NASCAR in Phoenix, Crash Fest!

By Joe Dunn

    Just off a whirlwind week of racing at Daytona, NASCAR’s top three series headed for Phoenix for some non superspeedway racing.  The Big One at Daytona was left in the mirror, or so everyone thought.
    For the Daytona 500 winner, the charm at Daytona quickly faded with a wrecked car on his first lap of practice. Out came the back up car and young Trevor Bayne began what appeared to be a cautious weekend. Unlike his two previous Cup starts, a poor qualifying run put the youngster back in the field, starting 33rd.
    On Saturday Bayne looked forward to the NASCAR Nationwide Series race as he is in the championship hunt in that series.  A decent qualifying run put the #16 unsponsored Roush Fenway Racing Ford Mustang in the 4th row, starting 7th.  He showed a strong and steady course although never seen as a challenger to leader Kyle Busch or the pack of Cup regulars up front all day.  That steady run came to an abrupt end for Bayne on lap 164 when a flat tire sent the car into the wall.  The damage was so extensive it ended Bayne’s night finishing in 31st place.  The finish resulted in a drop of six positions in the point standings to 11th.
    Kyle Busch  led the Basha’s Supermarket 200 from flag to flag with Carl Edwards finishing second.  This was without a doubt the most boring NASCAR race so far for 2011 in the top tiers. Most of the race saw the top six positions in running order occupied by Cup series regulars.  That situation hardly changed as Reed Sorenson was the top finishing Nationwide driver, finishing 5th, with 5 Cup drivers in the top 6 finishing spots. With the new points program in place, Reed Sorenson is the new leader, five points ahead of Ricky Stenhouse Jr.
    Overnight rains presented a green track on Sunday morning, prompting NASCAR to call for a competition caution on lap 40. The race was under way for 20 laps when debris on the track led to the first caution.  On lap 35 Robbie Gordon got a push from behind that sent the #7 dodge spinning across the track.  NASCAR took that opportunity to move the competition caution to lap 35.
    Lap 50 saw Trevor Bayne turned into the wall ending his day in the Subway Fresh Fit 500.  The damage to the #21 Wood Brothers Ford was severe enough that the decision was made to load it up.  Ten laps later Kyle Busch would get loose up high, but he saved his car as he bounced off the #99 of Carl Edwards.  As Edwards spun, Jeff Gordon, Kevin Harvick and Jeff Burton all suffered minimal damage.  But the Ford Fusion of Edwards would head to the garage for extensive repairs.
    The race was only green for 1 lap when the big one came, as Brian Vickers has a left rear tire cut down and spins in front of the pack. Fourteen cars were involved with most of them headed for the garage.  Big wrecks at Superspeedways like Daytona are the norm, but at a short track like Phoenix it is rare. With the car count reduced due to attrition, it seemed that things calmed down for a long time as the race stayed green until lap 127 when David Ragan cut a tire crashed and eventually the car went up in flames.
    The final 22 laps came down to an intense battle between four time champion Jeff Gordon and Kyle Busch who was looking to claim another trifecta after winning both the Truck and Nationwide races.  Busch took the lead from Tony Stewart on lap 291 with Gordon in tow. It appeared that Busch was going to run away with the race, but Gordon showed determination and on lap 304 he pushed past the #18 of Busch and never looked back. The win for Gordon brought to an end his 66 race losing streak.
    Despite his second place finish, Kyle Busch moved into the point lead in the NASCAR Sprint Cup series, with older brother Kurt second.

Gordon Win Ends Streak, Ties Record

By Shaun Burke

Jeff Gordon led close to half the race at Phoenix International Speedway in route to his 83rd career win tying him with Cale Yarborough for fifth on the all-time win list.

Once a fixture in victory lane, this was just Gordon’s second win in four years and first in 66 races.

Gordon led 138 of 312 laps; however, restarted third with 21 laps remaining behind Tony Stewart and Kyle Busch. Stewart took two tires and was quickly a non-factor for the win as he drifted back to finish seventh.

After dominating the Camping World Truck Series race and the Nationwide race, Kyle Busch was vying for only the second weekend sweep; the first was accomplished by Busch at Bristol last season.

Gordon quickly reeled Busch in and with nine laps to go nudged Busch out of the way.

After somewhat calm races this weekend, the Subway Fresh Fit 500 proved to be the anything but calm as the race was slowed eight times for caution.

Gordon himself was caught up in one of the early crashes as Kyle Busch got loose and slammed into Carl Edwards resulting in Edwards going behind the wall and a scraped up the right side to Gordon’s car.

"I'll have to talk to Kyle about it.” Edwards said “I thought at first he was just frustrated and he turned left to get back in line and he didn't know I was there. But I watched the tape, and I think he really did get loose. He hit me hard, and I was left with nothing."

When the race restarted on lap 66, Matt Kenseth made contact with Brian Vickers igniting a fourteen car crash including Clint Bowyer, Jeff Burton, Jamie McMurray, David Reutimann and several others. Bowyer expressed his frustration with going behind the wall so early in the race

"We're all better race car drivers than this," Bowyer said "It's pretty embarrassing, to be honest with you."

After a Cinderella finish to the Daytona 500, Trevor Bayne would just as soon forget about his weekend at Phoenix after spinning and crashing on lap 50.

After one lead change in the Camping World Truck race and Busch leading wire to wire in the Nationwide race, Sunday’s race had a record 28 lead changes between 12 drivers.

After Gordon and Busch, rounding out the top five were Jimmie Johnson, Kevin Harvick and last year’s race winner Ryan Newman.

Several drivers find themselves in a point hole after troubles two weeks in a row. Jeff Burton, Joey Logano and Greg Biffle find themselves outside the top 25 after just two races. While it is still early, due to the new points system, drivers may find it more difficult than ever to dig themselves out of a hole early in the season.

For the first time in over 20 years, family members lead the points with Kyle Busch first at 80 points and Kurt Busch second with 77. Race winning Jeff Gordon is now fifth while five time defending champion sits thirteenth.

Trevor Bayne Homecoming Rally Monday at Knoxville Civic Center

Since the announcement Thursday of a homecoming rally for Daytona 500 winner Trevor Bayne, response, questions, phone calls and emails have prompted officials to move the event to the Knoxville Civic Auditorium and Coliseum.
Originally planned for Market Square downtown in Bayne’s hometown of Knoxville, Tenn., rally organizers with Bristol Motor Speedway, Food City and the City of Knoxville decided Friday afternoon to shift sites to the Mary Costa Plaza location.
“People obviously have latched on to what a great story Trevor is and how well he has handled all of this immediate attention,” said Jerry Caldwell, Executive Vice President and General Manager of Bristol Motor Speedway. “Citizens not only of Knoxville, but all over the state of Tennessee are proud of this young man and so many have expressed an interest in coming, everyone involved believed this was a logical step.”
On a whirlwind media tour since his Feb. 20 win in the Daytona 500, including stops in New York, California and Chicago, Bayne’s stop in his hometown allows his “home” track of Bristol Motor Speedway, its sponsor Food City, and the City of Knoxville to say congratulations to the driver who just turned 20 the day before his big win.
Other than the location change, event times remain the same with the rally scheduled from 3:15 p.m.-4:30 p.m.
Bayne will be honored on stage by Knoxville Mayor Daniel T. Brown, Knox County Mayor Tim Burchett, Food City President and CEO Steven C. Smith, and Caldwell.
At the rally, fans will be able to purchase the Bristol Bayne Backer ticket package for a special price of $100. Included in the package is a ticket to the Jeff Byrd 500 Presented by Food City (March 20), the Scotts EZ Seed 300 (March 19), a special Bristol Bayne Backer t-shirt and be part of a question and answer session with Bayne in the BMS hospitality area. All Bristol Bayne Backer ticket holders also will be seated in proximity to each other so that Bayne’s cheering section will be obvious in the BMS grandstands.
The Bristol Bayne Backer special offer of $100 will only be available at the rally from 3 p.m.-5 p.m. Fans not able to attend the rally can call the BMS ticket office at 423-BRISTOL or toll free at 1-866-415-4158 to order tickets. After 5 p.m. the ticket package will be sold for $121.
ESPN’s Jerry Punch will be the emcee of the event, while a number of other city and state officials, as well as actor David Keith, a Knoxville native and legendary NASCAR car owners Eddie and Len Wood will participate in the event.
Parking for the event is available in all City parking garages as well as the Jackson Avenue surface lot.  Please go to http://www.cityofknoxville.org/map for parking information.
The Jeff Byrd 500 Presented by Food City race weekend gets under way March 18 with Ford Fan Friday qualifying, followed by the Scotts EZ Seed Showdown Friday, March 19 at 2 p.m. and the Jeff Byrd 500 Presented by Food City, which takes the green flag at 1 p.m. Sunday, March 20.

