Rain and mud? No problem for Paul Newman, 'Humpy' Wheeler recalls

When it came to Paul Newman’s passion for racing, Humpy Wheeler was an unapologetic enabler.

Wheeler, the longtime president and general manager of Lowe’s Motor Speedway who now runs his own motorsports consulting company, said Newman was one of the most fascinating people he has met.

“I first met him in 1966 on the set of ‘Winning.’” Wheeler said, referring to the movie that fired Newman’s love for racing. “When he met you he looked you right in the eye like you were the most important person in the world and he heard you out.”

Wheeler said that when Newman, who died Friday evening, was at the race track he was a racer above all else.

“Paul was a humble, nice guy who loved his racing friends,” Wheeler said. “He really didn't like all the Hollywood stuff, but he did regard his profession as an art form to be taken very seriously.”

Newman certainly took his racing seriously.

The actor and philanthropist had a Legends car that Wheeler kept for him at the Charlotte track in 1995.

“He called me one day and said he had a break from the movie he was making and wanted to fly down and run his car,” Wheeler said. “I told him the weather looked awful but he came anyway.”

Wheeler took Newman to a small one-fifth mile paved oval located outside the backstretch side of the 1.5-mile oval.

“I forgot he was here and two hours later with rain pouring I heard this Legends car running full-blast,” Wheeler said. “I whipped over to the track and there he was sliding around the wet oval running pretty fast. …He pulled in, soaked and smiling.”

Wheeler said he noticed that Newman’s lap times in the rain were only about two seconds off the dry track record at the time.

“That is when I decided to run Legends Summer Shootout series rain or shine,” Wheeler said. “It became the first series in oval racing history to run rain or shine and still does.”

Newman and Wheeler both had voice parts in the animated film “Cars” that had its premiere at Lowe’s Motor Speedway in 2006. Newman voiced the character of Doc Hudson, based on the fabulous Hudson Hornets that ran in NASCAR’s early years.

When it came time to stage the premiere at the Charlotte track, Disney brought in a car with a Hudson body built around a racing truck.

“Paul grabbed me and said he wanted to run it around the big track,” Wheeler said. “It had a half-mile track gear in it. Disney didn't want anyone driving it because they wanted it for the premiere, but Paul kept bugging me to do something.”

Wheeler tried to convince Newman that the gearing was wrong. But Newman knew that Wheeler could get the right gear from one of the driving schools at the track.

“So I borrowed a gear from the driving school and he took off at the tender age of 81, wide-open around the big track sliding all over the place,” Wheeler said.

Wheeler turned to diversionary tactics.

“I flagged him in and told him I had a Thunder Roadster for him to drive all afternoon on the dirt track, which he loved,” Wheeler said. “He left the big track and drove for three hours on the dirt on ended up looking like Hondo with all that red clay on him. The evening ended with frosty beers in my office.”

Wheeler said he will miss Newman greatly.

“I actually believe he could have been a pretty good (Sprint) Cup driver had he taken it up in his 20s,” Wheeler said. “But, then, where would the Oscars be?”

A car that fails inspection should not be in the race

KANSAS CITY, Kansas - A few quick thoughts on a warm but otherwise beautiful day at Kansas Speedway:

* * *

Sorry if you're a Juan Pablo Montoya fan (and he comes on our Sirius NASCAR Radio show every week), but the No. 42 Dodge shouldn't be racing here on Sunday.

NASCAR found the rear shocks had too much nitrogen gas pressure in the rear shocks on that car after Montoya apparently won the pole for the Camping World RV 400. Montoya's time was disallowed and he was pushed back to the No. 42 starting spot for Sunday's race.

That doesn't do Michael McDowell any good, though. McDowell's Toyota missed making the race by one spot, but there's every indication that his car was legal. Montoya's was not.

It doesn't matter - or at least it shouldn't - how Montoya's car came to be outside the rules or what the too-high pressure in the shock might have been intended to do in the car. I know fans are going to get all hung up on that kind of stuff because they always do when something like this comes up.

What ought to matter is Montoya's car was outside the rules. So he shouldn't be racing.

I know I am a broken record on this, but I promise you that if I don't actually type these words and have them posted some fans will rear up and accuse me of playing favorites because I've done it before in simialr situations. So here it is.

If your car doesn't make it through post-qualifying inspection, you should go home. Period. No matter who you are.

