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Randy LaJoie: His Story In His Own Words

By
SM Staff
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The headlines screamed the news when Randy LaJoie was suspended from NASCAR for violation of the sport’s stringent substance abuse policy. Now that he is one of the first to be reinstated following a strict educational protocol and intense random testing, he is open about sharing his experiences, in his own way and in his own words.

SM: Can you take us through what happened that led to your substance abuse suspension from the sport?

RL: “Me and my wife were at dinner with Mr. Steve deSouza and his wife. We got talking and he asked if I knew of anybody who could do some spotting for Brad Coleman and Matt DiBenedetto. I asked what it paid and when he said $650, I said hell, I’ll do it. So, the next day he called and gave me the dates and I said I could do them.”

“Come Charlotte weekend, our son was going on a mission trip and they were giving golf cart rides to raise money for the trip. So, that’s what I did and darn near paid for the mission trip by working on the golf carts.”

“Sunday night I jumped on the golf cart, was heading back to go home, run up on three guys that were having a very good time. They asked for a ride so I had them jump on and they were in a campground and I brought them there. I got there, there was a cookout, and I got talking to some people and the next thing I know we’re sitting cross legged smoking a peace pipe.”

“I never gave it a second thought. I went home and that Thursday after Charlotte, Steve called and said I had to get a license to spot. I really didn’t want to buy another license but I needed a Nationwide license. I was right around the corner from the place so I went in, filled out the paperwork and peed in the cup.”

“I went that weekend and spotted for Brad (Coleman), came home on Joe Gibbs’ plane and the Coach even complimented me on helping his young kid on the spotter’s stand. The next day I got an email from Brad’s dad saying how much he appreciated the job I did and how much the kid liked me. And then later that day, I got a phone call from the doctor, saying that he had a problem with my urine and that he found traces of marijuana.”

“My heart stopped and I broke out in a sweat. And then it hit me. I was like wow, ok, I did it. Obviously if I would have known going into the test that I wouldn’t pass it, why would I have taken it? Then it was like, ok what do I have to do to fix this. I just kicked myself for two days hard. I embarrassed my family. I embarrassed myself. I’m trying to help my kids get where they’re trying to go. All I could think was you dumb ass.”

SM: What happened next?

RL: “I talked to Mike Helton about what do I have to do to get this over and done with. About a week and a half later they called and they did an assessment. I’ve never been to a shrink but that was the closest thing that I’ve ever been to a shrink. Then after the assessment, which said that I didn’t need any treatment, I had to do classes. I also had to buy a dozen kits and piss in a cup every week. After the third one, I asked if they were all clean, which they were. So, that’s what it was. I’m doing some faith-based counseling and doing some stuff through the church. I want to be a better person. I want to be smarter and find out why I went down the road and did what I did.”

“I don’t know if it was the year that I had last year or what. My wife was diagnosed with cancer, my mom’s sick with cancer, and the seat company got put in the hole by an accountant. It all added up and obviously I didn’t make the right decision. So, I just had to man up, take it on the chin, and figure out what I had to do to fix this. I did it the best way I knew how…to tell the truth.”

SM: How did you cope with the headlines and the feelings that you had during the suspension?

RL: “I just wanted to crawl in a hole. I seen the hurt that it put on my wife’s face. I mean the boys handled it half-assed decent. We brought them both in to tell them and I could see that it looked like I just punched them in the gut. Then when I did get suspended, my first two days was phone calls to all the kids, they call themselves the ‘field fillers’, and I wanted to call all the parents and apologize. That beat the hell out of me.”

“I think you realize the friends that aren’t fake. There were calls asking if I got suspended from ESPN and I knew their next call was to ESPN. Then there were those that said to call if I needed anything and then never returned my calls when I did call.”

SM: How did the suspension affect your work and your livelihood?

RL: “You know it definitely put a strain on it. My wife took it as a bigger hit as an embarrassment on the name. We’re still not as good as we were before. But then again, I think we’re going to be even better. The business after I got back, there was an inch of paper on my desk and out of that stack, there were three negative ones. Those three, I responded to them. It took me an hour to type a paragraph apologizing to them and telling them that I still wake up every day trying to keep kids safe. Then I gave them my competitor’s telephone number.”

“I don’t know how I will get my good name back. There’s not many people that walk around with halos or live in glass houses.”

SM: What do you want people to know about this experience and what it has meant to you?

RL: “That I’m working on figuring out why I took the roads that I went down and I’m more than likely not going to do that again. I ask myself why every day. That’s something that I don’t know what the answer to that is. I just have to be a better person, follow the right attitudes. Obviously something bothered me that I wanted to hide from. Hopefully, I will get all my ducks in a row and not do that again.”

SM: What does the future hold for Randy LaJoie?

RL: “I enjoy working on the TV side. Will I get some of it back, I don’t know. I had three dates until the end of the year with ESPN and Versus had already filled my position. I still think my positives outweigh my negatives when it comes to racing. I’ve seen a lot. I’ve done a lot. I still wake up every day trying to keep my company afloat. My ‘Safer Racing’ tour is one of the best things I do and I turned it into a nonprofit. Every summer, I go on tour with different groups and go to different race tracks, looking at cars and telling them how to be safe. I have a wonderful program for kids who outgrow their seats but it’s a tough business to be in.”

“My boys have seen what I’ve been through. It was my birthday last Saturday and in their birthday card they both said that we seen what you went through the past two months and you handled it well and we’re going to do that. So, if it’s going to help those ‘field fillers’ get to where they want to be, that’s a lesson learned.”

Lap By Lap – Atlanta – The Emory Healthcare 500

By
SM Staff
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Wow, can you believe it?? We finally hear a good anthem. It has been a long time for that.

We kick off Labor Day at Atlanta Motor Speedway heading into the sun and nice evening for 500 miles of door to door action.

Denny Hamlin along with Ryan Newman will lead our 43 drivers to the start finish line. Kyle Busch, Carl Edwards and Tony Stewart will be in tow for the top five. By the way only one driver has won the race from the pole.

We will keep an eye on Casey Mears who starts 43rd, Marcos Ambrose starting 32nd, Joey Logano and Dale Earnhardt Jr. starting 25th.

The pace car leads the field out of turn four and in control of the front row. Then all of a sudden it’s…

GREEN FLAG as we see a huge amount of smoke from the fireworks that were shot off as the field drove along the back stretch. Hamlin and Newman race side by side for the entire lap where Hamlin is scored with the first five points.

Lap 4 Martin Truex Jr. attempts to pass Stewart but Stewart has the power to hold the position. Lap 5 we almost see Edwards slap the outside wall of turn 4. Lap 6 Mark Martin start his day 17th and rapidly fall back to 27th. Lap 8 we see a battle between Edwards and Kyle Busch form up but they hold their starting positions.