Let's Take Care of Trevor

By Terri Ketterman

With the Daytona 500 in the rear view mirror, and the desert sun in our eyes, it's time to get the "sane season" underway.

From now on, whenever someone asks me, "NASCAR??? Why do you love NASCAR?" I will point to the 53rd Daytona 500. We honored our hero, our soul, on lap 3. On lap 200, we embraced our future, simultaneously paying homage to our sacred past, when the famous Wood Brothers 21 took the checkers with the oh-so-worthy, oh-so-baby-faced Trevor Bayne at the wheel.

There were so many things about that day I will never forget. My house was full of dear friends, two of whom drove more than two hours to be with us (for something on television... are you kidding me???) The silent lap 3. The sight of those full grandstands. The great racing, the driver-to-driver communication, the bizarre Noah's Ark drafting. When Trevor crossed that finish line in first place, I was standing up in my living room, surrounded by people I love, screaming with unashamed, unmitigated joy. One of my best friends was fishing on our pond with his son. He heard me; he didn't know who won, but he knew it was precious to me; and although not a NASCAR fan himself, he smiled to know that my friends and I were so thrilled. As for me, it was cathartic. I knew, I just knew, NASCAR has emerged from the abyss. We're okay... we have survived The Dark Days.

I spent most of the week travelling back & forth to work, listening to NASCAR fans on Sirius. Although it was just a couple of hours per day, I heard no one, NO ONE, disappointed or upset about this win. Fans love the Wood Brothers, and they love an underdog. To say that Trevor is a breath of fresh air is a shameless use of cliché, but... deal with it.

Here's my challenge to the media and to the NASCAR faithful, and the sponsors that we support. Let us not pull a Casey Atwood on this worthy young man. Let us honor his accomplishment, the passionate joy he has brought us, acheived by confidence and patience, by awarding him the same. He will, in all likelihood, not win again in in the Cup series in 2011. Perhaps he will not win in the Cup series until late in 2012 or even early 2013. This is fine with me. Please, let it be fine with you. Don't be disappointed, disenfranchised, or bitter no matter what happens over the next several months. This is the future of our delicate sport, that relies so much on the economy, on television, and on the inexplicable emotional whims of fans.

That this fine young man, driving for a legendary team, won this race essentially dedicated to Dale Earnhardt, is no coincidence. It is a message: Snap out of it. Respect the past, but embrace the future. Ralph Earnhardt was a hero to Dale Earnhardt. Dale Earnhardt was a hero to Jeff Gordon. Jeff Gordon is a hero to Trevor Bayne. This is what makes racing more special than any other sport on the planet. This young man, in six days, has given us so much. Don't pressure him for more; let us be selfless, for a change. Trevor's young, he's learning; to him, Joey Logano is a veteran!

As fans, let us understand: It's not Trevor, so much as what Trevor brings to us; the spirit of Trevor. Let us thank him going forward for showing us, with that sweet, amazing smile, out of The Dark Days, by letting him slowly become the champion we all know he is, the champion we all know he will be if we allow him. Let's thank him by taking care of him... and he will, in return I'm sure, take good care of NASCAR.

Is Jimmie Johnson due in Phoenix, Jeff Gordon, Ryan Newman or maybe even Trevor Bayne?

By Shaun Burke

With the glitz and glamour of Daytona behind us NASCAR heads to “The Desert Jewel” for Subway Fresh Fit 500 and the start of the “rest of the season”.

Clearly, the driver to watch this weekend is Jimmie Johnson. Johnson leads several traditional statistics categories but the most telling is his driver rating. Jimmie Johnson’s average running position over the past 6 years is a staggering 5.093. A running position this high is almost unheard of! To put it into perspective, over the same period, Jeff Gordon has the second highest running position at 10.091. Johnson has also spent 96.1% of his time running inside the top 15! Johnson leads all drivers in Driver Rating with a 122.6. Like fine wine, Johnson’s performance at Phoenix has gotten better with age. In his first eight starts, Johnson led a total of 113 laps. In the next seven races, he has led a staggering 744 laps including winning four of those races. While Johnson could blow up on lap one or get caught up in a crash on lap five, don’t expect it this weekend! All you are doing by not putting Johnson on your fantasy team this week is spotting your opponent several points (who likely will!).

While not nearly as spectacular as Jimmie Johnson, Carl Edward’s performance at Phoenix is nothing to be shy about. He is second in driver rating with a rating of 101.7. He is also the second strongest closer at Phoenix averaging nearly two spots gained in the last 10 laps of a race. Not only does Edwards close a race well, he starts well. He ranks third in average speed after a pit stop.

Mark Martin has the third highest driver rating at Phoenix at 100.8. He leads all drivers in starts, top 5s and top 10s; however, many of these great performances occurred in the 90s while racing the Valvoline car. Martin had a stretch from 2001 through 2008 where he finished top 10 in only 3 of 11 races; however his lowest finish was only 19th. Martin is certainly a driver to watch with one caveat. Crew Chief Alan Gustafson won at Phoenix with Kyle Busch in 2005 and Mark Martin in 2009. He is also credited with helping Casey Mears to his best career finish at Phoenix. This season, Gustafson moved to the 24 of Jeff Gordon while Martin gains Lance McGrew (who comes from Dale Earnhardt Jr.) While Dale Earnhardt Jr. had great success at Phoenix in 2003-2004, he was not able to find that success with McGrew. It will be interesting to see if Martin can maintain his performance at Phoenix with McGrew.

Built in 1964, Phoenix International Raceway has one of the most unique configurations on the circuit; offering a dog leg on the backstretch.

NASCAR made its first visit to Phoenix in 1988 with Alan Kulwicki winning his first career race and introducing the world to the “Polish Victory Lap.”

The traditional race date for Phoenix has always been late in the season. In 2005, Phoenix began hosting two races per year.

At the beginning of the 2005 season, NASCAR introduced a series of statistics called “Loop Data”. This data is used to help determine which drivers perform well at a track rather than just looking at finishing position. We all know a driver could win a race after running in the 20s all race. Likewise, a driver who has dominated could crash late and finish poorly.

Loop data looks at average position on the track, laps in the top 15, Number of fastest laps and several other key stats that do a better job telling the picture than traditional statistics. Each week, I will review loop data for a track and help paint a clearer picture as to which drivers I think have a better chance of running well.

In the 29 prior races at Phoenix, Jimmie Johnson has the most wins with 4. He has also led the most laps (857) and has the highest average finish (4.9). In 15 starts, Jimmie Johnson has finished every lap!

Others Drivers to watch:

Mark Martin has started all but one Phoenix race and leads all drivers in Top 5s (12) and Top 10s (19).

Ryan Newman has the most poles at Phoenix with 4, and he won the 2010 spring race.

Jeff Gordon – His new crew chief, has a history of strong performances at PIR.

Kurt Busch – 431 laps led

Kyle Busch – Leads series in “quality passes” at 345

Denny Hamlin – Finished top 5 in 5 of last 7 races coming into 2010. Poor performance in spring 2010 after knee surgery; led 190 laps last fall before finishing P12 after fuel mileage miscalculation.

Martin Truex, Jr. – Ranks 11th in Driver rating, Ranks top 10 in many fastest lap categories (green flag speed, speed in traffic, fast laps early in a run, etc.). Has also led 72 laps.

Ryan Newman – Won the spring 2010 race

Bobby Labonte – With a new team & ranks first in the closer category.

Trevor Bayne – Why not? He just won the Daytona 500!

Drivers to stay away from:

David Gilliland, Dave Blaney, Regan Smith, David Ragan, Brad Keselowski and Paul Menard

If you have questions regarding statistics on your driver please feel free to contact me at burke.shaun@gmail.com

NASCAR as the official sport of North Carolina? Why Not?

By Brody Jones

Recently, according to the Mooresville Weekly, 3rd grade Mooresville students have put forth a plan to lobby state law-makers to designate stock car racing as North Carolina’s official state sport. Laugh if you must, but apparently North Carolina State Representative Grey Mills supports their proposal. And according to these kids, the idea makes “dollars & sense”. The sport contributes more than $6 billion dollars annually to the state income through jobs, fan support, and facilities. Plus North Carolina has all sorts of local race tracks to go to and roughly 95% of the team’s shops are located within an hour radius of of the Mooresville area. So the idea really isn’t so far fetched as one might think.

