Kyle Busch Confident As Hectic Day For Cup Cars At Indy Moves In

July 27, 2012 By Leave a Comment

Kyle Busch was the fastest driver in final practice for the Nationwide Series race, which is part of a hectic Saturday schedule at Indianapolis.

SPEEDWAY, Ind. – It was kind of surreal.

On a Friday, just two days before the Brickyard 400, there wasn’t a single NASCAR Sprint Cup car on the 2.5-mile Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

There was no practice, no qualifying – nothing.

This was unlike anything in the past. Normally, a Friday before what is generally accepted as NASCAR’s second-most prestigious race would be a day swarming with activity.

The garage area would be teeming with crewmen scattering in every direction as they went about their tasks. Whistles would be shrilling constantly, warning everyone that a rumbling car was on it way to the track – or coming back to the garage.

But on this Friday, there was none of that.

That’s because NASCAR’s weekend schedule at the Brickyard has changed radically. The Sprint Cup race is still the highlight event on Sunday, of course, but it is now accompanied by companion events in the Grand-Am Series and the Nationwide Series.

The new schedule had practice for the Nationwide cars on Thursday and Friday was turned over completely to the Grand-Am sports cars.

Then, well, talk about a busy day – on Saturday Sprint Cup cars would have two practice sessions, followed by qualifying for the Nationwide Series, then Cup qualifying. Finally, at 4:30 p.m., the inaugural Indiana 250 Nationwide race would get the green flag.

That’s a packed schedule …

Most Cup drivers were not at the track on Friday. Those that were either had personal appearances or chose to watch the Grand-Am events.

A few, such as Juan Pablo Montoya and Jamie McMurray, competed in the Grand-Am races.

Many more Cup drivers were active on Thursday as part of two (and only) practice sessions for the Nationwide event, which will be conducted at the Brickyard for the first time after years at nearby Indianapolis Raceway Park.

Busch is in his fifth season with Joe Gibbs Racing and hopes to be the third driver from the team, along with Tony Stewart and Bobby Labonte, to win at Indy.

Seven of the 10 fastest cars in the final practice session were driven by Cup regulars – which should come as no surprise, given that they are far more familiar with Indy’s 2.5-mile oval.

The Busch brothers, Kurt and Kyle, posted the two fastest speeds of the day. Kyle led the way with a speed of 175.838 mph, over a mile per hour quicker than his sibling.

“It felt good for the first time here,” Kyle said. “We’ve just been trying to make the car snug to make it better in the long run. You’ve got to be snug here because the place is so flat.

“Hopefully the car will stay with us all day Saturday.”

Speaking of Saturday, the younger Busch knows – as do all other Cup drivers – that it is going to be very hectic, which means there will be precious little time to make any needed adjustments.

“It’s going to be tight for the crews,” Kyle said. “Their time to relax for a little bit in the garage is not going to happen because they will be swapping back and forth between practice, qualifying and races. There’s a lot to do.

“It is a tight schedule. It’s a good thing I’m not a rookie and I’ve been here a few times in the Cup cars, so the limited time shouldn’t be a problem.”

Regardless of where he qualifies, Kyle will be considered a victory contender in the Nationwide race. He hasn’t won in 2012, but it’s hard to ignore the fact he has 51 series wins, including 13 in 2010.

As for the Sprint Cup circuit, Kyle is 13th in points with one victory. He is currently ranked as the No. 2, and final, candidate for a “wildcard” spot, behind Kasey Kahne.

That’s good, but it could be better.

Even though it is the Brickyard 400, Kyle, whose best finish was a fourth in 2007, maintains there is no real change in his strategy to make the Chase.

“You have to approach the races leading up to the Chase the way you have all the other races all season,” he said. “You go there and try to do the best job you can.

“You want to win on any weekend, so all through practice you try to figure out what you need in you car to make it the fastest you can.

“If the car handles and drives well, you can try a little harder to make speed out of it.”

Now in his fifth season with Joe Gibbs Racing, Kyle hopes to join two former Gibbs drivers – Tony Stewart and Bobby Labonte – as a winner at the Brickyard.

“I’m wishing I can put my name on that list by getting a win and running up front,” Kyle said. “You always want to win the big races, the Daytona 500, the Coca-Cola 600 and the Brickyard 400, before your career is over.”

