Early crash sends Nos. 2, 41, 7, 21 trucks to the garage

It only took one lap for the treats to turn into tricks as a massive crash on the front stretch sent several contenders to the garage and out of the Silverado 350 at Texas Motor Speedway.

Check out the carnage and the other sights around the track. 

NASCAR Trick of Treat

I couldn't think of anything really witty to write, especially after using up the majority of my creativity on this week's column in the print edition of The Examiner. By the way, as promised, I posted my column online and will continue to do so in the future. So, instead of just not posting, like I am prone to do, I decided to run a guest column that was supplied to me by Cathy Elliott at NASCAR. I think you'll enjoy it and you might even learn something about your favorite driver that you didn't know before.

By Cathy Elliott
NASCAR
When I worked as the public relations director for a race track, I always commented when NASCAR Sprint Cup Series event weekends rolled around that I was going to have T-shirts printed up reading, "No I can't get you any free tickets."
I wasn't kidding. This is real problem for a track employee. One minute, you're being introduced to someone new and answering the old standby question, "What kind of work do you do?" Following your answer – "I work at Thrillseeker Speedway", for example – suddenly you become a shape-shifter in their eyes. No phone booth or spandex leotard required. Where mere moments ago you were perfectly normal, now you have become a human ATM.
Automatic Ticket Machine.
It seems our old buddy Bruce Springsteen may have experienced something along these lines, inspiring him to pose the question, "Is that you, baby, or just a brilliant disguise?"
Good question.
Obviously it's Halloween season now, the time of year when we go out of our way to disguise our real selves by dressing up in outfits ranging from beautiful to bizarre.
The tradition has Celtic roots. On Halloween, when it was believed that ghosts came back to the earthly world, people thought they would encounter these ghosts if they left their homes. In order to avoid being recognized by them, people would wear masks so the ghosts would mistake them for fellow spirits.
All that seems fanciful and more than a little silly, but still the tradition of the Halloween costume continues. It is a chance to indulge your fantasies, to recreate your ordinary average self, to release your inner princess or pirate for just a few hours and present yourself to the world as something other than you really are.
Sometimes we do this brilliantly, a la Mr. Springsteen, but other times, not so much. (The shower curtain outfit, for the record, is never such a great idea.)
But what does all this talk of ghosts, ghouls and ghastly garb have to do with NASCAR? More than you might think.
It is tempting at this point to start matching drivers up with the Halloween costumes that might seem best suited to each individual – Jeff Gordon as an all-American astronaut, Jimmie Johnson as the indomitable Superman, Dale Earnhardt Jr. as brand-new superhero Awesomeman – but that would be too easy.
Something a lot of people get confused about is the difference between a person and a persona. In sports, this is particularly prevalent, and it’s all too easy to get wrapped up in the face an athlete presents to the public, and either refuse or fail to recognize the character of the person hiding underneath. But just as Halloween is the holiday of masks, inevitably it will end and some real faces will be revealed.
Take Kevin Harvick, for example. During his career, Harvick has earned a reputation as a guy who is willing to stand up and fight – sometimes literally – if he feels the situation warrants. Fellow drivers Carl Edwards and Kurt Busch have been the objects of Harvick's “attention” in the past.
Recently, Harvick heard about the hardships being endured by  Hall of Fame driver Sam Ard, a former NASCAR champion who in addition to battling Alzheimer's was also suffering extreme financial difficulties. Shortly thereafter, the Chevrolet van used in one of Harvick's sponsors' 2008 TV commercials miraculously found its way into Ard's garage, courtesy of racing's "Prizefighter".
Tony Stewart has had several well-publicized run-ins, both verbal and physical, with members of his own team as well as media folks.
What you might not know about Stewart, however, is that this "Bully" has a soft spot for animals and kids. He has donated millions of dollars to the Victory Junction Gang Camp, a facility for chronically and terminally ill children founded by the Petty family. Stewart rescues greyhounds and has paid for bullet-proof vests for police dogs.
How about Kyle Busch, the driver everyone loves to hate?
NASCAR's current version of "Darth Vader" decided, after visiting an orphanage in 2006, to start a foundation with a primary focus on kids with compromised living situations. The Kyle Busch Foundation has participated in lots of charitable events designed to help kids, like the collection of pajamas for orphans. Pretty good behavior from such an allegedly bad guy, wouldn't you say?
In NASCAR, as in life, what you see is not always what you get. Sometimes, if you take the effort to take a look behind the trick, you'll find there's a real treat hiding in there somewhere.

