Working On My Redneck ™ » talladega superspeedway

Bowyer Wins The Good Sam’s 500

Leon — Wed, 26 Oct 2011 23:58:13 +0000

(WOMR file photo)

I just returned back to my hometown after witnessing a very exciting finish to the Good Sam’s 500 at the Talladega Superspeedway last weekend. As the staff there at the track says , “SIZE DOES MATTER”! After all it is not just another race track, this is Talladega!

The weather started out on the cool side for the Sprint Cup practice and session on Friday. The weather on Saturday for the Cup qualifying and the Camping World Trucks race was a little warmer. However, on Sunday the weather was superb!

As the green flag was dropped, there were two strategies that unfolded throughout the race. One strategy was to run up front all day and race hard for the lead. The other strategy, and not a strategy that I would use if I were racing at Talladega, was to fall back to the back of the pack to try to avoid “the big one”. The latter strategy has some validity, nevertheless, you are at the mercy of the tempo of the race. Laying back in the back of the pack, you are held hostage to the tempo of the race, ie., yellow flags, close proximity to probable wrecks, and ultimately the ability to weave your way to the front when “it is time to go”.

All four of the Hendrick Motorsports race car teams choose to “lay back” and make their charge to the front in the very late stages of the race. Unfortunately, all four teams were caught back in the pack when three wrecks happened in the final 20 laps.

The pairing of Junior and Johnson led only a combined two laps Sunday, spending much of the race in the rear of the field in an attempt to avoid trouble. Johnson suffered a scare with about 25 laps remaining when Andy Lally caromed off his car and up into the wall, but the damage to his vehicle was minor. The real problems came at the end, when the drivers dealt with their own individual difficulties, and a flurry of cautions didn’t provide them enough of an opportunity to climb back up through the field.

“Whenever we thought they were getting a little bit crazy, we’d move into the safe areas and we rode there most of the day with a lot of other people doing the same thing,” Earnhardt said. “Then at the end, we had a lot of cautions late. We wanted to try to work our way toward the front in the last 20 laps. The cautions kept coming out, and we ran over some debris and we had to come to pit road. We just didn’t have the track position at the end to make a run with two laps to go. Just not enough time.”

It didn’t help that the water in Johnson’s engine-cooling system climbed perilously high. NASCAR lowered pressure-relief valve settings in the cars this week in a tacit attempt to break up some of the two-car drafting. Push for too long, and risk engine overheating and failure. Johnson found himself trying to play the role of pusher while also dealing with debris on his car’s front end — a recipe for overheating.

“We planned our strategy like we had hoped to,” Johnson said. “And on that last restart at the end, we had some issues with my car overheating. That last caution that came out, I got some trash and grass and stuff on the grille of the car. We were out of sequence the way we were lined up. I was going to push Junior, and I had to be in the lead the way we had the debris on the grille. And then as we went to make our switch, the pack was organized and with the [final-laps] situation, there’s not a lot of time to get organized, and we lost our momentum there, and got to the outside and kind of stalled out up on the top, and finished far worse than we had hoped to.”

Clint Bowyer surged past Richard Childress Racing teammate Jeff Burton through the tri-oval on the final lap at Talladega Superspeedway to win Sunday’s Good Sam Club 500. Bowyer, who will leave RCR for Michael Waltrip Racing next season, beat Burton to the start/finish line by .018 seconds to record his first victory of the season and the fifth of his career. The win was the 100th in the Sprint Cup Series for team owner Richard Childress.

On a two-lap run to the finish that followed the ninth caution of the race, Bowyer, the defending winner of the race, pushed Burton to a lead of more than 20 car lengths over the pack that was chasing them. That gave Bowyer the luxury of a slingshot move past Burton in the tri-oval. Bowyer nosed ahead 1,200 feet from the finish line and held on?barely.

“Whenever you leave here not wrecked, you ought to be happy, but at the same time, I’m heartbroke we didn’t win the race,” said Burton, who recorded his first top-five finish in more than a year. “Having said all of that, I don’t know what I would have done different.

“Honestly, I thought he made his move too early. I kind of gave him the bottom, because you tend to be able to pull them back to you better when you’re on their right rear quarter panel. He made his move really early, I thought. I thought I’d be able to pull back to him, but he had a lot of momentum when he made the move.”

Bowyer realized he was taking his shot early but decided to seize the moment when Burton gave him the inside line.

“He kind of moved up off of [Turn] 4, and I knew it was too early to go, but it was going to be a drag race, and it would give us both a shot at it,” Bowyer said. “He worked so well with me all day long. You hate that it comes down to that, but it is what it is, and you owe it to your team and your sponsors to go out and win the race.

“Unfortunately, it came down to that situation, but — trust me — I was prepared to push him to the win, no matter what the cost was, if we’d have had people breathing down our necks. It just wasn’t meant to be for him. He’s been a great teammate, and I’ve learned a lot from him — but he’s already won a lot of races [21], and I’ve only won five.”

Dave Blaney, pushed by Brad Keselowski, ran third, with Keselowski taking the flag in fourth in a race that saw only five drivers in the Chase for the Sprint Cup finish in the top 24. Keselowski gained three positions to third in the Chase standings.

Red Bull Racing teammates Brian Vickers and Kasey Kahne finished fifth and six, followed by Chase drivers Tony Stewart and Denny Hamlin. Michael Waltrip Racing teammates Michael Waltrip and Martin Truex Jr. completed the top 10.

Here is the unofficial results of the Good Sam’s 500 from Talladega Superspeedway.

Here is the Chase standings following the Good Sam’s 500.

Twelve drivers, now four races, one championship, who will be the last man standing?

TIL NEXT TIME, I AM STILL WORKING ON MY REDNECK!

Double Yellow Line Rules Need Refining

Leon — Fri, 15 Apr 2011 04:17:36 +0000

(workingonmyredneck file photo)

My cyberspace buddy and fellow NASCAR blogger, Bruce Simmons wrote an article on his web site, BruSimm.com about re-visiting the rules regarding the double yellow lines at Talladega and Daytona.

