April 28, 2009
- Sad News – David Poole: David Poole, NASCAR Writer for Charlotte Observer for the last 13 years, passed away today. David was one the first writers to ever help Jayski.com and myself back in 1997. No word on arrangements. Thoughts go out to David’s family.
From the Charlotte Observer/Thatsracin: Over thousands of backstretches and hundreds of checkered flags, David Poole made himself into more than one of the nation’s leading authorities on NASCAR. He became a part of the sport he loved. “David Poole was as much a fixture in this sport as the actual cars themselves,” driver Dale Earnhardt Jr. said Tuesday. “He was a one-of-a-kind individual and an extremely talented writer.” Poole, who covered racing for the Observer, died of a heart attack Tuesday at his Stanly County home. He was 50. A native of Gastonia, N.C., Poole became the Observer’s NASCAR writer in 1997. He built a national following through ThatsRacin.com and a daily program he hosted on Sirius NASCAR Radio. The National Motorsports Press Association four times named him its writer of the year. He wrote about the sport with the enthusiasm of a fan and the critical eye of a journalist. “He could be controversial from time to time but he always wrote and spoke what he believed,” said Richard Childress, president and CEO Richard Childress Racing. “He didn’t pull any punches with anybody and that’s what people respected about him. He was good for the sport.”
To honor Poole, Sirius plans to broadcast a tribute Wednesday morning. NASCAR plans a moment of silence before Saturday’s race at Richmond.
“He was truly one of the nation’s best and he always wrote what he believed,” said Bruton Smith, chairman and CEO of Speedway Motorsports. “Whether you agreed with him or not, he made us all think, and that’s what the best writers do. He cared about what he did and had a passion for his work. It came through in what he wrote every day.”
In announcing Poole’s death to a hushed newsroom Tuesday afternoon, Observer editor Rick Thames called him “the best in his field, there’s no doubt about that.” Thames said: “David Poole was the fans’ reporter, always covering NASCAR with their sensibilities in mind. Their passions were his passions. Their values, his values. If that occasionally clashed with the powerbrokers of the sport, so be it. David told it like it was. And by doing that, he made the sport richer and more genuine for all who love it.”
After dramatic weekend crashes at Talledega – one of which sent two spectators to hospitals – Poole criticized the track’s design in a column headlined “Will it take a death for Talladega to change?”
“It seems we’ve decided we can live with that much damage being done to the sport’s customers for ‘good racing,’” he wrote. “How many people have to be listed in ‘guarded’ or ‘critical’ condition before we say that’s too much?”
Poole graduated from journalism school at UNC Chapel Hill in 1981. He took a job at the Virginian Pilot in Norfolk but was there just two months when he got a call from the Gastonia Gazette, where he eventually became sports editor. In 1989 he left for a newspaper in Palm Beach but returned a year later for a job at the Observer in part to be closer to his family. After taking over the motorsports beat from Tom Higgins a few years later, it didn’t take him long to make his mark. “I’d go in restaurants in Mooresville and people would say, ‘Did you read what Poole wrote today?’” Higgins said. “And I’d say that’s the first thing I read.” Early last year, Poole told the story of Wessa Miller, a Kentucky girl with spina bifida and a passion for Dale Earnhardt. He recounted how in 1998 she met her idol at the Daytona 500, a race Earnhardt had never won. She gave him a lucky penny, which he glued to his dashboard before going on to win his first 500. A few months after he wrote the story, Poole learned that Wessa’s father faced unexpected heart surgery. Poole started an account called “Pennies For Wessa” to help the family through its troubles.
Guest book: Post your condolences.(4-28-2009) - Racing Resources Says …
* Brad Keselowski won the Aaron’s 499 at Talladega Superspeedway.
* Keselowski, who started ninth, led only the final lap — the first lap he has led in his Cup career. It is the first time in series history that a race winner’s first lap led was to win the race.
* It was Keselowski’s fifth career Cup start. He is the 27th driver to win within five starts, and fourth in the modern era, joining Mark Donahue, Kevin Harvick and Jamie McMurray.
* Keselowski became the 38th different race winner in 80 Cup races at Talladega. He became the 10th driver to score his first Cup win at Talladega. The last first-time Cup winner was Clint Bowyer at New Hampshire in September 2007.
