Malsam discovers racing is his niche (PA SportsTicker)
July 30, 2009
(Sporting News) – By the age of 16, Tayler Malsam had played football and baseball and found neither appealing. He was ordered off the couch by his father, who figured Malsam should have some kind of activity to fill up his spare time.
“I kind of sat around and did nothing,” Malsam, now 20, said. “My dad told me to find something to do.”
Malsam chose racing and found out he enjoyed it, instantly. Maybe that was because he was good at it, too. Four years after sitting in a shifter kart for the first time, Malsam ranks seventh in the points and leads the Raybestos Rookie of the Year standings in the Camping World Truck Series heading into Saturday’s Toyota Tundra 200 at Nashville Superspeedway.
“My grandpa and uncle had a World of Outlaws team and my uncle still has a sprint car team,” Malsam said. “I thought it (racing) might be something I would like. It came easy to me. I have a lot of fun. It’s a rush of adrenaline.”
Malsam, of Seattle, began driving for uncle Kevin Rudeen’s team in 2007. It’s a successful and well-established team in the Pacific Northwest whose drivers have included current Sprint Cup driver Kasey Kahne. It competes in a mix of World of Outlaws, West Coast and local events, and Malsam commutes across the country from North Carolina to run with it. He’s scheduled for 23 events this season.
Malsam made the move into stock cars last season, finishing ninth in the ARCA RE/MAX Series. He also raced in two NASCAR truck events and signed a deal for the entire 2009 season with Bill Davis Racing. When Davis sold his multi-faceted operation and the new owners didn’t continue the race team, Malsam needed to find a new home in a hurry. He signed with Randy Moss Motorsports in February, only a couple of weeks prior to the opening race of the season at Daytona.
“I was ready to quit and go back to sprint cars,” Malsam said. “I was frustrated. It was a spur of the moment deal.”
Mike Skinner had been with Davis and he decided to join Moss, too. The team switched to Toyota, which Skinner had driven for since 2004. The veteran, with 26 wins in the series, has become a mentor to Malsam.
“He’s been a lot of help off the track and on the track,” Malsam said.
Malsam’s seventh-place finish last week at O’Reilly Raceway Park was his fifth top-10 in the last eight races and sixth of the season, and it came despite an unscheduled pit stop for a flat tire at midrace. Malsam’s Toyota was a contender to win a week earlier at Kentucky before contact with Timothy Peters near the end cut a tire and he finished 13th.
“We can run better, but we’re happy where we’re at,” Malsam said. “(Crew chief) Doug Wolcott and the team does a good job of putting good trucks underneath me. We want to finish in the top-five (in points) and we’re only 65 out of it.”
Malsam’s career has moved quickly up the ladder, but he’s not in a hurry to make another jump.
“I’ll run trucks again next season,” Malsam said. “I definitely want to be ready for Nationwide and Sprint Cup.”
Ron Hornaday Jr. will be attempting to win his fifth straight race of the season at Nashville. The Kevin Harvick Inc. Chevrolet driver has a 174-point lead over Skinner.
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Pennsylvania 500 (Yahoo! Sports)
July 30, 2009
F1 teams look at racing 3 cars, qualifying changes (PA SportsTicker)
July 30, 2009
By ROB HARRIS AP Sports Writer
LONDON(AP)—Formula One teams are exploring whether they should race three cars beginning next season, along with changes to qualifying designed to make it more challenging.
While the Formula One Teams Association scrapped plans to form a rival series as part of a peace pact with the governing body, leading outfits want to be at the forefront of revitalizing auto racing’s global competition.
FOTA is exploring changes that it hopes will make the series more exciting for fans and shift attention back to the track, after many high-profile battles with the FIA this season.
The teams association is believed to be close to recommending an overhaul of qualifying to the FIA. Currently, five cars are excluded after each of the first two parts of qualifying, leaving 10 cars to compete for pole in the final 10-minute session.
A plan that would make the starting lineup more unpredictable is to have five cars challenge in the preliminary session, with the two fastest progressing to challenge the next group of five until the grid is determined.
The proposals are yet to be announced by FOTA, but the group confirmed Wednesday that it will discuss with the FIA a possible expansion of the grid to 36 cars.
