News for February 12th 2010

Waltrip grabs final spot for Daytona 500

Michael Waltrip has at least one more Daytona 500 left in his career.

Waltrip, a two-time winner of the 500, will start in the 43rd and final spot in Sunday’s race, thanks to an unlikely series of events during the Gatorade Duel races Thursday.

“To watch it work out right, it’s better than hitting the lottery,” Waltrip said. “It’s almost like hitting the lottery, because there’s money involved, but it was better than hitting the lottery because of all the other reasons.”

Waltrip, who was scheduled to race just twice this year — at Daytona and Talladega — so he could devote full attention to Michael Waltrip Racing, crashed in the first of the two Gatorade Duels.

So he had to sit and watch the second race, needing the right combination of drivers to qualify for the eight remaining spots based on speed. Michael McDowell and Max Papis qualified in the first duel; and Scott Speed and Mike Bliss qualified in the second.

Once Speed made the field, it set it up so Waltrip was able to join Bill Elliott, Joe Nemecheck and Bobby Labonte in the field based on their times in Saturday’s qualifying.

“I figured when I woke up this morning I’d be crying before the day was over,” said Waltrip, 46. “I just didn’t know if it would be because I was happy or because I was said. And I damn sure didn’t know it would be both within an hour of each other.”

Jimmie Johnson beat out Kevin Harvick by .005 second in the first duel, and Kasey Kahne edged Tony Stewart in the second race. But those drivers were assured of spots in the field and will sit in the second row behind pole sitter Mark Martin and Dale Earnhardt Jr.

The real drama centered on Waltrip, the 2001 and 2003 Daytona 500 champion who cheered on Speed while television cameras captured his elation.

“To try to remain calm and watch that was as hard as anything I’ve ever done,” said Waltrip. “I think I’ve won about $3 million or so winning two Daytona 500s. I don’t have any of that anymore, but I know where those two trophies are. When a driver says, ‘The money doesn’t matter,’ it really does, but it always goes away, and you don’t have it anymore. But you don’t ever give away your trophies.”

Waltrip seems set on his decision to retire as a driver, no matter how he fares on Sunday.

“I need to be just a car owner,” he said. “This was hard today. I’ve got to prove to myself on Sunday in the 500 or at Talladega where I know I’m going to run, that I can make the moves to win these races.

“I didn’t do anything today to impress myself, and that’s disappointing.”

Waltrip was just as happy to have Papis and McDowell in Toyotas associated with Michael Waltrip Racing. Papis is driving for Germain Racing; McDowell for Prism Motorsports.

Papis, a former Formula One, Champ Car and IndyCar racer, and McDowell, scheduled to run a full-time Cup season as long as the money holds out, were ecstatic at qualifying.

“I feel I’m an underdog every day,” said Papis, an Italian who has competed in just 17 career Cup races with a best of eighth. “I think every lap I do, this is the last time I’m going to drive a Cup car. I know it’s an everyday audition. I feel that that’s the best way to do it. That’s the best way to drive it. You know, sometimes being the underdog, it’s not a bad feeling.”

Edited: February 12th, 2010

The Evolution Of NASCAR

In 2006, the International Speedway Corporation announced that the NASCAR Hall of Fame would be built in Charlotte, N.C.

They also began introducing their “Car of Tomorrow” project to the public, which was designed to gradually move NASCAR races toward better safety and cost reduction. The new cars were to be fully phased in to all NASCAR events in 2009.

On the track for 2006, Jimmie Johnson, who had driven well since his first season in 2002, finally put it all together, coming away as the 2006 NASCAR NEXTEL Cup champion. He has yet to relinquish his crown, winning an unprecedented four championships in a row.

However, Johnson’s reign has not come without controversy. In 2006, he won the Daytona 500 despite his crew chief, Chad Knaus, being suspended for a rear-window violation.

