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This Week In NASCAR: End Of Year Racing BluesAn Opinion
December 29, 2007 Written and Compiled By Ron Felix
"I have a notebook full of information that I've written down after every race, every weekend," he said. "That's something I'm going to have to go through over the offseason."
His notes include information about the characteristics of each track and about his competition. "There's no black or white rule on how to avoid wrecks," he said. "The biggest thing is just to be aware of who you're racing. Some guys you can race hard, some guys you can't, and it's just about putting yourself in the best position."
Team co-owner Jack Roush saw more positives than negatives in Ragan's first Cup season. "There's probably 100 bad things you could expect a rookie would get involved with in his first year," Roush said. "David, I think, is ahead of the curve on that with maybe 10 to 20 things that have happened that were regrettable. Those are behind him. We look forward to 2008. He's going to be knocking on the door in the top 20 of points." Despite crashing on his entry to pit road while leading the final Busch Series race, Ragan also managed to finish fifth in Busch points thanks to four top-five finishes in 35 starts.
"He's going to win his championship in the Busch (Nationwide Series in 2008) category," Roush said. "Unfortunately, a rookie has to have a rookie year. That's just the way it goes. He certainly hasn't disappointed me in anything he's been able to do."()
The truck will be a key part of one of the major exhibits inside the 60,000 square foot building, where a section of race track is suspended from the ceiling that features full-sized race trucks and cars on the track.
“We are extremely pleased to have been asked by Daytona International Speedway to display the #33 Camping World Silverado in their attraction,” said Camping World President and CEO Marcus Lemonis. “Our NASCAR truck program with KHI is very important to our company and we are eager to share it with the hundreds of thousands of fans who tour Daytona USA each year.”
Fans can see the No. 33 Camping World Chevrolet Silverado at the attraction beginning December 14. The Daytona 500 Experience is open daily from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. and is closed on Thanksgiving Day and Christmas Day.
"We are currently looking for other opportunities for next season," explains Allen. "We had a successful year with ThorSport Racing but I’m hearing another driver is bringing in a substantial amount of money. I have a letter exercising ThorSport’s option on my contract for 2008, so I don’t know how this could happen. I hope that we can put something together with a team in one of NASCAR's top three divisions very soon."
Allen finished his rookie season 15th in the overall points standings and added his third career Rookie of the Year title to his resume. Allen's career highlights include a 6th place Martinsville finish in his first ever NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series race, a 6th place finish at Talladega in 2007 and a 2006 NASCAR Dodge Weekly Series Points Championship at the Music City Motorplex in Nashville. For more information on Willie Allen, please visit (www.willieallen.com).
“I’m very excited about joining the team at Penske Racing,” said Carrier, who’s been crew chief at Morgan-McClure Motorsports directing the team’s NASCAR Cup and Busch Series programs for the last several years and has worked with such established drivers as Dale Earnhardt, Harry Gant, Bobby Allison, Ken Schrader, Elliot Sadler and Mike Skinner. “I know there’s a lot of good, talented people at Penske Racing and I’m looking forward to getting to know everyone and I plan to take full advantage of their resources and knowledge while also giving as much as I can back to the team. I’ve been fortunate to work with a number of great drivers through the years and I think that experience will help as we work with Sam to reach his goals in NASCAR.”
Carrier will join the Mooresville, NC-based Penske Racing team in the new year and will work with David Elenz, who’s been named race engineer for the No. 77 Mobil 1 Dodge.
“It’s going to be great working with Chris and David because they have so much experience at this level of racing,” said Hornish Jr., who announced in November that he would join Penske Racing’s NASCAR program full-time, driving the team’s third entry in the Sprint Cup Series in 2008. “As I complete the transition to Cup racing, it’s great to have such a veteran support staff to rely on.”
