Russian Roulette at the Vegas Bullring: R.I.P. Dan Wheldon

The entire racing world grieves with the Indycar Racing Series and Wheldon family over the tragic loss of driver Dan Wheldon in the horrific 15 car wreck that claimed his life on Sunday, October 16th.  Without a doubt, racing is dangerous under normal circumstances but it's even worst under the most precarious! Regardless of the need for ratings, "a great show"  or whatever reasoning comes together to consider precarious conditions, the utmost safety of everyone involved should prevail.

Ironically, Dan had spent a good deal of his "off time" without a ride this past year working on the new design that the Indycar Racing Series will debut next year. Wheldon had joked about being the "crash test dummy" for the new design all year but stated that the safety improvements were significant.

Las Vegas isn't called the "bullring" without good cause and precarious was an  understatement for Sunday's race with Indycar. Despite the concerns expressed by many drivers over the high speeds in excess of 225mph, and the potential for more aggressive driving too early on in the race, the race proceeded as usual only to end early in tragic chaos by Lap 13. Several drivers had expressed major concerns before the race began.

According to Oriol Servia, he said, "We all had a bad feeling about this place in particular just because of the high banking and how easy it was to go flat. And if you give us the opportunity, we are drivers, and we try to go to the front. We race each other hard because that's what we do. We knew it could happen, but it's just really sad."

And their worst fears came to pass quickly. On Lap 11, as one car got loose and squirreled into the path of another car, the unrecoverable chain reactions began the chain of events that would result in a melee disaster the likes of which Indycar hadn't seen in many years. "Big Ones" don't happen in Indycar like they do in NASCAR, but the "Big One" struck today like a shotgun blast and claimed 15 cars. Still with all the factors pre-staged in this race, it was like Russian Roulette because everyone knew something bad could happen, and so the one "bullet" (the "Big One" wreck) claimed the life of Dan Wheldon in it's aftermath on Lap 13.

Ryan Briscoe explained his view, "I'll tell you, I've never seen anything like it. The debris we all had to drive through the lap later, it looked like a war scene from Terminator or something. I mean, there were just pieces of metal and car on fire in the middle of the track with no car attached to it and just debris everywhere. So it was scary, and your first thoughts are hoping that no one is hurt because there's just stuff everywhere. Crazy."

With flaming debris flying everywhere, driver's described the track with dismay and horror at what they experienced. Danica Patrick gave her view. "It was like a movie scene which they try to make as gnarly as possible," said Patrick, who was making her final IndyCar start. "It was debris everywhere across the whole track. You could smell the smoke. You could see the billowing smoke on the back straight from the car. There was a chunk of fire that we were driving around. You could see cars scattered."

The race was red flagged and drivers just stood by their machines looking around at the nightmare scene as they realized several of their own were wrapped up in the wreckages. But, when the tarp covered the 77 car and the helicopter fired up to airlift Dan Wheldon out of the track, their worst fears were realized about one of their own. In the end, the race was capped with a tearful 5 lap salute to Wheldon by the drivers as teams stoodby on pitrow.  

 

Yet underlying all this was the gargantuan efforts of Indycar CEO, Randy Bernard  who strived to put this race on the map as a grand season finale. From renting the track to the $5 million dollar promotion for a driver to win the race from the last starting position that had been promoted all year long, Bernard worked out every detail to put on a great show. He even convinced the Las Vegas Strip to close in order to parade the cars in pre-race festivities, host a special Black Jack tournament and distirbute massive amounts of free tickets in order to insure a crowd to watch the Grand Finale of their schedule.  Desperately trying to revive sagging ratings, he even put his job on the line for it. Bernard had it all covered, including ABC-TV live coverage and promised the board for Indycar that he would tender his resignation if they didn't secure an .8 in the ratings.

Only Wheldon, who was without a ride for the season but slated to take Danica Patrick's next year when she vacated hers to move to NASCAR, had accepted the $5 million dollar promotional challenge. Naturally, Wheldon just wanted to race. As a racer, it's only natural that he wanted to be part of the bigger picture and part of a history making moment and challenge. After all, he WAS the Indy 500 winner, who could resist? As much as the media hyped about the "money deal," with racers, it's never all about the money.

