Johnson crowned champ, once again

It was a moment in history. That's about the best way to describe Cale Yarborough's presentation of the Champion's Ring to Jimmie Johnson during this past Friday's 2008 Sprint Cup Series Championship Banquet at the Waldorf-Astoria in New York.
No, I wasn't there. That takes way more pull that I could ever dream of having but I watched it on TV and it was really cool seeing the exchange. To truly appreciate it, you have to know some history. Growing up, Jimmie Johnson considered Yarborough his hero. He even went into a Hardee's (one of Yarborough's sponsors) thinking that he would actually see the three-time Winston Cup Champion. Early on, Yarborough said he would not be able to make it to this year's awards banquet — I don't know how many he's ever been to — but this year Johnson tied his record of winning three-straight titles. One might think that Yarborough would want to be on hand for the festivities and one would be correct, but Johnson didn't know. At least, he didn't know until Yarborough walked out onto the stage to present Johnson with HIS third-straight championship ring.
The two drivers now share something that no one else — not even Richard Petty — has achieved. They are the only drivers to three-peat as champions in the Winston Cup, Nextel Cup or Sprint Cup. I know they are all the same series but for those guys that won Winston Cup titles or Nextel Cup titles the name on the trophy didn't change.
Being the competitor that he is, Yarborough pointed out that Johnson still hasn't broken his 30-year-old record set from 1976 through 1978.
"Somebody finally did it," Yarborough said. "I set a pretty good record, didn't I? It took them 30 years to tie it. There are only two of us who have done it in the 60 years of the sport. That's a pretty good accomplishment. You know, I haven't been to this banquet in several years, but tonight I feel like I got my racing spirit back. You know, all he really did is tie the record – he still has to break it. He still has some work to do."
It was probably one of the neatest exchanges that I have ever seen at a NASCAR banquet.
In other news, the economy is kicking NASCAR and its team's collective butts. Last week, team owner Rick Hendrick testified before Congress that he was ashamed of the way the politicians were treating the auto industry. He warned of dire consequences should the government not offer some type of financial assistance to the car companies.
You know, I have to respectfully disagree with Mr. Hendrick. The way I see it, the people running the auto industry have screwed themselves and they are looking for a handout to help them recover from their own bad decisions.
Anyway, the sport is suffering and there are fears that NASCAR could be forced to cease operations because of the failing auto industry. I don't see that happening. First, NASCAR survived for years without manufacturer support and it can do it again. The purses might get smaller and there might be additional requirements to cut costs, but the sport will survive.
In other news, the mergers are still the big news around the garage. Is Petty merging with Gillette-Evernham Motorsports? No word yet. When it is all said and done I think there will only be six or seven team owners in the sport.
That's about it for this week. The season's officially over but that doesn't mean there's no NASCAR news to be had. I will try to keep you updated throughout the off-season both here and at www.kickinthetires.net.

Cale Yarborough surprises Johnson with ring presentation

I got this from NASCAR and thought you guys and gals might be interested in how the evening went at the 2008 Sprint Cup Championship Banquet. In typical NASCAR-fashion, the night was a spectacular success and Johnson was completely taken aback when his childhood hero — made a surprise appearance to present him with the 2008 Championship ring.

For those NASCAR fans that have been living under a rock or a piece of debris on the track, Johnson tied Yarborough's record of winning three-straight championships.

By NASCAR

Three-time NASCAR Sprint Cup Series champion Cale Yarborough made an unannounced appearance tonight at the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Awards Ceremony at the Waldorf=Astoria Hotel in New York City.

Followed by a rousing standing ovation, Yarborough presented the championship ring to 2008 series champion Jimmie Johnson during this year’s annual ceremony.

The two champions will be forever linked in NASCAR lore. This season, Johnson joined Yarborough as the only drivers to win three consecutive NASCAR Sprint Cup championships. Yarborough accomplished the historic feat from 1976-78.

During Yarborough’s incredible three-year stretch, he posted 28 wins, 70 top-five and 74 top-10 finishes.

"Somebody finally did it,” Yarborough said. “I set a pretty good record, didn't I? It took them 30 years to tie it. There are only two of us who have done it in the 60 years of the sport. That's a pretty good accomplishment. You know, I haven't been to this banquet in several years, but tonight I feel like I got my racing spirit back. You know, all he really did is tie the record – he still has to break it. He still has some work to do. I want to congratulate Jimmie; he's a great man and a great racer. I know he's going to win some more championships. Maybe he can skip a year though."

Yarborough’s famous swagger continues to this day. During his speech, he told team owner Rick Hendrick that if there was a ride open in his stable, he could have the first 70-year-old series champion. Yarborough turns 70 next March.

