Todd Peck Looks to Leave a Legacy in Iowa Truck Series Debut

By

-

July 13, 2011

Todd Peck intends to leave a legacy, both professional and personal, in his debut Camping World Truck Series race at Iowa Speedway this weekend.

[media-credit name=”Photo Credit peckmotorsports.com” align=”alignright” width=”224″][/media-credit]Peck is a family legacy race car driver, as the son of Dr. Mike Peck and the nephew of Tom Peck, both of whom raced their central Pennsylvania family team in the Nationwide Series. Peck’s family team has more than 50 top-10 finishes in five full seasons under their belts.

“Most people get into racing after growing up at the race track and I’m no exception,” Peck said. “My uncle raced dirt in central Pennsylvania for years and progressed into the Busch Series where he and my dad as a team owner had a partnership, racing there for ten years through the mid 90’s.”

“When you’re a kid growing up, you get hooked and you get the bug and your destiny is in the race car,” Peck continued. “That’s all you want to do.”

Peck, hailing from Hanover, PA whose claim to fame is being the home of Utz Potato Chips, started racing go karts at age 14 years. He has continued working his way up the rungs of racing, including 15 starts in the K&N Pro Series East and running currently in the Super Cup Stock Car Series.

This will, however, be the legacy driver’s first ever Truck Series race, as well as his first time ever at Iowa Speedway. He will be piloting the No. 96 Chevrolet race truck for his family-owned team and is clearly using this debut run to attract not only attention, but potential sponsors as well.

“I can’t wait to get to Iowa and debut our team in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series,” Peck said. “We’ve been working toward this weekend since we made the decision at the beginning of the year to race a truck.”

“This is our maiden voyage.”

But even more important than his Truck debut is the personal legacy that Peck hopes to leave, racing in tribute to the Arthritis Foundation’s campaign, ‘Kids Get Arthritis Too.’ It is personal for Peck, who himself was diagnosed with Juvenile Arthritis (JA) at the age of 15 years old.

“At that age, you don’t think of kids having arthritis,” Peck said. “It’s an old people’s disease that my grandparents have.”

“But there are over 300,000 kids diagnosed with Juvenile Arthritis and it’s not as uncommon as you’d think,” Peck continued. “Being as I’ve struggled with it, once we were given the opportunity to perform on the big stage of the Truck Series, it was a no brainer to be involved.”

Peck actually unveiled his race truck at the national JA Conference in Washington, DC last week. Kids, struggling with the same disease that he does, signed their names all over the truck that he will race.

“We did the unveiling at the national JA conference and that was awesome,” Peck said. “Well over five thousand people attended the conference and it was really cool to see the kids’ reaction and excitement.”

“We spent the weekend talking to the kids and their families, sharing stories and inspirational messages,” Peck continued. “Our message was that even though you have JA you can work with it and do what you want to do.”

Peck and his team will also be hosting JA youth and their families at each and every race in which he will compete. In fact, two children with JA and their families will be present for Peck’s Iowa debut.

“For all the races we have, we’ll be hosting families at the track and around the garage area,” Peck said. “We’ll let them get up close and personal to the racing and I’m looking forward to that as well.”

While Peck was touched by every child with JA and their stories, he was especially moved by the story of two children in particular.

Because of complications from their arthritis, these two children were unable to attend the conference. So, their friends made cardboard cut outs of them, using their head shots, pasted them on bodies and laminated them so they could not only be ‘present’ at the event, but to also get ‘their pictures’ taken with the race truck.

“We decided that if they couldn’t be at the conference with the truck, we were going to take them to Iowa for the race,” Peck said. “So we are putting their pictures on the dash of the truck for that race.”

With the children from the Arthritis Foundation on the truck and his family standing behind him as part of his race team, Peck hopes to leave his own legacy in the Coca Cola 200 at Iowa Speedway. At present, however, Peck is not quite sure what that legacy will be.

“I have tried to give myself expectations on one hand,” Peck said. “And I’ve tried to keep myself from having expectations on the other hand.”

“We tested and I was extremely pleased with the Truck,” Peck continued. “But just to get the ball rolling and get out there, part of me says I need to stay realistic, qualify and run hard to get a foot hold for the next race.”