* * *

Saw Scott Riggs in the garage today and asked him about where he might be driving next year. He said he's confident he'll be in a Cup car but doesn't know where yet.

Riggs is driving for Haas CNC Racing in the No. 66 Chevrolets this year. But that team will be Stewart Haas Racing next year and Tony Stewart and Ryan Newman will be driving its cars.

The other news on Riggs is that he has a bad case of poison oak.

"I was cleaning out some stuff along the driveway on this property I've got," said Riggs, who had a wrap on one arm covering a big patch of the itchy malady and had another large splotch on his abdomen.

Riggs will be fine to race on Sunday.

* * *

Jeff Gordon qualified 13th fastest on Friday. He also practiced his car, but that was about the only thing the four-time champion did. He was under the weather and canceled all of his media sessions to conserve his energy for driving.

* * *

Denny Hamlin had the fastest time in Friday afternoon's final practice for today's Kansas Lottery 300 race in the Nationwide Series. Kevin Harvick, Mark Martin, Greg Biffle and Kyle Busch rounded out the top five in the final session.

Kansas track a NASCAR success story

Off Thursday morning from the radio show on Sirius NASCAR Radio because I am doing the Delta shuffle through Atlanta to get to Kansas City for this week's race.
I always look forward to getting to Kansas each year because I can't wait to see how many more things they've built around the race track there.
When we first started going to the speedway over in Wyandotte County, Kansas, there were a couple of big stores within sight of the track and that was pretty much it. Now there's stuff everywhere out that way and more -- much more -- is coming.
Within the next couple of years a Hard Rock Hotel & Casino will go up just outside Turn 2. International Speedway Corp. is building it in conjunction with a major developer, and I think it's interesting to see ISC get into the casino business. Guess that means there won't be any big anti-gambling policy for NASCAR drivers and officials coming any time soon.
The upshot of that project from the racing standpoint is that Kansas, by 2010, will ask for and undoubtedly get a second date from another ISC track. I don't know which track they'll take a race from, and any speculation you've seen so far is just that -- speculation. A lot of things could shake out in racing over the next two years.
The ecomony is not exactly purring like Greg Biffle's engine these days, but for all of the people who keep talking about the gloom and doom in NASCAR's world all I need to do is look at what has happened and continues to happen in Kansas. If ISC and its partners feel confident enough to tackle a project as big as this Hard Rock Hotel deal. they must feel that racing at least has some future in the nation's heartland.

Absolute control is absolutely the NASCAR way

DOVER, Del. – There are two guiding principles one must always keep in mind when dealing with NASCAR on any significant issue.

Rule No. 1 is that whenever possible NASCAR finds a way for somebody else to pick up the tab.

Any program or initiative where a team, a manufacturer or a sponsor can be cornered into paying the bills has an infinitely better chance of being implemented than one where NASCAR has to write a check.

Rule No. 2 is that NASCAR loves and maniacally defends its control over the sport. It is only slightly less likely to spend its own money than it is to let anything – even a black-and-white rule in its own rulebook – dictate how it handles a given situation.

NASCAR always likes to leave itself wiggle room.

The latter rule is clearly in play in regard to changes to NASCAR’s substance abuse policy announced here Saturday morning.

The new policy goes into effect for the 2009 season. All drivers in the Cup, Nationwide and Truck Series as well as all NASCAR officials will be drug tested before the start of next season. Additionally, team owners must verify that they’ve had all licensed crew members tested by a certified lab before the new season begins.

Drivers, over-the-wall crew members and officials will thereafter be subjected to random testing. At least two drivers, two over-the-wall crew members and two officials will be tested per series per race weekend. So if all three series are running on a given weekend, a minimum of 18 tests will be administered.

The NASCAR policy is that the misuse or abuse of any drug is prohibited. NASCAR’s press release Saturday said, “This means that a violation of the policy can be triggered with the use of any drug or medication if NASCAR believes it has been abused or misused.”

Of course, that also means that NASCAR has the discretion to decide that a positive test for any drug doesn’t necessarily constitute that abuse or misuse.

That’s where the control principle kicks in.

Take the case involving Ron Hornaday that surfaced last week. If Hornaday had tested positive for use of the testosterone cream he obtained, he would have had to tell NASCAR why he was using it. If the medication were on a black-and-white banned list, the circumstances wouldn’t have mattered. But with the discretion allowed, NASCAR would have been able to weigh the situation before ruling.

