Happy Thursday! March 18, 1991: Wally Dallenbach makes his NASCAR debut in the Motorcraft Quality Parts 500 Cup race at Atlanta Motor Speedway. Dallenbach finishes 26th, nine laps behind winner Ken Schrader. Bill Elliott finishes second, 3.02 seconds back, and Dale Earnhardt is third. Dallenbach goes on to start 226 Cup races in 11 seasons. Twice he finishes second, both times at Watkins Glen (1993 and '95). Dallenbach currently serves as an analyst for NASCAR on TNT. Picture yourself cruising in Tony's 2010 Camaro Coupe 2SS. It's a "Summit White", list price at over $35,000! Tony asked Will Castro of Unique Autosports to work his magic and add a few customizations! Buy a ticket for $50 – you'll be entered to win the Grand Prize including the Camaro, A VIP Trip to Stewart-Haas Racing and a personal meet & greet with Tony!!! 70 Early Bird prizes starting March 15th. Get 'em while you can!!!! Just go to www.smokescamaro. Bits and Pieces Spoilers Distributed to Teams By Reid Spencer Sporting News NASCAR Wire Service Twenty-four Cup teams tested the spoilers Tuesday at Talladega. A two-day, full-field test will take place at Charlotte Motor Speedway next Tuesday and Wednesday. Truex, for one, thought the Talladega test provided several workable alternatives for the Cup race there in late April. "What we did was start with the biggest spoiler and the most horsepower, and then we starting taking off plate, and as the cars started getting too slow, we started pulling off spoiler," Truex said. "They really had about two or three different packages that everybody was happy with. The racing was really good, and the speeds were about as high as I think they want to them to be. I think they're really close to what they'll race with. I think they'll just pick one of those two or three scenarios that we all liked." Many crew chiefs at the test believe the spoiler will provide more downforce than the wing and will allow the cars to turn more easily through the corners. "Teams will find the balance that they need," Pemberton said. "There's enough adjustment on the cars that they can make it happen—they can shift the balance front to rear. There's probably a little bit more to work with the spoiler, downforce-wise, and that should benefit all of them at some point in time." NASCAR Tweaks Rules for All-Star Race By Reid Spencer Sporting News NASCAR Wire Service The length of the race segments remains the same: a 50-lap run that includes a mandatory green-flag pit stop; a 20-lap segment after which teams may pit under caution if they so choose; another 20-lap segment followed by a 10-minute break for adjustments to the car; and a 10-lap dash to the finish. "The twist is, after that 10-minute break, the cars will leave pit road, and they'll line up as they finished the third leg," said Robin Pemberton, NASCAR vice president of competition. "They'll follow the pace car around the first time, and the second time by, pit road will be open, and there will be four-tire pit stops by the teams. "For the last segment, the starting lineup will be set according to how they come off pit road." "I think it would be a lot easier to win it from the front, and If you can gain spots on pit road, it's a no-brainer—it's going to help you," Truex said. "Putting a lot of pressure on pit crews and adding that element to it—it's what we face every Sunday, and to bring part of that into the all-star event I think is a great thing." Last year, the Sprint All-Star Race provided the impetus for NASCAR's eventual move to double-file restarts for points-paying Sprint Cup events. This year's All-Star race will follow the current rules of Cup competition, with double-file restarts throughout and as many as three attempts at a green-white- "All the rules are the same—until we tell you that they're different," Pemberton quipped. Fan vote opens early Fan voting for the Sprint All-Star Race opens a month earlier than it did last year. From March 24 through the day of the race, fans can vote for their favorite driver by texting "NASCAR" to "7777″ on their Sprint phones or by visiting nascar.com. The top vote-getter whose car is still in raceable condition is "elected" to the all-star race. #90 team signs sponsors for Bristol: Keyed-Up Motorsports announced that it welcomes the return of Juice Air Fresheners and SMELLmyCAR.com to co-primary sponsorship of its #90 Chevy and driver Casey Mears for the Food City 500 at Bristol Motor Speedway. Juice Air Fresheners and SMELLmyCAR.com will run as a primary sponsor on select races and an associate sponsor of the team throughout the 2010 season. SMELLmyCAR.com is the prime outlet available for purchase of the newest air fresheners on the market. Juice Air Fresheners CEO Abraham Hakim said, "It was very unfortunate that Casey and the team did not qualify for our first race as sponsor at Atlanta, but we were very impressed with the exposure Juice Air Fresheners and SMELLmyCAR.com received for the small amount of on air time of the misfortunate practice session (blown motor)." Continuing its motorsports marketing efforts of its air freshener line, Juice Air Fresheners is offering free shipping on all orders from SMELLmyCAR.com through March 28th by entering coupon code: RACE90 at checkout. (Keyed-Up Motorsports) Special Patriotic schemes for Hendrick cars: The four Hendrick Motorsports drivers are scheduled to drive special "Honoring Our Soldiers" patriotic paint schemes on Memorial Day weekend in the Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway on May 30, 2010. #26 to donate sponsorship to ANG: NASCAR Sprint Cup series owner Bill Jenkins of Latitude 43 Motorsports announced that his team will be campaigning the colors of the Air National Guard as a tribute to the men and women of the serving our country. The Latitude 43 Motorsports #26 Ford and driver David Stremme will pay tribute to the Air National Guard at the Food City 500 at Bristol Motor Speedway. Latitude 43 Motorsports has also announced a brand-new team website on Wednesday at www.lat43.com. (Vermont Motorsports Magazine) NASCAR To Meet With Edwards, Keselowski: NASCAR Vice President of Competition Robin Pemberton said Wednesday that officials from the sanctioning body will meet with #99-Carl Edwards and #12-Bred Keselowski and their respective team owners at some point this weekend at Bristol Motor Speedway, site of Sunday's Food City 500. What Pemberton wouldn't discuss is what is likely to be said at those meetings. But it's a pretty good bet there will be a stern warning to both drivers to stay away from each other. In April 2009 at Talladega Superspeedway, the two made contact at the start-finish line on the final lap of the race. Keselowski won, Edwards bounced off the hood of Ryan Newman's car and into the catchfence separating the cars from the grandstands. At Atlanta Motor Speedway on March 7, the two locked horns again, this time twice. The first contact, which occurred early in the race, resulted in Edwards going into the wall and losing more than 100 laps for repairs. The second contact occurred two laps before the scheduled end of the Kobalt Tools 500, when Edwards deliberately bumped Keselowski, turning his car sideways, whereupon it rolled upside down on its roof at 190 miles per hour. For making that move, Edwards received probation for three races.