Hey, Jack! It's time to shut-up

ATLANTA — Sometimes people should just learn to keep their pie-hole shut and not let their words prove exactly how stupid their thoughts really are. And that is exactly the case this week with Jack Roush and the moronic comments that he made following Carl Edwards' victory at Atlanta Motor Speedway.

Roush, who should have been elated that his driver won the Pep Boys Auto 500, was instead whining about the Chase for the Championship format and lobbying NASCAR to allow teams to drop their lowest finishing position in the 10-race shootout format. He figured the move would give his driver a shot at beating Jimmie Johnson in the Chase for the Championship.

What?

No, that was not a typo. Jack "everyone's out to get me" Roush actually made the comments to the print media folks inside the media center at the track. I know because I was sitting there and almost fell out of my chair. I think the term is ROTFLMAO or some variation thereof.

Obviously, I was not alone in my disbelief of Roush's comments because as I looked around the room, I saw looks of disbelief on the faces of several reporters.

Just so you are not confused, here is what Roush suggested. He basically wants a mulligan — you know, like in golf. He wants to be able to take all 10 races in the Chase and allow drivers to toss their lowest finish and only use the top nine finishing positions to determine the Sprint Cup Champion.

Hmm. To be fair to Jack, lets look at it from his perspective. Well, honestly, I don't have to because my friend and NASCAR-reporter-extraordinaire David Poole of the Charlotte Observer and co-host of the Morning Drive on Sirius Satellite Radio, already did it for me.

According to Poole, the plan would work to bring Edwards closer to Johnson in the short run but a decent run at Texas this weekend would cost Edwards points.

And just what is it about all the crybabies at Roush? When Edwards was asked about the mulligan idea, he lobbied for two. I thought I liked Carl Edwards, a little. But lately, between his antics with Matt Kenseth and his altercation with Kevin Harvick, I am beginning to think he and Jack Roush are drinking from the same glass of Kool-Aid. Maybe everyone is out to get them, or maybe Kyle Busch was on to something when he said that Edwards was "probably on more juice than Barry Bonds."

I don't know, maybe Roush is, too. I hear that stuff will make you paranoid. Now before I get sued, by no means am I suggesting that anyone is taking steroids or doing anything illegal, unethical or immoral — they're just big supporters of their sponsor, Kraft Foods, which owns Kool-Aid, Capri Sun and Tang.

I would like to cease the commentary on Roush-Fenway Racing but you can't do that and still talk about how Hendrick Motorsports is making everyone look like a bunch of amateurs. Besides, I have already written enough to send Roush's blood pressure through the roof. This next part will guarantee that I won't be getting an invite to the Roush-Fenway Christmas Party, lose access to all of the team's drivers and be deleted from the media contact list.

Heading into this week's race at Texas Motor Speedway, Johnson is set to make history. All he needs to secure his third-straight championship is to average a ninth-place finish in the final three races, and it doesn't matter how well anyone else does. But in reality, the Magic Man (a direct rip-off from Talladega Nights — the worst movie ever) Jimmie Johnson could essentially clinch the title at Texas.

We all know that Johnson has a 183-point lead heading into the weekend. If the most a driver can make up is 162 points per race, then a win by Johnson and a pileup on the first lap with Edwards, Greg Biffle, Jeff Burton and Kevin Harvick would mean that all Johnson has to do is start the final two races (Phoenix and Homestead) to get the three-peat.

Normally, I would not even consider it in the realm of possibility, but with Biffle also being a Roush-Fenway driver, if it is at all possible for interstellar intervention to play a role in the outcome of the Case for the Championship, the stars could align just right. Oh, yeah. Burton used to drive for Roush, so he's 75 percent in the hole already.

A more likely scenario is that Johnson will come out of Texas with enough of a points lead to clinch the 2008 Sprint Cup Championship in Phoenix. That would really suck for Homestead-Miami Speedway, who are planning a big shindig after the Ford 400. Of course, they can always stage a celebration. Isn't that what we do every week anyway, so that network television can "capture" the moment the driver gets out of the car in Victory Lane?