But shouldn’t there be at least some kind of list of substances that are absolutely banned, no matter the circumstances? There’s no circumstance under which a positive for cocaine or heroin, for instance, should leave any room for discretion. Why not just simply ban them as part of an official policy?

The answer is that NASCAR would rather not face any absolutes, even ones that would appear to be mindlessly obvious. It’s just not how NASCAR likes to operate.

The same thing can be said for the penalty phase. A first offense calls for immediate suspension with “detailed criteria” for consideration of reinstatement. Those criteria, however, are not delineated publicly.

NASCAR can handle each penalty phase on an individual basis. Is that just being smart, or does it give NASCAR the room to play favorites? That’s the kind of skepticism NASCAR is perfectly willing to deal with rather than cede any more control.

The one absolute is that a third offense results in an automatic lifetime ban, and it’s hard for anybody to argue that in a sport as dangerous as this one a “three-strikes” rule is a bad idea.

There is s a lot of good in the new plan. NASCAR will pay for all of the testing except for the preseason crew tests and the testing will be done through an outside agency. Random testing is a lot better than the old “with cause” standard, as long as the randomness of who gets picked for testing is fairly administered.

Comfort level should be a secondary consideration

A couple of things, only tangentially related.

Can we all just agree to stop listening to car owners who tell us they’re “close” to signing a new sponsor for their NASCAR teams?

Look around you, folks. The companies that might be candidates to come into the Sprint Cup, Nationwide and Truck series and bringing millions of dollars with them are far more likely these days to be looking to the government for “sponsorship” to keep them from going belly-up.

These are harrowing times, economically speaking. Unless the criminals in the oil industry decide to come up off some of the billions they’re socking away, it’s hard to imagine anybody writing a $20 million check if that company has not already been of a mind to.

What does that mean for racing?

Teams that want to add cars to their fleets might have to spend more time trying to shore up the deals they’ve already got. Tracks may have to slow down ambitious improvement hopes. It might even mean that a team can’t buy the latest and greatest testing or research and development gizmo just because the team down the street has one.

The truth, though, is that there’s room in the sport for more financially responsible business practices. Maybe teams won’t go somewhere every week to test a car and maybe they’ll discover that they never really had to. Maybe rather than lay people off or cut back on what’s spent to make a car actually go fast, some teams might ask a crew chief or – God forbid – a driver make do in a hotel room and not a $750,000 motor home.

The scary thing for the sport, as a whole, is how all of this is going to impact the people who really pay the bills. Fans have already started having to make tough decisions that are showing up in the form of empty seats in the grandstands. That puts even more pressure than there already was on NASCAR to get the racing right and make its sport something that’s hard for fans not to come see.

That’s sort of where my second point for the day comes in.

There’s been a lot of talk in the past few weeks stemming from what drivers and crew chiefs and car owners have said over their radios. Clips of spirited conversations are played over and over again and talked about on television and radio shows until the topic gets completely worn out.

You can say that race teams should know that people are listening to everything they say. That’s true, but if the driver and crew chief have to start “editing” themselves because they’re worried about what somebody might think of them and their relationship doesn’t that change they way they do their jobs?

It’s gotten to the point that, all things being equal, if I owned a race team I would be thinking about scrambling my team’s communications so people can’t listen in. The problem with that, though, is that NASCAR has packaged the access to those communications as part of the fan experience. The sport can’t afford, literally and figuratively, to allow that to be taken away from the fans.

Imagine how much controversy there would be after a Duke-North Carolina basketball game if fans had access to everything being said in the respective teams’ huddles. If you heard an NFL defensive coach talking to his players when they were down 21-0 in the second quarter, do you think what you hear would be suitable for mixed company?

But NASCAR fans hear all of that and would howl if you took it away. NASCAR and companies it does business with get significant revenue from that access – things like DirecTV’s Hot Pass and Sirius radio’s Driver 2 Crew channels as well as Sprint’s FanView and all of the scanners that are bought or rented at the track.

I think race teams are just going to have to learn to deal with the blowback that sometimes comes with having people listening in as they do their work, the same way that everyone is going to have to learn to do business in the new reality that exists in this economy. It might not be comfortable to do either, but it sure looks necessary.

John Force should be in the show on Sunday

CONCORD - John Force said he's sorry.