“Professional work has already begun within FOTA aimed at increasing the involvement of the fans and at improving the F1 show,” secretary general Simone Perillo said. “Among those initiatives, one that could be interesting is the introduction of a third car on the grid.
“FOTA will seek the opinions of all the most relevant stakeholders in order to exchange ideas and define proposals for the future of Formula One.”
FOTA announced the plans hours after one of its eight members, BMW Sauber, said it was pulling out of the series due to its lack of success and to focus its resources on the rest of its motor business.
The association, which also includes Ferrari and McLaren, has pledged to help the team continue with new owners, just as Brawn emerged from the ashes of Honda after the Japanese automaker withdrew before the new season.
“FOTA teams have immediately consulted each other and are ready to assure all the necessary support to the Swiss-based team, whose membership in the association is confirmed, to continue its involvement in F1,” Perillo said.
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Stepmother sues suspended Mayfield over comments
July 29, 2009
STATESVILLE, N.C. (AP)—Jeremy Mayfield’s stepmother sued the suspended NASCAR driver Wednesday, claiming he made slanderous, false and defamatory statements.
In civil court papers filed in Iredell County civil court, Lisa Mayfield argues her stepson falsely accused her of killing his father and taking money from NASCAR. She’s seeking compensatory and punitive damages of more than $10,000 each and “further relief as the Court may deem just and proper.”
Jeremy Mayfield’s comments in several interviews came after his stepmother signed an affidavit claiming she witnessed him taking methamphetamine at least 30 times over seven years. Her affidavit was part of a NASCAR filing asking the federal judge who lifted the driver’s drug suspension to reinstate the ban.
The 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals has since ruled in NASCAR’s favor to keep Mayfield off the track.
The driver has denied ever using the illegal drug.
Lisa Mayfield attorney Edmund Gaines wrote in the three-page filing that Jeremy Mayfield made the comments with “intent to injure and damage the Plaintiff” and “with reckless disregard for the truth.”
In interviews, Jeremy Mayfield suggested NASCAR paid his stepmother to lie about his alleged past drug use and accused her of killing his father.
“NASCAR did a great job, that is pretty much a low blow, especially with a lady who is involved with killing my dad,” according to the court filing, quoting an interview with Charlotte, N.C., TV station WSOC.
Police ruled Terry Mayfield’s death in 2007 a suicide.
John Buric, an attorney for Jeremy Mayfield, did not immediately return a message seeking comment.
Mayfield was suspended May 9 for failing a random drug test eight days earlier for what NASCAR has said was a positive test for methamphetamine. The driver sued, and the lawsuit has been set for a jury trial on Sept. 13, 2010, according to court documents filed Tuesday.
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'Free Tickets for Life' latest LMS promotion for fans (NASCAR.com)
July 29, 2009
Race fans will have the unprecedented opportunity to score free tickets for life to all ticketed events at Lowe's Motor Speedway with the Free Tickets for Life Challenge.
By correctly selecting the winner in each of the 11 races that comprise the speedway's fall racing lineup, including the NASCAR Banking 500 only from Bank of America in October, fans can win four free tickets to every ticketed event at Lowe's Motor Speedway for life.
Based on the 2009 event schedule for Lowe's Motor Speedway's facilities, during a 20-year period, the grand prize winner would receive tickets valued at approximately $73,240.
The fall schedule consists of 11 feature races across three event weekends. In order to win four free tickets to every ticketed event for life at Lowe's Motor Speedway, fans must correctly select the winners of all 11 events.
Prizes also will be awarded to the top finishers in the Free Tickets for Life Challenge, determined by the number of event winners selected correctly, at the conclusion of the 11 events. In addition, prizes will be awarded to anyone that correctly picks all winners for any specific event weekend.
To enter the Free Tickets for Life Challenge, visit www.lowesmotorspeedway.com/ticketsforlife, and select the winner for each event. Fans can also fill out an entry form by visiting the Lowe's Motor Speedway ticket office during normal operating hours. The deadline for entry is Sept. 14 and only one entry is allowed per person and per household.
