Kids!

Not sure how I missed the news but it seems NASCAR has lowered their driving age. Heres part of the story from the Republican. The

As long as you’re old enough to have a driver’s license, you now can compete with some of NASCAR’s best.

NASCAR recently lowered its minimum age for competing in its Grand National divisions (Busch East and AutoZone West) from 18 to 16. This change also applies to the Whelen Modified Tour and Southern Modified Tour.

It’s easy to see why NASCAR made such a move. Several Nextel Cup teams have gone about signing up-and-coming teenagers to driver development contracts in an effort to keep them from the competition.

Two such youngsters - Marc Davis and Joey Logano - will race in the Busch East Series for Joe Gibbs Racing. Yep, that Joe Gibbs Racing - the one that has won two Cup titles with Tony Stewart and one more with Bobby Labonte.

The name links take you to the pages on JGR with the drivers bios. Interesting stuff. Sounds like we’ll be hearing from these two kids in the future. And as an aside, how cool is it of JGR that they have bios of their Busch East drivers on their sites? While I admit that I haven’t been to a lot of other team sites, I’d be surprised if they listed their minor league drivers.

So any how, go read about these two kids, then read the rest of the Republican article.

Martisnville Qualifying

Denny Hamlin, driver of the No. 11 FedEx Express Chevrolet Impala SS, qualified on the pole for the first time this season and the fifth time in his career to lead the three-car Joe Gibbs Racing contingent in setting the grid for Sunday’s Goody’s Cool Orange 500 NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series race at Martinsville (Va.) Speedway. Hamlin turned a fast lap of 19.911 seconds at 95.103 mph on the .526.mile oval.

“Any time you can pick up anything here at Martinsville, it is a big thing,” Hamlin said. “The FedEx Chevrolet was really good. I was really surprised at how well it cut, and how good the forward bite it had off. Mike Ford and the guys did a good job compensating for what we had in practice. I didn’t think it would hold up for a pole run. We worked mostly in race trim in practice, so to come here and run a good qualifying lap, we’re pretty happy with it.”

Hamlin’s Joe Gibbs Racing teammates – J.J. Yeley in the No. 18 Interstate Batteries Chevrolet Impala SS and Tony Stewart in the No. 20 Home Depot Chevrolet Impala SS – qualified fifth and seventh, respectively. Yeley turned a lap of 20.025 seconds at 94.562 mph, while Stewart clocked a lap of 20.035 seconds at 94.515 seconds.

“It was a good run for the Interstate Batteries Impala,” said Yeley. “I was just a little conservative on the first lap and tried to pick back up on the throttle too early on the second lap and got a little bit tight. The mock qualifying run we made in practice wasn’t as good because I got caught behind a couple of cars. My teammate put down a really good lap and he (Denny) made up some time. He’s been here a bunch of times. It’s great to start up in the top five. I think we have a really good race car.”

“I’m pretty happy, actually,” said Stewart, who still holds the track qualifying record of 19.306 seconds at 98.083 mph set in October 2005. “I’ll tell you what’s better than being seventh, actually, is I’m really happy that Denny got the pole and that J.J.’s fifth, right in front of us. It tells you how strong the whole (Joe Gibbs Racing) organization is right now. As for my qualifying laps, it’s a hard balance between overdriving it, pushing too hard and then getting a lot further off than the little bit that we were going to gain. I didn’t try to run a conservative lap, but I wanted to make sure I was on the conservative side between overdriving it and being too easy on it. I just tried to run two solid laps and that’s what we got. To be honest, with 500 laps here, if you can’t get to the lead from seventh, you aren’t going to get there, anyway. It’s just a matter of getting a good pit box, and the car will be fine on Sunday. In race trim we were fine today. I’m pretty satisfied with seventh, considering we were 13th in practice this morning.”

Occupying spots two though four between Hamlin and Yeley were Jamie McMurray (19.942 seconds at 94.955 mph), Jeff Gordon (19.964 seconds at 94.851 mph) and Ken Schrader (20.012 seconds at 94.623 mph).

Forty-nine drivers attempted to qualify for the 500-lap race. Those not making the cut in the 43-car field were Michael Waltrip, Paul Menard, Kenny Wallace, Kevin Lepage, Brian Vickers and Ward Burton.

To bad Mikey missed another one but how bout that Schrader? He needed to qualify on time and put it in the number 4 hole. Great job Kenny!

