Harvick tries to calm the storm with Richard Childress… or does he?
In the closing laps of the Kroger 200 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series race at Martinsville Speedway, Ty Dillon, grandson of Richard Childress, and Kevin Harvick, driver of Richard Childress’s No. 29 Sprint Cup Series car, made contact crashing both trucks.
Following the crash, the two took several shots at each other under caution. Harvick taking a hard left on the backstretch making hard contact with the right front of the No. 3 truck driven by Dillon. As Harvick proceeded into turn three, Dillon took several shots at Harvick’s truck, appearing to be making attempts to spin him out. Though his attempts were unsuccessful, it escalated the situation even further. As the two truck made their way down pit road, Harvick stopped in the pit box of Dillon, blocking him from getting into his pits.
Harvick’s move infuriated the crew of the No. 3 truck. Several crew members approached the driver side door of Harvick’s truck yelling and reaching in towards Harvick. One crew member even threw a large sledgehammer at the truck, a move that definitely made all of the highlight reels.
Upon exiting the truck, Harvick made several comments aimed at Dillon and at the Richard Childress team. Harvick, with his temper raging, commented, “I don’t care what they throw at me, that’s exactly why I am leaving RCR is because you’ve got those kids coming up and they gor no respect for what they do in this sport and they’ve had everything fed to them with a spoon, so I cut him slack all day and you know he just drives – dive bombs me in there and dumps me, so it’s a shame you got to get taken out by some rich kid like that.” After making his comments, Harvick quickly headed to the tunnel and exited the track.
Richard Childress responded to Harvick’s comments saying, “I’m very disappointed – that’s all I can say. I’ve got to much class to say what I want to right now.” Childress was seen in the garage immediately after the incident and was visibly angry with what had just occurred. Childress also stated in the garage area after the incident, “I got plans for him.” Though he may not have known he was on camera at the time.
Evidently, Harvick received the message or had time to think about his comments. On Sunday morning Harvick issues an apology saying, ”I think there was just a lot of emotion involved, I hate it for everybody at RCR and you know you go back and look at the things that happened and sometimes you just regret the things that you say for sure and yesterday was definitely one of them, so I just hate for my guys and everybody working on the cars and obviously when those emotional situations come about you say things that you really don’t want to say, so just want to apologize to all those guys and work hard to day and try to do everything we can to win this race.”
One thing very noticeable about the apology is that he specified his RCR crew and the guys that work on his car. Although he did say “everybody at RCR” he did not specifically mention Dillon or Richard Childress himself. So was this apology aimed only at the No. 29 team in an effort to maintain a good relationship with them since he is so dependent on them for the next four races? It sure sounds like it. But, who can blame him. After all, Childress himself did say this on Dillon’s team radio before the incident, “***-**** if he messes with you, turn his ass upside down.”
One thing to keep in mind is that even though Harvick drives for RCR in the Cup series, he was driving for NTS Motorsports on Saturday on the Camping World Truck Series race. So, you have a driver that will only be employed for the team for another four races, and driving a truck that does not belong to the team. Therefore, there were no repercussions for Childress giving Dillon the instruction to turn Harvick if he “messed with him”, other than the friction it would create with Harvick.
We all know that, many times, emotional outbursts contain mostly truth. Harvick’s statements, though he says now he shouldn’t have said it, were most likely what he truly feels inside. Additionally, the statements that were caught on camera during Dillon’s emotional outburst were again, most likely filled with what he truly believes when he said, “He hadn’t done nothing for RCR but ****** up, he screws up stuff for us every year he’s been here.” Richard Childress’s response during Dillon’s tirade was simply, “I know.”
There is an obvious division among the RCR team. The question is can the team hold it together for the balance of the season to try and secure a NASCAR Sprint Cup Series championship? Also, how will Harvick race against the RCR team cars next season when he is driving for Stewart-Hass Racing? Only time will tell. But, it sure did make for an exciting afternoon at Martinsville Speedway.