This would lead to several allegations that Knaus and the No. 48 team were using some overly creative tactics to bend the NASCAR rulebook in their favor. Sour grapes aside, the Lowes No. 48 Chevrolet continued to rack up victories, launching Johnson and Knaus into legendary status.

NASCAR NEXTEL Cup driver Bobby Hamilton announced he had been diagnosed with cancer, causing him to bow out of the 2006 season. The 2004 NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series champion would lose his battle with the disease on Jan 7, 2007, at age 49.

2006 also saw NASCAR trying to address issues regarding diversity, as Bill Lester became the first African American to start a race at NASCAR’s top level since Willy T. Ribbs in 1986. Lester qualified for the Golden Corral 500 at Atlanta Motor Speedway and finished 38th.

Any headway made by NASCAR was negated in 2008, when NASCAR’s only black female official, Mauricia Grant, charged NASCAR with racial and sexual harassment.

Grant, who worked as a “technical inspector” on NASCAR’s second-tier Nationwide Series, alleged that she was called a series of degrading names (such as “Nappy Headed Mo,” “Queen Sheba,” and “Simpleton”) and subjected to racist stereotypes, such as being told she worked “on Colored People Time” if she arrived late.

2006 also started the era of a more iron-fisted approach by NASCAR in controlling its drivers. Tony Stewart made a comment, before the Daytona 500, that bump drafting could cause someone to get hurt, then pushed No. 17 Kenseth off the backstretch on lap 107.

Stewart was sent to the back of the longest line on the restart from the yellow flag. When Kenseth pulled beside Stewart to show his displeasure, NASCAR made him pass through pit road under green and added a lap penalty when he failed to respond in a timely manner.

Kenseth finished 15th, and Stewart placed fifth.

Mark Martin’s start in the Ford 400 at Homestead-Miami Speedway marked his final race in a 19-year run with Jack Roush. Martin posted 35 NASCAR Nextel Cup wins before calling it a career.

The 47-year-old Martin went on to run a limited schedule for owner Bobby Ginn in 2007, before eventually coming back to run full time for Rick Hendrick, driving the No. 5 Chevrolet in 2009.

On March 25, 2007, the CoT debuted in its first NASCAR-sanctioned race. Kyle Busch won the race, the first win by a Chevrolet Impala since 1963.

Reactions to the CoT’s performance were mixed. Dale Earnhardt, Jr., after finishing seventh, said, “It wasn’t a disaster like everybody anticipated. It worked out, I reckon. Racing was about the same.”

Drivers were also impressed with the car’s ability to bump other competitors without causing a spin (bumper heights were equalized due to street car development, and nose-to-rear bumper contact caused spins that pre-1988 cars would not cause), and NASCAR officials were pleased with the improvements in safety

Several drivers and pundits expressed distaste for the car and what they perceived as a less exciting style of racing created by it. Kyle Busch, despite winning at Bristol, commented that “they suck” during his victory lane interview

Retired driver and TV analyst Rusty Wallace stated on ESPN that the car created a boring, single-file racing environment with little of the passing, action, or crashing that has made NASCAR popular. Although, after NASCAR announced the COT would run the full schedule, he stated that it was “one of the best decisions NASCAR had ever made.”

Drivers who placed well at Bristol, Jlike eff Gordon and Jeff Burton, claimed that the car allowed the use of a second passing lane not usually present at Bristol. For the most part, however, the racing was strung out and single-file with drivers tentative in trying to make passes.

On April 4th, 2008, while in a qualifying run for the 2008 Samsung 500 at Texas Motor Speedway, Michael McDowell struck the wall outside of Turn 1 at 190 MPH, and proceeded to barrel-roll eight times as fire came from the engine compartment.

McDowell emerged from the Toyota unharmed.

The car was praised for its safety as impact of the crash was about 30 miles an hour more than Dale Earnhardt’s fatal accident, but similar hits with the old car (such as Todd Bodine at Talladega in 1996) had produced identical effectiveness in safety, and safety features considered exclusive to the CoT could be implemented on the current stock car.