Justin Labonte Back in a Race Car

Jim Utter over at the Charlotte Observer reports that Justin Labonte, son of Terry, nephew of Bobby is back in a race car.

Justin Labonte, a former Busch Series winner, is back behind the wheel this weekend entered in the Allstate Texas Thunder 150 Grand National West series race in Kyle, Texas.

“I’ve been looking at opportunities as they come up. This weekend is a great opportunity to race in the Grand National West series. I’m really looking forward to getting more seat time,” said Labonte.

Labonte won the 2004 Busch Series race at Chicagoland.

Stewart Will Win Martinsville

At least that’s the opinion of Steve Waid over at SceneDaily. But surprisingly, it’s not for the reason that we might think.

This year, it seems that when Stewart isn’t happy with something, he responds by running a darn good race.

Steve makes some good points.

The Tony Stewart/Eric Saunders Racing MX Team

INDIANAPOLIS — He’s a two-time NASCAR Nextel Cup Champion, a hard-nosed racer’s racer who competes on everything from short-track dirt to paved superspeedways, charitable organization founder, track owner, radio show host and the guy even has his own line of bar-b-que sauces. Tony Stewart is a busy man. But Stewart still takes time out of his hectic schedule and commitments to mentor a promising young motocross racer named Eric Saunders.

Saunders, a 14 year-old fellow Hoosier native, has known Stewart his entire life as his father, Irish, has been a long-time supporter of one of NASCAR’s most popular figures. The younger Saunders has been competing on two-wheels and landing jumps since he was only 5 and has been able to excel under the guidance of the Tony Stewart Racing team.

“I’m really grateful for everything Tony has done to help me,” commented Saunders. “People ask what it’s like to race for a NASCAR Champion but he’s really down to earth and gives me great advice. He’s just a normal guy who has a lot more credentials than most of us so I couldn’t think of anyone better as a mentor.”

The Tony Stewart/Eric Saunders Racing MX Team will tackle an ambitious American Motorcycle Association season by competing in three different divisions. The Hoosier throttlestomper will square off against the brightest young talent in his age group by running his Bass Pro Shops/Suzuki Racing machines in the 85cc, 112cc Supermini and 125cc Youth classes at various events across the Midwest.

“We are going to ride in three different divisions this year since I am at an age that allows options and it will just give me more experience,” added the bike phenom who still doesn’t even boast a driver’s license. “It’s all about racing as much as possible and experience so I can continue to improve. With my program and the opportunities I have, we can’t go wrong and will definitely learn a lot and hopefully grab a few wins along the way.”

The Tony Stewart/Eric Saunders Racing MX Team would like to thank their loyal sponsors - Tony Stewart Racing, Bass Pro Shops, TMC Transportation, Suzuki Racing, Fiber Wise, Troy Lee Designs, TORCO Race Fuels and K&N Air Filters.

Visit his website for more information on Eric Saunders.

Martinsville - Cool

ATLANTA – The Car of Tomorrow debuted last weekend at Bristol and despite much hand-wringing and consternation, it performed exactly the way it was intended – it went fast and turned left.

Joe Gibbs Racing (JGR) took the Car of Tomorrow and did what it does best – they made it go faster and turn left better than many of their counterparts. Problem was, mechanical glitches unrelated to the Car of Tomorrow’s design thwarted the strong runs made by JGR’s trio of drivers – Tony Stewart, Denny Hamlin and J.J. Yeley.

JGR cars led 443 of the 504 laps available at Bristol (88.6 percent), but posted an average finish of 28th. Stewart, driver of the No. 20 Home Depot Chevrolet, led the brigade by leading four times for a race-high 257 laps. But a broken fuel pump cable derailed his dominant run, replacing his shot at career win No. 30 in the NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series with a 35th-place finish.

Even with the disappointing result, Stewart and Co. are cool. They’re still 12th in points entering this weekend’s Goody’s Cool Orange 500 at Martinsville (Va.) Speedway, which 21 races from now would be good enough to make the 10-race Chase for the Nextel Cup.

Martinsville marks the second race for the Car of Tomorrow, and if Bristol was any indication, Stewart and his JGR brethren will again be competitive.

