NASCAR: Will they deliver the goods in 2014?
Speedweeks, the annual kick-off to the NASCAR season, is still over a month away, as preseason testing is scheduled to begin in less than a week. NASCAR is scheduled to test at Daytona International Speedway from Jan. 9-14.
Leading into the commencement of the 2014 season, NASCAR has been working rigorously to make the competition tighter than ever. Last season was the debut of the Gen. 6 car. However, the quality of racing did not change much from the Gen. 5 car. Some people may disagree with this, as many fans that I have spoken to, feel that faster speeds add to the quality of racing.
Do not get me wrong. I do see where these fans are coming from, I do. But, I simply have a different viewpoint. For example, the 2012 Auto Club 400 was criticized heavily because the racing was seen as “boring.” Now, imagine if the speeds were faster in that particular race. The quality of racing would have been the same but the race would have been completed at a much faster rate. Compared to the Auto Club 400 race we saw in 2013, there were tremendous improvements. Although Denny Hamlin suffered an injury at the conclusion of the event, the race was one of the best of the season.
During the final test of the Generation 6 car before finalizing rules for the upcoming season, 30 cars took part in four sprint races as NASCAR tried a variety of aerodynamic, engine and suspension combinations for each race.
According to Vice President of Innovation, Gene Stefanyshyn, NASCAR was pleased with the overall turnout of the test. Six cars tested at Charlotte Motor Speedway in mid-October. However, the 30 car test was designed to improve “competition” at the 1.5 mile tracks in 2014.
For those of you reading, you probably noticed that I put quotations around the word “competition.” What is your definition of that word? This is where there is a huge separation between NASCAR’s definition and the average fan.
Vice President of Competition, Robin Pemberton, described the new package as the “tightest,” which was entirely intended to measure the impact of a rear-oriented package in traffic. NASCAR’s goal is not to make the racing more realistic. In reality, the racing that fans saw in the 1990′s was some of the most realistic racing they’ll ever see.
Today, innovation is practically frowned upon in the sport. If NASCAR is serious about trying to lure foreign drivers away from Formula One and into NASCAR, they will have to stop regulating the teams. Formula One teams are encouraged to build the best race cars in the world and make the technology better. However, in NASCAR, it is, “This is what you got. This is what you can do. This is what you can’t do. Good luck to you.”
It’s extremely ironic because we, as Americans, complain so much about the socialistic government that exists in Europe, yet NASCAR governs like a socialistic government. Did NASCAR make any progress with this test? I did not see anything that was necessarily eye-opening. If the goal was to make the competition tighter, they certainly have work to do as Kevin Harvick won the first mini-race by 4.975 seconds over Ryan Newman.
Therefore, there should be more tests conducted. However, these teams need to be allowed to try different options. I absolutely hate the fact that last sentence has to be mentioned. Why is NASCAR limiting the teams from doing better? From my knowledge, NASCAR only allows teams to test four times a year without NASCAR’s supervision. I don’t believe that is good business. Like I stated before, if you really want to improve the competition, you make the teams go out and make the best car in the business. That is real competition. Until NASCAR decides to lay off the regulations, the small teams will always be small and the mega teams, like Hendrick Motorsports and Joe Gibbs Racing, will always be the teams to beat. That is what made the 90s racing the best, in my opinion. There were teams across the board coming up with something new and better that opened up the eyes of the whole industry.
Will NASCAR deliver the goods in 2014? It depends on your definition of ‘quality racing.’
TAKING CARE OF BUSINESS: Must See Racing
Are you still feeling withdrawals waiting for the 2014 racing season to start? Have you spent mega hours watching and reading the best of 2013 reviews even though you watched them live the first time? Have you burned holes in your DVD copies of Will Ferrell’s “Talladega Nights” and Tom Cruise’s “Days Of Thunder”? Hang in there race fans, help is on the way. NASCAR’s pre-season tests at Daytona are just around the corner and with that comes comprehensive live television coverage.
Fox Sports 1 has scheduled 12 hours of the test sessions spanning a two day period of January 9th through the 11th. The coverage will be hosted by the NASCAR on Fox team consisting of Darrell Waltrip, Larry McReynolds and Mike Joy in the main broadcast booth. Bob Dillner and Matt Yoacum will be providing reports from the pit area backed by Jeff Hammond who will cover the garage area. Rick Allen and Hermie Sadler will be presenting special interviews with drivers, crew chiefs and visiting personalities from a mobile broadcast booth. The live coverage of Sprint Cup testing will air from 1 to 5 p.m. Eastern time on January 9th and 10th.
