Austin Dillon, a lesson in patience

By Joe Dunn

So many up and coming young drivers in NASCAR are pushed to the limit to succeed at higher and higher levels at an accelerated pace today. The push sometimes means lost opportunities when the expectation fall short and promising drivers are released by teams. So it is refreshing to see the career of 19 year old Austin Dillon as he acquires his racing experience over several years and various series in an anticipation of establishing a Nascar career.

At aged 15 Dillon started 2005 running the Bandoleros and then moved up to the Legend cars, finishing the Legends season with 4 wins and 25 top 5 finishes. He continued with the Legends through 2006 and also attended the Dale McDowell Dirt Late Model Racing school. That led to a win in 2007 at the All Star Challenge at the Dirt Track at Lowes Motor Speedway. Austin went on to compete in 34 Dirt Late Model races, where he won 3 races and finished in the top 10 twenty five times.

In 2008 Dillon moved up to the NASCAR Camping World East Series where he had 1 win, 10 top tens out of 13 races and finished second in the series. This was also the year where he got his first chance to run in the NASCAR Nationwide Series. In September he entered the Emerson Radio 250 race at Richmond International Raceway in the RCR 21 car, starting 31st and finishing 26th. Five races later at Memphis Motorsports Park, again in the 21 car he started 18th and finished 4th.

For 2009, Dillon has continued with the Dirt Late Model Racing and had run only one NASCAR Nationwide race, in April at Phoenix International Raceway. In the RCR 2 car, he started 35th, finishing 34th. This past weekend Austin returned to the series piloting the #2 RCR car once again for the Kroger 200 at O’Reilly Raceway Park at Indianapolis, In. Working with crew chief Dan Deeringhoff who got the car dialed in during the delayed practices Dillon qualified 26th. “I’m real excited about tonight, ORP is a really different track.“ said Austin after qualifying, “ We worked really hard today in practice. We couldn’t get where we wanted to, but we’ll come around here.“ With the adjustments Deeringhoff was able to make during the race, the #2 car had a respectable 18th place finish.

The team will head to Iowa Speedway for the U S Cellular 250 this weekend with a sponsor on the car. The RCR 2 car will carry the High Point University name on the car. That sponsorship means a lot to Austin, as he will attend the University this fall. When I asked how he will manage school and a driving career, Austin was really excited. “The University is real good about that. They will let me attend classes and still be able to race. That is one of the reasons for choosing that school, plus it’s a really good school, so it was an easy decision.”

He appears comfortable with the speed at which is training is moving. “We’re taking our time, trying to get as much experience as we can, we’re doing the right things right now to help further my career.” explained Dillon. “Right now, it’s all about sponsors, and when you get a sponsor you can run more.” He’s optimistic that the 2 team can land enough sponsorship to run at least 20 race in 2010. Comparing the transition from the Dirt Late Models cars, to the Nationwide cars, “It’s a totally different feel, I have been running the Dirt car for the last 8 days and coming over here in an asphalt car it’s a lot different. You brake really hard, your stopping in the center and you have to be real consistent. You have to be consistent in the dirt car, but here your not sideways. In the dirt car your running 850 horsepower and here your running less horsepower but you have to drive harder.”

This is a really strong individual effort by Austin, it is obvious that he goes out of his way to work with the crew chief and the team members. Other than a brief chat on the Pit Road wall, interaction with his team owner / Grandfather, Richard Childress was very low keyed. As a third generation driver, Dillon is getting a start at the game early and shows real determination and the drive to succeed in NASCAR, but more importantly he is showing a great deal of patience.

A wet and whacky weekend at Indy

By Joe Dunn

It’s not really unusual to get rain at Indianapolis around the NASCAR weekend, so the rain that delayed the Silver Crown cars at ORP Thursday night was no surprise. Friday was another story as the skies remained clear for the entire day.

