RacewayReport.com: Dale Earnhardt Jr: It's ridiculous to retire numbers

[Gilbert Sam, Jr.]

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Tuesday, May 4, 2010

Jimmie Johnson loans personal trophies to Hall of Fame: The NASCAR
Hall of Fame announced four prominent historic items to be on display
at the 150,000-square-foot interactive, entertainment attraction
Jimmie Johnson's four NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Trophies. The reigning
four-time NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Champion has loaned his four
personal trophies to the venue for six months. "The NASCAR Hall of
Fame is going to have so many cool things, showing the history of our
sport. I was definitely humbled that they asked for something of mine
to display," said Johnson. "It's an honor for me and the whole 48
Lowe's team. I hope fans appreciate seeing the trophies up close. I
know how special they are to me, and I've certainly enjoyed seeing
them the past four years." While the NASCAR Hall of Fame is dedicated
to honoring the history and heritage of NASCAR, a current item such as
Johnson's trophies recognizes the importance of history in the making.
Eight years ago today, Johnson captured his first NASCAR Sprint Cup
Series win on April 28, 2002 at California Speedway, and since then,
he has earned a spot in the record books as the only driver to win
four consecutive NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Championships (2006-2009).
"To showcase all four of Jimmie's personal trophies emphasizes the
importance of the NASCAR Hall of Fame for the veterans of the sport
and the history-makers of today," said Winston Kelley, executive
director of the NASCAR Hall of Fame. "These trophies represent his
back-to-back championships and are iconic to this new era of NASCAR
Sprint Cup Series racing. We are honored to show these to the public.
We initially requested Jimmie's 2009 championship trophy to display,
and Jimmie graciously offered to loan us all four. Of course we were
thrilled. His offer really illustrates how supportive the sport has
been of the NASCAR Hall of Fame. We sincerely appreciate Jimmie and
all the other members of the NASCAR community for their generosity and
support." The NASCAR Hall of Fame opens to the public May 11 at
10:00am/et. The opening ceremony for the high-tech, interactive
attraction begins at 9:00am/et. The one-hour ceremony will culminate
with NASCAR celebrities, elected officials and other dignitaries
officially opening the venue. The opening ceremony will be followed by
free outdoor activities from 10:00am/et through the late evening.
Activities will include NASCAR celebrities, question-and-answer
sessions, strolling entertainment, food vendors, and free concerts by
country music artists Lee Brice, Bomshel and Love And Theft. For
schedule of events for the grand opening, ticket info and more, see
nascarhall.com.(NASCAR Hall of Fame)
http://www.racewayreport.com/jimmiejohnson

Earnhardt: ridiculous to retire numbers: As for whether somebody else
should be allowed to use the No. 3, Earnhardt said, “Let’em.” “Numbers
are numbers,” he said. “I don’t think that even if somebody does run
the No. 3, I don’t think anyone is going to forget what daddy did with
it. “It is ridiculous to try to retire numbers or favor numbers for
certain drivers. The No. 3 meant a lot to daddy and meant a lot to a
lot of race fans, but there is some kid that is growing up that really
was never a Dale Earnhardt fan but he drives the No. 3 and he might
want to be the No. 3 all his life, and to not give that guy that
opportunity just isn’t fair.” (Richmond Times-Dispatch)
http://www.racewayreport.com/dalejr

Newman's No. 38 crew wins Tissot Pit Road Precision Award at Richmond:
Ryan Newman's U.S. Army over-the-wall crew claimed the Tissot Pit Road
Precision Award in Saturday night's Crown Royal Heath Calhoun 400
Sprint Cup race at Richmond International Raceway. The Army crew put
together a string of fast pit stops which helped Newman post an eighth-
place finish in the 400-lap, 300-mile race at the .75-mile short
track. Newman's No. 39 Army Medicine Chevrolet, which paid tribute to
the U.S. Army Medical Department and Army Health Care personnel, spent
the least amount of time on pit road 197.999 seconds. Newman's over-
the-wall crew consists of: Scott Brzozowoski (front-tire changer),
Josh Mick (front-tire carrier), Ryan Pepe (rear-tire changer), James
Houk (rear-tire carrier), Andrew Turner (jackman), Michael Moore
(gasman), Andy Rueger (catch can) and Jay Guarneri (Eighth Man). The
team's crew chief is Tony Gibson and the pit crew coach is Joe Piette.
The winning pit crew in each Sprint Cup race will earn $5,000 and a
Tissot V8 Quartz Chronograph watch. The team with the most Tissot Pit
Road Precision Award wins at the completion of the 36-race schedule
will receive a $105,000 bonus plus Tissot watches for the over-the-
wall crew members and driver. After 10 races Martin Truex's No. 56
crew leads the Tissot standings with two wins. Eight teams are tied
for second with one win.(Tissot)
http://www.racewayreport.com/ryannewman

