By Mike Mulhern
mmulhern@wsjournal.com

CONCORD
So is this the night brash Kyle Busch gets his comeuppance, for all the aggravation he’s been dealing out on the stock car tour?
This All-Star race – XXIV, since it was first created by the late T. Wayne Robertson of R.J. Reynolds in 1985 – has no points on the line, pays a cool $1 million-plus to win, and is typically a good place to settle a few grievances…sort of like that dark backstretch at old Columbia Speedway where back in the ‘50s and ‘60s sometimes a guy would come off two and – Golly, gee whiz – just never make it to turn three, simply disappear into the darkness.
But anyone wanting to settle things with Busch will first have to catch him. He’s been one of the fastest on the NASCAR scene all spring, be it Sprint Cup, Nationwide or Truck, so Saturday’s 9 p.m. feature should be no different.
And Friday night he blew away the field, including Jeff Gordon, to win the pole for the All-Star green. Not only was Busch fast on the track, but he was also fast on pit road too—qualifying for this event is unusual, with a four-tire pit stop included in the three-lap run. The pit road speed limit of 45 mph was in effect for drivers entering pit road but there was no speed limit leaving.

And then like Dale Earnhardt Sr. – the target of more than a few angry ‘I’ll get him back’ threats – liked to say, with appropriate menace: ‘If they’re coming after me, they’d better do a darned good job of it…..’
Of course these guys are more professional, usually, than to deal out personal justice like that, preferring to use more tact and finesse.
Then again Busch is no stranger to controversial, to put it mildly. Just ask his own brother Kurt – they crashed last year in this very race while fighting for the win, with the younger Kyle making a move perhaps a bit too aggressive.
Kyle Busch has already won eight NASCAR touring events this season, and even Carl Edwards is getting frustrated.

Kyle Busch is getting quite a collection of NASCAR checkered flags

(Photo by Jason Smith/Getty Images for NASCAR)

But, hey, maybe there is hope for Busch’s rivals: a switch to Formula One?
Or at least an F1 test: “We’re actually working on that right now,” Busch says. “A test session at the end of November or beginning of December, going to Japan for a little exhibition…and see what it’s like.”
Huh?
“We’ll take the Cup car over there too, run around either Twin Ring Motegi or something like that and show them what the Cup cars are like….and try to get in the Formula One car,” Busch says.
“We’ll see how good I test first.  We’ll see if my neck can withstand the G-forces.”
A jump to Formula One itself? “I wouldn’t mind it,” Busch says. “If I can do it, and I’m good at it, then I’ll give it a shot.
“But it seems their racing isn’t all that great; they get stuck in line and the aero takes over everything.
“And I don’t think it is just ‘put a driver in the seat’ to make it go. You need a little bit more of a car.”

The best burnout man in the business? Kyle Busch.
But Kevin Harvick, Greg Biffle, Jimmie Johnson and Clint Bowyer
will give him a challenge in Saturday night’s
Burnout Challenge
(Photo by Geoff Burke/Getty Images for NASCAR)

How about something perhaps a little easier, like the Indy 500?
“It would be good, I’d like it, and wouldn’t mind doing it,” Busch says. “I’d have to get a test in it and see if I’m any good at driving those cars.  I have no idea. 
“I tend to jerk on the wheel too much, so I’d probably end up trying to kill myself, to be honest.
“I wouldn’t say it would be coming in the next five years, but probably after that.”

So just who is the Kyle Busch anyway? The more we get to know him, the more there is to know about him.
His talent is exception. A Tim Richmond, a Dale Earnhardt, a Jeff Gordon perhaps…
“It’s something I don’t tend to focus on too much,” Busch insists. “I prefer to be my own person, set my own style.”
And the boos, Busch says, just roll off his back: “I just laugh, like ‘Okay. Just because I’m not the most popular guy here, don’t hate on my talent.’
“I guess they do. I don’t care.  I’m here to do what I have to do…and as long as I’m winning races….
“Driver intros, that’s not going to make or break my weekend.
“I’ve pretty much been doomed since I got here. I’m pretty much going to be doomed for the next 10 years. That’s why I just try to go out there and win….”
“If Kyle ever gets it all balanced out, he’ll be unstoppable,” Gordon says of Busch’s aggressive and speed. “He’s darned near unstoppable right now.”
And what is Kyle Busch looking for here Saturday night?
“It’s a different atmosphere, a different way of racing for everybody,” he says. “It’s a non-points race, and you’re going after a million bucks.”
But payback? “I think the drivers should be smarter than that,” Busch says. “I don’t recall too many of them I’ve wrecked, at least on purpose. 
“Things happen, and if it happens, then so be it…and we lose a million dollars.”
One of the cool things about this event is that nobody ever seems to know the rules, because there are typically several odd ones thrown in. And then the late Earnhardt used to make up some rules himself as the race went along.
Busch says that’s again the case: “To be honest with you, I heard that the inversion is now out, so I don’t even know what the rules are. I haven’t read or seen anything. 
“From what I heard, it’s just 25 laps each segment (four of them), and that’s pretty much it.”
A big wild card – NASCAR’s new winged car, used here for the first time. It’s been a difficult car for drivers and crews to deal with.
Or maybe that will just be a good excuse for a driver to haul out if there’s a big crash.

We want your reaction, so please comment on this story and offer your own opinions, on this story, on our NASCAR videos, and anything about NASCAR:
mmulhern@wsjournal.com

NASCAR hosting a Miami ‘All-Star party’ for Juan Pablo Montoya’s fans
(Photo by Jason Smith/Getty Images for NASCAR)

THE NASCAR NOTEBOOK

NASCAR executives are doing more with this year’s All-star event than just letting it play out on the track here in North Carolina.
NASCAR is also orchestrating a NASCAR Sprint All-Star ‘viewing party’ in Miami, which should bring out a strong Latino contingent. And there is a radio advertising campaign on Miami’s Caracol 1260, designed specifically to draw Juan Pablo Montoya fans to the viewing party to see his first All-Star appearance.
SPEED TV, as part of its huge weekend coverage of the All-Star event, will be doing live cut-ins to each viewing party, starting at 4 p.m. 

Kevin Harvick won the 2007 All-Star race...what can he do for Richard Childress this time around?
(Photo by Todd Warshaw/Getty Images)

Saturday night’s on-track action kicks off with the Sprint Showdown, a two-segment, 60-mile sprint at 7:30 p.m., with the top two finishers getting spots in the All-Star race. Elliott Sadler won the pole for the Showdown.
The winner of fan voting, if he finishes on the lead lap of the Showdown, also makes the feature. That man will be named after the Showdown. (Voting can be done at NASCAR.com, at Lowe’s Motor Speedway itself, at sprint.com/speed, at any Sprint retail store, or by texting “NASCAR” to “7777” on Sprint phones. Any votes on Sprints phones will count twice.
The All-Star race itself, set for a 9 o’clock green, will be four 25-lap sprints, with a 10-minute break at the end of the second segment for car adjustments. Teams pitting during that 10-minute break will be allowed to restart Segment Three in the same position they finished Segment Two.
Between Segments Three and Four, all drivers will have to make at least a pit road stop-and-go, restarting the final Segment in the order they leave pit road.
Green flag and yellow flag laps will all count in the first three sprints; only green flag laps will count in the fourth.
All restarts will be double-file. The ‘lucky dog’ free-pass rule will be used throughout the event. There will be no inverting the field for any of the segments.

One big worry among crew chiefs here, and at the upcoming mid-size track races, is that some teams will go overboard in their trick engineering of the rear-end housing:
“What’s going to happen here Saturday night? Somebody is going to lose a right-rear wheel, and I hope it doesn’t go in the grandstands,” one irate crew chief said. “They’ve got these rear-ends all jacked out of shape. Just go look at all the different rear-end housings we’ve had to bring here, to try to find one that works. But that’s the only lipstick we can put on this pig right now.
“It would be a lot easier and cheaper just to move the bodies around on the frame to get the downforce in the corners we want. But NASCAR won’t let us do that anymore.”
Jeff Gordon first raised that rear-end issue last week by pointing to one rival’s car that was so bent out of shape that it could barely roll up on the pre-race scales. And car owner Richard Childress agrees things might be getting out of hand.
NASCAR officials have shown no inclination to put any new rules in to deal with the situation, and some of the most successful teams say they’re not pushing the engineering limits, though they concede they are worried that some other teams might not be so clued in.

Kyle Busch says this All-Star event can sometimes carry more emotional baggage over the rest of the season than might ordinarily be expected. And he knows from personal experience:
“It is a big deal because of the money and the prestige on the line…but it’s also harder to get over things such as last year—when you and your own brother get together. That’s a big deal,” Kyle Busch says. 
“I’ve wrecked here the past two years, getting caught up in wrecks in the last segment. The first year I think it was Kasey Kahne and somebody got together off turn two and caused a big melee. Then last year my brother and me.
“This year I’m just hoping we can start up front in all the segments and duck out and hide.
“Last year I finished second or third in the first segment; I won the second; I finished second or third in the third…and then we had the inversion.”
So Kyle Busch had to start near the rear. “I don’t remember how many cars we inverted, but it was like six or eight cars. Three or four laps into the run, I got going down the back straight, and Kurt was trying to pass Jeff Burton, and they ran through three and four side-by-side. And they didn’t come off the corner with a good run. 
“I got a great run off the corner, about five mph faster than they were. I made a move to Kurt’s inside while he was just about to clear Jeff.
“Then he saw me coming and went low to block me and put me off in the grass a little. Coming up the front straight normally you go out to the wall and swing wide to get a good arc to the corner.  He (Kurt) never made that wide swing; he held me low, and when we touched doors, that took all side-force off my car, and it broke the whole car loose instantly, and we both crashed.
“You can look at it and say it was my fault for making an aggressive move…but it’s the last segment of the All-Star race and you’ve got to go.  And the way tires were falling off, if you got stuck behind somebody in traffic you got stuck.
“Or you could say it was Kurt’s fault he didn’t give me enough room getting into the corner.
“He blamed it on his spotter, saying he didn’t know if Burton was still out there or not. I guess he needs a better spotter.”
It was quite a while, Busch says, before he and Kurt got over that deal. “It was probably December. It was the whole year,” Kyle said. “Grandma asked for a Christmas present that we both get along and go to Christmas dinner together, so that was her present.
“It was a little edgy to begin with, because that was the first time we’d sat down together.  But the more it went, the more it got back to normal.”