For Kyle, like it will be for every other driver, the opportunity to win at Indy will be greater if, on Saturday, total preparation is complete – and the sooner the better.

 

 

 

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Annett, Dillon – Nationwide Kids Emerging From Shadow Of Greatness

July 5, 2012 By Leave a Comment

Austin Dillon, grandson of team owner Richard Childress, drives the iconic No. 3 car in the Nationwide Series and has become a winner this year. He's a past truck series champion.

(EDITOR’S NOTE: Mark DeCotis is a veteran journalist who spent 37 years in the newspaper business before beginning a second career combining leisure and earning a living. 

He covered 26 Daytona 500s, numerous Pepsi/Coke Zero 400s, Busch/Nationwide, Trucks, more than a few Rolex 24s at Daytona, season finales at Homestead, Kevin Harvick’s emotional first win at Atlanta, IndyCar, sports car, NHRA, motorcycle, ATV and power boat racing.

His favorite race car driver interviews of all time were with 15-time NHRA Funny Car champion John Force).

 

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – They sat erect and alert at the podium, their squared shoulders and “I’ve done this before” demeanor bearing up to the pressures born of the prestige of their car numbers and their car owners.

NASCAR Nationwide drivers – in alphabetical order since putting one before the other in any other measure would be unfair given any number of parameters – Michael Annett and Austin Dillon met with reporters at Daytona on Thursday.

It didn’t take long for the inquisition to arrive at the expectations inherent in their respective rides – Annett in the No. 43 raised to the stratosphere of NASCAR lore by now 75-year-old Richard Petty and Dillon in the No. 3, elevated beyond any mortal reckoning since it belonged the sport’s patron saint Dale Earnhardt.

From all outward appearances Annett and Dillon are handling things quite well.

Dillon, the 2011 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series champion won his first Nationwide race last Friday night and is second in points in the car owned by his grandfather Richard Childress – we’ll get to that dynamic later – who also was Earnhardt’s boss when the driver ran roughshod through the sport, winning seven championships at NASCAR’s elite level.

Only one other driver in NASCAR history has won seven championships – that being Petty – so the pairing as the speedway kicked off its annual mid-summer three-day show was not purely coincidental.

Michael Annett is a Nationwide driver, who, like Dillon, competes for a storied NASCAR competitor - Richard Petty. Both he and Dillon are now racing amid the shadows of greatness.

It was revealing and a bit of a throwback to racing’s earlier, and some would say better, days right down to the cowboy hat – courtesy of Charlie 1 Horse, the same company that supplies Petty’s iconic lids – worn by Dillon.

Although Dillon, 22, maintained it was more of a matter of he and his younger brother, 2011 ARCA series champion Ty Dillon – who has a full-time ride in the truck series in, yes, the No. 3 – just being boys, the fact that a high-profile NASCAR driver was appearing publicly without a sponsor’s logo adorning his head cover caught a few eyes.

For his part Annett, 26, had a career-best fourth-place finish at Kentucky and is seventh in points. While his future might not be as secure as Dillon’s, given the parade of drivers who have passed through the revolving door of Petty’s Cup operation and that his grandfather is not his boss, he maintained Petty made him feel “like you’re his kid or his grandkid.”

Stepping back, that is cause for a pause given that Petty lost his grandson Adam Petty in an accident at New Hampshire Motor Speedway in 2000, a void that will never, ever be filled.

To that end it was only natural to inquire of Dillon of how Childress managed the relationship of grandfather to grandson.

He answered from the heart, with humor.

“It’s pretty interesting if you listen to a radio conversation between my grandfather, my dad, myself, crew chief,” he said.

“It seems like it takes a win or running good to get them off the radio. Anytime I start slipping back or something goes wrong I hear more and more. So I do whatever I can to stay up front so I don’t have to hear from them.

“My grandfather, he does a good job of balancing that. He steps in when he sees something that could be going wrong and that’s when he kind of becomes the leader that he is.”

So, while praising his grandfather, Dillon also didn’t pass up a chance to give him a dig either, saying the reason Childress didn’t wear a cowboy hat like Petty, Earnhardt, Cale Yarborough and others from the rough and tumble era was that Childress had “pretty hair.”

That’s not the kind of remark one would expect to emanate from the more reserved Annett who naturally is still getting comfortable with Petty. But in the end it comes down to young kids hoping to emerge from shadows cast by giants.

