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HOUSTON DAILY JOURNAL #iV ■ mm m mJKjft/lLm ML ml M Jv m / "**■ i i jjo ■■ a ft % m m m, a*™ ..., _£, ■ m m 1 PUBIOUS - achievements Here is our weekly selection of bloopers, inconsistencies, in decipherable remarks, fractured moments and maniacal deci sions from the past season. Loopy data NASCAR signed with a com pany called Stats LLC, the idea being to provide new. improved statistical categories for the sport. What emerged were stats that verged on the ridiculous. Using “loop data." each week NASCAR hyped packages that, for instance, revealed there had been more than 2,600 "passes" in a Craftsman Truck Series race at Daytona. Among those passes were first-place cars passing lapped cars, not to mention the multiple free passes involved in the "lucky dog rule." Such a "beneficiary” would pass a hefty portion of the field. Drivers were rated in such arcane categories as Fastest Driver Early in a Run, Fastest Driver by Straightaway, Fastest Driver by Turn Number, Speed in Traffic. Slowest in Traf fic, Green Passes and Green Times Passes. Sure, some of the data was useful, but much of it was al most impossible to understand. Good ol’ days Donnie Aliison recalled a sto ry involving Joe Frasson, a Min nesotan who came south to race in NASCAR for most of the 19705, and the great A.J. Foyt. According to Allison, he and Foyt were seated in a booth eat ing dinner. Frasson sat in anoth er booth behind Foyt, not know ing Foyt was there. Foyt over heard Frasson loudly proclaim that only a mechanical failure had prevented him from "wearing Foyt out" in a recent race. “A.J. turned around and set the record straight," recalled Alli son. “He said to Frasson, ‘Joe, if you could drive as fast as me, you'd catch pneumonia.' That pretty much shut Frasson up.” Natives restless Dale Earnhardt Jr. could've in stigated a riot after the UAW-Ford 500 at Talladega, where Brian Vickers won after wrecking him and Jimmie Johnson on the final lap. To borrow the terminology of the Iraq War, by opting not to en courage sectarian violence. Earn hardt played a role in averting civil war. “The ‘2s’ (Vickers) turned him (Johnson) into me," said Earnhardt Jr., matter-of-factly. "I'm not that upset. I'm happy Brian (Vickers) got his first win, and knowing him, I'm sure he feels bad.” “We all know there's a heavi ly populated (Earnhardt) Junior audience at this track,” said Vickers, "and I definitely didn't expect them to take it easy on me." Ttfvia time Questions 1. Where did Lee Petty win his first (now) Cup race? 2. Where did Richard Petty win his first (now) Cup race? 3. Where did Kyle Petty win his first Cup race? 4. Where did Bobby Allison win his first (now) Cup race? Answers 1. Pittsburgh. Pa. (1949) 2. Charlotte, N.C. (1960) 3. Richmond. Va. (1986) 4. Oxford, Maine (1966) L!z!!!^22£222«22*22222'^r*^*^* ■ “Sometimes we had to write notes to each other be cause you couldn't hear their lips move." Fox analyst Larry Mcßeynolds. at Bristol. ■ “The reason I went to Evernham is not how my car's going to run now. It's how we will run next year and the year after.” Elliott Sadler, after switching teams during the season. ■ "We're all human beings. We're not computers or ma chines. We're human beings with human emotions, and we all have tempers at some point. We all find ways to make up for it and make things right going down the road.” Tony Stewart ■ "No dust. Multi-groove rac ing. Done by 10:30.” Ken Schrader's three rules for run ning a local short track. ■ “Now that he's leading, it's going to be hard for Matt Kenseth to pick up many posi tions on pit road.” Fox analyst Larry Mcßeynolds ■ "Darlington is kind of like our Lambeau Field.” Matt Kenseth ► If you have a question or a comment, write: NASCAR This Week, c/o The Gaston Gazette, PO. Box 1538, Gastonia, NC 28053 Nextel Cup drivers ‘Buschwhack’ another awards banquet Kevin Harvick won his second Busch Series championship, and Richard Childress claimed his third as an owner. Those were