With the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series on tap for Friday, the track was dry and clear for an uninterrupted schedule. Morning practices, afternoon qualifying and a race that was a treat to the near capacity crowd. Colin Braun was the top qualifier and shared the front row with veteran Mike Skinner, but the up front battle soon became a battle of Skinner, Todd Bodine, Ron Hornaday, Braun and Kyle Busch. Late race rushes by Aric Almirola and Dennis Setzer gave the near capacity crowd their moneys worth. As they approached the white flag, Hornaday had the lead by a nose over Skinner, but when they came around for the second white flag (?) it was Hornaday with the lead. Rick Ren jumped off the pit box to celebrate, only to wonder where the checkered flag was. It didn’t matter as Hornaday continued to lead for another lap.

We never did get an explanation about that extra flag, but it was 200 (or 201) laps of great racing that kept the fans on the edge of their seats all night. I still don’t know what the real future of the Truck series is, but I was not alone at ORP with a lack of confidence for the 2010 season. I hope I am wrong because these guys put on the best show for NASCAR fans.

Saturday morning brought rain to delay both Nationwide practice, at ORP and Cup qualifying at IMS. By mid afternoon the nationwide cars did get on the track for practice and qualifying began about 30 minutes later than scheduled. With the delayed qualifying at the Brickyard, the Cup regulars skipped Nationwide qualifying. In his sixth start in the No. 99 car of Michael Waltrip Racing, Knoxville, Tennessee’s Trevor Bayne watched his fast lap speed of 110.764 MPH hold out for the Coor’s light Pole.

Bayne got a good start and stayed out front for the first 36 laps, but when Michael Annett crashed in turn 3 bringing out the yellow flag Bayne was slowing the field going into one. As the pace car pulled onto the track between one and two, Bayne slowed to keep from hitting it and was hit from behind by Steven Wallace. The hit turned Bayne and NASCAR ruled that they both failed to maintain caution speed, and were relegated to the spots where they rejoined the field that had passed them. Neither was able to get back to the front, but the 7th place finish for Bayne was his best in the Series.

Shelby Howard celebrated his 25th birthday fighting an ill handling car all day. It was obvious that he was having a very difficult time trying to get the car through the turns, but the wheel chatter was wearing him out. Despite the problems and the crews inability to correct the problem, Howard hung in there and managed a 19th place finish.

Carl Edwards led the most laps and after regaining the lead with about 30 to go sailed to an easy win, with Kyle Busch, Matt Kenseth, Brad Keselowski and Steve Wallace rounding out the top 5.

At IMS, it looked like Juan Pablo Montoya was going to run away with the race, but a penalty for speeding on pit road, late in the race spelled disaster for the 42 car. Jimmie Johnson showed that Indy really is a follow the leader race as teammate Mark Martin was unable to get past Johnson and was force to settle for a second place finish.

Speaking of IMS, this is still NASCAR’s most unfriendly fan track with it’s very limited view of the racing surface. The flat and narrow track as well as the narrow pit road all work to make this basically a follow the leader track, with very limited areas to pass.

This week the three NASCAR series are spread out across the country. As the Cup cars head to Pocono, the Nationwide teams take on Iowa Speedway and the truck Series heads to Nashville, TN.

NASCAR Nationwide Series Meeting - NASCAR met with the Nationwide Series car owners Tuesday morning to discuss the new COT. With many owners opposed to the change, it appears that NASCAR will put off the debut of the new car from February until the July 4th weekend at Daytona.

Garage Notes

By Racin' Roger



Around the Sprint Cup Garage at IMS

John Carter and company showed up at IMS with Jeremy Mayfield’s equipment and Past Champion Terry Labonte. Tony Furr, former crew chief for Mayfield was on hand as a ‘Consultant’, but it was clear in the garage and on pit road that Furr is really calling the shots. Expected to be a start and park team, Labonte hung in there for the long haul finishing 6 laps off the pace in 33rd . They are not slated to be at Pocono this week.

Larry Gunselman withdrew their entry for the Brickyard with the 64 car. Mike Wallace said in the garage at ORP that he is looking forward to driving for Gunselman at Pocono. Look for Tony Furr to be there to help out with the 64 team.

