Dakar Rally makes symbolic start in Argentina
December 31, 2011
MAR DEL PLATA, Argentina (AP)—The Dakar Rally began with a processionalride Saturday, the symbolic start to a 15-day race that will take competitorsfrom Argentina through Chile to the finish in Peru.
This is the fourth straight year the event is in South America. After threeyears of racing on a course that started and ended in Buenos Aires, the race nowbegins in the Atlantic coastal city of Mar Del Plata with the finish 5,500 milesaway on the Pacific coast in Peru.
Saturday’s ride does not count in the timed standings. The first officialleg is from Mar del Plata to Santa Rosa on Sunday.
Nasser Al-Attiyah of Qatar, who won last year’s car category driving aVolkswagen, is back this year in a Hummer. Defending bike champion Marc Coma ofSpain returns with KTM.
Al-Attiyah was one of the last drivers to sign up for the race and haslittle time to get used to his new vehicle.
“I am comfortable inside this car, I am getting the feel of it,” he said.“But I still have to get acquainted with it, so I will play things safe in thefirst stages and then step things up a notch every day.”
His teammate will be American Robby Gordon.
The rally was held in Africa until 2007 but moved for security reasons toSouth America in 2009. The race was not held in 2008.
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Williams F1 co-founder steps down from board (PA SportsTicker)
December 31, 2011
LONDON (AP) —Williams co-founder Patrick Head has stepped down from the Formula One team’s board of directors.
Head, the team’s director of engineering, established the F1 team alongside Frank Williams in 1977. Head will continue working with the team’s hybrid technology department.
The British team has won 113 Grand Prix races, nine constructors’ championships and seven drivers’ titles. But its last victory was at the 2004 Brazilian Grand Prix, and it hasn’t won a drivers’ or constructors’ title since Jacques Villeneuve in 1997.
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Baltimore terminates Grand Prix contract
December 30, 2011
BALTIMORE (AP)—Baltimore terminated its contract with the organizers ofthe Baltimore Grand Prix on Friday and opened the door to others interested incontinuing the race in future years.
The city had warned last month that it would terminate its contract withBaltimore Racing Development after the first year of the five-year pact if thegroup failed to pay $1.5 million owed to the city by the end of the year. Thecity is interested in making the Grand Prix a yearly event, and it noted in astatement that it can now move forward with others who have expressed interestin organizing races.
While Friday’s move leaves Baltimore without an operator for the race, theIndyCar series has already added a Labor Day event in Baltimore to its calendarfor next year.
The inaugural event on Labor Day weekend drew about 160,000 spectators overthree days to the 2-mile, 13-turn course on city streets that ran past the InnerHarbor and around Oriole Park at Camden Yards. IndyCar and the American Le Mansseries headlined the event that also featured races from three other leagues.
BRD was responsible for organizing the event from bringing in fencing toline the course, to selling sponsorships and tickets to fans.
Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake said she had hoped BRD would restructure andstart paying its debts by the city’s Saturday deadline, but the group’s leadersfailed to take steps to put the company on a sustainable path.
“The Grand Prix generated $47 million in economic impact and provedvaluable in terms of positive media exposure and civic pride for Baltimore’sresidents,” Rawlings-Blake said. “The event, if conducted responsibly, hassignificant economic value to potential investors and the City this year and infuture years.”
The state Comptroller’s Office, which collects taxes for localjurisdictions, filed a lien against BRD’s property last month for nearly$600,000 in unpaid taxes, and it was still in place earlier this week. BRD isfacing lawsuits from investors and vendors.
Organizers had said they did not expect the event to be profitable in itsfirst year, but former BRD CEO Jay Davidson has said the event showed that itcould ultimately be profitable. BRD officials could not be reached for commentFriday.
Sean Conley of West Tisbury, Mass., a founding investor in the group whorecently filed a complaint in court seeking payment for the shares he sold backto BRD, was saddened by the news of the termination.
“I hope for Baltimore’s sake it can continue because it’s a great event,”Conley said. “I’m just sorry that the company that we founded couldn’t get ittogether.”
The Grand Prix can be a good investment if run properly, and Conley said hewould be interested if he weren’t broke from his losses with BRD. But the citymay need to adjust its stance, he said.
“City officials may have to restructure their expectations. No othercommunity demands to be subsidized by the event,” he said. “Other communitiesgive money.”
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Dover’s seat-widening plan set to begin in 2012 (NASCAR.com)
December 30, 2011
Dover International Speedway announced Thursday a seat-widening plan for the track’s grandstands beginning in 2012.
