Kickin' the Tires gets it's own site

Check it out, I created a completely standalone site at www.kickinthetires.net.
I will keep the Blogspot site up for a while but all future coverage will be at the new site.

Rain a problem last week

A NASCAR fan takes the meaning of "Don't tread on me!" to a new level. Photo by my friends at CIA Stock Photo

For the second time in as many weeks, the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series suffered the wrath of Mother Nature and raced on, of all days, Monday.

It couldn’t get much worse for the ratings than running at noon on the first workday of the week. Many people think that NASCAR should implement the use of rain tires for events that take place on road courses, like this past week’s race at Watkin’s Glen. But what about races at ovals, tri-ovals and super speedways? While there are a few wack-jobs out there who think we should just turn the cars loose and see what happens, I have to disagree.

Maybe, I could see running rain tires on a road course but Texas, Bristol or California? No way. And don’t even get me started on racing in the rain at Talladega or Daytona.

I know the Nationwide Series runs rain tires, but if last year’s race at Cirque De Gilles Villeneuve in Canada was any indication of what we would see in the Cup Series, then I vote no — just too many torn up racecars and too much potential for injury.

And since we are on the subject of Watkin’s Glen, it was nice to see Tony Stewart pad his lead in the points with his third (official) win of the season. Whether you like him or not, Stewart is living the team owner/racecar driver’s dream. For all practical purposes, he was given 50 percent ownership in Haas Racing, renaming the team Stewart-Haas Racing, and he hasn’t looked back since. Sure, he had some bad luck early on at the Daytona 500 with some really crappy tires but he turned it around and won in July. That was after taking the Sprint All Star Race and a win at Pocono. Stewart could very well go on to become a three-time Sprint Cup Series Champion.

In other news, as I predicted, my ranking in the national media pool fell dramatically this weekend with a poor showing by all but one of my third segment drivers. Kurt Busch’s seventh-place finish was my only saving grace as David Reutimann came in 25th and both Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Kevin Harvick finished 35th or worse. As I said previously, I have one driver who has lost his confidence, and another driver who is extremely unhappy with his current racing situation. Busch has been my shining star this segment and Reutimann is just trying to hold on.

If you are looking at races that you might want to attend next year, I got a sneak peak of the proposed 2010 Sprint Cup schedule. For the most part it is the same but an interesting note is that the spring race at Texas Motor Speedway looks like it will be in March — a week before Easter. Additionally, unless your spouse is a huge NASCAR fan, it doesn’t bode well for romance on Valentine’s Day. The 2010 Daytona 500 falls on Valentine’s weekend for something like the third time in five years. I sure hope my wife understands.

In other news, it looks like NASCAR might be loosing another sponsor. Several Formula 1 racing Web site are reporting that Best Buy is the likely sponsor for a new U.S.-based F1 team. I don’t follow F1 but I do enjoy watching them race when they are on.

Should Best Buy leave Richard Petty Motorsports and go with the new F1 team, it would leave that team in search of a primary sponsor for Elliott Sadler. With the economy still trying to fight its way back, it could spell doom for RPM.

And speaking of the economy, it appears that the fall race at Bristol Motor Speedway in two weeks is officially sold out. Last year, they didn’t sell out the race for the first time ever, so this could be a positive sign that things are turning around.

And finally, I wasn’t going to say anything about this but I would like to ask all NASCAR fans to send their prayers out to Texas Motor Speedway President Eddie Gossage, who is battling cancer. From what I have been told, he is doing well and will beat it. But there is no doubt it has been, and will be, a hard fight. Gossage is one of the greatest NASCAR figures that I have ever had the pleasure to meet, and I wish him a speedy recovery. And for those who do not know, Gossage’s wife is from Nederland and his brother-in-law works at one of the local refineries.

Kenny Brack gets X Games Gold

I know it's not NASCAR but it is racing and it is Kenny Brack. I was sitting here watching X Games on ESPN and was in awe at Brack's performance in the Rally Car event. Then, I opened my email and got this as Brack was being shown in te semi-final race against Tanner Foust.

FORD FIESTA WINS X GAMES 15 RALLY COMPETITION

CARSON, Calif., August 2, 2009 – The new production-based Ford Fiesta rally cars were fastest all week, so it came as no surprise that the Fiesta dominated Sunday’s X Games Rally Competition Finale, claiming two spots on the podium and three of the top four overall in the car's debut appearance.

Kenny Brack, the 1999 Indianapolis 500 winner, driving the Olsbergs Motorsport Evolution Ford Fiesta, captured the gold medal at X Games 15, defeating 2008 champion Travis Pastrana in the Super Special Rally Final. Brack’s teammate Tanner Foust captured the bronze medal in the ROCKSTAR Fiesta, narrowly losing a thrilling semi-final match-up with Brack. Brian Deegan, the Motocross star turned rally racer, finished fourth overall when he lost a turbo hose on his ROCKSTAR Fiesta during a semi-final match-up with Pastrana.

“The Olsbergs Fiesta was a great car and this victory is the result of a lot of hard work by the team,” said Brack, who became the first invited driver to the X Games rally competition to win. “The Fiesta is a great little car, very fast, especially on tarmac. The whole package was fantastic. We ran a single set of BFGoodrich tires today and never had any problem. I almost destroyed the car in practice this morning because I never jumped the jumps before and because it is a different technique I landed on the nose and ripped the roll bar and everything off of the car. We managed to regroup and the crew worked hard to get it ready for the elimination rounds. After that first problem, the jumps all went fine. You can dream about something like this, but the reality is often different. But today, everything fell our way.”

Brack, who has been retired from competitive racing since running the 2005 Indy 500, drove the 450-horsepower Olsbergs MSE Fiesta brilliantly, clinching the gold when his competition, Pastrana, spun wide and clipped the wall in the finale. Brack’s toughest competition came in the semi-final when he raced neck and neck with his teammate Tanner Foust. Brack edged Foust when Foust suffered a miscue on course.

“The Fiesta was running good and unfortunately Kenny and I got stuck up against each other in the semi-finals so it was Fiesta vs. Fiesta,” said Foust, who described the Fiesta as ‘an angry little beast’ earlier in the week. “Ford had three of the final four, which shows the strength of the car. I was a little slow against Kenny on the first half of the track, but on the second half I made it up and I think I may have passed him a little bit. Then coming around the fountain a barrier had moved in the competition and I just made an error and I drove up basically his lane instead of mine and I had to do a 180 and come back and that cost me at least 4 or 5 seconds and Kenny took it. He is an amazing driver and Kenny has such a big background and he deserves it. Best of all, Ford has 1 and 3 at the X Games and that is a lot of hardware.”

