Martin second at Bristol, but always rides first class (NASCAR.com)
August 27, 2009
1. You're Mark Martin. On the final lap Saturday night at Bristol, do you use the front bumper to move Kyle Busch out of the way?
Dave Rodman: You just answered that one—you're Mark Martin. Have you ever seen him do anyone dirty, under just about any circumstance? Prevailing opinion made you think he might, but that's because the heat of the moment overwhelms just about everyone. Everyone except Mark Martin, that is.
Raygan Swan: After listening to both drivers, it sounds to me like they have a peaceful history on the track together, so why mess with that? Mark said he sleeps better at night when he can win a race without pulling something "dirty." Not wrecking Kyle was the right thing to do.
Kyle Busch holds off Mark Mart… NASCAR.com – Aug 27, 3:26 pm EDT Kyle Busch holds off Mark Mart… NASCAR.com – Aug 27, 3:26 pm EDT YAHOO.Sports.article_carousel_last_index = 1; YAHOO.Sports.article_carousel_lazy_images = [http://d.yimg.com/a/p/sp/turner/fc/fullj.059955a5e6b57d8a4cfef0f69d62cedb/track.smack.mmartin.de200908270.jpg?x=180&y=200&xc=129&yc=1&wc=184&hc=204&q=70&sig=pk_0l1J89KOQ.3OhACP8Ew--]; YAHOO.util.Event.addListener(window,load,YAHOO.Sports.articleLazyLoadCarousel.init); 1 of 2 NASCAR Gallery function prev_photo() { if (YAHOO.Sports.article_carousel_current_index > 0) { goto_photo(YAHOO.Sports.article_carousel_current_index – 1); } else { goto_photo(YAHOO.Sports.article_carousel_last_index); }}function next_photo() { if (YAHOO.Sports.article_carousel_current_index 0) { YAHOO.util.Dom.addClass(article_carousel_prev, prev); YAHOO.util.Dom.removeClass(article_carousel_prev, prev_disabled); } else { YAHOO.util.Dom.addClass(article_carousel_prev, prev_disabled); YAHOO.util.Dom.removeClass(article_carousel_prev, prev); } if (YAHOO.Sports.article_carousel_current_index < YAHOO.Sports.article_carousel_last_index) { YAHOO.util.Dom.addClass(article_carousel_next, next); YAHOO.util.Dom.removeClass(article_carousel_next, next_disabled); } else { YAHOO.util.Dom.addClass(article_carousel_next, next_disabled); YAHOO.util.Dom.removeClass(article_carousel_next, next); }*/}function goto_photo(p) { if (YAHOO.Sports.article_carousel_photos) { for(i = 0; i < YAHOO.Sports.article_carousel_photos.length; i++) { if (i == p) { YAHOO.util.Dom.setStyle(YAHOO.Sports.article_carousel_photos[i], display, ); } else { YAHOO.util.Dom.setStyle(YAHOO.Sports.article_carousel_photos[i], display, none); } } if (YAHOO.Sports.article_carousel_current_page) { YAHOO.Sports.article_carousel_current_page.innerHTML =(p + 1); YAHOO.Sports.article_carousel_current_index = p; } } update_buttons();}YAHOO.Sports.article_carousel_init = function () { YAHOO.util.Event.addListener(article_carousel_prev, click, prev_photo); YAHOO.util.Event.addListener(article_carousel_next, click, next_photo); YAHOO.Sports.article_carousel_current_index = 0; YAHOO.Sports.article_carousel_current_page = YAHOO.util.Dom.get(carousel_page); YAHOO.Sports.article_carousel_photos = YAHOO.util.Dom.getElementsByClassName(item, div, leadphoto); if (YAHOO.Sports.article_carousel_photos) { goto_photo(0); }}YAHOO.Sports.article_carousel_init();
David Caraviello: As much as the anti-Busch brigade would have liked to have seen it, there was really no reason to. As Martin was the first to admit, Kyle gave him room. Martin still couldn't get past. Kyle clearly had the faster car, so wrecking him would have been something of a jerk move. And Martin isn't a jerk.
Raygan Swan: Right, David, and it surprised me when Kyle said that Mark is a veteran driver he goes to for advice on certain things, him and Jeff Burton. I thought Kyle knew everything! Kidding, but both drivers put on a great show.
David Caraviello: Now, that said, I'm not opposed to the bump-and-run if the situation calls for it. Had Mark clearly been faster, for instance, or Kyle been weaving up and down on the race track trying to block, the chrome horn might have been called for. But that wasn't the case Saturday night.
Raygan Swan: I'm cracking up right now. I've never heard the term "chrome horn!" I need to get out more! Some days I need to use my chrome horn in the grocery parking lot!
Dave Rodman: I'll guarantee your local P.D. wouldn't wait for that one to come back around, Raygs. Saturday night's finish was a wonderful clip of guts-out racing—not blocking and daring someone to do something about it. As they said, both of those guys were on the ragged edge, and if you can't appreciate that … well, Bristol's TV ratings were up, so I guess that's a good thing.
David Caraviello: It does seem we're in this era of gentlemanliness all of the sudden, with the guys up front going out of their way to be courteous to one another. Maybe that's a function of the Chase, and everybody getting conservative and nobody wanting to risk retaliation. And again, moving someone out of the way every once in a while is part of the ballgame. Just not Saturday night.
Dave Rodman: Speaking of doing 'em dirty—did anyone else think that Sam Hornish kind of dumped Casey Mears? He was running into him at the start/finish line and kind of pushed him right around. Now that appeared to be classic Bristol. All things considered, I'm glad that was about all we saw of it.
David Caraviello: I will say, Dave, you're right about that being an entertaining race Saturday night. The races do seem to be getting better as the season goes on. Watching on television, I was holding my breath over those final laps wondering how it would turn out. But I never really considered the idea of Mark moving Kyle out of the way until the announcers mentioned it. Surely, they should know Martin a little better than that by now.
Raygan Swan: I would have to agree, the race was great.
David Caraviello: Maybe that's the kind of race we needed to convince people that you can have great racing on the "new" Bristol without a bunch of crumpled-up race cars. But I wonder how many people wanted to see some cage-rattling at the end, just for old time's sake, because that's one of the things that made the place famous.
Dave Rodman: That's what chaps me about the "fans" with that attitude. Any Neanderthal rhinoceros could bam someone out of the way. It takes real drivers to race the way that Mark and Kyle did Saturday, and you have to appreciate that. The way it played out was almost exactly how it did with Jeff Burton in Kyle's first win in the current car. Two great pros with a lot of respect for each other going at it. I don't remember the announcers beating up the bump too much—but I was pretty enthralled watching it, and I don't much need them to entertain or instruct me.
