Happy Anniversary to my parents. Today is 55 years together! Countdown to Daytona 16 Bits and Pieces Johnson OK After Crash In Rolex 24 Practice By Sporting News NASCAR Wire Service
DAYTONA BEACH ,FL - Four-time Sprint Cup Series champion Jimmie Johnson crashed Thursday during practice for Saturday's Rolex 24 At Daytona at Daytona International Speedway. Johnson was treated and released from the infield medical center after crashing the Bob Stallings Racing car. Because the entry was too damaged to participate in qualifying Thursday, the team will have to take laps in the qualifying session Friday. "He feels ugly but OK," team owner Bob Stallings said. "He's not injured in any way. He may be sore, but there's no reason for him not to race this weekend." Stallings said Johnson was cut down on by another car in the road-course portion of the track, and Johnson backed the car into the wall "pretty hard." Stallings said the other driver probably didn't see Johnson, while Johnson thought the slower car was moving out of his way. A new rear assembly for the Riley chassis is being put together in Concord, N.C., and Johnson is providing air transportation to have the assembly flown to Daytona. The team hopes to be back on track in time for the Friday morning practice session. Backup cars are not allowed in the series to help contain costs. Nine NASCAR drivers are competing in the race. AJ Allmendinger was the top NASCAR qualifier, putting his Michael Shank Racing Ford third on the grid with a speed of 126.753 mph on the 3.56-mile road course in Daytona Beach, Fla. SunTrust Racing's Max Angelelli is on the pole. The Chip Ganassi Racing team that includes Cup drivers Juan Pablo Montoya and Jamie McMurray qualified fourth. And the CGR team with Cup driver Max Papis will start fifth. Camping World Truck Series driver Colin Braun, driving for Krohn Racing, will start ninth. Cup driver Paul Menard, who will drive for Spirit of Daytona Racing, watched his car qualify 10th. Two other Cup drivers, Boris Said and Bobby Labonte, are in the 45-car field. Said is part of the Turner Motorsport team, which will start 22nd. TRG Motorsports' Bobby Labonte will co-drive a car that qualified 23rd. Furniture Row, RCR expected to finalize alliance: #78-Furniture Row Racing will put the finishing touches on its technical alliance with Richard Childress Racing this week. A meeting is scheduled on Friday between principles of the two companies in hopes to strengthened the single car operation at FRR and in essence create a satellite fourth car for RCR. "While the team may look the same on the outside, eternally we're much stronger," said Joe Garone, general manager of Furniture Row Racing. "One of the assets with the alliance with Richard Childress is our ability to be secure in the top 35. "During the last quarter, we decided we needed to run the full season. Around May or June, we realized how much it hurt us not to run the full season. We can race on the Furniture Row sponsorship, but it wouldn't allow us to expand to a second car. Our primary goal is to have the #78 team run at 100 percent efficiency." FRR will continue its partnership with Kevin Harvick Inc., with the pit crew. FRR contracts the over-the-wall crew who work at KHI full-time and pit Harvick's Nationwide Series cars.(Fox Sports) NASCAR talks to teams about Talladega and tire tests: NASCAR officials met with team principals on Tuesday to discuss upcoming initiative for the new season. One subject discussed was the possibility of a one-day test at Talladega before the Charlotte open test on March 23-24. Sprint Cup Series director John Darby confirmed that NASCAR is looking for a date. The one-day session at the superspeedway will help determine which restrictor plate will be used at the track and will allow teams to use spoilers instead of a rear wing. Other topics on the table included moving the fuel hole forward on the cars to accommodate the spoiler and shrinking the number of Goodyear test participants to three teams per test once again. Roush Fenway Racing crashed the three-car testing policy in Darlington in 2007 during the Car of Tomorrow rollout, prompting Goodyear to change their rules and invite representatives from each manufacturer. Now with Penske Racing providing the only Dodges in the garage, the sentiment from the competition is that the team's camp would have an unfair advantage.(Fox Sports) Some pit road rules changes this year: NASCAR had some media folks over at its R&D Center to go over the pit road rules for this season. A few things that were interesting a change this season is that NASCAR is going to enforce speeding on pit road more. Remember when a wrecked car would come to pit road, the crew would furiously make repairs and the car would fire down pit road faster than the speed limit to stay on the lead lap? Speeding penalty was no big deal because it only put the driver at the rear of the field. He still got to stay on the lead lap. New this year is that speeding is speeding. NASCAR will not allow such action again. What that means is that crews will have to complete their work sooner knowing they can't speed on pit road to stay on the lead lap.
