THE LEFT COAST RACING SCENE: THE OFF ROAD RACING COMMUNITY MOURNS THE LOSS OF RICK HUSEMAN
The off road racing community was stunned to learn of the tragic death of driver Rick Huseman who was killed in a private airplane crash on Sunday, October 16th, near the community of Barstow-California. The reigning Lucas Oil Off Road Racing Series, (LOORRS), Pro 4 Division champion was 38 years old.
Also perishing in this tragic accident was Huseman’s younger brother, Jeff, who was a mechanic on his older brother’s team as well as a driver in the LOORRS Pro Lite Division. The third victim, believed to be the pilot of the plane, has yet to be officially identified.
According to reports the Husemans were in Las Vegas the night before attending the Monster Energy Cup motorcycle race. Monster Energy Drink is also the sponsor of Huseman’s Toyota Tundra racing truck. The investigation has confirmed that the pilot of the Beech 33 Bonanza plane had filed a flight plan from the Henderson-Nevada Executive Airport with the destination being the John Wayne Airport in Ontario-California.
But something went terribly wrong during the course of the flight and the pilot found himself having to attempt an emergency landing at the Barstow-Daggett Airport. Sadly the plane couldn’t make it that far and crashed approximately five miles northeast of the airport. California Highway Patrol officers reported that the plane was completely engulfed in flames when they arrived at the scene.
In 1996 Huseman, along with brothers Danny and Jeff, formed the Riverside-California based Huseman Racing and began to find success in southern California regional racing. That was later followed success in the former CORR Stadium Off Road Series. In 2005 the team elevated their status by moving up to the CORR Pro 4 Truck Division. The 2007 season was a good one for the Husemans. The team won their first CORR race, at the fairgrounds in Lancaster-California, and finished sixth in the division’s points standings that year. The 2008 CORR season provided Huseman with two more wins and second in the point standings.
Rick Huseman’s break out year in stadium off road racing came during the 2009 season when he joined the newly formed TORC, (The Off Road Championship), Series where he won five of the first six races. He finished the season with six wins along with the honor of being the series’ first ever champion. Also that year he collected ten podium finishes, seven Oakley Bomb Run Awards for fastest lap times and he was voted the 2009 TORC Driver of the Year by his colleagues.
He added a second championship while racing with LOORRS during the 2010 season and set a series record by winning ten, of 15, rounds. It still stands as the most single season season wins in short course racing history. He also won the LOORRS Driver of the Year award. Huseman was also racing in TORC events last year and missed winning their championship by only three points.
Huseman started the 2011 LOORRS season on a strong note and, at the point of his untimely passing, posted five wins which placed him second in the current Pro 4 points. In his 12 years of stadium off road racing, Huseman won 29 races. There’s no telling how many more races and championships he would have won had it not been for this terrible tragedy.
Please remember the Huseman family in your thoughts and prayers during this very difficult time in their lives.
ARCA: Ty Dillon Crowned Champion, Chris Buescher Wins The Race
Following a wreck on the final lap, Chris Buescher was able to find his way to victory lane for his third victory of the season in the Federated Car Care 200. The victory gave Buescher the ARCA Racing Series Rookie of the Year title, two points over Ty Dillon.
Dillon finished second in the race and despite not winning the rookie of the year title, he was able to become the youngest champion in ARCA history. The 19-year-old became the first rookie champion since Andy Hillenburg in 1995.
The race looked to belong to Brennan Poole, who had won atSalemearlier this year in his ARCA debut.Poolehad made the pass on Dillon in the fourth turn on lap 197, after making slight contact side-by-side.
Poole was able to lead till lap 199, before Dillon bumpedPooleout of the way on lap 200. In an unseen twist, Dillon’s car stalled and Buescher, who was running third at the time, was able to past both Dillon andPoolebefore the lap 200 caution. Dillon was able to get the car back going to keep second behind Buescher.
Buescher held on to the lead through the green-white-checkered to get his third victory in a row at Toledo Speedway.