David Caraviello: That, Dave, is why I turn down the television sound and put in Wagner's Ride of the Valkyries for the final laps of every race! Really gives it an epic quality no matter what happens.
2. You're Dale Earnhardt Jr. You have back-to-back top-10 finishes for the first time this year. Is there light at the end of the tunnel?
Dave Rodman: Sadly enough, as it is for everyone in this sport, he's got to keep getting on it at Atlanta. But for sure it does show progress—and yes, there is a glimmer of hope showing. But again, it's got to be consistent.
Raygan Swan: Maybe, but I think he is certainly understanding his role better as a driver and working with his team. After Michigan, he said he is trying to be the same driver at the start of the race as he is the finish, mentally speaking. Also, he said he is doing a better job of controlling himself so the team doesn't have to.
David Caraviello: OK, one race at a place like Michigan, where guys are running out of gas, is one thing. But bringing it at Bristol, where nobody gets a good finish by accident, is something else. That was old Junior there Saturday night, shades of the same guy who used to be really good on the concrete short track. For No. 88 fans, it had to be a hopeful sign.
Raygan Swan: Good point, David. I think we will see the fruit of this team's labor next season.
David Caraviello: But Dave, I agree, let's see what he does at Atlanta. That used to be one of his best tracks, maybe his best non-restrictor-plate track. He used to really be strong there. If he is again next weekend, and can string together three good finishes in a row—well, they really might be onto something.
Raygan Swan: Is it impossible to think that maybe he can be a Chase spoiler, guys?
Dave Rodman: It's interesting when you put it that way, in that it's relatively the same thing Kyle Busch realized going into Bristol. He has to be constructive and cogent in his remarks—not emotional and incendiary. In the end, the outcome will be much more positive and again, it comes down to consistency. If Shrub can do it for two more races, he could make the Chase; and if Junior can put a string of those together, he could easily win a race before October.
David Caraviello: Not impossible, but at this point maybe still unlikely. There were a lot of people who thought, well, replace Tony Eury Jr. and the light switch will go on. I think now they're realizing just how behind that program was, for some reasons that had to do with the driver. Junior's communication, his fitness level, those aren't things you can change overnight.
Raygan Swan: I'm glad you made the fitness comment, David, because too many fans think it is not necessary. But really, it improves mental strength and focus. I mean, geez, even Tony Stewart has shed some pounds recently.
Dave Rodman: It's all part of the package that equals success. Even Jeff Gordon recently has altered his workout regimen and the results have been pretty noticeable.
David Caraviello: Unless you're a freak of nature like Tony Stewart, and can eat Dairy Queen and win in anything with four wheels, it's absolutely a factor. When your physical fitness suffers, your mental fitness suffers. I still contend this is one reason why Jimmie Johnson is at the top of the sport right now. And Dave, while I like Junior and I think they may be on the verge of getting things figured out, I'm not ready to say they're a threat to win. They've been off the radar to that effect for so long, they'll need to show me more than they have for me to think they can steal that many points from somebody come Chase time.
Dave Rodman: Hmmm. All I'm saying is, Junior certainly knows how to win. Lance McGrew has proven he has the tools to get it done. And they're in Hendrick equipment. So you make a good point, but with who they are and what they have to work with, they are not very far off.
Raygan Swan: Question for both of you: Do you feel like Lance is the man to turn things around for this team?
David Caraviello: What are they going to do, lure over Chad Knaus? Lance has been in the Hendrick system for a while. It sounds like he's really running the show over at the No. 88, where even Junior admitted that before, the driver made too many of the decisions. And Dale indicated at a media function at Atlanta a few weeks ago that Lance would be back.
Raygan Swan: Well, if Lance is coming back, then great. Because I think what that team needs is a consistent leader.
Dave Rodman: They might have to give it to the end of the year to really see. They appear to have turned a corner, but as we just agreed, consistency from now will tell. Depending on what happens, and with the apparent upheaval that's going on in the Nationwide camp, what do you think the likelihood of hooking back up with Pops [Tony Eury Sr.] would be? If you look at who Junior's won the most with, that's your answer. Either that, or clone the guy.
David Caraviello: I would think that would be unrealistic, wouldn't you, Dave? Hendrick likes dealing with their own people, guys already in their system. For all Tony Sr. has done, he's kind of on the outside to that effect. And given what happened with Tony Jr. …. well, that might be a move folks would be reluctant to make.
3. You're Ron Fellows. Of the 12 international drivers competing in Saturday's Nationwide race at Montreal, do you have the best chance to win?
David Caraviello: I feel fairly confident that a non-American driver will win on Saturday, which would be kind of fitting given the international flavor of this event. But barring rain, I'll take Marcos Ambrose. With no Cup event to worry about this week, and as well as he's been running on the senior circuit, he's your man in Montreal.
Dave Rodman: Familiarity with the venue, with the equipment and with the crew counts for a lot—beyond just pure driving ability, which most of these foreigners have. My money is on the defending champion Fellows amongst that group, though Ambrose has a lot going for him.
Raygan Swan: Fellows knows it is going to be a strong field, especially with the Cup regulars there all weekend. He is looking for Ambrose to be a huge threat with the roll he has been on. But I agree with David, look for a non-American driver to win.
David Caraviello: It's strange—the era of ringers seems to have passed on the Sprint Cup tour, given how much better the regular guys are at road racing. But on the Nationwide circuit, they still dominate. I think that's cool. It's neat to have a race where you actually might see someone out of the ordinary win. I mean, Fellows, Ambrose, Patrick Carpentier in the No. 55—have to think all those guys have a chance. And how crazy would the locals go for Jean-Francois Dumoulin? OK, maybe that's a reach.
Raygan Swan: Fellows' Victory Lane moment last year was amazing to watch. So much emotion.
Dave Rodman: This race has a pretty impressive cast of road-racing talent. The Canadian Tire Series runs on a number of road courses, like Trois-Rivieres and Mosport, so as Fellows himself pointed out, don't leave out someone like Alex Tagliani, even though it's his first time in a Nationwide car.
Raygan Swan: Or what about some of the younger talent that will be there this weekend? Colin Braun, or Andrew Ranger from the Canadian Tire Series. But when it's all said and done, I look for either Ambrose or Fellows to be in Victory Lane.
Dave Rodman: Now people jawed about "the classic Bristol," but in a lot of ways, le Circuit could be the road course equivalent and if it came down to it, Marcos for sure would have no qualms about ramming anyone out of his way to win.