# As in the past, teams are allowed a 4.99 mph allowance before being penalized for speeding on pit road.
# Another change this year is if a car is entering pit road or just entered pit road when the caution comes out (thus closing pit road), the driver can go down pit road (without stopping in his stall) while maintaining pit road speed and NASCAR will put the driver back in his spot when he entered pit road. There have been times guys entered pit road just as it closed because of a caution and never had a chance to react and all but had their day (or a good part of it) ruined with losing a lap.
# You know how there are times when a NASCAR official in the pits will kick a tire back toward the pit wall and other times they don't? Here is what NASCAR tells its officials on those situations: If you (the official) don't have to move out of the way to knock the tire back, that is fine. If an official has to move out of position to do so, then let it go. The reasoning to allow officials to even knock the tire back is a safety issue. If an official can do so without getting out of position, then it prevents the tire from getting hit by a car and knocked back into that offficial or others on pit road.
# NASCAR penalizes drivers for running over air hoses, yet there are cases when a driver won't be penalized for doing so. Think of it this way: On a four-tire pit stop where the front tire changer comes over to the left side, the air hose might not flip over completley away from the car. If the car runs over a small portion (small the key) then NASCAR more than likely will let it go.(Hampton Roads) Carl Long looking to get back on track: Eight months after a $200,000 fine crippled Long's self-owned team and sent shockwaves through the sport, he's struggling to survive amidst a cavalcade of hard-luck circumstances. "Last year's deal" involved a crippling penalty that still puzzles most in the NASCAR garage. Bringing his self-owned #46 to an exhibition race, the All-Star Showdown, Long's car cooked an engine and headed to the garage by Lap 3. But during a random teardown in postrace inspection, NASCAR discovered that its motor exceeded size limits by .17 cubic inches. NASCAR dropped a 20-ton anvil on Long, suspending him for 12 races while slapping on a 200-point penalty and $200,000 fine. It was an immediate death knell for a team without a sponsor, whose 35th-place finish that day only paid five grand. Banned from the Cup track over the summer, Long focused on his family away, putting his own team aside while working a full-time job as utility man for Front Row Motorsports. It wasn't his dream, but it remained a way to earn a living in NASCAR as he looked to rebuild his future. In mid-November, Front Row made end-of-season cutbacks with the # 34, and Long was among those let go. Still, Long trudges on, telling his story and begging for work to anyone in the business who'll listen. Just a few weeks back, he seemed to land a job as a start-and-park driver for a Nationwide team -- something he's been adamantly against doing throughout his career -- but the spot went to a "better fit." Right now, that's easier said than done. As a contract employee, Long was unable to collect unemployment, and was recently scammed $1500 by a job hunting service that took him to small claims court. That leaves the underdog in desperate straits, selling off his Cup car and paying his bills by dipping into the money that was raised by fans for his fine. With Speedweeks looming, Long's plan is to drive an ARCA hauler down for rookie Sean Corr, using the first week at Daytona to network and search for any NASCAR job he can find. He still has a Nationwide car he hopes to bring to the track someday, but whether he'll ever get back in Cup with his own team seems unlikely at best.(Sports Illustrated) Olympic bobsled builder moving to North Carolina: A non-profit company that's used NASCAR racing technology to supply the U.S. Olympic bobsled teams with faster rides is moving to the heart of stock-car country in North Carolina. Bo-Dyn Bobsled Project Inc. says it will move from Connecticut to Concord after next month's Vancouver Olympics. The corporation was founded by NASCAR legend Geoff Bodine 18 years ago to ensure U.S. sleds would be made in America with racing know-how. Bo-Dyn Bobsled says in Thursday's statement that the leader of the Colchester, Conn., company that fabricated the metal sleds is retiring and the work will be taken over by technicians who have worked with other NASCAR teams.