The multi-year process, which will take place throughout the entire outdoor grandstands, will begin in all seating sections located in Turns 2 and 3. Additional widening of seats toward Turns 1 and 4 and the frontstretch will begin after the conclusion of the 2012 season. When the process is complete, all seats will have increased from 18 inches to 22 inches throughout the venue.
“Year to year, we’re always exploring ways to improve the experience for fans who attend our races at the Monster Mile,” said Denis McGlynn, president and CEO of Dover Motorsports, Inc. “Because many seats have already been renewed by our most loyal fans, we don’t want to displace them in an effort to make this change in one fell swoop. We’ll do our best to widen seats this year, and complete the process by 2014.
“By widening our seats we are responding to suggestions from our fans and allowing them to enjoy the race in a far more comfortable setting.”
When the process is complete by 2014, Dover’s new seating capacity will be 113,000.
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Aumann: Crew chiefs staying with driver a thing of the past (NASCAR.com)
December 30, 2011
Mike Ford (Autostock)
Jake Elder got the nickname “Suitcase” for the sheer number of jobs he held during his tenure as a NASCAR crew chief. In an era when drivers and crew chiefs stayed together season after season, Elder’s lengthy and varied resume was considered unusual.
Every superstar driver needs a top-notch crew chief, and usually that means a long-term relationship. That was the case for years: Fireball Roberts and Smokey Yunick. David Pearson and Leonard Wood. Cale Yarborough and Herb Nab. Darrell Waltrip and Jeff Hammond. Dale Earnhardt and Kirk Shelmerdine. Jeff Gordon and Ray Evernham.
Topping them all had to be the pairing of cousins Richard Petty and Dale Inman. Inman took over crew chief duties for the King in 1960 and led the famous No. 43 to 192 wins—five of those in the Daytona 500—and seven championships in two decades. Then after leaving Petty Enterprises, Inman added another Cup title with Terry Labonte in 1984.
As for Elder, he stuck to the task long enough to win a pair of titles with Pearson in 1968 and 1969, later getting Earnhardt’s career off to a winning start.
But Elder’s ability to quickly pack up and move on would have allowed him to fit in nicely in today’s Cup Series, where the crew chief hiring carousel is spinning wildly. Job security? Not when the pink slips and offer sheets are fluttering down like snowflakes in a blizzard.
It’s not surprising that struggling teams look to make changes in an effort to shake up the status quo. But it is when teams at the top of their game go that route. And the speed and intensity with which crew chiefs are being replaced is increasing exponentially.
A year ago, Rick Hendrick stunned the Cup garage when he took the unprecedented step of changing three of his four driver-crew chief connections. Now, four of the 12 crew chiefs who made the Chase—including champion head wrench Darian Grubb—have switched teams the past month.
Mike Ford came within one tank of gas of the 2010 Cup title and had been atop Denny Hamlin’s pit box for 223 consecutive races. That is, until team owner Joe Gibbs decided Grubb was a better alternative. Steve Addington went from Penske to Stewart-Haas. And Kevin Harvick will be chatting on the radio with Shane Wilson in 2012.
That doesn’t even count Greg Biffle, who switched to Matt Puccia midway through the season, or Clint Bowyer, Joey Logano, A.J. Allmendinger, Jeff Burton, Juan Montoya, Bobby Labonte, Kurt Busch and Mark Martin, all of whom will have new crew chiefs at Daytona.
How wacky has this become? Casey Mears and crew chief Bootie Barker—who have combined for 47 consecutive race starts, not counting races in which Mears failed to qualify—are now ninth on the active Cup seniority list. And right behind them in 10th are David Gilliland and crew chief Peter Sospenzo with 41 … that is, if Gilliland returns to Front Row in 2012.
With most of the shuffling now complete, it leaves just two active driver-crew chief combinations which have been together for more than three full Cup seasons.
One’s pretty easy to guess: Chad Knaus has been Jimmie Johnson’s crew chief for all 10 of his full-time Cup seasons, a total of 360 consecutive starts—although Knaus has been on the pit box for only 352. Grubb was acting crew chief for the No. 48 Chevrolet for the first four races of 2006, and Ron Malec took over for a four-race stretch in 2007—as Knaus sat out a pair of NASCAR-imposed suspensions.
With the dissolution of the Hamlin-Ford relationship, moving into second place are Carl Edwards and Bob Osborne, with 182 consecutive race starts. Osborne replaced Wally Brown near the end of the 2006 season and has been the voice in Edwards’ headset since—not counting Osborne’s six-race suspension in 2008.