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Massa moved out of intensive care after crash (PA SportsTicker)
July 29, 2009
By PABLO GORONDI Associated Press Writer
BUDAPEST, Hungary(AP)—Formula One driver Felipe Massa took his first steps Wednesday since a high-speed crash last weekend left him near death.
Massa’s father said his improving son had moved out of AEK hospital’s intensive care unit.
“Felipe speaks, can sit upright and was even able to take his first steps,” Ferrari said in a statement. “From the clinical and radiological point of view, everything is going extremely well.”
The 28-year-old Brazilian was hit in the helmet by a loose part from another car and crashed into a protective tire barrier at 120 mph during qualifying Saturday at the Hungarian Grand Prix. He sustained skull fractures and a concussion.
Massa’s father, Luiz Antonio, said his son still doesn’t remember the accident.
He expected Massa to be transferred to a hospital in Paris as soon as Thursday, but doctors told him his son was likely to remain in Budapest until Sunday.
“There is no rush,” Luiz Antonio told Brazil’s GloboEsporte.com on Wednesday, adding that it was still possible that Massa would continue treatment in Paris.
Family doctor Dino Altman said Massa was surprised to hear that McLaren’s Lewis Hamilton won the Hungarian GP and that Ferrari teammate Kimi Raikkonen was second.
“This was my race,” Massa said, according to Altman, adding that the driver was able to remember some details of the qualifying session in which he crashed.
Also on Wednesday, Brazilian driver and friend Popo Bueno said Massa had asked about his chances of racing in Valencia in three weeks, the next race on the F1 calendar.
“Friends and relatives want to see him well, at home, healthy. But the driver always wants to return to racing soon,” Bueno said. “But only the doctors can know if he will be able to return this year or the next.”
Seven-time F1 champion Michael Schumacher will replace Massa at the European GP on Aug. 21-23.
Ferrari also said company chairman Luca di Montezemolo would visit Massa on Wednesday.
Associated Press writers Tales Azzoni in Sao Paulo and Marta Falconi in Rome contributed to this report.
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Schumacher to make comeback to replace Massa (PA SportsTicker)
July 29, 2009
By ARIEL DAVID Associated Press Writer
ROME(AP)—Seven-time Formula One champion Michael Schumacher is making a comeback for Ferrari to replace injured driver Felipe Massa.
Ferrari said Wednesday in a statement that the German had agreed to get back in the cockpit until Massa is fit to return. The next race is the European Grand Prix on Aug. 21-23 in Valencia, Spain.
“Though it is true that the Formula One chapter has long been closed for me, it is also true that for team loyalty reasons I cannot ignore that unfortunate situation,” the 40-year-old Schumacher said. “But as the competitor I am, I also very much look forward to facing this challenge.”
The 28-year-old Massa was hit in the helmet by a loose part from another car and crashed into a protective tire barrier at 120 mph during qualifying Saturday at the Hungarian Grand Prix.
The Brazilian received multiple skull fractures in the accident and doctors say he will not race again this season.
Massa took his first steps since the crash on Wednesday and was later scheduled to leave the intensive care unit of the AEK hospital in Budapest. He also received a visit from Ferrari chairman Luca di Montezemolo.
Ferrari said Schumacher will undergo a special training program in the coming days to determine whether he will be able to drive in Valencia. There are six races left in the season after the European GP.
“Thanks God, all news concerning Felipe is positive. I wish him all the best again,” Schumacher wrote on his Web site.
Schumacher, who had 91 wins in 250 F1 races starts, still acts as a consultant for Ferrari. Since retiring in October 2006, Schumacher has raced occasionally in a motorcycling series but was injured in a crash in February.
Schumacher won his first two F1 titles with the Benetton team. He joined Ferrari in 1996 and won five straight from 2000-04.
—- =
AP Writers Nesha Starcevic in Frankfurt and Pablo Gorondi in Budapest contributed to this report.
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Travel Log: Pocono (NASCAR.com)
July 29, 2009
It's the second trip to Pocono, and following the trend set forth in Travel Log when the schedule returned to Daytona early in July, the focus will stay around the 2.5-mile triangle race track.
focused on the firsts that Pennsylvania boasts in its lengthy history. Now for a return to the mountainous region, Travel Log takes a look at what there is to do during a weekend stay near Long Pond, Pa.
