PALM BEACH INTERNATIONAL RACEWAY OWNERSHIP GROUP MAKES OFFER FOR MEMPHIS MOTORSPORTS PARK

Jupiter, Fla. (December 15, 2010) - Moroso Investment Partners, the ownership group of Palm Beach International Raceway, was the high bidder in an auction held yesterday. The group’s bid of $1.875 million was the highest among the bidders vying for the property. The high bid is for all 342+ acres, including the ¼ mile drag strip, the ¾ mile paved oval, and the road course. All equipment, furniture and fixtures were sold separately at the auction. The closing is scheduled to take place within thirty days.

The group hopes to have the facility reopen for the racing season in April of 2011. Staffing the facility will begin immediately after the closing takes place and some of the experienced team members that were previously at Memphis Motorsports Park will likely return to the management team. The staff will work to bring back some of the major events the facility has hosted in the past.

“It’s great that our investor group stepped in and decided to bid on the Memphis facility,” said Jason Rittenberry, President & CEO of Palm Beach International Raceway. “We know that there’s a lot of work that needs to go into renovations, but I’m confident that it can be done and the facility will reopen in time for the 2011 season once the closing takes place. We’ll get the right people in place and re-establish the facility in the racing industry.”

Rittenberry previously spent10 years with Dover Motorsports, Inc. as Vice President & General Manager of Memphis Motorsports Park before coming to lead the team at Palm Beach International Raceway.

Staffing and event dates will be announced in the coming weeks once the closing is finalized.

Day 1 of Qualifying at Pomona

Lots of fun at the NHRA season finale here in Pomona, Calif. and great weather. Here's TJ Zizzo making his run.

TJ Zizzo: Vote Lagana for NHRA Hardworking Crew Award

(Photo by Brandon W. Mudd)

Last Sunday at the NHRA Full Throttle Series' event at The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, Dom Lagana did what many people thought was impossible: he and his family-owned team nearly beat seven-time Top Fuel champion Tony Schumacher in the class finals and beat current points leader and two-time champ Larry Dixon to get there.

In recognition of their achievement, NHRA and Full Throttle have nominated Lagana and his team for the Full Throttle Hardworking Crew Award, an award voted on by the fans. There are four nominees in each of the four NHRA Pro classes and the winning team will be announced at the Auto Club Raceway this weekend in Pomona, Calif. as part of the 2010 season finale.

TJ Zizzo, an Illinois native who also races a limited schedule for a family-run team, Zizzo Racing, isn't among the nominees in the Top Fuel category, but is asking fans to visit www.NHRA.com/HardworkingCrew this week and vote for Lagana.

"I've known Dom and the Lagana family for a long time and I'll admit, I'm a little jealous of what they accomplished in Vegas," said the 35-year-old Zizzo from his home Sunday. "But at the same time, I'm happy for him and proud of what he and his family-owned team was able to do and I can't imagine another team more deserving of this award than them.

"It also gives us hope because we're a family-run team that competes on a limited schedule and when I see what he was able to do, it makes me think that we can get our PEAK/Herculiner Top Fuel dragster in the same situation and hopefully, win all four rounds on a Sunday afternoon."

Fans of TJ Zizzo and Zizzo Racing can find updates and photos of the PEAK/Herculiner Top Fuel team by checking out ZizzoRacing.com, Twitter.com/ZizzoRacing, and Facebook.com/ZizzoRacing. Videos of TJ and Zizzo Racing can be found at YouTube.com/TJZizzo.

Zizzo will race his PEAK/Herculiner rail in the NHRA Full Throttle Series' season finale at the Auto Club Raceway in Pomona, Calif., at the 46^th Annual Auto Club NHRA Finals. The first round of qualifying is scheduled for 2:30 p.m. local time, Thursday, Nov. 11. For information about the event or to purchase tickets, visit NHRA.com or call 800-884-NHRA (6472).

OK, let's try this again...

So after the entire sports staff left the STL Globe-Democrat and after the announcement that Gateway International Raceway would no longer host NASCAR events, leading to its eventual shutdown, I kinda let my blogging go by the wayside. I'm going to give this another shot. I'm going to Pomona this weekend for the NHRA finale, so I might have some insight on that. I may also post about the last days of Gateway. Haven't decided yet.

BTW, if you know of anyone needing a PR guy or a racing media guy, hook a fella up. Thanks.

VIDEO: Missouri-Illinois Dodge Dealers 250 Finish at Gateway

Decide for yourself...

A little taste of the TORC Series at Bark River...

TORC Series Driver Spotlight: Scott Douglas

Oberg Returns to TORC Series Winner’s Circle After McGrath Issues

(Mike Oberg dives into the turn Saturday at Bark River during his winning PRO 2 run. Photo by Brandon W. Mudd) 

 

BARK RIVER, Mich. – After a long absence, Mike Oberg returned to the Winner’s Circle, earning the PRO 2WD win at Bark River International Raceway Saturday. Jeremy McGrath, who earned the race’s Oakley Bomb Award with a fast lap of 1:23.544, appeared to have the victory well in hand until he had to pull off the track after his damaged left front fender came almost completely loose, obstructing his view of the track.

 

“I had a great time out there,” McGrath said after the race. “I knew I had to make some quick moves to get right to the front of Chad (Hord) and Mike (Oberg) and all those guys. Thanks to Oakley for the Oakley Bomb Award! We didn’t get the grand prize, but at least we got something and hopefully we’ll be back strong for tomorrow.”

 

Other PRO winners from Saturday’s Round 3 action were Marty Hart (PRO Light) and Johnny Greaves (PRO 4WD). Hart earned the Traxxas Maxx Cash Award of $1,000 with a fast lap of 1:28.795 and Greaves earned the Oakley Bomb award in his class with a lap of 1:20.331.

 

While McGrath was fast, that’s not to say Oberg didn’t have a dominant truck. His AMSOIL machine started the race on the pole after the top six spots were inverted after morning practice. Oberg led most of the first half of the race with McGrath finally edging him at the line at the midway point. 

 

“It was a tough battle out there,” Oberg said. “I was a little apprehensive out there because I got all these rabid dogs behind me chasing me; I was the rabbit in front of them. AMSOIL has been with me for a while and they’ve really helped me out. (The truck) was hooking up. I was planting that outside tire in every corner and it really worked good.”

 

Once Oberg retained the lead, it was a done deal. Rob MacCachren finished second and Jeff Kincaid, the winner of the Crandon Cup last month, was on his way to the podium, but mechanical issues forced him out as he was heading for the white flag. Taking the third spot was Chad Hord, a native of Felch, Mich., and an area favorite here.

 

Greaves made short work of the field in PRO 4, starting fifth after a four-truck inversion. He quickly passed Mark Jenkins for the lead and never gave it up. It was another big day for the Greaves’ family after his son, CJ, took runner-up honors in Super Buggy earlier in the day after starting dead last.