Lap 10 early movers on the track see last night’s Nationwide winner Jamie McMurray move up to 8th from his start of 12th as well as Elliott Sadler 17th from his start of 22nd. Lap 16 Newman for the lead coming out of turn four.

Lap 18 Jimmie Johnson is starting to challenge Stewart for 4th. Johnson started 7th. We also see on lap 19 A.J. Allmendinger passing Greg Biffle for 11th. Lap 22 Newman leads Hamlin by a half second.

Lap 35 we had a drop in our coverage for a few laps but we are back with Hamlin in the lead over Kyle Busch by 1.5 seconds. Newman has slipped back to 4th after a Stewart pass. Lap 38 Jeff Gordon slips back to 14th after Paul Menard passes him for 13th.

Lap 38 the start and park drivers segment are underway as Michael McDowell and Joe Nemechek head to the garage. NASCAR warns the teams of Kevin Conway and Mike Bliss to pick up their speed or they will be heading to the garage too.

Lap 43 we also see the lap down list growing as Patrick Carpentier, J.J. Yeley, Travis Kvapil, David Gilliland and Brad Keselowski are on the list. Lap 44 add Dave Blaney to the list with Bobby Labonte and Reed Sorenson to be next.

Mike Bliss and Conway head to the garage. Lap 46 Sam Hornish Jr. is the first one to pit road. Lap 46 Marcos Ambrose and Kurt Busch are on pit road. Lap 48 Sorenson is in along with Stewart, Biffle, Juan Pablo Montoya, Edwards. Martin and ten others are in.

Lap 49 the floodgates are open as another ten head onto pit road. Lap 50 Kyle Busch is busted for too fast on entry to pit road. We see that McMurray missed pit road for his first attempt.

Lap 54 after the round of pit stops Stewart is the leader followed by the rest of your top twenty drivers of Hamlin, Truex Jr., Kasey Kahne, Newman, Johnson, Edwards, Biffle, Allmendinger, Clint Bowyer, Menard, Kevin Harvick, Montoya, Ambrose, David Ragan, David Reutimann, Earnhardt Jr., Jeff Gordon, Matt Kenseth and McMurray.

Lap 55 Hamlin is back in the lead. Lap 58 Ambrose has moved up the most positions to 13th. Lap 70 Kyle Busch heads to pit road for a vibration. Kurt Busch falls a lap down as well. Lap 71 Stewart takes the lead again. Are the cars are back on track except for Nemechek.

Lap 75 your top ten drivers are Stewart, Hamlin, Kahne, Edwards, Truex Jr., Johnson, Biffle, Allmendinger, Menard and Harvick. Lap 77 Harvick started his day 29th and is up 19 positions to 10th.

Lap 79 where are our spotlight drivers? Mears is 31st and one lap down, Ambrose is 18th and up 14 positions, Logano 26th one lap down but up five from his start and Earnhardt Jr. up 9 positions to 16th from his start of 25th.

Lap 84 Hamlin closes in on Stewart for the lead. Stewart is able to stay in front of Hamlin on lap 86 as they have to contend with lap down drivers. A surprise of the race is Jeff Burton running 24th and just about to go a lap down. Lap 88 Hornish Jr. heads to pit road for a scheduled stop. Hamlin is the leader.

Lap 90 Johnson running behind Kahne and Truex Jr. is big time sideways out of turn four. Lap 91 Keselowski is on pit road. Burton falls a lap down. Lap 92 pit stops begin as Kurt Busch heads to his pit. Lap 93 Bowyer is in. Lap 94 Martin is in danger of going a lap down. Newman is in for a stop with Mears.

Lap 96 McMurray is in with a few other drivers in the back of the field. Reutimann is having issues with his radio as the team asks NASCAR to black flag their driver to make his stop.

Lap 97 Stewart and Jeff Gordon are in with many of the leaders. Lap 100 most of the stops are complete, Kyle Busch is out of pit stop rotation and currently in the top five. Your top twenty drivers are Stewart, Hamlin, Truex Jr., Edwards, Kahne, Kyle Busch, Johnson, Menard, Harvick, Biffle, Allmendinger, Newman, Bowyer, Montoya, Jeff Gordon, Reutimann, Earnhardt Jr., McMurray, Ambrose and Kenseth. So far we have seen 12 lead changes among 4 leaders and no cautions as of yet.

Lap 110 as Johnson has moved up a few positions to 6th and challenges Kahne for 5th. Lap 114 Jeff Gordon may have a better setup on the car as he closes in on Montoya for 11th. Johnson takes 5th from Kahne.

Lap 116 Harvick’s move to the front continues as he is up to 8th ( a move of 21 spots). Lap 120 we have 19 drivers on the lead lap. The issue with Reutimann was that he knocked the cord out from his helmet. The issue places him two laps down.

Lap 125 Kenseth falls a lap down with Martin, Ambrose, Earnhardt Jr. and McMurray who may the next ones on the list. Lap 127 Hamlin takes the lead back from Stewart. Lap 130 we have been watching Logano for a few laps now and he may have an issue with the engine.

Lap 131 Martin falls a lap down. Earnhardt Jr. falls a lap down lap 133 and will be the lucky dog as…

YELLOW FLAG lap 134 for debris. The leaders head to pit road. The race back is Hamlin, Stewart, Edwards, Harvick and Truex Jr.

GREEN FLAG lap 139 as Edwards shoots the middle of the leaders as they head into turn one followed by Truex Jr. leaving Stewart in the dust for a moment. Lap 141 Johnson heads to the outside wall in turn one, just misses it while Hamlin slips back a few spots after Edwards takes the lead followed by Truex Jr. and Johnson.

Lap 143 Kahne Challenges Biffle for 7th.

YELLOW FLAG lap 144 as Hamlin blows his motor on the front straight. Kyle Busch wins his lucky dog position. We are going to be under this caution for some extra laps with the oil on the front stretch. The leaders head to pit road on lap 148. The race out of pit road is won by Stewart who is followed by Edwards, Truex Jr., Johnson and Harvick. We will see about 21 drivers who are wave around drivers. Martin, Mears, Kenseth, Ambrose, Ragan, Smith will go back on the lead lap and Kyle Busch is the lucky dog. This will get us back to 23 drivers on the lead lap.

GREEN FLAG lap 152 as Edwards runs the outside line, Stewart on the inside line.

YELLOW FLAG lap 152 as Biffle makes contact with Newman as they head into turn three. Biffle slides sideways in the middle of the track facing the apron, sliding down into Sadler’s car which shoots him into the outside turn four wall. Kyle Busch and Earnhardt Jr. are missed by inches. Harvick was on the outside of Sadler and may have some slight damage, but we cannot tell yet. Burton is the lucky dog.

We have a whole bunch more wave around drivers.

