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NASCAR Drivers Sing in Perfect Harmony
NASCAR Drivers Find Perfect Harmony
Think the Superbowl has the best commercials? Think again.
Here’s one that will be in the 2010 Daytona 500 that smokes them all.
There’s an old Coca Cola commercial with a crowd of people standing on a hillside singing.
I’d like to buy the world a home and furnish it with love,
Grow apple trees and honey bees, and snow white turtle doves.
I’d like to teach the world to sing in perfect harmony,
I’d like to buy the world a Coke and keep it company.
It’s the real thing, Coke is what the world wants today.
That was in 1971. That was the year Tony Stewart was born.
Well, a gang of NASCAR drivers got together and sang that song for a new Coke commercial
Elliott Sadler, Tony Stewart, Greg Biffle, Joey Logano, Jeff Burton, Ryan Newman, Denny Hamlin, Kevin Harvick, Bobby Labonte and Clint Bowyer are singing I’d like to teach the world to sing in perfect harmony – while driving 200 mph!
Here it is – and a behind the scenes look at the making of the commercial.
Please tell your friends to watch, and please tell me what you think.
Changes to races ending under caution
NASCAR Changing Green White Checkered Rule
Look for another procedural rule change from NASCAR before Thursday’s Gatorade Duels. I have heard from a source inside NASCAR that the race leader will now be required to take the white flag under green.
If a caution occurs before the leader reaches the white flag NASCAR will make another attempt at a Green White Checkered finish.
No word yet on how many additional attempts will be made. Currently only one attempt is made. I expect an official announcement shortly.
Do you see this as an improvement in racing?
A NASCAR Pay Cut
Kyle Busch is Getting a Pay Cut
By Buck Black Jr
But so are Jimmie Johnson and Dale Earnhardt Jr. All drivers will have a pay cut in 2010.
NASCAR is slashing the amount it will pay race teams by about 10% for the 2010 season. The move is part of a NASCAR cost-cutting initiative.
Race track operators will benefit the most from the discounted race purses.
Speedways are required to put at least 25% of their television money toward race purses. The money tracks will receive from television networks will increase by about 2.5% in 2010. Even as the tracks are handing out less at the pay window to drivers.
But attendance at NASCAR Sprint Cup races will continue to be off in 2010. So the reduced purses will help offset the loss in ticket sales.
To their credit NASCAR tracks have been offering race fanss lower ticket prices to get people in the grandstands.
For what it’s worth International Speedway Corporation owns about half of the tracks on the Sprint Cup series schedule.
NASCAR is essentially owned by the owners of International Speedway Corporation.
“NASCAR did the right thing to work with the tracks to reduce their costs in order to manage the economic realities,” said Ramsey Poston, NASCAR’s corporate communications honcho.
“Tracks have done a great job reducing ticket prices and enhancing the fan experience. Likewise, we worked with the teams to contain costs.”
So it seems that the speedway operators are trying to hold their own while taking money from drivers and race teams.
Does that seem fair?
2010 NASCAR Rule Changes
Jeff Hammond Recaps NASCAR’s 2010 Rules Package
NASCAR Encouraging Aggression
NASCAR is Openly Encouraging Increased Aggression by Its Drivers
It quickly became clear today during a press conference at the NASCAR R&D Center that NASCAR is not only telling drivers to take the gloves off – but that NASCAR is openly encouraging more aggressive behavior by competitors. Both on and off the track.
NASCAR is a Contact Sport
“This is a contact sport,” NASCAR CEO Brian France said in his opening remarks. “This is the best racing in the world.”
“We have an eye on putting things back in the driver’s hands. We’re going to loosen up.”
Then France repeated his opening mantra once again. “We want to see more contact. This is a contact sport.”
Bump Drafting is Back
NASCAR also announced that they were eliminating the restrictions on bump drafting that made last year’s Talladega race so boring.
NASCAR’s Vice President of Competition Robin Pemberton made no bones about where NASCAR stands on giving the drivers the freedom to bump draft. “Boys have at it and have a good time,” said Pemberton. “That’s all I’ve got to say.”