"I would like to just say I am sorry," Force said Saturday after failing to qualify for eliminations at the inaugural National Hot Rod Association Carolina Nationals at zMax Dragway @ Concord.

"I apologize to Bruton Smith and to the NHRA fans, because when they give you an arena like this - the greatest facility in the history of our sport - that brings in all these people and I don't get to be a part of it."

Saturday was a big day for drag racing. The capacity of Smith's new $60 million facility is listed at 30,000 and it was a sellout. Smith had workers cut openings in a fence in front of the east grandstand so he could sell more standing room tickets, and there were - conservatively - 35,000 on the property.

Sunday will be a big day, too. And Force said he'll still be part of it.

Three other cars owned by his team did make the Funny Car field. Ashley Force, Robert Hight and Mike Neff will race. Force will be here, too. He'll ride his scooter hither and yon and stop to sign as many autographs as he can. But he won't be in his 8,000-horsepower car, and that hurts him.

It also hurts the sport.

Force made no excuses. He said he has been struggling this year and the facts bear that out. He's now failed to make four races, more than he's ever missed before. He's missed two straight. He hadn't missed two straight in one season since 1979 and last missed two in a row overall in the final race of 1981 and the first race of 1982. He's only failed to qualify 16 times in 513 tries.

"We got off on our tune-up," Force said. "But I believe in our people."

Force is 59. He's won a record 126 races and a record 14 championships. The west grandstand at this new track is named in his honor. He's done nearly as much for drag racing as the sport has done for him, and that's saying a lot.

I think that should mean something. I think he should be racing Sunday. NASCAR takes grief for exempting the top 35 in points and setting up provisionals for former champioins, but those rules put stock car racing's stars in the show every week. Fans know when they buy tickets that Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Jeff Gordon and Tony Stewart are going to compete.

Sunday's show will be a good one, but it should have Force in it.

"I don't make the rules," he said. "They're fair for everybody. I am too old to cry. I will go home and closet cry. But I am the one who's out here and I need to put it in the show. ...The show will be better next week when I am in it."

Force said he feels bad because racing here in the heart of NASCAR country is big for the NHRA.

"In my life I've handled everything," Force said. "But this hurts. ...I've fought my life to catch up to the NASCAR boys and I sure ain't helping. I'm not doing my part of the job.

"But we'll fix it. ...We'll take our whipping. It's real easy to be a champion when you're winning.

Ron Capps saw Force at the end of the track when Force was officially out of the show.

"It's hard to feel sorry for a guy who has won that many championships," Capps said. "But I feel bad for him."

Don't, Force said.

"This will only make me stronger," he said. "When Dale Earnhardt wasn't winning, he worked harder. And that's what we will do."

John Force has a hill to climb again

CONCORD – John Force is down to his last chance at the Carolina Nationals at zMax Dragway @ Concord.

Force ran 4.153 seconds in Saturday’s third qualifying run, but he got bumped out of the top 16 when Bob Tasca III ran 4.119 seconds during the Funny Car round.

Tony Pedergon is actually on the bump spot at No. 16 with an elapsed time of 4.134 seconds. Force will at least have to go faster than that to make the show in the final round later today.
Pedregon is second in the Countdown to 1 championship playoff, so he’ll be trying to hold on to his spot as the afternoon progresses.

It’s hot and humid at the new track, making conditions difficult. It’s only going to get hotter, too, but there are some puffy white clouds in the sky and depending on how they come over the sun things could still shake up.

Nothing changed atop the qualifying order in Funny Car, with Jack Beckman easily holding onto the top spot.

Tony Schumacher, meanwhile, will race on Sunday. There never was really much drama about that since there are only 17 Top Fuel cars trying for the 16 spots in eliminations, but Schumacher made a pass at 3.879 seconds in Saturday’s third qualifying run he didn't officially have a spot.

Even though Schumacher got down the track just before noon on Saturday, it wasn't without adventure. As he crossed the finish line Schumacher ejected smoke, fluid and perhaps parts from the engine in his dragster. That led to a lengthy track clean-up just as the nitro session got under way.

There's other drama shaping up for this afternoon's final session in other classes.

Angelle Sampey, a three-time champion in Pro Stock Motorcycle, ran 7.826 seconds on her first run Saturday and that has here 17th. If she can't improve on that, she'll fail to qualify for a National Hot Rod Association event for the first time in her career. She's made eliminations in all 178 of the races she's entered so far.