And so far, so good.

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What NASCAR Needs Is A Championship-Caliber Female Driver

April 13, 2012 By 6 Comments

Johanna Long spent two seasons driving trucks before she secured a full-time ride on the Nationwide Series this year. Her rise in NASCAR has been steady.

When our third child and only daughter arrived in 2009 my husband beamed proudly and proclaimed in the delivery room that she was to be, “The first female, first rookie champion of the Daytona 500 in 2027.”

I smiled dreamily – it’s a lot of work having a baby – and thought little else of it.

As this is the world of social media I came home 48 hours later to hundreds of Facebook messages congratulating me on my daughter’s arrival. By the time I got to look at my husband’s Facebook page, realization struck.

He had written the very same thing about our daughter winning the Daytona 500 18 years in the future that he had boldly stated upon her birth.

This pleased me immensely as I could see my husband harbored no resentment over having a daughter.

In fact, he was overjoyed with the prospect of piecing together an entire NASCAR Sprint Cup team with his wife as crew chief, his middle boy as jack man, his oldest son as the front tire changer, and he himself as his daughter’s spotter.

The only thing that still rings sadly to my ears is that our daughter may well be the first all those years later.

NASCAR has provided several female drivers throughout the years, some tougher than others and some more successful than others, but none that ever completely capitalized and became a champion.

Currently there is a crop of women in NASCAR who hold promise.

The most visible and reported about is Danica Patrick, the IndyCar driver who is spending her first full season in NASCAR in the Nationwide Series in addition to driving 10 races in the Sprint Cup series.

To date Patrick has had a lackluster beginning in both series. Her critics are quick to judge, harsh in their criticisms and offer the woman no learning curve in her first season.

They tear apart Patrick’s character and motives in terms of the lady’s marketability and her shrewdness in capitalizing on it.

Patrick’s supporters are patient and staunch, but would certainly like to see the driver perform better than she has this season.

Patrick does have the record for finishing highest for a woman among NASCAR’s top circuits; she earned a fourth place finish in a Nationwide Series race in Las Vegas on March 5, 2011. This feat was good enough to beat Sara Christian’s record for her fifth place finish in October 1949 that had stood for over six decades.

I have nothing against Patrick and would personally love to see her succeed. It bothers me not one iota that she uses her looks, notoriety, and presence to sell for her sponsors, something Dale Earnhardt Jr., Kasey Kahne, and Carl Edwards have all done.

But, as the mother of a little girl who may just one day be a competitor in NASCAR’s top tier, I would like for her to see women improving, succeeding, and even winning in the Cup Series.

Chrissy Wallace won a track championship and appeared headed toward a career in NASCAR, but a lack of sponsorship has put her on the sidelines for now.

Many complain that too much media is dedicated to Patrick when Nationwide Series driver Johanna Long is a far more impressive driver.

Long has had a decent climb in NASCAR. After two years in the Camping World Truck Series, Long improved her ranking considerably and got herself a ride in the Nationwide series this year.

Though “holding her own,” Long seems far from a championship run this season. But the young woman does have tenacity and talent and those two traits should take her far in NASCAR.

Jennifer Jo Cobb was headed down a successful path in NASCAR, it seemed, when she finished 17th for the 2010 season in the Camping World Truck Series, making her the top finishing female in one of the top three NASCAR standings.

But lack of funds, poor finishes, and a career in fashion has diluted Cobb’s potency, making it unlikely that at her age she’ll get to NASCAR’s premiere level.

Chrissy Wallace seemed like a great racer with a ton of potential ready to be tapped.

Wallace is related to the Wallace clan that has raced in NASCAR for decades. She had a career high when she earned the 2011 Lebanon I-44 Track Champion honors. This seemed like a great jumping off point for earning sponsorship to take her more heavily into competition in NASCAR’s Camping World Truck and Nationwide Series

Unfortunately, according to Wallace’s website, they team is parked and looking for sponsorship.

Of all the women, Long seems to have the most promise though Patrick has a longer career in motorsports and certainly more monetary backing.

For either woman, or both, to succeed and, better yet, thrive in NASCAR would be ideal.

I’m on the record as appreciating attractive people and wanting more of them in NASCAR, both male and female. It pleases me to see empirically good-looking men and women on my television.