(Associated Press) NASCAR cuts race purses for all three series by about 10 percent By Bob Pockrass/scenedaily.com As part of its cost-cutting measures, NASCAR is decreasing the amount it will pay teams in race winnings by approximately 10 percent in 2010. Dover Motorsports Chief Executive Officer Denis McGlynn told financial analysts about the cut during a conference call Thursday, and NASCAR spokesman Ramsey Poston confirmed it Friday morning. Purses in all three national series – Sprint Cup, Nationwide and Camping World Truck – will decrease. The move will help the tracks, which pay purse fees and a separate sanction fee to NASCAR. Part of the purse fees include television money – tracks get 90 percent of the television money allocated for a race (NASCAR keeps the other 10 percent), and the tracks then must put 25 percent of the total television money allocated for the race back into the purse. The tracks then also contribute additional purse fees, as computed by NASCAR, with other contingency awards also added to the final purse. International Speedway Corp. officials reported Thursday that they expect television money will increase by about 2.5 percent this year but ticket revenues and other motorsports-related revenues are expected to drop 4-9 percent. "Last year we launched an industry-wide effort to help the sport manage budgets in this economy," Poston said in a statement. "NASCAR did the right thing to work with the tracks to reduce their costs in order to manage the economic realities. "In return, the tracks have done a great job reducing ticket prices and enhancing the fan experience. Likewise, we worked with the teams to contain costs, such as elimination of testing and other steps. This is consistent with how virtually every sport and business has adjusted to the economy over the past year." Michael Waltrip Racing Executive Vice President Ty Norris said he expects overall race winnings to end up being neutral when factoring in an increase in television revenue. "The overall winnings should be close to neutral," Norris said. "The tracks have tried to help fans by reducing prices and this is one place that will be affected. If the fans and the tracks have had to tighten their belts, it's only natural that the teams are asked to participate as well. Fortunately the television revenue share will help offset some of that." NASCAR lists more than 100 banned drugs in rule book By Bob Pockrass NASCAR has an extensive list of banned substances in its 2010 rule book, which also states that the list is "non-exhaustive." One of the criticisms of the NASCAR random drug-testing policy implemented in 2009 was that there was no definitive list. NASCAR sent a list to the teams in December 2008 to use as a guideline in testing crewmen, but the policy itself had no definitive list. Not having a list is one of the reasons suspended driver Jeremy Mayfield claims he should be reinstated in a lawsuit against the sanctioning body and policy administrator Aegis Sciences Corporation. The drug-testing policy is now part of the NASCAR rule book, while before it was a document signed by the driver, who acknowledged understanding the policy, when getting a NASCAR license. "Prohibited substances are those substances that, in Aegis's determination in consultation with NASCAR, may adversely affect the safety and well-being of the Competitors, Officials, and/or spectators, or the performance of a Competitor or Official in or at a NASCAR Event, including without limitation illegal drugs," the rule book states. "Aegis, in consultation with NASCAR, may make this determination with respect to a particular substance at any time, including and without limitation at the time of discovery of the substance following a drug test." The rule states that competitors and officials are prohibited from using, possessing, purchasing, selling or participating in the distribution of any illegal drug, regardless of the amount. Illegal possession and distribution of prescription or over-the-counter medication is also prohibited. The rule book lists banned drugs that might not fall under that category. It also notes that derivatives of the prohibited drugs are not allowed and that the list is not exhaustive. Among the drugs listed: • Stimulants, such as amphetamine, methamphetamine, Ecstasy (MDMA), Eve (MDEA) and Phentermine. • Narcotic analgesics, such as hydromorphone, methadone, morphine, oxycodone, oxymorphone, heroin, codeine and hydrocodone. • Ephedrine, such as pseudoephedrine and phenylpropanolamine if used in a manner inconsistent with the instructions provided by the drug manufacturer or in a manner or amount that risks the health, safety or impairs a driver. • Benzodiazepines, such as lorazepam (Ativan), oxazapam (Serax), temazepam (Restoril), Alpha-hydroxyalprazolam (Xanax) and Nordiazepam (Valium). • Barbituates, such as amobarbital (Amytal) and secobarbital (Seconal). • Performance enhancing drugs, such as Human Growth Hormone (hGH), as well as anabolic androgenic steroids (AAS), including testosterone. • Muscle relaxers, such as carisoprodol (Soma), meprobamate (Miltown, Meprospan). • Sleep aids, such as zolpidem (Ambien) • Beta blockers, such as alpernolol and carteolol. • Alcohol: A competitor is prohibited from