April 7, 2003
- How did Johnson end up ahead of Wallace? been asked this quite a bit today, after #48-Jimmie Johnson got together with #23-Kenny Wallace towards the end of the race, Johnson spun and lost the lead draft and Wallace continued on, BUT Wallace ran out of fuel a few hundred feet after the incident with Johnson and finished 17th, Johnson finished 15th.(Speed Channel’s Inside Winston Cup – Kenny Wallace, also the #77 crew chief, Bootie Barker is the hot seat guest this week)(4-7-2003)
- Talladega Early TV Ratings Down: Nielsen says Fox’s broadcast of Sunday’s Aaron’s 499 Winston Cup race from Talladega Superspeedway drew an overnight 5.7 rating and a 12 share, according to today’s Sports Business Daily. The figures were well off the final numbers for 2002 Talladega race, which was run two weeks later and drew a 7.0/16, but all sports programming appears to be continuing to feel the impact of the war with Iraq. The Daily reports that the two NCAA basketball tournament semifinal games were off 30 percent and 25 percent.(Winston Cup Scene Daily Newsletter), past ratings on my 2003 TV Ratings page.(4-7-2003)
- Testing at Richmond UPDATE Postponed: The first NASCAR testing of the season at Richmond International Raceway starts next week, as NASCAR Busch Series drivers #2-Ron Hornaday, #21?/43?-Johnny Sauter and #00-Troy Cline are scheduled to test on Tuesday, April 8 and Wednesday, April 9. Scheduled to test NASCAR Winston Cup Series cars April 15-16 are #21-Ricky Rudd and #97-Kurt Busch along with #31-Dave Blaney, #18-Coy Gibbs, #59-Stacey Compton, #32-Lyndon Amick, #8-Martin Truex Jr., and #19-Chad Blount who will test NASCAR Busch Series cars. #40-Sterling Marlin [Cup] and #01-Jason Rudd -Busch] will test on April 16-17 only. More drivers are expected to test on April 22-23 and other drivers may be added to the two other sessions. Fans are invited to watch testing each day. The gates will be open from 9:00am to 5:00pm/et each day. The Pontiac Excitement 400 NASCAR Winston Cup Series race on Saturday, May 3 is sold out, but tickets still remain for the Hardee’s 250 NASCAR Busch Series race on Friday, May 3.(RIR PR)(4-4-2003)
UPDATE: Richmond International Raceway says Busch Series tests planned for Tuesday and Wednesday have been postponed because of expected bad weather. The track says Ron Hornaday, one of three drivers expected this week, has rescheduled his test to next week. The track says Ricky Rudd and Kurt Busch are scheduled to test their Winston Cup cars April 15 and 16, along with Busch Series drivers Dave Blaney, Coy Gibbs, Stacey Compton, Lyndon Amick, Martin Truex Jr., Chad Blount and Hornaday. Sterling Marlin and Jason Rudd will test on April 16 and 17, and more drivers are expected April 22-23. The track says gates will be open from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. each day of testing for fans who want to watch and says updated lists of drivers will be posted at www.rir.com.(Winston Cup Scene Daily Newsletter)(4-7-2003) - The Earnhardt Jr Pass: Illegal or Not: blurbs from a few sites:
Dale Earnhardt Jr.’s pass below the out-of-bounds line with four laps to go at Talladega might have drawn a penalty some other day. After all, judgment calls differ from week to week. But on this day, it was the “safe” call. Had a black flag prevented Junior from winning his fourth consecutive Winston Cup race at Talladega, there might have been a riot. Junior has fans everywhere but none more vocal than at Talladega. Give him credit — he started at the rear, overcame a damaged front end and didn’t have teammate Michael Waltrip for drafting help at the end. Junior’s car was solid, but his driving talent won the race. Thirty-eighth in points after two races, he now stands second just six races later.(Sporting News)Kevin Harvick’s crew chief, Todd Berrier, did. He went to the NASCAR hauler and reviewed the tape with NASCAR officials. “I guarantee if Kevin was an inch below the yellow line they would park him,” Berrier said before looking at the replay. “The rule is you can’t go below the yellow line period. It’s that simple.” Berrier was somewhat mollified after seeing the tape, saying the move was “probably too close to call” and that “I think the right decision was probably made.” Kenseth had no opinion on the yellow-line pass Earnhardt Jr. made, but wondered why Harvick chose to go with the eventual winner in the final push. “He was pushing me really good and we had a run on the outside of the 8,” Kenseth said. “He (Harvick) kind of faked right like he was going to go with me and then he went behind the 8. …Everybody makes his own decisions. I couldn’t win without somebody pushing me … but if you line up behind the 8 it’s hard to beat him.”