(SPEED) Garage Sweep Nascar.com Nemechek, fans compete in March Madness Joe Nemechek and the guys on his Cup and Nationwide series teams are competing among themselves and against their fans in an NCAA Tournament Bracket Challenge. The challenge, which can be found on NEMCO Motorsports' Web site -- www.nemcomotorsport "We've been interacting with our fans on Facebook and Twitter, and we thought this would be a fun way to further the interaction with a little friendly competition, Hamlin likes his chances at Bristol This weekend will mark Denny Hamlin's ninth Cup Series start at Bristol. His average finish is 11.6, including a runner-up finish in spring 2009. Hamlin has finishes no worse than sixth in the past four races at BMS, a track where he has come close to winning -- and he looks to change this week. "Coming so close before has really only made us want to win one of these Bristol races more than ever," Hamlin said. "There is no doubt that winning at Bristol would be special and I know I speak for the entire team when I say leaving Bristol with a trophy is something everyone in racing wants to accomplish in their career. "We've felt like we've had the car on a couple of occasions but had some bad luck in terms of parts going bad at the worst possible times. Twice we ran almost 500 laps around Bristol to get in position to win only to have things go wrong at the very end. ... I always like our chances coming here -- not having a great start to the season doesn't affect that or our overall outlook at all." Bowyer: Bristol must-see for race fans In eight Cup Series starts at Bristol, Clint Bowyer has two top-five finishes and four top-10s. Bowyer also boasts a 15.2 average finish. "As a race fan, if someone asked me where to go to watch a race, I'm sending them to Bristol first," Bowyer said. "Then they go around and see the other tracks. You haven't seen a race track until you've seen Bristol. It's an awesome spectacle of what we do as race car drivers and as a sport. "I'm a fan of the way the racing surface is right now. I like the two-wide racing and I think you'll still be able to do it there [after the extension of the SAFER barriers in Turns 2 and 4]. I like being able to run side-by-side and being able to race your way around somebody. Bristol has always been one of my favorite race tracks and the fans always get their monies worth no matter how wide or narrow it is." Burton says BMS victory 'rewarding' During the season's four races, Jeff Burton has made 629 passes under green-flag conditions, the most of all drivers. He also is one of nine drivers who have completed all laps contested thus far and has led 47 laps of competition. Now he returns to Bristol, where he has one win (spring 2008) with eight top-five finishes and 13 top-10s in 32 starts. "It's such a hard and physically demanding race track," Burton said of the .533-mile bullring. "It's so unique from any other race on the circuit we go to that it makes it special. "It's not about money or a cool trophy. It's about being able to say, 'Hey, I won at Bristol.' Everybody knows what racing at Bristol is like and it's a challenge to race the race track and 42 other drivers. To say you won at Bristol is rewarding." Harvick to 'Feud' along with wife, Burton As part of Food City Family Race night, Cup Series points leader Kevin Harvick and his wife DeLana will participate in a game of Family Feud. The 2005 Food City 500 winner, along with fellow RCR teammate Jeff Burton, will face off against Tony Stewart, Ryan Newman and his wife Krissie, at 7:20 p.m. Friday. The event is free to the public and will take place at the Food City Stage in Bristol Motor Speedway's hospitality village, located outside Turn 4. Sadler returns to site of first Cup win Sunday will mark Elliott Sadler's 24th Cup Series start at Bristol Motor Speedway, site of his first career series victory in 2001. "I'm definitely looking forward to Bristol this weekend," Sadler said. "The track is one of the best we go to and the racing there is always exciting. This track is special to me since it's the spot where I grabbed my first career win back in 2001. I was driving a Ford at the time with the Wood Brothers. I'd love nothing more than to get a second win there. "With this being a half-mile track, we'll focus on completely different things this weekend than what we did the first four races of the season. We put a lot of focus on qualifying at Atlanta and that paid off. Once the green flag fell though we really struggled. Now that we've had a week off, I'm ready to get back at it. I can't think of a better place than Bristol to really have a strong showing." Menard eager to test RPM gains Paul Menard, who is ninth in points and has finished inside the top 18 in all four races this year, has made five Cup Series starts at Bristol. He's looking forward to the season's first short-track race. "This is a totally different track than what we've been on so far this season," said Menard, whose best finish in five races at BMS was a 16th-place finish in fall 2008. "I'm anxious to see how our short-track program has improved. I think that was the weak point last season with Yates Racing and I think this Richard Petty Motorsports team has made some pretty big gains. I'm eager to see how that translates on the race track. "Bristol and Martinsville are survival races. It's so easy to get caught up in somebody else's mistake and it happens all the time. On top of that, tempers flare up pretty easily at places like Bristol and you could wind up in the middle of something you didn't start before you know it." Allmendinger building on momentum This weekend's race will be A.J. Allmendinger' "Bristol is really a unique track and like a lot of drivers and people in the sport it's one of my favorite tracks that we go to," said Allmendinger, who posted a season-best sixth-place finish at Atlanta. "It's a crazy atmosphere. You have this half-mile track with the stands rising tall all the way around it. It's almost like an ancient coliseum or something. The crowd is always electric too. "I'm sure we will be able to build off the last race's momentum. Bristol is where I qualified my way in to my first NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race in 2007. To be in such a different place now from where I was then, where I don't have to worry about whether I'm going to make the race Busch believes Addington offers edge With five Cup Series wins at Bristol, Kurt Busch always returns to the lightning-fast .533-mile oval with a great degree of poise. You can bump up the confidence level this time around. The addition of crew chief Steve Addington Busch brimming with enthusiasm heading into this weekend's race. "It's really easy to come in with a little more swagger when you have the winning crew chief of both races there last season calling the shots for you," said Busch, who will be making his 19th start at Bristol. "We've had quite a bit of success there ourselves over the years, winning five times. But, we haven't won at Bristol since 2006 and we're hoping Steve can be a vital