Jada Toys, NASCAR launch affordable toy vehicles (NASCAR.com)

March 31, 2010

Jada Toys, Inc. unveiled a new, officially licensed NASCAR toy vehicle line, featuring the sport’s more popular drivers: Dale Earnhardt Jr., Jeff Gordon, Jimmie Johnson, Tony Stewart, and Kyle Busch. The NASCAR product line—which includes Radio Control, Lights and Sounds, and Motorized Pullback vehicles—offers all the NASCAR action and authenticity its loyal fans have come to love, while still maintaining affordable price points so everyone can join in the fun.

Jada Toys’ NASCAR radio control and pullback toy vehicles bring all the heart pounding, high speed action home with the authentic look and feel true NASCAR fans of all ages will appreciate. Providing full function control with a high speed motor, the 1/24th and 1/64 th micro RC vehicles perform just as good as they look. With the new “Quick Charger Controller” feature for the 1/64th micro RC’s, drivers spend more time in the action and less in the pits.

For the younger NASCAR enthusiast, Jada introduced NASCAR Lights and Sounds vehicles bringing a fresh new look and feel to the category. Available in 5.5 inch and 7.5 inch sizes, these highly stylized racers feature forward racing action, driver audio, sound effects, and flashing lights which are sure to keep future NASCAR superstars entertained for hours on end. With no bulky buttons, activating all the fun is as easy as pressing in the doors or hood.

“These Jada toys hit an important target for us,” said Blake Davidson, managing director of licensed products for NASCAR. “As a sport, we are always looking for the best way to allow our fans to experience the sight, sound and feel of our sport. This line of toys does just that by putting NASCAR into the hands of our young fans.”

These new products are available at the NASCAR.COM Superstore and other fine retailers nationwide. The suggested retail prices are $14.99 for the 1/24th scale RC, $10.99 for the 1/64th scale micro RC, $3.99 for the Motorized Pullback, $6.99 for the 5.5 inch Lights & Sounds, and $9.99 for the 7.5 inch Lights & Sounds.

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Hamlin has surgery on left knee

March 31, 2010

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP)—NASCAR driver Denny Hamlin is home resting following surgery on his left knee.

Dr. Patrick Connor repaired the anterior cruciate ligament in Hamlin’s left knee Wednesday morning. Hamlin tore his ACL playing basketball in January.

He wanted to postpone surgery until after the NASCAR season, but decided to have it repaired this week. The surgery had been postponed from Monday, the same day Hamlin won his first race of the season at Martinsville Speedway.

Joe Gibbs Racing says Hamlin will drive as scheduled in the April 10 race at Phoenix, but Casey Mears will be on standby as a relief driver. The Sprint Cup Series is off this weekend.

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Jeff Burton: Switch to spoiler ‘game-changer’

March 31, 2010

MARTINSVILLE, Va. (AP)—The reappearance of the spoiler on the back of the Sprint Cup cars at Martinsville Speedway drew high praise from many drivers because it makes the cars look better.

Where opinion differed is when the spoiler’s impact will be felt on the track.

At just 0.526 miles around, Martinsville didn’t allow for enough speed for the spoiler to have much of an effect beyond aesthetics. Though speeds will be higher at the next stop, Phoenix International Raceway on April 10, the spoiler’s influence on the racing is still likely to be marginal.

That will change at the high-banked, high-speed 1.5-mile Texas Motor Speedway on April 18, where the aerodynamic and handling impact of the change will be put to its first true test.

“I’ve said from the beginning that I think going to a spoiler could be a real game-changer,” Jeff Burton said. “I think it will affect some teams more than it does others.”

A two-day test a Charlotte Motor Speedway “felt like a normal test,” Burton said, but also highlighted how some teams adapted much more quickly to the spoiler than others did.

“I don’t think the dynamics of that is going to change,” he said at Martinsville. “But it could change who is running well and who isn’t running well. Any time there is a change, there is a risk of losing the good that you had, but there is also the chance of gaining something good that you didn’t have, and that’s going to affect every team differently.”