GREEN FLAG lap 162 as Johnson did what Edwards did on the last restart to take the lead. Lap 163 (halfway) lots of action in the middle of the pack. Lap 166 a few battles as Earnhardt Jr. moves into 10th. Lap 168 Gordon challenges Kahne for 5th and takes it coming out of turn two.

Lap 169 Kyle Busch passes Kahne for 6th. Stewart closes in on Johnson for the lead. Stewart takes it on lap 170. Lap 173 Harvick was running back in 13th but is on the move once again as he passes Earnhardt Jr. for 10th. Menard follows Harvick and takes 11th. Harvick continues his move forward passing Kahne to take 9th.

Lap 177 Harvick takes 8th from Montoya. Lap 178 Kyle Busch closes in on McMurray for 6th. Trouble for McMurray as he picks up a flat tire and just makes it into pit road. Lap 181 battle between Harvick, Kyle Busch and Kahne for 7th. Harvick takes it.

Lap 182 battle for 4th place as Truex Jr. holds off Gordon. Lap 183 Gordon takes the position. Lap 185 Stewart has the lead on Johnson by 2.1 seconds and 3.8 seconds over third place Edwards.

Lap 187 we see battles between Kahne and Kyle Busch for 8th, Bowyer and Martin for 15th. Our spotlight drivers run with Mears in 26th, Ambrose 17th, Logano 31st and Earnhardt Jr. 10th.

Lap 193 our movers of the race currently are Harvick 4th from his start of 29th, Gordon 5th from 18th, Earnhardt Jr. 10th from 25th, Burton on a big comeback 11th from being a lap down and his start of 26th and Ambrose 16th from his start of 32nd.

Lap 196 drivers who have fallen back are Newman 21st from his start of 2nd, McMurray 23rd from 12th, Reutimann 22nd from 24th, Biffle 36th from 15th and Hamlin out of the race from the pole position.

Lap 200 (125 to go) your top twenty drivers are Stewart, Johnson, Edwards, Harvick, Gordon, Truex Jr., Kyle Busch, Montoya, Kahne, Burton, Earnhardt Jr., Allmendinger, Martin, Bowyer, Ambrose, Speed, Smith, Kurt Busch, Menard and Newman. So far…

YELLOW FLAG lap 201 for Ragan spinning out coming out of turn two. We saw 19 lead changes among 6 drivers and as of now 4 cautions. Kenseth is the lucky dog. The leaders head to pit road. Stewart, Johnson, Edwards, Gordon and Kyle Busch are the top five back to the track.

GREEN FLAG lap 206 as Stewart and Johnson are three wide with Edwards a Kyle Busch pushes him forward. Earnhardt Jr. almost has contact with Ambrose as Earnhardt is 12th. Lap 208 another three wide between Keselowski, McMurray and Sorenson for 23rd.

Lap 210 another three wide battle for Kahne, Gordon and Burton for 8th. Ambrose slipping back to 15th. Lap 211 Montoya moves past Kyle Busch for 4th place. Lap 212 Reutimann battle with McMurray for the lucky dog position. Two laps later McMurray has the position.

Lap 213 Stewart begins his move away from Johnson by 1.4 seconds. Lap 219 we have 21 drivers on the lead lap. Down one lap we see McMurray, Reutimann, Sorenson, Mears, and Ragan. Two laps down are Gilliland, Blaney, Elliott and Logano. Three laps down are Labonte and Kvapil. Four laps down are Carpentier and Hornish Jr.

Lap 224 either way back or parked in the garage are Nemechek, McDowell, Conway, Biffle, Yeley, Sadler, Bliss and Hamlin. Lap 225 (100 to go) your top ten drivers are Stewart, Edwards, Montoya, Johnson, Kyle Busch, Truex Jr., Harvick, Kahne, Burton and Allmendinger.

Lap 226 we see Biffle who returned many laps ago limping back out of turn three to pit road. Lap 229 Burton hooks the apron to pass Kahne for 8th. Lap 235 Biffle is back in the race. Stewart leads Edwards by 2.2 seconds, 3rd place Montoya by 4.2 seconds, 4th place Johnson 5.4 seconds and 5th place Kyle Busch 5.6 seconds.

Lap 246 as the green flag run continues on and drivers are looking way out of shape in the corners. Kyle Busch, Harvick and Johnson are just hanging on from losing control of their cars.

Lap 250 pit stops begin.

YELLOW FLAG lap 253 as we are halfway through the pit stops as Harvick blows a left front tire in turn one after missing pit road entrance then car parts fly off the front fender on the track. We will see how this shakes out for scoring in just a minute as it shows Harvick as the leader and should be down several positions.

Lap 259 NASCAR has Harvick head to pit road for an extra lap to square away the error where we have 19 drivers on the lead lap. We see a few drivers come in to pit road like Gordon and Martin. As most pitted, they do not come back. During the closed pits Harvick came in several times, he will serve a penalty going back to the field.

McMurray is the lucky dog. Ragan, Keselowski will go to the back of the field as well for speeding on pit road.

GREEN FLAG lap 263 as Edwards and Stewart get the show going again. Stewart may have spun his wheels, which allows several drivers to get around. Kyle Busch and Truex Jr. pass to take 2nd and 3rd.

YELLLOW FLAG lap 265 as Speed blows his engine in turn three. Sorenson is the lucky dog. Menard takes his car to the garage for an engine issue as well. The field drives around for several laps before pit road is open. The race back is Truex Jr., Kyle Busch, Edwards, Kahne and Stewart. Mears is the lucky dog.

GREEN FLAG lap 275 (50 to go) as Kurt Busch and Jeff Gordon who remained on the field lead us back to racing. Edwards and Truex Jr. restart back in 8th. Lap 277 Gordon is passed by Johnson and Edwards who take 4th and 5th. Lap 278 Kahne takes second place from Kyle Busch who remained on track.

45 to go as Kahne takes the lead from Kurt Busch. Johnson passes Kyle Busch to take over 4th place. 44 to go Ambrose passes Newman for 15th. 43 to go Gordon continues to fall back to 8th. 42 to go Johnson to challenge Edwards for 2nd and takes it.

40 to go Johnson closes in on Kahne for the lead. 38 to go coming out of turn two Johnson works on Kahne. By turn three Kahne holds him off. 36 to go it’s a three way battle for the lead between Kahne, Johnson and Edwards.

35 to go Kahne mirror driving to hold Johnson and Edwards back. 33 to go we almost saw Johnson make a pass but was way loose and did not make it. 31 to go Montoya battles with Truex Jr. for 7th.

YELLOW FLAG with 30 to go as Keselowski is completely sideways and does not hit anything, big time luck for his team. Reutimann is the lucky dog. The field heads to pit road. Edwards is the first back to the track followed by Stewart, Kahne, Johnson and Kurt Busch.