I truly ache to see sexually appealing people make commercials since I have to watch them during NASCAR races.

But make no mistake, I have another agenda.

My goal is for my daughter to see a starting grid filled with women in NASCAR. My hope is that by the time my daughter entertains driving at NASCAR’s top level, being a woman is no longer shocking or interesting.

That how well a woman drives is what she is judged upon and not her looks alone.

If my daughter has to stand on the backs of the women who came before to achieve the level of greatness her father prophesized, so be it.

She’s got the mettle, I can guarantee you that.

Until that 2027 Daytona 500, I’ll have to keep rooting for the women NASCAR puts before me.

 

 

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Bayne’s Words Reflect Wisdom Beyond Age

May 26, 2011 By 1 Comment

CONCORD, N.C. – After the press conference he held at Charlotte Motor Speedway on Thursday, I have reached a couple of conclusions about Trevor Bayne.

He is mature well beyond his years. And he expresses a unique, and refreshing, perspective on life and all the good and bad therein.

Bayne made his first appearance in front of the media since he was sidelined from competition due to a mysterious, and as yet undiagnosed, illness.

The last time he competed in a NASCAR Sprint Cup race was at Talladega on April 17.

Afterward he began to suffer symptoms of inflammation, double vision, weariness and nausea, among others. It was thought he might have had a major reaction to an insect bite.

His employers at Roush Fenway Racing removed him from competition and, over a period of several weeks, had him thoroughly checked out by doctors and even sent, twice, to the prestigious Mayo Clinic.

Bayne, the surprising and popular winner of the Daytona 500 in the Wood Brothers Racing Ford, was eligible for the NASCAR All-Star Race, but was held back. It disappointed him.

Nor will he race in the Coca-Cola 600. His seat has been given to Roush teammate Ricky Stenhouse, Jr., a friend.

Bayne’s next start will be in the Nationwide Series race at Chicagoland on June 4 and then he’ll return to the Wood Brothers at Michigan on June 18.

“I’ve been feeling fine for over a week now,” Bayne said. “Last weekend I took off as a caution and they made me take off this week as a caution.

“They have been way over the top, cautious on everything. This weekend I would have been fine to run, but I think we want to just make sure.”

Bayne is just 20 years old and was a virtual unknown until his Daytona 500 victory. Since that time he has become vastly familiar to racing fans, young and old alike.

In the weeks after his victory, Bayne set out on a whirlwind tour of media and personal appearances. Because of his celebrity, youth and good looks he became a hit among the ‘tweeners.”

I don’t believe anyone can say newly found celebrity status has changed Bayne, a level-headed type who believes faith and charity far surpass social status.

We have heard of many celebrities whose only interests and thoughts are about themselves – mind you, certainly not all of them.

And not Bayne. When he made his opening remarks at the press conference, he didn’t talk about himself. Rather, he expressed gratitude to others and appreciation for being allowed to do what he loves.

“It’s been a real eye opener of how supportive everyone in our sport is,” Bayne said. “I think that’s the biggest thing I’ve learned through all of this.

“Carl Edwards flew up and saw me in Minnesota (location of the Mayo clinic) and Tony Stewart was using his plane to fly my family back and forth. Jack (Roush) was sending me back and forth on his plane and Michael McDowell was with me for five days.

“Another thing that has been put into perspective for me is how blessed we are to be race car drivers. We get wrapped up sometimes and go through the motions, but when you have to sit there for four or five weeks and watch races, you realize how cool it is that you get to be the one driving it.”

At the Mayo Clinic, Bayne underwent virtually every test imaginable, including an MRI and spinal taps.

“Spinal taps at midnight aren’t exactly what you are looking forward to, but they happen,” Bayne said.

At one point, Bayne said, he had 16 needles in his body at once, along with shock pads and “things I didn’t even know existed.”

But in the end, doctors could not pinpoint the cause of his illness.

“It’s not terminal or anything like that,” Bayne said. “I head somebody say cancer or leukemia but those aren’t words I heard in the hospital. They ruled out all those things.

“I am hoping it was a temporary inflammation that caused it all and it has been going away, as they said from day one. It should be a four-week deal and then go away.”

It’s now gone away long enough for Bayne to return to racing less than a week after the Coca-Cola 600. Hopefully he’s missed his last races of the season because of any mysterious malady.

