Firefighters put out a small fire at the home of the Lowe's Motor Speedway owner Bruton Smith.
An electrical short in the wire of outdoor Christmas lights caused a spark that lit the shrubbery in front of Smith's south Charlotte house. A passerby saw the flames and flagged down a police officer, who called firefighters.
More details over at Macon.com.
Hey Bruton: That was the ghost of Christmas Future if you muck with the New Hampshire track!!!
Sunday, December 9, 2007
Saturday, December 8, 2007
Busch Tests with Gibbs, but in Chevy
Kyle Busch tested with his new Joe Gibbs Racing team at New Smryna (Fla.) Speedway in a Chevrolet Tuesday and Wednesday.
Busch was using the test at the half-mile track to get to know his new crew chief Steve Addington, in the No. 18 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota for next season.
The story states that he was in a Chevrolet for the test because the team is short of Toyota parts at this point. Hmm, hopefully that's all it is.
See the Scene Daily for more.
Busch was using the test at the half-mile track to get to know his new crew chief Steve Addington, in the No. 18 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota for next season.
The story states that he was in a Chevrolet for the test because the team is short of Toyota parts at this point. Hmm, hopefully that's all it is.
See the Scene Daily for more.
Thursday, December 6, 2007
2007 NASCAR Awards Ceremony
I just got done watching the 2007 awards banquet on tape.
Yes, I'm either that slow, or that busy.
Thank you Dr Jerry Punch.
A perfectly delivered announcing task.
Thank you to all the guys in NASCAR, drivers, crews, even the governing body.
Thank you to the VCR gods for the invention of the VCR.
I don't think I could have sat through the whole show at real time speed.
The drivers seems reserved, or constrained. (I heard rumor NASCAR was putting reigns on their energetic possibilities!)
I think they even put a damper on Kelly Clarkson who normally likes bouncing and jumping around on stage while she sings, but not at this show.
I don't know who the woman is who announced each driver, but her drawl drove me batty and I literally thanked the VCR gods.
David Spade. I thought that with some fresh comedy blood in the mix, the comedy would be a nice mix of different, but it seemed like who ever wrote his skits, wrote all the skits for the previous NASCAR banquet years and I cringed for David during his delivery.
I liked Jeff Gordon looking more human than normal as he teared up thinking about is little baby. I liked the twist up of the supporting wife role when Tony Stewart had to extol the virtues of his crew chief.
Well, that officially closed the 2007 season for me.. on to 2008 Sprint Cup season in February. According to my clock, I've got 72 days until the Daytona 500!!
Yes, I'm either that slow, or that busy.
Thank you Dr Jerry Punch.
A perfectly delivered announcing task.
Thank you to all the guys in NASCAR, drivers, crews, even the governing body.
Thank you to the VCR gods for the invention of the VCR.
I don't think I could have sat through the whole show at real time speed.
The drivers seems reserved, or constrained. (I heard rumor NASCAR was putting reigns on their energetic possibilities!)
I think they even put a damper on Kelly Clarkson who normally likes bouncing and jumping around on stage while she sings, but not at this show.
I don't know who the woman is who announced each driver, but her drawl drove me batty and I literally thanked the VCR gods.
David Spade. I thought that with some fresh comedy blood in the mix, the comedy would be a nice mix of different, but it seemed like who ever wrote his skits, wrote all the skits for the previous NASCAR banquet years and I cringed for David during his delivery.
I liked Jeff Gordon looking more human than normal as he teared up thinking about is little baby. I liked the twist up of the supporting wife role when Tony Stewart had to extol the virtues of his crew chief.
Well, that officially closed the 2007 season for me.. on to 2008 Sprint Cup season in February. According to my clock, I've got 72 days until the Daytona 500!!
Wednesday, December 5, 2007
Petty Enterprises and the Nationwide Series
An observation by Bruce Simmons
Did you know that there have been no Petty Enterprises entries in the Busch series because they do not participate in anything alcohol company backed? This includes not carrying the 'Bud Pole Award' sticker, or entering the Bud Shootout.
With the advent of Nationwide taking over what the Busch series has sponsored, we may be seeing a Petty Enterprises entry next year.
Let's see.
Did you know that there have been no Petty Enterprises entries in the Busch series because they do not participate in anything alcohol company backed? This includes not carrying the 'Bud Pole Award' sticker, or entering the Bud Shootout.
With the advent of Nationwide taking over what the Busch series has sponsored, we may be seeing a Petty Enterprises entry next year.
Let's see.
The Changes We've Seen in NASCAR in 2007
An observation by Bruce Simmons
Some Hello's and Some Goodbye's
If there is one thing that is constant, it's change. And anyone who gets acclimated to something hoping for no change, literally hopes for stagnation that can kill a sport. Without change, new fans are not generated, new advertising money is not attracted and TV coverage is added, or continued. That's just something we have to keep in mind.
