From the Crossville Chronicle - Crossville, Tn. May 16, 2007
By Joe Dunn / joe@onpitroad.net
MOORESVILLE, NC ---- In a surprise move Thursday Dale Earnhardt Jr. and his sister Kelly Earnhardt-Elledge held a press conference at JR Motorsports race shop, the subject of which was Dale Jr.’s contract with DEI.
Following a brief introduction by Mike Davis, Communications director for JR Motorsports, Dale Jr. stated, “After a year of intense negotiations and intense effort on behalf of Dale Earnhardt, Inc. and JR Motorsports, we've decided it is time for us to move on and seek other opportunities to drive for a new team in 2008. We've both worked extremely hard to find a common ground, but as the negotiations continued, one thing became evident, we both want to get to the same place, but we both simply have different visions on how to get there. Because DEI means so much to me, I felt it was best now for both of us to start focusing on our future so that we both could come out of this successfully.”
It appeared on Thursday that neither Dale or his sister Kelly have been in contact with any other owners regarding dales availability. Dale did call upon Darrell Waltrip, an old family friend to consult with him regarding the announcement.
UPDATE; by Friday as the teams gathered at Darlington, SC for the Dodge Avenger 500, several owners were confronted by members of the media regarding various teams’ reception to the driver’s availability. Rick Hendrick had not acknowledged any discussions with Dale, while Richard Childress, did express some interest, but indicated that far too little was known at that point to comment further. New team owner Bobby Ginn, Ginn racing was contacted by phone and he indicated his immediate interest in striking a deal with Dale. At the same time JD Gibbs of Joe Gibbs racing expressed an interest but further stated that his company would have ‘issues’ with signing a contract with Budweiser.
Tuesday, May 15, 2007
Jeff Gordon takes rain delayed victory at Darlington
From the Crossville Chronicle - Crossville, Tn. May 15, 2007
By Joe Dunn / joe@onpitroad.net
DARLINGTON, SC--- For the second week in a row, a NASCAR night race was held over to be run the next day. This time it was Jeff Gordon and the DuPont Chevy in victory lane for Hendrick Motorsports.
In typical Darlington fashion, nearly every car on the track at one time or another make contact with the wall Except Denny Hamlin, who ran a near flawless race leading 179 laps, only to be deprived once again of a win by a bad pit stop. Two missing lug nuts caused Hamlin to be shuffled way back in the field. With a determination and drive he managed to pull off another second place finish, but was just unable to get by Jeff Gordon for the win.
For the better part of the 367 laps the same small group of cars were consistently at the head of the pack. Jeff Gordon, Denny Hamlin and Jimmie Johnson, who scored 1-2-3, stayed in the top 15 for 364 laps.
Other drivers running up front most of the day included Ryan Newman and Carl Edwards who rounded out the top five. Followed by Tony Stewart, Matt Kenseth, Dale Earnhardt Jr, Clint Bowyer and Jeff Burton, sixth through tenth.
Being the Mother’s Day weekend, several drivers were introduced before the race along with their mothers. The class of the field at the driver intro, was Jeff Gordon, who was the lone driver to stop on stage with his mother to pose for pictures.
Because of the second rain delay in a row, a Car of Tomorrow test scheduled for Monday and Tuesday at Dover, De. Was cancelled. Kerry Tharp of Nascar informed the media that Nascar would contact the teams to determine a reasonable make up schedule for the missed testing session.
Also the ‘Big buzz’ at Darlington was the speculation of what will become of Dale Earnhardt Jr.’s future in the wake of his announced departure from Dale Earnhardt Incorporated. Several teams were mentioned over the weekend, but Bobby Ginn of Ginn racing so far is the only one who has announced that he will actively pursue Junior for one of his Nextel Cup teams.
By Joe Dunn / joe@onpitroad.net
DARLINGTON, SC--- For the second week in a row, a NASCAR night race was held over to be run the next day. This time it was Jeff Gordon and the DuPont Chevy in victory lane for Hendrick Motorsports.
In typical Darlington fashion, nearly every car on the track at one time or another make contact with the wall Except Denny Hamlin, who ran a near flawless race leading 179 laps, only to be deprived once again of a win by a bad pit stop. Two missing lug nuts caused Hamlin to be shuffled way back in the field. With a determination and drive he managed to pull off another second place finish, but was just unable to get by Jeff Gordon for the win.