Bayne was, career-wise, as high as any racer could be after his Daytona win. Then he had to sit out for several weeks through no fault of his own.

Under those circumstances, it could be understood if any competitor said, “Why me?”

Bayne never said that. Instead, he philosophized and reasoned that what has happened has, in fact, helped him be a better man.

“This year is just helping me figure out what I’m made of,” Bayne said. “If you can handle the biggest high you can have and then the lowest bottom, the rest of the year should be easy from here.

“I didn’t want to go from the top to the bottom but luckily I do have my faith and that’s what defines me. If I was defined by anything else I’d be in trouble right now.

“I just am thankful for the ups and downs and everything that has helped me find out what I’m made of and who is there to support me.”

Credit maturity, faith or both – Trevor Bayne expresses wisdom far beyond his age.

 

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Phoenix A Comeback For Gordon And Other Musings

February 27, 2011 By 2 Comments

A few quick observations on the Subway 500 at Phoenix International Raceway:

– Obviously, for Jeff Gordon, it was a welcome relief to win for the first time in 66 races. The last time he went into victory lane was at Texas in the spring of 2009.

Some suggested that at his age, 39, and with a family Gordon had shrunk into a shell of what he once was competitively- although Gordon and I would argue with that. He has four Sprint Cup championships and a decade ago seemed destined to quickly earn a fifth. He didn’t.

He hasn’t won a title since 2001.

Now, I suspect his many fans will say he’s on track toward another title and he may well be. But it’s far too early to tell, of course.

At the very least Gordon has accomplished something he hadn’t in nearly two years. That’s a start.

And his victory helped him overcome a very mediocre Daytona 500, where he was involved in an incident and finished 28th.

He’s now fifth in points. OK, that is indeed on track for a title, for now.

The Hendrick Motorsports personnel switch that took place over the off-season showed signs of good results – but not much more. Gordon now works with crew chief Alan Gustafson and the crew formerly part of teammate Mark Martin’s group.

That they were able to win in only their second start of the season gives evidence that the alterations just might work – for Gordon, anyway.

We have yet to see how it might pay off elsewhere.

If you ask me, most fans won’t concur the changes have worked until Dale Earnhardt Jr. returns to competitiveness with Steve Letarte, Gordon’s former crew chief, and the bunch once with the No. 24 team. That, to them, will provide the ultimate proof that the Hendrick swap worked.

By the way, Letarte was one of the first to congratulate Gordon for his Phoenix victory.

– Gordon ran down Kyle Busch and passed him with just eight laps remaining and then pulled away to win at Phoenix.
Busch had already won the Camping Word Truck Series and Nationwide Series races at Phoenix. He led all 200 laps of the Nationwide race.

Busch missed the Phoenix sweep by just one position. Had he done so it would have been for the second time in his career. He did it at Bristol last year.

With top-10 finishes in the first two races of the season Busch has moved into No. 1 in the point standings. Again, yes, it is early but there are many who contend the only world left for Busch to conquer is to win a Cup championship. To many, he has already established himself as the best all-around driver in NASCAR.

I won’t argue with that.

– Wrecks and other incidents have been a big part of the first two races of 2011.
At Phoenix the most prominent crashfest affected 13 cars, some of which were considered as pre-race favorites.

The mishap also had another effect. It placed some drivers considered championship contenders in a position where they have to make up significant ground as quickly as possible – if for no other reason than to lessen a sense of urgency.

They include Carl Edwards – considered by many the driver most able to end Jimmie Johnson’s championship streak at five – Jeff Burton, Clint Bowyer and Jamie McMurray.

Of the group Edwards is highest at 12th in points, 21 points behind Busch.

Oh, and Kevin Harvick did finish fourth at Phoenix, but that, coupled with his 42nd-place run at Daytona following a blown engine, puts him 22nd in points.

Denny Hamlin, another anticipated to make a title run, was 11th at Phoenix and 21st at Daytona. He’s in 14th place.

As for Johnson, a third-place run at Phoenix was decidedly better than his 27th at Daytona. He’s always been something of a slow starter and he’s 13th in points.

Again, please, it’s early. But the point is that some of the expected contenders have some catching up to do – not that this is anything entirely unusual after two races in any season.