GREEN FLAG with 24 to go Stewart does not spin his wheels like the past few times and takes the lead. Kahne connects into Kurt Busch and is the looser with a flat tire.

YELLOW FLAG and 23 to go as some pieces fly off of Kahne’s car. Ragan is the lucky dog.

20 to go we have Stewart, Edwards, Johnson, Newman, Kurt Busch, Kyle Busch, Bowyer, Truex Jr., Kenseth and Ambrose as the top ten.

GREEN FLAG and 18 to go as Edwards and Stewart lead us again to racing. Stewart spins the tires once again but recovers and has the lead solidly. 16 to go Newman and Johnson battle for 3rd place with Kurt Busch in tow.

15 to go as this is our battle as Stewart and Edwards leave the field behind.

14 to go it’s game on between Burton and Kyle Busch for 6th

13 to go as Kurt Busch works the outside and Burton on the inside with a big power save as he passed Kurt Busch in turn four and was almost sideways.

11 to go as Burton moves into 5th to leave Kyle and Kurt Busch battle for 6th.

10 to go as Stewart leads Edwards by 1 second. McMurray and Sorenson fight for 14th.

9 to go it’s Bowyer versus Kurt Busch for 7th.

8 to go as McMurray has to fight for 15th with Reutimann.

7 to go Burton closes in on Newman for 4th place.

6 to go Stewart leads as Burton almost made it past Newman coming out of turn four.

5 to go Stewart over Edwards by 1 second

4 to go Newman has the position as they have to deal with lap down driver Kahne.

3 to go as Newman was pushed out of shape by Kahne.

2 to go Stewart by 1.2 seconds over Edwards

WHITE FLAG for Stewart out of turn four “RING THE BELL BABY” exclaims Stewart.

CHECKERED FLAG for Stewart.

The top ten in overall points are locked in the Chase.

Your top ten finishers were Stewart, Edwards, Johnson, Burton, Kyle Busch, Kurt Busch, Bowyer, Newman, Montoya and Ambrose.

The race lasted for almost four hours. We saw 27 lead changes among 9 leaders and 8 cautions for 53 laps.

Stewart led the most laps with 175, Hamlin led 71. Edwards led 28 and Kahne 16. Kurt Busch and Newman led 10 laps.

NOTES FROM THE NASCAR NATION: Don’t expect Gordon to shop at Walmart

By
SM Staff
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The hunt for team sponsors for the Hendrick Motorsports racing stable hit a high and low point last Saturday in Atlanta. First off Rick Hendrick announced that Quaker State Motor Oil was returning as an associate sponsor on all four of his Chevrolet teams and would be the primary sponsor for Mark Martin’s no. 5 team during four races next year.

On the down side Hendrick announced that Jeff Gordon will not be shopping at Walmart next year.

All through out the 2010 racing season Hendrick Motorsports has captured our attention for a variety of reasons. There was Jimmie Johnson and the #48 team who scored five wins in short order only to develop a tail spin that now has them ninth in the championship standings. This is despite the prospects that say he still favored to win five consecutive titles.

Then there was the concern over the performance levels of the Hendrick #88 team and Dale Earnhardt Jr. This was followed by equal performance concerns regarding Mark Martin and the #5 team which is a factor that still surprises many observers.

Let’s not forget about several months of trying to find the company’s new hire, Kasey Kahne, a ride for 2011 while waiting for him to join the #5 team full time in 2012.

Somewhere in the middle of these dramatic moments we all had a tendency to overlook another surprising element from Hendrick Motorsports: four time series champion Jeff Gordon, for the first time in his NASCAR Sprint Cup career, seems to have sponsorship issues.

Out of 36 Sprint Cup points race, plus two special non points events, Gordon is fully sponsored in 2010.. The National Guard signed on as the primary sponsor for eight races, the Pepsi Cola Corporation products signed on for two races and Gordon’s long time sponsor, DuPont Automotive Finishes, signed on as primary for the remainder of the schedule.

However, in recent months, DuPont indicated that wanted to scale back their NASCAR sponsorship program for the 2011 season. Their current contract with the team ends at the end of this year. This is, of course, another testament to the current state of the nation’s economy.

In late July came rumors that Walmart could be the answer to the #24 team’s 2011 sponsorship profile. Yes, Walmart the nation’s number one retailer. The one major corporate entity who, in their illustrious history, has never really expressed much interest in a marketing partnership with major league sports in America. When you think about it, Walmart’s exposure level has been just fine without the wide world of sports.

Typical of their status as the nation’s number one retailer, Walmart interest in NASCAR racing began with a project much larger than just team sponsorship. They are reported to be in negotiations with NASCAR for a direct license agreement. Simply put, Walmart would become NASCAR’s exclusive retailer in the mass market space. Such an agreement could find Walmart using the direct license to select suppliers and set prices on NASCAR themed souvenirs such as hats and T shirts. In effect, the result would be a NASCAR located inside of a Walmart store. It appears that, at this point in time, negotiations for a direct license agreement are still ongoing.

From all this came rumors that Walmart might also be interested in direct team sponsorship. Their Executives reportedly visited many NASCAR Sprint Cup shops in late spring-early summer. Granted, Walmart will need the cooperation of these major teams for the direct license program to work but it was also an opportunity to get an up close look at the teams as individual entities in case an individual sponsorship program was an area they wanted to further explore.

The rumor mill hit a fever pitch and said Hendrick and Walmart executives were in serious talks regarding Gordon’s team. That actually turned out to be true. But on August 25th a statement surfaced indicating that a business relationship between Walmart and the #24 team wasn’t going to happen. The statement came from what was described as an in house company newsletter and stated “while we continue to employ a range of marketing initiatives to deliver our message of Save Money Live Better to our customers this is one we will not be doing.”

During a press conference, held last Saturday at Atlanta Motor Speedway, Hendrick acknowledged that a sponsor opportunity with Walmart wasn’t going to happen. “You talk to a lot of people, and they were someone we talked to,” he said adding “we got down the road a bit but timing is one of those things, possibly we’ll do something down the road with them but it won’t be next year.”

Hendrick also expressed optimism that the open sponsorship issues for his entire racing stable would be resolved soon and pointed out that many of the companies that he’s dealt with in the past will be returning next year. “We’ll be announcing details in the next 60 days. In the past, you would announce mid year but companies are waiting longer and longer. We plan to have everything done at the end of November.”

Hendrick has every reason to remain optimistic regarding his #24 team. After all, he will be presenting sponsor opportunity for Jeff Gordon, a four time NASCAR Sprint Cup champion, a driver who clinched his 2010 berth in the Chase three weeks early and someone who truly has a good chance of making that “drive for five” championship theme a reality. It’s also well known that, when it comes to representing the goodwill needs of a sponsor, Gordon is one of the best ambassadors in the business.

All this means is: he won’t be shopping at Walmart next year.