In the article, Bruce addresses the need for the double yellow line during the race, and WOMR concurs with the need for that requirement. It is for the safety of the drivers, and quite possibly the safety of the fans, as well, to have an “out of bounds” area.

Like Bruce, here at WOMR, I believe that the double yellow line should not play a factor when the checkered flag is waving for the drivers as they exit turn four racing for the win. When the drivers can see the checkered flag waving, then all paved surfaces should be in play! Sometimes the faster race car might be the race car in second place coming to the checkered flag, and car gets stuck, blocked, or otherwise prevented from making the pass for the win. For this reason, therefore, all the paved surfaces should be fair game for the win!

“Have at it boys”!

The best argument for this idea occurred at a Talladega race just a couple of years ago when Tony Stewart and Regan Smith were racing for the win. As they raced out of turn four heading to the tri-oval, and the checkered flag, Tony Stewart was leading the race. Stewart was leading and blocking the faster car of Reagan Smith. Ultimately, Stewart ran Smith down below the double yellow line. Brave and unnerved, Reagan Smith stayed on the gas, cut below the double yellow line, and avoided being involved in a potential “big one”, like the “Blazingly Bad” Brad Keselowski/ “Cousin Carl” Edwards devastating crash in the next Talladega race.

Smith crossed the start/finish line slightly ahead of Stewart in the lead, but definitely down below the double yellow line. However, NASCAR penalized Smith for going below the double yellow line, therefore, giving the victory to Tony Stewart. The questions regarding the double yellow line have stirred every since that race, and its place in racing for the win.

In the spirit of the new “Have at it Boys” mentality of NASCAR, it might be worth it for NASCAR to revisit the double yellow line ruling, and quite possibly, re-define its importance on the final lap of the race at both Daytona and Talladega. When the drivers comes to the checkered flag, it is the view here at WOMR that the double yellow line should be invisible and let them use all paved surfaces to try to win the race!

What is your view on the double yellow lines rules?

TIL NEXT TIME, I AM STILL WORKING ON MY REDNECK!

The Talladega Two Car Tango

Leon — Thu, 14 Apr 2011 22:06:09 +0000

(workingonmyredneck file photo)

Talladega Superspeedway has long been noted for its 500 miles of white-knuckle, bump-drafting racing, the kind of bumper-to-bumper racing action that always kept the fans on the edge of their seats from green flag to checkered flag. Those fans at the race track used to fret that even if the stepped away for a short moment, they would miss something monumental. Some are now fretting over the new style of restrictor plate racing known as “the two-car tango“.

The two car tango took over the season opener at Daytona, where large packs used to be the norm. Now the drivers have found out that the fastest way around the restrictor plate tracks is to pair up with another car in a “two car tango” and head to the front quickly. There were very few, if any, slingshot maneuvers during the season opener at Daytona in February, like the famous Dale Earnhardt, Sr.’s final victory at Talladega coming from 19th place to win in just few laps! That was classic, vintage Dale, Sr.!

However, at Daytona there was a record 74 lead changes among 22 drivers, and NASCAR welcomed a fresh-faced, baby-faced 20 year old, Trevor Bayne, to the victory lane! Bayne became the youngest race driver in NASCAR history to ever win the Daytona 500.

Nevertheless, the overwhelming discussion was about “the new style of restictor plate racing” witnessed at Daytona this year. The drafting took on another form, “the two car tango”. It appears that the very same form of drafting will be taking place this weekend at Talladega.

“We’ll be doing the same thing we did at Daytona” said former Talladega winner Tony Stewart. I guarantee you right off the bat, that’s exactly what everyone is going to do as soon as the hit the racetrack, go right back into that mode”‘ Stewart added.

It’s not necessarily a bad thing. It’s just different.

For years, Daytona and Talladega were known as the two tracks where fans could expect the massive accidents created by pack racing known as “The Big One.” Daytona still had crashes — there were a record 16 cautions — but that didn’t satisfy many fans who couldn’t get their heads around the two-car tandem racing.

NASCAR officials felt the same at the start of Speedweeks, and issued a series of slight technical adjustments designed to prevent the cars from pushing each other for too long. Like everyone else, NASCAR was unsure of how the Daytona 500 would play out, but was ultimately pleased with what officials saw.

“We were curious, too. It was a phenomenon, we’d never seen anything like that,” said NASCAR chairman Brian France. “But 74 lead changes, dramatic racing all the way through, although it looked a little bit different, the competition level went up. It’s different. But, generally speaking, if competition goes up, the races are exciting, we’re going to like it.”

So aside from a reduction in the size of the horsepower-sapping restrictor plate, NASCAR has done very little to force drivers to race any differently this weekend at Talladega.

“The two-car draft is just so potent. Anytime you can tell a race car driver he can go four seconds faster a lap and give him the recipe on how to do it, he’s going to go and put it into play. That’s that two-car draft.”

There’s an element of intrigue to it, too, that forces drivers to place a huge amount of trust in some of their biggest rivals.

The two-car draft forces the trailing car, the “pusher,” to race blind because the driver can’t see what’s ahead of the car he’s pushing. Spotters are forced to be the eyes for drivers they’ve never worked for, and drivers are tapping into the radio frequencies of guys they don’t usually speak to for in-race strategy sessions.

It made Daytona interesting, however, not all the drivers enjoyed that intrigue.

“You can’t see where you’re going if you’re the pusher,” said Mark Martin. “If you’re in front, sometimes you wish you couldn’t see where you were going. It’s pretty tough on you sometimes when you’re running up traffic and you have a guy pushing you that doesn’t really see that. We have to trust each other. We have to. Like them or not, you have to.”

There is one caveat that could change the racing just a little. Talladega is wider than Daytona, and many drivers believe the track has enough space for the cars to go four-wide. It could lead to more room for drivers to swap the lead, and more space for a fast-closing tandem to get past a slower two-car pack.

