After a rare pit mistake by the No.48 team that cost them a shot at history, Indiana race fans rejoiced as they watched native Hoosier, Ryan Newman triumph over all at the Brickyard. Newman and Johnson were the class of the field all day with Jimmie showing the most strength but this is a team sport and a 17 second pit stop with just a handful of laps remaining is nearly impossible to overcome when your rival takes two tires.
I am normally much more timely on these articles than this, and had actually toyed with the idea of scrapping this one completely to move to something more pressing. But, once I re-read what I had started writing I got fired up about the subject again and decided that this article deserved to be posted and hopefully read.
Was this onetime event a success? Considering that it was sold out the day tickets became available, that they sold tickets to 48 states, and 4 different countries, was standing room; and from the looks of lawn chair seating as well, then yes it was a success.
There was wall scrapping, door slamming, dirt flying and not a single fan sitting at Eldora Speedway Wednesday night. NASCAR had finally gone back home to where it all began; they returned to dirt. After a 43 year hiatus, no one knew what to expect but everyone believed that it would be spectacular.
The Mudsummer Classic Camping World Truck Series race at Eldora Speedway Wednesday night was everything a race fan loves. It wasn’t the biggest or the fastest but it showcased the best racing action that NASCAR has to offer.
October 24th, 2004 - Brian Vickers ended a rough day at Martinsville in 27th position and two laps off the pace to race winner and teammate, Jimmie Johnson. Just a few miles away in the Bull Mountains that surround the legendary racetrack, a plane had crashed and sadly, there were no survivors.
At Daytona, I sat and watched Cup qualifying for a couple hours. I watched each car get up to speed, run their two laps and then pull to the apron while the next car exited pit road. It's a procedure repeated 43 times every weekend and it is, for lack of a better term, boring.
NASCAR was born in the southern United States so it may surprise you to learn that in 1950 it was a young man from New York who won the Grand National Championship - the forerunner to today’s Sprint Cup Series.