David Caraviello: Yeah Dave, Marcos has done that before, hasn't he? Both the Montreal races have been kind of wild. Who knows what we may see this weekend—four cars doing celebratory burnouts at the same time? In a hailstorm? OK, for the sake of the fans—who have been terrific in the way they've embraced this event—you hope the latter is not the case.
Dave Rodman: God no, you don't. Ol' Ron and Marcos, I believe, are head-and-shoulders above the rest in these cars, on this circuit. Fellows has five wins at Watkins Glen alone, plus the one at Montreal last year. It'll be interesting to see if the economic malaise that's affected most of our American venues also hits Montreal, which has had pretty stout crowds for two years.
David Caraviello: But there is a 40 percent chance of rain in Montreal on Saturday—good thing Goodyear has those new rain tires ready to go!
Raygan Swan: David, don't forget the Swiffers! Maybe this year Carl Edwards will bring a ShamWow!
David Caraviello: Are we on the ShamWow again? What is this, the third time it's been mentioned this year in Track Smack? Raygan, do you have a personal endorsement deal with them?
Raygan Swan: I wish, then I could get some free ones! I go to Bed Bath and Beyond a lot, and they are at the checkout counter! I see them often, and I laugh every time!
Dave Rodman: As strange as it seems, I bet teams have done a minimal amount of work on any rain systems. Last year's event was unusual, to say the least, and that track drains water so poorly that if it rained to any degree again, it's game over.
David Caraviello: But you know what? I love this race. It's fun, it's different, and hopefully they serve that great Canadian bacon for breakfast in the media lounge. I'm glad it's found a place on the schedule by itself, and not opposite a Cup event. Outside of Daytona, this is about as big as it gets for the Nationwide boys, so let them have their moment.
Raygan Swan: Ah, Canadian bacon—low in fat, high in protein, and way better than American bacon, but from the same animal, no less.
David Caraviello: Yeah. For all our American ingenuity, Raygan, it's amazing we haven't figured that one out by now.
The opinions expressed are those solely of the participants.
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Brawn looks to ride Barrichello momentum at Spa (PA SportsTicker)
August 27, 2009
By PAUL LOGOTHETIS AP Auto Racing Writer
SPA-FRANCORCHAMPS, Belgium(AP)—Brawn GP looks to draw inspiration from Rubens Barrichello’s victory heading into the Belgian Grand Prix, where rival Red Bull must rebound from its worst result of the season to stay in Formula One’s title race.
Barrichello’s first victory in five years at the European GP last weekend moved him into second place in the drivers’ standings – 18 points behind teammate Jenson Button, who opened up a 20.5-point lead over Red Bull’s Mark Webber.
But the cool conditions and hilly 4.35-mile Spa track – the longest on the calendar – features high-speed corners and long straights that have favored the Red Bulls this season.
“It’s a good championship, there’s a lot of fights going on so hopefully we can keep on top of it,” Barrichello said Thursday. “My last race was brilliant so I have to use that to my (advantage).”
Brawn GP’s performance in conditions similar to those at Spa has been poor. With rain expected, the British team may again struggle with low tire temperatures. But the 37-year-old Brazilian driver suggested that mechanical issues that caused Brawn GP cars to struggle had been identified and fixed. He added that the team’s issues with tires may also have been addressed.
Webber finished ninth on the Valencia street circuit, where teammate Sebastian Vettel retired with his sixth engine failure of the season, which allowed Button to stretch his lead over the young German driver with only six races remaining. Vettel has only two more engines remaining for the final six races.
But Vettel must exercise caution since he will receive a 10-place grid penalty if he exceeds the engine limit.
Ferrari’s Kimi Raikkonen will be going for a third straight top-three finish as the Italian team hopes to take third in the constructors’ series to offset an otherwise disappointing season.
Raikkonen was on course for victory at Spa last season before a tussle with Lewis Hamilton led to a poor finish.
“Last year everything went up in smoke due to the rain at the end of the race and I ran into a wall,” Raikkonen said. “I had set my all on victory and I didn’t have anything to lose.”
Luca Badoer replaces Felipe Massa – who is recovering from life-threatening injuries sustained in a crash – at Spa. The 38-year-old Italian will have to improve on his form in Valencia if he hopes to hang on to the second seat for the rest of the campaign.
“I have to be quick. This has become a race now,” said the unflappable Badoer, who could extend his record pointless streak to 50 GPs at Spa.
Hamilton, who is coming off a victory at Hungary and second-place at Valencia, won last year’s rain-hit race before receiving a time penalty for illegally overtaking Raikkonen. Massa took victory as a result.
Like Raikkonen, Hamilton is only fighting for McLaren’s position in the constructors’ standings against Ferrari and Toyota.
Practice begins Friday before qualifying on Saturday for Sunday’s 44-lap race.
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Driver Philippe out of hospital (PA SportsTicker)
August 27, 2009
SONOMA, CALIF.(AP) —IndyCar driver Nelson Philippe has been released from the hospital after sustaining multiple injuries in a crash during practice for last weekend’s Indy Grand Prix of Sonoma.
He has returned home to Miami.
Philippe, of Conquest Racing, sustained a concussion along with an open fracture to his left foot that required surgery. He also had a hairline fracture of his right fibula and was fitted for a brace.
Philippe crashed into Will Power on Saturday morning at Infineon Raceway. Power was still in the hospital. He has at least two compression fractures in his lower back and also suffered a concussion. Power’s back has been fitted for a brace, and he is expected to be transported to Indianapolis for further treatment in the next few days.
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Said crew member suspended
August 26, 2009
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (AP)—NASCAR has suspended a crew member for Nationwide Series driver Boris Said for violating the organization’s substance abuse policy.
NASCAR says in a release Wednesday that Mark Norman also was banned indefinitely for actions detrimental to stock car racing.
Norman becomes the seventh crew member suspended this season under NASCAR’s toughened drug policy. Jeremy Mayfield is the only driver to be suspended since NASCAR began random testing this year.
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Chase Elliott following his dream, dad’s footsteps
August 26, 2009
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP)—Chase Elliott’s favorite toy as a young boy was his Matchbox race car. He didn’t crash it into walls or run it off tables.
No, he turned that little car in circles.
Now Elliott is doing that with much bigger cars, even though at 13 he’s still three years away from legally driving on public roads. Call it the family business, genes or just fate. All the son of NASCAR legend Bill Elliott knows is that he has dreamed of racing in NASCAR just like his father since playing with that little toy.
“I’ve never really found any other passion for anything,” Chase Elliott said. “Racing’s been pretty much my dream since I was little.”
