Happy Thursday. Today In Nascar History Dec. 10, 1922: Sports car standout Bob Grossman, who made two starts in the Cup Series, is born on this day. Grossman's first start came in NASCAR's first road race, in June 1954 at Linden Airport in New Jersey. Some reports say Grossman wore Gucci loafers while piloting his Jaguar to a fifth-place finish. His second start came 11 years later at Watkins Glen, a 16th-place finish. Grossman died in 2002. Quote of the Year There's an unwritten rule in NASCAR: Thou shalt not take on Dale Earnhardt Jr. --Terry Blount/espn Quote of the Day I've commiserated with other people [in these fights], but I don't want folks worrying. It is what it is. I'm gonna do everything I can to get healthy. -- Jim Hunter Countdown to Daytona 66 Bits and Pieces Evernham to announce donation to build RMH in Charlotte: former Jeff Gordon championship crew chief and winning car owner, Ray Evernham, will hold a press conference announcing a substantial donation he is making to the Ronald McDonald House (RMH) of Charlotte. The press conference will be held at the future site of House (located at 1600 block of East Morehead Street) on Thursday, Dec. 10 and will begin promptly at noon. Evernham will also announce that he is joining the RMH of Charlotte's Executive Board. Mr. Evernham will discuss his donation, why he's joining the board and why it is important for the surrounding community to get behind the RMH of Charlotte. He will also discuss his personal RMH experience after his son, Ray J., was diagnosed with leukemia years ago. Ray J. survived his ordeal and will also be at the press conference to tell why the RMH is so important to him and his family. Fellow RMH of Charlotte board member, officials, volunteers and families will be on hand during this announcement. (Victory Management Group) Testing at the Rock: On Monday, December 7th, #31-Jeff Burton tested a Richard Childress Racing Sprint Cup Chevy at the "Little Rock" 1.2 mile oval at Rockingham Speedway. Ty Dillon tested a RCR Nationwide car. On Tuesday Ricky Stenhouse, Jr. tested a Roush Fenway Racing Nationwide Ford on the one-mile track at Rockingham. Rockingham Speedway is getting ready for the Polar Bear 150 on January 1st, 2010, more info at rockinghamracewaypark.com. Biffle's team finishes 2nd in off-road race: #16-Greg Biffle made his off-road racing debut last weekend in the Henderson Fabtech Desert Classic, which was sanctioned by the Best in the Desert Racing Association. Biffle, along with teammates Rob MacCachren and Steve Olliges, finished second in class [37th overall] behind the wheel of the Ford F-150 SVT Raptor R.(Ford Racing) Wally Dallenbach Jr. Foundation Announced: Fulfilling a life's dream to give back to his community, to assist children in their time of need and to educate and impart a passion for the outdoors, Wally Dallenbach Jr., former NASCAR driver and current broadcast commentator [TNT's six-race Sprint Cup Series schedule June/July], businessman and family man, is proud to announce the creation of the Wally Dallenbach Jr. Foundation.. The mission of the 501(c)(3) charitable organization is to give children who have lost a parent the opportunity to learn about the outdoors, their heritage and their late parent's passion through hunting and fishing expeditions. The idea for the Wally Dallenbach Jr. Foundation was created when Dallenbach was making an appearance at a Bass Pro Shops store. There, Dallenbach was approached by a little boy. In his discussion with the child, Dallenbach learned that the boy had lost his father, an avid outdoors enthusiast. Trying to learn more about his father's life and passion, the boy insisted that he and his mother visit the outdoors store to enjoy a shopping experience that the boy had once with his father. Unfortunately, the boy's father passed on before they were able to have a "father-son outdoors adventure." Dallenbach was moved by the boy's story and since then he has heard many more just like it missed opportunities due to the untimely passing of a loved one. Instead of merely listening, he decided to do his part to assist these kids, as well as their surviving parent, through the creation of the Wally Dallenbach Jr. Foundation. The Wally Dallenbach Jr. Foundation also features a board of directors with representatives from the outdoors retail world, television executives and other captains of industry, all of whom will take an active role in the enhancement and continuity of the Foundation. For more information about the Wally Dallenbach Jr. Foundation, please visit www.wallydallenbachjrfoundation.com. RCR plans to run #07 at Daytona: UPDATE: Richard Childress Racing will run a fourth car in the 2010 Daytona 500, the #07 Chevy that finished 21st in the 2009 Cup owners' standings with driver Casey Mears, a team spokesman said on Wednesday. But beyond that, the car's schedule will be determined by sponsorship, the lack of which put Mears on the job market at the end of 2009. Mears will drive the car at Daytona, where it's a guaranteed starter in the lucrative season opener, "unless he gets another full-time ride," the RCR source said. If Mears isn't available, another driver would be selected. The car's crew chief is also to be determined after Doug Randolph, who was Mears' crew chief at the end of the season, this week began working as Bobby Labonte's chief mechanic at TRG Motorsports. The source said that RCR is in "serious talks with a number of potential sponsors and we're still aiming towards fielding that car full-time in 2010."