Power Rankings: Time to abandon Mears' ship

Power Rankings: Time to abandon Mears' ship
After such a great start to the season, the wheels have fallen off the Casey Mears bandwagon.
Since opening the season with three consecutive top 10s, his Chase hopes have been steadily fading and took a turn for the worse at Pocono.

First, he announced he wouldn't re-sign with Chip Ganassi Racing. Lame-duck status is never a good thing as far as championship hopes are concerned.

Sunday, though, was the icing on the cake. He finished 43rd after a Lap 1 crash with Scott Riggs. He has fallen to 15th in the point standings, 161 points out of 10th.

"The last I saw the 10 car (Riggs) was on the inside of me and he must have got loose," Mears said. "I don’t even know what to say. I’m so disappointed. We didn’t even make a lap."

"Things happen, and I’ve been in those scenarios on the first lap where I took out a bunch of guys. It’s hard to get too mad, but we’re sitting here in the garage. Any time something like that happens you can say too aggressive too early, but he may have gone in there way easier than he’s gone in there all weekend and just gotten too loose. It’s very disappointing because we didn’t get a chance to even turn a lap."

Regarding his decision to leave Ganassi at the end of the season, Mears said he felt he could perform better elsewhere.

"I'm making the best possible decision that I can make," said Mears, who's rumored to be signing with Hendrick Motorsports. "It's not a slap in the face to this race team at all. I think we're continuing to grow, continuing to get better. I think we can win some races before the year is out."

It's a nice sentiment, but rarely does a NASCAR divorce end on such a high note.

Scientology enters the ranks of NASCAR sponsors

Scientology enters the ranks of NASCAR sponsors
It's a concept that has endless potential for comic relief, if the recent antics of Tom Cruise and the media scrutiny thereof is any indication. Scientology is presumably making an effort to broaden its appeal by getting involved in NASCAR and sponsoring the Ignite Your Potential racing team. The team's Ford Taurus, driven by Kenton Gray, indicates that the late L. Ron Hubbard himself is the inspiration behind this effort -- the Dianetics logo and replica of the book's cover will adorn the vehicle.

What's next? A team based out of Salt Lake City that encourages multiple drivers for its car? Or maybe a station wagon with a little ichthus on the back... the possibilities are endless.

Burton charges from 36th to win at Dover

Burton charges from 36th to win at Dover
Jeff Burton had the biggest come-from-behind win ever in a Busch Series race at Dover International Speedway, overcoming a 36th-place starting position for his second victory of the season Saturday.
Burton, eighth in the Nextel Cup standings, grabbed the lead for good with 18 laps left and pulled away to win the caution-marred race. He has 22 career Busch victories.
"We were really good, but on long runs we were unbelievably good," Burton said. "The car was fast all day. The race at the end was a lot of fun. It doesn't get much better than that."

Carl Edwards, who led most of the early laps, finished second for his sixth top-five finish of the season. Kurt Busch was third as the Cup regulars again dominated the series.

Burton's win made Nextel Cup regulars a perfect 14-for-14 in Busch races this season. He also won in Atlanta.

The race was slowed by eight cautions for 34 laps, which knocked several drivers out of the race. There were 11 lead changes among eight drivers.

Rain wiped out qualifying, putting series points leader Kevin Harvick on the pole. Harvick finished 13th and increased his lead on Edwards to 297 points.

"That was probably racing at its finest," Busch said. "That turned into a great race to watch."

Burton, making only his seventh Busch start of the season, said there was less pressure on his team starting from the back because they weren't really racing for series points.

"I told them before it started raining it would be cool if it rained," Burton said. "The opportunity to start in the back, I didn't look it as a detriment, I looked at it as something that could be fun and unique."

Clint Bowyer led 62 laps and finished fourth. Ron Hornaday Jr. and Kyle Busch rounded out the top six. Hornaday's finish was his highest since 2004.

Edwards led as late as the 149th lap, but he couldn't regain the lead after he decided to pit for new tires under caution with 49 laps remaining. Burton was one of only five drivers on the lead lap who stayed out, and that was enough to finally surge past Kurt Busch on No. 182.

"I got up to second and I couldn't catch him," Edwards said. "I think we did everything we could, but he had a faster car or he did a better job driving, one of the two."

Edwards was second for the second day in a row after losing to Mark Martin on Friday night in the Craftsman Truck Series race. He'll start the Cup race Sunday in 25th and hopes for a better result in the tripleheader.

"I'd really like to win one of these things this weekend," Edwards said. "That would be a pretty good one to win."

Scott Wimmer held the Dover record for largest comeback, charging from 26th place to win in 2002.

Driver injuries managed closely in new NASCAR

Driver injuries managed closely in new NASCAR
The first person Tony Stewart met with after driving a handful of practice laps around Dover International Speedway on Saturday was crew chief Greg Zipadelli.
Al Shuford was the second.
Certified athletic trainers typically don't hang out in the Nextel Cup garage. According to Shuford, there are only two -- Phil Horton of Chip Ganassi Racing and Lance Munksgard of MB2 Motorsports -- besides him in the series.

But as the sport continues to grow so does the importance of keeping the marquee players healthy. That was driven home again when Stewart broke his right shoulder blade a week ago at Lowe's Motor Speedway.

"What we've done is taken the old-fashioned concept of what we do as certified athletic trainers in other sports and taken it to a different venue,'' said Shuford, a former trainer for the NFL's Carolina Panthers.

Washington Redskins head coach Joe Gibbs, the owner of Joe Gibbs Racing, introduced Shuford to NASCAR in 1999 when Bobby Labonte suffered an injury similar to the one that will keep Stewart from going past the first couple of cautions in Sunday's 400-mile race.

He hired Shuford full time in 2000 and set up a complete rehabilitation center that has continued to expand.

Shuford has done everything from rehabilitate the torn ligaments of pit crew members to nursing the hand of driver Denny Hamlin, who recently needed 19 stitches from an injury suffered while frolicking around the hauler.

"When the boss comes and thanks me for taking care of Denny, it means something,'' Shuford said. "He's got experience in this with the [NFL]. He understands and appreciates a lot more than most everything it takes to keep everything going.''

Shuford has spent the past week making sure Stewart is comfortable enough to start the race and collect all the points necessary to remain in contention for a second consecutive title. He's fitted him with a new state-of-the-art brace and put him through hourly treatments.

He also has worked with helping Stewart exit the car most effectively and comfortably after the first caution or two so that relief driver Ricky Rudd can finish.

Stewart doesn't downplay Shuford's importance.

"I couldn't do this by myself,'' he said as he watched a fishing show in the back of his hauler.

Years ago, drivers did this by themselves. Many hid the fact that they were injured in order to compete.

In 1984, Rudd taped his eyes open with duct tape so he could run the Daytona 500 with a concussion.

"I didn't know there was but one way at the time,'' the 49-year-old Rudd said. "I just had a golden opportunity in front of me to drive for Bud Moore in a legendary operation. And here I was hurt.

"I guess I was too stubborn to turn that steering wheel to somebody else.''

Shuford said drivers with Stewart's injury used to tape themselves to the seat to cut back on movement and subsequent pain.

Stewart wasn't given the luxury of deciding what to do this weekend. The decision was made by a committee that consisted of JGR president J.D. Gibbs, vice president Jimmy Makar, Zipadelli and Shuford in consultation with other medical staff.

The decision was made to speed up the healing process enough that Stewart will be ready to run next week at Pocono without much discomfort.