team player in helping us find our way back to Victory Lane." Biffle eyes same ol', same ol' Greg Biffle enters Bristol third in the point standings following an eighth-place finish in Atlanta. Biffle is only 59 points behind leader Kevin Harvick and holds a 110-point advantage on Dale Earnhardt Jr. in 13th. "Bristol has to be one of the most exciting tracks we go to especially for the fans," said Biffle, who has five top-five finishes and eight top-10s in 14 starts at the track. "We've run well there in the past and I think that if we can qualify up front, we should be able to keep it up there. We've had a top-five car every week this season and I don't see any reason why it would be any different this weekend. "A win a Bristol would be incredible but if we can get out of there with a solid top-five, I'll be happy." Bliss focused on remaining in top 35 Mike Bliss will make his fourth Cup Series start at Bristol this weekend with an eye on keeping his No. 36 Chevrolet in the top 35 in owner points. The Tommy Baldwin Racing entry is tied with Yates Racing's No. 37 for 35th; the 2010 top 35 in owner points are guaranteed a starting position beginning next week at Martinsville. Bliss' best finish at BMS was a seventh-place run in August 2005. "I like Bristol a lot, and it is a fun track to drive," Bliss said. "Of course, it will be nerve-racking trying to get into the race Friday. It's nice to be right there at the edge of the top 35, and the goal this weekend will be to leave Bristol still in the top 35. Our focus this weekend will be on doing whatever is needed to stay in the top 35." Bristol bullring suits Keselowski's style Raised on the short tracks of Michigan, Brad Keselowski feels right at home on the NASCAR bullring circuits. This weekend he will make his first Cup Series start on the most-famous bullring of them all -- Bristol. Keselowski has an impressive resume at the half-mile BMS oval in the Nationwide Series; he has one win and three top-five finishes in six races. "Bristol is easily one of my favorite race tracks," he said. "I remember going there for the first time when I was around 10 years old. My dad was running a Truck Series race there and I thought it was so cool that we were at a Cup track. To think back on that now as I plan on making my first Cup Series start there this weekend is surreal. "I've been fortunate to have had success at Bristol in the Nationwide Series, even before the resurfacing. It's a track that I quickly picked up on and it suits my driving style, for whatever reason." Dale Earnhardt Jr. says he hit 213 mph as drivers battled high closing rates and drag at Talladega test By Bob Pockrass/scenedaily TALLADEGA, Ala. – Drivers reported they topped speeds of more than 210 mph in the draft Tuesday and confirmed that the spoiler increased drag and validated the reason for conducting the one-day test at Talladega Superspeedway. Hendrick Motorsports driver Dale Earnhardt Jr. said he topped 213 mph when driving with a restrictor plate that had holes of 1 1/32-inches in diameter during the session attended by 25 Cup drivers. "You can't tell a difference from 195 to 215 I don't think," Earnhardt Jr. said. "I couldn't tell a difference. We went 213 once, but it felt like 200." Drivers returned to the mid-190s when using plates that had holes of 62/64ths of an inch in diameter – still 3/64ths bigger than what they used when the Sprint Cup cars had wings on them at Talladega last October and 1/64th-inch less than what they used at Daytona in February. "The feedback was that the cars are stable but the closure rate was a little too much at some points, and that's what we spent most of the afternoon working on – trying to slow that closure rate down," NASCAR Vice President of Competition Robin Pemberton said. NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Director John Darby said the quickest lap NASCAR recorded was more than 202 mph but the suck-up speeds were higher, and he said "they're race cars so it's hard to say they're going too fast but with that being said, we're real comfortable with the mid-190 range as far as racing speeds." In addition to the restrictor-plate changes, NASCAR also had the drivers shave off the 2-inch-high extensions on the 12 inches of the right and left ends of the wing so it was a flat 4.5-inch spoiler by the end of the day. NASCAR then decreased the width of the spoiler from 64.5 inches to 62.5 inches. The spoiler remained at 70 degrees for the entire test. "We had some suck-up speeds that were a little faster than what we cared for," Darby said. "In conjunction with that, we had a lot of conversations with the drivers and it became apparent the car had too much drag. It was good for closing up to the guy in front of you if you were in the middle of the pack. Whether NASCAR has found a combination it is comfortable with probably won't be determined until the April 23-25 race weekend. NASCAR needed to conduct the test to find the right restrictor plate for the race at Talladega. That race will use a spoiler, which will replace the wing in the Sprint Cup Series within the next three weeks. The spoiler for the non-restrictor- "A lot of the spoiler trimming we did [here] was to give the teams back the ability to stay with their competitors and have the confidence that as they raced, that they could not only stay with the draft but have enough closure speed and horsepower to successfully pass each other," Darby said. "We've got a very good starting spot to go home with, fine-tune a little bit and come back here and have a great Talladega race." Earnhardt Jr. called it an "interesting" day and Darby said he doesn't expect the height extensions on the spoilers to return in April. Darby said teams likely will be notified within 10 days on what they should bring to Talladega but there could be changes during the race weekend. "Things on paper and things in wind tunnels look very attractive sometimes, but when you turn the lights on in the room, they have a different appearance," Darby said. "The aero formula and the engine formula we came here with were correct. And the relationship between the two probably wound up almost exact to what we started with but with a little bit of a lower scale by the end of the day. "What we don't have in wind tunnels and what we don't have even with our best engineers that we work with is the input from the guys that are out there holding the steering wheels. They're the ones that feel all the effects. If they're not comfortable, then we're not going to have a good race and that's what we're here to do." Pemberton said that the 3 1/2-inch wicker bill that sits on the rear window and rear deck lid will be used at all tracks once the spoiler is implemented. Teams will be able to adjust the length of that wicker bill. "It will help us with our side forces for the teams and lift-off speeds," Pemberton said. Bristol can bring out the worst and best of NASCAR drivers By Jim Utter - charlotteobserver.
