http://www.thatsracin.com/topstories/index.xml Motorsports News from ThatsRacin.com en-us Copyright 2008 ThatsRacin.com Top Stories 60 Fri, 09 May 2008 15:07 EDT http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/tech/rss McClatchy Interactive Workbench webmaster@thatsracin.com http://www.thatsracin.com/topstories/story/13778.html http://www.thatsracin.com/topstories/story/13778.html Thu, 08 May 2008 15:28 EDT You can repave the track but not the history or the tradition.<p/>At least that's what many NASCAR drivers hope as they prepare for their first race at the newly repaved Darlington (S.C.) Raceway this weekend.<p/>Since the 2008 season's Mother’s Day weekend of NASCAR racing, International Speedway Corp. has invested more than $10 million in improvements at the 58-year-old speedway, including a new racing service and improvements to the infield tunnel.<p/>The track has been loved and hated by drivers for its gritty surface, odd egg shape and the many "Darlington stripes" received for close shaves with the walls.<p/>"I consider winning the 50th Southern 500 at Darlington Raceway the biggest win of my career," said Jeff Burton.<p/>"Winning at Darlington is more than a trip to Victory Lane and a trophy; it means your name goes down in the record books as a winner at one of NASCAR's most historic tracks."<p/>Friday night's Nationwide Series race and Saturday night's Dodge Challenger 500 Sprint Cup race will be the first since the new track surface was completed.<p/>"I go into it with a lot more questions than answers, and that's exactly how I'll start when I get in the car," said Burton, who has four Nationwide and two Cup wins at the track.<p/>"I have the Nationwide car there and I have time to try to figure it out, and that's how I'll walk into it.<p/>"I'm not concerned about running the fastest first lap of the day. I'm worried about when the day is over, what did we learn, and what can we apply toward Friday, and then, of course, apply that to Saturday night.<p/>"That's how I approach it."<p/>Many of the questions drivers have surround what tire Goodyear will use. Tire choices for recent repaving projects at Charlotte and Bristol have caused concern.<p/>Goodyear officials have conducted two tests at Darlington with drivers Ryan Newman, Greg Biffle and Jeff Gordon in order to choose a tire for this weekend.<p/>"Granted, Darlington wasn't the best race track we went to as far as racing side-by-side, three-wide action and things like that," said Newman. "It was a fun drivers' track and what you saw in the end was a pretty good race.<p/>"We came back for the second (tire) test and felt like we had a tire that's going to live and be racy and the drivers won't complain about. Track position is going to be extremely important. With the speed, it's going to be that much more difficult to pass with a car that is very similar to your competition."<p/>Most driver feedback from the Goodyear tests seemed to predict a faster pace this weekend. Smoother pavement would also likely lead to increased speeds.<p/>"I think the new paving job they did is fantastic. The first race, we're going to be challenged with that new surface, but I think long-term wise, it's going to be fantastic," said Jeff Gordon, who has seven Cup wins at Darlington.<p/>"I think it's a track with so much history and a track that I've always enjoyed racing at, and the fans have always enjoyed it, too. It's important to keep it on the schedule." http://www.thatsracin.com/topstories/story/13789.html http://www.thatsracin.com/topstories/story/13789.html Thu, 08 May 2008 19:04 EDT DARLINGTON, S.C. - Armed with the circumstances of how each driver ended up at their current team and last week's late-race run-in at Richmond, Va., Dale Earnhardt Jr. fully expects his race fans to embrace a rivalry with Kyle Busch.<p/>He also sees another reason the two may go head-to-head on more than one occasion this season: their respective performances on the track.<p/>"It's good to have rivalries. If he's going to be the guy to beat, which I think he is right now, everybody is going to be watching his lap times and how fast he runs," Earnhardt Jr. said of Busch.<p/>"When you're doing so good, there is a bit of a bull's eye on you. I'm sure he knows that."<p/>Earnhardt Jr. also understands the unique situation that exists after he replaced Busch at Hendrick Motorsports.<p/>Busch leads the Sprint Cup Series points standings entering this weekend's event at Darlington Raceway, while Earnhardt Jr. is third.<p/>"In a lot of ways, there is a competitive 'us vs. them,' 'them vs. us' between him and I and between the teams, I guess. You don't want it to ever get to where it becomes a distraction," Earnhardt Jr. said.<p/>"If Kyle outruns me or beats me or wrecks me or wins a race, I got to go out next week and concentrate on what I'm doing. If I start trying to outrun him, or try to beat him in every practice, I'm going to start wadding up race cars."