(NASCAR.com) UPDATE: With sponsor Jack Daniel's having left Richard Childress Racing at the end of the 2009 NASCAR Sprint Cup season, a small number of layoffs have begun at the team's Welcome, N.C., shops. A team representative said that "fewer than a dozen" employees had been let go this week in advance of the #07 possibly being shut down for 2010. That decision has not been made yet, with team owner Richard Childress previously saying that he could wait as long as mid-January before making a definitive commitment on the team's plans for next season. As it stands now, the team has decided nothing for certain beyond entering the Daytona 500 next February. Also up in the air is the question of who will drive the car, if it does find sponsorship. Casey Mears was the pilot of the #07 this season, but was released at the end of the year. If he doesn't find another ride before Daytona, he could be back with the team, according to an RCR source. Mears also has been linked to a possible drive with the #09 Miccosukee Resorts-sponsored entry of Florida team owner James Finch.(SPEEDtv) Cup Banquet TV ratings: Coverage of the 2009 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Awards Ceremony on SPEED scored an average Nielsen Household Rating of .65 (484,000 households), its highest number in three years. The four-hour event peaked at a .79 (588,000 households). Live coverage of the ceremony, in its first year ever on the network, was up 44 percent year-to-year among Households and 52 percent among Men 18-49. "We've seen some very encouraging NASCAR ratings trends on SPEED this year," said network President Hunter Nickell. "Getting a solid number out of the gate with the Awards Ceremony has us very excited about with this event can become in the very near future for the network and for the sport."(SPEED PR) Latest on Waltrip's plans: So, what will Michael Waltrip be doing in 2010? Waltrip told me [Dustin Long] that as of now he thinks he'll only run four Cup races next year...all four restrictor-plate races (unless more sponsorship is found). As for Nationwide? "I'd like to run some Nationwide races, I'd like to run some Truck races, so I'm still just seeing what's out there,'' he said."I'll do anything, I just want to race every now and then'' and then he laughed. Good news for Mikey fans, he says he'll be back on Speed's broadcast of the Truck races next year.(Hampton Roads) More races could be shown online: There's a chance you could be watching more races online this season. Right now, the only races you can watch online are the six TNT races since Turner owns all the online rights for the broadcasts. Thus, ESPN, Fox and ABC can't show any race live online. You can watch the TNT races on NASCAR.com's Race Buddy program, which last year featured live shots from four different vantage points. This year, you might get to see more NASCAR races online, so when the race goes to commercial on TV, you wouldn't have to miss anything. Here's what Lenny Daniels, Chief Operating Officer for Turner Sports told [Dustin Long] about the future of having more races shown online: "We are going to attempt to work out a deal with Fox and ESPN. It's an intersectional rights, is what it is. When Turner has all the rights (TV and Internet), we can show it any way we want. If you're ESPN, you don't want us doing anything during that live race window. That's what they bought. That's what they own. So we have to figure out a business plan to work with them and try to get a deal done. Believe me, we would love to have Race Buddy year-round and I think NASCAR would too but it all comes down to the business model. When I [Dustin Long] asked him if it was unlikely that more races would be shown online in 2010, Daniels said: "I wouldn't say that. We're trying. I don't think you're going to see it across the board for every race. We'll definitely do it for our races. We'll work with Fox. We came close to Fox last year on a few things (doing versions of Race Buddy). (Hampton Roads) No decision on TNT/ESPN/ABC announcers: So, who is going to be announcing where? Remember that Bill Weber lost his job at Turner after a public incident last summer. Ralph Sheheen filled in for Weber. Lenny Daniels of Turner told [Dustin Long] no decision has been made yet but Sheheen remains a candidate for the job. John Wildhack, executive vice president program acquisition and strategy for ABC/ESPN said that no decision has been made on the ESPN/ABC announcing crew as of yet.(Hampton Roads) Labonte to run Rolex 24: #71-Bobby Labonte, the 2000 NASCAR Cup Series champion, was spotted in Tuesday's Grand-Am test at Daytona International Speedway in a TRG Porsche. Labonte drives Kevin Buckler's TRG NASCAR Sprint Cup car and plans to compete in the Rolex 24. Labonte, who has three Rolex 24 starts, will join the defending GT winning #67 TRG Porsche GT3 in the 2010 race, co-driving with Andy Lally, Spencer Pumpelly and Tim George Jr. "Kevin really didn't have to talk me into it," Labonte said. "I've always been a big fan of the Rolex 24 since I started racing and I raced a go-kart on the same track back when I was 15. He didn't have to twist my arm."