On July 5, 2008, DJ and I, and 150,000 of our closest friends, were witness to the pageantry of the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Coke Zero 400 Powered by Coca-Cola at Daytona International Speedway. Could the name be any longer? As a relatively new fan, I don’t remember when the race was simply known as The Firecracker 400 in honor of Independence Day. Somehow it seems like a much better name than the one that has morphed over the years into an entire sentence that barely fits on a t-shirt. Don’t get me started on the rolling commercial NASCAR has become. That’s a rant for a different day.

I’m not going to bother rehashing the race especially since it happened 2 weeks ago and NASCAR.com and other news outlets have already covered those boring details. I am here to report what I witnessed off the track, which was much more fascinating than my favorite driver getting out of the car, (Feel better Tony!) and Kurt Busch taking yet another checkered flag. Is there really a competition this year? Once again, different rant, different day.

When we first had the idea of hitting Daytona for the July race as our vacation, we thought it might be too expensive, too crowded, seats would be horrible, etc. Happily, we were completely wrong. Due to high gas prices, hotels in Daytona were offering really nice rates (less than $100 a night…for ocean front views!). I had never been to Daytona International Speedway before so I had no idea what to expect. That place is HUGE! I know it’s about the same size as Talledega, but it seems so much bigger. Maybe all the history I’d read had built it up in my mind. It did not disappoint. If you ever decide to go to see a race at Daytona, I can highly recommend the Superstretch (backstretch). The seats are slightly lower in price and your view is surprisingly good with the Sprint jumbo screen giving the broadcast feed. Besides, most of the wrecks happen right in front of you! Gotta love that!

As for the other activities we experienced before the race, I won a t-shirt singing a Jimmy Buffet song at the “Who’s Your Bud” Budweiser booth. Yep, I sang in public and I know all of you are really glad you weren’t anywhere near FL that day so you can save the smart remarks.  We played around in the Toyota Fan Experience where I had my picture taken with Tony Stewart. Ok, so it was just a cardboard cutout but he is still so cute! By far, the most fun we had was at the Speed Channel stage for Raceday built by The Home Depot with John Roberts, Jimmy Spencer, and Kenny Wallace. Wearing our “RubbingsRacing.com” t-shirts, we actually made it onscreen a couple of times. I got a Home Depot helmet and DJ caught a Speed TV t-shirt. We actually danced the “YMCA” and waved a Home Depot sign…with RubbingsRacing.com written on it, of course. As we were heading to our seats, we ran into Rutledge Wood from Speed Channel who gave me an autograph and allowed DJ to take our picture.

All in all, we had a blast! The best decision we made was to head back to the car with 20 laps to go. We had just agreed to leave if an Hendrick Motorsports driver was leading with 15 laps to go or if another caution came out then…caution! We hauled back to the bus to the parking lot (really huge place!) and were listening to the end of the race on the radio. We had  a lot of fun and handed out lots of RubbingsRacing.com cards. If you ever decide to visit Daytona Speedway, don’t hesitate to get seats on the backstretch. It’s still a great party…NASCAR style!  

All photos are copyright of the author and are all are used by permission. Copyright 2008. All rights reserved.

Image details: Food City 500 served by picapp.com

Congratulations have to go to Richard Childress Racing (RCR) as they get the top three spots at Bristol Motor Speedway yesterday. Jeff Burton was in the right spot at the right time to pick up his first ever win at Bristol. This was a huge boost for RCR and the RCR Teams, showing not only that they have turned their programs around, but also that Chevrolet hasn’t been booted off the circuit.�Chevy needed this win badly after the departure of Joe Gibbs Racing, defecting to Toyota, so kudos to RCR for getting it done.�

Not only did Chevy have their wish come true, but so did NASCAR. NASCAR is in heaven right now. Five races in the books and we have had a Dodge, Ford, Toyota and now Chevy win so far this season. That is a dream come true for the powers that be. They wanted equal footing for all of the teams, and I’ll tell you one thing, they have it.