(ThatsRacin.com)Crossing the yellow line considered out of bounds by NASCAR, Earnhardt outdueled Matt Kenseth in the Aaron’s 499 with a pivotal move that triggered another controversy in NASCAR’s Winston Cup Series. “It’s unfortunate that that’s going to get all the publicity and not the four in a row,” Earnhardt said. Replays indicated Earnhardt and Kenseth appeared to be side by side as Earnhardt’s car moved well below the line in Turn 3, but Earnhardt claimed he already had cleared Kenseth’s Ford. “I ran [below the line] to keep from running into him,” Earnhardt said. “By that time, I was already past him.” Johnson, who led a race-high 65 laps, begged to differ. “He was clearly below the yellow line,” Johnson said. “I didn’t think it was a legal pass.” Runner-up Kevin Harvick and third-place finisher Elliott Sadler both claimed not to have seen the pass. But when asked if he would have been penalized for making the same move, Harvick offered a guarded response. “That’s a good question,” Harvick said. “I’ll plead the fifth on that one.” Others were less diplomatic. “It looks like they gave it to the ‘8’ car,” pole-sitter Jeremy Mayfield said. “He can do what he wants to do.” In the prerace drivers meeting, race director David Hoots said NASCAR would black-flag cars that improved their position by crossing the yellow line that circles the bottom of the 2.66-mile track. Steve Park was black-flagged for passing Joe Nemechek below the line midway through yesterday’s race, but NASCAR spokesman Jim Hunter said Earnhardt wasn’t penalized because his pass didn’t improve his position.(Richmond Times Dispatch)Jim Hunter, NASCAR vp/communications, offered this explanation: “This was a judgment call, very obviously,” he said. “In our opinion, there is no question he went below the yellow line. Where the judgemnt call comes into effect [was that he] did not go below the yellow line to improve his position. He had already passed the 17 car when he went below the yellow line. We based our opinion on reviews of the tapes both in the tower at the time and after the race.” Many saw the matter differently, with NASCAR having used the black flag earlier in the race, without apparent review or reservation, against Earnhardt teammate Steve Park. The rule also has been invoked in similar cases in the past, notably with Tony Stewart at Daytona in 2001. NASCAR’s non-ruling, and yet another victory by Junior at the big track, did nothing to diminish suspicions that NASCAR somehow favors Earnhardt Jr., suspicions Hunter flatly denied.(Speed Channel)from a GM Press Release – GM Racing notes – Post-race, Talladega: EARNHARDT, JR. (Would You Like To See The Yellow Line Removed?) …..”Another thing – I’ll be reading on Jayski (jayski.com) all these articles and for any of you suns of guns that are wanting to talk (expletive) about me – you know where you can go.”(SpeedwayMedia.com)
AND from ThatsRacin.com: Earnhardt Jr. talks about ‘The Pass’
See my Article/Story/Columns Links page for a Plethora of columns/article on the matter.(4-7-2003)
- Seeking speed, General Mills turns to NASCAR: When General Mills wanted to cut the time it takes to make a product changeover at a Betty Crocker plant, it turned to NASCAR for help. The food company sent a team to work with a Winston Cup pit crew “because nobody can change over a car faster than these guys can,” said Randy Darcy, senior vice president of General Mills’ supply chain operations. After studying the NASCAR crew, General Mills cut to 12 minutes — from as long as 2 1/2 to 4 1/2 hours — the time it takes to switch production lines from one Betty Crocker meal to another. One thing the mechanics learned from working with the NASCAR pit crew was to videotape each of the changeovers, then critique everything that happened.(Atlanta Journal-Constitution)(4-7-2003)
- Four Straight nice, Seven is the record: Dale Earnhardt Jr.’s win was his fourth straight at Talladega, breaking a tie with Buddy Baker for consecutive wins at the track, but it is not the first time a driver has gone four-fer at one track. Bill Elliott was the last driver to do it, winning four straight at Michigan International Speedway in 1985-86. The all-time record is seven straight, co-held by Richard Petty (Richmond, 1970-73) and Darrell Waltrip (Bristol, 1981-84).(The State)(4-7-2003)
- Skinner and Kenseth – No DNF’s at ‘Dega: #4-Mike Skinner and #17-Matt Kenseth are the only active drivers with at least three starts at Talladega who have not posted at least one DNF. Skinner has been running at the end of all 12 of his Winston Cup starts at Talladega, even though he was involved in Sunday’s big wreck. Kenseth had done that for seven races.(Alabama Live)(4-7-2003)