Dillon got second, followed by Chad McCumbee, pole sitter Tom Hessert and Grant Enfinger.
Ryan Wilson was sixth, followed byClintKing,ChadHackenbracht, Charles Evans Jr., and Jared Marks.
Poolewould finish the race in 15th.
The ARCA Racing Series will wrap up the 2011 season with the Championship Awards Banquet at theNorthernKentuckyConvention CenterinCovington,Ky., nearCincinnati, on Saturday, December 10.
THE LEFT COAST RACING SCENE: A TRAGEDY AT LAS VEGAS
The international world of motorsports came to a standstill on Sunday afternoon, October 16th, following the devastating news that driver Dan Wheldon died from massive injuries sustained from a multi car accident while participating in the IZOD INDYCAR Series’ season finale at the Las Vegas Motor Speedway.
The IZOD INDYCAR championships, presented by Honda, was supposed to be a major source of celebration. It was the series’ time to shine in Las Vegas to celebrate what has been a very good season with even more positive aspects expected in 2012.
This event was about a close season championship run featuring drivers Dario Franchitti, seeking his third consecutive title, and Will Power. The race was also billed as a fond farewell to driver Danica Patrick, who was competing in her final event as a full time INDYCAR driver. Wheldon himself was involved in a special $5 million bonus, to be shared with a lucky fan, if he could win the race after starting last in the field. The race was also filled with high anticipation over the potential action from a series high 34 car starting field.
All of those major positive aspects unravelled on lap 11 of the race. In the midst of three wide racing, the front tires from two cars touched and launched a massive 15 car pile up. Some of the cars, including the one driven by Wheldon, went airborne and hit the safety catch fence above the track’s retaining wall.
The red flag, to stop the race, was quickly presented and the process of cleaning up the massive debris from the cars, as well as repairing the catch fence, began.
In the seemingly endless moments that followed there were strong indications of a serious situation involving Dan Weldon:
A helicopter was seen getting ready to take off and we later learned that Wheldon was being transported to a nearby Las Vegas hospital.
ABC Sports dispatched their pit reporter, Jamie Little, to the hospital. That’s something rarely seen during the course of a race broadcast.
The red flag condition remained intact despite the fact that the clean up and repairs were now completed and the track was again ready for racing.
IZOD INDYCAR Series officials called a driver’s meeting to reportedly “discuss the situation.”
When the drivers exited this meeting the expressions on their faces had us all braced for the worst possible news.
The tragic news was delivered by INDYCAR CEO Randy Bernard who, from a prepared statement, said:
“INDYCAR is sad to announce that Dan Wheldon passed away for unsurvivable injuries. Our thoughts and prayers are with Dan and his family. INDYCAR, its drivers and teams have decided to end the race. We will run a five lap salute in honor of Dan.”
Moments later, 19 emotionally charged drivers climbed into their race cars to run what was described as “the longest five laps in racing history.” Every member of every team solemnly lined up at the edge of pit road to pay their respects. The speedway placed Wheldon’s #77 at the top of the electronic scoreboard.
As the cars made their way around the Las Vegas Motor Speedway, the sound of their engines were intertwined with an audio track of bagpipes playing the gospel song “Amazing Grace.” It was, quite possibly, at this point when the full weight of this tragedy landed on us all.
In the aftermath of this tragedy news media, at all levels, went into overtime to tell this sad story. There were very appropriate platitudes regarding Wheldon’s racing career such as his two Indy 500 wins and series championship. There were equally appropriate platitudes regarding Wheldon’s personal life pointing out that he was a good man, husband, father and humanitarian who frequently shared the blessings of his life to help others less fortunate.
But the reality of this tradegy also created negative questions regarding the racing series from both drivers and the media including:
does the series have any business racing on 1.5 mile ovals, such as the Las Vegas Motor Speedway, that were actually designed for NASCAR stock cars?
The pre race practice speeds reportedly hit in excess of 220 MPH and prompted the question: are the cars just too fast, especially for oval tracks of any size?
