Countdown to Daytona: 83
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[/media-credit]Only 83 days remain until the green flag waves at Daytona. The number 83 has seen spans of usage surrounded by long gaps of time where the number was used rarely, if ever. That statement holds true especially in NASCAR’s modern era. In total, the number 83 has been used in 436 races.
Tommy Thompson led things off in 1951 at the season opening race on the Beach & Road course in Daytona. Thompson finished 12th in his ’47 Chrysler and earned a whopping $50.
Several NASCAR legends used the number a handful (or fewer) times. Red Byron, NASCAR’s first champion used the number 83 in his final three starts. Cotton Owens made one appearance in the number in 1954. 1952 champion Tim Flock used the number once in 1961. “The Clown Prince”, Joe Weatherly also made one start using number 83.
Curtis ‘Crawfish’ Crider ran the number in the 1960 season. Crider reportedly earned the nickname Crawfish after his car landed in a lake. Crider never won, but did rack up 70 top-ten finishes, although only two came in car number 83. The only other driver to run a full season in the number 83 between 1960 and 1974 was Worth McMillion.
Ramo Stott ,one of several big names in racing to come out of Keokuk, Iowa used the number from 1974-1976 while driving for Norris Reed. Stott finished third in the ’74 running of the Daytona 500, but perhaps his biggest moment came when Stott won the pole for the 1976 Daytona 500. Darrell Waltrip, A.J. Foyt, and Dave Marcis were all disqualified, leaving Stott to sit on the pole. Stott would go on to finish 26th after engine failure sidelined him. Stott’s son Corrie campaigns part-time in the Nationwide Series.
Kenny Brightbill made one start for Reed at Dover in 1974, finish eighth. Brightbill still races today; he finished sixth in points driving a Big Block Modified at Delaware International Raceway in 2011 at the age of 63.
Three time Indianapolis 500 champion Johnny Rutherford drove three races for Reed in 1975, but could finish no better than 32nd. 1970 Sprint Cup Champion Bobby Isaac made one of his final career starts driving for Reed and using the number 83.
Ron Hutcherson, also from Keokuk made the final start for Reed in the 1977 Daytona 500. Hutcherson finished 32nd after transmission failure sidelined him. Ron was the younger brother of Dick Hutcherson, a 14-time winner in the Sprint Cup Series. Reed’s team shuttered after the ’77 500 and the number 83 would fall out of use for six years.
Summer McKnight, a driver on NASCAR’s west circuit entered five races at Riverside between 1983-1985. His best finish was a 14th in the 1985 Budweiser 400. Following this race, the number would again go unused until 1987.
Lake Speed, a veteran by this point had driven his own cars in the 1980 and 1981 seasons. After stints with Roger Hamby, Hoss Ellington, and Rahmoc, Speed became his own boss again at the start of the 1987 season. Speed’s Oldsmobiles were instantly recognizable with their purple paint scheme thanks to primary sponsor Wynn’s. Speed’s best finish in a limited 1987 schedule was a third in the Coca Cola 600. Speed, however, would achieve greatness the following season, when he won his first (and only) career race. Speed was also the first to win in car number 83, scoring a very popular victory in the 1988 Transouth 500 at Darlington, earning the win in dominating fashion.
Speed led 178 laps en route to his only career win. At the time, Speed said “”It’s a big, big relief for me to finally do it after being so close,” said Speed. “A lot of people made this happen. And for me personally, a lot of faith in the Lord brought me through.” Later that season, Speed, along with Darrell Waltrip and Bobby Hillin Jr. began what became Motor Racing Outreach, the non-denominational Christian organization that serves the NASCAR community.
Speed used the number from 1987-1993, fielding cars primarily for himself. After a hard crash at Pocono in 1989, Joe Ruttman, Eddie Bierschwale, and Joe Ruttman filled in for Speed. Speed also fielded a car in one race for Tommy Ellis and Phil Parsons the following year. Following the 1993 Diehard 500, Speed drove a few races for Robert Yates; then moved to Bud Moore’s team the following season. Speed never used the number 83 again.
The number would again sit dormant for nine years, when Ron Hornaday used the number in a one-off effort at Phoenix in 2002. Hornaday finished 36th in that race, driving for Terry Bradshaw and Armando Fitz in their only Cup race. Bradshaw and Fitz would continue their association in the Nationwide Series until 2005, when Bradshaw left the sport.