Mark Martin’s Classiest Season Yet

By
SM Staff
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Mark Martin is one of NASCAR’s most talented drivers. That’s why some of his fans did not complain too much when owner Rick Hendrick made some questionable moves to Martin’s No. 5 team over the offseason, moving engineers from Martin’s team to teammate Dale Earnhardt Jr, who struggled in 2009.

Maybe if Martin’s knew how 2010 was going to turn out, the griping would have started earlier.

Martin has had an extremely disappointing 2010 season, he hasn’t found victory lane yet and hasn’t had back to back top ten finishes since Talladega.

Something even more surprising is that the runner-up in last year’s chase, won’t even race for the title this season as Martin was mathematically eliminated from the chase after a terrible 21st place finish at Atlanta on Sunday.

The 51 year old from Batesville, Arkansas will have to wait until next year to try and get his first Cup title.

Many people point towards the offseason moves as the cause for Mark Martin’s struggles.

Dave Moody has stated numerous times he thinks those changes have had an effect on Martin’s season.

Many drivers would have moaned and groaned about the changes, Mark Martin hasn’t. Deep down it has to bother the heck out of Martin to know his prime years of running for a championship in a Hendrick Motorsports car are dwindling down and in 2010 he won’t even have a shot at it.

Maybe Martin doesn’t care anymore? Some people might say. That is nowhere near the truth. Martin is one of the most passionate people in the sport. He would just sit home and not race if he didn’t care anymore. He’s made his money and his name. Yet, Martin wants that prize that has been o so close for many years.

Martin is a professional. That’s what it comes down to. He understands the team atmosphere at Hendrick Motorsports and understands why the move was made.

Yet his fans are livid. “I want my team back,” one fan screamed on a talk radio show earlier in the week. “We were good last year it wasn’t our fault so why,” the fan continued.  

And Mark Martin continues his silence about the subject. Martin has had his share of distractions this season. Kasey Kahne rumors of taking over the No. 5 car were a distraction to him no doubt. The Jimmie Johnson/Jeff Gordon feud was a distraction as well.

Maybe Martin doesn’t want his comments to be a distraction towards Jimmie Johnson’s and Jeff Gordon’s fight for the championship this season. Maybe Martin’s too professional to blame someone else for his struggles.

Interesting! Maybe Martin doesn’t want certain fans to turn against him with comments like that. Whatever the reason may be it sure is a problem and Martin has been silent about it.

Mark Martin has always been called one of NASCAR’s classiest drivers. This season however, he has shown his classiest side yet.

‘Second place is just the first loser.’ … Dale Earnhardt

By
Angie Campbell
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I’m not sure if he was the first to say it but this simple phrase captures the heart and soul of the man we knew as “The Intimidator.” His fierce determination to never settle for anything less than first place resulted in seven championship titles.

The history of auto racing is filled with colorful characters who willingly share their unique perspectives. If you really want to know the story of competitive racing, all you have to do is listen.

In unguarded moments, their words can paint a picture that takes us inside their world. Through humor and passion, they shine a light on racing and bring the sport to life.

When Janet Guthrie was asked how to succeed in racing, her answer was short and to the point. “Be born rich,” she said.

Today’s media can quickly turn our racing stars from ordinary men and women into superheroes but the pioneers of yesteryear didn’t drive for fame or fortune.

“We drove for the sheer fun of driving because there wasn’t that much money to be made.”

Richard Petty

“Sometimes it seemed like the more you drove the less money you had,” Louise Smith once said. “I remember one time Buck Baker and Lee Petty and I had to put our money together just to split a hot dog and a Coke.”

While all drivers strive for the same goal, each individual has their own distinct philosophy on winning.

“The winner ain’t the one with the fastest car; it’s the one who refuses to lose.” Dale Earnhardt

“Racing is a matter of spirit not strength.” Janet Guthrie

“Nobody remembers who finished second but the guy who finished second.” Bobby Unser

“To finish first, you must first finish.” Rick Mears

It takes more than skill and determination to win races. Innovation can often mean the difference between success and failure.

“Trying to figure out NASCAR’s rule book threw me at first. Then, after studying the rules from all sides, I realized I’d made a colossal mistake. I’d been reading the rule book to see what it said. And all along what I should have been doing was finding out what it didn’t say. After I started doing that, racing became fun in a big way.” Smokey Yunick

Some drivers yearn for the good old days when wins meant bringing home food to put on the table and emotions were raw.

“Moonshiners put more time, energy, thought, and love into their cars than any racer ever will. Lose on the track and you go home. Lose with a load of whiskey and you go to jail.” Junior Johnson

“Years ago, you used to get out and fight and run around and chase each other with a jackhammer and stuff like that. Those were the good old days.” Dale Earnhardt Jr.

NASCAR has provided us with unprecedented access to the drivers and a front row seat to the intensity and frustration of competition.

“I love this kind of racing, but these guys sure change their personalities in race mode. They’re like Doberman pinschers with a hand grenade in their mouths.” Boris Said speaking about Sprint Cup drivers.

“I’ve been doing this for 26 years and I’ve played mind games with people and I’ve had people play mind games with me,” Tony Stewart

“Passing Earnhardt is like trying to take a bone out of a Pit Bulls mouth.” Buddy Baker

“You learn more from your mistakes than you do from your success, and last year I learned a lot. That was an unfortunate season but maybe I needed to experience it to get back mentally to where I need to be.” Dale Earnhardt Jr.

A driver needs skill, determination and money in order to succeed. A sense of humor doesn’t hurt either.

“I got wrecked racing for last. That’s Bristol.” Todd Bodine

If we’re going to keep fuel mileage racing, we might as well build solar cars and let the sun decide who wins. Tony Stewart

“My grandfather is the King, My Dad is the Prince, I guess that makes me the Butler.” Adam Petty

“I make jokes about the fact that as a neurosurgeon I shouldn’t be required at a motor race because the drivers don’t have any brains…. otherwise they wouldn’t race.”

Syd Watkins – Formula One Chief Medical Officer

Much has changed over the years but the quest for victory remains the ultimate goal. Capturing that elusive win can bring the toughest competitor to tears.

“I cried a little bit in the race car on the way to the checkered flag. Well, maybe not cried, but at least my eyes watered up.” Dale Earnhardt Jr.

You will never know the feeling of a driver when winning a race. The helmet hides feelings that cannot be understood. Ayrton Senna

“We lost everything here. To come back here and win with that number means everything.” Tony Eury Jr.

When all is said and done, you can sum up auto racing in three words.

Winning is everything.

“If I died right now, my life would be complete.” Tony Stewart after winning the Allstate 400.