Was starting 34 cars a good idea in light of the fact there was certainly going to be traffic bottlenecks, three, even four, wide racing and driver impatience with the difficulty of passing?
These are all issues that will need to be addressed in the future by series officials. But that process is better left for a later date in the future. This is absolutely not the time for business administration. This is the time for everyone associated with the IZOD INDYCAR Series to grieve over the loss of a competitor and a good friend.
It’s also a time for racing fans, worldwide, to send a God bless, along with good thoughts and prayers, for Dan Wheldon as well as his wife and young sons,
In a very simple statement, team owner Chip Ganassi, whom Wheldon used to drive for, probably put it best when he said “everybody in INDYCAR died a little today.”
Dan Wheldon Dies At 33
Sunday afternoon, two time Indianapolis 500 champ Dan Wheldon died in a horrific mult-icar crash in Las Vegas.
[media-credit name=”indycar.com” align=”alignright” width=”223″]
[/media-credit]Weldon, 33, was in the running for the $5 million if he won the race. The officials stopped the race and had a meeting with the other drivers and were informed of Wheldon’s passing. When the race resumed, pit crews lined pit road weeping and trying comfort each other.
“I could see within five laps people were starting to do crazy stuff. I love hard racing but that to me is not really what it’s about. One small mistake from somebody. Right now I’m numb and speechless,” he said.
“One minute you’re joking around in driver intros and the next he’s gone. He was 6 years old when I first met him. I told his son Thursday night at the parade on The Strip that I’ve known his dad since he was your age. And then I talked to a friend of mine, Jesse Spence, that I used to race go-karts with that we’ve known him since he was this little kid. His mouth worked plenty good, but he was just this little kid and the next thing you know he was my teammate in INDYCAR. We put so much pressure on ourselves to win races and championships and today it doesn’t matter.” Franchitti said about the death of his long time friend.
Wheldon leaves behind his wife Susie Behm, 2 year old son Sebastian, 16 month old son Oliver his parents and three siblings.
Dan Wheldon Dies in Crash at IndyCar Season Finale at Las Vegas
Following a wreck on lap 12 of the IZOD IndyCar Series Season Finale race at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, 33-year-old Dan Wheldon has died due to injuries sustained in the crash.
“IndyCar is sad to announce that Dan Wheldon passed away from unsurvivable injuries,” IndyCar CEO Randy Bernard said in a statement. “Our thoughts and prayers are with Dan and his family. INDYCAR, its drivers and teams have decided to end the race. We will run a five-lap salute in honor of Dan.”
Following the press conference of the announcement, the 19 cars that were not involved did five-laps around the track in a 3-wide formation.
The incident happened on lap 12, which saw three cars catch air and involve a total of 15 cars. Multiple replays show the top of Wheldon’s cockpit hitting the catch fence, breaking the hoop.
“I saw two cars touch each other up in front of me and then I tried to slow down, couldn’t slow down,” Paul Tracy told ESPN. “Then Dan’s car, from what I saw in the videos, came over my back wheel and over top of me. Just a horrendous accident.”
“The debris we all had to drive through the lap later, it looked like a war scene from Terminator or something,” Ryan Briscoe added. “I mean, there were just pieces of metal and car on fire in the middle of the track with no car attached to it and just debris everywhere.”
Will Power was transported to hospital following the incident, complaining of back pain, though has since been released. Pippa Mann and JR Hildebrand were also transported to hospital. They both will be kept overnight for observation.
Wheldon was the 2005 IndyCar Series Champion and won theIndianapolis500 twice, including this year’s running. This past season, Wheldon had been running a part-time schedule due to no ride while also testing the new IndyCar for next season.
Wheldon was expected to join Andretti Autosport to compete full-time next season. He leaves behind his wife Suzi and two children.
As a result of the race being canceled, Dario Franchitti wins his fourth IndyCar Series Championship.
