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m 5C >0O SPORTSAIJe Cjarlottt #o»t Thursday, July 27, 2006 NASCAR QUIZ Q: Which driver won the first NASCAR Cup race at Indianapolis Motor Speedway? A: Jeff Gordon, 1994 NEXT RACE Race: Allstate 400 at The Brickyard Where: Indianapolis Motor When: 2 p.m. ET, Aug. Television: NBC Defending race winner: Tony Stewart irickyard Speedw* CHANGES A are around the comer New namplate, drivers could shake up series in ’07 By RICK MINTER Cox News Service NUMERICALLY SPEAKING 151 Atlanta T he changes NASCAR has made during the past few seasons — a new way of determin ing the champion, moving races away from Southern tracks, a new TV package, a glitzier image — have been dramatic, even to the point of alienating some longtime fans. But even biggerchanges are just around the cor ner. The NASCAR of 2007 will see a foreign nameplate, Toyota, become a major player in the Nextel Cup Series. A Colombian driver, former Formula One driver Juan Pablo Montoya, will join the circuit and drive the No. 42 Dodge for Chip Ganassi, one of his former open-wheel car owners. Racing’s most famous female, IRL driver Danica Patrick, couidjoin him. Also, the radically differ ent Car of Tomorrow will be phased in, replacing the cars that have been used in recent seasons. The changes are on the minds of many as NASCAR’s Nextel Cup circuit heads into this weekend’s mid-season break. Three-time Cup champion and Fox analyst Daneil Waltrip sized up Patrick’s NASCAR poten tial during a teleconference last week. He said her diminutive size might be a detriment when driving a 3,500-pound NASCAR race car. “I’m not saying Indy cars are easy to drive, but I don’t think they are as physically demanding as a stock car,” Waltrip said. “That would be a concern if 1 were her.” He speculated that Patrick might be more inter ested in getting a rai^ from her current Rahal Letierman Racing team than in moving to a new circuit. “She's had a huge impact on the IRL," Waltrip said. “She probably thinks she’s a little underpaid. ... She didn’t know how popular and how big she was going to be. Now, she's trying to leverage that popularity.” He said from a competitive standpoint. Patrick probably should stay in the IRL. “She can realistically win an Indy car race,” he said. “She could not realistically win a stock-car race anytime soon.” He said it will be a difficult transition for Laps led by Denny Hamlin (right) in winning the Pennsylvania 500 at Pocono Raceway. 23 Drivers within 1,000 points of Nextel Cup points leader Jimmie Johnson. 18 Photos by NASCAR Kevin Harvick rejoices in Victory Lane following his win Saturday at Martinsville Speedway. Top-10 finishes in Busch Series races this year by points leader Kevin Harvick, more than all other Busch competitors. 16 Top-10 finishes in Nextel Cup races this season by Jimmie Johnson, tops among Cup drivers. Patrick or Montoya to move to the sometimes rowdy world of NASCAR. ‘There’s a huge amount of intimidation these [NASCAR] drivers use, like putting the bumper to you to knock and push you around.” Waltrip said. ’That takes some getting used to. The-first time somebody puts a bumper to you going off into the comer at 180 mph, it is quite an experience; one that you’ve probably never had before and you’re probably not going to want to do again for a while. “I just don’t know how you can jump out of an Indy car or a Formula One car and get in one of our machines, which is the hardest car to drive in ■ the world.” Waltrip said it’s not hard to understand why drivers from other circuits are wanting to switch to NASCAR. He attributes the increased interest to NASCAR’s diversity program and to Toyota’s growing participadon in NASCAR (they’ve been in the Craftsman Truck Series for three seasons while planning a move to the Cup level). “I think it’s a great effort on everybody’s part to grow the sport in every direction that we can,” said Waltrip, who owns a Toyota truck team. “I’ve got to give Toyota some cre^t for attracdng the drivers from other series. ‘Toyota has reladonships with drivers from other series.... Toyota is going to be there, and that’s a new manufacturer. They are going to need drivers and there is opportunity there. “I think that appeals to the other drivers.” Up and