That means Ryan Newman and Tony Gibson, who have been paired together since they were hired at Stewart-Haas Racing at the beginning of 2009, are third in seniority with 108 consecutive starts. They’re followed by Kyle Busch and Dave Rogers, who began working together later that season.
And the pairings of Jamie McMurray-Kevin Manion and Paul Menard-Slugger Labbe have only been in effect since the beginning of 2010.
Perhaps an asterisk can be placed on the pairing of Kasey Kahne and Kenny Francis, who are moving as a set from Red Bull to Hendrick Motorsports, just as they did from Petty to Red Bull at the end of 2010.
Francis first worked atop Kahne’s pit box at Homestead at the end of the 2005 season—and has been his crew chief since. The exception, however, is the five races that Kahne worked with Jimmy Elledge at Red Bull in 2010 before Francis rejoined him.
The opinions expressed are solely those of the writer.
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Dover International Speedway to widen seats
December 30, 2011
DOVER, Del. (AP)—Dover International Speedway in Delaware is hoping tomake race fans’ experience a little more comfortable by widening seats in thetrack’s outdoor grandstands.
The speedway announced Thursday that the process of increasing seats from 18inches to 22 inches will start next year and will be complete by 2014.
Denis McGlynn, president and CEO of Dover Motorsports, says the wideningcomes in response to fans’ suggestions. The change will reduce the capacity ofthe speedway from 140,000 to 113,000.
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NASCAR’s Kahne sorry for breastfeeding comments
December 29, 2011
CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP)—NASCAR driver Kasey Kahne has apologized for comments he made on his Twitter account about public breastfeeding.
According to multiple media reports, Kahne posted messages on his account that he saw a mother breastfeeding a child in a supermarket, calling it “nasty” and saying he didn’t “feel like shopping any more or eating.”
Reports say Kahne then sent a crude reply message to a Twitter user who took issue with his comments.
After apparently deleting the offending posts from his Twitter feed, Kahne posted an apology on his Facebook page Wednesday, saying it wasn’t his intention “to offend any mother who chooses to breastfeed her child, or, for that matter, anyone who supports breast feeding children. I want to make that clear.”
Kahne said he understands his comments were “offensive to some people” and apologized.
“In all honestly, I was surprised by what I saw in a grocery store,” Kahne said. “I shared that reaction with my fans on Twitter. It obviously wasn’t the correct approach, and, after reading your feedback, I now have a better understanding of why my posts upset some of you.
“My comments were not directed at the mother’s right to breastfeed. They were just a reaction to the location of that choice, and the fashion in which it was executed on that occasion.”
Kahne said he respects the mother’s right to feed her child “whenever and wherever she pleases.”
Kahne also posted a personal reply to the user he’d insulted.
“I wanted to apologize for saying what I said to you yesterday,” Kahne wrote. “It was out of line.”
Kahne’s team said its “concerns have been conveyed” to Kahne.
“We appreciate that he chose to follow up with his fans and others who were upset by the comments,” Hendrick Motorsports said in a statement.
NASCAR did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
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Zipadelli cherishes family, anticipates opportunity (NASCAR.com)
December 29, 2011
If Tony Stewart’s former two-time champion crew chief Greg Zipadelli thought his preseasons were busy previously, he probably ain’t seen anything yet. He’s getting ready for a 2012 that will mix and match his new duties as Stewart-Haas Racing competition director as well as crew chief for Danica Patrick as she makes her Sprint Cup debut.
But first, Zipadelli took advantage of a holiday treat, a post-Christmas deer hunt in Ohio. He hopes it’s a small preview of what he has to look forward to in 2012.
“I’m young but I ran hard as a crew chief as far as, I’ve been doing it a lot of years, even before I got to this level,” said Zipadelli, 44, who won championships in NASCAR touring divisions in his native New England before relocating to North Carolina in the mid-1990s. “It was a lot of time and I missed a lot with my family. I think this [latest position] is gonna give me—not a lot—but it’s gonna give me 10 percent more time with my family [and] a little bit more flexibility to do some of the things that I enjoy to do.”
According to his Twitter feed, Zipadelli did just that as he bragged of going on his first deer hunt with his son, Zac, who’s around 10 years old. They bagged a 240-lb. buck the first day and got one that Zipadelli said was “my biggest by far” the second day.
It’s a good warm-down prior to Zipadelli’s first test, scheduled in two weeks at Daytona International Speedway on Jan. 12., not only with his new organization, but also in running Patrick’s team. Zipadelli had high praise for the former open-wheel driver who’s prepped for the past two seasons with partial Nationwide Series schedules before planning to run the full 2012 Nationwide schedule for JR Motorsports while doing 10 Cup races for SHR.