 

“We were able to get the lead on the first lap without too much issue,” Greaves said. “Everything went great. I gotta thank my crew, my wife, my kids, everybody. They just pour their hearts and souls into this.”

 

The best race in the closing laps was for the final spot on the podium with Scott Douglas and Steve Barlow framming and bamming all over the track. Douglas was able to edge Barlow for third at the line, earning his third finish in that spot in three rounds this season.

 

In PRO Lights, Hart sliced his way to the front for a dominating victory. Andrew Caddell, still fresh off his stellar weekend in Crandon, finished second while the class’s other winner from the Mad House, Casey Currie, wrapped up third.

 

The crowd was warmed up by some exciting racing out of the Sportsman classes with Brent Smith just edging Chris Bower at the line in Enduro and Rhonda Konitzer, a winner in Limited 2WD in Crandon, finishing runner-up to Mike Vanden Heuval after a brilliant pass 100 yards from the finish line after Daniel Baudox lost a right rear tire.

 

Other Sportsman winners were: Dale Chestnut (Classix), Greg Stingle (1600 Light Buggy), Mark Steinhardt (1600 Buggy), Danny Beauchamp (Stock Truck), and John Frana (Super Buggy).

 

Day 2 at Bark River is scheduled to start at 11 a.m. EDT Sunday with online streaming for all the events. Full results and standings can be found at TORCSeries.com.

 

For more information on the Traxxas TORC Series Presented by AMSOIL, visit them on the Web at TORCSeries.com. For information on the United States Auto Club, visit USACRacing.com. Both sites will also feature live free streaming of all the events on the TORC Series schedule courtesy of GoPro cameras and eBay Motors.

 

Race fans can follow all the action throughout the TORC Series season on its official Twitter sites at Twitter.com/TORCMedia and its official page on Facebook.

Mark Morton, Riki Rachtman featured in this week's Inside Motorsports

(Lamb of God guitarist Mark Morton leaves the starting line after experiencing NHRA nitro at Gateway International Raceway in 2009. Photo by Brandon W. Mudd)

This week's Inside Motorsports at Globe-Democrat.com is going to be a fun one for me. I talk to Mark Morton of Lamb of God and Riki Rachtman, the host of the seminal heavy metal show, Headbanger's Ball, about their love of motorsports. Riki hosts a nationally-syndicated metal/racing show called Racing Rocks and has done a lot of NASCAR coverage on SPEED. Mark and I actually share a lot of the same friends and is a very knowledgeable NASCAR fan and is a drag racer himself.

Mark and Lamb of God, along with Rob Zombie, Korn, and Five Finger Death Punch, will be in St. Louis July 20. For tickets, go to LiveNation.com.

The column will appear in the Sports section of Globe-Democrat.com Saturday.

TRANSCRIPT: Dale Earnhardt Jr Winner's Press Conference from Daytona

In what may be the last time an Earnhardt drives the legendary No. 3, Dale Jr. finished its legacy in style. After winning the NASCAR Nationwide Series race at Daytona, the two-time Gateway International Raceway winner talked to the media.

THE MODERATOR: We're now joined in the infield media center by tonight's winner, driver of the No. 3 Wrangler Chevrolet, Dale Earnhardt, Jr. Dale, tell us about your run. 

DALE EARNHARDT, JR.: Well, when the race started, we practiced, and the car felt great. When the race started, I just kind of tried to run in a straight line, tried not to slit my tires off in the corner, really work the tires too hard. There were some guys racing a little bit harder. Felt like it was gonna be important to take care of your tires. 

Near that middle part of the race, we were sitting there with the best-handling car on the track, and we took the lead. Felt like I could hold it till we pitted, which was going to be real short. But the caution came out. We had a 30-lap run till the end. Harvick just set in second place trying to position himself for the finish.

We had a green-white-checkered. I told Logano that his best bet I thought was to try to push us off into one and get both of us clear of the outside row, and then whatever he wanted to do after that was up to him. That's basically how it worked out. 

He had a pretty good run on the last lap, the back straightaway. He kind of ducked out a little bit and then thought twice about it because I don't know if the guys behind him were going to do it. Once they got back in line and felt that little shove I got off into three, I felt pretty confident we was gonna win. 

I'm happy for Wrangler because they've been a great friend to our family for all these years, and I've enjoyed the relationship that I've had with them. They didn't put anything into the racecar because that's what I asked. I asked them if I could take some of my personal service that we'd already agreed on and carve some of that over to the racecar to run this race. I just wanted to run this paint scheme once. So I want to thank them. 

I want to thank Hendrick engines because they improved for us for this race. They worked especially hard to help us for this race. We got a great qualifying run. We had a great, great car in the race power-wise. 

Tony, Jr. did an awesome job. He managed his people well and prepared a great car that never had any bugs in practice or never had any flaws throughout the weekend. We had the 88 boys from the AMP Energy National Guard team pitting the car. I want to thank them for volunteering to do that. I hope they volunteered (laughter). 

But it was just a fun, fun deal obviously. I was happy to see Richard. He told me before the race we were gonna win, and if we did, he was going to Victory Lane. I told him he was on the car listed as the owner. Rick called me in Victory Lane after the race. He was happy. I thanked him for allowing us to maneuver what we had to to make this package work. 

He had to step aside on a few things even though he did build the chassis and the engine. He foregoes some credit toward helping us get here as an owner of our company for the last several wins and this win. 

So it was great. So that's it. You know, pretty much a real emotional win. But, you know, it was for obviously to honor my father, but for his fans, too. They were so supportive of him, and still are today. So I want to thank them. 

THE MODERATOR: Thank you, Dale. We're also joined by tonight's winning crew chief, Tony Eury, Jr. Tony, your thoughts as the race unfolded from on top of the box. 

TONY EURY, JR.: I mean, the way we started out, we had a good qualifying run, like he said. Basically we got a good qualifying run. When the race first started, we was kind of worried about the way the race was going to play out with the incidents and stuff, the car being brand-new. 

But as the race started, he looked pretty strong. Like he said, people started racing a little bit hard. He kind of fell back a little bit. Then once I seen him on I think it was the second stint, he really started coming up through the field by his-self running the top groove. I was like, Okay, we got something that's capable of winning this race at the end. 

 Like he said, the 88 AMP guys really stepped up on that last pit stop and got us back out in front. That was pretty key to get back out there in fresh air. From then on, it was just pretty much everybody kind of chilled out and waited till the end. 

You know, it was a pretty special win. It's kind of like old times there. Like Dale Jr. said, it's more of a tribute to Dale Sr., the things he brought us. I think we've always had a real good restrictor plate program. Now we got Rick and Richard both involved. That was a real special night for me personally. 

You know, to be able to work with Dale Jr. again, I guess caught my first win as a car owner. 

DALE EARNHARDT, JR.: Forgot about that. Hell, yeah. Congratulations. Awesome.

THE MODERATOR: Thank you, guys. We'll now go ahead and open it up to questions from the media. 

