THE FRONTSTRETCH NEWSLETTER
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The Best Seat at the Track, The Best View on the Net!
May 24th, 2011
Volume V, Edition XCVI
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Today's Top News
by Tom Bowles
NASCAR's Hall of Fame doubled in size Monday night, five new inductees honored during an official ceremony for the Class of 2011 held in Charlotte. David Pearson, Bobby Allison, Lee Petty, Ned Jarrett, and Bud Moore are just the second five-member group to gain entrance to the sport's historic museum since opening in the middle of last year.
For Pearson, whose 105 victories place him second on the all-time list to Richard Petty, the night was about celebrating one of the greatest rivalries in the sport's storied history. Both Pearson and Petty dominated the landscape of the sport in the 1970s, finishing 1-2 on dozens of occasions and most notably in the 1976 Daytona 500, when contact between the two off turn 4 sent both men spinning in one of the most infamous finishes in NASCAR history (Pearson limped across the line to take the win).
"I want to thank Richard Petty," Pearson said in his speech. "He's probably the one that made me win as many as I did. I'd run hard because he'd make me run hard. I've had more fun running with him than anybody I ever run with 'cause I knew if I ever went to a racetrack and he was there, if I could beat him, I'd win the race."
For Allison, his 84 victories leave him tied for third on NASCAR's win list with Darrell Waltrip, although controversy reigns over whether an 85th should have been stripped away (officials refuse to acknowledge a victory in a co-sanctioned Grand American / Grand National (the old version of the Cup Series) race in 1971). Still, observers agree the statistics that remain, which include a 1983 championship, three Daytona 500 victories and 27,548 laps led are some of the most impressive ever accumulated by a driver on the Cup Series level.
But Allison's career was also marked by unspeakable tragedy. An incident in June, 1988 at Pocono left him with serious head injuries and cut short his racing career at age 50. In 1992, he lost son Clifford to a racing accident at Michigan International Speedway while son Davey, the '92 Daytona 500 winner would die the next year in a helicopter crash. His own team, running on the Cup level shut down with financial problems after the '96 season and wife Judy divorced him. Thankfully, in later years the two would remarry, Allison telling the story of how another family's loss - Adam Petty's death in 2000 - brought the two together and allowed them to heal from over a decade of pain.
"I went through a lot of things," Allison said in his acceptance speech. "I got involved with a lot of people along the way. I won some races. Struggled, got better, did poorly, got better and everything. But the bottom line, it was just an incredible career."
Jarrett's induction revolved around racing accomplishments from two separate walks of NASCAR life: as a broadcaster and his wins behind the wheel. As a driver, the mild-mannered North Carolinian was no slouch: 50 victories over just eight full-time seasons, from 1959-66 included superspeedway wins at both Atlanta and Darlington (1965 Southern 500). But it was perhaps the man's broadcasting brilliance, covering races on CBS and ESPN from 1979 through 2000 that endeared him to generations of NASCAR fans across the globe. To this day, his 1993 call of son Dale's last-lap run to Daytona 500 Victory Lane is one of the most celebrated moments in the sport's history.
"When it was announced several years ago there would be a NASCAR Hall of Fame, and when my name was among the original 25 nominees, my prayer from then on was to live long enough to be elected," said Jarrett, a deeply religious man. "I've had to work hard on my health to be able to be here and enjoy this tremendous honor and I am very humbled by this huge honor. I don't take it lightly."
Unfortunately, Lee Petty, the patriatch of NASCAR's most famous racing clan wasn't around to enjoy the celebration; he died in 2000 at age 86. But the on-track results left behind speak volumes for a man who was perhaps the greatest driver of the sport's early years, from 1949 to an ugly Daytona flip that virtually ended his career in 1961: three championships, an inaugural Daytona 500 triumph ('59) and a 54-victory mark that would stand as a record until none other than his son, Richard, passed him in the late 1960s. The founder of Petty Enterprises, he later served as the head of an organization that would win seven championships with his son, "The King," and help propel the sport into the forefront of the American consciousness in the 1970s and '80s. Known to have a gruff, tough-minded personality that rough-around-the-edges shtick made him a racer you didn't want to mess with - either on the racetrack or off it.
"[Lee Petty] lived in his world and he didn't want anybody to tell him how to live in his world," said Richard, who along with son Maurice accepted the award on their late father's behalf. "His big deal was to take care of his own. If you got in the way, didn't make a whole lot of difference to him, he got you out of the way. Hopefully he's up there somewhere saying, 'Okay, I know I'd get there, might have to push somebody out of the way to get there.'"