In a series where many weekends are spent with drivers discussing what they can do to slow the dominance of four-time defending champion Jimmie Johnson, that may offer hope.

Besides the record four titles in a row, he’s won three of six races this season, and his ninth-place finish at Martinsville on Monday moved him into first place in the points race.

Then again, Johnson leads all drivers with 22 victories in the 94 races NASCAR has run using the spoiler on cars, and he thinks its impact will be negative, especially in a pack.

“What I kind of predict is that the car is going to be more difficult to drive in traffic,” he said, noting that’s how it was before. “I’ve heard a lot of people mention that that’s going to make for better racing, and I’m just not buying that as of now.”

During the test at Charlotte, he said, drivers got a feel for the spoiler, but he never raced anyone, ran side-by-side with anyone or tried to pass another car during the test.

“Texas will be the weekend when we find out what’s up,” he said.

Johnson’s Hendrick Motorsports teammate Jeff Gordon is on the other side, welcoming the change. He thinks more has gone into the decision to make the switch than mere performance issues.

“One thing we’ve learned, and NASCAR has learned, is that perception means a lot to the fans and the media,” he said. “We’ve had some great racing over the years with the rear wing, but I’ve never been crazy about the way it looks. I will say the spoiler looks really good.”

NASCAR’s first spoiler test came at 2.66-mile Talladega, the biggest, fastest oval on the circuit, and the series called teams in several times to alter settings on the cars. Among the changes were alterations to the size of the carburetor restrictor plates, which limit horsepower to control speeds at the 200 mph tracks, and the size and shape of the spoilers.

Drivers came away pleased with the results, feeling like one of the desired effects of the spoiler—keeping cars from going airborne—would improve safety for them and fans.

But they also left somewhat in the dark about what settings NASCAR will mandate when the series returns on April 25 to the track where spectacular crashes have often been the norm.

That race could wind up as another test of how well teams adapt on the fly.

“They really haven’t decided on a spoiler, gear or a restrictor plate size,” said Kurt Busch, a big proponent of the change. “We won’t really know until we show up.

“That is going to be the tough part about it.”

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John Andretti gets Indy 500 ride

March 31, 2010

INDIANAPOLIS (AP)—Andretti Autosport owner Michael Andretti is teaming withRichard Petty to field a car for his cousin John Andretti in the Indianapolis500.

The deal with Petty and sponsor Window World, which fielded John Andretti’scar in last year’s race, starts with his May 1 debut at Kansas Speedway in theIzod IndyCar Series race.

Andretti will then attempt to secure his 11th Indianapolis 500 start, behindthe wheel of the No. 43 Team Window World car. If he succeeds and drives for ateam owned by his cousin in the May 30 race, it will add to the Andrettifamily’s Indianapolis Motor Speedway legacy.

John Andretti has made 10 Indy 500 starts, with a best finish of fifth in1991.

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Never at a loss for words, Waltrip mixes past, present (NASCAR.com)

March 31, 2010

Darrell Waltrip is a three-time Cup Series champion and winner of 84 races.

There seemed, shall we say, something different about Darrell Waltrip during a recent appearance to promote the NASCAR Hall of Fame by announcing the unveiling of one of the race cars he used to drive.

Waltrip, ever the high-energy guy, appeared to have an extra bounce to his step on this particular day. Upon closer visual inspection he was, in fact, wearing some type of attachments to the soles of his shoes that made him look as if he was ready to spring into action as a superhero.

“These things? They’re back savers,” said Waltrip, pointing to the soles of his shoes and talking in typical rapid-fire fashion. “If you stand on your feet all the time, they’ll really fix you right up. There was one guy who was going to have back surgery; he started wearing these and now he feels great. They’re called Z-Coils. I read about ‘em on the Internet. They put all kind of pep in your step.”