Fox Sports 1 will also be providing live coverage of the NASCAR Nationwide Series tests, on January 11th, from 3 to 7 p.m. Eastern time. Rick Allen, Jeff Hammond and Phil Parsons will be covering the action from the main broadcast booth with Hermie Sadler, Bob Dillner and Ray Dunlop covering the pits.
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THE RETURN OF DAVE DESPAIN
How many of us spent Sunday evenings watching “Wind Tunnel With Dave DeSpain” on the now defunct SPEED Channel? Fans of this veteran motorsports television personality will be thrilled to learn that he’s coming back to television on a full time basis. DeSpain recently signed a two year contract with MAV TV-American Real to host the network’s live racing broadcasts. He will also be hosting a series of half hour one on one interview programs with drivers and other personalities from across the diverse American racing scene.
MAV TV-American Real is owned by Forrest Lucas, the founder of Lucas Oil. The network, over the last year, has made giant strides in stepping up its coverage of motorsports that offers racing fans a wide variety of action.
DeSpain, now 67 years young, said he was immediately attracted to the opportunity to return to racing TV and the “Dave DeSpain Show.”
“I’m truly excited to get back to the grass roots of racing and I’m also excited about doing a series of long form interviews, the majority of which will feature the legends of grass roots racing. We’ll try to mix it up and have an interesting variety of personalities from all over the racing world,” he said.
DeSpain’s first appearance on MAV TV-American Real will be January 18th when he hosts the network’s live coverage of the annual Lucas Oil Chili Bowl Nationals, presented by General Tire, from Tulsa-Oklahoma. It will mark the network’s first ever live television coverage of a major motorsports event.
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A BUSY YEAR FOR “AB”
It’s well known that 2014 is the concluding season for the television broadcast contract between NASCAR and the ESPN/ABC Networks. In 2015, the broadcasts will be presented by Fox and NBC as well as their respective sports networks.
However, this major change will have virtually no impact on popular motorsports broadcaster Allen Bestwick, or AB as he’s often called by his colleagues. Bestwick is going to be extremely busy this year. He will be presiding over the ESPN/ABC NASCAR broadcasts business as usual and will also be the lead voice for the INDY Car Series’ broadcasts for the networks. In 2015 AB will continue to be the voice of the INDY Car broadcasts as well as participating in other sports coverage.
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EDWARDS TO APPEAR ON “THE BIGGEST LOSER” (ABSOLUTELY NO PUN INTENDED)
Fans of Carl Edwards can catch their favorite NASCAR Sprint Cup driver on the season debut of the popular NBC program “The Biggest Loser.” The series will air its season debut, with a two hour special, on Tuesday, January 7th, from 8 to 10pm eastern time.
NOTES FROM THE NASCAR NATION: Andy Granatelli and Richard Petty
On Sunday, December 29th, the world of auto racing bid farewell to one of the true characters to ever grace the presence of the sport. The passing of Andy Granatelli, at age 90, brought back a lot of different memories for many racing fans. He was the astute businessman who brought a teetering STP Oil Treatment to fortune 500 status. When it came to company promotions, Andy Granatelli was on the level of the revered P T Barnum.
He quickly realized that auto racing was the perfect promotional fit for his many business ventures. After achieving a measure of success in the Indy Car Series, Granatelli turned his attention to NASCAR in general and King Richard Petty specifically. The result was a magnificent promotional partnership that remains intact to this day. The now famous STP-Petty Enterprises partnership also created a brand new promotional and revenue producing blueprint that is still being used by modern day NASCAR Sprint Cup teams.
At the conclusion of the 1971 racing season, the financial picture had rapidly changed for NASCAR’s Grand National, now Sprint Cup, teams. Many of the upper echelon teams, such as Petty Enterprises, were blessed with the financial and technical support of America’s big three automakers. That arrangement made the cost of crossing the country somewhat easy for the race teams. However the factory support was now on the verge of coming to a halt. This was largely due to disagreement over rule changes along with the general cost of doing business. NASCAR’s teams were now faced with the prospect of finding another source of racing revenue.
Back during this stage of NASCAR, sponsorship programs were used but were extremely limited. There were no large sponsor logos on the hoods of the cars such as what we see today. In fact, the only thing painted on the hoods of a NASCAR stock car was the cubic inch size of the engine. Sponsors names were reserved for the rear quarter panels of the cars. These sponsors were usually auto dealerships located in the general area of the race tracks along with local garages and small mom and pop owned retail stores. These sponsorship’s were largely used by NASCAR’s independent teams, or those who were not factory supported. On some occasions factory teams would pick up a sponsor to help with travel costs often referred to as gas and hamburger money. With the retreat of factory support, NASCAR’s teams were, for the first time in several years, on a level playing field and everyone involved was desperate to find enough sponsor revenue to race an entire season.
