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♦ FRIDAY, JUNE 3, 2005
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A// times Eastern
Nextel Cup
MBNA 400, *"^ A
12:30 p.m.. Sunday
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MBNA 200, MrA
1 p.m„ Saturday
Truck Series
MBNA 200. 0777777
4:30 p.m., Friday
ISSUES
► This is the most crash-filled
season in NASCAR history, and
it's not even close. Last year
had broken existing records, and
this year caution flags are up by
about 40 percent.
► The Coca-Cola 600 had more
caution periods, 22, than any
event in NASCAR history. The
2004 race had seven.
► it was a night of fratricide, with
one example after another of
one teammate taking out anoth
er. The most notable was Dale
Earnhardt Jr. wrecking himself
and Michael Waltrip, but Casey
Mears inadvertently took out
Sterling Marlin, and Brian Vick
ers touched off a wreck that
gobbled up Jeff Gordon.
► Mark Martin was right when he
said the Coca-Cola 600 would
be a long night of “short
squirts," wasn’t he? Trying to
win a race by setting up a car to
excel on “long runs’ is a losing
proposition these days.
► Steve Hmiel probably isn’t go
ing to be the long-term answer
for Dale Earnhardt Jr. as crew
chief. At this stage in his career.
Hmiel would probably prefer to
be an administrator at DEI. So
who’s next? Maybe Casey
Mears' crew chief. Jimmy
Elledge, who just happens to be
Earnhardt Jr.’s brother-in-law.
► The 600 week was particularly
devastating for Jason Leffler
and Bobby Hamilton Jr., both of
whom failed to make the field
after qualifying for the season's
first 11 races.
► Carl Edwards was apologetic,
as usual, when his hard racing
ticked off Dale Jarrett. He’s ex
tremely talented, and eventually
he'll learn to harness his abili
ties.
► How about Ken Schrader finish
ing ninth on his 50th birthday?
That's two top-10 finishes in the
last four races for NASCAR's old
est regular.
► Busch Series champion Martin
Truex Jr. finished seventh, by far
his best Cup finish.
rTOPIOtNPOtNTSj
Nextel Cup
1. Jimmie Johnson 1,747
2. Greg Biffle -71
3. Elliott Sadler -205
4. Ryan Newman - 217
5. Jeff Gordon - 231
6. Tony Stewart - 259
% Kevin Harvick - 262
8. Carl Edwards - 288
9. Jamie McMurray - 296
10. Kurt Busch - 306
Busch Series
a- Carl Edwards 1,855
2. Clint Bowyer -171
3. Reed Sorenson -174
4» Martin Truex Jr. - 230
5. Ashton Lewis - 278
6. Kenny Wallace - 293
7. Greg Biffle -311
8. David Stremme - 327
9. Denny Hamlin - 328
—
10. Kevin Harvick -444
Craftsman Truck Series
JL Ted Musgrave I^oßß
2. Bobby Hamilton -.41
3. Ricky Craven -59
4. Jimmy Spencer -95
8. Dennis Setter -148
6. Ron Hornaday -158
T. Johnny Benson -191
8. Matt Crafton - 208
fodd Bodine -225
10. Jack Sprague - 230
Sports Fanatic Plus
Lochlyn Plaza
1240 S. Houston Lake Rd.
Warner Robins, GA
478.988.3686
NEXTEL CUP SERtES
Race: MBNA 400
Where: Dover (Del.) Interna
tional Speedway (1.0 miles),
400 laps/miles.
When: Sunday, June 5
Last year's winner: Mark
Martin
Qualifying record: Jeremy
Mayfield, Dodge, 161.522
mph, June 4, 2004.
Race record: Mark Martin.
Ford, 132.719 mph, Sept.
21,1997.