That’s one thing Waltrip, now 63, has never been accused of lacking. A three-time NASCAR Cup Series champion and winner of 84 races, Waltrip first arrived on the Cup scene in 1972 with his mouth motoring and the wheels turning seemingly as fast in his head as the ones on the race track.

He once announced he was going to make everyone forget all about Richard Petty. Fellow driver Cale Yarborough nicknamed him “Jaws” because he yapped so much. And once his long driving career was completed in 1999, he made what seemed to be a natural transition to the broadcast booth—where he continues to serve as color analyst on FOX telecasts of NASCAR races.

When Waltrip recently identified current driver Kevin Harvick as a guy who “likes to stir things up,” the question was put to others about how much Waltrip enjoyed doing the same back when he was driving.

“I’m not sure he was that big of an agitator; he was just so in love with himself,” said a chuckling Dale Inman, long-time crew chief for Richard Petty. “He was strictly a Darrell Waltrip fan, and it took him a while to make it, too. But he made it, and he made it by being controversial.

“He would come to Richard for advice. And Richard would try to tell him how he should act. Well, hell, he wouldn’t get 10 feet from the truck and he’d be right back at it again. And he still likes to talk. That ain’t nothin’ he won’t tell you himself. Now he’s just making his living by doing it.”

Clay Campbell, track president at Martinsville Speedway, added of Waltrip: “I do think Darrell has mellowed out over the years, but he’s still a great voice for the sport—and a respected voice. And he’s got the career to back it up.”

Waltrip has never been one who is afraid to exercise his voice, whether it’s talking about his career, the current state of the sport or what he thinks should be done to get Dale Earnhardt Jr. turned around in the right direction. He is full of opinions and eager to express them.

So it was before, during and after the recent Hall of Fame appearance—which eventually evolved into sort of a Waltrip Unplugged affair as DW discussed in great detail many aspects of the sport. For those privileged few patient enough to stick around and listen closely, it was highly entertaining indeed and well worth sharing.

Waltrip was asked about the current Cup dominance of driver Jimmie Johnson and the No. 48 Chevrolet team that is owned by Hendrick Motorsports—and almost immediately made comparisons to, well, himself when he drove the No. 11 Mountain Dew car for owner Junior Johnson back in 1981. That car was the one unveiled recently that will be included in the Glory Road section of the NASCAR Hall of Fame, which will open in May.

“They are so dominant, and it’s the way I was when I was driving for Junior Johnson—and Junior Johnson was known as the best car owner in the sport,” Waltrip said. “All the resources we had, we had an advantage. I was at the top of my game when I got in that car. Junior was at the top of his game as a car owner, so we were better than everybody else.

“That’s where the Hendrick organization is. They’ve got great resources, great sponsors, great people—and their drivers aren’t too bad, either.”

When it was suggested that Johnson is as dominant as anyone has ever been, Waltrip offered a slight correction and also addressed the popular theme of the day that Johnson is inside every other driver’s head.

“His [Johnson’s] team is [dominant],” Waltrip said. “When you’re at Vegas and you come down to the end of the day with 20 to go and he drives right by you, that’s very demoralizing. When you’re at Bristol and you’ve led all day long, and with 10 or 20 to go he drives right by you, that’s pretty demoralizing. They always seem to be able to find a little bit more when they need it to win races. That comes down to making the right [pit] calls, making the right adjustments on the car, and you’ve got to give Jimmie all the credit in the world as a driver, too. Heck, I’m a [former] driver. It might be a great car, but you’ve still got to get it around the race track.

“But you also have to say that he has surrounded himself with a lot of great people. [Crew chief] Chad [Knaus] is the one who is in everybody’s head. Jimmie, not so much—because Jimmie is not that way. You never hear him talking that much or bragging that much. Chad, on the other hand, he’s got those other crew chiefs wondering what’s Chad going to do? Not what Jimmie’s going to do—because we know what Jimmie’s going to do. He’s going to get in the car and if you get him in position at the end, I’ve said before that he’s the best closer I’ve ever seen. He’ll get you a win.