Farewell STOCKCARREVIEW.COM! Thank you Matt!

Farewell STOCKCARREVIEW.COM!

It has been my honor to be associated with and writing for you for all this time. Thank you for a great run!

The following editorials were from SCR and are posted here for preservation.

From 3/17/2011... Is it economy or the sport? Bristol Won't Sell Out (and didn't).

The economy appears to be taking it's toll on the auto racing world, particularly on NASCAR, as seen with this Sunday's race at Bristol. At a track that normally enjoys sellout crowds, it will not sell out this Sunday's Cup race. High gas prices to travel, paycuts hitting almost every home's pocketbook and in general higher costs of living across the country without an increase in income all in the midst of extremely shaky world events, seem to be affecting ticket sales.

 

Bristol Motor Speedway's string of 55 consecutive sellouts ceased last spring when attendance fell to an estimated 138,000 for the Food City 500, per NASCAR. The speedway seats 160,000, but barely fell short of a sellout for last August's night race despite a crowd estimated to be at 155,000.

Jerry Caldwell, who is president and general manager at Bristol said BMS is still dealing with a sluggish economy that has adversely affected the ability of long-time season ticket holders to renew their packages and attend Bristol's two races every year. And given a choice, both he and Bruton Smith, who is Chairman and CEO of Speedway Motorsports, admitted that fans tend to choose the August night race over the spring Sunday afternoon event.

Caldwell stated, "I'm really encouraged. Ticket sales are strong. We are slightly down from where we were last year. Year over year, from Jan. 1 to today, we're up. But we're still down with the after-effects of that economy -- especially at the end of last year, last August, September, October when we did our [season-ticket] renewals. The things we hear from the race fans continue to play out. They still want to come to the races and they still love Bristol. They may have their job, but they're still very cautious with their money -- so they're probably going to come to one event and not two. Ticket sales are playing out that way."

But Bruton Smith disagrees. He continued to profess his belief that, "There has been too much of this points racing. I have found that it turns fans off," Smith said. "They want someone who is battling to win. Winning, really in any sport, is everything. It's out front and it's all there is. I would like to take half of the money from the points fund and give it to the winners of the races. I'd like to see a $300,000 to $400,000 difference between first and second place. That would get the drivers' attention and you know the fans would love it." Smith also felt that with the renewed success of Dale Earnhardt Jr., Jeff Gordon back in victory lane and Danica Patrick making a splash in the sport, that fans will still come out to the races moreso if it's for wins and not so much points racing. The success of these particular drivers were helping but tbey could still do move he said.

I find it interesting that the general manager of his speedway believes the economy is affecting the ticket sales, but the CEO beleieves it's the sport itself and how it plays out for the victory in the end. Is this a 'blame game' or are both are somewhat right? If the speedway can blame the sport for not doing enough, they are releived of any responsibility for making the track, race, ticket prices and facilities, more attractive or accomodating to the fans. Seriously, what family with more than 2 children can afford to attend araie So which one has the most affect? Both affect the bottom line of the actual business of the sport and that's to sell tickets! While Brian France has gone on record to say he couldn't be more pleased with the turn out of this season, shouldn't he wait til at least Daytona in July to declare success or not?

The Bristol Motor Speedway guarantees one thing: excitement. After Daytona with it's incredible speeds, duel drafts, new rule engine failures and mega-wrecks kicking off the season with a fairy tale finish for Trevor Bayne, and Phoenix and Las Vegas in between as the usual mile and half tracks, everyone looks forward to Bristol. Bristol is where everything goes because everything can and everyone has a chance. For those who've been behind the eight ball already this season, Bristol can help them make up a lot of ground because it's their kind of track!

So, is it economy or the sport? Does it matter? Race fans have priorities, and though the economy is surely crunching our common sense, somehow we find a way to the races. Maybe not as many as we want to, but we find a way. If NASCAR really wants to boost the sport, forget about points racing, forget about fancy marketing ploys and deals, forget about getting the most the market will bear and make it affordable for families to go who have children they want to take to a live race. Have family sections that will be the best ticket prices for families only so a family of 4-6-8 could afford to come! Keep the sections family oriented and family friendly. Now, there's an idea that would fly in the face of any economy.