Deegan, driver of the ROCKSTAR Ford Fiesta, finished fourth when he lost his turbo power against his old rival Pastrana. “Rally is over and it was a fun day for me with it being my first time doing the rally at X Games,” said Deegan, a 10-time medalist at X Games. “I had a good time in the car out there ripping around. I ended up not getting any practice this morning because they cut it short which didn’t help me much, so I went out and hit the jump a little too fast in my prelim and endoed and smashed it a little bit and popped my turbo hose off. So I luckily finished the round and got through and my next round was with [Ken] Block and going off the course all crazy made my turbo hose pop off again. With the quick turnaround for the last run against Pastrana, they couldn’t get the turbo hose on right and I went out with no power and I came up for the jump and thought it was all or nothing and since I didn’t want to crash the car, I went around the jump and just finished the race. There is always next year. Up to that point I was kicking butt and I was surprised with my driving. Hopefully, next year, I am in a Ford Fiesta and I can win a medal.”

Rain delays race

Rain has delayed this week's Sprint Cup Series race at Pocono until 11 a.m. CST on Monday.

Jimmie Johnson wins at The Brickyard

Edging out Mark Martin on the race's final restart, Jimmie Johnson was able to hold off a continuous challenge by Mark Martin to win the Allstate 400 at The Brickyard.
The two teammates were followed across the finish line by Tony Stewart, Greg Biffle and Brian Vickers to round out the Top 5.

NASCAR and Mayfield continue battle

The ongoing battle between suspended NASCAR driver and former team owner Jeremy Mayfield has escalated into a full-scale war over the past week, as NASCAR accused Mayfield of failing another drug test and Mayfield countering that he has 15 test showing he is clean.
If anyone had doubts before about whether or not Mayfield used methamphetamine, now they must really be confused. Claiming that NASCAR has spiked his urine samples, Mayfield is accusing NASCAR of trying to do whatever it can to essentially save face in the ongoing fight. On Monday, Mayfield’s attorneys filed a pleading in federal court proclaiming that NASCAR has failed to prove its case against the driver. Mayfield also claims that he has independent drug tests of his own — that show he is clean. That test was taken on July 6, the same day he took a test ordered by NASCAR. NASCAR’s test came back positive for methamphetamine but the test Mayfield took at LabCorp and subsequent and previous tests taken at LabCorp, show no signs of methamphetamine, according to Mayfield’s attorneys.
I don’t know who to believe in this but I can tell you one thing for sure, if NASCAR falsified Mayfield’s test this could doom the sport. Now, why would they do such a thing? It goes back to an old saying that many of you may have heard before in another context. First, NASCAR is never wrong. Second, if NASCAR is wrong then refer to the previous comment.
NASCAR hates to be proven wrong and they hate even more to be challenged in a public manner. NASCAR is all about secrets. Even the rulebook is a secret to the fans, which I still don’t understand because it is rather boring.
Since I began covering NASCAR, I have heard horror stories from those who have been around a while. There is even a book — albeit short — that I am reading that highlights some of NASCAR’s seedier moments.
For those who are interested, the title is, “The Dirt Under the Asphalt.” As I stated, it is short but it’s told by someone who has been around NASCAR for decades. It’s a good read and you can get it online.
As for this Mayfield fiasco, I don’t think we will hear the end of this anytime soon and there is no doubt in my mind that it will only get uglier as we move forward.
In other news, we are now getting reports that Danica Patrick and Tony Stewart will be married. NOT REALLY! But we are getting reports that Stewart’s race shop at Stewart-Haas Racing wasn’t the only NASCAR powerhouse she visited a week, or so, ago. Apparently, she stopped by to see the folks at Roush Fenway Racing, Joe Gibbs Racing, Richard Childress and even to Michael Waltrip Inc. This past week she was asked if she was interested in F1 — the answer, “No.” That may be the case but she sure is spending a lot of time in the stock car world. Maybe we will see her suit up next year and muscle a 3,500-pound stock car around the track. By the way, Patrick was just named the 3rd most popular female sports star in history. Wow. I just thought she was hot. She’s popular too, go figure.
And let’s hear it for Hershel McGriff. The 81-year-old former NASCAR Sprint (Winston) Cup Series driver qualified for a Camping World West race last week and finished 13th. It was a good run for McGriff and he broke his own record from 2002 as being the oldest driver to compete in a NASCAR event.
Finally, Indianapolis Motor Speedway, President and CEO Joie Chitwood announced earlier this week that he was stepping down from his position. The move will take affect in August and has him focusing his attention on his new job as vice president of business operations for the International Speedway Corporation.

Mark Martin gets the pole at Indy

Mark Martin was the fastest in the delayed Sprint Cup qualifying effort on Saturday at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
Martin's time around the 2.5-mile historic track was 49.436 seconds, equating to a speed of 182.054 mph. That was more than a mile per hour faster than runner-up Juan Pablo Montoya. It may not see like much but in NASCAR-speak, it's a ton. If he has as much luck in the race as he did in qualifying Martin could be on his way to his fifth win of the season.
A worthy note heading into today's race, Dale Earnhardt Jr., who qualified 3rd fastest, is battling a stomach virus and said he has been vomiting and running fever. To combat the illness, he has been taking IV fluids at the care center and believes he will be okay at race time. Just in case, he has Brad Kesolowski on stand-by.

DEWALT ends NASCAR sponsorship

I just received a press release a few minutes ago stating that DEWALT will no longer sponsor Matt Kenseth's No. 17 Roush Ford. I am attatching the press release so that you can read it for yourself but I must say this comes as a surprise. Apparently, the declining construction market is devestating the company and forcing it to make critical decisions about its future — and one of those is to get out of NASCAR.

TOWSON, Md., July 23 /PRNewswire/ -- DEWALT , a leading manufacturer of industrial power tools, announced today that it will not renew its agreement with Roush Fenway Racing to sponsor Matt Kenseth, driver of the #17 Ford Fusion for the 2010 NASCAR season. While the motor sports program has been a valuable marketing tool for DEWALT during the past twelve years, the company has decided to redirect its resources in light of an unprecedented decline in the construction industry.

Les Ireland, President of the North American Power Tools and Accessories Group for DEWALT, commented, "We have been proud to have Matt Kenseth, Robbie Reiser, Jack Roush, and the entire #17 DEWALT Racing team at Roush Fenway Racing represent DEWALT in front of millions of NASCAR faithful. During our sponsorship, Matt and the crew won the 2000 Rookie-of-the-Year Award, two World Pit Crew Championships, the 2003 Series Championship, and have qualified for the "Chase for the Cup" for every year since its inception as well as 18 races, most notable this year's Daytona 500. DEWALT manufactures tools and accessories that are Guaranteed Tough(TM) for the jobsite, and Matt's style, personality and success have been an outstanding fit with our brand. Having a presence at the track has provided a great experience for power tool users, our distribution partners, our employees and NASCAR fans."

