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Thursday, April 27, 2006
DIO YOU KNOW?
Dale Earnhardl holds the
record for most wins (10),
most top-five finishes (23)
and most top-1 Os (27) at
Talladega Superspeedway.
THIS WEEK
Race; Aaron's 499
Whwe: Talladega Superspeedwa *
When: Sunday 1:30.p.m.ET ^ '
Television; Fox
Defending race wnnr^er; JeH Gordon
CSSiX.i.ViwiMi
Cutting back on
CONTACT
New rule designed
to eliminate practice
of‘slam drafting’
By ItlCIv WINTER
Cox News Service
Atlanta
W hen the NASCAK circuit arrives
at I’dkdega Superspeodway
this weekend for the Aaron’s
40^, the cars w-ffl be aiuippod with a new'
ftxmt bumper desired to b»ke the bump
out of bump drafting.
It's tlw latest in an ongoing series of
changes deagned to make racing safer at
Talladega and Daytona Internatioml
Speedw'ay, the two tracks where restric
tor plates ara placed on the engines fo
slow' tte flow of ftiel, which reduce top
spwds with the ultimate goal of keeping
raa^ cars from flying into the grand
stands.
But drivers and a-fiws alw^'s seem to
find a WS6' to run fo.sten despite rules de-
s^ned to slow them down.
iluring the past several seasems, the
teehnlqueknow'n originally as bump
drafting became the b^r way for two
cai-s to advance in the huge packs that
dcwlop ^ Daytona and Ttilladega, But
bumpds'^ing, in which ihe mailing
driver actiKilly humps the C3*r in fi’ont of
him to propel both forwju'd, has intensi
fied to the point that it's now regularly
referred to as “sl^ drafting."
After a particulaiiy rough Iludiveiser
Shootout at Daytona in Pebruary defend
ing Nextel Cup chtunpton ITVmy StewJirt
told the media — and NA5CAR—that
someone might die if the slamming got
any worse. Series ofllcials responded by
instituting “no bump” zones in the
turns, where didvers are more likely to
lose control when bumped.
Still, the Daytona 930 was iimisually
rough, with several (h'ivers. Including
Stewart, penalized for overly aggi'eiKiw
me of the front bumper.
Beginn.tng this week, officiate hav’o
GREG LAUDICKI Co* H&m Service
Kevin Harvick
relaxes with wife
DeLana before
the start of last
year's Aaron’s
499. Harvick. who
comes to
Talladega
following Cup and
Busch victories at
Phoenix, says
NASCAR is
“going down the
right road" in
actions to improve
driver safety.
Above, tight
racing at Ihe
Daytona 500.
limitwi the bracing that teams can put
Itehind the front bumper it Talladega
md Daytona. If a driver bumps too hard,
he'll likely damage his radiator, which
could put him out of the rare ftir g>od,
Stewart said in a teleconference that
he applauds NASCAR's eftbrts.
'i giv'e NASCAR lOG percent credit for
being proactive,'' he ^d. ‘‘Hopefully it's
thenght thing.... It's something wc dis
cussed when we were in ffierc with our
discussion with them in Fehruai*y If it's
TALLADEGA
SUPERSPffiOWRY
Track length: 2.66 miles
Race length: 188 laps/500 miles
Banking in corr^ers: 33 degrees
Bankmg on fronlstretch: 18 degrees
Banking on baAstretch: 2 degrees
Frontstretch:4,300ieet
Backslretch: 4.000 feet
Grandstand seating: 143.231
First race: Talladega 500; Sept. 14,1969
Qualifying record: Bi Eilioif. Ford;
212.809 mph; April 30, 1987
Race record; Mark Martin, Ford;
188.354 mph; May 10, 1997
something that makes the racing better
for everybody and keeps eveiyborty out
of that sltuatiw, then it’s done its job.”
For teams that haven't significantly
beefed up the bracing behinrl the
bumper, the new rules won’t represent a
di'amatic change.
"We don’t i^liy haw to diange a
whole lot on the bumpers," Kevin
Harvick told reporters id Phoenix. “I
think it is going down the right road and
i,s agwxi 1(5^ [but], an in all, the
bumpere really aren’t that much differ-
Mlt."