“But the other part of me, the racer, knows that once the green flag drops, it will be about three seconds into the race that I’ll forget about that, put it into kill mode and away we go,” Peck continued. “No matter what I expect, once the green flag drops, it’s an all or nothing deal.”

The Allison Legacy Continues On; 18 Years Later

By

SM Staff

-

July 13, 2011

“The world weighs on my shoulders, but what am I to do? You sometimes drive me crazy, but I worry about you.” These few lyrics from Rush, one of rock’s more infamous bands tells a small story about the life of the Allison family, and “The grace under pressure” they endured while racing in the NASCAR series.

[media-credit name=”bobbyallison.com” align=”alignright” width=”220″][/media-credit]Many times I have sat back thinking how much worrying did Bobby Allison go through watching his sons Davey and Clifford take up the same sport that he so much excelled at, without ever knowing one day this same sport would take his other love—that being not one, but both of his son’s.

Looking back, where would the hands of time actually stop to reflect on the remarkable Allison legacy? Would it be the 1988 Daytona 500, when Davey chased his dad around the track and fell short of what would be his first 500 victory? Instead of the victory, he got to see up close his dad win his third 500, and the younger Allison finished second.

Or would it be 1992, when Davey would win his one only 500, four years after his father won his third? Never in the history of NASCAR racing, has one state been so close to a racing family, as Alabama was to the Allison’s. Along with fellow drivers Neil Bonnett and Red Farmer, Bobby and Donnie Allison started the famous Alabama gang, which also included Bobby’s sons Davey and Clifford once they became regulars on the NASCAR circuit.

As Bobby and Donnie continued to make NASCAR a way of life and keep the family name in the forefront, Davey and Clifford continued to follow in their father’s footsteps while trying to make names for themselves. After a near-fatal accident at Pocono, 27 years and 84 race wins into his racing career, Bobby’s career was over and he retired. Meanwhile, Davey was out making history of his own trying so hard to follow in his dad’s footsteps, in order to keep the Allison legacy alive.

Sponsorship during Davey’s era didn’t come easy, and just because you had a famous last name it didn’t mean that they were lining up at your door to sign you. A driver not only had to prove himself, but he also had to show them he really wanted it. Davey had a special racing talent, and he proved it by going to victory lane twice in his rookie season. During his nine years racing in the Winston Cup Series, Davey visited victory lane an astounding 19 times—including five victories in 1991.

1992 would turn out to be Davey’s best season with five trips to victory lane, along with being his worse with some pretty violent wrecks. This same year in August, the Allison’s suffered the worst loss of all when Clifford, died in a crash during practice at Michigan International Speedway for a Busch series race.

It was a beautiful July day in 1993, the sun shining brightly on Davey’s career with Bobby, Robert Yates and Larry McReynolds all getting together to plan out Davey’s rise to stardom in hopes of continuing the Allison legacy. The very next day, 11 months after the death of Clifford, the racing god’s would once again come knocking at the door of the Allison’s. Tragedy would once again strike them, as Davey would die in a helicopter crash, and the Allison legacy would end on a tragic note.

The state of Alabama would go into mourning in honor of their fallen hero. Headlights burned throughout the day on the highways and byways of Alabama. Tragically, only a year later, the Alabama gang would become a memory with the death of Neil Bonnett. Davey was well on his way to beating the odds of following in his dad’s footsteps where many have tried, and yet many had failed. This is the 18 year anniversary of the day that shook the racing world, but the memory of the Allison legacy and the Alabama gang lives on.

Hot 20 over the past 10 – You can’t beat Kyle…unless you work or own RCR

By

Ron Thornton

-

July 13, 2011

Kyle Busch is number one, be it in points, on the podium, or in getting his butt kicked by employees of RCR. His third win of the season at Kentucky last weekend means all he has to do now to make the Chase is not fall out of the Top 20. He might be in like Flynn, but Brad Keselowski is not. He might have his win, but for it to do him any good he needs to move up one spot in the standings. Not too tall an order with only three points to make up when they slide into Loudon, New Hampshire for Sunday’s fun..