That is about it for this week but before I sign off, I would like to congratulate The Examiner's grand-prize winner and the runner-up for this weekend, Triple-header VIP Getaway at Texas Motor Speedway.

The grand-prize winner was Deborah Walker of Lumberton. She entered via the Internet and was chosen from hundreds of entries that were submitted both online and at The Examiner's kiosk in Parkdale Mall. Never thinking she would win, Deborah entered the contest after reading about it on www.theexaminer.com and the linked story at www.kickinthetires.net. She said she has never won anything but is an avid NASCAR fan and will bring her son to races with her to share in the VIP experience that includes luxury hotel accommodations, pit passes and tickets to all three races this weekend. But I don't think she is giving him a cut of the $250 cash that she received at part of the prize package.

And the runner-up, Lawrence Farris of Groves, a huge Jeff Gordon fan, posed for his winning photo wearing the uber-nice (and expensive) black leather Jeff Gordon jacket.

Be sure to check out Kickin the Tires online at www.kickinthetires.net for updates and photos from this week's races at TMS. I will be posting coverage throughout the weekend and will also be adding some photos from last week's race at Atlanta Motor Speedway.

Edwards does double flips with wins on Saturday and Sunday

Sprint Cup Championship contender Carl Edwards backed up his Saturday Nationwide Series win at Memphis with a commanding win in the Pep Boys Auto 500 at Atlanta Motor Speedway.

With his trademark backflip to celebrate when he crosses the finish line at the front of the pack, Edwards was elated to get a win with just three more races in the 2008 season.

"First of all, I've got t thank Office Depot, Aflac ,Ford, Sprint and also these fans for coming here," Edwards said from Victory Lane. "Man, the second-to-last restart, Denny spun his tires and I spun mine a little bit and then he spun them again and I pushed his bumper and then he spun them again (third time) and then he went to the inside. I thought, "Here's my chance to get to the outside.'

"I thought I was going to bump him and he was gonna keep on going and I figured I'd follow him for a while but it just worked out great."

But Edwards glee was tarished when he learned that two-time defending Sprint Cup Champion Jimmie Johnson fought his way back from being a lap down to come across the finish-line in second place.

"Are you kidding me," Edwards asked. "Man, you've rained on my parade all day. I could have done without that one. Jimmie is an awesome competitor. I mean, Chad ad Rick and all those guys came down to congratulate me, but that 's unbelievable. He does a great job."

In the media center after the race, Johnson said after he came in to the pits to get fresh tires on the final caution of the race, he felt like he was in the "perfect situation."

With just 18 cars on the lead lap, Johnson knew that he didn't have much to lose by giving up a 10th place position to get fresh tires. The move paid off and after Johnson fought from 18th to fourth, he almost decided to hold position.

"I was like, 'wait, there's two more positions up there that I can get easily.' So, I just put my head down and went for it," Johnson said.

Heading into the coming race at Texas Motor Speedway, Johnson has a 183-points over Edwards in his attempt for a third straight championship bid. Johnson could actually clinch the title next week but more than likely that will come at Phoenix if everything continues to go well for him.

"It sure would make Homestead a lot easier for me," Johnson said with a chuckle.

Fast Facts from Team Chevy

Here are few tidbits of information from my friends Judy Dominick and Nancy Wager at Team Chevrolet:

CHEVY FAST FACTS 

PEP BOYS AUTO 500 

ATLANTA MOTOR SPEEDWAY 

OCTOBER 26, 2008

  

• A total of 14 Team Chevy Impala SS drivers will start today’s PEP BOYS AUTO 500 for the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series (NSCS) race at Atlanta Motor Speedway, round seven (7) of the 2008 Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup

• Rain cancelled qualifying setting the field by provisions in NSCS rulebook
  • Jimmie Johnson, No. 48 Lowe’s Impala SS, starts on the pole as the leading in the Chase standings
  • Team Chevy drivers have won 34 times in the 98 previous NASCAR Sprint Cup Series (NSCS) races at Atlanta Motor Speedway (AMS), more than any other manufacturer
    • Jimmie Johnson, No. 48 Lowe's Impala SS, swept AMS in 2007 winning both the spring and fall races bringing his win total at the Georgia track to three (3)
    • Jeff Gordon, No. 24 DuPont Impala SS, has four (4) AMS victories, more than any other active driver
    • Mark Martin, No. 8 U.S. Army Impala SS, has two (2) wins at AMS
    • Kevin Harvick, No. 29 Shell-Pennzoil Impala SS, has one (1) victory at AMS
    • Dale Earnhardt, Jr., No. 88 AMP Energy/National Guard Impala SS has one (1) AMS win
    
