http://www.thatsracin.com/149/index.xml Motorsports News from ThatsRacin.com en-us Copyright 2008 ThatsRacin.com Darlington Raceway 60 Fri, 05 Sep 2008 06:47 EDT http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/tech/rss McClatchy Interactive Workbench webmaster@thatsracin.com http://www.thatsracin.com/149/story/9752.html http://www.thatsracin.com/149/story/9752.html Thu, 13 Dec 2007 12:03 EST DARLINGTON, S.C. – It’s not the Southern 500 at Darlington. But some of racing’s most famous names will return to the track “Too Tough To Tame” next Labor Day weekend.<p/> Raceway officials said Wednesday that NASCAR greats David Pearson, Darrell Waltrip, Buddy Baker, Junior Johnson and others will take part in the Darlington Historic Racing Festival on Aug. 30-31.<p/> Until four years ago, The Labor Day weekend at Darlington was reserved for Nextel Cup and one of its crown jewel races, the Southern 500. However, in 2003, NASCAR officials shifted the holiday weekend race to California as Darlington lost one of its two annual events.<p/> Darlington has sold out its lone race the past three years since it moved to the Saturday night before Mother’s Day.<p/> Track president Chris Browning says the new festival will bring more than 100 vintage race cars, ranging from the 1950s to the 1970s, to NASCAR’s oldest superspeedway.<p/> “Auto racing fans are incredibly proud of the sport’s history, and we feel there is no better venue than Darlington Raceway to bring the sport’s legendary drivers and cars back together for a weekend of celebration and fun,” Browning said.<p/> Darlington is currently undergoing about $10 million in improvements before next May’s Dodge Avenger 500, including the track’s first repaving since 1995. http://www.thatsracin.com/149/story/4986.html http://www.thatsracin.com/149/story/4986.html Fri, 22 Jun 2007 07:22 EDT COLUMBIA, S.C. – For Darlington Raceway President Chris Browning, about the only thing better than seeing Nextel Cup cars and NASCAR haulers at the track is watching cranes and construction trucks work on the superspeedway.<p/> Browning has seen a small construction yard go up right alongside NASCAR’s oldest superspeedway as it begins $10 million worth of projects that include repaving the track surface and adding a third access tunnel to the infield.<p/> “I think it’s great,” Browning said Thursday. “It means a lot for our future.”<p/> Work started this week with crews removing the track’s SAFER barrier walls. Next comes construction of the access tunnel between turns three and four. Finally, in August, work will begin on repaving the track. Browning said workers will mill off about 3 inches of the track, replacing it with new asphalt – and guaranteeing a much slicker surface when the Nextel Cup series returns.<p/> Browning has received a preliminary copy of the track’s NASCAR sanctioning agreement for next year that calls for a fourth-straight Mother’s Day weekend race. But after three straight sellouts, Browning wasn’t as worried about Darlington’s future as he was a few years ago.<p/> So secure, in fact, Darlington put up a billboard outside the track with next year’s dates and “New Asphalt, Same Attitude.”<p/> Leaders at International Speedway Corp., Darlington’s owners, have been very positive about the track’s resurgence.<p/> “Everybody’s really, really pleased with the way things are going,” Browning said. “We’re appreciative of the support that we can keep building this place.”<p/> The track hadn’t been paved since 1995. Ruts and cracks had worn into the surface that, if not repaired, could’ve made for a dangerous situation.<p/> “Everybody knew the track had to be done,” Browning said.<p/> When racers return next spring, they’re sure to face a fresher, faster challenge than last month’s Dodge Avenger 500. Ward Burton set Darlington’s qualifying record of 173.797 mph at the TranSouth 400 in 1996, the first event after a repaving.<p/> This year’s pole winner, Clint Bowyer, won with a speed of 164.987 mph.<p/> Browning expects repaving to finish in November. Then he’ll give the track over to several driving schools the next few months to help break the new surface in before May.<p/> Browning also plans a deal for those ticket buyers who renew quickly: They’ll get the opportunity to bring their cars out on Darlington’s resurfaced roadway. Browning says the rides will be led by the track’s pace car at controlled speeds.