– Daytona 500 winner Trevor Bayne had a whirlwind week leading into Phoenix as he received phone calls from the White House – he also spoke with Vice President Joe Biden – was on the set of the Ellen DeGeneres and George Lopez shows and made personal appearances, along with videos, almost from coast to coast. The 20-year-old driver even received wedding proposals.

I’m not surprised. Those who should know say that the personable, good-looking Bayne has really fired up the ‘tweeners. Incidentally, that’s great for NASCAR.

But at Phoenix things came crashing to reality as Bayne wrecked his Wood Brothers Ford after just 49 laps to finish 40th.

OK, let’s be frank. In Cup competition Bayne is a raw rookie. He won at Daytona because of his talent, certainly, but also because he had an excellent car.

And he evolved into one of the best drafting partners in the race – not to mention in a 150-mile qualifying event in which his idol, Gordon, insisted he hook up with him.

Bayne wins at Daytona. His idol then wins at Phoenix. A bit ironic, don’t you think?

But the point is that Bayne, as a rookie who will compete on most tracks for the first time, is likely to have far more experiences such as that at Phoenix than what happened at Daytona.

I don’t think the ‘tweeners will mind a bit. They’re already in his camp.

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Rusty Wallace: What We’ve Seen So Far Not Likely What We’ll See In The 500

February 13, 2011 By 1 Comment

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – Take it from Rusty Wallace, whom I believe knows what he’s talking about, what you saw in the Budweiser Shootout is very likely not what you are going to see in the Daytona 500.

The day after the Shootout, the garage area and media center were abuzz over the race, which featured something never before seen in restrictor plate racing.

Where cars were once locked in long lines, nose to tail, in a seemingly endless parade, they now broke out into packs of two – not three or four – with the front end of one car glued to the rear of another.

This configuration, which lasted throughout the race, helped produce constant, eye-popping speeds well over 200 mph.

“What I’ve seen so far is something I’ve never seen before,” said Wallace, now an analyst with ESPN whose Sprint Cup career spanned 25 years. “Some people like it and some don’t.

“Some of the old-school guys like me are saying, ‘You know, I don’t know if I like that. I like to see guys running side-by-side in packs and making passes.’

“I just don’t know if I like these two-car hookups.”

NASCAR doesn’t seem to either – at least if they last for an extended period of time. It has already enforced new legislation to reduce the number of laps such drafts can be sustained and, also, to hopefully lessen speeds somewhat.
When it comes to the Daytona 500, Wallace would likely tell you that none of that matters, other than it’s just another thing that will separate the Daytona 500 from the Shootout, or anything else.

Take it from him there are others – many others.

“I’m going to hold judgment until the 500 because I have never seen things stay the same at Daytona,” Wallace said. “Every time I come here the 500 looks different than anything out there, including the races preceding it.”

Wallace anticipates it will be the same this year. So his suggestion is to virtually ignore anything that happens before the green flag falls on the 500.

“Look, we’ve seen all the stuff from testing,” said Wallace, the 1989 Sprint Cup champion with 55 career victories. “We’ve seen stuff from practice and now we’ve seen stuff from the Bud Shootout. And now, in the 150s, we’ll see some different things.

“But come the Daytona 500 we’re going to see something we haven’t seen in the last two weeks – and that’s 43 cars in race trim on the track.”

Which, according to Wallace, is going create a completely new racing scenario.

“When I was driving you couldn’t compare anything you saw in the 150s, or any other race, to the Daytona 500,” Wallace said. “For example, the car never handled as good in the 500. It was always pushing or loose. With 43 cars racing on the track, which we haven’t seen yet, the wind is stirred up in all directions all around the track. You didn’t deal with that earlier.”

Speaking of the 2.5-mile track, come the 500 Wallace said it would not be the same drivers have experienced to date.

“There’s going to be a lot of rubber on the track,” Wallace said. “It’s going to come from the 150s, the trucks, Cup practices, Nationwide Series practices and the Nationwide Series race itself.

“The weather reports say there’s not going to be any rain to wash it away. And Sunday may be the hottest day of the week – and the 500 isn’t a night race like the Shootout. The track will be much slicker. Guys won’t be racing on a surface with nearly as much grip as it has now.”

A loss of grip alone, Wallace suggests, will make a large difference in how the cars will fare in the Daytona 500 – and the drivers had better be prepared.

“The guys have been racing on a track with a lot of grip and that’s one reason why they’ve been able to stick with each other so well,” he said.