Though he wasn’t around in 1988 when his father won the Winston Cup championship, as Sprint Cup was then known, Elliott has been going to racetracks since he was a baby and has seen plenty of his father’s 804 starts on NASCAR’s top level and a few of the 44 wins by the Motorsports Hall of Famer.
It’s why Elliott started racing dirt bikes and go-karts around the yard as soon as he was big enough to hold the handles and put his foot down.
When he wanted to start competing, he went to his father.
“It’s totally up to him,” Bill Elliott said. “I’m not pushing him to do it. It’s his decision, and when he started wanting to drive, I said, ‘That’s between you and your mother. You talk your mother into it, and then we’ll make it work.”’
Cindy Elliott agreed but only if her son tested himself first with go-karts to see just how much he really liked racing.
Chase Elliott was 8 when he started racing go-karts in northern Georgia. With the family living in Colorado for a couple years, his first full season of came in 2006 and he won the state title in one division and was third in a shifter level against older children. He won six races in 2007 to defend his title in 2007.
That year, he moved into the Legends Racing Series and was rookie of the year at the Atlanta Motor Speedway winning the final two feature races. He won the 2008 Georgia State Championship for the semipro division. In the 2008-09 winter series, he won six races and finished second three times in taking the Winter Flurry Series and Georgia Winter Series titles.
In 2009, Elliott moved up to test himself against older drivers in Late Models and has been just as successful with three wins, including on Aug. 10 at Anderson, S.C., where he became the youngest winner in the history of the ASA Southeast Asphalt Tour.
“We’ve been pretty fortunate with the luck we’ve had so far,” Elliott said.
He can’t even count how many races he’s already run with 20 starts this year alone.
Elliott has raced in Georgia, Alabama, Florida, South Carolina and was at the Fairgrounds Speedway in Nashville last weekend, finishing eighth in a Champions Racing Association event in which he passed Kyle Busch and did something the NASCAR star couldn’t—run all 150 laps.
The advantages of having grown up in the sport are obvious.
Elliott has a slick Web site, sponsors whose name he rattles off easily and includes whenever possible just like an experienced driver, and a talented crew that other drivers trying to work their way up can only envy. His father works as his spotter and is with him at tracks whenever his schedule allows.
If his dad is busy, then his mother or grandmother is with him at every race.
Maybe it comes from watching his father so much over the years, but Chase Elliott is also very polished when talking with reporters and doesn’t sound like a typical eighth-grader.
“Growing up around it, I don’t know if it necessarily made it easier,” he said. “It’s definitely a great opportunity to know the people that we know and that could play a big factor.”
Elliott has his own demands. Grades can dip no lower than a B, and teachers at King’s Ridge Christian School work with his family to help him make up work he missed. Luckily, races now are on weekends.
But being 13 has its challenges.
He can’t drive on NASCAR-sanctioned tracks because of an age limit requiring drivers to be at least 16.
“That’ll definitely open up some more doors as far as what I can drive. Hopefully, when I’m 16 I can move up to something bigger and get to that next step. Right now, all I really can do is run late models. I think that’s plenty for right now.”
His dream to compete on NASCAR’s top series isn’t possible until he turns 18—when he also will be trying to decide if college is next.
“I still have about five years before we make that decision,” Elliott said.
On the Web:
www.chaseelliott.com
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Time to correct the Chase's greatest flaw: unfairness (NASCAR.com)
August 26, 2009
It is time to stop playing the "what if" game. Entering its sixth edition, NASCAR's year-end Chase championship format has become an entrenched part of the sport. It's likely responsible for increased television ratings the past two weekends, exactly what it was designed to do.
No question, there are some purists out there who despise the thing, who wish it would go the way of bias-ply tires and the hemi engine. They're spitting into the wind. Seasons like this one, overloaded with drama and intrigue over who will get in and who will fall out—in lieu of what would otherwise be a runaway championship race—only serve to justify its existence.
So enough of pining for something that will never happen. Enough of Monday-morning quarterbacking the day after the Homestead race, when plenty of fans shake their heads and point to the traditional points format and say, well, we all know so-and-so should really be the champion.
Entering the 2007 Chase, Jeff Gordon had a 317-point lead turn into a 20-point deficit. (Getty)
Enough of acting like Jimmie Johnson has somehow lucked his way into three consecutive titles because his rise has coincided with the Chase era, and he plays by the rules he's given better than anyone else. You don't hear baseball fans harping on the fact that the Boston Red Sox wouldn't have won their skid-snapping World Series in 2004 without the implementation of the wild card. Yet racing fans do the exact same thing every day.
So stop it. Five years ago, maybe, when the Chase was new and no one really knew how long it might be around, direct comparisons between the two playoff formats held a little merit. Not anymore. Now, such arguments seem as bitter and pointless as those waged by defeated party loyalists in the aftermath of a presidential election.
Does the Chase have its flaws? Absolutely. But there are no indications that NASCAR is going to change its championship format anytime soon. The Chase appears here to stay. Like Kyle Busch winning races or a Sprint Cup event in Southern California, it's something that fans are eventually going to have to come to grips.
Of course, embittered race fans are only part of the equation. The system could help itself. Every year in which a driver builds a large regular-season points advantage only to come up short in the final 10 races, the Chase loses some credibility in the eyes of NASCAR's most ardent fans. If hardcore racing supporters are really going to embrace this format, if they're truly going to accept the year-end champion as legitimate, then a driver who dominates over the first 26 races is going to have to finish the job.
The fact that it's happened only once in the now five-year history of the Chase stands as the format's greatest detriment, the very reason why so many traditionalists see it more as a made-for-television gimmick than a true method of determining NASCAR's season-long champion. The only driver to lead after 26 races and remain in front after the final 10 is Tony Stewart, who did it in 2005. But he's the exception, not the rule.
The rule is someone like Jeff Gordon in '07 or Kyle Busch last year, both of who saw big leads painfully evaporate during the last 10 races and watched someone else hoist the trophy in Homestead. That's the kind of thing that drives race fans, conditioned by history to accept a driver who has performed at a certain level throughout an entire season as champion, into fits of frustration. That's why a certain segment of the fan base still struggles to accept the Chase.
With good reason. In '04, eventual champion Kurt Busch finished the regular season in seventh place, 293 points behind leader Gordon. But he started the Chase only 30 points back and won the title by eight over Johnson. In '06, Johnson finished the regular season 57 points behind Matt Kenseth, but finished the Chase 56 ahead. In '07, Gordon enjoyed one of his greatest statistical campaigns ever, with six wins, seven poles and 30 top-10s. He ended the regular season with a 312-point advantage over the field. Johnson was in fourth place, 410 points back. And yet when the Chase started, Johnson was ahead by 20 points because of win-based seeding. When it ended, Johnson was ahead by 77.