It’s for sure not going to be the kind of Talladega racing people are used to seeing. Nevertheless, that doesn’t mean that it won’t be a thrilling race. It only means that the “chess game” strategy that we have known in the past has been refined, sharpened, and re-packaged for 2011.

This weekend at Talladega, the drivers will be finding a good dance partner, hooking up with him, and charging to the front of the pack!

The strategy has changed in 2011, this is not your Daddy’s Talladega race!

What are your thoughts on ” the two car tango”?

TIL NEXT TIME, I AM STILL WORKING ON MY REDNECK!

Notable Talladega Track Facts

Leon — Wed, 13 Apr 2011 02:51:22 +0000

(workingonmyredneck file photo)

Here are a few interesting facts about Talladega Superspeedway and its rich history.

· Construction began on what was then known as the Alabama International Motor Speedway on May 23, 1968.

· The first NASCAR Sprint Cup race was held on Sept. 14, 1969.

· The name changed to Talladega Superspeedway in 1989.

· Fourth repaving completed on Sept. 19, 2006.

· There have been 83 NASCAR Sprint Cup races at Talladega Superspeedway since the track opened in 1969; two a year every year except the inaugural season, which had just one.

· Richard Brickhouse won the first NASCAR Sprint Cup race.

· Bobby Isaac won the first NASCAR Sprint Cup pole in September 1969, in fact, Isaac won the first three poles there.

· 35 different drivers have won poles. Bill Elliott leads all drivers with 8 poles.

· 41 different drivers have posted victories, led by Dale Earnhardt Sr. (10). Eighteen drivers have won more than once.

· Jeff Gordon leads all other active drivers in victories, with 6. Dale Earnhardt Jr. is second among active drivers in victories with 5.

· Richard Childress Racing has won 11 races, more than any other organization. Hendrick Motorsports, with 10 wins, can match that mark this weekend.

· 32 of 83 races have been won from a top-two starting position, including 13 from the pole; 23 have been won from a starting position outside the top 10. The most recent driver to win from the pole was Jeff Gordon in 2007 (spring).

· The furthest back in the field a race winner started was 36th, by Jeff Gordon in 2000.

· Mark Martin’s pace in the 1997 spring race set an all-time NASCAR Sprint Cup record for the fastest race ever. He won the caution-free race with an average speed of 188.354 mph and covered the 500-mile distance in two hours, 39 minutes and 18 seconds.

· Last season’s spring race set the all-time and track records for lead changes (88) and lap leaders (29). The previous highs were 75 lead changes (set on May 6, 1984) and 28 lap leaders (set on Oct. 5, 2008). Both previous records also were set at Talladega.

· Dale Earnhardt Jr. had four consecutive victories (October 2001 through April 2003), the most ever by a driver there. Buddy Baker (three, May 1975 through May 1976) is the only other driver to win more than two consecutive races there.

· Since the inception of electronic scoring in 1993, every race that has ended under green has had a margin of victory under half a second.(NASCAR)

I looked it so that you wouldn’t have to!

TIL NEXT TIME, I AM STILL WORKING ON MY REDNECK!

2010, The Long And Winding Road

Leon — Sun, 05 Dec 2010 00:13:31 +0000

(photo courtesy Leon Hammack)

Friday night in Las Vegas concluded the longest season in all of sports with the crowning of Jimmie Johnson as the 2010 Sprint Cup champion. However that banquet didn’t really hand out some of the awards that WOMR feels should have been awarded.

So WOMR is giving out its first annual awards called the REDNECK!

Just for the record, the accounting firm of Dewey, Cheatham, and Howe was responsible for tabulating the results of the vote! So without further adieux, the envelopes please…..

For the best engineering move in racing:

That award goes to NASCAR for removing the idiotic wing on the rear deck lid and replacing it with the “new/old” spoiler. Wings are for airplanes, not for race cars!

The Gutsiest Driver Award:

To Denny Hamlin. After winning a rain-delayed event at Martinsville in March, Hamlin went under the knife for knee surgery and was back in the car at Phoenix just over a week later. One race later, he wound up in victory lane in Texas. Who says race car drivers aren’t athletes? A simply amazing feat!

The Birdies are Fine in Golf but not in NASCAR Award:

To Kyle Busch. One day after dropping the F bomb in front of the media in Texas, ol Kylie proceeded to give a NASCAR official the huge middle-finger salute as he sat in his car on pit road with his in-car camera clearly focused on the driver. The whole world say ol Kylies and his huge middle finger sticking up at the NASCAR official! Hey Kylie, see that in-car camera to your right? You know that one that your team and sponsors will pay to have installed into your car for that valuable “TV” time!! Just what were you thinking? Say cheese, dude, your wallet just got $25,000 lighter!

The Hulk Hogan Headlock Award:

To Jeff Gordon. Hulk Hogan is widely-regarded as a great entertainer with terrible ring technique each time he steps inside the squared circle. So in honor of his unsuccessful attempt to put Jeff Burton in a headlock in Texas, this award is headed Gordon’s way. Hey Jeffie, you need to pump some iron and eat your vitamins, brother!

The Said Head Award:

To Boris Said. The curly-haired Said gave his fan base plenty of reason to cheer following his dramatic last lap Nationwide Series victory in Montreal in August when he edged Max Papis in a photo-finish. Said accomplished the feat with RAB Racing, which has no affiliation with a Sprint Cup team. Who said? Boris Said!

The Do You Think That We Could Still Buy A Seat Award:

This year’s Brickyard 400 was contested in front of more than 100,000 empty seats at Indianapolis Motor Speedway which, according to Wikipedia, boasts a seating capacity of more than 257,000. The track estimated the day’s attendance to be 140,000. It was simply amazing to see so much shining metal from the grandstands that afternoon. Or was that race fans cleverly dressed up like empty seats?