MAKE A LAP AROUND POCONO For $10, fans can take a lap around the 2.5-mile Pocono Raceway. Ticket holders can make the donation to the Victory Junction Gang Camp and board a bus for a one-lap ride around the triangle. All proceeds go to the camp, and rides are available for infield and grandstand spectators from 9 a.m. until 12:30 p.m. ET. Infield fans can board the bus at Turn 3 near pit road. Grandstand spectators should head to Turn 1 near the track crossing.
MUSIC OF THE MOUNTAINS Pocono Raceway will host two days worth of live bluegrass music leading into Sunday's Cup race. Friday and Saturday performances include music from:
• Ricky Skaggs • Steep Canyon Rangers • Charlie Sizemore Band • Dailey & Vincent • Del McCoury Band • Cherryholmes • Blue Highway • SteelDrivers
The concerts are free to infield campers. Those fans not in Long Pond this weekend can still attend the concert online through access to live streaming. Visit http://yabutz.com/bluegrass/.
FAN GUIDE Pocono provides a fan guide with the specs on where to go and how to get there. But it also provides a good FAQ section on the track Web site to get the important dos and don'ts about coolers, kids and cameras—the essentials. • Pocono Raceway
Weekend Schedules: Cup Series | Nationwide Series | Truck Series
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Hamlin still searching for breakthrough
July 29, 2009
Scan the top of the NASCAR standings, and Denny Hamlin is there, same as always.
The Joe Gibbs Racing star has his No. 11 Toyota a relatively comfortable sixth in the points race, in good position to make the Chase for the championship with six races to go.
So, everything’s great heading into Sunday’s race at Pocono, right?
Not exactly.
“On paper it looks good that we’re sixth,” Hamlin said. “I’m not comfortable with where we’re at.”
How could he be?
The 28-year-old began the year saying “it’s time to be a champion, not a guy that contends.”
Yet with the season more than halfway gone, Hamlin is still searching for his first trip to Victory Lane and is in the middle of the longest winless drought of his career: 50 races and counting.
While most drivers would hardly quibble with his season or a resume that includes a berth in the Chase in each of the last three years, Hamlin has grown tired of watching his dreams of a championship consistently fade in the fall.
This year was supposed to be different, but the ban on offseason testing combined with the remarkable strength of Hendrick Motorsports and Stewart-Haas Racing has left Hamlin and JGR teammate Kyle Busch among the drivers scrambling to play catch-up with the likes of superstars Tony Stewart, Jimmie Johnson and Jeff Gordon.
“Week in, week out it’s a Hendrick car winning one way, shape or form,” Hamlin said. “Pretty much they’re taking all the top five spots, to be honest with you. We feel like we’ve got a tall mountain to climb.”
The ascent didn’t get off to a good start at Indianapolis.
Busch stumbled to 38th after his right front tire blew, and a broken drive shaft early in the race sent Hamlin to the garage for 16 laps. He finished 34th, the third time in the last eight races he’s found himself in the bottom 10.
Afterward JGR president J.D. Gibbs admitted “we might not have the best stuff right now.”
Hamlin estimated JGR is the team best equipped to close the gap, but feels Hendrick and Stewart-Haas have a distinct advantage because of their technical alliance.
“Ultimately, they’re getting better feedback,” Hamlin said. “… We hear on the radio when (Stewart) struggles or (Ryan Newman) struggles, they just say over the radio, ‘Hey, go get the notes from (Mark Martin’s car) and find out what he’s running.’ That’s big.”
Don’t get Hamlin wrong, he’s not whining. He believes there’s enough time left in the season for JGR to make inroads, but the margin for error is small.
While Busch has three wins this season for JGR, his inability to consistently salvage something out of “bad” races has left him 14th in the standings, 82 points out of the Chase heading into this weekend’s visit to Pocono.
Busch pledged to be a more positive influence after a meltdown at Chicago earlier this month, and Hamlin said he’s seen a change in the way the Busch handles himself on the track.