Darrell Wallace Jr. scores historical win at Martinsville
The last time and only time an African-American driver visited victory lane in a NASCAR national touring series was 1963 when Wendell Scott took the win at Jacksonville. On Saturday at Martinsville Speedway, Darrell Wallace Jr. became the second.
Wallace, a NASCAR drive for diversity graduate, led 96 laps in his Kyle Busch Motorsports No. 54 ToyotaCare Toyota Tundra. The win was Wallace’s 11th top-10 finish this season and second top-10 at Martinsville.
NASCAR implemented the driver for diversity program in an effort give more opportunities to minorities who want to pursue a career in NASCAR. Though several drivers have worked through the program, Wallace is the first driver to find success in a national touring series.
NASCAR chairman and CEO, Brian France commented on Wallace’s victory,” We congratulate Darrell Wallace Jr. on his first national series victory, one that will be remembered as a remarkable moment in our sport’s history.” He continued, “Darrell’s success, following fellow NASCAR Drive for Diversity graduate Kyle Larson’s win earlier this season, is indicative of a youth and multicultural movement that bodes well for NASCAR’s future growth.”
Wallace’s success came early on when he drove in the drive for diversity program. He won Sunoco rookie of the year honor in the K&N Pro East Series in 2010. He then backed that up with a second place finish in the championship standings in 2011.
In 2012, Wallace has compiled 11 top-10’s and five top-5 finishes in 18 starts in the Camping World Truck Series. He also started four Nationwide Series starts this season for Joe Gibbs Racing, finishing in the top-10 in three of those starts.
An emotional Wallace was asked what this win means to him, “It means everything. This is an emotional win for me. Especially to do it in Wendell Scott’s backyard and I love coming here to Martinsville, it’s always good to me and it finally paid off.”
My Interview with Camping World Truck Series Driver Justin Lofton
So, for my second interview I had the privilege of interviewing Justin Lofton who spoke about his past, where he is at in the present, and his goals for down the road, and of course just some fun things to get an idea of the things that he enjoys.
Justin grew up watching his dad, uncle, and grandfather race so he knew early on that racing was going to be in his future. He started out racing off road cars and then when he was a little older he decided that he wanted to drive something else, something different
He was inspired by several drivers among them Robby Gordon, Jimmie Johnson, and Michael Schumacher, he states “These are all great drivers but I get to go racing with mine every weekend”.
Justin’s big break came in 2008 while he was driving in the ARCA series that’s where he was approached by Red Horse Racing about driving a truck for them. He didn’t start racing with them until 2010 but he states “That started the whole process”. His advice to others “Don’t rush yourself and win races”. It is such a simple statement ,but very true. So aspiring drivers take note of Justin’s advice.
I wanted to delve a little further into his driving, when asked if any tracks scare him, he replied “I can’t say any scare me. I love going and attacking tracks”. Justin also says that he does have one pre-race ritual “Mainly just putting my left glove on before the right. I try not to get a solid routine down because of distractions and obligations during race weekends”. I think it brought him luck for not being hurt any worse than just a broken thumb in the crash at Talladega. That’s just my opinion, something or someone looked after him in that nasty crash, it could have been so much worse. Sponsorship and himself he sees as his biggest competition right now . “I always go out and give %110 so the only pressure I have is to run well and put myself in a position teams will want to pick me up for a full-time ride” Justin says. The next step in his career is a full time ride in cup, that is what he hopes for in 2014 that is what he is focusing on for his career.
When asked about his dream team if he could pick one his comment was “I would like to work with/around Chad Knaus.” which I can’t say as I blame him as half the teams would like that too. I thought I would sneak in a few fun questions as well, see a little more of his lighter side so to speak. I asked him about his off time and his answer came a little bit as a surprise,” I have a vinyl graphics company J6ink and video production company Weekend Warriors Productions so I stay very busy keeping up with them when I’m not racing.” Which I never knew about. Out of curiosity I asked Justin if you could race in any era which one would you pick? He surprised me there too, I expected maybe early 90’s but his reply was “Probably mid 60’s formula 1 tracks were amazing, and drivers were huge stars then and the whole Country was behind their drivers.”