Q. Dale, you made it pretty clear here this week that you don't plan to drive the 3 again. You saw again tonight, though the incredible fan emotion tied to all this. Does that make you rethink it at all?

DALE EARNHARDT, JR.: I will never do it. I'll never rethink it. I'll never consider it. I think that it's important for everybody to know that that's as concrete as it gets. I'll never do it again. 

So I enjoyed it. It's hard for me. It's a balancing act between you and the public and myself and my own feelings. I mean, I kind of, you know, look to what you guys are putting out there to kind of get a temperature of how the public's feeling. It's such a tough deal. It's real emotional for me preparing for it and putting it together. Is Rick okay with it? Did Rick mind? Is Richard happy with his role? Is Teresa truly okay? It's just so damn hard to know how everybody feels about it.

Hell, I just want to come race. I just like cool-looking cars. This was a helluva cool-looking car. I always loved the scheme. That's all that mattered to me, was just the scheme. I just love the car. I wanted to race it once, and I did. 

I'd run the number before in this series, so I didn't really put a lot of stock in the fact that the 3 was coming back like a lot of people did. I didn't approach it that way mentally, where everyone else was thinking, you know, 3 is back, Earnhardt's 3 is back. 

But when I started hearing all that, you know, how everybody was making such a big deal about it, I was like, Shit, man, this is like pressure, man, this is a big deal. So I was a little nervous. 

But I don't know if I'd have liked that or not. Regardless of whether I did or not, I made my life pretty much driving that 8 and now the 88. It doesn't make sense for me to do this again. I think in the Nationwide Series, it makes enough sense, and I really wanted to do it, and I've done it. 

I don't ever want to do it again. And I'll never change my mind, ever. 

Q. Junior, you won not only in the 3 but the first race with the new car for the Nationwide Series. Joey was in here talking about how similar the new Nationwide Series car is to the Cup car. What are your thoughts on the new Nationwide Series car? Are you happy with it? Would you want to drive this version of the car again, not the 3, but obviously for your own team or somebody else? 

DALE EARNHARDT, JR.: Would I drive the new COT again? Yeah, sure, I'm gonna, I guess. I mean, I'll probably drive next year. My sister won't let me off the hook, which I enjoy. I enjoy working with my employees. I don't want to run in the Busch Series over six times a year, more than five times a year. I enjoy running a few races and working with my team. 

It helps me kind of know where we are as a company. But, you know, other than that, I mean, it's so hard to be competitive in the Cup Series that every time I drive a lap in something else, I feel like I'm cheating my team and cheating everyone who's trying to get me where I need to go on that side of it. I'm just shorthanding them people.

So my focus is there, and that's where I want it to be. There was times this year where our company could have benefited from me running the car instead of maybe Jamie and a couple other people. But I want to focus on what my goals are in life, and my goals in life are not to win more Nationwide Series championships or races. Those aren't my goals. My goals are to win Sprint Cup races, win the championships in that. 

Really I don't think I answered your question (laughter). But this car was nice. It did drive like the COT. My car was. If you got toward the back, it was a little bit tough, but still drove really similar to the COT. I didn't think so in practice, but the track really improved or something with all the rain and it getting cooled down and running late. We hadn't really run at night yet. 

I'm really happy with what NASCAR did first time out with this car. They will work on it, improve it, learn a lot from it. But the first go-round I think was a great success. 

Q. For Dale and Tony, with all the publicity and buildup of the car, you guys being back together and everything, was the pressure any different for you guys to win this race today? 

DALE EARNHARDT, JR.: It wasn't for me. It wasn't different than it always is. And I work with Tony, Jr. He wants to win. Anytime you work with a Eury, the whip's out, so you better be on top of the sheet in practice, qualifying, it don't matter what, and you're working till the damn red flag comes out. 

But he let me off a little easy this week. I guess he's getting old and soft. But I enjoy working with them. But there's a little bit of pressure because our company needs the boost. Our company needs to finish well. I was worried about tearing up cars. I knew we was going to get late cautions, which they were legit, but I knew we was gonna get 'em.

I was just like, Damn, I hope we don't leave this racetrack with three tore-up cars and be another $600,000 in the hole. We're just happy, you know. I mean, there's always pressure driving with that car, that sponsor. To everyone outside this room, maybe some of you guys here, anything less than a win was pointless. What did we do this for? Did we even honor him by bringing it out and running fifth? What the hell. 

So I felt a lot of pressure to win. I didn't know if we could pull it off. But we were very lucky and very fortunate to have made some of the moves we made, and we had some great luck. It just all worked out. I feel lucky. 

TONY EURY, JR.: I mean, I feel the same way Dale Jr. does. You know, when we come to a speedway race together, you know, I look at it as I better have my A game on because I know how good a drafter he is, I know how good of a driver he is. So when I come to these tracks, it's like it's more emphasis on the car being fast, you having the car ready. 

You know, I put a lot of, lot of effort into these cars, just every nick and nanny that I can think of. It kind of shows in qualifying. That's why you got guys that earn top five, because they're doing every little thing that you can do to get that 10th of a second.

You know, like he said, I've got a new group of guys. I mean, this is the 5 guys, the 7 car. Those guys there, they haven't won a race in probably two years. So to see their face today and bringing them to the point that they are where they just won this race with Dale Jr., it's big. It's like he said, it's like you didn't want to come out of here running third or fifth, you know. That's not what we come here for. 

So, you know, we put our best leg forward. Like he said, a lot of stuff worked out for us. You know, the story ended like it should. 

Q. Dale, you said I think last year how you really had started to treasure wins because you never really know when your next one's gonna come. All the pressure of the 3 car aside, what kind of relief is it just to get back to Victory Lane and to win a race, and to get Tony, Jr. back to Victory Lane with all the crap he's taken over the years? 

DALE EARNHARDT, JR.: Yeah, you know, tonight I couldn't even -- you know, I didn't have the typical reaction I guess I normally would from a victory. There was so much relief and just pure satisfaction. I didn't have the jubilance, just the explosive excitement that you really have when you win because, uhm, I was just happy for everybody else simply. I was happy for Tony, Jr. He's worked so hard this year, so hard. I tell him he don't need to work that hard. 

I'm trying to make you an owner. They're not supposed to be under the cars. But he can't help it.

I was happy for Richard to have been a part of this and allowing us to run this number, and Teresa and my sister for all they did putting it together, all the things they went through. You know, my team, all the fans that this made happy. I was just relieved. 

But I told somebody out there, Victory Lane, when you're a little kid, you got a treehouse, or you and your buddies got a clubhouse in the woods or whatever, that's what Victory Lane is to me, and I like going there. You miss it really bad. But you know it's there and you can get back there again if you try really hard. It's not gone, but it's very difficult to get into. 

Yeah, every time I win, I mean, I just really soak it up like a sponge because, you know, we've had such a trying time over the last several years.  Sure, I'd like to get back to where I could win multiple races a year, but that's not where I'm at right now. So we just got to be happy and feel lucky and blessed for how it's going right now and keep working hard to get better and do more. 