(Daytona Beach News Journal) More Danica details: It doesn't get better than this for the Nationwide Series. A league that has become Cup Lite, a glorified practice session for Cup drivers, now becomes Patrick's testing ground for the events she enters. It's all part of a master plan. She will make her stock car debut in the ARCA race at Daytona on Feb. 6, the day before she appears in two GoDaddy.com commercials during the Super Bowl. GoDaddy.com CEO Bob Parsons is investing millions here, including the two-year deal to sponsor the #5 Cup car of Mark Martin. The plan is obvious. Martin drives two more years, then hands over the 5 car to Patrick in 2012. "Just thinking about that makes my eyes twinkle," Parsons said Tuesday. "But we'll see how it goes and look at it when we get to that point." If Patrick flops in Nationwide, that point never may arrive. If she is competitive, NASCAR will have a cash cow for years to come. If not, NASCAR got a giant jolt of electricity from Patrick's presence, however brief.(ESPN.com) AND: Danica Patrick is going Nationwide Series racing next year, and there really is only one main reason people go Nationwide Series racing - to get ready to go Sprint Cup racing. But for both the Izod IndyCar Series driver and for JR Motorsports, the team she will drive for, that's talk for down the road, and the first step is to be successful over the next two seasons with Patrick running a partial Nationwide Series schedule along with a full IndyCar schedule. Her number of Nationwide races was not announced Tuesday when Patrick's plans were formally announced, but it likely will be a dozen or fewer each year because of the IndyCar schedule, which has 17 races in 2010. Whether 20-30 races over two years would be enough to get her ready for a Cup schedule is questionable as Patrick - a 27-year-old with one career victory and a fifth-place finish in the IndyCar Series last year - embarks on her NASCAR career. JR Motorsports, which opened in 2005, has not competed on the Cup level but has flirted with the possibility for the last few years. If Patrick does well, the sponsorship could come for the organization to make the jump with her.(SceneDaily) Mayfield says NASCAR's conduct was intentional and reckless: Attorneys for suspended driver Jeremy Mayfield say NASCAR is trying to ignore issues raised by him and is attempting to distort Mayfield's claims in an effort to avoid responsibility for its actions. Mayfield's legal team filed the response late Monday to NASCAR's request that U.S. District Court Judge Graham Mullen rule in favor of the sanctioning body based on the pleadings already held and without the continuation of an investigation by the attorneys and possibly a trial. Mayfield's filing argues that he has shown enough evidence to bring these claims:
• In response to NASCAR's assertion that he has waived his right to sue because of waivers that are part of the NASCAR-driver agreement, Mayfield stated that those releases don't hold up because this is a case where NASCAR was grossly negligent in conducting its drug-testing policy.
• In its defamation claim, Mayfield disputed the NASCAR assertion that sanctioning body Chairman Brian France had no reason to doubt the test results so his comments when suspending Mayfield cannot be considered defamation. Mayfield alleges that France and Black should have known that the combination of Adderall and Claritin-D could result in a false positive for methamphetamine use.
• NASCAR stated in its request that Mayfield is not an employee but an independent contractor and therefore cannot be considered to having been discriminated against for having ADHD. Mayfield stated in the filing Monday that he can be considered an employee in this situation because NASCAR retained the right to control and detail his activities on the race track, had promotional rights to his name, owned the broadcast rights, required where logos were placed and specified media obligations.
• Addressing the charge of unfair and deceptive trade practices, Mayfield argued the fact that there is no definitive list of drugs banned by NASCAR as among the reasons its policies are unfair.
Both sides get to file responses one more time before the judge considers the motion to dismiss Mayfield's case.(SceneDaily) Layoffs Begin At Richard Childress Racing Tom Jensen/speedtv.com With sponsor Jack Daniel's having left Richard Childress Racing at the end of the 2009 NASCAR Sprint Cup season, a small number of layoffs have begun at the team's Welcome, N.C., shops.
A team representative said that "fewer than a dozen" employees had been let go this week in advance of the No. 07 possibly being shut down for 2010.
That decision has not been made yet, with team owner Richard Childress previously saying that he could wait as long as mid-January before making a definitive commitment on the team's plans for next season. As it stands now, the team has decided nothing for certain beyond entering the Daytona 500 next February.
Also up in the air is the question of who will drive the car, if it does find sponsorship. Casey Mears was the pilot of the No. 07 this season, but was released at the end of the year.
If he doesn't find another ride before Daytona, he could be back with the team, according to an RCR source. Mears also has been linked to a possible drive with the No. 09 Miccosukee Resorts-sponsored entry of Florida team owner James Finch.
During the 2009 season, Mears finished 21st in points. The California native posted four top-10 finishes, with his best result of sixth coming in August at the second race at Michigan International Speedway.