"Deciding what's going to be best for him long term, what's going to be best for our group long term?'' Shuford said. "And taking the sport out of it, what's going to be best for Tony the next 50 years of his life? That's how we make our decisions, not on the short term and now.''

Shuford fitted Stewart with a brace made by AlignMed. The device was brought to his attention by a member of the company who saw Stewart's crash on television.

Shuford said the brace is more advanced than the one he used on Labonte in 1999 in that it optimizes scapular motion, increases rotator cuff strength and equally distributes the forces that go through the spine during normal driving.

"He likes it,'' Shuford said of Stewart, still wearing the brace that isn't visible underneath the driver's suit. "It took the pressure off significantly. And I added a little something extra under it to add a little more feeling of comfort and security to it.''

Shuford said the brace and initial adrenalin rush could make Stewart feel so comfortable he might want to stay in the car longer than planned.

"We are leaving it up to him based on his comfort and his [pain] level,'' he said.

But the plan remains for Stewart to exit early. If recent history holds true, the first caution will come out between Laps 3 and 15.

"Jimmy Makar and I were laughing about this last night,'' Shuford said. "When Bobby did his and the first caution came out [on Lap 10] he kept driving. We had this agreement, 'Dude, when the first caution comes out, get out of the car and Matt Kenseth is going to drive.'

"So when the first caution came out he said on the radio, 'This feels pretty good. I think I'm going to drive some more.' I remember looking at Jimmy like, 'What's up?' ''

Zipadelli said taking such decisions out of the driver's hand is smart business, particularly with the new Chase format that doesn't allow for as many slipups with the season divided into segments of 26 and 10 races.

"You could basically throw out a couple of races when it was just a 36-race schedule,'' he said. "Before, you could just work on consistency. Now you've got to be ready every week.

"The more and more competitive it gets, the closer they make cars, you've got to do everything you can to get an advantage.''

Getting Stewart ready has kept Shuford hopping. He's spent the weekend giving Stewart ice treatments, electrical muscle and bone stimulation, and limited exercise that simulates turning a steering wheel.

"Basically, we started the process of getting him comfortable and getting more functional outside the car at first,'' he said. "And then everything will transfer inside the car.''

Shuford expects the driver transfer to run smoothly. He's worked on getting Stewart to rotate his body and use his left arm for leverage as he positions for a crew member to pull him out.

"He can use his right arm,'' said Shuford, who is constantly telling Stewart not to hold his right arm across his chest like Napoleon Bonaparte. "He's able to resist and protect himself. He's just a little apprehensive using it getting in and out.''

Shuford's goal is to have Stewart, fourth in the points, running at full strength in four to five weeks so he'll be ready for the final 10 races.

His goal is to have the entire organization at full strength for the Chase.

"I told them y'all might as well get your injuries in now,'' Shuford said with a laugh. "When it gets toward the Chase I'm going to be out of the body part business.''

Sponsor's concerns limit Junior's non-Cup racing

Sponsor's concerns limit Junior's non-Cup racing
DOVER, DEL. -- There's a reason Dale Earnhardt Jr. doesn't run more races outside the Nextel Cup Series.
His primary sponsor won't let him.
Discussing the injury risk when drivers take their Cup careers outside the series -- as reigning champion Tony Stewart did in the Busch Series last week at Lowe's Motor Speedway -- Earnhardt said Budweiser has the first say.
"I got a deal where I can only run X amount [outside Cup] a month,'' Earnhardt said as he prepared for Sunday's Cup race at Dover International Speedway. "They want the consistency for the fans seeing me in a red car.
"They really don't want to see me in a Taco Bell or KFC car. Bud would rather have me in a red Bud Car. That's why I don't really get the opportunity to run more than I want.''

Earnhardt said the clause was in his contract before he suffered severe burns in 2004 while driving a Corvette in a road race at Sonoma, Calif.

"That's the Bud side of it, which is understandable,'' said Earnhardt, whose performance suffered for several races while the burns healed. "I'd like to drive my own Busch cars, but I don't know if that's possible through your commitments to DEI. You get yourself in a couple of spider webs and it's hard to get out of 'em.''

Earnhardt doesn't like the limitations. He doesn't think any driver, including Stewart, should be told what to do with free time.

"We do have a responsibility to show up and drive Cup cars every week,'' he said. "As a businessman, you've got a responsibility to show up and make sure you're on time for your job.
"At the same time, who is anybody to tell Tony Stewart what to do with his time? If he wants to race, he should race. If he wants to fly a kite, he can fly a kite. I mean, whatever he wants to do, he ought to be able to make that choice himself.''

Points leader Jimmie Johnson agreed. At the same time, Johnson needs written permission from Hendrick Motorsports and Lowe's before driving outside of Cup.

"The thing that makes us drivers who we are and perfect our skills is the fact that we're in cars,'' Johnson said. "Then on top of that, in different cars. Everything that I've done in race cars has taught me a lot.
"It's that whole balance of what the car owner and sponsor are willing to risk, if they're willing to allow you to go out and risk injury, if they're willing to let you be yourself and do your thing. Drivers, we just want to drive anything that has wheels on it.''

But injuries such as the one that will force Stewart to turn his car over to relief driver Ricky Rudd early in Sunday's race makes some think twice about racing outside of Cup.

"You just have to think about it,'' Kasey Kahne said. "You don't want to put yourself in a bad position. Obviously, as a driver you're always trying to win, so sometimes it's hard not to put yourself in a bad position.''

Kahne said he plans to race Sprint cars later this season and reminded he raced at the Chili Bowl earlier this year when Stewart suffered a rib injury after flipping his midget car.

"Things happen,'' Kahne said. "You hate it happens, but things do happen. Hopefully, Tony is done getting hurt."

Mayfield hopes front-row start turns 'terrible' year

Mayfield hopes front-row start turns 'terrible' year
DOVER, Del. -- If Evernham Motorsports' Jeremy Mayfield and his No. 19 Dodge Charger team are simply racing for pride the rest of this season, the direction they've hit in recent weeks is definitely promising.

Mayfield, the only Evernham driver to make the first two editions of the Chase for the Nextel Cup, qualified on the front row Friday for the Neighborhood Excellence 400 presented by Bank of America at Dover International Speedway.

It's the second week in a row that Mayfield's qualified second, but when he and Ryan Newman lead the 43-car field to the green Sunday, the irony will hang over them heavier than the steamy humidity plaguing the Delaware coast.

Both men are two-time Chase competitors and both are mired deep in the standings this season. Mayfield, in particular, has been plagued by abysmal luck and is 35th in the owner standings.

The one thing that's been a constant for him and his crew, led by team director Chris Andrews, is high spirits that were much in evidence at Dover.

"We are good enough to run in the top 15 every week," Andrews said. "We have run in the top 15 a lot, we just haven't finished there.

"We plan to win the race every week and we bring cars that are capable of winning races. Obviously Kasey [Kahne, teammate] has won three races and Scott Riggs has run well at a lot of racetracks.

"We've run well at a lot of racetracks and just not been able to finish. We hope to run better every week and to work on finishing where we deserve. I don't expect we'll make the Chase from where we are in the points right now, but we can certainly win some races."

Mayfield is taking the same tack.

"I'm not frustrated about the points anymore -- I'm over that," Mayfield said. "I've crossed the hump on being frustrated. It's been a weird year for me. It's been terrible."

