Category: Auto Racing

Really…? Gordon… What was that?

Throughout the race it was evident that tapping on the left rear of a leading car at speed caused an undesirable result. You didn’t simply take the wind off the back causing a wobble and a move… You caused a massive loss of traction and control which put the lead car in a situation of pushing into others and you put yourself in a position to lose your own control and get into someone else.

Yes, Gordon… We know you wanted it but you did exactly what caused some big cautions earlier in the evening at Daytona. You got into Kyle Busch’s left rear. Busch went low and threw up a massive shower of sparks. Your front end washed and went high into two others, including teammate Johnson… You went into the wall, on your side, rolled a few times to be upside down.

We’re glad you are OK. We look forward to good things from you and the #24 this season. We’ll also concede that when you made the move, your outside was clear but by the time you went up that Daytona pavement it was crowded with sheet metal at speed. All in all it was a bad call and a move you’ve spoken out about in the past when it was the #24 in the garage after being crunched by a rookie move. You had a shot and blew it.

On Kyle Busch… Time and again he showed skill, determination and strategy in pulling the 18 out of trouble and back into position. Love him or hate him there is no doubt this guy can drive. At introductions he was jeered and booed… Gordon’s move with just a few laps left seemed to take all that negativity from the grandstands and pack it out the door.

Defending Sprint Cup Champion Tony Stewart was in the prime spot at the restart. Stewart was run down by a train on the outside. From what seemed like nowhere, Kyle Busch put the dented nose of the 18 into the draft of the 14 and the two pushed around to find the front yet again. Stewart looked ready to climb the podium but Busch slid from behind Stewart at just the right time and spot to roll by Stewart with that dented nose just in front for the win.

Busch took a car that was beat up and about as aerodynamic as the hauler that brought it and pushed it into victory lane at the Bud Shootout. Stewart took the flag on the inside and practically side by side with all the 14 could give but it just wasn’t enough against Kyle Busch.

Hats off to Kyle Busch and the #18 team for a drive, an effort, and a move that kept the 18 competitive to the win.

Stewart has nothing to hide and should be proud of a great Stewart-Haas race and result with the #14 team.

Gordon gave us footage for the 2012 highlight real and put a teammate into the garage.

The Bud Shootout. A preview of the Daytona 500 or a one-off to drive passion in NASCAR fans? We’ll find out next Sunday. Let’s go racing!

Someone… somewhere… must have a drawer full of Goody’s Headache Powders…

Whoever it is that tracks car numbers for NASCAR must be on the edge of their sanity. As the Daytona 500 grows closer more new driver announcements and number assignments are coming to the forefront.  The dart board used by the NASCAR Car Numbering Committee (or whatever it’s called) must be filling up. Where do these numbers come from? Is it like some kind of Lottery…? And where is ESPN when that goes down? Football has hours of TV for the player draft (could ANYTHING be more boring to watch…?).

Where is the NASCAR Numbering Show…? Wouldn’t it be cool to have all the drivers together and each is called to the stage to carry away their assigned number on a big placard?

Whatever…  It seems NASCAR owns the numbers. Each team submits some kind of form request to use that number each year. They pay some kind of fee to get it. Then they have the paint scheme designed and incorporate the number into the car, the driver’s suit, the promotion, and on and on… (more…)

The hibernation is over and there is activity in the garages as Speed Week opens at Daytona. We’ll be able to see some action and maybe get a surprise ending. Who could have called it beforehand that a young driver on his second Sprint Cup start would roll over the Daytona checkers for the oldest continuous team in NASCAR? Certainly there are eyes on Trevor Bayne and the Wood Brothers #21 Motorcraft Ford but what of other drivers and teams shifting and shaking for 2012.

Hint – If you want the LATEST on who is driving what for whom, don’t check nascar.com… Go to Jayski’s.

A simple example… How long has David Ragan been out of the #6 and UPS pulling for the bulk of the season…? There is even a front page story (2/15) on nascar.com all about Ragan in the #34 for Front Row Motorsports… Yet check the “Drivers” link and there he is, in UPS brown, sporting the #6. Hopefully, the folks in charge of the NASCAR home website will get this updated before the halfway point of the 500. (more…)

We see the news stories every day. So much so that it becomes almost routine. A terrorist detonates a bomb killing themselves and many others… Gunfire in any number of areas… An IED (Improvised Explosive Device) detonates killing and injuring those nearby…

It has become background noise to those of us who have not been there. It becomes a brief on the evening news or a small headline tucked on the inside pages of the newspaper. It is not so for those who come back and for those families of the ones who do not. Some bring back scars in their own mind to dwell with them for years to come. Still others return incomplete… Injured and broken… Such is the case of Corporal J. B. Kerns.

Cpl. Kerns is from a small town in the southwestern area of Virginia. Afghanistan is a long way away and a completely alien landscape to the hills and mountain views of Ararat, VA, yet Kerns was on a third tour of duty when an IED changed everything. He survived but with the loss of much of his right arm and both legs. Dozens of surgeries and hours of rehabilitation now have J.B. Kerns standing upright and walking but with the knowledge it is not all flesh and bone that carries his weight. There is much left to do. There are special needs for a young man like this, who is only now on the cusp of his 22nd birthday. He is home on American soil and soon will have a home of his own specifically built with these needs in mind thanks to the help from a Community, A Star and a Speedway. (more…)

Superbowl Sunday….  Really…? So what…?

It seems America shuts down for the Superbowl. Why…? The previews and predictions and the dissection of the minutia of the teams’ seasons leading up to this thing are mind-numbing. It is not just the sports programs going on and on about it, both before and after the game, but everybody on the TV seems to have some segment dedicated to the game. Regular news channels go on and on about the teams, the halftime show, the commercials…  Really?

Why…?

What do we get out of this game? As a fan, seriously…, what do you get from it? How is your day-to-day life affected by the game of football? You may get some blather around the water cooler about “the game” yesterday…  You might even win a few bucks if you play the points… But what do you really get from it? What do any of us get from it? (more…)

Michael Shank Racing went from driver to owner to the podium at Daytona. The #60 Ford / Riley Daytona Prototype dominated the course to take the checkered with a comfortable margin over the next car to cross, also a Ford. The drivers kept cool heads and fast lap times while the entire team put in the effort to take the win. AJ Allmendinger, Ozz Negri, John Pew and Justin Wilson put in a great performance with Allmendinger (NASCAR) at the wheel at the finish. AJ maintained the lead for several hours leading to the end. Fords rolled over the line 1-2-3 with Michael Shank Racing taking the first and third spots with Starworks Motorsport in the second slot. (more…)

The famed ROLEX 24 is getting underway with drivers from Indy, NASCAR, Formula 1 and others joining the standard series team drivers to run the 50th anniversary of this iconic and exciting race.

Of course we expect to see stars from the racing world in the cockpits of these machines such as Dario Fracnchitti from Indy, Michael Waltrip from NASCAR (in a Ferrari, nonetheless!) and Giancarlo Fisichella of Formula 1. However, how many know that Patrick Dempsey (TV / Movie Star) is a team owner and regular driver for this Grand-Am series? He’ll be among those in the driver’s seat for the ROLEX 24 in his GT Mazda. (more…)