    
    • TEAM CHEVY IN THE CHASE: A Chevrolet driver has won 29 of the 46 races held in the history of the Chase (’04 – to-date in ’08)
    • WITH FOUR (4) TO GO IN THE CHASE FOR THE SPRINT CUP, TEAM CHEVY HAS SIX (6) DRIVERS IN THE HUNT FOR THE TITLE:
      • 1^st : Jimmie Johnson, No. 48 Lowe’s Impala SS
      • 3^rd : Jeff Burton, No. 31 AT&T Impala SS
      • 5^th: Clint Bowyer, No. 07 Jack Daniel’s Impala SS
      • 6^th: Kevin Harvick, No. 29 Shell-Pennzoil Impala SS
      • 7^th: Jeff Gordon, No. 24 DuPont Impala SS
      • 9^th: Dale Earnhardt, Jr., No. 88 AMP Energy/National Guard Impala SS
      • Chevrolet has won a record 31 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series (NSCS) Manufacturers’ Cups and Team Chevy drivers have collected the coveted NSCS driver’s championship 24 times
      • The Bowtie Brigade has won a total of 632 races in NSCS competition

Sprint Cup Drivers' Meeting Uneventful

ATLANTA — We just finished up the drivers' meeting for today's Pep Boys Auto 500 and, as usual, it was a boring affair that took less than five-minutes.

Only one question was asked and that came from two-time Sprint Cup Champion and points leader Jimmie Johnson, who wanted clarification about setting the pace on restarts.

"Jimmie's questions is kind of a follow-up from the last couple of weeks, when you are coming to the restart the caution car sets the pace," said Robin Pemberton, director of competition. "When you get to the area of the restart area we ask that the leader maintain the pace of the caution car to give the leader the opportunity to make the break."

The meeting closed with the drivers and crew chiefs being told when the Sprint Cup haulers would line-up for next week's Triple-header weekend at Texas Motor Speedway. The garage will open at 7 a.m. on Friday and first practice will be at noon.

The Craftsman Trucks Series haulers and the Nationwide haulers will arrive at TMS on Thursday morning.

Ryan Newman gets Truck Series win in very first start

ATLANTA — After a tumultuous first two-thirds of the season the No. 2 Chevrolet Silverado fielded by Kevin Harvick Inc. has found its way to Victory Lane under the guidance of NASCAR Sprint Cup veteran Ryan Newman.

Two weeks ago, the team's former wheelman Jack Sprague and KHI parted ways, and that initiated a revolving door for drivers to get behind the wheel. So, team owner Kevin Harvick called Newman and asked him to drive the truck this weekend in the EZ Go 200 at Atlanta Motor Speedway.

Newman battled his teammate Ron Hornaday, who is fighting for the Craftsman Truck Series Championship with Johnny Benson, and made a last-lap pass to take the checkered flag.

"Great day for me obviously," Newman said. "I didn't really save my stuff, I just took it for what t was worth and I was pretty amazed that I got the opportunity to run them (Hornaday) down. Luckily it stayed green because we had two really good race trucks."

When asked how he felt running all-out on the final lap against a teammate who is battling for a championship, Newman said, "We he raced me like a gentleman and obviously he is racing for a championship and we were going for the win and he knew that because he was racing for the win too."

Hornaday said he missed a run off the corner and that was all it took for Newman to overtake him.

"Hats off to KHI," Hornaday said. "This is what it is all about and what that truck is supposed to be running like. To lead that many laps (110), that is what Kevin and DeLana (Harvick) are all about. I have to thank Rick Ren (crew chief) and all the guys, Camping World, and VFW. This is for all the folks out there in Iraq, all of our military.