* Keselowski’s victory is the first Cup win by Phoenix Racing in 117 races. This was Keselowski’s first start in the #09 of Phoenix Racing. He did not qualify at Daytona earlier this year. This was the fifth race for the #09 this season. The team DNQ’d in the other four.
* Chevrolet has dominated at Talladega with 34 victories, followed by Ford with 17, Dodge with three and Toyota with two.
* A Chevrolet has won 18 of the past 21 races at Talladega.
* The 57 lead changes were the 10th most at Talladega. The all-time record of 75 came here in May 1984.
* Dale Earnhardt Jr. finished second, posting his third top-10 finish in 2009. It marked his best finish of the season.
* This is the fourth victory for Chevrolet in 2009, all in the past four races.
* Kurt Busch (sixth) took over as the leader of the Cup standings by five points over second-place Jeff Gordon. This is the first time Busch has led the points since he led after Las Vegas in March 2005, 149 races ago.
* Ryan Newman (third) posted his first top-5 finish in 2009.
* Marcos Ambrose (fourth) scored his second career top-5 in 20 career races. It is his best finish in 2009.
* Scott Speed (fifth) was the highest-finishing rookie. This was the first time a rookie of the year contender has finished in the top 10 since David Ragan finished 10th at Homestead in November 2007. Joey Logano finished 10th. The last time there were two rookies to finish in the top 10 was when there were three at Homestead in November 2006.
* Jeff Burton (10th) has scored seven straight top-15 finishes.
* Elliott Sadler (19th) posted his best finish since finishing fifth at Daytona. Sadler has finished 20th or worse in the seven non-restrictor-plate races.
* Denny Hamlin (22nd) ended a streak of five straight top-15 finishes.
* Tony Stewart (23rd) ended a streak of three straight top-5 finishes.
* Jeff Gordon (37th) posted his worst finish of the season. He has finished 13th or better in seven of the nine races this season.
* Mark Martin (43rd) ended a streak of four straight top-10 finishes that dated to Bristol.
* The top 10 consisted of four Chevrolets, four Toyotas, one Dodge and one Ford.(ESPN)(4-28-2009) - Goodyear returns to Indy to test tires this week: The Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company will return to the Indianapolis Motor Speedway this Wednesday to continue its testing program for this year’s Brickyard 400 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race at the track this July 24-26. This week’s one-day session is a continuation from a rain-shortened test at the Speedway last week. Goodyear held three different sessions at Indianapolis last September to begin the testing program, and made some good strides toward this year’s tire recommendation at that time. After the long winter, the tire manufacturer picked up where it left off at the historic, 2.5-mile track. Rain slowed the on-track activity last Monday and Tuesday, forcing Goodyear and the four Sprint Cup teams it was working with to stay through Wednesday. Participating last week were #17-Matt Kenseth (Ford), #39-Ryan Newman (Chevrolet), #43-Reed Sorenson (Dodge) and #83-Brian Vickers (Toyota).
“The goal was to build upon what we’ve learned up to this point. We started last week on the control tire from last fall, the one that enabled us to make some 25-lap runs at the time. We went on to evaluate some additional compounds and constructions and we just didn’t see the same results,” said Greg Stucker, Goodyear’s Director of Race Tire Sales. “The one thing we know that changed over the winter was the amount of rubber on the race track. Our test last week was the first on-track activity since our fall tests, and the race track is much greener than we saw at that time. We’re not getting the wear levels we’d like to see at this point.”
