Will Obama Ban NASCAR Flyovers?
Will Obama Ban NASCAR Flyovers Next?
As President of The United States Barack Obama is Commander in Chief of the United States Armed Forces. He has complete control over the nation’s military forces – including the right to allow or not allow aircraft to fly over special events.
For 43 years the Treasure Valley God and Country Festival has been held in Idaho. Previous President’s have allowed the Air Force to take part in the festival by providing planes for ceremonial flyovers – but now the Pentagon has said no to the festival’s organizers under Obama’s watch.
As part of the festival the anthems of the Army, Navy, Air Force and Marines are played to salute our nation’s military men and women.
Barack Obama could just as easily ban flyovers at NASCAR races – and that would be a real shame. Is NASCAR next on Obama’s list?
What would you say to Barack Obama to prevent him from banning NASCAR flyovers?
Why Are You a NASCAR Fan?
Why Are You A NASCAR Fan?
What makes NASCAR so special to you? I was hoping you could share your thoughts about why you are a NASCAR fan. How did you get involved in the sport – and why do you follow it today?
Maybe you follow a driver – or maybe there is one you love to hate. Maybe you like the action, or the strategy involved as the race unfolds.
What first drew you to become a NASCAR fan – and what keeps you following the sport today?
Feel free to leave your comments below, or email them directly to me at greg@racingwin.com.
Ride With Dale Jr
Get Your Name on Dale Jr’s Car
70,000 Dale Earnhardt Jr fans will ride with Dale Jr at Talladega by getting their name on his car. Here’s how it was done last year.
You can sign up to get your name on Junior’s car at AmpEnergy.com
Earnhardt Sick Keselowski Standing By
Earnhardt Sick – Brad Keselowski on Stand-by
Updated Sunday 7/26/09 2:05pm EST
Dale Earnhardt Jr looks and feels much better today. I believe he will be able to race without relief.
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Dale Earnhardt Jr is suffering from stomach-flu like symptoms and Brad Keselowski is standing by should Junior be unable to race – or need relief – in Sunday’s Allstate 400 at The Brickyard.
When Earnhardt awoke at 5:00 am Friday morning he seriously considered heading to the emergency room instead of the speedway. He eventually made it to the track and went straight to the infield care center where he was given an I.V.
Brad Keselowski is set to practice the No.88 car today if weather permits. He needs to make some laps on the track before NASCAR will approve him as a relief driver due to his rookie status.
If Keselowski gets the practice time in he will stand by to drive the car on Sunday depending on how Earnhardt feels then.
How Important is Indy to NASCAR?
How Important is Indy to NASCAR?
Some people claim The Brickyard 400 at Indy is one of the biggest races in NASCAR – 2nd to the Daytona 500. The track carries a lot of prestige – but it’s not a more important race than the 600 at Charlotte or the Southern 500 at Darlington.
The Bristol night race and the July race at Daytona also rank ahead of the Indy race.
Talladega is also more important than Indy.
It’s not that Indy is unimportant to NASCAR – it’s a big deal that NASCAR is racing there. There are just a lot more important races than Indy.
Dale Jr on Indy
As Dale Earnhardt Jr and Kyle Busch prepare for the Allstate 400 at the Brickyard the drivers summed up what they thought about the Indianapolis Motor Speedway – and what it would mean to get a win there.
“Flat tracks are always the toughest for me,” said Dale Earnhardt Jr. “At the flat tracks, the middle is the toughest part. The corners at Indy are like 90-degree corners. We don’t run on any other track that’s like this, so it’s a real challenge knowing what you need your car to be doing to go fast. It’s fun. It’s a great racetrack. I like it. I enjoy it. But it can be frustrating. It’s really, really hard to pass.”
Earnhardt recalled his first trip to the Brickyard. “Going there the first time and running up front. I started the race in the top 10 and was running with the leaders for a little bit. My dad had this old crazy setup from years ago in his car. I drove it some, and I was like, ‘Man, this thing drives totally different than anything I ever drove before.’ But I was going to stick with what I was driving because it was the talk of the garage — the style, the setup we were running. About 100 laps into the race, we’re running good, and Daddy’s running like 10th. Then with 50 to go, he drove right past me as we got real tight. His old race car — with the tiny sway bar and all these old-school springs — was still turning and rolling through the corner. I thought that was pretty neat.”