One cannot deny that North Carolina is truly the Mecca of motorsports, and the fact is stock car racing is practically like an organized religion in the state with each race being a sort of revival at the altar of speed with each driver preaching their own, unique message by their own particular style of driving. Local races in North Carolina tend to draw large crowds, especially at “The Mad-House” Bowman-Gray Stadium and Hickory Motor Speedway, in particular. The NASCAR hall-of-fame is anchored in North Carolina, and much of the early history of the sport is uprooted in North Carolina. So perhaps these kids just might be on to something here.

Basketball fans, however, might take hombrage to the thought of auto racing being the official state sport of North Carolina, and admittedly with good reason. Much like NASCAR, basketball is treated almost like a form of religion in North Carolina with an NBA team in Charlotte, the UNC Tarheels, the Duke Blue Devils, the Wake Forest Demon Deacons, and a whole plethora of basketball teams that would probably fight against NASCAR being the official state sport of North Carolina. Like NASCAR, basketball brings in a ton of revenue to the state as well, whether it’s on a high-school, collegiate, or professional level and also like NASCAR, these events draw very large crowds in the state.

Ultimately, North Carolina law-makers are going to have to make a tough decision. Do they pick basketball as the official state sport or do they pick auto racing? Though this journalist is nowhere near qualified to offer any meaningful political advice, to me it seems like the logical solution is, like with King Solomon in biblical times, why not cut the baby in half and declare both of them the co-official state sports of North Carolina? That way both sides are mollified by the measure and state elected officials don’t lose the rabid sports-fan vote. But the thing is that would actually make sense, so that probably wouldn’t happen. One has to admit, however, that these kids in Mooresville are acting with a lot more foresight and vision than many of our primary elected officials in this country. Never mind that they’re roughly two decades away from likely being legally able to run for political office. So if the teachers and students of Mooresville read this article, I say to you kudos and keep fighting the good fight.

Nationwide Series Woes Only More Magnified Following Daytona

By Brody Jones

Going into the 2011 season, there was some slight optimism that the “pick a series” rule would perhaps level the playing field a bit and maybe, just maybe, allow more focus on the actual Nationwide Series drivers. Unfortunately, the more things change, the more they stay the same. ESPN continued to only focus on the Cup regulars, Danica Patrick, or Steven Wallace, virtually ignoring all the other drivers in the field. The Cup drivers continued to rue the day as the Nationwide regulars were, for the most part, nowhere near the front pack. And things are so bad for a couple of Nationwide series teams that, after years of racing competitively, the economy and a 20 percent purse reduction have forced teams like Baker-Curb Racing and Team Rensi Motorsports to start-and-park. And people wonder why I’m so pessimistic regarding the Nationwide Series?
Things are only going from bad to worse as right now, only 40 cars are scheduled to start at Phoenix. Teams such as Kevin Harvick Inc., Penske Racing, Phoenix Racing, Germain Racing (which has sold their owner points to Rick Ware Racing for rookie driver Timmy Hill), JR. Motorsports, and long-time Nationwide Series main-stays Day Enterprises have decided not to go to Phoenix. And after his only car was destroyed at Daytona, long-time NASCAR main-stay Jimmy “Smut” Means faces an uncertain future as well. So for the first time since California in 2008, the Nationwide Series is looking at not being able to fill the field for a race. I don’t think the NASCAR brain-trust (in particular those in charge of the Nationwide Series) can afford to just sweep these glaring issues under the rug anymore. It can no longer be denied that the Nationwide Series is very ill to the point of being in critical condition and if the Nationwide brain-trust doesn’t take the appropriate steps to cure the series, the harsh reality is NASCAR fans could be in a racing world without the Nationwide Series.
The weight added to the argument of Nationwide doom-sayers just continues to pile up as the economy, the costly addition of a Nationwide COT, and the 20 percent decrease in pay-out leaves the rich getting richer and the poorer one step closer to extinction. Of course, given the track record of Nationwide officials, they seem to be taking an ostrich approach to the issues by burying their heads in the sand and pretending the problems don’t exist. That or they do nothing about the issues. It’s obvious to any race fan with a clue that there needs to be some sort of purse increase and the Cup drivers need to have some sort of limit on how many Nationwide events they can start in a year. But, since that would actually make sense, we all know that’s never going to happen.
Phoenix needs to be a wake-up call for the Nationwide Series that with all the costly measures that these Nationwide teams have had to take, it only puts them further behind the eight-ball compared to the Cup conglomerate and if something is not done soon, much like the dodo bird, Zubaz pants, and Members Only jackets, the Nationwide Series will be the ex-Nationwide Series, as in it will cease to exist, to quote an old (and favorite) “Monty Python” sketch of mine. But, like so many times before, Nationwide officials are in denial that they have a serious problem and the ignorance of the series officials is not going to help save what was once a flourishing and thriving touring series.

Like Rodney Dangerfield, Gilliland Gets No Respect

©OnPitRoad

By Brody Jones

David Gilliland has to relate strongly with the late comedian Rodney Dangerfield’s catch-phrase “I get no respect, I tell you. No respect.” The guy finishes 3rd in the Daytona 500 in a car that had largely not been a factor all day and both of his team-mates had their share of problems… and yet FOX Sports totally ignores the guy in the post-race coverage. Sure, they interviewed him, but it wasn’t shown on the telecast, which is an epic fail on FOX’s part. While Trevor Bayne, and rightfully so, has garnered much of the Cinderella head-lines, poor David Gilliland has been treated as if he is persona non grata when his run in the 500 was just as much of a Cinderella story in a career that has already had a pretty spectacular Cinderella moment.

Gilliland started his career working for his dad, Butch Gilliland, in his shop. He started to make a name for himself in what is now the Auto Zone West Series as he proved to be every bit as good, if not better, than his father Butch was. In 2005, he grabbed the attention of NASCAR owners after winning the prestigious Toyota All-Star Showdown when apparent winner Mike Olson’s wheels were found to be too light, leading to a win by disqualification for Gilliland. In 2006, Gilliland scored the biggest upset in Busch Series history at Kentucky Speedway. Gilliland only had one prior top-30 finish for Clay Andrews racing in four starts, but on that night, his car was on a rail as it blew past J.J. Yeley in the closing stages and took home a win that caught a lot of attention from Cup owners such as Richard Childress and Robert Yates. Yes, it seemed like all was well for David Gilliland.

But the next few years in Cup, outside of the rare top 10 here and there and a few pole positions, were a baptism by hell-fire and brimstone for Gilliland, whose most notable moment at Robert Yates Racing was intentionally wrecking Juan Pablo Montoya in a straight-away at Texas. After two largely ignominious seasons with Robert Yates, Gilliland bounced around with five different teams in 2009, struggling to find a home. But in 2010, Front Row Motorsports owner Bob Jenkins reunited Gilliland with former Yates Racing team-mate and 2003 Craftsman Truck Series champion Travis Kvapil. But Gilliland only posted two top 20 finishes all year, with both being 19th place finishes at Martinsville and Sonoma respectively and his being retained for 2011 was merely an after-thought.

His Gatorade Duels were anything but spectacular as he was caught up in some problems in his Duel race, leaving him starting far back in the field in the “Great American Race”. And for much of the day, no one really gave much thought to Gilliland, especially after team-mate Robert Richardson Jr. was inadvertantly crashed out by team-mate Travis Kvapil, who had a Murphy’s Law type of afternoon, being involved in some manner, in four caution flags on the afternoon. But at the end of the race, Gilliland was still on the lead lap amazingly. But still, very few paid him any real mind. But on the final lap, he came out of nowhere to push Carl Edwards toward the front but Edwards and Gilliland had to settle for 2nd and 3rd respectively, earning Gilliland some much-deserved vindication from all the people who said he had been rushed up to Cup too soon.

Gilliland credited the turn-around of the team to the new cars they bought from the now-defunct, George Gillett-backed Richard Petty Motorsports and the new Ford FR9 engines supplied by Roush-Yates. But this performance, while not a win, certainly has to be an enormous turn-around for a team that struggled to break the top 30 at times last year. While Gilliland might not ever win a race on NASCAR’s top level, he at least proved he does belong with the big boys of racing and for that, he should be commended. Gilliland won’t get the headlines Trevor Bayne has had after Sunday’s race, but he’s earned the respect of his peers, which is just as good as a Daytona 500 win.

Trevor Bayne, Where did he come from

By Joe Dunn

Unlike DW, who proudly showed a blank sheet of paper as his Trevor Bayne bio sheet on Fox Sports coverage of the Daytona 500, my bio sheet on rookie Trevor Bayne was far from blank.  Here is what I had already known.