As a result, Goodyear has decided to return to Indianapolis for a continuation test this coming Wednesday. “The track worked with us, the teams have worked with us and our guys at the Goodyear Tech Center have produced some additional development tires in just a few days so we can continue our testing this week,” said Stucker. “Even though the wear wasn’t the same as we saw last fall, the drivers were happy with the handling characteristics of this set-up. Our challenge right now is to not overreact to last week’s results because we know the track will be different after the Indianapolis 500 in May. That’s why we have a multi-car confirmation test scheduled in June in preparation for our race in July.“
Three of the four teams from last week will return this Wednesday for the continuation test — those of Kenseth, Newman and Vickers. Sorenson and his team could not make it back this week and will be replaced by #9-Kasey Kahne. “Like all tire testing at Goodyear, this is a process,” said Stucker. “Our goal is to always bring the best performing, most competitive tires to the race track. Indy certainly presents a challenge and we are committed to getting it right.”(Goodyear PR)(4-28-2009) - Sprint Pit Crew Challenge Format Remains Same
The 2009 NASCAR Sprint Pit Crew Challenge presented by Craftsman, a fan-friendly event that features competition between the series’ top pit crews, is scheduled for 7:00pm/et Thursday, May 14 at the Time Warner Cable Arena. Tickets start at $15 and can be purchased online at www.pitcrewchallenge.com or by calling Ticketmaster at (800) 495-2295. SPEED’s broadcast of the event begins at 9:00pm/et.
Returning for its fifth consecutive year, the NASCAR Sprint Pit Crew Challenge presented by Craftsman is the only indoor event sanctioned by NASCAR and is one of the highlights of the week leading up to the 25th running of the NASCAR Sprint All-Star Race Saturday, May 16 at Lowe’s Motor Speedway. The format for this year’s event remains the same as a year ago.
Eligibility:
All teams qualified for the 2009 NASCAR Sprint All-Star Race, which includes NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race winners from 2008 and 2009, NASCAR Sprint All-Star Race winners of the past 10 years and NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Champions of the past 10 years who are active drivers and have competed in at least one NASCAR Sprint Cup Series event during the 2008 or 2009 season. Also eligible is the 2008 NASCAR Sprint Pit Crew Challenge winner. If there are no new event winners, the remaining unfilled positions will become available to the car owners ranked highest in the 2009 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series owner point standings as of May 13, 2009, who are not otherwise eligible for this event.
The current eligible teams are: #2 Miller Lite Dodge; #5 Kellogg’s Chevy; #09 Miccosukee Chevy; #9 Budweiser Dodge; #11 FedEx Toyota; #14 Office Depot Chevy; #16 3M Ford; #17 DeWALT Ford; #18 Mars Toyota; #24 DuPont Chevy; #29 Shell Chevy; #31 Caterpillar Chevy; #33 General Mills Chevy; #39 Army Chevy; #48 Lowe’s Chevy; #83 Red Bull Toyota; #88 Amp/National Guard Chevy; #96 Ask.com Ford; and #99 Aflac Ford.(PR), see the rules on my Pit Crew News page.(4-28-2009) - ESPN’S NASCAR Coverage Earns 19th Sports Emmy Award: ESPN’s coverage of NASCAR earned its 19th Sports Emmy Award, among five presented to ESPN by the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences Monday night in New York. The NASCAR award was for Technical Team Studio in the 2008 season and honored the ESPN Pit Studio and Craftsman Tech Garage, two mobile studio facilities utilized across ESPN platforms. “We’re humbled that our efforts associated with both the ESPN Pit Studio and the ESPN Craftsman Tech Garage were recognized,” said Rich Feinberg, ESPN vice president, motorsports. “Both are unique in our industry and are used as key elements of our NASCAR coverage.” For its NASCAR Countdown studio shows that precede all NASCAR race telecasts, ESPN originates from the Pit Studio. The studio, which weighs nearly 78,000 pounds and travels all season, allows ESPN to bring the look and feel of its Bristol, Conn.,-based studio shows such as SportsCenter and Sunday NFL Countdown to the tracks. Host Allen Bestwick and analysts Rusty Wallace and Brad Daugherty man the pit studio for ESPN. The mobile pit studio is outfitted with state-of-the-art LED lighting, robotic HD cameras and a dramatic, contoured, video display fronting the anchor desk. Situated near the pits at every track, the studio is elevated 14 feet while in use and 30 foot glass windows give viewers a look at the cars, grandstands and pageantry prior to the race start. The ESPN Craftsman Tech Garage is an enclosed studio that contains two ESPN Chevy Cutaway Cars. The studio also has room for displays of other race car elements such as engines, transmissions and shock absorbers. ESPN’s Tim Brewer, a two-time NASCAR champion crew chief, and other ESPN analysts report from the Tech Garage during race telecasts to help viewers better understand the technical and mechanical aspects of NASCAR racing. The ESPN Craftsman Tech Garage allows ESPN to present segments in the telecasts that originate from an enclosed, controlled environment with no exterior interference, adding to the viewing experience and giving NASCAR fans more information. ESPN has now won 128 Sports Emmy Awards in 21 years of eligibility.(ESPN PR)(4-28-2009)
- Some Sprint Cup Driver Notes:
• #2-Kurt Busch is the new points leader, overtaking #24-Jeff Gordon by five points. Gordon held the top spot for the last six races. Busch, after a Talladega finish of sixth, assumes the lead for the first time since March 13, 2005.