The rain delays at IMS forced some Nationwide teams to use backup drivers for qualifying. Kyle Busch had already planned to skip the NNS qualifying, but the rain forced Carl Edwards, David Reutimann, Mike Skinner and Matt Kenseth to miss qualifying.

Around the Nationwide Garage at ORP

Shelby Howard, driver of the #70 Foretravel Motorcoach Chevy for ML Racing was celebrating his 25th birthday on Saturday. The celebration was short circuited by an ill handling car. Despite numerous set up changes before qualifying by crew chief Brian Ross, the car remained nearly impossible to turn through the corners. Howard fought the car all night and considering the poor handling, did a fine job finishing 19 only one lap down.

Richard Childress was on hand at ORP to watch not only Stephen Leicht in the 29 car, but also Austin Dillon, his grandson, in the 2 car. In only his fourth NNS race Dillon started 26th and finished 18th, 1 lap off the pace.

Carl Edwards was the star of the night taking his Vitamin Water Ford from a 42nd place start, to win the Kroger 200.

Around the Camping World Truck Garage at ORP

Still a lot of concern around the garage about the 2010 season. Nobody wants to speak ‘on the record’ but many are not optimistic that the series will be around much longer unless NASCAR pulls out a miracle.

Ron Hornaday’s wife and crew chief Rick Ren were more than confused Saturday night, as they watched their truck take the white flag TWICE. Nobody from NASCAR or ORP would comment, but the general consensus is that the race went an extra lap. Fortunately no major incidents happened on that extra lap to change the results.

Albuquerque, new Mexico’s Caitlin Shaw made her NASCAR Camping World Truck Series debut at ORP. Driving the #1 Red Horse Racing Toyota, she qualified 32 and stayed with the pack most of the race. Although she was off the pace, she managed to stay up to race speed and give the leaders plenty of room. She did finish the race in 24th place.

NASCAR Nationwide owners resist change to new car

By Joe Dunn

NASCAR officials met Tuesday morning with the team owners from the NASCAR Nationwide Series to set the final date and plans to implement the COT for 2010. Reports from the meeting indicated that many of the smaller team owners were adamantly opposed to the change and the idea of having to buy or build cars for a handful of races. Some owners have reported back to their teams that use the new car will likely not occur until the July race at Daytona. NASCAR had wanted to use the new car for the February race at Daytona, but too many owners opposed that idea.

NASCAR’s Robin Pemberton, after the meeting released the following Statement., “"We had a very productive meeting this morning (Tuesday, July 28) with the team owners from the NASCAR Nationwide Series about the rollout schedule for that series’ new race car. In the days ahead, we will digest what was discussed today and make a final decision on the rollout for next season with full anticipation of integrating the new car for the entire 2011 schedule."

The idea of this new car has been on the drawing board since the introduction of the COT in the Sprint Cup Series, but few of the NNS only teams have invested in the program. Johnny Davis, who runs three teams in the NNS, the 0, 01 and 04 teams is one owner who has been working on this new car and supports the change. Davis and Morgan Shepherd have been working for over a year on building a few of these cars, but they are in the minority.

Nascar was meeting Tuesday afternoon with the series crew chiefs.

New hire at ISC brings long family history of motorsports

By Joe Dunn

At the age of 5, he was performing on the track doing 180° spins in a ‘Corvette’ Go Kart, working with the Clown acts of his grandfather’s Auto Thrill Show. By the time he was in high school, he was driving on two wheels, wrecking cars in sidewinder crashes and doing the Human Battering Ram. He is Joie Chitwood III, named after his grandfather George Chitwood, who was professionally known as Joie. Joie Chitwood III was named this week as the new Vice President of Business Operations for International Speedway Corporation, the racetrack side of the France (NASCAR) family business.