“She’s got more determination than most people,” Zipadelli said of his observations of Patrick and what he’d learned in his initial conversations with Stewart. “She has confidence in her ability and she’s proven that in the past. The big thing about it is the want and the desire—and that seems to be there, without any question at all.”
Zipadelli didn’t disagree with Patrick’s reported contention that she would be the first female driver to win a Cup Series race.
Pattie more than ready to go after break
Brian Pattie was in street clothes at Indianapolis in mid-summer, and said then that his agreement with owner Chip Ganassi was keeping his activity pretty low-key. But at his first test earlier this month, with his new Michael Waltrip Racing driver Clint Bowyer, Pattie made no bones about how he really felt at being back in harness.
“The last three months changed me, in the fact that I’m recharged and ready to go, like I never have been,” Pattie said. “I’m excited about racing again. You get in those low moments and it’s just a struggle. [The split from Earnhardt Ganassi Racing] really was a blessing in disguise for me. But coming [to the test at Walt Disney World Speedway] … if I could scream, I would; it’s that exciting.”
Does Addington have perfect demeanor for Stewart?
Greg Zipadelli spent several years working at Joe Gibbs Racing with Steve Addington, who after the 2011 season left Penske Racing to take the position of Tony Stewart’s crew chief for 2012.
Knowing what he does about both men, Zipadelli said the chance for them to thrive and potentially defend SHR’s 2011 Sprint Cup championship is good.
“Steve’s a cool cat, he’s a hard worker and he’s a very, very good friend of mine, so I respect him a lot—and he’s got a thick skin, we know that,” Zipadelli said, laughing. “He’s won a bunch of races so there’s no doubt in his ability or the things that he can do with a race car, or preparing one. I think it will just be a little bit of them getting to know each other.”
And Zipadelli said there’s one key element that’s occurred since Addington was abruptly released from JGR while serving as Kyle Busch’s crew chief late in the 2009 season.
“I think Tony has certainly matured a lot as far as the way he is with people,” Zipadelli said. “Listening to [Stewart] for the last couple years on the radio—it’s completely different than what I had for 10 years. [Stewart] obviously has accepted the responsibility of an owner and a driver, the way he deals with those things, so I think that’s gonna help Steve a lot and I think we’re looking for great things from those two.”
Pocono powers up with solar
Slightly more than 16 months after the dedication of Pocono Raceway’s solar farm, the total amount of electricity produced by the 25-acre facility located across Long Pond Road from the facility has reached the 5,000,000 kilowatt hour (kWh) mark.
The Pocono Raceway solar installation consists of 39,960 American-made photovoltaic modules that will produce more than 72 million kilowatt hours (kWh) of energy over the next 20 years, which the track said will annually generate enough power to provide the electricity needs for more than 500 homes beyond the power needs of the 2.5-mile, northeast Pennsylvania race track.
“This is another important milestone for Pocono Raceway,” said track president and CEO Brandon Igdalsky. “Pocono Raceway strongly believes in the commitment to operate in a more environmentally responsible way and is proud to be the first race track to power our sport with clean, renewable sunlight with the world’s largest renewable energy project to power a sports facility.
“This solar power system, built with timber, steel and solar panels made in the U.S., satisfies all our raceway’s energy needs, while helping to power local homes. This project demonstrates real sustainability and proves that any business that truly wants to ‘Go Green,’ can do it.”
The raceway has been awarded a number of environmental awards for its sustainable energy efforts including the 2011 Excellence in Renewable Energy Awards, Readers Choice Award presented by RenewableEnergyWorld.com and the 2011 Governor’s Award for Environmental Excellence, presented each year by the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection.
Gordon’s latest Dakar adventure looms
As usual, Robby Gordon is letting this year’s NASCAR plans take a back burner to his latest effort in the Dakar Rally, which begins in Mar Del Plata, Argentina, on Jan. 1 and concludes 14 days later after a point-to-point, multi-stage run to Lima, Peru.
Gordon, who had a Stage 6 win and the Open Class victory in the 2007 Rally, will once again field a pair of crowd-favorite Hummer H3s for himself and the rally’s defending champion, Qatar’s Nasser Al-Attiyah, who became available when Volkswagen dropped its off-road program that annually was a Dakar favorite.