Tempers flare, racing is side-by-side and many times fender-to-fender. A lot of drivers lose their cool as one mistake - or one mistake by someone else - can bring an abrupt end to their day. What better place for Kyle Busch to provide a kick-start to his Sprint Cup season? The brash 25-year-old Las Vegas native has never backed away from controversy. Yet, on one of NASCAR's most controversy- Only three times in 10 career starts, has Busch finished worse than ninth and he own three wins at the track, including sweeping both Cup races last season. With a sub-par performance so far in this season's first four races, Busch could greatly use a win in Sunday's Food City 500, or at least a strong finish. He is 15th in points and hasn't finished better than 14th yet this season. "I'm not exactly sure what makes me so good at Bristol. I've just had a lot of success there, but I've also had some misfortune there," Busch said. "Ever since I got through my rookie year I've just taken a liking to the place. "Of course, I've been able to get some help from my brother (Kurt). He's always been really, really good there." Kurt Busch owns five Cup wins at Bristol, including one span of three consecutive victories. Both Busch brothers have completed over 93 percent of all the laps they've raced at the track. "I think it's a place that reminds me of racing Saturday night's on the short track back in Vegas growing up," Kyle Busch said. "It just seems to be a place that suits my driving style. "You're driving style has had to change at Bristol a lot. Bristol used to be a track where you could charge the corners a little bit and get it right in and down to the bottom of the track. You kind of would go through the middle of the corner and then slingshot out on the exits. "Now it's just so smooth that you're easy in, you're kind of easy through the center, and easy off." There is new wrinkle to the Bristol experience this season. The speedway recently added some additional SAFER barrier to the track, which will in effect reduce the width of the available racing groove. Already-tight quarters may actually shrink even more. "We've got the SAFER barrier on the outside wall taking up a little bit more racing room up off the corners since they've run the wall further down the straightaway," Busch said. "It's taking up some racing room and it's probably going to make the racing even tighter and we are probably going to see some more action." That's not necessarily a bad thing for Busch, who has excelled at the track, or the fans in attendance. "All the fans love it because of the excitement, the run-ins, the closer quarter action with all the cars being packed on top of one another at a half-mile racetrack with us 43 lunatics running around in a tight circle," Busch said. "It's going to slow the pace up probably a little bit because we know we don't have as much on the exits to use up. Maybe it will make for even better racing for the fans." Attitudes, atmosphere have changed, Travis Carter says By Steve Waid - ThatsRacin.com Contributor When former NASCAR crew chief/team owner Travis Carter agreed to sign autographs on Rex White Day at the Memory Lane Museum in Mooresville, N.C., he felt a bit out of place. Not that he should have. Carter, who was instantly recognized by the steady throng of fans who poured into the museum, is one of the most prominent figures in NASCAR history. But it wasn't his status in the sport that concerned him. "If you do these things you ought to have some pictures, postcards or something like so many guys have," he said. "I don't. Now, if I had a postcard made with all the cars I've worked on over the years, that would be cool." And likely impossible. That's because Carter spent 32 years in NASCAR working with many of the most prominent teams, drivers and cars of his era. He started out in 1971 with owner L.G. DeWitt of Ellerbe, N.C., and driver Benny Parsons. "After a couple of years I became the crew chief," Carter said. "But that was by default. Benny and I were, at the time, the only ones who worked on things and there wasn't anyone else to be the crew chief." Carter was Parsons' pit boss when Parsons won the Winston Cup championship in 1973. Carter moved on to work for Roger Penske in Pennsylvania and then spent several seasons with Junior Johnson & Associates and driver Cale Yarborough. But he rose to prominence after he joined Hal Needham's team in 1981 to be the crew chief for Harry Gant, who became one of the most popular figures in NASCAR. The eight-year association produced nine victories. In 1990, with sponsorship from R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Co., Carter formed his own team. Over 13 years, his drivers included Jimmy Spencer, Darrell Waltrip and Todd Bodine. Today, by his own admission, Carter does little in racing. He leases out shops in Statesville, N.C., and would like to get funding to help his son Matt's racing career, but otherwise, he's removed from NASCAR. Carter explained that there are a couple of reasons for that. One is that the role of a crew chief has changed. The other is that NASCAR itself is far different than what it was in his time. "The wherewithal to be successful as a crew chief is really good right now," Carter said. "From what I've been told they can make a lot of money. I've heard that some make as much as $1 million. I don't know if that's a fact. "But crew chiefs today are under extreme pressure – a lot more than in my day. It's a high-stress job and they have to be committed to it. Even in my time you had to be committed. You had to give it 100 percent. "But you know what? If a crew chief gets paid the amount of money I'm told he does, well, people expect him to perform. They expect him to be committed. And that's not wrong. That's the way it should be. But it isn't easy." Carter knows it's too difficult for him. "It's hard to stop doing what you have been doing all your life," he said. "But I know I can't give 100 percent 24 hours a day, seven days a week. I just don't have it in my heart to do that." Carter admits his NASCAR era was far less complicated and commercial. It was also technologically inferior. But there existed a comradeship and camaraderie among competitors that he thinks is largely missing today. "The last year I raced was in 2003," he said. "I saw the change. "The garage area is a closed environment. Drivers don't have to be shielded from everything. I do think it's the people around them that do that and I believe that has created a superstar persona for the drivers and has kept them at a distance from people. "I think it's the wrong atmosphere. I raced in a time in which guys weren't necessarily buddies and friends, but at least they acknowledged one another. They might have wanted to fight after a race was over but they talked the next week – and they always talked with the media without someone having to make an appointment. "They didn't have that damn uppity attitude that says 'I'm better than you.' I detest that in people. But again I say it's the people around many drivers that have created that attitude." Many NASCAR veterans are asked if racing was better in their day, something many traditionalists believe. As for Carter, well, judge for yourself. "I actually hardly ever watch it on TV today," he said. "I'll watch Daytona and Talladega, because as fast as the drivers are going atop of one another, you know something is going to happen. I