49 DAYTONA 500 Questions and The Answers

 

49 reasons to watch

Many questions will be answered for Daytona 500
BY MARK DeCOTIS
FLORIDA TODAY


DAYTONA BEACH - Forty-nine questions, and answers, heading into today's running of the 49th annual Daytona 500.

1. Why is the 500 referred to as NASCAR's 'Super Bowl?' The traditional season opener on the speedway that is the sport's equivalent of Yankee Stadium is the richest and most prestigious race on the schedule. Its TV ratings are the highest in the sport and its trophy the most coveted.

2. Who is singing the National Anthem? Country singers Big and Rich. Hardly Billy Joel, who performed the song at the Super Bowl, but they'll do.

3. Who is driving the pace car? Baseball Hall-of-Famer Cal
Ripken.

4. Who will wave the green flag? Phil Parsons, younger brother of the late Benny Parsons, a NASCAR and Daytona 500 champion who died in
January.

5. Who will give the command to start engines? Actor Nicholas Cage.

6. What's up with all the cheating? Cheating has been as much a part of NASCAR history as tires and gasoline, but as the sport grows, the sanctioning body needs to convince sponsors and potential corporate partners that things are on the level. It appears NASCAR needs to do a better job.

7. Has there been more cheating this week as opposed to past 500s or has the media spotlight exacerbated everything? NASCAR's more stringent rules and inspections are resulting in more people being busted and thusly with the media out in force for the 500, every infraction is reported in detail -- as well they should be.

8. Is this Tony Stewart's year for his first 500 victory? Sure looks that way. His Chevy has been strong in winning the Budweiser Shootout and one of Thursday's two qualifying races.

9. Is he a lock to win? No. There is no such thing as a sure thing when it comes to the 500. The only predictability is the unpredictability.

10. Who else looks strong? Jeff Gordon (Chevy), Kevin Harvick (Chevy), Ricky Rudd (Ford), Dale Earnhardt Jr. (Chevy), and race rookie and pole-sitter David Gilliland (Ford).

the next 39 questions answered

Michael Waltrip's "Who Done It"

 

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. -- Michael Waltrip spent the last week hoping someone would take responsibility for the fuel additive that led to NASCAR sanctions and prompted Toyota to re-evaluate its relationship with the two-time Daytona 500 winner.

He's still waiting.

"We just keep digging, digging, digging," Waltrip said Saturday. "Toyota's going to help us. A lot of people are going to help us. We're going to find out what happened. We have a lot of circumstantial evidence that implicates a couple of folks, but we don't have any proof. So we'll just keep digging until we find out what happened.

"When I was a kid and I did something wrong I would kind of see the writing on the wall. I'd say, 'Uh-oh. Things are getting tight around here.' And you'd fess up. No one's elected to do that."

Waltrip added that if anyone is implicated in the cheating scandal, that person likely would be fired.

"Somebody didn't get the company philosophy, which is we're going to beat them by working hard and working smart and not by cheating," he said. "I felt like I just had three kids and I was real proud of them, and one of my kids let me down, and you know how bad that hurts. In return, I let a lot of people down, because ultimately I'm responsible."

Waltrip was docked 100 series points for tampering with fuel. Crew chief David Hyder was fined $100,000. Hyder and team director Bobby Kennedy also were kicked out of Daytona International Speedway.

Waltrip's car was impounded, forcing him to miss two practice sessions and sending him into a backup ride for qualifying. Nonetheless, he drove his way into the Daytona 500 and will start 15th on Sunday.

more on what happened to Michael Waltrip Racing

If Dale Jr. Leaves, So does Eury Jr.

 

By Marty Smith
ESPN.com

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. -- If Dale Earnhardt Jr. opts to leave Dale Earnhardt, Inc. at the conclusion of the 2007 Nextel Cup season, his crew chief will follow suit.

Tony Eury Jr., Earnhardt's crew chief and first cousin, told ESPN.com on Sunday that if Junior goes, he'll go, too.