<p/> The smoother surface could be a boon to the potential return of a U.S. Auto Club event. Browning has talked with USAC leaders about bringing the open-wheel circuit back for a second straight season, most likely on the Thursday before the Nextel Cup event.<p/> The biggest complaint Browning got from fans who attended the USAC race was the race had too few cars (14 started) and was too short (50 laps). Both had to do with Darlington’s worn surface. “We’ll have that taken care of this time,” Browning said.<p/> The completed tunnel will let the track dedicate an access tunnel beneath turn 1 for pedestrians only. That could allow Darlington to add 2,000 to 3,000 seats in that area, Browning said.<p/> Darlington officials have prepared for another round of capital funding for ISC tracks later this year. While not expecting the large amounts that have let Darlington install the 6,300-seat Brasington Tower or this latest project, Browning’s hopeful the track can earn enough to continue its progress.<p/> Browning wants to next redo the garage area, remapping the infield and installing improved structures for fans and racers.<p/> “In order for us to continue to grow and to make it more enjoyable for everyone, we need to do these things,” Browning said. http://www.thatsracin.com/149/story/4262.html http://www.thatsracin.com/149/story/4262.html Tue, 15 May 2007 06:31 EDT With high-profile drivers openly questioning officiating after Sunday's Dodge Avenger 500 at Darlington (S.C.) Raceway, NASCAR vice president for competition Robin Pemberton on Monday defended the sanctioning body.<p/>"We stand by what we do and the calls that we make," Pemberton said. "Obviously, no matter what call we make, people are going to be divided on whether it's right or wrong. But I feel we do a good job.<p/>"We're going to march on and we're going to make the best calls possible for the entire field."<p/>Winner Jeff Gordon and runner-up Denny Hamlin both leveled criticism at NASCAR about why a caution for debris on the track was not called in the final laps.<p/>"There was somebody's entire fender and underbody on the race track," Hamlin said. "I saw that and I literally pumped my fist in the car because I knew a caution was going to come out. But no caution, and Hendrick (Motorsports) gets another break. I don't mean to open up another can of worms on that one."<p/>It's not a new can. Tony Stewart, Hamlin's teammate at Joe Gibbs Racing, said after he finished second to Gordon at Phoenix last month that NASCAR throws cautions for debris when there's no debris to manipulate competition, and he compared stock-car racing officiating to that seen in professional wrestling.<p/>But it's not only the people finishing second who are questioning NASCAR.<p/>"Absolutely (there) should have been a caution at the end," Gordon said after a fourth straight Hendrick victory and eighth in nine races. "But there shouldn't have been one before that when we really checked out and those guys never even had a chance at catching us. That comes back to the inconsistency."<p/>Pemberton said NASCAR would be criticized either way. If a caution is thrown and Hamlin wins, Gordon's fans are angry. With no caution, partisans say NASCAR is "helping" Gordon.<p/>Pemberton, who is in the tower where decisions on the caution are made, denied NASCAR plays favorites.<p/>"We don't throw cautions for no reason, we really don't," he said. "To me, the cars are just dots on a screen. There are no numbers or names associated."<p/>At one point Sunday, television replays showed a shredding tire on Joe Nemechek's car knocking debris off the car. This happened during green-flag pit stops, but no yellow came until the cycle of stops was done.<p/>"I think at that time, there was some debris that was down out of the groove," Pemberton said. "As teams made their stops and came down off the track in a normal fashion, some of it could have been kicked up into the racing groove."<p/>Similarly, since the debris Hamlin referred to late in the race was sufficiently out of the groove so as not to cause safety issues, Pemberton said no yellow was displayed.<p/>NASCAR has spotters around the track who are in radio contact with the tower. Officials also have access to television camera shots with up to 18 angles showing the track or views from inside cars.<p/>"We are always going to err on the side of safety, and some calls are easier than others," Pemberton said.