Stewart has been competitive all season, despite having up and down results. Just five races into the 36-race marathon that is Nextel Cup, Stewart has led the most miles (466.82), the most laps (441) and has the highest driver rating (108.5) while still posting two finishes of 35th or worse.

With eight months of racing still ahead and an ocean of points to be earned, Stewart, crew chief Greg Zipadelli and the rest of The Home Depot Racing Team know that their strong runs will eventually pay off with equally strong finishes. And it will probably happen sooner rather than later, for Martinsville is a track where Stewart excels.

The two-time Nextel Cup champion is a two-time winner at Martinsville, and he returns to the .526-mile paperclip-shaped track as the defending winner of the spring race. Stewart has a total of nine top-10 finishes at Martinsville and has led 1,182 laps, which has been helped in large part by Stewart’s ability to start up front. The nine-year Nextel Cup veteran has scored three poles at Martinsville and has six other top-10 starts.

While Martinsville’s tight confines rattle some, Stewart stays cool – a fine trait to have for the Goody’s Cool Orange 500.

Despite your end result at Bristol, were you pleased with where Joe Gibbs Racing is with its Car of Tomorrow?

“Absolutely, and it’s what made Bristol so hard to take. I mean, we were really, really good. It’s rare when you have a car that good anywhere, never mind at Bristol. On our last stop before we had the problem with the fuel pump cable, all we did was change tires and put in fuel. Normally, you’re making some sort of change, even something minor. But we didn’t even mess with air pressure. The car was perfect. It made how the race ended for us hurt even more, but in terms of the confidence it gave us for where we are with the Car of Tomorrow, it let us know that we’re where we needed to be. Granted, it’s only one race, but to deal with so many unknowns and to have not just my car run well but all three Gibbs cars up front, it’s a testament to the hard work everyone at Joe Gibbs Racing has put into the Car of Tomorrow.”

Martinsville and Bristol seem to have a lot in common. They’re both short tracks, where good days seem to be great and bad days seem to be horrendous. Is that a fair assessment?

“They’re the kind of tracks where if you have a good qualifying run and you have a great race car, then the race is a lot of fun. If you have a car in the race that’s not driving well and you have a bad qualifying run and a bad pit selection and you end up fighting the car all day, then a place like Martinsville becomes a very tough track. But that’s also one of the reasons why when you do win there it means so much. Plus, their grandfather clock is one of the coolest trophies around.”

No matter what kind of race car you’re driving, brakes are incredibly important at Martinsville. How does a driver conserve his brakes for 500 laps?

“You try to stay off the brakes as much as possible. You always hear the crew chief talking about floating the car into the corner, and what they mean by that is instead of driving it really deep into the corner and using a lot of brake pressure, the theory is to lift a little earlier and use less brake pressure. You’ll end up running virtually the same lap time as you would if you drove hard into the corner. But when you’ve got a 500-lap race at Martinsville and you’ve got to use the brakes hard twice a lap, that’s 1,000 times during a race where you’re asking that brake system to slow down a 3,400-pound race car. If you can be easy on those brakes for the first half of the race or first three-quarters of the race, then when you really need those brakes to battle for the win at the end – you’ve got ‘em.”

GREG ZIPADELLI, crew chief on the No. 20 Home Depot Chevrolet for Joe Gibbs Racing:

Have you had a chance to diagnose what happened to the fuel pump cable at Bristol?

“It broke, plain and simple. But after looking at how it broke, we think we’ve found a way to make sure it doesn’t happen again. That’s what we do here. We push parts and pieces to their limits, and when they break, we find out why and make them better.

“It’s a cable that gets driven off of the oil pump, that then runs to the fuel pump, which is in the trunk of the car. All of the Chevrolet teams are having to go with this setup, because with the new motor we’ll be running (the Chevrolet R07), it doesn’t have a fuel pump on it, so you can’t run it old style.

“The way we have it set up, it’s not new. We ran it the last 10 races last year, and the 18 car ran it in about 20-22 races. Our Busch cars ran it most of last year and all of this year, so it’s not a new thing. We’ve been running it a lot, even at places we didn’t have to just because we wanted to perfect the new system. Because once we start running the new engine, a cable driven fuel pump is all you can run.”

Despite the result at Bristol, are you happy with where the No. 20 team is and really where all of JGR is in relation to the Car of Tomorrow? Did it give you a sense of relief, but also a sense of pride to see how well the No. 20, the No. 11 and the No. 18 cars ran before they had their mechanical problems?