“But the guy who keeps everybody guessing is sitting in the pits. Other crew chiefs are like, ‘God, what if he takes four and I only take two [tires] and he beats me?’ Or, ‘What if he takes two and I take four and he beats me?’ Every week, that’s the guy who’s really kind of got them turned upside down.”

What about the Hall?

It doesn’t take long to realize that Waltrip possesses great appreciation for the NASCAR Hall of Fame that is about to open. He was not part of the first class that will be inducted, but knows that he will be under consideration to be included in the second class of five inductees.

He does not hide what that would mean to him.

“You go through your career, and after you retire you get inducted into many Hall of Fame’s,” Waltrip said. “I’m in the Kentucky state Hall of Fame; I’m in the Hall of Fame in Darlington; there are Hall of Fame’s everywhere, and all of them are significant for someone. So getting inducted into any Hall of Fame is a big deal. It’s incredible.

“But as a competitor, I said over the years that I wished we just had our own NASCAR Hall of Fame—one that’s not identified with anything other than our sport, one that really honors the history and the true champions of our sport.”

Now, he has one and it is just a matter of when he’ll get in as more than a mere visitor. Waltrip makes it clear that he has no problem with the selection of the first class that includes Big Bill France, Bill France Jr., Richard Petty, Dale Earnhardt and Junior Johnson. But, of course, it’s not quite the way he would have done it.

“If somebody said how would you do it, I would have made the Frances the founding fathers of the Hall. The father-son [tandem] that started the sport, they would have been the big statues out front—and that would have opened up room for a couple more drivers in the first class. But you can’t fault what they’ve done,” Waltrip said.

“If they took five drivers, I’m on the edge. Me, Bobby [Allison] and Cale [Yarborough] we have similar records. I have 84 wins, Bobby has 84 and Cale has 83. Cale and I have three championships and Bobby’s got one. I think, performance-wise, we’re all about the same. So if you took Richard and David [Pearson] and Dale, we would have had to fight over those other two spots—and then you’d have gotten in for sure on the second go-‘round”

But Pearson, whose 105 career wins are second only to Petty’s 200, did not get in with the first class and obviously will be heading up the second. Waltrip theorized that if one more older driver or promoter and Inman, whose eight championships as a crew chief are second to none, happen to get included in the second class along with Pearson, that could leave him, Allison and Yarborough scrambling for two spots in the second class as Waltrip once envisioned them doing for inclusion in the first.

“I heard Richard say, ‘We ought to honor the old guys.’ Well, that’s easy to say when you’re already in. You know? If I was already in, I’d be saying they ought to honor Red Vogt and all those guys, too. But they deserve to be in. The first 10 or 15 guys, there’s really no wrong people to get in,” Waltrip said.

“And besides, Richard is one of the old guys. He’s older than me, at least.”

Pressed on the point, Waltrip eventually admitted that he would prefer to be included in the second group of five who will be admitted to the Hall.

“I’d by lying to you if I didn’t tell you that it definitely would make a difference. Like I said, when they talked [beforehand] about it maybe being drivers-only and classes of five, I was maybe on the edge of that five and I was comfortable with that. But when you add the Frances in there, and rightfully so, and with David Pearson not getting in during the first go-‘round, that changes things up a little bit,” he said.

“So now I’m not so sure. I just know I’ve dedicated my whole life to this. When I was done driving, someone stuck a microphone in my hand and found out I was pretty good at [broadcasting], so I sort of made a second career out of it within the sport. But I’m most proud of my driving career and my contributions to the sport.

“I guess if I had to say, and I’m not sure I’m being entirely honest about it with myself, but I guess if I could just be a part of this sometime that would be satisfying. But sooner rather than later would be better.”

Old days vs. new

Waltrip said he remembers coming into the sport as a driver in 1972, when he drove a car built basically by himself out of whatever parts he could scrounge up. He looked longingly at the Petty Enterprises operation as the benchmark for what he hoped to become.