Justin talked about what he does during off season “I spend the two months off in California at my parents catching up with family, spend a week in Las Vegas for the National Finals rodeo and final off road race of the year. Then start preparing for my Charity Golf Tournament and 11th and get to spend a couple days in the sand dunes with my friends.” so I put some general questions in there some things that I guess are everyday things for us but for some reason I see drivers and different, elite in a way. Justin states his favorite food is fairly simple a New York Steak and white rice. He doesn’t really have a favorite movie as there are many great ones out there. When he was asked about his favorite type of music he listens to he answered “I go thru phases of country, big hair bands, and punk rock. As I do this, I’m listening to The Offspring”. His favorite time of year is Halloween and fall, one of his favorite ways to spend a evening is going to haunted attractions.
Winding down I asked him simply where do you see yourself in 10 years? ” A full time Cup driver” was his response and after talking to him and watching him on the track, I think he will be there too. I want to thank Justin again for taking time for the interview. I am glad I got to know a little more about him, I hope you are too.
I would like to send a huge thanks to Justin Lofton for being so kind and patient with me. Stay tuned because I have interviews with drivers John Wes Townley and Jeb Burton coming up next!
I want you all to know I do so appreciate the time it takes to read these articles, they are harder to write than I expected!
Thousands Rally Behind Petition To Honor Fallen Racer Sean Edwards
On October 15th, 2013, 26 year old Sean Edwards took to Queensland Raceway for a private test to train up and coming drivers. Prior to going out on track, the 2006 GT3 champion tweeted; “Time to hit Queensland Raceway today, should be fun, hope there aren’t too many kangaroos like at Bathurst! :)” Sean exited the pit lane that day and tragically, he never came back. Just like that, a promising young sports car racer was gone and the racing community was stunned. At the time of his death, Sean was leading the Porsche Supercup standings by a comfortable margin and was well on his way to winning the title with just one round remaining. Fellow racer Jon Miller came up with a way to honor Sean and his proposal has gained international support from fans and drivers alike. Here it is…
“Porsche, you have the opportunity do something rare and very special. We are asking you to elect to hold the final two rounds of the 2013 Porsche SuperCup (rounds 8 and 9 on November 2/3 at the Yas Marina Circuit) as non-points scoring rounds.
We believe that the rightful champion of the 2013 season has already been crowned, however he won’t be able to attend the final race to make it a formality. Racers and fans around the world are mourning the loss of driver, Sean Edwards, who currently leads the Supercup Championship by 18 points, with 3 wins in 7 races. With a win being worth 20 points, and Sean never having finished lower than 5th, he was bound to be champion. If his nearest competitor were to win both races at the final round, Sean would only need to match his worst finish so far (5th) and the championship would still go to him. If Sean were to win the first race of the weekend, he could park his car and score no points during race 2 – and still be champion. Even his competitors can’t argue: Sean Edwards has dominated Porsche Supercup this year. He deserves the title.
We want to make sure that Sean goes down in the record books as he was in the hearts and minds of his family, friends and competitors: a Champion. Please dedicate the final two races of Porsche Supercup to Sean Edwards, implore your drivers to race in his honor and put on a fantastic show for the fans. Pay them their prize money and hire the good ones to factory drives for next year. But do not award them any points.
Please, Porsche; make Sean Edwards your 2013 SuperCup champion and celebrate in his honor at the championship party in Abu Dabhi.
Thank you,
Racing fans, Porsche fans and Sean Edwards fans everywhere”
The petition surpassed 10,000 signatures within 48 hours with people praising the idea from all corners of the globe. I got the chance to interview the petition’s creator, Jon Miller earlier this week.
First off, where did the idea for this petition come from & who are some of its major supporters in the racing community?