Homestead: Solid, Good Old Racing and History Making Season Finales!

Good solid racing in the Nationwide division is what is attracting more and more fans to watch, even if it is full of Sprint Cup racers too. Saturday's season finale in the Nationwide division was no different but did provide fans with the Kyle & Kevin show much akin to the Dale & Dale shows fans enjoyed in years gone by in the Cup division. Vying for the front spot, fans watched as the two drivers playing chase with each other throughout the night. At one point, Harvick had finally succeeded in finally gaining ground on Busch only to hear his spotter tell him a caution was out, to which Harvick dryly replied, "That's not good." And it wasn't,  as on the restart, Busch took the lead and never looked back all the way to victory lane. While the rest of the field provided moments of "wadded up" incidents, Danica Patrick & her crew chief Tony Eury Jr., confused many in her choice to stay out instead of pitting, thus making her first. The confusion came about because when it came time to start the race, she chose the inside line and promptly fell striaight back through the middle of the pack to 17th, never to reappear up front again. Wow, exactly what was up with that? 

Homestead has become the home of making history in NASCAR and this weekend will be no different. For the first time ever, NASCAR is enjoying the tightest race in the Chase between three drivers. And each driver brings a different point of making history in the sport to the field Sunday. Each driver has played a different game throughout the Chase too. Jimmie Johnson has stayed cool calm and collected maintaining tht he is not worried and what will be will be, even though it looked like a total melt down when crew chief Chad Knaus swapped out the beleaguered 48 pit crew for the sidelined 24 pit crew.  Denny Hamlin has been talking smack from the start. From accusing the RCR teams of being cheaters to smirking and claiming he'll win a race and then going it, Hamlin has been very much like the cat that swallowed the mouse but the tail is still hanging out of it's mouth.  On the other hand, Harvick is like the poker player with the sly smile, never showing his cards til the race end. Sometimes bluffing and then persistantly pulling off a half way decent hand out of nothing! But 3 specific things will happen Sunday:

1) Jimmie Johnson will be making history because if he wins, he will be the first five consecutive championships champion! Not only has Jeff Gordon been driving for five for over five years now, he’s never even come close to doing it consecutively! NO other driver has ever done this in the history of this sport. Granted the entire focus of Kevin Harvick and Denny Hamlin is to be sure that doesn’t happen but it very well could happen and everyone has seen Chad Knaus’ magic before so make no mistake, Jimmie Johnson has been quietly sneaking up on this championship all year. In which case, the 48 team will have made a mockery of the entire points and Chase system by virtue of their whole season. Whether it was their intention or not, or whether they admit it or not, they’ve learned a lot this season. All they had to do was charge out of the gate and slam out a few victories right off the bat early on in the season to secure those extra bonus points for wins for positioning in the Chase and then stay in the top twelve in points all season long. Hovering in the middle of the pack because, when the Chase hit, they would be number one by virtue of those victories if no one else matched their number of victories. It didn’t hold out for them with Hamlin around but they regained their throne quickly. So essentially it still boils down to winning and only winning. They’ve hit some misfortune though and it just might have backfired on them a little bit. But then again they could be playing cat and mouse with the sport because the media had pretty much made it clear that if Jimmie ran away with the championship in the Chase there would be a fan uproar! Well, what if Jimmie “let” the others play with the top spot until he gets to Homestead and then he’ll just take it anyway? It’s a huge risk but calculated it can work. He’s only 15 points out. A team of this caliber knows what they’re doing and I have no doubt in my mind that they can do it. Only this Sunday will tell. The big problem for Johnson and Knaus is that I believe they’ve underestimated the spirit and drive of the Joe Gibbs Racing and Richard Childress Racing Teams and the extreme drives of Denny Hamlin and Kevin Harvick. If those two mavericks have their way, Jimmie Johnson will be denied that championship in spades and all that shameless crew swapping will be for naught!