For the better part of the 367 laps the same small group of cars were consistently at the head of the pack. Jeff Gordon, Denny Hamlin and Jimmie Johnson, who scored 1-2-3, stayed in the top 15 for 364 laps.
Other drivers running up front most of the day included Ryan Newman and Carl Edwards who rounded out the top five. Followed by Tony Stewart, Matt Kenseth, Dale Earnhardt Jr, Clint Bowyer and Jeff Burton, sixth through tenth.
Being the Mother’s Day weekend, several drivers were introduced before the race along with their mothers. The class of the field at the driver intro, was Jeff Gordon, who was the lone driver to stop on stage with his mother to pose for pictures.
Because of the second rain delay in a row, a Car of Tomorrow test scheduled for Monday and Tuesday at Dover, De. Was cancelled. Kerry Tharp of Nascar informed the media that Nascar would contact the teams to determine a reasonable make up schedule for the missed testing session.
Also the ‘Big buzz’ at Darlington was the speculation of what will become of Dale Earnhardt Jr.’s future in the wake of his announced departure from Dale Earnhardt Incorporated. Several teams were mentioned over the weekend, but Bobby Ginn of Ginn racing so far is the only one who has announced that he will actively pursue Junior for one of his Nextel Cup teams.
Hamlin victorious in Busch race at Darlington
From the Crossville Chronicle - Crossville, Tn. May 15, 2007
By Joe Dunn / joe@onpitroad.net
DARLINGTON, SC --- Denny Hamlin got his first Busch series win of 2007 at ‘The track too tough to Tame’ Friday night. Hamlin’s win of the Diamond Hills plywood 200, marked a repeat of last years win from the pole at Darlington and marks his third win in the Nascar Busch series.
In a race that had it’s share of crashes and cautions, 10 cautions for 48 laps, 6 of which for crashes. Hamlin started from the pole and led 79 of the 147 laps holding the lead for the final 51 laps of the race.
On lap 138 Bobby Labonte to0ok a hard hit on the inside wall of the front straightaway, Nascar Red flagged the race for 3 minutes and thirty-three seconds to clean up the debris which resulted in a 6 lap green flag sprint to the finish. There was no stopping Hamlin as he charged on to the checkers. Mark Martin, in his first race ever driving for Rick Hendrick managed to get by his former teammate Carl Edwards to finish second in the 5 car. Edwards third place finish leaves him with a solid 433 point lead over second place Kevin Harvick.
Hamlin was very pleased with the win and the track, "I feel like I'm more on a level playing field with these guys when we come to these different racetracks.” explained Denny, “ No one's really figured out how to get around these racetracks -- there is no perfect way. And I think that kind of plays into my hands."
By Joe Dunn / joe@onpitroad.net
DARLINGTON, SC --- Denny Hamlin got his first Busch series win of 2007 at ‘The track too tough to Tame’ Friday night. Hamlin’s win of the Diamond Hills plywood 200, marked a repeat of last years win from the pole at Darlington and marks his third win in the Nascar Busch series.
In a race that had it’s share of crashes and cautions, 10 cautions for 48 laps, 6 of which for crashes. Hamlin started from the pole and led 79 of the 147 laps holding the lead for the final 51 laps of the race.
On lap 138 Bobby Labonte to0ok a hard hit on the inside wall of the front straightaway, Nascar Red flagged the race for 3 minutes and thirty-three seconds to clean up the debris which resulted in a 6 lap green flag sprint to the finish. There was no stopping Hamlin as he charged on to the checkers. Mark Martin, in his first race ever driving for Rick Hendrick managed to get by his former teammate Carl Edwards to finish second in the 5 car. Edwards third place finish leaves him with a solid 433 point lead over second place Kevin Harvick.
Hamlin was very pleased with the win and the track, "I feel like I'm more on a level playing field with these guys when we come to these different racetracks.” explained Denny, “ No one's really figured out how to get around these racetracks -- there is no perfect way. And I think that kind of plays into my hands."