consuming any alcohol 12 hours prior to or during on-track activity. A driver is considered unfit if the blood-alcohol level is above 20 milligrams per 100 milliliters (0.02 percent). • Dietary supplements with a warning advising non-use if the purchaser is subject to a drug-testing program even though available without a prescription. • Masking agents designed to avoid detection, including Aromatase inhibitors that may be used to biologically manipulate the testosterone/epitestosterone ratio, and/or using epitestosterone to artificially alter the testosterone/epitestosterone ratio. Is there no end to Chevy's dominance? By Brant James – thatsracin.com It backs Sprint Cup's most successful team, the four-time reigning series champion and a collection of organizations that for the seventh straight year put it atop the series' wins list. It saw one of its former champions return to the nest with his own team and place him and his new teammate, a former Dodge driver, in the Chase. An international superstar appears to have made the transition from open-wheel star to NASCAR championship contender the season his team switched from Dodge. It is a giddy thing to be a dynasty in progress, and Chevrolet is wringing every bit from the experience. So are Hendrick Motorsports, Jimmie Johnson, Tony Stewart, Ryan Newman, Earnhardt Ganassi Racing with Felix Sabates and Juan Pablo Montoya, respectively. Do things change during 2010? They were pretty good last year even with Richard Childress Racing run aground, but the team owner promises improvement. A major question is whether Stewart-Haas will suffer a sophomore slump after struggling, a top executive said, while finishing its freshman campaign. Oh, to have such worries. Sweet spot The present has been perfect for Chevrolet. But will the future be tense? The manufacturer is loaded with successful drivers generating wins and high point totals in the primes of their careers (in extended primes in Mark Martin's case). Coming of age or already there? Average age of top five drivers (according to Observer rankings): Chevrolet (39): Jeff Gordon (38), Johnson (34), Martin (51), Stewart (38), Montoya (34). The average age is 36 without Martin. It's prime time at Chevrolet. Ford (33): Carl Edwards (30), Matt Kenseth (37), Greg Biffle (40), Kasey Kahne (29), A.J. Allmendinger (28). Toyota (30): Denny Hamlin (29), Kyle Busch (24), David Reutimann (39), Brian Vickers (26), Martin Truex Jr. (29) Dodge (29): Kurt Busch (31), Brad Keselowski (25), Sam Hornish Jr. (30). Only three drivers considered. Next generation So who's next? Chevy stalwarts Dale Earnhardt Jr., 35, Kevin Harvick, 34, and Jeff Burton, 42, aren't ancient, but they aren't exactly tweens. Clint Bowyer is a boyish 30. Montoya seems to be having enough fun to do it for another decade. Hendrick Motorsports has the reputation and the financial wherewithal to acquire young talent, but the pipeline isn't as defined series-wide as just a few years ago when developmental systems were more cost-effective. Keselowski's jump from JR Motorsports to Roger Penske's Dodges was a talent/personality net loss. The answer could spring from a JR Motorsports Nationwide team, anyway. Perhaps Kelly Bires, 25, Keselowski's replacement, becomes a prospect during his first full season in the No.88 Chevrolet. Maybe within two years - once her contract, including a 2012 option, with Andretti Autosport expires - the new Chevrolet star will be Danica Patrick, 27. But she has yet to demonstrate an appetite or aptitude for stock cars. And though she is the most recognizable driver in the IndyCar Series, her performance has not caught up: She has one win in 81 races over five seasons. Maybe the next great one harks to another golden age of Chevrolet and NASCAR. Austin Dillon, the 19-year-old grandson of team owner Richard Childress, will tackle a full Truck series schedule in the No.3 Childress campaigned to six Cup championships with the late Dale Earnhardt. Stock watch Three situations to watch within the Chevrolet camp: The 5/88 shop at Hendrick Motorsports: Martin crew chief Alan Gustafson allowed his lead engineer to move to Earnhardt Jr.'s team in hopes of sparking the underperforming fourth car. Cooperation and morale are reportedly high for now. Richard Childress Racing: Harvick was fourth, Bowyer fifth and Burton sixth in 2008 but each fell at least 10 spots in 2009. Casey Mears was even worse and his full-time program dissolved. Harvick is in a contract year and is awaiting a performance uptick. Childress said the organization has made engineering strides and expects a return to viability. That might return Harvick to the fold. If not ... it'll be an interesting first few months at RCR. Stewart-Haas Racing: So worried about a second-season slump were SHR officials that the organization spent much of the offseason evaluating, tweaking and purging. Competition