2) Denny Hamlin is making history with the Joe Gibbs Racing Team because of Toyota. They have worked long and hard to get their Cup program up strong and it took JGR and their engine department to do it in Sprint Cup racing. Toyota had trucks down pat and had already enjoyed a championship there, but finding the speed and making a championship run in Sprint Cup now solidifies Toyota completely in NASCAR much to the chagrin to the old timer fans of the sport. Neither Ford nor Chevy nor Dodge who are American icons will be able to sport the NASCAR championship if Denny Hamlin wins. I believe we can look to the future with Reutimann bringing MWR to the forefront with Toyota in the Chase which will surprise everyone but the caliber is there too. Toyota is here to stay and has proven themselves. A Championship will be a history making moment at Homestead in Sprint Cup this Sunday, if they aren’t denied by Johnson or Harvick in their Chevrolets. And this is where we finally have a real manufacturers battle. This may spark some fans interest or kill some of the old timers. Time will tell.

3) Kevin Harvick will be making history just being part of the closest Chase battle in history, and being the underdog coming back and possibly taking his championship despite a system practically designed to deny it. Harvick was the points leader most of the season, and then for the Chase has overcome one obstacle after another to stay in the fight. Like the way he came into this division, it’s been difficult. Harvick’s crew chief, Gil Martin is full of confidence going into Homestead, so much so that he’s taking the crew deep sea fishing out of Key West this week for some relaxation before the race. Martin commented on the smack talk between the Hamlin and Johnson camps, “One, I'm surprised that we have stayed out of it because we're usually in the middle of most of this kind of stuff," Martin said. "But secondly, I mean, I think it's kind of a waste of time to do a lot of smack talking with the 48. They have been in this position many times. They haven't been trailing going into Homestead [in previous championship seasons] -- but a team of that caliber, you're not going to do a lot of smack talking and bother them a whole lot. They're going to go down there focused with a mission, and I think a lot of that has the potential of backfiring on you."






As a writer, I am supposed to be objective and appreciate pretty much whatever comes along. I’ve had the most difficult time of my life doing that with the Chase and made no bones about it in the past in all my writing that I am not a fan of the Chase. I still am not. I believe the points system can be tweaked to properly reward competition so that racers can race to the finish every week of every race and honestly come up with the most points at the end of the season without sandbagging or strategizing themselves into some position that someone won’t like or think they manipulated themselves into. Even with the Chase, CONSISTENCY is still the key so the very thing that won Matt Kenseth the championship that started this whole shenanigan, AND has kept him in every single Chase but one since it’s inception is the very thing that has made this year’s Chase the most exciting and possibly historical of all time. And naturally, it will seal the Chase for everyone who’s a proponent, who can then say, “see, it really does make racing more exciting.” Still this system is too socialistic,  let the points reward the best. What sport rewards those who manage their points right and not those who win the most or work the hardest to get right?

Tony Stewart Visits Daytona... Another Track Owner's Viewpoint

(Daytona) On October 28, Tony Stewart visited Daytona to see how the repaving was coming along and help paint the beginning of the finish line. After taking a long drive around the speedway with Speedway President Joie Chitwood and North American Testing Company's Senior Director of Construction Bill Braniff. Stewart's excitement was downright palpable! Like a kid in a candy store, he was all grins from ear to ear talking about how wonderful everything looked and how smooth the track was. Tony stated that the racing here was going to be unbelievably exciting for the Daytona 500 and fans are not going to want to miss it! He predicted five wide, all out racing like we've never seen before. If Stewart's predictions are right, the racing for the 2011 Daytona 500 should be something we've never experienced before!

Then much to Stewart's delight, he was presented a core piece of the track from the finish line area, for a souvenir of the old track and it's glorious history. Stewart was thrilled, replying with, “As you grow up in racing and as the years go by, you learn the history where you go to and importance of the venues you go to,” Stewart said. “To think of the great champions that crossed over this piece of asphalt to win the biggest races of their career. Whether it was in the Rolex 24 Hour race, or the Daytona 500 or the Nationwide race, the Firecracker 400 even. Think of the great people that have crossed over the start/finish line. This is a piece of racing history that you can’t put a price tag on this.”