the big win ners when the series' standouts were honored on Dec. 8 in an Awards Banquet held at the Grand Floridian Ballroom in Orlando, Fla. Also honored were the drivers who also fin ished in the top 10 in series points. They were, in order, Carl Edwards, Clint Bowyer, Denny Hamlin, JJ. Yeley, Paul Menard, Kyle Busch. Johnny Sauter, Greg Biffle and Reed Sorenson. Danny O’Quinn Jr. earned the Raybestos Rookie of the Year award and was honored, as was series veteran Kenny Wallace, who received a special award for his career achievements. "Racing with these guys teaches you disci pline on when you need to go hard and how to Tomorrow is Now 9 ‘Car ofTomorrow' another step back from ‘stock cars’ By Monte Dutton NASCAR This Week ■ The Car of Tomorrow will debut in 2007, though it won’t be used in all races until 2009. NASCAR has a lot rid ing on this completely new design, which has been praised for safety but criticized for its appearance. ■ The COT’s appearance is seen by many as yet another step in the dis tancing of so-called “stock cars” from their production equivalents. ■ Amazingly, two NASCAR stars were injured last week. Nextel Cup champion Jimmie Johnson broke his left wrist in get this a golfing acci dent. Greg Biffle suffered a dislocated shoulder when he crashed while testing tires at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. ■ Johnson's injury is mystifying. He claimed on Sunday That he was thrown from a golf cart when the driver took a sharp turn. But on Monday, his spokesperson confirmed a newspaper report that Johnson was, in fact, on top of the golf cart when it turned. It’s good to see Johnson is having a good time revelling in his championship. ■ There's little doubt that we’ll see a new championship format in Nextel Cup next season. But the dirty little se cret is that the current method is not inspiring fans to watch at.season’s end, which is the intent of the race-offs in the first place. ■ Former “RPM 2Nite” host John Kernan will host a regular NASCAR show on Sirius Satellite Radio, which has acquired rights to broadcast races this year in that medium. ■ Mexico’s Desafio Corona Series, the top stock-car series in that country will become the NASCAR Mexico Corona Series next year. ■ Michael Waltrip Racing has an nounced its crew chiefs. Matt Borland, Golf injury forces Johnson out of Paris competition By Monte Dutton NASCAR This Week Jimmie Johnson, who .won the Nextel Cup championship with nary a scratch, fractured his left wrist in a golfing acci dent and had to pull out of the Race of Champions, scheduled for Dec. 16 at Stade de France in Paris. Monday’s edition of The Cit rus County (Fla.) Chronicle, which had a reporter at the Black Diamond Ranch who wit nessed Johnson horsing around during the Mike Hampton Pitching In Celebrity tourna ment, detailed the accident. The newspaper said Johnson was sprawled across the top of the cart Friday as it headed to ward the 16th hole when his playing partner hit a berm, throwing Johnson several feet. Johnson was unavailable for comment Monday, but a spokeswoman for the driver confirmed he was on top of the cart when The Associated Press asked for clarification. “Jimmie was horsing around race somebody," said O'Quinn, a 21-year-old driver from Coeburn, Va. "There’s a lot you can pick up by watching these guys drive and being out there on the track with them." The championship crew chief was Shane Wilson. He. along with Menard and Sauter, took batting practice at The Ballpark of Disney's Wide World of Sports Complex, home of the At lanta Braves’ spring training camp. Chicago Cubs catcher Michael Barrett, a NASCAR fan. was on hand to give pointers. Childress and Bowyer took part in a fish ing trip held in conjunction with the banquet, while Yeley and Hamlin led a group in a nine hold golf scramble held at Osprey Ridge Golf Course, one of five courses at the Walt Dis ney World complex. ♦EtURNINO IB&UES' ML, xi \ \ \ && A iii \\ jsl m. « Sjar Es v WSL - Mil m formerly with Ryan