Last week: Face it. Jimmie
Johnson’s just hard to beat
... and it’s unwise to count
him out. Johnson's won his
share of races by being utter
ly dominant, but in the chaot
ic Coca-Cola 600 at Lowe’s
Motor Speedway, he literally
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Andrea Kjerrumgaard/NASCAR This Week
Steve Hmiel, center, the new crew chief for Dale Earnhardt Jr., right, talks strategy in the garage area during qualifying for the Coca-Cola
600 at Lowe’s Motor Speedway near Charlotte, N.C.
Peace Hmiel
Rondeau out, Hmiel in as part of contentious DEI shakeup
By Monte Dutton
NASCAR This Week
CONCORD, N.C. Whoever looked
at what happened in the off-season at
Dale Earnhardt Inc. without wonder
ing, at least briefly ... what’s the deal?
Citing “a lack of chemistry,” the
Vice President of Motorsports, Richie
Gilmore, switched one team with the
other. All the Chevrolets registered to
the Dale Earnhardt Jr. domain were
rolled over to the Michael Waltrip do
main, and vice-versa. The personnel
switched places. They even swapped
their scanner frequencies.
For 11 races, Earnhardt Jr. kept say
ing there were bound to be a few grow
ing pains and that he thought the world
of his new crew chief, Pete Rondeau,
and that good times were coming.
Nothing like a vote of confidence,
particularly one that is repeated al
most every week.
Rondeau’s out, and guess what
Gilmore had to say about it? “... there
Who’s Your Daddy? ...He's the One Who Has A Special Day Coming
NASCAR Items Available NOW... In Your Favorite Teams
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Flags, Banners, Car Flags, Hats, Shirts, Canopies
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► If you have a question or a comment, write: NASCAR This Week, c/o The Gaston Gazette, PO. Box 1893, Gastonia, NC 28053
waited for the field to come
back to him. “I was lucky to
be in the right place at the
right time," he said. But then
Johnson pounced, not with
reckless abandon but with
cool calculation. He placed
his Chevrolet in position to
pass Bobby Labonte in each
of the final three laps. Twice
Labonte, his hapless prey,
managed to block him at the
start-finish line. On the final
lap, though, Johnson got the
nose of his Chevy alongside
Labonte's, and this time,
Johnson would not be de
nied. He won by .027 of a
second, marking his third
straight victory in NASCAR’s
longest race.
SPORTS
r BUSCH SERIES
Race: MBNA 200
Where: Dover (Del.) Interna
tional Speedway (1.0 miles),
200 laps/miles.
When: Saturday, June 4
Last year's winner: Greg Bif
fle
Qualifying record: David
Green, Chevrolet, 157.915
mph, 2003.
Race record: Dale Earnhardt
Jr., Chevrolet, 130.512 mph,
May 30,1998.
Last week: Kyle Busch, in a
Chevy, won the Carquest
300 at Lowe's Motor Speed
way.
IfM THE SPOTLIGHT
Nextel Cup Series No. 8 Budweiser Chevrolet
wasn’t enough chemistry there ...”
They made the swap because of
chemistry, and they undid it because
of chemistry. What is this chemistry?
Apparently it’s not unlike the high
school class that unwittingly stumbles
upon the formula for gunpowder.
“Me and Pete were real, real good
friends, still are great friends. I
thought a lot of him and we got along
really well, but we didn’t really click
on the radio on Sunday,” said Earn
hardt Jr. “During practice, we strug
gled a little bit, and, so, I want to find
somebody who is a good match for me
as far as my terminology or whatever
it takes where we can get our cars
where we’re running fast.”
DEI took a team (i.e., Junior’s) that
finished fifth in the 2004 Nextel Cup
points standings and swapped it with
the team that finished 20™ The better
team got worse and the worse team
got better.
So now Steve Hmiel, a distinguished
crew chief with decades of experience,
E AT : s',:;', ■ - 1
Race: MBNA 200
Where: Dover (Del.) Interna
tional Speedway (1.0 mile),
200 laps/miles.
When: Friday, June 3
Last year’s winner: Chad
Chaffin
Qualifying record: Carl Ed
wards, Ford, 152.892 mph,
June 1,2004.