director Bobby Hutchens knows a slump is a "good assumption," because he said one began before the 2009 season even ended. Although Stewart and Ryan Newman qualified for the Chase, the team was not as good as results suggested, Hutchens said. "That's something we've talked about not letting happen because you can rest on their laurels a little bit. I've been a part of that at RCR in my day. I have experienced that particular thing," he said. "When we came back after Christmas break we had a meeting with all our folks and kind of laid out where we are headed and what we wanted to do and what some of the changes are. "I see a lot of enthusiasm. A lot of positive energy, you might say, and hopefully we've got past that," he said. "But there definitely is a thought of that and I'm not so sure we didn't experience a little bit of that toward the end of the season. "I think we kind of nosed-over a little bit the last little bit even though we did have two cars in the Chase. We want to protect from that." NASCAR team owner: 'Michigan ... is never coming back to what it used to be' POSTED BY JAMES JAHNKE/FREE PRESS SPORTS WRITER Ouch, ouch, ouch! NASCAR Sprint Cup team owner Felix Sabates had some harsh words for Michigan in a recent interview with www.thatsracin.com (part of the Charlotte Observer's empire). Sabates apparently thinks NASCAR got too big for its britches, in terms of track capacity, television exposure and number of races. He advocates trimming the Sprint Cup schedule from 36 to 30 races. Two of the six he'd cut? The annual stops at Michigan International Speedway in Brooklyn. "I mean, there's nobody left in Detroit other than the police and the unemployed," Sabates told the site. 'I'd cut Michigan off the schedule altogether. Michigan -- I'm talking about the state -- is never coming back to what it used to be, so why go there and throw good money after bad money?" Charged with responding to that pile of thoughts was MIS president Roger Curtis. "It's a shame Felix Sabates doesn't see Michigan race fans are some of the most loyal, hardworking people in the world," Curtis told thatsracin.com. "He clearly doesn't appreciate the natural beauty of our state or understand the challenges that Michigan, its residents and the city of Detroit will overcome. "Perhaps his car sponsor Chevrolet, Jack Roush, Roger Penske, all fine examples of Michigan's resilience, can explain it to him. If not, I'm sure the hundreds of thousands of loyal race fans that annually attend MIS events twice a year can. "In fact, I will give him and his family tickets in our grandstand so he can experience why MIS fans are so loyal to our racetrack and this sport. Maybe that will help him remember it's the hardworking and loyal race fans -- even those he dismisses as 'unemployed' -- that make NASCAR what it is." Couldn't have said it better. Full story follows NASCAR owner Felix Sabates rips Michigan, MIS races David Goricki / The Detroit News Felix Sabates, minority owner of the Chip Ganassi Racing NASCAR team, says Michigan International Speedway should be eliminated from the Sprint Cup schedule. "I mean, there's nobody left in Detroit other than the police and the unemployed," Sabates told the Charlotte Observer. "I'd cut Michigan off the schedule altogether. Michigan -- I'm talking about the state -- is never coming back to what it used to be, so why go there and throw good money after bad money?" There are traditionally two summer races at MIS in Brooklyn. This year's events are June 13 and Aug. 15. In Sabates' version of reality, both MIS races should be eliminated, along with one from each of the following tracks: Pocono, Atlanta, Phoenix and Fontana, Calif. That would take the schedule from 36 to 30 races. "I think we grew too fast," Sabates said about NASCAR. "Some of these race tracks put in 140,000 seats, 120,000. That's crazy." MIS president Roger Curtis heard about Sabates' comments while on a media tour this week. "Everyone just kind of laughed at him as someone who doesn't understand a lot about the world," Curtis told The Detroit News on Thursday. "I mean, he very casually dismissed 100,000 hard-working, dedicated, loyal fans who come to each race at MIS." Grandstand capacity at MIS is 119,000 and total capacity, including the infield, is about 140,000. MIS drew about 125,000 fans at each of the 2008 races, and about 100,000 at each of the events in 2009. "He (Sabates) races Chevrolets. His peers are Jack Roush and Roger Penske -- fine examples of Michigan's resilience. Hopefully, they can explain to him why NASCAR races at MIS," Curtis told The News. "We draw 100,000 fans on our worst day and a lot of those great fans make big sacrifices to come here. I'll make sure to invite him to sit with me and the fans in the grandstands this summer. Then he'll see what great fans we have, the beauty of this area and why we race here. "Even in the