With the 2007 season in the books, we saw some serious change this year.
We said GOODBYE to:
The 25 car being on the track.
The Hendrick 25 car was first seen in the 1986 Daytona 500 with Tim Richmond and has had 11 different drivers, including Rick Hendrick himself.
To the Chevy Monte Carlo.
It came into NASCAR Cup competition in 1971 and 2007 was it's final year in Cup. We will still see it in the secondary series.
To Anheuser-Busch as the secondary series sponsor of many years.
To Joe Gibbs Racing Association with Chevy as they move to Toyota.
RIP to Benny Parsons, Bobby Hamilton and Bill France, just to name a few.
To the name, NEXTEL Cup, and hello to their new parent company name, SPRINT.
Sprint Cup.. it's just doesn't have the right "ring" to it.. no pun intended.
To this era's body style as the 2008 Sprint Cup Series will be the first full year of the Car of Tomorrow. COT.
That name has got to change, because tomorrow is here.
To simple race team names and hello to corporate team names.
2007 saw teams needing help with the costs of doing business. Roush Racing became Roush Fenway Racing, Evernham Motorsports became Gillett Evernham Motorsports and several other teams are working on similar deals as NASCAR is slowly turning into corporate America battling on the tracks.
To the statement that NASCAR is the fastest growing sport in the U.S..
Ratings have stopped climbing and I think people are getting tired of 3 to 4 hour shows and the crazy costs of going to races, though attendance to the venues are still seeing numbers in the 100,000+ count.
To Ginn Racing with Mark Martin as they were absorbed by DEI and now Mark Martin will be driving for DEI.
To leaded fuel as NASCAR is now running unleaded fuel in all it's main series.
ON THE FLIP SIDE, we can say Hello to :
The 88 car changing teams and a new driver of some recognition.
To the Chevrolet Impala SS for 2008 Cup competition.
To Nationwide sponsoring the secondary series.
Busch stopped sponsoring the secondary series due to proposed fee increases which started the search for a new sponsor. Withno one biting at the fees that NASCAR wanted, and with a silent slap in the face, Nationwide is now paying less than Busch was.
To Toyota competing in Cup, who's infamous start with Michael Waltrip Racing definitely got it's name in the media.
To a new team, Michael Waltrip Racing. Again, got it's name in the media with the 2007 Daytona 500.
To new drivers from different series and countries.
Juan Montoya, Canadians Jacques Villeneuve and Patrick Carpentier, and next season Scotsman Dario Franchitti will be in a car.
To NASCAR meeting with General Motors to talk about alternative fuels for the sport. We just went unleaded, and now we talking ethanol fuels.
OTHER THINGS OF NOTE:
Petty Enterprises move to Mooresville, NC.
Kyle Busch leave HMS and move to Joe Gibbs Racing for 2008.
M&M's move to Joe Gibbs Racing to Sponsor Kyle Busch in 2008.
The legal battle of the sponsors within the Cup series but not goodbye to anyone...
NEXTEL vs AT&T. Sunoco vs Shell.
We saw Canada accept the Busch Series with open arms, while New York dissed us.
Was there something else?
Tap tap tap.. hmm, oh yea! A little bit of driver news that not only made NASCAR history, but sports history as a whole:
Dale Earnhardt Jr saying goodbye to DEI.
DEI was the company that many have said his father started for him and Jr is now saying hello to Hendrick Motorsports. Though there was "No room at the Inn" as Rick Hendrick put it, Kyle Busch created room in the Inn with his behavior, paving the way for one of the biggest stories of this year.
We can say hello to the 88 at HMS because DEI made it difficult for HMS to "procure" the car number, 8, because "it's an integral part of DEI"… Gimme a break! The 8 was Jr.. and Jr was the 8. That's ok, he'll be twice as good with the 88!
With Jr leaving DEI, we get to say hello to Mountain Dew Amp Energy Drink and The National Guard as his sponsors for 2008 and Budweiser left DEI.
We can say hello to massive irony, as Dale Jr. left DEI, DEI started creating an improved engine program (In theory, but don't ask Jr. about that.) buying new shop equipment, and buying other race teams.
With Jr going to HMS, he had to say goodbye to one of the most successful sponsor / athlete relationships we've ever seen, period, with Budweiser.
Yet, Budweiser can now say hello to Kasey Kahne... At least the colors shouldn't change too much for Kasey!
Side note: Someone once told me that Budweiser could stand for: But U Deserve What Every Individual Should Expect Regularly.
Recap:
Who'd a thunk: Unleaded fuel, Budweiser with Kahne, Jr. with Hendrick, Toyota in Cup, Frenchmen, Canadians, Corn fuel?
