At the Track

We'll note happenings at the national and local levels of racing.

Monday, February 26, 2007

And the driver is...

Brett Rowe.

Revelocity Racing, a South Charleston, W.Va., team, has announced it’s plan to run Brett Rowe in the #73 Ford Fusion at the April 7 Pepsi 300 Busch race in Nashville.

They will be running a 2006 Robert Yates Racing Ford Fusion and is also getting a back-up car from RYR.

Rowe is a West Virginia native and ARCA Champion.

There are plans for a raceshop at Barboursville and a meet and greet before the Pepsi 300 so local fans can get a chance to meet Brett and the Revelocity team.

They also have a website at www.revelocityracing.com.

Thursday, February 22, 2007

Bah, Humbug...

The season is a week old, and I’m already thinking, Bah, Humbug. Buschwhackers.

I tolerate the Busch series. I'm liking the Craftsman Truck Series more and more.

I understand the sponsors want the marquee names in the Busch rides. But I wish the tier 2 races were for up and coming drivers getting seat time.

Look at the Orbitz 300 race, won by Kevin Harvick on Saturday. Yes he had a dominant car.

But to find a Busch series driver – not a Cup driver – you have to go to places 13, 14 and 15.

OK, here’s my idea. If you can find a sponsor, have a 3-tier car series. Cup, neo-Cup and Busch. Keep the big names in the Cup and neo-Cup races and let the guys and gals getting experience have the third series to themselves.

I don’t think it’s right – or fair – for the Busch regulars to have to compete so early with the Cup drivers and all their technical backing.

As to when to run the lower two races, Busch first then the marquee. That would put fans in the seats in the first race, waiting on the second. The sponsors get the name racers and people watching.

But, hey, it’s just my idea. And the hurdle is, of course, series sponsorship.

Monday, February 19, 2007

Welcome to the big red truck

We got a copy of a letter to NASCAR.com about the Daytona 500 win by Happy Harvick, just slipping across the start-finish line ahead of Mark Martin.

JJ93VOLVO@cs.com
Sent: Monday, February 19, 2007 12:25 p.m.
To: fanfeedback@nascar.com
Cc: USAT ED Letters to the Editor; editor@Herald-Dispatch.com; editor@NYTimes.com
Subject: rules 4 ALL

Mark Martin won that race by the rules governing your organization. Have you something against America's military that you would change them to suit yourself on national TV. This smells of a slip shod organization. And when your governor admits this tragic error the win is not enough, you need to do it before the start of the next race allowing Martin, sponsors and fans the glory of the win. I wasn't a fan but after watching him support your communist decision with pure professionalism I am now. This is WRONG. If you wanted to change the rules you need to do it the same way everyone else does. What constitutes a caution if not crashes, burning cars and unsafe conditions? Lack of fans maybe?
Go ARMY......Jj

Well, Jj, welcome to the ways of NASCAR. This is the organization that frequently changes rules in the middle of races. Case in point, last year’s Bank of America 500. The big red truck made every driver pit and take pressure out of their tires.

This year, change the (All-Star) race, change the Chase.

I so hoped Mark Martin would take Daytona this season, albeit in a Chevy. It’s time for him to get there. But he took the loss much better than I thought he would. I’m happy for Harvick, but sentimental for Martin. Or Junior. Junior winning the Great American Race on the sixth anniversary of his father’s death,that would have been a heart-string tugger.

But yeah, there should have been a caution in my opinion. When you're on your top, skidding down the frontstretch on fire, a caution may just be in order.

Thank you, thank you...

Thanks to you, chili heads, gear heads and a couple of Said Heads, approximately $2,000 was raised for the Emmons Benefit Fund to help our neighbors displaced by the building fire a month ago.

You came out in full force, opened your hearts and wallets and really came through.

Special kudos to Chili Willi's president Ron Smith, his lovely assistant (and wife) Joanna, Dr. David Mallory and his wife Kim for all their hard work in making the Outlaw Chili Cookoff a rousing success. The Mallorys not only were organizers and cooks, but donated some very nice merchandise - lik the NASCAR Vault book - for raffle.