Growing up in the shadows of Bristol Motor Speedway, Carrier got an early start to his career in motorsports. He started helping the local racing team owned by Ed Whitaker at the age of 14 and first served as a crew chief when he was just 18-years-old, winning his first race. He directed Whitaker Racing’s winning Busch Series team for several seasons and eventually joined Andy Petree Racing in 1998 as crew chief in the Busch and Cup Series programs. Carrier earned his first win as a Cup crew chief with Andy Petree Racing and driver Joe Nemecheck at Rockingham’s North Carolina Speedway in November of 2001. In addition to his 20-plus career victories as a crew chief in Busch Series competition, Carrier also helped produce a NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series victory with driver Tony Stewart and the Petree team at Richmond in 2003.
“We want to welcome Chris and all of his years of racing experience to the team,” said Michael Nelson, Penske Racing Vice President of Operations. “Chris and David will be a great combination on the 77 car team as we look for a strong first full season with Sam competing in the Sprint Cup Series.”
In its two (Nextel) Sprint Cup Series events in 2007, Martinsville Speedway saw a total of 28 accidents, four more than the second place track and nine more than third place. And the action didn’t come at the expense of close racing. Last spring’s Goody’s Cool Orange 500 produced one of the closest finishes of the year with Jimmie Johnson taking a .065 second win over Jeff Gordon. There were 12 lead changes in the spring event and 14 in the fall.
“Short-track racing, and especially Martinsville Speedway, is all about action,” said Martinsville Speedway president Clay Campbell. “When you have close-quarters racing like we have, there is going to be lots of action. And the great thing about Martinsville Speedway is, no matter where you are sitting, you’re right on top of the action.”
In the spring Goody’s Cool Orange 500 there were 14 caution periods, while in the fall Chase for the NEXTEL Cup event, there were a season-high 21 caution periods. The 21 yellow flags were a track record for Martinsville.
Tickets are on sale for both the Goody’s Cool Orange 500 NASCAR Sprint Cup race on March 30 and the Kroger 250 NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series race on Saturday, March 29, and may be purchased by calling 1.877.RACE.TIX or online at (www.martinsvillespeedway.com). Ticket prices for the Goody’s Cool Orange 500 range from $42 to $77.
One of the most well-known crew chiefs in Nationwide Series history, Holly dominated the series during the 1999-2001 seasons. During that time, he and driver Jeff Green combined for 13 wins, 11 poles, 56 top-five finishes and 72 top-tens en route to the 2000 NASCAR Nationwide Series Championship. His 72 top-ten finishes equate to scoring a top-ten in three of every four races during that 96-race span. Holly’s run during that time still holds the records for top-five finishes in single season (27 in 32 starts) and greatest championship margin of victory (616 points). Prior to his appointment by Rusty Wallace Racing, Holly served as crew chief on the No. 66 HAAS / CNC Racing Chevrolet in the NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series.
As a result of this move, Steve Darne, interim crew chief on the No. 66 in 2007, has been named crew chief for the team’s newly-founded No. 64 entry, which will compete for the 2008 Nationwide Series Owners’ Championship with former Nationwide Series Rookie of the Year, David Stremme, 2004 Grand American Rolex Sports Car Series Champion, Max Papis and teenage sensation Chase Austin, behind the wheel.
"The Wylers have put together an awesome team that has proven to be one of the best in the Craftsman Truck Series year after year," Cook said. "They have finished in the top 10 in points each year that they've raced in the series full time, and I am looking forward to carrying that on in 2008."
The team said Rick Gay will serve as Cook's crew chief. Gay and Cook previously worked together at ppc Racing.(scenedaily.com)
Afterward, Johnson was visibly steamed.
"Hell yeah I'm [upset] -- I want to win," said Johnson, the two-time defending NASCAR Nextel Cup champion. "I went out and did all that I could. I just do not understand the four-wheel drive, hand brake, rally car driving. I don't have a lot of experience at it, and to show the level that he showed in the car, I think he's had some days in it. He certainly navigated."
Other than ROC, Johnson has never driven a four-wheel drive car in competition. Then again, the same goes for Schumacher, who would later stall the same car -- the Fiat Abarth rally car -- in which he beat Johnson at the starting line in a loss to Finnish F1 star Heikki Kovalainen. "Even guys in the drivers' room were like, 'That's pretty good for an asphalt guy driving like a Pro Rally guy,'" Johnson said. "But he did an awesome job. I wasn't even close."