Now that's a chunk of change.
Some Hello's and Some Goodbye's
If there is one thing that is constant, it's change. And anyone who gets acclimated to something hoping for no change, literally hopes for stagnation that can kill a sport. Without change, new fans are not generated, new advertising money is not attracted and TV coverage is added, or continued. That's just something we have to keep in mind.
With the 2007 season in the books, we saw some serious change this year.
We said GOODBYE to:
The 25 car being on the track.
The Hendrick 25 car was first seen in the 1986 Daytona 500 with Tim Richmond and has had 11 different drivers, including Rick Hendrick himself.
To the Chevy Monte Carlo.
It came into NASCAR Cup competition in 1971 and 2007 was it's final year in Cup. We will still see it in the secondary series.
To Anheuser-Busch as the secondary series sponsor of many years.
To Joe Gibbs Racing Association with Chevy as they move to Toyota.
RIP to Benny Parsons, Bobby Hamilton and Bill France, just to name a few.
To the name, NEXTEL Cup, and hello to their new parent company name, SPRINT.
Sprint Cup.. it's just doesn't have the right "ring" to it.. no pun intended.
To this era's body style as the 2008 Sprint Cup Series will be the first full year of the Car of Tomorrow. COT.
That name has got to change, because tomorrow is here.
To simple race team names and hello to corporate team names.
2007 saw teams needing help with the costs of doing business. Roush Racing became Roush Fenway Racing, Evernham Motorsports became Gillett Evernham Motorsports and several other teams are working on similar deals as NASCAR is slowly turning into corporate America battling on the tracks.
To the statement that NASCAR is the fastest growing sport in the U.S..
Ratings have stopped climbing and I think people are getting tired of 3 to 4 hour shows and the crazy costs of going to races, though attendance to the venues are still seeing numbers in the 100,000+ count.
To Ginn Racing with Mark Martin as they were absorbed by DEI and now Mark Martin will be driving for DEI.
To leaded fuel as NASCAR is now running unleaded fuel in all it's main series.
ON THE FLIP SIDE, we can say Hello to :
The 88 car changing teams and a new driver of some recognition.
To the Chevrolet Impala SS for 2008 Cup competition.
To Nationwide sponsoring the secondary series.
Busch stopped sponsoring the secondary series due to proposed fee increases which started the search for a new sponsor. Withno one biting at the fees that NASCAR wanted, and with a silent slap in the face, Nationwide is now paying less than Busch was.
To Toyota competing in Cup, who's infamous start with Michael Waltrip Racing definitely got it's name in the media.
To a new team, Michael Waltrip Racing. Again, got it's name in the media with the 2007 Daytona 500.
To new drivers from different series and countries.
Juan Montoya, Canadians Jacques Villeneuve and Patrick Carpentier, and next season Scotsman Dario Franchitti will be in a car.
To NASCAR meeting with General Motors to talk about alternative fuels for the sport. We just went unleaded, and now we talking ethanol fuels.
OTHER THINGS OF NOTE:
Petty Enterprises move to Mooresville, NC.
Kyle Busch leave HMS and move to Joe Gibbs Racing for 2008.
M&M's move to Joe Gibbs Racing to Sponsor Kyle Busch in 2008.
The legal battle of the sponsors within the Cup series but not goodbye to anyone...
NEXTEL vs AT&T. Sunoco vs Shell.
We saw Canada accept the Busch Series with open arms, while New York dissed us.
Was there something else?
Tap tap tap.. hmm, oh yea! A little bit of driver news that not only made NASCAR history, but sports history as a whole:
Dale Earnhardt Jr saying goodbye to DEI.
DEI was the company that many have said his father started for him and Jr is now saying hello to Hendrick Motorsports. Though there was "No room at the Inn" as Rick Hendrick put it, Kyle Busch created room in the Inn with his behavior, paving the way for one of the biggest stories of this year.
We can say hello to the 88 at HMS because DEI made it difficult for HMS to "procure" the car number, 8, because "it's an integral part of DEI"… Gimme a break! The 8 was Jr.. and Jr was the 8. That's ok, he'll be twice as good with the 88!
With Jr leaving DEI, we get to say hello to Mountain Dew Amp Energy Drink and The National Guard as his sponsors for 2008 and Budweiser left DEI.
We can say hello to massive irony, as Dale Jr. left DEI, DEI started creating an improved engine program (In theory, but don't ask Jr. about that.) buying new shop equipment, and buying other race teams.
With Jr going to HMS, he had to say goodbye to one of the most successful sponsor / athlete relationships we've ever seen, period, with Budweiser.
Yet, Budweiser can now say hello to Kasey Kahne... At least the colors shouldn't change too much for Kasey!
Side note: Someone once told me that Budweiser could stand for: But U Deserve What Every Individual Should Expect Regularly.