<p/>Earnhardt Jr. called Busch "an amazing race car driver with a lot of talent."<p/>"I think the way he handled the situation this week in Charlotte, I think that's the best I've ever seen him handle a situation."<p/>Ironically, Busch was the fastest driver in Thursday's first practice session on the newly repaved track, while Earnhardt Jr. was third fastest. http://www.thatsracin.com/topstories/story/13841.html http://www.thatsracin.com/topstories/story/13841.html Fri, 09 May 2008 15:06 EDT DARLINGTON, S.C. - Jimmie Johnson and his crew chief Chad Knaus worked hard Thursday night to come up with some improvements for their car and for two laps during Friday's practice, Johnson had one of the fastest cars.<p/>One lap later, however, his No. 48 Chevrolet hit hard into the Turn 1 wall, forcing Johnson's team to go to a backup car prior to qualifying.<p/>"We're still very optimistic about the gains we've made and I'm still trying to understand why we lost it," Johnson said.<p/>"I lost it early on the straightaway before the corner, so something happened on the straightaway."<p/>The problems weren't over for Johnson, however. In the final practice session, Johnson spun and snagged the inside wall, knocking the front splitter off the car.<p/>Paul Menard, Robby Gordon and Reed Sorenson also did significant damage to their cars in the final practice session. http://www.thatsracin.com/topstories/story/13837.html http://www.thatsracin.com/topstories/story/13837.html Fri, 09 May 2008 13:40 EDT ORLANDO, Fla. – NASCAR officials claim an electrical fire caused a fatal plane crash near Orlando last year that killed two aboard the aircraft and three on the ground, but federal investigators do not necessarily agree with that claim.<p/>The NASCAR accident summary is included in Friday's release of reports by the National Transportation Safety Board into the July 10 crash of the NASCAR airplane. It claims the pilots were overcome by fumes and were incapacitated.<p/>The NTSB says it is still investigating the crash, with a final report of the cause likely in the summer. NTSB reports say a radar unit malfunctioned and caused a burning smell the day before the crash, but NASCAR claims the radar unit did not cause the fire that led to the crash.<p/> NASCAR's insurance company earlier this year reached a settlement with a man whose wife and 6-month-old son were killed when their home was hit by the plane. The crash also killed NASCAR pilot Michael Klemm and the husband of a NASCAR executive, as well as a 4-year-old child in the second house that was hit. http://www.thatsracin.com/topstories/story/13842.html http://www.thatsracin.com/topstories/story/13842.html Fri, 09 May 2008 14:47 EDT A grand opening is scheduled Tuesday afternoon at the Victory Junction Gang Camp in Randleman, N.C., for the Kurt Busch Superdrome, a 28,000 square-foot facility that will provide indoor sporting opportunities for camp members in a climate-controlled environment.<p/>Busch announced a $1 million donation toward the project in May 2006.<p/>"It'll be like seeing a dream come true to finally get the doors open and see the kids all enjoying themselves," said Busch. "It's been a labor of love for all the people involved." http://www.thatsracin.com/topstories/story/13793.html http://www.thatsracin.com/topstories/story/13793.html Thu, 08 May 2008 19:20 EDT DARLINGTON, S.C. - When Donovan Burns of Marietta, Ga., was set to celebrate his fifth birthday with a party last month he offered a unique invitation to his friends. <p/>Instead of gifts, Donovan was given a choice by his family of any charity to support with a donation. So when he sent invitations to his birthday party, they included the same request.<p/>Donovan chose the Dale Earnhardt Jr. Foundation, since it carries the name of his favorite driver. At the birthday party, Donovan and his friends collected checks totaling $195, which were sent this week to the foundation.<p/><B>Briefly</B><p/><span class="bullet">&#149;&nbsp;</span>Philippe Lopez, who most recently served as Hall of Fame Racing's director of competition, has left the organization. The team has not announced an immediate replacement.<p/><span class="bullet">&#149;&nbsp;</span>Saturday's Cup race at Richmond, Va., was the most viewed in the history of the track. The race received a 4.5 rating on Fox, up 5 percent from last year's May race, which received a 4.3. http://www.thatsracin.com/topstories/story/13779.html http://www.thatsracin.com/topstories/story/13779.html Thu, 08 May 2008 10:36 EDT http://www.thatsracin.com/topstories/story/13806.html http://www.thatsracin.com/topstories/story/13806.html Thu, 08 May 2008 20:32 EDT http://www.thatsracin.com/topstories/story/13769.html http://www.thatsracin.com/topstories/story/13769.html Thu, 08 May 2008 15:30 EDT Some midweek thoughts on the motorsports beat from the Charlotte Observer's David Poole:<p/><span style="font-size: 18px">MY TWO CENTS</span><p/>Allow me to try to summarize the circular logic I've been getting this week from a lot of NASCAR fans.