“Toyo Tires and I have worked hard over the years to develop a tire combination that is right for the Hummer,” said Gordon, who was third overall in the 2009 rally. “Their team has put a lot of effort into making a Toyo tire that is tough, durable and ready for the Dakar Rally. It has good grip and can sustain the varying terrain, from sand to slick gravel roads to hard rocky areas. I look forward to getting out there and racing on it.”
Happy holidays for Harvick
For the first time in a decade, Kevin Harvick has spent the holidays preparing only to drive race cars and trucks in the following season—not worrying about how he’ll pay to operate Kevin Harvick Inc. and sustain all its employees.
Harvick and his wife DeLana dissolved the company at the end of last season and he’ll now concentrate on racing for Richard Childress Racing. RCR will field vehicles in all three NASCAR national tours and, while he’s coaching Childress’ grandsons Austin and Ty Dillon, Harvick will still get to race in all three series, where he totals 68 career wins.
“Not much will change,” Harvick said, “still do the Truck racing, Nationwide racing and all the different things on Sundays, so looking forward to it. I look forward to being a part of Austin and Ty’s career as they move forward and trying to give them as much knowledge as I can give them and be a part of the shops and everything that’s going on.
“So I get to do all the things I like to do, just we don’t have to pay for it anymore.”
You could easily argue that might be the best present a racer could get.
The opinions expressed are solely those of the writer.
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Championship race for the ages was story of 2011 (NASCAR.com)
December 28, 2011
The points battle between Tony Stewart and Carl Edwards, culiminating at Homestead, was easily the story of the year. (Getty)
For Carl Edwards, it began with a runner-up finish at Daytona that would herald an onslaught of top-10s that would keep him at or near the top of the point standings all season. For Tony Stewart, it began with a mediocre result in the Great American Race that precipitated a year-long course in crisis management. As the 2011 Sprint Cup campaign unfolded, there were very few hints at the greater drama that would eventually ensnare both of these competitors at the end.
Because they seemed to be traveling in completely opposite directions—the cool, smooth Edwards knocking out strong finishes week after week, the combustible Stewart forced to rebound again and again. By the halfway mark of the season, Edwards had led the points for 12 weeks, and Stewart was on the verge of falling out of Chase contention, his title hopes dangling dangerously, just as his No. 14 car was from a tire barrier after being wrecked at Infineon Raceway.
So perhaps that’s what made the endgame so irresistible. No question, the finish was fantastic, that final race at Homestead-Miami Speedway so galvanizing that no one could tear their eyes away from it. But the epic quality to this 2011 championship race seemed to stem from elsewhere, from the apparent disparity between the two programs, one that had been at the top all season and another that got by on grit and guile. Stewart didn’t just beat Edwards to win his third championship in NASCAR’s premier series—he overcame struggles within his own program, a team that too often seemed teetering on the brink, that endured personnel changes and at one point was so average that the driver himself said he’d be wasting a Chase spot.
And that, more than anything else, is why this otherworldly championship race is the obvious top choice for story of the year in NASCAR. At its essence, this was a comeback tale, one in which an underdog overcame all kinds of problems, and beat a near-flawless opponent by delivering the race of his life when it counted most. Edwards did everything perfectly over the final stages of the season, finishing 11th or better in the final 13 races, finishing second in each of the final three events, posting an average result of 4.4 over the span of the Chase. And he wound up second—on a tiebreaker, of all things—to a guy who had fired his competition director and crew chief, who time and time again seemed out of it, who opened the final race by getting a hole punched into his front grille.
In retrospect, it seems even more impossible than when it was happening live. Given the numbers he posted, Edwards would have won the title in any other year of the Chase era, and under any other scenario other than the one that unfolded on that memorable night in South Florida. Stewart, though, would not be denied. Despite his team’s shortcomings, despite issues with his race car, despite having a lame-duck crew chief, despite every shred of logic that seemed to indicate he shouldn’t be able to do what he was doing, Stewart pushed the No. 14 car three-wide again and again, went from the back to the front again and again, and claimed the championship in a manner no one had ever seen.
It was impossible. And yet, it happened. And no one who witnessed it will ever forget it.
The rest of the top 10 stories from the 2011 season in NASCAR:
2. The end of the run. Jimmie Johnson’s unprecedented reign atop NASCAR’s premier series had to end sometime, and it did in 2011. Although the five-time champ stood third in the standings, only four points out, after winning the Chase race at Kansas, the No. 48 team just didn’t have the speed in its cars, and made too many mistakes to stay in it. Although he wasn’t eliminated until Phoenix, Johnson’s crash in the fall Charlotte race essentially signaled the end of the most dominant title run the sport has ever seen.
