So, for me, I just look forward and try and figure out how we can progress and get to number one.”

    Hamlin will begin Sunday’s race from the 12th spot in the field, and once again will have to work his way to the front. Fuel along with tires will once again be an issue, unlike the race at Daytona last Sunday when the teams were able to come in for fuel only on many of the pit stops. If Ford and Hamlin play their strategy right, redemption could come in a very big way, even though the ghosts of what could have been might be lurking around.

  • NASCAR Beginnings Featuring Wendell Scott

    NASCAR Beginnings Featuring Wendell Scott

    Wendell Oliver Scott, born in 1921 in Danville, Virginia, was an American stock car driver and a pioneer of NASCAR.  On March 4, 1961 in Spartanburg SC, he broke down racial barriers to make his first start in the NASCAR Grand National (now Sprint Cup) division.  Scott went on to become the first and to date, the only, African-American to win a NASCAR Sprint Cup event.

    A look into his life gives us insight into a tumultuous part of NASCAR and American history.

    Scott didn’t know what he wanted to do with his life but was sure of one thing. Whatever it was, he would be his own boss.

    As a youngster he loved going fast, racing his bicycles against other kids and speeding around town on roller skates. Scott also grew up learning about cars at his father’s side. His Dad worked as a driver and mechanic for two wealthy white families and was well known for his prowess behind the wheel.

    Eventually Scott quit high school, became a taxi driver and later served in the segregated Army in Europe during World War II. After the war, he ran an auto-repair shop and ran moonshine on the side.

    Like others before him, he used the moonshine business to hone his driving skills and learn how to build fast race cars. Scott was only caught once and was sentenced to three years probation but continued to make whiskey runs.

    On May 23, 1952, a set of unusual circumstances gave Scott his first racing start.

    At that time the races in Danville were run by the Dixie Circuit, a competing organization to NASCAR.  In order to bring in more money, they decided that they needed a gimmick. Their idea was to bring in a black driver who was fast enough to compete with the usual white drivers. They chose Wendell Scott.

    That first race wasn’t a success. His car broke down and many spectators booed him. But at that moment, Scott realized this was what he wanted to do with the rest of his life.

    The next day brought Scott back down to earth. He repaired his car and decided to tow it to a NASCAR-sanctioned race in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. The NASCAR officials refused to let him compete telling him that black drivers weren’t allowed.

    He left the race with tears in his eyes but he didn’t quit.

    A few days later he went to another NASCAR event in High Point, North Carolina but was once again told he couldn’t race. They suggested he get a white boy to drive his car.

    “I told ’em weren’t no damn white boy going to drive my car,” Scott said.

    Instead, he left the track and decided to avoid NASCAR races for the time being.

    He raced with the Dixie Circuit and at other non-NASCAR speedways and won his first race at Lynchburg, Virginia, only twelve days into his racing career.

    As time passed, he still got boos but more and more fans began rooting for him. Although some of the drivers were prejudiced and would wreck him deliberately, many drivers came to respect Scott. They saw him as a driver no different from themselves, just another hard-working guy who loved racing.

    Soon, some of the newspapers began writing positive stories about Scott and his popularity increased.

    Scott understood, though, that in order to really succeed in the sport, he had to gain admission to NASCAR. He didn’t know NASCAR founder and president, Bill France, so Scott found a less direct way to get into NASCAR.

    He towed his racecar to a local NASCAR event at Richmond Speedway and asked the steward, Mike Poston, to grant him a NASCAR license. Poston was only a part-timer in NASCAR but he did have the authority to issue licenses.

    Poston told him, “We’ve never had any black drivers, and you’re going to be knocked around.”

    “I can take it,” Scott told him.

    Poston approved Scott’s license but his decision wasn’t popular.

    Scott finally met Bill France for the first time in April of 1954. The night before they met, the promoter at a NASCAR event in Raleigh, North Carolina, had given gas money to all of the white drivers who came to the track but had refused to pay Scott. Scott approached France at the Lynchburg speedway and told him what had happened.

    France immediately reached into his pocket, gave Scott thirty dollars and assured him that NASCAR would never treat him with prejudice.

    “You’re a NASCAR member, and as of now you will always be treated as a NASCAR member.”

    In 1961, Scott moved up to the NASCAR Grand National division.

    On December 1, 1963, driving a Chevrolet Bel Air purchased from Ned Jarrett, he won his first race at Speedway Park in Jacksonville, Florida — the first and only top level NASCAR event won by an African-American.

    Ironically, Scott almost didn’t make the race.

    Scott didn’t have enough cash in his pocket to make the long trip. So he asked Jarrett if he could borrow $500.00.