In January of 1972, Petty Enterprises was preparing for the annual trip to California and the Riverside Raceway road course which was, back then, the traditional start of a NASCAR racing season. That’s when Richard Petty received a telephone call from Andy Granatelli who asked him to make a brief stop in Chicago, the corporate home of STP. After being informed that the subject of the meeting involved full sponsorship for the 1972 racing season, Petty was reported to have told Granatelli “I’m pretty sure I can fit that into my schedule.”
Granatelli started the meeting on a strong note and offered Petty the STP sponsorship for $250,000 per season plus a $50,000 bonus if Petty won the NASCAR points championship. Granted, by today’s mega million dollar sponsorship standards, that amount would be petty cash, (no pun intended). However, by 1972 standards, the offer was both huge and unprecedented. It was also more than enough to keep Petty’s No. 43 on the track all year long.
There was one consideration that Granatelli wanted from this deal. In years past, all race cars sponsored by STP were painted the company’s traditional day glo red color. That’s when Petty surprised his potential new sponsor by saying no and adjourning the meeting. Back in 1972, it was likely that the popular business term “IT’S A DEAL BREAKER” had not been invented yet. It certainly applied to this meeting.
The Petty Enterprises race cars were well known for their blue paint and white numbers. Despite the fact that STP was offering more than enough money to cover the cost of racing, Petty made it clear that his race car was not going to be painted day glo red.
The traditional Petty Enterprises paint job was invented in their Randleman, N.C. race shop quite by accident. While in the final process of preparing a car for a race they discovered that there was only white and dark blue paint available. However, there wasn’t enough of one color to cover the entire car. The Pettys mixed the two colors together and the result was the famous bright blue color that was eventually dubbed Petty blue. That color remains as part of the No. 43 Richard Petty Motorsports paint scheme to this day. The special color is part of the family’s racing history and that’s why Petty turned down Granatelli’s offer.
Determined to save the deal, Granatelli made a very smart move. He convinced Petty to spend the night in a Chicago hotel so they could have one more meeting before he had to leave for the race in California. The result of this second meeting was a major compromise. Granatelli and Petty agreed that the cars would feature both the traditional Petty blue and STP day glo red colors. The result was the creation of one of the most famous paint schemes in NASCAR history.
Anxiously wanting to announce the new deal, Granatelli and his marketing staff flew to Los Angeles where they hosted a press conference to officially introduce their new driver and to officially place a large STP decal on the hood of the No. 43. In the days that followed, Granatelli made one more attempt to get the No. 43 painted red, He sent Petty the official sponsorship contract with a new paragraph that offered him an additional $50,000 to paint the car STP red. A reportedly amused Petty declined the offer.
The result of these negotiations was a match made in business heaven. From 1972 until his 1992 retirement from racing, Petty and STP visited victory lane 64 times, including four wins at Daytona, and won four NASCAR championships. While STP no longer sponsors a NASCAR team on a full time basis, they still place their logo on the No. 43 Richard Petty Motorsports Ford, driven by Aric Almirola, for two races. Richard Petty is also still listed as an official ambassador for STP. The STP-Richard Petty sponsorship connection is now highly regarded as being one of the longest running sponsor relationships in all of motorsports.
This is all due to Andy Granatelli’s vision and business savvy. He negotiated the racing promotional deal that was best for his company. At the same time, he forever changed the landscape of NASCAR team financing and created the blue print for sponsor programs used to this day.
Upon learning of his dear friend’s recent passing, Richard Petty issued the following statement:
“Andy was one of the best at public relations and marketing in all of motorsports. He was ahead of his time and set the standard for selling his products. We still enjoy our relationship with STP today and it was our meetings with Andy that started it all. He was really determined about how he wanted to market his product, and he never stopped wanting to get his way, but that’s what made him successful too.”
Looking Back at NASCAR’s 2013
Looking back at the 2013 season, NASCAR had the usual ups and downs but this year would be different. NASCAR unveiled its new GEN-6 car to mixed reviews and fans waiting to see what this new car would bring to actual racing.