Q. At this stage of your life, Dale, at this stage of your career, does it mean more to you at all to win at Daytona? Is this a more special place to win? 

DALE EARNHARDT, JR.: I like winning here. I saw where daddy had two more Nationwide wins than I did, so it meant something to get closer to him there. He's at the top of the list in the record books. It would be cool to tie him or surpass him, which I still have a good opportunity to do. Chances are Kelley will still have me running some of these races here. 

Now, if I can get Tony, Jr. out from under the car, he might be in a position to persuade me as much as she does.

Winning anywhere means a lot, sure. Daytona is a special place to me because of, you know, my father dying here. I'm totally a part of this place for the rest of my life, regardless of the history of the track. Just this area, this place. I used to come down here as a kid and hang out. I got to be good friends with Jamie Foster, ran around town with him, clubbing and carrying on with him in my 20s. I've seen every corner of this place. I love it as a town. And it ain't changed much to me. 

And the track just has such a beautiful history, so many great things have happened here. To me it's 'the' track in our series, it's the mother of all racetracks in this sport, in NASCAR racing. Everything about our sport leads back to this place, to me in my mind, so it's very important. 

Q. Dale, two things. Can this give you any kind of a boost on the other side of the garage? Who actually owns this car now? Would you have any special plans for it? 

DALE EARNHARDT, JR.: Well, I do believe this helps me tomorrow because the COT or the Nationwide car now kind of drive similar. This helps my confidence. You know, every time you win and do good, I just think it will. I told Rick I had another tank in the bus for tomorrow and we'd bring it out. 

I don't know who owns this car and I don't care. I think I'll take it and give it to Winston Kelley and let him have it for a few months and then maybe send it up to Richard and let him keep it for a little while. Hopefully it ends up back in my hands eventually one day. But it's just nuts and bolts.

You know, I think Winston Kelley said in Victory Lane he would love to have it. It would be an honor, one helluva honor to put it over there in his place at Charlotte for a little while. 

Q. Dale, if you are willing to take on the burden that you've talked about with this race, driving this car with this sponsor, with the win or it's not worth it attitude, should anybody question your commitment on the Cup side if you were willing to take that kind of burden? 

DALE EARNHARDT, JR.: Yeah, I don't think that they should. I think people can stop questioning my commitment, whether I care, whether I have the passion anymore, enough passion. I have worked my ass off to get back just to subpar. Are we right? No, I'm still wrong (laughter)? Anyways, to be above average, I have busted my ass. I mean, I can't drive and work any fucking harder than I'm working right now. I can't. This is all I got. And I'm doing it hard, man. I mean, I cannot work any harder. 

You can't do this half-assed. You can't do it 90%. You'll get eaten up. It will be obvious to everybody around you, your team, your crew chief, everybody who builds your motors, builds your cars, they'll still stop giving a shit because they know you're not giving a shit and you won't go anywhere.



So you can't go half-assed. I tell myself every year, I go, you know, Am I working hard? Yeah, I can't work any harder. And I've asked myself, you know, maybe people are right, what more can I do? 

But this year, I mean, we've wore it out trying to get back to where we need to be. I'm not burnt out. I still got a lot in the tank. We got a long season left. But I got the passion, man. I want to win. I want to be here for a long, long time. 

But I guess, you know, people will question that until you're done. I mean, not just me, other drivers, too, I'm sure. I shouldn't take it so personal. But, man, when you work so damn hard, I mean, you guys know how it is. You're working your ass off to try to get somewhere, do the best you can to do your job, whatever it is. For anyone to ever wonder whether you're giving it all you got pisses you off. But that's just the way it is. 

Q. Tony, can you talk about how hard you see him working. 

TONY EURY, JR.: You know, it's hard for me to sit back. You know, I think when they split us up, that was the one thing that probably bothered me the worst is because I know how hard he's working. I know that it takes one slip-up, whether it's one lug nut, whether it's the guy missed a tire pressure, whether the guy put a half-around the wrong way on a pit stop. That one thing can take you out of a race. 

It's not a one-person team, you know. It's everybody on that team. There's 18 guys here every Sunday. Every one of those guys has to be busting their butt. And I know how hard he works and I know what kind of feel he's got. And it starts on Thursday. I don't just start on, hey, Sunday when they drop the green, this is where it goes. It starts on Thursday when we land here.



And everybody has to do everything. You have to have every minute of practice. You have to get everything tried. And it can't be one screw-up. And the communication's got to be there. Nobody's head can be somewhere else. 

You know, Jimmie and Chad are great because they're doing that, they're clicking right now, you know. And I know Dale Jr.'s got it in him to do it. It's just a matter of getting every little piece of the puzzle. 

It kills me, like last weekend, to go to Loudon. I'm sitting there watching him. He's following Jimmie right up through the track. I'm sitting there working. I get out, Jimmie wins. I look, he finished 10th. 

DALE EARNHARDT, JR.: I finished seventh.



TONY EURY, JR.: I said, What happened? You know, Walked by the computer screen and you was here. He's like, Well, I don't know. 

DALE EARNHARDT, JR.: When I got to seventh, I stayed there and he kept going. 

TONY EURY, JR.: Yeah. So, I mean, you know, it's hard for me because, like I said, I want to see him do especially good, and I'll do anything I can for him to make it better. 

You know, that's kind of where I think Rick seen that side of it, where I was getting too ate up into it, and it was killing my personal life, and I was getting unhappy. You know, so we decided to go a different route.



You know, I'm perfectly happy with what I'm doing. I think he's in a good route where he's going. Him and Lance are communicating good. Just to see those 88 guys out there in Victory Lane with us tonight, that's going to pump them up for tomorrow. He's pumped up. You know, hopefully tomorrow night when I'm sitting there cooking my rib-eye, he's leading the race. 

DALE EARNHARDT, JR.: Yup. 

Q. Just on the subject of the cost of these cars. I saw Pop in the garage area. I said, How about tonight, Pop? He goes, All three cars came in without any problems. So that's what he was excited about. My question is, Dale, is it possible that you like overdo it, overthink things? 

DALE EARNHARDT, JR.: No. 

Q. Anything like that? 

DALE EARNHARDT, JR.: No, sir. I mean, look at my beard. I don't really overthink too much. I grew the beard back because I've been running better, y'all. Have y'all not matched it up? We had those first 10 races where we hauled ass, then I shaved, we ain't running worth a damn. Then I grew the beard back. Also I started drinking beer on Monday.  I don't know. The beard ain't got its own personality. The beard does have a Facebook page, but it's not a real person, it's just a beard on my face. 

But I quit partying so much. I drink beer every Monday and I grew a beard back. Those two things seem to be helping me. So really those two things deserve the most credit (laughter). 

Q. Tony, the criticism that you've taken for God knows how long, this must be a lot off your shoulders. And for Junior, what did the comment mean when you said over the radio, We shouldn't have won that damn race? 