"Our decision to discontinue the sponsorship, while a difficult one, will help us to continue delivering value to our customers and end users, while managing our financial results. We remain committed to the team for the 2009 season, and will have an ongoing presence in the sport as DEWALT tools will continue to be used to build and maintain racecars and equipment. We would like to thank DEWALT racing fans for their loyal support over the years and we also thank Matt, and the entire Roush Fenway Racing organization for their efforts and outstanding results, and wish them continued success."

Exciting finish overshadowed by brutal crash

It was one of the most exciting final laps of any race so far this season, and not because Kyle Busch crashed just a few feet from the finish line. The fact that Busch, Denny Hamlin and Tony Stewart were battling for the win made it a nail-biter to say the least.
Stewart did what he had to do to keep his former teammates Busch and Hamlin split up coming out of the final restart but in his efforts, Busch slid by to take away the lead. That set into motion a chain of events resulting in Busch blocking Stewart one too many times and ending up in the wall. First he dodged low then came up the track as the two came out off of Turn 4 and headed into the Dayton International Speedway dogleg along the front stretch. Busch’s final weave in his bob slowed him just enough for Stewart to get inside his rear quarter panel, sending Busch up the track and into the outside retaining wall.
Stewart went on to win the Coke Zero 400 and Busch took three incredibly hard hits. First was the driver’s side impact with the wall. Second, was a racecar’s equivalent of a body-cavity search as Kasey Kahne slammed into the rear of the No. 18 M&M’s Toyota — nearly flipping the car end over end from behind. If Kahne wanted to know what kind of rear end gear Busch was running it would have been really easy for him to check. And just when you thought it couldn’t get any worse, Joey Logano slammed into the driver’s side door area of Busch’s car.
As I watched the carnage unfold in front of me, my first thought was whether or not Busch was OK. I got my answer when he dropped the window net and climbed out of what was left of his $250,000 racecar and began to walk back to the garage.
Personally, I don’t buy into the hype that he was going to confront Stewart in Victory Lane. I think he was dazed and wanted to get his head straight before he was whisked off to the infield care center for the mandatory medical evaluation. Yes, he was walking with a purpose but if you were able to get a glimpse of his eyes in the television shot, he looked like a space cadet — the last thing he wanted was to go get his bell rung again by confronting Stewart and his team while they were celebrating their win.
Afterwards, I began watching the chatter about the crash on Facebook. Most people were concerned about Busch’s well-being and others blamed him for the crash but were relieved to see that he was OK. However, there was this one jerk named Doug, (I will leave off his last name) who made the comment, “Kyle would look much better on a backboard on the way to the hospital.” You know folks, I don’t care how much you dislike a guy — there is no excuse for wishing them harm.
Now, moving on to another topic, there is a big day coming up for one NASCAR driver and I don’t mean this weekend’s race at Chicagoland Speedway. Somehow I missed the big announcement but during the upcoming off-weekend, Jamie McMurray will marry his sweetheart, Christy Futrell. Jamie recently posted some photos of “the girls” having a little get together in anticipation of the big day.
Good luck to Jamie and Christy. Hopefully, I can snag a photo after the ceremony and share it with you guys reading here.
In other news this week, Martin Truex Jr. made must have become tired of racing for a different team every six months or so because he announced that he will be leaving Earnhardt-Ganassi Racing at the end of the season.
Where will he land? Well, Truex has a really comfortable spot all picked out for himself in the No. 56 NAPA Toyota at Michael Waltrip Racing. Yep. In case you missed the big live press conference on SPEED Channel and streaming across the Internet, Waltrip will step into a part-time driver’s role next year and allow Truex to represent NAPA full-time.
“First of all, I’m really excited to be here,” Truex said during Tuesday’s press conference. “NAPA Auto Parts and Michael Waltrip Racing have been synonymous with each other, and NAPA’s been a great supporter of Michael Waltrip I’m going to be a proud driver of that car next year. I’m so thankful for the opportunity that Michael and NAPA and Bob have given me to do this next year. I’m just looking forward to going on to do really good things. The sky’s the limit, and they’ve built a good operation here, and just looking forward to it and excited for next year.”
Hmmm? Now, lets think about this for a few seconds. This guy, who is one helluva racecar driver, has been forced to endure seeing the team he raced for go from one majority-owner to another over the past two years, has the opportunity to drive for a team with a great sponsor and what appears to be a stable environment — of course he is going to be excited. This is a great fit for Truex and NAPA and I will lay odds he puts that No. 56 in Victory Lane next year.
In closing, last week I wrote about Jeremy Mayfield’s suspension being lifted for alleged violations of NASCAR drug policy by a federal judge and how NASCAR wasn’t planning on appealing. Well, they did.
On July 6, NASCAR filed a notice of appeal and then followed up with a motion to stay the temporary injunction ordered by U.S. District Judge Charles Mullens on July 1. It was NASCAR’s contention that the federal judge acted inappropriately in grating the injunction that would allow Mayfield to return to the track.
Technically, Mayfield was cleared to race last weekend at Daytona but logistically, he couldn’t pull his team and sponsorship together in time. One would think that the appeal by NASCAR would keep Mayfield from competing this weekend in Chicago but late yesterday, Judge Mullens signed the order and it was entered into the record regarding the injunction. There has now been recorded an entry in the court’s file to show that Mayfield would be kept away from the track during the appeal of the injunction.
I tried to find a comment from Mayfield’s camp — you’ll remember my dealings with his attorney Bill Biehl didn’t go so well — but Mayfield’s Web site has been taken down. I forwarded that information to Dustin Long, the president of the National Motorsports Press Association, so if I get any additional information over the weekend, I will post it here.
That’s it for this week. Enjoy the action from Chicago and check back next week to hear what is going on behind the scenes in the garage.