The Good to See the Black RCR No. 3 Chevrolet Back in Victory Lane Award:

To Austin Dillon. It wasn’t in the Sprint Cup Series,however, but it did do WOMR’s spirit good to see Richard Childress’ grandson pilot the paint scheme made famous by the late Dale Earnhardt to victory in a NASCAR truck series race in Iowa.

The Best Race from Start-to-Finish of the Year Award:

There was a tie in the vote. The first is the spring race in Talladega. There were an incredible 88 lead changes among 29 drivers during 188 laps of racing. It was highlighted by Harvick’s crafty slingshot move around McMurray in the tri-oval on the final lap. The other race that tied in the vote was the fall Camping World Truck at the famed Talladega Superspeedway as well. The finish was a photo finish between as sideways Kyle Busch, and angry Aric Almirola, and a whining Johnny Sauter!

The Best Looking Car of the Year Award:

To the new car in the Nationwide Series. They only hit the track five times this season, but Chevrolet, Dodge, Ford and Toyota’s versions of the Nationwide Series’ new car looks like they rolled right off the show room floor. Each model looks spectacular up close. The new car goes full-time in NASCAR’s junior circuit in 2011. Now those cars look like race cars!

The What In The Heck Were They Thinking Award:

To Toyota and Michael Waltrip Racing. Ford still regrets the day they let a promising young driver named Jeff Gordon slip out of their camp and jump to Chevrolet and Hendrick Motorsports in 1992. We’ll likely look back in five years and wonder why Toyota and MWR let Trevor Bayne escape to Ford and Roush Fenway Racing in 2010.

What is your thoughts on the 2010 season?

Enjoy the short off-season!

I will see you at Daytona in February!

TIL NEXT TIME, I AM STILL WORKING ON MY REDNECK!

Bowyer Edges Harvick In The Amp Energy Juice 500

Leon — Wed, 03 Nov 2010 01:03:46 +0000

(photo courtesy Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images)

WOMR just returned home from the trip to Talladega for the AMP Energy Juice 500 and have only one thing to say.

This wasn’t just another NASCAR race, this was Talladega!

In many ways Sunday was like days of old at the famed 2.66 mile superspeedway in the heart of Alabama and Earnhardt country. Richard Childress was back at his old familiar spot as the winning car owner in a Sprint Cup race at Talladega Superspeedway, a track where Dale Earnhardt, Sr. had been so dominate winning many races over his career. It also was the 10th anniversary of Dale,Sr’s. last, and most would agree, his most spectacular victory! It was also arguably the greatest single fete in motor sports ever!

Even after 10 years sports writers still marvel over the way that Dale, Sr. carved his way through the field coming from 18th place to win the race in just four laps with Kenny Wallace glued to his bumper, kind of like a warm knife through butter! It was Dale,Sr’s last hurrah, but what a marvel it was!

But on this Sunday it was Clint Bowyer and the Richard Childress Racing #33 BB&T Chevrolet team that ran near the front of the pack during a high-speed duel, taking the lead with 10 laps remaining and held off teammate Kevin Harvick to win the Amp Energy Juice 500 on Sunday at Talladega Superspeedway.

Bowyer held off a hard-charging Harvick on the low side of the track and momentarily awaited the official announcement as a last-lap caution froze the field and necessitated an officials’ review of the finish which showed Bowyer slightly ahead of Harvick. Harvick overcame an earlier incident and his second-place finish pulls him to within 38 points of Chase leader Jimmie Johnson.

The AMP Energy Juice 500 was remnants of the old Talladega, it was deja vu. There were 87 lead changes, one short of the record of 88, among 26 drivers Sunday. Those lead changes were only the lead changes at the start/finish line. However, there were at least that many lead changes elsewhere on the track, however they were not considered official!

Additionally, Dale Earnhardt, Jr. was representing his family in his traditionally classy manner. Early in the race it was apparent that Dale Earnhardt, Jr. had a race car that was capable of winning the race. On lap 133, after having led 24 laps earlier in the race with a very strong race car, Dale Jr. got tangled up with Jeff Burton in the middle of turns 3 and 4. The wreck destroyed Jeff Burton’s machine and caused extensive damage to the AMP #88 Chevy of Dale Earnhardt, Jr.

But to Earnhardt’s great credit, even as he continues to struggle on the track most weeks, he remains one of the classiest drivers in the sport today. He took full blame for his crash with Jeff Burton.

“I got into Jeff and didn’t hit him square and turned him down the race track and ended up wrecking him,” Earnhardt said. “Cost his crew a great race car and opportunity to win. He had a really fast car. I apologize to Richard (Childress) and all of those guys over there. My boys too, they worked really hard on my car. We had a terrific engine today and a real fast car.”

He said he was especially sorry to have wrecked Burton, as he explained when asked what he said to Burton when the two made their mandatory stop in the track hospital.

“I just wanted to apologize to him,” he said. “Man, he’s one of the ambassadors for our sport, and I have so much respect for him. When you are out there racing, you aren’t considering all those things. As soon as I turned him, I felt terrible about it. I just respect him so much. He’s taught me a lot in my career. I didn’t show him as much respect as I should have but I didn’t have any intentions of spinning him out. I was racing a little bit hard out there.”

Here is the unofficial results from The AMP Energy Juice 500.

This is how the Chase for the Cup looks after the AMP Energy Juice 500.

Twelve drivers, now three races, one championship, who will be the last man standing?

TIL NEXT TIME, I AM STILL WORKING ON MY REDNECK!

Kylie Captures The Mountain Dew 250

Leon — Sun, 31 Oct 2010 01:44:27 +0000

(photo courtesy nascar.com)

And they call Jimmy Spencer, “Mr. Excitement”?

WOMR has been going to all types of racing, dirt track, short track, paved short track, drags, NASCAR, etc., since the late 1950′s/early 1960′s, and three of the best and closest races that I have ever personally witnessed have all involved TLVW, (The Las Vegas Weasel) Kyle Busch! The first race involving Busch was the Las Vegas Nationwide race in which Busch and Jeff Burton were door handle to door handle coming to the checkered flag out of turn four. Both drivers were determined not to get out of the gas, now matter what. Busch was banging on Burton’s race car, unfortunately Busch lost control of his car, and crashed as they both crossed the start finish line.