[media-credit name=”CIA Stock Photo” align=”alignright” width=”253″][/media-credit]Others have a little more work to do, which could include picking up that all important victory. With time running out on their Chase chances, that might be the most realistic route to explore. Kasey Kahne and Joey Logano are among the 12 best since we left Talladega but are so far out of the Top Ten that wins might become more important than points before too long.

David Ragan has been hot as of late, is climbing this ladder, and has both a win and a top 20 position to his credit. Tony Stewart is hanging in the top dozen, but a win by any of the other winless folks in the top twenty would put his Chase chances in jeopardy. Same might be said of Ryan Newman, who sits ninth for the season but seems to be showing signs of heating up at the right time.

One who is not would be Dale Earnhardt Jr. Fifteen other drivers have done better than he has over the past ten. This Sunday might be a good time to reverse the trend. The nice thing about the two wildcard spots into the Chase is that a win can change everything. Eleven drivers currently on the outside looking in could change their season completely with a win on Sunday.

Here are out hot 20 drivers over the past ten events…

POS (LW) – Driver – Pts/10 races – (W-T5-T10)
*Currently has a place in the Chase

1 (3) – Kyle Busch* – 367 pts – (2-6-6)
1st over the season, 1st over the past ten, 1st in Kentucky, last on Childress Christmas card list.

2 (8) – Matt Kenseth* – 350 pts – (1-3-6)
His eight race plan to earn an average of 38 points per race has worked out brilliantly.

3 (1) – Kevin Harvick* – 346 pts – (1-2-5)
Has yet to finish outside Top Twenty since they concluded the Daytona 500.

4 (2) – Kurt Busch* – 341 pts – (1-3-5)
When someone yells “Busch you jerk” he just pokes Kyle to turn around.

5 (6) – Denny Hamlin* – 334 pts – (1-3-5)
Driving a Toyota while listening to a Ford seems to be working out.

6 (5) – Carl Edwards* – 325 pts – (0-6-7)
Carl may do flips after wins, but isn’t his crew chief former stuntman Super Bob Osborne?

7 (4) – Jeff Gordon* – 319 pts – (1-3-5)
I thought he was a dwarf until I discovered he was as tall as me…just 90 pounds lighter.

8 (7) – Jimmie Johnson* – 315 pts – (0-2-6)
This is just Jimmie being Jimmie, at least until the Chase begins.

9 (15) – David Ragan* – 303 pts – (1-3-4)
Daytona and Kentucky brought him into contention, but he’s not out of the woods just yet.

10 (16) – Brad Keselowski – 295 pts – (1-2-4)
The last nine has featured a few birdies, the opening nine nothing but bogies.

11 (17) – Kasey Kahne – 290 pts – (0-3-3)
Points would be nice, but at this point wins would be even better.

12 (11) – Joey Logano – 290 pts – (0-2-3)
Like the girl with the curl in the middle of her forehead, ranges from very, very good to horrid.

13 (13) – Tony Stewart* – 287 pts – (0-0-4)
Apparently that second place finish in Las Vegas stayed in Vegas.

14 (19) – Ryan Newman* – 285 pts – (0-2-4)
5 Top Fives is impressive, which is why he has not yet faded into the night.

15 (12) – Greg Biffle – 275 pts – (0-0-2)
What is it with that single Top Ten over the last eight?

16 (10) – Dale Earnhardt Jr* – 272 pts – (0-1-3)
Stopped for two Saturday night, but needed at least three.

17 (21) – Marcos Ambrose – 271 pts – (0-2-3)
Hometown zoo has a breeding program for Tasmanian Devils. I know!!

18 (9) – Clint Bowyer – 269 pts – (0-1-4)
Back-to-back crashes not exactly helping the cause. Another win at Loudon would.

19 (14) – A.J. Allmendinger – 257 pts – (0-1-3)
If the 29-year old makes the Chase, the #43 will have had to return to Victory Lane.

20 (20) – Martin Truex Jr – 257 pts – (0-0-4)
If Bullwinkle can pull a rabbit out of his hat, maybe Truex can still pull this season out of his…

NOTES FROM THE NASCAR NATION: WHO’S GOING TO EAT THAT GIANT LOUDON LOBSTER?