think the fans feel the same way. "Otherwise, it seems to me drivers are just running to get to the end. So maybe I don't watch because I don't feel much excitement in it." Short-track chaos coming in NASCAR Larry McReynolds/foxsport If you look at the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series calendar, you will notice that there are only two races before the next break. Strong track record favors Dale Earnhardt Jr. at Bristol Motor Speedway By Jeff Owens/scenedaily. Dale Earnhardt Jr. has a reason for optimism this weekend at Bristol Motor Speedway. Surprisingly, the tough, half-mile oval has been Earnhardt Jr.'s best track over the years. Though he has more career victories at Talladega (five) and Richmond (three), his average finish of 11.6 at Bristol is his best at any Sprint Cup track. In 20 career starts at Bristol, Earnhardt Jr. has one win, seven top-five and 11 top-10 finishes. His 11 top-10s at Bristol match his personal best at any track. He has also completed 98.5 percent of the laps in his 20 races there and led 743. Earnhardt Jr. won the 2004 Sharpie 500, leading 295 laps to hold off Ryan Newman and Jimmie Johnson. After four races this year, Earnhardt Jr. is 13th in points, seven points behind 12th-place Scott Speed. He has finished second, 32nd, 16th and 15th in the four races. Hendrick Motorsports also has a strong record at Bristol with eight wins – five by Jeff Gordon – and 40 top-five finishes. "Bristol is a pretty physically demanding track, but we've always been pretty good there. I like running there," Earnhardt Jr. says. Qualifying well will be crucial, he says, because a driver doesn't want to have to pit on the backstretch. "It's tough to qualify, but it's important to have a good pit stall selection. You want to have that front straightaway pit," Earnhardt Jr. said. "Bristol is a tough track. I got to go there when I was growing up, and I always look forward to going back." The team will face a new challenge this weekend adjusting to a racing surface that will have less racing room because of the addition of the extension of the SAFER barriers in Turns 2 and 4. "Adjusting to that is going to be different," crew chief Lance McGrew said. "Normally I would go to Bristol in qualifying trim for the first practice because qualifying there is so important. But the new barriers made me think enough about the line, the difference in coming off the corner and how you have to approach that, so we'll probably go in race trim. "I want to let Dale run 10 or 15 laps until he feels comfortable, and then we'll switch over to qualifying trim." McGrew agrees that qualifying well is critical at Bristol. "It's huge because there is really only four good pit stalls in the place, period," he said. "If you're not in the top four then everyone is in the same boat. Past that, it's all luck if you have a start-and-park next to you or someone who might have problems in the pit. "It can make or break your night because it doesn't matter how good your pit crew is if you can't get in or out of your pit stall. The track position is everything there." When Jeff Gordon gets booed, it still reminds him of Dale Earnhardt By Jeff Owens/scenedaily. Jeff Gordon doesn't hear many boos anymore. That happens when you're not winning as much and are no longer the sport's dominant driver. But when Gordon still hears a smattering of boos when he's introduced at the track, he thinks of one man – Dale Earnhardt. It is Earnhardt who caused Gordon to become one of NASCAR's most unpopular drivers when he first entered NASCAR's Cup series. And it was Earnhardt who helped Gordon learn how to deal with such a harsh reaction from fans. Gordon, now 38, won his first two Cup races in 1994 at age 22, winning the Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway and the Brickyard 400 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. It wasn't until the next season, however, when he began to dominate the sport and challenge Earnhardt, the seven-time champion, for the championship that the boos began to rain down. "Early on you come into the series and all you want to do is be successful, win races and compete at this level against such incredible teams and drivers," Gordon said Tuesday during a test session at Talladega Superspeedway. "So we started doing that. Definitely that's when the boos started. "At first they were cheers. The 600 and the Brickyard 400 in '94, that year we only won two races, and I don't remember where we finished in the points [eighth], nowhere near the championship battle. Seemed like it was all good stuff. "Then in '95, we came out, we were just strong right from the beginning and started being very competitive, winning races, and a threat for the championship. That's when I really started to see, you know, the split between my fans and Earnhardt fans. And he had a lot of fans [laughter]. "There were quite a few boos. Some tracks it was more than others. Here at Talladega especially." At first, Gordon was surprised by the reaction of fans. But, thanks to Earnhardt, he quickly learned that it wasn't such a bad thing. "Early on, I was like, 'Hey, what's that all about?'" Gordon said. "But then I realized pretty quick. Earnhardt was probably one of the first ones to say, I learned a long time ago, as long as they're making noise ..." Earnhardt had been booed regularly throughout his career, first for his aggressive tactics on the track and later for creating rivalries with drivers like Darrell Waltrip and Bill Elliott. By the early '90s, he was booed for simply winning too much, as Gordon would be later in his career. It wasn't until the early- to mid-'90s that the cheers from his huge fan base began to overwhelm the boos. "I think it was in '92, '93, '94, hearing him get booed, I was like, 'What is that all about?'" Gordon said. "That was more of, in my opinion, a sign that you're doing something right. If you're out there winning the race and they're booing, you're doing more good than you are bad. "I didn't put a whole lot of thought into it. It wasn't long, maybe a couple years later, where I realized it was definitely a good thing." Dale Jarrett Talks Feuds, Paybacks and Coverage Larry Woody | Senior Writer, RacinToday.com With emotions at a fever pitching heading into this week's race at Bristol – NASCAR's most cantankerous track – the media has to walk a fine line between pro wresting and Masterpiece Theater. That's the opinion of Dale Jarrett, who will be calling Saturday's Nationwide race for ESPN, even as all eyes will be on the next day's Sprint Cup re-match between combatants Carl Edwards and Brad Keselowski. "It's a big story that can't be ignored," said Jarrett. "We have to do our jobs, describe what's going on, and call things as we see them. As an analyst I sometimes have to be a little critical, even if the drivers are friends of mine." While some complain that the media goes out of its way to over-hype and stir controversy, Jarrett said the Edwards-Keselowski feud is "is something that has to be covered. It's a story that's out there." Besides, he added, there's nothing wrong with drivers showing some emotion, and the media reporting on it. "The passion and emotion of our