News for February 4th 2010

Anniston Alabama Museum Has an Experience You Won’t Soon Forget!

Live Animal Experience

Program Opportunities: 1-3pm on February 15th, March 19th and April 14th, 15th & 16th

Cost: $20/non member, $15/member. Reservations required

Restrictions: Children must be accompanied by an adult at all times and must be at least seven years old to participate.
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Anniston, AL– This winter and spring several school systems have announced that they will be closing on certain predetermined days. This will undoubtedly be leaving many local families scrambling to find activities they can do together. Anniston Museum is always a favorite destination, with seven permanent exhibit halls and lots of fun, educational material to explore. But this year families have the opportunity to visit the Museum in a very different way. From January through April, Anniston Museum presents a new program designed especially for families and small groups. In the Museum’s “Live Animal Experience” visitors will be able to explore the real world of a working biologist. As a participant in this unique program, you will have access to the Museum’s Live Animal Facility – an area which is usually off-limits to the public. There you will learn about the variety of animals the Museum cares for, and even learn how to handle many of the ones used in the Museum’s educational programs. Some participants may be allowed to enter a Bird of Prey Trail aviary with a trained naturalist to help capture a bird or participate in its feeding. Watch as the biologist feeds a snake and monitor lizard (not for the weak of stomach). And all participants will have the opportunity to hold and be photographed with a live animal, if they dare!

To ensure a more personal and educational program, each Live Animal Experience is limited to 10 participants total. Program opportunities are: from 1-3pm on February 15th, March 19th and April 14th, 15th & 16th. Cost is $20/non member$15/member. Children must be accompanied by an adult at all times and must be at least seven years old to participate. For questions or to reserve a Live Animal Experience for your family or small group, call the Tour Coordinator at 256-237-6766, ext 114, or email gmorey@annistonmuseum.org.

This program was made possible in part by a generous grant from Legacy, Inc.

www.annistonmuseum.org or 256-237-6766 for more information.

Edited: February 4th, 2010

Some changes come harder than others

You might have noticed that NASCAR the last few years has made it a point to not go to our biggest race of the year, the Daytona 500, with a significant rule change. They don’t want to throw teams a curveball, because if they do that, well then it might hurt the racing there.

Obviously we can’t sit here today and predict what the outcome is going to be on all these recent rule changes.

I do know that the feeling I am getting from the owners, drivers, teams, us in the media and, more importantly, the fans is that everybody is excited about this season.

Let’s take a look at the changes that are coming:

Wingin’ it

Obviously, the big change everybody is talking about is the switch from a wing to a spoiler later on this year.

I realize we aren’t going to see the switch-over from the wing back the spoiler until six or seven races into the 2010 season.

So why wait?

The problem with that is there are lots of things the fans might not understand. I know it looks like it would be pretty simple just to unbolt the wing and bolt on the spoiler, but in reality, it is just not that easy.

First, the whole grid of templates that NASCAR uses to check the cars during inspection would have to change. It’s called The Claw and it is lowered down over the car. Not only does NASCAR own a handful of them but the teams own a couple of them as well. So that’s a lot of money tied up in templates.

Well, the rear wing brackets are what that grid of templates was based around. So obviously, with no rear wing, that means no rear wing brackets, so NASCAR is going to have to come up with another location to base the grids off of.

In addition to that, they then will have to educate the teams so that everyone across the board is on the same page.

So as you can imagine, there is a lot of logistics to it.

Is making the change back to the spoiler going to be like taking a magic wand and waving it over the car making it instantly better? No.

Is it going to make the No. 48 car go from a championship contender to a midpack car? No.

Is it going to make Robby Gordon go from a midpack car to a championship contender? No.

But we are getting back to what the fans have been used to seeing over the years and that is the spoiler.

The other real benefit is it should make the cars drive more consistent. That will be because the air flow going from the front of the car to that rear spoiler will make the cars more consistent and predictable.

Feel the power

Now as far as the restrictor plate change, it isn’t that significant. It is only going to be a 64th of an inch bigger that was run at Daytona in July.

What is the significance of a 64th of an inch? Well that is 12-14 mph in extra horsepower. Also remember that the restrictor plate at Talladega is smaller because the speeds are so much greater than at Daytona. So a smaller plate is used to hold the speeds down.