<p/><strong><span class="subhead">Note</span></strong><p/>Pemberton said improper brackets found on the rear wing of Dale Earnhardt Jr.'s No. 8 Chevrolet during Saturday's prerace inspection were also on the car when Earnhardt Jr. qualified 21st fastest Friday. Earnhardt Jr. was allowed to keep that spot because the wing was within NASCAR's rules of zero to 16 degrees during Friday's prequalifying inspection, but outside of that Saturday.<p/>Pemberton said NASCAR is weighing penalty options. http://www.thatsracin.com/149/story/4260.html http://www.thatsracin.com/149/story/4260.html Mon, 14 May 2007 20:16 EDT That’s Racin’ ranks the top 40 teams in the NASCAR Nextel Cup series following the Dodge Avenger 500 at Darlington (S.C.) Raceway. <p/>(Rankings based on team performance and potential. Each team’s preseason ranking is in parentheses:) <p/><b>1. (2) Jeff Gordon – car No. 24</b> Winning races how he used to, in ways that make you go “how in the world…?”<p/><b>2. (1) Jimmie Johnson – car No. 48</b> He came to get tires at Darlington and it wound up costing him. How odd is that? <p/><b>3. (3) Denny Hamlin – car No. 11</b> Criticizing crew for Darlington error? This is the big time. They’ve got to get it done. <p/><b>4. (4) Matt Kenseth – car No. 17</b> If forced, could you have guessed where he finished at Darlington? (It was seventh.) <p/><b>5. (6) Tony Stewart – car No. 20</b> Sixth in the points and hasn’t really done a whole lot. That has an ominous feel to it. <p/><b>6. (5) Kyle Busch – car No. 5</b> Team has tailed off a bit. Could Hendrick good fortune turn his way at Charlotte? <p/><b>7. (8) Jeff Burton – car No. 31</b> Had a “points” day at Darlington – team finished 10th and was rarely higher all day. <p/><b>8. (9) Kurt Busch – car No. 2</b> Ran better than he finished at Darlington. Seventh in points with only three top 10s. <p/><b>9. (7) Kevin Harvick – car No. 29</b> Daytona 500-winning team seems like a complete non-factor too many weekends. <p/><b>10. (12) Clint Bowyer – car No. 07</b> Got first career Nextel Cup pole and thanks to the Dale Earnhardt Jr. story few cared. <p/>11. (13) Ryan Newman – car No. 12 12. (14) Carl Edwards – car No. 99 13. (11) Jamie McMurray – car No. 26 14. (10) Dale Earnhardt Jr. – car No. 8 15. (16) Martin Truex Jr. – car No. 1 16. (15) Mark Martin/Regan Smith – car No. 01 17. (17) Greg Biffle – car No. 16 18. (18) J.J. Yeley – car No. 18 19. (20) Bobby Labonte – car No. 43 20. (19) David Stremme – car No. 40 21. (25) Kasey Kahne – car No. 9 22. (26) Elliott Sadler – car No. 19 23. (21) Jeff Green – car No. 66 24. (22) Juan Pablo Montoya – car No. 42 25. (23) Tony Raines – car No. 96 26. (24) Reed Sorenson – car No. 41 27. (27) Joe Nemechek – car No. 13 28. (36) Sterling Marlin – car No. 14 29. (30) Casey Mears – car No. 25 30. (28) Robby Gordon – car No. 7 31. (29) David Ragan – car No. 6 32. (32) David Gilliland – car No. 38 33. (33) Ricky Rudd – car No. 88 34. (34) Kyle Petty – car No. 45 35. (35) Johnny Sauter – car No. 70 36. (37) Dave Blaney – car No. 22 37. (38) Paul Menard – car No. 15 38. (40) Ken Schrader – car No. 21 39. (31) Scott Riggs – car No. 10 40. (NR) Kenny Wallace – car No. 78 http://www.thatsracin.com/149/story/4256.html http://www.thatsracin.com/149/story/4256.html Sun, 13 May 2007 20:55 EDT Looking at Dalrlington Raceway in the read-view mirror, riding The Elevator and making some Observations:<p/><B>UP</B> – NASCAR fans<p/>After splashing out of here Saturday night, a huge crowd came back on Mother’s Day. Race fans are indomitable.<p/><B>UP</B> – Dale Earnhardt Inc.<p/>Dale Earnhardt Jr. finished eighth and Martin Truex Jr. was 11th after a tumultuous week for this company.<p/><B>UP</B> – Roger Penske<p/>Helio Castroneves wins the Indianapolis 500 pole on Saturday, then Ryan Newman and Kurt Busch both finish in the top 12 at Darlington.<p/><B>DOWN</B> – Chip Ganassi Racing with Felix Sabates<p/>After Texas, this team had two cars in the top 13 in points. Today, it has none in the top 20.<p/><B>OBSERVATIONS</B><p/><LI>Jeff Gordon was looking forward to having his mother, Carol Bickford, join him for a Mother’s Day celebration in victory lane after his win. But with Gordon’s engine overheating and the prospects for it lasting to the checkered flag grim, Carol and her husband, John, left early along with other family members – presumably to beat postrace traffic. “They bailed on me,” Gordon said after winning. “I can’t wait to call them and chew them out.”<p/><LI>It’s going to be very interesting to see how the car of tomorrow works here next May when Darlington has new pavement. Sunday’s race wasn’t sensational, but it wasn’t the wreck-fest some expected it might be, either.