By

SM Staff

-

July 13, 2011

The elite of the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series will be at the New Hampshire Motor Speedway in Loudon, and it’s challenging one mile oval, for Sunday’s running of the Lenox Industrial Tools 301. One of the post race traditions at this speedway is the presentation of a live giant lobster to the race winner.

[media-credit name=”Brad Keppel” align=”alignright” width=”225″][/media-credit]However, there’s a lot more at stake here than just enjoying the world’s largest lobster dinner. There are Sprint Cup Chase For the Championship implications. With the September 10th deadline for the Chase line up getting closer, there are some teams who will have to be in the go mode if they’re going to compete for the championship. Also on the line here is the determination of the two wild card berths for positions 11 and 12 in the Chase.

THE VEGAS BREAKDOWN

So, who’s going to enjoy that lobster next Sunday? There are several clues provided for you by the professionals from the Las Vegas based World Sports Exchange, (WSE). They’re starting out strong this week with drivers Denny Hamlin and Jimmie Johnson topping their rankings at 5 to 1 odds.

The phrase “winner, winner lobster dinner” could easily apply to either one of these drivers. After a somewhat dubious, not to mention surprising, start to his season, Hamlin has clawed his way to tenth in the championship standings. He’ll be looking to improve on that status on Sunday. He has some outstanding stats at New Hampshire including a win, four top five finishes, seven top tens and a very impressive average finish ratio, AFR, of 7.6.

Jimmie Johnson is currently fifth in the points standings and his the defending race champion. He has three previous New Hampshire wins, including a sweep of both races there in 2003, along with six top fives, 12 top tens along with an 9.9 AFR.

At 8 to 1 odds you will find the trio of Kevin Harvick, Jeff Gordon and Kyle Busch. Harvick is third in the standings and only ten points from the top. He’s a previous winner at New Hampshire with five top fives and a 13.9 AFR.

Four time champion Jeff Gordon is keeping his drive for five alive and is currently seventh in the points. He’s a three time New Hampshire winner and over the years has collected 14 top fives, 18 top tens along with an 11.0 AFR. However, the past few races has been somewhat of a roller coaster ride in terms of team performance and that’s an area that will require a lot of focus. Rolling a strong car right out of the trailer will be important for this team in the weeks to come.

Then there’s Kyle Busch. The current points leader was extremely strong during the course of winning last weekend’s race at Kentucky in a car that required virtually no adjustments during pit stops. If they can find that magical combination again, then this driver will be a force to be reckoned with. He’s also a previous winner at New Hampshire with four top fives along with a 14.7 AFR.

The WSE has drivers Kurt Busch and Tony Stewart sharing the 10 to 1 category this weekend. The elder Busch brother, currently fourth in the standings, has some strong New Hampshire numbers including three wins and, in 2004, became the second driver to sweep both races there. His Penske Racing team has been strong of late and, at 10 to 1, he could turn out to be a good long shot consideration.

It’s go time for Tony Stewart. He’s currently 11th in the standings and still, much to every one’s amazement, is still looking for his first win of the season. He also has endured roller coaster performance levels this year. However, New Hampshire could be a good starting point to get this team back on track. Stewart is a two time winner there with a healthy AFR of 12.4.

All by himself, in the WSE’s 11 to 1 ranking, is Carl Edwards. He will start the New Hampshire weekend second in the standings only four points from the top. The WSE recently closed their books on the 2011 Sprint Cup championship with Edwards on top of the list. Some may take that fact into consideration and place a long shot wager on Edwards. But, let the buyer beware. His New Hampshire numbers, zero wins and two top fives, aren’t that strong.

In the WSE’s middle tier this week you will find Matt Kenseth at 15 to 1. He’s sixth in the standings and his Chase status seems to be solid. However, he’s still looking for his first lobster at New Hampshire.

At 17 to 1 is Clint Bowyer whose bad luck has caused him to slip to 12th in the standings. New Hampshire is great place for this team to get back on track. He’s a two time winner there including scoring his first ever Sprint Cup win back in 2007.