The cars will be a little faster than they were a year ago in Daytona. The drivers certainly are going to like the throttle response the bigger plate gives them. I will say that these are the biggest holes used in restrictor plate racing in 20 years. You have to go all the way back to the 1989 Daytona 500 to find holes comparable or bigger than the holes they will be using this time.

Staying grounded

After the Talladega race, NASCAR put a full-court press into getting the “lift off speed” higher of these cars taking off like an airplane when they got backward. That is something they have been working on hard.

There has always been a strip down the back window that we call the “shark fin.” Now through a lot of testing they have done, the fin is not only going to be taller but also going to extend down the decklid and all the way back to the rear wing area. Testing showed that by doing those two things raised the lift off speed seven to eight miles per hour.

No more “Gotcha” moments

NASCAR also made another rule change recently and I like it. This only affects green-flag stops. But let’s say you are already committed to coming down pit road and the caution comes out? This new rule will allow you, as long as you stay in the outside lane on pit road while maintaining pit road speed, to drive down pit road and blend back in — no harm, no foul.

Edited: February 4th, 2010

Ballons over Hudson..Geocaching

The sky over the St. Croix River Valley will turn colorful this weekend.

Hot-air balloons will take flight over Hudson, Wis., on Saturday and Sunday for the 21st annual Hot Air Affair.

About 30 balloons are taking part in this year’s festival, which also will feature several family-friendly events Friday through Sunday.

Weather permitting, the balloons will go up at 7:30 a.m. Saturday and Sunday, and an afternoon balloon flight is planned for 3 p.m. Saturday.

At 6:30 p.m. Saturday, the balloons are scheduled to participate in a ‘Moon Glow,’ in which the balloons stay on the ground and inflate, illuminating like Chinese lanterns.

‘What a spectacular sight,’ said Kim Heinemann, president of the Hudson Area Chamber of Commerce & Tourism Bureau. The annual celebration draws crowds to the western Wisconsin city each winter.

Spectators are welcome to watch the balloon flights, but rides will not be available to the public.

Dozens of events — including live music, fireworks and a 5K run — will take place in Hudson starting Friday as part of the Hot Air Affair.

New this year are geocaching events, where participants hunt for items using global positioning systems. At 10 a.m. Saturday, visitors can learn the basics of how geocaching works during a seminar at E.P. Rock Elementary, 340 13th St. S., Hudson. Geocachers can pick up a “Cache In Trash Out” bag at the school between 8 and 11 a.m. that day and help clean up Hudson while participating.
The Torchlight “Peace, Love & Balloons” Parade kicks off shortly after 7 p.m. Friday along Second Street in downtown Hudson. Grand marshal for this year’s parade is Neal Doughty, keyboardist for REO Speedwagon.

Weekend charity events in conjunction with the Hot Air Affair will benefit Haiti relief and Turningpoint, which helps victims of domestic and sexual violence in Pierce and St. Croix counties.

Edited: February 4th, 2010

Newman was involved in harrowing accident at Talladega

By all accounts Ryan Newman’s first season with the new Stewart-Haas Racing team in 2009 was a major success.

After a slow start, the U.S. Army driver came on strong to land a berth in the prestigious Chase and went on to finish ninth in the final point standings with a season total of five top fives and 15 top 10s.

But if there was one part of the 2009 campaign Newman and the No. 39 U.S. Army team would like to change it would be the unfriendliness they encountered in the five superspeedway races (including the Daytona 150 qualifying race).

“We took a beating both physically and mentally at Daytona and Talladega last year,” said the 32-year-old Newman. “We want to put that behind us and get off to a good start this season. We have a great superspeedway car with Hendrick power and feel we’re as capable as any team to win the Daytona 500. We’re the Army team, and like our Army Strong Soldiers, we keep on fighting until the mission is completed. We know our Soldiers all over the world will be watching this race, and it would be pretty cool for them to see their car in Victory Lane.”

Newman knows firsthand what it takes to win NASCAR’s biggest race — he won the 50th running of the Daytona 500 in 2008.

But to have any chance of winning the Great American Race, those superspeedway demons which plagued the team last year need to be exorcised before the Feb. 14th opener at Daytona International Speedway.