As for Moore, he became the first man exclusively enshrined for his talents as a car owner. Collecting 63 victories over four different decades, the best of the best either started their careers or spent the peak of them behind the wheel of the No. 15: Darrell Waltrip, Allison, Joe Weatherly, Buddy Baker, Dale Earnhardt, Ricky Rudd, Geoffrey Bodine and Morgan Shepherd are but a few of the "Who's Who" NASCAR drivers he employed. Some also forget Moore's talents as a head wrench, winning the series title pre-ownership with Buck Baker in 1957 before earning two more with Weatherly in 1962-63. A World War II veteran, owner of some five purple hearts for his dedicated service the patriot is every bit the soul of the initial NASCAR generation who came together, after the fighting to put the sport of stock car racing on the map.
"My daughter-in-law, Carol, recently asked me how I wanted to be remembered," he said during induction. "The answer is simple: As one who made many contributions to the building of the sport, one whose handshake was as good as any contract, who always gave a straight answer and would never sugar coat it either. But most of all, to be remembered as a man who loved his family, his country and the sport of racing."
Voting for the sport's Class of 2012 will occur later this year.
Have news for Tom and the Frontstretch? Don't hesitate to let us know; email us at ashland10@mail.com with a promising lead or tip.
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Got NASCAR-related questions or comments?
Send them John Potts' way at john.potts@frontstretch.com; and if you're lucky, you'll get your name in print when he does his weekly column answering back to you – the fans that keep Frontstretch afloat. Potts' Shots will run on Thursdays with a whole new set of Fan Questions and Answers!
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Numbers Game: Sprint All-Star Weekend
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Brett Poirier is a Website Contributor for Frontstretch.com. He can be reached via e-mail at brett.poirier@frontstretch.com.
Today's Featured Commentary
The Day Darrell Waltrip Took Off the Tie
by S.D. Grady
That was fun.
After Carl climbed from his steaming car, executed the obligatory backflip and ran into the stands for some good old fashioned back thumping courtesy of a couple inebriated fans, I sat back in my couch and grinned. The All-Star race left me laughing.
But it wasn't the Now Hiring sign on the No. 99, its demolished radiator, or a favorite driver taking home that really big pile of cash that had me giggling; it was the TV coverage.
Now, after all these years—these very, very long years—of FOX attempting to turn NASCAR nation into something we'd rather not be, I was struggling to put a finger on just what had turned Saturday night's seemingly familiar broadcast into something pleasurable. What did SPEED do that the channel with the big budget doesn't? The camera work wasn't any better… might have been worse. I admit, I burst out laughing when the shot showed a billowing white cloud while DW yelled, "The No. 78 spun out!" It was a really good thing he was paying attention, cause there wasn't a single car amidst the smoke.
It had nothing to do with new commercials. I zoned out on this year's selection of NASCAR spots somewhere near the end of March. I don't expect to see a new crop of them until the Chase, so until then I'll look the other way when NAPA comes on screen, or a masked driver starts to buy the world a Coke.
Split screens? Tickers? No. Really, SPEED polished up the usual bits and added a few bells and whistles so we'll remember them fondly come Friday for another round of qualifying.
And then I saw the final shot of the wrecker in Victory Lane covered in confetti, all while the Waltrip brothers and Mike Joy chuckled over the ending of the race.
That... right there... was the magic.
I have yet to determine if the spontaneous outbursts from the trio in the booth that colored the evening were a result of serendipity, or at the direction of a genius production staff. I know who will take credit for it in a boardroom…still.
Not once through the whole race was I annoyed by some planned hokey comment from DW, or his usual partner in crime Larry Mac. However, that did not mean that Darrell had left his good ole boy slang behind. Somehow, he and Mikey were set free to do what most any racing enthusiast will do—react to a sideways or smoking car with verve and excitement. Gone were 'splanations of made up words.
They hooted, hollered, cheered—oh, yes, they do that from time to time—and genuinely let their enjoyment of the night show. And I joined in.
Yes, the All-Star race is contrived. The whole night is a study in how to celebrate our sport and ignore as many of the usual procedures as possible. It's supposed to be fun—a mix of all the stuff we like about NASCAR. We get retro paint jobs. New faces and old make singular appearances to gather a few more cheers. The Fan Favorite has guaranteed a spot (don't get all uppity about the Junior landslide…there was a time when Bill Elliott couldn't lose that vote no matter what he did on the track). There are fireworks, short race segments, a built-in ten lap shootout… For me, there is very little to dislike about this non-points event. But I did worry when the curtain went up on the booth and I was faced with a night of commentary featuring two of the three usual weekly irritants.