The idea for the petition came after the initial shock of hearing about the accident and Sean’s passing. In the outpouring of respect and support for Sean’s friend and family, people began to share stories about him and how he was racing at the top of his game, on the verge of a major factory drive. Attention was also placed on the fact that Sean was currently leading the Porsche Supercup championship by a healthy margin. I think many racers and fans probably had the same thought. Richard Westbrook was the first one that I saw who tweeted: “Would be very fitting if Sean was crowned Supercup champion in Abu Dhabi. He dominated this year. Make it a non points race please Porsche”
It got over 600 retweets in a few hours and seemed to echo the sentiment that many were feeling. A couple of days later, I was still thinking about that idea and how to grow support for it and send the message to Porsche. I started the petition late one night and emailed it to a few people and posted it on Facebook and Twitter. When I woke up there were a few hundred signatures already, and within 48 hours there were 10,000 signatures from all over the world. I think it’s important to mention that the petition has grown organically and these signatures are not inflated numbers. People have left hundreds of comments supporting Sean and I have gotten personal messages from people all over the world who were happy to see the support for Sean and this idea.
The petition has seen support from drivers like Andy Lally, Will Davidson and 3-time Supercup champion, Rene Rast. Khaled Al Qubaisi, who was Sean’s teammate when they won this year’s Dubai 24hr race in a Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG GT3 has also been very active in supporting the petition.
Has Jonas Krauss or any Porsche Supercup officials responded to this petition yet?
At this time, I have not received and response from Porsche or Jonas Krauss, acknowledging the petition. I hope that changes before race day and I have been told by supporters who are connected with Porsche that people within the company are aware of the petition.
Nicki Thiim and Michael Ammermüller are the drivers currently 2nd and 3rd in points and I’m interested to know if they have said anything regarding the petition and do you think they’d possibly consider refusing to run the final round in order to ensure Sean the crown?
The two drivers, Nicki Thiim and Michael Ammermuller who are mathematically able to defeat Sean for the championship have not responded to the petition, as far as I know. They have their own decisions to make about that, and I’m sure they will keep that to themselves. They have their own teams, sponsors and careers to consider in the context of all of this.
Is there anything else you’d like to add?
The reason that I believe making it a non-points race is the right thing to do is so that the final race can be hard fought, for the win, all the way to the checkered flag – a proper show without concern of one driver punting another to ensure Sean’s title, or a dramatic, last lap, “intentional retirement” by the leader. Porsche are in a unique position to do something incredibly special for the motorsport world, a rare symbolic gesture. Being a driver myself, I understand some of the disagreement with this idea, that a championship should be fought to the end regardless of circumstances but that doesn’t resonate with me in this case. Sean dominated the series this year and essentially only needed to show up in Abu Dhabi to claim the prize. Nobody can argue with his performance this year or that he has earned the title.
Whatever happens at the final race weekend, weather or not this petition achieves it’s stated goal, as far as I am concerned it has already accomplished far more than I had ever expected. The stories that have been posted, the support and popularity of the petition alone shows that there is a massive, international motorsport family, who can break through the politics of racing and come together to support one of their own. I am just happy to be a part of that, for Sean.
I 100% agree with everything Jon is saying and believe there is no better tribute to Sean than to award him the championship posthumously. I really don’t see how you can argue otherwise. This young man paid the ultimate price doing what he loved and we should honor him for his sacrifice. Signing takes less than a minute and if you want to give your support, I posted a link to the petition below. Please spread the word as well.
TO SIGN THE PETITION —> http://www.change.org/petitions/porsche-motorsport-make-the-final-race-of-the-2013-supercup-season-a-non-points-race?
Sean Edwards was a great driver, a great person and he will be missed by us all. This tragedy epitomizes just how close the motorsports community is and how we all come together when things go horribly wrong. Death in racing is unavoidable and the wounds left in its wake sometimes never heal. Tragic deaths like that of Sean Edwards’ are never in vain though. Racing legend Bruce McLaren, who also lost his life behind the wheel, put it best when he said; “To do something well is so worthwhile that to die trying to do it better cannot be foolhardy. It would be a waste of life to do nothing with one’s ability, for I feel that life is measured in achievement, not in years alone.” We bury the fallen with tears, embrace the ones who escape death’s firm and final grip with relief and race on, because that’s what racers do. Goodbye Sean and let us all take comfort in the fact that you’re racing with angels now.