The second race that I have personally witnessed involving ol Kylie was last year’s truck race at Talladega. In that race Aric Almirola, Kyle’s team mate with Billy Balllew Racing, pushed Busch to the front of the pack. As the two Ballew trucks came out of the tri-oval, Busch nosed out his competitors by just a few inches for the victory at the finish line.

Those two races were very exciting races to watch from the stands. However, the Mountain Dew 250 Saturday afternoon from Talladega Superspeedway was by far the closest and most exhilarating race that I have ever personally witnessed in nearly 50 years!

Out of the tri-oval approaching the the start finish line, Busch’s truck was in full wiggle mode as he took the checkered flag. His left wheels were below the yellow line at the bottom of the track which prompted an upset Almirola to claim that the winning pass was illegal!

Busch, however, was given the win, his sixth of the season. The victory was by .002 seconds.

“That’s cool,” Busch said of the winning move. “I didn’t want to do it. Aric deserved to win the race. I had Johnny pushing me. I couldn’t go too high because he would have gotten under me. I had to keep going. It was crazy there at the end.”

Almirola met with NASCAR officials after the race to get an explanation of why Busch’s pass was not ruled illegal.

“The reason they gave me was that Kyle’s truck was sideways when he was next to me and that what made him go below the yellow line was that he was trying to regain control of his truck,” Almirola said. “I guess if you get out of control and go below the yellow line and save it, it’s OK to advance.

“I don’t have a clear understanding of the rule, I guess”, continued Almirola.

Here is the unofficial results from the Mountain Dew 250 at Talladega Superspeedway.

Move over Jimmy Spencer, you are so mundane compared to ol Kylie Busch!

WOMR poses the question one more time. Is Kyle Busch really that good? Was Busch below the yellow line, if so, was he justified in staying in the gas while he was trying to recover? What do you think?

See you at the Talladega Superspeedway Sunday.

TIL NEXT TIME, I AM STILL WORKING ON MY REDNECK!

Hornaday Wins The Pole At Talladega

Leon — Sat, 30 Oct 2010 02:12:53 +0000

(photo courtesy Leon Hammack)

Reporting from high up in the O.V. Hill South Tower at Talladega, Ron Hornaday posted the fastest qualifying speed, 181.230 mph, for the Mountain Dew 250 Friday afternoon at the Talladega Superspeedway. Winning the pole is very gratifying, however, the defending Camping World Truck Series champion would certainly love to check off Talladega from his “bucket list” this weekend. Starting from the pole may assist in Hornaday’s attempt for securing his second straight victory of the 2010 truck season this week at Talladega.

“People say that Ron Hornaday is a short-track driver, and to come to Talladega and sit on the pole is so cool,” Hornaday said with a grin. “There are only four tracks I haven’t won at, and Talladega is one of them. I want to get that off my check list, just like I got this one off my list with the pole here. It’s pretty awesome.”

Second fastest was Jason White, whose turned a lap at 180.911 mph.

“It’s kind of a bummer we didn’t get the pole, but second place is a great place to be,” said White, who captured the pole at Daytona International Speedway to start the season. “We’re excited about the race.”

Rookie Austin Dillon was third fastest and veteran Ken Schrader was fourth.

Here is the Mountain Dew 250 lineup.

The green flag drops for the Mountain Dew 250 at 4pm Eastern! The truck race from Talladega on Saturday stands to be as exciting as last year’s race when Kyle made a last second pass exiting out of the tri-oval just and just prior to the start/finish line!

Therefore, WOMR will be there sitting high up in the O.V. Hill South Tower, anxiously awaiting the drop of the green flag, watching the close side-by-side, paint rubbing, high intensity, truck racing.

TIL NEXT TIME, I AM STILL WORKING ON MY REDNECK!

Halloween, Survival, And Talladega

Leon — Tue, 26 Oct 2010 15:45:43 +0000

(photo courtesy John Harrelson/Getty Images)

It is “wild card weekend” for NASCAR this week. The series travels to the longest track on the circuit, the Talladega Superspeedway. This the home to “the big one”, the one track where you are truly at the mercy of the drivers that surrounds you at any given point during the race! It reminds me of the old Steeler’s Wheel song, Stuck In The Middle With You, “clowns to left of me, jokers to the right, here I am, stuck in the middle with you!”

The contrast from last week’s race at the circuits shortest and slowest race track, this week NASCAR rolls into Talladega Superspeedway the longest and most unpredictable race track couldn’t be more dramatic! The “aftermath” of this Sunday’s race will be equally as dramatic! At sunset on Halloween, the race results will give us a more precise picture of who will be the 2010 Sprint cup champion.

Last week all three of “the contenders”, Jimmie Johnson, Danny Hamlin, and Kevin Harvick were talking about being successful at Martinsville, Hamlin even pulled off an old Mohammad Ali prediction of a win at Martinsville! Fortunately, Hamlin was able to back up his prediction, just as Ali of old would do!

However, this week comes the Talladega Superspeedway and “the three contenders” are now talking of just surviving. None of the trio has a particularly sterling record at this track. However Harvick did win there earlier this year, but that is his first Talladega win in 19 Cup starts. He has accumulated only four top-fives and eight top-10s. Harvick’s average starting positions is 22.2, while his average finishing position at the Alabama oval is 15.5

Hamlin has only raced at Talladega nine times. He has three top fives and no wins. His starting average if 16.0, while his finishing average is 19.3.

And this is a track where Johnson, who seems to have an advantage at almost every track in the Chase, has often come up short. In 17 starts, the four-time defending Cup champion has one win, four top-fives and seven top-10s. He average start is 9.9, but his average finish is 17.8.

