News for February 3rd 2010
NASCAR allowing drivers to trade paint at Daytona and Talladega
NASCAR will allow drivers to “have at it” during next month’s Daytona 500.
The sanctioning body will eliminate the no-bumping rule at Daytona International Speedway and Talladega Superspeedway, a move widely applauded to help return stock-car racing back to its rough-and-tumble roots, NASCAR vice president for competition Robin Pemberton said Thursday.
By telling drivers they can “have at it,” Pemberton made official a change that’s been expected for weeks.
“It’s time for us to allow the drivers to drive,” said NASCAR chairman Brian France. “We don’t want the rules and regulations to get in the way of great racing and fantastic finishes.
“NASCAR is a contact sport. Our sport is based on banging fenders.”
The sanctioning body outlawed the practice of ramming a lead car from behind in the turns to generate more speed at Daytona and Talladega, the only tracks that, for safety reasons, require the use of a speed-reducing restrictor plates. Drivers insisted the no bump-drafting zones kept them from making passes.
The Sprint Cup Series also said it quickly will do away with the rear wing and replace it with the traditional spoiler, probably as soon as the second month of the season. That move was to enhance competition, too, Pemberton said.
Also, the size of the holes in restrictor plates will be increased at Daytona to give drivers more speed and throttle response to make passes.
NASCAR considered the elimination of the yellow out-of-bounds line that separates the banking from the apron at Daytona and Talladega, but decided to keep it in play. That will keep drivers from driving off the race course to make passes.
Overall, everyone seemed to be happy with the changes — and NASCAR’s continued moves make racing more about the driver than an advanced car and rules.
“I don’t like to go down the corner, turn the wheel, find out how great my engineers are or aren’t,” Carl Edwards said. “That’s not what I want to do in a race car. I want to go drive.”
Robin Braig and Ricky Humphrey, track presidents at Daytona and Talladega, respectively, love the prospects of a no-holds-barred race.
“We applaud NASCAR for listening to the race fans,” Braig said.
“NASCAR’s decision to put the race back in the hands of the drivers is sure to have a positive impact on the competition and excitement race fans experience at Talladega Superspeedway,” Humphrey said.
Pemberton said drivers will have to police themselves on the track. Now that everyone knows paybacks are probable and allowable, bump-drafting should be under control.
“It will be like going to a race about 10 years ago, I guess,” Dale Earnhardt Jr. said. “They didn’t have any of them rules then. We didn’t see anything too crazy.”
Clint Bowyer said the fact NASCAR listened to the criticism of a year ago with the rules and the Car of Tomorrow is a good step toward winning back fans who lost interest a year ago. Attendance and television ratings were down more than 10 percent a year ago.
“Our fans are not happy. You got to do something to cater to our fans,” Bowyer said. “Without them, we can’t do what we do.”
NASCAR also announced that competition director John Darby was promoted to managing director of competition and will work at the Research and Development Department. The series is looking for a new director, and Darby will stay on the job until he trains his replacement.
Edited: February 3rd, 2010
Talladega Superspeedway’s Car Show
Jody PotterDixie Vintage Auto Club is hosting an Antique & Classic Car Show in-conjunction with the Alabama Antique & Classic Car Auction at Talladega Superspeedway Feb. 26-27, 2010. Gary Adams, vice president of the club, says “This is a new venue for our annual show but being at this world class facility we have high expectations and are expecting over 100 show cars.” The car show is open to antique cars, muscle cars, street rods, and classic cars, including newer Camaros, Dodges, Corvettes, and Mustangs. This is Dixie Vintage’s annual fund raiser car show for Travelers Aid Society of Birmingham, a United Way charity.
Registration for the car show is $30.00, which includes a three day ticket to the auction, car corral, and auto parts vendor area.
Adams is excited about the possibilities combining the car show and auction provide. “This will be a popular event for car enthusiast because it offers a full range of auto related activity including an opportunity to see or participate in the car show, purchase an antique car at auction, to sell one, or perhaps find that badly needed and rare antique auto part in the vendor parts area.” The show cars will be parked on pit row close to the Sprint garage where the auction will be held. “Dixie Vintage is going all out in support of this event and urge other clubs and individuals to do the same. Our hope is that it will grow into a huge event for our state that will rival the Charlotte Auto Fair and other similar events.”
DETAILS
Dixie Vintage Antique & Classic Car Show
Feb. 26-27, 2010 (Fri. noon – 6 p.m.; Sat. all day)
Location: Talladega Superspeedway (on Pit Road in infield)
Registration: $30 – Begins noon Friday, Feb. 26 and continues Saturday, Feb. 27
Prizes: Awards and a cash drawing at 3 p.m. on Saturday.
Spectator tickets: $10/day, 3 day ticket $25, Children 10 and under free.
Edited: February 3rd, 2010
Everyone Please have a Seat…at Talladega Superspeedway
Workers began installing the first of over 18,000 new seats at Talladega Superspeedway in anticipation of the April 23-25 Aaron’s Dream Weekend.
Crews continue to pour concrete and lay the foundations for the new seats, while other crews put the finishing touches on completed sections.
“The construction teams have been working nonstop to complete the grandstands in time for the Aaron’s Dream Weekend,” said Talladega Superspeedway president Rick Humphrey. “Their hard work is paying off, as they are currently several weeks ahead of schedule.”
Some notable numbers that have come out of the project so far:
• Once complete, the entire grandstand project will have used enough concrete to pour the foundations for over 300 single-family homes.
• There is approximately 24,000 feet of caulked joints on the job. That’s over 4.5 miles of caulking, or enough to lay a half-inch strip around the track 1.5 times.
• There are over 42 miles of reinforced steel embedded in the concrete foundations.
• There will be nearly a mile of handrails in the new grandstands.
Edited: February 3rd, 2010
Valentine’s Day Travel Survey
Yapta.com, the airfare tracking service, today released the results of its “Valentine’s Day Travel Survey,” providing insights into where love and travel intersect. Yapta surveyed more than 6,500 travelers, revealing that 60 percent of respondents plan to take a romantic trip by air with a “significant other” this year. However, Valentine’s Day does not appear to be a strong motivator for booking that romantic trip. Only 14 percent of those surveyed indicated that the holiday spurs them to book a flight for romance.
Travelers also cited that their romantic destination of choice would be Italy (22 percent), followed by Hawaii (18 percent), France (10 percent), the Bahamas / Caribbean (10 percent), and French Polynesia (9 percent).
Surprisingly, 1 out of 4 respondents (25 percent) indicated that they have already taken a trip where the goal was to find romance. In fact, 13 percent report to have found romance either at an airport or on an airplane.
The survey also explored which travel suppliers — from among the largest airlines, hotels and rental car brands — have earned the love of travelers. Southwest Airlines was by far the most loved airline (16 percent), followed by JetBlue (10 percent), Delta Air Lines (9 percent), Continental Airlines (8 percent), and American Airlines (7 percent). Marriott was the most loved among hotel brands, capturing 29 percent of the hearts of those polled. Hilton (14 percent), Embassy Suites (8 percent), Westin (8 percent) and Starwood (8 percent) rounded out the top five. Enterprise was the most loved car rental company (33 percent), followed by Hertz (29 percent), Avis (13 percent), Alamo (13 percent) and Dollar (11 percent).
Edited: February 3rd, 2010