Matt Smith stayed No. 1 in Pro Stock Motorcycle after Round 3. Joe Desantis, Angie McBride, Shawn Gann and Valerie Thompson got slots 13 through 16 with their first runs Saturday.

In Pro Stock, Richie Stevens blasted from outside the top 12 all the way up to No. 3 with his run at 6.685 seconds in Round 3. Allen Johnson ran 6.696 seconds to move up to No. 5 and Rob Mansfield moved in at No. 6. Kurt Johnson and Jeg Coughlin remain 1-2 off runs they made Friday evening.

Qualifying order after three rounds

Pro Stock Motorcycle

1. Matt Smith, 6.952 seconds (192.08 mph); 2. Chris Rivas, 6.968 seconds (191.19 mph); 3. Eddie Krawiec, 6.981 seconds (192.30 mph); 4. Andrew Hines, 7.007 seconds (191.24); 5. Steve Johnson, 7.029 seconds (192.22 mph); 6. Chip Ellis, 7.036 seconds (191.19 mph); 7. Karen Stoffer, 7.037 seconds (189.71 mph); 8. Craig Treble, 7.044 seconds (191.02 mph); 9. Hector Arana, 7.044 seconds (188.89 mph); 10. Wes Wells, 7.072 seconds (189.68 mph); 11. Junior Pippin, 7.098 seconds (184.47 mph); 12. Matt Guidera, 7.102 seconds (184.42 mph); 13. Joe Desantis, 7.114 seconds (190.19 mph); 14. Angie McBride, 7.166 seconds (183.89 mph); 15. Shawn Gann, 7.197 seconds (181.86 mph); 16. Valerie Thompson, 7.291 seconds (178.80 mph).

Pro Stock

1. Kurt Johnson, 6.680 seconds (206.42 mph); 2. Jeg Coughlin, 6.684 seconds (206.26 mph); 3. Richie Stevens, 6.685 seconds (206.54 mph); 4. Warren Johnson, 6.694 seconds (208.01 mph); 5. Allen Johnson, 6.896 seconds (206.29 mph); 6. Rob Mansfield, 6.697 seconds (207.50 mph); 7. Greg Anderson, 6.697 seconds (207.11 mph); 8. Dave Connolly, 6.697 seconds (207.02 mph); 9. Mike Edwards, 6.700 seconds (205.63 mph); 10. Justin Humphreys, 6.703 seconds (206.57 mph); 11. Jason Line, 6.706 seconds (206.89 mph); 12. Steve Spiess, 6.710 seconds (205.85); 13.. V Gaines, 6.711 seconds (205.82 mph); 14. Jim Yates, 6.712 seconds (205.16 mph); 15. Greg Stanfield, 6.714 seconds (205.51 mph); 16. Vinnie Deceglie, 6.715 seconds (205.69 mph).

Top Fuel

1. Larry Dixon, 3.846 seconds (310.20 mph); 2. Cory McClenathan, 3.863 seconds (312.13 seconds); 3. Antron Brown, 3.865 seconds (311.20 mph); 4. Hillary Will, 3.869 seconds (315.12 mph); 5. Doug Herbert, 3.870 seconds (311.49 mph); 6. Doug Kalitta, 3.872 seconds (309.77 mph); 7. Brandon Bernstein, 3.875 seconds (309.49 mph); 8. David Grubnic, 3.876 seconds (311.92 mph); 9. Tony Schumacher, 3.879 seconds (306.19 mph); 10. J.R. Todd, 3.883 seconds (312.93 mph); 11. Rod Fuller, 3,889 seconds (304.60 mph); 12. Bob Vandergriff Jr., 3.898 seconds (306.95 mph); 13. Troy Buff, 3.923 seconds (303.50 mph); 14. Clay Millican, 3.931 seconds (305.77 mph); 15. Doug Foley, 3.975 seconds (302.55 mph); 16. Morgan Lucas, 4.022 seconds (299.53 mph).