Stewart talked about the overall track conditions and how amazed he was at the progress and quality of the job. While talking about his drive around the track a Chevrolet Camaro, Stewart said, “I got to rip through 3 and 4 and it’s not the same race track. This place is going to have a totally new look and a totally new feel to the drivers and teams. It’s going to be a lot of fun. I can promise you that we are going to fill every square inch of this race track with cars now because we’re going to have that flexibility because this surface is going to be in such great shape when they get done with this last layer.”

When asked about winning the Daytona 500, Stewart replied,"I just have a problem with timing, I figured out how to do it on Saturday, I've just got to figure out how to do it on Sunday." Besides trying to figure out how to win the Daytona 500, Stewart is also working on his own track, Eldora and figuring out new ways to market and promote a small, dirt short track in the midwest during tough economic times. So, I asked Stewart if he could relate to this process more because he IS a track owner and he replied tht he could definitely relate more because of his own track, even though it's not an asphalt track. He just found this whole process fascinating. 

In the meantime, I found it fascinating that the young driver, who was so tempermental in our sport a few years ago, has developed into a former Champion, a track owner, and is now a Sprint Cup team owner as well as continuing driver duties full-time. One moment with Stewart's PR man, and asking him how Tony keeps up with his massive schedule of activity now, and he replied, "there's an army of people around him."  Without a doubt, our sport and Tony Stewart have come a long way! And if everything, everyone is saying comes to pass, the Daytona 500 for 2011 should be something else to watch!

"Have At It" Taking It's Toll- Just ask Jeff Gordon and Kyle Busch

Six races into the Chase and Jeff Burton's words rang true when he said the "intensity levels would be ratcheted up" during the Chase with this "Have At It" attitude. Just ask Kyle Busch and Jeff Gordon if it's affected their championship shots.  All season long, it's been pondered, if not spoken aloud, just how would this look if a Chaser gets delivered this attitude while driving for the championship. And NASCAR has set the stage all season long by just watching and then not delivering much more than a slap on the wrist for such attitudes on the track. When everyone epected Carl Edwards to get dealt a really heavy blow for taking out Brad Keselowski at Atlanta, NASCAR gave him a general penalty and probation. Carl referred to remembering he's on probation during Martinsville, which admittedly caused him to hesitate on messing with Juan Pablo Montoya a bit more than he did.

At Kansas, Kyle Busch started out in a good position to chase the championship but appeared to have had trouble with David Reutimann early on in the race and then found himself taken out by David Reutimann after Reutimann felt slighted by Kyle on the track. Naturally this turned out to be very bad news for a Chaser. It just happened that the "non-Chaser" (Reutimann) wasn't afraid to "have at it" with the Chaser (Busch). And in the long run in the big picture, it hurt Kyle a lot more than it hurt Reutimann. In fact, it probably benefitted Reutimann by virtue of the fact that he had the guts to mess with Kyle! Too often many fans figure anyone not in the Chase just let's the Chase driver go by, and this certainly proved that wasn't so. Three races later, Kyle Busch is finally back up to fourth place which puts him back in the hunt for the championship, albeit a longshot but closer than anyone else outside the top three.



Kurt Busch takes out Jeff Gordon at Martinsville (NASCAR)

 At Martinsville, Jeff Gordon watched his champsionship hopes fall away when he tangled with Kurt Busch. Gordon is more than 200 points down and sitting in 5th place, however, there have been stranger things to happen with Talladega looming next week. It's still possible to count Gordon from 5th place and even Edwards and Stewart in 6th and 7th respectively still in the Chase at this point. The big keys to Talladega for the general picture will be what NASCAR throws out there next week. For example, will there be a larger restrictor plate like the drivers got at Daytona in July?  Will the tire be as readily agreeable? Any other potential changes that NASCAR can dictate can change how the drivers all run together either in freight trains or in the dicey racing packs we've been enjoying the last couple times.