sport is what makes it so popular," he said. "I don't think we want to take that away. If it gets out of control, NASCAR can step in. But I find it a little odd that for awhile we heard complaints about a lack of action in racing, and now we hear complaints because there's TOO MUCH action." Edwards begins a three-race probation at Bristol after intentionally wrecking arch-rival Keselowski two weeks ago at Atlanta. The feud has been simmering since Keselowski sent Edwards tumbling in a reverse encounter last year at Talladega. Jarrett said "payback has always been part of the sport," and that the Keselowski incident "probably looked worse than it really was" because his car went airborne. Otherwise it would have gone down as a routine fender-bender. "Unless you've ever been in that situation, it's impossible to understand the emotions that drivers go through," Jarrett said. "You have to experience it to understand it." Jarrett believes such self-policing is OK, "as long as you don't overdo it. You have to pick your spot. You never want to get anyone hurt, and there are certain spots on the faster tracks where it's not a good idea to bump somebody. But by and large these things have a way of getting worked out." Jarrett is following in the footsteps of his father Ned, a championship racer who enjoyed a successful second career as a broadcaster. "My dad taught me a lot about racing and he's taught me a lot about broadcasting," Jarrett said. "The most important thing he told me is to just be myself. I'm not someone who knows a lot of big words. I just try to explain what's going on down on the track. I don't try to come across as something I'm not." Ned, 77, is retired. Jarrett's brother Glenn is a veteran radio announcer who works for MRN. Their sister Patti is a housewife who is married to Jimmy Makar, Jarrettt's former crew chief. Jarrett said he has adjusted to life in the ESPN booth, although he admitted "there are times when I miss being on the track. When we go to a place like Daytona, for example, or this week at Bristol … Bristol was always one of my favorite places to race because there was so much going on." He added with a chuckle: "Sometimes as a driver you got a little more action than you bargained for. But from the fans' perspective it's great. Fans in the stands and watching on TV love the excitement." Marlin Gives Ownership A Whirl Larry Woody | Senior Writer, RacinToday.com Nashville – Sterling Marlin, retired after 30 years as a driver in NASCAR's Cup Series, is involved in the sport in a new role: team owner. Well, sort of. The two-time Daytona 500 champion is listed as co-owner of a new team, BD Racing, which plans to compete in the Sunoco National Tour this season, but Marlin said his role is mostly as an "advisor.'' "I've agreed to help them out a little," he said. BD Racing is named for Bryan Dant, an acquaintance of Marlin's from Nashville's Fairgrounds Speedway. The team is fielded out of Performance Motorsports shop in Richmond, Mich. Brian Oritz, a 21-year-old kart champion from Puerto Rico, will drive for the team. The first of the 10-race schedule starts March 27 at New Smyrna Speedway in Florida. As for his own driving plans, Marlin – who had run a limited Cup schedule the last few years – has a Late Model car that he may race some at the Fairgrounds. A promoter hopes to run a final few races on the old track that's scheduled to close this summer. Marlin said he may also take an occasional trip to Montgomery. Marlin joined Darrell Waltrip and some other former Fairgrounds drivers in lobbying the city to keep the track operating, but with no success. Nashville Mayor Karl Dean remains determined to shut down the 53-year-old facility and put the property to other uses. As for Sterling's Sprint Cup career: "It's over," Marlin said. "I won't be racing any more." Marlin said he hasn't attended any races this year, not even to Daytona as a spectator. "I don't think I'd enjoy just standing around watching," he said. "I might go down to Talladega when they run there … I haven't decided for sure." The budding racing career of his daughter Sutherlin has been put on hold while she undergoes treatment for an eye problem. Son Steadman has no ride prospect on the immediate horizon. Marlin said he "stays too busy" to miss racing, operating his farm in Maury County and spending time with two grandchildren. "Between the farm and the grandkids and all the chores that (wife) Paula gives me, I've got about all I can handle," he said with a laugh. "It (big-league racing) was fun, but like everything else it had to end sometime." Enough Of The Gripes Of Wrath, Already Larry Woody | Senior Writer, RacinToday.com Judging from all the media hissing and moaning, Carl Edwards and Brad Keselowski should be ashamed of themselves, whaling away on each other and disturbing NASCAR's nap-time. Yeah, Keselowski took a wild ride at Atlanta. So? Wild rides are what stock car racing is all about. Or at least it used to be, back before they started racing with dollies on the dashboard and their pinkie fingers extended. I think NASCAR handled the situation about right. They sat Carl down and told him not to knock anybody else into the cheap seats for the next three races. A lot of fans and media wanted Carl's head on a platter. A silver platter, I presume, with some Perrier to sip and truffles to nibble while they watch curling on the Snooze Channel. They seemed shocked that they witnessed a (gasp!) crash in a stock car race. Goodness gracious, what's the world coming to? Anyone remember a driver named Dale Earnhardt? Went by the name of "The Intimidator." Ran over everybody but the pace-car driver. Widely considered the greatest racer in history. How come they didn't wail about Dale they way they're crying about Carl? Everybody knows that Keselowski and Edwards have a history. They're Hatfields and McCoys with lug nuts. Jimmy Carter couldn't negotiate a treaty between these two. It's just bad car karma. First Brad hit Carl. Then Carl hit Brad. Carl is ordered out of the sandbox and Brad gets a cookie. See how it works? Meanwhile laptops continue to short out from distraught sports writers weeping into their consoles. They've worn the t off their keyboard typing "tisk tisk." They've left no tongue un-clucked. I haven't seen so much angst since, well since Cale Yarborough and the Allison brothers' muddy smack-down in the Daytona infield. NASCAR was so embarrassed by the brawl that it used the replays to promote next year's race. When the violets get through shrinking they might look around and notice how interest in NASCAR has perked up. Fans who had been bored silly by the same two tired old story lines – Danica the Hottie and Jimmie the Awesome – are starting to wake up and smell the rubber burning. After an off-week to let the dust and car-parts settle, look what's coming up: Bristol. Brutal, bruising, brawling Bristol. A joint so mean that it should be served with a restraining order. A place where the Lap Leader Award usually goes to the wrecker driver. The only track with its own zip code: 911. All the media and fans who were so shocked and chagrined by the rowdy racing at Atlanta might want to avert their