In the 2008 Allstate 400 at the Brickyard, the longest run under green flag conditions was 12 laps due to extreme wear of right-side tires, especially the right rear. The Car of Tomorrow, in its first use at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, created no improvement of the conditions on the track, which is well known for its rough surface

The lack of downforce on the car and its higher center of gravity created conditions that made it very hard on the right side tires. During the race, the tires used on the cars generally lasted no more than 10 laps at a time.

On April 26th, 2009, during the climax of the 2009 Aaron’s 499 at Talladega, Carl Edwards swerved into the path of Brad Keselowski; Keselowski blasted Edwards into the air, was hit by Ryan Newman, and flipped into the trioval fencing, destroying most of the car.

Edwards was uninjured, and in an absurd homage to the movie Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby he ran across the start finish line on foot to finish the race [officially, he completed 187 of 188 laps].

The crash appeared similar to the accident Bobby Allison had in 1987 where his car became airborne and hit the catchfence in a similar location. Allison’s crash tore down the mesh and support poles in the catchfence, while Edwards’ crash only bent the support poles, this was because Edwards’ car was nearly 20 MPH slower than Allison’s (195 MPH versus the 215 of Allison). Seven spectators were injured in Edwards’ accident by debris.

The aftermath of the accident spawned questions about the aerodynamic features of the CoT, the nature of pack racing with restrictor plates, and the safety features of Talladega Superspeedway.

Video replay revealed that after the spin, the car’s aerodynamic devices deployed once the car became airborne, but they did not stop the car from flipping—a common failing of the sport’s roof flaps, and the second hit from Newman caused the car to accelerate while still airborne.

Edited: February 12th, 2010

May I have this Duel?

NASCAR is doing its best to spice up things this season, with new rules, or lack thereof, on aggressive driving and bump drafting. And now there’s a good chance that there will be more than one try at a green-white-checkered-flag finish if the situation warrants.

But will the racing really change substantially? And will it change in today’s Gatorade Duels and in Sunday’s Daytona 500?

From what most are saying, and from the crashes in practice on Wednesday, there will be plenty of action on the track, but the cause is still a matter for debate.

Denny Hamlin said the new chassis package, along with a bigger restrictor plate opening, is responsible for some of the action.

He said when drivers try to push one another, the front car isn’t as stable as it was before. And he said that with the increased speeds the cars aren’t stuck to the track as good as they were before.

Jeff Gordon said the one rule, if adopted, that will result in wrecks for sure is the green-white-checkered change, which will allow more than one attempt to end the race under green.

“They could do 10 green-white-checkereds and we’re still not going to make it to the checkered,” he said. “All you’re going to do is set yourself up for another wreck. You give us two laps out there under green, and we’re going to find a way to wreck.”

Jimmie Johnson said drafting rules won’t be a big factor at Daytona, other than possibly contribute to more wrecking.

“From my seat in the race car, we weren’t pushing each other through the turns here anyway,” he said. “It is just something you can’t do. Although the rule has changed for Daytona, I don’t see it. It isn’t a big deal to me. I don’t see the drastic swing in things. I think it is great to see. I think the fans are very excited to hear it.

“But, we saw the other night, what happens with bump drafting in the turns, you just have big wrecks. Where you can do and it is helpful and it puts on a good show is Talladega. So when we go back to Talladega in the spring, it would be more of a fair opportunity to have an opinion there. But here, we will just tear stuff up.”

And Johnson said that a shift in NASCAR’s enforcement policy won’t necessarily change behavior on the track.

“They have honestly been telling us this stuff for a long time for a couple of years,” he said. “They continue to remind us about what is going on. But I think the fact that we race each other every week, we have corporate situations to be concerned about, there is a lot of things that frame in each driver to where they are with their own personalities and stuff.