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With little fanfare, Knoxville, Tennessee’s  Trevor Bayne slipped into the seat of the unsponsored Michael Waltrip Racing No. 99 NASCAR Nationwide Series car on Friday June 5, 2009 at Nashville SuperSpeedway. A Friday afternoon press conference introduced Bayne, with few media members knowing much about him.

"Rocky" ©OnPitRoad

Living in East Tennessee, I was aware of Bayne having watched him compete at Bristol Motor Speedway in the USAR Pro Cup series.  Under the guidance of his father Rocky, Trevor, like Jeff Gordon has climbed a methodical trail to earn success.  He was a bit of a legend around the local go kart tracks, where he won over 300 races, and earned 22 titles. Three times Bayne earned the World Karting Association, World Champion title.
Obviously that success would propel him to move up, which he did by running the Allison Legacy Series.  At 13 years old, he became the youngest race winner as well as the youngest Top Rookie.  Over two years in the series, he had 41 starts, 14 wins and 30 top 5’s.  In 2005 Bayne captured the series National Championship. From there he went on to two years in the Pro Cup Series.
In 2007 Trevor signed a Developmental Driver contract with Dale Earnhardt Inc.  the plan was to run one more year in Pro Cup and 2008 in the NASCAR Camping World East Series, as a teammate to Jeffrey Earnhardt. 2009 was supposed to bring a full time NNS ride, but the downturn in the Economy hurt DEI and forced them to cut the NNS program.  DEI did manage to get Bayne a car for Bristol, which was run by the Jimmy Means team. The MWR ride at Nashville was his second race in the series.
Without all the hype and fanfare that followed Joey Logano to Nashville the year before, Bayne  posted a qualify speed that put him on the provisional pole.  He held that spot, until the 29th qualifier, Kyle Bush edged him to the outside of the front row.

©OnPitRoad

I talked to several crew members on the 99 car both Friday and Saturday at Nashville and they all seemed very excited about this little known kid.  When another big wreck coming out of turn 4 on lap 123 happened, Bayne had no escape, taking a battering from the front and the rear. Though the 99 crew worked feverishly to get the car back out, they only garnered 3 more laps when it appeared beyond repair.
I said that weekend that Trevor Bayne could be the future of MWR or another top NASCAR team.  Six races later Bayne put the #99 car on the pole for the Kroger 200 at Lucas Oil Raceway (ORP at the time) as he wow’d the fans there. He would get his best finish of the 2009 season that day finishing 7th.   What was supposed to be a 7 or 8 race deal with MWR turned into a 14 race run for Trevor and a full time, multi-year deal starting in 2010.
The new deal with Diamond Waltrip Racing was supposed to include a few Cup starts in a MWR car for 2011.  Bayne and the team got off to a bit of a rocky start in 2010, but by July at ORP Trevor had climbed into the top 10 in points. Things changed late in the season and the team was unable to secure full sponsorship for the NASCAR Nationwide Series car for 2011. Trevor was given a release from the team after the 28th race at Dover in late September and advised to seek other options and a new ride for 2011. 
It was only a matter of days when a new contract was signed with Roush-Fenway Racing and Trevor showed up at Kansas in the #17 car.  Unfortunately, because the #17 was a ’Late Entry’, neither the car nor driver would earn any championship points for the race.  That lack of points dropped Bayne two spots from 7th to 9th.  He would finish the season in the #17 car, but there was a provision for Cup races in his new deal.  The plan was to attempt to run the 2011 Daytona 500, but with no Cup experience he stood little chance of getting clearance from NASCAR for a Superspeedway attempt.  It was decided to enter Trevor in the AAA Texas 500 to get him a Cup race to obtain NASCAR clearance.  A quick deal was put together with the Wood Brothers to put Bayne in the #21 car. He qualified 28th but because of a transmission change he was forced to start at the back. As he worked his way forward Bayne displayed a smooth driving style and finished an impressive 17th.  That run earned NASCAR’s approval for Daytona.

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When I caught up with Trevor at Phoenix the following week he was brimming with excitement.  He talked about his departure from Diamond Waltrip Racing, “It was all due to sponsorship, we didn’t have any for next year.  Had they had full time sponsorship they would have been able to exercise the contract to run full time, and I’d still be sitting in that car.”  Bayne was understanding about being released and talked about his relationship with Gary and Blake Bechtel “We’re still great friends and I talked with both of them yesterday, they really helped advance my career, and I felt bad that it didn’t work out for them.” Talking about the 2011 season Bayne said, “I know my deal will be full time in the NASCAR Nationwide Series, going for the championship, but I don’t know at this point what number I’ll be running next year.”
Regarding his NASCAR Sprint Cup race at Texas, he was equally excited. “That car was just awesome, and it was a great opportunity to work with the Wood brothers and Donny Wingo.” he told me, as he smiled from ear to ear, “ We finished 17th and we stayed on the lead lap all day.  We got as high as 14th at one time, but I got boxed in on pit road and lost a ton of spots.  I really liked driving the cup car, it’s a lot like short track racing, which I have done my whole life, and they have just so much power.”
He told me that at that point that there was no set plan to run the Cup series in 2011, “ I think we’re gonna try to run a couple, but I don’t know what car or what team.  We did run Texas so that I could have a chance at running Daytona, but we don’t know at this point if I’ll ever run there.”
Bayne finished the 2010 NNS season 7th in driver’s points and it was during the off season that the 2011 plans really developed.  Colin Braun was released by RFR and Bayne was introduced as the driver of the #16 car in the Nationwide series and with the new points rules in place, he declared that he was in the championship run in the NNS.  It was also announced that he would drive the #21 car for the Wood brothers in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series, for up to 17 races.  A points arrangement was made between RPM and Wood brothers, to bring the vacated #98 car points to the #21 car, assuring a guaranteed start in the first five races of the season.  As it turned out Bayne never needed that locked in position as he proved his worth in the strange Daytona 500 qualifying program.
When the green flag flew to start the 2011 Daytona 500 the driver of the  #21 car was advised to be careful and have some fun.  All of America knows now how much fun Trevor Bayne had on Sunday!

Rookie Trevor Bayne Daytona 500 Winner!

Credit: Jamie Squire/Getty Images for NASCAR

By Shaun Burke

Racing for the Wood Brothers, Bayne put the famed #21 into victory circle for the first time in 10 years and first time in the Daytona 500 in 35 years! It also gave Ford it’s 600th win in the Sprint Cup Series.

Bayne becomes the youngest winner of the Great American Race as the age of 20 years and 1 day.

Coming in second was Carl Edwards followed by David Gilliland, Bobby Labonte and Kurt Busch.

The win came in Bayne’s first ever start in the Daytona 500 and second career Sprint Cup Start. The only driver to win in his first Cup start was Lee Petty and the only other driver to win in his second career Cup start was Jamie McMurray.

The race was slowed by a record 16 cautions. Despite the record number of cautions, the race had a record number of lead changes at 74.

The pivotal moment of the race came on the next to last restart. Bayne was second with David Ragan starting first. Ragan elected to start on the outside. When the green flag flew, he jumped down in front of Bayne (an arrangement the two had made) to keep their “pod” moving. Unfortunately, NASCAR deemed he jumped down too early and black flagged him ending Ragan’s chance at winning his first career race.

The race was marred with crashes and engine issues for the ECR engines. After two weeks of practice and preparation, the debut of the #29 Budweiser Chevy only made it 22 laps before the engine expired resulting in a 42nd place finish. Harvick was home and watching from his couch before the checkered flag even flew. Luckily for Harvick, many of the contenders for the Sprint Cup also suffered issues throughout the day.

The big crash occurred on lap 29 when Michael Waltrip bumped David Reutimann. Reutimann spun and collected a total of 17 cars including Sprint Cup contenders Jeff Gordon, Jimmie Johnson, Mark Martin and Brian Vickers.

I wrote an article earlier this week about the potential “fairytale ending” for the Daytona if Dale Earnhardt Jr. won. Well, I believe the win by Trevor Bayne would suffice as a fairytale ending as well. It’s a testament that good guys can win and if you keep working towards your dream, you can succeed.

4 in a Row for Tony Stewart

Credit: Tom Pennington/Getty Images for NASCAR

By Shaun Burke

Tony Stewart notched his sixth NASCAR win, and his fourth win in a row in the NASCAR Nationwide Series Saturday at the famed Daytona International Speedway.

Stewart suffered a cut tire during the final caution period of the race forcing him to pit and restart the race in P11. Lucky for Stewart, Landon Cassill was restarting in front of him. The two sliced their way to the front and Stewart edged Clint Bowyer by .007 seconds; the third closest finish in nationwide history!

Landon Cassill had his best career finish coming home third followed by Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Reed Sorenson.