Johnson matched Yarborough’s record with another typically brilliant performance. In 2008, Johnson had seven wins, 15 top fives and 22 top 10s.

"What a surprise and what an honor to have Cale present me with the championship ring,” Johnson said. “I'm pretty much floored.”

The Yarborough ring presentation was the culmination of a night filled with memory-making moments.

Earlier in the program, Betty Jane France – widow of former NASCAR Chairman and CEO Bill France Jr. – introduced Academy Award winning actor Kevin Costner, who made some remarks commemorating the 60th anniversary season of NASCAR. Costner was later joined on stage by seven-time champion Richard Petty, who spoke on the impact NASCAR has had on his life and the tremendous growth of the sport.

Also in attendance was Academy Award nominee Tom Cruise, who played Cole Trickle in the NASCAR-themed film Days of Thunder.

NASCAR Newscast from Champion's Week

I decided to post this week's official NASCAR Newscast from the NASCA media Website. I hope you like it. As I continue to expand my blog over the next year, I intend to use more content from NASCAR and give you greater access to what is going on behind the scenes. Let me know what you think. I will post my column later this weekend.

Never a doubt - Johnson makes history with three-straight

A special thanks to the good folks at NASCAR, who provided the coverage for this posting. As if there was ever a doubt heading into the race, Jimmie Johnson picked up his third straight Sprint Cup Title and made history by tying his boyhood hero, Cale Yarbrough, with for the record. Don't worry, I already sent off an email to Jimmie's PR people asking if there have been any talks of  four-in-a-row. I couldn't help myself.

By NASCAR

HOMESTEAD-MIAMI -- Jimmie Johnson has accomplished racing's version of the hat trick.... three championships in a row.
    
He did it with a 15th -place finish in southern Florida's grand finale for the NASCAR Sprint Cup championship. Carl Edwards won the battle, so to speak, but Johnson won the war.

On a day when he only needed a 36th-place finish to clinch his third title in a row, Johnson brought his Lowe's Chevrolet into the thick of the battle, steadily clicking off position after position in the 267-lap race.
 
Johnson's championship run was the first three-peat in NASCAR since Cale Yarborough did it 30 years ago.
 
While Johnson and crew chief Chad Knaus were the men of the hour, hard-charging Edwards, for the second time this season, coaxed extra mileage out of his Ford and hung on to win the race on fuel mileage. However, it was not a fuel mileage fluke. Edwards led the most laps and was clearly the fastest cat on the track all day and into the night.

Trailing Edwards across the finish line were Kevin Harvick, Jamie McMurray, Jeff Gordon, Clint Bowyer, Kasey Kahne, Travis Kvapil, Casey Mears, Tony Stewart and Martin Truex, Jr.
 
The win was Edwards' ninth of the year and cemented Carl's position as a serious challenger to Johnson for the championship next year.

A slew of caution flags in the last 100 laps kept the outcome in doubt until the very end, when leader Matt Kenseth ran out of fuel with just a couple laps left. Edwards, as he did once before this season, proved he can be just as smooth letting up on the gas pedal as he is in mashing it down. He backed off just enough to finish in front of the field.

David Reutimann, the first-time pole winner, led a lap at the start before former champion Kenseth passed him.
   
Beautiful, balmy, South Florida weather welcomed the drivers as they streaked around the Homestead-Miami track at 180 miles an hour. Johnson, who started 30th, charged towards the front right from the git-go. At just 10 laps, he had moved past nine drivers to 21st position.

Edwards, Johnson's only threat for his third championship in three seasons, moved past Kenseth for the lead on the 13th lap. Edwards was flat-out-all-caution-to-the wind, planning to give it everything he had in the season finale.
   
Johnson was 18th by Lap 19.  He was 17th when Edwards, the leader, pitted on the 51st lap. Harvick led a lap when Edwards pitted. Montoya also led a lap when the field started pitting.
   
Once the pitting cycle ended, Edwards was back out front and Johnson had gained two spots to 15th.

The top 10 at 60 laps were Edwards, Harvick, David Ragan, Reutimann, Truex, McMurray, Kenseth, Mears, Stewart and Jeff Burton.
 
Johnson, meanwhile, had moved into 14th spot and was continuing his charge to the front. The first caution of the afternoon waved on the 68th lap when Aric Almirola spun on the frontstretch.   

At 90 laps, Edwards was in control, followed by Ragan, Harvick, Reutimann, Stewart, McMurray, Bowyer, Kenseth, Mears and Hamlin. Johnson had worked his way to 11th.

By the halfway point, it was clear Edwards had come to Florida with one thing in mind --- winning the race.
 