Tuesday, May 8, 2007
Rain delayed Richmond spells win #4 for Jimmie Johnson
from the Crossville Chronicle - Crossville, TN May 08, 2007
By Joe Dunn / joe@onpitroad.net
Heavy rain Saturday night postponed the Crown Royal Jim Stewart 400 till Sunday afternoon. But in the fourth Car of Tomorrow race, a Hendrick Chevy takes the checkered flag again.
When the green flag was finally dropped on Sunday it was Jeff Gordon leading from the pole for the first 31 laps, turning the lead over to team mate Jimmie Johnson. The Hendricks cars ran up front most of the day, as did Denny Hamlin. From lap 130 through lap 252 Kevin Harvick was clearly the class of the field and it appeared the race could be his to lose. That was until a pit road miscue during the 6th caution involving David Ragan. Ragan was pulling into his stall as Harvick tried to exit his, the result was heavy damage to the right front fender of the Reese’s Chevy. Harvick was then penalized for speeding on pit road, but he did fight back to a 7th place finish.
Jeff Burton dropped 3 places in the points after the engine on his Cingular Chevy broke early in the race, relegating him to a 43rd place finish. Kurt Busch was very fast in the final laps, but could not get through traffic to the front finishing 5th. Other drivers with good finishes were Ryan Newman at 6th, Clint Bowyer 9th and Dave Blaney with the top Toyota finishing 11th.
Results for the Jim Stewart 400 presented by Royal Crown
1.(48) Jimmie Johnson
2.(5) Kyle Busch
3.(11) Denny Hamlin
4.(24) Jeff Gordon
5.(2) Kurt Busch
6.(12) Ryan Newman
7.(29) Kevin Harvick
8.(20) Tony Stewart
9.(07) Clint Bowyer
10.(17) Matt Kenseth
11.(22) Dave Blaney
12.(99) Carl Edwards
13.(8) Dale Earnhardt Jr.
14.(18) J J Yeley
15.(43) Bobby Labonte
16.(15) Paul Menard
17.(01) Mark Martin
18.(25) Casey Mears
19.(16) Greg Biffle
20.(6) David Ragan
21.(41) Reed Sorenson
22.(96) Tony Raines
23.(14) Sterling marlin
24.(66) Jeff Green
25.(45) Kyle Petty
26.(42) Juan Pablo Montoya
27.(19) Elliott Sadler
28.(1) Martin Truex Jr.
29.(00) David Reutimann
30.(10) Scott Riggs
31.(46) Johnny Benson
32.(84) A J Almendinger
33.(13) Joe Nemechek
34.(7) Robby Gordon
35.(4) Ward Burton
36.(70) Johnny Sauter
37.(88) Ricky Rudd
38.(40) David Stremme
39.(78) Kenny Wallace
40.(9) Kasey Kahne
41.(26) Jamie McMurray
42.(38) David Gilliland
43.(31) Jeff Burton
By Joe Dunn / joe@onpitroad.net
Heavy rain Saturday night postponed the Crown Royal Jim Stewart 400 till Sunday afternoon. But in the fourth Car of Tomorrow race, a Hendrick Chevy takes the checkered flag again.
When the green flag was finally dropped on Sunday it was Jeff Gordon leading from the pole for the first 31 laps, turning the lead over to team mate Jimmie Johnson. The Hendricks cars ran up front most of the day, as did Denny Hamlin. From lap 130 through lap 252 Kevin Harvick was clearly the class of the field and it appeared the race could be his to lose. That was until a pit road miscue during the 6th caution involving David Ragan. Ragan was pulling into his stall as Harvick tried to exit his, the result was heavy damage to the right front fender of the Reese’s Chevy. Harvick was then penalized for speeding on pit road, but he did fight back to a 7th place finish.
Jeff Burton dropped 3 places in the points after the engine on his Cingular Chevy broke early in the race, relegating him to a 43rd place finish. Kurt Busch was very fast in the final laps, but could not get through traffic to the front finishing 5th. Other drivers with good finishes were Ryan Newman at 6th, Clint Bowyer 9th and Dave Blaney with the top Toyota finishing 11th.