DALE EARNHARDT, JR.: I meant because Joey had a pretty good run down the back straightaway. I was really shocked that he didn't get on the outside right rear quarter of our car. I'm not real exactly sure what was going on behind him. But from what it looked like, when he peaked out, the 6 wasn't having none of it. The 6 was going to get up there behind me. So he said, Well, I'm not gonna get shuffled to fourth or whatever it was, I'll just get back in line and see if I can get back up and get a run off of three. 'Cause he still had a good opportunity between three and the checkered to make a pass. 

You know, I'm just as shocked as everybody else, I guess. I guess everybody was shocked. I don't know if everybody expected us to win this race, but I sure as hell didn't. I mean, I knew we had a fast car. But shit, man, it's such a lottery.



You know, everything worked out. Tony, Jr. and the motor was great and everybody did such a good job. I'm like 5% of what it took to get into Victory Lane with that car. So many other variables made it fast, got it here. Body men building a good body, getting through tech, not having problems with that. All kinds of little things. You just go on and on. 

But I thought Joey would try that. I've tried it before and it didn't work. You just get shuffled to the back. So maybe that's what he thought about when we got back in line. But his run wasn't very big, but it was good enough to get on the quarter panel and slow me down a little bit. 

Q. Is some of the shock just the emotional weight you've been carrying just leading up to this week, too? 

DALE EARNHARDT, JR.: Well, I wasn't really shocked about anything else. I was just pleased. We needed a win as a company. We needed to prove that we are still -- I mean, Brad Keselowski, an amazing racecar driver, he's gone on to a different race team this year and is doing so well. We've struggled as a company really to put together consistency. 

It's a good feeling to know we're putting together cars that are capable of winning. I was so proud to see Arpin up there battling with us. He come over to the bus before the race and was asking me, What do I do if we're around each other? What am I supposed to do? I said, Hell, if you can pass, go, win the race. So he did. He was racing on up in there. I enjoyed watching him.



So I don't know, you know. It was just fun. I had a blast. Like I said, all the cars get tore up. Even if you win this race and you tear just one damn car up, man, as an owner, it's so hard. It just breaks your heart. Breaks the bank, too. So we feel pretty good to get out of here in one piece and one of 'em's in Victory Lane. We're really lucky. 

Q. Tony, could you talk about the decision not to come in the pits there on the last caution, keep the lead. 

TONY EURY, JR.: Uhm, I mean, yeah, we had -- when it come down to that, I mean, you're basically sitting there with a green-white-checkered. The last couple times that they've had 'em, it's just been a crapshoot and things happen on the last lap. So we knew that there was a lot of cars on the lead lap. 

You know, I figured, okay, 15th on back is going to pit. Because the guys that are running 20th, they got nothing to lose.  They're going to stay out and get the position. We just decided to stay out. We figure if you run one lap, just make it back to the caution, that's where you're going to finish. Four tires in one lap, you're not going to come from 13th. I think that's where Kyle come out at, like 13th. I don't know where he finished. I'm sure in two laps, he didn't get too far.


But, you know, it's just one of them deals where it's like a no-brainer, just go. If it had been 15 laps to go, you had that many laps on your tires, it would have been a totally different story. But there you just had to kind of roll with it.  

Q. Dale, I know you said beforehand this was a one-shot deal, and now you've made it really clear that you'll never drive again. With all the pressure, if you didn't win, do you think maybe you'd think differently? 

DALE EARNHARDT, JR.: No. I just think it ain't in the cards. This is it. I just knew before the race, and I said it. I felt 110% sure before the race, regardless of whether we finished or even started the damn race. So, yeah, I'm so glad we won. It means more to me now knowing that I won't ever do it again that I won. 

You know, we can all just remember this, squash it, finish our lives, you know, do what we got to do, what we need to do, till we get too old to do whatever we want to do. 

THE MODERATOR: Gentlemen, congratulations and thanks for your time.



DALE EARNHARDT, JR.: Thank you. 

TONY EURY, JR.: Thanks.

Powers Proud to Represent TORC Series, U.S. Armed Forces

 (Photo by Brandon W. Mudd)

Rob Powers has an agenda.

As one of the voices of the Traxxas TORC Series Presented by AMSOIL and a pit reporter for the live streaming of the races courtesy of 3 Wide Life, GoPro cameras and eBay Motors, Powers is an entertaining figure that interacts with the drivers and fans on event weekends. He has been a professional emcee for 23 years and AMSOIL’s voice of racing for more than eight of them.

But there is much more to Powers, a Colorado native and former U.S. Olympic strength coach, than that. A veteran of both the Army and the Air Force, he retains that military bearing wherever he goes. During the National Anthem, he snaps a salute so crisp he could be just days out of boot camp. When talking about his several tours to the Middle East to entertain America’s servicemembers, the passion and pride he feels for his fellow soldiers is palpable.

Powers’ agenda is to entertain. Whether it’s in front of a crowd of die-hard off-road racing fans watching some of the most intense motorsports action in the country or it’s in Iraq or Afghanistan with some of the biggest sports celebrities in the world to provide a moment away from the warzone for our nation’s heroes, Rob Powers is there to put on a show.

After seeing two of his non-commissioned officers killed in action, Powers formed The Warrior’s Tour Foundation (www.TheWarriorTours.com).

The purpose of the organization is to bring professional athletes and sports celebrities to areas of hardship deployment to entertain the troops there. It’s a foundation several of the TORC Series’ drivers will be familiar with very soon as Powers plans to include them on upcoming tours of duty.

“When I went to the Pentagon recently,” Powers said, “I brought along some of these Traxxas radio-controlled trucks and you would think these hardened military veterans, including a full bird colonel, were little kids! They did not want to give these things back! I knew then that our men and women fighting for us overseas would love to not only have an opportunity to test drive some of these Traxxas RC trucks, but they would also get a thrill out of meeting the people who drive the full-sized trucks at some of the most challenging racetracks in the country.”

Most important to Powers is the integrity of the product. In an era where everyone has a price, fans and viewers know 100 percent that when Rob Powers promotes something, it is a quality brand. That includes the Traxxas TORC Series Presented by AMSOIL. “I've been a huge fan of the TORC Series for years,” he said. “USAC providing not only thrilling competition, but a playing field brings out the best in everyone from the drivers and teams to the fans.

“USAC has been the leader in producing world class racing and I like world class whether it's in supporting our troops or watching trucks fly through the air.”

For more information on the Traxxas TORC Series Presented by AMSOIL, visit them on the Web at TORCSeries.com. For information on the United States Auto Club, visit USACRacing.com. Both sites will also feature live free streaming of all the events on the TORC Series schedule courtesy of GoPro cameras and eBay Motors.

Race fans can follow all the action throughout the TORC Series season on its official Twitter sites at Twitter.com/TORCMedia and its official page on Facebook.

