May 9, 2004
- New Safety Camera for the IRL, NASCAR maybe?: The view out back of the IRL’s Chevrolet four-door trucks is obscured by an 80-gallon water tank and a locker crammed with rescue tools. That view will improve during this year’s Indy 500-Mile Race, thanks to technology developed by Delphi’s Kokomo-based electronics division. Three of the IRL’s safety trucks now sport Delphi camera systems that show the view out back on a liquid crystal display monitor, bolted to the dashboard console. It’s technology Delphi someday might convert to the consumer market, particularly in trucks and recreational vehicles for which backing up is a hazard because of poor visibility. On the safety trucks, a camera is perched mid-vehicle in a clear dome atop the water tank. One benefit is that the safety truck driver can see whether he has dumped enough oil-dry material onto the track after a crash. More importantly, safety truck drivers can watch for hazards behind them and can move the truck and crew if they see a car careening toward them. The display also lets the truck driver make sure that the two firefighters who ride in jump seats in the truck bed are seated properly before pulling away. Each truck also has a forward-facing camera. This portends an even bigger safety benefit: letting crews more effectively respond to a crash and better conveying the type and severity of a driver’s injuries to awaiting medical teams. The trucks can transmit the camera images in real time to the track’s medical center. The IRL/Delphi video system may have implications for NASCAR. Herb Branham, communications manager for the NASCAR Nextel Cup Series, noted that NASCAR and the IRL have worked together previously to improve safety — such as in developing flexible track walls that minimize driver injury in a crash. “This is the first time that we’ve really heard about this type of thing. . . . They (IRL) have a lot of good ideas. Rest assured, we’ll give it a look.”(in part from the Indianapolis Star)(5-9-2004)
- Kenseth to FX: No thanks to reality show: Cable TV channel FX debuts its weekly unscripted program “NASCAR Drivers: 360” on Friday. The show will feature drivers and their families during their day-to-day lives. The drivers will include Dale Earnhardt Jr., Kevin Harvick, Jeremy Mayfield, Jamie McMurray, Ward Burton, Casey Mears, Scott Wimmer, Brian Vickers, Kenny Wallace and Rusty Wallace. Matt Kenseth said he was approached by the network about being one of the subjects, but declined because of the amount of time needed for filming.(Rockford Register Star)(5-9-2004)
- Stewart wins Sprint Car Race: Tony Stewart was good enough Friday, but unlike his WOW victory in Sedalia [at Missouri’s State Fair Speedway, a half-mile dirt track] on April 16, he had to battle to triumph this time. Columbia’s Eric Shrock led through the midpoint of the 360-sprints feature, but at the completion of lap 10, his #86 car struck the wall under the flag stand. Shrock regained control but lost precious speed with Stewart closing in, in the #20 winged car maintained for him by friends Danny Lasoski and George Lasoski. Stewart seized the lead, overcame his own scrape with the wall at the flag stand in lap 11, and held off Shrock to take the checkered flag after 20 laps. Stewart had a layoff from the NASCAR schedule this weekend, for Mother’s Day, so he called Lasoski, looking for a sprint race. The two decided Stewart would compete Friday at Sedalia, where he has driven a 360 four times — easily the racer’s most extensive experience in winged cars. “I’ve probably driven more types of race cars than anybody who races (NASCAR) right now,” said Stewart, who turns 33 on May 20. “I just like the challenge of something I haven’t done before, and (winged sprint) is probably one of the hardest things I’ve had to learn to drive right.(see full story at the Sedalia Democrat)(5-9-2004)
- Kenseth wins ASA Late Model Race: Matt Kenseth made a one race visit to the American Speed Association Late Model Series, but he made the most of it. By winning both the pole and race for the first-ever ASA Late Model Series event, the Blaine’s Farm & Fleet/DeWalt/Carhartt 100, Kenseth etched his name in the history books. The event was held at Madison International Speedway in Oregon, Wis., before a near-capacity crowd. “I always wanted to go in ASA’s history books somewhere,” Kenseth claimed. “I’ve never been able to win an ASA touring series race before, so that’s pretty cool. I’ve ran in a few of them, but never been able to pull one off so it’s cool to win one of these Late Model races.” A former ASA National Tour competitor, Kenseth has made 16 career starts in ASA competition between 1994 and 1997. The win didn’t come easily as Kenseth and second place finisher Ron Breese battled side-by-side for nearly a dozen laps prior to the race being called prematurely due to rain. Breese led for 49 consecutive laps with Kenseth stalking him, patiently waiting for an opening. As the pair circled