Pemberton also revealed that restrictor plates at Daytona would be less restrictive this year. The plates will have 63/64” openings this year. The largest openings in 21 years.
So why did NASCAR decide to give teams the bigger restrictor plate? “We felt like it was important to give the drivers a little more horsepower – a little more throttle response,” said Competition VP Robin Pemberton.
No More Wing
The wing will also soon be gone off the rear of the car. Pemberton confirmed that Sprint Cup cars would return to the use of a spoiler early on in the 2010 season. But for Daytona the wing remains.
So why is NASCAR doing away with the wing and returning to the spoiler? “The spoiler has come on for the car to look more like it used to and drive differently,” explained Brian France.
“If we didn’t think that the racing would be improved – spoiler vs. wing – we wouldn’t have done it.”
Indeed the spoiler makes the car look a lot more like a stock car and less like a tuner car.
Now NASCAR needs to get rid of that splitter on the front of the car. Brian France indicated that was a possibility. “The front end is something we are looking at,” said France.
The yellow line rule at Daytona and Talladega will stay in place for now, however. NASCAR met with drivers and teams about doing away with the double yellow line which prevents drivers from going below the line to advance their position.
Eliminating the double yellow line rule was seriously considered – and it may eventually be done away with. But not yet.
Encouraging Drivers to Show Personality
NASCAR President Mike Helton said that NASCAR was “encouraging the characters of the sport to show their personality.” But he also left some wiggle room as far as how far NASCAR is willing to go. That doesn’t mean you get a free pass out of jail,” he said.
So is NASCAR putting the show over safety in promoting their racing as a contact sport?
Mike Helton doesn’t think so. “NASCAR racing from day one has always been highly competitive,” said Helton. “If you ain’t rubbin’ – you ain’t racin’.”
“We’re the last people that want to over-regulate the sport. We’re very careful about what regulations we ease up on.”
“These cars are safer than 5years ago,” Helton continued.
More Exciting Racing
“Obviously the racing is going to get more exciting,” said Sprint Cup Director John Darby.
So drivers, put your big boy pants on, pull those belts a little tighter, make sure that helmet is strapped on tight, and hold on. This is going to be a wild ride.
Is NASCAR going down the right road? I believe so. What about you?
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44 Reasons Honda Could Come To NASCAR
44 Reasons For Honda To Come To NASCAR
Honda has a powerful force in NASCAR despite never turning a lap in a race.
44 Honda dealerships in the United States are owned by NASCAR team owners, speedway owners and former drivers.
Honda has always been very sharp when it comes to automotive marketing.
Bruton Smith’s Sonic Automotive owns 15 Honda dealerships. Bruton is the Chairman and CEO of Speedway Motorsports which owns 7 NASCAR tracks including Lowes Motor Speedway, Texas, Bristol, Atlanta, Infineon, Las Vegas, and New Hampshire. They also own PRN Radio which airs the races on radio.
Roger Penske’s dealership group, Penske Automotive, owns 17 US Honda dealerships. Penske owns Penske Racing South which fields the No. 12, No. 2, and No. 77 in the Sprint Cup series.
Hendrick Automotive Group, headed by Rick Hendrick, owns 8 Honda dealerships. Hendrick Motorsports fields 4 cars in Sprint Cup including those driven by Jeff Gordon, Jimmie Johnson and Dale Earhnardt, Jr.
There are also 3 former NASCAR drivers – with 4 championships between them – who are Honda dealers. Here’s the list. Is one of them near you?