Being the hottest driver in NASCAR, with all the baggage that entails, and all the emotionalism, “That’s scary,” Kyle Busch says. “It’s pretty cool to have the publicity I have: Some good, some bad. To me it’s just part of this sport. 
“Jeff Gordon has gone through it.  Dale Earnhardt has gone through it.  Everybody has pretty much had it. 
“Right now it’s my game to play. 
“I’m not too worried about it.  I just go out there and do what I can on the track, and that’s pretty much all I worry about.
“I’m having fun.  As long as I’m winning races I’m having fun.
“It’s going well.”
Well?
So well he’s adding races to his already jammed schedule: The Truck race in Texas Friday night June 6th, after a full day of Cup practice in Pocono that morning and afternoon for Sunday’s Pennsylvania 500. Then Busch will fly to Nashville Saturday June 7th for the 7:30 p.m. Nationwide race, and flying back to Pocono for the Sunday feature.
“It’ll be a fun weekend,” Busch says. “To do the three deals….does it make sense? No. Do I still think there’s a chance for a title in all three? There could be. But it would take a lot.
“This is just going to be fun, and I love racing, I love making a show out of things. So I guess it’s more PR for NASCAR: let’s help them out.”

By Mike Mulhern
mmulhern@wsjournal.com

CONCORD
This All-star race will mark Dale Jarrett’s last NASCAR run, after so many years on the tour. And he’s hoping he doesn’t go out with a bang but with a smile.
“As I think back on the career, there is one word that comes to mind, and it’s ‘fortunate,’” he says.
“Fortunate that I was able to be a part of a great sport in a time that it probably was gaining its biggest growth over the years. 
“…not because I was a part of it, but that I was just lucky to be a part of it.
“It’s very fortunate. I have been very, very lucky to be a part of this and to have what I consider a very successful career.”
These final days, Jarrett concedes, have been emotional, even though he’s not leaving the sport, just heading for the TV broadcast booth. 
“It’s difficult,” he says. “It’s been easy to talk about…but to be honest it’s been getting more difficult by the day—to know this is going to be it.
“But it’s the right thing to do. 
“It’s not that I’m having any second-thoughts, it’s just difficult knowing when I get out of the car Saturday night that is the last time I will ever compete at this level. 
“You can do a lot of fun things, I can go golf….but nothing will ever match the excitement you get from driving a race car and being able to compete at this level.
“I’ve already had calls from owners saying ‘Would you consider…?  We know that opportunity might be here.’
“Yeah, it would probably be just a crazy amount of money. But that’s not what’s ever driven me.”
Actually Jarrett, the 1999 tour champion, ran his last Cup tour event at Bristol several weeks ago. But he was in the ESPN booth at Texas, Phoenix and Talladega.
“I have to keep in touch with the sport, I have to keep up with what’s going on, because our (full Cup) coverage starts in July, and it’s pretty extensive,” Jarrett said. “My ‘next life’ here is going to require me to know a lot more stuff even, and I’ve tried to do that.”

Dale Jarrett and family...but will his new TV job be even more demanding?
(Photo credit: Toyota Motorsports)

Jarrett might not be going out quite on a high; it’s been a few years since his last tour win. But he’s still fairly competitive, unlike some drivers who clearly held on to the wheel too long.
“We’re competitors, and just cutting off is difficult,” Jarrett says. “I know there are going to be times I’ll look back and think I should have kept going at this.
“But the announcing side is going to become extremely busy. I’m actually looking at my schedule, starting in July when we start with the Cup side at Indianapolis for ESPN, and I’m actually spending more time doing my job then if I were driving. It’s just a huge commitment.

DJ’s old office......
(Photo credit: Toyota Motorsports)

“From 1993 to 2004 and 2005, that was a span that was just fantastic. You hear about people loving to get up every day because they love to go do their job, and that’s the way I was. 
“That’s how good it was—you wanted to do that every single day. 
“When they said ‘Do you want to go test somewhere?’ ‘Yeah, let’s go.’
“It was a blast.
“Even though everything came together in the latter stages of my career, it was perfect timing, because I was at a point where I could handle all of that.”
Through it all Dale Jarrett has been one of this sport’s classiest acts.
And Friday, on the eve of his final run, he offered a salute – to the media: “It has been a long time, and I appreciate the way all of you have treated me very fairly. 
“I can’t say you’ve always written good things…but that’s not your job. Your job is to write what you think and report.
“You’ve been extremely fair to me, and I appreciate that. It means a lot.
“Thank you. You do a lot of good things for the sport. I really do appreciate it.”

>

By Mike Mulhern
mmulhern@wsjournal.com

CHARLOTTE

When it comes to entertainment promotion, NASCAR executives have the shotgun approach: if it moves, shoot at it. And if it doesn’t move, shoot at it anyway to get it moving.
Hard sell, hard push, these guys are the masters.
Little wonder that NASCAR’s TV buddies are so hopped up too: Saturation marketing, saturation promotions. Saturation, saturation, saturation.
And that’s the way it is again this NASCAR All-Star week, which kicked off with Thursday night’s annual Sprint Cup Pit Crew Challenge, pitting stock car racing’s best over-the-wall men head-to-head.

Brian Vickers’ crew, headed by crew chief Kevin Hamlin and coach Greg Miller, lived up to expectations in the finals – an all-Toyota championship – by narrowly beating Denny Hamlin’s crew (22.902 seconds vs 23.011 seconds, barely a foot). The cars are pushed by the crews.

The Brian Vickers-Kevin Hamlin crew wins the NASCAR Sprint Pit Crew Challenge by a foot over Denny Hamlin
(Photo by Jerry Markland/Getty Images for NASCAR)

Vickers’ team—Brian Haaland on the right-front, with Aaron Schields tire carrier, gas man Doug Newell and catch-can man Mike Metcalfe, rear-tire changer Danny Kincaid and rear-tire carrier Jake Brzozowski, and jackman Shaun Peet – beat the Kevin Harvick-Todd Berrier Chevy team in the semifinals. Hamlin’s crew – Mike Hicks right-front tire changer, Brandon Pegram tire carrier, Jonathan Sherman rear-tire changer and Heath Cherry tire carrier, and gas man Scott Wood and catch-can man John Eicher, and jackman Chris Anderson— beat the crew of teammate Kyle Busch in their semifinals.
Vickers’ crew won $70,000, as a team. The night’s competition had two stages, one measured team against team, the other measured man against man. The evening’s individual winners, each earning $10,000: Nick Odell and Brad Donaghy, right-front tire changer and right-front tire carrier for Kyle Busch; Dave Smith and Jason Binger, rear-tire changer and rear-tire carrier for Matt Kenseth; Caleb Hurd and Jamie Frady, gas man and catch-can man for Jeff Gordon; and jackman Eric Wilson of Kasey Kahne’s team.
An example of how seriously these crewmen take this competition – jackman Mark Jacobs suffered severe bicep tears last week while practicing for this event. Jacobs, of the Juan Pablo Montoya-Chip Ganassi team, underwent surgery Wednesday and is expected to be out three months recouperating.

To consider Bill Shakespeare, perhaps this is all something about ‘surfeiting the appetite with too much,’ or maybe it’s Mae West, about ‘never too much of a good thing,’ but if you want a little NASCAR this weekend with your TV dinners, well, how about 48 straight hours of non-stop coverage of this All-star thing?
A little NASCAR gluttony never hurt anybody…..
“The All-star race for us – right now, at this stage of SPEED—is the most important event for SPEED, and the most highly rated event: The NASCAR All-Star race Saturday night,” Hunter Nickell says.
“This is the coolest thing we do.
“So beginning about 9 a.m. Friday, we’re going 48 hours straight.”

Jimmy Spencer is every bit as outrageous with a mike as he was behind the wheel
(Photo by Rusty Jarrett/Getty Images for NASCAR)

Nickell, three years now in this gig as head of Fox’ cable-NASCAR network, is sitting out in one of the dozens of anonymous TV trailers that surround the weekend stock car tour stop, amid an army of big Fox-SPEED haulers that carry everything from the several command-and-control centers, some with 60-some TV screen shots for the director-and-producer to pick from, to more esoteric games like the in-car camera stuff, the DirecTV stuff, and specialty sets like the SPEED Stage.
Nickell’s chair, like in all mobile rigs, is bolted to the floor, but wheels and spins like a Shanghai crane. And he can’t stop moving. This is no static performer.
Nickell’s crew carried Thursday night’s Sprint Cup pit crew challenge live, for the first time, and he seems almost giddy about the All-Star weekend….even though SPEED’s cable operations churn out thousands of hours of NASCAR coverage each season.
“Before we got the All-star race on SPEED a couple years ago, we did over 30 hours of programming around it,” Nickell says. “Last year we had the race and did 74 hours around the event. This year we have 87 hours, including the race itself Saturday night (9 p.m. start for the feature).”

The Trackside crowd at the SPEED Stage is sometimes wildly enthusiastic, sometimes just wild and crazy.
Check it out when Kyle Busch is centerstage.
(Photo credit: SPEED)

Still, in this NASCAR TV world of giants like Fox, ABC and ESPN in all its various permutations, just where does SPEED fit in?
Well, it fills in the blanks….like the hours and hours of pre-race practice (TiVo practice at home, perhaps).
And it surrounds each weekend’s feature event with hours of pre-race and post-race talk-talk and analysis, and more than a dash of goofiness and laughs.
It’s not quite The NASCAR Channel, but it does more NASCAR than anything else, and it does one heck of a lot of NASCAR.
And when NASCAR execs need a favor – like when ESPN decided to drop its Friday night Nationwide broadcast at Richmond a few days ago, in favor of an NBA game – SPEED steps into fill the void. That particular incident was interesting – the event was simulcast live on SPEED and ESPN Classic, and Speed’s broadcast got the better ratings.
“NASCAR is a huge, huge part of what SPEED is,” Nickell says dryly. “That’s obvious I guess.
“So when NASCAR calls and says ‘We’re in a jam,’ it’s cool to be able to say ‘Yes, we can.’
“For us the whole deal is being the ‘coolest,’ best NASCAR programmer to fans. That is it.
“It comes back to – Fox, ESPN, ABC, Turner, SPEED – everybody is doing great NASCAR programming. But we think we’re doing the ‘coolest’ NASCAR programming.”