“The thing I watched about the Pettys was how they ran their business,” Waltrip said. “I’d heard about Lee Petty and Petty Enterprises and how they were the first people to run a race team as a business—to make money and put food on the table. I wanted to be an owner. When I started, you had to build most of your own cars at that time and so that was my vision. You had to start your own team if you wanted to get in the sport, so I was trying to model my operation somewhat after theirs.

“I always loved the way their cars were immaculate. Everyone else would always drag their ragged cars to the track and have guys in T-shirts workin’ on ‘em. And then you’d have the Pettys with Richard and Dale Inman and Maurice [Petty] in their nice uniforms. It was just a better-run operation than all the rest.

“Then you had Richard—much like Dale Earnhardt Jr. today—and all the people who said he inherited everything from his dad and that he had the golden spoon and that’s why he won all those races. They had the Hemi engine, which no one else had, and all the Chrysler backing, all this money that no one else seemed to have.

“But as I got to know Richard and race with Richard, well, his record speaks for itself. Two-hundred wins—no matter how many of them were at Islip Speedway [actually, only two]—and seven championships. I have told people that I don’t know if his name had been Bob Petty if he would have been so famous—but the fact that he became King Richard makes him that much more of an icon.”

Waltrip sees Junior Johnson as the same sort of icon, and not just because he won all three of his championships while driving for him. Johnson won four other championships as car owner and a total of 50 races as a driver.

“When you’ve got 50 wins as a driver, that sort of speaks for itself. But with Junior, I think it’s the entire body of work,” Waltrip said. “And it’s not just an an owner and not just as a driver. It’s the entire contributions he made to the sport. Certainly bringing R.J. Reynolds into the sport, which was exactly what we needed to bring national recognition to the sport at the time, was one of those. Junior was right in the middle of all that.

“When he first got into the Hall over Pearson, I was like, ‘Wait a minute. Is that right?’ But then, I sat down and said he’s a winning driver, a winning car owner—and then there are all the other contributions that he’s made. He’s made a number of significant contributions to the sport. Then you start to say, ‘Yeah, that makes sense that he should get into the Hall first.’ “

Johnson did more with less back in the days when he was building and guiding one championship team after another, Waltrip added.

“To compare what we had then and what they have now, there really is no comparison. We had 12 people that worked in the shop,” Waltrip said. “I always like to tell people that we didn’t have any specialists. The guys who worked in the shop all through the week worked in the pits on Sunday. The fabricator was the tire changer; the truck driver was the gas man; even the driver was part of it. You were literally hands-on with the car yourself. It was a very small group of people.

“That first year, we built 12 cars. Twelve guys built 12 cars. They never rested. They kept building ‘em and building ‘em, and certainly I think that gave us an advantage in 1981 and even leading into ’82.”

Nowadays, organizations such as Hendrick Motorsports generally maintain about 14 cars per team—but even after some of the downsizing and mergers of many in the last couple of years, the bigger teams oftentimes employ hundreds of people to build the cars and constantly tinker with them.

“I am blown away. People ask me all the time, ‘What’s the difference in the sport between then and now?’ It’s not so much at the track,” Waltrip said. “We’re still dropping the green and getting the checkered, and running 500 miles most of the time in between. But it’s the facilities. It’s back at the shops. The men that are building the cars and the process they’re going through, the equipment that they have and use. That’s the biggest difference, and it’s fascinating to me.”

Current events

As much as Waltrip loves to talk about the good ol’ days, he still enjoys dishing on the hot topics in the current Sprint Cup garage.

Of Kevin Harvick, who had been leading in points until he suffered through a difficult day and poor finish at Martinsville last Monday, Waltrip said he wasn’t surprised when Harvick publicly said a few things to stir the pot in the wake of the recent Carl Edwards/Brad Keselowski controversy that erupted following Edwards’ deliberate wrecking of Keselowski at Atlanta Motor Speedway.