The race was slowed 5 times for 23 laps. The most significant of these incidents came on lap 105 when Landon Cassill drifted down into the right front fender of Brad Keselowski. This sent Keselowski spinning wildly through the infield and into the car of Josh Wise ending Keselowski’s streak of races without a DNF at 102.

For the most part of the race, the Sprint Cup regulars dominated. It was clear the practice they have had all week paid dividends and the front of the field was broken into pairs. At one point, the pairs of Joey Logano/Kyle Busch and Trevor Bayne/Brad Keselowski were over 12 seconds ahead of the fifth place car.

One thing is for certain, the 2011 Daytona 500 is shaping up to be one of the best in recent memory!

Michael Waltrip Records First Truck Victory

Credit: Jerry Markland/Getty Images for NASCAR

By Shaun Burke

Ten years ago today, Michael Waltrip won the Daytona 500 and didn’t’ really get to enjoy it. When he was in Victory Lane, Ken Schrader came to tell him Dale Earnhardt was in trouble. Several hours later, we found out that we had lost Dale Earnhardt.

Flash Forward 10 years, February 18, 2011. Michael Waltrip got a one race deal in the truck series to just run the Camping World Truck Series race to honor his friend Dale Earnhardt.

The NextEra Energy Resources 250 started dull, as James Buescher led the first 55 laps. It appeared the outside line was not the place to be as 30 trucks ran in a single file line.

The first “big one” occurred on lap 75 when the 5 of Travis Kvapil appeared to cut a tire collecting the trucks of Todd Bodine, Ron Hornaday Jr. and others. In the same accident, Donnie Neuenberger inexplicitly ran into the back of several trucks in the second pack collecting many more trucks. In the end, 14 trucks were involved.

After pit stops, the field was set for a run to the finish that would prove to be exciting!

As the finish was closing in, Kyle Busch was pushing Chris Fontaine towards the front using the outside line. Busch was pushing Fontaine so hard he was blowing steam out the over flow of his truck.

James Buescher decided to take Fontaine and Busch three wide with four to go in an effort to get the lead. As he did, a couple trucks behind him made contact igniting a 14 truck crash that damaged all but five trucks.

As is usual for Camping World Truck Series races, The NextEra Energy Resources 250 was going to overtime!

Elliott Sadler was leading as the field took the green flag with Michael Waltrip on his outside. When the trucks took the white flag, the trucks of Waltrip and Sadler did something that hadn’t been done all race; they broke out in a two car [truck] tandem ensuring the race was going to come down to the two of them.

Coming out of four, Waltrip jumped to the high side and appeared to get a huge run and passed Sadler to win on the 10 year anniversary of the only Daytona 500 in which the winner didn’t get to celebrate.

Waltrip was extremely emotional in victory lane.

“I came here to celebrate his life with my black truck and my No. 15 car,” an emotional Waltrip said after the race. “I didn’t come here to celebrate a win.”

Sadler wanted to win, but if he couldn’t he was OK with Waltrip winning.

“I went to victory lane to congratulate him,” Sadler said, “and I said to Michael, ‘If anyone deserves to win a race today, you do.’ ”

Rounding out the top 5 were Clay Rogers, Miguel Paludo and Kyle Busch.

Coming in sixth was Jennifer Jo Cobb, marking the highest finish ever for a female in the Camping World Truck Series.

"It was a bitter sweet day.” Cobb said “We honored Bruce (transport driver Bruce Cover, who died recently of cancer) and my Grandpa tonight and fought after a blown engine to come from the back. My crew never crew never gave up and I'm a happy girl."

The win is Michael Waltrip’s first career truck series win and fourth at Daytona International Speedway.

When Waltrip was on his cool down lap it became clear that something wasn’t right with Waltrip’s truck. One side of his spoiler was lying flat, which is clearly a rules violation. Upon reviewing the replay, it appears the spoiler laid flat sometime during the final lap. Whatever the verdict, seeing the true emotion of Michael Waltrip in Victory Lane on this, the 10 year anniversary of Dale Earnhardt’s death, brought back many memories and emotions from NASCAR fans everywhere.

Race Notes:

Waltrip becomes the 22nd driver to win a race in all three of NASCAR's national series.

Elliott Sadler (second) posted his first top 10 finish in two races at Daytona International Speedway.

Clay Rogers (third) posted his second career top 5 finish. He is now the series points leader.

Miguel Paludo (fourth) was the highest finishing rookie.

Junior’s Fairytale Ending

By Shaun Burke

Is the 2011 Daytona 500 shaping up to be a Hollywood ending for Dale Earnhardt Junior? Junior doesn’t think so: “I understand the situation.” said Junior “I'm looking forward to seeing how my father's remembered and honored throughout the week. I'll enjoy that. I don't really get into the hypothetical, fairytale sort of stuff.”

Jeff Gordon feels differently, however. "Things are certainly lining up in an interesting way. I mean, he pulled the pole for the Bud Shootout, wins the pole for the Daytona 500, the lights went out the other night [during final Budweiser Shootout practice]. Some strange activity happening around Daytona right now."

Even the most casual fan knows this significance of this race to Dale Earnhardt Jr. It was ten years ago that Junior finished second in the Daytona 500. As he got out of the car, he was quickly whisked to the hospital where he was given the news that anyone would hate to hear: His father had been killed.

Dale Earnhardt Jr. comes to Daytona after two years of struggles and disappointment. In 2009, he managed only two top 5s. In 2010 he had 3. In the off-season, Rick Hendrick shuffled the crew chiefs at Hendrick Motorsports in an effort to spark change in his three struggling teams; in 2010, Jimmie Johnson was the only Hendrick Motorsports car to win a race. We’ve seen this done before by Jack Roush and even DEI when Junior and Waltrip traded teams in 2005. While it has always produced a small spark, it has had mild success. Junior went from six wins in 2004 to one in 2005. Waltrip didn’t win either year.

Sunday also marks career start 400 for Dale Earnhardt Jr. Only 47 drivers have ever started 400 NASCAR Sprint Cup races.

When Junior won the pole for the Daytona 500 Sunday, he guaranteed that he will lead the field to the green in every Sprint Cup event he participates in this weekend. One would expect being locked into the pole position for the Daytona 500, Junior would race conservatory to preserve his car. “I think personally when you do lock in a front-row starting spot for the 500; it takes a lot of pressure off. You get to go out there and try to win that race with just as much urgency to win it, but kind of in your own way.” said Earnhardt “I can go out there and make that move at the last lap that I think might win the race even if it don't. I can do the things I want to do and won't feel handcuffed at all.”

NASCAR races involving significant Dale Earnhardt events always find a way of having a Hollywood ending.

In the very next race after Dale Earnhardt’s death, Steve Park won the race and ran out of gas on pit road coming to victory lane.

In the fourth race and third of Kevin Harvick’s career, Harvick held off Jeff Gordon at Atlanta to win for Dale Earnhardt’s old team.

In July 2001, Dale Earnhardt Jr. dominated the Pepsi 400 at Daytona. After the race, he and teammate Michael Waltrip celebrated in the infield after a 1-2 finish.

I am sure Dale Earnhardt Jr. doesn’t want to think about the pressure of winning this race, but one thing is for sure: NASCAR badly needs Dale Earnhardt Jr. to be the 2011 Daytona 500 champion and Dale Earnhardt Jr. needs to get back to victory lane.

Ten years after Dale Earnhardt died; I can look back and say that’s the day NASCAR peaked. If Dale Earnhardt Jr. wins this year’s Daytona 500, I think we can look back in 2021 and say “That’s the day NASCAR started coming back.”

One thing is for certain: fans need to tune in for the Daytona 500 this Sunday on FOX. You may just see a fairytale ending.

Team Red Bull In For Hit Or Miss 2011 Campaign

By Brody Jones

Make no mistake about it, 2010 was, to say the least, a tumultuous year for Team Red Bull. Brian Vickers only lasted 11 races before blood clots cut his season short. Replacement drivers Reed Sorenson, Casey Mears, and even Kasey Kahne couldn’t bring the Red Bull #83 back up to speed. Not only did the #83 have problems, but Scott Speed was tossed to the curb after a largely unimpressive two-year stint in the Sprint Cup Series and has filed a lawsuit against Team Red Bull over the way his release was handled. Hard to believe that two years ago, this team was right in the thick of the Chase For The Cup with Brian Vickers.