According to Andrews, Mayfield's been involved in five accidents this season. If that weren't bad enough, the team had another engine failure.

It leaves them far from the top 10 and battling to remain in the locked-into-the-starting-field top 35.

"We keep hammering and you get tough," Mayfield said. "It's like, 'bring it on. Is that all you've got?' That's our attitude right now.

"We had trouble in the all-star race and came back with a good car last week [in the Coca-Cola 600] and had some trouble there."

The "trouble" at Lowe's Motor Speedway was a collapsed spring that left the car too low in a random post-race inspection after finishing 15th. The car was 1/16th of an inch under the quarter-inch tolerance NASCAR gives teams.

The penalties included 25-point deductions for Mayfield and owner Ray Evernham. Although Andrews said the infraction was "inadvertent," it left Mayfield 56 points behind 34th-place Dave Blaney and 114 points ahead of 36th-place Scott Wimmer in the owner standings.

"They give us rules and we were outside those tolerances, so the penalty was fair," Andrews said. "When other people have had similar situations, everyone speculates about what they were doing or how they were cheating.

"This was nothing like that, it was just slightly outside the tolerances. But there are things in 16th-inch and 8th-inch increments that will make these cars go faster and slower every week -- and everyone knows what they are.

"We push everything as hard as we can, we came up random for inspection and we were a 16th low. Some of the adjustments we made during the race might have contributed to that, but when you make the adjustments during the race you have to think about that."

Mayfield said the current set-up practices leave the cars with very little front suspension travel at speed.

"I felt something going in the [Coca-Cola 600]," Mayfield said. "I thought a spring had collapsed on us, and that's what happened. That's what you've got [because] the springs we run these days can't physically hold the car up."

At Dover on Friday, Mayfield overcame a loose car that he said cost him his first Bud Pole since September 2004, also at Dover.
"We got real loose coming to the green, and I thought for sure we were going to wreck," Mayfield said. "I gathered my thoughts and got in a good second lap.

"I know if I had got my first lap we would have beat [Newman]. This is my racetrack [so] it'll probably be a good race for us Sunday."

Given the point situation -- 439 out of 10th with 14 races remaining until the cutoff to the Chase -- Mayfield isn't waiting until mid-summer to declare the point of no return.

"We have to get better," Mayfield said. "We've got to step it up -- we don't have a choice."

Mayfield said sending engineer Josh Browne to the racetrack to work with him is paying off.

"He's been with us the past three or four weeks, and he's helped bridge that communication gap," Mayfield said of Browne. "I really feel confident with what he's done and what he's done with me in the past.

"We're all working together well. It hasn't shown yet. Last week we were better than where we finished, it cost us some points, but I'm not worried about points now.

"We've just got to worry about making races now and getting high enough in the points not to miss them. I'm proud of these guys."

"We don't really feel like we're a 35th place team -- but a lot of people have suggested we're really struggling," Andrews said. "We have struggled at a few races this year, but I think everybody in the garage has struggled at a few races.

"But we're finally getting to qualify better and we're racing better -- and hopefully we'll start finishing some races better here, real soon."
Source: Nascar

Kyle Busch gets fined by NASCAR & sent to his room without dinner

Kyle Busch gets fined by NASCAR & sent to his room without dinner
Kyle Busch, apparently gunning for the Ron Artest Sportsman Award and determined to displace Robby Gordon as one of America's favorite "love to hate" stars in stock-car racing, had his wallet dinged to the tune of $50,000 for throwing a safety device onto the racetrack during Sunday's Coca-Cola 600 event at Lowe's Motor Speedway. The intended victim of the lob was Casey Mears, in what appears to be a continuation of the lovefest between the two drivers (earlier in the season, Busch tapped Mears during a red flag).

In addition to the financial penalty - tied for the second-largest ever levied by NASCAR - Mears was hit with a 25-point penalty and put on "probation" for the rest of the season. Car owner Rick Hendrix was also docked 25 points.

Toyota's NASCAR presence has other teams sweating

Toyota, currently running roughshod over other automakers in the showrooms, will be hitting NASCAR next year with the goal of doing the same thing to its competition on the track. Word around the pits is that this is causing sleepless nights for other teams, but not for reasons one would think. The concern here isn't the lap times, but simple economics - if Toyota subsidizes its Nextel Cup teams as it does for its teams in the Craftsman Truck series, the support that a big-ticket sponsor has to offer up could be cut in half from the current yearly value of $16M or so. Yanking several million dollars out from under the currently-established teams would be a catastrophic event with the potential of completing shaking up the pecking order. The first bit of evidence in support of this theory is the recent decision by UPS to defect to Michael Waltrip's Toyota team; a decision that certainly could have been fueled by the promise of a greatly-reduced sponsorship bill.

If indeed Toyotaoffers significant financial support to its teams - which it currently claims is not in the budget - it is unlikely that other manufacturers will step up and start cutting their own checks (as it is, rumors are already flying that one of the Big 3 is already looking to pull out of the Nextel Cup).

Locals irked that ISC track still controversial

Locals irked that ISC track still controversial
Larry Richardson is everyday people, a non-union HVAC engineer in New York City. His hands have long been his lifeblood. And somewhere near the tips of those calloused
fingers rests a lifelong dream -- NASCAR racing on Staten Island.
An avid fan of more than a quarter-century, Richardson never fathomed that particular fantasy could become reality. It was a ridiculous notion five years ago. Laughable, even.

Stereotype said NASCAR's good ol' boys didn't belong in greater Manhattan; Taster's Choice in a Starbucks world.

But in 2004 Brian France got serious. He shared Richardson's fantasy, that of Nextel Cup cars roaring around Skyscraper Superspeedway at dusk, the world's most famous skyline twinkling in the background, the family business at the epicenter of the most influential media market on the planet.

Land was purchased in late December 2004, but to date nothing has been constructed. Many still consider it a pipe dream and are reserved to its impossibility.

Not Larry Richardson. Not his wife, Kathy. The Richardsons are ardent advocates for the Staten Island venue as members of SINCH (Staten Island NASCAR Hopefuls).

NASCAR, you see, is very dear to them, has been for quite a time. And last year one of the sport's greatest ambassadors elevated that appreciation.

"Last year, my son had leukemia and Kyle Petty came to visit him. That's NASCAR to us," said Larry Richardson, a 20-year resident of Staten Island. "NASCAR is just the best. The people against the track just don't know what they're going to get."

If you ask Kathy, it's much bigger entertainment or financial gain.

"You don't get that kind of media on Staten Island -- we're the forgotten borough," Kathy said. "This is big-time for us. This could bring New York City back to where it belongs, post 9/11. NASCAR could save New York City, and these people don't see it."

First and most obviously, the critics say, there's no room. A man can hardly pitch a tent, much less erect a structure that makes Madison Square Garden look like Daniel-san's bonsai tree.

And then there's the opposition. Some residents and local leaders are vehemently opposed to the project, and the coinciding potential for additional traffic and noise.

Some detractors made their disdain for the project known last week at International Speedway Corp.'s first public hearing on Staten Island. According to attendees the meeting was tense, and was eventually postponed for fear the crowd could turn riotous.

ISC president Lesa Kennedy was booed ardently during a brief speech.

ISC point man Michael Printup told NASCAR.COM last Friday that the Department of City Planning, which is led by Robert Dobruskin, did a poor job of controlling the meeting. There was no order, Printup admitted, but said reports of a "near riot" were overblown.

