Glass half full, glass half empty

There were several types of fans on the roads leading to Kentucky Speedway on Saturday.

Your attitude depended on how you see the glass. Half full? Half empty? A couple folks I follow on Twitter sort of showed that Saturday on the road to Sparta.

The eternal optimist
Darrell Waltrip tweets, “Bruton Smith owns many racetracks, he will work with Gov. Beshear to get things right,we have a year to make changes,they'll get it right !”

Note to DW – It takes more than one year to fix this problem. First there's $$$, which is probably the biggest issue, followed by engineering. Sparta, Ky., is kinda hilly terrain, which is a problem and will also drive up the cost to build a road. And I told the governor on Friday, traffic for a couple hours at a major race event was not unusual.

Of course, that was before the 3- 4- and some longer wait stories hit the social media. We were in that mess. For about 3-1/2 hours to travel what should have been 30- to 45-minutes on a normal day.

Making the best of the situation
You've heard the saying, if you can't beat 'em, join 'em? That would be Denny Hamlin.

Denny was stuck in the traffic with everyone else. Only that was a bigger problem for him than everyone around. At 3:30 p.m., he hadn't made it to the track for the driver's meeting, which was only two hours away.

He chose to take it all with a sense of humor. He tweets, “20 bucks to the first of my followers who finds me in traffic. Will send pic to confirm.”

“I think everyone should lay on their horns at the same time. Ready Set Go!!!!”

“Good news bad news/ bad news is I'm prolly not gonna make the drivers meeting in 3 hrs because I'm in this traffic with everyone else.”

“Good news I'm starting in the back anyway!”

He also commented about tweeting and driving. "not driving, sir, sitting."

Or just get over it
Every one's funnyman Kenny Wallace's opinion is it's over and done with now, move on.

Bruton Smith is quoted in Sunday's Lexington Herald-Leader saying it's not his job, meaning the roads around the track. That would be the state's bailiwick.

I've been backed up, sorry, sat in my car stopped, on Bruton Smith Boulevard before, maybe 1 to 1-1/2 hours. Not 3 hours. Certainly not more and I've never been turned away because there was no more parking.

At SceneDaily, Bob Pockrass wrote on Sunday, "But I view what happened Saturday night as just plain unacceptable, whether it was the track’s first Cup race or not.

"It’s one thing to have a 2-hour backup at the peak of traffic. But to have the traffic woes getting in – not to mention what has to be a mess in the parking lots and highways now that I write this – but it appeared that no one had ever done one second of traffic preparation (which of course isn’t true). It appeared as if no one had learned lessons of previous traffic nightmares when other tracks opened."

NASCAR spent Sunday apologizing the fans.

SceneDaily's commentary by Pockrass quoted speedway GM Mark Simendinger saying, "I didn’t expect that [big of a problem. We had some rain and some issues related to the parking lots. We got them squared away. Really, we had an unforeseen imbalance of where the traffic was going to come from.

“As the night went on, I don’t know who was still left out there. But they were still coming and the stands were packed. We clearly had gotten tons of people in and yet they were still coming. We’ll have to look at all the facts and the data and try to figure out where our planning went wrong.”

Obviously, this issue is not going to roll over and be quiet and we'll be hearing about for probably at least another week, or through next weekend's race at New Hampshire.

In the end, once you got to, if you got to, the track, it was a good time at My Old Kentucky Home, not so far away for this blogger. Just a couple hours down Interstate 64. Not great, action-packed racing, but live Sprint Cup series racing. A mediocre race at the track is better than none at all.

Start your engines, bluegrass style

It took 11 years, but it's about to happen. While NASCAR has had Craftsman Truck and Nationwide series races at Kentucky Speedway, the big Kahuna has not graced the track.

Now, after years of negotiations, economic incentives and, the occasional lawsuit, Sprint Cup racing comes to Sparta, Ky., and Governor Steve Beshear couldn't be happier.

"All eyes will be on Kentucky," Beshear said at a pre-raceday cookout at the governor's residence in Frankfort.

In the grandstands will be approximately 120,000 people, which, in and of itself, is an economic boon to the state. Since this is the first time the Cup series has raced at Kentucky, there are no numbers yet to indicate just how much the financial impact will be to the state, Beshear said.

"This is everyman's sport," said Kentucky Secretary of Tourism, Arts and Heritage Marcheta Sparrow said. Until now, going to the races has meant going to the horse track. There was a time when people went there regularly, and that declined to a trip once a week to bet a few dollars on the horses. "But they don't even do that anymore."

So, having the premiere series of NASCAR come to Kentucky on a yearly basis, will make a difference.