Jamie McMurray claims victory for JR Motorsports

By
SM Staff
-

Kasey Kahne brought the field to the green flag for the Great Clips 300, NASCAR Nationwide Series  race at Atlanta Motor Speedway Saturday night with a near blinding sun off of turns one and two. With pressure from the start from Kyle Busch and Ryan Newman, Kahne steadfastly held his line and prevailed for the first 3 laps before Bush would get by.

But Kahne was not about to give up as he dogged Busch, taking the lead back on lap 11. Kahne could not hold on up front as Bush moved past him again on lap 25.  As the 50 lap mark approached Jamie McMurray was charging forward and moved past Kahne to take second place.  The first caution of the race came for debris on the front stretch on lap 43. The race went green again 4 laps later.

Busch held onto the lead as Michael McDowell spun in turn 2 on lap 61 bringing out the races second caution.  Following pit stops McMurray emerged the leader as the green flag flew on lap 64. McMurray’s lead  only lasted  5 laps as Kevin Harvick roared past to become the fourth leader on lap 70. Harvick fought hard to stay out front and managed to hold off the field until Kyle Busch took over once again on lap 122.
With 50 laps to go in the race the top five included, Busch, McMurray, Harvick, Edwards and Keselowski.

Caution number three came out on lap 148 when Trevor Bayne slid up high on the backstretch just as Ryan Newman was going high to pass him. The contact sent Bayne spinning into the inside wall. As the leaders pitted on lap 149, it was Jamie McMurray once again taking the lead, where he stayed until the fourth caution came out on lap 169 when Reed Sorenson spun on the backstretch.

As the leaders came in for their final pit stops, Brad Keselowski stayed out to take the lead.  However, with fresh tires, Jamie McMurray made quick work of Keselowski taking the lead for the final time. Staying out front, holding off Kyle Busch in the closing laps, McMurray brought the #88 car to Victory Lane for his first NASCAR Nationwide Series win of the year. Busch was followed across the line by Carl Edwards, Kevin Harvick and Matt Kenseth.  Rounding out the top ten were Joey Logano, Jason Leffler, Ryan Newman, Paul Menard and Rookie Ricky Stenhouse Jr.

The win was McMurray’s eight win in 179 career NASCAR Nationwide Series races, his last win came at Darlington Raceway on November 13, 2004.  This was his second win and fourth top ten at Atlanta Motor Speedway.

Unofficial Results

Pos. St. No. Driver Make Pts. Bon. Laps
1 7 88 Jamie McMurray  Chevrolet 190 5 195
2 2 18 Kyle Busch  Toyota 180 10 195
3 5 60 Carl Edwards  Ford 165 0 195
4 8 33 Kevin Harvick  Chevrolet 165 5 195
5 18 16 Matt Kenseth  Ford 155 0 195
6 10 20 Joey Logano  Toyota 150 0 195
7 12 10 Jason Leffler  Toyota 146 0 195
8 4 1 Ryan Newman  Chevrolet 142 0 195
9 9 98 Paul Menard  Ford 138 0 195
10 13 6 Ricky Stenhouse Jr. * Ford 134 0 195
11 6 7 Josh Wise  Chevrolet 130 0 195
12 15 22 Brad Keselowski  Dodge 132 5 195
13 20 12 Justin Allgaier  Dodge 124 0 195
14 16 21 Clint Bowyer  Chevrolet 121 0 195
15 17 40 Mike Bliss  Chevrolet 118 0 195
16 33 62 Brendan Gaughan  Toyota 115 0 195
17 14 42 David Gilliland  Dodge 112 0 195
18 23 35 Jason Keller  Chevrolet 109 0 193
19 1 38 Kasey Kahne  Toyota 111 5 192
20 39 34 Tony Raines  Chevrolet 103 0 192
21 32 15 Michael Annett  Toyota 100 0 192
22 35 9 John Wes Townley  Ford 97 0 191
23 29 5 Willie Allen  Chevrolet 94 0 191
24 11 99 Trevor Bayne  Toyota 91 0 191
25 40 28 Kenny Wallace  Chevrolet 88 0 191
26 27 27 Brad Baker  Ford 85 0 190
27 26 81 Michael McDowell  Dodge 82 0 190
28 30 11 Brian Scott * Toyota 79 0 189
29 25 87 Joe Nemechek  Chevrolet 76 0 189
30 36 24 Eric McClure  Ford 73 0 188
31 34 26 Brian Keselowski  Dodge 70 0 184
32 41 70 Mark Green  Chevrolet 67 0 183
33 42 23 Robert Richardson Jr.  Chevrolet 64 0 170
34 3 32 Reed Sorenson  Toyota 61 0 166
35 37 66 Steve Wallace  Toyota 58 0 139
36 22 1 Mike Wallace  Chevrolet 55 0 100
37 21 91 Chase Miller  Chevrolet 52 0 19
38 28 90 Danny O’Quinn Jr.  Chevrolet 49 0 15
39 43 89 Johnny Chapman  Chevrolet 46 0 11
40 31 52 Kevin Lepage  Chevrolet 43 0 3
41 24 92 Dennis Setzer  Dodge 40 0 2
42 19 43 Kevin Hamlin  Ford 37 0 2
43 38 136 Jeff Green  Chevrolet 34 0 1

Spin to Win- Bodine Wins at Kentucky

By
SM Staff
-

Todd Bodine experienced the rare “spin and win” Friday evening during the “Built Ford Tough 225” at the Kentucky Speedway.

Bodine was in the lead when Kyle Busch passed him to the outside coming off turn four, possibly taking the air off of Bodine’s truck causing the spin. Bodine spun in front of the entire field but kept the truck off the wall and out of harm’s way.  Since he flat spotted the tires he pitted for fuel and tires and moved to the rear of the field.

The race would go green the rest of the way and the leaders needed fuel as Bodine nursed his throttle to save fuel.

In victory lane Bodine was not happy with Busch saying, “I’d like to thank Kyle for driving dirty and pushing us down. That made us get the gas. Unfortunately, I’ve always had a lot of respect for Kyle,” Bodine said. “Slowly but surely I’m losing it.” Those comments apparently angered Busch who went to victory lane and had a discussion with Bodine.

“We didn’t get into the fence with the spin,” Bodine said. “So our misfortune became our fortune tonight.   Spinning out was what gave us the fuel to get to the end because we didn’t get into the fence. The guys did a great job fixing the truck and everything fell the way we needed it. The race went green the whole way and everybody else had to pit under green.”

Bodine, who has won three of the last five series events said, “You never give up. We had a good enough truck to get through the field and pass those guys. I started pedaling with about 20 to go to save fuel and we had enough to get to the end,” Bodine said.

Second place went to Johnny Sauter which was his second straight top five  and third one in the past four races.

“The guys made a great call to bring me down (pit road) to get gas and tires there,” Sauter said. “We kind of had a hunch we would be going green the rest of the way there. I argued with them and they made the right call. We had a fourth-, fifth-place truck the all night and we got second out of it. We just have to keep going on to our next race and I think I am pretty damn good there so I may win that race.”