An All-Toyota Night: The Brian Vickers-Kevin Hamlin team (blue car, right lane) beats the Tony Stewart crew in opening round competition en route to NASCAR Sprint Cup pit crew challenge championship
(Photo by Rusty Jarrett/Getty Images for NASCAR)

Well, any set with Jimmy ‘Who needs Jerry Springer’ Spencer on it, has to be watched. Just to see what outlandish things he might come up with.
And then there’s the Kyle Petty Show too….in which he finds some hapless journalist – and there are plenty ‘deer in the headlights’ in the NASCAR garage—and tries to rip them to shreds. Well, not literally of course, but Petty, while he may not be up front on the track, off the track he’s fearless, and a much faster thinker on his feet than most around the sport. (The ‘outtakes’ from Petty’s show would make a good show in itself, if Petty himself were brave enough to go for it.)
And SPEED loves to do its thing out in front a live audience, which can be daunting at times, but still visually exciting. Especially when Kyle Busch is on stage – facing a live racing crowd that at times seems almost rowdy enough to call for the chicken-wire safety netting.
But Nickell loves it all.

Not all the drivers spent Thursday pumping up their pit crews. Tony Stewart (L) and Greg Biffle were building a racing-themed playground in Charlotte
(Photo Credit: CIA for KaBOOM)

“I think we’re doing the coolest stuff,” Nickell says. “And when I watch our guys, I get so fired up because I know how much into NASCAR our guys are.
“We’re not worried about ‘Hey, what is Fox doing, what is ESPN doing?’ Everybody looks at everybody else’s stuff. But we’re working on ‘How can we make Raceday cooler this week than last week?’ ‘What can we try we’ve never tried before?’ ‘How do we make Trackside more fun?’”
Well, may taking Jimmy Spencer off valium?
Nickell laughs.
Well, why not bring in Danica Patrick to do those pre-race hot-lap segments?
Maybe Nickell needs his own late-night version of Elvira or Vampira for some of this coverage. After all, sometimes NASCAR action – particularly All-Star week—does seem as wacky as Plan 9 from Outer Space…..
Or, hey, how about being brave enough to bring back The Pit Bulls? Hmmmm.
Nickell seems seldom at a loss for ideas: “This year we’ve added a show called ‘NASCAR in a Hurry,’ which we put on in front of Race Day.
“We figured out there is so much stuff that goes on each weekend that very few people, if any, get to see all of it. So we built this show to let people know ‘Hey, before you watch Race Day, here’s all the cool stuff that’s been happening.’
“So we go back over the stuff that ESPN had, that we’ve had, stuff that’s happened on the track and off the track. So we stuff that in just before Race Day, to get the fans fired up.”
Last weekend at Darlington, for example, the race itself started about 740 p.m.; NASCAR in a Hurry came on at 4:30 p.m., and Race Day ran from 5 till 7.
And this week it’s the 48 Hours of Charlotte.

SPEED’s boss Hunter Nickell wants to create the next ‘Cool’ NASCAR race. Any suggestions?
(Photo credit: SPEED)

In this sometimes curious world of NASCAR TV, just where does SPEED itself it in? Compared to Big Brother Fox and ABC’s legendary ESPN, SPEED sometimes seems like ‘the other’ channel.’
That just makes Nickell bristle.
“It’s not us versus ESPN or versus Fox or who,” Nickell insists. “They have their deals and we have ours. And NASCAR is the largest piece of SPEED’s programming, by far.
“We’ve got the trucks, and weekend after weekend it’s not us-versus-anybody. It’s us versus, well, the next coolest NASCAR show, whatever that might be.”
What really is the purpose of this SPEED thing anyway? Where did this channel come from?
“It started back in 1996 as SpeedVision, as the video version of the magazine rack ‘everything about vehicles,’” Nickell says.
“Now as time has gone on, while we still have an enormous amount of enthusiast programming, motorcycles, automobiles…but when Fox and SPEED got into the NASCAR business, we got the opportunity to create a ton of NASCAR programming. And we’ve been adding hours ever since.
“SPEED has 21 on-air personalities. Heck, we used to produce all of Daytona’s SpeedWeeks with just 21 people; now we’ve got 21 on-air personalities alone: Steve Byrnes, Larry MacReynolds, John Roberts, Wendy Venturini, Krista Voda, Jeff Hammond, Darrell Waltrip, Jimmy Spencer….that’s ‘our gang.’”
The Trackside, Raceday, and post-race shows are the bedrock.
But competition? How about dueling 6 p.m. NASCAR daily newscasts? These networks may be a bit too scared for that.
“It is rare that a NASCAR show on SPEED or ESPN or Fox or Turner will overlap…..because that’s how NASCAR has built its TV deals,” Nickell insists. “It works for all of us, and the fans, most of the time, because we’re not going head-to-head all the time.”
Hate for the fluff to get in the way of any hard news here.
But then, hey, in this new media age, hard news may be way overrated anyway.
Of course there is the obvious economic issue too – covering this sport is so labor-intensive and equipment-intensive that the networks covering each weekend’s event share a lot – cameras, cameramen, uplink vehicles, command haulers.
“The relationship on the production level, week-in, week-out at the race tracks, is incredible,” Nickell says. “It is working.
“To watch the cooperation between production teams is awesome. It’s amazing to watch.”

SPEED’s Wendy Venturini, one of the network’s 21 on-air personalities
(Photo Credit: Wenty Venturini)

So what’s he dreaming up next? “That’s my favorite question – In the big picture we’re trying to find the next coolest NASCAR program to create,” Nickell says.
“Now that might sound like something everybody ought to be trying to do…..and maybe they are.”
Maybe something with Hannah Montana, a good ol’ Nashville girl who might need a new gig herself?
Nickell laughs again.

As Jimmie Johnson so well knows, a driver’s TV work is never done
(Photo credit: Streeter Lecka/Getty Images for NASCAR)

“Two things we are working on right now,” Nickell says: “First, we’re cooking up something special for the Truck series this year, to build programming around.
“Second, we would like to add the next ‘big’ NASCAR event. Not just one, but more. Like this All-Star race.
“We have the Truck series, all but two events. And we have SpeedWeeks (at Daytona), which is huge. And we have the All-star week.
“But we want to work with NASCAR to find the next ‘big’ event on SPEED. Because SPEED will make it a huge event; we will put the resources and the hours around it to make it a big event.
“We’ve got something huge in February, we’ve got something huge in May. What can we and NASCAR do next?”
Maybe a new IROC series? Cross-promotion with Danica Patrick and Ashley Force, maybe John Force versus Jimmy Spencer?
Hey, 320 mph is 320 mph.
And after all, this isn’t necessarily just about sports but about entertainment.

Hey, not so heavy on the rouge, please: They didn’t send you over from the MAC store, did they?
(Photo credit: Streeter Lecka/Getty Images for NASCAR)

We want your reaction, so please comment on this story and offer your own opinions, on this story, on our NASCAR videos, and anything about NASCAR:
mmulhern@wsjournal.com

SPEED’s 48 Hours of Charlotte: Just how much NASCAR can you take? (P.S. It’s still a work-in-progress....)
(Credit: SPEED)

ma Por Mike Mulhern
mmulhern@wsjournal.com

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CHARLOTTE

Cuando viene a la promoción de la hospitalidad, los ejecutivos de NASCAR tienen el acercamiento de la escopeta: si se mueve, tire en ella. Y si él doesn’ movimiento de t, lanzamiento en él de todos modos de conseguirlo que se mueve.

La venta dura, empuje duro, estos individuos es los amos.

Poco se pregunta que NASCAR’ los compinches de s TV son así que saltado para arriba también: Comercialización de la saturación, promociones de la saturación. Saturación, saturación, saturación.

Y that’ s la manera es otra vez esta semana All-star de NASCAR, que golpeó con el pie apagado con jueves night’ desafío anual del equipo de hoyo de Sprint Cup, coche común que marca con hoyos racing’ s mejor sobre - emparede a los hombres comparativos.

Brian Vickers’ el equipo, dirigido por el jefe de equipo Kevin Hamlin y el coche Greg Miller, vivió hasta expectativas en los finales - un campeonato de todo-Toyota - por Denny estrecho de derrota Hamlin’ equipo de s (22.902 segundos contra 23.011 segundos, apenas un pie). Los coches son empujados por los equipos.

Vickers’ equipo—Brian Haaland en el derecho-delantero, con el portador del neumático de Aaron Schields, hombre Doug Newell del gas y coger-puede servir a Mike Metcalfe, cambiador Danny Kincaid del posterior-neumático y portador Jake Brzozowski del posterior-neumático, y Shaun jackman Peet - bata al equipo de Kevin Harvick-Todd Berrier Chevy en los semifinales. Hamlin’ equipo de s - el cambiador del neumático de los catetos de Mike Hicks, del neumático derecho-delanteros de Brandon Pegram, cambiador del posterior-neumático de Jonatán Sherman y cereza del brezo cansan el portador, y Scott Wood del hombre del gas y coger-pueden servir Juan Eicher, y a Chris jackman Anderson—bata al equipo del compañero de equipo Kyle Busch en sus semifinales.

Vickers’ el equipo ganó $70.000, en equipo.

El night’ la competición de s tenía dos etapas, un equipo medido contra el equipo, el otro hombre medido contra hombre. El evening’ ganadores individuales de s, cada ganancia $10.000: Nick Odell y Brad Donaghy, cambiador derecho-delantero del neumático y portador derecho-delantero del neumático para Kyle Busch; Dave Smith y Jason Binger, cambiador del posterior-neumático y portador del posterior-neumático para Matt Kenseth; Caleb Hurd y Jamie Frady, hombre del gas y coger-pueden servir para Jeff Gordon; y Eric jackman Wilson de Kasey Kahne’ equipo de s.

Un ejemplo de cómo estas tripulantes toman seriamente esta competición - bicep severo sufrido Mark Jacobs jackman de la marca rasga la semana pasada mientras que practica para este acontecimiento. Se espera que Jacobs, del equipo de Ganassi de la Juan Pablo Montoya, experimentó la cirugía miércoles y esté hacia fuera tres meses recouperating.

The Brian Vickers-Kevin Hamlin crew wins the NASCAR Sprint Pit Crew Challenge by a foot over Denny Hamlin
(Photo by Jerry Markland/Getty Images for NASCAR)

Para considerar a Bill Shakespeare, quizás éste es todo el algo sobre ‘ surfeiting el apetito con demasiado, ‘ o quizá it’ Mae West, sobre ‘ nunca demasiado de una buena cosa, ‘ ¿pero si usted quiere un pequeño NASCAR este fin de semana con sus cenas de TV, bien, cómo cerca de 48 horas rectas de cobertura directa de esta cosa All-star?

