NOTES FROM THE NASCAR NATION: Sprint Cup Class of 2013 – Michael Waltrip Racing
In January, Michael Waltrip addressed the media and, with a big smile on his face, said “this is breaking news: we don’t have any news. There’s really nothing new or different from 2012. Man, are we happy about that.”
He has ever right to be happy about “no news to report.” Michael Waltrip Racing, (MWR), had a stellar season in 2012 and everyone who had anything to do with it is lined up and set to return in 2013.
CLINT BOWYER
#15 TOYOTA
CREW CHIEF: BRIAN PATTIE
During the 2011 season, it was announced that Clint Bowyer was leaving Richard Childress Racing to drive for MWR. The ink was barely dry on the press release when NASCAR observers began to question the move and openly wondered if Bowyer had made a mistake.
Bowyer, of course, proved the naysayers wrong in 2012. If there ever was such a thing as a Cinderella season, this team clearly had one. Bowyer made quick work of getting on the same page with crew chief Brian Pattie and that chemistry helped the team turn into major championship players last year. They finished second in the championship standings based on three wins, ten top five finishes, 23 top tens and a very healthy average finish ratio of 11. All of last year’s familiar faces are returning for 2013 and there’s every reason to expect that Bowyer and company could once again be title contenders.
However, there is one gray area connected to this team and that’s involves the fact that it’s not fully sponsored for 2013. Primary sponsor 5 Hour Energy Drink is set to return but it’s not exactly clear regarding how many races they will sponsor. The last report indicated that it was at least 20. New sponsor Peak Motor Oil has signed with the team for three races and Aarons will be the sponsor at Talladega. You can bet that the MWR marketing staff is working overtime to correct this situation.
MARK MARTIN-MICHAEL WALTRIP-BRIAN VICKERS
#55 TOYOTA
CREW CHIEF: RODNEY CHILDERS
Mark Martin will be driving MWR’s #55 for 24 races plus the Shootout and All Star races. Martin will be a driver to monitor this year. He recently said that he does not expect to be in this ride in 2014 but would not say he’s retiring. He did, however, make it clear that it’s way too early in the season to be discussing his future. Martin also said he plans to do everything he can to help place his crew chief, Rodney Childers, and his team in position to win the 2014 championship after he’s departed.
Team owner Michael Waltrip will be driving the #55 in the July race at Daytona and both events at Talladega. That makes a lot of sense. Waltrip excels in restrictor plate racing.
Brian Vickers will be driving this car for the remaining nine races on the schedule. Vickers is going to have a very busy year in 2013. He will also be driving a Toyota full time in the NASCAR Nationwide Series for Joe Gibbs Racing. It’s widely believed that Vickers will be the driver to take over MWR’s #55 in 2014 if Mark Martin does indeed vacate the ride.
Once again, sponsorship might be an area of concern here. Aarons will be back as the primary sponsor for a reported 26 races. That leaves approximately ten races that will have to be covered as early as possible.
MARTIN TRUEX Jr.
#56 TOYOTA
CREW CHIEF: CHAD JOHNSON
Truex finished the 2012 season as part of the Chase for the Championship line up where he finished 11th in the final standings. Along the way he recorded seven top five finishes, 19 top tens with an average finish ratio of 12. The one thing missing here is the lack of wins. There were pivotal moments last year when Truex was in position for the win, but somewhere on track circumstances prevented him from closing the deal. Wins will be the high priority for Truex and crew chief Chad Johnson. That want that win less streak gone.
On the positive the sponsorship program appears to be strong for the #56 team. NAPA with their auto parts, filters and brakes divisions will be returning to cover the sponsor needs this year.
Everything You Always Wanted To Know About Jeffrey Earnhardt
The name Earnhardt will always be linked to NASCAR. No one knows that better than Dale Earnhardt’s grandson, Jeffrey Earnhardt. It’s a legacy that comes with advantages and expectations. It can also overpower anyone standing in its shadow.
I sat down with Earnhardt this past weekend to learn more about the driver with the famous last name. We talked about everything from racing to hunting to family to glitter tattoos.
He will run a full-time schedule this year in the NASCAR Nationwide Series with Go Green Racing. When I asked him about his goals for the season, he answered without hesitation.
“Personally, I‘d like to win Rookie of the Year,” he said. “That’s the number one priority for me this year and to finish in the top 10 in points.”
He doesn’t expect it to be easy but he’s confident that he is with the right team and is determined to make the most of the opportunity.
“I know the first half of the year is probably going to be tough,” Earnhardt said. “With a new crew chief and new team, there’s a connection that’s got to build there. But I think after the first couple of races, everything will start to click and we’ll get the chemistry going to where we’re having consistent runs every weekend and finishing in the top 15.”
He will be racing on most of the tracks on the schedule for the first time. Does he feel intimidated by that fact?
His answer was a resounding, no.
“I have fun facing new challenges. It’s the competitive side of me to want to go to a new track that I’ve never been to and by the time I leave be able to say to myself, ‘I own this place.’”
Earnhardt continued, “That’s how I feel at every track, even tracks I’ve been to before. You think this time; ‘I can do better than that.’ It’s always a competition within yourself to want to do better.”