Environmentally friendly fuel options on the agenda NASCAR hopes to have ethanol blend as soon as 2011 By Mark Aumann, NASCAR.COM
ORLANDO, Fla. -- Just two years removed from using high-octane leaded racing fuel in its cars, NASCAR has been somewhat behind the curve when it comes to environmentally friendly fuel alternatives. But speaking Tuesday at the inaugural Motor Sport Business Forum North America, NASCAR chief marketing officer Steve Phelps said the sanctioning body is in the process of taking the next step toward going green. "We're looking at the technologies as well as it relates to the product on the track," Phelps said. According to Phelps, that could mean an alternative fuel sometime in the near future. Other series, like the Indy Racing League and American LeMans Series, already are using biofuels and oils. "The first thing we're going to be looking at is the fuel," Phelps said. "We're looking at that right now. It'll probably be some type of blend, most likely an ethanol blend, a corn-based ethanol blend, perhaps as soon as 2011. For us, green is certainly important. There are many opportunities on many levels, not the least of which is for NASCAR, our teams and our tracks." NASCAR's current initiatives include a plastic bottle recycling effort with Coca-Cola and tree planting at tracks to mitigate the carbon emissions from races. Hybrid vehicles have been used as pace cars, but Phelps said the idea of an electric-powered car racing in one of NASCAR's national series is probably quite a ways down the road. "As to racing electric cars, sound is such an important part of the sensory aspect of what happens at the race track," Phelps said. "That would need to be addressed, obviously. It's off into the future for us. We're looking at all forms of alternative energy that might available, but that's off into the future." When it comes to eliminating some of the vehicle emissions from fans attending NASCAR races, Phelps admits many of the tracks on the circuit aren't particularly suited to mass transit, although Auto Club Speedway is served by a Metrolink station. He mentioned shuttle buses as one alternative being discussed. "We're looking at ways to have preferred parking, based on the number of people in each vehicle or perhaps preferred traffic patterns," Phelps said. "A lot of our races are held in rural areas and the infrastructure isn't there, with respect to trains and regular buses." NASCAR's Hunter in the fight of his life By David Newton/ESPN.com CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- The crusty voice on the other end of the phone was strong, almost defiant. "You can bet your ass I'm fighting," Jim Hunter said. "I have too much to live for." If you follow NASCAR, you may have noticed Hunter's name a few thousand times. He's not a driver or a crew chief. He's not one of the major decision-makers like chairman Brian France or president Mike Helton, although many of us in the media believe he should be. But when the decision-makers have a message to relay, more times than not, particularly in moments of crisis, they relay it through Hunter. He is their public relations extraordinaire, and most who cover the sport consider him as much a pillar as four-time defending Sprint Cup champions Jimmie Johnson and Jeff Gordon. Dale Earnhardt Jr., too. And Hunter is a fighter. Usually the fights are for NASCAR. Today it is about him. Hunter, 70, was diagnosed with small-cell lung cancer in his right lung the weekend of the October Chase race at Talladega Superspeedway. He hasn't been to the track since, missing the finale at Homestead-Miami Speedway for the first time and the season-ending banquet for the first time since his father died in the mid-1970s. Hunter, NASCAR's vice president of corporate communications, says the chemotherapy treatments are going well and that the prognosis is positive even though the long-term survival rate for this disease isn't good. He was strong enough on Tuesday to drop by his Daytona Beach, Fla., office for a few hours and to play golf on Wednesday. He didn't hit the ball far, but as the man known for wearing golf shoes in the garage reminded me, "I never did anyway." I was made aware of Hunter's illness a few weeks after the Talladega race when he sent an e-mail explaining his situation. As usual, he chose to meet it head-on and not cover it up. I was reminded again of Hunter during Sunday's Fox NFL pregame show when, just before signing off, the words "Jim Hunter, keep fighting" blared through the television screen. I was reminded of him yet again that day as my wife and I put up the Christmas tree. Stumbling upon a heart-shaped ornament with Mr. and Mrs. Claus on one side and "Our First Christmas" on the other, I asked where it came from. "Jim Hunter," my wife said. It was a wedding gift received almost a year ago to the day. So here I am writing about Jim Hunter. He deserves to be written about, in many ways as much as many of the heroes of the sport. He's done more for NASCAR behind the scenes than most ever will know and knows more about the sport's history than any of us can hope to. And he's respected. He hasn't gone a day since the diagnosis without a call or e-mail from Helton. Johnson has e-mailed him numerous times. So has his golf buddy, Juan Pablo Montoya, and Tony Stewart, Brian Vickers, J.D. Gibbs, Felix Sabates and … well, you get the picture. Many of the drivers might not be where they are today if not for Hunter's intervention at times when their sometimes-volatile personalities or career-threatening habits were about to get the best of them. No group has harassed Hunter more than track officials who jokingly tell him to "get your ass back to work." "They knew it was eating at me not to be there," Hunter said. When the NASCAR Hall of Fame opens in May, Hunter won't be one of the first five inductees, but there should be a place for ambassadors such as him. And maybe there will be. A voting member for the Hall's inaugural class, it was Hunter who stood up among the 50 voters and put at ease everyone who was nervous about speaking their minds with France and other high-ranking officials in the room. "No one in here will