- The Flying Tire: Winston Cup officials recovered the tire from Ryan Newman’s car and planned to study why a tether failed to keep it from bouncing out of Talladega Superspeedway in Sunday’s race. Newman’s left front wheel cleared the catch fence off turn 2 where there weren’t any grandstands. The tire hit a parked car. No one was injured, a track spokesperson said. Goodyear lists a left front tire as weighing 24.3 pounds. Newman’s tire was heavier because part of the steel front spindle remained attached. NASCAR requires teams to tether the front spindles to the car to prevent a wheel from coming off. The rule book states that teams must use steel fiber cables or Vectran fiber cables to tether the wheel.(Roanoke Times)(4-7-2003)
- Traction Control to be watched at Martinsville: NASCAR will employ “special help” to monitor teams for traction control this weekend at Martinsville, where spinning the tires coming off the corners is a big concern.(Sporting News)(4-7-2003)
- Wind Tunnel Plans Canceled: NASCAR canceled plans to take cars to the wind tunnel for aerodynamic testing after watching Sunday’s race. “After that race, I reconvinced myself that the cars are evenly matched,” said Winston Cup director John Darby. “A Dodge led, a Ford led, a Chevrolet led, and I think Ricky Craven in a Pontiac might even have led a lap. And at the end of the race, all four makes were running up front.” Wind tunnel testing is done to make sure all makes are aerodynamically equal, something NASCAR is trying to make certain of this year through common templates. But Darby had been reluctant so far this season to test the cars to make sure his process was working. He said Sunday he had since reconsidered and was all set to take the cars to the wind tunnel following the race. Instead, the big white haulers that normally transport the cars sat idle on pit road with Darby convinced the test was not needed.(ThatsRacin.com/AP)(4-7-2003)
- Busch vs Stewart: Kurt Busch and Tony Stewart met after the race to discuss their incident. Busch and Greg Biffle got together and sent Busch into Stewart’s car on lap 90. Stewart banged the wall and had to go to the garage for repairs. He returned to finish 25th. Busch placed 19th. “He ended up on my outside when Biffle pinched me up against him,” Busch said of Stewart. “It was like I ended up running into him purposely; it was just an accident.” Stewart was unavailable for comment after the race.(Roanoke Times) AND as seen on Speed Channel’s NASCAR Victory Lane, Busch squirted Stewart as the two walked away from each other after Stewart confronted Busch about the incident that put Tony in the wall. Stewart basically did not react or notice.
AND Busch’s comments on the accident: Teammates Greg Biffle and Kurt Busch banged Fords late in the race and each fell out of contention after running with the leaders. Biffle, who finished 22nd, seemed to race up the track in front of Busch. That caused Busch, who finished 19th, to plow into defending Cup champ Tony Stewart. Stewart, who was already struggling, finished 25th. And though Stewart had words with Busch after the race, Busch said it wasn’t his fault. “We were on the lead lap and my deal was I had a 10-mph run on my teammate, and he pulled out in front of me,” Busch said. “That’s fine. But we ended up running out of racetrack and we wrecked. I had a pretty good run and didn’t expect him to come up like that.” Biffle said he thought Busch would take another line, one higher up than the one Biffle steered into. “Anybody can get a run on somebody and pass them on a restart, but I thought we had established the inside lane,” he said. “I wished he would have gotten on the brakes a little and not had that happen.”(News and Observer)(4-7-2003) - Talladega Sweep: Dale Earnhardt Jr became the first driver to sweep both major [NASCAR] events on a single NASCAR weekend since Burton won Busch Series and Winston Cup events at Phoenix International Raceway in November 2000. Earnhardt also won the Aaron’s 312, a Busch Series race, on Saturday.(Gaston Gazette) AND By winning the Busch race and the Winston Cup race at Daytona over the weekend, Earnhardt became the fourth driver to accomplish the feat at Talladega. The others were Ernie Irvan in 1992, Dale Earnhardt Sr. in 1993 and Mark Martin in 1997.(Alabama Live)(4-7-2003)
- Snake Oil? Word in the garage: Some teams are using oxygenated oil additives that can boost an engine’s horsepower by five to 15. Winston Cup Series director John Darby says the “snake oil” has been reported for a while, and his officials have taken random samples at Daytona and Talladega to try to determine what is out there. NASCAR always has taken a stringent stand against using additives in gasoline and might take a similar approach with oil. One owner whose team used oil additives last year says there is an increased risk of engine failure. Additives put a strain on the engine’s rings because the oxygen reduces the oil’s ability to lubricate.(Sporting News)(4-7-2003)