And not only that, but Toyota should be extremely happy with its performance this year. After an abysmal season last year, they have completely turned their program around. Not only did they get first and second last week, but they were first and second at Bristol with three laps to go. They are proving that they belong, so everyone watch out.�

The only question is where are the Hendrick boys? The only one who has really done much of anything so far has been Dale Earnhart Jr., but Jeff Gordon and Jimmie Johnson have not really shown up too much so far this season. Having dominated the Car of Tomorrow last year, it seems that they would have run away with this season, but that has not been the case.�Let’s see how they bounce back after a week off.

NASCAR, congratulations on leveling the playing field, you haven’t saved anyone any money, but you have�definitely�created the latest incarnation of IROC.

But that is not the only news from Atlanta. Tires became the rage among drivers all weekend long…I congratulate Toyota for their victory, but I believe that their victory got overshadowed by the fact that you had two of the most prominent racers�complaining�about the tire situations. Both Tony Stewart and Dale Earnhart, Jr. said that they would not run this race again, no matter what amount of�money�was�thrown�their way.��The tire wars from the past, Hoosier vs. Goodyear has not played a part in the sport for a number of years, but I believe eventually someone will get their foot in the door. I don’t know if it will be Hoosier or Firestone, but I really feel someone will make their way back in.�

NASCAR is getting exactly what they wanted with this new car. First a Dodge wins, then two Fords wins (same car), then a Toyota wins. This has got to be the worst thing for Chevy, being the�winningest�car in the history of the sport and not having found themselves in victory lane this year.

Again, I�congratulate�Toyota and Jo Gibbs for their decision of�moving�to Toyota. Let’s see how the rest of the season pans out…�

Yesterday, NASCAR’s racing commission heard Robby Gordon Motorsports appeal regarding the penalties Robby Gordon received following inspections for the Daytona 500 race. The car had an “unapproved front bumper cover” which basically amounted to the wrong Dodge model name of Charger instead of Avenger. The penalties enacted were: 100 owner points, 100 driver points, $100,000 crew chief fine, 6-race suspension and probation for crew chief.

The team argued at their appeal to the commission that the bumper cover was received as is from the manufacturer, that the mistake was discovered prior to being allowed on the track, and the bumper met the design templates. They also argued the severity of the penalties as compared to penalties levied for similar infractions on other teams.

The ruling commission considered the team’s arguments and initially stated that the team is ultimately responsible for their setup regardless of what was received from a manufacturer. However, the commission determined that this was a unique situation and decided to rescind the owner and driver points penalties, lifted the 6-week crew chief suspension but increased his fine to $150,000.

I have read from numerous sources reporting the above but have yet to find a reason for the $50,000 increase to the fine. Seems like a bargain to Gordon to buy points back and be able to stay in the top 35.

The past year has been a very busy year for Bruton Smith and Speedway Motorsports Inc (SMI). Proving that Smith is probably the only person who can actually stand up to the France family and not bow down to kiss the ring of Sir Brian….��

click�here to read the entire article.�

As Shakespeare once wrote, �What�s in a name? That which we call a rose by any other name would smell as sweet.� For �Romeo and Juliet� that one short line puts in a nutshell the central struggle and tragedy of the play. The central struggle for NASCAR these days seems to be the decline of fan loyalty and interest in the sport of stock car racing…�

click here to read the entire article.

NASCAR issued additional penalties this past Tuesday where each driver was docked 100 points and their crew chiefs fined $100,000 with 6-race suspension and probations until the end of the year. As harsh as the penalties were, at least NASCAR is being consistent this time as the penalties were the same that Dale Earnhardt Jr. got when his COT was found to be modified differently from required setup.

However, as well and good that the punishments was doled out, just how effective are they these days? Chad Knaus has been in this situation before but it seems to not affect his mindset a whit. He was suspended for four races last year after the Daytona 500 but Johnson won two out of those four races while Knaus out. Certainly didn’t hurt Johnson any and Chad was phoning it in to the crew on race days.

Another issue regarding the effectiveness of the penalties is just how much of a dent the 100 points are going to make to Gordon and Johnson as high up in the standings they are currently. Even with the point docking Gordon remained in first place with a comfortable lead over Hamlin and Johnson dropped from third all the way down to fifth. Wooo! How scary!