<p/><LI>The highest-finishing Toyota was driven by Dave Blaney. He finished 32nd. And people were worried about Toyota coming in and “dominating” the sport?<p/><LI>Don’t get carried away in saying that the longtime taboo of racing on Mother’s Day should be forgotten. About 85 to 90 percent of the sold-out grandstands were filled with fans Sunday. But those tickets were sold for a Saturday night race and most everybody who planned to come then came back. That’s very, very different from trying to sell tickets for a Mother’s Day race. http://www.thatsracin.com/149/story/4255.html http://www.thatsracin.com/149/story/4255.html Sun, 13 May 2007 20:48 EDT Turning points in Sunday's race at Darlington Raceway:<p/><B>Lap 180</B><p/>Jeff Gordon makes a pit stop late in a green-flag cycle. On Lap 184, just after the No. 24 gets back on track, a caution comes out. While some teams stop again, Gordon stays out and gets up into the top five. He’d stay there the rest of the day.<p/><B>Lap 250</B><p/>The sun finally breaks through a layer of clouds that had hovered over the track all day. That certainly made a difference in how the cars handled, perhaps changing the ultimate outcome.<p/><B>Lap 305</B><p/>Denny Hamlin’s crew has a problem on the right-front tire during a pit stop under yellow. Hamlin, whose car had led 179 laps to that point, came in running second but was 16th when the race restarted.<p/><B>Lap 305</B><p/>On the same pit stop Hamlin had his troubles, Gordon’s team managed to get some tape off his grille in an effort to keep the car from running any hotter. Would the engine have still gone the distance without that? We’ll never know.<p/><B>Lap 344</B><p/>Jimmie Johnson comes to pit road for fresh tires. Gordon looks like he’s coming, too, but at the last minute turns back up onto the track. Five other cars stay out, too, giving Gordon a buffer between him and his teammate, Johnson, who restarts seventh. http://www.thatsracin.com/149/story/4254.html http://www.thatsracin.com/149/story/4254.html Sun, 13 May 2007 20:13 EDT DARLINGTON, S.C. - Jimmie Johnson thought he was in good position.<p/>There were nearly 20 laps remaining in Sunday’s race at Darlington. He had - and most of the lead-lap cars - had fresh tires. But race leader Jeff Gordon did not.<p/>“I thought we were golden,” said Johnson, who won last weekend’s race at Richmond, Va.<p/>“The first restart I think I got two or three positions ... and I thought I was in great position.<p/>“Then, I couldn’t get through lapped traffic that fast. We were just too far behind at that point and, plus, the last of the tires didn’t work out for us. We were too tight.”<p/>Johnson ended up third, as Gordon was able to hold off a charge from Johnson and Denny Hamlin, another driver who took new tires.<p/>“Put up a good fight (but) I’m disappointed to come in third, especially leading with 20 (laps) to go, not being able to bring home the victory,” Johnson said. <p/>"I am very happy for Jeff (Gordon) and Hendrick Motorsports. I think today was a good example of the fight that Hendrick Motorsports has.” http://www.thatsracin.com/149/story/4253.html http://www.thatsracin.com/149/story/4253.html Sun, 13 May 2007 19:56 EDT DARLINGTON, S.C. - Even a pit road penalty couldn’t dampen Carl Edwards’ enthusiasm on Sunday.<p/>Edwards, who hasn’t had the best of experiences this season with the NASCAR “car of the tomorrow,” found himself with a strong car Sunday on one of his favorite tracks.<p/>But during an early race round of pit stops, Edwards was penalized for entering pit road incorrectly and was sent to the rear of the field. He eventually made his way through the field and finished fifth – his best finish of the season.<p/>“I did everything I could to get to pit road and I guess I messed it up,” Edwards said. “It was still a lot of fun for me. This is my favorite race track.<p/>“We’re gaining ground. We’ve got guys that are working really hard on it and I’m really proud of everybody. It’s neat to lead some laps and run really well (and) qualify well.” http://www.thatsracin.com/149/story/4252.html http://www.thatsracin.com/149/story/4252.html Sun, 13 May 2007 19:50 EDT DARLINGTON, S.C. - Dale Earnhardt Jr. and his team certainly showed no signs of any friction at Darlington over his intention of leaving Dale Earnhardt Inc. at the end of the season.