On the outside looking in | Caraviello: Reign over, but Johnson set standard | Vegas speech
3. “Are you kidding me?” Those were the words spoken over the radio by Trevor Bayne after the youngster shocked the motorsports world with his victory in the Daytona 500. The fact that a 20-year-old—and just barely—had won the Great American Race was irresistible enough. The fact that he won it for the Wood Brothers, that venerable, beloved old NASCAR franchise that had fallen on such hard times, made the moment even sweeter. The Woods hadn’t won in 10 years, and now they had won Daytona. There was something special about seeing the baby-faced Bayne alongside team patriarchs Glen and Leonard Wood in Victory Lane.
Bayne youngest 500 winner | Caraviello: Woods turn improbability into reality | Press Pass: Bayne
4. The rise of Brad K. In 2010, he was a struggling young driver trying to find his way in NASCAR’s premier series. One-third of the way through the 2011 season, he was buried in points, and seemingly an afterthought. And then, something amazing happened—Brad Keselowski emerged, almost overnight, into a driver capable of winning races and championships. He notched three race wins, and was in the thick of the Chase until only three weeks remained. It was an astonishing transformation, and one that shows every sign of continuing into 2012.
Menzer: Strength in simplicity | Caraviello: Growth began at Chicago | Reality still a dream
5. The trouble with Kyle. Kyle Busch won four races this past season, and was the top seed entering the Chase. But no one will remember that. They’ll remember his run-in with Kevin Harvick in the final laps at Darlington, which resulted in a probationary period and the teams scuffling in the garage. They’ll remember him getting ticketed for driving a high-performance passenger car 128 mph in a 45 zone, and losing his driver’s license for a short time. They’ll remember him wrecking Ron Hornaday under caution in a Camping World Truck Series race at Texas, and getting parked for the remainder of the weekend. Hopefully, Busch will leave more positive memories in 2012.
Busch, Harvick agree to disagree | License suspended | Parked at Texas | Menzer: Look in the mirror
6. Feels like the first time. Bayne’s victory in the Daytona 500 ushered in the era of the first-timer, as a number of drivers finally scored their debut victories on NASCAR’s premier series. Regan Smith did it at Darlington, making a pit-strategy gamble pay off. David Ragan did it in the summer event at Daytona. Paul Menard did it at Indianapolis, holding off Jeff Gordon on a long final fuel run. And Marcos Ambrose did it at Watkins Glen, where the former V8 Supercar driver finally closed the deal on a road course.
Smith’s celebration | Ragan’s redemption | Menard’s validation | Menzer: Ambrose’s win RPM’s apex
7. Junior’s comeback. It had been a rough past two seasons for Dale Earnhardt Jr. Despite the benefit of powerful Hendrick Motorsports equipment, NASCAR’s most popular driver had staggered home 25th and 21st, and led many to wonder if he would ever contend again. He did in 2011, benefitting from a new voice in his ear and recording a seventh-place points finish that was his best since 2006. He didn’t win, and the skid now stands at 129 races, but he gave himself a chance at places like Charlotte and Martinsville, and provided hope that the drought-buster lies ahead.
Caraviello: Confidence game | Most popular again | Caraviello: Earnhardt finds comfort in spotlight
8. It takes two. It looked strange, cars zipping around Daytona International Speedway in pairs, as if their bumpers were hooked together. But it was the fastest way around the track, thanks to a recent resurfacing and tweaks to the front ends of the vehicles. Not all fans and drivers liked it, but it was certainly different, and it unquestionably strung out the field—lessening the impact of the Big One—at Daytona and Talladega. NASCAR is working to try to bring back the pack racing fans are more used to seeing on restrictor-plate tracks. We’ll see in February whether they’ve achieved that goal.
Blind faith | Truex: Trials at 200+ mph fun | Major changes being made to cooling systems
9. The trouble with Kurt. Not to be outdone by little brother Kyle, Kurt Busch had his own share of issues in 2011, the kind that also overshadowed notable accomplishments on the track. Kurt won two races and made the Chase for the sixth time in eight years, but he also raged at his team over the radio in the spring race at Richmond, had a run-in with reporters in the fall race there, and cursed out a pit reporter at Homestead. To top it all off, he split with Penske immediately after the season, and will drive James Finch’s car next year. Again—let’s work on better memories for 2012, shall we?