    “He was a race-car driver and I was a race-car driver,” Jarrett said.

    “But he was having a tough time because of his race at that particular period. He wasn’t going to get a lot of help. I thought he was a good race-car driver and he could be good for the sport.”

    Wendell had won the race, by two laps over Buck Baker, but it wasn’t without controversy. NASCAR waved the checkered flag over Baker and awarded him the trophy.

    Hours later, NASCAR officials admitted that Scott had won the race. They gave him a trophy about a month later in Savannah, but it wasn’t the real thing.

    Buck got the real trophy.

    He continued to race competitively through the rest of the 1960s but was forced to retire due to injuries from a racing accident at Talladega, Alabama in 1973.

    Scott achieved one win and 147 top ten finishes in 495 career Grand National starts.

    He died Dec. 22, 1990, after a long battle with spinal cancer.  In 1999, Scott was inducted into the International Motorsports Hall of Fame.

    I’m so glad we never gave up,” said Scott’s Widow Mary.

    “When Ned Jarrett and all of those old drivers came to Scott’s funeral, they told us he had the respect of all the drivers. I’d say all of those older guys learned to like him and respect him. They knew he was a genuine person and he stood for what he believed. He didn’t give up.”

    It has been 50 years since Scott’s first race in NASCAR’s premier series. His achievements will be honored on ESPN on February 20th with a movie entitled “Wendell Scott: A Race Story.”

    The film will air at 9 p.m. ET shortly after the 53rd running of the Daytona 500 race. It was produced by the Emmy Award-winning NASCAR Media Group in conjunction with ESPN Films and Max Siegel Inc.

    The docudrama will contain seldom seen historical footage plus interviews from members of Scott’s family and memories shared by some of stock car racing’s past legends.

    “Wendell Scott faced overwhelming challenges throughout his life and as a pioneer in his sport,” said John Dahl, executive producer, ESPN Films. “The film captures his strong sense of determination and honor with a poignant look at his struggles as well as an examination of his legacy.”

    Scott will always be remembered as the man who prepared the way for future generations of minorities in stock car racing.

    But what we should never forget is this. Wendell Scott was at heart simply a racer.

    All he wanted was a chance to prove himself out on the track. The real testament to his success is that he did just that and earned the respect of the other drivers in the process.

    Achievements:

    1963 – The first and only African-American to win a NASCAR Sprint Cup event.

    1999 – Inducted into the International Motorsports Hall of Fame

    2000 – Inducted into the National Motorsports Press Association Hall of Fame

    Thanks to Brian Donovan – “Hard Driving: The American Odyssey of NASCAR’s First Black Driver” and NASCAR for quotes.

  • Trevor Bayne – The Best of Both Worlds

    Trevor Bayne – The Best of Both Worlds

    Trevor Bayne has a knack for turning adversity into opportunity.

    Lack of sponsorship led to an abrupt release from Diamond Waltrip Racing in September of 2010. But just as quickly, Bayne found a new home with Roush Fenway Racing and his future has never looked brighter.

    On Friday, January 20th, Wood Brothers Racing announced that Trevor Bayne will drive the legendary No. 21 car during the 2011 season for a limited number of races in the Sprint Cup series.  He’s currently scheduled to run the first five Cup races of the season and then selected races during the remainder of the season. The goal is at least 17 starts with the possibility of more.

    [media-credit id=9 align=”alignleft” width=”100″][/media-credit]
    C)NASCAR
    I’ve had the opportunity to speak with Bayne a few times over the last couple of years and there are certain things I’ve come to expect. He’s always well-spoken and passionate; the perfect interview subject.

    But this time was a little different.

    This was Trevor Bayne in overdrive and the joy in his voice was unmistakable.

    “I couldn’t be more excited about this,” he told me. “I’ve had to keep it bottled up for the last month or so while we’ve been working on it. I’ve been really pumped up and now I finally get to let it all out.

    “I ran my first Cup race with them and now I’m going to get to continue with them this year. I think its awesome news.”

    “They’re one of the longest standing NASCAR teams and then here I am, their youngest driver ever, so you get a little bit of both worlds.”

    We talked about his first full season in the Nationwide Series and the experiences he’ll take with him as he begins the next stage in his career.

    “I learned you have to be consistent. It doesn’t matter if you win every race or finish fifth or tenth. You have to be around at the end of every race. There’s no way you’re going to win a championship if you put your car in situations it shouldn’t be in.”

    Another thing that sets Bayne apart from other young drivers is his ability to learn from not only the good, but the bad experiences, as well.

    His unanticipated release from Diamond Waltrip Racing taught him a valuable lesson.