<p/>Earnhardt Jr., who started 21st, made his way into the top five by Lap 40 of 367 and remained in the top 10 virtually the rest of the race.<p/>He was one of the drivers who elected to stay out on older tires on the next-to-last caution. He restarted third and finished eighth and remains 12th in points.<p/>“We drove the car and we had a good time this weekend, and I had no pressure, nothing really on my mind other than what we were supposed to be doing,” he said.<p/>“I was surprised, I thought it’d be a little more of a distraction but it wasn’t.”<p/>Earnhardt Jr. and his team may face another distraction this week when NASCAR releases anticipated penalties for what inspectors deemed an improperly mounted rear wing on the No. 8 Chevrolet, found in prerace inspection Saturday.<p/>“Apparently there’s something that they did with the mounting brackets, I don’t really know much about it,” Earnhardt Jr. said.<p/>“You’ll have to ask Tony (Eury) Jr. (crew chief). I got his back, I’ll pay his fine, whatever he needs me to do.” http://www.thatsracin.com/149/story/4251.html http://www.thatsracin.com/149/story/4251.html Sun, 13 May 2007 19:58 EDT DARLINGTON, S.C. - Driving at Darlington Raceway is tough enough, but dealing with a possibly pinched nerve while trying to stay in contention for a top-10 finish was painful for Jamie McMurray.<p/>For much of Sunday’s race, McMurray ran in the top 10, sometimes breaking his way into the top five. But as the race wore on, a numbness in McMurray's right leg and left arm increased.<p/>At one point it was so bad that the in-car camera showed McMurray wheeling around the tough Darlington track with one hand.<p/>"I don’t know if I got a pinched nerve or what, but you pull those seatbelts so tight around your collarbone and everything,” he said. <p/>“I’ve gotten in there before and had my leg fall asleep, but just nothing like today. To have your right leg and your left arm fall asleep, that’s a job at Darlington.”<p/>McMurray ended up finishing 16th and remains 13th in points, 46 behind Dale Earnhardt Jr. in 12th.<p/>The top 12 make the Chase for the Nextel Cup. http://www.thatsracin.com/149/story/4247.html http://www.thatsracin.com/149/story/4247.html Sun, 13 May 2007 19:05 EDT DARLINGTON, S.C. – Ryan Newman believes he’s had good cars all season.<p/>But for the rest of us, seeing is believing.<p/>Newman and his No. 12 Penske Racing South team are beginning to silence some doubters, particularly after he registered his third consecutive top-10 finish on Sunday, finishing fourth in the rain-delayed Dodge Avenger 500 at Darlington Raceway.<p/>Not only did Newman run well Sunday, he also made his first serious challenge for a victory, leading 30 laps in the race and ran second to race winner Jeff Gordon until the final 10 laps.<p/>In the season’s first 10 races, Newman led a grand total of three laps.<p/>“We were racing for the lead for a few times there, but just not when the checkered flag fell,” Newman said. <p/>“I was ready to get back into victory lane today. It’s Mother’s Day and I wanted to give my mom the best Mother’s Day present possible.<p/>“I tried hard. She knows that. (In the past three races) we went from ninth to sixth to fourth, so it’s going in the right direction. It’s just a matter of time in my opinion.”<p/>A win was even closer than the final results show.<p/>Virtually the whole time he was running second to Gordon, Gordon’s No. 24 Chevrolet was spewing steam and even the driver thought his engine was about to blow.<p/>Gordon and Newman were also among a half-dozen cars that stayed on the track on older tires on the next-to-last pit stop. Jimmie Johnson and Denny Hamlin, two of the lead lap cars that pit for new tires, eventually made their way past way Newman, but the extra time it took likely helped Gordon’s cause as his engine held up.<p/>“We only had four laps on our tires and it’s a race where you hope everybody else takes the track position, and they did,” Newman said.<p/>“That last caution flag we had gave everybody a chance to bunch back up the field with their new tires. That helped them a lot.”<p/>Newman’s last Nextel Cup win came at the September 2005 race at New Hampshire – a drought now extended to 56 races. But right now, perhaps more so than all of last season, Newman appears on the verge of ending that streak.<p/>“Our guys are doing a great job. The Hendrick guys are obviously tough, but we’re showing what we’re capable of. We’ve just got to keep following through,” Newman said.