Martin breaks 97 race winless streak

Finally, Mark Martin has gone back to Victory Lane — this time in the Subway 500 At Phoenix International Raceway.

Martin, first passed Ryan Newman following a late race caution with just seven laps to go, and then held off Newman's team owner Tony Stewart to take the checkered flag. As he was celebrating is win in Victory Lane a parade of drivers came through to congratulate him. First was Jeff Burton, then Roush Racing's Jack Roush, followed by Tony Stewart, Jimmie Johnson and others.

Not taking away from Martin's victory, who actually started the race from the pole position, but look for penalties against Casey Mears and Dale Earnhardt Jr., who both used their race cars as battling rams following the checkered flag.

The post-race incident stemmed from incidental contact on-track that was responsible for bringing out the last caution. Junior was obviously upset and spun Mears on the cool down lap. Then, Mears went around several cars and battered the rear of the No. 88 car with the front of his No. 07 machine.

Early word is that both drivers were summoned to the NASCAR hauler to speak with officials. Check back or read Kickin' the Tires in The Examiner to see what comes from their trip to NASCAR's version of the principal's office.

Helio Castroneves acquitted on tax charges

I don't usually write about the Indy Racing League but it was very good to see that IRL star Helio Castroneves walked out of the federal courthouse in Miami as a free man, who no longer has to worry about the tax cheat charges that were dogging him.

A jury returned a verdict that acquitted him on all but one of the charges and ruled they could not decide whether he was guilty of the main charge of conspiracy. The jury was deadlocked on the conspiracy charge but had already found Castroneves' sister and his agent not guilty on the charges they were facing. The lack of decision on the conspiracy charge could be retried by the government but doing so would be a daunting task to mount against Castroneves. And it could make the government look like sore losers, who wanted to punish the iconic racer for trouncing them in the courtroom just like he does his competitors on the track.

As for the Brazilian speed demon, he is already in California, preparing for the Long Beach Grand Prix — the first time he has been behind the wheel of a race car since October 2008. As he left the courtroom with tears in his eyes, he said that he was glad the nightmare was over.

Teresa Earnhardt's short-sightedness led to DEI's troubles

Note to Teresa Earnhardt: You should have just let your stepson take the No. 8 with him when he walked out the door.
Now, with that said, let’s embark on a short journey into the history of the No. 8. Regardless of how dear the number is to Ms. Earnhardt, it once belonged to Junior’s grandfather, Ralph Earnhardt, and also to his father, Dale Sr. That was what made it special to him and that is why he should have been allowed to take the number with him when he joined Hendrick Motor Sports in 2008.
But she didn’t and now look what has happened. The famous No. 8 is sitting parked in a shop in Mooresville, N.C., collecting dust. Junior one-upped his stepmother by adapting to the No. 88, but he shouldn’t have had to.
I don’t want to pile on — OK, yes, I do — but let’s face it. Teresa Earnhardt’s arrogance has killed what was once known as DEI.
Even with the mergers of the now Earnhardt-Ganassi Racing with Felix Sabates, the best guy on the team is ex-Formula 1 racer Juan Pablo Montoya. And he came from Ganassi. The supposed star of the show, Martin Truex Jr., is mired deep in the points standings and could be looking for a new ride.
It might be too early to publish DEI’s obituary, but I feel safe in saying that with the lack of sponsorship dollars and only one driver performing above par, EGR is definitely on life-support.
Perhaps the best thing that could happen is to remove the Earnhardt affiliation and let those who know about racing do what they do best. No doubt that Teresa Earnhardt wants to hold on to everything she can pertaining to her late husband and the company he so proudly built, but maybe it’s time she let go because it will never be the same. Besides, those who were once fans of what was once considered the jewel of the sport are pointing fingers … and they are pointing them in her direction.
In other NASCAR news, Lesa France-Kennedy will become the CEO of International Speedway Corp., the publicly-traded sister company of NASCAR. She is the sister to Brian France, the chairman of NASCAR. In the grand scheme of things, nothing really changes except for the fact that her uncle, Jim France, is stepping down from the position she is filling. The announcement from ISC stated that this has always been the plan and that it falls in line with the “plan of succession” for the company.
Just a note, the ISC stock price closed 6 cents higher on the NASDAQ after the announcement was made.
The sport is heading to Phoenix this weekend after taking off for Easter. It looks like there will be a full field of competition despite some of the teams not having sponsorship, which in some ways is not surprising.
Looking back at the Samsung 500 at Texas Motor Speedway, I think the last place car earned something like $84,000-plus. That’s not bad money when you think about it. Do that several times a year and you can earn a decent living running at the back of the field. Sure, you will never be a contender for the Sprint Cup Championship but not everyone can be a winner — someone has to run last.
I am willing to bet that whoever finishes dead last at Phoenix will take home at least $50,000. Maybe I should learn to drive a hauler, buy a Sprint Cup car, hire some crew guys and get a driver looking to go fast — albeit not as fast as everyone else — and go racing. Hmmm, maybe not.
Anyway, back to racing. With the Sprint Cup taking the weekend off, the only NASCAR racing action was in the Nationwide Series this past week. And if you missed, the race then you missed one of the coolest crashes that I have ever seen. Don’t ask me how because the camera wasn’t focused in, but Joe Nemechek ended up flipping his car, landed on four wheels, managed to keep it off of the retaining wall and drove away. Now, NASCAR made him come in with just a handful of laps in the race but he could have continued with a pretty good finish. Why did NASCAR give him a black flag? His roof flaps wouldn’t go down. Is that not ridiculous or what? There were seven or eight laps left in the race; they could have let him finish.
By the way, Joey Logano held off Kyle “Rowdy” Busch to take the win, proving that he won’t be rattled by Rowdy.
That’s about it for this week. If you are interested in attending the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series and the Indy Racing League double-header at Texas Motor Speedway in June, keep watching. I am working on a ticket giveaway that will allow several fans VIP access during the event.