- Petty still hurtin’ but makes it thru: Kyle Petty finished a season-high 11th despite racing with two cracked ribs. It wasn’t easy. “My ribs hurt so bad and my back hurt so bad that I just rode around for the first 170 laps,” Petty said as he walked in the garage but kept his left arm still. “I told them to tell me when there were 15 laps to go and we’ll race.”(Roanoke Times)(4-7-2003)
- 2004 Taurus News: Ford’s new Taurus for 2004 has made it to the wind tunnel. The current model has been in competition for four years and needs a face-lift, but Ford engineers aren’t optimistic that gains will be made now that common templates are being used. The car body must be submitted to NASCAR by July 1 and the components by September 1.(Sporting News)(4-7-2003)
- Dale Earnhardt Tribute Car Captures Best of Show Award: Inspired by the work ethic of his favorite NASCAR driver, Larry Cheffer claimed overall Best of Show honors for his 1984 Chevrolet Monte Carlo during the Food Lion AutoFair Awards Ceremony Sunday at Lowe’s Motor Speedway. The Kankakee, Ill., body shop owner began restoring the jet-black car five years ago and put more than 3,500 hours into what became a labor of love. “I wanted to quit working on the car so many times, but I thought about Dale Earnhardt and his never give up, do whatever it takes attitude,” stated Cheffer. “I started rebuilding the car as a tribute to him, and then after his death, it became a memorial. My wife and I didn’t celebrate our 25th wedding anniversary because we were trying to get the car finished for this trip to Charlotte. It’s the first time I’ve ever shown the car and I’m just overwhelmed at the response to it.” Cheffer returns to Illinois with two additional pieces of hardware including the Lion Cup (Best Paint, as chosen by Food Lion representative Mark Miller) and a Best of Show trophy from the Southern Rods and Classics Club.(LMS PR)(4-7-2003)
- Rumblings – Talladega: About the only thing different about today’s Talladega Winston Cup event was we had the “Big One” early on (lap 4 to be precise)….but it still got wild (as usual) at the end. Dale Earnhardt Jr got his four-peat today (no one else has graced Victory Lane since Bobby Hamilton won her in April of 2001), but it was not without a struggle. Engine change (to the back), damage in the “Big One” (sheet metal flapping in the breeze), a controversial pass late under Matt Kenseth …..just another typical Talladega race.
Now, while I [Henry] feel the pass was legal, I’ve gotta question NASCAR’s call. It appears (as usual) that the only thing consistent in NASCAR is their inconsistency. Last week (in the BGN race at Texas) they said that Brian Vickers had to be penalized because he was “in the act of passing” when, in NASCAR’s opinion, he jumped the start. Today, when Little E had two tires under the yellow “out of bounds” line, NASCAR said he was “in the act of passing”. So, which is it?
Jr is now tied with Kyle Petty for 50th on the all-time win list (with 8), and DEI has won 8 of the last 10 plate races.
16 different leaders today….that’s the most since we were here in April of 2001 when we had 26.
#29-Kevin Harvick (2nd) had his best finish since he won at Chicagoland last July.
#38-Elliott Sadler (3rd) had his best finish since he was runner-up at Darlington in March of 2002.
#5-Terry Labonte (5th) had his best finish since he was 3rd at Infineon Raceway last June.
#22-Ward Burton (7th) had his best finish since he was 5th at Martinsville last October.
#45-Kyle Petty (11th) had his best finish since he was 10th here last April.
#43-John Andretti (14th) had his best finish since he was 14th at Phoenix last November.
#74-Tony Raines (16th) had his career-best finish today. His previous best was 24th twice….the last of which was at Atlanta last month.
STREAKIN…..Matt Kenseth has 7 Top-10’s in a row. Dale Earnhardt Jr has 5 Top-10’s in the last 6 races. Jeff Gordon has 4 Top-10’s in the last 5 races.
This Week’s Elevator….UP: Operator of the Week is Tony Raines (+27), followed by John Andretti (+26), and Terry Labonte (+23). DOWN: The Big Dropper was Ryan Newman (-31), followed by Casey Mears (-30), and Johnny Benson (-24). With that 27 car melee that started as far up as it did you would have expected more activity in this category, eh?(NOTE: this is Official Starting positions, not if a driver falls to the rear of the field for an engine/driver/car change)
Terry Labonte led one lap today…it’s the first time he’s led since he was on the point twice for 11 laps at Martinsville Speedway in April of ’02. Ward Burton led three times for 5 laps today….it’s the first time he’s led since he was up front at Atlanta las October for 4 laps. 32 different drivers have now led (not too shabby when you consider we’ve only had 48 different drivers compete this season).(Henry Dubret from StockCarFans.Com Winston Cup Newsletter)(4-7-2003)
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