Sonic Automotive Honda Dealerships
1. Buena Park Honda, Buena Park, CA
2. Carson Honda, Carson, CA
3. Concord Honda, Concord , CA
4. Crest Honda, Nashville, TN
5. Economy Honda Superstore, Chattanooga, TN
6. Honda West, Las Vegas, NV
7. Honda of Fort Myers, Fort Myers, FL
8. Honda of Hayward, Hayward, CA
9. Honda of Santa Monica, Santa Monica, CA
10. Honda of Serramonte, Colma, CA
11. Honda of Stevens Creek, San Jose, CA
12. Honda of Tyson’s Corner, Vienna, VA
13. Lute Riley Honda, Richardson, TX
14. Pensacola Honda, Pensacola, FL
15. Poway Honda, Poway, CA
16. Steve Bailey Honda, Oklahoma City, OK
Penske Automotive Honda Dealerships
17. Capitol Honda, San Jose, CA – Penske
18. Goodson Honda North, Houston, TX
19. Goodson Honda West, Houston, TX
20. Honda Bloomfield, Bloomfield Hills, MI
21. Honda Mall of Georgia, Buford, GA
22. Honda Mission Valley, San Diego, CA
23. Honda North, San Diego, CA
24. Honda of Danbury, Danbury, CT
25. Honda of Escondido, Escondido, CA
26. Honda of Fayetteville, Fayetteville, AR
27. Honda of Mentor, Mentor, OH
28. Honda of Nanuet, Nanuet, NY
29. Honda of Turnersville, Turnersville, NJ
30. Marin Honda, Madera, CA
31. Penske Honda, Indianapolis, IN
32. Round Rock Honda, Round Rock, TX
33. Tempe Honda, Tempe, AZ
Hendrick Automotive Group Honda Dealerships
34. Darrell Waltrip Honda, Franklin, TN — Hendrick
35. Gwinnett Place Honda, Duluth, GA
36. Hendrick Honda of Charleston, Charleston, SC
37. Hendrick Honda Virginia, Woodbridge, VA
38. Honda Cars of El Cerrito, El Cerrito, CA
39. Honda Cars of McKinney, McKinney, TX
40. Honda Cars of Rock Hill, Rock Hill, SC
41. Honda Cars of Concord, Concord, NC
Drivers Who Own Honda Dealerships
42. Cale Yarborough Honda, Florence, SC
43. Rusty Wallace Honda, Knoxville, TN
44. Dick Brooks Honda, Greer, SC
How much longer do you think Honda will sit by and watch Toyota race in NASCAR?
Biggest NASCAR Mistake
Who Made The Biggest Mistake at Texas?
When Jimmie Johnson crashed early in the race you would have thought Dale Earnhardt Jr took the lead on the last lap at Talladega. The crowd went wild.
Sunday’s Dickie’s 500 at Texas Motor Speedway was a battle to see who could make the biggest mistake. Jimmie Johnson threw away a huge chunk of his championship lead. Kyle Busch threw away the race lead. Dale Earnhardt Jr threw away a good finish.
Kyle Busch out of gas.
Kyle Busch beat a fast path out of Texas Motor Speedway after being forced to the pits with an empty fuel cell while he was leading with just 3 laps to go. Why didn’t Kyle at least explain what happened?
Kyle’s new crew chief, Dave Rogers, blew it big time by not bringing Kyle to pit road for gas sooner.
Kurt Busch knew Kyle was going to run out of gas with 3 laps to go. So why didn’t Kyle’s new crew chief know it? Kurt was told by his crew chief Pat Tryson that he didn’t have to race Kyle – that Kyle was short on gas. I guess Kyle’s team should have been listening
Dale Earnhardt Jr’s crew chief didn’t do much better.
Dale Earnhardt Jr hit pit road out of gas with just 7 laps to go. The pit crew dumped in a few gallons of gas and let Junior go. He only made it a few yards out of his pit stall before his car stalled because it could not pick up fuel.
Lance McGrew should have never let Junior leave his pit until he had fuel pressure. Junior was completely out of gas when he hit pit road.
McGrew could learn a thing or two from his teammate on the No. 24 team. Last week when Jeff Gordon ran out of gas at Talladega crew chief Steve LeTarte held Gordon in the pits until the car had fuel pressure. Had McGrew done the same thing Earnhardt would have had a chance to finish in the top 10 – instead of 25th.
Jimmie Johnson in the wall.