“This is just my observation, only from outside looking in. … But Kevin’s been running really well and no one’s really been noticing,” Waltrip said. “He hasn’t been the center of attention, and Carl [Edwards] and Brad [Keselowski] were, and he thought he ought to get his dog in that fight. I think that’s where his comments came from.

Using the voice

“There are people in this sport who are sort of antagonists, and I’d say that he likes to be one of those. He likes to stirs things up. I think there may be a number of those in there right now. Brad Keselowski certainly has been making a name for himself and is being outspoken. Kevin has always been outspoken; Kyle [Busch] has always been outspoken.

“But if you notice, that usually tempers itself as you become more successful, as you go down the road in this sport. Think about Tony Stewart. When’s the last time you heard him say anything controversial, or out of line? It’s been awhile. Some others, the same way. I look at it and say, ‘Well, they’ve finally grown up. They finally got the message.’

Asked if he has grown up yet, Waltrip smiled and shook his head.

“I’m trying, man, I’m trying,” he said. “Listen, you have to have success. If you’re going to talk the talk, you need the results to back it up. That’s the bottom line with that. Otherwise, you’re just a whiner. So if you’re going to talk about things and you’re going to make comments and you’re going to be controversial, you’d better have good performance to go along with it. If you’re an also-ran and you’re also running your mouth, that’s not going to go over very well. If you’re running well, winning races and maybe championships, people will want to hear what you have to say. Otherwise, I think you’re just kind of blowing in the wind.”

Asked about the smaller crowds who have been attending NASCAR races, Waltrip does not even attempt to put some kind of spin on it as other officials have been known to do.

“We just have facilities that are too big. All these tracks are overbuilt,” he said. “When the demand was there, they just kept building and building and building—and if the demand ever went away or things [in the economy] turned soft a little bit, you were going to see what we’re seeing. We’re still in great shape. We still have over 100,000 people at a lot of our events; we just don’t have 120,000 or 150,000 or whatever the number might be.

“As a whole, I think the sport is very healthy. I just think a lot of these tracks, a lot of these teams all overbuilt and overspent. And now we’re having to learn to do more with less—or rather I’ll say do more with what we are given.”

And as for the new spoiler that was implemented last weekend at Martinsville—first amid much fanfare and then without any at all (drivers kept saying it would make no difference at the half-mile track and it didn’t)—Waltrip had his own take on that and on NASCAR’s rules in general.

“First of all, we didn’t have all the regulations. This sport, when it comes to the cars, there are so many templates and so many specifications and so many rules you have to live by. We didn’t have to deal with all that. That’s why we didn’t need all the people. We could have 10 or 15 or 20 people, build a race car and take it to the track and as long as the silhouette was right and the big template fit, everybody was happy,” Waltrip said.

“With all the rules you’ve got right now, it’s too much. It costs a lot of money and you’ve got to go to the wind tunnel and you’ve got to have all these people who are trying to keep ahead of the game. It’s just too much.

“There are so many regulations, it causes a lot of heartburn. We didn’t have to deal with all that. We had the freedom to be creative to develop our own stuff, do our own thing. That’s how you could get an advantage. They don’t want anybody to have an advantage—but my opinion is the more you try to tighten the rules and regulate everything, you’re going to give somebody an advantage because someone’s going to be able to figure out how to spend more money and get ahead of everybody if they’re smart.”

And what about Junior?

Finally, Waltrip touched on one of his favorite subjects—Dale Earnhardt Jr. When Earnhardt first signed with Hendrick Motorsports prior to the 2008 season, Waltrip was first in line to predict great results for the marriage.

Waltrip, in fact, unabashedly predicted the day Earnhardt’s new No. 88 Chevrolet was unveiled that he believed Earnhardt would win the next Daytona 500 and “at least” six races in 2008. Instead, Earnhardt has won just one in two-plus seasons and recently made news for getting embroiled in a spirited discussion with crew chief Lance McGrew over the radio during a race.