Following Phoenix, the number would be idle until 2007, when Red Bull Racing began to use the number with Brian Vickers. Red Bull’s first season was also Toyota’s first season and they struggled mightily, leading many to question Vickers’ decision to join an upstart team. There were flashes of promise, including a fifth place effort at the Coca Cola 600.
Vickers scored six top-ten finished in 2008, leading to a 19th place finish in the final standings. Vickers’ best season came the following year in 2009, when he won six poles, the August race at Michigan, and a berth in the Chase. Vickers would finish the year 12th in points, his career best.
Vickers hoped to capitalize on that performance in 2010, but his season was cut short when he was diagnosed with blood clots. Casey Mears, Reed Sorenson, Mattias Ekstrom, and Boris Said all filled in for Vickers, but under the difficult circumstances, they could do no better than eighth; that finish coming at Daytona with Sorenson. At Martinsville, the team’s fortunes began to change when Kasey Kahne became the driver.
Although Kahne signed to drive for Rick Hendrick beginning in 2012, he didn’t have a ride for 2011, due to NASCAR’s team limit. Red Bull happily snagged Kahne up for 2011; but Kahne would enter the car sooner than that. After his brakes failed and he crashed in the fall Dover race, Kahne refused to get back into the car after repairs were made, leading to his termination later that week. Kahne won the pole at the season-ending race at Homestead and finished sixth. Kahne moved to Red Bull’s other car at the end of the season when it was determined Vickers was healthy enough to return. Vickers earned seven top-ten finishes in his return in 2011. The future of the 83 car and Red Bull Racing is in doubt, as Red Bull is leaving the team and has yet to find a buyer.
In 436 races, the no. 83 has earned two wins, 22 top-five finishes, 91 top-tens and nine poles.
Chase Elliott’s Sweet Sixteen Birthday Wish Comes True with Snowball Derby Win
As Chase Elliott blew out the candles on his birthday cake during his surprise party for his 16th birthday, he had just one wish in mind. He wished he could win the 44th running of the prestigious Snowball Derby.
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[/media-credit]“I know you’re not supposed to tell anybody what you wished for but that’s what was my wish, to win the Snowball Derby,” Elliott said. “It was an amazing birthday week to go down to Pensacola and have an unbelievable weekend.”
“To have two top fives this weekend was unreal,” Elliott continued. “And winning the Snowball Derby, that’s a heck of a birthday present. It was an unbelievable week and all of our team enjoyed it.”
Elliott made his birthday wish at a special surprise party that his family had organized prior to the race weekend event.
“It was a pretty big deal,” Elliott said. “We got back from the Georgia game on Saturday night and there everybody was. I had no idea. It was pretty cool.”
Elliott’s win, however, was not as easy as blowing out the candles on his birthday cake. He and his No. 9 Aaron’s Dream Machine had to overcome adversity in the preliminary race, the Snowflake 100, as well as during the Snowball Derby itself.
On Saturday, Elliott started 27th in the Snowflake and had worked his way through the field to 16th before being collected in a crash, where his team had to replace a radiator. In spite of that challenge, the young driver was able to rally back and score a top-five finish.
In the Snowball Derby on Sunday, Elliott again faced adversity, when on Lap 141, the leaders of the race started spinning and another driver Augie Grill, hit Elliott from behind, again damaging the car. Elliott’s team rallied once more, repairing the damage and sending him back out on track.
“It broke the back bumper brace bar and we had to bear bond it back together because there was no time to weld it,” Ricky Turner, Elliott’s crew chief, said. “We came back into the pits three times during the caution to maintain our lead lap position.”
The young driver’s final brush with adversity came in the waning laps when a wreck brought out a red flag, leaving just five laps to go. When the green flag finally flew, Elliott raced door to door with D.J. VanderLey, pulling ahead on the last lap to win by just 0.229 seconds.
“There was a long red flag right before those last five laps,” Elliott said. “And we were very fortunate that those last five laps went green because in the past that hadn’t happened very often.”
“You’re sitting there in that red flag and you’re thinking of the mistakes I’ve made this year,” Elliott continued. “I’ve lost races on restarts like that this year and I definitely didn’t want that to happen again.”
“You think about that stuff but at the same time you’re thinking this is your race and it’s time to move on and do things right,” Elliott continued. “You have to think about the positives and know that you’re the leader.”
“Everybody played a part in this weekend, both on Saturday night to have a problem with getting in a wreck, having to replace a radiator on pit road and not losing a lap and then to come back and finish fifth and then to do the same thing Sunday and win the race,” Elliott said. “It was unreal.”