eyes. Bristol's the kind of place where somebody's liable to bump into somebody and lose their temper. Gosh, there might even be a wreck. Nobody wants to see that. Do they? Passion still burns for Bobby Labonte Marty Smith/espn.com It's not uncommon these days that Bobby Labonte wakes in the morning and pulls a "Life Is Good" T-shirt out of the drawer and over his salt-and-pepper head. He wears them often these days. They're a billboard of sorts, a personal reminder of how well it's gone for him during a 20-year run at the top of NASCAR, and hope for what could still be out there for him. His priorities have changed a bit over the past several years. Age and experience do that to a man. It's inevitable, really, once years pile up and reflection begins. Likewise, it's quite difficult -- impossible for most -- to respect the blessing, and fickleness, of success while it's happening. In the moment, you don't often think about how good you have it. You just have it. It's just how it is. It's what you know. Then one day, how it is isn't how it was. And suddenly it hits you: Man, I had it good. That's one reason Mark Martin is so dadgum giddy all the time. He got another shot. "Now it's like you want it to happen more than ever professionally, more now than then you want to [excel], and it becomes a harder pill to swallow because you're not," said the 45-year-old Labonte. "Personally, times change, kids grow up and you look at things differently, wiser. "It's one of those things where it's more precious to do what you're doing now than it was then. You respect more, now, what you were able to do." Fact is, only a handful of drivers have Labonte's credentials. During the nine seasons between 1995 and 2003, he won 21 races and finished among the top 10 in points seven times, including winning the 2000 Cup championship. Even fans, thanks to Jimmie Johnson's current dominance, lose sight of how difficult it really is to achieve excellence. In NASCAR's 60-plus years, 177 drivers have at least one victory at the Cup level. Only 32 of them have as many as Bobby Labonte (21). "Back then your goals were happening, so you were just doing it," Labonte continued. "It's definitely hard to grasp. It's harder to grasp in the middle of doing it than when you're not. "But by the way, I'm still trying to accomplish a lot. So I think it's easier to look back later on than when you're in the middle of it, because you can't look back; you're still looking forward." It would be easy to infer that Labonte's heyday is over, that the competitive drive is gone. He hasn't won since '03, after all, and since he left Joe Gibbs Racing late in the 2005 season he has hopped around from Petty Enterprises to Hall of Fame Racing to, now, TRG Motorsports. The 2006 move to Petty, to drive the famous 43, was promising despite the organization' In May 2008, Labonte signed a four-year extension with Petty. By December he was gone from the team. "I kind of got the [rug] pulled out from under my legs," he said. "But it was about what I figured it would be." He left it at that. After Petty he was in limbo for a while, rumored strongly to be headed to Ganassi or possibly Childress. But he settled at Hall of Fame, which also seemed a decent enough opportunity. The organization had aligned with Yates Racing, and thereby Roush Fenway Racing, and Todd Parrott would be his crew chief. That didn't work out either, and Labonte again was left to wonder: What now? Enter TRG Motorsports, a program in its infancy, albeit one with big plans. Labonte ran seven of the final 12 races in 2009 for TRG, and ultimately signed on to drive full-time for the team this year. Again, it's promising. During the offseason, TRG signed an agreement with Richard Childress Racing, which provides engines, some cars and technical information. And they use a pit crew from Stewart-Haas Racing. The startup program is improving steadily. Labonte mentions there have been setbacks, but reflects on the industry standard as an example that it can be done. "Remember, not everybody started off on top," he said. "I love the story about Rick Hendrick and Geoff Bodine at Martinsville [in 1984]. They couldn't afford to go. But they went, and Geoff wins the race. Now look at them. I love that story. "And look at [Childress]. You had [Dale] Earnhardt -- he said, 'Dude, your stuff ain't good enough.' He went and drove for Bud Moore a couple years, came back and now, holy cow, what a success story. "Everybody goes through that. That's where TRG wants to go. They'll have that same story someday. 'Remember that time we were a one-car team, and did this, then that? Now look at us.' That's their goal." That was a different time. Today's NASCAR presents a far steeper hill to climb. But TRG is managing, and Labonte is a crucial element of the effort. "Having someone with Bobby's experience and pedigree really adds to all aspects of our TRG Motorsports NASCAR program," said team owner Kevin Buckler. "First off, it takes so much to be a series champion, and that's a huge accomplishment and accolade, and we're proud to have Bobby as part of our team. "Also, with his level of experience in the car, on the track and at the specific tracks where we race, he adds value in terms of our long-term view of what we're doing. He has a cool head, and he's a cool guy and we're really glad he's on board." Labonte's easy demeanor can be deceiving. The competitive fire burns hotter than a smolder. He may be driving for a program in its infancy, and may not be threatening for wins right now -- he's 30th in the Cup standings, and his best 2010 finish is a 21st in the Daytona 500. But he ain't done. "I really feel in my heart that I can win races and be up front," Labonte said. "I don't feel that I've lost a step. "I don't know that, professionally, your goals change. I don't think they do. If you're doing this, you still have the same goal: Win on Sunday. You want to be competitive, lead laps, win poles." That's still the goal? Even now? "That's still the goal. It's the only goal," he continued. "Some people have different goals, but if your mission is to run every lap, then your goal is still the same as it was when you started. Win." Labonte notes that he's in the best shape of his life, and ran a half-marathon in December. And for motivation he needs look no further than Martin and Jeff Burton. They're in his age bracket and competing at a championship level. Fact is, Labonte has something they don't -- a Cup. He'd like to make a run at another one. But if not, he has no regrets. "Jimmie Johnson might be the only one different, but I bet almost everybody scratches their heads at times and says, 'Man, I wish I'd done that different.' But I don't know that you can make that decision 100 percent," he said. "You can't have everything when you're making those decisions throughout your career. How can you know what's right and what's wrong at the time? "The cards might be dealt to you differently than everybody else. That's my opinion. At this point, [I] don't take small setbacks so personally or seriously. I used to fly off the handle 10 years ago. Well, what'd that get you? In trouble? I don't do that so much anymore." Life is good. The