In between a bunch of swearing by Earnhardt followed by an awkward silence, McGrew implored Earnhardt “not to lay down on him,” which sent Earnhardt into another verbal rage that both he and McGrew later downplayed. Asked about it, Waltrip couldn’t help bringing up the other Junior—as in Johnson—one more time.

“You could be leading a race by a lap and slow down just a little, and Junior Johnson would be on that radio saying, ‘Boy, you aren’t laying down on me, are you?’ Now that was motivation to me,” Waltrip said. “It didn’t require me coming back and saying, ‘What are you talking about? Don’t ever say that!’ Every mule is different; some of them you got to hit with a stick and kick, and others you got to pat on the back. I guess maybe [Dale] Junior didn’t take kindly to that.

“Listen, expectations are so high with him that if he’s not winning, the world’s not right. I think they’re taking baby steps to get him back to where he needs to be. I told Rick [Hendrick] this and I honestly believe this: I would run him in some truck races. He needs to get somewhere where he can win.

“And I would get him a truck. Not a Nationwide car, a truck. They’re fun to drive and you have a good time in the truck series most of the time. I would go talk to [Kevin] Harvick and ask him if I could drive that 2 truck. And then I’d go out and win me a couple races; I think that’s what he needs. I think it would really help his confidence, and I think his fans would enjoy seeing him do that. I think it would be a win-win.”

Earnhardt in the Camping World Truck Series? Are you serious, DW?

Yes, he is.

“I think we’ve all been so hard on him and beat him up with those high expectations; we look at him always and see that he’s got great teammates performing at a high level and wonder why he’s not, and I think it’s taken a toll on him,” Waltrip said. “That’s why I would try to find some positive things for him to do to help him get his spirit up and his confidence up.”

Asked about this possibility later, Earnhardt first grabbed his forehead as if he was attempting to ward off a wicked migraine. Then he seemed to remember who was suggesting this madness.

Good ol’ DW.

“I like him. It’s hard not to,” Earnhardt said, who added that he has no intentions of following Waltrip’s advice. “I just think he thinks out loud and doesn’t have much of a filter. That’s just kind of the way it’s going to be.”

Amen, brother. It has been that way for nearly 30 years.

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‘Man Who Made NASCAR’ examines France Jr.’s life (NASCAR.com)

March 31, 2010

Former NASCAR president, chairman and CEO William Clifton France—known to most people as Bill France Jr.—is remembered and revered as the man who followed his visionary father at the helm of NASCAR. During the course of his storied career, France Jr. became the type of bold leader necessary to guide NASCAR to become the monster sports business it is today.

France Jr. grew up during the formative years of stock car racing, living and learning every detail of the sport from his own experiences and those of his father, NASCAR founder William Henry Getty France, who was known as Bill Sr. or “Big Bill.” In the new biography Bill France Jr.: The Man Who Made NASCAR, author H.A. Branham examines his extraordinary life, including:

• France Jr.’s role in NASCAR’s early years prior to taking his father’s position • His assumption to the presidency of NASCAR • NASCAR’s explosion in popularity during his time at the helm • His courageous battle with cancer throughout the last decade of his life. • His final role as vice chairman and main advisor to his son, chairman/CEO Brian France

France Jr. combined pragmatism with optimism, an approach that resulted in a calculated and adventurous road to success for NASCAR. He is remembered as being a colorful character and a tough-as-nails leader with a heart of gold who was known for being both endearing and intimidating.

“Keep moving or else you’ll get passed up,” was France Jr.’s philosophy, but it ran concurrent with the axiom that you can’t really know where you’re going unless you know where you’ve been. Bill France Jr.: The Man Who Made NASCAR will help to ensure that no one ever forgets the legacy of this legendary visionary who guided the sport to unprecedented levels of popularity.

Branham is NASCAR’s director of written communications and has been with the sanctioning body since 2001. He has authored three previous books, including two NASCAR history works: The NASCAR Vault and The NASCAR Family Album.

