NASCAR Daily News Headlines * December 2, 2008

Petty Delivers Santa

On Monday, folks were still discussing last week’s lighting ceremony when approximately 3,000 attendees watched as Santa arrived in a 1959 Chevy Impala convertible. His chauffeur? NASCAR legend Richard Petty. So which celeb resulted in a bigger swarm of fans?

“The kids were trying to get closer to Santa and the adults were trying to get closer to Mr. Petty,” Lodge rep Liza Kubik told Buzz Monday. “I would say their legendary status is equal. It was a complete surprise for everyone.”

“A friend of a friend” got Petty to the participate in the 7th annual charitable event at the middle Georgia tourist attraction. As for our obvious follow-up question, Kubik told us: “Yes, Mr. Petty and Santa cruised up within the legal speed limit.”(accessatlanta.com)

Infineon Distributes $417,936

“Speedway Children’s Charities has been funding us for so long now that some of these children have become young adults and we’re certain they have a greater likelihood of pursuing their dreams because they have been well nourished,” said David Goodman, executive director of the Redwood Empire Food Bank. “There is a certain relationship that is built when you have a partner that shares your concern, and we’ve certainly built that with Speedway Children’s Charities. Since 2001, we’ve received over $100,000, and that translates to about $400,000 worth of food reaching people in our community, particularly children.”

The monies awarded in 2008 were generated through a combination of events held during the raceway’s major event weekends, including the Children’s Champions Grand Marshal’s Banquet and the Race & Rock Charity Auction, which combined to raise more than $95,000. Both were held during the Toyota/Save Mart 350 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series weekend in June. The 4th annual Classic Sports Racing Group’s (CSRG) Charity Challenge generated an additional $65,000.

In all, the chapter hosted 10 events in 2008, primarily tied to the raceway’s motor-racing weekends. The chapter also received a donation from Sonic Automotive Corporation, as well as other national funding and individual contributions.

Speedway Children's Charities is a non-profit organization with the purpose of raising funds to be distributed to qualified children's organizations. Founded in 1984 by Bruton Smith, chairman of Speedway Motorsports Inc., Speedway Children's Charities originated at Lowe's Motor Speedway in North Carolina. Fifty-seven youth groups will receive funding from Speedway Children’s Charities in 2008:

Edwards-Johnson Named To All-America Team

Who those five are is not revealed until the All-America ceremonies in Ontario, Calif., on Jan. 10 but they will come from among the 17 drivers named to the First Team by the voting members of the American Auto Racing Writers and Broadcasters Association.

Three former Titus winners are on the team this year -- Indy Car champions Tony Kanaan (2004) and Dan Wheldon (2005), and NHRA Top Fuel driver Tony Schumacher (2006) but only Schumacher bids to repeat this year.

The Titus, given in remembrance of the late racer/journalist, signifies the top vote-getter on the All-America team regardless of category, is announced at the conclusion of the annual AARWBA banquet Jan. 10 at the Hilton Hotel in Ontario, Calif., which is open to the public. Two drivers from each of seven categories are elected to the First Team, two more to the Second Team, and all drivers receiving at least five percent of the vote earn honorable mention.

Schumacher won his sixth NHRA Powerade Top Fuel championship this year, his fifth in a row. With a dominating 15-victory season he won his sixth selection as an All-America in the Drag Racing category, every one of them First Team. He is joined by NHRA Funny Car champ Cruz Pedregon in only his second All-America appearance -- his previous being on the Second Team16 years ago when he interrupted John Force's streak of championships in 1992.

Jimmie Johnson won his third straight NASCAR Sprint Cup but he and Carl Edwards -- runner-up in both of NASCAR's top two championships, Sprint Cup and the Nationwide Series -- raced figuratively wheel-to-wheel through the vote tally in the Stock Car category. While Johnson achieved a three-peat only accomplished once before in Cup history, Edwards posted the most victories (9) on the season in addition to another seven in the Nationwide Series. Johnson makes his seventh All-America team, five in a row on First Team. Edwards is First Team for the first time after two earlier appearances on the Second Team.

Donny Schatz also scored a championship three-peat this year in the World of Outlaws Sprint Car series, becoming only the second driver in WoO history to win as many as three in a row. It was not his only hat trick as he also won the prestigious Knoxville Nationals for a third consecutive year in addition to 18 wins on the WoO circuit. Joining Schatz in the Short Track category is U.S. Auto Club double champion Jerry Coons Jr., who won both the Silver Crown and Sprint series. Added to his USAC Midget championships in 2006 and 2007, he is only the fifth driver in USAC history to win all three championships. Both drivers are now three-time All-Americans from the past three seasons, Schatz First Team each time and Coons the past two years.

Scott Dixon, the Indianapolis 500 winner and champion of the Indy Racing League, added another five victories for his championship season. Yet he was still only 17 points ahead of series runner-up and two-time winner Helio Castroneves who set a series record with eight second-place finishes. The two of them easily outdistanced the other nominees in the Open Wheel category. Both are now four-time All-Americans, the third time for Dixon on First Team but the first time Castroneves has achieved the top rung.

In the Road Racing category, drivers racing as teammates in the same car are voted on as a single entity resulting in pairs from both the American Le Mans Series and the Grand-Am Rolex Sports Car Series being chosen to the team. From Grand-Am comes the Daytona Prototype champions Scott Pruett and Memo Rojas, whose six victories included the 24 Hours of Daytona. From ALMS came the runners-up in the P2 category, David Brabham and Scott Sharp, whose four-win season included an overall victory at Lime Rock outrunning the supposedly faster P1 cars.