Then there was Kyle Busch, 207 points up on everyone after Richmond last season, and enjoying a season very much like the one Stewart is enjoying now. The Chase cut his lead to 30 points, and mechanical issues relegated him to an eventual 10th place. This year, Stewart is up 220 points on everyone else. But unless he wins some more races between now and the Chase opener in New Hampshire on Sept. 20, there's a chance he will actually start the playoff at a deficit. Many fans see that, shake their heads, and wonder what the point of the first 26 races is anyway.
Seeding the Chase based on victories, a method NASCAR implemented in '07 to try and prevent playoff-bound drivers from simply coasting in the latter portion of the regular season, was done with good intentions. But as we've seen this year—best exemplified by Juan Montoya, who has sacrificed opportunities to win races in lieu of protecting his position in the top 12—it works only to an extent, and does nothing to correct the largest injustice rendered by the Chase system.
Should Stewart for whatever reason fail to win the title this season, and in doing become the fifth regular-season leader in six Chases to come up short in the playoff, alarm bells need to go off in Daytona Beach. The sanctioning body has dangled a carrot in the form of bonus points to entice likely Chase drivers to keep their foot on the accelerator. Now it needs to do something similar to reward regular-season champions who, like the leader on a late restart at a restrictor-plate track, too often wind up the helpless sitting duck.
Even something like a 50-point regular-season leader bonus—a nice number, but certainly far from insurmountable—would help reinforce the message that the first 26 races indeed mean something, and would help assuage those purists for whom consistency for an entire season is everything. Of course, it wouldn't guarantee that regular-season leaders would win the Chase.
But it would prevent ridiculous situations like that of '07, when Gordon did everything right yet somehow went from 312 up to 20 down as soon as the checkered flag fell at Richmond. It would almost certainly preclude unwieldy scenarios like the one that looms this season, when clearly the best driver (Stewart) could find himself starting the Chase at a deficit to someone (Mark Martin) who as of now may not even get in. Hey, it would be fun to write about Martin vaulting from 12th to first in one night. But that hardly protects the value of the regular season.
Really, the Chase has been better for NASCAR than some would give it credit. Title bouts like those that unfolded in '04 and '07 are inherently good for the sport, even if in some eyes the wrong man wound up winning the title. They're unpredictable, dramatic, great for television, and certainly more fun than watching one driver maintain a 200-plus-point lead for the remainder of the season.
But clearly, as the past five years have indicated, the Chase has a fairness problem. When the best driver through the first 26 races has only a .200 batting average in the final 10 events, something is wrong with the system. That's why so many fans are disgruntled. That's why the Chase struggles to gain traction among purists. And that's why at least one change needs to be made.
The opinions expressed are those solely of the writer.
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Wreck with Busch puts unwanted spotlight on Austin
August 26, 2009
CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP)—Chase Austin caught a flash of blue and orange out of the corner of his eye right before he drove into the side of the race car.
He wasn’t sure whom he had hit until he heard the crowd roar with delight.
Austin cringed.
He’d just wrecked Kyle Busch. While Busch was leading the race.
It was a disastrous moment for the fledgling 19-year-old NASCAR driver, who was running in just his fourth Nationwide Series race when he wrecked Busch at Bristol Motor Speedway on Friday night.
FILE — This is an Aug. 21, 20… AP – Aug 26, 2:18 pm EDT FILE — This is an Aug. 21, 20… AP – Aug 26, 2:18 pm EDT
FILE — This is a Feb. 7, 2008… AP – Aug 26, 2:17 pm EDT
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Busch had just passed Kevin Harvick for the lead when Austin had a tire issue up ahead. As Busch barreled through the turn and weaved down low to pass the lapped car, the tire problem caused Austin to inexplicably turn left and directly into Busch.
The accident just 51 laps into the race took Busch out of contention, and Austin braced for the tongue-lashing that was sure to follow.
Instead, Busch was stunningly gracious in his post-accident interviews, and resisted the urge to blast the inexperienced Austin on national TV.
“I think that was the biggest shock of the whole night,” Austin said five days after the accident he hopes won’t come to define his career.
“It was this whole series of events where I saw (his car logo) and thought ‘That’s not good.’ Then I heard the fans screaming, knew it was him. … He could have really said some nasty stuff, but he didn’t. I am not sure why. That’s the question I’ve been wanting to ask him.”
He wasn’t alone.
Busch has an extremely low tolerance for those he believes got in the way of a victory, and he typically doesn’t hesitate to gripe about others’ on-track gaffes. Even when he’s the one in the wrong, he can find fault in his rivals and publicly disparage their driving.
But he hesitated with Austin, in part because he didn’t think it would do the young driver any good.
“He’s young, trying to learn. Inexperienced. It’s not worth it to blast a young guy coming in trying to learn,” Busch said. “I don’t tend to cut the experienced guys much slack, you know, because we all should know better. But Chase, he thought he was doing the right thing. He’s coming from late models, where … if you have a problem, you get down out of the way, put your hand out the window. Everybody knows that.
“Here, when you’re going so fast, 3,400-pound stock cars, you just got to stay up against the wall. Hopefully he’s learned that, and next time we won’t have that scenario.”
Austin is just hoping there is a next time.
Just five years into the business and his NASCAR career has been one disappointment after another. Signed by Hendrick Motorsports to a driver development program when he was 14, he and his family relocated from Eudora, Kan., to pursue NASCAR racing full time.
FILE — This is a Feb. 7, 2008… AP – Aug 26, 2:17 pm EDT
But Hendrick’s development program ended after its two leaders, general manager Jeff Turner and Hendrick’s son, Ricky, were among 10 people killed when an HMS plane crashed on its way to a 2004 race in Martinsville, Va.
Austin eventually landed a new deal with Rusty Wallace Racing in 2007, but he said a sponsorship issue ended that arrangement in early 2008 before he ever made a NASCAR start.
Now he’s just piecing together any driving he can, and stays busy working for the trucking company his family started in Mooresville, N.C., when Austin’s opportunities began to slow.
“There’s been some disappointments, but also some highlights,” Austin admitted.
The highlights have been hard to come by this year, as Bristol was just the sixth time he’s raced in 2009, and that includes a non-NASCAR dirt modified event. He wasn’t even supposed to be at Bristol, but got a call the night before with a last-minute offer to drive for SK Motorsports.