Menzer: Karma comes around | Caraviello: Own worst enemy | Seeing sports psychologist
10. The kids are all right. They certainly seemed that way, as NASCAR’s other two national divisions were won by young drivers who seem to have all kinds of talent to burn. Austin Dillon, the 21-year-old grandson of Richard Childress, prevailed in the Camping World Truck Series, giving the black No. 3 its first title since Dale Earnhardt’s last Cup crown in 1994. And 24-year-old Ricky Stenhouse Jr. went from nearly losing his ride in 2010 to a Nationwide championship in 2011. Look for head-to-head duels next year, when both drivers will be battling on the Nationwide tour. NASCAR’s future seems in good hands.
YIR: Title sweeter for family-oriented Dillon | YIR: Stenhouse turns NNS upside down
Surprises
1. Brad Keselowski. Where did he come from? A driver who didn’t record a single top-five finish in all of 2010, who stood 25th in points after the Coca-Cola 600 in May, catches fire to win three times and become a major factor in the championship race. Keselowski’s development speaks to the chemistry between him and crew chief Paul Wolfe, but also to the patience of owner Roger Penske, who stuck with his struggling young driver even in a sport that’s all about winning right now.
2. Ricky Stenhouse Jr. Speaking of patience, Jack Roush showed plenty of it with Stenhouse in 2010, a season in which the Nationwide driver wrecked too many cars to count and was even pulled from the car for a couple of races. It all turned around, first with a Rookie of the Year surge late last season, and then with an impressive championship run in which Stenhouse withstood everything Elliott Sadler could throw at him. No question, the kid seems ticketed for the big time.
3. Danica Patrick. The lady can drive, folks. Time to admit it. Fourth at Las Vegas, setting a record for a female driver at NASCAR’s national level. Tenth at Chicagoland. Tenth at Daytona in July. Eleventh at Texas in the fall. An average finish over her 12 Nationwide starts of 17.4, a statistic skewed by the wreck she was involved in during the season finale at Homestead. All the signs are there. And now that she’s a full-time NASCAR driver, expect that kind of progress to continue at a more rapid rate.
Disappointments
1. Joe Gibbs Racing. A team that’s supposed to challenge for the Sprint Cup title spent the end of the season watching others vie for the crown. Denny Hamlin and the No. 11 bunch never seemed to get over their near-miss from the year before. Kyle Busch’s four wins were overshadowed by negative issues on- and off-track. Joey Logano was unable to build on his closing surge in 2010. Now, Hamlin and Logano will have new crew chiefs. This is a team with all kinds of promise, and drivers with all kinds of talent, and ninth, 12th, and 24th in final points is not what anyone expects.
2. Earnhardt Ganassi Racing. Jamie McMurray’s three wins from 2010 seem a long time ago. Juan Montoya’s Chase run from 2009 feels like a mirage. This isn’t an elite team on the level of Gibbs—sorry, Chip—and the bar isn’t set quite as high, but this is still an outfit that should be at least contending for Chase berths on a regular basis, and it hasn’t been able to get there. Certainly, 21st and 27th in final points isn’t what the organization envisioned. Certainly, the drivers are talented. On occasion, the cars have been fast. No question, Earnhardt-Childress engines are stout. It’s time for EGR to put everything together.
3. Kentucky Speedway. The single most embarrassing moment of the year in NASCAR was before the inaugural Sprint Cup race at Kentucky Speedway, when a long line of cars stretched outside the race track, and officials had no place to put them. Memories of that miles-long traffic jam, and ticket holders who missed some or all of the race, will linger for some time. Buying more land for parking helps. We’ll find out June 30 how much things have changed.
Awards
Driver of the Year: Tony Stewart. Hard to argue with a record five Chase race victories, and a come-from-behind championship won on a tiebreaker. NASCAR wants wins to mean something, and this year they certainly did. Bonus points for those hair-raising three-wide moves in the finale at Homestead. Runner-up: Carl Edwards. Did everything it took to win the championship, and still watched someone else hoist the Sprint Cup. He scored 19 top-fives and led the points for 23 weeks, testaments to consistency in a sport where that kind of thing matters. Honorable mention: Jeff Gordon. A disappointing Chase can’t eclipse three victories and a season that put him back on the map as a title contender. He also recorded his 85th career victory, putting him behind only Richard Petty and David Pearson on the sport’s all-time list.
Crew Chief of the Year: Steve Letarte. Was brought over to the No. 88 team with the express goal of rebuilding Dale Earnhardt Jr.’s confidence, and succeeded. Earnhardt didn’t win, but Letarte played a major role in putting him back in the championship conversation. Runner-up: Darian Grubb. Somehow held together the No. 14 team in the final weeks of a championship run even though he knew he’d been out of a job. Made a gutsy pit call at Homestead that helped Stewart win the title. Honorable mention: Bob Osborne. If you want to nitpick, maybe setup misses at Kansas and Martinsville prevented the No. 99 team from winning the title. But in each case they recovered, and Osborne’s cars were fast at the end of every Chase race, and were stunningly dependable almost every week.