Some locals disagree. Lance Powell of South Hempstead submitted the following e-mail to NASCAR.COM in response to Printup's comments:

"For Printup to say the Staten Island public meeting wasn't a 'near riot' is like saying when Michael Waltrip won the Pepsi 400 a few years ago under caution and the fans threw debris on the track was a 'celebration' for his win.

"He has to play 'spin doctor' to make ISC look good for NASCAR, because nobody 'publicly' wants racing here. Land here in the metro NYC area is so limited you can't even get a Wal-Mart Super Center built here -- and the people WANT it!

"The most perfect place to build the track is the Meadowlands. And since the Meadowlands [State of New Jersey] has 'officially' said 'no,' ISC can pretty much 'kiss the baby' as far as a track being built up here.

"The only way ISC is going to get a track built in the NJ/NY metro area will be through some State & Federal Government 'finagling' of the use of the land -- the people be damned."

NASCAR made a run at the Meadowlands before, to no avail. There has long been talk of building a track in the New York market, from Long Island to South Jersey to Connecticut. And influential names, including Donald Trump, popped up throughout. But to date, nothing.

They shouldn't take it personally. NASCAR and ISC aren't the only folks facing roadblocks in the quest to bring big-time auto racing to greater New York City.

A New York Daily News report two weeks ago stated that acting legend and avid sports car racer Paul Newman met with city officials in hopes of bringing an open-wheel event to Floyd Bennett Field in Brooklyn.

Newman's proposal, the Daily News reported, includes a plan to transform the decaying airfield into a 3.5-mile Grand Prix road course, and includes a weeklong string of charity events leading up to the race.

But according to the report, Floyd Bennett Field is part of the Gateway National Recreation Area, which limits attendance to any one event to 10,000 people. Race organizers seek 65,000 fans.

And of course, traffic congestion is a primary concern.

Printup disagrees that ISC will fail this time.

"We'll still be ready to go racing in 2010," he said last week.

To ISC's credit, they've been hard at work laying the required infrastructure. Printup said Monday that ISC has collaborated with GameDay Management on an elaborate traffic plan, using an integrated software system that ties ticketing to traffic management.

In other words, each ticket purchase for the event will be tied to some form of transportation, Printup said in an e-mail.

GameDay Management has produced the traffic plans for the past six Super Bowls, presidential inaugurations and the past two Olympic Games held in the United States.

ISC has also secured 83 private ferries and the coinciding parking in New York and New Jersey.

And that's only the beginning. Like Printup, the Richardsons attended last Thursday's ISC hearing, but described a slightly different experience.

"There was a lot of obscenity, and as a NASCAR fan I was very disappointed about it," Kathy Richardson said. "It was nuts before we ever got in the auditorium. The SINCH people were very well behaved. We were just so happy to get the process going, then this crap with the union boys broke out."

Councilman Andrew Lanza was reportedly placed in a headlock by a union worker. Again Printup discounted the ferocity of the act. Larry Richardson, however, said it was more aggressive than simply an embrace for the cameras, as Printup suggested.

"I was in the auditorium and witnessed the whole thing," Larry Richardson said. "That wasn't someone putting their arm around you. That was strong arm. Not to rip his head off or anything, but leaning down on his shoulders.

"A NASCAR fan would never do that to anybody. If [the union worker] is for the track, he's in it for the money. That's another problem -- New York unions will milk that job. I know how they work. But when they come in there and destroy the integrity of the real NASCAR fans, those that give, we lose."

Kathy feels the hearing was a setback for track proponents, and gives its opponents ammunition.

"Now they can say, 'So this is how 2,000 people act at a meeting? Imagine how 80,000 would act at the race,'" she said. "It insults our intelligence, and what NASCAR fans really are."

"The councilmen see the union guys as NASCAR fans," Larry said. "That's not NASCAR fans. That's a guy looking for a job. The councilmen are under the impression that they'll have guys like that guy running around damn Staten Island when the race gets here -- 85,000 rednecks running around causing trouble."

"The anti-track folks left cocky, like, 'See, we told you they're nothing but a bunch of rednecks,'" Kathy added. "As a NASCAR fan I felt really s----- about that."

Source: Nascar.com

Virginia is for paybacks

Virginia is for paybacks
only Jeremy came back to the track on Monday. Considering you got out of that place alive and got a little breathing room in the owner points, how was the flight home?

Jeremy: It felt pretty good. That was probably the best flight I've had coming back from a racetrack in a long time.

Shana: Imagine that -- the day I don't go to the track, he gets his best finish of the season.

Jeremy: What's that tell you?

Shana: Maybe that it hasn't been that great a season -- but it's a start.

Jeremy: But it was cool, knowing that we had a decent day. We fought all day to keep the car running good because we did do some damage to it.

It seems like during all the wrecks we went through the grass or slid the tires or messed the fenders up -- whatever. But we were able to still salvage a good finish out of it.

It's pretty cool when the best that you ran all day was the last lap, and you beat [Jeff Gordon] and [Elliott Sadler] -- those guys that were up front all day.

To end up ahead of them at the end of the day was pretty neat and a pretty good feeling.

What were you thinking on about Lap 9, when you got to the end of the backstretch and you saw what was happening?

Jeremy: Well, you're thinking it's awful early to be racing this hard -- but we're at Talladega and this is what we do, you know?

Actually, you're thinking, "Buddy, it's awful early to close your eyes and drive in there like an idiot." That's exactly what you think.

Then all of a sudden you find yourself trying to dodge the wreck and stay out of trouble.

That was something I had to do the other day -- finish that thing -- and I didn't want to see that, that early in the race -- the big one already getting started.

But it did. I kind of knew it was coming, because a couple of laps earlier than that everybody was getting pretty wild right off the bat.

I kind of had the game plan to lie in the back and ride around there for a while and to see what was going to happen -- and then to race towards the end.

So I couldn't believe that, that early in the race something like that would happen, but it did, and we found ourselves going through the grass and messing our nose up.

I hated to see that.

Shana, I know there were unique circumstances that led to you staying at home, but what was it like watching the race via FOX Sports from North Carolina instead of atop the pit box?

Shana: I don't want to be mean, but I'm not a big fan of their coverage, to be honest with you.

Now I see what the fans are talking about when they write in complaining about not being happy with the coverage they're getting -- I can see why.

But it was hard to follow, because there were so many commercials. I had Buster, our coach driver on Nextel and we kept going back and forth but it was hard to keep up -- especially there.

I won't ever do it again because I don't like not knowing what's going on. I had Live Leaderboard up on NASCAR.COM but that can only tell you so much. There was a little bit of a delay with the TV, so it was hard watching it.

I felt like I needed to stay home and get caught up on things, but of course I was sitting in front of the TV the whole time, for four hours, so I didn't get anything accomplished.

It was definitely a different feeling watching it here, from being there. It's like two different races, because at the track I have a radio and I can see everything that's going on.

At home, when there was a commercial I had to wait to find out what was going on or get Buster on the walkie-talkie so it wasn't very much fun watching it on TV.

For sure, it was hard to keep up on Jeremy -- but I knew he was OK when I saw him come across the start/finish line so that was a good feeling.

We don't want to get Jeremy too fired up, but after your experience Monday do you feel like Buster might have a career option ahead of him as a pit reporter?

Shana: No.

Jeremy: I think he did a great job.

Shana: I'm saying "no" because I'd call him and I'd say, "Buster, what's wrong?"

