TV TIMES For Nov 2-4
By Lou Modestino
Johnson grabs The Chase lead by +2 over Keselowski at Martinsville
Jimmie Johnson barely took the lead in The Chase following his win at Martinsville. Brad Keselowski had a rough day but still managed a respectable sixth place after experiencing problems and is just -2 points behind JJ. Clint Bowyer managed a top five which was enough to put him third in The Chase -26 points down with Kasey Kahne next -29 point. Denny Hamlin currently ranks fifth in The Chase after a disastrous day on that paperclip track.
Johnson had this to say following the race, “I’ve got a good race car, and we learned here that you don’t want to pit late. It’s still no cake walk here. With three races left anything can happen. You just never know.” While Keselowski quipped, “We went from 32nd to sixth, and we can still win this thing. It’s coming down to the final with Jimmie.”
According to Clint Bowyer, “It was a good day for us.” In spite of a second place, Kyle Busch said,” It was disappointing for me today.” Kasey Kahne revealed, “I had to battle pretty hard. We were right there. My car kept running lose, and then it got really tight.” Jeff Gordon, obviously not happy with seventh, said, “My car was strong especially at the start.”
Denny Hamlin had his usual “keep your chin up” in spite of a real bad day. “I’m disappointed. But, there was nothing that I could do about it. I got to the front twice but it didn’t work out.” We found out later the reason that Hamlin stopped dead on the track was due to a failure of a master switch which knocked him out of The Chase. “You can have a fast car but you still can’t control everything,” was Hamlin’s comment on that part failure.
The ESPN crowd had their opinions. According to Rusty Wallace, “Clint Bowyer is looking good and Brad Keselowski still looks strong in The Chase.” Speed’s Bob Dilner thinks that Jimmie Johnson will be putting a lot of pressure on Brad Keselowski, and the “head games” will begin starting with the last three races in The Chase. Dale Jarrett of ESPN commented, “Both Jimmie Johnson and Brad Keselowski did a good job today.”
On the under card, Denny Hamlin won the NASCAR Truck race a day earlier. James Buescher leads the Truck point chase by +21. Down in Greenville, SC, Corey Lajoie took another K&N Filter Pro East race.
In India, Sabastien Vettel took both the pole and the F1 race. Filling out the podium were Fernando Alonso and Mark Webber. Vettel now leads the F1 points by +13.
Here we go again in the IZOD Indy Car Series! Randy Bernard got dumped, and Jeff Belskis is not the interim President of the IZOD Indy Car Series. That’s not a good move. Just when it appeared that the Indy Cars were on a successful road, the suits at the top messed it up again. They just can’t seem to handle too much success.
Dave Despain will host four hours of SPEED programming from the sixth edition of the World of Outlaws (WoO) World Finals in Charlotte on Nov. 3 at 8 p.m. ET, as 2012 champions across multiple divisions are crowned.
“There won’t be any points racing at the World Finals,” Despain said. “It will be all about winning … about ending the season on the high that comes from taking home the biggest trophy. I can’t wait!” Donny Schatz, runner-up for the 2007 Mario Andretti Trophy/SPEED Performer of the Year, will clinch his fifth WoO Sprint Car Series crown when he qualifies on Thursday night, but with 23 different winners this season, the World Finals Sprints finish is wide open.
Darrell Lanigan looks to win his second WoO Late Model Series title, and Matt Sheppard and Jimmy Phelps battle for Big Block Modified honors. Teaming with Despain from The Dirt Track at Charlotte, Ralph Sheheen, Brad Doty and Shane Andrews call the action from the booth, with Bobby Gerould and Matt Yocum doing the dirty in the pits.
We read an interesting piece in ROAD & TRACK MAGAZINE entitled ROAD AHEAD By Editior-In-Chief Matt DeLorenzo. It was entitled The Decline Of Spec Racing. DeLorenzo. What will really be of interest to the majority of the race fans in the USA that follow the NASCAR events is the fact that cookie cutter race cars at that level haven’t worked. And it’s hurt the show which Matt calls “Unintended Consequences”.