“They won’t have that luxury in the 500 with the heat and the rubber on a track with 43 cars on it.

“The Daytona 500 is going to be a handling race. Guys haven’t been concerned about handling yet – they haven’t even thought about it. But it’s going to happen and they’ll have to be ready for it.”

I think what Wallace is telling us is that while we may have liked or disliked what we’ve seen so far, what we have yet to see is the Daytona 500.

It will be an entity unto itself. Wallace says that, no matter what happened earlier, that’s the way it has always been – and will be again.

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Believe It Or Not, Shepherd Presses On At 69

January 16, 2011 By 1 Comment

Read a news item the other day about driver Morgan Shepherd. Seems he will join Brian Rowe on the two-car Faith Motorsports NASCAR Nationwide Series team in 2011. The goal is to compete for the entire season if possible.

Certainly this isn’t anything noteworthy – except for one thing. Shepherd will be 70 years old in October.
At an age when most men are retired and are either bouncing grandkids off their knees or sitting in rocking chairs on the front porch, Shepherd plans to give it a full go, again, on the Nationwide circuit.

Fact is, Shepherd has competed in 48 Nationwide races over the last two years and has been racing – either on the Sprint Cup or Nationwide Series, or both – for well over four decades.

So why would he, at his age, continue to race? I haven’t asked him but I would bet part of the answer is that racing is all he’s done and what he loves.

Shepherd has had a colorful career. He finished second to Jack Ingram for the 1973 Late Model Sportsman – now the Nationwide Series – championship. He won the LMS title in 1980.

When he won the 1993 spring race at Atlanta while driving for the Wood Brothers, he became the second-oldest Sprint Cup winner ever, behind Harry Gant, at 51 years, four months and seven days of age.

He’s made 514 Sprint Cup starts and 288 since 1982 on the Nationwide Series. It was in ’82 that the LMS circuit became the Busch Series.

I daresay most folks don’t pay much attention to Shepherd these days. He’s never considered much of a contender for victory in any race and, indeed, he hasn’t won a Nationwide race since 1988 and the notable Sprint Cup victory in 1993 was his last on that circuit.

Perhaps many know him as that driver who roller skates up and down pit road at a few races. When it comes to skates Shepherd is heck on wheels.

The story of Shepherd the man is, perhaps, far more compelling than that of Shepherd the driver.
He had a hardscrabble youth. He didn’t get much schooling and he couldn’t read or write very well. I daresay some things he did to make a living wouldn’t gain the approval of the law.

Eventually Shepherd discovered that he could drive very fast and very well and began a career in NASCAR at a time when stock car racing was far less sophisticated than it is today. Guys who raced 40 years ago were a very tough breed. Shepherd was one of them.

Shepherd became one of the best, and most popular, drivers on the LMS tour. However, as fast as he was on the track, his life away from it was just as fast.

Then something happened. Around 1975, Shepherd’s drinking and carousing caught up with him. He realized his life was in a downward spiral.

In tears he fell to his knees and asked God to save him. Shepherd became a born-again Christian and serves as a lay minister to this day. Jesus is emblazoned on his car, uniform and cap.

Shepherd’s conversion doesn’t mean he’s led the perfect life. He’ll tell you that.
He’s been married several times, once during a ceremony at Martinsville Speedway’s start-finish line. My personal opinion is that his current wife, Cindy, has been Shepherd’s life anchor.

He’s displayed his temper more than once. In 1981, while driving for Cliff Stewart, Shepherd got into a scrap with his own crew at Talladega.

While he won a race at Martinsville that year, the altercation cost Shepherd the rookie of the year title, won by Ron Bouchard.

He’s had other outbursts but they have been rare and have never overwhelmed his Christianity or his desire to be the best man he can be. Truth be told, Shepherd is one of the most amiable folks in the garage area.

As a Christian, Shepherd certainly believes in charity. For years he has operated the Morgan Shepherd Charitable Fund, which provides for the needy throughout the northeast, particularly those who reside in the mountains.

For his efforts Shepherd was awarded the National Motorsports Press Association’s Spirit Award in 2005.
While he may be held in little regard as a competitor today, Shepherd’s career successes deserve recognition. His life – during which he overcame rather than succumb – deserves it more.

An, as an active driver at 69 years of age, Morgan Shepherd is truly unique.

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