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Thrilling Australian GP quiets F1 critics (PA SportsTicker)

March 31, 2010

By CHRIS LINES AP Auto Racing Writer

MELBOURNE, Australia(AP)—Formula One critics were complaining in unison before the Australian Grand Prix because there hadn’t been enough action in a largely processional season opener.

There were calls for urgent rules changes in the wake of the Bahrain GP, F1’s first event run under the new ban on in-race refueling. But don’t expect to hear much from the critics this week after the second race.

The Australian GP – won by McLaren driver Jenson Button on Sunday – provided enough daring passes, plot twists, spins and crashes to satisfy even the most jaded fan.

Button took the victory in only his second race for McLaren, having switched teams after winning the drivers championship with Brawn GP last season.

The Englishman profited from the failure of a wheel nut on the Red Bull of Sebastian Vettel, who ran off the track as a result while leading comfortably near the halfway mark.

It was the second race in a row that the German had an unusual equipment failure while leading, and Vettel goes to this weekend’s Malaysian Grand Prix with just six championship points instead of the 50 he could, and probably should, have had if not for those surprising technical glitches.

Instead, Ferrari’s Fernando Alonso leads the standings with 37 points. The Spaniard, also in his second race for his new team, may well have challenged for the win in Melbourne if not for being spun around in a first-corner collision and being sent to the back of the field. His drive, from 18th place after lap one to finish fourth, was of the highest caliber.

Ferrari teammate Felipe Massa finished one place ahead of him, and is one spot behind him in the standings with 33 points. The Brazilian is back from a life-threatening accident last year, and still looks a touch below his best, having been overtaken twice in Melbourne after minor mistakes.

Button’s victory was a result of two factors: He was the first driver to change from intermediate tires to slicks as the rain stopped and the Albert Park track started to dry; and he managed to drive the final 52 of the 58 laps on that same set of soft slick tires while other drivers pitted for fresh rubber.

The top four in Melbourne all followed the same strategy of keeping the same tires. Renault’s Robert Kubica snatched a surprise second place by impressively holding off faster rivals, including Massa and Alonso in third and fourth.

Lewis Hamilton, Button’s teammate, did change to fresh rubber, and made no secret of his anger with the decision by his team, saying it cost McLaren a one-two finish. Hamilton’s sixth-place finish – he lost a spot after being rammed from behind by Red Bull’s Mark Webber on the penultimate lap – and subsequent public outburst against his team came after a dismal weekend.

The British driver had been pulled over by local police for dangerous driving on the Friday before the race, then qualified disappointingly in 11th. Australia will not be high on Hamilton’s list of favorite races, given that he was disqualified in 2009 and later was found to have lied to race stewards.

Webber qualified second and was trying to become the first Australian to win his home grand prix. He briefly led, but his race was compromised by being forced to go a lap too long on the intermediate tires, as teammate Vettel got the initial pit stop. His ninth-place finish came after some overly aggressive driving and off-track excursions, charging a touch too hard in front of home fans.

The surprise of the first two races has been the lack of competitiveness of Mercedes, the reincarnation of last year’s title-winning Brawn GP team.

The return of seven-time world champion Michael Schumacher from retirement had proven to be an anticlimax, with the German struggling to get past slower rivals and finishing 10th in Melbourne. Both in Bahrain and Melbourne, Schumacher has been outqualified and beaten in the race by teammate Nico Rosberg.

No one in F1 will be writing off a team spearheaded by Schumacher and team boss Ross Brawn, but they go to the Sepang circuit in Malaysia this weekend with plenty of ground to make up.

Written by chris · Filed Under NASCAR | Comments Off

Jeff Burton: Switch to spoiler ‘game-changer’ (PA SportsTicker)

March 31, 2010

By HANK KURZ Jr. AP Sports Writer

MARTINSVILLE, Va.(AP)—The reappearance of the spoiler on the back of the Sprint Cup cars at Martinsville Speedway drew high praise from many drivers because it makes the cars look better.