“Yes. It did, but Bristol’s an animal of its own. I think Martinsville and the next couple of races will be the true tale of do we have what we need figured out. We hit Bristol. We had a great car. The No. 11 had a great car. We don’t have the finish to show how good are car really was. Some days it’s more important where you finished then how you ran.”

Were you surprised by how dominant you were? With all of the laps that you led and the dominating fashion in which you led, was that a surprise or was that more an affirmation of the work you and the team had put into the car?

“Without being cocky, I’d like to think it was due to everybody’s hard work. I knew we had a good car when we unloaded on Friday. We were right in the ballpark. We qualified well. We went out early and still ended up fourth, which shows you how good the lap was. On Saturday we had a pretty good car in Happy Hour. After the first practice, we made some changes and we really hit on some things in Happy Hour that I think kind of separated us from most cars.”

Prior to Bristol there was some concern with pit stops, because the Car of Tomorrow’s dimensions changed the dynamic of the pit stop. With a full race’s worth of pit stops under your belt, did you find that the pit stops changed a lot with the new car?

“We didn’t change much. As far as making adjustments, it was a little bit harder on the right rear. Our tire changer would have had to make the wedge change if we needed it. Fortunately, our car was good enough we didn’t have to adjust on it a lot. The guys did a great job adjusting to the overhang off of the wheel base. We’ve got some things that we want to try that I think will make us better. They did so well in practice just doing it the old fashioned way that we said we’d go the first two races like that. The pit stops are so important that I’d rather have a pit stop be a tenth, two-tenths, or a half-second slower, but know that it was going to get done right at Bristol and Martinsville then lose a bunch of track position. After Martinsville, we’re going to try some different things to try to pick the speeds up, but some of the guys did a phenomenal job on Sunday with the car. I don’t know how much better we can make them because they were pretty good already.”

Own A Piece of Bristol

Just came across this press release from Bristol Motor Speedway. What a cool souvenir.

History was made in August of 1992 when Bristol Motor Speedway hosted the very first NASCAR Cup Series race on an all-concrete surface. In July of this year, fans will get the opportunity to own a piece of that history.

A new concrete surface will be in place for NASCAR’s most popular race, the Sharpie 500 in August. However, on July 1, pieces of the original concrete surface from the Start/Finish Line, where drivers like Dale Earnhardt, Darrell Waltrip, Jeff Gordon and Tony Stewart have celebrated Bristol victories, will be made available for fans looking to add the most unique of souvenirs to their racing memorabilia collection.

Three versions of the collectible will be made available to fans. There is a piece of concrete in an acrylic case that will sell for $25, a 12”x14” framed piece that is $60 and the Concrete Showpiece, priced at $100. A portion of all sales of the concrete will benefit the Bristol chapter of Speedway Children’s Charities.

Quantities from the actual Start/Finish Line are limited. Only the actual concrete raced on by Bristol winners since 1992 will be sold – after it’s gone, no other portions of the surface will be sold.

Anyone wishing to order a piece of Bristol history can call the Speedway World souvenir store at BMS at (423) 989-6960 beginning July 1, order online at www.gospeedwayworld.com, or visit the BMS souvenir store or any Speedway souvenir stand Aug. 22-25 during race week.

Gone Fishin’

INDIANAPOLIS – Paul McMahan and the No. 20 Tony Stewart Racing/Bass Pro Shops/Eagle team are geared up and ready to make the trip to Woodstock, Ga., for Saturday’s World of Outlaws (WoO) Sprint Series event at Dixie Speedway. The facility, which shares the landscape with nearby Lake Allatoona, is one that the TSR team hopes to add to its list of favorite watering holes. The Chevrolet-powered Tony Stewart Racing (TSR) entry is geared up for the region with its Bass Pro Shops paint scheme and McMahan is looking to parlay that angle into his first victory of the season.

McMahan has earned one fast qualifier award, one dash event win, one B-main event win, one top-five finish and three top-10 finishes in 10 starts this season. Headed up by crew chief Jimmy Carr, the No. 20 TSR/Bass Pro Shops/Eagle team is eager to throw out a line at Dixie Speedway to try and reel in its first ‘W’ of the year. McMahan enters the event ranked 11th in the WoO Sprint Series championship, only 201 points behind leader Donny Schatz.

