News for May 2010

Jimmie Johnson is amused

If anybody was amused by the war of words between Denny Hamlin and Kyle Busch, it had to be four-time defending NASCAR Sprint Cup champion Jimmie Johnson.

After all, it was only a few weeks ago when Johnson was involved in a controversy of his own with teammate Jeff Gordon after some rough racing between the two at Texas at Talladega. But, as expected, Gordon and Johnson settled their business — apparently — behind closed doors and moved on.

Hamlin and Busch, on the other hand, acted out very publicly Thursday at Charlotte Motor Speedway. Having recently been in a teammate feud, Johnson was enjoying Busch vs. Hamlin, especially since they are two of his stiffest contenders for a fifth championship.

“With the teammate situation, it’s so much fun to watch it take place, and to hear what goes on, but when you’re living it, it sucks,” said Johnson. “Everybody wants to know what’s going on. But to walk into microphones and think for a few days how you need to handle what you want to say and you say your statements and you don’t know how they’re going to be received or what people are going to think or what your teammate is going to say or how it’s going to be received. There is distraction that takes place. So I’m glad it’s not me.”

But that doesn’t mean he isn’t having a good time watching the rival Joe Gibbs Racing melting down in front of him.

“It’s certainly fun to watch and I know we entertained a lot of people a few races back when Jeff and I were going through our thing, but it’s a tough environment as teammates and racing for wins and I guess it shows that it doesn’t matter what organization you drive for or who the teammates are, you’re seeing what we want week in and week out,” said Johnson. “We want to win races. You do have things that pop up. I think those instances make a team stronger. A month from now, Denny and Kyle will probably say that they’re stronger or smarter or have a better relationship because of it. I know that’s the way it’s been with Jeff and I.”

And if it were up to Johnson, the fussin’ and fightin’ between Busch and Hamlin would continue on indefinitely.

“From a competitive standpoint, I hope they keep fighting,” Johnson said. “I hope they keep entertaining us because it’s a distraction. From a friendship standpoint, obviously the sooner they get it behind them, the better. I want to see it continue on because they’re both fast drivers and have a chance at winning this weekend, so I hope it carries on.”

Then again, another championship hopeful, Jeff Burton, thought the rancor might have some unintended consequences. “My concern was that it would just make them (Busch and Hamlin) both want it more, and that may not be in our best interest,” said Burton. “They’re both very good race-car drivers; obviously, their equipment is very good and it might piss them off and put them in a position where they’re trying even harder. I’m not sure that that would be a good thing for us.”

Tom Jensen is the Editor in Chief of SPEEDtv.com, Senior NASCAR Editor at RACER and a contributing Editor for TruckSeries.com. You can follow him online at twitter.com/tomjensen100 and e-mail him at Jensen is the author of “Cheating: The Bad Things Good NASCAR Nextel Cup Racers Do In Pursuit of Speed,” and has appeared on numerous television and radio shows. Jensen is the past President of the National Motorsports Press Association and an NMPA Writer of the Year.

Edited: May 28th, 2010

Lodging Near Barber Motorsports Park

One of the best kept secrets of Barber Motorsports is how close and convenient Treasure Island Bed and Breakfast is to the track. It is only a short 20 minute drive East down I-20 from Barber Motorsports Park. Located right on the shores of Logan Martin Lake, there is no better lodging available to rest up and unwind after a day of racing. Not only convenient and close but a pleasant break from the routine motel fare. You may enjoy the luxury of the Anniversary Suite or other rooms, all including a full Southern sit down breakfast overlooking the main channel of the Coosa river. Dine and watch the fisherman and the occasional sail boat while taking in the beauty of God’s creation. So, make sure that you know the secret treasure of Treasure Island Bed and Breakfast for the next racing event held at Barber Motorsports Park in Leeds, Alabama. We look forward to hosting you for a memorial stay.

Edited: May 25th, 2010

NASCAR Makes Positive Changes at Talladega

 It’s been easy the last several seasons to kick NASCAR as it struggled with sinking ratings, slipping sponsorships and, worst of all, lousy racing. It’s not fair, though, to talk only about what’s gone wrong, particularly at a time when NASCAR is doing many things right. Those positive turns are often overlooked, partly because it’s far more fun to flog all the flaws than it is to dish out credit for making positive change.

It’s been almost a year since NASCAR opened its ears in two town-hall style meeting between top executives and the competitors. The sport was in trouble <emdash /> the economy had wreaked havoc on everyone’s bottom line, and nobody was all that thrilled with the competition <emdash /> and NASCAR was willing to listen to ideas.

There was initial concern that those May 26 meetings were nothing more lip service. Looking back, they were actually a major turning point for the industry because actual changes have followed.