economic conditions that we're in, and attendance being down a little bit last year, MIS is still a huge economic driver with our two NASCAR weekends, and we're very proud of that." Bad Boys by Jeff Owens/scenedaily.com NASCAR officials are encouraging drivers to mix it up more on the track this season, vowing that NASCAR is a contact sport and they want see a bit more bumping and banging. Chairman Brian France and NASCAR President Mike Helton even declared that they will continue to lighten up on aggressive drivers, allowing them to use their bumpers, trade some paint and show more emotion when things get heated. They set the tone in last year's season finale, going easy on Denny Hamlin when he wrecked Brad Keselowski on purpose at Homestead and on Juan Pablo Montoya and Tony Stewart when they got into it in the final Cup race of the season. So if NASCAR is looking for "characters" to stir things up and create some heated moments when tempers flare and emotions reach a boiling point, who are the most likely drivers to make that happen? Here are the 10 drivers most likely to take advantage of NASCAR's new "boys, have at it" approach: 1. Tony Stewart You name 'em and Stewart has tangled with them over the years. Jeff Gordon, Robby Gordon, Kyle Busch, Kurt Busch, Juan Pablo Montoya and Carl Edwards have all had run-ins with Stewart. Heck, he even feuded with teammate Denny Hamlin while at Joe Gibbs Racing. Good thing his mother doesn't race. One of the most talented drivers in the sport, the two-time Cup champion will rough up competitors if it means winning a race or gaining another position on the track, and he backs down from no one. His skirmish with Montoya at Homestead last year might only be a sign of things to come. 2. Kyle Busch NASCAR's preeminent bad boy is as aggressive as they come and is not afraid to use his bumper. He has knocked more than a few drivers out of his way and loves stirring the fans up. His most memorable moment came in 2008 at Richmond, where he spun Dale Earnhardt Jr. out of the lead with just a few laps remaining, sparking a near riot by Junior Nation. Busch loves wearing the black hat and seems to revel in his bad-boy image. NASCAR's anything-goes approach was made for drivers like him. 3. Juan Pablo Montoya Like Stewart, Montoya holds his ground and doesn't give an inch to no one. A fiery competitor, he took out his anger and frustration on Stewart last year, drawing an in-race penalty from NASCAR. His pushing and shoving and helmet-grabbing incident with Kevin Harvick in 2007 was one of the best on-track confrontations in years. Now that he has gotten the hang of stock-car racing, look for Montoya to use his bumper a bit more, creating some fireworks on occasion. 4. Brad Keselowski He hasn't even run a full Cup season yet, but Keselowski has already made a name for himself in the Sprint Cup garage – a name not fit for print. The talented young driver is as aggressive as they come on the track and will do just about anything to win, as he showed last year at Talladega when he held his ground on the last lap, causing Carl Edwards to wreck and sending his car sailing into the fence. He has already angered drivers throughout the Nationwide and Sprint Cup series and will have some of them aiming to get even this year. Hamlin has already had his revenge, intentionally wrecking Keselowski in the Nationwide race at Homestead last year. That's the first of many feuds Keselowski is likely to be in the middle of. 5. Carl Edwards NASCAR's Mr. Nice Guy is as aggressive as they come on the track and has shown a bit of a temper over the years. He once marched into victory lane to confront Dale Earnhardt Jr. after a late wreck in a Nationwide race at Michigan. He nearly came to blows with Kevin Harvick in the Charlotte garage in 2008, and he scared the daylights out of his own teammate, Matt Kenseth, a few years ago at Martinsville. He even threatened to make Tony Stewart "bleed" after getting wrecked by Stewart at Pocono in 2007. He also won over a few fans by punting Kyle Busch out of the lead to win at Bristol in 2008. Determined to put last year's winless season behind him, look for Edwards to put his bumper and temper to the test in 2010. 6. Kurt Busch He won his very first Cup race by spinning Jimmy Spencer out of the lead at Bristol in 2002. The move sparked a feud that eventually earned Busch a bloody nose. He has also feuded with Tony Stewart over the years, getting into a physical confrontation with him in the NASCAR hauler in 2008 and nearly running over one of Stewart's crewmen while trying to intentionally hit his car on pit road at Dover. He has traded some classic barbs with Kevin Harvick and even feuded with his little brother after an on-track incident in the All-Star race a few years ago. Simply put, the older Busch aggravates people and has made a few enemies over the years. If the gloves are truly off, he's bound to be on the wrong end of a bumper or two, finding himself in the middle of yet another heated confrontation. 