I doubt that the missing points are going to make all that much of a different come Chase time. As it is now, both drivers are going to get 40 bonus points for each winning 4 races so far this year.

If NASCAR really wants to be serious in punishing teams that change the COT setups then don’t fine the teams, dock points, or suspend crew chiefs but rather suspend the actual driver. For one thing, it would definitely get the attention of sponsors who are shelling out the mega bucks to ensure that their product is shown in the best light possible when they are hosting VIPs in the hospitality suites only to have John Andretti or Mike Wallace at the last minute drive the Dupont Chevrolet instead of Jeff Gordon.

Then the other thing is you don’t think that the fans would surely be upset if on race day their favorite driver wasn’t going to be racing after shelling out $125 per ticket, getting up at 4AM to drive to the track, paying $40 for a t-shirt, $7 for a speedway dog, and having to tote 24 cans of their favorite beverage in a clear plastic bag (with ice separate in the little soft-side cooler) up to their seats mid-way up the tower section of turn 4 then yell “Go Andretti!” I, for one, would be extremely agitated but then I doubt it would last after about can number 12.

The point is though that I believe that the teams would be a little less blatant about the cheating if there was a bit more teeth in the punishment. Sitting a driver down multiple races instead of the crew chief would definitely do it. After all, who goes to the races to see Chad Knaus on top of the box?

Yes, I’m still going with the wrestling analogy here to update the Rubbings Racing readers on the latest in the Tony Stewart versus NASCAR caution saga. I’ll give my reason why after the update.

On Friday morning at Talladega, Stewart was commanded to attend a very early morning meeting with three top NASCAR officials – president Mike Helton, vice-president Robin Pemberton, and Nextel Cup director Jim Darby. The result of the meeting was that Stewart came out contrite and immediately started back-pedaling on the statements comparing NASCAR to professional wrestling. Also, Tony was fined $10,000 and placed on probation for the rest of the season due to his no-show at the media center in Phoenix after that race. NASCAR pointed out that it is in Tony’s contract to attend such functions and it is specified on the entry form before each race that the top three finishers and the top rookie finisher go to the media center to speak to the press after each race.

Now why did I still use the wrestling analogy? Because despite what Tony took back, I believe that NASCAR is heading down the path of staging races anyway. The fans are no longer regarded any longer for any decision made by NASCAR. Events are taken away from the old-school racing tracks because they are considered too small to renovate for larger crowds or the track doesn’t bring in the numbers NASCAR likes to brag about on large tracks. The Crap of Today is forced upon the drivers and the fans as being the next best thing when the fire-resistant foam smokes and smolders not to mention that it drives like a whale trying to run a marathon. Finally, our reason for creating this website, the whole Chase format points system that nobody outside the France family likes.

NASCAR is trying every little gimmick conceived to pull in the viewers or boost attendance without looking at the long-term consequences. Sort of like having a steel-cage match, isn’t it?

So could a possible match up be depicted on television if one considers Tony Stewart’s comparison of NASCAR to professional wrestling. On Tony’s weekly radio show Tuesday night, he accused NASCAR of intentionally calling cautions for debris to shape the outcome of the Phoenix race. From his Sirius broadcast:

It’s like playing God. They can almost dictate the race instead of the drivers doing it. It’s happened too many times this year. I guess NASCAR thinks ‘Hey, wrestling worked, and it was for the most part staged, so I guess it’s going to work in racing, too.’ I can’t understand how long the fans are going to let NASCAR treat them like they’re stupid before the fans finally turn on NASCAR.

In response to Stewart’s allegations, NASCAR official Jim Hunter said:

We have more people and more resources than ever officiating our races. The safety of the drivers is our first priority. It has always been that way and will continue to be that way. There are thousands of talented race drivers out there who would consider it an honor to compete in the NASCAR Nextel Cup Series.

So I guess if Tony doesn’t like it, he can retire like he threatened to do a couple of weeks ago after the Texas race. Apparently, it would be no loss to NASCAR as there are just “thousands” of talented race drivers lined up behind him to take his place and I guess Jim Hunter will personally vouch for those drivers to Tony’s fan base to keep on spending their hard-earned cash on the new guys.