Racing goes back a long ways in the Chitwood family, George Chitwood began his racing career at a dirt track in Winfield, Kansas in 1934. When he entered the Central States Racing Association series in 1937, driving a sprint car owned by the Lawhon brothers of St. Joseph, Missouri the CSRA press agent, Norm Witte, wrote a news release about him without knowing his first name: He saw the Lawhon Special with St. Joe, Missouri, written on it, and needing to get the story into the evening paper, he wrote down the name Joe Chitwood. When the story was typeset at the newspaper, the name came out 'Joie’ and the name stuck for the rest of his racing and later Thrill Show years. Joie competed in seven Indianapolis 500’s in the 40’s, he starting the Joie Chitwood Auto thrill Shows in 1943 and balanced between racing and the Thrill Show until 1950 when he retired from racing and made the Thrill Show a full time business.

Sons Joie Jr and Tim followed in dad’s footsteps working for and later running the Thrill Show. Joie Jr’s son, Joie III joined in the show as he was growing up. As a kid growing up in the 50’s and 60’s in rural western New York, I was one of those kids that anxiously awaited the county fair each year as the Chitwood show came to the town performing 4 and sometimes 5 shows during the 9 day fair. I never got to see Joie III perform, but I was disappointed when I learned of the show’s closing in 1998., after being enjoyed by an estimated 30 million people over it’s 55 year span.

Joie III served as Vice president and General manager of Raceway Associates, the firm that oversaw the construction of the Chicagoland Speedway from 1999- 2002. In October of 2002 he was hired as senior Vice President of Business Affairs at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, and was promoted to President and Chief Operating Officer of IMS in December of 2004, a position he held until this latest move to ISC.

Chitwood replaces W. Grant Lynch, who assumes the title of Chairman of Talladega Speedway and Vice President ISC Strategic Projects. With his background in the auto racing and promotion field, I would look for Chitwood to be a real asset to the NASCAR world.

What’s up with the Nationwide Series

By Joe Dunn

They used to call them the Bushwackers, but it is no longer the Bush Series, so what do you call the Cup drivers in the NNS series now, and how can NASCAR help the teams. I heard one writer calling them the Widewackers, but I can’t swallow that one. Why don’t You, the readers give me your ideas?

The NASCAR Nationwide Series has been around for a long time, it used to be the Bush Series, the Bush Grand National Series, the Grand National series and the Sportsman Series. Whatever name you call it, it has been the proving grounds for up and coming Cup drivers. There has always been a sprinkling of Cup drivers in the show, but mostly at companion events, but never with the numbers we are seeing today. At Chicagoland there were 16 Cup drivers in the field, 11 of which are full time drivers, in the top 35 in points.

When NASCAR changed the rules to guarantee starting spots for the top 35 teams in the Cup series owners points, they added the top 30 in Nationwide to a similar plan. That means that top drivers in the cup series can basically be assured a starting spot in the show, bumping out the smaller teams and the teams that make most, but not all of the races. I like the old rules in the Bush Grand National Series better.

Back then, Nobody was locked in, everyone had to qualify, but there was a buffer for the top drivers in the series. For those who are new to NASCAR, or who don’t remember, here is how it worked. The first 36 spots were filled according to qualifying speeds, spots 37 thru 42 went to the driver highest in drivers points who failed to qualify in the top 36. The 43rd spot was reserved for a past champion and if none, the next driver in points. Now this sounds like it would not alter the slew of cup drivers in the show Except, no driver in the top 25 in Cup points could take a provisional in the race. I liked that system a lot better, it was much more fair for the Regulars in the show, and the series top drivers were still protected.

I find it sad that we see Champion after Champion in the NASCAR Nationwide Series who is a Cup regular, usually with a top team in the Cup series. I know that they need some of these Cup guys to fill the stands and to draw sponsors, but enough is enough, give the series back to the guys that are dedicating their time to the series. How about Cup drivers in the top 25 in drivers points in that series, not earn driver’s points in the NNS.

Another tough deal coming for those less than full time, and less than top dollar teams is the new COT for the series in 2010. From what I have heard, NASCAR plans to run the car in 5 races, the two road courses, that won’t affect most of the part time teams, as they tend to avoid them, but when it comes to the super speedways, that will be another story. Over the past 10 years, the season opener for the Nationwide Series at Daytona International Speedway has drawn an average of 51 cars. With the new car being mandated there, the idea of filling a 43 car field may be a stretch.