It was Edwards, Ragan, Stewart, Hamlin, Reutimann, Harvick, McMurray, Earnhardt, Johnson and Gordon. Johnson had come from 30th to ninth in 134 laps.

Dwight Drum at Racetake.com gets up early for Hot Rods and Reels

It's great to have friends that can cover for you when you can't be at the race. A special thanks to Dwight Drum and his Racetake.com Web site for providing us with photos from the Chase for the Championship press conference and the Hot Rods and Reels Charity Fishing Tournament for the Darrel Gwynn Foundation.

Wily Benson wins truck series championship

I want to send out a big "Thank You" to everyone in Miami covering the races this weekend and helping me keep the Web site updated. I couldn't be at this year's Ford Championship Weekend but thanks to some great people at Sporting News, CIA Stock Photo and racetake.com, the readers of kickinthetires.net won't miss the action from Homestead-Miami Speedway.

By Reid Spencer

Sporting News NASCAR Wire Service

           

HOMESTEAD, Fla. (November 14, 2008) -- Todd Bodine may have won Friday night's Ford 200 NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series season finale at Homestead-Miami Speedway, but a pair of calls in the pits earned Johnny Benson a seventh-place finish—exactly what he needed to secure the series championship.

           

After pitting for four tires under caution on Lap 126, Ron Hornaday Jr. chased Benson to the stripe during a green-white-checkered-flag finish that took the race three laps beyond its scheduled 134-lap distance. Hornaday came home eighth, one position behind Benson and one position short of his fourth series championship.

 

Benson's team changed plans at the last second and kept the No. 23 Toyota on the track during that caution, and that decision proved to be the winning move.

 

Benson won the championship by seven points over his Chevy-driving rival and is the only driver other than Greg Biffle to win titles in both the Craftsman Truck and Nationwide Series. Benson restarted sixth and Hornaday 13th on Lap 130, and Hornaday gained four spots to ninth before Tayler Malsam and Jack Sprague wrecked on the backstretch to set up the two-lap sprint to the finish.

           

Bodine beat rookie Brian Scott to the finish line by .232 seconds, with Kevin Harvick running third, Kyle Busch fourth and Dennis Setzer fifth.

           

"It was only fun at the end -- not at the beginning or the middle," said a delighted Benson, who fought handling problems early in the race. "If those guys didn't come in, I might have come in, but when they came in, I knew what he (crew chief Trip Bruce) wanted to do, so I stayed out. . .

           

"All these guys behind me that worked on this thing are great friends. We've worked very hard to make this happen. Tonight was about Trip Bruce making the right calls."

 

Hornaday had radio problems late in the race and couldn't communicate to crew chief Rick Ren that he preferred not to pit under the caution on Lap 126.

 

"It was an awesome day for us until that last call," Hornaday said. "We didn't know all those guys (trucks that came out of the pits ahead of Hornaday) were going to take two tires and get out in front of us. But Johnny Benson and those guys had a great year, and we came up one position short."

 

Benson's two-tire call under caution on his final pit stop gave him the lead with 43 laps left and transformed the race from ho-hum to humdinger. Benson held the lead for a restart on Lap 95 with Hornaday in tow. Less than one lap later, Busch stormed into the mix from sixth position and kept Hornaday occupied until he took the lead for himself.

 

On old left-side tires, Benson began to fade and had dropped to seventh by Lap 117. Hornaday surrendered the second spot to Scott but appeared headed for the championship before polesitter Mike Skinner's blown right front tire bought out the fourth caution of the race on Lap 124.

           

Notes: Bodine won his third race of the season and the 15th of his career and finished third in the final standings… Though he won his first championship, Benson hasn't secured a ride for next year, having announced that he will not return to Bill Davis Racing in 2009.

Woodville, Texas man is Dickies 2008 American Worker of the Year, just misses $1 million win

JUSTIN — If no other person at Texas Motor Speedway pulled for Jeff Gordon during this past week's Dickies 500, at least he had Hale and Danyell Hughes standing in Victory Lane cheering him on as he tried to catch Carl Edwards.

In the end, Gordon would come up a few hundred feet short of beating the 2008 Sprint Cup Championship contender and leave Hale and Danyell wishing he had been just a little bit faster.

The reason: Hughes was selected as the Williamson-Dickies Co. Dickies 2008 American Worker of the Year from a pool of thousands of entries nationwide. As part of the grand prize package the Woodville, Texas, resident chose Gordon's number randomly a la "Let's Make a Deal" style and stood to win $1 million if Gordon took the checkered flag ahead of everyone else in the Dickies 500.