Funny Car

1. Frank Hawley, 4.072 seconds (307.16 mph); 2. Robert Hight, 4.072 seconds (300.33 mph); 3. Del Worsham 4.074 seconds (304.12 mph); 4. Ashley Force, 4.075 seconds (307.02); 5. Cruz Pedrgeon, 4.087 seconds (303.43 mph); 6. Jim Head, 4.087 seconds (303.43 mph); 7. Melanie Troxel, 4.100 seconds (303.57 mph); 8. Mike Neff, 4.104 seconds (304.46 mph); 9. Gary Densham 4.108 seconds (296.18 mph); 10. Ron Capps, 4.117 seconds (299.73 mph); 11. Jack Beckman, 4.118 (300.86 mph); 12. Bob Tasca III, 4.119 (299.66 mph); 13. Tim Wilkerson, 4.121 seconds (300.60 mph); 14. Gary Scelzi, 4.123 seconds (301.67 mph); 15. Jeff Arend, 4.131 (304.19); 16. Tony Pedregon, 4.134 seconds (299.40).

Brandon Bernstein atop the NHRA chart so far

Brandon Bernstein is the fastest man in North Carolina after one round of qualifying at the Carolinas Nationals.

Bernstein ran 3.880 seconds at 313.80 mph in the opening run in Top Fuel to take the provisional No. 1 spot. Another round of qualifying is scheduled to begin around 6 p.m.

Tony Schumacher, who has won a record 11 Top Fuel events this year and comes into the National Hot Rod Association’s Countdown to 1 playoff as the top seed, is seventh fastest after one round.

Mike Neff was the first man to go 300 mph at the new track, but he is not be the answer to the trivia question as to who was the first to top that mark. That’s because the first person to top 300 mph was a woman.

Melanie Troxel ran 300.46 mph at the top end of her first Funny Car pass in Friday’s first round of qualifying for the Carolinas Nationals.

Troxel’s elapsed time of 4.162 seconds stood up as the third best in Funny Car, behind only the daughter-father pair of Ashley Force and John Force.

Ashley ran 4.116 seconds to bump her dad, the 14-time Funny Car champion, who ran 4.147 seconds.

First-round qualifying results

Top Fuel

Brandon Bernstein, 3.880.
Cory McClenethan, 3.903.
Larry Dixon, 3.910.
Hillary Will, 3.927.
Rod Fuller, 3.933.
Doug Kalitta, 3.936.
Tony Schumacher, 3.937.
Troy Buff, 3.937.
Doug Foley, 3.954
Clay Millican, 3.980
Morgan Lucas, 3.984
Bob Vandergriff, 4.008
Doug Herbert, 4.088.
J.R. Todd, 4.089
David Grubnic, 4.169
Antron Brown, 4.835.

Funny Car

Ashley Force, 4.116
John Force, 4.147.
Melanie Troxel, 4.162
Mike Neff, 4.165
Ron Capps, 4.170
Jim Head, 4.176
Jeff Arend, 4.177
Tony Pedregon, 4.180
Del Worsham, 4.188
Jack Beckman, 4.206
Robert Hight, 4.212
Tim Wilkerson, 4.125.
Cruz Pedregon, 4.216
Gary Scelzi, 4.219
Bob Tasca III, 4.243
Gary Densham, 4.250
Tommy Johnson Jr., 4.261
Matt Hagan, 4.410
Bob Gilbertson, 5.137
Jerry Tolliver, 6.313
Tony Bartone, 7.012
Frank Hawley, 7.589

Pro stock

Greg Anderson, 6.697
Dave Connolly 6.698.
Kurt Johnson, 6.700
Justin Humphreys, 6.703.
Jason Line, 6.709
Jeg Coughlin Jr., 6.711
V. Gaines, 6.711
Greg Stanfield, 6.716.
Rob Mansfield, 6.723
Vinnie Deceglie, 6.723
Tom Hammonds, 6.724
Rickie Jones, 6.725
Warren Johnson, 6.732.
Jim Yates, 6.732
Johnny Gray, 6.732
Mike Edwards, 6.734.
Steve Spiess, 6.744
Richie Stevens, 6.747
John Nobile, 6.755
Max Naylor, 6.765
Larry Morgan, 6.769
Bob Danza, 6.858
Jim Cunningham, 6.902
John Gaydock, 6.945
Allen Johnson, 7.070
Ron Krisher, did not start

Pro stock motorcycle

Matt Smith, 6.952
Chris Rivas, 6.968
Eddie Krawiec, 6.981
Andrew Hines, 7.007
Steve Johnson, 7.032
Chip Ellis, 7.036
Craig Treble, 7.044
Karen Stoffer, 7.077
Matt Guidera, 7.102.
Junior Pippin, 7.114
Angelle Sampey, 7.123.
Hector Arana, 7.157.
Wes Wells, 7.182.
Valerie Thompson, 7.220
Joe Desantis, 7.246
Shawn Gann, 7.322.
Darin McCurdy, 7.397
Angie McBride, 9.201.