NASCAR switched to the popular double-file restart format two weeks after the town-hall meeting, and plans to eliminate the wing that so offended race fans began taking shape. When NASCAR received considerable backlash over the watered-down October race at Talladega, the “boys, have at it” policy was born.

Fans displeasure with never knowing what time a race was going to begin was fixed by the consistent start times policy that went into effect this season, and the decision was made to put the entire Chase for the Sprint Cup championship on ESPN to streamline yet another aspect.

Struggling at this time last year with the fallout from Jeremy Mayfield’s failed drug test and the confusion many drivers claimed they had over NASCAR’s toughened new policy, a list of banned substances was created and made available to teams at the start of this season.

  (more…)

Edited: May 25th, 2010

Treasure Island Bed and Breakfast near Barber Motorsports

Treasure Island Bed and Breakfast

Edited: May 23rd, 2010

Bobby Rahal is in Birmingham, Alabama

Bobby Rahal is in Birmingham this weekend to oversee the debut of his Legends of Motorsports series at Barber Motorsports Park and also to compete in the races against other drivers of vintage race cars. The Indianapolis 500 winner took some time during a rain delay on Friday to talk about how the series has been received in Birmingham, about the difficult year finding sponsorship for his son Graham in the IndyCar Series and other issues.

Q: Are you pleased with how things are going so far this weekend at Barber?

Rahal: At the event at Mountain Brook Village (parade and street festival on Thursday) I was impressed with the people on their lawns and kids waving and the checkered flags that were out. I was flattered and, frankly, a little awestruck. The response from the competitors so far has been positive. I think everybody has been impressed with the whole facility.

Q: You’ve had a chance now to practice on the Barber course. What do you think of it?

Rahal: I like it. It’s fun. It’s a very technical course. It’s a very challenging circuit to drive because of all the blind corners. Nice and smooth.

Q: When the Indy drivers were here last month many of them said they’d like to see the course changed to create a linger straightaway by maybe taking the kink out of the backstretch. What’s your opinion of that?

Rahal: That would help. For our kind of racing the corners are fine. But for them in Indy because the competition is so close and it’s so evenly matched I can see what they’re saying.

Q: How is it going so far at Indy for your car with your son Graham driving?

Rahal: They’re having a good month so far. The car has been really good. His confidence is high. I’m pleased with the engineers they have. I think we can threathen the top nine.

Q: How do you rate Graham’s time driving for Sarah Fisher Racing at the start of the season and what are his prospects for finding a ride the rest of the season?

Rahal: I think it was fabulous that Sarah gave him a chance but clearly there was something wrong with that car … So it was frustrating for everyone at Long Beach and here (Barber). But he was out there racing. It was good for him. But what happens after Indy we’ll see.

Q: What does it take these days to close a deal with a potential sponsor?

Rahal: First off you find out what their goals are. Just throwing your name on the side of the car — if someone thinks that’s all it takes they’re going to be sorely disappointed. It takes a 360-degree effort. It takes a lot of creativity and effort.

Q: There are five female drivers who will try to make the field at Indy this year. Is it becoming normal to see women driving in Indy?

Rahal: It’s still a compeling issue. I think probably with the exception of one of them they’ve all earned the right to be there. I think it’s a great element that’s added to the series.

Q: The one exception being Milka Duno?

Rahal: Yes.

Q: Well, ride buying in Indy has come up as an issue this year. What are your thoughts on it?

Rahal: Ride-buying, or what have you, has been going on for a long time. It’s a fine line. How do you define between bringing a sponsor or buying a ride?

Edited: May 23rd, 2010

Family section to open at Talladega Superspeedway

Talladega Superspeedway announced today that Gadsden Tower sections Q & R will now become “Family Friendly” with a strict ban on alcohol and smoking in those sections.

 “There has been a growing demand from our fans for alcohol and smoke-free sections,” said Talladega Superspeedway Chairman Grant Lynch.  “As with most facility improvements we make at Talladega Superspeedway, we have listened to our fans and are moving to accommodate them.  We believe this will be a popular section for families that want a more controlled atmosphere during race weekends.  The rest of our grandstands will continue to allow alcohol and tobacco consumption.”

Ticket prices in the Gadsden and Lincoln Towers have been reduced from $120 to $88 for the Oct. 31 AMP Energy 500, commemorating the NASCAR record-breaking 88 lead changes in the Aaron’s 499.

Race fans that purchase or renew their tickets in these areas will also be entered into a drawing for 88 autographed Dale Earnhardt Jr. hero cards.