• #5-Mark Martin’s victory parade is short lived. After his win at Phoenix, Martin moved to 13th-place. But after only his sixth 43rd-place finish in 731 starts, Martin fell 18th. He is now 92 points outside the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup cut-off.
• #39-Ryan Newman lands on the Chase bubble. Newman, who finished third at Talladega, has shrugged off a slow start that saw four consecutive finishes outside the top 20. He is now just 30 points outside the top 12. Only six races ago, Newman was 32nd in the points.
• #16-Greg Biffle and #9-Kasey Kahne are going in opposite directions. Biffle, off three consecutive top 10s, is back in the top 12. Kahne, coming off four consecutive finishes outside the top 10, got bounced from the top 12 and sits 14th.
• #47-Marcos Ambrose is the biggest mover this week, vaulting seven spots up the standings. His fourth-place finish at Talladega (which was his second career top five) moved him into the top 20.(NASCAR PR)(4-28-2009) - Team Owner Larry McClure sentenced: As he was about to be sentenced Monday for federal income tax fraud, those in the courtroom stood up for Larry McClure [owner of the #4 Chevy in Sprint Cup Series, three Daytona 500 wins]. Supporters of the motorsports icon filled the courtroom, which was too small to hold them. Family members, friends, giants of the stock car racing world – around 50 people– spilled into the hallway, stood on benches and stood shoulder to shoulder in solidarity with McClure and his family. Junior Johnson, the fabled moonshiner-turned-dirt track racer and NASCAR team owner, turned out. Joy Stata, a Florida native, was there to support the man who put her hometown of Bartow on the racing map. Jeff Byrd, president of Bristol Motor Speedway, stood outside, having arrived too late to get a seat.
Inside the courtroom of Judge James P. Jones, McClure made his last public mea culpa. “I’d like to apologize to you, the court,” he told Jones, chief judge for the Western District of Virginia. “To the opposing counsel, to my family, my God. His will be done, whatever you decide.” Jones’ decision ushered in a stunned silence, punctuated by sniffles: McClure will serve 18 months in prison, the low end of the sentencing range. For McClure’s supporters, it was a crushing end to a three-year criminal investigation that has taken a toll on him personally and financially. McClure pleaded guilty in January to five counts of filing a false income tax return, obstructing the federal investigation and lying to Internal Revenue Service investigators.
In addition to the prison time, McClure was fined $40,000, ordered to reimburse the IRS $25,000 for its investigation, and to pay nearly $60,000 in restitution to Eastman-Kodak for filing a false invoice. He was also ordered to refile his personal income tax returns for 2002, 2003 and 2004. During those years, McClure admitted to accepting $269,000 in cash payments from a friend in exchange for services provided by Morgan-McClure Motorsports, of which McClure is a part owner. He did not report the income to the corporation or on his personal tax returns, and owes the government just over $100,000. (Bristol Herald Courier)(4-28-2009) - Sad News – Pamela Roberts Trivette: Pamela Roberts Trivette, the only child of the late NASCAR legend Glenn “Fireball” Roberts, died Sunday at her home in Rockledge. The cause of death has not been announced. She was 58. Fireball Roberts, of course, is the Apopka native who became one of the first NASCAR superstars, winning 33 races, including the Daytona 500. He died on July 2, 1964, after being badly burned in a crash at Charlotte weeks earlier. Pam, as she was known to the NASCAR community, was active in Daytona Beach-area historical functions, and maintained a Web site dedicated to her father at www.fireball22.com. Motorsports historian Roland Via has a tribute to Pam at the Web site he maintains, www.fireballroberts.com, which also has a link to an excellent profile on Pam by Florida Today writer Mark DeCotis, which talks about the book she was writing on her father.(Orlando Sentinel)(4-28-2009)
- Centennial Era Balloon Festival at Indy: The famed Energizer Bunny “Hot Hare” Balloon – the world’s tallest hot air balloon – will be among the many colorful participants in the Centennial Era Balloon Festival presented by AT&T Real Yellow Pages on May 1-3 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. The “Hot Hare” likeness of the Energizer Bunny, which has been the star of entertaining Energizer Battery commercials since October 1989, stands at 175 feet when fully inflated – 25 feet taller than the Statue of Liberty. The balloon, along with many other colorful hot air balloons, will participate in a full weekend of activities as the Indianapolis Motor Speedway kicks off its Centennial Era celebration, honoring the founding and construction of the iconic Speedway in 1909. The Centennial Era Balloon Festival presented by AT&T Real Yellow Pages will feature balloon “glows” open to the public Friday night, May 1 and Saturday night, May 2, plus balloon races Saturday morning, May 2 and Sunday morning, May 3. It’s an appropriate start to the Centennial Era, as a balloon event on June 5, 1909 was the first competitive event to take place at IMS.