Surprising and Not Surprising: Charlotte Bank of America 500
After Jacquelyn Butler, David Ragan’s girlfriend won the ‘Better Half Dash’ and Daytona 500 winner Trevor Bayne shared a heartfelt invocation, the engines fired under the lights at NASCAR’S home track, Charlotte Motor Speedway.
[media-credit name=”CIA Stock Photo” align=”alignright” width=”237″]
[/media-credit]Here is what was surprising and not surprising from the 52nd Annual running of the Bank of America 500.
Surprising: With a surprising show of emotion and his dry sense of humor emerging, the driver of the No. 17 Fluidmaster Ford took the checkered flag with whoops of joy, saying in Victory Lane that it was not too late for departing sponsor Crown Royal to reconsider staying on the car.
Kenseth scored his victory from the outside pole position, qualifying surprising well for a driver not known for the most successful time trial efforts. This was Matt Kenseth’s 21st career victory and his third win of the year.
“It was an awesome win for us,” Kenseth said. “It was a good race.”
“Track position was really important, so qualifying helped,” Kenseth continued. “It made a big difference.”
Kenseth was also surprisingly appreciative of the win, especially after not having been to the winner’s circle for twenty races.
“I’m always thankful to get to victory lane,” Kenseth said. “You never know if you’re ever gonna win another race or when your last win is.”
“I’m thankful for them all and I greatly appreciate being in a position to be able to win races and these guys giving me the cars and the crew and the opportunity to do that.”
Not Surprising: To no one’s surprise, the two drivers finishing second and third had some intense conversation with one another right after the race.
Carl Edwards, who finished third in his No. 99 Aflac ‘Now Hiring’ Ford, almost immediately jumped out his car at the finish to lean into the bridesmaid-yet-again Kyle Busch’s second place No. 18 M&Ms Toyota for a chat.
“We were just talking about the way we were racing there,” Edwards said. “We’re fine. We’ve talked about it and we’ll move on.”
“Hey, this is NASCAR and we’re racing as hard as we can,” Edwards continued. “And we didn’t wreck each other.”
“He just said he didn’t like the way I raced him off Turn Two that one time when he got under me,” Busch said. “He made me loose and it was steering me down the track and I was just trying to hold on.”
“Great run by the M&Ms Camry,” Busch, who not only rebounded from starting last to leading a race high 111 laps, continued. “Best run we’ve had here in a while but still coming up short.”
With his finish, Edwards maintained the points lead by five, with Kyle Busch improving his position by four spots, up to the fourth position, just 18 points behind the leader.
“Overall it was a really good day for our Aflac Fusion,” Edwards said. “We’re trying to have a championship year here and we dodged some bullets.”
“We’ve got to keep finishing like this,” Busch said. “That’s all it takes. If we can finish second here on out, we might win this thing.”
Surprising: At a track often known for Chevy domination, particularly of the Hendrick Motorsports kind, it was surprising to see the Ford brand, primarily the Roushketeers, not only in victory lane but dominating the front of the field. There were four Fords to Chevrolets three in the top ten for this season’s Charlotte fall running.
The win was also significant for Ford team Roush Fenway, marking their 298th overall victory and their 20th NASCAR victory at Charlotte Motor Speedway. It was the first Cup win for owner Jack Roush at Charlotte since 2002.
“All of the Ford cars ran well tonight,” Jack Roush, team owner said. “It was just a matter of time until Matt broke loose from his obscurity in the back and middle of the pack and worked his way to the front.”
As surprising as the Ford dominance was, particularly of Roush Fenway Racing, it was equally surprising to see how poorly the Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet team ran. The HMS highest finisher was Dale Earnhardt, Jr. in the 19th position.
“I was not the faster car,” the driver of the No. 88 Amp Energy/National Guard/Chevy 100th Anniversary Chevrolet said. “We got a couple wave-arounds and had a loose wheel that cost us another lap.”
“We just have to correct some of those mistakes,” Junior continued. “We just had a couple of little circumstances that cost us a shot at finishing in the top ten.”