He left North Carolina at 3:30 a.m. on Friday, his father manning the wheel for the drive so Austin could get some sleep. He had a two-hour practice shortly after he arrived at the track, and the seat in the car wasn’t properly mounted for his frame.
FILE — This is an Aug. 4, 200… AP – Aug 26, 11:21 am EDT
“Jason White was scheduled to drive the car, and he’s about four inches shorter than me,” Austin said. “But because I’m taking races as I can get them, a lot of things are last-minute and I jumped at the chance to get in the car. But when I did, my knees were about an inch away from the dashboard.”
Austin said he napped in between practices, then finally made his Bristol debut—with a spotter he said he met just before the race started. Austin isn’t sure if he keyed his mic at the same time the spotter warned him the leaders were closing in on him, or if the spotter said nothing. Either way, he wasn’t aware Busch was on his inside.
“I knew they were coming, I knew they weren’t too far away, but I didn’t know how close and I didn’t know how fast,” Austin said.
The Nationwide Series goes this weekend to the road course in Montreal, and Austin will be watching on TV. He’s hoping to put together something for Atlanta on Sept. 5.
Still, the attention he’s received from his accident with Busch has created leads—in part because of the exposure for sponsors Cavi Clothing and Macy’s.
“It’s hard when I’m racing Joey (Logano) and Kyle, guys who are racing 24/7 and I’m just trying to get any seat time at all,” he said. “My parents work ungodly hours to help me pursue my dream, and I’d like another chance. I wish it could be at Montreal this weekend. It’s not going to be, but at least there’s a race and a chance for somebody else to mess up and take the heat off of me.”
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Kenseths have unique father-son relationship (NASCAR.com)
August 25, 2009
Saturday night at Madison (Wis.) International Speedway might be a priceless moment in time for the Kenseth family. But then again, it might spark a rebirth of the TV cult classic Family Feud.
About a month ago, Cup driver Matt Kenseth went home to Wisconsin, where he blazed a decent late model racing career before moving to NASCAR's national level.
The week of the Allstate 400 at the Brickyard, Kenseth won the legendary Slinger Nationals at the Wisconsin short track, Slinger Speedway, but it wasn't a big leaguer coming home for a one-shot cherry-picking.
At Slinger that night, Kenseth became the only man to win five Nationals, meaning he's won more than Dick Trickle, more than Joe Shear, more than Alan Kulwicki, more than Mark Martin, and definitely more than a few other Midwest legends like Rusty Wallace, Mike Eddy and Bob Senneker, who never even won the thing.
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That's a big deal.
And you want the icing on the cake? Kenseth's 16-year-old son Ross, who's actually made a quantum leap in performance this season on the Midwestern late model circuit, won the limited late model division's support race for his first Slinger victory.
Now think about that scenario. For a racing father who's reached the pinnacle of his profession and is helping along a son who's been properly influenced enough to want to race—and then begins to excel at it—well, it just can't get any better than to win a big race yourself. But for the level he's at, for your son to equal the feat, at a high-profile track, with you there to see it—that's pretty special.
"He's been doing pretty well and he's won some pretty big races this year that I haven't been able to be at, but it was neat for him to win that race because it was only his third time at Slinger," Kenseth said. "The first two times didn't go so well because the first, everyone ran into him and the second, he got black-flagged for running into somebody, which he knows I don't condone running over people—that's one of my only rules for him.
"To come back and win it, the same night we were there and with the big crowd that was there for the Nationals was really cool. I didn't really ask him what he thought about it, there was a lot going on—but certainly it was cool for him because I was there, and his first couple weeks there, he struggled. And with me winning I'm sure he felt there were more eyes on him so for him to win couldn't have been cooler, or scripted any better."
But still, in typical Kenseth fashion, Matt had gone low key in his description.
"It was a huge deal," Slinger's public relations/marketing manager Todd Thelen said.
So the cool factor has a chance to get even better, and the sly sides of Matt Kenseth come out in full effect, when he was asked about what he'd heard, this season, about his son's racing progress.
"I get a lot of feedback about Ross and I do a lot of checking from a lot of sources on how things are going when I'm not there, because my dad's story is not always the accurate story, you know what I mean?" Kenseth said. "So you try to get a lot of feedback from a lot of people."
Was he implying any grandfatherly bias? How could that be?
"I end up being the bad guy more than the good guy," Kenseth said. "In my dad's eyes, Ross can't do anything wrong [and] he loves racing with Ross more than he liked racing with me. So when I'm there I kind of got to be the more objective one and give Ross some constructive criticism or pointers.
"My dad and the other guys spend a lot of time pumping him up, so I'm usually the guy that has to deflate him a little bit."
Surprisingly, Kenseth, the 2003 Cup champion, said his son shows more promise than he did at the same age.
"The thing with Ross is he's such a quick learner," Kenseth said. "I watch him do, just little, subtle things that maybe people wouldn't even notice, that took me years to learn that he learns in three weeks. So it's fun for me to watch him learn.
"I know he's in good stuff, but it's not really better stuff than the top guys he's trying to beat. And to watch him pick up on things is probably the most fun for me, and I think him being such a quick learner has led to his success.
"We'll go to a new track that maybe took me a long time to get running good at, that I struggled at and I just watch him and maybe he's getting into a corner wrong, and before I even say anything, three or four laps later he gets it and he'll pick up two-tenths [of a second].
And truth be told, that might lead to a little nervousness on dad's part, because if favoritism does rule in the Kenseth realm, it could affect things when the Kenseths, father and son, go man-to-man in limited late models on Saturday night, at a twin 50's program at Madison (Wis.) International Speedway, during the Cup Series' final off weekend of the season.
"That should be pretty fun, because my dad's promoting the races and he's tried to set that up for a long time—I think he's setting me up to fail," Kenseth said. "But he's been wanting us to race against other for a long time, but that's the first time we'll be in the same kind of car."
The last time the Kenseth clan was at a track together, Matt said it was the perfect respite for him in what's been a trying season, despite beginning with consecutive wins at Daytona and California.
"I got to hang out with him for the week and work with him back and forth through the [Slinger] practices," Kenseth said. "I had a lot of fun doing that and it was a nice [two-day] break. I had a lot of fun and I kind of needed that."
With his string of five consecutive seasons of making the Chase in jeopardy, sitting in 12th position in the 12-man race and with two races remaining after he races his son, Kenseth might be craving all the fun he can find.
Kyle Busch Victory Watch
20082009Cup Series84Nationwide66Truck Series33Wins: Thru Bristol
Busch's emotional meltdown in the aftermath of the Carfax 250 Nationwide race at Michigan, followed by his remarkable, two-for-three comeback last weekend at Bristol proves why you just can't abandon hope of him eclipsing his 2008 record total of 21 wins (8 Cup, 10 Nationwide, 3 Truck).