<p/>Kyle Busch is a nothing but a young punk who has a big mouth and one day he is going to get "what's coming to him."<p/>Not only does he need to show more respect for the sport and his fellow drivers off the track, he needs to stop driving "over his head" and trying to push a car to and maybe beyond its limit.<p/>He needs to be humble and apologetic after being involved in any incident if another person is aggrieved, even if that incident took place in the course of battling for a top position in the final laps of a race at stock-car racing's highest level.<p/>He needs to back off the throttle or not go into a turn so hard if there's the slightest chance he's going to make contact with another driver - especially anybody who’s more popular than he is.<p/>In other words, Busch needs to be more mature and be more like other drivers who're in Sprint Cup racing.<p/>You know, he needs to be more like all of those guys in NASCAR these days who are so dull and so lacking in personality that they've ruined what once was a grand sport.<p/>Apparently, Busch is not enough like the guys who've become sated with all the money they're making and who're more concerned about having a good points day and thanking sponsors than about winning.<p/>What NASCAR sorely needs right now is more colorful characters who don't mind talking a little trash or mixing things up when they feel like they need to - or even when they want to.<p/>Until, that is, someone like that actually comes along.<p/><span style="font-size: 18px">OBSERVATIONS</span><p/><span class="bullet">&#149;&nbsp;</span>It's too bad Joey Logano's birthday isn't a few days earlier than May 24. It would have been nice to see Logano turn 18 in time to compete in the Nationwide Series race at Lowe's Motor Speedway instead of having to wait to debut at Dover. When you see him do what he did at Sunday's Automobile Racing Club of America race at Rockingham, you have to work to keep expectations within reason. The question that looms is how good, how fast can this kid be?<p/><span class="bullet">&#149;&nbsp;</span>The Observer has learned that Dale Earnhardt Jr. is on the cover of the newest issue of ESPN the Magazine. Apparently, Lebron James needed a week off.<p/><span class="bullet">&#149;&nbsp;</span>It's bad enough that Fox Sports keeps hammering viewers with a cartoon gopher when it shows shots from a camera in the track. That Fox goes way out of its way to hawk T-shirts featuring the varmint is even more galling. Surely the money being made off that is going to some charity and not into somebody's pocket, right?<p/><span style="font-size: 18px">BY THE NUMBERS</span><p/><B>155</B> – Actual count, with some undoubtedly missed, of laptop computers being used during Monday's afternoon session of the Sprint Cup test at Lowe's Motor Speedway.<p/><B>12</B> – Laps Jeff Gordon has run outside the top 15 in the past three Cup races at Darlington. http://www.thatsracin.com/topstories/story/13768.html http://www.thatsracin.com/topstories/story/13768.html Wed, 07 May 2008 19:27 EDT Greg Biffle has tested twice on the brand-new racing surface at Darlington Raceway. Kasey Kahne will be on it for the first time Thursday when Sprint Cup teams open practice for the Dodge Challenger 500.<p/>Neither knows what to expect.<p/>"It's a big unknown," Biffle said.<p/>"Any time we go to a repave we're all holding our breath because anything can happen."<p/>Biffle, Ryan Newman and Jeff Gordon did a Goodyear tire test after the repaving, and after expressing concerns over how that went they went back for a second test to try to get the right tire.<p/>"There are only so many parts of the puzzle that make up the speed, and you can only make the tires so hard and we can still drive it to slow the car down," Biffle said.<p/>"Goodyear has done what it can to slow the car down in speed and its hands are tied at the speed we're going, which is fast. That's the best tire they can make and we can still drive it.<p/>"It's going to be really interesting. I hope the racing isn’t too single-file. One thing about that race track is it's hard to get side-by-side going so fast, so that's going to be the real key is how can we get side-by-side with the increase in speed and the shape of that race track."<p/>Kahne said he figures the two additional practices the teams will get Thursday will be particularly interesting.<p/>"How fast will we go?" Kahne said.<p/>"Will you get right up on the wall or run a little lower than we have been? There are some unknowns for someone like myself who hasn't tested there. I am just excited to get there."