Newman, will work with Dale Jarrett. Larry Carter will join David Reutimann’s No. 00, and David Hyder will join Waltrip's No. 55 Toyota. ■ David Starr finished fourth in the Craftsman Truck Series standings, but he’s out of a job at Red Horse Racing because his replacement, Aaron Fike, brought sponsorship to the team. ■ Truck Series champion Todd Bod ine didn’t earn a promotion to one of the major Toyota Cup teams, but he will compete in 15 races driving a Camry entered by his Germain Rac- r>NiJT&AiMeeoyrsl and was on top of the golf cart when he fell off,” spokes woman Kristine Curley said. “He wasn't trying to deceive anyone and is sorry if anyone believes he was being untruth ful.” The injury won’t affect his NASCAR career. Doctors treat ing Johnson said he could be cleared to drive again in four weeks. ■ And that’s not all Greg Biffle suffered a dislocated shoulder in a Las Vegas Motor Speedway tire-testing crash last week. Speeds were high at the track on the newly reconfig ured LVMS layout, with Chevrolet driver Kyle Busch exceeding 187 mph on a track where the existing track record is 174.904 mph, set by Kasey Kahne in 2004. Biffle said he thought quali fying speeds might reach 190 SPORTS " " • gymswTllßqr: • mph. Initially, it was thought he had only been shaken up in the crash. “I cut a right-front tire and made heavy contact with the wall,” he said. “As a result of the incident, I dislocated my shoulder and have been ad vised by my doctors to remain in Mooresville ... for further assessment of the injury.” Biffle hit the wall between turns one and two. The impact knocked the fuel pump loose and caused his Ford to burst into flames. LVMS now has graduated banking peaking at 20 de grees in the turns. “There are a lot of neat char acteristics to the track,” said Busch, a Las Vegas native. “It’s still pretty wide and a great racing surface. It’s wide enough that we’ll be able to run two and three wide. The transi tions from the corner to the straightaways and then the straightaways to the corners are awesome. It’s a great lay out.” ■ -CRAFTSMAN TRUCK! Todd Bodine waited years two decades to be exact to win a NASCAR national tour ing series championship. The 42-year-old Bod ine, of Chemung, N.Y., set a NASCAR Crafts man Truck Series single-season winnings record, earning $1,046,60 when his race win nings ($604,310) and other awards were to taled up. Bodine and the rest of the top 10 - in order, Johnny Benson, David Reutimann, David Starr, Jack Sprague, Ted Musgrave, Ron Hornaday, Ter ry Cook, Rick Crawford and Mike Skinner - earned recognition at the series' banquet, also held at the Grand Floridian Hotel at Walt Disney World, on Dec. 10. CIA Stock Photo ing team. ■ NASCAR has abandoned its Staten Island plans. Political opposition doomed plans to hold Nextel Cup races within the confines of the greater New York City area. ■ It’s pertinent to note, however, that the New York market has been served for many years by Pocono Raceway, the 2.5-mile track that is easily accessi ble. It’s less than a two-hour drive from Manhattan to Long Pond. Contact Monte Dutton at hmduttonso@aol.com Richert resurfaces Doug Richert, who served as crew chief when Biffle was runner up in the 2005 Cup standings, will move to Team Red Bull in 2007 to be Brian Vickers’ crew chief in the team’s Toyota en tries. “The Cup series has gotten so much more competitive these days,” said Richert, who was Dale Earnhardt’s crew chief for the first of his seven titles in 1980. “Starting from scratch is no easy task, but once the team gets some chem istry and momentum going, we’ll hopefully be able to do some exciting things.” “Doug has worked with prac tically a who’s who list of driv ers in this sport,” said Vickers, “and he knows what it takes to be consistently successful at this level.” ■ Impact athlete Kurt Busch, the 2004 Nextel Cup champion, presented Kyle Pet ty with a special Impact Ath lete Award at the Southern SATURDAY, DECEMBER 16, 2006 ♦ f THIS WEEK The championship team was headed