Mistakes cost Johnson dearly. More than once, he mistakenly grabbed the hand brake rather than the gear shift. Again, that goes back to lack of experience in these types of cars.
After the race, Schumacher insisted he'd never run the cars before this week, nor before his last previous ROC appearance, in 2004. In fact, in racing Johnson, Schumacher felt he had some trouble with the Fiat. "I didn't get so well along with the rally car," Schumacher said. "I need some open wheels. They spin more easily for me."
Asked about the outcome, Schumacher was matter of fact. "I won it, so it was straightforward," he said.(espn.go.com)
Robin Pemberton, NASCAR's vice president of competition, said the sanctioning body had signed off on the transfer.
Hornish, a former Indianapolis 500 winner, is leaving that series for NASCAR next season. But his No. 77 Dodge won't be one of the 35 cars locked into the first five races of the year. As the 2004 series champion, Busch has a provisional position that he could fall back on should he fail to qualify on speed. Penske said last month that he had not decided if he would give Hornish the points Busch earned because the focus was not on the first month of the season.
But not taking the points put Hornish at risk of not making early races, and a failure to qualify could cripple his first full Sprint Cup season. Of the five new teams that started last season outside of the top 35, all missed early races, fell into a deep hole and never recovered. This swap will prevent that for Hornish, who failed to make the first six races he attempted to qualify for last season. He finally made it into the field at Phoenix and Homestead, Fla., and finished 30 and 37th in his only two starts.
Locking him into the field will give Hornish an edge on former open-wheel drivers Jacques Villeneuve and Patrick Carpentier, who will not be in cars guaranteed a starting spot. Reigning IndyCar Series champion Dario Franchitti, however, will enter the series locked into the top 35.
Earnhardt, known as the "Intimidator," drove the car in five races between 1993 and 1995. The car was later moved to the show-car division. In 1997, Richard Childress Racing converted two cars from Earnhardt's black paint scheme to the Wheaties trademark bright orange in order to promote the Winston Select Race in Charlotte, N.C. -- After the race, one car was returned to the original paint scheme while the other retained the Wheaties colors. In 2001, Richard Childress Racing sold the Wheaties car.
"Mike Tuminello, a private collector in DeLand, bought the car for $60,000 and donated it last April to be auctioned off to benefit the two charities," said Mark Hess, a board member of Edgewood Children's Ranch and raffle co-chairman with Mark Bender of the Make-a-Wish Foundation. "It is on display in the lobby of the Orlando Science Center during its Daytona 500 exhibit, which ends Jan. 6. After that it will go to Gainesville to be displayed in the Brasington Cadillac dealership," he said.
Raffle tickets are $20, payable to either charity. They may be purchased online at (windalescar.com) up to 4 p.m. Feb. 23. The drawing will be in Old Town in Kissimmee at 5 p.m. the same day. Ticket holders do not need to be present to win.(orlandosentinel.com)
Ambrose wore this very suit on 8 July 2006 when he became the first Australian to win a pole position in NASCAR by timing fastest in qualifying in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series at Kentucky Speedway. All proceeds go directly to the Animal Adoption League. Further auctions planned in 2008, with all information to be posted on (MarcosAmbrose.com).
“It’s tremendous that we had such great interest in this race suit,” said Ambrose. “This will forever be my first pole suit in NASCAR but I am very happy we have been able to auction it off to get a great result for all our friends at the Animal Adoption League. We’ve got some other auctions planned, so stay tuned.”
The Sprint Sound & Speed Presented by SunTrust will once again bring together the stars of country music and NASCAR for autographs, storytelling and question-answer sessions with their favorite performers and drivers at The Backstage Garage Pass festival from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Saturday, Jan. 12, followed by the blockbuster Country Concert event headlined by Jackson at 8 p.m.