Una pequeña glotonería de NASCAR nunca lastimó cualquiera ..... “

La raza All-star para nosotros - ahora, en la etapa actual de SPEED - es el acontecimiento más importante para la SPEED, y el acontecimiento lo más altamente posible clasificado: La noche de sábado All-star de la raza de NASCAR, “ El cazador Nickell dice. “Ésta es la cosa más fresca que lo hacemos.

“ Tan comenzar cerca de 9 mañanas viernes, we’ el re ir 48 horas de straight.”

The Trackside crowd at the SPEED Stage is sometimes wildly enthusiastic, sometimes just wild and crazy.
Check it out when Kyle Busch is centerstage.
(Photo credit: SPEED)
La muchedumbre del Trackside en la etapa de la VELOCIDAD es a veces entusiástica, a veces apenas salvaje y loco. Compruébela hacia fuera cuando Kyle Busch es centerstage.
(Crédito de foto: SPEED)

Nickell, tres años ahora en este carruaje como jefe de Fox’ la red del cable-NASCAR, se está sentando hacia fuera en una de las docenas de acoplados anónimos de la TV que rodeen la parada del viaje del coche común del fin de semana, en medio de un ejército de transportadores grandes que lleven todo de los varios centros del comando-y-control, algunos de la Fox-SPEED con 60 algunos tiros de pantalla de la TV para que el director-y-productor escoja de, a juegos más esotéricos como la materia montada en el coche de la cámara, la materia de DirecTV, y los sistemas de la especialidad como la etapa de la SPEED.

Nickell’ la silla de s, como en todos los aparejos móviles, se emperna al piso, pero rueda y hace girar como una grúa de Shangai.

Y él can’ mudanza de la parada de t. Éste no es ningún ejecutante estático.

Nickell’ el equipo de s llevó jueves night’ el desafío del equipo de hoyo de Sprint Cup vivo, por primera vez, y él parece casi vertiginosos sobre el fin de semana All-star….aunque SPEED’ las operaciones del cable de s baten hacia fuera millares de horas de cobertura de NASCAR cada estación.

“ Antes de que consiguiéramos a raza All-star en SPEED un par hace años, hicimos durante 30 horas de programación alrededor de él, “ Nickell dice.

“ Teníamos la raza e hicimos el año pasado 74 horas alrededor del acontecimiento. Este año tenemos 87 horas, incluyendo la noche de sábado de la raza sí mismo (comienzo de 9 P.M. para la característica). “

Jimmy Spencer is every bit as outrageous with a mike as he was behind the wheel
(Photo by Rusty Jarrett/Getty Iges for NASCAR)
La chaqueta de punto de Jimmy es cada pedacito tan indignante con un micrófono como él estaba detrás de la rueda
(foto por Jarrett/Getty oxidado Iges para NASCAR)

¿No obstante, en este mundo de NASCAR TV de gigantes tenga gusto de Fox, ABC y ESPN en todas sus varias permutaciones, apenas dónde SPEED ajuste adentro?

Bien, completa los espacios en blanco….como las horas y las horas de pre-raza practique (práctica de TiVo en el país, quizás).

Y rodea cada weekend’ el acontecimiento de la característica de s con horas de pre-raza y post-race hablar-hablan y análisis, y más que una rociada del goofiness y de risas.

It’ s no absolutamente el canal de NASCAR, pero hace más NASCAR que todo lo demás, y él hace una puñetas de mucho NASCAR. Y cuando los execs de NASCAR necesitan un favor - como cuando ESPN decidía a caer su Nationwide tour de la noche de viernes en Richmond hace algunos días, a favor de un juego de NBA - SPEED pasos en terraplén el vacío. Que el incidente particular era interesante - el acontecimiento era simulcast vivo en obra clásica de la SPEED y de ESPN, y Speed’ la difusión de s consiguió los mejores grados.

“ NASCAR es una parte enorme, enorme de cuál es la SPEED, “ Nickell dice seco. “ That’ s obvio conjeturo.

Not all the drivers spent Thursday pumping up their pit crews. Tony Stewart (L) and Greg Biffle were building a racing-themed playground in Charlotte
(Photo Credit: CIA for KaBOOM)
No todos los conductores pasaron jueves que bombeaba para arriba a sus equipos de hoyo. Tony Stewart (l) y Greg Biffle construían un patio competir con-temático en Charlotte
(crédito de foto: Cia para KaBOOM)

“ Tan cuando NASCAR llama y dice ‘ We’ re en un atasco, ‘ it’ s fresco poder decir ‘ Sí, nosotros can.’

“ Para nosotros el reparto del conjunto está siendo el ‘ el más fresco, ‘ el mejor programador de NASCAR a los ventiladores. Eso es él. “ Viene detrás - Fox, ESPN, ABC, Turner, SPEED - todos está haciendo la gran programación de NASCAR. Pero pensamos we’ re haciendo el ‘ coolest’ NASCAR programming.”

Bien, fije con Jimmy ‘ Quién necesita a Jerry Springer’ Spencer.

As Jimmie Johnson so well knows, a driver’s TV work is never done
(Photo credit: Streeter Lecka/Getty Images for NASCAR)
Como Jimmie Johnson sabe tan bien, un driver’ el trabajo de s TV nunca se hace
(Crédito de foto: Imágenes de Streeter Lecka/Getty para NASCAR)

Apenas para ver con qué cosas extrañas él puede ser que suba.

Y entonces there’ s la demostración pequeña de Kyle Petty también….en cuál él encuentra a algún periodista desgraciado - y hay la abundancia ‘ ciervos en el headlights’ en el garage de NASCAR—e intentos para rasgarlos a los fragmentos.

Bien, no literalmente por supuesto, pero pequeño, mientras que él puede no ser inicial en la pista, de la pista he’ s audaz, y un pensador mucho más rápido en sus pies que la mayoría alrededor del deporte.

(El ‘ outtakes’ de Petty’ la demostración de s haría una buena demostración en sí mismo, si es pequeño sí mismo era bastante valiente ir para ella.)

Y amores de la SPEED para hacer su cosa hacia fuera en frente una audiencia viva, que puede ser desalentadora ocasionalmente, pero todavía visualmente excitación.

Especialmente cuando Kyle Busch está en etapa - haciendo frente a una muchedumbre que compite con viva que parezca ocasionalmente casi camorrista bastante pedir la red de la seguridad del pollo-alambre.

“ Pienso we’ re haciendo la materia más fresca, “ Nickell dice. “ Y cuando miro a nuestros individuos, consigo así que encendí para arriba porque sé cuánto en nuestros individuos de NASCAR es.

“ We’ re no preocupante sobre ‘ ¿Hey, cuál el Fox que hace, cuál es ESPN está haciendo? ‘ Todos mira todos else’ materia de s. Pero we’ re funcionamiento en ‘ ¿Cómo podemos hacer major Raceday esta semana que la semana pasada? ‘ ‘ Qué puede intentamos nunca intentó antes? ‘ ‘ ¿Cómo nos reímos Trackside más? ‘ “

¿Bien, pueda tomando la chaqueta de punto de Jimmy del valium?

Risas de Nickell.

¿Bien, por qué no traer en Danica Patrick hacen que ésos la pre-raza caliente-traslapa segmentos?

Nickell necesita quizá su propia versión de última hora de Elvira o de Vampira para algo de esta cobertura.

Después de todo, a veces acción de NASCAR - particularmente semana All-star—parece tan raro como Plan 9 from Outer Space.....

¿O, hey, cómo sobre ser bastante valiente traer vuelta The Pit Bulls? Hmmmm.

Nickell parece raramente en una pérdida para las ideas: “ Este año agregó una demostración llamada ‘ NASCAR en una prisa, ‘ cuál pusimos delante de día de la raza.

“ Calculamos que hacia fuera hay tanto la materia que va en cada fin de semana que muy pocas personas, eventualmente, consigan para ver todo el él. Construimos tan esta demostración para dejar a gente saber ‘ Hey, antes de usted mire Raceday, toda la materia fresca that’ s sido happening.’

“ Pasamos tan detrás la materia que ESPN tenía, ese tenía, la materia that’ s sucedió en la pista y de la pista. Rellenamos tan eso adentro momentos antes de día de la raza, para conseguir el up.”

encendido los ventiladores; El fin de semana pasado en Darlington, por ejemplo, la raza sí mismo comenzó cerca de 740 P.M.; NASCAR en una prisa se adelantó en el 4:30 P.M., y el día de la raza funcionó a partir del 5 hasta 7.

Y esta semana it’ s las 48 horas de Charlotte.

SPEED’s boss Hunter Nickell wants to create the next ‘Cool’ NASCAR race. Any suggestions?
(Photo credit: SPEED)
SPEED’ el cazador Nickell del jefe de s quiere crear el ‘ siguiente; Cool’ Raza de NASCAR. ¿Sugerencias?
(Crédito de foto: SPEED)

¿En este mundo a veces curioso de NASCAR TV, apenas donde SPEED él adentro?

Comparado al Fox y a ABC’ del hermano mayor; s ESPN legendario, SPEED parece a veces como ‘ el other’ channel.’

Eso apenas hace la cerda de Nickell.

“ It’ s no nosotros contra ESPN o contra el Fox o quién, “ Nickell insiste.

“ Tienen sus repartos y tenemos los nuestros. Y NASCAR es el pedazo más grande de SPEED’ s que programa, en gran medida.

“consiguió los carros, y fin de semana después del fin de semana it’ s no nosotros-contra-cualquiera. It’ s nosotros contra, bien, la demostración más fresca siguiente de NASCAR, lo que pudo eso be.”

¿Cuál es realmente el propósito de esta cosa de la SPEED de todos modos?

¿De dónde este canal vino?

“ Comenzó detrás en 1996 como SpeedVision, como la versión video del estante de compartimiento ‘ todo sobre los vehículos, ‘ “ Nickell dice.

“ Ahora como se ha encendido el tiempo, mientras que todavía tenemos una cantidad enorme de entusiasta el programar, las motocicletas, automóviles… pero cuando el Fox y la SPEED consiguieron en el negocio de NASCAR, nosotros consiguieron la oportunidad de crear una tonelada de programación de NASCAR. Y que agrega horas desde que.