It started with the horrific wreck during the NASCAR Nationwide Series (NNS) season opener at Daytona International Speedway (DIS). Unfortunately, we watched the same scene played out at most restrictor plate tracks like Daytona, only this time when the “big one” happened the fence didn’t hold and fans were hurt, some seriously. Everyone waited and listened the rest of the day for updates on those injured and looked back in amazement that the car of Kyle Larson, which had hit the fence, was destroyed, yet he walked away.
The next day at the Daytona 500 we all waited and watched, held our breath and prayed that the scene the day before would not repeat itself and thankfully it didn’t. The 55th running of the Daytona 500 went off without any major issues with Jimmie Johnson in his 400th start taking the prize. That perhaps was a sign of the year to come.
It was the fifth race of the season in Fontana, California that Joey Logano and Denny Hamlin got together with six laps to go and ended up wrecking each other. Denny Hamlin suffered a compression fracture in his back that most thought would sideline the driver for the season. But Hamlin worked hard at his recovery and was able to return to race at Talladega.
Talladega was a rainy day and eventually the race was red flagged due to the rain. The red flag was three hours and 36 minutes long and darkness had started to fall but with the rain stopped, NASCAR made the decision to go ahead and race. A late race caution bunched the field up with 20 to go. By this time the skies were even darker and the “big one” happened sending Kurt Busch flipping and landing on top of Ryan Newman’s car. In all 14 cars were involved and Newman went on to criticize NASCAR for continuing the race in the dark.
It was at Iowa Speedway where Tony Stewart crashed hard into a car that spun in front of him. Stewart was taken to the hospital where it was determined by doctors that he had broken both his tibia and fibula in his lower right leg. Stewart would be sidelined for the rest of the season, after undergoing several surgeries and then physical therapy, so that he would be ready for the 2014 season.
There was a lot of hype over Danica Patrick joining the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series (NSCS) for the 2013 season. There was a lot of expectation put on her but she was still a rookie and ended up with a best finish of 8th, her only top-10 finish, which came in the Daytona 500 where she had also won the pole. Her boyfriend, Ricky Stenhouse Jr, competed with Patrick for Rookie of the Year in which Stenhouse took home the prize.
Jamie McMurray won at Talladega, his second at that track, and his seventh win overall in his NSCS career. The win snapped a 108 winless streak for McMurray.
Dale Earnhardt Jr. would see the 2013 season close without a win. But it was a consistent season overall and he ended up fifth in the series standings.
We had the announcement that Mark Martin had decided to retire along with Ken Schrader. Martin ended a long career with NASCAR starting in 1981 in North Wilkesboro and giving him a career with 40 wins, 453 top 10′s and 56 poles. Schrader started his career in 1984 in Nashville and went on to have four wins, 184 top 10′s, and 23 poles. NASCAR will not be the same without these drivers and they will both be missed in 2014.
To everyone’s astonishment we also had what was dubbed “Spingate” which was Michael Waltrip Racing’s (MWR) attempt to manipulate the chase for the championship. This not only marred MWR but their reputation was further damaged by Clint Bowyer who is believed to have spun to cause a caution in order to get a teammate into the chase. These issues actually made NASCAR add a 13th spot to the chase, to the benefit of Jeff Gordon being that 13th driver. This put another mark on NASCAR for adding the 13th spot but with the chase outcome in question, it was the only course of action NASCAR could see to attempt to right what MWR had attempted to change. The biggest loser in that whole deal was Martin Truex Jr. who had done no wrong but paid a penalty all the same.
Matt Kenseth probably had one of his best years of his career and in the end was truly the only driver in contention with Johnson to take home the big prize. Kevin Harvick, having a good run of his own, was unable to catch Kenseth and Johnson. Kenseth did everything he could and came out strong at the end but it was Johnson who would bring home the 2013 Sprint Cup Series trophy, the sixth of his career, making him at the moment the only driver with the chance to tie or surpass Richard Petty and Dale Earnhardt’s seven championships.
When we look back on the year there were tragedies as well.
On June 12th 2013 on a Wednesday night we heard of a serious crash at Bridgeport Speedway involving former NASCAR driver Jason Leffler in a Sprint car. We would find out later that Jason “LEFturn” Leffler had died from the injuries that he sustained in the accident. He left behind one son, five year old Charlie. The biggest tragedy of all is learning that if Sprint cars used the same neck restraints as NASCAR does, he may have survived the accident.