Going into the 2011 season, not only does Brian Vickers come back to the team, but Kasey Kahne is on board for what appears to be a one-year stint with Team Red Bull. Which there are two schools of thought on how this could all play out. Either Vickers & Kahne will have tremendous seasons or both will struggle like they did for most of last year. It’s going to be harder to build team chemistry with Kahne as he’ll likely only be part of the organization for one year before departing for the greener grass of Hendrick Motorsports. That is, unless Mark Martin throws a wrench in those plans. After a 2010 season where some observers felt he “quit” on Richard Petty Motorsports and the #9 team, Kahne desperately needs 2011 to be a success not just in terms of momentum for next year, but in terms of confidence as well.

Vickers, on the other hand, is a different situation. With blood clots that very well could have cut short his career, or even ended his life, the inevitable question has to be how much racing rust will Brian Vickers have in 2011? Initially, it could be a tough transition to get back up to speed, but both he and Kahne are in the prime of their careers with a tremendous amount of upside working in their favor. Not to mention Vickers has been with Team Red Bull since the inception of the organization back in 2007 and seems to have a good rapport with his crew. Sure, at first it may be a struggle, but Vickers will be back to full-speed in no time at all. Making the Chase might be a bit much to ask, but a solid top 15 points performance is not out of the question.

But the big thing from 2010 that has to improve for both drivers is the quality of the equipment. At one time, Team Red Bull had one of the best 1.5 mile track programs in NASCAR, even in the fiasco that was Toyota’s 2007 Sprint Cup campaign as Vickers supplied the lone bright spots for the organization (and Toyota for that matter). In 2010, more often than not, no matter who was driving the car, Team Red Bull just seemed to be like a newborn fawn in an apocalyptic meteor shower on the track in 2010. The simple fact is if they’re going to make any strides in the right direction, they must get their 1.5-mile program back on track as that was a huge advantage Team Red Bull had for the longest time over many teams in NASCAR.

At the end of the day though, when all is said and done, both Vickers and Kahne are going to have the great expectations fall on their shoulders. While it’s nothing that either driver has not become accustomed to in recent years, after a partial season in 2010 for Vickers and a disastrous 2010 campaign for Kahne, that microscope is going to get bigger. The question is does Team Red Bull wilt under the pressure or can they make lemonade out of a lemon of a 2010 season and get back to being a team on the cusp of breaking through into the upper echelon of NASCAR? Only time will tell, but with drivers like Kasey Kahne and Brian Vickers, there is no reason why they shouldn’t be back to form in 2011 as, at times, both drivers have shown brilliance behind the wheel.

Daytona 500 Qualifying Recap

By Shaun Burke

As qualifying ended for the 2011 Daytona 500, it started to sink in that Dale Earnhardt Jr. will start from the pole position in every NASCAR Sprint Cup event in the 2011 edition of Speed Weeks. Earnhardt Jr. turned a lap of 186.089 to win his tenth career pole and first ever at Daytona International Speedway and will likely give a ratings boost to the Daytona 500 next Sunday.

“We’re fired up. I had a great car today. It’s gonna be a tough race to win. We’re gonna work really hard. It takes a lot of pressure off the qualifier. We can go out there and just have fun”

Jeff Gordon made it an all Hendrick Motorsports front row with a lap of 185.966.

Rounding out the top 5 were Trevor Bayne, Paul Menard and Clint Bowyer.

One of the biggest surprises of qualifying was the lap laid down by Trevor Bayne of 185.445. Bayne, running for Wood Brother racing, was the fastest Ford in qualifying.

A scary moment occurred as the last car locked into the field rolled off the grid. Denny Hamlin’s car turned abrupt to the left and into the grass. Hamlin re-fired the car and completed his qualifying run leaving him with the 44th fastest lap in qualifying. After his run, Hamlin said his team is using a new steering column and “just locked and came to the left."

Now that qualifying has completed, the front row for the Daytona 500 is set.

Based on the qualification rules for the Daytona 500, 3 bubble drivers have locked themselves into the Daytona 500: Bill Elliott, Travis Kvapil and Joe Nemechek by being the three fastest bubble drivers and Terry Labonte who will get the past champion provisional. No matter where they finish in the Gatorade Duals, these drivers are guaranteed a starting spot in the Daytona 500 and the more than $250,000 guaranteed to finish last.

As qualifying wraps up, Daytona International Speedway will be quiet until Wednesday when practice for the Gatorade Duals begins.

Other notable qualifying positions:

Tony Stewart – 184.911 10th position
Kurt Busch – 184.896 11^th position
Kevin Harvick – 184.740 14^th position
Jimmie Johnson – 184.687 15^th position
Jamie McMurray – 183.685 27^th position
Kyle Busch – 183.595 30^th position

How to Decipher the Gatorade Duels Lineup

By Shaun Burke

When Daytona International Speedway opened in 1959, NASCAR introduced a race called the “Daytona 500 Qualifier”. This 40 lap race was won by Bob Welborn and paid $800 to the winner. More importantly, it gave Bob Welborn the pole for the first ever Daytona 500. In 1960, NASCAR held two of these qualifying races. We now know this race as the “Gatorade Dual 150s.”

Over the course of 50 years, this qualifying race has taken on several different names and formats. It started as simply a way to set the field. In fact, in the first race in 1959, only 38 drivers participated in the qualifying race while 59 took the green flag in the Daytona 500. Under its current format, the Gatorade Dual races not only set the starting position for the Daytona 500, but also determine who makes the race.

One of the most confusing things about speed weeks is how exactly the Gatorade Duals sets the field for the Daytona 500. I will attempt to explain how each position is set!

Position 1-2: The front row is set the Sunday before the Duals. The fastest two qualifiers are guaranteed to start first and second in the Daytona 500. They are also awarded the pole position for their respective Dual race. Many times, we will see these drivers race conservatively in the dual race because it does not matter where the finish in the race; however, if they crash the car, they will be forced to start at the rear in a backup car.

Position 3-39: This is where it gets confusing. Drivers who are currently in the top 35 in points already know which dual race they will be in. If your team finished in an odd number in the final 2010 owners points, you will be in race 1. If your team finished in an even number, you will be in race 2. The only exception to this rule is the drivers who turned the top two speeds in qualifying. All the other drivers (teams not in the top 35) are then evenly split between the two races based on their qualifying times. For example, the fastest car not in the top 35 will race in race 1, the second fastest is in race 2, etc. This ranking is versus other teams outside the top 35, not the field. Now that we know which race each car will be in, the hard part is done!

The Dual lineup for each race is set based upon qualifying times. The easiest way to do this is separate each group (based on the criteria above) and look at qualifying speeds.

We now have our starting lineup for each Dual race; but that will be insignificant up by the time the field gets to turn one! What we really care about is how this race will set the field for the Daytona 500!

The first race determines the inside row for the Daytona 500 and the second race determines the outside row. The top 35 in owner’s points + the top two finishers of teams outside the top 35 (in their respective race) are locked in for the Daytona 500. For example, if Michael Waltrip, Joe Nemechek and Casey Mears finish 1-3 in their dual race (assuming they are in the same Dual race), Michael Waltrip and Joe Nemechek are guaranteed to start in positions 3 & 5 (assuming neither won the pole). Casey Mears would not start in the 3-39 group and would have to rely on his qualifying speed to make the race.

Position 40-42: These positions are simple: The fastest four drivers (from qualifying) that did not lock themselves in with the qualifying race. In the example above, if Casey Mears finished third in the Dual race, he was probably fast all week and had a qualifying speed to get him into the race (although starting from position 40 instead of 7). If not, he would miss the Daytona 500 despite finishing third in his Dual race!

Position 43: This position will go to either the most recent past champion not locked in by criteria 1-3 or the fifth fastest qualifier who did not make the Daytona 500 via their Dual race.

I hope that I have helped explain how the Daytona 500 qualifying format works in a manner that does not require an engineering degree!