Stewart's crew chief, Greg ZipadeUi,
lielieves the new bumper rides are an
improvement, but by no means a cure-
all,
"I think it's definitely a sfep in the
right direction to make the bump draft
ing minimal," Zipadelli said, adding that
the best thing that has wjme fi'om the
contreversy over bump drafting and
reugh driving at D^dona is the in
creased ^'arenes-s of die dangera in
volved.
“Sveiybody kind of txjceived the mes
sage, and everybody' w'lU be a little more
respectful," he said. "Hopefully this
won't be a topic in the foturc.’’
NTMi,KlCiLi;i
SFKAKiNC:
5
13
Victories by Dale
Earnhardt Jr. in the
past nine Nextel Cup
races at Talladega
Supwspeedway
Career Nextel Cup
victories by Kevin
Harvidc
Victories
Chevrolet drivers in
the past 14 races at
Talladega
Consecutive races in
which Joe Nemechek
has been running at
the finish, tops
among all drivers
What ever happened to...
chuckBROWN
The 11390 Busch Series champion cap-
tiu'ed she of his il career triumphs in his
championship season,
From 1972 to he was a fixture in
NASCAR. He made 73 Gup starts, 187 in
Busch and 35 in the Craftsman Truck
Today at age 52, he’s a partner in
CrewschooLcom. a kisincss tn Ashehoro,
N.C„ that fr-ains racing crew members.
Brown rtslted recently with reporter as
partofthecelebrationforthe25tban- .
niversai-y ttf the Busch Serie,s.
On Cup drivers racing in the Busch
Series: "A long time ago it ftui to race
against them when they showed up be-
cauR' it was a chance to show your talent
and maytte beat the best, On the short
tracks, technology didn’t matter Yoti had
io drive it and get it handling. But today
technology's everything, i don’t care if
they put a new lyiokie in those particular
car.s, they're going to go to the fr-ont mid
they’re going to .stay there imtil the ■
checkered flag falls — If tlie rookie does
n’t mess ujx You put a veteran Cup driwr
m it, It's all the easier. But you need them
there to matte Busch what it is. too."
On his career In the Busch Series:
"It was a heck of a lot of flm. Those y^rs
in it were the best years of my career, re
ally You knew it was serious, hard racing
because so many of those Cup guys raced
wfth iLs on a re^ar basis. When you won
races or won a championship there,
did something. You made ymr mark in
motorsports. It was ftm and difficult."
On whetJmr he believe NASCAR
owes former dtivera a pension and in
surance plan: “No. I think we all figured
out many yeara that’s not paid of the
deal. You jast go out and do the test you
can.... Siute, it would bd great if there w'as
a great ixsnsion and uisurance for life and
stuff. Wc knew that way- bade then. That’s
the way it Is. You just saw some of those
winnings, don’t spend them all.’’
On his surpiise start In a Hitters
Pro Cup race last fall at South Bt»ton
(■Va.) Speedway: “Billy Hess, one (rf ffie
well-kmwn chassis bulfoers. kind of built
an experimental front dip—little strut
rod, he railed il. He called me out of the
blue imd asked me if I'd drive it up there
for him.-see how it wrtitl said, ‘Yeah,
man, let’s go.’! brough t my students up to
do the pit stops and help out. We finislied
I2th. It was a hedc of a lot of fun."
RickMinter’s
OBSERVATIONS
m STomiNEs
Here are some things to watch as NASCAR hmds to Thlladega:
Trophy huntii^
Maybe NASCAR team owner Richard Childress naxis to go hunt
ing more often. While Childress was off on a safari In Afrira. his driv
er, Kevin Harvick, was bagging some big trophies back hmne.
Harvfok has won three times, two in the Busch Sales - at Nashville
and Phoenix — and one in Nextel Cup, also at Phoenix.
Harvick's teammates Clint Bowyer and Jeff Burton haven’t been
slouching either.
Bo^'er w^ fifth in the Cup race at Phoenix, while Burton wiis
ninth. Harvidc is eighth In Cup points, while Bowyer Is 12th and
Burton te I3th. Also, Harvick andBowyc'r are first and second in the
Busch standing, re^ctively
“Ewrything is going good right now’" Harvick told reporter after
his Qip victory at Phwnix. “The drivers ai! get along good. Clint ^d
I are really close as friends. We do thinp off the rare track togeiher
as much as our schedule allows. Jeff brings a veteran attitifoe to the
team. He understands a lot of things and has a very politically oorrert
approach to things, which is the exact opposite of me."