“SPEED tiene 21 personalidades del en-aire. Las puñetas, producíamos todo el Daytona’ s SpeedWeeks con apenas 21 personas; ahora consiguió 21 personalidades del en-aire solas: Steve Byrnes, Larry MacReynolds, John Roberts, Wendy Venturini, Krista Voda, Jeff Hammond, Darrell Waltrip, Jimmy Spencer….’nuestro gang.’ “

Trackside, Raceday, y las demostraciones post-race son la roca de fondo.

¿Pero competición?

¿Cómo sobre noticiarios diarios de 6 de la tarde que combaten en duelo NASCAR?

Estas redes pueden ser un pedacito asustado también para ése.

“Es raro que una demostración de NASCAR en SPEED o ESPN o Fox o Turner se traslapará ..... porque that’ s cómo NASCAR ha construido su TV reparte, “ Nickell insiste.

“Trabaja para todos nosotros, y los ventiladores, la mayor parte del tiempo, porque we’ re todo el tiempo.

“comparativo que no va; Odie para que la pelusa consiga de la manera de cualquier noticia dura aquí. Pero por otra parte, hey, en este los nuevos medios envejecen, las noticias duras pueden ser manera sobrestimada de todos modos. Por supuesto hay la edición económica obvia también - el recubrimiento de este deporte es tan necesitando mucho trabajo y equipo-intensivo que las redes que cubren cada weekend’ parte del acontecimiento de s mucho - las cámaras, cameramanes, uplink los vehículos, transportadores del comando.

“ La relación en el nivel de la producción, semana-en, semana-hacia fuera en las pistas de raza, es increíble, “ Nickell dice. “ Está trabajando.

“ Para mirar la cooperación entre los equipos de la producción es impresionante. It’ s que sorprende a watch.”

SPEED’s Wendy Venturini, one of the network’s 21 on-air personalities
(Photo Credit: Wendy Venturini)
SPEED’ s Wendy Venturini, uno del network’ personalidades del en-aire de s 21
(Crédito de foto: Wendy Venturini)

¿Que es él piensa después?

“ That’ s mi pregunta preferida - en el cuadro grande we’ el re intentar encontrar el programa más fresco siguiente de NASCAR para crear, “ Nickell dice.

“ Ahora que la fuerza sonar como algo todos debe intentar hacer ..... y quizá ellos are.”

Quizá algo con Hannah Montana, un buen ol’ ¿Muchacha de Nashville quién pudo necesitar un nuevo carruaje mismo?

Nickell ríe otra vez.

“ Dos cosas que estamos trabajando encendido ahora, “ Nickell dice:

“ Primero, we’ re cocinando para arriba algo especial para la serie del carro este año, para construir la programación alrededor.

“ En segundo lugar, quisiéramos agregar el ‘ siguiente; big’ Acontecimiento de NASCAR. No apenas uno, sino más.

Hey, not so heavy on the rouge, please: They didn’t send you over from the MAC store, did they?
(Photo credit: Streeter Lecka/Getty Images for NASCAR)
Hey, no tan pesado en el colorete, por favor: Ellas didn’ ¿t le envía del almacén del MAC, hicieron?
(Crédito de foto: Imágenes de Streeter Lecka/Getty para NASCAR)

“Como esta raza All-star.

“ Tenemos la serie del carro, toda sino dos acontecimientos. Y tenemos SpeedWeeks (en Daytona), que es enorme. Y tenemos la semana All-star.

“Pero queremos trabajar con NASCAR para encontrar el ‘ siguiente; big’ acontecimiento en SPEED. Porque la SPEED le hará un acontecimiento enorme; pondremos los recursos y las horas alrededor de ella para hacerle un acontecimiento grande.

“consiguió algo enorme en febrero, consiguió algo enorme en mayo. ¿Qué podemos nosotros y NASCAR hacer después? “

¿Quizá una nueva serie de IROC? ¿Cruz-promoción con Danica Patrick y Ashley Force, quizá John Force contra Jimmy Spencer?

Hey, 320 mph son 320 mph.

Y después de todo, este isn’ t necesariamente apenas sobre deportes pero sobre la hospitalidad.

Deseamos su reacción, satisfacemos tan el comentario sobre esta historia y ofrecemos sus propias opiniones, sobre esta historia, en nuestros videos de NASCAR, y cualquier cosa sobre NASCAR: mmulhern@wsjournal.com

SPEED’s 48 Hours of Charlotte: Just how much NASCAR can you take? (P.S. It’s still a work-in-progress....)
(Credit: SPEED)
SPEED’ s 48 horas de Charlotte: ¿Apenas cuánto NASCAR puede usted tomar? (P.S. It’ todavía s un trabajo en curso….)
(Crédito: SPEED)

to e-mail us your photo by 5 p.m. Wednesday May 21. Be sure to include the name of the driver you look like and a contact number. Our panel will determine who most resembles their favorite driver and he or she will win two tickets in the General Motors Grandstand for the Coca-Cola 600 om May 25, 2008.

(1) To enter, email a photograph of yourself to jnix@independenttribune.com or jcoleman@independenttribune.com by 5 p.m. Wednesday, May 21, 2008. Include your name, the driver you resemble and a daytime contact phone number. A panel of judges will determine the winner who will receive two (2) tickets to the Coca Cola 600. Tickets can be picked up at the Independent Tribune office between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m. May 22 or 23. (2) Employees of Media General, Inc. & their families are not eligible to win. (3) Decisions of the judges are final. (4) For questions regarding contest please call 704-789-9105 or 704-789-9139.

Entries with incomplete or incorrect information will not be accepted.

By Mike Mulhern
mmulhern@wsjournal.com

CHARLOTTE
So who’s the best right-front tire guy on the NASCAR tour? Who’s the best jack man?
What driver has the best pit crew?
On Saturday nights and Sunday afternoons, in the clutch on race day, the answers may vary. Matt Kenseth for the past few years, it is generally accepted, has had the best crew chief; but perhaps not this season. If the answer comes with wins, check out Kyle Busch’s bunch, and Carl Edwards’ guys.
But here Thursday night the best of the over-the-wall guys will match up mano a mano, with $10,000 to $20,000 apiece on the line, in a made-for-TV venture, the annual NASCAR Sprint Pit Crew Challenge, at Time Warner Arena.
All teams in Saturday night’s Sprint All-Star race are qualified here, for what may seem – to insiders and outsiders alike – as something rather gimmicky, with literally buzzers and bells and guys pushing their cars the length of the arena to a finish line.
But the guys on the floor Thursday night will be taking it all flat seriously.
And their drivers – though they don’t get to play a role in this thing, unlike the old pit crew championships at Rockingham – will be here cheering them on.

Okay, so pushing the car across the finish line is, well, rather odd....but all the drivers have to do in the pit crew championship is sit back and watch.
(Photo by Rusty Jarrett/Getty Images for NASCAR)

Then Friday the All-star action gets underway just up the road at Lowe’s Motor Speedway. That’s been known as ‘Jimmie’s House,’ because Jimmie Johnson has dominated there the past several years.
However this season Johnson and teammate Jeff Gordon, and a number of others, have all struggled with this new NASCAR winged car at the stock car tour’s mid-sized tracks.
Thus the betting action is likely on the tour’s two hottest men, Busch and Edwards.
Johnson, who’s had some hot streaks of his own, says it’s sometimes difficult to understand just why things are going your way: “The thing you can never gauge—or predict, or really understand—is why you are on a hot streak…and why, when you’re not.
“Our team feels like we’re primed, and would love to be on that tear…but it’s not there for us.
“We were there the last couple of years. But our sport is cyclical.

When it’s All-star week, forget the rules. Just enjoy the ambience and drama
(Photo by Rusty Jarrett/Getty Images for NASCAR)

“So when I look at the cycle of racing, Joe Gibbs, and especially Toyota, are maximizing it, and really hitting their stride.
“We’re kind of rebuilding some.”
What happens this week, of course, might have little to do with what’s been going on around the tour the past three months, because the All-star race is sometimes quite wacky.
The All-star race, though it’s been run at Charlotte since the late T. Wayne Robertson created it more than 20 years ago, is still sometimes hard to figure out, the dynamic, the reasoning, the thinking….and certainly the rules, which seem ever-changing.
But one thing this All-star even does create is an unusual energy for drivers and teams: “The All-Star race, you try to come in and say ‘It’s no big deal…it’s just for some money…it’s not a points race,” Johnson says.
“Then they have the introductions (typically with fireworks and hoopla), and the crews are out there and the fans are there, and before you know it your heart rate is at 120 and you’re not even sitting in a car yet. You’re just jacked-up and ready to go.

Thursday night it’s the annual NASCAR Sprint Cup pit crew challenge
(Photo by Davis Turner/Getty Images for NASCAR)

“Now in the 600 (next week’s grind here), everybody is in the mindset of taking care of their equipment and making a long 600-mile race…and there is a different energy around that event.
“So when I think about this All-star race, what really pops up in my mind is the energy of the event that gets into my head and helps me adapt to whatever is going to take place.”
Of course this season things have been rather wacky anyway. Who would have predicted Johnson crashing twice at Darlington last weekend?
“Well,” Johnson says somewhat sheepishly, “I knew we were fast.
“All I needed was the confidence entering qualifying. And I down the best lap I could.
“Unfortunately I was too aggressive in those two practice sessions and tore up some cars.
“It’s uncharacteristic for me to tear up cars like that. But at least we were going fast.”

Uh, seeding? Scoring? Let me get back to you on all that
(A view of last year’s pit crew scoreboard)
(Photo by Rusty Jarrett/Getty Images for NASCAR)

Chad Knaus, Johnson’s crew chief, clearly didn’t take it very well. “Physically and emotionally it was quite a ride,” Johnson concedes.
Also on tap this All-star weekend is a special ‘burnout challenge’ for drivers, to see who can pull off the best – and most accurate – ‘victory’ burnout.
Johnson, though not known for his burnout prowess, will take a shot at it: “It’s just something different, something cool.
“We sit around all Saturday and really don’t do much, so we might as well do something.
“I’ll just see what the car will do. I’m not sure how much horsepower we’ll have, or what the tire situation will be. But I’ll watch the other guys.
“Hopefully I’m not the first.”