Car Owner of the Year: Jack Roush. Won the Nationwide Series championship with Ricky Stenhouse Jr., and nearly became the first car owner to sweep NASCAR’s top two titles in the same season. Saw Matt Kenseth snap a 76-race winless streak, win twice, and stay in title contention until two weeks remained. Saw David Ragan break through at Daytona. Now all the guy needs is some sponsorship. Runner-up: Tony Stewart. Has always made the right personnel moves to keep this once-unheralded team climbing toward elite status. We’ll see if that continues now that Steve Addington has replaced Grubb. Honorable mention: Rick Hendrick. Had three drivers make the Chase, and supplied the parts, pieces, and advice that helped Stewart win the championship.
Race of the Year: Ford 400, Homestead-Miami Speedway. Galvanizing from beginning to end. Stewart overcomes early trouble, makes crazy three-wide passes on the race track, overtakes a zillion cars, takes a big pit-strategy gamble, gets a break with the rain, and wins the title the only way he can. Runner-up: Daytona 500, Daytona International Speedway. Maybe not the best Daytona 500, and people still squirm over that tandem drafting, but seeing Trevor Bayne and the Wood Brothers in Victory Lane is something no one will ever forget. Honorable mention: Showtime Southern 500, Darlington Raceway. Regan Smith stays out on old tires and holds off Edwards, and Kevin Harvick and Kyle Busch tangle on the race track while their teams rumble in the garage.
Comeback of the Year: Jeff Gordon. He has a little more gray around the temples, and he gets asked about retirement more often, but with three victories and a solid regular season, 2011 proved to be a career renaissance for the four-time champion. Runner-up: Richard Petty Motorsports. RPM ended 2010 out of cash, and with people wondering if they could even afford to get to the race track. It ended 2011 with a race victory thanks to Marcos Ambrose at Watkins Glen, and a career-best points finish by A.J. Allmendinger. Now the challenge is sustaining it, given that ‘Dinger is gone and questions surround the No. 43. Honorable mention: Brian Vickers. He didn’t have the best of seasons, and his future is up in the air given the closure of his Red Bull team, but after a major health scare that sidelined him for much of 2010, it was good to have Vickers back on the race track.
Quote of the Year: Camping World Truck Series driver Johnny Sauter, after being black-flagged as the leader on the final restart in the June race at Texas: “God bless America.” Where did that come from? “I guess I was so mad over that whole situation,” Sauter said recently. “… Actually, the first thing that came to my mind was to just stand in front of the camera and say the Pledge of Allegiance, just to throw everybody off their mark. But I figured God bless America was good enough. I don’t know where that came from. I’m a pretty sarcastic person … so just trying to get a rise out of people, I guess, and not give them what they want.”
Runner-up: Stewart, after winning at Martinsville to close the gap on points leader Edwards: “Carl Edwards had better be real worried. That’s all I’ve got to say. He’s not going to sleep for the next three weeks.”
Honorable mention: Stewart again, in the championship press conference on Miami Beach before the final race: “I’d wreck my mom to win a championship. I’ll wreck your mom to win a championship. … I respect him as a driver, but this isn’t about friendships this weekend. This is a war. This is a battle. This is for a national championship. It’s no holds barred this weekend. I didn’t come this far to be one step away from it and let it slip away, so we’re going to go for it.”
Early 2012 championship pick
Jeff Gordon. The 66-race winless streak is history, long left behind him. Gordon’s troublesome Chase obscures the fact that he was viewed by many as the favorite heading into the playoff this past year. With three victories, he enjoyed his best season since his championship near-miss of 2007. He and crew chief Alan Gustafson have now had a year together, and comprise a formidable duo. For the four-time champion, the drive for five is alive.
The opinions expressed are solely those of the writer.
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Tony Stewart set for Chili Bowl Nationals
December 28, 2011
TULSA, Okla. (AP)—NASCAR Sprint Cup champion Tony Stewart said Tuesdaythat he will race in the Chili Bowl Nationals next month at the QuikTripCenter’s Tulsa Expo Raceway.
Stewart, the 2002 and 2007 Golden Driller winner, last competed in theMidget event in 2008. In 12 previous starts, he has made it to the championshipfeature 10 times.
The indoor competition is Jan. 10-14 on the quarter-mile clay oval.
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