Tickets for the three events in 2009 at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway – the Indianapolis 500, Allstate 400 at the Brickyard and Red Bull Indianapolis GP – can be purchased online at www.indianapolismotorspeedway.com at any time.(IMS PR)(4-28-2009) - Michael Waltrip donates portion of race winnings to Tennessee tornado victims: #99-Michael Waltrip took half of his winnings from the Easter weekend NASCAR Nationwide Series race at Nashville Superspeedway and used it to donate cash and sponsor Best Western provided rooms to victims of the tornadoes in the Nashville area that occurred on the Friday before the April 11 race. Waltrip’s earnings in the race were $14,925, so he gave $7,500 to the local United Way.(Scene Daily)(4-28-2009)
- Two Great Clips cars again: Two Great Clips Camrys will take to the track at Richmond International Raceway in this weekend’s Nationwide Series race. In addition to Leffler’s black #38 Camry, Braun Racing’s #10 Toyota will be driven by Brian Scott and will feature a reverse Great Clips paint scheme.(Braun Racing PR)(4-28-2009)
- Carmichael featured in ESPN/Disney film: Motocross champion. Truck racer. And now, movie star. Ricky Carmichael is one of the featured athletes in the ESPN/Disney film, X Games in 3D. Carmichael is a two-time gold medal winner in the X Games, and will be featured alongside other extreme athletes Shaun White, Travis Pastrana, Danny Way and Bob Burnquist. The full-length film is the first sports-themed 3D movie. Carmichael is scheduled to race the Monster Energy / KHI All-Star Silverado again Friday, June 5 at Texas Motor Speedway.(Kevin Harvick Inc. PR)(4-28-2009)
- Rookie Ickler picks up 5th place finish; next up Texas: Brian Ickler, who was filling in for [Kyle] Busch in the O’Reilly Auto Parts 250 that concluded on Monday at Kansas Speedway, finished in fifth place. Not bad for Ickler, a 23-year-old rookie who was driving in his first truck race. Ickler’s talent also had something to do with the fifth-place finish. He’s been a rising star in the NASCAR ranks, as he’s picked up seven career victories in both the Camping World East and West series. Owner Billy Ballew will be relying on Ickler more this season. A San Diego native, Ickler is already scheduled to drive the truck [#51 Toyota] again on June 5 at Texas Motor Speedway.(Kansas City Star)(4-28-2009)
- Skinner claims first victory for RMM: After tornadoes, heavy amounts of rainfall, and two attempts to complete the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series race, Mike Skinner claimed the first victory for co-owner Randy Moss and Randy Moss Motorsports on Monday afternoon at Kansas Speedway during a rain-delayed and rain-shortened race. Skinner, driving the #5 Bad Boy Mowers Toyota Tundra, captured the checkered flag to win his 26th NCWTS race and his 10th win with Toyota Motorsports. In addition, the 1995 Truck Series Champion has taken over the lead in the NCWTS championship point standings.(Randy Moss Motorsports)(4-28-2009)
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