together, Kenseth could get through the turns better to close the gap, and then Breese would get a slight edge down the straightaways. The action kept the crowd on their feet, and Kenseth finally made the pass stick on lap 67. “You don’t get racing like that very often,” Breese said after the race. “We came in second, but I tell you what, this was the most fun I’ve had in a long time. We took second to the Winston Cup champion, but I would have liked to have won.” Kenseth echoed the feelings about what it was like in the cockpit. “It was fun. We might have had a little different gear because I could get him off the corner then on the straightaway he pulled me back. It was a great race and we were both getting through the corners good and putting on a good show.” Kenseth won the pole earlier in the afternoon with a lap of 18.116-seconds around the 0.50-mile oval. Ultimately, he started the event in seventh position due to the inverted start. Unfortunately, the scheduled 100-lap event was red flagged for weather on lap 75. The sky lit up nearly all evening with lightening, and once the rain started to fall the track quickly went away. In ASA Late Model Series competition, caution flag laps don’t count towards the total, fortunately for the fans as the yellow flag flew a total of 16 times. There were four lead changes among three drivers. Of the 32 cars starting the race, 17 finished on the lead lap. The top 10 finishers in the event were Kenseth, Breese, Kluever, Bobby Wildberg, Bobby Stremme, Dave Lawrence, Adam Shackelford, Brad Osborn, Jeff Watters and Doug Mahlik. Travis Kvapil, the 2003 NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series Champion, retired early with ignition problems. The ASA Late Model Series is next in action at Baer Field Speedway in Ft. Wayne, Ind., on Sunday, May 16. The American Speed Association is based in Pendleton, Ind., and has offered stock car racing programs since 1968, including the ASA National Tour, ASA Late Model Series, several regional touring series and the ASA Member Track programs.(ASA PR)(5-9-2004)
- Robby looking for sponsor to run full Bucsh season: At the start of the 2004 NASCAR season, Robby Gordon and Fruit of the Loom were content to compete together in 24 NASCAR Busch Series races. As a result of a better-than-expected start, the objectives have changed. In its first effort on the track, the Gordon-owned #55 entry qualified fifth and finished third at the season-opening Hershey’s Kisses 300 at Daytona International Speedway. Since then, the team has performed consistently, recording three top-fives and five top-10 finishes in only nine races. Through the Stater Bros. 300 at California Speedway, Gordon sits just 90 points out of the NASCAR Busch Series championship lead. Being close enough to reach out and touch a championship has changed the full-time NASCAR Cup driver’s outlook. “We didn’t even consider making a run at the full 34-race schedule when the season began,” Gordon admitted. “My focus was, and continues to be, on winning a NASCAR Cup Series championship with my Cingular Wireless team, and on winning as many Busch Series races as possible for Fruit of the Loom. To be honest with you, we didn’t necessarily expect to be this close to the points lead after nine races with a brand new team. Now that we are, and given that we’re getting better as a team every time out, we’ve added winning a Busch Series championship to the objectives for the year.” In order to make those goals a reality, however, Gordon, and his Robby Gordon Motorsports team, is seeking primary sponsorship for the nine races Fruit of the Loom did not plan for at the start of the season. The first open date on the team’s NASCAR Busch Series schedule is the Goulds Pumps ITT Industries 200 at Nazareth Speedway on May 23, followed the next week by the Carquest Auto Parts 300 at Lowe’s Motor Speedway on May 29. Both races fall within the time frame Gordon will undoubtedly garner tremendous media attention as he tackles the high-profile Double Duty effort for the third-consecutive year, which will see him compete in both the IRL’s Indianapolis 500 and NASCAR’s Coca-Cola 600 on the same day (May 30). A sponsor participating in all nine available NASCAR Busch Series races will also receive a position on the Gordon-owned Indianapolis 500 car. “This season is coming together nicely for us,” Gordon said. “We’re climbing back into the championship hunt in the Cingular Wireless Cup car, we’re right there for the championship in the Busch car, we’ve got a legitimate shot at winning both the pole and the race in the Meijer Stores Chevrolet Dallara in the Indy 500 and we’re going to finish the season by trying to win the Baja 1000 again in the Red Bull Chevy Trophy Truck. If a few things go our way, we can have a great year for ourselves as well as our corporate partners that help make our goals possible.”(Robby Gordon Motorsports PR)(5-9-2004)
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