NASCAR All-star week kicks off Thursday with the annual pit crew championship
(Here, Darrell Waltrip, left, and Rusty Wallace tangle in the 1989 classic, Wallace winning the controversial finish).
(Photo Credit: Lowe’s Motor Speedway Archives)

Humpy Wheeler’s Lowe’s track won’t have a monopoly on racing action these next few days. Indianapolis Motor Speedway will again be vying for headlines, and Danica Patrick, now an Indy-car winner, is a star to be reckoned with, in more ways than one.
Johnson says he’s surprised women still haven’t made much of a dent in NASCAR.
“I’ve watched women soccer players and ladies in the Olympics. From a physical standpoint it’s certainly challenging, but it’s do-able,” Johnson says.
“I’ve watched some very talented women come along, with great opportunities. Look at Erin Crocker with Ray Evernham. Sarah Fisher came on the scene hard in the Indy-car series.
“I guess it just takes time to develop.
“I’m not sure that all little girls growing up think they are going to be a race driver and dedicate their lives to it.
“To be at the top level it doesn’t matter about gender. You just have to commit at a young age. And I’m not sure that’s the first thing that pops up in a young lady’s mind.
“But as NASCAR racing becomes more popular, I would definitely see the opposite of that growing more and more. And there is no reason that it can’t happen.”

We want your reaction, so please comment on this story and offer your own opinions, on this story, on our NASCAR videos, and anything about NASCAR: mmulhern@wsjournal.com

Things tend to get wacky during all-star week in Charlotte
(Photo by Streeter Lecka/Getty Images)

Por Mike Mulhern
mmulhern@wsjournal.com

(Por favor, si esta traducción tiene grandes errores, o si quisiera sugerir una mejor redacción, por favor, utilice el botón de comentario y nos dicen. Muchas gracias.)
(Y envíe por favor este acoplamiento del URL a sus amigos. Gracias otra vez.)
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CHARLOTTE

Tan who’ ¿s el mejor individuo derecho-delantero del neumático en el viaje de NASCAR?

Who’ ¿s el mejor hombre del gato?

¿Qué conductor tiene el mejor equipo de hoyo? El las noches de sábado y las tardes de domingo, en el embrague el día de la raza, las respuestas pueden variar.

Matt Kenseth por los últimos años, está generalmente aceptado, ha tenido el mejor jefe de equipo; pero quizás no esta estación.

Si la respuesta viene con triunfos, compruebe hacia fuera Kyle Busch’ manojo de s, y Carl Edwards’ individuos.

Pero aquí noche de jueves el mejor del sobre - los individuos de la pared emparejarán encima de mano un mano, con $10.000 a $20.000 cada uno en la línea, en una empresa hacer-para-TV, el desafío anual del equipo de hoyo de NASCAR Sprint, en la arena de Time Warner.

Okay, so pushing the car across the finish line is, well, rather odd....but all the drivers have to do in the pit crew championship is sit back and watch.
(Photo by Rusty Jarrett/Getty Images for NASCAR)
La autorización, así que empujar el coche a través de la meta es, bien, algo impares….pero todos los conductores tienen que hacer en el equipo de hoyo que es el campeonato se sienta cómodamente y mira
(Foto por las imágenes oxidadas de Jarrett/Getty para NASCAR)

Todos los equipos en sábado night’ la raza All-star de s Sprint se califica aquí, porque qué puede parecer - a los iniciados y los forasteros igualmente - como algo algo de reclamo, con literalmente los zumbadores y las campanas y los individuos empujando sus coches la longitud de la arena a una meta.

Pero los individuos en la noche de jueves del piso la tomarán todo completamente seriamente.

Y sus conductores - sin embargo ellos don’ t consigue desempeñar un papel en esta cosa, desemejante de los viejos campeonatos del equipo de hoyo en Rockingham - aquí los animará encendido.

Entonces viernes la acción All-star consigue en curso apenas encima del camino en Lowe’ carretera de motor de s.

That’ s conocido como ‘ Jimmie’ casa de s, ‘ porque Jimmie Johnson ha dominado allí los últimos años. Sin embargo esta estación Johnson y el compañero de equipo Jeff Gordon, y un número de otros, tienen toda lucharon con este nuevo coche con alas NASCAR en el coche común tour’ pistas de tamano medio de s.

Así la acción apostadora es probable en el tour’ los hombres más calientes, Busch y Edwards de s dos. Johnson, who’ s tenía algunas rayas calientes sus los propios, dice it’ s a veces difícil entender apenas porqué van las cosas su manera: “ La cosa que usted puede nunca calibrar—o prediga, o entienda realmente—es porqué usted está en una raya caliente… y porqué, cuando you’ re no.

When it’s All-star week, forget the rules. Just enjoy the ambience and drama
(Photo by Rusty Jarrett/Getty Images for NASCAR)
Cuando it’ la semana All-star de s, olvida las reglas. Apenas disfrute del ambiente y del drama
(la foto por las imágenes oxidadas de Jarrett/Getty para NASCAR)

“ Nuestro equipo siente como we’ re haber preparado, y amaría estar en ese rasgón… pero it’ s no allí para nosotros.

“ Estábamos allí los pares pasados de años. Pero nuestro deporte es cíclico.

“ Tan cuando miro el ciclo de competir con, de Joe Gibbs, y especialmente de Toyota, lo están maximizando, y están golpeando realmente su paso grande.

“We’ re clase de reconstruir some.”

Thursday night it’s the annual NASCAR Sprint Cup pit crew challenge
(Photo by Davis Turner/Getty Images for NASCAR)
Noche de jueves it’ s el desafío anual del equipo de hoyo de NASCAR Sprint Cup
(Foto por Davis Turner/las imágenes de Getty para NASCAR)

Qué sucede esta semana, por supuesto, pudo tener poco hacer con what’ s que se enciende alrededor del viaje los últimos tres meses, porque la raza All-star es a veces absolutamente rara.

La race All-star, aunque it’ s funcionado en Charlotte puesto que el último T. Wayne Robertson la creó hace más de 20 años, sigue siendo a veces duro de imaginar, el dinámico, el razonamiento, el pensamiento….y ciertamente las reglas, que parecen evolutivas.

Pero una cosa que este All-star incluso crea es una energía inusual para los conductores y los equipos: “ La raza All-star, usted intenta entrar y decir ‘ It’ s ninguna gran cosa… it’ s apenas para un poco de dinero… it’ s no una raza de los puntos, “ Johnson dice.

Uh, seeding? Scoring? Let me get back to you on all that
(A view of last year’s pit crew scoreboard)
(Photo by Rusty Jarrett/Getty Images for NASCAR)
¿Uh, sembrando? ¿El anotar? Déjeme conseguirle detrás en todo el eso
(Opinión de A del año pasado ‘ marcador del equipo de hoyo de s)
(Foto por las imágenes oxidadas de Jarrett/Getty para NASCAR)

“ Entonces tienen las introducciones (típicamente con los fuegos artificiales y el escándalo), y los equipos están hacia fuera allí y los ventiladores están allí, y antes de que usted lo sepa su ritmo cardíaco está en 120 y you’ el re no incluso sentarse en un coche todavía. You’ re apenas haber alzado con el gato-para arriba y alista para ir.

“ Ahora en los 600 (la semana próxima ‘ la rutina de s aquí), todos está en el modo de pensar de tomar cuidado de su equipo y la fabricación de una raza larga de 600 millas… y allí es una diversa energía alrededor de ese acontecimiento.

“ Tan cuando pienso en esta raza All-star, qué surge realmente en mi mente es la energía del acontecimiento a el cual consigue en mi cabeza y me ayuda a adaptarse lo que va a ocurrir.”

Por supuesto las cosas de esta estación han sido algo raras de todos modos.

¿Quién habría predicho a Johnson que se estrella dos veces en Darlington el fin de semana pasado?

“ Bien, “ Johnson dice algo vergonzosamente, “ Sabía que éramos rápidos.

“ Toda I necesario era la calificación que entraba de la confianza. E I abajo del mejor regazo podría.

“ Desafortunadamente era demasiado agresivo en esas dos sesiones de práctica y rasgué para arriba algunos coches.

“ It’ s no característico para que rasgue para arriba los coches tiene gusto de eso. Pero por lo menos éramos fast.”

que iban; República eo Tchad Knaus, Johnson’ jefe de equipo de s, claramente didn’ t lo toma muy bien.

NASCAR All-star week kicks off Thursday with the annual pit crew championship
(Here, Darrell Waltrip, left, and Rusty Wallace tangle in the 1989 classic, Wallace winning the controversial finish).
(Photo Credit: Lowe’s Motor Speedway Archives)
La semana All-star de NASCAR golpea apagado jueves con el pie con el campeonato anual del equipo de hoyo
(Aquí, Darrell Waltrip, izquierdos, y enredo oxidado de Wallace en los 1989 obra clásica, Wallace que gana el final polémico)
(Crédito de foto: Lowe’ archivos del carretera de motor de s)

“ Era físicamente y emocionalmente absolutamente un paseo, “ Johnson concede. También en golpecito este fin de semana All-star es un ‘ especial; quemadura challenge’ para los conductores, ver quién puede llevar a cabo el mejor - y la mayoría del exacto - ‘ victory’ quemadura.

Johnson, aunque no conocido para su valor de la quemadura, tomará un tiro en él:

“ It’ s apenas algo diferente, algo fresco.

“ Nos sentamos alrededor de todo el sábado y realmente don’ t hace mucho, así que puede ser que también hagamos algo. “

I’ el ll apenas considera lo que hará el coche. I’ m no sure cuánto caballo de fuerza we’ el ll tiene, o cuál será la situación del neumático. Pero I’ reloj del ll los otros individuos.

“ Esperanzadamente I’ m no el first.” Humpy Wheeler’ desigual; s Lowe’ pista won’ de s; t tiene un monopolio en la acción que compite con estos próximos días. El carretera de motor de Indianapolis competirá otra vez para los títulos, y Danica Patrick, ahora ganador del Indy-coche, es una estrella que se contará con, de más maneras que una. Johnson dice he’ mujeres sorprendidas s aún haven’ t hizo mucho de una abolladura en NASCAR.

“ I’ jugadores de fútbol y señoras mirados VE de las mujeres en las Olimpiadas. De un punto de vista físico it’ s que desafía ciertamente, pero it’ s factible, “ Johnson dice.

“ I’ VE miró a algunas mujeres muy talentosas venir adelante, con grandes oportunidades. Mire Erin Crocker con el rayo Evernham. Sarah Fisher vino en la escena difícilmente en la serie del Indy-coche.

“ Conjeturo que apenas tarda tiempo para convertirse.

“ I’ m que todas las niñas que crecen piensen van no sure a ser conductor de raza y a dedicar sus vidas a él.

“ Para ser en el nivel superior él doesn’ materia de t sobre género. Usted apenas tiene que confiar en una edad joven. E I’ m that’ no seguro; s la primera cosa que surge en un lady’ joven; mente de s.