7. Robby Gordon Gordon, one of the orneriest drivers in the series, has wrecked just about everyone in the Sprint Cup garage, or at least that is the perception. A talented driver struggling to compete with his own team, Gordon typically tries to get every ounce of speed out of his car, and often winds up getting himself in trouble. That has earned him more than a few enemies over the years. Drivers love to rip him after winding up on the wrong end of his bumper. But Gordon can dish out as much medicine as he takes. He won his first Cup race by wrecking Jeff Gordon at New Hampshire and once tangled with former teammate Kevin Harvick at Sonoma. He also had a physical confrontation with Stewart in the garage at Daytona. Look for Gordon's aggressive style to get him into even more trouble now that NASCAR is willing to turn its head to some on-track shenanigans. 8. Jeff Gordon Though he is one of NASCAR's most-respected drivers and hasn't been in a skirmish in a while, the four-time Cup champion has had his share of run-ins over the years. He used his bumper to win quite often on the short tracks – too bad Rusty Wallace is no longer racing – and some of his victims probably have good memories. He has also had classic feuds with Stewart and, surprisingly, Matt Kenseth. He shoved Kenseth on pit road at Bristol in 2006, and a few months later, sent him spinning to win at Chicago. Gordon could be on both ends of some paybacks under NASCAR's more lenient rules. 9. Kevin Harvick Harvick doesn't really have a reputation for wrecking people but, boy, does his mouth get him into trouble. Harvick likes to pick on fellow drivers and there's more than a few that would like to send him spinning. He also has a mighty temper, as he showed in 2003 when he climbed on top of Ricky Rudd's car after getting spun at Richmond and in going after Montoya at Watkins Glen in 2007. It would be a shock if Harvick doesn't take a shot at someone and wind up in at least one incident this year. 10. Denny Hamlin Hamlin has stirred up more than his share of trouble in just a few years in the series. Fair or not, he has developed a reputation as a bit of a whiner for criticizing other drivers and, at times, his own crew. He has also made a few ill-advised moves on the track that has drawn the ire of drivers. And in going after Keselowski last year, Hamlin has shown he has a bit of an edge. He is expected to be a strong championship contender this year after winning four races last season. He could find himself in a hornet's nest or two. Penske's Keselowski revels in his rabble-rousing role By David Caraviello, NASCAR.COM
The hard feelings from their on-track feud in the final weeks of the 2009 campaign may have stretched into the offseason, but that didn't stop Brad Keselowski from sending rival Denny Hamlin a Christmas card. The message on the front was simple: Peace on earth. The personal note on the inside was laughable: "Your friend, Brad Keselowski." "I didn't want to get wordy," Penske Racing's newest driver said with a wide, mischievous grin. And he wonders why he didn't get one back. It was another subtle needle, the under-the-skin type in that Keselowski seems to revel. He won a Sprint Cup race that featured a massive crash at the finish, and didn't even flinch. He became embroiled in a retaliatory rumble with a more successful, more experienced driver in the Nationwide Series, and never once backed down. He was labeled as too aggressive by some in NASCAR's premier series, and laughed it off. He ruffles feathers and tips over apple carts with unvarnished glee. Yes, Keselowski has earned himself quite a reputation in his short time in the sport's national divisions. He knows it. He doesn't hide from it. In fact, he seems to enjoy it, a fact that likely peeves his antagonists even more. "There's a quiet amusement to it, yeah," he said. "You know, how do you put that? I enjoy the fun of pulling up behind somebody and knowing that guy has gone, 'Oh, not him.' I enjoy that part. That part is fun. I don't necessarily enjoy the media part of it, but I enjoy that factor. That part is fun. That's probably the best answer I can give you." It's not an act. This is a guy who will admit, he got into his fair share of fights in middle school. This is a guy who said he won the first race in which he ever participated, and has carried a degree of confidence with him ever since. "There's always been a part of me that, when I get in that competitive mood, just elevates as a personality to where, for lack of a better word, you just don't take no s**t," Keselowski said. "That's where I feel like I'm at. I feel like I've got a pretty good tolerance when I get out of the car, but once I get in there, I can get a little mean sometimes. That's