PRESS RELEASE: Kerry Earnhardt to Drive Father's Brickyard 400 Winner in England

Richard Childress Racing Press Release:

The Richard Childress Racing No. 3 GM Goodwrench Chevrolet Monte Carlo that the legendary Dale Earnhardt drove to victory in the 1995 Brickyard 400 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway will be driven by his eldest son, Kerry Earnhardt, in this year's Goodwood Festival of Speed in England.

The Goodwood Festival of Speed, July 2-4, is one of the world's premier historic race car events. The event has been held annually since 1993 on the grounds of Goodwood House, West Sussex, England. Race cars past and present participate in both demonstration and competition runs up the nine-turn, 1.16-mile hillclimb circuit.

This is the second consecutive year RCR has participated in the Festival of Speed. Last year, Taylor Earnhardt, Dale's youngest daughter, drove the black No. 3 GM Goodwrench Chevrolet her father earned his 76th and final NASCAR Cup Series victory in, on Oct. 15, 2000, at Talladega (Ala.) Superspeedway.

Dale Earnhardt qualified 13th for the second running of the Brickyard 400. He drove the famous black No. 3 GM Goodwrench Chevrolet to the top spot on lap 133 and led the final 28 laps to beat Rusty Wallace to the checkered flag by 0.37-of-a-second.

"It was an honor to again be personally invited by Lord March to enter one of Dale's No. 3 Goodwrench Chevrolets in this year's Goodwood Festival of Speed," said Richard Childress, president and CEO of Richard Childress Racing. "Winning the 1995 Brickyard 400 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway was one of Dale's, and RCR's, proudest moments.

Both last year's car and this year's entry were prepared by and will be cared for at the Festival of Speed by former No. 3 team crew members Danny Lawrence and Rich Burgess. Lawrence is the assistant head engine builder/trackside manager for Earnhardt-Childress Racing Engines and Burgess is the shop manager for RCR's No. 31 Caterpillar team in the NSCS.

"It's going to be an awesome experience for me to drive the car my dad won the Brickyard 400 in," said Kerry Earnhardt. "Dad winning that race was a pretty big deal because it's such a special race. I'm honored to be driving it at all, but doing it at the Goodwood Festival of Speed makes it that much more special. Taylor (Earnhardt) drove one of Dad's cars last year at Goodwood and she told me it was a lot of fun and there were a lot of great people there."

For General Motors, the automaker behind the GM Goodwrench brand proudly carried on the hood of the car, it is a chance to celebrate the history of the partnership with Dale Earnhardt, Inc. and the legacy of Dale Earnhardt as a champion.

"Chevrolet is honored to see the famed No. 3 GM Goodwrench Monte Carlo once again participating in the Goodwood Festival of Speed," said Jim Campbell, U.S. Vice President, Chevrolet Marketing. "The legendary black No. 3 Chevrolet, Richard Childress Racing and Dale Earnhardt teamed together to form a powerful combination that changed the sport of NASCAR - both on and off the race track." 

A daily blog of the eight-day adventure (June 29-July 6) will be posted on SPEED's website (www.SpeedTV.com) and linked to the Richard Childress Racing website (www.rcrracing.com).

Kincaid Doubles Down at Crandon in TORC Series Opener

(Jeff Kincaid beats Scott Douglas at the line for the win at Sunday's Crandon Cup Challenge. Photo by Brandon W. Mudd)

CRANDON, Wis. – It was a Father’s Day Jeff Kincaid won’t soon forget.

The Traxxas TORC Series Presented by AMSOIL PRO 2WD rookie driver made all the right moves Sunday at Crandon International Off Road Raceway. He started his day with a class win over Rob MacCachren and finished it in the “Big House” Winner’s Circle after edging Scott Douglas at the finish line for the 17^th Annual Crandon Cup Challenge.

The Crandon Cup race combines racers from the PRO 4WD and PRO 2WD classes with the PRO 2s getting a 12-second headstart. Kincaid, a seven-time PRO Light champion racing at Crandon for the first time in his new class, led the field to the green flag. He was challenged by 2009 Cup winner Ricky Johnson and Johnson, who won the PRO 2 race on Saturday, briefly took the lead before falling out of the race with mechanical issues and finished seventh, four laps down.

“This is my first Crandon Cup ever that I’ve run,” Kincaid said afterwards. “It was a great race! I knew Scott was coming and was pushing me. I couldn’t slow down because I knew the pressure was coming from the four-wheel drives and I was driving my rear end off…we’re going to have a good time tonight!”

In what was the battle of the weekend, Scott Douglas caught up with Kincaid in the closing laps. In the final turn before the finish line, the two were neck-and-neck, but Kincaid was able to edge Douglas by .259 seconds. Douglas raced Kincaid clean, but joked in the Winner’s Circle that had he seen the trophy and the $15,000 check before the race, he may have changed his plans.

“Jeff’s a fierce competitor and I was picking him off little by little and on that last corner, I got inside of him and, boy, the thought really crossed my mind to just drift out a little bit and that’s all it would’ve took,” Douglas said. “But Jeff’s a good guy, but now that I see his (trophy), I guess I should have!”

Kincaid’s PRO 2 win over MacCachren was more dominant as he beat the five-time Crandon winner by more than two seconds.

He leaves Crandon only two points behind Johnson in the season points’ standings.

Rick Huseman improved his PRO 4 runner-up finish Saturday with a victory Sunday over runner-up Steve Barlow and Douglas, who finished third in both rounds this weekend.

Huseman and Kincaid both earned Oakley Bomb Awards Presented by Oakley Watches for their fast laps of 1:19.838 and 1:22.224, respectively. Kincaid’s time was a new track record and Huseman swept the category both days, earning the PRO 4 track record on Saturday. He is also the current points leader, six points over Douglas.

It was an emotional victory for Casey Currie in PRO Lights as he beat Saturday’s winner, Andrew Caddell, to the line for the win. Randy Eller rounded out the podium in an event that saw Marty Hart make a strong run for the win and then earn a DNF after mechanical issues and a scary barrel roll that took Ross Hoek out of second place with two laps to go.

“This win means the world! I’m gonna get all choked up,” he said with tears of happiness in the Winner’s Circle. “We’ve got a good team and Traxxas gave us a new carburetor this morning and I’ve got to give it up to those guys; we would not be here without Traxxas! My guys did not sleep last night. We were up all night getting this thing to be faster…I’m excited to be up here!”

Caddell did, however, earn his second Traxxas Maxx Cash Award of the weekend with a fast lap of 1:30.414 and the points lead. He leads Currie by five points after two rounds.

In the Sportsman classes, CJ Greaves took the weekend sweep in Super Buggy and his third win in four rounds of the young TORC Series season. Starting the race in eighth, he methodically worked his way through the field and, by the halfway point, took the lead and never looked back. He has a 23-point lead over Scott Schwalbe. Other Sportsman winners were: Rob Weiland (Classix), Dan Koehler (Formula 4x4), Larry Manske (Enduro), Rhonda Konitzer (Limited 2WD), Greg Stingel (1600 Light Buggy), Mark Steinhardt (1600 Buggy), and Mitch Dorr (Super Stock).