<p/>“It’s not the Chase (for the Nextel Cup) right now. We’re just working our way to it. We’ll just keep building on it.” http://www.thatsracin.com/149/story/4241.html http://www.thatsracin.com/149/story/4241.html Sun, 13 May 2007 20:07 EDT DARLINGTON, S.C. – Perfect? Jeff Gordon was nowhere close Sunday at Darlington Raceway.<p/>That, however, did not keep Gordon and his team from winning the Dodge Avenger 500 to extend Hendrick Motorsports’ spotless record with NASCAR’s car of tomorrow.<p/>Gordon’s No. 24 Chevrolet spewed steam like an antique choo-choo for the final 100 laps or so, overheating so badly that most of the driver’s family left the track early figuring it’d never last it to the checkered flag.<p/>But down the stretch, Gordon and crew chief Steve Letarte made the right decisions and had everything else – including a call that will further discussions about NASCAR officiating – break their way to give Gordon his third victory in the past four weeks.<p/>Rick Hendrick-owned Chevrolets have now won eight of the season’s past nine races, including all five using Nextel Cup’s new car, and nobody is more fed up with that than Denny Hamlin.<p/>First, let’s make it clear that Hamlin said Sunday’s loss was on him and his team.<p/>“We gave away another one to Hendrick Motorsports,” he said after a pit road mistake buried him back in 16th with less than 60 laps to go. He fought all the way back to second, but this is not the first time he’s felt a mistake has cost him a win this year. And it’s getting old, fast.<p/>“This has got to end,” Hamlin said. “We have to win a race sooner or later. Everybody will talk about how Hendrick won another race, but this was our race.”<p/>Still, had a caution come out when Hamlin said one absolutely should have for debris on the track, it would have set up a green-white-checkered finish and there’s little doubt he would have capitalized on that in a No. 11 Chevrolet that led 179 laps and wasn’t about to blow up like it seemed Gordon’s was.<p/>“Somebody’s entire underbody was on the track,” Hamlin said. “I knew a caution was going to come out. I knew it. If it had, it’s game over. But there was no caution, and Hendrick gets another break.<p/>“But I don’t mean to open up a can of worms on that. Forget I said it.”<p/>Not these days, especially when Gordon said Hamlin was exactly right.<p/>“There absolutely should have been a caution,” Gordon said. “But there never should have been one on the caution before that. There was nothing on the track. At the end, there was oil and debris everywhere. It comes back to NASCAR’s consistency, and it can work with you or against you. Today, it worked for us.”<p/>Hamlin led 168 of the first 221 laps, and after getting a little off on one green-flag run worked back toward the front before the pivotal pit stop. He was running second when he came under yellow after Kyle Busch hit the wall on Lap 303, but when two lug nuts fell off the right-front tire on that stop he thought he we done.<p/>“I was thinking the best-case scenario was a top five after that,” Hamlin said. “Our pit stops range from 12.5 seconds to 18.5. We know they’re capable of doing fast ones, but I think their heads are getting in the way of their hands. It’s the mental aspect.”<p/>Gordon wasn’t in a particularly good frame of mind, either. He’d been ill all day, he said later, because he hasn’t been sleeping well. This is the final weekend his expectant wife, Ingrid, will be traveling before the birth of their first child, too, so emotions are a little volatile in his camp these days.<p/>It didn’t help, of course, that every sign pointed to the fact he was about to cook his engine. But he came off pit road second behind teammate Jimmie Johnson on the same stop where Hamlin had his problem, and then got a pleasant surprise on a caution on Lap 345.<p/>That’s when, after just six laps of racing following a previous yellow, Johnson came in for fresh tires. Gordon needed to keep his car moving to keep air flowing anyway, and didn’t think new tires would do that much good anyway. So he stayed out and inherited the lead – one he’d never give up.<p/>Johnson restarted seventh on Lap 349 and immediately moved up to fourth. Gordon figured Johnson would catch him on the fresh tires. So did Johnson. “I thought we were golden,” he said.<p/>But since several lapped cars stopped for tires, too, Johnson didn’t make up ground as fast as he figured he might. Hamlin, meanwhile, was 10th on the restart and then seventh after the caution that Gordon thought was uncalled for, with 13 laps left.