“ Pero como el competir con de NASCAR llega a ser más popular, vería definitivamente el contrario de eso que crece cada vez más. Y no hay razón esa él can’ t happen.”

Queremos su reacción, satisfacemos tan comentamos respecto a esta historia y ofrecemos sus propias opiniones, sobre esta historia, en nuestros vídeos de NASCAR, y cualquier cosa sobre NASCAR: mmulhern@wsjournal.com

Things tend to get wacky during all-star week in Charlotte
(Photo by Streeter Lecka/Getty Images)
Las cosas tienden a conseguir raras durante semana All-star en Charlotte
(Foto por las imágenes de Streeter Lecka/Getty)

By Mike Mulhern
mmulhern@wsjournal.com

CHARLOTTE
Michael Delahanty has a darned good case here: If your name isn’t Kyle Busch or Carl Edwards, then so far this season the key phrase is ‘bad luck.’
Even Jeff Gordon and Jimmie Johnson, after all their NASCAR championships, have at times had miserable times this spring. Gordon at Texas, for certain. Johnson, at Darlington and several other tracks.
However Delahanty, as head of Dodge’s racing efforts, would like for at least one or two of his guys to start turning some heads.
What’s been wrong with Dodge teams since Ryan Newman’s Daytona win? Toyota, Ford and sometimes even Chevrolet are doing well, but Dodge?
“The quick and easy answer is ‘bad luck,’” Delahanty says. “You’ve seen it, race after race.

If it weren’t for bad luck.....
(Photo by Chris McGrath/Getty Images)

“Just look at Richmond: Carpentier gets spun, goes flying up the track; Kurt Busch drives right into him…and Montoya spins into the back of them.”
That’s three Dodges, Patrick Carpentier, Busch and Juan Pablo Montoya, taken out in one fell swoop.
“And go back a week earlier to Talladega: In the last couple of laps we had five Dodges taken out, and four of the five were in the top-12.
“How many bad luck weekends can you get, where our guys are just in the wrong spot at the wrong time?
“A lot of it is just that.”
Well, what about horsepower. Does Dodge need to get that new engine up on line faster? Would that help Dodge teams qualify better, and thus perhaps avoid some bad luck?
“Chevrolet, for example, has had its new engine out for two years, and they’re just now getting it rolled into the front line in their cars…and we’re pretty much in the same position,” Delahanty says.
“Our guys are doing the development in the race shops, working on durability, working on cam shafts, cylinder head configurations, stuff like that. We’ve done some initial durability tests on the dynos.
“We’ve got some track time scheduled for later in May, where we’re going to start fitting the engine into cars and go out there and just put laps on them.
“We’re taking our time, to validate the engine, and make sure it will last. And then we’ll start beating on it to get some horsepower, with all different types of designs.
“We don’t have a gun to their heads – ‘You’ve got to get this engine out there.’ But here are the pieces. And we’re running our own tests on them. And when it’s ready, we’ll race it.
“No one has run the new engine yet. We’re still developing it and playing with it.”
And where is the new engine supposed to help – up off the corners, down into the corners?
“From what we’ve seen of the power curves, they certainly look better than the old power curves,” Delahanty says.
“But we typically don’t see the teams’ individual power curves, nor do we ask to see them. That’s proprietary information.
“But we haven’t heard any complaints.”

Too much bad luck for Dodge teams this season
(Elliott Sadler tangles with Tony Stewart at Darlington)
(Photo Credit: Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images)

What about the new NASCAR stocker, the winged car that hasn’t run all that smoothly on the tour’s mid-sized tracks this season?
Ford’s Jack Roush appears to have found some aerodynamic and chassis tricks, and so have the Toyota engineers at Joe Gibbs’. Chevy men so far have been hit and miss, to say the least.
“There are a couple of teams that have found something, Roush and Gibbs,” Delahanty says. “But you’ve been around for a while, and you remember the learning period when the last new car was rolled out into the sport. It’s been so long, that people have forgotten how long it takes.
“We were using that old car for a long, long time, and there weren’t many tricks left to be discovered. That last new generation car was back in the 1990s.
“But with this new car-of-tomorrow, the transition is the same type of thing. And there are some teams finding the right things, like with the rear axle, and making it work.
“The second time around these tracks this season things will be better.
“But look at the stats this year: Gibbs and Roush have a stranglehold on the wins this year. There are clearly Haves and Have-nots; and our teams aren’t in the Haves right now.
“But our guys are working their tails off; they’ve stepped up their mid-week testing, to try to figure out how to get these cars to turn and go through the corners.
“The other thing, too – think about it: we’re carrying a lot of rookie right now. Patrick Carpentier, Dario Franchitti, Sam Hornish, guys we’re bringing up.”
But maybe Dodge teams have loaded up too much on rookies and need more veterans? Then again some of the Dodge drivers who have been around for a while aren’t performing all that well either.
“We don’t tell our teams who to hire….but this rookie thing can be a double-edged sword. Some of those guys may turn into some pretty outstanding drivers. Look at Tony Stewart and Carl Edwards and Denny Hamlin.”

What about the Dodge team owners themselves? Petty Enterprises clearly has issues, but then so do Roger Penske, Chip Ganassi and George Gillett and Ray Evernham.
“It is a testimony to how competitive NASCAR really is,” Delanhanty says. “Not just in the United States but in the world.
“Juan Montoya will tell you – and he’s a world class driver – that a 15th place finish in NASCAR can be a pretty darned good achievement.
“I wish I could walk into our teams’ shops and say ‘This is the problem: X-Y-Z, and here’s how to fix it.’
“Our guys are hitting it just as hard as the other guys. And you can see this when you walk through the garage – the Penske guys are talking to the Evernham guys are talking to the Ganassi guys are talking to the Petty guys. They are team players.
“We have no beef with the guys in that regard; they’re playing team ball.
“And, remember, the ‘book’ these guys have on the car-of-tomorrow’ is a three-by-five index car. If you take the book from the car-of-yesterday and try to use that stuff now, either it doesn’t work at all or it works in 180 degrees the other way.
“These guys need time to build that new book.”
However there is so much about this sport that is in attitude, in fire-in-the-belly, in pacing, in not burning out, in not becoming frustrated.
Is that mental part of the game a factor here?
“The one common problem our teams point to about all this,” Delanhanty says, perhaps only partly tongue-in-cheek, “is the media.”
He laughs: “If it weren’t for the media this would be a happy place.”
And he laughs again.
“Really, that issue of attitude and mental toughness is a good question: how many businesses run 24/7, with no days off…and with so many appearances, where you have to stand somewhere making happy?
“This NASCAR world is a pretty taxing world for everyone.
“We go crazy ourselves just in our own little part of this world, trying to figure out how to take advantage of everything we have the opportunity for.
“The sport in general, collectively, we’re all running with our tongues hanging out.”

We want your reaction, so please comment on this story and offer your own opinions, on this story, on our NASCAR videos, and anything about NASCAR:
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Por Mike Mulhern
mmulhern@wsjournal.com

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CHARLOTTE

Michael Delahanty tiene un buen caso darned aquí: Si su nombre no es Kyle Busch o Carl Edwards, después esta estación la frase dominante es hasta ahora ‘ mala suerte.’

Incluso Jeff Gordon y Jimmie Johnson, después de todos sus campeonatos de NASCAR, han tenido ocasionalmente épocas desgraciadas este primavera.

Gordon en Texas.

Johnson, en Darlington y varias otras pistas.

Sin embargo Delahanty, como jefe de los esfuerzos que compiten con del regate, quisiera para por lo menos uno o dos de sus individuos a comenzar a dar vuelta a algunas cabezas.

¿Se es incorrecto cuál con los equipos del regate puesto que triunfo de Daytona de Ryan Newman?

¿Toyota, Ford e iguala a veces Chevrolet está haciendo bien, solamente regate?

“la respuesta rápida y fácil es ‘ mala suerte, ‘“ Delahanty dice.

“usted lo ha visto, raza después de la raza.

“mirada justa en Richmond: Carpentier consigue hecho girar, va a volar encima de la pista; Kurt Busch conduce a la derecha en él… y Montoya hace girar en la parte posteriora de ellos.”

Ése es tres regates, Patrick Carpentier, Busch y Juan Pablo Montoya, tomado hacia fuera en uno bajó swoop.

“y va detrás una semana anterior a Talladega: En los pares pasados de regazos hicimos cinco regates tomar hacia fuera, y cuatro de los cinco estaban en el top-12.

¿"cuántos fines de semana de la mala suerte puede usted conseguir, dónde nuestros individuos es justo en el punto incorrecto en el tiempo incorrecto?

los “muchos de ellos son justos que.”

Bien, qué sobre caballos de fuerza.

¿El regate necesita conseguir ese motor nuevo para arriba en línea más rápido?

¿Los equipos de ese regate de la ayuda calificarían mejor, y quizás evitan así una cierta mala suerte?

“Chevrolet, por ejemplo, ha tenido su motor nuevo hacia fuera por dos años, y son justa ahora consiguiéndolo rodado en la línea delantera en sus coches… y somos bonitos mucho en la misma posición,” Delahanty dice.

“nuestros individuos están haciendo el desarrollo en las tiendas de la raza, trabajando en la durabilidad, trabajando en los árboles de levas, configuraciones de culata, materia como eso. Hemos hecho algunas pruebas iniciales de la durabilidad en los dynos.

“tenemos una cierta hora de la pista programar para más adelante en mayo, adonde vamos a comenzar a caber el motor en los coches y a salir allí y apenas a poner regazos en ellos.

“estamos tomando nuestro tiempo, para validar el motor, y nos cercioramos de que dura. Y entonces comenzaremos el golpeo en él para conseguir un ciertos caballos de fuerza, con todos los diversos tipos de diseños.

“no tenemos un arma a sus cabezas - ‘ usted tener conseguir este motor hacia fuera allí.’

Pero aquí están los pedazos.

Y estamos funcionando nuestras propias pruebas en ellas.

Y cuando es listo, lo competiremos con.

“nadie ha funcionado el motor nuevo todavía. Todavía lo estamos desarrollando y estamos jugando con él.”

¿Y dónde el motor nuevo se supone para ayudar - encima de las esquinas, abajo en las esquinas?

“de lo que hemos visto de las curvas de la energía, miran ciertamente mejor que las viejas curvas de la energía,” Delahanty dicen.

“solamente no vemos típicamente las curvas individuales de la energía de los equipos, ni pedimos verlas. Ésa es información propietaria.

