Live in concert, on an HD screen at the track

The High-Def screen at Charlotte Motor Speedway is good for more than just racing – you can see live concerts on it, too.

The photo above was taken the May day the screen was unveiled. It's shot from the grandstand at the start-finish line of the track. You can see how big it is in perspective to the folks on pit road in front of us, and the screen is on the backstretch (the other side) of the track. Photos below were taken from the same seats using a 3X zoom on a Casio Exlim camera.

If you are an Avett Brothers fan, their July 9 sold-out concert at Red Rocks Amphitheatre will be shown live by satellite.

Here’s the deal. You get the ticket today or tomorrow and it’s only $10. Then, they go up to $15 until the day before the show. And day of show is going to cost you $20. Living the Charlotte area, you can walk up to the ticket office, outside there, you can call 1-800-455-FANS (3267).

Or, you can watch it live on your itty-bitty 19-inch computer screen with a digital ticket from iclips.net.

Serious fans would gladly travel 5 hours for a concert, right? Folks drive 5 hours to a race there. Same principle.

Really, this screen is amazing. It’s, well, see for yourself.

The Sponsorship-Go-Round

Next?

First, Red Bull announces it’s out of the racecar business but may, maybe, might, still be a sponsor.

Now, Crown Royal is leaving. Period. A statement from the company said:

“In evaluation of our NASCAR programming and after much consideration, we have made the decision to make a strategic shift to focus our resources against our annual Crown Royal “Your Name Here” program which awards race naming rights to an adult fan.
“In shifting our strategy, we will end our sponsorships with Roush Fenway Racing and NASCAR upon the conclusion of the 2011 season.”

Roush Fenway has announced the addition of Affliction Clothing for two races this year with Matt Kenseth. And the Cat in the Hat might be facing tough times again. Up for renewal are Aflac and UPS, not to mention Aflac-sponsored Carl Edwards remains unsigned.

Times are tough in NASCAR. Even though cameras try to keep from showing the massive number of empty seats, they are there nonetheless.

There are a number of marketing strategies being used to get fans in the seats – buy two get one free, a $99 package for 4 at Walmart, individual race teams coming up with giveaways and promotions on their own, pre- and post-race entertainment at the track and in-house stunts.

Drivers are being put out there more than ever before to promote the daylights out of racing, including guest spots on cable TV shows and doing seat swaps with drivers in other racing divisions. Jeff Gordon makes a nifty replacement for Regis Philbin at times.

On the Roush Fenway website, there is a banner ad promoting their brand to “marketing maverick” and “ambitious marketer,” and an interactive sponsorship site to let potential sponsors know there are 75 million racefans out there and being on the car is the way to reach that audience.

Yes, times are hard in NASCAR, but there could be a hidden benefit here.

If local tracks, dirt and asphalt alike, seize the opportunity, they could reap the benefits of fewer people spending hard-earned money to go to Charlotte, Bristol or Martinsville.

No, it’s not Carl Edwards, Jimmie Johnson and Tony Stewart, but it IS live racing and it’s probably someone you know in the driver’s seat.

And, no, these guys and gals - yes, gals - in the cars in all likelihood aren't going to make it to that level.

They will continue to race for fun, trophies and gas money every week somewhere, feeding their passion for the sport.

If exhaust junkies will give it a chance, it could just be Short Track Saturday Night fun.

June 25 results from Ona Speedway

Here are the results from Ona Speedway’s June 25 races, sponsored by Billy Bob’s Wonderland.

Classics
Bill Wallace, best time 19.676 in lap 9, also top speed 68,612; Greg Hendricks, best speed 68.3898; Terry Brumfield, 66.964; Chumpy Brumfield, 67.338; John Morton, 66.928; Brandon Mills, 66.073; Alvie Deal, 66.277; 1 lap down, Tex Perry, 65.505 and Jamie Matheny, 64.929; Pat Blevins, DNF, 65.448.

Hobby Stock
Tiffany Skeens, best speed 66.258
DNFs Jimmy Drake, Austin Murr, Bruce Thompson, Bill Chavers, Tom Boyce, Matt Burd, and DQ Brett Carey who logged top speed of the race of 66.437 in lap 8.

Modifieds
Kenny Parsons, best speed 72.177; Josh Artis, 72.239; Mike Gue, 71.376; and DQ Bill Wallace logging best time of 18.434 and top speed of 73.234, both in lap 4.

U-Car A Feautre
Joe Workman, best time and top speed in lap 26, 21.519 seconds, 62.735 mph; Jay Workman, 62.350; Keith Watson, 61.771; Josh Ross, 62.052; J.R. Adkins, 61.805; Chris Deskins, 61.878; Glen Foster, 61.621; David Bell, 61.517; Jacob Bell, 60.413; Randy Templeton, 60.497; Adam Silvers, 61.083; Jeremy Cooper, 60.998; 1 lap down Reuben Fetty, 61.133; 2 laps down Jermiah Adkins, 60.341.