New Pavement = Excitement for the Shootout

Photo by Jerry Markland/Getty Images for NASCAR

By Shaun Burke

When the smoke settled after the 2011 Budweiser Shootout, it was Kurt Busch putting Shell/Pennzoil into the Gatorade Victory Lane for the third year in a row. Meanwhile, Denny Hamlin, the driver who crossed the finish line first was relegated to a twelfth place finish after dipping below the yellow line to pass Ryan Newton on the last lap.
“I just made a mistake. That yellow line is there to protect us.  I just chose to take the safer route” said Hamlin.
As Dale Earnhardt Jr. took the green flag for the 33rd Budweiser Shootout, the near three month wait for NASCAR fans was over.
By the time the drivers hit the backstretch on the first lap; the two car tandems were already breaking out and foreshadowed what the next 75 laps would look like.
The first 25 lap segment was run caution free. After the segment, Jeff Gordon exclaimed on his radio “Wooo, Jesus that’s crazy”. Many other drivers were expressing similar thoughts on their radio as they were glad to get a chance to catch their breath. Jeff Burton led Kevin Harvick, Dale Earnhardt Jr., Matt Kenseth and Jimmie Johnson at the of the first segment.
The ten minute break allowed teams to get some feedback from their drivers and make some adjustments to the cars.
The second segment would not be as clean as the first segment as the “big one” occurred on lap 28. As Dale Earnhardt was falling back on the inside line on the backstretch, the car or Regan Smith drifted down the track into Carl who clipped the right rear of Dale Earnhardt Jr. After all the carnage was over, a total of six cars were done for the night: Dale Earnhardt Jr., Carl Edwards, Regan Smith, Joey Logano, Juan Montoya and Kevin Conway.
The cars restarted on lap 35 and it only took one lap for the next crash. Mark Martin was pushing Kyle Busch going into turn three when the #18 car snapped loose. Ryan Newman and Jeff Gordon narrowly missed being collected from the spinning cars as they jumped down the on the apron. After the race, Ryan Newman thanked Jeff Gordon for pushing him through that situation and keeping him out of the wreck. Gordon had this to say about the accident: “We’re getting to point where bumpers are beat in, and we’re starting to hook guys."
The next caution came on lap 49 when Tony Stewart turned the 15 of Michael Waltrip in an accident that looked exactly like the one between Busch and Martin.
The final restart of the race took place on lap 52 with Jimmie Johnson leading.  As the temperature continued to cool and the cars started getting faster, the Richard Childress Racing cars began complaining about hitting the rev limiter on the car. As a result the RCR cars and those cars drafting began losing ground on the front group. As the white flag waived, it was a four car race as fifth place Jimmie Johnson was over two seconds behind the leader.
On the backstretch, it appeared Kurt Busch and Jamie McMurray showed their hand too early and were going to finish a respectable third and fourth; however, as the cars came to the line, Denny Hamlin pulled low to make a pass on Ryan Newman. This slowed both cars enough to allow Kurt Busch to jump high on the outside. The move worked perfectly for Hamlin if only he could have kept his car off the apron. In the end, it was Kurt Busch doing donuts. “I wanted to give those guys a push hard getting into Turn 1 and I never got to them.” said Busch. “Then my game plan changed to take whatever I could get.  I knew the 11 was going to split away from the 39.  I was hoping he would do it soon enough.  It worked out in our favor at the end because McMurray stayed with us. “
After the race, winner Kurt Busch had this to say: “What an amazing win.  To get to victory lane for Shell/Pennzoil is incredible.  This Dodge Charger was fast and I have to thank my “teammate” Jamie McMurray so much.  What an unbelievable experience.”

Pairs Racing, The New NASCAR Style?

By Joe Dunn

Well after a couple days of practice on the new track surface and a few new aero changes we began to see new higher speeds at Daytona International Speedway.  We learned quickly that 2 cars drafting tight could easily exceed 200mph.

When those speeds hit the 205 mark everyone knew that NASCAR would be quick to respond.  Contrary to what nearly everybody expected there was no restrictor plate change, but instead, a new rule to restrict air cooling ducts.  That change was first seen in the Bud Shootout Saturday night.  Did that change stop the two car drafting?  Not bat all, but it did reduce the speeds as the rear car could not stay tucked in for too long.
But, what we did see was something new at Daytona, a new form of drafting.  With the 24 car field we saw no slingshot moves, we saw no ‘freight trains’ with 3,4,6,8 car packs.  The entire field of contenders was restricted to multiple two car drafts.  Why did we not see any packs with more than two cars?  Carl Edwards, after wrecking in the Shootout likened it to dirt bike racing. “It’s really exciting and it’s fast, but your really driving blind out there.” said Edwards, “If you're in the back, your in control, but you can’t see what’s in front of the car your pushing. If your in front, your just along for the ride and you're really putting your faith in that guy pushing you.”

In post race interviews Kurt Busch talked about the two car draft, “We figured out the two car deal in the testing, Brad and I found that we could really get it done better that way.  Even our engine program became part of the process.  The guys in the engine department did a lot of work to make the cooling work in that tight draft.”  Busch’s crew chief Steve Addington spoke more about the cooling upgrades, “we sent a couple guys out to the Arizona Proving Grounds to run laps and do some test and measuring on the cooling changes.  The numbers were good, but not as good as we thought.  But we got here and started using them and were impressed.  Then NASCAR changed it on us, but it still seemed to work really good for us.”

Well, now we know why they are able to run like this but the question still remains, will we see the multicar drafts like in years past come next Sunday for the 500.  The next real chance to see this drafting in race trim will be Thursday in the Duels, but being another couple of short races, look for the 2 car deal again.  It sounds like the teams are unwilling, at least at this point to exceed the two car, but when it’s 500 miles for all the big $$$, look for those changes to come.

The 500 is a week away, what do you think?  Your comments are welcome here.

Mike Skinner to Pilot Eddie Sharp Racing Toyota at Daytona International Speedway

PRESS RELEASE

Denver, N.C. (February 12, 2011)-- Eddie Sharp Racing announced veteran NASCAR driver Mike Skinner will pilot the No. 45 Cushman Toyota Tundra at Daytona International Speedway in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series event on February 18.

“I’m thrilled for the opportunity to have Mike Skinner drive for us at Daytona,” said team owner Eddie Sharp. “To have someone of his caliber drive for our young truck program is exciting. I have known Mike for many years, and I am thankful for his trust in our program and his relationship with Toyota. I’m really looking forward to working with him.”

The former NASCAR Camping World Truck Series champion will compete for the eighth time at the 2.5-mile speedway in the NCWTS.

“Eddie Sharp and I have been friends for a long time, and I have watched him win big in the ARCA Racing Series over the past few years,” said Skinner. “He came to me a few years ago and told me about his goal to move into the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series. I think it is exciting to be able to work together and help him accomplish this dream in his first full season in NASCAR.”

Skinner will continue to drive a Toyota Tundra with Cushman on board as sponsor. Cushman vehicles are used worldwide to transport personnel, materials and equipment at manufacturing facilities, warehouses, resorts, and other commercial and industrial facilities. Cushmanbrand and product lines are owned by Textron, a global multi-industry company based in Providence, R.I. Cushman is a sister brand to such powerful brands as Cessna, Bell Helicopter, E-Z-GO, Greenlee and Jacobsen. 2011 marks the 110^th anniversary of the company.

“I’m excited to have Cushman on board for Daytona, and I’m ready to get on the track,” said Skinner. “We are currently working on sponsorship for the rest of the season, and I really hope that we can put together something to be able to run the full NCWTS schedule. I have a great relationship with Toyota, and we have really helped each other throughout the years- good and bad. It is a win-win situation for both myself and Toyota, and through our relationship, we are able to work with people like Eddie Sharp.”

Jefferson Hodges will be the crew chief the No. 45 Cushman Toyota. Hodges, who served as crew chief for veteran Steve Park in several NCWTS in 2010, provides years of experience in the NASCAR garages, including experience as crew chief for Kevin Conway in the NASCAR Nationwide Series, car chief for Paul Menard in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series. He also won the NASCAR Weekly Series National championship with Mark McFarland.

“I’m excited to have the opportunity to work with Mike Skinner,” said Hodges. “We’ve prepared a great truck to bring for Skinner, and it’s going to be a great opportunity to work with a driver that has such stature and knowledge. His experience will accelerate our learning curve in our first year in the series, and I really am looking forward to working with him.”

Skinner will join Craig Goess in the ESR lineup at Daytona International Speedway. Goess, a NCWTS rookie, will drive the No. 46 Greenville Toyota of N.C. Tundra in the event.

The green flag waves on the NextEra Energy Resources 250 on February 18^th at 7:30 p.m.  For more information, please check out www.teamesr.com, www.facebook.com/teamesr and www.twitter.com/teamesr,

Quick NASCAR, change those plates

By Shaun Burke

After the first practice session for the 2011 Budweiser Shootout, Dale Earnhardt Jr. turned a lap of 199.6; about as close as you can get to the silent “rule” of keeping cars under 200 mph. Since these speeds have always been in the 2-car packs, I wasn’t concerned. I even sent out the following tweet:
“Please NASCAR, don't change the plate size! The pack speeds aren't 200! I don't think we'd see the cool 2 car breakaways with smaller plates.”
Well, how quickly my opinion can change! After watching the second practice session (I didn’t get to see the first). I saw several cars pass the 200 mph mark. Still, I wasn’t concerned because the pack isn’t going 200. Then my opinion changed faster than the cars were moving at Daytona. I watched Mark Martin and Kasey Kahne blow through the middle lane going about 10 mph faster than the cars on either side. A slight miscalculation by Martin or Kahne or a slight bobble by one of the cars they were passing would have been catastrophic at those speeds. The difference between cars flying and cars on the ground is very slight.
Since this was a practice session, everyone was giving Martin and Kahne lots of room. I can’t help but think if that very move was attempted on the last lap of the Budweiser Shootout or the Daytona 500, it would not end well. It would be easy for the slower cars to misjudge the quickly moving cars and pull up to throw a block.
NASCAR needs to change the plate before Daytona 500 practice starts or the Budweiser Shootout is run. Not doing so could be the biggest (avoidable) test for the new car.