Busch dominated the race after taking the lead on lap 55 , leading the most laps. He appeared to be ready to dominate the race like he had at Bristol and Chicago the prior tow outings. The problem was his truck needed fuel and he surrendered the lead when he pitted for fuel with 23 laps remaining in the race.

Other notables were Aric Almirola (3rd)  who earned his sixth consecutive top-10 finish. Almirola is second in points, 261 back. Jason White (4th) tied his best finish of the season and Ricky Carmichael (5th) earned his third career top-five finish and scored his second-best finish this season. He had finished 4th earlier this season in Dover.   

Busch finished the race in 7th.

Unofficial Results

Pos. St. No. Driver Make Pts. Bon. Laps
1 14 30 Todd Bodine  Toyota 190 5 150
2 2 13 Johnny Sauter  Chevrolet 175 5 150
3 5 51 Aric Almirola  Toyota 165 0 150
4 13 23 Jason White  Ford 160 0 150
5 9 4 Ricky Carmichael  Chevrolet 155 0 150
6 12 17 Timothy Peters  Toyota 150 0 150
7 4 18 Kyle Busch  Toyota 156 10 150
8 26 39 Ryan Sieg  Chevrolet 142 0 150
9 1 3 Austin Dillon * Chevrolet 143 5 149
10 10 88 Matt Crafton  Chevrolet 134 0 149
11 7 7 Justin Lofton * Toyota 130 0 149
12 16 60 Stacy Compton  Chevrolet 132 5 149
13 3 5 Mike Skinner  Toyota 124 0 149
14 20 181 David Starr  Toyota 121 0 149
15 24 192 Dennis Setzer  Chevrolet 118 0 149
16 29 12 Mario Gosselin  Chevrolet 115 0 149
17 27 85 Brent Raymer  Ford 112 0 149
18 6 90 Donny Lia  Toyota 109 0 148
19 15 2 Shelby Howard  Chevrolet 106 0 148
20 21 177 Miguel Paludo  Toyota 103 0 148
21 36 244 Will Kimmel III Ford 100 0 148
22 11 31 James Buescher  Chevrolet 97 0 148
23 30 10 Jennifer Jo Cobb * Ford 94 0 147
24 32 46 Clay Greenfield  Dodge 91 0 147
25 18 41 Steve Park  Toyota 88 0 147
26 31 6 Carl Long  Chevrolet 85 0 147
27 19 172 John Jackson  Chevrolet 82 0 147
28 22 47 Jeffrey Earnhardt  Chevrolet 79 0 146
29 8 33 Ron Hornaday  Chevrolet 81 5 146
30 35 1 Chris Lafferty  Dodge 73 0 141
31 34 57 Norm Benning  Chevrolet 70 0 130
32 23 182 Paddy Rodenbeck  Chevrolet 67 0 91
33 17 187 Chris Jones  Chevrolet 69 5 41
34 25 93 Mike Garvey  Chevrolet 61 0 10
35 33 7 Butch Miller  Dodge 58 0 4
36 28 95 Tim Andrews  Dodge 55 0 2

Paulie Harraka Is NASCAR’s Next Jersey Boy

By
SM Staff
-

“Fuggedabout” Cup driver Martin Truex, Jr. and his baby brother, K&N East Series Champion Ryan. There is a new Jersey boy in town and his name is Paulie Harraka, K & N Pro Series West ace and now officially a Nationwide driver based on his debut at Circuit Gilles Villeneuve last weekend.

Harraka, 20 year old native of Wayne, New Jersey, officially took the next step in his NASCAR career by running his first race on the famous road course north of the border. Harraka drove the No. 87 Nationwide car for NEMCO Motorsports, along with owner and race teammate Joe Nemechek.

According to Harraka, his deal came together when Joe Nemechek spotted him at Infineon Raceway, where both the West and Cup Series were running together. Harraka came in second in the West race at that track, solidifying Nemechek’s interest in the up and coming Jersey boy.

“That’s when Joe and I started talking,” Harraka said.

Harraka also took another important step in his rise up the ladder by snagging a sponsor for his Nationwide debut. In a deal that came together very quickly, the week before the race to be exact, Exide came on board Harraka’s car to sponsor the young driver.

Unfortunately, Harraka did not have the run he had hoped for in his inaugural introduction to the next level of racing in the Nationwide Series. Both he and owner Nemechek were involved in an early wreck, relegating Harraka to a 29th place finish.

“It was frustrating, you know,” Harraka said. “At the beginning of the race you have to be patiently aggressive, aggressive enough to be ahead of the wrecks when they happen and patient enough not to cause the wreck. I guess I was a little bit too patient.”

“Somebody got into Nemechek and spun him and by the time I got there, the entire race track was blocked,” Harraka continued. “Not an inch of racetrack was left for me to use. There was nothing for me to do at that point.”

“Unfortunately, we got the radiator and some other stuff and had to spend a fair amount of time in the garage, cutting pieces off to get back out there and score some points,” Harraka said. “And we did that, we finished and ended up 29th so overall it wasn’t terrible. It was just frustrating.”

In spite of the tough finish, Harraka thoroughly enjoyed his time on the road course in Montreal, including its unique challenges.

“Circuit Gilles Villeneuve is a ton of fun to run at,” Harraka said. “It’s a cool place and Montreal is a great city.”

“The race track is cool but it’s different than any other race tracks we run on,” Harraka noted. “It’s very narrow and the wall surrounding it is very narrow, with very little run off. So, if there’s a wreck you can’t just drive around it by virtue of it being narrow.”

“With all the foliage around the track, I had four different spotters,” Harraka said. “And even with that, I didn’t have a spotter that could see the entire race track. It makes for difficult situations and unfortunately our Exide car got caught up in one of them.”

Harraka had no time to be disappointed as shortly after leaving the track at Montreal he was headed back to Jersey to change, shower and catch a flight back to Duke University, where he was set to start his classes and his junior year.

“It’s not easy,” Harraka said about being a full-time student as well as a race car driver. “But I can do both. I can handle the schedule.”

If there is one thing that the young driver does get from his home state, it is that Jersey brashness and confidence. Harraka absolutely believes that he is meant to continue advancing up in NASCAR and has the boldness and belief in himself to do just that.

Harraka’s confidence and attitude are also evident in NASCAR’s newest show, Changing Lanes, about young racers of diverse backgrounds who are competing in the Drive for Diversity program. The show airing on BET spotlights 30 young drivers, including Harraka who is of Syrian descent, competing for shots at their NASCAR dreams.

Although Harraka has grown up in that program, spending four years under the D4D tutelage, he has now “graduated” and has moved on with his career based on his own networking and contacts.

As for his plans for the future now that he has a Nationwide start under his belt, Harraka acknowledged that it was all a work in progress.