take [anything] personal, including me," Hunter told the group. Later that day, I approached Hunter for advice on a story about how Mark Martin's greatest achievement was overcoming alcoholism early in his career. A former alcoholic himself, he offered the perfect insight. Hunter has a way of putting everything into proper perspective, whether it's at a news conference to announce that Jeremy Mayfield violated NASCAR's substance-abuse policy or a behind-the-hauler chat after an incident between two drivers. He's repeated rule 12-4-A, "Actions detrimental to stock car racing," out of the not-so-thick NASCAR rule book more times than Richard Petty has said "You know what I mean." I met Hunter when he was the president at Darlington Raceway from 1993 to 2001. Having lived the first year of my life only a couple of blocks from the historic track, having worked for the same Columbia, S.C., newspaper where Hunter once waxed eloquent, and grown up in same state, there was an instant connection. He didn't even hold it against me that I berated his beloved University of South Carolina, where he lettered three years in football and two in baseball. He understood that no writer could make up all the bad things that happened during my years as the Gamecocks beat writer. He also understands journalism in a way few public relations people do. "So many damn people in the business, especially in the PR business, they take it too serious," Hunter said. "They forget what the media is supposed to do. The media are not supposed to further our PR goals. Hopefully, they will, but that's not what the media is there for." That doesn't mean Hunter won't passionately defend his territory. Outside the media center at New Hampshire Motor Speedway last season, he was so irritated by my line of questioning that he vowed never to talk to me again. Thirty minutes later, he had his hand on my shoulder, laughing and saying he understood I was just doing my job. I never heard Hunter laugh so hard as the afternoon we spent playing golf with Montoya during his rookie season three years ago. There was a gut-buster after nearly every "f------ moron" shout by the Colombian star following an errant tee shot. The laughter was loud enough to drown out a stock car engine on the ride back to the clubhouse. Trying to retaliate for the violent bump draft Montoya gave us with his cart, Hunter rammed the cart ahead of him on the winding path. There was just one problem: It wasn't Montoya's cart. "No, he flew right around us and didn't stop," the unsuspecting victims said as they climbed out rubbing their necks. When I asked Montoya whether he had a message for Hunter in his battle with cancer, he responded, "Tell him I have never seen somebody try so hard to play good golf and not been able to pass 150 yards with the drive." Translated: Keep fighting. And Hunter will. As he reminded, he had a great role model in former NASCAR chairman Bill France Jr., who battled lung cancer from 1999 'til his death in 2007. "I had a great teacher when it comes to pragmatism," said Hunter, who has two grown children with wife, Ann. One of my favorite Hunter lines came years ago while I was writing a story about Darlington, where Hunter normally would be this time of the year if doctors didn't have him under house arrest in Daytona. "If I ever choose to retire or if somebody retires me, this is where I'll be," said Hunter, who in 1968 got his official start in NASCAR as Darlington's public relations director. "I love this track. I love this town. I love the people here. It's me." Darlington is Hunter. Too tough to tame. "I cannot believe those food preservatives caused this," Hunter jokingly said of the cancer. "Of course, they zeroed in on my smoking right away. I said, 'Hold on a second. I've got a theory. I'm blaming it all on the preservatives they put in food.'" I suggested he blame the red dye in the famous Martinsville hot dogs. He laughed. It was good to hear his voice so strong and crusty enough to remind that the marathon banquet continues to be too long, keeping him up well past his current bedtime of 9:30 p.m. as he watched on television. It was reassuring to hear the fight in his words despite what he calls the "worst thing I've ever encountered." "It's a bitch," said Hunter, who takes his laptop to read during each chemo session. "They're giving me a pretty strong dose of chemo because I can handle it and they think they have a good chance to whip it. Of course, I've got a good attitude." He then referred to the old Doris Day song "Que Sera, Sera," which when translated means, "Whatever will be, will be." "That's always been one of my favorite songs," Hunter said. "When I mention Doris Day singing it, though, people say, 'Who?'" People, particularly those who follow NASCAR, shouldn't say "Who?" when they hear Hunter's name. They should know he is a big part of history of the sport and, God willing, will continue to be. They should know he is fighting the battle of his life. "I've commiserated with other people [in these fights], but I don't want folks worrying," Hunter said. "It is what it is. I'm gonna do everything I can to get healthy." Memo: Cold Shoulder For Danica? Jim Pedley | Managing Editor, RacinToday.com Let's see what's in the Wednesday Memo today: James Brown sang that this is a man's world but it wouldn't be nothin, nothin, wahaaaa!, without a woman or a girl. When it comes to the NASCAR garages, you might run into the opinion that Brown was only half right. The first half. One of the interesting things about Danica Patrick's decision to drive in the Nationwide Series next season will be to see how she is treated in those garages. The guess here is that her treatment will vary. Women have been walking the garages of NASCAR speedways for years. They have done so as series officials, crew members, team owners and drivers. They have come to be accepted by most, but not by all. Kelley Earnhardt, the co-owner and general manager of JR Motorsports, the team for which Patrick will drive, has been around those garages her entire life. On Tuesday, Earnhardt was asked what she thinks awaits Patrick – who has never driven a Nationwide car