It was May 16th that I learned of the death of my friend, Richard Leroy Trickle, aka Dick Trickle; he had taken his own life after years of struggling with chronic pain. He had raced in NASCAR becoming the oldest Rookie of the Year at age 48 in 1989. He was best known for his career in the Midwest. Known best as “the White Knight,” it is estimated that he ran well over 2,200 races in his Midwest short track career and his many loyal fans will remember not how he died, but how he lived. He will be remembered wearing snakeskin boots, a cigarette in one hand, and a cup of coffee or barley pop (beer) in the other, signing autographs and even going down to his knees to be eye level with children who wanted an autograph.
With a new season beginning, questions remain to be answered.
- What will the 2014 NASCAR season bring?
- Which rookie will come out on top, maybe Kyle Larson or perhaps Parker Kligerman?
- Who will win their first race this season?
- Will Austin Dillon, driving the number three, live up to the expectations of fans that are waiting to see if he will do the number three proud?
- Who will take it all? Matt Kenseth or maybe it will be Dale Earnhardt Jr.’s breakout year, or will it be Jimmie Johnson again, tying that seventh championship.
- What new rivalries will form, and what old rivalries will manage to put it behind them?
Hopefully in 2014 there will be no injuries or tragedies as we’ve seen this year. Perhaps it will be NASCAR’s best year yet. We won’t have to wait long as it’s right around the corner!
TAKING CARE OF BUSINESS: The NASCAR Nationwide Series Edition
Certainly one the focal points surrounding the second tier of NASCAR’s national touring series involves the marketing department’s ability to locate a new title sponsor. Nationwide Insurance announced in recent months that they will not be renewing their contract which concludes at the end of the 2014 season. There have been reports indicating that there is a short list of potential replacements with the estimated cost of the package being somewhere between $12 to $15 per year.
A RATHER SURPRISING DRIVER CHANGE
In a totally unexpected move, that no one saw coming, James Buescher will be leaving Turner Scott Motorsports to join team owner Rick Ware and his RAB Racing organization. The move was confirmed by a mid December press release that said:
“RAB Racing announced that they have signed 2012 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Champion James Buescher to a multi-year deal to compete full time in the NASCAR Nationwide Series. Buescher has competed full time in the NCWTS for the past three seasons and has recorded one championship and two third-place finishes in the drivers’ championship standings. Buescher will have veteran crew chief Chris Rice on top of the pit box for the 2014 season. In 2013 Rice, lead the #99 Toyota Camry to two poles, two top-5 finishes, and six top-10 finishes. Sponsorship details for Buescher and RAB Racing will be announced in the near future.”
At literally the same time, TSM issued a prepared statement saying they had agreed to release Buescher from his contract obligations which allowed him to make the move. Again, this decision was regarded by many as being very surprising. Buescher had a stellar 2013 season with TSM that included two wins, four top five finishes and 14 top ten finishes while finishing third in the final championship standings.
Buescher indicated that a large part of his decision to switch teams involved RAB Racing’s strong ties to Toyota and the Toyota Racing Development engine program. He later referred to that as being major factors that were in the best interest of his professional future in NASCAR.
The really interesting aspect to this story actually had nothing to do with the on track process of taking care of business. It was the element of family. Steve Turner, one of the principal partners in TSM, is Buescher’s father in law. In an interview, Buescher said “all parties worked diligently to separate business from family.”
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IT’S ALL GOOD NEWS FOR LANDON CASSILL
As in the case of 2013, driver Landon Cassill will be campaigning rides in NASCAR’s Nationwide and Sprint Cup Series. On the Nationwide Series side of the garage, Cassill will drive the JD Motorsports with Gary Keller lead car – the #4 G&K Services Chevy – for the 2014 Nationwide Series season. Team owner Johnny Davis made the announcement and said the team looks to make progress in Cassill’s second season working with the group. Cassill will replace veteran Mike Wallace as the team’s lead driver.
Davis plans to run a second car with at least a part-time Nationwide schedule, and Canadian driver Daryl Harr will fill that spot. Other opportunities for races in the second car will be available as sponsorship allows.
Minnesota-based G&K Services will return as a key sponsor for JD Motorsports and the 4 car. Veteran crew chief Dave Fuge, who joined the team during the 2013 season, will be Cassill’s crew chief.
On the Sprint Cup side of the NASCAR garage, the Cedar Rapids-Iowa driver will return to Circle Sport Racing’s #33 Chevrolet, a collaborative effort with Richard Childress Racing, in addition to the full time campaign with the #4 car for JD Motorsports in Nationwide.