Earnhardt and Montoya are among four NASCAR celebrities and three country music artists announced today as newly added participants in the Sprint Sound & Speed Presented by SunTrust extravaganza. Earnhardt is the 2004 Daytona 500 winner and two-time NASCAR Nationwide (formerly Busch) Series champion who will take over the No. 88 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet in the Sprint (formerly Nextel) Cup Series in 2008. Montoya, whose Cup Series rookie season included a race victory at Sonoma, Calif., will embark on his second season behind the wheel of the No. 42 Chip Ganassi Racing with Felix Sabates Dodge in 2008.
Also just added to the festival lineup is Clint Bowyer, driver of the No. 07 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet who scored his first career Cup Series victory in his first race as a championship Chase contender at New Hampshire in September, and Scott Wimmer, Richard Childress Racing driver in both the Cup and Nationwide Series.
New to next month’s lineup of country stars is Josh Gracin, the former American Idol contestant who is one of only three country artists in recent times to release a debut album with three top-five hits, including the No. 1 hit “Nothin’ to Lose,” Bryan White, platinum recording artist who burst into the country music scene in the mid-90s with a string of four No. 1 singles, including “Someone Else’s Star” and “Rebecca Lynn,” and The Wrights, whose 2005 debut album, Down This Road, captured the attention of the industry and spring-boarded the husband-and-wife team into touring dates with Jackson and appearances on the Grand Ole Opry.
The Wrights will give an opening performance at the Saturday-evening Sprint Sound & Speed Presented by SunTrust Country Concert, headlined by Alan Jackson and special guest Taylor Swift, with Jason Michael Carroll. Along with Gracin and White, The Wrights will also join fellow country artists and NASCAR celebrities in The Backstage Garage Pass festival earlier that day, which also offers fans a charitable auction featuring memorabilia from the racing and entertainment industries, as well as show car and sponsor displays.
Tickets for the 2008 Sprint Sound & Speed Presented by SunTrust are available through TicketMaster and the event website (www.soundandspeed.org). They are $39.50 for the concert, $20 for the Backstage Garage Pass event, or $54.50 for both. Once again, proceeds benefit the Victory Junction Gang Camp, and the Country Music Hall of Fame® and Museum.
Joining Sprint and SunTrust as official event sponsors are the Great American Country television network, Nashville radio station WSM, Allstate Insurance, the Ford Motor Company, and Nashville Superspeedway. The lineup of promotional partners includes the Grand-Am Rolex Sports Car Series, UPS, Atlanta Motor Speedway, and RacingOne.com.
Jackson is one of the most compelling performers/songwriters in country music – a favorite of critics and fans alike. Jackson has sold more than 49 million albums, has penned 21 of his 31 No. 1 records, and is the most-nominated artist in Country Music Association (CMA) history. As everyone in Nashville knows, Jackson is an avid car collector with a garage full of classic cars, including his first set of wheels, a 1977 Thunderbird. His 1997 video for “Who's Cheatin' Who” was filmed at the Concord (N.C.) Motorsports Park and featured some of NASCAR’s hottest drivers such as Dale Jarrett, Rusty Wallace, Mark Martin, Brett Bodine, Ernie Irvan, Jeremy Mayfield, Bobby Hamilton, Jr., and Bill Elliott. The three-time CMA Entertainer of the Year topped the album charts not once, but twice, in 2006 with the success of Precious Memories and Like Red on a Rose.
Recent CMA Horizon Award winner Swift burst into country music at the age of 16 with her smash top-five debut single, “Tim McGraw.” She is the first female solo artist in country music history to write or co-write every song on her platinum-selling debut CD, which produced three straight top-10 singles and remained at the top of the Billboard Country Album Chart for eight weeks. She was also named “Country’s Hottest Female Artist of 2007” by AOL Music and was nominated for the American Music Award for Favorite Country Female Artist.
Carroll’s first Arista Nashville album, Waitin’ in the Country, has launched back-to-back top-five singles with “Alyssa Lies” and “Livin’ Our Love Song.” Released Feb. 6, the album debuted at No. 1 on Billboard’s country album chart and No. 8 on the pop chart, with a whopping 57,608 units of first-week sales.