<p/>On Lap 360 Hamlin went three-wide with Johnson and Ryan Newman on the backstretch in a move that eventually got him to second. He was 2.9 seconds back, though, and although he made up two-thirds of that without the caution both he and Gordon thought should have come he really had no hope of catching up.<p/>Johnson finished third, giving Hendrick Motorsports at least two top-five finishers in each of the first five COT races. Newman wound up fourth with Carl Edwards fifth.<p/>“We’re not dominating these races,” Letarte said. “We’re dominating the finishes. We’re out-teaming them in a lot of these races.”<p/>Not perfect, but perfectly good enough. http://www.thatsracin.com/149/story/4235.html http://www.thatsracin.com/149/story/4235.html Sun, 13 May 2007 13:05 EDT NEW YORK - A sprawling site on the Staten Island waterfront that was once pegged to become a 82,500-seat NASCAR track will be put up for sale within a month, according to a manager for the defunct project. <p/>The property, once an oil tank farm, has been sitting idle since International Speedway Corp. abandoned its plan to bring professional auto racing to the island last year. <p/>A subsidiary of ISC plunked down some $100 million for 440 acres along the Arthur Kill, a commercial shipping waterway that separates New York from New Jersey. It later spent tens of millions more on another 236 acres, and now is holding on to the largest undeveloped land parcel on Staten Island. <p/>Plans for the track fell apart after residents, worried about potential traffic nightmares, vowed to fight it. <p/>Michael Printup, director of corporate development for ISC, said the company is now hoping to sell to a developer, or even the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, which owns the adjacent New York Container Terminal. <p/>"The goal is to find that magic developer," Printup told the Staten Island Advance. <p/>He wouldn't say whether the company hoped to recoup its investment, saying only that "the market will dictate" the price. <p/>Based in Daytona, Fla., ISC owns 11 major tracks across the country. http://www.thatsracin.com/149/story/4229.html http://www.thatsracin.com/149/story/4229.html Sun, 13 May 2007 08:51 EDT During a week in which the hottest sports story around was speculation on Dale Earnhardt Jr.'s future, another member of the Earnhardt NASCAR dynasty was making her first media blitz, after years of shunning the spotlight.<p/>Martha Earnhardt, mother of the late Dale Earnhardt and grandmother of Dale Jr., granted 20 interviews of her own, not about her grandson's departure from Dale Earnhardt Inc., but about a charity initiative to fight breast cancer.<p/>It's more interviews than she has done in a decade, mostly because her family worked to keep her out of the news, says her daughter Cathy Watkins.<p/>"We were raised a private, small-town family, and as Dale's celebrity grew, it exposed us to people who could have taken advantage of us," Watkins says. "We were careful not to get her involved, because we didn't want her overwhelmed."<p/>Their plan worked extremely well, seeing as how Martha Earnhardt's profile is so low, she has safely lived the past 52 years in the same blue-collar neighborhood in Kannapolis. The home, a white bungalow on a half-acre lot, is where she and the late Ralph Earnhardt raised five children, including Dale Sr. She brags that she can see her church, Memorial Baptist, from the porch.<p/>"Dale said he wanted to buy me a new house, but I never could decide where I wanted to live," says Martha, one of 12 siblings raised on a nearby cotton farm.<p/>"One year, Dale and I were talking about me moving, and Dale Jr. was sitting on the porch swing listening. I guess he was about 14 at the time, and he told me: `Mamaw, you can't sell this house. You know this is what holds our family together.' I never forgot that. I don't think I'll ever move from here."<p/>She was there in support of Dale Jr. last week, when he announced his decision to leave DEI, in part because of a feud with his stepmother, Teresa, who owns the company.<p/>Martha is cagey when asked about the break-up. "Dale Jr. is one of my grandchildren and if any of my grandchildren makes a career move, I would be there to support them."<p/>It's coincidence that she had her own media blitz, which began last week. Her goal is to promote ticket sales for next year's Daytona 500, because the speedway will make a donation to fight breast cancer for every ticket sold through June 27.