Don’t engrave Jimmie Johnson’s name on the Sprint Cup just yet. Johnson lost 111 points after crashing on the 2nd lap. The No. 48 team still holds a 73 point lead in the Sprint Cup standings. But it is not an unbeatable lead.
So what did you think about the race?
Is Talladega Still Exciting?
Is Talladega Still Exciting?
Talladega is usually my favorite race track – but Sunday’s Amp Energy 500 was a long stretch of boredom interrupted occasionally by sheer terror.
The track officials at Talladega went as far as to get an Indian medicine man to remove any curses on the speedway on Wednesday before the race. How did that work? Not so good. I hope they can get their money back.
NASCAR’s new smaller restrictor plate combined with a last minute rule against bump drafting left drivers unable or unwilling to race. For most of 
the day they looked like Sunday drivers on I-20 rather than professional race car drivers at what should be the world’s fastest speedway.
Even Mark Martin said this was not a race. “Its not racing it’s just a different word and I don’t have a word for it,” said Martin.
Tony Stewart asked for someone on the team to tell him something – anything – on the radio to keep him entertained.
Kevin Harvick asked if his car had cruise control that would make his job a little easier. And that was while he was leading.
Ryan Newman was not happy with the way the race was run – even after flipping his car and having to be cut from the wreckage. “I wish NASCAR would do something. It was a boring race for the fans,” said Newman.
“We’re supposed to be racing all day long and I believe we’ve lost a little bit of that luster.”
The crowd had a few reasons to cheer today. When Ryan Newman was cut from his badly wrecked race car and climbed out a huge roar erupted. The same thing happened every time Dale Earnhardt Jr took the lead.
But what kind of race is it when your championship leader rides around at the back of the field all day? When race cars look like they are in a parade – not a race?
Did you think the Talladega race was exciting?
Share Your Opinion on Martinsville
Martinsville: Have Your Say
Over the final 53 laps Denny Hamlin held off Jimmie Johnson on 3 double-file restarts to win the Tums Fast Relief 500 at Martinsville.
Jimmie Johnson had won 5 of the last 6 Martinsville races and he looked to be a contender in this one. But Hamlin would deny him in the end.
Still Johnson increased his lead in the Championship standings by 118 points over Mark Martin.
Gordon Leads Early
Jeff Gordon showed strength early in the race as he bumped Martin Truex Jr out of the way on the way to the front of the pack. Gordon would later complain when Juan Pablo Montoya used the same move on him.
Still Gordon was in the lead by lap 22. But by lap 59 Jimmie Johnson would edge past Gordon for the lead after starting 15th.
Earnhardt’s Troubles Begin
Dale Earnhardt saw trouble early on in the race when he blew a right front tire. The cause for the flat tire turns out to be a melted bead on the tire caused by excessive heat build-up from the brakes.
None of Earnhardt’s teammates experienced a similar problem so it’s not clear why he was having brake and tire problems. This would not be the last time he would have problems today.
On lap 128 Earnhardt hit the wall. Again the problem was a melted bead due to excessive brake heat. Earnhardt would go 2 laps down
By lap 163 Juan Pablo Montoya was in the lead, but by lap 1836 Denny Hamlin would be out front.
Hamlin Dominant
Denny Hamlin had the dominant car most of the day leading the most laps at 205.
By lap 251 Dale Earnhardt Jr was back on the lead lap. He would not stay there, though. The No 88 Chevrolet continued to suffer tire and brake problems.
By lap 321 Jimmie Johnson was out front and most of the remaining laps would be a battle between Hamlin and Johnson. On lap 362 Johnson and Hamlin battled side by side with Hamlin coming out on top.
Hamlin held off Jimmie Johnson on a green white checkered restart to take the win.
Why No Caution?
On the final lap John Andretti spun his car at the start-finish line. Even though Andretti’s car was sitting on the racetrack NASCAR did not throw the caution flag until the last second leaving Chad Knaus, crew chief for Jimmie Johnson, asking why?
So here’s your chance to share your opinion. What did you think about the race?