Gordon’s number finally comes up at Texas

It’s a funny thing how numbers work. This past Sunday, had Jeff Gordon not won his first-ever race at Texas Motor Speedway on is 18th attempt, he would have extended his overall losing streak to 48 races.
That’s an odd coincidence, especially since Kyle Busch, who drives the No. 18 M&M’s Toyota, has been dominant just about everywhere he has driven this year. And even more so because Jimmie Johnson, who is seeking his fourth straight Sprint Cup Championship, drives the Gordon co-owned No. 48 Lowe’s Chevrolet.
Now, there were some after the race that said Johnson was gaining on Gordon and that he could have passed him. In fact, some people suggested that Johnson let Gordon win. Nope, no way, no how, it wasn’t going to happen. In fact, had Johnson tried to make a pass on Gordon for the lead in the final laps, team owner Rick Hendrick would have been picking up the pieces of two very damaged racecars while either Greg Biffle or Tony Stewart celebrated in Victory Lane.
For those still living under a rock, need you be reminded of Martinsville Speedway last year, when Gordon and Johnson traded shots with one another fighting for the lead? Johnson prevailed then.
Neither Gordon nor his pit crew was having any of it on Sunday. I hadn’t shot photos from pit road all day long but I went to Gordon’s pit just before he came in on his final stop. His crew was on its game. And when crewmembers ripped off a lightening-fast stop to get Gordon out in front of the field, it was like they had won the lottery.
Since Daytona, the word has been that Gordon “has a fire in his eyes” and he is looking like a champion. Sure he wants another championship but on Sunday, all he wanted was a win at Texas. And he would have put both Hendrick cars into the wall to keep Johnson from taking that away from him.
Since we are on the topic of numbers, here are some interesting numbers that were released by International Speedway Corp., the sister company to NASCAR. Apparently, the severely depressed economy is hurting ISC’s bottom line. It’s not like they can’t afford to take a loss but this is a significant amount of cash. According to recent public filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, ISC has lost 31 percent of its revenue compared to last year.
“While pleased with the level of excitement and competition on the track as well as the fans’ avid support of NASCAR, we are not immune to the broader macroeconomic challenges facing all businesses,” said ISC President Lesa France Kennedy. “We are addressing these challenges on a number of fronts. Most notably, we are making it more affordable for our fans to attend our events by reducing ticket prices, providing value-added opportunities to enhance the guest experience, and working with community partners to further reduce the overall cost of attending a race. Also, given the close scrutiny that is being placed on marketing budgets, we have escalated our efforts to provide our corporate partners with innovative marketing solutions that deliver a clearly measurable return on investment.”
The numbers show that ISC revenue dropped $28 million over to $166.1 million for the first quarter of 2009. But some of that loss would be expected regardless of the economic conditions considering ISC is basing its figures on revenue gained from the historic running of the 50th Daytona 500 in 2008.
Well, ISC is hurting. That is because the average consumer is hurting and some fans just can’t afford to go to the track, regardless of how much ticket prices are slashed. There is a lot of talk that these next few years could be defining ones in the sport and could not only result in major changes but quite possibly its demise. I would hope that is not the case but with NASCAR so closely tied to the auto industry, I am sure there are a several nervous executives at NASCAR headquarters in Daytona Beach.
In other news around the garage, it is now public knowledge that the Earnhardt Ganassi Racing No. 8 Chevrolet is officially parked. Apparently, what was once the most popular car number in the sport (when it was driven by Dale Earnhardt Jr.) doesn’t have the sponsorship to continue the 2009 Sprint Cup season with Felix Sabates driving. I have to ask this question — is anyone surprised?
Since Dale Jr. left DEI, it has gone through two merger/acquisitions and seen its biggest sponsors seek greener pastures or darker asphalt, whichever you prefer.
And while some are shutting down, other teams are working diligently to find sponsorship. That is the case with A.J. Allmendinger’s No 44 Richard Petty Motorsports Dodge. Rather than sit out the rest of the season, “The Dinger” as he is known, will get a reprieve thanks to sponsorship from Hunt Brothers Pizza.
Before I wrap up this week, I would like to send out a special thank you to Market Basket and Time Warner Communications for their sponsorship and support of our Texas Motor Speedway VIP NASCAR Getaway Weekend. The contest was a huge success and I look forward to the Texas triple-header in November.