Results for the Jim Stewart 400 presented by Royal Crown
1.(48) Jimmie Johnson
2.(5) Kyle Busch
3.(11) Denny Hamlin
4.(24) Jeff Gordon
5.(2) Kurt Busch
6.(12) Ryan Newman
7.(29) Kevin Harvick
8.(20) Tony Stewart
9.(07) Clint Bowyer
10.(17) Matt Kenseth
11.(22) Dave Blaney
12.(99) Carl Edwards
13.(8) Dale Earnhardt Jr.
14.(18) J J Yeley
15.(43) Bobby Labonte
16.(15) Paul Menard
17.(01) Mark Martin
18.(25) Casey Mears
19.(16) Greg Biffle
20.(6) David Ragan
21.(41) Reed Sorenson
22.(96) Tony Raines
23.(14) Sterling marlin
24.(66) Jeff Green
25.(45) Kyle Petty
26.(42) Juan Pablo Montoya
27.(19) Elliott Sadler
28.(1) Martin Truex Jr.
29.(00) David Reutimann
30.(10) Scott Riggs
31.(46) Johnny Benson
32.(84) A J Almendinger
33.(13) Joe Nemechek
34.(7) Robby Gordon
35.(4) Ward Burton
36.(70) Johnny Sauter
37.(88) Ricky Rudd
38.(40) David Stremme
39.(78) Kenny Wallace
40.(9) Kasey Kahne
41.(26) Jamie McMurray
42.(38) David Gilliland
43.(31) Jeff Burton
Nascar, Back to the Future at Richmond
from the Crossville Chronicle - Crossville, TN. may 04, 2007
Nascar moves to Richmond International Raceway in Richmond, VA. This weekend and also goes back to the ‘Car of Tomorrow’.
Everyone remembers that the Hendrick Chevys dominated at Bristol, Martinsville and Phoenix in the COT’s first three outings. Will that trend continue at Richmond, or will we finally see a non Hendrick car in Victory Lane? Among the strong contenders at RIR will of course be Dale Earnhardt Jr, Kevin Harvick, Tony Stewart and Denny Hamlin, all Chevys. Among the Ford contenders are Matt Kenseth and Greg Biffle, in the Dodge camp it would have been Kasey Kahne if it were not for his nightmarish start.
The usual ’go or go home’ teams will be there again, and once more Michael Waltrip will try to get into his second race of the season in his 10th attempt.
Speaking of Michael, it seems every week he has a new idea on how Nascar needs to change qualifying. This week his idea was to have all the non top 35 qualify all together, it seems that no matter what part of qualifying he goes out in, the other guys get a better time to go. Last week at Talladega, Michael went out early and had a pretty good time. Michael was happy and his bog brother up in the TV booth was dancing like a kid. “looks like Mikey is gonna be in for sure this time” sang Darrell as he was grinning from ear to ear. Once again, among the last to qualify is Michael’s driver David Reutimann who bounced Mikey out of the race. To add insult to injury, Michael’s other driver, Dale Jarrett who turned the slowest lap of the day used his last champions provisional. He must now qualify on time, which he has only done once so far this year.
On the local scene, Crossville Raceway hosted the Advance Auto parts Thunder Series Super Late Model show last week. David Payne of Murphy, NC won the main event, The Plateau Spring 50, which was a nail bitter from start to finish with a hard fought battle that included Crossville’s Randy Weaver who let several laps before a broken wheel ended his night. The Sunoco Shootout for the Supers was won by Anthony White of Clinton.
In the Limited Late Models, Crossville’s Brandon Williams won for the second consecutive week. Probably one of the best races of the night after the Supers was the Mini Stock race won by Derrick Hutchings who battled the whole race with fellow Sparta resident Todd Spivey.
Crossville will have a full line up of classes plus the Cruiser Cars Saturday night. Gates open at 4:30 with racing starting at 7:00 PM (CST) For info call 456-5000
I-40 Dragway will have a testing and tuning session Friday at 5 PM, and a 2 day program Saturday at 2 PM and Sunday at Noon. Super Pro’s pay $2,000 to win each day. For info call the Dragway 484-0049
TRIVIA: Last weeks winner was Steve Walker of Houston, TX who knew that the 2 winning Pontiacs at PIR were Bobby Hamilton and Tony Stewart.
The answer to last weeks question was Unocal 76 was the official Fuel of Nascar prior to Sunoco.