And he'd say, "Shugah, I don't know. I think his car is pretty good now, but I think they're going to take four tires and make a track bar adjustment -- but I'm not real sure."

So I said, "OK, Buster -- just let me know."

Jeremy: Then all of a sudden I hear on my radio, "10-4 Shugah." He was talking to her and he pushed the wrong button and he was talking to me during the race.

At any rate, when you got home, did you feel like getting out and doing some doughnuts in your SRT10 pickup?

Jeremy: Oh yeah. I think I did a burnout up the driveway when I did get home.

Shana: Compared to how we've been, that was almost like a win.

Jeremy: We finished 13th, and that was our first top-15 finish in a long time, you know?

Shana: Our first top 15 of the year, and that's pretty bad.

Considering the way things have been going, did a 13th-place finish ever feel so good?

Jeremy: Oh, it never has. It never felt so good. I was just glad to come out of there unscathed from the wrecks. Knowing where we finished was an accomplishment in the points.

Shana: It's wild to think of, because I never thought that our best finish of the season, so far, would have come at Talladega.

Jeremy: But it was last year, when we were fourth in that race. Obviously, it wasn't our best finish of the season, but it was at the start of the year.

Shana: That's true. I didn't think of that.

Switching horses, you Evernham guys -- Jeremy and your teammate, Kasey Kahne -- have got some new TV ads going on that are kind of funny. I didn't notice, but was that car of Kasey's that a tire smashed an Intrepid or a Charger?

Jeremy: You know, I don't know. I haven't really paid attention to that part of it. That looked like his new paint scheme, so it probably was a Charger.

We don't have any issues with those Intrepids, anyway. But there's no telling what it would cost to get that thing fixed. It would take a while to get that thing straightened out, but I'm pretty sure they fixed it.

I think that's the one he's going to run at Loudon.

Shana: It might be the one you're going to be running.

Jeremy: I don't think the bars are high enough for me to get in it, any more.

Does that give a whole new meaning to the phrase, "Take 2?"

Shana: Yeah.

Jeremy: I'd hate to have to do a second take on that deal, you know?

Shana: I'm sure that was a one-shot deal.

Jeremy: I'll tell you what was pretty cool -- for them to roll a tire off the top of a building, or whatever they did, and to have it land right in the middle of a racecar.

They must've had their wind direction judged just right. Imagine if they missed just a little bit? The thing would have taken off, rolling.

I think it was a die-cast car and they just made it look like a real car when they crushed it. I bet that's what it was with some of that trick photography or computer work that they do.

Hollywood.

How did you and Tony Stewart get involved in that ongoing series of ads for Nextel's direct connect?

Jeremy: Well, it started with Tony, because he's a big jokester. He made that piñata of me and I guess he was going to use it as payback and beat the hell out of it, back at his hauler.

So to get him back, I just got me a bigger piñata -- his whole racecar.

You got piñatas available on your souvenir trailer?

Jeremy: We probably ought to. That would be a hot seller, to get some piñatas out there so people could have something to bust apart and beat up and stuff.

If not, I think they need 'em. But I don't even know if our souvenir trailer is out there or not. I'll check on that.

If it is, it's on sale.

Speaking of second takes, how many times did you have to do that thing where you folded up Tony's No. 20 behind a hauler? That didn't look like a die-cast to me?

Jeremy: We actually did two takes on that [laughing]. We killed two of his cars -- two of 'em.

But actually, the first one that we did crushed-up better than the other one, so that's what they used. It was pretty neat.

The second one didn't crush that far, it just kind of bogged the truck down and made the guy smoke the clutch trying to get it crushed -- and it wouldn't do it, so that was it.

How hard was it to keep a straight face?

Jeremy: Well that was payback for the piñata for his niece's party. So I thought that was a fair trade, to just crush his racecar if he wanted to get a piñata made of me.

Really, I thought the guy had plenty of room.

Shana: Oh my God.

Jeremy: I don't know how much funnier it would have been if Tony had come along right after we finished his car off. Who knows, there might be another episode or two coming out.

Shana: Like a soap opera -- a different one every week.

Jeremy: I was just trying to help the guy out and to get him turned around getting out of the garage at Lowe's Motor Speedway. Hmmm. Lowe's? I wonder if that had anything to do with crushing a Home Depot car?

Well, it was a good thing they kept the camera on the car, because I pretty much was laughing my a-- off. The whole crew was laughing because they thought it was so funny, the way it all went down.

I'm sure if you could get a copy of the bloopers from it; that would be even funnier than what the commercial was. But we had a good time doing it.

They just wanted me to keep a straight face and to keep telling the guy to come on back -- but all the while I thought it was gonna come apart and pieces were going to hit me.

I hate to see Tony's racecar get torn up like that, but it was an accident. Just like some of that stuff that happened at Talladega.

But you talk about payback, and there's a come around to everything. So you're going to Richmond this weekend and they've got that motorhome lot out behind the track, and you've got to get a cart ride to the infield every time. What do you think the catcalls might be like, this weekend?

Jeremy: I tell you what; I've gotten a lot of response over it. I think it's been funny and a lot of people like it.

But you never know. You might get one bad apple out of the bunch who might think that was Tony's Richmond car, or something, and they might want to retaliate.

Shana: Then I guess I would just have to come out and whip the p--- out of them, right?

Word Association: Richmond

Comeback

Jeremy: Richmond. This weekend.

Shana: Pull a Mayfield.

Payback

Jeremy: It's coming.

Shana: Nobody's on our list.

Outback

Jeremy: Kangaroos. Nick Hughes.

Shana: Richmond's Motorhome lot.

Source: Nascar.com

Brian Vickers Mailbag: Who are you, anyway?

Brian Vickers Mailbag: Who are you, anyway?Brian Vickers heads to Richmond with plenty of momentum. After a third-place run last weekend at Talladega,
Vickers jumped five spots to 14th in the Nextel Cup Series standings, 416 points behind leader -- and teammate -- Jimmie Johnson.

Q: Darrell Waltrip was talking about where drivers position their hands on the steering wheel. so just wondering, where do ya put your hands on the wheel and do it change from track to track?? -- Becca, N.D.

Vickers: My hands stay the same at most racetracks. I like to have my hands at 10 o'clock and 3, maybe 10 and 4. With the way the cars are set up, when you're going down the straightaway, the wheel is turned slightly to the right with my hands at 10 and 4. When I get into the corner and turn the wheel, my hands are then at about 8 and 2."

Q: I was just wondering, when was the first Cup race that you attended as a spectator? Where was it? How old were you? -- Lovinvickers25, Parts Unknown

Vickers: No, I don't remember my actual first race because I was so young. The first race I do remember going to was The Winston at Lowe's Motor Speedway back when Kyle Petty turned Dale [Earnhardt] coming off Turn 4 and then turned Davey Allison coming across the start/finish line. That's the night I became a Kyle Petty fan.

Q: My brother noticed your red hair and now he keeps calling you Irish. So my question is are you Irish? -- Natalie, Parts Unknown

Vickers: Not that I'm aware of. I'm pretty sure I'm not Irish. My family, the Vickers family, came from England. I even have the Vickers family crest at home. My mom's side and my grandfather, they're one-quarter Native American.

Q: Who is your favorite comedian if you have one? -- Jill, Parts Unknown

Vickers: Hmm ... that's a tough one. I can't pick just one, there's so many. Adam Sandler is definitely at the top of the list followed by Jim Carrey. Will Ferrell is way up there on the list along with his cast of characters from Old School and Wedding Crashers.