TORC Series Racing Has Begun in Crandon

(The drivers of the Traxxas TORC Series Presented by AMSOIL along with the Crandon International Raceway track staff and USAC officials prior to Saturday's racing at the "Big House" in Crandon, Wisc. Photo by Brandon W. Mudd.)

The racing has begun for the 2010 TORC Series season with three sportsman class races already in the books for today. For up-to-the-minute updates and photos, follow the TORC Series on its official page on Facebook and at Twitter.com/TORCMedia. Fans can also see live FREE streaming of the event at TORCSeries.com and UStream.tv.

AUDIO: A conversation with Reed Sorenson

(Photo by Brandon W. Mudd)

Two-time Gateway International Raceway winner Reed Sorenson was in town Tuesday to talk to the media about the NASCAR double feature weekend at Gateway July 16-17 and to throw out the first pitch at Busch Stadium that night prior to the Cards v. Mariners matchup. I had a chance to chat with him about racing in the NASCAR Nationwide Series, his thoughts on returning to a full-time schedule, and why he's so good at Gateway. To hear the full interview, click HERE.

Reed will also be the focus of this week's Inside Motorsports column, which you can find at Globe-Democrat.com Saturday morning.

What is the TORC Series All About?

If this doesn't get you excited about the Traxxas TORC Series Presented by AMSOIL, you may not have a pulse. Just sayin'...

TORC Season Preview from race dezert on Vimeo.

TORC Series Season Opener This Weekend

(Photo by Andy Cooper)

I'm going to be in Crandon, Wisc., this weekend for the season opener of the Traxxas TORC Series Presented by AMSOIL. If you can't be there, be sure to check out all the action via live FREE streaming at TORCSeries.com, USACRacing.com, or UStream.tv. Every race this season will be aired live on those websites and are available courtesy of GoPro cameras and eBay Motors. You can follow the TORC Series on Facebook and on Twitter. Be sure to come back here over the weekend to see updates and pics.

NHRA Statement on the Death of Neal Parker at Englishtown

The following is a statement from the National Hot Rod Association regarding the death of Top Alcohol Funny Car driver Neal Parker earlier today at the NHRA National event in Englishtown, N.J.:

Top Alcohol Funny Car racer Neal Parker, 58, from Millville, N.J., crashed today at a high rate of speed in the shutdown area during qualifying for the NHRA SuperNationals at Old Bridge Township Raceway Park and was pronounced dead.  NHRA officials and the New Jersey State Police are investigating the accident. On behalf of everyone at NHRA and Raceway Park, we are deeply saddened and want to pass along our sincere condolences to the entire Parker family.

TRANSCRIPT: Carl Edwards Press Conference at Michigan

(Carl Edwards waves to the crowd during pre-race of last weekend's Federated Auto Parts 300 at Nashville Superspeedway. He finished second behind NASCAR Nationwide Series points leader Brad Keselowski. Photo by Brandon W. Mudd)

Earlier today, Columbia, Mo.-native and two-time Gateway International Raceway winner Carl Edwards spoke to the media at Michigan International Speedway regarding his struggles on the track, conflict resolution in racing, and who wears the firesuit in his family.

Carl Edwards is the most recent Ford driver to claim victory at Michigan International Speedway with his 2008 3M 400 win. That victory was the historic 11th owner win for Jack Roush, tying him with the Wood Brothers for the most by any car owner at MIS.  Edwards meet with the media Friday to discuss where he feels his team is headed, driver interaction, the new FR9 engine and more.

TALK ABOUT YOUR PRACTICE RUN - “We worked hard on race trim and Bob tried a couple things, then we made two qualifying runs … now we are watching it rain. I am not sure if we will get qualifying in or not, so we felt like we balanced our practice pretty well either way.” 

HOW CLOSE DO YOU FEEL YOU ARE TO REALLY BEING COMPETITIVE AND UP FRONT? “If you take the best car at each of our races, including the RPM guys, we have been very close. If you look at one individual car and look at how we’ve run through all the races, we are still pretty far off. I guess that is what we have to hope for in having all these teams to lean on, taking the best car in each race and looking at that to apply it the next time.  I am hopeful that we are close, but I can’t quite tell. Our best race was Richmond and I felt we had a top two or three car. Our team hasn’t been that fast, but our teammates have at times. I just don’t know, but I hope we are close to figure something out.” 

WHEN DID YOU DISCOVER THAT THERE WAS AN ISSUE WITH DATA SIMULATION?  “I don’t know that there is ever a time where you say, ‘Oh, we discovered an issue’.  The evidence is the performance. That is where we are focusing our energy because Jack feels like that is the issue. I am not the person to say here are the procedural problems we have. What we are doing is not working as well as some of the other guys and considering we don’t have the opportunity to go test makes simulations hugely important. We’ve got that and a bunch of other things, that if they were better, we would be faster.” 

WHO WEARS THE FIRE SUIT IN YOUR FAMILY? (Laughter) “I’m wearing it.” 

“We’ve already proven we can win races … not right now we can’t, but we have in the past. I know what it is like to win more races than anybody in a season. I know what that feels like and I know we can do it, so for us the important thing is to be in the Chase.  If on Sunday we had to take a huge risk to try to win the race, or we could be guaranteed a third place finish, we would have to take the third place finish so that we can be in the Chase to try to win a championship. I don’t want those types of choices, but that is where we are at.” 

IS IT MORE IMPORTANT FOR YOU TO TRY TO WIN A RACE TO PROVE YOU GUYS CAN DO IT, OR ARE YOU MORE CONCERNED WITH TRYING TO STAY IN THE TOP-12? IF YOU WERE KEVIN HARVICK, WOULD YOU EXPECT TO GET ONE FROM JOEY LOGANO, AND IF YOU WERE JOEY, WHAT WOULD YOU DO? “I am not either one of them. It is just racing. What is going on between them isn’t for me to comment on, it is between them.”

JACK SAID EARLIER THIS WEEK THAT THE NEW ENGINES ARE MARGINALLY BETTER, WHAT IS YOUR TAKE ON THAT? “Here is the deal, everyone at Roush Yates Engines works very hard and they are doing a very good job. It would be nice for us to have an engine that everybody else is trying to catch up to, instead of us trying to catch up to them. I think one of the things we have been trying to do is not to think of how we can catch up to everyone because that is not going to work. We have to figure out how to be the guys everyone is trying to catch. It is a lot easier when you are in that position. The new engine seems to be very reliable and makes great power. I can only hope that the future is that it will produce more power and we can run more tape and the rest of the guys will be complaining that we have too much motor.”