If you watched Cup qualifying on the Speed Channel last Saturday, you heard Darrell Waltrip urge Nascar to allow more cars to enter the races at the bigger track like Talladega. During his urging of this he mentioned that at the first race at Talladega there were 75 cars in the race. Darrell was way off on the facts, for a chance at a T shirt or cap, how many cars did start that first race at Talladega Speedway.
Remember send your answers to trivia@onpitroad.net by Thursday. Make sure to include your full shipping address along with a shirt size (m-xxl).
by Joe Dunn / joe@onpitroad.net
Nascar moves to Richmond International Raceway in Richmond, VA. This weekend and also goes back to the ‘Car of Tomorrow’.
Everyone remembers that the Hendrick Chevys dominated at Bristol, Martinsville and Phoenix in the COT’s first three outings. Will that trend continue at Richmond, or will we finally see a non Hendrick car in Victory Lane? Among the strong contenders at RIR will of course be Dale Earnhardt Jr, Kevin Harvick, Tony Stewart and Denny Hamlin, all Chevys. Among the Ford contenders are Matt Kenseth and Greg Biffle, in the Dodge camp it would have been Kasey Kahne if it were not for his nightmarish start.
The usual ’go or go home’ teams will be there again, and once more Michael Waltrip will try to get into his second race of the season in his 10th attempt.
Speaking of Michael, it seems every week he has a new idea on how Nascar needs to change qualifying. This week his idea was to have all the non top 35 qualify all together, it seems that no matter what part of qualifying he goes out in, the other guys get a better time to go. Last week at Talladega, Michael went out early and had a pretty good time. Michael was happy and his bog brother up in the TV booth was dancing like a kid. “looks like Mikey is gonna be in for sure this time” sang Darrell as he was grinning from ear to ear. Once again, among the last to qualify is Michael’s driver David Reutimann who bounced Mikey out of the race. To add insult to injury, Michael’s other driver, Dale Jarrett who turned the slowest lap of the day used his last champions provisional. He must now qualify on time, which he has only done once so far this year.
On the local scene, Crossville Raceway hosted the Advance Auto parts Thunder Series Super Late Model show last week. David Payne of Murphy, NC won the main event, The Plateau Spring 50, which was a nail bitter from start to finish with a hard fought battle that included Crossville’s Randy Weaver who let several laps before a broken wheel ended his night. The Sunoco Shootout for the Supers was won by Anthony White of Clinton.
In the Limited Late Models, Crossville’s Brandon Williams won for the second consecutive week. Probably one of the best races of the night after the Supers was the Mini Stock race won by Derrick Hutchings who battled the whole race with fellow Sparta resident Todd Spivey.
Crossville will have a full line up of classes plus the Cruiser Cars Saturday night. Gates open at 4:30 with racing starting at 7:00 PM (CST) For info call 456-5000
I-40 Dragway will have a testing and tuning session Friday at 5 PM, and a 2 day program Saturday at 2 PM and Sunday at Noon. Super Pro’s pay $2,000 to win each day. For info call the Dragway 484-0049
TRIVIA: Last weeks winner was Steve Walker of Houston, TX who knew that the 2 winning Pontiacs at PIR were Bobby Hamilton and Tony Stewart.
The answer to last weeks question was Unocal 76 was the official Fuel of Nascar prior to Sunoco.
If you watched Cup qualifying on the Speed Channel last Saturday, you heard Darrell Waltrip urge Nascar to allow more cars to enter the races at the bigger track like Talladega. During his urging of this he mentioned that at the first race at Talladega there were 75 cars in the race. Darrell was way off on the facts, for a chance at a T shirt or cap, how many cars did start that first race at Talladega Speedway.
Remember send your answers to trivia@onpitroad.net by Thursday. Make sure to include your full shipping address along with a shirt size (m-xxl).
Record night at Phoenix for Jeff Gordon
By Joe Dunn / joe@onpitroad.net
from the Crossville Chronicle - Crossville, Tn. April 24, 2007
Jeff Gordon recorded his 76th Nascar Nextel Cup win Saturday night at Phoenix International Raceway to tie with Dale Earnhardt Sr on the all time win list. This was also Gordon’s first win at PIR and the first win from the pole at the track.