Q: If you could go back in the past and race with any driver (dead or alive) who would it be and why? -- Lisa, Maryland

Vickers: It's hard to compare drivers from different eras and from different series. Ayrton Senna [Formula One] because I'd like to see what he was about. Dale Earnhardt would be an awesome one to be able to go back and race for obvious reasons, but you can go anywhere in the world and people know Ayrton Senna. I've always heard amazing stories about Senna and have even read a book about him.

Source: Nascar.com

Local Look: Richmond

Local Look: Richmond
Events: Crown Royal 400, Circuit City 200
Local papers contributing: Richmond Times-Dispatch, The Tennessean
RIR at center of power play
The deal: Richmond International Raceway was at the middle of a power struggle between the France family and Bruton Smith, writes Bob Lipper of the Richmond Times-Dispatch.

In 1999, Bill France Jr. and his International Speedway Corp. was able to do what Smith's Speedway Motorsports Inc. couldn't a year earlier -- buy Roger Penske's three tracks and his 90-percent holdings in a fourth, and the independently owned RIR.

Before 1999, Smith owned nine tracks to the Frances' eight. Once ISC took control of RIR, the Frances owned 10 tracks that held 16 of the 34 Cup races on the schedule.

Today, 19 of the 36 races are run on 12 tracks controlled by the France family.

Why we care: The Frances paid Paul Sawyer $215 million for RIR, which matches the price Smith paid for Las Vegas Motor Speedway in 1998 as the highest amount for a track purchase.

"I think when you look at just the selling price of $215 million, you can see the France family saw the value of this racetrack," RIR president Doug Fritz said. "The France family and ISC looked at this facility as a crown jewel of racing."

RIR generates more than $9 million in just ticket sales for each of its two Cup races.

"I can tell you [RIR] is one of our more successful facilities. It's a premium facility in our portfolio," said Lenny Santiago, manager of investments and corporate communications for ISC.

"If you look at the sheer number of tracks that were added, that shows you the magnitude of how important 1999 was," Fritz said. "That was a very pivotal year for the company."

RIR expansion coming in phases

The deal: Jill Erwin of the Richmond Times-Dispatch writes Richmond International Raceway is in no hurry to complete its county-approved expansion plans.

Since 2001, when RIR was given the OK to expand its seating capacity to 150,000, the track has added 5,000 seats in three phases.

He said the next phase of expansion could come in time before the spring race in 2007, but that estimation is the earliest completion date at best.

Why we care: No matter how tiring the week may be, the drivers will be fully energized come Saturday about 7:30 p.m. ET.

Of course, Richmond is the cutoff date for the Chase in September, so drivers will be eager to see how they perform there in May. Plus, they'll be doing it in front of the 29th consecutive sellout at RIR, which will be hosting its 100th Cup event, fourth all time.

"I think it has always been one of the best facilities that we've raced at, and that's because they never stop making improvements," Kyle Petty said. "It's a modern facility because it always kept growing with the changes of the sport. The [racing] surface, the stands, the suites, everything at Richmond is well done."

Sterling flew fast from Coo-Coo's nest

The deal: A shoulder injury paved the way for a 30-year career in Cup, writes Larry Woody of The Tennessean.

On May 8, 1976, an 18-year-old Sterling Marlin was summoned to replace his dad, Coo Coo, for a Grand National (now Nextel Cup) race in Nashville.

"Daddy had hurt his shoulder in an ARCA crash at Talladega the week before," Marlin said. "He told me I could take over the car at Nashville if I wanted to."

Marlin started 30th and finished 29th.

Why we care: This weekend at Richmond, Marlin will make career start 685 as he celebrates 30 years in NASCAR's top series.

"It's hard to believe the years have gone by like this," said Marlin, who has 10 victories, 83 top-fives, 215 top-10s and winnings of more than $38 million. "It seems like just yesterday when I was going to the Fairgrounds [now Music City Motorplex] with Daddy and getting ready to run my first race."

Marlin, in his first year driving for MB2 Motorsports, wants to drive at least through next year.

"Racing is my life and I'm having a blast," he said. "It never gets old."

Source: Nascar.com

Truex honors Earnhardt with Talladega victory

Truex honors Earnhardt with Talladega victory
TALLADEGA, Ala. -- Martin Truex Jr. picked the perfect race to make his first Busch Series start of the season.
Truex, the two-time Busch champion who is now a Nextel Cup rookie, returned to his roots Saturday to win his third consecutive race at Talladega Superspeedway.
Driving a car owned by Dale Earnhardt Inc., Truex celebrated what would have been The Intimidator's 55th birthday by giving the company yet another restrictor-plate victory. Earnhardt, who won 10 races at Talladega, was killed in a 2001 accident at Daytona.

"This is up there at the top of my wins,'' Truex said. "It's just a special day. Everybody at DEI, we kind of had this weekend penciled in our calendars.''

The entire weekend has been a tribute to Earnhardt, who was inducted into the International Motorsports Hall of Fame on Thursday night. DEI is celebrating his birthday with a celebration at their shop in Mooresville, N.C., and all of the company cars are sporting a black paint scheme that mimics Earnhardt's old No. 3 Chevrolet.

"It's just an honor to be associated with this whole thing,'' Truex said. "To be part of the company he started, and able to carry it on to more wins. All this stuff for me is like a bonus.

"He was my favorite driver before I ever raced a car.''

Kevin Harvick finished second in a failed bid to stretch his Busch Series winning streak to three. He can jokingly blame the defeat on the return of car owner Richard Childress, who missed the past two victories while on safari.

"The first thing Richard said was, 'I guess I should have stayed in Africa,''' Harvick said. "But it's OK because this is the first time we ever finished this race higher than 16th.''

Harvick extended his lead in the series standings to 299 points on Clint Bowyer.

Kyle Busch finished third, Brian Vickers was fourth and Bowyer was followed by Greg Biffle to give Nextel Cup regulars the top six positions. Cup drivers have won all 10 Busch races this season.

Mark McFarland, who drives for Dale Earnhardt Jr.'s new team, was the highest finishing full-time Busch driver at seventh place.

But the day belonged to Truex, who scored his 13th career victory. Four of them have come at either Talladega or Daytona, and this latest one proved that DEI is still a top contender at restrictor-plate tracks.

"I guess they still have those good cars sitting in the shop, and a good driver sitting in them,'' Harvick said. "They have the cars that can win. They didn't forget how to do it, that's for sure.''
Truex starts 20th in Sunday's Cup race and Earnhardt Jr., who is looking for a sixth Talladega victory, starts 27th.

Tony Eury Sr., DEI's director of competition and Truex's crew chief, said his secret for building good plate-race cars was simple. But the competition has closed the gap and winning Sunday will be difficult.

"Restrictor-plate cars, you have to finesse 'em,'' he said. "I tell the guys they have to talk to them, you have to love on it when you walk on by them. But it's gotten harder. We're not the best.

"I don't think we were the best [Saturday], but we just beat 'em.''

The race was fairly uneventful for Talladega. Although there were four cautions, one was for debris and two were for single-car accidents.

The only big one involved Tony Stewart, who walked away unscathed after his car flipped onto its roof. Stewart, the defending Nextel Cup champion, was running in third when he drove into Kenny Wallace's path and the two cars touched. The hit wasn't hard, but enough to send Stewart's car airborne.