"Ryan comes in here and steals my thunder, darn it, in the last couple of laps. That just shows how close these trucks are. Ryan was running up top and I was running the bottom. He started following me down there in (Turns) three and four and he figured it out. I don't know if I can say it, but second sticks."

Rounding out the Top 5 in Saturday's race were Denny Hamlin, Todd Bodine and Scott Speed. Hornday's finish helped him cut Benson's points lead to 31-points. The Craftsman Truck Series heads to Texas Motor Speedway next week and will race the Silverado 350 on Halloween night.

And finally … I 'm back at the track — Atlanta Motor Speedway

Yes, I know that I fell down on my job for the past few weeks but I am back at the track and working to find out what is going on behind the scenes in NASCAR.

Ironically, we're getting about as much rain here at Atlanta Motor Speedway as Beaumont got during Hurricane Ike. Of course, the winds are relatively calm. Anyway, the good news is that Sunday looks like it is going to be gorgeous and the race should come off without a hitch. The bad news is that qualifying will likely be cancelled for the 10th time this season and there is talk of the temperatures dipping to the freezing mark.

Yeah, freezing — and me here without warm clothes.

I was just writing about how nothing much was going on at the track when a press release was dropped on my desk here in the media center.

Beginning in 2009, the Craftsman Truck Series will become the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series.

According to NASCAR, it is a seven-year deal that allows Camping World to benefit by more than $100 million in advertising for its investment, which is estimated at $5 million a year. Although NASCAR CEO wouldn't comment on the exact dollar amount, he said he was pleased.

"You heard (Camping World chairman and CEO Marcus Lemonis) Marcus in his opening remarks, and this is what he told me directly, we have a good relationship to be able to work through this, which is, you know, one of his stated goals is to help grow the franchise and also help the manufacturers sell more trucks. You just can't put a dollar amount on that commitment. He's committed to doing that. We'll work very carefully with him in the future to accomplish those goals."

Photographers' meeting in five-minutes, so that is it for now.

Getting back to normal

Sorry, I know it has been a while since I posted. I will get back to regular postings this week and provide complete coverage from Atlanta Motor Speedway and Texas Motor Speedway during the next two weeks.

Bear with me until then.

Hurricane Ike sucks

All I know is that Greg Biffle won the race and Kyle Busch dropped six spots in the points. I have been covering Hurricane Ike for a week and I don't have any more information at this time. Our area was devastated by the storm but we will recover. You can check out the images at www.theexaminer.com

Guess what? It's still raining in Richmond

A thought just came over me as I looked at the drenched garage cams from Richmond International Raceway. Joey Logano won't get to race this weekend. The way I see it, he has no owners points for the No. 02 Home Depot car and he can't qualify because it is raining, so he goes home.

Too bad for NASCAR's newest phenom. Maybe he can get his Cup star later this year.

No racing Friday or Saturday

It looks like the track will be without cars on it, at least, until Sunday. If NASCAR can't get the action in then they will run when they can.

Hanna drenches Richmond International Raceway

It's 5 p.m. or so in Richmond and right now things are soaked. Tropical Storm Hanna is moving up the east coast and it looks like the storm will continue to dump water for the next 36 to 48 hours. If that happens then we are looking at Monday before there is a race in Richmond.

I haven't heard anything from NASCAR about the situation at this time but I do know if the race gets rained out completely they will shift it to the end of the season — at least that is what they were going to do last year when there was a rain out.

This is the latest statement from RIR:

"Richmond International Raceway officials are currently meeting with Henrico County officials, weather officials and NASCAR to monitor the path and potential impact of Tropical Storm Hanna.

We are continuing to work closely with the Governor’s office as well, as the storm continues a Northwestern path.   

As of 3:00 p.m. Friday, this weekend’s events are scheduled to run as planned, however, we will continue to provide updates at 877-251-7223 and at www.rir.com, as to their status every three hours.  The next update is scheduled for 6:00 p.m. Friday.

Should an event be postponed due to weather, it is NASCAR’s policy to run the event on the next raceable day."

More Bristol videos 2

More video from Bristol Motor Speedway

Updates from Bristol

Sorry for the delay in posting additional photos and video from last week's race at Bristol Motor Speedway. I got a little preoccupied monitoring Hurricane Gustav. Anyway, I finaly had the chance to update the site. Check later for photos from this week's race at California.