Will more NASCAR history be made when NASCAR returns to Talladega Superspeedway for the HALLOW-DEGA? Presented by Captain Morgan weekend? Race fans will have to be here to find out.   NASCAR action returns with the Mountain Dew 250 fueled by Fred’s NASCAR Camping World Truck Series race and Race Number Seven in the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup, the AMP Energy 500, Oct. 29 – 31.  To experience it all, call 1-877-Go2-DEGA or visit www.talladegasuperspeedway.com

Edited: May 19th, 2010

After 62 Years Red Farmer still going strong

Red Farmer just can’t slow down.

His body bears the scars and bruises of 62 years worth of racing but he can’t bring himself to retire to his front porch.

“If I became a couch potato I wouldn’t last six months,” said Farmer, who at age 77 goes back to the days when NASCAR was still racing on the beach course at Daytona.

Besides, he said, “you can’t fish seven days a week.”

Farmer won’t be fishing tonight. He’ll be racing in the 97-lap super late model on the dirt track at Talladega Short Track. And he’ll be the man of the hour in a race that bears his name — the Red Farmer Classic.

No one can accuse Farmer of being a couch potato. Not only has he been driving non-stop for decades, he has done it — and continues to do it — with an assortment of ailments that would lay low much younger drivers.

He has continued to race year after year through shoulder and knee replacement surgery, surgery on his arm, screws in his back, prostate cancer. And that’s just the more recent stuff.

He also survived the 1993 helicopter crash that killed Davey Allison.

“I believe Red has broken every bone in his body at one time,” said his longtime friend, hunting buddy and Talladega Short Track competitor Earl Smith. “He must have wrecked 10,000 times.”

Surgery has become such a common occurrence for Farmer he makes sure to schedule  it so as not to interfere with hunting season.

But he doesn’t even want to hear any suggestions that he should slow down.
Red Farmer says being selected as one of NASCAR’s 50 Greatest Drivers is his proudest achievement. (The Birmingham News / Jeff Roberts)Over the Christmas holidays he was hospitalized with double pneumonia. But a few weeks later he was at TST for the Ice Bowl, oxygen tank and all, to help his grandson race.

“He’s raced more than I have lately,” said Lee Burdett, Farmer’s grandson who drives a crate late model.

Burdett, an electrician who also works as a driving instructor for the Dale Jarrett Racing Adventure program, tells the story of how Farmer once drove in a race with a cast on his leg and fashioned a brace out of a piece of angle iron to make it easier to move the leg inside the car.

But in those days, Farmer didn’t have much choice.

“That’s how he fed his family,” Burdett said. “He had to do what he had to do. There were times when he said, ‘Do I buy a tire or pay the rent?’”

Farmer, who says he is most proud of his selection as one of NASCAR’s 50 Greatest Drivers, is a three-time champion of what is now the NASCAR Nationwide Series and was a member of the old Alabama Gang that included Bobby, Donnie and Davey Allison and Neil Bonnett.

These days Farmer isn’t worried about feeding his family, but he’s still racing hurt. Just a couple years ago he won a heat race at TST just a few weeks after arm surgery — while still wearing an arm brace.

“I’ve never stopped,” he said, explaining how a 77-year-old can not only still race, but race competitively. Farmer hasn’t finished outside the top 10 yet this season.

“If I had quit for a few years and come back I don’t think I could do it,” he said. “The Itis Brothers would catch up with me — Arthur, Burr and Tendon.”

Smith, a five-time champion at TST who is 74 and still racing, agrees.

“I see a lot of people who’ve quit for a while and came back and couldn’t do anything,” he said.

Smith knows all about Farmer’s unwillingness to stop. He said he called Farmer during his bout with pneumonia and joked that if Farmer couldn’t drive in the Ice Bowl, he’d be glad to fill in for him.

“He was going to get out of bed and fix that car so I could drive it,” Smith said.

Farmer will be driving tonight but he’ll be battling one of those Itis Brothers. He has pain in a wrist, but he wouldn’t dream of not driving in the Red Farmer Classic.

Many old friends and sponsors are scheduled to be on hand. Long Lewis Ford has been Farmer’s sponsor since 1962, an arrangement that started with a handshake and has never been put down on paper.

He’ll drive in the crate late model race and he’s going to at least start the main event — the super late model race. If the wrist is bothering him too much, he said, he’ll climb out of the car during a caution and let Burdett take over.

“”I’m not running 97 laps,” he said of a race distance picked to honor the No. 97 on his car. “That’s too much.”

But don’t bet the rent money on it.

“He’ll probably surprise me and race the whole thing,” said Burdett, who hasn’t had any luck getting his grandfather to slow down.

“I come home from work and he’s wringing wet with sweat from working on the cars and I say, ‘What are you doing? Let us do that. That’s what you have grandkids for,’” he said.