Logano makes history at Loudon

It was just another boring week in NASCAR where nothing major happened and the results of the race at Loudon’s New Hampshire Motor Speedway had a predictable outcome. NOT!
This past week’s race was anything but normal, and there is so much trash talk going around the garage it’s hard to keep it straight. I mean, who would have thought that Joey’s Logano’s crew chief, Greg “Zippy” Zipadelli, would throw the dice in New Hampshire and leave the Raybestos Rookie of the Year candidate out on the track with precious little fuel? For Logano, there wasn’t much to lose since he was going to have to pit pretty soon anyway. As for Zippy, he was on the pit box doing his best Cherokee impersonation and dancing to the rain gods. And within just a few laps, the bet paid off and Logano was sitting at the front of the field when the skies opened up and drenched the track.
It was a smart move and Logano deserved the win, despite what anyone else says. Don’t get me wrong, I am not on the Sliced Bread bandwagon but I know the rules and when a guy is leading the race past the halfway point and it ends because of rain, he is the winner. You don’t have to like it but that’s the way it is. Kurt Busch won that way last year. David Reutimann did it in May at the Coca-Cola 600. Matt Kenseth did at the 2009 Daytona 500.
So what’s the big deal?
Apparently, some fans are upset that the youngest guy in the sport got his first win on a technicality. Others say that because his car wasn’t dominant throughout the race, the win shouldn’t count.
Too bad for them. The rules are the rules. Logano won and his name went into the history books as the youngest driver to do so. It’s pretty simple — get over it.
As for the other major news events of the week, there has been a lot of talk that the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series will go the way of the dodo bird. (That last analogy brought to you by my wife.) Anyway, the rumors of the truck series’ demise appear to be greatly exaggerated. And NASCAR doesn’t appear too happy about it.
The blame for the rumor is being heaped on a friend of mine, veteran NASCAR reporter Mike Mulhern. Some are saying that Mulhern fabricated a story that the series was on its deathbed but there is no denying that most everyone who covers the sport, including myself, is asking the same question. The series is struggling to say the least and hiding your head in the sand about it isn’t doing any good.
Still, NASCAR’s Jim Hunter is officially “on-record” saying that truck series isn’t going anywhere. For me, I hope not because it’s some of the best racing in the sport.
And the battle between NASCAR and Jeremy Mayfield is getting hot. NASCAR countersued Mayfield a few weeks ago claiming that he essentially defrauded the sport. A lot of documents have been filed in the case but on Wednesday, Mayfield and NASCAR were back at in a Charlotte, N.C., federal courtroom.
And by mid-day Wednesday, Mayfield had the answer he was looking for, as U.S. Distirct Judge Graham Mullen lifted an indefinite suspension pending the final outcome of the Mayfield’s case against NASCAR. And what was NASCAR’s reacton? Well, I thought they would have run across the hall and filed an immiedate appeal but they aren’t “at this time.” However, NASCAR Spokesman Ramsey Poston made it clear that Mayfield will be continuously scrutinzed by the sanctioning body. hey jeremy, get ready to drink lots of fluids because NASCAR’s going to want to you to pee in a cup 10 times a day, more than likely.
I say good for Jeremy. I don’t think Mayfield is a meth-head and I do believe that a drug test can be flawed —that’s where I am different from NASCAR. They think they are perfect.
In other news, if you missed Bill Weber’s commentary on TNT this past weekend, it was because the network pulled him from the broadcast at the last minute. Just prior to Sunday’s race, TNT executives released a statement confirming Weber’s absence but it left out any real details of what may have led to their decision. According to the statement, Weber was dealing with personal issues and that it was the policy of TNT to not comment on such things.
All I know is what I read in the Charlotte Observer, which said Weber was involved in some sort of heated argument at his hotel. This has pretty much flown under the radar but some media outlets are reporting that Weber will return this weekend. At this point, it is a wait-and-see situation.
And finally, Michael Waltrip Racing has announced that it will be holding a press conference on Monday. From everything that I can gather, the announcement will be that Martin Truex Jr. will join the organization next season. Truex is currently in the final year of his contract at Earnhardt Ganassi Racing and is looking to move somewhere where he can be more competitive.

NASCAR Chairman and CEO has heavy foot

Yeah, so what. Kasey Kahne found his was to victory lane and gave Richard Petty Motorsports its first win since 1999. Well, that is not exactly true.
Kahne did win … and it was a win for Petty. But I am having a hard time buying into the notion that Richard Petty Motorsports is the same organization as Petty Enterprises. You see, in 1999, PE was a single operation that was built off the works of The King. With the bastardization of Gillette-Evernham Motorsports and the original PE, I just don’t think that what is parked in the garage is the same operation.
Now, is that a bad thing? I don’t think so. Let’s face facts — PE struggled for years and even had trouble making the field sometimes. The former PE teams were back-of-the-field operations with nary a chance to win a race, much less a Sprint Cup Championship.
At least now there is hope, which is something that many fans had lost in PE’s lean years. The new Richard Petty Motorsports has proved that it can run at the front. It has proved that it can win. Sure, there are times when they still run in the back and Kahne’s win is obviously a first but with any luck this is the beginning of something great.
Yeah, I figure I will catch some flack for my opinions on the new organization but, hey, it’s my column. And it’s my opinion.
I just don’t think anyone can make a legitimate claim that the Petty of today is the Petty of the past decade or more. Let’s all hope that Richard Petty Motorsports makes a quick return to victory lane.
As we move on to another topic, I would like to point out that I usually don’t cover news in this column but this week, I just can’t help myself. On a whim last week, I decided to run a background check on NASCAR Chairman and CEO Brian France. In all honesty, I am working on another story and was trying to find out which other corporations France is involved in. But along with the corporate affiliations, I found out that France has a lead foot.
Apparently, France was doing 80 mph in a 60 mph zone and got busted by North Carolina State Highway Patrol Officer H.L. Dorty. The ticket was written on March 31 in Mecklenberg County. For those that don’t remember, that was the Tuesday before the race at Texas Motor Speedway.
First, I have no room to be judgmental when it comes to traveling at speeds above the posted legal limit — just ask any of my “close friends” in the traffic division of the Beaumont Police Department. And that doesn’t include my own “personal experience” with the North Carolina State Highway Patrol in 1991.
You see, in North Carolina, going 80 mph in 60 mph zone is considered a Class 2 misdemeanor, which can result in a suspended license.
According to Mecklenburg County court records, France had a trial date set for June 5 and his case was disposed of on June 15. The record shows that France’s speed was reduced from 80 mph to 65 mph and he paid only a $10 fine along with $121 in court costs. That’s a pretty good deal, if you ask me.
Do I think that France used every trick in the book to get his penalty reduced? Yes. Do I know for sure? No. I do think that every one of us would have done whatever it takes to save our driver’s license. Besides, how would it look if the guy who runs NASCAR had his license suspended?
In other news, it appears that the Nationwide Series and the Camping World Truck Series are going to be the biggest sufferers from the disaster that is our nation’s economy. With talk swirling that both series were looking at moving to a Crate or spec motor that is the same for everyone, now teams are will have to cope with losing financial support.
Toyota announced this week that it was joining with Chevrolet and Ford in yanking its financial support of the two lower tiered series. I could be wrong but I think it is safe to say Dodge is also in that camp. They will still provide some engineering and technical support but the cash flow is cut off from what I understand.
And that also appears to be the case on the Cup level where several teams, including Richard Childress Racing and Richard Petty Motorsports are owed millions of dollars by the manufacturers. Childress and Rick Hendrick of Hendrick Motorsports said they were still behind GM but they have to be feeling the pinch. I wonder what they were in such an intense discussion about his past weekend at Infineon Raceway.
The other rumors around the garage center around which drivers will end up where in 2010. The biggest speculation is surrounding the future plans of Martin Truex Jr. and Kahne. Both have options available to them, so their decisions should be interesting. It also appears that Kevin Harvick might be willing to leave RCR. I don’t see that happening at this time but if he does, I would look for him to show up at Stewart-Haas Racing.
There is also speculation that Danica Patrick will land at Roush Racing. She has publicly said that she is looking at NASCAR for her future and I think she would be a great asset to the sport. And finally, it looks like Brad Kesolowski and Stephen Wallace could be racing in the Sprint Cup Series next year.
It’s only June and Silly Season has barely begun but I can assure you things won’t calm down until we get to the final few races of the season. So just sit back and watch what happens.