Sure, the bigger and more well funded teams, such as Roush-Fenway, Richard Childress Racing, JR/Hendrick Motorsports and Michael Waltrip Racing already have some of the new cars, but what about teams like ML Racing, Johnny Davis, Jay Robinson, Rick Ware or even Wayne Day? Will they be able to afford buying or building multiple COT cars for a handful of races? I think Not!

And if this goes according to plan, and the car replaces the current car in 2011, what are these teams to do with their stock of cars and parts? When the Cup series changed over, it was like a holiday for the ARCA teams. Used Cup cars were selling for pennies on the dollar, there are still cars laying around to be had cheap. But what about the Nationwide cars, they are the wrong wheelbase for ARCA, what series could use these cars? Perhaps this would be a good time for another lower class series to start up, but who has the funding to do that? NASCAR could do that to help these teams, but don’t hold your breath.

Like on the Cup side, NASCAR says that the idea of the new car is to have a safer, more affordable car for the series. But is there any doubt that the Nationwide teams don’t have the funding or sponsor money for such a wholesale change? With all of the financial challenges these teams face, I say it is time for NASCAR to step up to the plate and provide some real help. For too many years now, NASCAR has filled their coffers with sponsor money that could be more beneficial to the sport by going to the teams. At the Spring Nationwide Race at Nashville, the field included 19 cars that carried partial sponsors, one off sponsors or no sponsors at all. These teams are running ‘out of pocket’ for purse money and the hopes of finishing well enough to draw some kind of sponsor money in the future.

The future does not look good for the small teams that are the backbone of the Nationwide series, and that is without even thinking about the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series. Without some serious hard work coming from the big office in Daytona to help these teams the future of the series is hard to predict, but I’ll still be pushing for the underdogs cause that is the old time NASCAR way.

Learning from the Best

By Trevor Bayne

Instead of learning from behind the wheel this past weekend in Daytona, I learned from watching one of the best restrictor-plate racers in history, Michael Waltrip.
I believe he told me that he has four wins combined at Daytona and Talladega, which is incredible.
Sometimes going to the race track and not being able to drive a race car can be a little frustrating or even boring. However, this past weekend watching Michael and learning from him was actually pretty enjoyable.
For those of you who don’t know Michael on a personal level, he likes to have a good time behind the wheel of a race car. He likes to joke, but he also likes to have a car that performs well on the race track. Sometime you think he is really mad on the radio, and the next second he is cracking a joke. I think he is one of the reasons that everyone who works at Michael Waltrip Racing enjoys their job.
I spent most of my time while at the race track on top of the spotters stand. I learned a lot on how cars can work together and move quickly through the field. I also learned when not to draft and how one mistake can wreck a bunch of cars quickly.
I think one of the most important things I learned from watching Michael was how he adjusted his drafting techniques after he received a little front fender damage early in the NASCAR Nationwide race.
I know going to the race track and watching instead of driving is something that a rookie like me must do, but trust me, I would much rather be behind the wheel of a race car.
Also, some of you might already know, but I received some big news this past week. When I first signed on to drive for MWR I was only scheduled to run eight races in the No. 99 Aaron’s Dream Machine. However, I guess I caught the eyes of a few people and Aaron’s, Michael and Gary Bechtel have agreed to put me in the race car for four additional races. That brings my total up to 12.
For all of my fans I will be in the No. 99 Aaron’s Dream Machine this weekend at Chicagoland Speedway. The race starts at 8 p.m. ET and will air live on ESPN. Wish me luck!!!!!