The stands which used to seat 60-70,000 will now have 120,000 at capacity, Beshear said. He also sees it another selling point for his state in terms of both production value and quality of life.

He's betting the economic incentives to Speedway Motorsports Inc., added to the $80 million investment of SMI will pay of in both the short and long term.

The proximity of Kentucky Speedway to fans in Ohio, West Virginia and Indiana is attractive, said First Lady Jane Beshear.

With West Virginia a 2 or 3 hour drive, she hopes fans will flock to the Bluegrass State.

So, within good driving distance, fans can add Kentucky to their favorite tracks and have the ingredients for a good day trip.

Gentlemen, start your engines! Green flag drops at 7:45 p.m. At least according to the raceday schedule distributed by track officials.

K-C July 1 results

Thanks to Scott Wolfe of K-C Raceway in Chillicothe, Ohio, for the results of their July 1 races.

Coming up at K-C is NRA Sprint Invaders, Late Models, Advanced Services Modifieds and Hobby Stocks on Saturday, July 9.

Then, on July 16, the track will host the BOSS non-winged Sprints 6 in the Gene Comstock Memorial. Late Models, Hobby Stocks, and Rear-wheel drive 4-cylinders are also on the race card.

O'Reilly Auto Parts Night July 1 results are:

All Star Circuit of Champions Sprint Cars (29 Cars)
[#]-Starting Position

Qualifying - Kistler Engines
1. 89G-David Gravel, 11.580; 2. D4-Danny Holtgraver, 11.737; 3. 22-Cole Duncan, 11.874; 4. 2-Dale Blaney, 11.881; 5. 83-Tim Shaffer, 11.919; 6. 45-Rob Chaney, 11.980; 7. O4-Cap Henry, 11.982; 8. 4K-Kody Kinser, 12.027; 9. 6-Jac Haudenschild, 12.052; 10. 78-Todd Kane, 12.082; 11. 4-Danny Smith, 12.085; 12. OO-Jim Nier, 12.085; 13. 1Z-Jessica Zemken, 12.109; 14. 12-Jared Ridge, 12.115; 15. 11N-Ed Neumeister, 12.124; 16. 6X-Nick Nabor, 12.135; 17. w20-Greg Wilson, 12.149; 18. 93-Sheldon Haudenschild, 12.260; 19. 7-Darren Long, 12.320; 20. 3-Pete Miller III, 12.425; 21. 11D-Bryce Dickson, 12.452; 22. 41-Randy Fink, 12.666; 23. 4X-Eddie Slone, 12.777; 24. O6-Brandy Bower, 13.122; 25. 2N-Nathan Skaggs, 13.240; 26. 3F-Rick Frayley, 13.525; 27. A79-John Shewbrooks, 14.656; 28. X-Jeb Lowder, 99.999; 29. 9J-Jesse McCreary, 99.999

Heat 1 Kears Speed Shop (8 Laps - Top 6 finishers transfer to the A-feature)
1. 6X-Nick Nabor[1]; 2. 1Z-Jessica Zemken[2]; 3. 2-Dale Blaney[5]; 4. O4-Cap Henry[4]; 5. 78-Todd Kane[3]; 6. 89G-David Gravel[6]; 7. 7-Darren Long[7]; 8. 2N-Nathan Skaggs[9]; 9. 41-Randy Fink[8]; 10. X-Jeb Lowder[10]

Heat 2 All Pro Heads (8 Laps - Top 6 finishers transfer to the A-feature)
1. w20-Greg Wilson[1]; 2. 4-Danny Smith[3]; 3. 12-Jared Ridge[2]; 4. 83-Tim Shaffer[5]; 5. 4K-Kody Kinser[4]; 6. 3-Pete Miller III[7]; 7. D4-Danny Holtgraver[6]; 8. 9J-Jesse McCreary[10]; 9. 3F-Rick Frayley[9]; 10. 4X-Eddie Slone[8]

Heat 3 MSD Ignition (8 Laps - Top 6 finishers transfer to the A-feature)
1. 93-Sheldon Haudenschild[1]; 2. 6-Jac Haudenschild[4]; 3. OO-Jim Nier[3]; 4. 45-Rob Chaney[5]; 5. 11N-Ed Neumeister[2]; 6. 22-Cole Duncan[6]; 7. O6-Brandy Bower[8]; 8. 11D-Bryce Dickson[7]; 9. A79-John Shewbrooks[9]