    “Every time it seems like things are falling apart, another door opens and that’s the way it happened for me. I’m really fortunate to have these kinds of opportunities. It would be easy to point fingers or be upset about things and sometimes I feel like that. But for the most part, I try to look for that next opportunity and keep moving forward.”

    Bayne is thrilled to be part of the Roush Fenway Racing team and his new alliance with Wood Brothers Racing is the icing on the cake.

    His enthusiasm is infectious as he talks about his latest opportunity with the legendary team.

    “You can go into their shop and almost see a piece of every bit of NASCAR since it started. It’s really cool to see that within one team. They’ve been around for everything and you can’t buy that kind of experience.”

    While Bayne has been testing the No. 21 car, he’s spent his down time soaking up the atmosphere and listening to tales of the “good old days.”

    “Since we’ve been down here in Daytona they’ve been telling me stories about what people used to do, just all kinds of crazy things that no one would even think about doing now or they’d be in NASCAR jail,” he joked. “It’s been really cool to hear the history.”

    Bayne isn’t worried that he might be over-extending himself by running in both the Nationwide and Cup series. Instead he looks at it as opportunity for growth.

    “I’m 19 years old, I’ve got all the energy in the world and I need to use it and get as much experience as I can. Obviously this is a much higher tension, more pressure situation than I’ve had in the past but I think it’s going to help me grow a lot faster, being in the seat that much.”

    I asked Bayne about his plans for the future but for right now he’s happy living his dream and savoring each moment.

    “I’m going to take things one step at a time. No matter how far you plan ahead, no matter how long a contract you have, no matter what anyone says, everything can change in the matter of a month or a week.  I’ve learned to make the most of what I have while I have it. I think if we do that other opportunities will come and we’ll take those when they get here.”

    Trevor Bayne is bursting with energy and loving every minute of his life. Add talent and determination to the equation and you have a recipe for success.

    As we ended the interview, something Bayne said, struck a chord.

    “When you look around the shop you can just tell there are a lot more stories to be written.”

    I can’t help but picture future generations of drivers listening to stories of Trevor Bayne and how he wrote a new chapter in the legacy of Wood Brothers Racing.

  • Kyle Busch Becomes Poster Boy For ‘Have At It Boys’ With Display of Emotion

    Kyle Busch Becomes Poster Boy For ‘Have At It Boys’ With Display of Emotion

    When Robin Pemberton uttered those four words last year in January, a lot of people were curious as to how the drivers would react. Most thought it would equal some emotions being shown, but at the end of the year, it went beyond just a little bit of emotion.

    [media-credit name=”Barry Albert” align=”alignleft” width=”300″][/media-credit]It was easily seen that Kyle Busch would be the poster boy for it, via some of his antics in the past. These antics have some fans not liking Busch for who he is.

    A simple poll of the fans easily shows that one of the drivers that seems to be on everybody’s list is Kyle Busch. In asking a group of fans as to why, you quickly get the sense it has to do with attitude and actions like the above.

    “He just gives off this vibe that he is better then everybody else and it’s all about him,” Evan Towle said. “Sort of like a young Tony Stewart used to be. Tony used to get on my nerves when he first started in NASCAR, but now he has matured and I like him.”

    “I tend to agree with a lot of the way Kyle Busch acts,” Kyle Sedan said. “Sometimes it’s rather annoying.”

    “Arrogant attitude, expects respect on the track but doesn’t give it back, whines about others when he is doing the same thing, fake,” one fan commented.

    “His attitude,” Cathy Gamble Costigan simply puts it.

    If you take his attitude out of the equation, then a lot of people seem to have respect for him.

    “I am, personally, a Tony Stewart fan, but for Kyle, love him or hate him, he is a damn good driver,” Mike Hearty said. “Race wins don’t lie.”

    “I do really like his support/involvement and commitment to short-track racing.” Sedan added.

    A lot of people have been debating that he needs to change, which has come with mixed reactions.

    Towle says, “We don’t need him, as the sport is doing fine without his babyish acts.”

    In some ways, there are certain things that Busch has to become better at, such as some of the things that we saw this past weekend.

    However overall, the sport needs somebody like Busch. His actions do spruce things up and add something different to the sport, and are needed to invoke discussion and rivalry. If everybody was the same cut, wouldn’t it get boring after a while?

    As Mike Hearty and Kyle Sedan both say, it adds to the sport.

    “I personally love Kyle’s attitude myself,” Hearty said. “NASCAR is entertainment and Kyle entertains in any way he can. Each sport needs a standout person the fans can have a choice to love or hate and he is the one. I do believe, though, when he matures more, his attitude will die down. I think he is young, a star and living in the moment right now.”

    “People either ‘love him’ or ‘love to hate him’,” Sedan says. “So he most definitely adds to the sport, and it is good for it.”