With the way Johnson, Hamlin and Harvick ran so close together throughout the race at Martinsville and haven't let themselves out of each others sight very much over the past six races, being caught up in a wreck together is very easily a possibility. Talladega's reputation is it's glory for being so famous for their incredibly nasty, big wrecks that everyone gleefully calls, the "big ones". One wreck could easily collect the top contenders and turn the points chase into a top seven Chase very quickly.

Headlines this week said nothing much would change from Martinsville. I disagree. A lot changed. Johnson, Hamlin and Harvick raced a smart race staying in contention of each other, but Hamlin tightened up the race and Harvick gained on both. Next, Kyle Busch and Carl Edwards both gained a position while Jeff Gordon and Tony Stewart both dropped a position. In the end, the Chase became more competitive as they roll into one of the most treacherous tracks of all: Talladega. Try as they might to race her smart, Dega has a mind of her own. Likewise, so do the other 31 drivers not involved in the Chase who at Talladega can be a winner too.  Talladega isn't about racing anymore, it's about surviving, after Talladega, THEN the Chase may be decided who's really in it.

Burton Admits Surprise by "Have At It" Attitude Effect on Season

[photo by Debbi Willis, AV/SCR]

Daytona, September 8, 2010- As the Chase looms on the horizon, Richard Childress Racing is poised to place all three drivers in the Chase in 2010 after an abysmal 2009 season that left everyone wondering what went wrong. The only race that usually rearranges the lineup, Richmond, stands before them and essentially only Clint Bowyer will be fighting to stay in the Chase. Jeff Burton visited Daytona to see how the repaving was going on behalf of his sponsor, Caterpillar and also participate in burying a time capsule with Daytona Speedway President, Joie Chitwood III.

[photo by Debbi Willis AV/SCR]

The twofold event involved fans gathered with the media for the burying of a time capsule on the frontstretch and a question and answer session with Burton. Joie Chitwood III welcomed everyone and explained what was in the capsule and how the capsule was designed to last the next hundred years. Fans asked Burton various questions, such as, "do you purposely hang in the back of the pack, then come to the front towards the end of the race?" and Burton responded with a smile, "no, not really" but went on to explain that he usually isn't doing what the announcers seem to think he is doing but it appears that way and it works out that way. He also noted that he doesn't watch the race he's raced until he's about to race there again. Another fan asked about concerns with multicar teams in the Chase such as RCR receiving "team orders". Burton assured them that no such orders exist in Richard Childress Racing because for their fans, their sponsors and with each driver, they feel it’s only fair they each race their own race. They share their information, but they don’t have "team orders" favoring one driver over another. On a humorous note, Chitwood interjected that this was not the “other side of the pond” and “that” racing series. Fans enjoyed volleying various questions back and forth to Burton until it was time for Burton to go drive the Caterpillar Motor Grader, a huge piece of equipment used to grade the surface in preparation for paving.

Musings in May about the Season

2010 is sure shaping up to be quite interesting! The usual suspects seem to have been hamstrung by the new spoiler while others have risen to the occasion and are enjoying the fruits of their labors! With headlines like "Harvick's points lead not likely to hold at Darlington"  and then it certainly did to the tune of 110 point spread, the season just isn't very predictable!

Major congrats to the Richard Childress Racing stable for coming out strong and staying strong! Who would have guessed Kevin "Mr. Where did he come from" Harvick would be riding the biggest points lead of the season rolling into May and Jimmie "I'm the champion- again" Johnson would have found his achilles heel in this new spoiler?  A couple of DNF's already and Johnson's wondering where his season is going.

And congrats to Jamie "Daytona 500 winner" MacMurray, way to come out of the gate for your old boss and then give us another great show at Talladega with Kevin Harvick for his return to victory lane! Who said knee surgery would slow down Denny Hamlin? Obviously it hasn't. as he's just matched Jimmie Johnson for three victories  each this season. Hamlin's hot! In the meantime, teammate Kyle Busch, who won at Richmond, is now sporting the "new" and "old" Kyle.  Hmm, "new" ?  Doubt it, maybe masked, but not "new"! (Photo Credit: Rusty Jarrett/Getty Images for NASCAR)