by Bod ine, Germain Racing co-owners Bob, Steve and Rick Germain, and crew chief Mike Hillman Jr. The previous record for season earnings, $1,002,510, had been established in 2000 by Greg Biffle. For the first time in series history, 10 drivers won more than a half-million dollars during the season. Benson wound up second on the money list with $770,157 and was named Most Popular Driver, becoming the 11th different recipient of that award, which, in the Truck Se ries, is voted on by NASCAR's membership. The Raybestos Rookie of the Year was Erik Darnell, 23, of Beach Park, 111. Darnell is the fifth representative of Roush Racing to receive the award in the Truck Series. Monte Dutton Jimmie Johnson, the 2006 Nextel Cup champion, broke his wrist last weekend after falling from the top of a moving golf cart. Johnson originally said he was thrown from the seat of the cart, but a spokesperson for Johnson admitted he was 'horsing around.’ r- your thrnh L* LETTERS FROM -OUR READERS*] I just can’t afford to go to NASCAR races any more I am a 46-year-old father of two. ... I wanted to chime in on why I feel the ratings and attendance are down in the Nextel Cup events. First, and foremost, I can no longer afford to go alone, never mind bring the family, to a Nextel race. The ticket prices are outrageous, and the hotel rates are pure highway robbery. Even on the local scene, tickets for the Fall Finale at Stafford (Speedway) were going for $35 for an adult (while the purses have barely increased). I just can not justify spending that kind of money. As for the televised races, there is far too much commercial interrup tion. I really try to watch some of every event, but the commercials al ways seem to be interrupted by a single lap of racing. One other thing. The TV announc ers are not that good. Too much “Hollywood” and not enough nuts and bolts. The broadcasts are pro duced like a Broadway play. Cut to the chase and show us a good race. Man, think of the racing they could show us instead of “if the race were to end now, here's what the points standings would be.” I have rambled on long enough. ... Joe Friscia Torrington, Conn. Thanks for letting us know how you feel. We hear a lot from fans who have grown disillusioned by “the new NASCAR: Don’t pay attention to the points until the end With seven laps to go in the Dickies 500 at Texas, Kasey Kahne was seventh in the points, 168 ... back. Then he blew a motor. With three laps to go, Kahne was 10th in the points, 290 back. I understand he got docked points (for) not finishing the race, but why over 100 points? Raquel Sharp Lucas, Kan. First of all, contrary to what TV would have you believe, points aren 't actually awarded until the end of the race. We think the practice of show ing the points lap by lap is silly and just plain wrong. Points are based on position at the finish, and Kahne's misfortune cost him positions that re sulted in the loss of that many points. We'll do our best to select the best letters to the editor each week. Send them to: NASCAR This Week The Gaston Gazette PO. Box 1538 Gastonia, N.C. 28053 Sports Awards, a ceremony held at Davidson (N.C.) Col lege. “Kyle Petty personifies not only the best sports has to of fer, but is a true superstar in the game of life,” said Busch. “Far too seldom is professional greatness ever surpassed or even matched off the field of play, but that is certainly not the case with Kyle (Petty). “The efforts of Kyle and Pat tie Petty in their creation and operation df the Victory Junc tion Gang Camp have allowed children suffering from chron ic and life-threatening illness to be treated to a true camp ex perience in a medically sound environment. In other words, they have given these children a chance to put their cares aside for a while and just be kids.” The Kurt Busch Foundation announced in May 2006 it was donating $1 million to create a 28,000-square-foot, climate controlled athletic facility at the 72-acre camp, located in the Piedmont Triad of North Carolina. 5B