“solamente no hemos oído ninguna quejas.”

¿Qué sobre el nuevo stocker de NASCAR, el coche con alas que no ha funcionado todo el que suavemente en las pistas mediados de-clasificadas del viaje esta estación?

Jack Roush de Ford aparece haber encontrado algunos trucos aerodinámicos y del chasis, y así que tiene los ingenieros de Toyota en Joe Gibbs.

Han golpeado y faltan a los hombres de Chevy hasta ahora, para decir el lo menos.

Too much bad luck for Dodge teams this season
(Elliott Sadler tangles with Tony Stewart at Darlington)
(Photo Credit: Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images)

“hay pares de los equipos que han encontrado algo, Roush y Gibbs,” Delahanty dice.

“solamente usted ha estado alrededor por un rato, y usted recuerda el período que aprende en que el coche nuevo pasado fue rodado hacia fuera en el deporte. Se es tan de largo, esa gente se ha olvidado de cuánto tiempo toma.

“utilizábamos ese viejo coche por un tiempo largo, largo, y no había muchos trucos a la izquierda que se descubrirán. Ese coche nuevo pasado de la generación estaba detrás en los años 90.

“pero con esto nuevo coche-de -mañana, la transición es el mismo tipo de cosa. Y hay algunos equipos que encuentran las cosas derechas, como con el eje trasero, y haciéndole el trabajo.

“alrededor de estas pistas las cosas de esta estación serán la segunda vez mejores.

“solamente mirada en el stats este año: Gibbs y Roush tienen un stranglehold en los triunfos este año. Hay claramente Haves y pobres; y nuestros equipos no están en el Haves ahora.

“solamente nuestros individuos son trabajo su se disminuyen; han intensificado su mid-week que probaba, para intentar calcular fuera de cómo conseguir estos coches para dar vuelta y para pasar a través de las esquinas.

“la otra cosa, también - piense de ella: estamos llevando muchos de rookie ahora. Patrick Carpentier, Dario Franchitti, Sam Hornish, individuos que estamos trayendo para arriba.”

¿Pero esquive quizá a equipos han cargado encima de demasiado en rookies y necesitan a más veteranos?

Entonces algunos de los conductores del regate que han estado alrededor por un rato no están realizando otra vez todos que bien tampoco.

“no decimos a nuestros equipos que emplear....but esta cosa del rookie puede ser una espada de doble filo. Algunos de esos individuos pueden dar vuelta en algunos conductores excepcionales bonitos. Mire Stewart tony y Carl Edwards y Denny Hamlin.”

¿Qué sobre los dueños ellos mismos del equipo del regate?

Las empresas pequeñas tienen claramente ediciones, pero entonces así que haga Roger Penske, Chip Ganassi y George Gillett y Ray Evernham.

“es un testimonio cómo NASCAR competitivo realmente está,” a Delanhanty dice.

“no apenas en los Estados Unidos pero en el mundo.

“Juan Montoya le dirá - y él es un conductor de la clase del mundo que un décimo quinto final del lugar en NASCAR puede ser un buen logro darned bonito.

“deseo que podría caminar en las tiendas de nuestros equipos y decir ‘ esto es el problema: X-Y-Z, y aquí es cómo fijarlo.’

“nuestros individuos lo están golpeando apenas tan difícilmente como los otros individuos. Y usted puede ver esto cuando usted camina a través del garage - los individuos de Penske están hablando con los individuos de Evernham están hablando con los individuos de Ganassi están hablando con los individuos pequeños. Son jugadores del equipo.

“no tenemos ninguna carne de vaca con los individuos en ese respeto; están jugando la bola del equipo.

“y, recuerde, el ‘ libro ‘ que estos individuos tienen en coche-de -mañana ‘ son a tres-por-cinco el coche del índice. Si usted toma el libro del coche-de -ayer e intenta ahora utilizar esa materia, o no trabaja en todos o trabaja 180 grados la otra manera.

“estos individuos necesitan hora de construir ese libro nuevo.”

No obstante hay tanto sobre este deporte que esté en actitud, en el establecimiento del paso, en no quemar, en frustración.

¿Es eso parte mental del juego un factor aquí?

“el un problema común nuestros equipos señala a alrededor de todo el esto,” Delanhanty dice, quizás solamente en parte lengu!eta-en-mejilla, “son los medios.”

Él ríe: “si no estuviera para los medios esto sería un lugar feliz.”

Y él ríe otra vez.

“realmente, esa aplicación la actitud y la dureza mental es una buena pregunta: ¿cuántos negocios funcione 24/7, sin días… y con tan muchos aspectos, dónde usted tiene que estar parado en alguna parte de fabricación feliz?

“este mundo de NASCAR es un mundo que grava bonito para cada uno.

“vamos locos ourselves apenas en nuestra propia pequeña parte de este mundo, intentando a la figura fuera de cómo aprovecharse de todo que tenemos la oportunidad para.

“el deporte en general, colectivamente, somos todos que funcionan con nuestras lengüetas que cuelgan hacia fuera.”

Deseamos su reacción, satisfacemos tan el comentario sobre esta historia y ofrecemos sus propias opiniones, sobre esta historia, en nuestros videos de NASCAR, y cualquier cosa sobre NASCAR: mmulhern@wsjournal.com

If it weren’t for bad luck.....
(Photo by Chris McGrath/Getty Images)
Si no estaba para la mala suerte.....
(foto por las imágenes de Chris McGrath/Getty)

By Mike Mulhern
mmulhern@wsjournal.com

DARLINGTON, S.C.
So it was called the Dodge Challenger 500…..maybe it should have been called the ‘Dodge Challenged’ 500, because Dodge teams – again, another week on the NASCAR tour – were challenged to get anything going Saturday night at Darlington Raceway.
About the only thing Dodge had out front all night was the pace car.
And it’s about time somebody at Dodge gets called on the carpet about the way this season is progressing….or rather not progressing.
Yes, Dodge teams looked great at Daytona, Ryan Newman and teammate Kurt Busch going one-two, in upsetting both Toyota and Chevy men.
But since then it’s been a litany of excuses, and no more wins. Not even a good scent of one.
Dodge is not only last in the Sprint Cup manufacturers’ race, Dodge is also last in Nationwide (Busch) racing, and last in NASCAR Truck racing.

The top Dodge finisher at Darlington – Kurt Busch. His brother is the hottest thing in NASCAR, and wound up winning, again. Kurt? Well, since leaving Ford’s Jack Roush two years ago to join Roger Penske, the elder Busch has just about fallen off the radar. Kurt Busch this season isn’t even a top-20 runner; his Daytona run is his only top-10.
Kurt Busch, once used to the boos that now greet his kid brother, would probably love to get any reaction from the crowd this season.
Still Kurt Busch tries to put an upbeat spin on things: “The Charlotte test paid dividends. With this right-side tire being the same at Charlotte and Darlington, we just kept the same frame of mind for four days straight, which really helped us.”

Kasey Kahne might have had something to work with, but he crashed during practice. “We had to go to our back-up car for the race, and it wasn’t nearly as good as our primary car,” Kahne, 22nd, says. “We struggled on power a bit. But we kept it off the wall, which is a positive.”
Dodge horsepower has been questioned by several teams. The car maker is introducing a new engine this season.
Lack of horsepower wasn’t the only problem facing Dodge’s Juan Pablo Montoya, who finished 23rd: “We went a lap down early and struggled with handling. I thought our Dodge was really good in practice and qualifying…we just struggled in the race.”

The Saturday night story for the rest of the Dodge guys was even worse:
Robby Gordon – 33rd. He crashed in practice, and his crew had to do some major bodywork before the race: “I have to take my hat off to my crew. They put a new body on the car.
“And for us to run as good as we ran, and then break an alternator wire, is a huge disappointment.
“It’s just a wire (on the George Gillett-Ray Evernham engine he leases). I don’t know if Gillett-Evernham has broken one before…
“It takes two batteries to start it, and I forgot to switch it over to one battery (for the 500). So it just didn’t have a backup.
“If I’d have known, and not worn out both batteries from the get-go, it probably would have been okay.
“A mistake on my part.
“On the other side, we shouldn’t have failures. To be honest with you, stuff shouldn’t break. These are pretty archaic race cars and pretty simple to work on.”

Robby Gordon watches his crew repairing his Darlington Dodge
(Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images)

Sterling Marlin, filling in at Chip Ganassi’s for injured Dario Franchitti, ran 34th. “The car got real hot,” Marlin said. “There was a problem with the cooling system, and we had to pit to cool me off.”
Newman continues to hit potholes. This time he was a very disappointed 37th. And that drops him out of the Sprint Cup tour’s top-12. “We had problems throughout the race, and it ended up costing us in the points,” Newman fretted. “We’re going to have to work harder and hopefully rebound at Charlotte.”

Ryan Newman’s Daytona 500 trophy is about all he’s got to show for the season so far
(Photo by Jason Smith/Getty Images for NASCAR)

Sam Hornish Jr., who may be regretted jumping from Indy-cars to NASCAR, is averaging a 30th place finish this spring. No top-10s; only two top-20s. And Saturday night – a 38th: “I’m pretty sure we had a right-side front tire go down. As soon as I turned in the corner it just went straight.
“The car was handling real good; we’d moved up a couple of spots already, and I felt really good about what we were going to be able to do.
“The days when we feel like we’re really out to lunch, we go out and run without a hitch…and the days when we’re going to go out there and get a top-15 or a top-10 we have a problem.
“We’ll have to figure out how to get around that sooner or later.”
For Patrick Carpentier, this event was expected to be a challenge – heck, he’d never seen the track before. And this place, well, if you don’t know the line, the other drivers tend to lose patience.
“This was a step ahead again,” the Canadian rookie said, after finishing 40th. “We’ve led on an oval… and for a guy that did road course stuff (most of his career), I’m happy.
“We keep learning.
“But once we lost laps in the pits there’s nothing I can do. I can’t battle with the guys; they all get ticked off and try to turn you around.
“And then after that, we had a mechanical failure.
“But at the beginning I passed (Dale Earnhardt) Junior, and a lot of guys, and I was having a blast.
“It’s fun, it’s coming. But we just don’t have any luck at all.”
At least Carpentier’s luck wasn’t as bad as Elliott Sadler’s. He was trying to pass Toyota’s Tony Stewart on the second lap of the 367-lapper, and they collided and slammed the wall. “I just made a huge mistake,” Sadler, 42nd, said ruefully.

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