TNT's Bill Weber pulled

I have been getting reports all morning that Bill Weber has been yanked from the announcer's booth at New Hampshire Motor Speedway.
He ws scheduled to work the broadcast for the Lenox Tools 301 but obviously that has changed. No word yet on why and TNT officials are not giving up much information.
All I can to get is that TNT 's claiming that, based on company policy, it is a "private" and "personal" matter, of which they "will not comment."
As soon as I hear more I will update. Several of my NASCAR associates are working to get more on this.

Pardo's wreck eerily similar to Gordon's

 Pardo’s crash, although it appears more violent, is eerily similar to a crash Jeff Gordon experienced last year at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.

  Unless you are a fan of NASCAR Mexico, you probably didn’t even realize that a tragedy occurred this past weekend with the death of racer Carlos Pardo.

  You can find the video of the horrific crash on YouTube if you want to see how Pardo was killed, but I would advise against it.

  Pardo was clipped by Jorge Goetters going into Turn 1 and slammed passenger side first into a wall. What I can’t figure out was if it was a concrete wall or water barrier … or both. The car disintegrated on impact and water, fuel and debris flew a hundred feet or more. The first thing I thought when I saw the video of the accident was that it looked eerily similar to the crash that Jeff Gordon had at Las Vegas in 2008.

  Watching it reminded me of the conditions that NASCAR used to race under here in the states … and how some small town tracks still do. NASCAR has come a long way in the safety arena but this latest accident proves more can be done. Sure, the race was in Mexico, where safety conditions are as good as they are here, but it was still a NASCAR event. That being said, NASCAR, as a sanctioning body, should not allow any series racing under its umbrella to do so in unsafe conditions. Regardless of the cost, the sanctioning body should ensure that all of the tracks carrying its moniker have the highest caliber of safety — whether in the United States, Canada or Mexico. My personal opinion is that Pardo’s death could have been avoided if there had been safer barriers around that track and had the wall been configured differently.

  Well, I predicted this next issue was going to get very ugly before it was over and so far, I have not been disappointed. In the ongoing saga of NASCAR vs. Jeremy Mayfield or vice-versa, the sanctioning body has filed a motion in U.S. District Court claiming that a supposed expert being used by Mayfield does not have the credentials that he boasts about. I don’t know the answer but I am not surprised that NASCAR is pulling out every trick it can think of to make this situation go away.

  In filing No. 13 with the U.S. District Court, NASCAR claims that statements regarding the education, certification and licenses held by and made by Harvey MacFenerstein are not true or valid. NASCAR claims that its independent research has found “third party” evidence that disproves statements MacFenerstein has made regarding his education and the certifications he claims to hold and that because of those findings Mayfield’s case should be thrown out and sanctions should be assessed against Mayfield, his attorney Bill Diehl and MacFenerstein.

  Over the years covering various court cases, I have seen a lot of these types of allegations. First, this is a basic defense tactic: “They are lying about something, so you must throw their case out of court because nothing they’ve said has any validity.”

  Personally, I don’t think this latest revelation will be the death nail to Mayfield’s claims against NASCAR. Did he violate NASCAR substance abuse policy? I don’t know. For some reason, I don’t think so. And it’s likely that even when this case is over, no one will know for sure if he failed the drug test or NASCAR’s testing procedures are flawed. To me, NASCAR is a pretty arrogant bunch and that goes a long way in my book as to why they wouldn’t want to admit they could have a flawed drug testing system. It’s no secret that failing a NASCAR drug test has dire consequences — two people have already committed suicide after being caught. For a NASCAR driver, failing a drug test is, at the very least, the kiss of death for a successful and continued career.

  In other news, it looks like Carl Long will have to wait a little bit longer to find out if NASCAR’s career-ending penalties will be overturned by National Stock Car Racing Commissioner Charles Strang. Long made his final appeal to Strang on Monday, hoping that he could convince Strang that the penalties assessed would not only destroy his career but were unjustified in light of the circumstances. Long, who works a full-time job for one team and owns a fledgling race team of his own, was fined $200,000, docked 200 points and suspended from the sport for 12 races after the engine he planned to use in the Sprint All-Star Race was found to be one-one thousandth-of-an-inch too big. The belief throughout the garage is that the engine was so old and used up that it could have been caused wear and friction. Testing on the engine that showed it had between 30 and 50 less horsepower than others in the garage goes a long way in supporting that theory. Long had raced the motor numerous times this season because he could not afford to replace it.

  And finally, it doesn’t look like Kentucky Motor Speedway will be getting a Sprint Cup race next season. According to Speedway Motorsports Chairman Bruton Smith, the track will not get a race until a pending lawsuit is dismissed and that isn’t likely to happen in time for the announcement of NASCAR’s 2010 schedule, which comes out in a couple of months.

  Smith promised a race at the track this year but that didn’t happen. Now, it looks like Sprint Cup racing won’t make its Kentucky debut until at least 2011.

NASCAR uses sledgehammer to enforce rules

In case you missed it, Carl Long, who operates his race shop on a shoestring budget to say the very least, was found to have a motor that was roughly one one-thousandth of an inch too big when he tried to enter the Sprint Showdown race in Charlotte a couple of weeks ago. In response, NASCAR came down so hard on the already-struggling owner/driver that it has basically put him out of the sport.

As if the 12-race suspension weren’t bad enough, Long makes his real living working for a Sprint Cup team. Since he is banned from the Sprint Cup garage, he can’t work at his real job at Front Row Motorsports. Instead, he will have to find work in the Nationwide or Camping World Truck Series garage if he wants to feed his family and pay his bills. But that’s not all. In handing down the lengthiest non-drug related suspension in the history of the sport, NASCAR also fined Long’s crew chief Charles Swing a whopping $200,000. For him, that means, pay up or pack your bags because NASCAR won’t take IOUs.

He was hoping an appeal of the penalty would go in his favor on Tuesday, but the penalties were upheld and Long is seeing his NASCAR dreams turn into a nightmare.

Since the ruling, Long has made several statements expressing his displeasure with NASCAR and on some levels, I have to say I agree.

No, I don’t condone cheating but that is not what was going on here. First, the motor in question was 50 horsepower less than the worst Hendrick, Childress or Gibbs engine in the garage. Second, the Sprint Showdown is a non-points race and the motor in question actually blew during practice — it never made it into the race. Third, had Long been cheating he could have loaded up his car, taken the motor and driven back to his race shop without NASCAR ever even looking under the hood of the No. 46 Dodge.

NASCAR went overboard with this penalty and they basically gave Long a death sentence. They have branded him a cheater when that is not the case. They have imposed a penalty that he, nor his crew chief, can afford to pay. And they have suspended him from the Sprint Cup garage so that he can’t make a living.