PAUL MCMAHAN ON THE SERIES’ RETURN TO DIXIE SPEEDWAY:
“This weekend’s race at Dixie Speedway should be a great one for both us [the competitors] and the fans. The track is extremely racy. It’s got a flat bottom and great banking on the top. It’s another track in the southern states that features late model racing but it’s awesome for sprint cars, too. It’s a place where you really need to be up on the wheel. Qualifying and heat races are vital as to how you fare in the A-main.”

PAUL MCMAHAN ON THE TEAM’S OBJECTIVES AT DIXIE SPEEDWAY:
“We need to have a consistent night from start to finish. How we perform from start to finish will tell the tale. At Dixie Speedway, you have to qualify well and finish well in your heat to give yourself the best possible starting spot for the A-main. I remember how tough the track was the last time I raced there. It’s a place that will definitely keep you on your toes. We’ve learned some things over the past couple of weeks as we’ve been racing on these fast, high-banked tracks in the southern part of the country. We’re going to be in a much better position this weekend at Dixie Speedway because of the combinations we’ve figured out and having a better understanding of how the car is going to react to these types of tracks. Our goal is to qualify in the top-five, win the heat race and finish well in the dash event to start the A-main at or near the front. We’re hoping that this will be our weekend to put the No. 20 in victory lane for Bass Pro Shops and Chevrolet.”

Pit gates will open to World of Outlaws Sprint Series competitors at 3 p.m. EDT on Saturday (March 31). The grandstands are scheduled to open at 5 p.m.; with hot laps beginning at 7 p.m. Advance grandstand tickets are available by calling the track at 770-926-5315. Grandstand tickets will also be available the day of the event. Dixie Speedway is a 3/8-mile high-banked oval located in Woodstock, Ga. The track is located off I-75. Take exit 277 and go six miles east on SR 92, then north 0.75 miles on SR 205. For more information regarding the facility, or detailed directions, log on to www.dixiespeedway.com.

Nextel Prelude & Old Spice Summer Sizzler Tickets Sales Begin

ROSSBURG, Ohio — Advance ticket sales for two of Eldora Speedway’s more popular events, the Nextel Prelude to the Dream (June 6) and the Old Spice Summer Sizzler (July 10) kick off Sunday, April 1 at 11:00 AM (EDT).

Online ticket sales, through the track’s website www.eldoraspeedway.com is the most efficient method of purchase with its ease of use and around the clock accessibility; however, speedway representatives will be at the track’s ticket office and manning the telephone from 11:00 until 3:00 on April 1 to assist persons that do not have computer access. Regular office hours will be observed after the initial kick-off.

June’s Nextel Prelude to the Dream will again showcase several NASCAR and other invited drivers as they race against each other in dirt Late Models, while the Old Spice Summer Sizzler will feature NASCAR guests competing within that night’s slated NRA (National Racing Alliance) Sprint Invader and UMP (United Midwestern Promoters) doubleheader. Eldora’s owner, and two-time NASCAR driving champion, Tony Stewart has extended invitations among the NASCAR fraternity and other elite sanctioning bodies and is expected to announce his crop of driving talent shortly.

Ticket prices for both events will remain at last year’s level. Adult (16 & up) reserved seats are $25 for the Prelude and $20 for the Sizzler. Children’s pricing is also available.

Additional information is available by viewing www.eldoraspeedway.com.

Eldora Speedway Opener Postponed

I wondered why this weeks TSR Review didn’t say anything about this weekends opening of Eldora where Tony was supposed to have two of his USAC National Sprint Car running with Levi Jones and Tracy Hines. Now I know.

A late winter blast of artic conditions in February, coupled with a rain-filled March has forced a cancellation of Eldora Speedway’s planned March 31 opener. It was to have featured the wingless Sprints of the United States Auto Club (USAC), along with the UMP (United Midwestern Promoters) Modifieds and Advance Auto Parts Stock Cars.

Heavy rains over the past two weeks have severely hampered the pre-season track preparation efforts, and after conferring with officials from USAC, the cancellation decision was reached.

Eldora Speedway’s 2007 season will now kick-off Saturday, April 7. In competition that night will be the Sunoco sponsored American Late Model Series, along with the UMP Modifieds and Advance Auto Parts Stocks. Please visit www.eldoraspeedway.com for all of the track’s current news and ticket information.