So Far this Year

By Trevor Bayne

First let me take a second to introduce myself. My name is Trevor Bayne and I am 18 from Knoxville, Tenn. I have been asked by the wonderful folks from www.onpitroad.com to write a weekly blog about what’s going on in my life. So here it goes.
Let me start off by giving you all the low down on my life so far this year.
Well the past couple of months have been kind of crazy for me. At the end of last season, I thought my future was set. I was going to drive the full NASCAR Nationwide schedule with Dale Earnhardt Inc. However, when the economy took a nose dive, DEI was unable to fund a full-time team and I was left without a ride for the 2009 season.
However, as luck would have it, I happened to meet a man by the name of Gary Bechtel in Daytona. Some of you guys might know the name; he used to own Diamond Ridge Motorsports in the early 1990’s.
Meeting Mr. Bechtel has definitely been one of the highlights of my year so far. He was very instrumental in helping me get the Nationwide ride with Michael Waltrip Racing in the No. 99 machine. I owe that man a bunch!
So far, I have driven three races in the No. 99 car and have learned so much from Jerry Baxter (crew chief) and the rest of the Nationwide guys. Let me tell you, those guys love to have fun. They are the reason why people started racing in the first place, for fun, and they remind me of that every day. Being around those guys has been a blast. I think it helps that we have been able to get some solid finishes too.
My first race with them was at Nashville Superspeedway and I was able to grab the outside pole. However, we were caught up in a wreck and finished 28th. My other two races, Kentucky and Milwaukee, I started in the top 10 and finished 12th. I mean not bad, but you know we always want to do better.
My next race will be the July 11 race at Chicigoland Speedway. This race was actually added to my original schedule after Michael came to Milwaukee and saw that I could get the job done.
Well this weekend I will be in Daytona learning all I can from Michael while he drives the No. 99 Aaron’s Dream machine at the World Center of Racing.
For all my fans you can follow me on Facebook or go to www.trevorbayne.com to get all the latest news.

Garage Notes

By Racin’ Roger

Around the NASCAR Sprint Cup Garage

All eyes were looking for Jeremy Mayfield to show up at Daytona, in fact there were spurious reports of Mayfield sightings. He was NOT there folks. My sources have said that although Mayfield is eagerly trying to make Chicago, he has no money and is hitting walls trying to find sponsorship. It’s now no secret that he is actively courting buyers of his team and equipment.

The 64 team of Larry Gunselman showed up as a late entry with the sponsorship of Fred’s Discount Stores, but the rained out qualifying sent the team home with empty pockets. They are already making plans to be at Chicagoland this weekend.

Three days after a spectacular last lap crash, Kyle Busch is still not talking to the press. Even the teams post race press release, normally carry a couple of Kyle quotes, carried only crew Chief Steve Addington’s comments.

As expected, Tuesday Michael Waltrip Racing announced the signing of Martin Truex Jr. as the driver of the #56 NAPA Toyota for 2010, with Michael going part time.

Nationwide garage

McDonald Motorsports has signed Michael McDowell to drive the 81 car at Chicago and Gateway. McDowell’s regular ride, the JTG 47 team has exhausted sponsorship for the season. McDowell remains in the top 10 in points and is searching for a way to stay in the series for the balance of the season.

Reports of trouble between Phoenix Racing’s owner James Finch and driver Mike Bliss. Monday the team announced Bliss’ departure, only to announce he is back on Tuesday.

Braun Racing has parted ways with Burney Lamar in the 32 car. He was replaced at Daytona by Brian Vickers, who will be joined by a combination of David Reutimann, Reed Sorenson and Brian Ickler wheeling the car through the rest of the season. A driver announcement for the Road Course in Montreal and the Phoenix race will be announced at a later date.

ML Racing returns to the Series at Chicago with driver Shelby Howard after missing the last two weeks.

The new Nationwide car will be a fixture for 5 races in 2010, and a lot of the smaller teams are pretty unhappy. Having to build at least 2 completely different cars for 5 races will put a lot of pressure on teams with shoe string budgets. Many wonder if Daytona, which normally pulls a bevy of contenders, will actually have a full field for the season opener.

Waltrip announcement a media fanfare

By Joe Dunn

It was leaked out over a week ago, Michael Waltrip Racing would hold a press conference on July 7th with a BIG announcement. Speed TV even cleared time, pre-empting scheduled programming for this BIG story announcing Martin Truex Jr as the driver of the No. 56 NAPA Toyota for 2010. The second part of the announcement was that Michael will drive part time next year, at least five races in the 55.