Do you prefer old school or new school racing?
“Old school, for sure. I feel like today there’s a lot of people who don’t seem to want it as bad. I feel like I was in that situation. When I was at DEI (Dale Earnhardt Inc.) I thought the streets were paved with gold and I had that taken away from me.”
He went on to add, “Since then, I learned a lot. I learned about fighting for something you want really bad and that’s how it’s been the last couple of years. I took the opportunity for granted and didn’t appreciate what was given to me. It was a rocky road and a huge learning experience.”
Do you prefer country music or rock and roll?
“Country, big time.”
His favorite group used to be Brooks and Dunn but since the duo disbanded, Jeffrey’s favorite singer is Justin Moore.
Do you prefer hunting or fishing?
“Hunting. I grew up fishing a lot as a kid but I’ve really taken to hunting. I like to bow hunt now so bow hunting is one of my favorite things to do.”
Earnhardt recently mentioned that he had taken his 9-year-old sister Kayla hunting. When I asked him about this, his face lit up with a huge smile.
“She is spoiled rotten and she’s the world to me. I’d put my life on the line for her, hands down, for that little girl. She’s just adorable.”
“She came over and spent the night so we had a little sleep over. We did these glitter tattoos. It was all kinds of fun,” he said laughing.
I had to ask, ‘Did you get a glitter tattoo?’
“I let her put one on me,” he admitted. “That was it. It was a lot of fun. She begged me to go hunting so we went out hunting the next morning. We didn’t kill anything. But we had fun.”
Did you have a favorite driver, other than your grandfather?
“No, but when I was a little kid I really liked Kyle Petty for the simple fact that when I was over at their shop one day and peeking through the window, he was nice enough to come out and speak to me. That meant a lot to me as a kid for him to take the time to come out and talk to me. That was cool.”
However, it was obvious who his real hero was.
“My grandfather was one of a kind,” Earnhardt said. “There are things he’s done on the track that I’ve never seen anyone else do. It’s hard not to like someone like that who has that edge.”
Are you an aggressive driver?
“I don’t like to think I’m aggressive. I like to think I race fair. I’m going to race you the same way you race me but I do have my aggressive side where I will do whatever it takes. But you also have to be respectful of other drivers. I’ve learned through this whole journey I’ve had, the hard work and the money that goes into this sport. It’s not cheap. To be a smaller team and have a good run going and have it taken away by someone is very hurtful so I’m respectful of that.”
Do you look at this year as a pivotal point in your career?
“It’s definitely a turning point and a chance to prove what I can do in solid equipment. Going into this season I feel very confident that the team I’m with, Go Green Racing, that they’re going to put me in the best opportunities to go out there and perform. Being out there every weekend and keeping everything fresh on my mind and keeping that rhythm, that’s a big part of it.”
What was your most embarrassing moment on the track?
“I ran a UARA late model race at Bristol. It’s been quite a while back. We were out during practice and it was starting to sprinkle. They wanted the cars to stay on the track and help keep it dried off because it wasn’t raining that hard.”
“I was out there cutting the steering wheel back and forth, keeping the heat in the tires and all of a sudden the car turned and it didn’t turn back to the right like I wanted it to and then I slid head on into the barrels on pit road and knocked the entire front nose off the car. It was terrible. We were just out there trying to keep the track dry and I wrecked.”
“It was hard to climb out of the car and take the helmet off after that one.”
What has been the proudest moment of your career?
“It’s probably between two things.”
“One is the good run we had going at Daytona last year. The finish wasn’t there but to be able to take a small team like that and be up there running fourth with the best cars in the field, to be able to do that, it really meant a lot to me and it meant a lot to the guys back at the shop.”
Earnhardt’s hopes for a good finish were ruined after an off-center push from Ricky Stenhouse Jr. turned him sideways in front of the main pack of cars.
“Besides that, it was qualifying on the pole (his first) in the (Camping World) East race at Dover. It’s been several years ago but it was cool to go out there and out-qualify someone like Joey Logano who is now a Cup driver.
At that point in time, I was just as good as those guys. I feel like I still am.”
When all is said and done, Jeffrey Earnhardt is not that different from any other driver, despite his last name. He is confident, yet humble, aggressive but fair and passionate about racing. He is appreciative of his legacy but determined to find his own way. He embraces life with a smile on his face and fire in his heart. And his journey has just begun.
Michael Waltrip says Dale Earnhardt was the inspiration to start his team
When Michael Waltrip takes to the track this coming Daytona Speedweeks, it’ll be a memorable weekend. The two-time Daytona 500 champion has put together a deal with Swan Racing to try and qualify for this year’s Daytona 500.
“Racing the 500 is a big deal to me,” Waltrip said. “It’s something that means a lot. That race defines my career. That’s the race that we all grow up inspiring to go win as a kid so I just love it. So greatful to be in it.”
The deal reunites him with Tony Eury Jr. and Steve Hmiel, whom he worked both with at Dale Earnhardt Incorporated. Also, members of the team that Eury Jr. and Hmiel have brought in were part of the team at DEI.