“I think we had enough bad luck at Daytona in 2009 to last a decade,” noted Newman. “But to expect the unexpected pretty much defines superspeedway racing.”

During last year’s Daytona Speedweeks, Newman suffered a blown engine and was involved in two accidents before the green flag even dropped for the 500.

He had an engine malfunction in practice, was involved in an accident in the 150 qualifying race and the day before the 500 he lost another car in a practice mishap. The Daytona 500 didn’t go much better for Newman, who finished 36th in the rain-shortened event with a second back-up car.

At the ensuing 2009 superspeedway races, Newman was involved in harrowing accidents at both Talladega events and drove a damaged car after being collected in a 13-car wreck in the summer Daytona race.

“It seemed like we got walloped every which way at the superspeedways last year,” stated Tony Gibson, crew chief and Daytona Beach native. “Considering all the things that happened to us at the big tracks last year, we still managed to get a third at the first Talladega race and a 20th in the second Daytona event. But right now I will tell you this — we’re going to Daytona knowing that we can win. Hopefully the bad stuff is behind us and the luck cycle will be on the side of the Soldiers’ car.”

Newman’s record in eight Daytona 500 starts includes one win, two top fives and three top 10s. His dramatic win two years ago in the golden anniversary of the fabled 500 was the result of a final lap pass over Tony Stewart, who is now Newman’s teammate and team owner.

“When I crossed the finish line to win the 500 two years ago, there was no doubt that I knew the significance of what the victory meant,” recalled Newman about the herculean moment of winning stock car’s biggest prize. “We accomplished plenty last year with this U.S. Army team, but we didn’t get to Victory Lane. A Daytona 500 win will more than make up for it. We can do it, there is no question in my mind.”

Before Newman attempts to win his second Daytona 500, he will compete in two other non-point races at Daytona’s 2.5-mile oval — Saturday night’s (Feb.6) Budweiser Shootout (FOX) and next Thursday’s (Feb. 11) 150-mile qualifying race (SPEED).

Edited: February 4th, 2010

Will Power tests for Penske at Barber Motorsports Park

Taking a break from his test session at Barber Motorsports Park on Wednesday, Will Power bent over and touched his toes.

The IndyCar driver was demonstrating that he was fully recovered from last year’s season-ending back injury.

“It’s at the point where it never even happened,” said Power, who fractured several vertebrae during a practice crash in August at Infineon Raceway.

The crash ended his part-time season with Team Penske — a season that began with Power filling in for Helio Castroneves, who was facing trial on federal tax-evasion charges.

But even with limited duty, Power was impressive enough — especially during a dominating win at Edmonton — that he’ll drive the No. 12 Verizon-sponsored Honda Dallara full time this year.

Penske and the rest of the IndyCar field are due to test at Barber in three weeks, but Power, a native of Toowoomba, Australia, came early to get a feel for the car after such a long layoff.

Wednesday was Power’s second trip to Barber, which hosted an open test session last March, and he was just as impressed as he was the first time.

“I think it’s one of the best tracks around,” he said. “It’s very technical. You’ve got to be brave. All of the corners are fast.”

Several drivers said last year that Barber would be a difficult track to pass other cars on. But Power said he didn’t see that as too great a problem.

“This will be tough to pass,” he said, “but people make mistakes.”

And while passing should occur in the braking zones, such as the hairpin turn known as Charlotte’s Web, Power said passing is possible all over the track.

Creating more passing was a major concern for the Izod IndyCar Series last year and several steps were taken to enhance it.

Teams are now required to use at least one set of softer tires during road course races like Barber. Having teams using the softer, red tires at different times during the race is supposed to enhance passing.

Another major change was implementation of the so-called push-to-pass button, which gives cars a temporary boost of horsepower. Push-to-pass worked well when it was first introduced at Kentucky Speedway last year but drivers quickly learned that push-to-pass also worked as push-to-avoid-being-passed.

That prompted a change to add additional horsepower to the feature.

Power also said he sees a much more competitive season in 2010 than last year, when Penske and Chip Ganassi racing won nearly every race.

“I feel that this year will be the most competitive in IndyCar history,” he said.

Edited: February 4th, 2010