coming... Houston native Brad Coleman, 18, appears to have been programmed to be a race-car driver fiom the start. At age 12, he was discovered at an indoor karting center hy sportsor driving coach Price Cobb and eventual- ly moved to \^rgima to live %vith Cobb’s family and travel with them to cars, the prototypes and Late Model Stock cars, so that no matter what opportunity I had, I’d be prepared. A: It’s a huge milestone. It’s tied with the 24 Hours of Daytona for one of the greatest moments of my career. Last year, he raced in the Rolex 24 at Daytona, and this year, he’s driv ing for Brewco Motorsports, a NASCAR Busch Seri^ team. He recently got his first su perspeedway victory, coming from two laps down to win the July 8 ARCA race at Kentucky Speedway He recently spoke with Rick Minter of Cox News Service. Q: You seem almost programmed to race. Did you miss out on b^g a normal kid? A: There was definitely a little give and take with it. I had to leave my home in Houston at the age of 15 to go live in "^^rginia, and I can’t always hang out with my friends on the weekends because I’m al ways at races and I’m always working out. So it does take away some of my time, but its definitely worth it. Q: What are your plans for the future? A: We plan on doing some more ARCA races — Gateway, Nashville and Michigan — and we’re goir^ to do a couple more Busch races this year. Next year, we’re planning on doing the full Busch schedule. I’m fully com mitted to doing NASCAR. I’ve always watched NASCAR growing up. Being in it is a dream come true. COLEMAN Q: How did you get such a varied r&iune at such a young age? A: Our plan fiom the beginning was to get as much experience in race cars as we could with cross-training in open-wheel cars, sports Q: How important has it been to have proven talent like Price Cobb and [NASCAR veteran mechanic] Shawn Parker coaching you? A: We definitely have a great team assem bled. Price Cobb started my career, and Shawn has been such a great crew chief this year, helping me learn what the car docs and how it’s affected by changes. Its a great op portunity , Q: Have you gotten callR from other NASCAR owners since yoiu- win at Kentuclty? A: I don’t get any calls. AD I do is the rac ing. I have managers and people like that to handle those calls, which is very nice. Q: How big was the ARCA win? Q: What do you do for fun away fiom Hie track? A: I love playing on my sunulator, doing simulation race weekends. And I try to be a normal teenager whenever I can. Rick Minter’s OBSERVATIONS Here are some key storylines as the Cup Series takes a week off; A mad scramble Witii six races remaining before the start of the Chase for the Nextel Cup, the field appears to have been narrowed to 12 driv ers with realistic chances of being among the elite 10 who will run for the Points leader Jimmie Johnson and second-place driver Matt Kenseth appear to be virtual locks to make the Chase field, but its a scramble behind them. Just 188 points separate third- ! Jeff Burton from Greg Biffle, who is 12th in the stand- m STEWART le Earnhardt Jr.’s chances of making the cut appear to be waning through no fault of his own. He’s recorded back-to-back last-place finishes — at New Hampshire and Pocono — both of which seem to be due to fac- toiB l^yond his control. The engine in his No. 8 Chevrolet blew at New Hampshire, and he was involved in a crash at Pocono that he told TV reporters happened because his car was too slow leaving the comers. His latest setback dropped birn foior spots to 11th in points. StiD, he’s upb^t. “We’re a good team, and if we do what we’re capable of doing, we’ll be all right,” he told reporters at Pocono. Tony the tiger? Defending champion Tbny Stewart seems destined to rnakp the Chase in spite of his own impatience, which has put him in bad spots the past two races. TWo weeks ago at New Hampshire, Stewart was leading the race early when he became involved in an on-track alterca tion with the lapped car of Ryan Newman. He wound up crashing and finishing 37th, which put him out of ^e top 10 in points. Then on Sunday at Pocono, the 500-mile race was barely 30 laps old when he ran into Clint Bowyer after he felt Bow5rer crowded him into the outside wall. After being hit by Stewart, Bowyer skat ed across the track into the