Hughes learned about the contest in a NASCAR weekly magazine that he and his wife subscribe to and knew he had to enter — it brought together many of the things that he enjoys; work, bull riding and NASCAR.

Hughes was selected the winner of the contest during last Friday's Professional Bull Riders World Finals in Las Vegas and then whisked off to Texas Motor Speedway in the Dickies corporate jet for a whirlwind weekend of NASCAR fun.

"It was like they knew my spirit and they don't even know me yet," Hughes said of the contest. "I could not, not enter this contest. So, I put my name in the hat. I typed up a 100-word paragraph, sent my picture in and here we are three months later."

Hughes said he was first named a weekly winner (Week 6) of the 12-week contest that began in June. And, then he was notified that he was chosen by the Dickies Co. as one of six regional winners and would be headed to Las Vegas and the PBR World Finals on Halloween night.

For Hughes and his wife, just being chosen as the weekly winner was exciting enough but possibility of being named the Dickies 2008 American Worker of the Year was indescribable.

"We were dancing around the living room, dancing a jig, it was very exciting," Hughes said when first interviewed at TMS on Saturday. "I'm sorry. I'm as country as corn. I can't imagine it getting any better than this. I am so hillbilly, I never would have imagined you could do this kind of stuff."

The past five years had been hard for Hughes and his wife, Danyell, with him suffering a near-crippling injury in an oilfield accident, the result of an oilrig that collapsed on top of him, breaking his back in five places, rupturing his spleen and shattering several ribs. And, just a few months before, Danyell was forced to prematurely give birth to their son, Hawk, so that she could receive life-saving chemotherapy treatments to combat breast cancer. And that doesn't even include the financial hardships from medical bills and more recently, having to endure the wrath of Hurricane Ike. Despite all of the struggles Hughes and Danyell have endured, they said they have been made stronger, are closer now than ever before to themselves and their children Hawk, 5, and Holly, 7.

On Sunday, Hughes shook hands with Gordon during driver introductions, then gave the command for the drivers to start their engines (and did it with gusto — perhaps the best I have ever seen) before being taken up to the Dickies Luxury Suites to watch the race in style.

The race had to be an emotional roller coaster for Hughes and his lovely wife, Danyell, as Gordon, who started on the pole, went a lap down midway through the race. Then, as luck would have it, Gordon's crew chief Steve Letart made a call to take four tires and fuel on the final caution and Gordon rallied back to finish second.

Gordon pushed his Chevrolet Impala as hard as he could but he couldn't catch Edwards.

The emotions of the day finally came full circle as a couple of tears could be seen in Hale and Danyell's eyes as they watched the start/finish line. But these weren't tears of bitterness or despair. They were happy tears, and the couple was humbled by this once-in-a-lifetime experience.

"This thing is still going," Hughes told The Examiner on Wednesday. "The people at Clear Channel want me on to do an interview. Captain Thunder Racing.com and someone else, who has an office at the track, want to do a phone interview.

"People still want to holler at me and I am just an ordinary dude that has to mow my lawn."

Hughes said he, Danyell, Hawk and Holly were also invited to attend Dickies national corporate sales meeting on Dec. 2 in San Diego. Hughes said he is honored that the company is has done so much.

"Man, right now, I am trying to find a map from Cloud 9 back to Woodville, Texas," Hughes said. "I think Danyell could give ol' Criss Angel a run for his money. Her feet still haven't touched the ground. This has been so wonderful and I am so appreciative for Dickies. One thing about me, I don't have to pretend. This is who I am. They got a NASCAR fan that loves bull riding and goes to work every day. I can't imagine ever not working. When I was hurt I wanted to get back to work."

Hughes may not have won the $1 million but he didn't go away empty-handed. Dickies will present him with a 2009 Ford F-150, a Yamaha Rhino 700 FI 4x4 and $5,000, plus some cool Dickies work wear.

Danyell said the couple needed a new truck but have put off buying one until their financial situation was better. She said this weekend's experience is beyond her wildest dreams.

"I am speechless. I really am," Danyell said. "We both had to give up so many of our dreams because of the cancer and then when he broke his back. We kept talking about a new truck and I was like, we can't afford the payments. And this happened, I am so happy for him because he has been trying real hard to make our dreams come true so I am glad that his dreams can come true too."

Looking back on Sunday's closing moments, Hughes said Edwards was "a class act." He said he spoke with Edwards in Victory Lane and it was the first time the driver had been told that Gordon's win would have garnered a fan $1 million. Hughes said Edwards told him that he dedicated the win to a little boy that was battling cancer — something Hughes and Danyell were all too familiar with.