Recap:
Who'd a thunk: Unleaded fuel, Budweiser with Kahne, Jr. with Hendrick, Toyota in Cup, Frenchmen, Canadians, Corn fuel?
Now that's a chunk of change.
Tuesday, December 4, 2007
NASCAR Victory Lap in Jeopardy
In what I think is one of the coolest things NASCAR does, the victory lap through New York streets seems to be in jeopardy because it caused a gridlock scenario that upset the mayor as he promised to find out who is repsonsible for authorizing this event on the same day that they light the Christmas tree in Rockeffeller Plaza. tsk tsk. It's only 10 cars, what's the problem people!!??
The rest of the article at Sporting News has some interesting things to look over in the bottom half!
The rest of the article at Sporting News has some interesting things to look over in the bottom half!
Truck Series Sponsorship Wanted!
Winston is gone and NEXTEL is changing it's name. The Busch series is becoming the Nationwide series.Now the Truck Series is going to be looking for a new sponsor for the 2009 series as Craftsman is departing it's long association with the trucks.
The truck series is some of the best racing there is, as the season championship has been determined in the final race of the year in 12 of 13 seasons — including 2007. That's without having to muck with their points system to make it close!
Craftsman has been the sponsor of the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series since its inception in 1995.
See details at FoxSports
Though He's a Billionaire!
Bonds to help pay for speedway incentives
By ADAM BELL AND JEFFERSON GEORGE, The Charlotte Observer
A week after billionaire Bruton Smith officially announced he would keep Lowe's Motor Speedway in Concord, new details are emerging about how local leaders hope to pay for the $80 million incentives package offered to keep him there.
What's in: local bonds and possible increases in the Cabarrus County sales tax.
What's out: a special tax district.
(It's not like Smith needs the help, but was this noisy ploy to move the track just a bait to get the local economy to pay for his own upgrades? Eesh! )
Hornish now in NASCAR but
Sam Hornish Jr., the 28-year-old American, who is the most successful driver in the history of the championship with three titles and 19 wins - including last year's Indy 500 -, is leaving single-seaters to race full-time in NASCAR next season.
When asked if he would ever return to IndyCar's Hornish said: "I sure hope so.
"I hope they move the schedule so that somebody could do it. That's my goal. If I never ran in the Indy 500 again or an IndyCar Series race I would probably say I would be disappointed about that."
Details of the article are over at eurosport.yahoo
As I think about this, it seems like he's being pushed into NASCAR. Hornish hasn't done well in any of the NASCAR series he's attempted, and yet we keep seeing him looking to make the field. Is Penske pushing him where he doesn't want to be? (Can we say Ganassi?) I feel a bit stronger now that I've seen Hornish's public statement about hoping to run in the IndyCar Series again.
When asked if he would ever return to IndyCar's Hornish said: "I sure hope so.
"I hope they move the schedule so that somebody could do it. That's my goal. If I never ran in the Indy 500 again or an IndyCar Series race I would probably say I would be disappointed about that."
Details of the article are over at eurosport.yahoo
As I think about this, it seems like he's being pushed into NASCAR. Hornish hasn't done well in any of the NASCAR series he's attempted, and yet we keep seeing him looking to make the field. Is Penske pushing him where he doesn't want to be? (Can we say Ganassi?) I feel a bit stronger now that I've seen Hornish's public statement about hoping to run in the IndyCar Series again.
Saturday, December 1, 2007
Indy 500 Champs in the Field!
When Sam Hornish, Juan Montoya and Jacques Villeneuve qualified for the Checker Auto Parts 500 at Phoenix, we had 3, count them, 3 Indianapolis 500 winners in the field.
But did you know this wasn't the first time a NASCAR field had such a distinguished collection of guests in the starting field.
October 1976:
The National 500 at Charlotte Motor Speedway [now Lowe's Motor Speedway].
Johnny Rutherford, A.J. Foyt & Gordon Johncock.
January 1964:
The Motor Trend 500 at Riverside [road course].
There were four Indy 500 winners in the field:
Troy Ruttman, A.J. Foyt, Parnelli Jones & Rodger Ward.
I just thought you'd be interested in knowing this tidbit!
(Researched at racing-reference.info)
But did you know this wasn't the first time a NASCAR field had such a distinguished collection of guests in the starting field.
October 1976:
The National 500 at Charlotte Motor Speedway [now Lowe's Motor Speedway].
Johnny Rutherford, A.J. Foyt & Gordon Johncock.
January 1964:
The Motor Trend 500 at Riverside [road course].
There were four Indy 500 winners in the field:
Troy Ruttman, A.J. Foyt, Parnelli Jones & Rodger Ward.
I just thought you'd be interested in knowing this tidbit!
(Researched at racing-reference.info)
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