oncoming car of Carl Edwards, who later spun Stewart, in apparent retaliation, as the two entered the pits. Stewart and Edwards were docked a lap for rough driving. Stewart bounced back to finish seventh and move to 10th in points. After the race, Stewart was asked by a TV reporter whether he should have been more patient. T don’t tbiuk so,” he said. Edwards’retort: Stewart was “spectacularly self-centered.” Winning is everything There’s been a lot of talk about how successful Michael Waltrip has been in attracting top-flight drivers and sponsors for his new Tbyota teams that wiD hit the track next, year. He’s landed NAPAfor the car he’ll drive. Dale Jarrett and UPS, and he’ll have Burger King for his third team. But his older brother, Darrell Waltrip, cautions that top driv ers and lucrative sponsors aren’t enough in the highly compet itive world of Nextel Cup racing. “It’s come down to one thing and I harp on him aU the time about it,” Darrell Waltrip said. ‘That’s what he is experiencing this year and that’s performance.” Driving his own Dodge this season, Michael Waltrip is 36th in points with a best finish of ISth in the season-opemng Daytona 500. Tf you don’t perform, the sponsors are going to end up being mad at you,” Darrell Waltrip said. “Tbu’ve got to be sure that you get the people, the parts, the pieces and everything it takes to go out on Sunday and perform. - Tf you perform, everylxxiy is going to be happy If you don’t, it can be a nightmare.” Big blow for Yates team The release of Elliott Sadler last week from the No. 38 Ford leaves the once mighty Robert Yates Racing team with no vet eran drivers returning next season and many in the sport won- igitwiUt ’ dering how long it wiU take the team to regain its stature in the garage. Dale J Jarrett, driver of the No. 88 Ford, already annoimced that he was leaving at the end of the season, as is Sadler. Rookie Stephen Leicht drove a Yates car at Pocono on Sunday, finished 33rd and is set to run Aug. 6 at Indianapolis in the same No. 90 Ford. He’s a contender for a fuU-time Yates ride next season, and Busch newcomer David Gilliland also has been mentioned as a candidate. Tham co-owner Doug Yates told reporters at Pocono last week that he’s looking at both newcomers and veterans as he chooses new drivers. “We want somebody that wants to be with us, somebody that’s willing to dig in and be part of the oi^anization, live it and help us do the things that we need to do,” he said. Tt’s very critical to get somebody that wants us. There needs to be a mu tual attraction. There’s some good young talent out there that we’re looking at. ... Then there are a lot of guys ax^able that maybe need to revitalize their career or ano&er chance, so well look at that as weU.” STANDINGS NEXTEL CUP Following the Pennsylvania 500 1. Jimmie Johnson cup next up: Allstate 400 at The Brickyard; Indianapolis Motor Speedway TV: 2 p.m. ET Aug. 6; NBC Busch next up: Gateway 200; Gateway International Raceway TV: 8 p.m. ET Saturday; TNT 2,939; previous: 1 2. Matt Kenseth 2,842; previous: 2 3. Jeff Burton 2,621; previous: 3 4. Kyle Busch 2,582; previous: 4 5. Kevin Harvick 2,563; previous: 8 6. Mark Martin 2,557; previous: 5 7. Kasey Kahne 2,515; previous: 6 8. Denny Hamlin 2,514; previous: 12 9. Jeff Gordon 2,512; previous: 9 10. Tony Stewart 2,477; previous: 11 Truck next up: Power Stroke Diesel 200; O’Reilly Raceway Park TV: 8:30 p.m. ET Aug. 4; Speed Channel BUSCH SERIES 1. Kevin Harvick 3,282; previous: 1 2. Carl Edwards 2,934; previous: 2 3. Clint Bowyer 2,880; previous: 3 4. Denny Hamlin 2,832; previous: 4 5. J.J. Yeley • 2,774; previous: 5 TRUCK SERIES 1. Todd Bodine 2,161; previous: 1 2. David Reutimann 2,044; previous: 3 3. Johnny Benson 1,998; previous: 2 4. Rick Crawford 1,930; previous: 5 5. Ted Musgrave 1,913; previous: 4 Are you single, attractive BUT sekctive? Tired of trying to meet new jte^k through friends, at the workplace, or at the local hanyjout? That’s the verj reason why many tpmlity singles hke you are tumtnji to professtona! match makers to find thtir next date. 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The Charlotte Post (Charlotte, N.C.)
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July 27, 2006, edition 1
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