Also a hearty round of thanks to the Official NASCAR Members Club and National Advisor Paul Mullins of St. Albans for donating an autogrphed Dale Earnhardt Jr. trading card, NASCAR books and trackbag.

The good folks at Eagle Distributing came through in a big way, too. They sent along Junior standups, Junior replica car hoods, Bud mirror and a great Budweiser neon sign. The local Miller distributor also send along some car hoods to add into the mix.

There were also dinner and wine packages raffled from Chili Willi's, the Blackhawk Grille and Rocco's

It was a win-win situation. Fans had great gear and a heck of a finish to the Daytona 500. Everyone ate great chili, even pumpkin chili (no offense to the other cooks, but that became my favorite.)

NASCAR fans are incredible with how much they care, not just for themselves, but their communities.

Sunday, February 18, 2007

Six years later...

It's been six years since I got back into stock car racing. It was a sad and unexpected event that brought me back.

Dale Earnhardt was killed in the last lap of the Daytona 500 Being the full-time obituary writer at The Herald-Dispatch, I was sent to write about the incident and talk to people about why they liked The Intimidator and racing.

So, I started watching again and was impressed with the precision driving (usually) and the remarkable pit stops. And the charitable efforts of the drivers, themselves, especially with Victory Junction Gang Camp. (More about VJGC in our web extra of "I (heart) NASCAR.)

Those guys change four tires and pack the fuel cell in 16 seconds. It takes AAA four hours to come unlock my keys from the car.

For his aggressive driving, Earnhardt was beloved by seemingly everyone. I have yet to hear anyone disrespect his driving. His memory is treated with honor.

I'm sorry I missed out on those years of watching that apparently awesome driver. But, there is DVD footage of him and a major motion picture in the works sanctioned by his family.

Well, folks, come join us gear- and chili-heads at Chili Willi's this afternoon for a day of world-class chili, terrific merchandise up for grabs and, of course, racin'.

Reach up there and pull those belts tight, boys!

Boogity, boogity, boogity, let's go racin'!

Friday, February 16, 2007

Boogity, boogity, boogity! Let's go racin' boys!

Well, it’s time to go green, green, green…

The lineup is set and is notable for who is and isn’t in the group.

Look at Row 1 of the Great American Race – David Gilliland and Ricky Rudd. A rookie and a return. Gotta love it, especially for Gilliland. Hey, Denny Hamlin did it last year, could be a trend.

Our buddy Boris Said made it in, too, in 23rd position. The SoBe No Fear team with four full-time employees wants to make seven races this season, and it seems Boris is on track. Road races are a given for the man considered the Road Course Ringer. Next, Boris for the All-Star Challenge. Get ready to write in! (Who said? Boris Said!)

And you have to give credit where credit is due. James Hylton certainly gave it his all. Even though he didn’t make the race, he qualified better than Ward Burton, Brian Vickers, Mike Skinner and A.J. Almendinger. Others in the didn’t-get-in category are Bill Elliott, Jeremy Mayfield, Paul Menard and Kenny Wallace.

Tune in Sunday for more. And if you want some good company and great chili during the race, join us at the Outlaw Chili Cookoff at Chilli Willi’s in Huntington.

Lots of good eats and NASCAR (and other) treats to win during the day. Doors open at noon.

Come on down, and remember, all the money raised from the $1 chili samples, the raffles, auction for a Junior-autographed card, and photos with Junior or Mark Martin standups goes to benefit the victims of the Emmons apartments fire.

See you Sunday!

Thursday, February 15, 2007

More stuff to win...

Items keep coming in for raffle and acution at the Outlaw Chili Cookoff Sunday afternoon at Chili Willi's in Huntington.

It is an opportunity to help those Huntington neighbors formerly residing in the two Emmons apartment buildings. A fire on Jan. 13 killed nine people and displaced more than 100 residents of both apartment buildings.

For all you NASCAR fans, there are some additional items up for grabs to the highest bidderor lucky ticket holder, and you can have your photo taken with Mark Martin and Dale Earnhardt Jr. standups.

All the money raised will go to the Emmons Benefit Fund at Guaranty Bank in Huntington.