Logistical issues with Cup commitments may cause him to miss a few Nationwide races. He ran 33 of the 36 races in 2013 for Circle Sport in Cup, and 23 of the 30 races in a separate entry for JD Motorsports in Nationwide. ” (Running both series) keeps me on the racetrack, it’ s more opportunities for me to show my skills to potential sponsors”, Cassill said. ” It’ s really valuable for me to be running in both series every weekend”.
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VETERAN CARL LONG TO RETURN WITH A DODGE
NASCAR veteran Carl Long announced plans to return full time to the Nationwide Series in Dodges owned by a collaborative of business investors, according to a post on his website.
“I am putting my own team back on the track in 2014. I This effort will be a combination of people. First is Gregg Mixon and partner, they have purchased two Penske Dodges so far. I have different people who have helped me attain 3 more Penske Dodges. JC Blum owns one car at moment, and plans are being made for him. John Carter, owner of the #37 and #08 cup cars I drove a few years ago, has contributed with parts to help me with Daytona. Chuck Friedel owner of #54 nationwide car I raced at Dover some years ago has made the purchase of Penske Dodges possible. Chuck and his wife Joan have been supporting my racing effort for the last few years. Although limited, we now will be able to put all stuff together. I have a purchase pending of a Toyota team equipment.
I have a few drivers that may work through us to on their own car and race under our banner. Otherwise, myself and Matt Carter will do S&P, [start and park], to make payroll while we look for sponsors and develop the team. We will be using Penske engines and looking at different locations for the shop. If a funded driver is available to race, Matt will do the S&P and I will get out of the seat. Hope to give a formal announcement in weeks ahead.”
NOTES FROM THE NASCAR NATION: Tony Stewart and his midget race cars hit the road
Every fan of NASCAR Sprint Cup champion Tony Stewart is well aware that he entered into the world of team ownership long before he became a partner in Stewart-Haas Racing, the home of his #14 Sprint Cup Chevrolet. That venture was, of course, Tony Stewart Racing (TSR), an ultra successful sprint car racing operation that has garnered their fair share of checkered flags at dirt tracks all across the country. Many of those feature wins were created with Stewart himself sitting behind the wheel.
Stewart spent the final weekend of 2013 at Expo Hall, located inside of the Memorial Coliseum in Fort Wayne, Indiana. Tony Stewart Racing had two midget sprints, named “The Munchkin,” entered in the 16th Annual Rumble In Fort Wayne, an indoor midget dirt race. Still recuperating from injuries sustained in a sprint car accident last August, Stewart was in Fort Wayne as a team owner but not a driver. TSR entered two “Munchkin” midgets entered in the race for drivers Mike Fedorcak and Lou Cicconi, the 2013 International Super Modified Association champion.
The December 28th event was named was named “A Salute To Tony Stewart” in honor of his devotion to short track racing according to event organizer Tony Barhorst who said: “Throughout the history of major sports, it is extremely rare for a three-time champion to return to the roots of where they started,” he said. “This is a chance for us to thank Tony for coming back to short track races and not forgetting where he came from”.
During the open wheel dirt track portion of this stellar career Stewart collected nine feature wins at the Fort Wayne one-sixth mile indoor dirt track. He described his appearance at the 2013 Rumble In Fort Wayne as being a homecoming and added: “I really enjoy competing up in Fort Wayne and having a chance to run the Munchkin, so not being in the car this year is a bit different for me, but I’m still looking forward to it. Lou Cicconi is going to run the car this year, and it’s going to be fun to spend time with him and watch him race. The Rumble event is a great time for me and the team. We get to see a lot of people that we might only see once or twice a year. It’s also nice that some of my family can make the drive up for this event.”
Every Stewart fan on the planet understands why another driver was not behind the wheel of his car. Stewart is still recuperating from a serious sprint car racing accident that occurred last August. The result of that unfortunate incident was a broken leg that required three surgeries and months of intensive physical therapy.
During the course of his Indiana visit, Stewart met with the media to update the status of his projected return to the driver’s seat in February. In comments made to the “Fort Wayne Journal Gazette”, he said: “You know, when I first got hurt, I was hurt bad enough that it didn’ t really feel like that I had that sense that I was missing it. But now that I’ m closer to being healed, and ready to go, the more anxious I am to be in the car. But, I’ ve got a good friend of mine that’ s going to drive the car, and you know, to me, I still get to go. I still get to compete as a car owner. So I m still looking forward to it and, come February, to getting back in the car again”. Stewart also noted that he was very pleased with the progress of his very intense physical therapy program and said: ” I’ d say the last three weeks in particular in therapy we re really making big gains. So I m pretty happy with it”.