Maybe I am wrong, but does that sound like a sport where the talk around the media center and the garage is how everyone needs to stick together like family? This is a bunch of BS and NASCAR went too far, in my opinion.

But they seem to be going too far in a lot of areas — take the Jeremy Mayfield incident, for example. NASCAR has branded Mayfield a drug abuser and booted him from the sport indefinitely. That means for life if he doesn’t kowtow to their demands of seeking drug rehab and begging for forgiveness.

Mayfield, however, has a little more money than Long and he is likely to kick the crap out of NASCAR in court. The case was filed late last week and Mayfield’s legal team has already pointed out numerous problems with NASCAR drug testing policy. For one, it doesn’t mesh with federal standards for conducting tests. There could also be a problem with the way NASCAR collects its samples. I don’t think the chain of custody would include dropping your drug test sample off in a bucket that was placed outside the media center but, hey, who am I to judge?

And speaking of judges, on Tuesday, NASCAR was successful in getting Mayfield’s case moved out of state court in Mecklenburg County, N.C., and into federal court. Mayfield’s case was supposed to be heard the next day and a ruling in the case could have put him back in the car this weekend, but NASCAR legal maneuvering has made that a moot point. Additionally, unless Mayfield’s attorney Bill Diehl fights the change of venue, the case will be set on the federal track and could take longer.

As I wrote last week, Diehl is shrewd and very confident, so this fight will get really interesting before all of this is over with. And in case anyone is wondering what drug Mayfield had in his system — it was amphetamines. NASCAR won’t tell you but Mayfield’s attorneys let the court know that their client is taking Adderall. I did some checking and Adderall is comprised of amphetamine salts and is prescribed to patients for the treatment of ADHD. By the way, Adderall increases alertness. I would think that would be a good thing on the racetrack. I can think of a few drivers that might need medication for ADHD, but that is another story for another day.

As of now, the Mayfield vs. NASCAR saga will play out in federal court and I will keep you updated on the fight at kickinthetires.net.

In other NASCAR news, this one kind of flew under the radar and really didn’t get much play — NOT. That’s right, Tony Eury Jr. is out and Lance McGrew is in as the new crew chief for the sport’s most popular driver. I mean, come on, ESPN broke into its newscast and showed Dale Earnhardt Jr. walking onto pit road at Dover as it told of the change. This thing was covered to death over the weekend and its still the talk of Sirius Satellite Radio.

But what I liked was Kyle Busch’s response in saying that whatever the problems were, they could never have been blamed on Junior. Obviously, a crew chief has to take a fall because he can’t seem to get to Victory Lane.

What was funnier still was something that I know the outside world missed and that was Dale Jr. having a chat with Busch prior to the driver’s meeting.

According to my friends in the NASCAR garage, Junior walked up and sat beside Busch before the drivers’ meeting and said something in his ear. The one-way conversation lasted very briefly and then Junior got up and walked away.

Wouldn’t you have loved to be a little birdie listening in?

Well, that is about it for this week. Check out kickinthetires.net for major NASCAR news as it happens throughout the weekend and into next week. New pictures should be posted soon, also.

Reutimann wins Coca-Cola 600

David Reutimann was the recipient of a gift from Mother Nature on Memorial Day, as he was declared the winner of the rain-shortened 50th Annual Coca-Cola 600 at Lowe's Motor Speedway.

Reutimann stays out for third rain delay ... could win

David Reutimann is leading the Coca-Cola 600 safely from pit road. The yellow fell for another shower on Lap 226. He stayed out and led when the rain intensified and the red flag came out again.

They made it halfway

At exactly 3 p.m. the crossed flags came out at Lowe's Motor Speedway to signify reaching the halfway point in the Coca-Cola 600. And Kyle Busch had a 2.5 second lead with 190 laps to go in the 400-lap event.

Another red flag

The Coca-Cola 600 is again delayed by rain. The red flag came out at Lap 174.

Back to racing ... but for how long

The cars are battling on the track but there is another fight looming and that is the fight to get, at least, half the race in before it rains too much to continue.

Kyle Busch is the leader  at Lap 94 with a 25-car span over the second place car. He's followed by Jimmie Johnson and Kasey Kahne.

Lowe's motor Speedway drenched

NASCAR lost the track an hour ago due to a heavy downpour in Turns 3 & 4 brought out the second rain delay off the already rain-delayed Coca-Cola 600.

The weather in the distance isn't looking any better and could postpone the race for some time.

I will keep you updated.

Not looking good for Coke 600

The race is already delayed and rain clouds are still building over Lowe's Motor Speedway — making the possibility of getting the Coca-Cola 600 begun sometime tonight looking all the more bleak.

And as I sit here writing, the skies have opened up and it is absolutely pouring down rain. The latest that NASCAR would start the race is 9:30 p.m. That is unlikely to happen tonight and looking at the projected forecast for Monday, it looks wet, as well. The last available option would be to run the race this week would be on Tuesday because the teams must get ready for next week's race at Dover International Speedway. 

Bliss-full ending to rain-soaked Carquest Auto Parts 300

CONCORD, N.C. — It took more than an hour for the track to dry enough for the Nationwide Series cars to begin the Carquest Auto Parts 300 at Lowe's Motor Speedway and before the night was over rain would again fall and cut the race short by 30-laps — leaving Mike Bliss and the Miccosukee Indian Gaming & Resort Chevrolet sitting at the front of the field.

In fact, Bliss was one of only a dozen cars on the lead lap because of an ill-timed yellow flag that came out as most cars were cycling  green flag pit stops. The caution caught even the fastest cars of the night off guard and forced one of NASCAR quirky restarts, where the leader was actually mid-pack in the field behind a gaggle of cars trying to stay on the lead lap.

"It ended up really good," Bliss said. "We stretched our fuel mileage a little bit, so I guess that's why we're here. We just stayed out one lap longer and it paid off."

Bliss said he wasn't aware that showers were on the way and he also wasn't aware that  the No. 62 5-Hour Energy Drink Chevrolet driven Brendan Gaughan was the only other car ahead of the rest of the pack.

"I really didn't know Brendan was there until he got by me," Bliss said. "They said, 'that's your leader now.' So, when Brendan went by I knew I would get back by him but I was trying to take it a little bit conservative because I figured everybody was battling pretty dang hard in front. I had no idea there was any rain. When we went through one and two, there was a little bit and when we went back by there were five of us and we all went sideways and it came down pretty hard over there."

Gaughan said was ecstatic with his second-place finish and thanked his team for giving him good equipment. As far as the rain, he said he was glad to get a little good luck on his side considering bad things had been pestering the team recetly.

"Had a couple of flat tires and Goodyear makes great tires, we just ran over something on the racetrack," Guaghan said of his previous misfortunes. "We've had our share of bad luck and today I don't know how we did it."