    This year was no exception as he added his own version of “Have at it Boys” to each of the divisions.

    Sprint Cup Series All-Star Race with Denny Hamlin

    After teammate Denny Hamlin took the air off the back of Busch’s car during the Sprint All-Star Race, Busch wasn’t too pleased at all as he called Hamlin out on it.

    “Somebody better keep me from Denny Hamlin after this race!” Busch yelled on the radio. “I had this race won. It was won.”

    Busch then drove the car to the garage area, parking directly in front of Hamlin’s hauler. He went inside and waited till Hamlin got there, where they had a discussion with car owner Joe Gibbs in the middle.

    “Kyle had a run to the outside and with me moving up and getting real tight, it then took some air away from the front of his car and he slid up into the wall. It’s tough for me,” Hamlin told Speed. “We talked about it and basically Kyle was just frustrated; he felt like he had a really good car. Me, I just came from the back with no practice and got back to the front where we needed to be and I felt like if I gave up the lead right there then I was going to give up the win.

    “I don’t think Kyle would do anything different if he was in my situation. It’s just when you’re the leader, my feeling is that you’ve got the whole race track. If a guy is to the outside. then that’s when you need to hold your line.”

    Nationwide Series Food City 250 Bristol Race with Brad Keselowski

    As the Nationwide race was getting closer to ending, Kyle Busch and Brad Keselowski were battling hard for the lead. After contact from Keselowski caused Busch to hit the wall, Busch drove back up to Keselowski’s bumper, spinning him.

    “I raced him, raced him, raced him, I don’t know, 12-15 laps? I thought I had him cleared up the back and I moved up in front of him and instead of him doing an [Dale] Earnhardt crossover, he decided to just run into the back of me and put me in the fence,” Busch said.

    “That’s Brad Keselowski. So I went down into the next corner and I dumped him. He does it to everybody else, why can’t I do it to him?”

    Busch won the race while Keselowski ended up 14th.

    “He did a good job, almost cleared me and took it for granted that I would lift to let him in line and I didn’t,” Keselowski said. “That’s his right. We’re going to go to work on beating him next week, and the week after and every other week.”

    In his victory celebration, he changed it up by mocking somebody crying like a baby instead of his bow to go along with the reaction of the fans.

    Truck Series Built Ford Tough 225 at Kentucky and Championship Battle with Todd Bodine

    Early in the race, it was set in stone that it would come down to a battle between Todd Bodine and Kyle Busch. On lap 82 while battling for the lead, Busch took the air off of Bodine’s truck causing him to spin. Though this ended up helping Bodine as with the unscheduled pit stop and resulting strategy, he came out as the winner while Busch finished seventh.

    “Our misfortune turned out to be a fortune,” Bodine said in victory lane. “I’d like to thank Kyle Busch for driving dirty, sucking me down and getting me spun out. That (stop) gave me enough gas. He doesn’t cut anybody a break. He drives that way in every division in every race.”

    Upon hearing the comments, Busch interrupted Bodine’s victory celebration to display his displeasure.

    “He (Busch) doesn’t have to drive like that to win; but he does,” Bodine said. “NASCAR won’t do anything about it. He was mad because I called him out on it.”

    This confrontation at Kentucky promoted a long, hard battle for the Owner’s Championship between Germain Racing (Todd Bodine’s team) and Kyle Busch Motorsports.

    Martinsville was no exception to their battle as they fought hard side-by-side, and at one point, Bodine was accused of trying to fool Busch on a restart.

    “If they think I was trying to do a slow restart to fool Kyle Busch, they are wrong,” Bodine said on the radio at that time. “I just didn’t get a good restart. Message delivered—I’ll work on it.”

    In the end, it was KBM coming out on top.

    The Complete Texas Weekend

    On Friday, Kyle Busch won the Camping World Truck Series race to take over the owner’s points championship standings for Kyle Busch Motorsports.

    On Saturday, Busch finished second to Carl Edwards in the Nationwide Series race, though was unhappy about it as he thought Edwards jumped the start.

    “Does it f—- matter?” Busch said afterwards. “Race is over, guy’s in Victory Lane.”

    On Sunday, Busch stirred up controversy again, following repairs that he had to make on pit road after a wreck.

    Under caution, Busch sped off pit road to try to beat the pace car and stay on the lead lap. He caught up, but NASCAR penalized him one lap for speeding.

    Busch then went on a rant on the radio against NASCAR and showed the officials the middle finger on pit road, which incurred a penalty of two laps for driver misconduct.

    “I’m the only one who will stand up to ’em, and they’re gonna show me how far I can stand up,” Busch said on the radio after the penalty. He then added that it was freedom of speech, going against the constitutional rights of everybody.