Of course, Burdett isn’t one to talk about taking it easy. During the Ice Bowl in January he broke a bone in his hand early in the race.

Instead of pulling off the track he tucked his hand inside his suit and kept on driving.

“It’s the Ice Bowl,” he said of the biggest race of the year at TST. “That’s the Farmer blood in me.”

One race Farmer won’t be in this year will be the Prelude to the Dream, the annual dirt race sponsored by Tony Stewart at his Eldora Speedway track in Ohio. The race has a waiting list of NASCAR Sprint Cup drivers wanting to compete but Farmer has competed in it the last five years.

This year, however, he’ll be in the TV broadcast booth for the race.

But Farmer will be right back in his dirt car at Talladega Short Track.

“As long as I can still go out there and race with them and put on a show,” he said. “I’m going to wear out, not rust out.”

Edited: May 15th, 2010

TOURISM LAUNCHES $1.5 MILLION CAMPAIGN TO ATTRACT VISITORS TO ALABAMA’S GULF COAST

Edited: May 13th, 2010

Alabama Festival & Event Development Conference

Alabama Festival & Event Development Conference

June 11, 2010

8 a.m.-4 p.m.

There is still time to register to attend the Alabama Festival and Development Conference set for Friday, June 11, 2010 at the Wetumpka Civic Center from 8 a.m.-4 p.m. The event is sponsored by the Alabama Tourism Department, PowerSouth Energy Cooperative, Elmore County Economic Development Authority, the Chamber of Commerce Association of Alabama and the River Region chambers of Wetumpka, Millbrook, Tallassee, Prattville and Montgomery. The conference is open to anyone interested in the organization, planning and promotion of events and festivals, whether big or small, and will feature a myriad of experts in the field.

Cost:    $25 per person

Registration material and additional information available at www.aum.edu/coned.

Festivals and Events are Big Business for Alabama Communities!

Come join us for this fun and inexpensive (but very valuable) one-day

Conference that will help you and your community:

• Take your community event to the next level
• How to better plan and budget for your event
• How to get funding and sponsorships for your festival
• How to “brand” your event
• How to get publicity and advertise your event
• Ideas for events and festivals you can do
• Taking your event state-wide
• Planning for 2011: The Alabama Dept of Tourism’s “Year of Music”
• AND MUCH MORE!

    Directions to the Wetumpka Civic Center

For information or questions, please contact Amanda Brasington at  abrasington@elmoreco.org.

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Edited: May 13th, 2010

Talladega Notes: Harvick Will Stay, Earnhardt Jr. Beard Gone

Rumors of Kevin Harvick departing RCR seem to be just that.  It appears the driver of the No. 29 has been having many long chats with Richard Childress concerning his future.  The talks are said to have been very positive and things are going well at RCR.

He will be driving a Chevrolet, so Joe Gibbs Racing is out of the equation.  Stewart-Haas Racing remained the only possibility, but that could be the clash of the titans.

It would be difficult to imagine two strong-willed dudes like Kevin Harvick and Tony Stewart making nice together with Tony being his boss.

The reality is Kevin would like to be in an owner/driver position with a Sprint Cup team, but for now he is going to have to remain content running Kevin Harvick Inc. with his wife Delana.

He is doing well with his NASCAR Nationwide team since he is the driver and able to not only relay feedback to his team, but dictate what they do.  It would be good to see him drive his car for the full season in that series.

Richard Childress appeared optimistic in Talladega that Kevin would be staying after his contract expires this year.

The loss of sponsorship for Harvick’s No. 29 Chevy is an issue Richard Childress will deal with and it should not affect Kevin’s status at RCR.  He will just sport a new primary sponsor for 2011.

The really shocking news unfolded earlier this week when Dale Earnhardt Jr. appeared at a photo shoot for Amp Energy and was clean-shaven.

At practice in Talladega for the Aaron’s 499 NASCAR Sprint Cup race he sported slight stubble. 

Dale Jr. has greatly improved his performance race by race this season until he now lurks in seventh place in the points standings.

Hopefully the demise of his scraggly, macho beard was for the multitude of photos that will be shot in the winner’s circle on Sunday in Talladega.  He will more than likely shave again before the race since that obviously will be a hot topic for the media.

Many favor him over the squabbling Jimmie Johnson and Jeff Gordon who may just battle one another right out the race if they continue the bumping on the high banks like they did at Texas Motor Speedway.

Jr.’s history on the superspeedway tracks indicates this should be a good race for him especially since he seems to have some mojo going for him now. 

A little less drag as a result of the beard removal hopefully will assist the aero-package for Dale Earnhardt Jr.and help move him to a win.  It is about time after missing the last 65 attempts to finish in position one with his HMS No. 88.

Edited: May 9th, 2010