Now the next generation of cars set to be introduced in 2013 include a new Ford Fusion, Toyota Camry and the Chevy SS, all of which will reflect the production sheet metal and not the designs of the COT. The racing iron won’t have to fit a template but will utilize wind tunnel data instead. That’s all part of Brian France’s plan to get the NASCAR Cup Series back on track. He had been much criticised for abandoning the street appearance of the the NASCAR racecars
DeLorenzo goes out a on a limb to say that the show will benefit by having different looking cars as well as an opportunity for the teams to come up with an edge over competitors. Isn’t that why NASCAR leaped in front of the mainstream sports fan before NASCAR’s Brian France and company made changes the stunk up the show resulting in TV ratings taking a dive and fans staying home and not buying tickets?
We know that NASCAR is going to say that the Great Recession had a lot to do with the it. But, that’s not the whole story. It’s no coincidence that Brian France and company are evolving back to where they were before all of the changes made turned off a lot of fans. It still remains to be seen, though, when all of the chips fall if NASCAR will ever regain their position in the US sports pecking order.
The Saratoga Automobile Museum’s LOST SPEEDWAYS program has grown into a “must see” event for auto racing aficionados of all ages and SAM’s most popular event. For 2012, the date will remain the same, the traditional Saturday after Thanksgiving (November 24) with some new highlights.
“Memorabilia is always a big part of the day, with visitors encouraged to bring their prized items for sharing from 11:30 a.m. until the speakers begin at 1 p.m.,” explained organizer Ron Hedger. “But this year we will have some great displays that people have never seen, including photos of the late Wally Campbell and other Speedway Division drivers and a fantastic vintage slide connection recently donated to the museum by longtime racing photographer PJ West of Vestal, NY. They include numerous shots of Richie Evans, whose car is now on display, so it should be captivating.
“Our current featured exhibit, ‘MOONSHINE TO MILLIONAIRES – NASCAR’s History, Heroes and Technology,’ has been a huge success, and since it will close right after Lost Speedways, I want to focus on NASCAR history this year,” added Hedger. “Plus, we have the opportunity to again enjoy the racing tales of Jim Reed, a multi-year NASCAR champion who was a big hit in 2011 and has agreed to return. He’s going to tell us about winning the 1959 Southern 500 at Darlington, among other highlights of his career.”
The program will also include Hall of Fame driver Brian Ross’ recollections of his short but eye opening Winston Cup career and his time as an instructor at Andy Hillenburg’s Charlotte driving school and a look back at the highlights of the century old Fonda Speedway by longtime racing writer and DIRT legal advisor Andy Fusco.
“I will also do a pair of short presentations myself,” added Hedger. “We have Bill Wimble’s Carnegie Medal on display, and I’ll relate that story, along with a discussion of NASCAR’s Speedway division for Indianapolis-type cars, something most people have never heard of.
“We now have the Evans #61 Pinto and Allan Wiltsie’s beautiful Speedway Division open cockpit car wheeled by Wally Campbell on display and the stay of the Dale Earnhardt #3 was recently extended. The entire exhibit is like a highlights reel!”
Another high point of Lost Speedways will be the drawing of the first winner in the auto museum’s NASCAR VIP Raffle, sponsored by M and M/Mars, which will see two winners each receive four tickets to the 2013 Sprint Cup race of their choice, $250 travel money, garage passes and a personal meet and greet session with Kyle Busch. The second drawing will be held in the spring of 2013. Tickets are $5 and may be purchased at the museum or online.
The Lost Speedways event is free to museum members, with others admitted for the standard museum admission charge. More information is available online at www.saratogaautomuseum.org. The Saratoga Automobile Museum is located on the Avenue of the Pines in the Saratoga Spa State Park, just off Exit 13N of the Adirondack Northway.
Christmas will be here before we know it. Coastal 181 at 29 Water St., Newburyport, MA 01950 has a lot of new books for the race fan. At the top of the list is I AM PARNELI JONES by noted author Bones Bourcier. It’s priced at $39.95. There are many other new arrivals. You can check it all out at www.coastal181.com on the internet. Another gift opportunity for race fans is Rose Publications, P.O> Box 10879, Glendale, AZ 85318. They have a catalog that lists the exclusive JOE HENNINGS 100 YEARS AT INDIANAPOLIS for $15 +$3 for S&H. Besides great racing books there are historic racing T-shirts and Joe Henning-Dick Lowe art prints priced at $5 each. Visit their website at www.roseracingpublications.com on the internet.