FILE — This is a July 9, 2009… AP – Jul 29, 10:55 am EDT
“He has stepped it down,” Hamlin said. “He’s not going all out like he did I think, before. He’s trying to finish as good as he can.”
Having a teammate in the Chase would certainly help, and Hamlin has pledged to do what he can to make sure Busch rallies over the next six weeks.
He doesn’t, however, feel any additional pressure as JGR’s elder statesmen. He knows now that it will take more than one driver at JGR to fill the void left by the departure of Stewart, who won two titles at Gibbs before leaving at the end of last year to become a driver and co-owner at Stewart-Haas.
“It takes me and Kyle and Joey (Logano) to step up and kind of fill the gap that Tony left here as far as doing the hard work of going and doing some testing at these racetracks, figuring out what we need to get better,” Hamlin said. “It’s really on all of our shoulders, not just mine because I’ve been here the longest.”
Maybe, but neither Busch nor Logano have been as close to a title as Hamlin was in 2006 when he finished third behind Johnson and Matt Kenseth. He’s made the Chase in each of the last two seasons but hardly been a factor, finishing eighth in 2007 and sixth last year.
The success has been nice, but it’s not been enough for a driver who grew used to winning once every four or five races during his pre-Cup career. He’s worked hard to develop a better relationship with crew chief Mike Ford, and owner Joe Gibbs praised Hamlin’s maturity during the offseason.
The fact he’s managed to be competitive despite Hendrick’s dominance is a testament to Hamlin’s patience. Yet the frustration of knowing he’s likely not driving the fastest car is starting to get old.
“Believe me, I don’t want to go to the racetrack every single week and say, ‘Man, I know we can run top five, but are we going to have the best car? I doubt it. Probably a Hendrick car will have the best car. Probably one of those guys are going to hit it and we’re going to be chasing them,”’ Hamlin said. “I don’t like that attitude and feeling that way when we go to the racetrack. I want to feel like we can win every single week we step in the car.”
A return to Pocono should help. Hamlin won there twice during his rookie season, a time when he thought he had this whole Cup thing figured out. Things haven’t been quite the same since the series moved to the new car, though he still has five top-10s in seven career starts at the unique 2.5-mile circuit.
“We always run well there,” he said. “It just tends to my style a little bit and when we go there Mike has a good feel. … We’re always going to be competitive there.”
If Hamlin wants to prove he’s ready to make a legitimate run at a title, he knows he’ll need to be more than that.
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Massa takes first steps since high-speed crash (PA SportsTicker)
July 29, 2009
By PABLO GORONDI Associated Press Writer
BUDAPEST, Hungary(AP)—Formula One driver Felipe Massa took his first steps Wednesday since a high-speed crash last weekend left him near death.
Ferrari said Massa was set to leave AEK hospital’s intensive care unit later Wednesday as his condition improves.
“Felipe speaks, can sit upright and was even able to take his first steps,” the Italian team said in a statement. “From the clinical and radiological point of view, everything is going extremely well.”
The 28-year-old Brazilian was hit in the helmet by a loose part from another car and crashed into a protective tire barrier at 120 mph during qualifying Saturday at the Hungarian Grand Prix.
Ferrari said Massa would remain at the Budapest hospital for the next few days.
Massa’s father, Luiz Antonio, said his son still doesn’t remember the accident.
“If it continues like this, maybe Thursday Felipe can be transferred to the hospital in Paris, where he would continue his recovery until he can return home,” Luiz Antonio told Brazil’s GloboEsporte.com on Tuesday.
“But we still have to obey what the doctors say. The most important now is to know that his life is not at risk.”
On Wednesday, Brazilian driver and friend Popo Bueno said Massa had asked about his chances of racing in Valencia in three weeks, the next race on the F1 calendar.
“Friends and relatives want to see him well, at home, healthy. But the driver always wants to return to racing soon,” Bueno said. “But only the doctors can know if he will be able to return this year or the next.”
Ferrari also said company chairman Luca di Montezemolo would visit Massa on Wednesday.
Associated Press writes Tales Azzoni in Sao Paulo and Marta Falconi in Rome contributed to this report.
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