At 20 to 1 odds you will find drivers Greg Biffle and Dale Earnhardt Jr. Biffle, who recently became a first time father following the birth of his daughter last week, now has something else to consider this weekend. At 14th in the standings, 128 points out of first, this team is going to have to pull a giant rabbit out of a small magician’s hat to make the Chase. That’s why there was a crew chief change for the team this week. Matt Puccia makes his Sprint Cup debut on the pit box this Sunday replacing veteran Greg Erwin.

Dale Earnhardt Jr has dropped from third to eighth in the standings over the past few weeks. This slide has been based on bad racing luck not of his making combined with hit and miss handling packages. He’s still looking for his first win at New Hampshire and will likely be content with somewhat of a solid finish to keep himself in that all important top ten in the rankings.

In my personal opinion here’s the WSE long shot bet of the week: Jeff Burton at 25 to 1 odds. I’ll pause here to allow many of you to scream WHAT??? Yes, this Richard Childress Racing team is having a terrible season. Yes, he’s 25th in the points and any chance of making the Chase is now gone. So, why is Burton such an interesting consideration? It’s his extremely strong New Hampshire numbers. He’s a four time winner there including a win in 2000 when he led all 300 laps. He also has eight top five finishes along with a 13.5 AFR. Also bear in mind that the law of averages says this team’s season has to turn around some time.

At 35 to 1 this week is Ryan Newman a two time lobster winner including his first ever Sprint Cup win back in 2002. “The Rocket Man” is also a series high four time fast qualifier at New Hampshire. Joining him, in the 35 to 1 ranking, is veteran Mark Martin a former New Hampshire winner.

In the WSE’s 40 to 1 group you will find Kasey Kahne, also a previous New Hampshire winner, along with drivers David Reutimann, Martin Truex Jr and Brad Keselowski who holds the track qualifying record set back in September.

At 45 to 1 are drivers Jamie McMurray, Joey Logano, who won his first and only Sprint Cup race at New Hampshire, along with Juan Pablo Montoya. Closing out the list this week is David Ragan, at 50 to 1, despite his win at Daytona two weeks ago and a solid top ten at Kentucky last weekend.

Now for the disclaimer. NASCAR wants us to remind you that these posted numbers are for entertainment and information purposes only. They neither encourage nor condone the placing of wagers on their races. But if you’re going to do it anyway, then be grateful that you have the help of the Las Vegas based World Sports Exchange to guide you through the numbers.

Then again, you can always use the money to make a donation to the state of Kentucky to help fix Interstate 71. (Yeah I know, that was out of line).

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

THE RACE BREAKDOWN

The Lenox Industrial Tools 301 is 301 laps/318.485 miles around the New Hampshire Motor Speedway’s 1.058 mile oval.

The race has 47 entries vying for the 43 starting berths. 12 of those entries are on the go or go home list. These teams are not guaranteed a starting position because they are outside of NASCAR’s current top 35 in owner’s points. These teams will have to rely on qualifying speed to make the race.

The New Hampshire Motor Speedway officially opened in 1990. The first NASCAR Sprint Cup race was held there in 1993 and was won by Rusty Wallace. Since that time there has been 32 Sprint Cup races that has sent 20 different winners to victory lane. Hendrick Motorsports leads the team win category with eight. Eight of the last nine races there have been won by a margin of victory under one second. Jeff Burton, Jeff Gordon, Bobby Labonte and Joe Nemechek are the only current Cup drivers who has raced in all 32 events at New Hampshire.

The New Hampshire Motor Speedway is very challenging. The turns are banked 12 degrees and the straights, each 1,500 feet long, are banked at two degrees. The track currently has seating for 95,491 fans.

Weather could provide a slight complication with the speedway schedule on Friday. There is a slight, 20%, chance of rain on Friday afternoon. The Saturday and race day Sunday forecast for the Loudon area is solid calling for sunny skies and temperatures around 87 degrees.

The Lenox Industrial Tools 301 will be broadcast live this Sunday by the TNT Network with the pre race show beginning at 12 pm eastern time. The race replay will be broadcast on Wednesday, July 20th, by the SPEED Channel beginning at 12 pm eastern.