How To Qualify For The Daytona 500

Provided by NASCAR MEDIA

Qualifying for the Daytona 500 is unlike any other auto racing qualifying procedure. Drivers have two
chances to qualify for the season-opening race, as opposed to the usual format of one qualifying session
per event.
The first chance comes via Daytona 500 Qualifying, which will be held Sunday, Feb. 13. The other
chance is the Gatorade Duel at Daytona, two 150-mile qualifying races held on Thursday, Feb. 17.
Below is a breakdown of the Daytona 500 qualifying procedure:
Daytona 500 Qualifying Day
• Each team may run two laps with the fast lap setting the qualifying time. The two fastest
qualifiers earn starting positions one and two and are the only guaranteed positions, filling the
front row for the Daytona 500.
• The Gatorade Duel at Daytona, two 150-mile qualifying races, will determine starting positions
for the Daytona 500 beyond the front row. In the event of cancellation, the field will be set
according to the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Rule Book.
Gatorade Duel
• The eligible highest ranked 35 in 2010 car owner points will be assigned to Gatorade Duel
races based on their final 2010 car owner points. Cars with odd-numbered owner points positions
will compete in the first Gatorade Duel race; even-numbered owner points positions will compete
in the second race.
• The only exception is that the fastest qualifier from Daytona 500 Qualifying will start on the
pole in the first Gatorade Duel race and the second fastest will start on the pole in the second
race, regardless of 2010 car owner point standings.
• Owners who failed to finish in the top 35 of the 2010 car owner points will be assigned to the
Gatorade Duel races based on qualifying times. The fastest qualifying owner goes to the first Duel
race; the next to the second race and alternating through remaining entries.
• The actual starting grids for the Gatorade Duel races are based on qualifying times.
Daytona 500 Lineup
• The two fastest qualifiers set starting positions one and two.
• Finishing positions in the Gatorade Duel races determine the other starting positions in the
Daytona 500.
• The top two non-top 35 teams in each Duel race will earn a spot in the Daytona 500.
• Based on their finish in the first Duel race, the eligible highest-ranked 35 in 2010 car owner
points plus the two highest finishing non-top 35 teams will be lined up on the inside row
(odd-number starting positions).
• Based on their finish in the second Duel race, the eligible highest-ranked 35 plus the two
highest finishing non-top 35 teams will be lined up on the outside row (even-number starting
positions).
• The remaining positions will be filled based on qualifying.
o If one or both cars on the front row are not top-35 teams, the number of cars that get in
based on time are reduced accordingly.
• The 43rd starting position will be assigned to any car owner who has the most recent eligible
past NASCAR Sprint Cup champion who did not make the 500 field by any other method providing
the driver competed in the 2010 NASCAR Sprint Cup season. If the 43rd position remains unused
it will be assigned to the next highest qualifying time.
Bottom line, here’s who gets locked into the Daytona 500 field:
– The top-two qualifiers from Sunday.
– The remaining top-35 guaranteed starters.
– Four drivers from the Gatorade Duel at Daytona (two non-top 35 from each race)
– Remaining drivers not making the field through the above methods can fall back on Sunday’s qualifying times or being a past champion.

Economy forces NASCAR tracks to backtrack

By Joe Dunn

Ten years ago NASCAR was experiencing a robust economy, it was the fastest growing fan sport in America.  Ticket sales were so brisk that many of the established tracks were quickly gearing up to add more seats.  The TV networks were battling each other over the right to broadcast races. NASCAR and the largest track owners, International Speedway Corporation (ISC) and Speedway Motorsports Inc. (SMI) were recording record profits.  They had a product so popular folks were begging them to take their money.
Two new tracks were opened in 2001 by ISC, Chicagoland Speedway and Kansas Speedway. Not to abandon the thoughts of increased profits both tracks prohibited fans from bringing coolers into the grandstand.  There was a specific prohibition against bringing any food or beverages into the grandstands.  This ensured the increased sales of highly overpriced food and beverages and a guarantee to maximum profits.
The older tracks allowed the long tradition of fans being able to bring coolers into the stands and the fear that race fan protest could effect ticket sales kept those policies in place. When the Twin Towers were attacked on September 11, 2001 the whole nation reeled in shock and horror that such an attack could have happened.  NASCAR quickly cancelled the race scheduled for that weekend as the government had grounded air traffic in a knee jerk reaction.  That pause gave NASCAR and the track owners time to consider a more permanent response.  They responded by using the fear instilled in Americans to finally take a swipe at those dreaded coolers.  “In the interest of security” NASCAR had developed a new marketing plan.  Knowing that the fans would protest outright bans on coolers, the plan was to downsize the coolers allowed.  From a 14”x14”x14” cooler allowed at most tracks, the new 6”x6”x 12” cooler rule was implemented. This size of course was not an industry standard size, but lucky for the fans, each track would have just such coolers available for sale.  The new rule did draw some protest, but NASCAR quickly waved the American flag and proclaimed the Patriotic nature of the change.
As the policy continued over the years, most tracks continued the upward spiral of ticket and concession prices, showing no mercy on the fans. However at Kansas Speedway the expected sellouts did not occur and as ticket sales continued to lag it forced the track in 2006 to join most of the other tracks with the 6x6x12 cooler policy. Of course at Chicagoland Speedway the ban continued, although they did allow fans to bring ONE factory sealed plastic bottle of water in with them.
When the nations economy tanked in 2008, the ticket renewals for 2009 suddenly slumped.  Track operators scrambled for a way to keep the fans coming back.  Some did media blitzes touting lower concession prices (usually lowered by a few pennies) and their overstated special fan activities.  Needless to say, all these new fan activities were coming at higher prices.  Some tracks that in the past had demanded that season ticket holders pay in advance, sometimes nearly a year in advance for their tickets, suddenly began payment plans.  These plans of course, did not involve any kind of price reductions.
Although ticket sales did fall in 2009, it wasn’t enough for NASCAR or the track operators to take it all that seriously.  When the 2010 season arrived it was obvious by the empty seats for the Daytona 500 that the lack of response was noticed by the fans.  When the series moved on to California Speedway, it was all but impossible for the TV cameras to avoid showing the thousands of empty seats.  In fairness of course, the left coast track has always had a dismal attendance record.  If these facts didn’t get their attention, it was in March when the series headed to Bristol Motor Speedway, a track that held the record of 55 straight sellouts for NASCAR’s top series events.  The cameras panned and attempted to miss the empty seats, but it was a lost cause.  The fans at home could clearly see the empty seats on the front stretch. Despite NASCAR and BMS claiming that the sellout only missed by about 22,000 seats, it was evident that the number was much higher, estimated to be 45,000 empty seats.
I did a story that week http://www.onpitroad.com/2010/03/bristol-sellout-is-no-more.html about the wake up call evolving from that race, and how BMS had made attempts to stop the bleeding.  In addition to the failure of the tracks to address the situation, I made an observation that the surrounding service industry refused to make any concessions on their part.  BMS has begun taking steps to address that and I will cover that in a later column.
Back to 2011, the wake up call has finally arrived at ISC headquarters and some new changes are coming in 2011.  The NORMAL size coolers are back!  Yep, you read that correctly.  The NEW Daytona international Speedway gate admission policy now allows the old familiar 14”x14”x14” soft sided coolers.  In addition, the 18” clear plastic bag rule has made way to allow one school sized backpack.  That’s a pretty good start, but I wonder if it has come too late.  OK, that takes care of Daytona, let’s see what’s happening at the other ISC tracks:
Phoenix International Raceway - Larger cooler, still 18x18 plastic bag
California Speedway- Small coolers, backpacks
Martinsville Speedway- Large cooler, backpack
Talladega Superspeedway- Large cooler-backpack
Richmond International Raceway - Large cooler, backpack
Darlington Raceway - Large cooler, 18x18 bags
Kansas Speedway - Larger cooler, backpack
Michigan International Speedway - Large cooler, backpack
Watkins Glen International - Large cooler, backpack
Chicagoland Speedway - Small cooler, no backpack
Homestead-Miami Speedway - Large cooler, backpack

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