Brickyard Tire Issues
Tires are the biggest issues on everyone’s mind as the race approaches. Last year’s race at Indy was a fiasco with NASCAR throwing cautions every 10 laps to allow teams to replace tires that were worn to the cords. “I think Goodyear has gone to test there like six times or more since last season,” said Dale Earnhardt Jr crew chief Lance McGrew. “I believe Jeff was pretty happy. They were able to run 30 green-flag laps without issue, even with a smaller car count where they only take four or five cars to the track. So, hopefully all that tire stuff’s over. It looks really good so far. Jeff doesn’t seem to think there’s going to be any kind of problem. So the more cars that are there, the better that will get.”
Kyle Busch says Indy is Tough
“It’s a very difficult track to master, said Busch. “I’m not even sure that I’ve done it. Just racing the races that I’ve run there, I’ve finished well a couple of times. I think I’ve had a seventh and a 10th, and a fourth. To me, it has been one of those racetracks that is very unforgiving. It’s narrow, tight, not a lot of passing goes on there. It’s tough to get your car set up perfectly there, so you have to do what you can to make it the best you can. All four corners being so different, remembering exactly how to drive all four of them, and just trying to be able to be able to qualify up front and to race up front is so important there.”
So where do you think Indy ranks in NASCAR?
Dale Earnhardt Jr’s 3 Worst Crashes
Dale Earnhardt Jr’s 3 Worst Crashes
The Corvette Crash at Infineon
Dale Earnhardt Jr crashed his Corvette and it erupts into a fireball as he prepares to compete in an American LeMans Series race at Infineon Speedway in California date on July 18, 2004.
Dale Earnhardt Jr 2002 California Speedway Crash
California Speedway, Fontana, CA in April 2004
On lap 229 Dale Earnhardt Jr slammed the Bud Chevy into the No. 29 of Kevin Harvick as Harvick was attempting to get to pit road for a flat tire.
The contact sent Earnhardt’s car careening into the wall nose first.
He climbed from the car limping from an injury to his ankle, and was immediately taken by ambulance to the infield care center.
When he emerged after getting medical attention Junior was walking with crutches.
“That was about as hard of a hit as I’ve ever taken,” Earnhardt Jr said. “It just took every bit of air out of me. I could hear the guys on the radio, but I couldn’t answer.”
Despite being bruised and battered Dale Jr was back at work the next day for a meeting at Dale Earnhardt Inc. in Mooresville.
Earnhardt was scored with a finish of 36th at California.
Dover Monster Grabs Earnhardt Jr
Dover International Speedway in September 2003.
While wrestling with an ill-handling race car Dale Earnhardt Jr lost control of
the No. 8 Chevrolet, colliding hard into the wall on the driver’s side.
When emergency personnel arrived on the scene they found the driver unconscious — a fact that Junior himself disputes. After all, he had let the window net down on his car immediately following the crash.
Track safety workers helped him climb from the wreckage.
Dale Jr was placed onto a stretcher with his head and neck immobilized, and loaded into an ambulance.
Doctor’s in the infield care center examined Earnhardt and ordered him to be taken by helicopter to Dover’s Bayhealth Medical Center for further diagnosis.
He was diagnosed with a concussion.
After being treated and released from the hospital Earnhardt flew home to North Carolina.
Dale Jr’s status for the following week’s race at Talladega, where he was going for his 5th win in a row, was in question.
“It’s our understanding he has seen a doctor and is feeling fine, but we don’t expect to make any sort of decisions about him until Wednesday, at the earliest,” NASCAR Vice President of Communications Jim Hunter said the following Tuesday.
Junior would need clearance from NASCAR approved doctors before he could return to competition.
“We’re going to talk to the doctors,” Hunter said “It’s not going to be as simple as him just showing up to race.”
By Wednesday he was cleared to return to the track at Talladega — a race he would finish 2nd in.
When NASCAR analyzed the data from the car’s black box the forces in the crash were the worst they had seen since implementing the data recording devices.
“I heard some hearsay. They said that Kyle Petty’s at Bristol was the hardest they’d ever recorded with the black box, and they said it was more than that,” Earnhardt Jr reported.
The crash at Dover left Dale Jr 37th in the final finishing order.
Inside Dale Jr’s Shop
Inside JR Motorsports with Dale Earnhardt Jr
Dale Jr takes you on an inside tour of his race shop — JR Motorsports. Take a look at this video.
Did Tony Stewart Dump Kyle Busch?
Kyle Busch Claims Stewart Dumped Him at Daytona
First of all – someone needs to tell Kyle Busch — and every other NASCAR driver — that when they are speaking to fans or the media that they need to lose the hat and the sunglasses. Let’s see drivers look people in the eye.
Kyle’s not the only one guilty of that.
Stewart Intentionally Wrecked Busch?
Kyle claims that Tony Stewart dumped him on the last lap at Daytona – that Stewart intentionally wrecked him.