I worried for naught.
It's clear to me now that what I liked about DW way back when he was bowing out as a driver, I enjoy now: his vivacity, honesty and pure adoration of motorsports. You can't discount the massive ego, either. Mike Joy has always been a sentimental favorite, with his vocal support of the Northeast racers. And Michael Waltrip has always managed to bring a smile to my face, even when he wasn't paying attention to anything around him.
Saturday's unscripted and loosely directed broadcast just highlighted what I've been struggling against all these years. When corporate finds something they like, they want you to do it all the time. Somewhere, in a glassed in office, I can hear the pre-production meetings where they encourage one to write down whimsical ideas as they come to you, polish the thought and then present it with a few ism's to the viewing public.
Polished ain't what NASCAR is. Ain't what NASCAR was. Ain't what I want NASCAR to be.
When the crowd sees a stock car slide up the track, they gasp as one, stand up, and proceed to dump beer, chips and greasy burgers on one another in their eagerness to share their responses. Nobody means to do that. It just happens. Happy memories are built this way.
When the man in the suit stands up at the front of the class, clears his throat and reads from a prepared statement, we all groan, slide down in our seats and try to find something interesting to watch on the ceiling.
Many years ago, FOX stuffed DW in a coat and tie. I hope they will follow SPEED's example and let him out of the cage. NASCAR would be a happier place for everyone involved.
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TODAY ON THE FRONTSTRETCH:
The Yellow Stripe: The Greatest Day In The Annual Racing Calendar
5 Points To Ponder: The Junior Rule, Wishing For A Short Track And Stenhouse, Jr.'s Future
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Get THE ANNUAL, 2011 Racing Preview for your mobile device.
Go to Frontstretch.com and click on "The Annual" link on the right side to order and download this special issue that includes: Track Information, Driver profiles and In-Depth Features.
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FRONTSTRETCH TRIVIA:
Q: The 1988 Coca-Cola 600 marked a major milestone for NASCAR's Memorial Day weekend classic. What was it?
Monday's Answer:
Q: In 1993, Dale Earnhardt won the Coca-Cola 600 to take his second straight win on Memorial Day weekend. However, the race wasn't all easy for Earnhardt, who had to come back through the field after a penalty. What caused Earnhardt to be penalized?
Earnhardt restarted at the front of the inside line and immediately got his lap back from Bobby Labonte (who assumed the lead by not pitting under the caution). Another yellow 15 laps later allowed Earnhardt to come back around to the back of the lead lap, and it took only eight laps after the final restart for Earnhardt to claim the lead and pull away to for the victory.
Frontstretch Trivia Guarantee: If we mess up, you get the shirt off our backs! If we've provided an incorrect answer to the Frontstretch Trivia question, be the first to email the corrected trivia answer to trivia@frontstretch.com and we'll send you a Frontstretch T-Shirt ... FREE!
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Hey, Frontstretch Readers!
We know you love the roar of raw horsepower under the hood that powers 43 of the best drivers in the world every weekend, but did you ever wonder how the sponsor on top of that hood also contributes to keeping the sport moving? What about the contributions of official NASCAR companies? If you think they are simply writing checks, think again. Check out our newest feature - Sunday Money. This weekly Frontstretch exclusive provides you with a behind the scenes look at how NASCAR, its affiliates and team sponsors approach the daunting task of keeping fans interested and excited about the sport for 38 weeks of the year.
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Coming tomorrow in the Frontstretch Newsletter:
-- Top News from Summer Dreyer
-- Full Throttle by Mike Neff
-- Links to your favorite Frontstretch articles, and more!
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Tomorrow on the Frontstretch:
Did You Notice?... by Tom Bowles
Tom returns with a long list of small observations from the NASCAR week that was.
Mirror Driving by the Frontstretch Staff
The Mirror crew is at it again with more talking points to debate.
Our weekly list based on the latest NASCAR controversy will start your morning off with a laugh -- guaranteed.
Which driver came out of the All-Star Weekend on top of our 2011 Power Rankings chart? Jimmie Johnson? Carl Edwards? Kevin Harvick? Someone else? Find out who our select Frontstretch experts have labeled as this week's favorite heading into the Coca-Cola 600.
Foto Funnies: Sprint All-Star Race Edition by Kurt Smith
Beyond The Cockpit: MAKE Motorsports as told to Bryan Davis Keith
Bryan sits down with this up-and-coming Truck Series owner, finding out the state of the sport these days for the little guy.
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