in a race and will presumably be making a lot more money than most of her peers – in the garages. Earnhardt started off with a joke. "I expect her to be eaten up by the wolves," she said. Then Earnhardt got serious – presumably. "I expect her to be respected right off the bat," she said. "I've already talked to a lot of drivers and team owners and got congratulations on this deal from various people. I think everybody is excited about her entering the sport. It's good for our sport, it's good for NASCAR, it's good for our fans. I think she'll be welcomed and I think people will want to help her succeed and see that it is really good for everybody." Patrick already has received at least one welcome gift from one of the boys. It came from her new crew chief, Tony Eury Jr. Patrick had told Eury that she had never had a Krispy Kreme donut. "I was getting ready for a photo shoot a couple weeks ago," Patrick said, "and I couldn't eat the pizza that was there and he said, 'After the photo shoot, I'm going to send you some Krispy Kreme donuts,' and sure enough, I was at a photo shoot the day after and I had eight boxes of donuts waiting for me." Memo to self: Tell Tony Eury Jr. that I have never driven a Ferrari. — Certainly female drivers everywhere are pulling for Patrick to succeed. For emotional reasons and for career reasons. Alli Owens, who has competed in ARCA for three seasons, is a huge Patrick fan now. "I'm thrilled that another woman will be racing stock cars." Owens said. "Someone of Danica's popularity and talent will no doubt be a great addition to NASCAR and ARCA. I think Danica will show girls that the door is wide open for them to pursue opportunities in motorsports. Lots of kids think that racing isn't for girls, but Danica and I are proving that we have what it takes to mix it up with the boys. It's great for racing and great for women everywhere." Owens said the transition from open-wheel cars to stock cars will not be cake. "Her first taste of stock car racing won't be easy. She's going to have to learn the ins and outs of stock car drafting. So much of her success will come down to who's willing to race with her, and that's a matter of earning her competitors' respect. She'll need to show them that she can push them to the front and they'll be happy to return the favor. Once you put your helmet on, it doesn't matter if you're a girl or a boy. It only matters if you can draft with the cars around you." Success will not come over night for Patrick, Owens said. "It seems like even the most talented open wheel drivers have a hard time adjusting to stock cars. Most of the guys that come from the IndyCar Series take a few spins because they're used to a car with much more control. I think Danica has a ton of talent and is obviously a great driver, but it's probably going to take more than a season before she feels comfortable wheeling a stock car." Memo to self: Wonder if that is a full season or the very partial season Patrick is planning on running? — Speaking of ARCA, the series has added another title sponsor – Menards. The series will now be known as the ARCA Racing Series presented by RE/MAX and Menards. Memo to self: Wonder if Menards sells tools to fix smashed up race cars? If so, buy stock. — Greg Biffle, driver of the No. 16 3M Ford Fusion in Cup, made his off-road racing debut last weekend in the Henderson Fabtech Desert Classic, which was sanctioned by the Best in the Desert Racing Association. Biffle, along with teammates Rob MacCachren and Steve Olliges, finished second in class behind the wheel of the Ford F-150 SVT Raptor R. And? He said it went well. At least he thinks it did. "One thing that's hard for me, and I probably would never get used to it, was running in the dust," Biffle said. "We literally had zero visibility two or three times for a couple minutes or more. It wasn't just a few seconds, it was a couple of minutes, so that was really tough. Other than that, it was really fun. I probably went too slow the first quarter of the lap just because I was trying to find that line. The Raptor's capability is so much and I probably underestimated that a little bit during the first part of the lap, but then I started to push the envelope and did pretty well." Memo to self: Go to Menards and get Biffle a kidney belt. — Finally...Coverage of last Friday's Sprint Cup Series Awards Ceremony on SPEED scored an average Nielsen Household Rating of .65 (484,000 households), its highest number in three years. The four-hour event peaked at a .79 (588,000 households). Live coverage of the ceremony, in its first year ever on the network, was up 44 percent year-to-year among Households and 52 percent among Men 18-49. "We've seen some very encouraging NASCAR ratings trends on SPEED this year," said network President Hunter Nickell. "Getting a solid number out of the gate with the Awards Ceremony has us very excited about with this event can become in the very near future for the network and for the sport." Confessions of a NASCAR fan Carolyn Brewster/scenedaily.com Ask and you shall receive – answers to 2009's biggest questions And just like that, we're done: The 2009 NASCAR season is over and Jimmie Johnson is king yet again. Although the competition has concluded, true fans never really put NASCAR on the shelf. Whether it is between races or between seasons, we're still tuned in. How do fans spend their time between races? Apparently, many use the Internet to seek answers to some of NASCAR's most pressing questions. And thus, I bring you the Top 10 NASCAR Questions of the Year, courtesy of NASCAR's official search engine, Ask.com. The answers are provided by yours truly. Question No. 10: What do NASCAR drivers wear under their firesuits? Answer: Hmmm, who could we ask to find out this answer? Michael Waltrip? On second thought, let's just speculate.
Question No. 9: Why are there flyovers at NASCAR races? Answer: Well, obviously because there are no templates for the fighter jets. Since they can't pass prerace inspection, and actually compete, the flyover is a consolation prize. Question No. 8: How do you become a NASCAR driver? Answer: Learn to drive race cars and be good at it.