Race record: Ted Musgrave,
Dodge, 104.545 mph, May
31, 2002.
Last race: Kyle Busch, in a
Chevy, won the Quaker Steak
& Lube 200 at Lowe's Motor
Speedway.
is being put in the breach. He was the
technical director, which isn’t as im
portant as vice president of motor
sports, but it’s up there. Now he gets to
be the lefty in from the pen, summoned
to pitch his way out of a jam.
“They had a different methodology
than how I would’ve done things,” said
Hmiel. “I want it to be an open book.
... I want the two teams to use all their
assets to work together.”
Since that sounded a little like
Hmiel was a political candidate saying
he was against crime and the other
guy was for it, he quickly added, “Pete
wasn’t against that. It just wasn’t
where we were as a company.”
Earnhardt Jr. then shared where he
wanted them to be as a company.
“I feel like this company is on the
brink of being a full success,” he said
humbly. “We’ve never really had a
grasp of being a dominant team. That’s
always been just around the corner
from going to all the tracks and having
a good-driving car every week.”
THE HOUSTON HOME JOURNAL
THIS WEEK
i mx
MBNA 400
June 5
B SS
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Distance: 1 mite owl
Length of frontstretch:, ...1,076 ft. j
Length of backsbetcb:. ...1,076 ft
Miles/Laps: 400 mi. - 400 laps
Bankirqj in
straights
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DOVER DATA
MBNA 400
Sept 25
: EUD OF THE WEEK
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s
Dale
Earnhardt Jr.
Dale Earnhardt Jr.
vs. Michael Waltrip
Junior touched off a huge wreck
by spinning out his teammate. He
said it wasn’t intentional, but it hap
pened, and it was obvious afterward
that Waltrip was none too pleased.
He compared it to the end of the
Nextel Open, when Brian Vickers
seemed to shove Mike Bliss's car
out of the way on the final lap.
NASCAR This Week’s Monte
Dutton gives his take: ‘lt certainly
wasn’t intentional. Dale Earnhardt Jr.
obviously didn't mean to wreck Wal
trip, or himself, for that matter. It was
another frustrating for Earnhardt, and
the pressure isn’t going to let up any
time soon considering team up
heavals and the struggle of climbing
back into the points race.”
[ FAN TIPS J
Schrader's dirt track will
host NASCAR stars
On Aug. 3, at the track he owns
in Pevely, Mo., Ken Schrader will hold
his third “Night of Stars” at 1-55
Raceway. Dale Earnhardt Jr., Kyle Pet
ty, Kenny Wallace, Martin Truex Jr.
and others will join Schrader in a 10-
lap Dirt Modified shootout on
Schrader's 1/8-mile track, as well as
an autograph session, with all pro
ceeds going to the Victory Junction
Gang Camp in Randleman, N.C. For
more information go to www.issrace
way.com or call (636) 479-3219.
LEGENDS AND LORE 1
Winning the 600 often
jumpstarts a career
The Coca-Cola 600 has been a
great predictor of success for drivers
whose first victory occurred in
NASCAR's longest race. In 1961, it
was the site of the great David Pear
son's first victory, but more recently,
Jeff Gordon, Bobby Labonte and Matt
Kenseth scored career firsts in the
600.
• YOUR TURN (
' LETTERS FROM OUR READERS ,
Martin the kind of racer
others should admire
Watching Mark Martin win (the
Nextel All-Star Challenge) last night
made me feel so good about
NASCAR again. Why? Because we
saw a man who really exemplifies all
we should want in a professional ath
lete. He's had to overcome an awful
lot in his life to make it to this point
and I think it’s great that he's going
to retire while still at the top of his
game. He could make money driving
that car around the track every week,
just picking up points and sponsor
ships. But he has too much pride to
be anything other than the best he
can be. We should all admire that
kind of sprit.
Jack Baxter
Benton, Ark.
wr
Banking in
I turns 1-4
Michael
Waltrip