REAL Story of Moonshine and NASCAR - Part IV Daniel Pierce/Real NASCAR.com Car Owners and Mechanics When most folks think about the connection between moonshine and NASCAR they immediately consider the early drivers who hauled liquor by night and raced stock cars by day. While trippers did form the core of stars in early Piedmont stock car racing and later NASCAR, folks involved in the illegal liquor business also played key support roles in laying the foundation for the sport's growth. Two notable and interconnected areas where bootleggers buttressed the sport in its early days were as car owners and as mechanics. While most early drivers owned their own cars and did their own mechanical work (I always loved Wendell Scott's cars where he painted "Mechanic, Me" on the side), the fastest and most successful cars were those owned or wrenched by others. Most of the top car owners in the early days were top-level bootleggers who had made a lot of money during World War II and the post-war economic boom and saw this primarily as an outlet for their competitive energies. Three of the most significant of these individuals were Frank Christian of the Atlanta area, J. Sam Rice from Martinsville, and Hubert Westmoreland from Charlotte. Christian is probably best known as the husband of the most successful woman racer in NASCAR's earliest days, Sarah Christian. However, the Atlanta bootlegger also supplied top cars—usually Oldsmobiles—to Curtis Turner and Bob Flock in the late 1940s and early 50s. Former Daytona Beach Race winner J. Sam Rice occasionally drove his own cars after WW II, but by the late 40s primarily supplied cars—most often Cadillacs--to other racers including Frank "Rebel" Mundy, Bill Blair, Jimmie Lewallen, and an up-and-coming young Floridian nicknamed "Fireball." Westmoreland is one of the best known of the bootlegger/car owners, primarily because his car—driven by Glenn Dunnaway—won the first NASCAR Strictly Stock race but was disqualified for illegal modifications made to his 1947 Ford to make it more stable while hauling a load of moonshine. Westmoreland also was part owner in the 1950 Plymouth—along with Bill France and Curtis Turner—that won the first Southern 500. He later supplied cars to Jack Smith and Herb Thomas, among others. The most famous—and deservedly so—of the early bootlegger/car owners was Raymond Parks. Parks supplied the top-notch and immaculately painted and prepared Fords that helped make Roy Hall and Lloyd Seay the sport's first superstars in the late 1930s and early 40s. After serving a stint in Patton's army in WW II, he resumed his activities as a stock car owner and fielded Fords for war hero Red Byron and Atlanta bootlegger Bob Flock. Parks's cars dominated early stock car racing and for many years he supplied his personal Cadillac as the pace car for Bill France's promotions on Daytona Beach. In addition, numerous sources have claimed that Parks loaned France a considerable amount of money to keep the promoters' operations going in the immediate post war period. It should be noted, however, that Parks—who is still living, and last I heard, at age 96 was still going to work at one of his (legal) liquor stores every day—has never publicly made this claim. Whatever Parks may have done in secret, what we know he did played an important role in making the sport of stock car racing (and NASCAR) successful in its early days and makes him worthy of early induction into the NASCAR HOF. I would personally hope that HOF voters recognize Parks's significant contributions to the sport and vote him in while he is still with us to personally receive the accolades and gratitude he so richly deserves. The connection between early NASCAR mechanics and moonshining is a little more tenuous and less direct than that between the car owners and illegal liquor. Most of the top mechanics were not directly involved in the business, they just profited from it. Bootleggers needed fast cars and had the cash money to pay for them, and a smart, talented mechanic knew better than to ask the source of that cash. One top early mechanic who did have a direct connection with the bootlegging business was Charlotte's Buddy Shuman. Shuman was also a top driver, but was an extremely talented and creative mechanic who worked on a lot of other folks' bootlegging cars (and race cars) in the Carolina Piedmont. In his early liquor-running career he also had a few run-ins with the law, served time on a chain gang, and was once shot in the neck by police. One of the most interesting incidents in Shuman's life came when Ford made its first major foray into NASCAR racing in 1955. When the Detroit automaker hired Shuman to help prepare its '55 purple "Wild Hogs" for Curtis Turner and Joe Weatherly to drive in the Southern 500, the manufacturer's Industrial Relations Division did a routine investigation into his background and discovered his checkered past. Ford Chief Engineer Bill Burnett, quickly shut down any talk of getting rid of Shuman as his skills—honed in preparing many a car for a bootleg run—were too valuable to the Ford racing effort. Unfortunately, just as Shuman reached the top, he died in a hotel fire in Hickory, NC in November 1955. Fortunately, NASCAR still presents the Buddy Shuman Award for significant career contributions to the sport. However, NASCAR and its fans need to remember this uneducated man--who was often on the wrong side of the law--and his talent as a driver, his creative intelligence, and mechanical genius that helped make the sport a regional entertainment staple. As I've written earlier, the Atlanta area—with its large market for illegal liquor and proximity to the distillers of the North Georgia mountains—produced most of the top early drivers. It also produced some of its top mechanics. One of the most important early ones was Bob Osiecki. While there is no evidence that Osiecki himself was in the bootlegging business, a significant number of his clients were. In the late 1940s, Osiecki supplied cars for Fonty Flock—the biggest star of the era—and for Ed Samples—champion in both the NSCRA and SCRA series. Osiecki's biggest rival was Red Vogt, the Flathead V-8 Ford genius who ran Atlanta's Spring Street Garage and supplied the cars for Raymond Parks's drivers. As reporter Ed Hinton once noted, Red's garage attracted both bootleggers and law enforcement and was "neutral ground; sort of the Switzerland of moonshine running and moonshine chasing." While Red's was a popular gathering place, in a spotlessly clean back room the master mechanic worked to make the engines of the Parks Novelty Fords and those of his best bootlegging clients virtually unbeatable on the track and uncatchable on the highway. Red was the top mechanic in NASCAR well into the 1950s. So while the liquor-hauling racers of NASCAR's early days were the stars on the track, it was often big-time bootleggers who supplied their cars and mechanics strongly linked to the illegal liquor business who made them run at top speed. Next Week: Part V – The Promoters and Track Owners NASCAR ON TV THIS WEEK
All times Eastern 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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