    NASCAR penalized Busch $25,000 and putting him on probation until December 31st for “actions dentimental to the sport of stock car racing”.

    Busch released the following statement following the announcement…

    “I accept NASCAR’s penalty and realize what I did during Sunday’s race at Texas was inappropriate.

    “Even in my relatively short time here in NASCAR, it’s pretty obvious to everyone that I wear my emotions on my sleeve. Sometimes that passion has allowed me to find that little something extra I needed to win, and other times it’s made me cross the line. Sunday at Texas was one of those days.

     “I lost my cool, plain and simple. It’s not acceptable, and I know that. I apologize to NASCAR, its fans, all the partners who support Joe Gibbs Racing, and all the people who work so hard to give me a race car that’s capable of winning races every week. All of those people deserve better from me, and I owe it to them to keep my emotions in check.”

     

    Busch had other key incidents this year, including an argument with Jeff Burton. Though with them all, he just kept being himself and holding his part in the “Have at it Boys” policy.

    During the next couple of weeks, I will reflect upon these incidents as we look back at what all broke loose in 2010.

  • Scott Speed Files 6.5 Million Lawsuit Against Red Bull Racing

    Scott Speed Files 6.5 Million Lawsuit Against Red Bull Racing

    After being told he wouldn’t be driving for them at the end of November, Scott Speed is filing a $6.5 million lawsuit against Red Bull Racing for breaking terms in the contract.

    After finishing 30th in points, Speed said he was notified by fax on November 24th that he wouldn’t be returning to the team in 2011.

    “I’m obviously stupid disappointed that I didn’t even get a phone call, not a conversation, not anything from anyone from Austria,” Speed told Bob Pockrass Wednesday in a phone interview. “They all showed up at Miami. None of them spoke a word to me. I got a fax.”

    He also added that he did have a contract for 2011, yet wouldn’t discuss the terms.

    “I can’t describe how upset I am just over the morality of it,” Speed said. “I don’t understand how you can treat people like this. Whatever. I know that’s not how I treat people.”

    SceneDaily in their report said, “According to the lawsuit, Speed signed a three-year deal in September 2007 for a salary of $300,000 in 2008, $500,000 in 2009 and $1 million in 2010. He would receive 50 percent of prize money for each top-10 finish, 45 percent for finishes 11th-20th and 40 percent of prize money for finishes of 21st or worse.

    “In June 2008, the deal was amended to include 2011 at a salary of $1.5 million and options for 2012-2013 at raises of $500,000 annually. In January 2010, the deal was revised to cut Speed’s pay from $1 million to $500,000 for 2010, according to the complaint.”

    Speed adds in the lawsuit that Red Bull picked up Speed’s option through 2013 in May 2010, but then broke that promise via firing him on November 23rd. The $6.5 million represents the salary that Speed would have received from 2011-2013.

    The 2010 season was meant to be Speed’s breakout year and it started out that way, yet went down hill once teammate Brian Vickers got sick.

    “When Brian got sick, we were both in the 20s in points just because of luck – honestly, we ran better than that,” Speed said. “We were going to put this driver in [for Vickers], and their old team was trying this [setup], so [we decided], ‘Let’s try this.’ … As a team, we kind of [crapped] the bed, really. There’s no question throughout the year we performed terribly.

    “At the end of the day, I was a scapegoat for that, I guess.”

    In August, when it was announced that Kasey Kahne would be joining the team in 2010, a lot of people had counted Speed out of Red Bull Racing with Vickers set to return come the following year. Speed said there were options laid on the table for him, however.

    “They made it pretty clear with four or five races left that their plan was pretty simple – that if Brian doesn’t get better, then I’m their guy, but if Brian does get better, the options are open for maybe a third car, maybe Nationwide or something – that was the last I heard, was basically I’m waiting there to see if Brian is all right,” Speed said.

    In the process of everything, Speed said he understood the decision, but doesn’t like how it was done.

    “They had the opportunity to get Kasey Kahne, which is a no-brainer,” he said. “I would do the same thing. Then it’s ‘OK, do you want Scott Speed or Brian Vickers next year after that?’ Even though I think I’m probably performing at a similar level to Brian, I’d still take Brian over myself even because of his experience level.

    “It makes sense what they’re doing. I just think they did it all wrong. They didn’t treat me fairly over the whole deal.”

    He also adds, “They thought it was OK to kick me to the curb and not try to do absolutely anything for me. They didn’t want to pay me anything. They didn’t want to help me get into any other kind of ride. Nothing. They were, ‘OK, we’re done with you. Thank you for seven-and-a-half years.’