what's fun to me. It's bringing out that part of you that brings out that edginess and that drive. That's why I love racing, because it has that ability to bring that out of me. That's the best way I can explain it." And yet, there were times when that edginess was difficult to find. Although Keselowski may come from a well-known racing family -- father Bob, Uncle Ron, and brother Brian have all had stints in NASCAR -- Brad did his time in lean, under-funded vehicles. Twice in his NASCAR career he's had rides disappear from underneath him because of sponsorship woes. He was jumping from one team to another, taking a variety of fill-in jobs until Dale Earnhardt Jr. gave him what amounted to a three-race tryout in the No. 88 Nationwide car in 2007. Anyone meeting him about that time would have found Keselowski to be somewhat quiet, and far removed from the rambunctious driver who will take the reins of the No. 12 car this year. He had been beaten down by circumstances. But the real Keselowski -- the fiery one who went fender-to-fender with Hamlin last year -- was still in there, waiting for the right time to re-emerge. "When I first started my racing career, the first race I ran, I won. And when I was going through that process as just a young kid who didn't know anything about driving, I had the same attitude I have now. Had the same confidence. I got into a period where the money ran out. I was still winning, but the money ran out. Where do you go from there? I started to take the under-funded rides, the rides that never had a shot at winning. Not a chance in hell at winning. I took them, and it took that part of me out. It took that confidence and enthusiasm away, and I lost that for about three or four years," he said. "During that time span, it changed me as a person. I feel like once I started winning again, I feel like I've returned to myself. I don't feel like I've changed. I finally got the confidence back, finally got some swagger back in my step. I don't feel like I've changed, but I've returned, in a way. I feel that with confidence, I can do anything in these race cars. With confidence I can work with these teams, I can work with a company like Penske, and the sky's the limit. We can do anything. So I'm certainly not looking to change that." But can he bring that same, often-antagonistic personality with him to Penske, which from the outside seems a rather buttoned-down organization where most everyone is clean-shaven and everybody wears the same starched white shirts? The car owner doesn't think that will be a problem. After all, this is an organization that used to feature Rusty Wallace and currently fields cars for Kurt Busch, two drivers who have done their share of rabble-rousing in their time. "I think he's just exactly what we want," Roger Penske said of Keselowski. "I think he knows how to drive. I'd rather be trying to grab his belt than kicking him in the rear end. I think he'll do fine. He certainly has a great reputation with the fans. His reputation within our shop is outstanding. He's really been very proactive there to try and build a relationship. Sure, there's a little bit with Denny Hamlin. But we've seen that. Look at [Juan] Montoya and [Tony] Stewart. ... You need a little bit of that, don't you?" Busch, who's had ample experience in this area, said Keselowski's penchant for stirring the pot shouldn't be a problem if his car sponsors are all OK with it going in. After that, he added, the most important thing is "staying true to yourself." Keselowski doesn't sound like he'll have a problem with that, despite his new surroundings. "I think you can be anything you want to be as long as you're willing to pay the consequences," he said. "And from what I've seen from the team, from the company, is, they don't mind that as long as you're not being a jerk about it. It's one thing to race hard. It's another thing to get out of the car and curse out everybody on the team and things like that. I don't feel like I do that. I'm not going to say I don't have verbal diarrhea every once in a while. But as far as the team and their relationship, I feel like we're all pretty supportive of each other. I think my team enjoys seeing the aggression on the race track." And there are always new potential targets for that aggression. One could be Kyle Busch, who during a recent media tour stop at Joe Gibbs Racing said he had heard that Keselowski hadn't bothered to talk much with his older brother Kurt. Keselowski countered that he and his new teammate have talked quite a bit, including two or three meetings held during one week alone. "Kurt's trying to keep all our conversations secret, because we're going to go beat them," Keselowski said. The mischievous smile comes out again. Let the rabble-rousing begin.
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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