New items include NASCAR books for raffle along with a Junior standup, a Budweiser display hood, and two Junior twill Jackets, in a size Kid’s Large and Woman’s Medium / Man’s Small.

And there's more coming in all the time.

Nancy Ryder at Roush Racing has sent a package containing an official Die Cast Car, a Roush Racing T-shirt, a Roush Key Chain and a Credentials Holder to be included in the raffle at the Chili Willi's Outlaw Chili cookoff.

“You just have to stand up and applaud the generosity of the NASCAR family,” said Dr. David Mallory of Marshall University. Mallory is one of the chili chefs participating in the event.

The local chapter of the Official NASCAR Members Club has donated a track bag filled with goodies to be auctioned.

Among those items to be auctioned or raffled off is a Press Pass card of Dale Earnhardt Jr., signed by Junior himself. It is enclosed in cellophane for preservation.

Other items inside the bag are unopened trading cards, Hero Cards (one autographed by Chocolate Myers of Richard Childress Racing) an ONMC hooded sweatshirt valued at $50; a Dale Jarrett #88 UPS hat valued at $22; a #3 cell phone holder valued at $30; a used lugnut from a Hendrick Motor Sports Nextel Cup car; a Lowe’s Motor Speedway schedule and information packet; key chains, a Junior “do not disturb” sign, candy helmet; a Jimmie Johnson car flag valued at $24; a NASCAR Fairy Tales book signed by the author; and the bag itself, a $30 value.

Bidding on the bag with the autographed card starts at $150, and you can put those bids in now at Chili Willi’s by calling the restaurant’s proprietor, Ron Smith, at (304) 529-4857.

“The giving these people have in their hearts amazes me,” said Chili Wili’s owner Ron Smith said of the NASCAR organization and it’s fans.

Other items for raffle include Joe Gibbs’ autographed biography, things from DEI and Hendrick Motor Sports, 20 tickets plus shirts and hats from Ona Speedway and a raced Goodyear tire. There are also a baker’s dozen (13) pack of Appalachian CD’s, dinners from several local restaurants including the Blackhawk Grille in Barboursville, and bottles of wine.

Dr. Chuck Somerville, the Chairman of Biological Sciences at Marshall will be bringing his guitar and vocal chords for some live entertainment during the cookoff.

Get out those checkbooks and start your writing instrument engines. It’s going to be a great ride!

Oh, yea.

3 days to Daytona! Woo-Hoo!

Monday, February 12, 2007

You do love NASCAR

Well, things got bigger than I imagined with I (heart) NASCAR.

You have sent in photos and comments and that made us rethink the whole Valentine-racing thing.

So, It's going to run on the day of the Daytona 500.

Wow, you folks just sent in picture after picture and I'm having a blast editing and putting photos into the local pics file.

Thanks for all your support and we'll see you At the Track and in the Life section of The Herald-Dispatch Feb. 18.

Friday, February 9, 2007

Get ready to bid

On Feb. 18, Chili Willi’s will host the Outlaw Chili Challenge from noon to 5 p.m. There will be 16 chili cooks taking part, all have been to the International Chili Society World Chili Championship.
That in and of itself sounds good. The fact that it is raceday is even better.

The BEST part is it will be a chance to help out our neighbors, formerly residing in the Emmons apartments. The fire killed nine people and displaced 50 others.

Now for all you NASCAR fans, there are some items up for grabs to the highest bidder and you can have your photo taken with Mark Martin (in the cardboard flesh).

All the money raised will go to the Emmons Benefit Fund at a local bank.

The local chapter of the Official NASCAR Members Club has donated a track bag filled with goodies to be auctioned.

Among the items inside the bag are unopened trading cards, Hero Cards (one autographed by Chocolate Myers of Richard Childress Racing) an ONMC hooded sweatshirt valued at $50; a Dale Jarrett #88 UPS hat valued at $22; a #3 cell phone holder valued at $30; a used lugnut from a Hendrick Motor Sports Cup car (can you place a value on that?); a Lowe’s Motor Speedway schedule and information packet; key chains, a Junior “do not disturb” sign, candy helmet; a Jimmie Johnson car flag valued at $24; the bag itself, a $30 value.