    “Honestly, I’m still a little bit shocked over the whole situation.”

    Also with Kahne coming over, it was announced that some employees were being laid off as Kenny Francis, crew chief for Kahne, was bringing over his own bunce of guys. Speed said that his guys shoudn’t be blamed for the bad performance as that should be on the guys at the top of the chain.

    “Changes that change the performance of the car are made at the top level,” Speed said. “When John Probst took over [general manager] Jay Frye’s sort of role running the team from a competition side, things changed and stuff got a lot better. … Then shortly after that, with everyone sort of fighting for their job, sort of a little bit working against each other, things got worse again.

    “But the cars, during the middle part of the year, were terrible. They were terrible not because of the guys physically working on the cars. That’s not fair to say at all. That’s never the case. There’s three or four guys at the top that are deciding what bodies are going on what cars, what cars are going to run and that’s where the speed is at.”

    He claims in the lawsuit that the real reason the team did not run well was due to the lack of funding in place.

    This past month has not gone as well for Speed as a whole as he found out the same day that he was released that his mom had cancer.

    “My mom was diagnosed with cancer on the same day [I was released], so it kind of puts life into a little bit more perspective than, ‘Oh my God, I just lost a racing ride,’” Speed said. “It’s terrible, but priorities change a little bit. In any case, it’s not just a case of finding a new ride or a new sponsor.

    “I’ve never had a manager my whole career, for example. Red Bull has always told me where to go and what to do. There’s never been a need for a manager, especially somebody trying to find money and a ride. The decision I make for myself and where I go after Red Bull is a huge one. What brand do I associate myself after a seven-and-a-half year relationship with Red Bull? I have a global brand name with my career in Formula One and with what Red Bull has done with my stock-car racing career.”

    Red Bull Racing was approached by SceneDaily for a comment, yet said they did not have anything to say.

    Speed is not the first driver to be suing someone this offseason as Robby Gordon is suing Extenze after he feels he was wronged by them in terms of putting Kevin Conway in his car.

  • NASCAR’s Final Chapter of 2010: Horseshoes, Hand Grenades and Hope

    NASCAR’s Final Chapter of 2010: Horseshoes, Hand Grenades and Hope

    The Daytona 500 may still be months away, but fans, media and the drivers themselves are already gearing up for the 2011 season.  After the wild ride that we took in 2010, how could next year possibly compare?

    For the first time in since the introduction of the Chase in 2004, where only 18 points separated points leader Kurt Busch and Jimmie Johnson heading into Homestead, have we seen such a close battle for the Sprint Cup. Another first was seeing someone other than Jimmie Johnson sitting in the No. 1 position after race 35, a position that Johnson had majestically held since 2006.

    [media-credit name=”Barry Albert” align=”alignright” width=”300″][/media-credit]Denny Hamlin gave us hope. Hope that the winning streak the No. 48 team so gleefully basked in four times prior would be broken. Hope that maybe the Chase was not the flawed monster that conspiracy theorists declaimed. Hope that for once in a great while fans would watch every lap of the Ford 400 without changing the channel in disgust, because a champion had been crowned long before the final lap was run.

    Well, two out of three ain’t bad.

    Hamlin may not have been able to steal the golden crown from Johnson, but he did give him a hell of a fight. The trophy was Hamlin’s to lose and Johnson stole it away with calculated perfection and luck.

    After a rear axle problem took Johnson out of the Daytona 500 on lap 185, we delighted in the notion that maybe the 48 crew’s cream would not rise to the top in 2010.

    Chad Knaus proved us wrong by whipping up a brand new batch of vanilla confection and boldly serving it atop a plate of crow, after the 48 team posted a first place finish, just one week later in California.

    On February 21, during a post-race press conference in Fontana, fans may recall a certain scorned second placed finisher, hailing Johnson and his crew for their serendipitous win.

    As luck would have it, Johnson pitted right before Brad Keselowski spun out on lap 230 and was able to restart in the first position with just 20 laps to go, all but forcing the other leaders to pit under caution. Despite a rear bumper full of Kevin Harvick’s No. 29 machine, Johnson maintained his position until the checkered flag waved.

    Once again a strange twist of NASCAR fate worked in favor of the No. 48 team, but how?

    Kevin Harvick had his own theories stating in his post-race interview, “They did a good job today in winning the race, but they have a golden horseshoe stuck up their ass. I mean, there’s no way to get around that.”

    Hmmm…so that’s where he’s been hiding that good fortune for the last five years, knowing all along it was the one place that NASCAR would never inspect. Reminds me of the story told by Captain Koons to a young boy named Butch in the movie Pulp Fiction regarding the child’s birthright, his great-grandfather’s watch.