“I think that once something does happen, I think there is a better chance that it will last longer now because of the encouragement from NASCAR, but I don’t see this changing anyone’s mind to ‘You know what, I just feel like starting an issue with someone. I am going to go wreck this guy then we are going to live it out through the media for four or five months.’ That stuff is not going to happen. But that stuff has already been around.”

Former team owner and crew chief Ray Evernham said some of the early wrecking at Daytona this year is due more to handling issues than policy changes.

“Some of the wrecking we’re seeing here is guys getting used to this new chassis package, and the fact that these cars change speed quicker than they did,” he said. “They’ve been dead for so long, and now they’re getting a little throttle back and they guys are getting used to it.”

Evernham said that while he doesn’t advocate wrecking race cars, neither does he like drivers being told, as they were before last year’s race at Talladega, how to race.

“There’s got to be a happy medium,” he said.

Edited: February 12th, 2010

Cracking Daytona Tough For Martin

It is difficult to win the Daytona 500, and it should be. The list of standout drivers who have not won the 500 is long. It includes otherwise reliable people like Rusty Wallace, Ricky Rudd, Tony Stewart, Terry Labonte and Bobby Labonte.

Live! Duel Race Buddy

There is another surprising list, and it is made up of drivers who won the 500 but needed much of their careers to do so. At the top of that list, of course, is the illustrious Dale Earnhardt, who won virtually everything else at Daytona International Speedway with ease but needed 20 years to win its most important race.

Earnhardt had the longest pre-win drought of any of the 33 Daytona 500 winners. Other drivers who finally conquered the race after years of struggle: Buddy Baker (18), Darrell Waltrip (16) and Bobby Allison (14).

Dave Marcis, he of the wingtip shoes and never-say-quit persistence, ran in the 500 a record 33 times without a victory.

And that brings us to Mark Martin, a man for whom restrictor-plate racing is akin to having a root canal without anesthesia while also plunging his hands into a vat of boiling water. He doesn’t like Daytona and Talladega and doesn’t mind telling you so.

No active driver has run more Daytona 500s than Martin, who has been in the race 25 times, without a victory.

Perhaps Martin relocated his primary residence to Daytona Beach some years ago so he could drive past the speedway occasionally and snarl and grimace.

His most excruciating “loss” came in 2007 when he was edged by Kevin Harvick in a somewhat controversial finish that Martin could have protested but, being the class guy he is, did not.

As has been pointed out repeatedly, Martin also has not won the Sprint Cup championship. When he finally retires, assuming he ever does, he could wander off into the wilderness without those two important lines on his long list of achievements.

He will start from the pole position in Sunday’s race and figures to have perhaps his best chance ever to win the 500. Does it matter if he never does?

“Nobody will ever remember Mark Martin for not winning something,” said Baker, who won the 500 in 1980. “It doesn’t matter if he never wins the Daytona 500 or the championship. He’s a champion, especially to us. He has done too much in his career.

“That’s not to say that he doesn’t want to win it. You know he does. It’s like with Dale Earnhardt. He always said it didn’t matter if he never won this race, but when he did I think it meant more to him than anything else ever did.”

Dale Jarrett, one of only five drivers who have won the 500 at least three times, said this week that he is recognized more often for winning the sport’s biggest race than for being a Sprint Cup champion.

Why hasn’t Martin won the 500?

“I never had the fastest car,” he said to laughter.

This year, at least measured by qualifying, he does. But having the fastest car these days doesn’t mean as much as it did “back in the day,” and Martin realizes speed isn’t as important at Daytona as drafting and circumstances.

“I’m going into it without looking at expectations,” Martin said. “I’m just going into it with enthusiasm and excitement knowing that I have a race team that can do it. And we will go out there and we’ll see how it shakes out.”

He doesn’t stay awake at night nervously fidgeting about never having won the Great American Race, but it’s a resume line he certainly would like to complete.

“Have you seen that trophy?” he asked. “It would definitely be the biggest trophy I have. And I’ve got a lot of them, but I don’t have anything like that.”

Edited: February 12th, 2010