"If Carl Edwards winning that race makes that little boy's life a little better, then it is all worth it," Hughes said.

The Examiner's NASCAR contest a big hit with readers

Before I go too far into this week's column, I want to send out a huge thank you to all of the people who entered The Examiner's NASCAR VIP Getaway Weekend Contest.

There were hundreds of entries gathered via online and at The Examiner's kiosk at Parkdale Mall, and I am so appreciative of the support our contest received.

Personally, I could not have asked for better winners (unless you won, of course) because both the grand-prize winner and the runner-up are huge NASCAR fans.

Our runner-up, Lawrence Farris, is probably one of the biggest Jeff Gordon fans that I have ever met and he was ecstatic when he was told that he was the recipient of some excellent front stretch tickets. With a Gordon seat cushion in-hand, Farris cheered as Gordon began the Dickies 500 from the pole position.

Then, there was Deborah Walker, who took her son, Adam Clopp, with her to the NASCAR Tripleheader event. As always, Walker received two VIP Pit Passes, tickets to all of the races, luxury hotel accommodations and $250 in cash.

So, thanks again. We will have another contest for the April Samsung 500 at Texas Motor Speedway, and who knows? You might be the next winner.

If you read zwww.kickinthetires.net throughout the weekend or, at least, looked at the photos, then you had to see a wonderful couple from Woodville — Hale and Danyell Hughes. You can read about their story in the adjacent article but I just want to thank them for sharing a little bit about themselves with me. I wasn't around them for very long but these two individuals make me proud that I am a NASCAR fan and that they nearby. We need more people like them representing our community.

I hate to say it but, for their sakes, I kind of hoped that Carl Edwards would (a) run out of fuel (b) get a flat tire (c) get tapped from behind causing him to go up the track or (d) all of the above.

I can't think of anything that would have been more fitting Sunday than to see Hale and Danyell presented with a $1 million check after Jeff Gordon won the race.

Hale is about as "real" as you can get, and Danyell is one of the sweetest ladies I have ever met, except for my wife.

OK, so back to the garage. What's happening? Well, the big news isn't really news; it is something we are all dealing with. Throughout the weekend, all I heard about was how the the dismal economy was hurting NASCAR. In fact, it was the first race that I am aware of that has not sold out at Texas Motor Speedway.

To combat the problem, teams are laying people off, closing race shops and consolidating their efforts. In other words, as Richard Childress told me on Friday, "We are cutting back."

You knew it was coming, especially in a sport that is dependent on the oil and automotive industries, but I think NASCAR will survive and be stronger for it.

I did just receive an e-mail from Richard Childress Racing explaining a reorganization of its business unit and there are also notices of layoffs at Hendrick Motorsports, which employs 550-plus people.

"The purpose of this reorganization is to be more efficient for our sponsors and everyone involved in making RCR a success," said Richard Childress, president and CEO of RCR. "Ben (Sclosser) has a very good understanding of the business side of RCR so bringing the communications, licensing and show car departments under his supervision, along with the partnership marketing department, will allow all of those units to work together more seamlessly."

Schlosser was promoted to senior vice-president of business operations and Bill Patterson was named executive vice-president of support services.

As for any really breaking news, there isn't any, to speak of. Chip Ganassi Racing with Felix Sabates is looking at a merger opportunity with just about anyone in the garage and it may happen with Dale Earnhardt Inc. You never know, but this one is fun to watch.

I am going to go ahead and close this week's column out, but you have to feel really bad for this woman I am about to mention. Imagine sitting in your motorhome at a racetrack, and all of a sudden, a .50-caliber bullet comes crashing through your roof and hits you in the arm. Yes, I said .50-caliber. Apparently, some dufus was target practicing, oh, about 6 miles away, and the bullet ricocheted off of a earthen berm. Honestly, the guy probably isn't a dufus, and in the grand scheme of things, he did a stand-up thing. When he heard that a stray .50-caliber bullet hit someone at TMS, he went to the Fort Worth Police Department and said, "I think am the guy you are looking for" or something to that effect. Anyway, the police are investigating. They confiscated his rifle and the poor guy could face charges. Here is my take on this: When you target practice you are supposed to have a backstop, usually an earthen berm. He did that. He (supposedly) had no intent to shoot anyone, especially 6 miles away. I don't care how well he can shoot. Anyway, this is a freak thing, and I hear the woman will recover — I just don't know if she is the luckiest person alive or the unluckiest person alive.

That's it for this week. I will be posting more photos from TMS on www.kickinthetires.net later this week, so check them out.

Photos: O'Reilly Challenge at Texas Motor Speedway

Photos by Jerry Jordan and Donna Littrell