A lot of drivers were less than thrilled when the skies opened up but one in particular saw his dominating run come to an early end. Kyle Busch drove from the back of the field to the lead in the first 35-laps of the race. But when the final caution came out and the rains began to fall, he was one of those cars that got caught after pitting. He restarted the race on point, leading the field to retake the green flag but he was actually in third-place at the time.

"I was very disappointed that we didn't get a win and the guys aren't able to celebrate themselves in Victory Lane for putting together the fastest car out there," Busch said. "But the NOS Enegry Drink Toyota was good — it was fast and circumstances just didn't hit our was tonight."

Feeling somewhat jinxed after missing out wins that he should have notched on his steering wheel, Busch was vocal about lady Luck turning her back on him recently.

"It's not just this series — it's every other series too," Busch said. "I had bad luck all week in the truck series — had bad luck with the All-Star race just not getting the right set-up there for the final 10 laps. Last week at Darlington was a bad one — both Cup and Nationwide. I don't even know where we were the week before — I think it was Talladega — wadded up two cars there. Just very, very frustrating to be one of the fastest cars week in and week out and not have anything to show for it."

But Busch does have something show for it. In fact, he has already amassed two wins in the Camping World Truck Series, three wins in the Nationwide Series and three wins in the Sprit Cup Series. A fact that didn't go over looked by a jubilant Bliss, who said he wasn't worried whether people feel like he stole the win.

"I don't care, got it from a guy who is winning too much anyway. We had a good enough car to run in the top three all night. Yeah, the 18 was a better car but he wins too much an nobody likes him," Bliss joked after the race.

Rounding out the Top 5 were Brian Vickers and Joey Logano, respectively.

"The Rocket" on the pole for Coke 600

CONCORD, N.C. — For many NASCAR fans this won't come as a surprise but Ryan Newman, a.k.a "The Rocket" is the pole winner for Sunday's Coca-Coal 600 at Lowe's Motor Speedway.

His fast lap of 188.475 mph was quick enough to beat out Kyle Busch's 188.258 mph and Jeff Gordon's 188.193 mph lap.

But what is more interesting is that the first three racers heading off into Turn 1 on Sunday are the same three  that got together coming out of Turn 4 last week in the Sprint All-Star race. The ensuing crash cost Newman a shot a the win. Newman said there were all even and Busch and Gordon talked in the media center in between their respective press briefings. But that doesn't mean they all three won't go charging off into Turn 1 battling to lead the first lap.

" Yeah, right now, I'm gonna call it even between me, the 18 and 24 and throw Tony Stewart in there on Sunday, too," Newman said.

Busch said he was just slightly unhappy with his car after qualifying, wishing he could have been justa tick faster.

"Trying to get the thing running as to where it'd be fast," Busch said. "Messed up in the corner and it cost us. Just trying to make it as to where it would bust loose but it turned out the exact opposite because of the way I arched into the corner."

Gordon followed up saying that Newman is always fast at Charlotte but that he was pleased with the qualifying run of the No. 24 DuPont Chevrolet. Gordon, who got his first-ever win at Lowe's in the Coke 600, said this is always a special weekend for him.

"It means a lot to me, winning my first race here," he said.

Rounding out the Top 5 in qualifying were Mark Martin and Jimmie Johnson, respectively.

PHOTOS: Sprint All-Star race at Lowe's Motor Speedway

Stewart snags $1 million in Sprint All-Star race

Tony Stewart became only the second driver/owner to win the Sprint All-Star race Saturday as he came around Turns 1 and 2 to pass Matt Kenseth with just two laps to go.

Stewart battled from mid pack, starting the four-segment 100-lap event from the 15th position. He finished the first 50-lap segment in the 9th spot and moved up one position at the conclusion of the second stage, which was 20-laps. He followed that up with a 6th place finish in the second of the two 20-lap stages.

Then, with only a 10-lap shootout remaining, Stewart worked his way through the field and at one point, he was pushed teamate Ryan Newman to the front but Newman got caught up in a three-car collision with Kyle Busch and Jeff Gordon. The crash took Gordon out of the race and crippled the No. 39 U.S. Army Chevrolet.

That set the stage for a battle between Stewart, Kenseth and Busch for the win. After getting a great restart following the caution, Stewart drove up like he was going to make a pass on Kenseth but dipped below the white line getting loose, just as NASCAR  threw another caution, this time for debris on the track.

With just five laps to Stewart restart third and battled around Busch to take on Kenseth. After making the pass on Kenseth, Stewart drove away and took home a cool $1 million.

Going through the final laps, Stewart said he couldn't believe Kenseth gave him the bottom of the track, considering he had just almost motored by the No. 17 previously.

"He ran up high on the restart and I was like man I can't believe he is giving me the bottom again," Stewart said. "Darien made a handful of changes on the final caution and man did it wake the car up."

On his teammate's misfortune, Stewart felt it should have been someone else in Victory Lane.

"Ryan Newman was probably the guy that should have been in Victory Lane tonight but he got a tire cut and had to come in and change it," he said. "The pan was to follow Ryan. I thought we could both get by the 17 and just go on. I was thinking man Ryan in gonna win this thing and I was just going to be happy wherever I ended up."

Hornish wins, gets into All Star race with McMurray

Sam Hornish won the Sprint Showdown to work his way into the Sprint All Star Challenge, taking a shot a $1 million win.

HJamie McMurray finished second to also get the nod. And they are anouncing at this very minute that Joey Logano is the fans' choice to get in the race.

Hornaday Jr. wins truck race in Charlotte

Ron Hornaday Jr. held off a late race charge by Kyle Busch to take the checkered flag and win the North Carolina Education Lottery 200 at Lowe's Motor Speedway on Friday.

Hornaday Jr. had a little trouble earlier in the night, getting caught on pit road when the caution came out. But he was able to stay on the tail end of pack in front of the leader and catch back up on an ensuing caution that was brought out when Busch got into the back of the No. 6 truck driven by Colin Braun. Busch was able to go on but Braun ended up crashing and finishing in 26th place.

Hornaday's crew chief Rick Ren said he missed the set-up on the truck, slightly and Hornaday Jr. said he believes he had a 3rd place truck all night.

"Clean air is really big and we had the truck really tight early in the race," Ren said. "I just missed it a little bit today. Our truck was really fast in practice and in clean air."

After the race, Busch, who already has two wins on the season, was complaining that Chevrolet had a motor advantage over the Toyotas

Hornaday fired back, "Why did he go by me on the back straightaway like I was standing still," Hornaday Jr. said. "I have lost four or five races to Kyle Busch. We won he finished second. We will find out when we go to Michigan because I am sure NASCAR will take all the motors and dyno them like the always do"

As for the massive crash between Mike Skinner and T.J. Bell earlier in the night, Hornaday Jr. said he didn't see it but knew that Skinner was upside down and worried if he was okay.