Dash - Outerwears Performance Products (6 Laps, finishing order determined first 6 starting positions of A-feature
1. 2-Dale Blaney[2]; 2. 83-Tim Shaffer[4]; 3. 45-Rob Chaney[1]; 4. O4-Cap Henry[5] ; 5. 89G-David Gravel[3]; 6. 22-Cole Duncan[6]

B-Main - University of Northwestern Ohio (12 Laps - Top 6 finishers transfer to the A-feature)
1. D4-Danny Holtgraver[1]; 2. 7-Darren Long[2]; 3. 11D-Bryce Dickson[3]; 4. 2N-Nathan Skaggs[7]; 5. 4X-Eddie Slone[5]; 6. O6-Brandy Bower[6]; 7. 9J-Jesse McCreary[11]; 8. 41-Randy Fink[4]; 9. 3F-Rick Frayley[8]; 10. A79-John Shewbrooks[9]; 11. X-Jeb Lowder[10]

A-Main - O'Reilly Auto Parts (40 Laps)
1. 2-Dale Blaney[1]; 2. 89G-David Gravel[5]; 3. 4K-Kody Kinser[7]; 4. w20-Greg Wilson[17]; 5. 83-Tim Shaffer[2]; 6. 1Z-Jessica Zemken[13]; 7. 78-Todd Kane[9]; 8. 93-Sheldon Haudenschild[18]; 9. D4-Danny Holtgraver[11]; 10. 12-Jared Ridge[14]; 11. 11D-Bryce Dickson[21]; 12. 2N-Nathan Skaggs[24]; 13. 11N-Ed Neumeister[15]; 14. 6X-Nick Nabor[16]; 15. 4X-Eddie Slone[22]; 16. O6-Brandy Bower[23]; 17. O4-Cap Henry[4]; 18. 3-Pete Miller III[20]; 19. 45-Rob Chaney[3]; 20. 7-Darren Long[19]; 21. 6-Jac Haudenschild[8]; 22. 22-Cole Duncan[6]; 23. 4-Danny Smith[10]; 24. OO-Jim Nier[12]
Hard Charger: w20-Greg Wilson[+13]

O'Reilly Late Models (37)
Fast Time: Ben Adkins 14:350
Heat One: Steve Casebolt, Jr., Eric Wells, Josh McGuire, Delmas Conley, Greg Johnson, Clint Keenan, Ken Howell, D.J. Miller, Nick Latham, Brian Casey
Heat Two: Ben Adkins, Brad Neat, Tim Dohm, Mark Frazier, Billy Gullion, Dean Boyd, Dylan Huron, Ross Nicastri, Kirk Phillips
Heat Three: Donnie Moran, Rod Conley, Earl Pearson, Jr., Jared Miley, Mike Wilson, Chad Smith, Harold Redman, Jr., Jason Perry, Russ Fronapfel
Heat Four: R.J. Conley, Eddie Carrier, Jr., Johnny McCool, Devin Moran, Frank Heckenest, Jr., Kevin Wagner, Paul Davis, Brett Kennard, Carrie Mason
B-Main One: Greg Johnson, Ken Howell, Dean Boyd, Clint Keenan, Dylan Huron, Nick Latham, D.J. Miller, Kirk Phillips, Ross Nicastri,Brian Casey
B-Main Two: Frank Heckenest, Mike Wilson, Chad Smith, Harold Redman, Jr., Kevin Wagner, Jason Perry, Brett Kennard, Russ Fronapfel, Carrie Mason
Feature: Eddie Carrier, Jr., Steve Casebolt, Jr., Donnie Moran, Tim Dohm, Earl Pearson, Jr., Greg Johnson, Johnny McCool, Ben Adkins, Josh McGuire, Delmas Conley, Mike Wilson, Jared Miley, Clint Keenan, Brad Neat, Chad Smith, R.J. Conley, Rod Conley, Frank Heckenest, Mark Frazier, Ken Howell, Russ Frohnapfel, Devin Moran, Dean Boyd, Eric Wells, Brian Casey
Hard Charger: Greg Johnson 17 to 6th

Hobby Stocks (14)
Heat One: Brandon Mather, Mike Brust, Tim Cutler, Jack Martin, Butch Eblin, Bruce Gray, Jr., Brandon Thompson
Heat Two: Jamey Adams, Tommy Mossbarger, Garry Park, Tracey Ross, Keith Dubois, Phil Rice, Danny Lewis
Feature: Jamey Adams, Brandon Thompson, Brandon Mather, Gary Park, Mike Brust, Keith Dubois, Butch Eblin, Jack Martin, Tim Cutler, Tommy Mossbarger, Bruce Gray, Jr., Tracey Ross, Phil Rice, Dan Lewis

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!