Busch's breakdown at Michigan was appalling, but he proved he could move beyond it by manning-up when Chase Austin made a ridiculous mistake in the Food City 250, wrecking Busch, after which Busch chose to console the rookie rather than berate him.
Busch broke a 16-race winless slump by taking the Sharpie 500 and was calm and constructive with crew chief Steve Addington throughout. And he defended his title in the O'Reilly 200 three days earlier, moving him to 13 wins: 4 Cup, 6 Nationwide, 3 Truck. Last year at this point Busch had 17, but this time around, his Truck and Nationwide efforts are just as strong, while his Cup team appears revitalized, just when it needed it most.
The opinions expressed are solely those of the writer.
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Happy Hour: Turning right in Indy (Yahoo! Sports)
August 25, 2009
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One week after this year’s Brickyard 400, Indianapolis Motor Speedway sent fans who have attended races there in the past a survey which asked the following question: Would you as a fan of the Brickyard 400 be interested in seeing NASCAR stock cars compete on IMS’s road course?
After the tire debacle of 2008, the folks at Indy figured they needed to explore all their options in case the new Cup car wasn’t going to work on the 2.-5-mile oval. One of those options was switching the Brickyard 400 to IMS’s road course.
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Before going further with the idea, IMS figured it should see if a road race was something Indy fans would be interested in, so they created the survey.
More From Jay Hart Storylines: Kyle vs. Brian Aug 21, 2009 Happy Hour: Fixing a flaw Aug 18, 2009
Tires were not an issue in this year’s running of the Brickyard, which pretty much put the road-racing idea on ice. However, the survey was already printed and the Indy folks figured why not gauge fan interest anyway.
Results of the survey have not yet been tallied.
So, will the Cup cars ever move to the road course at IMS?
“I would say it’s highly unlikely,” said Ron Green, director of public relations at IMS. “For us, it’s pretty much a dead issue because Goodyear came back with a good tire and we had a great race.”
Can’t say I agree with that last part – from my perspective, Cup racing at Indy has never been great – but it is interesting to hear how seriously the IMS brass took 2008.
Now, on to the mailbag:
Thoughts from Bristol …
That was Bristol? At times the leader was all by himself, with no cars ahead or behind him. I saw more single file racing than I’ve ever seen at Bristol. Could the new (COT) cars be affecting the quality of racing here, too?
Of 11 cautions, only one was for your “typical” Bristol pileup, but five were for blown/cut tires! There were three cautions for single car incidents, one for debris, and one for rain.
In addition to the recent re-paving, do you think that the Bristol night race is now too close to the Chase cutoff and that it’s affecting the quality (aggressiveness) of races? I literally fell asleep on the floor. I really did.
Liz ThawleyNovato, Calif.
From my perspective, the new car has made it more difficult to pass everywhere. What I find most interesting, however, is your final point. I think you might be on to something here, Liz. While I’m not one of those who thinks Mark Martin raced Kyle Busch too softly, as some have contended, Martin had to give consideration to the points situation in those final few laps. This isn’t to say he laid off Busch’s bumper because of it, but rather making the Chase made it an easier decision not stir up any trouble. And going forward, this may be more the norm than the exception, which is only going to serve to tone down Bristol.
The last time Mark Martin won at least four races in one season was 1998. (Getty)
NOT HAPPY WITH MARK!!! First I don’t like the fact that he continues to drive. Second if he truly wants to win then he will not drive the way he has all his life. Bristol was stereotypical Mark Martin. His old ways have not got him a Cup and he barely can make the chase now.
So, with that being said … why didn’t he give Kyle a run for his money? Tap him, nudge him something.
Now, I know people will say he was “points racing”, but that has not won him a Cup. He needs to stop being such a pushover and be different driver that he has been in order to make his new history.
Brian Silverdale, Wash.
And now for the other side …
I’m not rabid Mark Martin fan, but it was refreshing to see the age old commitment to winning last week. He (or more accurately, his crew chief) has been resoundingly criticized for going for the win, rather than playing the points game and settling for a high enough finish to make the “Chase.”
This cuts to the heart of what is wrong with the sport and why it is suffering. Stock car racing was always about WINNING THE RACE, not about the championship. Martin is from that old school and Kyle Busch seems to have learned it as well. Both have led a mini-revival of interest in NASCAR; albeit from two different perspectives.
Dave SmithLebanon, Pa.
First off, it must be noted that I received Dave’s email after the Michigan race in which Mark Martin ran out of fuel racing for the win. Regardless, these two emails show how one week Martin is criticized for going for the win and not doing the smart thing, which is to race for the points, and not seven days later he’s lambasted for doing just the opposite, if that’s even what he was doing at Bristol.
While I agree with Brian that Martin has proven in the past that a conservative strategy isn’t the way to winning a title – this is exactly why I said prior to the season that he wouldn’t win the title – his four wins this season are plenty of evidence for me that he’s using a different strategy now.
Not only has Martin won the most races in 2009, he’s led more laps than everyone but Jimmie Johnson. So on the whole, I can’t figure out where Brian or any of the Martin critics are coming from.
This and that …
Why are the numbers on top of the car opposite the number on the side of the car? It should go the same way so you can see the number from the stands.
WilliamNew York
For this one, the only guy to go to is Buz McKim, the official historian of the NASCAR Hall of Fame. Here’s how he explained this:
“The roof numbers were originally located on the four corners of the roof in the old flat, dirt track days. Roof numbers have always been for the benefit of the scorers. When the high-banked tracks began to come on board in the late 1950s, early 60s, the numbers were changed to the center of the roof facing inward because the scorers were located inside the track instead of in the grandstands. As the car went by on the banking, the number was facing the scoring stand.
I would add, William, that having the numbers facing inward actually makes it better for fans in the stands. If you think about it, if they were facing outward, the only time you could read them would be when they are right in front of you.
Hope that answers your question.
Jay – while the head honchos at NASCAR continue to say that nothing’s wrong publicly, you can bet they’re trying to figure out some answers behind the scenes … it’s just that it’s never a good idea to dog your product when it’s all you’ve got. To do otherwise is to become the Oakland A’s, who have whined about how bad their stadium is for so long that people won’t go there even when things are GOOD. Throw in a few down seasons and people don’t need to find an excuse not to show up – you’ve already given it to them.
Jon MelanderSacramento, Calif.
Last call …
Why do most of the drivers wear sunglasses?
Vernon FullerButner, N.C.