NASCAR to use E15 fuel in 2011? When NASCAR takes the green flag in
2011, race cars are expected to be fueled by E15 a mixture of 15%
ethanol and 85% gasoline. Hendrick Motorsports is already testing the
fuel and Roush Yates engines will start development with E15 in the
next few weeks. According to RYE co-owner Doug Yates, the conversion
is important to the sport. "Change is scary, but it's exciting as
well," Yates said. "We have to keep up with the changes in the world
to stay relevant. We need to be moving ahead." Although fuel injection
remains on the drawing board for 2011,Yates agrees with other engine
gurus in the garage that the fuel issue must take priority. "Fuel
injection is in our future, but it wasn't as simple," Yates said. "It
has to be fair for every manufacturer. Ethanol will be first because
they want it in all three series. So it would have to work for
carburetor as well as fuel injection." Although NASCAR stepped up
discussion on the introduction of E15 fuels nine months ago,
manufacturers disagree on the time frame of bringing the program to
fruition. While one engine builder suggested six months, another
suggested that E15 could be used sometime in the next 16 races just
not during the title-deciding Chase for the Sprint Cup. In 2003,
NASCAR inked a 10-year deal with Sunoco to be the official fuel
supplier for the sport. Despite inquiries to Sunoco a week ago
regarding the switch to E15, FOXSports.com has not received a
response. One possible ethanol partner appears to be POET ethanol
products of Wichita, Kan. POET gained attention last week when
President Barack Obama visited the company's Macon, Mo. plant.
(FOXSports.com)
http://www.racewayreport.com/news/tech.html

Spielberg buys rights to NASCAR movie: 14-year-old Annabeth Barnes has
been into racing all of her life. Her story is similar to that of many
current NASCAR drivers. So much so, that filmmakers chose her as one
of three young drivers to profile in the movie “Racing Dreams.”
“Really how you start out and how a lot of the NASCAR drivers started
out when they first started racing,” Barnes says. “Ever since I was a
little girl, I said, Daddy I want to be the first woman to win the
Daytona 500,” she says in the movie. Produced by “The Rock” Dwayne
Johnson, the movie was filmed when she was 11 and has been traveling
the festival circuit, winning at Tribeca in New York. “It’s pretty
cool, you kinda get that whole movie star feeling and other people
knowing about you,” she says. The film is taking Annabeth from her
small hometown of Hiddenite, which is north of Statesville, to the big
screen in cities like New York, Chicago, and Los Angeles. It premiers
in Charlotte later this month. Famed director Stephen Spielberg liked
the movie so much, he bought the rights to the story. (FOX Charlotte)
http://www.racewayreport.com/news/misc.html

Joe Gibbs: I appreciate the new Kyle Busch: Kyle Busch a title
contender? Busch won his first race of the season, passing Jeff Gordon
for the lead off the final restart with five laps to go. The victory
debuted the “new” Busch as he called himself. Well, maybe the new,
older Busch, who turned 25 on Sunday - “I’m getting old,” he said. The
new Busch, third in the points, remained patient even when he fell
back after leading 221 of the first 229 laps. He put himself in
position to win instead of wallowing about his car’s sudden frailties.
“I appreciate the new Kyle,” car owner Joe Gibbs said. Of course, it’s
a long season, and this new Busch will be challenged. How he reacts
will determine whether he’s a title contender.(Virginian-Pilot)
http://www.racewayreport.com/drivers/news/kyle_busch.html

J. Gordon hopes he’s picking up fans: If he expressed opinions during
his championship runs, Jeff Gordon said he often was labeled a whiner.
If expressing displeasure now with teammate Jimmie Johnson changes
that perception and gains him some fans, so be it. He thinks he’s
picked up more fans because he’s been in contention more this season.
“The fact that we haven’t won a championship or a lot of races the
past several years … you maybe pull for some guys like that when they
start coming back around, and I think that’s kind of the position that
we’re in. “It’s exciting. It’s a cool place to be, and I like it. This
is not going to keep me from expressing my opinion, nor is it going to
keep me from rubbing fenders with anybody, even [Johnson]. This is a
unique relationship and situation when you have a four-car team and
you have to be mindful of that. That’s the only difference, and if we
pick up some fans, then that’s great. I hope we pick up fans because
we start winning again.” (Richmond Times-Dispatch)
http://www.racewayreport.com/jeffgordon

48% of Bristol Motor Speedway fans travel six or more hours to attend:
Bristol Motor Speedway is stepping up promotions for August after the
Food City 500 in March didn’t sell out, breaking a record streak of 55
sellouts for major NASCAR races at BMS. Held on March 21, the Food
City 500 drew an estimated 138,000 spectators - some 22,000 shy of
capacity. Triplett said many of the speedway’s radio and TV spots will
air in locations that are six hours - or more - away from Bristol in
travel time. “We’ve found that about 43 to 48 percent of our race
spectators travel six or more hours to attend,” Triplett said. “When
you’re making a trip that far, especially in this current economy, you
need more time to decide to attend and plan for it,” he added. “We’re
trying to help fans make that decision sooner.” (Bristol Herald)
http://www.racewayreport.com/news/bristol.html

Southern 500 tickets still available: The 2010 Showtime Southern 500
is only days away and time is dwindling for fans who have not yet
purchased their tickets to see NASCAR's oldest tradition live. Tickets
remain available for the event which has hosted a capacity crowd four
of the last five years. During the offseason Darlington Raceway
officials reduced prices on over 40,000 seats making the 2010 event
the most affordable on record. Tickets can be purchased by calling
866-459-RACE, online at Darlington Raceway.com or by visiting the
ticket office at the track "Too Tough To Tame." Phones are open from
9:00 am to 9:00 pm, the ticket office at the track will be open from
9:00 am to 6:00 pm and fans can purchase online 24 hours-a-day.
(Darlington Raceway)
http://www.racewayreport.com/news/darlington.html

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