Question No. 7: How do you get a job on a pit crew? Answer: Look good in a firesuit, own a helmet, and live in North Carolina (ability to gas and change tires is preferable). Question No. 6: Who is Tony Stewart dating? Answer: Let's look at who Tony Stewart is not dating. He is not dating Jenny Craig or Stacy London from TLC's "What Not To Wear." Question No. 5: What is burnout alley? Answer: Any infield at any night race with generators and grills working overtime.
Question No. 4: What does NASCAR stand for? Answer: If you don't know that, then I'm glad you searched for it on the Web. That could be an embarrassing admission at any tailgate party.
Question No. 3: What is Dale Earnhardt Jr.'s girlfriend's name? Answer: Junior has a girlfriend? Sorry, that's another question, but it will have to do.
Question No. 2: How much do NASCAR drivers get paid? Answer: More than the majority of us fans, but less than Bill Gates or Oprah.
Drum roll, please. The No. 1 NASCAR question posed this year on Ask.com: How do NASCAR drivers go to the bathroom? Answer: Just like you and me. Splash 'n Go Raygan Swan/nascar.com 'Transgressions' a reality with the modern athlete By Raygan Swan, NASCAR.COM
There's nothing more pathetic than a cheater repenting for forgiveness -- especially when the only act the cheater regrets is getting caught with a hand in the cookie jar. In the case of Tiger Woods, allegedly his hand was caught sending sexy text messages (or "sexting") with some wannabe actress he met in Vegas. Gee Tiger, sexting? Really! How very high school of you! Regardless, I wish we weren't all so shocked and surprised by Woods' admitted "transgressions." But first let's ponder the word: transgressions. Are you kidding me? That's the word -- "transgressions" -- that Woods chose to sum up how he, a professional athlete and role model, humiliated his loyal and loving wife. Stronger terms should be used when describing the act of destroying a perceivably perfect and wholesome family life and public image. I certainly have a few other ways to describe what Woods did; however, they're not fit for print. Again, we shouldn't be shocked and dismayed by the alleged actions of this professional male athlete, this mega-star who is recognized world wide and treated like a golf God and whose income rivals our national debt. Professional athletes cheat! You at home can write the same headline every season (just change the name of the offender). Infidelity among professional athletes is becoming such commonplace that as soon as the story breaks the follow up questions are, "How much will she get paid to stay? How big was her sorry-I-cheated ring? And, when will the mistress sign a book deal?" Sickening, but true. The same reality runs in our very own NASCAR garage. Yes, our homespun, Southern charmers cheat, too. I'm not here to air anyone's dirty laundry or dig up last season's divorce settlements; you know who they are. I'm only stating that NASCAR drivers, who make millions and have access to A-list treatment and women willing to diddle for less than a free dinner, are not immune to "transgressions" and infidelity, contrary to what fans would like to believe. What cracks me up is how stupid these professional athletes are, how easily they are caught. Are they dumb enough to believe that women don't talk or save keepsakes from their tawdry trysts, just like men do? The answer is yes, apparently they are. But these professional athletes have yet to wise up, because like on the field or on the track, these men are major risk-takers, excitement junkies and crave instant gratification and become weak-minded when living an ongoing existence in an arena of no moral boundaries. Many women ask why do professional athletes -- those who have a propensity to cheat -- choose to enter into a monogamous relationship in the first place? Because they need someone to raise their kids, they want someone to have movie night with on Sundays -- and Susie Stripper doesn't have a Blockbuster card. They want to enjoy the unconditional love of a wife just like every other man. But bottom line: They want their cake and they want to eat it, too. So while the NASCAR drivers exchange jabs and banter about Tiger Woods this week at the awards banquet, I hope they know that what happens in Vegas sure as hell won't stay in Vegas. Don't be stupid, show some restraint, have a moral compass, be original. Don't cheat! These days, there's nothing more passé, so last year, than a cheating athlete. The opinions expressed are those solely of the writer. NASCAR's most powerful women Ryan McGee/espn.com NASCAR has long been one of the planet's most exclusive good ol' boys clubs. A woman has never won a national NASCAR event, never served as crew chief for a Cup series team and never served as chairman of the league. For decades, women -- including wives -- weren't even allowed in the pits. Well, I don't know if Bob Dylan has ever considered himself a NASCAR fan, but the times they are a-changin'. On Tuesday, Danica Patrick finally made the long-anticipated announcement that she will be going NASCAR racing in 2010, competing part-time in the Nationwide Series for JR Motorsports. That news conference was streamed live to the world by her sponsor, GoDaddy.com, and was easily the biggest Silly Season announcement so far. The makeup of the head table at that announcement was all anyone needed to gaze upon to understand how much the world of NASCAR is beginning to shift when it comes to gender equity. There sat one man, Bob Parsons, CEO of GoDaddy, flanked by two women. The first was, of course, Patrick. The second was Kelley Earnhardt Elledge, who runs JR Motorsports. And with all due respect to Mr. Parsons, he's not the one who got this motorsports superpower merger done. The ladies did. Need proof of the so-called fairer sex's emboldened role in the world of stock car racing? Let's take a look at the top five most powerful women in NASCAR. 