Now, I have seen a few midweek team announcement get this much attention, like in May of 2007 when Dale Earnhardt Jr formally announced his signing with Hendrick Motorsports. That indeed was an event worth the live TV time, after all there were a lot of rumors, but no confirmation at all. That 2007 event also hinged on the career of NASCAR’s most popular driver. Until it was announced it was speculated that Junior would go with HMS, but the details announced that day set the future path of not only Earnhardt Jr but also his JR Motorsports.

Later, in 2007 was the BIG Budweiser announcement, on their move to the Evernham Racing team of Kasey Kahne. Kahne had been a Chase contending driver, on the rise in NASCAR and his link to Budweiser, one of the oldest sponsors in NASCAR was an event worthy of the TV time. And, in 2008, it was the announcement of 2 time NASCAR Sprint Cup Champion, Tony Stewart signing on as a partner and driver at Haas CNC Racing, which was renamed Stewart Haas Racing. Those were all major announcements pertaining to top drivers, and neither Michael Waltrip or Martin Truex Jr qualify for that rating.

So what made the MWR announcement something so worthy of live TV? Was in the fact that Truex has a single win in the Cup series after 6 years and 135 races? Not to dismiss Martin as a driver, I have enjoyed watching him race since the first time I saw him show up at Dover with the hauler that had the ‘ Got Crabs?’ logo on it. He has won two Nationwide series championships, but that was 4 and 5 years ago. He moved to Cup as the ‘sidekick’ to Dale Earnhardt Jr. He looked his best in 2007, thanks mostly to Juniors crash and burn year with DEI.

Maybe the coverage is because Michael is a big star, nope, here is a guy that after 25 years and 742 races has registered 4 wins, all at Super Speedways and all driving for DEI when DEI was the Restrictor Plate king. So why did this announcement really get the live TV time? My only guess is that Speed, which uses Michael as a commentator for the NASCAR Camping World truck Series felt obligated to throw Mikey and NAPA ‘the bone’. After all, the fact that Truex was signing with MWR has been well known for weeks. Hey, we even knew a few days ago that Martin would be sporting the 56, the number his dad sported in 7 NASCAR Nationwide Series races between 1993 and 1998.

Will Truex be the Top Dawg at MWR in 2010? Martin’s talent truly is much better than his record shows. The equipment at DEI for the past several years was not championship quality and the Earnhardt- Childress race engines have not been setting the world afire, but that does not in itself spell championship contender in a MWR car. Look for David Reutimann to again be the ‘franchise’ driver for MWR in 2010. David may not make the Chase this year, but he is a lot closer than Michael could hope for.

My thoughts on the 2010 season for MWR, Look for Reutimann to make the Chase, Truex will come close but after a year of adjusting, 2011 will be his year. Marcus Ambrose in the 47 car should finish in the top 15 or better in 2010. And the farewell driver, Mikey in the ole 55 NAPA Toyota, look for him to be an also ran. Michael is a great pitch man, and has far exceeded everyone's expectations as an owner, but I fear that like his brother Darrell’s farewell tour in 2000 that resulted in two top twenty finishes, 2010 will be a further embarrassment to Michael and his team.

Low Budget Sprint Cup teams strive to stay in the game

By Joe Dunn


In the shadow of the media blitz about Jeremy Mayfield and his temporary win in court on Tuesday, other small budget NASCAR Sprint Cup teams scramble behind the scenes to get their team to the track. Larry Gunselman and his team are a good example of one of those teams that is celebrating their own good fortune this week … they landed a sponsor for the race.