Jay Hart is the NASCAR editor for Yahoo! Sports. Send Jay a question or comment for potential use in a future column or webcast.
Living the Red Bull lifestyle suits Vickers perfectly (NASCAR.com)
August 25, 2009
When Brian Vickers announced last week that he had signed a multi-year deal to continue driving the No. 83 Toyota for Red Bull Racing, he said it was as much about wanting to continue "the lifestyle" that Red Bull affords him.
He went on to explain what he meant by that and talked about some of the cool stuff he gets to do because of the association with his unique sponsor.
Question: Why exactly is Red Bull such a good match for you?
Vickers: More than anything, I have just enjoyed, on a personal level and not just a professional level, I've just really enjoyed the lifestyle that Red Bull has offered. It's unlike any other lifestyle that I have ever been presented with in my racing career. It's a life that I would choose if no one was telling me what to do and that's been the best part. I don't have to do appearances that, needless to say, aren't the most fun or entertaining.
Brian Vickers learns how to ka… NASCAR.com – Aug 25, 3:12 pm EDT Brian Vickers learns how to ka… NASCAR.com – Aug 25, 3:12 pm EDT YAHOO.Sports.article_carousel_last_index = 1; YAHOO.Sports.article_carousel_lazy_images = [http://d.yimg.com/a/p/sp/turner/02/fullj.00f1fbc81a09814a607f7415555f08de/1.on.1.bvickers200908250.jpg?x=180&y=200&xc=129&yc=1&wc=184&hc=204&q=70&sig=Zw.JjkiqO_k7HfiGa99yzw--]; YAHOO.util.Event.addListener(window,load,YAHOO.Sports.articleLazyLoadCarousel.init); 1 of 2 NASCAR Gallery function prev_photo() { if (YAHOO.Sports.article_carousel_current_index > 0) { goto_photo(YAHOO.Sports.article_carousel_current_index – 1); } else { goto_photo(YAHOO.Sports.article_carousel_last_index); }}function next_photo() { if (YAHOO.Sports.article_carousel_current_index 0) { YAHOO.util.Dom.addClass(article_carousel_prev, prev); YAHOO.util.Dom.removeClass(article_carousel_prev, prev_disabled); } else { YAHOO.util.Dom.addClass(article_carousel_prev, prev_disabled); YAHOO.util.Dom.removeClass(article_carousel_prev, prev); } if (YAHOO.Sports.article_carousel_current_index < YAHOO.Sports.article_carousel_last_index) { YAHOO.util.Dom.addClass(article_carousel_next, next); YAHOO.util.Dom.removeClass(article_carousel_next, next_disabled); } else { YAHOO.util.Dom.addClass(article_carousel_next, next_disabled); YAHOO.util.Dom.removeClass(article_carousel_next, next); }*/}function goto_photo(p) { if (YAHOO.Sports.article_carousel_photos) { for(i = 0; i < YAHOO.Sports.article_carousel_photos.length; i++) { if (i == p) { YAHOO.util.Dom.setStyle(YAHOO.Sports.article_carousel_photos[i], display, ); } else { YAHOO.util.Dom.setStyle(YAHOO.Sports.article_carousel_photos[i], display, none); } } if (YAHOO.Sports.article_carousel_current_page) { YAHOO.Sports.article_carousel_current_page.innerHTML =(p + 1); YAHOO.Sports.article_carousel_current_index = p; } } update_buttons();}YAHOO.Sports.article_carousel_init = function () { YAHOO.util.Event.addListener(article_carousel_prev, click, prev_photo); YAHOO.util.Event.addListener(article_carousel_next, click, next_photo); YAHOO.Sports.article_carousel_current_index = 0; YAHOO.Sports.article_carousel_current_page = YAHOO.util.Dom.get(carousel_page); YAHOO.Sports.article_carousel_photos = YAHOO.util.Dom.getElementsByClassName(item, div, leadphoto); if (YAHOO.Sports.article_carousel_photos) { goto_photo(0); }}YAHOO.Sports.article_carousel_init();
Instead, I get to jump out of airplanes. Granted that doesn't seem like a lot of fun for most of you [in the media], but for me it's pretty exciting. It's something that I want to do. I get to do a lot of fun stuff.
Q: What kind of other "fun stuff" do you get to do that's on the horizon?
Vickers: [This] week I'm going to do a motorcycle street bike course school so that will be fun as well. I get to do a lot of things like that. They present a lifestyle to me that's very enjoyable. Then when you couple that with a race team that's capable of winning—I just can't imagine being in a better position right now. Now we've got to go try to win more and go try to accomplish our ultimate goal, which is winning the championship. But I have really enjoyed working with Red Bull and look forward to many more years in the future.
Q: How hard would it have been to start over somewhere else at this stage of your career?
Vickers: It would have been very difficult and was not something that I wanted to do. There were a lot of things that I would have had to give up—not only having to start over again from scratch and try to rebuild or be a part of rebuilding a team, but it goes back to the lifestyle as well. The Red Bull lifestyle would have been something that would have been truly missed.
It's not all about that—I'm in this sport because I want to win races—but we all work because we want to live life as well. Part of living life for me is racing because that's what I love to do, but there's also a lot more to it than that. [Starting over with another organization] was not something that I was looking forward to or wanted to do.
Q: Can you elaborate on what you call 'the Red Bull lifestyle?'
Vickers: The Red Bull lifestyle means mainly you're just allowed to be yourself, whoever that may be. You're allowed to do the things you want to do, especially if they're extreme. That's always encouraged, but not necessary. If you don't want to jump out of planes, Red Bull has never asked me to do something that I don't want to do. But they allow me to do the things that I want to do—that is the Red Bull lifestyle and I like that.
There are no restrictions. I get to enjoy the things that I have always wanted to do in life and I get the opportunity to get to do them with some of the best in the business. Don't get me wrong, they always want me to stay safe. When I went skydiving or flying in a stunt plane or kayaking, I did it with the best in the business—the Red Bull athletes around the world. I went with their skydiving team, Kirby [Chambliss] in the stunt plane, Tao [Berman] in the kayak and on down the list.
Q: What about some of the appearances you are required to make?
Vickers: An appearance for them is very unique—as a Red Bull appearance might be going to the Energy Station at the race track, which is not so bad. It's basically a night club and it's kind of fun.
It's the same thing away from the race track. For one appearance I went to the [freestyle motocross competitor] Travis Pastrana toast or roast—whatever you want to call it. They called it a toast, I believe. It pretty much turned into a straight-up roast and that was a lot of fun. That was out at the X-games. It helps them and it presents Red Bull in the fashion that they want to be presented in, but it's also enjoyable for me.
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