Carolinas cars and drivers doing well so far

So far so good for the local guys in qualifying for the Carolinas Nationals at zMax Dragway @ Concord.

Matt Smith, who is from King, N.C., topped the first round qualifying in Pro Stock Motorcycle while Greg Anderson, whose team is based in Mooresville, was quickest in Pro Stock.

Smith ran 6.952 seconds to top Chris Rivas, Eddie Krawiec, Andrew Hines and Steve Johnson in the top five.

Anderson, in the final pair of Pro Stock qualifying, ran 6.697 seconds to bump Dave Connolly off the pole. Connolly ran 6.698 seconds. Kurt Johnson, Justin Humphreys and Jason Line rounded out the top five.

Speedway Motorsports Inc. chairman Bruton Smith spoke to the crowd gathered for the first day of professional qualifying just after the top 10 drivers in Funny Car and Top Fuel were introduced to the crowd before their first run.

“Look at all these fans in the John Force Grandstand!” Smith said. “John, is it OK for these fans to sit in your grandstand?”

The West Grandstand at the new track are named for Force, the 14-time Funny Car champion.

“I hope I don’t have to make the payments on it,” Force said. “When we look at this stadium, we’re like little kids. Stadiums like this are the future of drag racing.”

Here are the first-round qualifying results for Pro Stock Motorcycle and Pro Stock.
at the Carolinas Nationals at zMax Dragway @ Concord

Pro stock motorcycle

Matt Smith, 6.952
Chris Rivas, 6.968
Eddie Krawiec, 6.981
Andrew Hines, 7.007
Steve Johnson, 7.032
Chip Ellis, 7.036
Craig Treble, 7.044
Karen Stoffer, 7.077
Matt Guidera, 7.102.
Junior Pippin, 7.114
Angelle Sampey, 7.123.
Hector Arana, 7.157.
Wes Wells, 7.182.
Valerie Thompson, 7.220
Joe Desantis, 7.246
Shawn Gann, 7.322.
Darin McCurdy, 7.397
Angie McBride, 9.201.

Pro stock
Greg Anderson, 6.697
Dave Connolly 6.698.
Kurt Johnson, 6.700
Justin Humphreys, 6.703.
Jason Line, 6.709
Jeg Coughlin Jr., 6.711
V. Gaines, 6.711
Greg Stanfield, 6.716.
Rob Mansfield, 6.723
Vinnie Deceglie, 6.723
Tom Hammonds, 6.724
Rickie Jones, 6.725
Warren Johnson, 6.732.
Jim Yates, 6.732
Johnny Gray, 6.732
Mike Edwards, 6.734.
Steve Spiess, 6.744
Richie Stevens, 6.747
John Nobile, 6.755
Max Naylor, 6.765
Larry Morgan, 6.769
Bob Danza, 6.858
Jim Cunningham, 6.902
John Gaydock, 6.945
Allen Johnson, 7.070
Ron Krisher, did not start.

NASCAR drug policy and NHRA drag racing

Sorry, I know I haven’t blogged in a week. Been kind of busy.

* * *

I don’t want to just completely blow off this thing with Truck Series driver Ron Hornaday and steroids, first reported by ESPN the Magazine this week.

NASCAR said Friday at New Hampshire Motor Speedway that Hornaday will not face any sanctions because Hornaday’s use of testosterone cream is considered a “personal medical issue.”

Hornaday was having some issues and trying to figure out what was wrong. At the urging of Kevin and DeLana Harvick he visited another doctor, who diagnosed him with having Grave’s disease. Since he’s been getting treatment for that his health has improved.

NASCAR’s Jim Hunter said “Our substance abuse experts have told us the prescription Ron Hornaday used did not enhance his performance or impair his judgment.”

The only troubling thing about this is that the reason it came up in the first place is that Hornaday got this cream from a clinic in Florida whose owners have pleaded guilty to criminal charges stemming from online sales of prescription drugs.

According to the ESPN the Magazine story, Hornaday gave a blood sample to a nurse who came to his home and never saw the doctor before getting a prescription for the testosterone cream. He did not, apparently, go to a doctor who NASCAR or the Harivcks knew about and deal with his medical issues through what would seem to be proper channels.