Childress' drivers and crew members seem to be following the re-
operation mckiel that Roush Racing used to iwt all five of ite drivers
in the Chase for the Nextel Cup last year. Harvick. who is in the final
year of his conteact with Childress, ^id that’s a welreme change.
“Everybody helps everybody and does what tliey can to make sure
everybody is going good," he said. "This is the first time i have ever
been a part of that at RCR It wa.s usually everybody racing against
each other”
Labcprte;‘Bring it «■
Mty Enterprises continues to show that its
off-^ason overhaul was for more than just fod
der ft«‘preseason feel-good stones. Bobby
I^abimte. a former series champion who joined
tlie stniggling team at the start of the to
dilve the company’s flagship No. 43 Dodge, fin
ished eiglith at Phoenix, hte third top-10 finish
in the past four races. He indicated in his post-
race comments that there's more to come.
"We’ve still some wotk to do,” he .said.
“We're here, but wo need to mov« it up,”
He sounded uncharacteristically optimistic
about this weekend’s ron at Talladega.
"We’TO got a brand-new car for Talladega, so
bring it on,” he said. "I'm ready."
Ths bfidBsiT^d
Despite his jHim-ess in restrictor-plate racing, defending Nextel
Cup chanyiion Tony Stewart can’t seem to make the pass that really.
counts at Talladega Suterspeedway In 14 Cup runs on the giant tri
oval in central Alatema. he has finished second five times — includ
ing both rares last year but. has never won. He said that
bother him.
“No, not at all,” he said, pointing out that to win at ’Mladega
mearw finding someone W'iUing to help push ynu to the ft-onl when it
coiinte.
“You can't do anything on your own there." he said. "You have to
^cUy rely on what everytKidy else around you is doing,"
All things considered, he said, his record is nothing to be ashamed
o£
“1 think our finishing average is pretty higli. higher than most for
the amount of rares that we've run there,” he said. “I'm pretty satis
fied with the way we’ve run there."
Mixed
Rjur high-profile Nextel C up teams went to Phoenix with new ^r-
sonnel In key petitions and came back with mix^ results.
Carl Mwai-ds and hte new crew chief. Wally Brown, had the test
initial results, fintehtog fourth In the Subway Frrah sat.
“Wally did agreat job.” Edv-anls told reporters at Phrenix, “He had
to do a lot of decision making. He had to do some things ftiel
mileage, with adjustments. He argued with me and made the right de
cisions. It’s cool."
Jamie McNIurray and Bob Osborne, who mov«! to Mchlurray’s
team from Edwards'team, were l,Sth.
David Stremme finished 29fli in his first ran w'ith Steven Lane is
hts craw chief, while teammate Rc«l Sorenson was «ith with
Stremme's old crew chief. Jeff Vandermoss, But Sorem^n was better
than his result Indiratcs, He was the victim te a mid-race wrec^,
“We came in just teto’e that and made some real big change,”
Sorenson told reporters after the race. “We went teck out and that’s
the first time we were able to pass anylxKly all night. We it a little
bit better and then we wrecked, .so we didn’t really get a chance to see
what wecoulddo,"
Tony Stewart’s
crew chief Greg
Zipadeili (left) talks
to a Sp^d Channel
reporter before the
start of last year's
Aaron’s 499. Stevwft
is winless at
Talladega in 14 Cup
Service attempts.
NASCAR
Bobby Labonte
says he's ready
for Talladega.
GREG LAUDICK/Cox
Teams face qualiiyir^
pressures at Talladega
For drivers whoso teams
are just outside the top 35 in
owners’ points, which is the
thr^boid for ^aranteed
starting pijsitions, this week
end’s qualifying session at
IMadega will be iMrticul^-
lyfhistrating. In qualifying
af restrictor-plate tracks—
Iteytona and Talladega —
the drivxT doc^ little more
than hold the accelerator
wide open and a im the cjin
The important part car
la-eTai'ation — is up to the
craw and most of dial must
be done belbre the car leaves
the shop.
“When you go to TaUadega
and unload, it’s going to be
tou^ to get in {the race] if
you're oft',’’ said David
Stremme, whose No. 40
Dodge team is 37th in owner
points. “It's not like >dii can
change a bunch of stuff."