Pruett, with his 10th First-Team selection and 12th overall, is now tied with drag racing legend Don Garlits for the third-most times on the First Team, and behind only Steve Kinser and John Force. He is also the 15th driver to be voted an All-American as many as 12 times. His teammate Rojas is an All-American for the first time ever. Sharp makes the team for a fifth time, three as First Team, while Brabham is First Team for his first time in three appearances.

In Touring Series it was NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series champion Johnny Benson and young ARCA champion Justin Allgaier who dominated the category. Both achieved nail-biter finishes to their seasons, Benson winning by just 7 points in the final Truck Series race while Allgaier's come-from-behind title was a result of winning the final three races of the ARCA season. It is Allgaier's first time as an All-American and Benson's second -- his first coming 15 years ago when he was ASA champion.

The tight vote in the At Large category finally produced IRL Indy Lights champion Raphael Matos and ALMS GT2 champions Jorg Bergmeister/Wolf Henzler for the First Team. Matos not only won three times in the IRL junior series but also twice in sports car races. He was an honorable mention last year when he won the Atlantic Series championship. Bergmeister is First Team for a third time, while his teammate Henzler makes his first appearance.

Information on the All-America Banquet, presented by the A1GP World Cup of Motorsport, is available at www.AARWBA.org. The banquet and ceremony is open to the public.

FIRST TEAM

OPEN WHEEL: Helio Castroneves, Scott Dixon
STOCK CAR: Carl Edwards, Jimmie Johnson
ROAD RACING: David Brabham/Scott Sharp, Scott Pruett/Memo Rojas
DRAG RACING: Cruz Pedregon, Tony Schumacher
SHORT TRACK: Jerry Coons Jr., Donny Schatz
TOURING SERIES: Justin Allgaier, Johnny Benson
AT LARGE: Jorg Bergmeister/Wolf Henzler, Raphael Matos

SECOND TEAM

OPEN WHEEL: Ryan Briscoe, Tony Kanaan
STOCK CAR: Clint Bowyer, Kyle Busch
ROAD RACING: Timo Bernhard/Romain Dumas, Jon Fogarty/Alex Gurney, Lucas Luhr/Marco Werner (3-way tie)
DRAG RACING: Jeg Coughlin, Tim Wilkerson
SHORT TRACK: Tracy Hines, Jason Meyers & Cole Whitt (tie)
TOURING SERIES: Ted Christopher, Benny Gordon
AT LARGE: Frank Manzo, Travis Pastrana

HONORABLE MENTION - (At least 5% of the vote)

OPEN WHEEL: Danica Patrick, Dan Wheldon
STOCK CAR: none
ROAD RACING: Jan Magnussen/Johnny O'Connell
DRAG RACING: Greg Anderson, Spencer Massey
SHORT TRACK: Darrell Lanigan
TOURING SERIES: Eric Holmes, Matt Kobyluck
AT LARGE: Laurie Cannister, Rob MacCachren

No. 48 Team Earns Crew Of The Year

The Mechanix Wear Most Valuable Pit Crew Award is given quarterly during the season with those four winners eligible for the year-end Mechanix Wear Most Valuable Pit Crew Award and a check for $100,000. The quarterly and year-end recipients are determined by a vote of NASCAR Sprint Cup crew chiefs. The presentation will be made at the 2008 NASCAR National Motorsports Press Association Myers Brothers Media Luncheon at Cipriani in New York City on Thursday (Dec. 4).

“It takes an entire team to be successful in this sport and my over-the-wall guys are awesome,” said Johnson. “I know each time I come down pit road that they’re going to do their jobs and help me win the race. They definitely deserve to be the pit crew of the year and I’m proud to have them on this Lowe’s team.”

The No. 48 Hendrick Motorsports team, led by crew chief Chad Knaus, swept fourth-quarter honors last year en route to its second year-end award and $100,000 bonus. The team also won in 2004.

“This crew is unbelievable,” said Knaus. “They’re some of the best on pit road. They step up in tough situations and always pull through when we need them most. I’m proud of each of them and think it’s great that Mechanix Wear is recognizing their hard work.”

In the 10 races that made up the Chase, the 48 team had only one finish (15th at Texas) outside the top 10. Johnson had three wins and a pair of seconds and finished the season with seven trips to victory lane, 15 top-five and 22 top-10 finishes.

“The Mechanix Wear Most Valuable Pit Crew Award was created to recognize the men and women who pride themselves on working together for a common goal,” said Ted Abdon, Mechanix Wear director of racing. “The No. 48 over-the-wall crew demonstrated once again its commitment to excellence. Working together as a cohesive unit, the stops were quick. The execution was precise. The results were impressive. The dedication to detail once again earned the 48 crew the respect of their peers.

“The Lowe’s over-the-wall pit crew embodies what it means to be a team. We are proud to present this award to them for their hard work and dedication throughout the Championship season."

Greg Morin is the pit crew coach. “I think it’s great that Mechanix Wear has chosen to recognize this crew,” said Morin. “They have worked very hard this year to perform at the level they do during each pit stop. These guys have put in a lot of hours conditioning in the gym and training at pit practice, not to mention the hours they put in on the shop floor. To start the season as a new group, work as hard as they have and achieve the results they’ve achieved is amazing. I’m very proud of this program and of these guys. They certainly deserve all the recognition they get.”

The first-quarter winner was the No. 18 M&M’s over-the-wall crew from Joe Gibbs Racing while the No. 9 Budweiser Dodge team from Gillett Evernham Motorsports prevailed in the second quarter. Third-quarter honors went to the No. 99 crew from Roush Fenway Racing. The No. 48 Lowe’s Chevrolet team emerged the fourth-quarter winner.