    “He hid it (the watch) in the one place he knew he could hide something. His ass. Five long years, he wore this watch up his ass. And then he died of dysentery, he gave me the watch. I hid this uncomfortable hunk of metal up my ass for two years. Then, after seven years, I was sent home to my family. And now, little man, I give the watch to you.”

    Jeez, what does this mean? If Jimmie dies from dysentery will Chad Knaus have to hide that golden horseshoe up his own ass until the next champion comes along?

    Hey, I’m not knocking the guy, I’m just saying that it might be easier to just carry a rabbit’s foot, but to each is own. 34 races later,  The golden horseshoe proved lucky for Johnson in Homestead, just when he needed it most. In the end, the luck o’ the 48  propelled him from a 15 point deficit to a 38 point lead over Hamlin and the “Drive for Five” was in the books.

    But what if?

    What if Harvick hadn’t launched his No. 29 Chevrolet like a loose hand grenade into Kyle Busch’s bumper on lap 242?

    I know that Harvick hoped to capture the title in the end and in turn raced hard to gain points on Hamlin and Johnson after battling back from a speeding penalty on pit road at lap 188. I know he had his own frustrations with Busch on the track stating,“He raced me like a clown all day – three-wide, on the back bumper, running into me, and I just had enough. The last time I just didn’t lift”

    If he hadn’t wrecked Busch, the caution flag would not have flown with 25 laps to go. Hamlin would not have gone a lap down, leaving him in a position to restart the final leg of the race at the tail end of the lead lap in the 20th position; conclusively dashing any chance of winning the championship.

    Hamlin knew it was the perfect storm of mayhem that the 48 team needed to grab hold of the reigns and steer it home.

    “I thought it was over when the 18 (of Kyle Busch) wrecked, for sure – that trapped us a lap down,” Hamlin said. “The 29 (of Harvick) and the 48 (of Johnson) were actually just a straightaway ahead, but the way it timed out to when that caution fell, it trapped us a lap down, and so they stayed out and the cars at the back all came and got tires, so it separated us.

    “What was a straightaway turned into 15 spots when that caution flew, and that really hurt us quite a bit. But we were lucky to be in that position – our car was banged up bad and we just could not overcome that.”

    Joe Gibbs Racing President J.D. Gibbs said he wasn’t happy with the Harvick-Busch incident, saying it impacted the Chase by putting Hamlin a lap down.

    “We got wrecked by the 29 [of Harvick], so that was really frustrating – it caused Denny to go a lap down,” Gibbs said. “That was disappointing.”

    What if Hamlin had not damaged his splitter after spinning out on lap 24, was he doomed from the start?

    What if Johnson’s engine had given up the ghost on lap 200 instead of teammate Jeff Gordon’s?

    What if anyone, anyone, other than Johnson had won the championship this year, would we fans be happy with what we could have gotten in the end?

    Life continuously leaves us wondering “what if” and as we reflect on all of the different scenarios, we often kick ourselves over the “shoulda, whoulda, couldas,” but never can we go back and change the outcome.

    There is always next year, right? Yes there is! A new year filled with anticipations of what the 2011 Sprint Cup season will hold. Sure, some say that they’ll never watch another NASCAR race since it is so “obviously rigged” in Johnson’s favor, but I don’t believe you. You’ll find yourself flipping through the channels on February 20 and pause “for just a moment” to watch the green flag drop. Before you know it, you’re hooked all over again.

    While Jimmie Johnson does not top my list of favorite drivers, I do have respect and a clear understanding of his accomplishments. We witnessed something on November 21 that we will probably never see again. It was an amazing piece of history in the making and as a NASCAR fan, it is something that I am proud to have been a part of.

    The 2011 season will no doubt bring lots of hope and hype. I, along with millions of fans around the world will be there once again for the ride of our lives. So, NASCAR show me what you’ve got! Jimmie Johnson may be your “ace in the hole” for now, but I’m pretty sure we ain’t seen nothing yet.

  • The Story of Ron Malec, Car Chief for Championship Team No. 48

    The Story of Ron Malec, Car Chief for Championship Team No. 48

    When it comes down to a championship team, most people focus on the driver. Then there are some who focus on the crew chief and car owner, yet how many care to look at the car chief?

    [media-credit name=”Brad Keppel” align=”alignleft” width=”300″][/media-credit]Meet Franklin, Wis. native Ron Malec, car chief for the five-time consecutive championship No. 48 team, driven by Jimmie Johnson.

    Malec has known worked with Johnson the longest amongst anybody on the team. While some have joined recently and while some have been with Johnson since the formation of the group in 2002, Malec goes further back than that.