Gunselman Motorsports has secured a major sponsor with Fred’s Hometown Discount Stores for this weekend’s Coke Zero 400 in Daytona. The Fred’s Inc. logo will adorn the hood and quarter panels of Mike Wallace’s No. 64 Toyota. “Decals are being applied at this very moment and our team is very excited to have Fred’s back on the car, this time, as a major sponsor and partner,” said Larry Gunselman, team owner. “With backing from Fred’s and with veteran racer and speedway specialist, Mike Wallace, behind the wheel, our team is going to attempt to do what Brad Keselowski did in Talladega, our team is going to do every thing in our power to win this weekend!” Fred’s Inc. http://www.fredsinc.com/ is headquartered in Memphis, TN and owns more than 600 stores and 300 pharmacies, which operate in 15 Southeastern states.

Gunselman Motorsports reports that they have been deluged with email from Mike Wallace fans wanting assurance that Gunselman Motorsports is fully committed to Wallace for this weekend’s Coke Zero 400 in Daytona. In an effort to quell rumors, Larry Gunselman, team owner of the No. 64 Sprint Cup Team, went on record this afternoon stating that, “ The major sponsorship deal with Fred’s would not be a reality without Mike Wallace. Frankly, he was instrumental in helping our team put the deal together and his speedway record speaks for itself. I have not entertained the idea of putting any other driver in, because frankly, it was the not only Mike’s record, but his reputation as a speedway driver, that helped our team close the deal with Fred’s.

Gunselman, of Snohomish, WA who has been around Nascar for nearly 20 years, dating back to his first run in the NASCAR Camping World West Series (actually, it was the NASCAR Winston West Series back then) On September 30, 1990. Larry showed up at Tri-City Raceway in West Richland, WA with his own Pontiac and managed an 11th place finish. After 9 years, Larry had competed in 52 Winston West and 2 Winston Cup races.

The 64 team started the 2009 season with 3 drivers listed, Gunselman and the two Bodine brothers that started with him at Mach 1, Geoff and Todd. With a lack of sponsorship, the relationship with the Bodine’s faded and Gunselman Motorsports got hooked up with Michael Wallace as the current driver. Mike brings a wealth of experience to the team, having competed in a combined 633 races in Nascar’s top three series, since 1990, with 8 wins, 56 top 5’s and 130 top 10’s.

In 2004, Larry Gunselman founded Mach 1 Motorsports, an underfunded Cup team that made 26 of the 34 races on the schedule and finished 39th in points. Six different drivers drove the 98 car in 2004, including Geoff and Todd Bodine, Gunselman, Chad Chaffin, Derrick Cope and Randy Lajoie. The team dissolved at the end of the year but Gunselman remained in Nascar as a driver. Between 1996 and 2008 Larry competed in 115 races in Nascar’s top three series.

Judge rules in favor of Mayfield

By Joe Dunn

Jeremy Mayfield let out a big sigh Tuesday afternoon as US District Court Judge Graham Mullen ruled in his favor, granting a temporary injunction against NASCAR’s suspension of Mayfield. Shana Mayfield broke out in tears as the judge rendered his decision. The ruling clears the way for the owner of the team to be changed back to Jeremy.

"The truth came out. That's what it's all about," Mayfield said after the decision was announced. He indicated that it may be too late for him to get his team to Daytona in time for the Thursday morning deadline for ‘post entries’ for the Coke Zero 400. However, he did hint that it would be enough time for him to serve as the driver for another team, the most likely in that case would be the 64 car of Larry Gunselmann.
The Gunselmann team shares the same shop with Mayfield Motorsports in one of the Stavola Brothers shops.


Although NASCAR said at first that they had no intention of filing an appeal, spokesman Ramsey Posten later said that they were still considering their actions. Posten also said that Mayfield would be subject to regular drug test and they would beginning this week at Daytona should Mayfield be there. The judges ruling also gave way for NASCAR to take hair samples from Mayfield as well as extensive and regular drug testing.

In his announcing decision, Judge Mullen stated that the damage to Mayfield from the suspension far outweighed any damage that NASCAR could validate. He said there was credence to Mayfield’s claim that if he were under the influence of methamphetamines, his crew members and others would have noticed. Mayfield had his crew members sign affidavits saying they did not see any evidence that Mayfield had used drugs. The judge also found that Mayfield has a likelihood of success on the merits of his case.