“I went over there the other day and it’s like going back eight years seeing all the people working there,” Waltrip said this past weekend. “The last time I went to the Daytona 500 with Tony Eury Jr. as my crew chief, we won the 150 qualifier and were leading the Daytona 500 when our engine broke. Tony Jr. was a lot of fun to work with then and the car I will be driving in the 500, Tony Jr. will be my crew chief. So looking forward to that.”
The deal for Waltrip at Dale Earnhardt Incorporated came together virtue of his friendship with Dale Earnhardt. Earnhardt put Waltrip behind the wheel of the No. 15, with the promise to deliver Waltrip his first ever Sprint Cup Series career victory.
Those pieces came together with their first race together – the 2001 Daytona 500 – as Waltrip took the checkered flag ahead of Dale Earnhardt Jr. However, the other side of that fateful day was the crash in turn three that saw Earnhardt die. Waltrip released a book called In The Blink of an Eye, which he talks about that day and his mixed emotions.
“I believed in writing the book was to try to figure it out,” Waltrip explained. “It was hard to talk about the details of that day because it was too painful, but the day – talking in relation to my team and how I started it – if you ever see me heading towards the final turn with two of my cars going to win the Daytona 500 and I get plucked from the earth, just know that I went out as happy as I’ll ever be. The Daytona 500 is one of the greatest races ever to win as a car owner and a racecar driver. That day, we were hurting cause Dale left us, but I bet no one ever had a bigger smile on their face when they left us.”
Having watched Earnhardt grow his team from a small simple garage to what was known as the Garage Mahal, it was Earnhardt that inspired Waltrip to put his team together.
“Dale was a tremendous amount of inspiration for me to start that team,” Waltrip said. “I wanted to have a team ever since forever. It started out as a little shop behind my house, and that’s how Dale Earnhardt Incorporated started. He just had a late model team, and he raced some Nationwide races with his car and grew it into DEI. Dale was my buddy and I really admired him and looked up him and always wanted to have a team like Dale’s. We’re not anywhere near where DEI was when Dale left it, but we’re gaining on it and I bet that makes him proud.”
As part of the deal with Swan Racing for this year’s Daytona 500, Waltrip will be unveiling a special paint scheme.
“We have a really neat announcement next Thursday with what the car will look like, what will be on the car,” Waltrip announced. “The media tour in Daytona is next Thursday and this time, in the middle of two sessions, we’re going to unveil our car and let the world know what our plan is. it’s really special.”
Is It Time For NASCAR To Ditch The Bricks? Why NASCAR Needs To Leave Indy
The Indianapolis Motor Speedway is well regarded as one of the meccas of Motor Sports. Since it opened in 1909 it has been labeled as the greatest race course in the world. It is practically a who’s who as to who has been fortunate enough to add their name to a winner’s trophy at the Brickyard. From AJ Foyt to Rick Mears to Dan Wheldon in Indy Car. Jeff Gordon,Tony Stewart, and Jimmie Johnson in NASCAR and F1 legend Michael Schumacher. With a seating capacity of well over 250,000, the Brickyard is the largest venue attendance wise in the sport. With all this being said it is time for NASCAR to leave a place more noted for Open Wheel Racing and return to a venue that has a tradition more geared towards Stock Car Racing. Here are a few reasons why.
First reason is attendance. In 1994 the inaugural Brickyard 400 drew 350,000 fans which is the largest crowd ever to witness a sanctioned NASCAR event. Fast forward to five years later in 1999. Attendance for the Brickyard 400 was an estimated 250,000. The 2012 Brickyard 400 only managed to draw 125,000 fans. Half of the speedway’s permanent seating capacity. So while yes attendance is a major issue. What are the factors driving down attendance? I have a couple of theories.
Summertime in July at Indianapolis can be described in one word. Hot okay miserably hot. Last year’s Brickyard 400 was contested in almost 100 degree temperatures. NASCAR and the speedway only have a couple of viable options. One the speedway could install lights and contest the race at night or NASCAR and IMS could work to move the race to an earlier date on the schedule. But would that even in itself draw fans back to the speedway. My guess is no for this very next reason.
It can be summed up as basically you get what you pay for. Fans are not going to pay the money for race tickets and travel if they can’t see all the action on the race track. Obstructed fan views on the front stretch leaves many of race fan relying on video boards and scanners to follow their favorite driver on the track. Tradition and history can only provide so much. Fans want bang for their bucks.
Another reason for the decline at the Brickyard is the races lack competition. In the 19 year history of the Brickyard 400 the race winner has led an average of 54 laps over those 19 races. 2008 was the most damaging year for NASCAR at Indy. Tire failures plagued most of the event leaving NASCAR to throw a competition caution every 10 laps leaving many fans outraged. Last year’s Brickyard was won by almost 5 seconds and seeming there was no real action on track unless it was a restart.
So where does this leave NASCAR’s future at the Brickyard? It is a question that has many answers. Will they stay the course and keep coming back every July for the 400 or Will NASCAR look for greener pastures and go to a venue where it won’t have to compete with Indy Car? For me personally I think it is time for NASCAR to look at getting back to its roots. 20 years at the Brickyard is long enough. .