<p/>As for why Earnhardt agreed to go public for a cause, she says one reason is that she has a niece who survived breast cancer through surgery. Another reason is that Earnhardt is recovering well from a stroke suffered after Dale Sr. died in 2001.<p/>Then there's the obvious reason.<p/>"Nobody asked." <p/><b>Helping out</b><p/>Daytona International Speedway will make a donation to the Susan G. Komen for the Cure organization for every ticket sold for the 2008 Daytona 500 between now and June 27. Details: <a href="http://www.racetickets.com">www.racetickets.com</a>. http://www.thatsracin.com/149/story/4221.html http://www.thatsracin.com/149/story/4221.html Sat, 12 May 2007 23:56 EDT DARLINGTON, S.C. – Come rain or come shine, nothing can wipe Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Dale Earnhardt Inc. out of the NASCAR headlines.<p/>Rain drenched Darlington Raceway Saturday night, pushing the Dodge Avenger 500 back to a 1 p.m. start Sunday. It’s the second straight week that rain has washed out a Saturday night race, following last week’s postponement at Richmond.<p/>It will be the first time NASCAR runs on Mother's Day since 1986, when the all-star event was held at Atlanta.<p/>In prerace inspections Saturday, however, NASCAR officials said a problem had been found on the No. 8 Chevrolet. Inspectors discovered that the rear wing on Earnhardt Jr.’s No. 8 Chevrolet was improperly mounted and forced the team to reattach the wing with new mounting brackets.<p/>Nextel Cup Series director John Darby said NASCAR confiscated the mounting brackets used by the No. 8 team on its wing – one of the key components to the new “car of tomorrow” which is being used at 16 races this season including Darlington.<p/>“We have specific blue prints for all the parts on the car,” Darby said. He said series officials “are a little sensitive to those parameters.”<p/>The incident is likely to result in the first penalty in NASCAR history involving a “car of tomorrow” and include a fines and points penalty.<p/>Earnhardt Jr.’s team reattached the wing of the car with new mounting brackets and ultimately cleared inspection. Earnhardt Jr. will still start 21st today.<p/>Any penalties against DEI would compete for attention with rumors about Earnhardt Jr.’s future after Thursday’s announcement that the driver won’t return to that team in 2008.<p/>Ginn Racing owner Bobby Ginn, in an interview with The Associated Press, tossed his name into the sweepstakes saying he would “stretch as hard as we could stretch to do it.”<p/>“We’re in play,” Ginn said. “You want the best, the absolute best, and I love the idea that Dale wants to win championships. He could accomplish that here with us.”<p/>J.D. Gibbs, president of Joe Gibbs Racing, meanwhile said that his team would certainly talk to Earnhardt Jr. about possible opportunities despite the fact that his association with Budweiser would be a major complication.<p/>Gibbs’ father, Joe, frequently speaks to Christian groups and has at least once flatly declined having a beer company as primary sponsor for one of his teams.<p/>“Budweiser has been a great partner for the sport and does a lot,” J.D. Gibbs said. “But that would be a hard deal for us to do.”<p/>Gibbs, however, stopped short of saying the issue over a beer sponsorship would be a “deal breaker” He said he thought Earnhardt Jr. and his sister, Kelley Elledge, “did a great job” in announcing Thursday that Earnhardt Jr. will not return to Dale Earnhardt Inc. after the 2007 season.<p/>“I know that was hard for him,” Gibbs said. “Who wouldn’t want a chance to talk to Dale Jr.? It sounds like whatever decision they come up with would be a good one. When the time is right, we’d love to sit down with them and talk to him and see what their plans are. But right now we are just focusing on what we’re doing.”<p/>The Gibbs team fields Chevrolets for Tony Stewart, Denny Hamlin and J.J. Yeley. NASCAR limits a single car owner to four Nextel Cup teams, but Gibbs said adding a fourth team for Earnhardt Jr. or any other driver would not be a simple thing to do.<p/>“We’ve added cars and each time we spent a year and a half working on it,” he said. “They were still hard. That’s a hard, hard deal setting up and putting a fourth car in within six months’ time. I wouldn’t say we couldn’t do it, I’m just saying we’d have to get a sign-off from everyone in our shop.”