Celebrities previously announced as participants in autograph and question-answer sessions during Sprint Sound & Speed Presented by SunTrust are country artist and recent inductee into the Grand Ole Opry, Josh Turner (Long Black Train sold over a million copies, garnering multiple nominations from the Country Music Association and the Academy of Country Music. Your Man attained double-platinum status and earned two Grammy® nominations), Marty Roe and Jimmy Olander of Diamond Rio (over 10 million albums sold to date, whose hits include “Meet in the Middle,” “Norma Jean Riley,” “Unbelievable” and “One More Day”), Danielle Peck (most-played debut female country artist of 2006, whose hits include “I Don’t,” -- “Isn’t That Everything,” -- “Findin’ a Good Man,” and the new single, “Bad for Me,” impacting radio now), and Bucky Covington, whose self-titled CD opened at No. 1 on Billboard’s Top Country Albums chart with not only 2007’s biggest unit debut from a new country artist, but also the best first-week sales and highest Top 200 debut for any new male country artist since Billy Ray Cyrus in 1992.
Covington’s new single “It’s Good To Be Us,” is climbing the country radio charts on the heels of the top-five success of his first single “A Different World.” The most recent additions to the country music celebrity lineup are Craig Morgan (“Tough,” “That’s What I Love About Sunday,” “Redneck Yacht Club”) and Richie McDonald (former voice of award-winning group Lonestar, whose hits include “Amazed,” and “I’m Already There”).
Among the NASCAR celebrities previously announced as participants are Richard Petty (seven-time Cup Series champion and the winningest driver in series history), Kyle Petty (third-generation NASCAR competitor, eight-time winner and founder of the Victory Junction Gang Camp along with his wife, Patty), Darrell Waltrip (three-time Cup Series champion, third-winningest driver in series history, and current member of the NASCAR broadcast team on the FOX network), Richard Childress (owner of Richard Childress Racing, which features drivers Kevin Harvick, Jeff Burton and Clint Bowyer), Michael Waltrip (two-time Daytona 500 winner and driver/owner of the No. 55 Michael Waltrip Racing Toyota), Ryan Newman (nicknamed “Rocketman” for his penchant for winning pole positions with regularity as driver of the No. 12 Alltel Dodge for Penske Racing; 12-time Cup Series winner), Jamie McMurray (current driver of the No. 26 Crown Royal Ford for Roush Fenway Racing; won July’s Pepsi 400 at Daytona), Dave Blaney (driver of the No. 22 Caterpillar Toyota for Bill Davis Racing), David Stremme (2007 driver of the No. 40 Coors Light Dodge for Chip Ganassi Racing with Felix Sabates).
Joining them from the sports car racing ranks will be Max Angelelli (2005 Grand-Am Rolex Sports Car Series champion as driver of the No. 10 SunTrust Pontiac Daytona Prototype) and Wayne Taylor (three-time sports car racing champion who co-drove to the 2005 Rolex Series title with Angelelli and whose Wayne Taylor Racing team campaigns the SunTrust Pontiac). More drivers and country music performer appearances will be added to the star-studded line-up weekly.
Kahne, 27, is charged with one count of battery against Archibald Hutchison, who was working as a security guard at the speedway for a race Nov. 16 when the incident allegedly occurred.
According to a Homestead police report, Kahne was attempting to access a restricted recreational vehicle parking lot on a golf cart after he finished driving his racecar when Hutchison stopped him and asked him for credentials. Kahne stated that he was a driver and didn't need any, then got out of the golf cart and tried to walk through the gate, the report stated. When Hutchison blocked the entrance and asked Kahne for credentials again, Kahne pushed Hutchison to the ground, according to the report.
The report said Kahne was stopped and detained by law enforcement officers who witnessed the incident. He was arrested later that day and released on the signed condition that he appears in court.
Hutchison, who was advised not to let any unauthorized people through gate 208 without exception, was treated at the speedway's medical facility for minor bruises and abrasions, according to the report. Dohan said Hutchison hasn't been able to return to work because of his injuries.
Dohan said his client has suffered emotionally from the incident and is "getting killed" by NASCAR fans on Web site blogs. He also said he planned to have his client speak with the media about the lawsuit at a news conference planned for Tuesday.(local10.com)
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