At the Track

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

Wednesday, March 30, 2011

Pit stop challenge

Do you have the guts to take on the boss?

Kyle Busch did. No big surprise there, huh? Yep, one tall, skinny guy taking on another tall, skinny guy as a rear tire changer.

Kyle vs JD Gibbs. Pretty funny stuff, actually. Kyle got a do-over, too. Muddle through Bracketology intro and if you are interested in that kind of thing, there's more of it after the tire change challenge.



Slow motion falls are always amusing, aren't they?

We'll keep noodling around You Tube for more amusing things from race teams.

Thursday, March 24, 2011

Now available at that retail giant


Well, it’s finally happened. You can now officially get pretty much anything at WalMart, even tickets to NASCAR races.

Yep, WalMart is now offering ticket packages for $99 – 4 seats, 4 sodas, 4 hot dogs and a souvenir program.

Visit www.walmart.com/nascar and you can shop all things NASCAR - tickets, shirts, diecasts, grill covers, toys, videos, games, you name it.

And if that’s not enough, race teams’ show cars and simulators are making appearances in the parking lots. They call it parking lot retailtainment. This week they are, of course, focused around California, and will be in Fontana, Rialto, San Bernadino and Rancho Cucamonga.

Packages are available for 18 of the 38 races this year.

Remember when you couldn’t find NASCAR anything at the store?

No more! WalMart is even the sponsor of Trackside Live on SPEED. Nice new set they’ve provided, too.

Apparently the boys on Trackside are promoting the daylights out of WalMart and this new package deal.

The stuff you can get online shipped to door or store includes things like flags and grill covers, Kick scooters, K'nex models to build, video chairs, framed photos, diecasts, autographed canvas prints and framed driver photo/card, driver throws and a plethora of DVDs – season highlights, driver bios and specialties like greatest finishes.

Just which tracks are taking part in this venture? Would you be surprised if I said the ISC and SMI tracks?

Ding-ding-ding-ding! You are correct, oh Exhaust Breath!

The ISC tracks available are Auto Club Speedway in California, Darlington Raceway, Homestead-Miami Speedway, Michigan International Speedway and Watkins Glen International. SMI tracks are Atlanta Motor Speedway, Charlotte Motor Speedway and New Hampshire Motor Speedway.

For example, the Family Track Pack for the All-Star Race includes: 4 race tickets in Turn 2 (Diamond Tower) rows 22-46 or rows 47-66, 4 hot dogs, 4 sodas and 1 souvenir program. Now, if you like the Diamond Tower, it’s a good deal.

Personally, I don’t like the Diamond Tower. I'm spoiled. My seats for the last 5 years at Charlotte have been at the start/finish line, and continue to be so. In the Diamond Tower, I don't think you'll be able to see the newly constructed, world’s largest HD video display board on the back stretch. FYI, you can see the construction live on the Charlotte Motor Speedway website. That’s www.charlottemotorspeedway.com

But, you are still at the track, and can see the race with a pretty good perspective with the exception of Pit Road.

By the by, this package is available for the Coke 600, too.

Who said going to the races isn’t affordable anymore?

Wednesday, March 2, 2011

Just because it's the right thing to do

Sometimes you do something just because it’s the right thing to do. Like the Granny in England who attacked the would-be jewel thieves. Like Mark Harmon rescuing someone in a car wreck.

Like Morgan Shepherd chasing a would-be robber at a Las Vegas WalMart, taking him down and waiting for police to nab the alleged accomplices.

Yep, 69-year-old Morgan Shepherd. NASCAR Nationwide Series driver for Faith Motorsports. Un-sponsored and under-funded.

http://msn.foxsports.com/nascar/story/Morgan-Shepherd-chases-down-thief-in-Las-Vegas-030111

Or

http://www.aolnews.com/2011/03/02/nascar-driver-morgan-shepherd-stops-las-vegas-walmart-thief/

Sounds like an episode of “What Would You Do?” on ABC.

As the day wears on, more and more media outlets are picking up the story. And it will probably be a topic on Race Hub and possibly on Inside NASCAR tonight.

Old man? He certainly doesn't act like one.

Impulsive? Probably. But it was the right thing to do. Read the comments to this story on Fox Sports and folks are kind of mixed. However, there’s a bit more support for his actions than opposition.

Would you have gotten involved?