It seems Harvick may have the biggest advantage at Talladega, based on the fact that he has been running at the finish of all of his 19 starts. JJ has finished just 10 of 17 and Hamlin seven of nine.

The key at Talladega is to somehow avoid the inevitable big wreck that usually takes out or badly damaged anywhere from 10 to 20 cars sometime during the race.

This year’s AMP Energy 500 is running on Halloween. The drivers might find out that this Sunday they might have to dive into their bag of tricks in order to receive a treat!

Twelve drivers, four races, one championship, who will be the last man standing?

See you at Talladega!

TIL NEXT TIME, I AM STILL WORKING ON MY REDNECK!

This video could be the Talladega theme song this weekend, enjoy!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OMAIsqvTh7g

Talladega Superspeedway History

Leon — Tue, 26 Oct 2010 14:55:57 +0000

On an unassuming stretch of land suited for soybean farming located next to a couple of abandoned airport runways, crews constructed the biggest, fastest and most competitive superspeedway in the world – - Talladega Superspeedway.

Since Alabama International Motor Speedway (as it was called until 1989) opened its gates in September of 1969, the track has surpassed every initial expectation in terms of sheer size, speed and competition.

Talladega, Ala. emerged as the top choice among several possible sites in the Southeast, with the main criteria for selection being availability of land, access to the interstate system and a population base of at least 20 million people within 300 miles. Anniston insurance executive Bill Ward, a racecar driver and fan himself, helped NASCAR and International Speedway Corporation founder William H.G. (Bill) France find the land in Alabama, following a casual conversation with France in Daytona in the mid-1960s.

Ward found what he thought was the perfect site in north Talladega County near an airport that the U.S. Government had sold to the City of Talladega after World War II. He set up a meeting with then-Talladega Mayor James Hardwick and other city officials, and in a restaurant in Anniston in 1966, France got the group to consider the idea of putting a major track on the site. After a trip to the Firecracker 400 in Daytona to observe first-hand the potential economic impact, the group was sold.

Several obstacles had to be overcome, including financing. With France as the guiding force, however, construction began on the 2,000-acre site on May 23, 1968, with the first race being the ‘Bama 400 Grand Touring race on Saturday, September 13, 1969. Ken Rush drove his Camaro to Victory Lane in that event. The next day, Richard Brickhouse won the first Grand National (now NASCAR Sprint Cup) race, the Talladega 500 (now known as the AMP Energy 500), edging Jim Vandiver and Ramo Stott.

Setting precedents

Putting that first race weekend on the record books wasn’t as easy as it may sound, however. The practice and qualifying speeds were so high (Charlie Glotzbach won the pole at 199.466 mph) that the tire companies – try as they might – could not in the time available come up with a compound that held together for many laps. The Professional Drivers Association (PDA), led by Richard Petty, declared the situation unsafe, and left the track Saturday afternoon.

Knowing that thousands of fans had traveled great distances to see the race, France decided the race would go on, using the drivers that decided not to participate in the boycott, plus some of those who had raced the day before. The full 500 miles were run without a major incident and France rain-checked the house for any future race at either Daytona or Talladega. His action broke the back of the PDA, which dissolved a couple of years later.

Establishing records, developing careers

It was not long before the track came into its own with unprecedented speeds and unparalleled competition. The combination of the two also played a major role in the development of many drivers’ careers as they built reputations for setting records and taking wins at the largest, fastest and most competitive track on the circuit.

Brickhouse was the first winner of a NASCAR Cup race at Talladega, and his victory began a string of surprise winners in both headline events at Talladega each year.

Pete Hamilton became the first to win two major events by sweeping the 1970 Grand National races in Plymouths prepared by Petty Enterprises. David Pearson became the first three-time winner at Talladega by capturing successive spring wins in 1972, 1973 and 1974.

Buddy Baker won three straight races, both 1975 races and the 1976 spring event, then added another, the Winston 500 in the spring of 1980, to become the first four-time winner. Darrell Waltrip and Bobby Allison have since joined him in that category, tying three ways for fourth on the all-time series win list here.

In 1987, Bill Elliott established a world stock-car record when he posted a speed of 212.809 mph in qualifying for the Winston 500. Mark Martin established a 500-mile stock-car record in 1997 when he won the caution-free spring Winston Select 500 with an average speed of 188.354 mph.

But the track’s true dominator was Dale Earnhardt, who posted 10 NASCAR Sprint Cup victories at Talladega over the years. Earnhardt’s first victory was in the 1983 Talladega 500, driving for Bud Moore. He won again the next year in his first season with Richard Childress. When he captured the 1990 Die Hard 500, he became the first three-time winner of that event, then added Die Hard 500 wins in 1991, 1993 and 2000.

Earnhardt also had victories in the 1990, 1995 and 1999 IROC races, as well as the 1993 Fram Filters 500k NASCAR Nationwide Series race, to give him a total of 14 career victories at Talladega. That put him ahead of Davey Allison, who had four ARCA triumphs and an IROC win to go with his three Cup victories.

Dale Earnhardt, Jr. has followed in his father’s footsteps. Dale Jr. won the 2001 EA Sports 500, defending the title for his late father. Dale Jr. swept both races at Talladega in 2002 and won the 2003 Aaron’s 499 for an unprecedented four-in-a-row winning streak. With a win in the 2004 EA SPORTS 500, he is third in terms of NASCAR Sprint Cup Series wins here, with five.

Jeff Gordon surpassed Earnhardt Jr. for second on the all-time winners list with his victory here in October 2007, giving him six over all.

Delighting fans with fierce competition

The track itself is 2.66-miles long, four lanes wide and is banked 33 degrees on each end, with 18-degree banking in the tri-oval. This configuration has produced some of the fastest and most competitive racing in history. The backstretch is nearly 4,000 feet long, and stock cars have reached speeds in excess of 220 miles per hour there in competition.

The grandstands seating capacity is 143,231 including the most recent expansion of the O.V. Hill South Tower. The 212-acre all-reserved infield holds many thousands more.