“It’s the quality of guys that we have on our race team, in the shop, and also the guys that came in from Hendrick Motorsports to help us do our pit stops that led to this success.”
The young Elliott also credits one more significant person in his life for the race win, the person that goes by the moniker ‘Awesome Bill from Dawsonville.’ And although Chase’s dad has not won the Snowball Derby himself from behind the wheel, Chase credits his father just as much for being such an integral part of the race team.
“Our victory there was definitely a victory for me but it was also a victory for him,” Chase said of his father Bill. “He is as big a part of this race team as me or anybody that plays a part in our weekend.”
“It was a win for all of us and not just me,” Elliott continued. “There’s a lot of guys who don’t get to run and I’m just thankful to him and to Aaron’s to even be able to go down there and run.”
Chase Elliott also has been following in his father’s footsteps in another important way. Much like his dad, the young up and coming driver was just voted as the ‘Most Popular Driver’ in the K&N Pro Series East, in which he has been competing this year.
“It’s really cool,” Elliott said of the honor. “Honestly, I know that a lot of my dad’s fans helped out in the voting for sure and I really appreciate their support.”
“I really hope and my goal is to make my dad’s fans mine as well,” Elliott continued. “I want to earn that on my own. And I hope to earn a lot more in the future.”
As far as his future, Elliott is now taking a well-earned break having run and won his last race of the 2011 season.
“We are done for 2011,” Elliott said. “My next race is planned to be Speedfest at Lanier at the end of January.”
“I have about a month and a half off to get gathered up and go racing again,” Elliott continued. “I’m going to get through the next couple of weeks of school and then enjoy Christmas and New Year’s with my family and just have a good time.”
Yet the young driver cannot help but continue to marvel at his historic Snowball Derby win, especially as the youngest winner in the history of the event.
“It’s the Snowball Derby,” Elliott said. “It sounds so simple but it’s so true.”
“There’s so much history behind this race,” Elliott continued. “Any short track racer’s dream is to win the Snowball Derby, no matter who you are, where you come from or who you’re trying to be.”
“I wished to win the Snowball Derby,” Elliott said. “This is my wish come true.”
Kurt Busch Out at Penske, Who Will Replace Him?
Kurt Busch is no longer the driver of the No. 22 Dodge. The dismissal was immediately and leaves the Penske organization without a driver for their highly sponsored stock car. Busch had been in hot water since the last race of the season when an independent photographer recorded the profanity-laced tirade directed at ESPN pit reporter Dr. Jerry Punch at Miami-Homestead Speedway.
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[/media-credit]Busch had fallen out of the season’s final race with transmission problems and the incident took place in the garage area of the racetrack. Earlier, Busch had directed an obscene gesture at a NASCAR official. NASCAR fined Busch $50,000 last week for the incident, but Penske officials commented that they were still evaluating what action would be taken against Busch. A Penske official reiterated that stance today when asked if Busch would be the driver of the Shell Dodge in 2012.
One of the factors involved might have been the exit of crew chief Steve Addington after the season. Addington abruptly left Penske for greener pastures at Stewart-Haas Racing. There had been rumors that Addington was unhappy with Busch’s attitude. It also left Penske without one of the top crew chiefs in the sport.
It’s not the first time Busch has been in trouble and been fired. After winning the 2004 Sprint Cup championship for Roush-Fenway Racing, a traffic incident in Avondale, Arizona which involved alcohol consumption was the last straw for Jack Roush. Busch had already told Roush that he was leaving his ride for a similar ride at Penske Racing earlier. His dismissal meant he missed the last two races of the season. Roush had already lined up Jamie McMurray to replace Busch, but not until the beginning of the 2006 season. It’s going to be a lot tougher for Roger Penske.
Looking at the pool of top drivers available, only David Ragan, Brian Vickers, and David Reutimann remain, and all have their negatives. Ragan and Vickers have only one victory apiece and Reutimann only shows two wins in his career. It gets tougher for Busch. With his reputation tainted, there doesn’t appear to be any rides comparable available for him in Sprint Cup. It is very possible that he might be without a ride for 2012.
Then again, it may be the start of another silly season as Penske looks for a driver to replace Busch. The No. 22 ride is considered one of the best in Sprint Cup and those wanting to compete in the car should be many. One thing is certain. Kurt Busch just might have burned his last bridge in the sport where he reigned as champion only six years ago.