It took medical personnel several minutes to get Stewart out of the car because it was upside down and at an awkward angle. Once out, he went to the medical care facility to be examined.

Source: Nascar.com

Third time a charm? Sadler on pole at 'Dega'

Third time a charm? Sadler on pole at 'Dega'
TALLADEGA, Ala. (AP) -- Elliott Sadler has qualifying at Talladega Superspeedway all figured out. Now, if he can just keep all four tires on the ground in the race.
The Robert Yates Racing driver won his seventh NASCAR Nextel Cup pole Saturday. He has crashed in each of the past three fall races on the 2.66-mile Talladega oval, two of them spectacular airborne wrecks.
"I think I've had all the acrobatic movements that I need to do here in Talladega," he said after driving to his second consecutive Talladega pole and third in the last six tries.

This one topped the rest of the field for Sunday's Aaron's 499 by a wide margin. Sadler posted a lap of 188.511 mph in a Ford Fusion, easily beating runner-up Tony Stewart's 187.658 in a Chevrolet Monte Carlo.

With horsepower-sapping carburetor restrictor plates slowing the cars and bunching them, at least one multicar crash is almost inevitable during each 500-mile event at the big track.

When "The Big One" does happen at Talladega, it seems as if Sadler is often in the midst of it.

In 2003, he barrel-rolled down the frontstretch. The next year, Sadler slid backward through the infield grass and flipped through the air heading toward Turn 1. Last year, just 20 laps into the fall race, Jimmie Johnson slammed into the rear of Sadler's car, igniting a nasty eight-car accident.

But Sadler has done pretty well in the races he has completed, finishing sixth last spring and third in the April of 2003.

"Yes, Talladega has been feast or famine for me," Sadler said, grinning. "Hopefully, my Evel Knievel days are behind us. This car has a nice paint job and I really don't want to scuff it up too much tomorrow."

Sadler is off to a mediocre start in 2006. He started the season with a solid fourth-place finish in the Daytona 500, another plate race, but has only one other top 10 -- sixth at Martinsville -- in the seven races since the opener.

"I know it sounds funny to say this, since it's Talladega, but I'm excited to be here," Sadler said. "You know why? Because this is my best chance to date (this season) to win a race.

"Talladega is a good place to come if you drive for Robert Yates Racing. Every time we unload down here we're going to be fast. Our cars are going to drive good and our motors are going to be good. So, from a company standpoint, this is a good place to come race for us."

Sadler was referring to the fact that engines built by the combined Yates-Roush Racing engine program -- which builds motors for all the Ford Cup teams -- will occupy three of the top four spots and six of the top 10 heading into Sunday's race.

Roush Racing's Carl Edwards qualified third in a Ford at 187.320 and Dale Jarrett, Sadler's teammate, fourth at 187.232.

Kurt Busch was fifth in a Dodge at 187.137, followed by Joe Nemechek's 187.130 in a Chevrolet. The rest of the top 10 included Roush's Greg Biffle, Jamie McMurray and Mark Martin, sandwiching the Chevy of Sterling Marlin.

Jeff Gordon, a four-time winner at Talladega and aiming for his third consecutive spring victory at this track, qualified 14th while Daytona 500 winner Jimmie Johnson was 16th and five-time Talladega winner Dale Earnhardt Jr. was 27th.

"Restrictor-plate racing, to me, is just tough racing," Sadler said. "We're all up on top of each other for 500 miles. It's hard for us to race like that. It's hard to ask 43 human beings to be perfect for 3 1/2 hours."

Source: Nascar.com

Cool, calm Yeley strong in Talladega quals

Cool, calm Yeley strong in Talladega quals
TALLADEGA, Ala. -- Making a qualifying run around the 2.66-mile Talladega Superspeedway would give nearly anybody a severe case of the butterflies.

Except J.J. Yeley.
Knowing that he was guaranteed a spot in Sunday's Aaron's 499, and that track position isn't as critical when cars can easily run four-wide here, Yeley just slid into the seat, mashed the throttle and kept it straight.

"Qualifying is not a real huge thing," Yeley said. "Unless you have something that's capable of getting the pole, it really doesn't make that big of a difference.

"You just have to worry about the wind and keeping the car as straight as possible as far as turning the wheel."

Yeley's lap of 186.827 mph was good enough for 11th quickest, the fifth time this season that he's started 12th or better.

"Because we didn't make any kind of runs yesterday, I had no idea what the car was going to be capable of," Yeley said. "This is a different car than I ran at Daytona. This is the car that was the primary speedway car last year.

"This weekend is the first time that I've sat in the car and just really didn't know what to expect."

Yeley never made a practice qualifying run during Friday's two practices, instead concentrating on getting the No. 18 Chevrolet ready for 500 miles in close quarters.


"There weren't a whole lot of cars that made qualifying runs and there are certain cars that are always really, really fast in qualifying and there's cars that are going to run better," Yeley said. "We worked real hard on making our car draft good and we might have given up something for fast time for qualifying.

"Being locked in the field, we felt having a good racecar is more important than qualifying good."

With the exception of Phoenix, where he started 30th and finished 28th, Yeley has finished worse than he's started in every race this season. He'd like to reverse that trend Sunday.

Waltrip confident after anxious moments

Waltrip confident after anxious moments
TALLADEGA, Ala. -- For three solid minutes, Michael Waltrip kept his eyes drawn to the tachometer on his No. 55 Dodge. When he saw it move slightly to the right, he knew he would be racing on Sunday.
Waltrip, who sits 36th in owners points, faced the very real possibility of missing the Aaron's 499 at Talladega, but his team showed up with a car that was considerably better than the one it ran at Daytona in February.

"[The team] just did good job in making up ground since Daytona on this car," said Waltrip, who qualified 21st with a lap of 185.971 mph. "I believe I can win the race now that I am in it. I just have that much confidence about it."

Waltrip said he knew he would make the show when he felt his car sail down the backstretch on his second qualifying lap.

"On the backstretch on the second lap, I saw about 40 more RPMs than I had all weekend and I just stared at it," said Waltrip, who turns 43 on Sunday. "I felt pretty confident when I saw that.

"I saw an eighth of an inch more RPM on the gauge with relates to 30 or 40 RPM. That doesn't lie. If you use the same gear and the tach moves over there, then you're going faster."

Waltrip did not spend any time this weekend in race trim, instead using Friday's two practice sessions running by himself. That method hasn't changed much since Waltrip's restrictor-plate dominating days with Dale Earnhardt Inc.

"I generally like to practice by myself when I am at Daytona and Talladega," said Waltrip. "My philosophy that if you can make my car faster, I know how to draft.

"I know what I need to feel even when I am by myself to get out there and mix it up with them in race trim. I am not worried about the fact that I didn't practice any."


Waltrip, who will move to a self-owned team with Toyota next year, has been racing in back of the pack for much of this season with a team that uses resources from Bill Davis Racing. He had had trouble qualifying all season, with six starts of 30th or worse.

Waltrip hasn't been able to recover from his qualifying problems all season. His best finish is 18th (Daytona), but he unloaded at Talladega with a fresh shot of confidence.

Talladega has always been a best friend of Waltrip, who won here in 2003.

"We have had a rocky road until this point in the season and we need to get after them," said Waltrip. "We can do that at Talladega."

Source: Nascar.com

10 Questions: Sorenson

10 Questions: Sorenson
Reed Sorenson has grabbed a double handful of NASCAR racing gusto in 2006, as the young Georgia native is competing full-time in both the Nextel Cup and Busch series.
Sorenson, 20, drives No. 41 Dodges in both series for Chip Ganassi Racing with Felix Sabates.