    The two met before Johnson even headed to NASCAR on Johnson’s off-road racing days on the SCORE circuit. Malec had a background in racing as grew up racing go-karts (including two championships), sportsman cars and late models in the Midwest.

    Their friendship grew through sharing an apartment in Pewaukee, Wis. and Malec began working on Johnson’s American Speed Association (ASA) cars in 1998.

    “Getting my first job on that ASA team with Jimmie in 1998 and being able to work on a professional race team,” Malec told HendrickMotorsports.com in speaking of his favorite racing memory. “It’s such a big accomplishment in my life because I really didn’t have a set path prior to that. Then I kind of set my path and started my career in professional motorsports.”

    They grew close during those days, teasing each other for their simple tastes in food. When money was tight and they went to Sam’s Club to stock up on food, Johnson would buy Hamburger Helper in bulk while Malec would purchase a five-gallon bucket of white rice, plus salt and Frosted Flakes.

    When it came time for Johnson to make the jump to Hendrick Motorsports, Malec would go join him, becoming the team’s rear-tire carrier.

    These days, Malec joins Chad Knaus a top the pit box, helping in running the team.

    “There are times when I definitely miss it and there are times when I don’t,” he said. “The times when you make a difference in the race, yeah. But I feel like I’m still a part of it. There are days when you wish you were a part of it, but then there are the days when your back is hurting when you get to the race.”

    The role of the car chief involves a lot of week as it’s the car chief’s responsibility to make sure the car is ready for the weekend.

    “There is a lot of preparation that goes on with the car before you get to the track,” Malec told ESPN. “On Tuesday and Wednesday, you’re loading up the truck and on Friday, it’s the longest day of the weekend. You go through technical inspection. That’s the most work that goes on. During the race, I’m more of a middle man. More hands on work during the week.”

    The role of the car chief basically boils down to making “sure that the car is prepared well and that it’s right mechanically. That it’s set up well. Nothing comes loose or breaks. That’s my concern pretty much the entire weekend.”

    During the race, Malec is a busy guy, communicating with the entire team.

    “I’m in communication with the crew chief and the pit crew,” Malec said. “I choreograph what Chad wants to do during the race and I coordinate with the pit coach and the guys who go over the wall.”

    One of the key aspects of Malec’s job is to make sure the adjustments crew chief Chad Knaus and Johnson request get done.

    “I’m pretty much a guy that’s pretty hands on with the crew,” Malec said. “I understand the pit stop procedure, because I did it for so long. I can interact with them right away and make a decision with them to make an adjustment that Chad is asking for. I’m pretty much hands on with them for 100% of the race.”

    Sometimes, at times, Malec also has a big role in the adjustments made.

    “Chad makes most of the suggestions during the race,” he said. “If we need to make an adjustment on the race car and it will affect something mechanically, I’ll say something to Jimmie. I will give some advice if he asks me for it. I try to leave that up to Greg, the engineer. If it doesn’t affect the car mechanically, I don’t get involved.”

    Malec has been a car chief for seven years and says his favourite aspect of racing is the competition.

    “I think it’s the competition level,” Malec said. “It’s the drive to win every week. Obviously, to maintain the level we’re at right now is a lot of effort. I love the challenge to maintain the top of where we are. It’s a level of competitiveness that’s hard to reach. It’s what we have to do and expected of us, working at Hendricks.”

    There was talk that he may move up into the role of a crew chief, though Malec says he’s currently happy where he is at, making history with the 48 team.

    Another part of it is the idea of working on cars as when he’s not at the track, he’s restoring old cars in his garage.

    “That’s pretty much my hobby,” he told NASCAR Online. “It takes my mind off things. It gives me something else to focus on, to take away the stress of the job. I guess most people would say it’s not stress-free, but I guess I like pushing myself in life — and that’s how I stay driven on everything else. I drive myself to get this car project done at home, and it just keeps your drive going so you never slow down.”

    Before he got involved in racing, his first job was working at a golf course, parking golf carts and washing them.

    “I was 13 years old, and we would race the golf carts.” He said.

    Johnson says that since then, they’ve both grown a lot.

    “Ron and I, a friend of ours put us together,” Johnson said while looking back. “We kind of knew each other from the racetrack, all the racing I was doing. But a friend put us together and thought we would be roommates essentially, because I needed somewhere to live, felt like he could be a big asset to our race team. He was right.

    “We’ve come a long way. I mean, from my first time driving an ASA stock car to where we are today, we’ve been through a ton together. I deeply miss Howie and everything he taught me about stock cars and kind of being a man. Ron and I were pretty young guys trying to figure out life. Howie had a great way to keep us in check, keep us in line, did a lot for me on and off the racetrack.”