Hendrick Chevrolet teammates Jimmie Johnson, Jeff Gordon and Mark Martin also had surprisingly, and uncharacteristically, difficult runs at Charlotte. Their poor finishes, 34th, 21st and 37th respectively, was surprisingly poignant for the teams sporting the Chevy 100th anniversary emblems.
Jeff Gordon, in the No. 24 Drive to End Hunger/Chevy 100th Anniversary Chevrolet, went for a wild ride at one point in the race and struggled the rest. Mark Martin in the No. 5 GoDaddy.com/Chevy 100th Anniversary Chevrolet, suffered mechanical problems that left him in the garage for many laps making repairs.
Probably the toughest of the Hendrick finishers was five-time champ Jimmie Johnson, whose No. 48 Lowes/Chevy 100th Anniversary Chevrolet hit hard into the wall, taking his breath away.
“That one stung for sure,” Johnson said of his hit. “Just thankful to have safe race cars, safe walls, softer walls and everything did its job.”
With the wreck and the DNF, Johnson was also the biggest loser in the point standings, dropping five positions to eighth.
“This is not going to help us win a sixth championship,” Johnson conceded. “We will go for every point we can from here on out and hopefully we are still champions at the end of the year.”
Not Surprising: It was not surprising to see the infamous grin of the driver from down under after finishing fifth. Marcos Ambrose, behind the wheel of the Richard Petty Motorsports No. 9 Stanley Ford Fusion, could not have been more pleased with his Charlotte run, scoring his third consecutive top-10.
“I ran great,” Ambrose said simply. “I just really appreciate that opportunity.”
RPM teammate AJ Allmendinger, behind the wheel of the No. 43 Best Buy Ford Fusion, also continued his solid runs, finish seventh.
“It’s not what I wanted, but the end result is good,” Dinger said. “I’m happy there were so many Fords in the top 10.”
Surprising: As surprisingly strong as Brad Keselowski has been, surging forward in race finishes as well as in the points, the driver of the No. 2 ‘Blue Deuce’ had an equally surprisingly tough day at Charlotte.
Keselowski finished 16th, falling two positions to sixth in the point standings. He currently sits 25 points behind points leader Carl Edwards.
“I feel frustratingly fortunate,” Keselowskis said. “The yellows really hurt us. It just wasn’t meant to be.”
Not Surprising: Tony Stewart, who scored his first pole at Charlotte Motor Speedway, overcame tight conditions as well as some damage to his No. 14 Mobil 1/Office Depot Chevrolet, to rally back for a top-10 finish.
“We were good off the front there, just when we got back in traffic, we got really tight,” Smoke said. “We just kind of rallied back.”
Not surprisingly, teammate Ryan Newman also scored a top-10 finish in his No. 39 Cookies for Kid’s Cancer/Gene Haas Foundation Chevrolet.
“We needed to get at least that much tonight,” Newman said after the race. “We’ll take a top-10 here tonight and now it’s on to the next one.”
With their finishes, Stewart advanced two positions to the fifth spot in the Chase, while Newman moved up one position in the points to tenth.
Surprising: With the image of Hall of Famer Glenn Wood on the famed No. 21 Motorcraft Ford Fusion, it looked like the young driver Trevor Bayne had a fast car and would have a good run. Surprisingly, the car ran out of gas on Lap 238.
“That’s a bad feeling to run out of gas, especially when you’re not expecting it,” Bayne said. “The 21 was just fast.”
“It must have been sucking up more fuel than we thought being that fast, but I think something just had to be funky in the fuel cell or something messed up on the can.”
Not Surprising: Call him ‘Closer’ or ‘Lurker’ but it was not surprising to see Kevin Harvick have yet another solid race, finishing sixth and maintaining his second place position in the point standings. With that, the driver of the No. 29 Jimmy John’s Chevrolet confirmed that he was just happy to be at the half-way in the Chase race.
“We made it through the first five Chase races this year,” Harvick said. “We had had a lot of goals that we wanted to achieve this year and that was one of them.”
“IF you would have told me we would come out of Charlotte with only a five point deficit going into the next five races, I would be really happy.”