But he also has interests outside of racing, and discusses some of them in 10 Questions.

1. If you have an iPod, what's on that bad boy?
Sorenson: Yes, I do. It's got about 1,000 songs on it -- about 500 that I listen to and the other 500 that I don't.

What I'm picking and choosing to listen to definitely depends on my mood. If you've got to get in a fast-paced mood, you've got to listen to some 50 Cent or some Eminem -- or something like that.

If you just want to relax, you've got to listen to some country music. Rascal Flatts is probably my favorite country group.

2. What's your ideal break from the racing grind -- or are you at a stage in your career where you don't consider it an aggravation?

Sorenson: It seems like this year, running the full schedules in Nextel Cup and the Busch series, is going to be a long year. But being 20 years old, I feel like this is what I want to do and I can take a break later in life.

3. What's your favorite outdoor activity?

Sorenson: Lately, I've been trying to play golf. I'm not very good at it, but I do enjoy going out with some friends and playing.

A handicap? I usually shoot in the 90s -- or right at about 100. But I have a good time doing it.

We played over at Birkdale Golf Club in Huntersville [N.C.] the other day and that seemed like a nice golf course to play on. But it doesn't matter to me because any golf course is pretty cool.

4. Which show is "must see TV" for you?

Sorenson: It would either be King of the Hill or The Simpsons. Those adult cartoon comedies are pretty funny. And I love Family Guy.

5. What's No. 1 on your life's "to do" list?

Sorenson: As far as goals, it would probably be winning a Nextel Cup championship, as far as my racing career.

I haven't really set a timetable for doing it. I would settle for whenever I can. It wouldn't matter to me when I did it or how long it takes, but just to be the best, I'd like to get there, at some point.

6. If you could go back in time, what period in history would you like to live in, and why?

Sorenson: It would be World War II and that era [and] just to experience what everybody in this nation had to experience to make it through a time when uncertainty was the main thing to worry about.

I think it would be interesting to see how everybody worked together to make it through something like that.

Just reading about it in school and studying that period, and seeing how everybody pulled together, and how everybody just did their part to do what they had to do to defend our freedom is something pretty cool and that I'd like to have seen.

7. What would you consider to be your No. 1 guilty pleasure?

Sorenson: Eating a lot because I really like to eat, a lot. And I like to eat anything.

I try to eat healthy stuff, but I enjoy eating candies and stuff like that a lot, too. Skittles is probably my favorite brand of candy.

8. What's the most embarrassing moment you'll own up to, either in or out of racing?

Sorenson: I don't really have too many embarrassing moments in the racecar, at least that I can remember. Somehow, I think my parents might have a couple that they could share. But I don't really remember any.

Some of the other ones, I probably shouldn't talk about.

9. Who is the coolest or most impressive person or celebrity you've had the opportunity to meet?

Sorenson: Well, I haven't gotten to meet too many celebrities yet, but the other week [at Atlanta] I got to talk to Deuce Bigelow [Rob Schneider] and David Spade and I don't know the other guy's name that played in Napoleon Dynamite [Jon Heder].

But I met those guys and Rob was pretty cool because he actually started talking about racing with me instead of doing like a lot of guys like that will just do with you -- they'll just blow you off and shake your hand or whatever.

But we started talking about racing and he was asking me all kinds of questions about it, so that was pretty cool.

10. What time do you go to bed most nights, and on the other end, what time do you get up most mornings?

Sorenson: It varies. I go back and forth, but I'd probably have to say I go to bed somewhere between 11 and 12 at night and I get up anywhere between 7 and 9:30 in the morning.

It depends on the situation. If I've got something early I have to do I have to get up no matter what but if I don't have anything, sometimes I'll sleep in a little bit. It all depends.

Source: Nascar.com
Read AutoNews

Mayfield expresses concern about slow start

Mayfield expresses concern about slow start
Jeremy Mayfield wants to make one thing crystal clear about his sorry start this season: "I didn't forget how to drive, I can tell you that."

Then what is behind Mayfield's fall from championship contender in the season-ending chase the past two years to the stumbles that have him 34th in points this season?

"I don't even know what it is," Mayfield said. "I like all the guys on the team, I think they like me. It just ain't happening."
Mayfield has had troubles adjusting to the revamped team put in by car owner Ray Evernham after last season, when the No. 19 Dodge finished ninth in the 10-driver chase.

Chris Andrews oversees Mayfield's car. Two years ago, Kenny Francis was Mayfield's crew chief. Last year, it was Richard "Slugger" Labbe, with Francis as the team director.

Now, Francis has Mayfield's Evernham teammate, Kasey Kahne, off to his best Nextel Cup season so far at third in the points.

Evernham's third team, driven by Scott Riggs and led by Rodney Childers, is 29th in points, but has two top 10s -- two more than Mayfield -- this season.

Mayfield is starting to wonder when and how Evernham will step in.

"Ray's on top of everything that goes on," Mayfield said. "And yet, we're this far in the season and I don't see the urgency right now for some reason of why we are running bad.

"I think he's just patiently trying to hope it will all work out," Mayfield said. "But if we're not careful, 10 races will be in and we got 16 races to go and we won't be in the Chase."

Evernham said he retains confidence in his equipment, engines and race team structure, but he understands Mayfield's concerns.

"He's had some bad luck and now people are unhappy," Evernham said. "I guess that's to be expected."

The switches last November left Mayfield scratching his head and frustrated with another adjustment. Mayfield has faced changes often since joining Evernham in 2002, "And I hate it. I'm ready to settle down here and race a little while."

Mayfield acknowledges problems clicking with Andrews -- and the results show that. The team's best finish so far this season is 16th at Bristol Motor Speedway last month.

"I'm sitting there trying to feel Chris out, he's trying to feel me out on how to communicate," Mayfield said.

There have been race-day adjustments on the car that haven't worked and minor pit-road foul-ups that have cost them, he said.

"All of a sudden, all that stuff has added up," he said. "Now, we've got to go say, 'Wow, reality has set in, we're not running like we need to run."'

If things don't turn around soon, Mayfield said, it's natural for people to lose confidence. "Then all of a sudden the rumor mill starts flying and things start happening," he said. "This is going to make or break us."

Evernham wonders why Mayfield's team hasn't clicked so far, while Kahne and Riggs have.

"It's like having three kids and two of them are doing really well, but you're more concerned about the one who isn't," Evernham said.

Evernham and Mayfield met last week to talk about improvements. Evernham asked what Mayfield thought would increase performance and the driver pointed to upgraded engineering support and better communication among the team. "He just doesn't feel like his cars felt like last year," Evernham said.

Evernham said his organization has made changes to the Dodge Charger and to the race chassis.

"We think that it's better for the Charger, and Jeremy just doesn't like those changes," the car owner said. "So we are trying to get him more stuff like he had last year."

Mayfield worries it already may be too late, saying, "I considered two races ago a critical point."

Mayfield is signed with Evernham Motorsports through 2007. He said he hopes to stay beyond that, and knows he'll have to improve the team's performance.

"You kind of let things happen and you hope for the best," Mayfield said. "But it's not going to work out like we are right now. If we keep doing what we've been doing, it ain't going to work. So we've got to do something different. What that is, I don't know."

AP Motorsports Writer Jenna Fryer contributed to this report

Source: Nascar.com
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