U-Car B Feature
Keith Watson, best time and top speed in lap 21, 21.811 seconds, 61.895 mph; David Bell, 61.197; Randy Templeton, 61.108; Jacob Bell, 1 lap down, 61.067; finishing 1 lap down, Jay Workman, 60.726 and Todd Brown, 57.895; 2 laps down Doug Harvey, 58.926; DNFs Johnny Sloan, Anthony Johnson, Billy Workman, Tim Cassidy, Rebekah Fetty, Kenny Porter, Danny Keyser, Albert Napier and Glen Adkins.

Racing next month will be on July 9 sponsored by A&L Ace Hardware & Building; July 23 sponsored by Best Buy and July 30 sponsored by The Home Depot.

Gates open at 5 p.m. and the pits are open at noon. Races begin at 7 p.m. Admission is $10 for everyone over 7-years-old. Pit Passes are $20 for everyone 13 and older, and $10 for children ages 8-12.

Grilling isn't just for the track, you know

The 4th of July is coming up fast, and cooking out at home has a lot of the same characteristics of tailgating, so I found a couple of simple recipes from Nicky Morse, the Racing Chef you might like.

Simple ingredients, fast to make Chili Cheese Burgers. Same principle as the Bacon Burger Dogs from The Cosby Show. Take the parts, put them together and you got a fan favorite!



Now, if you want to do some chicken and make time for your guests instead of a lot of prep time, Try this. Pretty good idea, Nicky! And you can do this for any day of the week, get it ready ahead of time, freeze the stuff and when you're ready, thaw it and toss it on the grill!

Racefans gotta start somewhere

It’s fun to take someone to their first live motorsports event.

After corn dogs and French fries were bought, we settled into the top row of the grandstand to await the start of the evening’s races – 50 laps in each division. We had that privilege on June 18 at Ona Speedway. My friends’ sons, Andre and Lance accompanied us to the races.

The skies were threatening for a while, but the dark clouds rolled past and the green flag dropped.

They each had questions, which were answered. What does that black flag mean? Can he do that ( bump that driver )? Why don’t these (caution) laps count? Why didn’t he climb on over the fence?

They picked their favorites in each race, usually chosen by paint schemes or catchy nicknames.

Both boys are looking forward to going again, and we’re looking forward to taking them.

Results from the Franklin boys’ first live race, June 18 at Ona Speedway, compliments of MyLaps.com, are in order of finish, with the drivers’ best speeds after their name:

Classics
Terry Brumfield 66.994;
Bill Wallace 66.971;
Greg Hendricks best speed 67.134 and best time in lap 3, 20.109 seconds;
John Morton 66.934;
Pat Blevins 66.486;
Brian Adams 66.739;
Jamie Matheny 65.183;
Chumpy Brumfield 66.64.

Hobby Stock
Brett Carey 65.953;
Bill Chavers best speed 66.261 and best time in lap 38, 20.374 seconds;
Jimmy Drake, 65.010;
Matt Burd 63.300.

Modifieds
Mike Gue, best speed 72.309 and best time in lap 2, 18.670 seconds;
Kenny Parsons 71.736;
Thomas Mays 71.463;
Bill Wallace 71.877;
Josh Artis 71.000;
DQ Chad Bailey 71.364;
DQ Brandon Stickler 70.900.

U Car
Joe Workman, best speed 62.307 and best time in lap 2, 21.667 seconds;
Josh Ross 62.195;
Glen Foster 61.847;
Chris Deskins, no information available;
Reuben Fetty 60.729;
Jeremy Cooper 61.574;
Bryce Keyser 60.217;
Adam Silvers 60.614;
J.R Adkins 61.904;
Jeremiah Adkins 59.886;
Randy Templeton 59.205;
Johnny Sloan 58.288;
Kenny Porter, no information available;
Rebekah Fetty 46 58.578;
Doug Harvey 58.578;
Grant Thaxton 58.353
Billy Workman, DNF, 59.832;
Tim Cassidy, DNF, 60.241;
Danny Keyser, DQ, 58.378.

Happy Father's Day

Happy Father's Day to all you dad-types out there. Here's something from the TODAY show this morning, Richard and Kyle Petty, talking to Lester Holt at Victory Junction.

If you missed it, copy and paste this link into your browser. Apparently the TODAY show doesn't want this shared this way, only by liking it on Facebook.

http://today.msnbc.msn.com/id/26184891/vp/43455500#43455500

And, here are some photos we took at Victory Junction Gang Camp. The #45 car on Victory Circle is a replica of Adam Petty's car, and inside are lots of things campers can do, like be a pit crew member. This is also the building where Lester Holt did part of the interview with the Pettys.