“I got bumped from behind and tried to block low,” said Kyle Busch.
“If you’re up alongside the guy and you dump him then I say black flag him — he doesn’t get the win,” said Busch. “If the second place driver dumps the leader than black flag his ass. He doesn’t get the win.”
Kyle Says Season a Failure
When asked about his performance so far in 2009 Kyle simply says “I think we’ve been a big failure.”
“I Don’t Have feelings”
Tony Stewart called Kyle Busch this week to talk about what happened on the final lap. When asked about that conversation Kyle simply replied “I really don’t have feelings so it doesn’t mean a whole lot.”
Finally, when Kyle was asked if the crash would be considered a dump he flatly responded: “It would be considered a dump.”
So is there payback coming for Tony Stewart?
Kyle Busch Wrecks Himself
Kyle Busch Wrecked by His Own Move
Tony Stewart was a little subdued and almost apologetic in Victory Lane after dominating Saturday night’s Coke Zero 400 at Daytona.
Stewart seemed to think he shouldered some responsibility for putting Kyle Busch in the wall just yards from the finish line on the final lap.
“I guess I just don’t feel as much gratification from winning this race as I probably should,” said Tony Stewart. “I don’t want any part of earning a race because the guy that was leading the race got wrecked.”
Kyle Put Tony in Bad Position
“I don’t know that we did anything wrong. I’ve seen replays of it, and he’s protecting his position, which he’s got to do. I mean, that’s what he has to do as a driver. He can’t just sit there and let us make a move like that and not try to defend it. But it puts him, it puts us, it put Kasey Kahne behind him in a bad position where it drove Kyle’s car all the way up to Kasey’s windshield.
“I guess tomorrow I might be happier about it,” said Stewart.
Tony Stewart did nothing wrong.
Stewart Miscue Lets Kyle Pass
Busch was able to drive past Stewart coming to the white flag thanks to a miscalculation on the part of Tony Stewart. “We slowed down just trying not to get too big a gap,” said Stewart, “and I timed it wrong and that gave him a chance to get around us. It was just a mistake on my part. He had been setting that move up for a couple laps, and I tried not to give him too much of a gap to get a run like that. I slowed myself down too much to protect my spot. It was a mistake on my part that gave him enough of a shot to get a big run on the outside like that.”
Stewart was faster than Busch and he was trying to pass. When Stewart moved his No.14 Chevy to the bottom of the racetrack Kyle Busch cut him off. It didn’t matter. Stewart had a head of steam and went to the high side and started to move around Kyle Busch’s Toyota. By the time Kyle figured out what was happening Stewart already had his bumper along-side. When Kyle tried to block the second time Stewart held his line and Busch spun across Stewart’s bumper.
“We went for it right there at the end,” said crew Kyle Busch’s chief Steve Addington. “What are you going to say? Everybody on this race team worked their tails off and we had a good racecar. I can’t say anything. I’m not pointing any fingers at Tony. He was trying to win the race, Kyle was trying to block him for the win and we got turned around.”
That block ruined some good race cars on the final lap – including Kasey Kahne and Joey Logano who had nowhere to go when Busch hit the wall. Both of them hit Kyle’s No. 18 Toyota – Kasey Kahne lifted Busch’s wheels off the ground and literally drove underneath him.
The finish line was so close that if Kyle Busch had held his line instead of blocking Stewart the two would have crossed the line side by side. Busch could have still won. At worst he would have been second.
Instead Busch finished 14th as Stewart took the checkered flag.
Stewart Lucky He Didn’t Wreck
“I was kind of surprised at where we came out of that ordeal, not necessarily with the lead but the direction we were pointed,” said Stewart.” It really easily could have taken us out of a chance to win the race, too.”
“It happened so quick and he went across the nose so fast, and the next thing we know we’re pointed at the line.”
The move looked similar to the block Carl Edwards tried to put on Brad Keselowski at Talladega. The results were about the same, too.
NASCAR Officials Corner Busch
Following the race Busch blew off reporters who were waiting to talk to him – and he tried to blow off NASCAR officials who wanted him to see a doctor in the infield care center. The officials were having none of that. Busch had to be forcibly turned around and put in a waiting truck to go be checked out.
Kyle Busch’s best shot at Victory would have been not to block Tony Stewart. I do not see where Tony Stewart did anything wrong. Do you?
Dale Jr Race Car for Sale
Dale Jr Show Car on eBay
Want to own a Dale Earnhardt Jr stock car. I found this one for sale on eBay with the Mountain Dew paint scheme. The guy wants $25,000 for it.