Fans know that flag-to-flag competition is the name of the game at Talladega, and the record book backs it up.

Perhaps the greatest 1-2-3 finish in motorsports occurred in the 1981 AMP Energy 500, when rookie Ron Bouchard passed both Darrell Waltrip and Terry Labonte in the final 500 yards to win by less than a foot over Waltrip and two feet over Labonte. Labonte got even with the 30-year-old track 18 years later, when he edged Joe Nemechek by .002 seconds to win the Aaron’s 312 Nationwide Series race. The finish had to be reviewed several times before a winner was determined.

The 1984 Aaron’s 499 set a motorsports standard with 75 official lead changes in a 500-mile race. In 1986, 26 of the 40 drivers who started the AMP Energy 500 led at least one lap, 19 of them under green flag racing.

In 1993, the AMP Energy 500 became the first 500-mile race to produce 1,000 official lead changes over the years, an amazing feat considering the race was only 25 years old, and has only 188 laps – or opportunities – to record lead changes.

Talladega Superspeedway’s second event of the season was moved from the summer to October in 1997, and it marked the first time in the track’s history it had two sellouts for its NASCAR Sprint Cup races.

But competition always has been fierce at Talladega, no matter what time of year. In the 2000 AMP Energy 500, 26 cars finished on the lead lap, a NASCAR record for a 500-mile race.

The 2004 Aaron’s 499 saw 54 lead changes among 23 drivers, the third highest number of leaders in a race in NASCAR history (the 2008 AMP Energy 500 holds the record for first place with 28 different leaders). Then in the fall of that year, fans saw 20 drivers share 47 lead changes in the AMP Energy 500 at Talladega, bringing the year’s total over 100, as the track celebrated its 35th anniversary.

NASCAR has instituted a new championship format, and the AMP Energy 500 has enjoyed placement in the final 10 comprising the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup. In the 2005 AMP Energy 500, many fans expected to see the 2005 Aaron’s 499 victor Jeff Gordon or defending AMP Energy 500 race winner Dale Earnhardt, Jr. take the checkered flag at the end of the day, but it was Dale Jarrett who led the final and most important lap. It was a particularly fitting finish to another great year of racing at Talladega Superspeedway, as Jarrett put a Ford in Gatorade Victory Lane here for the first time in 7 years just as UAW-Ford made its debut as the track’s fall NASCAR Sprint Cup Series event sponsor.

New surface yields incredible results

In the winter of 2005, track officials announced that the legendary track would be repaved for the first time since 1979. The project would become the fourth repaving for the track, as it was first paved when constructed, again following the inaugural race, then once more in 1979. After 26 years, it was time for the 2.66-mile tri-oval to get a fresh new surface, and competitors made the last race on the aged asphalt one of the best in history.

Jimmie Johnson became the 34th different Talladega race winner in spring 2006, taking his first Talladega victory in the Aaron’s 499. Fans witnessed 22 drivers swap the lead 56 times, tying the race for 10th on the all-time list for lead changes. Then Tuesday morning, May 2, 2006, former Talladega Superspeedway President Grant Lynch climbed aboard a trackhoe excavator and helped get the repaving project under way with members of the media on hand to document the beginning of one of the most ambitious projects here in recent years. Over the summer, NASCAR Sprint Cup Series driver Tony Stewart and NASCAR Camping World Truck Series driver Dennis Setzer stopped by to lend a hand in the paving process, each climbing aboard the gigantic paver as it made its way through the steeply-banked turns.

Both Goodyear and Hoosier conducted tire tests two weeks prior to the race, and the week prior, ARCA RE/MAX Series held an open test with over 35 teams in attendance , including Formula One racing star Juan Pablo Montoya, who participated in his first test for Chip Ganassi Racing with Felix Sabates. The team announced over the summer that Montoya would make the transition from open-wheel racing to stock cars in order to drive for the team starting with the 2007 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series season, and he was released from his former team in time to make his first stock car start in the ARCA RE/MAX Series 250 race at Talladega on Friday, Oct. 6. Numerous drivers gave the new pavement rave reviews during testing, a sign of things to come for the 2006 AMP Energy 500 event weekend.

The 2006 fall race weekend at Talladega Superspeedway went down as the most successful in track history in terms of attendance. The stands were filled to see the first competitive laps on the new asphalt and the first NASCAR Camping World Truck Series race in track history, the Mountain Dew 250 on Saturday, Oct. 7. They were rewarded with even more “firsts” at the legendary race track. Despite having won at nearly every other track on the circuit, seven-time ARCA RE/MAX Series Champion Frank Kimmel had yet to visit Gatorade Victory Lane at Talladega. That is, until Friday, Oct. 6 when he won the ARCA RE/MAX Series 250 at Talladega.

Earlier in the day, Mark Martin claimed the first NASCAR Camping World Truck Series pole award to be awarded at the track, and then on Saturday, won the inaugural Mountain Dew 250 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series race to become the first driver to post wins at Talladega in NASCAR’s top three series. Also on Saturday, NASCAR Sprint Cup Series rookie David Gilliland took his first career pole award, after putting the No. 38 Robert Yates Racing Ford on the pole for the third consecutive time at Talladega. Then on Sunday, Hendrick Motorsports driver Brian Vickers took his first career victory in the AMP Energy 500, becoming the ninth driver to win his first race at Talladega, but the first since Ken Schrader accomplished the feat in 1988.

Although there were a lot of firsts during the AMP Energy 500 event weekend at Talladega Superspeedway, one thing remained unchanged – the astounding level of competition on the track. Twenty-three drivers swapped the lead 63 times in the AMP Energy 500, which is the most lead changes fans had witnessed in NASCAR racing since July 1984 when 68 lead changes were recorded here at Talladega. The statistics tied the race for third all-time in terms of race leaders and sixth all-time in terms of lead changes. NASCAR reported there were a total of 15,951 passes for position in the AMP Energy 500, a 75 percent increase over the 2006 Aaron’s 499.