YOU LEFT OUT THE WORD FAST. YOU SAID POWERFUL, BUT IS THE NEW ENGINE NOT AS FAST AS IT NEEDS TO BE? “I didn’t leave out the word fast because an engine isn’t fast. It produces power so that the car can be fast. It seems to be powerful, maybe even a little bit more than our other engine.  That is a separate thing.  A lot of people come up to us and talk about how the new engine is coming and you are going to be faster, but the problem isn’t our engines. The problem is how fast the car can go through the center of the corner and the balance. The engine is a separate thing. Right now it looks like it is as good as or better than the old engine. We are all hoping that in the next couple of months that we can gain 10 or 15 horsepower. That would be great. Then we would be faster for sure, regardless of if we fix our handling problems.”

CAN YOU LOOK AHEAD FOR US TO NEW HAMPSHIRE? “I like New Hampshire. I almost won my first time there in the trucks. I have won Nationwide there, maybe two. I felt like we were going to win the race when we had the Red Sox car. I enjoy that race track. It has been one of those tracks that we have struggled with as a group. That and Phoenix have not been our strong points. I am optimistic because we ran well at Richmond and I think that some of that thinking could be good at New Hampshire. It is a little flatter, but it is smooth and has smiliar speed as Richmond. For us as a team, having Fenway Park right up the road, there is a lot of pride for us to run well there.”

DOES THE RAIN TODAY IMPACT YOUR DOUBLE-DUTY SCHEDULE? “I have no clue what my schedule is going to be. We always try to figure it out about two weeks in advance but I can’t make a decision to be honest. I was going to ride with Joey, but we go out 45th and he goes out fourth, so he said we have to figure out our own way to get there. It frustrates Angela, my assistant, because I can’t make a decision what I want to do.”

I UNDERSTAND YOUR PHILOSOPHY OF NOT TRYING TO CATCH-UP, BUT TRYING TO GET AHEAD. DO YOU HAVE TO LOOK AT WHAT OTHER TEAMS ARE DOING? “Yeah, I am not saying we aren’t trying to catch up. We are looking at other teams. If we could go copy the fastest car we would. What I am saying is that within our team, our culture, you don’t think about being as fast as the others because it won’t make you faster. A couple of years ago when Jack figured out the axle housing, that got us ahead … and that was nice. When we were that fast, we still didn’t win all the races. We won a bunch, but not all. We aren’t going to settle for being as good as everyone, we want to be better.”

“We still go testing. I don’t think we do less work than anyone. I think why we are pointing at the simulation is because that is what determines what you are going to work on once you get to the race track. It is the interface between the work and the output on the race track. That is the formula that may or may not be right, if that makes sense.”

GOING INTO THE 2010 SEASON, DID YOU HAVE ANY INKLING YOU WOULD BE IN THIS SITUATION? “Yes I did. We were worse in 2009 I think. I think we are doing better now. I thought things could be worse now I guess. When the season started I thought we might be in real trouble. Now we have three cars in the Chase, we are able to run top-10 … it’s not terrible.  I am not pleasantly surprised, but not surprised the other way either.”

WHAT WAS YOUR DEFINING MOMENT WHEN YOU SENT THE MESSAGE YOU WOULDN’T BE A DOORMAT ON THE RACE TRACK? “I don’t know if there is a defining moment. I am simple. I don’t mind confronting anybody about anything. I hope people know that if they are going to wreck me, or take advantage of me, that I am going to address that.  I hate to talk about other people’s deals. I will speak for myself and say that as a person, you have to stick up for yourself. I don’t see anyone in the garage that doesn’t stick up for themselves. I think we are all pretty clear about that stuff. I thought last weekend went just like it should have. I don’t think there was anything out of the ordinary.  It’s not my fight though. Those guys are their own guys.  It is tough. Everybody has to deal with it. I am sure you all deal with it in your business too. Everybody does it, you just don’t have cameras and everybody’s opinion interjected into it. I am sure if somebody steals your parking space, you might have some things to say that if a camera was right there, we would all be like ‘wow!’  That is just part of being a person.”

YOU MADE IT A POINT TO CONGRATULATE BRAD KESELOWSKI AFTER HIS WIN LAST WEEK, WHAT WAS THE IMPETUOUS THERE? “Brad and I had our issues, but like we have talked about a bunch, I did not mean to flip him over into a fence. I was just trying to spin him out. That is behind us … it is done. Brad and I get along just fine. Me going over to congratulate him was just me saying he had a heck of a race. I know I had him nervous a little but he kept his cool and won that race. I thought he did a good job, so I just wanted to congratulate him like I would with anybody.”

DO YOU THINK YOU GUYS SHOULD CONTINUE TO RESOLVE THINGS ON YOUR OWN, EVEN IF IT MEANS ON THE RACE TRACK? “I think we should be able to resolve things on the tracks, or in the pits, or wherever. You have to be able to tell guys that things don’t fly. I am normal. I grew up in Columbia, Missouri. If you had an issue with somebody, you go and take care of it. You can’t let it be because it won’t fix itself. What is different now is that you are on television and everybody has an opinion and it gets twisted around. That is one dimension of it. The second part is that some of the participants understand that very well and manipulate it. They don’t act like normal people and use you guys to make whatever reality they want to be. It becomes very difficult as a driver to decide what to do. You think it would be great if you could pull a guy aside and work things out. If you can’t work it out then whatever, but you can’t do that now. It is like this big mess now.”

ARE WE GETTING TO THE POINT LIKE HOCKEY WHERE THEY SETTLE THINGS WITH A FIGHT?  IS THAT WHAT IS COMING NEXT? “I don’t know what to say about that. Every situation is different and you just have to do what you have to do.”

CAN YOU TALK ABOUT THE INTENSITY RATCHETING UP EACH WEEK? “It is crazy. It is incredible really. I think it is hard for people to understand who aren’t in the cars. I heard a lot of talk this week about give and take and racing hard all the time. As a race car driver when you are in the car, there is stuff you realize like risk versus reward. Some of those restarts were just crazy. People are taking chances. I think that is a function of a couple things. The double file restart puts you in a position there to do that. Also, with the cars, it is so tough to pass that sometimes when they drop the green, guys with less to use just say ‘screw it’ and they go for it. Everybody else just gives them a wide birth and watches to see how it goes.  I can drive down in there and go three-wide and door slam someone just like the next guy. It is a tough balancing act on how hard to go on the restarts. In the end, as long as we get through without wrecking it is exciting for the fans.”

DO YOU THINK THE GREEN-WHITE-CHECKERED POSSIBILITY WILL TAKE AWAY THE FUEL MILEAGE ISSUE HERE? “That is a good question. I thought about that a lot at Pocono. I guess you just have to have a brace crew chief if he is going to stretch it to the very end. It depends on what everybody else is going to do. What is going to end up happening is that the last time everybody stops, lets say there is that caution but the best guy is one lap shy, of course everyone is going to get fuel there and save for that last lap. If a caution comes out before we get to that white flag … man there are going to be a lot of things going on. I don’t know what’s going to happen, but it will be different.”