There's also a cool miniature golf course and a motorcycle-themed pool.

"Grab some Buds"

Racing is on at Ona Speedway and owners Bill and Lynn Bauer have lined up some sponsorships for race nights.

I will admit, we've been somewhat lagging behind in local racing at Ona, being a wee busy to get out to the place were legends are born. But, hopefully some time will open up on the schedule and that will change.

This week's sponsor is Eagle Distributing and the green drops at 7 p.m.

Now, this is somewhat important to the new happenings at the track. Just like at Charlotte and Bristol, you can "Grab some Buds," in the designated Beer Garden.

Yep, you can knock back a cold one and enjoy the races at Ona. Now, here's the catch, it's a gated area and it's the only place at the track you can consume the adult beverage.

Only those racefans over 21-years can enter the area and you have to stay there to drink. So, you can't go back out and sit with your family, and, your kids can't come with you to the dedicated space.

A media release from the Bauers says, "This year we decided to try the idea out in a controlled way. We haven’t publicized it much until now to see what happened, and it has been a success in every way. The beer garden is located at the west end of the grandstands, with an entry gate where ID’s are checked. Only people 21 or over can enter, and beer must stay in the designated beer garden area. We’ve been working with the folks at Eagle Distributing to make this an enjoyable experience for everyone."

Back to this season's sponsors, they include Pro Eyes Optometry Associates, MU Sports Medicine and for the rest of the season:

June 18 - Eagle Distributing
June 25 - Billy Bob's Wonderland
July 9 - A&L Ace Hardware & Building
July 23 - Best Buy
July 30 - The Home Depot
August 6 - Ona Airpark Fly-In
August 20 - Marshall University Student Night
September 3 - Little Victories Animal Rescue
September 17 - Contempo Trophy Championship Night

"We're all blowed up"

Quote from Kenny Wallace in Beckley, WV a few hours ago.



Well, he did finally make Natural Bridge Speedway in Virginia, won his heat race and headed to the Main Frame.

I gotta admit, I enjoy Kenny's Tweets! He's just all out there, day in and day out. Plain 'ole Kenny. Honest Kenny and sometimes, a little crude Kenny. But always, ALWAYS amusing.

Bowyer earns Prelude bragging rights

Another first time winner at the Prelude, Eldora Speedway owner Tony Stewart proclaimed after Clint Bowyer won the main event. Not only was Bowyer a first time winner at the Prelude, he led every lap from the pole, in front of an estimated 20,000 fans at the track and more on Pay-Per-View on HBO.

Of the 7 years the Prelude has been run, only 2 drivers have let start to finish, Stewart in 2008 and Jimmie Johnson in 2010.

Stewart is the only repeat winner and has done so 3 times. Well, it IS his track. Other winners have been Johnson, Carl Edwards and Kenny Wallace.

Tony, who has been a rather contentious soul in the past, has a heart as big as Montana – not Montoya, we said Montana. Every year, he puts on the Prelude to the Dream, a benefit race at Eldora where some of racing’s finest come in to compete for charity, not to mention bragging rights. More than $3 million has already been raised for charity.

In the past, beneficiaries have been Victory Junction Gang Camp (2004-2008), four military themed organizations in 2009 including Fisher House, Intrepid Fallen Heroes Fund, Operation Homefront and Wounded Warrior Project. Last year’s beneficiary were Cincinnati Children's Hsopital, Levine Children's Hospital, Riley Hospital for Children and St. Jude Children's Research Hospital.

This year’s charity was actually four children’s hospitals - St. Louis Children’s Hospital, Levine Children’s Hospital, Children’s Medical Center Dallas and Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta.

Only 4 of the 28 drivers making it to the main race were DNFs – Ray Evernham, Ron Hornaday, Tony Kanaan and Jason Leffler.

Results were (top 10 in order) Bowyer, J.J. Yeley, Aric Almirola, Kyle Busch, Justin Allgaier, Ricky Carmichael, Ken Schrader, Austin Dillon, Ryan Newman and Kasey Kahne.

Finishing out the field were (from 11th – 28th) Denny Hamlin, David Reutimann, Matt Kenseth, Brian Vickers, Carl Edwards, Kenny Wallace, Ron Capps, Jimmie Johnson, Cruz Pedregon, Tony Stewart, David Gilliland, Bill Elliott, Bobby Labonte, Marcos Ambrose, Ray Everhnam (21 laps, out, mechanical), Ron Hornaday (20 laps, out, mechanical), Tony Kanaan (18 laps, lost wheel) and Jason Leffler (16 laps accident).

