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Talladega Superspeedway Notebook ~ Sunday An Opinion
April 27, 2009 By Connie Felix
Surprising Yet Pleasant Win The start/finish line at Talladega Superspeedway is placed after the pit exit, as Bill France Sr. wanted to insure ticket sales towards that side, as well as those centered across from pit road. The unusual placement has affected the outcome of almost every race at the 2.66 mile track. Saturday's, NASCAR Nationwide Series Aaron's 312 race was no different, the front stretch fans stood in silence seemingly stunned wondering if the scoring tower in front of them was correct following the end of the race. When David Ragan's No. 6 Discount Tire Ford left the other race cars to celebrate his first victory the crowd broke their silence and erupted into cheers.
Nationwide Infractions For Talladega During the Nationwide Series, Aaron's 312 race on Saturday at Talladega Superspeedway, NASCAR spotted 17 penalties among 12 different drivers. David Ragan, John Borneman III, Robert Richardson Jr., Bobby Gerhart, Michael Waltrip, D.J. Kennington, Brendan Gaughan and Jeff Green were all assessed pass through penalties for excessive speed entering or exiting pit road. Kerry Earnhardt was sent to the tail end of the longest line as the crew allowed a tire to roll beyond the center of the pit box. Clint Bowyer - No. 29 Holiday Inn Chevrolet, held the record with 5 penalties. Lap 53 caught Bowyer pitting before pit road was open, he then ran over equipment in his pit box, exited the pits with excessive speed and ran the stop and go sign/light leaving pit road. Not to have overkill, NASCAR only assessed a one lap penalty and sent driver to the tail end of the longest line. Bowyer wasn't through, on lap 89 he pitted before pit road was open and was sent to the tail end of the longest line on lap 92. Brandon Whitt - No. 61 Nationwide Insurance Dash 4 Cash Ford, pitted before pit road was open on lap 95 and lap 97 found him pulling up to pit (passing pace car). NASCAR didn't follow through on the one lap penalty since Whitt missed numerous laps due to repairs. Danny O'Quinn Jr. - No. 01 SalonWish.com Chevrolet pitted before pit road was open on lap 88. Had O'Quinn not entered the garage, NASCAR would have sent him to the tail end of the longest line.
Tony Stewart Wins Tony Stewart in his JD ByRyder CJ Rayburn race car took the lead on the opening lap and never looked back on his way to winning the 25 lap UMP Super Late Model featured on NASCAR Night I, Thursday evening at Paducah International Raceway.
Chair Switch Tony Stewart's, Talladega Superspeedway weekend press conference gave information on his fifth annual 'Prelude to the Dream'. Supporting four military-themed charities, Wounded Warrior Project, Intrepid Fallen Heroes Fund, Operation Homefront and Fisher House this season. The June 3rd event at Eldora Speedway in Rossburg, Ohio will be aired live and commercial free on HBO Pay-Per-View at 7 P.M. ET for $24.95. Drivers in the event will be Tony Stewart, Ryan Newman, Kyle Busch, Jeff Gordon, Jimmie Johnson, Carl Edwards, Kevin Harvick, Kasey Kahne, Matt Kenseth, Denny Hamlin, Clint Bowyer, Brian Vickers, Robby Gordon, David Reutimann, Bill Elliott, Dave Blaney, Aric Almirola, Kenny Wallace, Ken Schrader, Ron Capps, Cruz Pedregon, Ray Evernham, Joey Logano, Jeremy Mayfield and David Stremme. All will pilot 2,300-pound dirt Late Model stock cars capable of putting out over 800 horsepower. The announcement had quite a setup. Six huge pieces were brought in to form a backdrop on stage plus a tall standup of drivers was positioned behind the podium. Talladega Superspeedway's plush chairs were removed and director chairs took their place. Tony Stewart then entered the room, only a few minutes late, stretching and rubbing sleep from his eyes.
Where Is He Now? Steve Park, has been competing in the NASCAR Camping World East Series for NDS Motorsports, since his ride with Orleans Racing ended a stint in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series. Park can be seen in the 11 race series schedule, driving the No. 35 Waste Management Recycle America Chevrolet. December 6, 2008, the 41 year old, Steve Park married Jessica Skarpalezos, after a year long engagement.
Sunday Morning Garage Aaron's 499 race day at Talladega Superspeedway found most NASCAR Sprint Cup Series cars lined up for final inspection, before going to pit road, with only a half dozen remaining in the garage.
Young Careers Dashed The past couple years the bigger teams have dropped their Driver Development Programs. This disappointing reason is why Chrissy Wallace, daughter of NASCAR driver Mike Wallace isn't driving in the 2009 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series and ARCA RE/MAX races as originally planned. Instead she is at the track on race weekends being seen, talking to all those that might help and looking in the not so obvious locations for sponsorship.
Sprint Cup Infractions For Talladega The NASCAR Sprint Cup Series, Aaron's 499 race at Talladega Superspeedway, resulted in 30 penalties among 24 different drivers. Twenty Two drivers were sent to the tail end of the longest line for pitting before pit road was open, unless they headed for the garage. Those drivers were Brian Vickers, Carl Edwards (2), Elliott Sadler, Max Papis, Reed Sorenson, Bobby Labonte, Casey Mears, Regan Smith, Brad Keselowski, David Reutimann, Jeff Burton (3), Kyle Busch, Michael Waltrip (3), Ryan Newman, Kurt Busch, Martin Truex Jr., Matt Kenseth, Sam Hornish Jr., Denny Hamlin, David Stremme, Jimmie Johnson and Juan Pablo Montoya.
Two Hours Later - Calm At Talladega Seven individuals were injured in the grandstand, section K, at Talladega Superspeedway following Carl Edwards flip into the fence on the final lap of the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series, Aaron's 499 race on Sunday. Some injuries, none life threatening, could have been caused from flying debris from the No. 99 car and/or pieces of the fence. One female, with a cut lip and possible broken jaw, was airlifted because of traffic concerns to UAB Hospital in Birmingham, AL. A second female, un-injured by debris but with a medical condition in that same section, was flown, again due to traffic, to Brookwood Medical Center. Four race fans were treated and released from the infield medical center with cuts and bruises. The final two were treated and released to follow up with their personal physicians. It is unclear at this time, but possibility broken bones to extremities could have occurred.
NASCAR Confiscates Three Engines NASCAR Sprint Cup Series pre-race inspection at Talladega Superspeedway found no height, weight or shock penalties by NASCAR Officials. However, the race engines of winner Brad Keselowski, second place Dale Earnhardt Jr. and random pick Jeff Burton were confiscated and will be torn down at NASCAR's shop with results announced on Tuesday following the race.
Jeff Is Sorry
Steve Addington, crew chief for Kyle Busch, No. 18 Pedigree Toyota Camry, Joe Gibbs Racing made the following comment. "What happened that took your team out of contention to win? “It’s just a product of this racing with this car here. (Jeff) Burton came by and said he was sorry, he said he was trying to help him and he just spun him out. That it was totally his fault and he didn’t mean to and that he was trying to help so what are you going to do. You sit up on that box and you feel helpless all day long. The Pedigree Toyota Camry was very strong. I’m very proud of my guys. They fixed the damage to the right side and we came back to lead the most laps again, I guess."
 Discuss this and other racing matters in the Prodigys@Speed ForumYou can contact Connie at.. Insider Racing News
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