"I hate Mike Skinner on the race track but I love him as a brother outside it," Hornaday Jr. said. "I didn't actually see the wreck but I heard he got upside down."

Finishing up the race in 3rd place was last year's race winner Matt Crafton in the No. 88 Chevrolet. He was followed by Ryan Newman and Terry Cook, respectively, in 4th and 5th places.

Rounding out the field was:

6th David Gilliland

7th David Star

8th Tayler Malsem

9th Stacy Compton

10th Dennis Setzer

11th Rick Crawford

12th James Buescher

13th Johnny Sauter

14th Jason White

15th Chad McCumbee

16th Brian Ickler

17th Mario Gosselin

18th Ryan Hackett

19th Ben Stancil

20th Chris Jones

21st Brain Scott

22nd Brent Raymer

23rd Johnny Benson

24th Norm Benning

25th Todd Bodine

26th Colin Braun

27th Mike Bliss

28th Brandon Knupp

29th Mike Skinner

30th T.J. Bell

31st Timothy Peters

32nd Marc Mitchell

33rd Johnny Chapman

34th John Jackson

35th Donnie Neuenberger

36th Chris Fontaine

OUCH!!! He walked away

The No. 5 Toyota, driven by Mike Skinner, got loose after being run down into the grass through the tri-oval at Lowe's Motor Speedway. As he tried to save it the truck slid up the racetrack and slammed into the outside wall at the exact moment that T.J. Bell in the No. 11 hit him from behind and sent the No. 5 airborne.

After a few tense moments, with even the NASCAR officials saying, "just get outof the truck," Skinner signaled to the crowd that he was okay.

He and Bell were both taken to the infield care center, where they were evaluated and then released.

Currently, we are halfway through the North Carolina Education Lottery 200 and Kyle Busch is working his way back through the field after sustaining ancillary damages from Skinner and Bell's crash.

Collin Braun is leading the race and holding off the No. 33 driven by Ron Hornaday Jr.

Pit Crew Challenge in Charlotte

Here's a quick video clip from Charlotte, N.C. at the Time Warner Arena where we are well into the Sprint Pit Crew Challenge. The action is heating up and the field is set for the second round of competition among the crews.

If you want to check out the action tune into the SPEED Channel at 8 p.m. (Beaumont time) and you can see it all. I will have a wrap-up article later this evening and I will be updating the Web site throughout the week.

Will Chrysler bankruptcy jeopardize racing?

 Like just about everyone else in the sport of NASCAR, I am anxious to see what the bankruptcy filing by Chrysler and its most recent comments about not repaying the American taxpayers for the $7 billion in federal loans it took to stay financially afloat for the past few months is going to have on auto racing.

  We already know that American automakers lie to the public, so why should the people supporting NASCAR believe they are being told the truth about Dodge’s continued participation? I don’t know if anyone else caught this little slip of the tongue but Kasey Kahne said there was talk of the new Richard Petty Motorsports switching to Toyota. That was just one of the reasons why the team wasn’t using the much-improved engine that Dodge created for the Sprint Cup teams.

  As a NASCAR fan, I want to see the sport grow and do well but I think we are about to get a rude awakening. Even if the economy comes out of its slump by the end of the year, as Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke alluded on Monday, it might take NASCAR years to recover fully.

  The automakers are strapped for cash and, honestly, when you can buy a Japanese car that performs better, gets better fuel mileage, is more reliable and safer than its American-built counterpart, why wouldn’t you pick a Toyota or Honda over a Chevrolet Impala or Ford Fusion?

  And each time one of those foreign cars is sold, it takes money out of NASCAR. Still, when I drive to Charlotte next week for the Sprint All-Star Race and the Coca-Cola 600 the following weekend, it won’t be in an American-built car. Why? Because mine gets 41 mpg.

  If I could have found an American-made vehicle that had that type of fuel mileage and that I knew would last longer than the number of payments I will be making on it, then I would have bought that car.

  I think the auto companies have come around; I just hope it is not to late and there stubbornness over the years doesn’t end up killing a sport that we all love.

  Now that I am off my soapbox, lets talk about the race at Richmond International Raceway, last week. The action was great and it was cool to see Kyle Busch win on his birthday. You could see it coming and when he got out front, you knew the only way he was going to lose the lead was if someone wrecked him.

  And what about Tony Stewart? Back-to-back second place finishes. He is on a roll and I expect a win to come pretty quick for either him or Ryan Newman.

  Now, I am biased but a lot of people said early on that Stewart didn’t have a chance this year because he was opening his own team and it would take time.

  Guess what? So far, he is proving you all wrong and I knew it from day one. StewartHaas Racing is essentially an extension of Hendrick Motor Sports, so why wouldn’t he do well right out of the gate? Those guys have a pretty good history over there — seven series championships between two drivers. This was a no-brainer and it’s nice to see an owner/driver doing so well.

  Looking ahead to this week, it’s back to the sport’s Southern roots at Darlington Raceway a.k.a. “The Lady in Black.” If you are new to the sport and don’t know the reason behind the nickname, just watch the race and notice as the white retaining wall changes colors throughout the weekend.

  That’s about it for this week. There aren’t a lot of rumors, which is par for the course a week out from the All-Star Race. I expect that we might see some changes to some crew chiefs and others for the Coca-Cola 600 in two weeks. One of those changes may finally come at HMS with Dale Earnhardt Jr. seeing a different face on his pit box. Who knows for sure? The one thing that has been consistent with that team is that they aren’t working well together. Aside from a good finish at Talladega, they haven’t been spectacular. And they surely aren’t living up to all the hype from when Junior made his big switch.

  One thing that will be different in Charlotte is the trophy they will present for the winner of the 50th Annual Coca-Cola 600. According to NASCAR media Web site, the trophy is a spectacular one-of-a-kind piece of art.

  “More than 120 man-hours of work went into the design and construction of the finished piece of artwork that weighs 225 pounds,” the release states. “The trophy is 18 inches wide and 31 inches tall. The base was cut from black Oscuro marble and the center was bored out to relieve weight and accommodate the vertical portion of the trophy. The first World 600, 50th Coca-Cola 600 and Lowe’s Motor Speedway Fifty Years of Firsts logos are engraved across the front of the base.

  “In the center of the base sits the familiar prize that winners of the Coca-Cola 600 have received since 1981. The piston was cast in Everdur bronze and plated with 22-carat gold. Surrounding it are 10 monolithic columns of fine crystal that were hand-etched with the winners’ names and dates from the past 49 Coca-Cola 600s. The name of the winner of the 50th Coca-Cola 600 will be added to both a crystal column and the marble base.”

  The media was told it was priceless but for the winner of the race its worth a lion’s share of the record $6.4 million purse that will be awarded.

  Be sure to check out www.kickinthetiresnet. I have been updating more frequently and will be posting a lot while I am in Charlotte, N.C., over the next two weeks. That’s it for now. If you want to watch this week’s race, check it out on FOX on Saturday night.