Although NASCAR does have a policy against obscene language and gestures made on television (be sure to read Chris’ latest article here on Rubbings Racing regarding Juan Pablo Montoya and his inappropriate actions) they do not have any policy regarding criticizing its officials like the NFL and NBA does for criticizing referees. NASCAR may consider punishment against Steward for not meeting with the media after the Phoenix race. Stewart declined post-race interviews declaring it was his way of protesting NASCAR not running a fair race.

NASCAR is the ones that always ask us to go to the media center, so instead of doing what they wanted, they don’t do what we want to do and run the race fair. So why would I go to the media center and make them happy?

Way to put the fear into them, Tony! As a suggestion, I would suggest maybe you coin a phrase similar to wrestler Dusty Rhodes:

This is my car, this is my wheel…. If you don’t move, I’ll make you squeal!

I think I’ll keep my day job, Vince McMahon need not worry about me.

I can’t see Dale Jr. maintaining the focus that would be required to take over the reins of such a successful company and trying to win races at the same time. He thinks that by him running the company it would be better for his team. I can see why he is stressed by the team performance. Since his start in 1999 in Winston Cup\Nextel Cup racing, he has only won 17 races with 2004 being his best season at 6 races won. However, since 2004 he has won only 1 race each in 2005 and 2006 with no races yet won 8 races into 2007. As a comparison, since 2001 Jimmie Johnson has won 26 races and a championship along with the wins. I doubt Johnson is in any hurry at the moment to run his own team, not to mention a whole company that does more than just one team.

Drivers who own their own teams do not seem to have a habit of making successful runs of them. Michael Waltrip is struggling to survive this year and has only entered in one race himself at Daytona. There were such high hopes for him and Toyota but it all hinges now on Dale Jarrett and his championship provisional starts. Ricky Rudd tried his hand at it from 1994 to 1999 but only had 6 wins during that time to show for his efforts. The last driver that was successful as an owner/driver was Alan Kulwicki, who won the Winston Cup championship in 1992 and if not for his death in 1993 probably would have won additional championships since then.

For the next contract, Dale should ask for a bigger say in running his team if that is what he wants to do, but leave the management of DEI in the hands of the person best capable of running the entire company. Teresa has made a lot of money for DEI and Dale knew what she was capable of doing not just for him and his family, but for all the employees and their families that depend on DEI. DEI was started by Dale and Teresa in 1980 and Teresa was the first person on the payroll of the company. Even Dale Jr. was quoted on NBC as saying the following:

Dad always said that before he met Teresa, he owed the bank money. By the time they got married, the bank owed him money.

Dale Earnhardt drove for Richard Childress, not DEI. He didn’t want to run his own team as he knew Childress was very capable of providing him with a team that could win races and championships. DEI was a Dale and Teresa Earnhardt creation to manage the large amount of money made from Dale or his cars’ image on t-shirts, die-cast cars, toilet seat covers, etc. If it has a number 3 or a likeness of Dale in his shades somewhere on the product…. Cha-ching! Another boat for Dale and Teresa to play with on Lake Norman. Eventually, they had enough boats so they started up their own race teams to supplement the merchandise money with other revenue streams. This way they could make even more money to buy more lake houses to store the boats. I’m sure Dale Jr., Kerry, Kelley, and Taylor have gotten a little bit of an allowance along the way.

Dale Earnhardt knew there was always a risk of dying in his chosen profession. Teresa for one would definitely have made sure to insist that Dale have a legal will to specify how DEI would be handled in the event of his death. I don’t know the terms of that will but it doesn’t really matter as whatever the will specified was his decision based on his beliefs at the time. If he believed that Teresa could manage DEI better than his children, then so be it. Dale Jr. can’t contest the will now, six years after Dale’s death.

If Teresa’s offer of $55-75 million for the majority ownership stake is true, then that is fair seeing as that seems to be the going rate for a stake in a team such as the Fenway deal with Roush Racing. I like to believe that she threw that offer out there knowing that Dale Jr. wouldn’t be able to afford it. Dale Jr. is very popular but surely can’t be making that much from Budweiser.

To me, I think Dale Jr. needs to win more than one race a year before he can think himself capable of running a multi-car operation like DEI.