The 2007 Aaron’s Dream Weekend continued the trend of firsts at Talladega Superspeedway when Bobby Labonte captured his first NASCAR Nationwide Series win at Talladega during the Aaron’s 312 race. Labonte’s pass for the win was the 36th of the race, a record for lead changes in a Nationwide Series event. More records would fall before the weekend was over.

Jeff Gordon captured his first pole award at Talladega Superspeedway for the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Aaron’s 499. This was Gordon’s 60th career pole, moving him into fourth place on the all-time list, breaking a tie with Darrell Waltrip. Gordon went on to win the race, his 77th victory of his NASCAR Sprint Cup career, which enabled him to pass the late Dale Earnhardt for sixth place on the all-time win list. The victory was car owner Rick Hendrick’s ninth all-time at Talladega Superspeedway, tying him with Richard Childress for the most at the track. The win also marked Gordon’s fifth career victory at Talladega, moving him into a tie for second place on the all-time list with Dale Earnhardt Jr.

The 2007 AMP Energy 500 event weekened featured thrilling side-by-side finishes in all three races. During the ARCA RE/MAX Series 250 on Friday, Oct. 5, rookie driver Michael Annett edged veteran driver Frank Kimmel by a mere .042 seconds. Annett’s win marked the first time ever a Toyota would pull into Gatorade Victory Lane at Talladega Superspeedway, while Kimmel’s second place finish secured his ninth ARCA RE/MAX Series championship.

The Mountain Dew 250 NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series race on Saturday, Oct. 6, featured another Toyota win, with Todd Bodine winning from the pole by only .014 seconds. The finish went to the wire with Bodine squeaking past Alabama native Rick Crawford and Johnny Benson for a three-wide finish.

The excitement for the AMP Energy 500 on Sunday, Oct. 7 was only intensified by the dawn of NASCAR’s Car of Tomorrow (COT) at Talladega Superspeedway. The AMP Energy 500 was not only the first restrictor plate race for the COT, but also the first race on a track greater than 1.333 miles in length. The COT didn’t disappoint with Jeff Gordon edging Jimmie Johnson at the line by .066 seconds. The win marked Gordon’s sixth win at Talladega, moving him up to second on the all-time wins list behind Dale Earnhardt. Gordon’s victory also gave car owner Rick Hendrick his tenth victory at the track, making him the winningest car owner in Talladega Superspeedway history.

Fan’s were bristling with excitement for the 2008 Aaron’s Dream Weekend, as five-time Talladega winner Dale Earnhardt Jr. made his first start with ten-time Talladega winner Hendrick Motorsports. Joe Gibbs racing however would steal the show early in the week with Tony Stewart setting the pole for the Aaron’s 312 on Friday, April 25.

On Saturday, April 26th, Stewart looked poised to capture the pole for the Aaron’s 499 as well, but late qualifier Joe Nemechek ran a fast lap of 187.386 mph to secure the first ever pole award for Furniture Row Racing. Pre-race activities for the Aaron’s 312 soon followed qualifying and fans were treated to a three-song mini concert by Toby Lightman with a special appearance by Darrell Waltrip singing “NASCAR Love.” The race was an exciting one with Tony Stewart capturing his first ever Talladega victory by a margin of 0.302 seconds.

Talladega Superspeedway lived up to its moniker as NASCAR’s Most Competitive Track during the Aaron’s 499 on Sunday, April 27th, with 52 lead changes among 20 different drivers. Kyle Busch held off hard charges from Juan Pablo Montoya and Denny Hamlin to secure his first ever win at Talladega Superspeedway and the second Sprint Cup Series victory for Joe Gibbs Racing at Talladega.

Justin Allgaier capped an action-packed ARCA RE/MAX Series 250 on Oct. 3, by making a final-lap pass of teenage phenom Joey Logano as more than a dozen cars jockeyed wildly for position over the final five laps. Allgaier finally grabbed the lead for good by zipping past Logano on the high side as the pack roared into turn one.

The excitement continued to grow as the weekend wore on, when Travis Kvapil in the No. 28 Yates Racing machine sped around the track at 187.364 mph to claim his first career NASCAR Sprint Cup Series pole. Later, Todd Bodine edged out Ron Hornaday, Jr. by 0.074 seconds to win the Mountain Dew 250 Fueled by Winn-Dixie NASCAR Camping World Series race. It was Bodine’s second time winning the coveted Talladega trophy.

A NASCAR Sprint Cup Series record 28 drivers exchanged the lead 64 times during the AMP Energy 500 ending with Tony Stewart claiming his first NASCAR Sprint Cup Series victory at the 2.66 mile track by 0.052 seconds over Paul Menard. In a controversial finish Stewart actually crossed the finish line second, but NASCAR officials determined that Regan Smith illegally passed Stewart below the yellow, out-of-bounds line.

In 2009, Juan Pablo Montoya captured his first career NSCS pole position with a qualifying run of 188.171 mph, edging out Greg Biffle’s effort of 188.141 mph. Ryan Newman then nearly went on to win the Aaron’s 312 from the pole, but is edged out at the last moment by David Ragan, who picked up his first victory in any NASCAR series in his 196th career start. Newman led the race coming out of Turn 4, with Dale Earnhardt Jr. hard on his bumper. As the pack roared through the trioval and headed for the finish line, Earnhardt attempted to pass Newman on the high side. Newman moved up the track to block Earnhardt, and then dipped back down to cut off a hard-charging Tony Raines. In the midst of all the commotion, a hole opened up for Ragan, and he zipped through it to edge Newman by 0.030 seconds.

The next day, Brad Keselowsi won the Aaron’s 499 in only his fifth career NSCS start. In the process, he gave veteran car owner James Finch his first NSCS victory. (talladegasuperspeedway.com)

WOMR looked it up so you wouldn’t have to!

See you at Talladega Superspeedway this weekend!

TIL NEXT TIME, I AM STILL WORKING ON MY REDNECK!