5. Delana Harvick When "Talladega Nights" was in theaters, the folks who actually work in the NASCAR garage laughed hardest at Leslie Bibb's portrayal of a ladder-climbing driver's wife. If Delana Harvick ever met Carley Bobby, Harvick would probably punch her out. The daughter of a Carolina short-track racer and a former racer herself, the former Delana Linville first entered the sport as a public relations manager. She and Kevin Harvick started dating long before you ever heard of him and were married shortly after he was thrust into the GM Goodwrench Chevy following Dale Earnhardt's death. Later that year, they founded Kevin Harvick Incorporated, or KHI, which she runs day-to-day while her husband is off looking after his day job at Richard Childress Racing. She cuts sponsorship deals and driver contracts, oversees multiple charity initiatives and has helped lead KHI to nearly 50 wins in NASCAR's Nationwide and Camping World Trucks series, with two Trucks championships, including this year's title won by Ron Hornaday Jr. 4. Alba Colon When the Puerto Rico-born Colon first arrived in the Cup series garage in 1994 as a young GM engineer, Dale Earnhardt grabbed her and told her that a lot of people were going to make it hard on her because of who she was -- a she. He said she wouldn't make it a year. Half a decade later he loved the fact that she'd proved him wrong. Colon is now Sprint Cup Series Program Manager for GM, the go-to person for Chevy teams when looking for engineering support from their manufacturer. On her watch Chevy has won nearly 200 races, seven straight manufacturers' titles and six Cup championships. See more of Colon from last year's profile on "E:60." 3. Kelley Earnhardt Dale Earnhardt was always the first to admit that until he married Teresa Houston he was a terrible businessman. The most important woman in his life was also the one who guided his groundbreaking marketing, investment and trademark strategies. Now, Dale Earnhardt Jr. is the first to admit that the most important woman in his life is doing the same great service for him. It's no coincidence that the moment Little E handed his business interests over to his big sister was also the moment he started carving out his own identity as a racer and personality, not just "Earnhardt's kid." After their father's death in 2001, she became his business manager and eventually president and general manager of JR Motorsports. It was her who handled her brother's negotiations with Hendrick Motorsports, shepherded sponsorship deals with PepsiCo's Amp Energy and the National Guard, and handled the Danica Patrick deal from start to finish. She has also helped steer Junior in off-track directions en route to building the biggest one-man brand in American motorsports. Over the past four years the Earnhardt siblings have also opened the wildly popular Whisky River bar in downtown Charlotte and founded Hammerhead Entertainment, the TV production company that does commercial projects for JRM sponsors and oversaw 2008's ESPN reality series "Shifting Gears." As of Tuesday, she also started helping to drive the force that is No. 2 on our list ... 2. Danica Patrick Don't laugh. Only one racer, male or female, has been on the cover of ESPN The Magazine, Sports Illustrated and every other (active) sports publication known to man. Now it's a safe bet that she'll be on the cover of next week's NASCAR Scene. Forget that's she's won "only" one IndyCar race. In this age of teams' scratching and clawing for sponsorship dollars, that doesn't really matter. Patrick is one of the few remaining automatics when it comes to instantly creating cash flow. Her earning potential trails only Dale Jr.'s, even as a part-time Nationwide Series driver. If she ever makes it to Cup (and don't kid yourself, she has her eye on Mark Martin's GoDaddy.com-sponsored ride for 2012), hang on to your sports marketing hats. How much power does Danica Mania wield? Wait until you see the media horde that shows up for next week's ARCA test at Daytona. Usually the only cameras at an ARCA test are security cameras. Lesa France Kennedy This wasn't even close. The daughter of Bill France Jr. and brother of current NASCAR chairman Brian France not only serves as executive vice president of NASCAR and president of International Speedway Corporation (ISC), NASCAR's publicly-traded track ownership arm, she's also worked at ISC for nearly 30 years, learning at the side of her father and uncle Jim and helping steer NASCAR's move westward. All told, ISC brings in nearly $750 million annually, a number that is likely to increase significantly when the newly approved ISC-owned hotel and casino goes up adjacent to the Kansas Speedway, a project that Kennedy has been spearheading for years. She's not just tops on our list. Earlier this year Forbes named the 48-year-old the most powerful woman in sports. Honorable Mentions: Beth Ann Morganthau, owner of BAM Racing; Teresa Earnhardt, co-owner Earnhardt Ganassi Racing; Stevie Waltrip, wife of Darrell Waltrip; Gillian Zucker, president, Auto Club Speedway.
Well, that's all for today. Until the next time, I remain,
Your Nascar Momma Life should NOT be a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in an attractive and well preserved body, but rather to skid in sideways, chocolate in one hand, wine in the other, body thoroughly used up, totally worn out and screaming "WOO HOO what a ride!"
"Don't come here and grumble about going too fast. Get the hell out of the race car if you've got feathers on your legs or butt. Put a kerosene rag around your ankles so the ants won't climb up there and eat that candy ass." -Dale Earnhardt - 1998 | 
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