In a hard fought battle, Gordon managed to beat Tony Stewart to extend his overall points lead in the series. Denny Hamlin rebounded from a pit road speeding penalty that put him back to 31st place to finish third. Jimmie Johnson and Matt Kenseth rounded out the top 5.
Tony Stewart led the most laps at 132 but it was not enough to deny Gordon. Surprise finishers included Jeff green in sixth, Bobby Labonte in eighth and Johnny Sauter in ninth.
Race Results for the Subway Fresh Fit 500
1 (24) Jeff Gordon
2 (20) Tony Stewart
3 (11) Denny Hamlin
4 (48) Jimmie Johnson
5 (17) Matt Kenseth
6 (66) Jeff Green
7 (5) Kyle Busch
8 (43) Bobby Labonte
9 (70) Johnny Sauter
10 (29) Kevin Harvick
11 (99) Carl Edwards
12 (01) Mark Martin
13 (31) Jeff Burton
14 (96) Tony Raines
15 (41) Reed Sorenson
16 (13) Joe Nemechek
17 (16) Greg Biffle
18 (2) Kurt Busch
19 (8) Dale Earnhardt Jr
20 (1) Martin Truex Jr.
21 (18) JJ Yeley
22 (07) Clint Bowyer
23 (26) Jamie McMurray
24 (7) Robbie Gordon
25 (15) Paul Menard
26 (88) Ricky Rudd
27 (14) Sterling Marlin
28 (21) Ken Schrader
29 (44) Dale Jarrett
30 (45) Kyle Petty
31 (9) Kasey Kahne
32 (00) David Reutimann
33 (42) Juan Pablo Montoya
34 (19) Elliott Sadler
35 (38) David Gilliland
36 (4) Ward Burton
37 (25) Casey Mears
38 (12) Ryan Newman
39 (22) Dave Blaney
40 (78) Kenny Wallace
41 (6) David Ragan
42 (10) Scott Riggs
43 (40) David Stremme
from the Crossville Chronicle - Crossville, Tn. April 24, 2007
Jeff Gordon recorded his 76th Nascar Nextel Cup win Saturday night at Phoenix International Raceway to tie with Dale Earnhardt Sr on the all time win list. This was also Gordon’s first win at PIR and the first win from the pole at the track.
In a hard fought battle, Gordon managed to beat Tony Stewart to extend his overall points lead in the series. Denny Hamlin rebounded from a pit road speeding penalty that put him back to 31st place to finish third. Jimmie Johnson and Matt Kenseth rounded out the top 5.
Tony Stewart led the most laps at 132 but it was not enough to deny Gordon. Surprise finishers included Jeff green in sixth, Bobby Labonte in eighth and Johnny Sauter in ninth.
Race Results for the Subway Fresh Fit 500
1 (24) Jeff Gordon
2 (20) Tony Stewart
3 (11) Denny Hamlin
4 (48) Jimmie Johnson
5 (17) Matt Kenseth
6 (66) Jeff Green
7 (5) Kyle Busch
8 (43) Bobby Labonte
9 (70) Johnny Sauter
10 (29) Kevin Harvick
11 (99) Carl Edwards
12 (01) Mark Martin
13 (31) Jeff Burton
14 (96) Tony Raines
15 (41) Reed Sorenson
16 (13) Joe Nemechek
17 (16) Greg Biffle
18 (2) Kurt Busch
19 (8) Dale Earnhardt Jr
20 (1) Martin Truex Jr.
21 (18) JJ Yeley
22 (07) Clint Bowyer
23 (26) Jamie McMurray
24 (7) Robbie Gordon
25 (15) Paul Menard
26 (88) Ricky Rudd
27 (14) Sterling Marlin
28 (21) Ken Schrader
29 (44) Dale Jarrett
30 (45) Kyle Petty
31 (9) Kasey Kahne
32 (00) David Reutimann
33 (42) Juan Pablo Montoya
34 (19) Elliott Sadler
35 (38) David Gilliland
36 (4) Ward Burton
37 (25) Casey Mears
38 (12) Ryan Newman
39 (22) Dave Blaney
40 (78) Kenny Wallace
41 (6) David Ragan
42 (10) Scott Riggs
43 (40) David Stremme
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