AND (get ready)

A Press Pass card of Dale Earnhardt Jr., signed by Junior himself. It is enclosed in cellophane for preservation. Now, who can put a price on that, all you Junior fans. (See today’s earlier blog entry for more Junior news.)

Bidding starts at $150, and you can put those bids in now at Chili Willi’s by calling the restaurant’s proprietor, Ron Smith, at (304) 529-4857.

Other items for raffle include Joe Gibbs’ biography autographed, things from DEI and Hendrick Motor Sports and tickets, shirts and hats from Ona Speedway. There are also dinners from several local restaurants including the Blackhawk Grille in Barboursville, and bottles of wine. There will also be NASCAR books for raffle.

Get out those checkbooks and start your dialing fingers. It’s going to be a great ride.

He finally said it…

Junior finally said what we’ve all been waiting to hear come from his mouth.

He wants ownership in DEI.

Duh.

No just ownership. He wants majority ownership in the team his father started.

Here’s what he told NASCAR.com before leaving Daytona Media Day reporters abruptly.

"The main factor is the ownership part," Junior said. "It has nothing to do with money and nothing else really. I would really like my team, I like how things are going. ... The motors are improving, everything is on an upswing. My father has been gone for almost six years now, I want majority ownership."

Even though stepmother Teresa has been in control since Earnhardt Sr.'s death, Junior does carry on the name and the sport. Although DEI signed Kerry Earnhardt's son to a contract yesterday, would DEI be DEI without a Dale Earnhardt albeit Jr.?

Doesn't it stand to reason the namesake son would be a majority owner at some point anyway had his father not died six years ago?

Stay tuned "as the steering wheel turns" ... I guess this puts the sheet metal in Teresa's pit box.

Thursday, February 8, 2007

Helping hands

Here’s another chance to help out our community.

NASCAR drivers, teams and owners are great to help out those less fortunate. Look at each driver’s foundation, Victory Junction, Home Depot building playgrounds, etc.

“The giving these people have in their hearts amazes me,” said Chili Wili’s owner Ron Smith.

Now this is your chance to help out our own town with the help of good cooks and NASCAR.

Victims of the Emmons Jr. Apartment fire are still putting their lives and homes back together.

On the day of the Daytona 500, Feb. 18, Chili Wili’s will host the Outlaw Chili Challenge from noon to 5 p.m. There will be 16 chili cooks taking part who have all been to the International Chili Society World Chili Championship.

One cook, Dr. Dave Mallory of Marshall University’s Biology Department (2nd in the world competition for chili verde) is participating and he’s a gearhead like the rest of us.

Dr. Mallory will have some NASCAR iems up for raffle and there will also be other theme-baskets for raffles.

Chili samples are $1 each and all the money goes to the Emmons Benefit Fund at Guaranty Bank.

If you need a place to watch Daytona and like chili, or just want to help those displaced by the fire, come out.

I’ll detail the NASCAR gear in the next few days, and let you know how the Official NASCAR Members Club Chapter 257051 in Huntington will be involved.

Thursday, February 1, 2007

Keep ‘em coming




I’ve been getting some good NASCAR entries for our Valentine’s Day/Daytona 500 stories, but I want more!

Did you meet your sweetie or spouse at a race either nationally or locally. Maybe you were at a restaurant or sportsbar watching racing and found someone special. Or maybe, like me, you just met people tailgating and struck up friendships (we e-mail a lot and plan to hang out at Lowe’s Motor Speedway.)

Write and tell us about your love affair with NASCAR speed. Send us photos of you and your favorite driver or fun pictures you’ve taken at the track.


Here's a snap I took at LMS in October, 2005, of Jimmie Johnson and "Humpy" Wheeler at the winner's champagne toast following the race. The Mark Martin photo was at Darlington, taken by my friend, Larry Keesee.

Let’s show the Tri-State and the nation just how much West Virginia loves racing!

To whet your appetite a little, I have stories from two ladies on the west coast, Deb Dimminger of Redwood City, Calif., and Leesa Said Davidson of Redmond, Wash., who is Boris Said’s sister.

So come on, send in your stories and photos! Deadline is Monday.