“We’re working on some stuff,” Harraka said. “We don’t have any firm plans at present but we’re certainly working really hard to see what we can put together.”

Until that time when things do come together for the young Jersey boy, Harraka will continue to race for the K & N Pro Series West Championship, where he sits in the third position with just three more races to go in the season.

“We’re looking forward to the next few races, especially the next two,” Harraka said of his West Series run. “At Miller Motorsports Park, we finished second and Roseville (All American Speedway) we won last year.”

“We’re still pushing for the championship,” Harraka said. “We need to do very, very well and have some other guys have some bad luck. But winning the championship is still our goal.”

“I think for sure that’s the goal,” said Harraka of his bid to be the next NASCAR Jersey boy. “We’re working hard at it and things are falling in place.”

NOTES FROM THE NASCAR NATION: The Nationwide Series at Atlanta

By
SM Staff
-

NASCAR’s Nationwide Series will join their Sprint Cup counterparts this weekend to race on the fastest track on their schedule; the Atlanta Motor Speedway. The Great Clips 300 is a Saturday night under the lights event that is expected to treat the series’ fans to an evening filled with side by side racing and perhaps even an oh so close finish that this race track is famous for. The starting field for the Great Clips 300 will once again be comprised of so called double duty drivers from the Sprint Cup Series with many of them representing high profile team owners.

THE STORY BREAKDOWN

With ten races left on the Nationwide Series schedule there will be a point in time when the official trophy manufacturer of NASCAR will receive a call from Daytona Beach informing them to start engraving a champion’s name. They will likely need some additional time in this process to perform a spell check on the name Keselowski.

Going into the Atlanta race, Brad Keselowski has a very healthy 365 point lead over season rival Carl Edwards. He padded that lead with an additional 52 points last weekend, at the Montreal race, with an impressive fourth place finish on a road course while his rival languished in the pits with a broken track bar.

With ten races left, 365 points is not exactly insurmountable but it’s also not likely that Keselowski will not suffer the kind of free fall Edwards is going to need to steal the series’ title. The time to call the NASCAR trophy engraver will be coming soon because it appears that this young driver is going to present team owner Roger Penske with a NASCAR Nationwide Series championship.

*************

Keselowski may also be presenting Penske with a Nationwide Series owner’s championship as well. However, this coveted title is going to be a lot harder because the points spread in this competition is still too close to call.

Team owner Joe Gibbs, and his #18 Toyota, leads the standings with 4,030 points going into Saturday night’s race. Needless to say those numbers are based on the amazing performance by driver Kyle Busch. The numbers associated with this driver and team are simply astounding especially in light of the fact that the driver is not running the full Nationwide Series schedule like he did last year when he won the championship. In 25 series races Busch has 20 starts, 10 wins, 16 top five finishes and 17 top tens. He’s also third in the series’ driver standing despite the five races he didn’t start.

As strong as these numbers are, they are not enough to walk away with the owner’s championship at this point in time. Team Gibbs only has a 35 point lead over Jodi Geschickter who is the owner of record for Brad Keselowski’s #22 Penske Racing Dodge. Look for this battle to go all the way to the season ending race in November.

************

Also very interesting is the competition for the series’ Raybestos Brakes Rookie of the Year title. Going into Saturday night’s race Brian Scott, driver of the #10 Braun Racing Toyota, has a very slim 15 point lead over Ricky Stenhouse Jr. the driver of the #6 Ford for Roush Fenway Racing.

This rookie competition has always been regarded as being prestigious and has often become a career defining moment for a young driver.

**********

NASCAR Nationwide Series team owner Jay Robinson, who fields the #28 Chevrolet for driver Kenny Wallace, has endured a full season of obtaining sponsors virtually on a race to race basis. Of course it helps when one of NASCAR’s most popular personalities is sitting in the driver’s seat, but still it’s an arduous process that detracts from matters of equal importance.

It appears that Robinson and Wallace has once again found a unique sponsor for their Atlanta efforts. It’s the FX television network and their hit show “Sons Of Anarchy.” This wildly popular show about the gritty life of a southern California motorcycle gang will be using the Robinsion/Wallace ride to promote the start of their third season which begins on September 7th.

The always fun Wallace said “Sons Of Anarchy is a great show, one of the best on television. I create anarchy all around me and it follows me where ever I go so we’re a good match.”

************

The frustration and stress level of an underfunded team owner in the NASCAR Nationwide Series can often push someone right up to the proverbial ragged edge. That’s pretty much what happened to team owner Johnny Davis who was involved in a pit road altercation following last Sunday’s Nationwide Series race at Montreal.

The details of that altercation are not exactly clear but NASCAR’s reaction were crystal clear on Wednesday morning when they announced that Davis was in violation of their rule known as “action detrimental to stock car racing.” The result was a $5,000 fine and probation until December 31st.

Here’s hoping that the team owner’s driver, Mike Wallace, can create a strong enough finish at the Atlanta race to help pay for Montreal misgivings.

**********

THE RACE BREAKDOWN

The Great Clips 300 is 195 laps/300.3 miles around the Atlanta Motor Speedway’s 1.54 mile oval.

The race has 44 entries vying for the 43 starting berths. 14 of those entries are on the go or go home list meaning these teams do not have a guaranteed start in the race because they are currently outside of the series’ top 30 in owner’s points. These teams will have to rely on qualifying speeds to earn a starting berth in the race.

The 2009 defending race winner is Kevin Harvick. The driver of his self owned #33 Rheem Heating, Cooling and Water Heating Chevrolet is one of the Sprint Cup double duty entries in the race and will be looking for his third series win of the season.

The Great Clips 300 will be broadcast live by the ESPN2 Network beginning at 630 pm eastern time.

Give A Pint Of Blood At Martinsville Speedway, Get Free Pole-Day Ticket

By
Official Release
-

Race fans will be able to help save lives and make their own racing experience even better through an American Red Cross blood drive at Martinsville Speedway on September 17.

The American Red Cross will be set up in the infield of Martinsville Speedway from 12 p.m. to 6 p.m. on September 17.

Anyone registering to donate a pint of blood will receive a certificate for a
free ticket to the Virginia Farm Bureau Insurance Pole Day on October 22. The
TUMS Fast Relief 500 NASCAR Sprint Cup race is scheduled for October 24.

“We know how NASCAR fans give back to their communities and this is just
another great opportunity for folks to help their community,” said
Martinsville Speedway president Clay Campbell. “It’s one of those things we
love to be involved with. I know many of our employees will be rolling up
their sleeves and we expect many other folks to help out, too.”

The goal for this year’s drive at Martinsville Speedway is 100 units. To make
an appointment, call 1.800.GIVE.LIFE. While appointments are suggested,
non-scheduled donors will be accepted on the day of the drive.

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