Other drivers not gute"an-
teed a starting spot in the
Aaron’s 499 include Michael
Waltrip, Scott WinuTtec
Travis Kvapil, Kevin tepage
and Brent Sherman,
Rick Minter
Catching up with ,
J^hnANDREHl
John Andretti, a wterandrivw
with 340 starts and two victories in
Nextel Clip, te of
ficially a rookie i
this season in the
Busch Series. He
drives the No. 10
Fdrdforoar
owner Greg
a>l!ex. He’s 23rd
in points with
one top-10 finish
this season. He AMnRPm
recently spoke ANDRETTI
\rtth Cox News Service writer Rick
Minter about racing in the Busch
Serm.
Q: Vihafs it like teing a rookie
after all there years'^
A: “I’m having a good time with
it 'i’he fan^ everytedy on the team
and the sponsors are having fun
with it. And it's good to get to
know all the other nxjkias, 1 didn’t
know any of them before this."
Q: Are you a mentor for these
guys?
A: “{Iformer Busdi champion!
David Green handles the rookie
meetings and he d(^ an exrel-
lentJob-Altheendof the meet
ing. he ask.s me if 1 have any-
thmg to add, and sometimes 1
do. I have a lot of experience, it’s
just that none of it is in the Bii^ch
Series.... If they didn’t care, I
wouldn't care, but they all really
want to accelerate their learning.”
Q: Yftiat’s the biggest difference
tetween BiKch and Cup?
A: "There are more happy' peo
ple in Busch than Cup, It’s a differ
ent environment The races m‘
shorter in length and more in line
with what I think is the right dis
tance for a race, The strategies
ptey diffetenf but over* there {in
Cup] it’s a whole different world.
You have 40-something guys that
have to win. Here you have guys
coming over from Cup and this is
their fun day. But when you get out
there and race ^^aklst them, they
race you just like it’s a Cup race."
Q: Would you like to race Cup
again'^
A; “1 want to do some Cup rac^.
but 1 don't want to do It unless it's
fan, and the only way it’s ftin te to
be in something you can fight
with. If you don’t have a good car
over thei-e, if .s like teking a fly
swatter to a gun fight. But we have
a gun hwe [in Busch], and I like
that."
Q; What about your former
team. Petty EnteiiJris^?
A: “I had their last win. I’m real
ly happy for them. I was happy
when they got ttormer crew chiefi
Robbie Loomis teck. They’ve got
charaplomhlp wTitten all ffie way
through them with Bobby L^xinte,
Robbie Loomis and [crew chlefej
Todd Parrott and Paid Andrews.
They’ve all got a lot to prove.... For
now, ifs stai going to be a little up
and down, which everybwly
should expect, but I’m so happy for
ffiejn."
standing;
NEXTEL CUP
Following Ihe Subway Fresh 500
1. Matt Kens^eth |fiB8EBSS[Matt
t,2tB:prsvlDus:2 WBMM
2. Jimmie Johnson grabbed the
premus: 1 lead in the
aKaseyKahne UCaj^gM ooims
1,1 €7; preViOus: 3
4. Mark Martin |||n^|Ha„erathircl-
1,152; previous: 4 piagg finish
5, TonySle\rart at Phoenix.
. Cup next up; Aaron's 499;
mf-'cSlous- 8 SuperspasjMy
I ,UM. pteviolB. 8 Jy., .30 ^3-
7. Dale Earnhardt jr,
1,045: previous: 6 "" up- 'eran S 312,
8. Kevin Harvick Tailartep Stjarspeedwy
1,044; previous: 9 ™ ^ P-"' ET. Saturday: Fox
9. Kyle Busch Trucxnexrup: Dodge Ram Tou^
1,010: previous: 7 200; Gateway ini. Raceway
10. Casey Wears TV: 8 p,fn. ST. Saturday; Speed
945; previous: 10 Channel
BUSCH SERIES
1. Kevin Harvick
1,469: previous: 1
2. Ciim Bovver
1,180; previous: 3
3. Denny Hamlin
1.t74;previous:2
4. J J, Yeley
1,155: previous: 4
5. Carl Edwards
1,128; previous: 5
TRUCK SERIES
1. Mark Martin
7M; previous: 1
2. Ted Musgra're
665; previous: 3
3. Todd Bodine
662; previous: 2
4. David Reutimann
■ 576: previous; 4
5. David Starr
556: previous: 13