When you’re not well and not sure what’s going on, it’s easy to get frustrated and it’s easy to be talked into trying anything that might work. That is why NASCAR needs to have a better policy about how it supervises its competitors in terms of medical conditions and the use of drugs, prescription or otherwise.

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Thursday night was a remarkable night at the Speedway Club.

Doug Herbert, the Top Fuel dragster driver whose team is based in Lincolnton, had the first big fund-raising event for his BRAKES (Be Responsible and Keep Everyone Safe) organization that promotes safe driving by younger drivers.

Herbert started BRAKES after his sons, James and Jon, died in an auto crash in January. James was driving too fast and swerving through traffic when he caused that crash, and his father has never ducked that fact. He has, in fact, used it to steel his determination to try to keep it from happening to other teens and leave other grieving parents, like Doug, behind.

After dinner, Barry Dodson talked about the loss of his two kids, Trey and Tia, and the bond he’s formed with Herbert over their shared tragedies.

After that, some of Herbert’s buddies came to the stage to tell stories. About two hours later, while everybody’s ribs were still hurting from laughter, they held an auction.

Here’s who came to help Herbert – Kenny Bernstein, David Grubnic, Tony Schumacher, Gary Scelzi, Cory McClenathan, Del Worsham, Steve Johnson and – put your hands together for your headliner, folks! – John Force.

The whole program was touching, moving and poignant. Herbert had to go home feeling like he had more friends that he could possibly count. But Force was just off the charts. He did 20-25 minutes off the cuff and it was like watching Robin Williams at the height of his stand-up prowess.

Force was here, then he was there. He was on this topic, then on this tangent. He would interrupt himself in the middle of a story, stop, start another story, interrupt that one, start a third story, stop, finish the second story, go back, finish the third story and then jump right back and finish the first story.

And it was all funny.

A lot of money was raised for BRAKES. If you’d like to help, go to putonthebrakes.com and find out how.

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The first round of pro qualifying for the Carolinas Nationals is about to start at the new zMax Dragway @ Concord. It’s hot and it’s only going to get hotter as the weekend goes along. It will be interesting to see how these guys adapt to this new track. Drag racing fans in this area have been waiting a long time to see what’s about to happen. I will try to get back later for a quick update between the day’s two scheduled pro sessions.

Postponing and then running a pair of races on the same day is not the easy way out

RICHMOND - It's just before noon on Saturday as I write this, and yes, it's pouring rain.

At least here, though, that's pretty much all Tropical Storm Hanna is - rain. But I do believe NASCAR made the right call Friday in pushing both the Sprint Cup and Nationwide series races here back to Sunday.

It could stop raining sometime this afternoon, and if it does somebody will say NASCAR over-reacted in pulling the plug so early. But that will be 20-20 hindsight.

Even if there are no downed power lines or is no major flooding in the area, there might have been. At 5 p.m. Friday when this call was made, nobody could be sure how bad the storm was going to be here. This is one of those times where if you're going to miss, you have to miss on the side of being to cautious.

NASCAR doesn't want to run on Sunday this weekend, not with the NFL season kicking off. The Cup race was supposed to be on ABC network television Saturday night, but ABC has the IndyCar Series finale scheduled for Sunday afternoon and couldn't just swap it to cable without a whole lot of contractural hassle. So the Cup race will be on ESPN opposite the 1 p.m. NFL games on Fox and CBS. That's going to cause some issues with companies who bought ads at Saturday night, prime-time network rates.

So this was not a decision NASCAR jumped at. Even though it has run two series on the same day before, including at Auto Club Speedway in California earlier this year, that's not the easiest thing in the world to do. But in this case it's the right thing.

If the rain stopped by 2 or 3 o'clock today, the track certainly could be dry in time for an 8 p.m. Cup start. But Virginia state and Henrico county officials have been busy all night and all day making sure the people who live in this state and this county are getting what they need to deal with a potentially dangerous storm. Asking them to do that and to do what they need to do to make a NASCAR race come off at the track Saturday night was just too much.

The Truck Series race from St. Louis comes on this afternoon, so race fans can get their fix. We'll just sit here watching it rain and go to the track for a rare Richmond day race tomorrow.

Everybody might not be happy, but at least we're all above water. So far, at least.