Stock cars? They don't look like the ones on the street I see

Every year, folks in the Official NASCAR Members Club get access the general public doesn't, like to the Research and Development Center. You probably didn't even know such a place existed.

On the floor this year, in the only room you are allowed to take pictures, the R&D staff set up a side by side comparison of street cars and their NASCAR counterparts.

There's a pretty big difference on the outside for the trucks, the Toyota Tundra and Ford F-150. The Ford Fusion, with the exception of the splitter, is close. Well, until you get under the hood and on the track.

At R&D you also get to see where every chassis is brought before the season begins, to be inspected in a zillion different ways, well something like 40 or 50 points. Then they get micro chipped in 10 spots. At the tracks, they get scanned to record the history of the car.

And if it outlives its usefulness to a Cup team and gets sold to a Nationwide team, you guessed, the chip tells the tale.


This is also the place were the 1st place and a random car get inspected after a race. And, yes, there is a room full of confiscated parts. You can look through the chain link, but you can't get close.

What do horse racing and NASCAR have in common? Even weights. Yep, the cars have to be the same weight. So, there are grooves in the door panels with titanium weights to even the loads. Tom Gideon of the R&D Center explained that to us.

That means, a driver like Mark Martin has some serious weight added, and another like (although slimmed down) Tony Stewart won't. I'm sure there are ways crew chiefs can fudge with them, but I try to believe the best in all people.

And on the subject of safety, over at Earnhardt Ganassi, we got a detailed tour and Q&A session. There, Brad Zimmerman a cross between a racer and engineer ( what a perfect combo!) took us on the shop floor. As at the R&D Center, photos were pretty restricted.

A fascinating conversation was the differences between open wheel and stock cars. And this being Chip Ganassi's place, is a pretty good spot for this talk.

There are the obvious differences, but one thing the group curious about was what happens when they wreck.

Brad said both are tremendously safe in an on-track wreck, even though they may not look that way.

The stock car is built with cages, foam and the like, designed to protect the driver and absorb the impact, the G-forces, if you will.

The open wheel car, the Indy series car, is safer than you think, with it's open cockpit. They are designed to break apart, disintegrate on impact and take the force of the crash away from the driver.

An Indy car wreck looks like a disaster. Just think the final lap of the Indy 500 this year. But the driver is in a safe spot, the car "blowing up" to the eye, but taking the wreck away from the driver.

I love going to these places and getting a little insight.

Memories for local fans of all ages

"It got through unscathed," Kasey Kahne said with a grin after signing a photo of his #4 Red Bull Toyota when I pointed out where my picture was on his car last weekend.

Red Bull allowed fans to send their photos for placement on the car that would race in the Coca-Cola 600 on Memorial Day at Charlotte Motor Speedway. It came in 22nd that very long, hot night.

Then we snapped a photo together and I headed on my way.

Just like at the races, fans come from all over the region when a driver makes an appearance. Wednesday's opening of the 100th Ollie's Bargain Outlet was no different. Interestingly enough, even fans of other drivers showed up, like a fellow in a Kyle Busch Motorsports shirt.


One man came to Barboursville, W.Va., all the way from Columbus, Ohio. Well, ok, Pickerington. Might as well say Columbus. Kenny was a Kasey Kahne fan, die-cast in hand, waiting to get it signed.

We just struck up a conversation about Kasey Kahne and the fact Red Bull Racing put fan photos on the #4 car last weekend at the Coke 600. He had a photo on the car, as did I. Hopefully, Kenny can find where his pics wound up on the car from the instructions I gave.

So, how did Kasey Kahne end up at Barboursville, W.Va., just a stone's throw away from Ona Speedway, where the likes of Richard Petty raced back in the day. Kasey is a friend of the President and CEO of Ollie's Bargain Outlet. They met through mutual friends almost 10 years ago.

With a chuckle, Kasey brought out a bottle of champagne to give Mark Butler on the occasion, with the president noting the autograph session might be delayed a little bit while they broke open the bubbly in that little black bag the NASCAR driver was holding. Just kidding.




The two teamed up to benefit the Kasey Kahne Foundation, which works with youth in various ways. The couple dozen Kasey stand ups, which sold for $30 each, were dedicated to benefit the Foundation and Ronald McDonald houses.


Kasey is not the only NASCAR driver to appear for Ollies. Butler said there are several, including Kevin Harvick and Elliott Sadler.

"NASCAR and Ollie's is a good fit," Butler said, noting the demographic is quite similar. There were a couple hundred people who showed up, many die-hard Kahne fans with their own items for him to sign - die-cast cars, photos they had taken, replica hoods, shirts and the like.

I got my photo, well, a screen shot of my photo on his car, signed. And my first edition of Pit Road Pets, which benefits the Ryan Newman Foundation also got signed.

Yep, it was a good day.