"Yes, [I'd go]," Eury responded when asked if he'd follow Earnhardt to a new race team.

"That's the way I based my feelings when I decided to stay there and sign a long-term contract. I made it very specific to them that if 2007 comes and Dale Jr. decided to do something else, I'd like to have my options open to do whatever I want to do."

Ultimately, though, Eury hopes Dale Jr. stays put.

"The best thing is to stay at DEI," Eury said. "DEI is his Dad's deal. [Junior] should be running the company. That's what Dale Sr. built the company for, was for those kids to have something later on in life.

"However it turns out, it turns out. I really don't want to get into the politics side of it with them, so I just let them handle it and we'll figure it out from there."

more on Eury Jr leaving if Dale Jr. does...

Four NEXTEL Cup Crew Chiefs Kicked Out Of Daytona 500

 

NASCAR announced Tuesday that four Nextel Cup Series crew chiefs have been suspended from competition, starting with Sunday’s season-opening Daytona 500.

Two of the four – Ken Francis, crew chief for the #9 Dodge driven by Kasey Kahne; and Robbie Reiser, crew chief for the #17 Ford of Matt Kenseth – have been suspended for four races and fined $50,000. Also, Kahne and Kenseth were penalized with the loss of 50 driver championship points while their car owners, Ray Evernham and Jack Roush, were penalized 50 car owner championship points.

The violations by the #9 and #17 teams were found during post-qualifying inspection on Feb. 11. Both teams’ qualifying times were disallowed. Two others – Rodney Childers, crew chief for the #10 Dodge driven by Scott Riggs; and Josh Browne, crew chief for the #19 Dodge driven by Elliott Sadler – have been suspended for two races and fined $25,000. In addition, Riggs and Sadler were penalized 25 driver championship points while their car owners, James Rocco and Evernham, were penalized 25 car owner championship points. The violations by the #10 and #19 teams were found prior to qualifying.

In each instance the violations were of Sections 12-4-A (actions detrimental to stock car racing), 12-4-Q (car, car parts components and/or equipment not conforming to NASCAR rules) and 20-2.1E (unapproved aerodynamic modification) of the series rule book.(NASCAR PR)(2-13-2007)

On Tuesday, Roush Racing appointed Chip Bolin, long-time engineer on the #17 team, as the interim crew chief for the remainder of Speedweeks at Daytona and throughout Reiser’s suspension.

Jack Roush stated, “I respect and accept NASCAR's determination that the car was out of compliance as it was inspected after Sunday's qualifying attempt. I have asked (Roush Racing President) Geoff Smith to evaluate whether the penalties assessed are unduly harsh for the circumstances before making a final decision as to whether or not we will appeal the severity of the penalty imposed." Smith said, "The extreme harshness of the penalty surprises me given NASCAR's recent history of imposing lesser penalties on habitual offenders engaged in radically more flagrant rule offenses. For that reason, I am likely to recommend that we appeal the penalty assessment, although I have some more study to do before I officially make that recommendation."
(Roush Racing PR)(2-13-2007)

Dale Earnhardt Jr. Wants Majority Of Dale Earnhardt Incorporated

 

#8-Dale Earnhardt Jr. didn't mince words on Thursday when asked what it would take to get him to re-sign with the Nextel Cup organization his father built.

"I want majority ownership, basically," Earnhardt Jr. said for the first time during media day at Daytona International Speedway. As in more than 50%? "Absolutely," Earnhardt Jr. said emphatically.

Earnhardt Jr.'s contract with Dale Earnhardt Inc. expires at the end of the 2007 season. Negotiation on a new deal began in the middle of 2006, with ownership of the company a major sticking point.

Asked if stepmother Teresa Earnhardt, who inherited sole ownership of the company when Dale Earnhardt was killed on the last lap of the 2001 Daytona 500, was willing to budge, Earnhardt Jr. said, "We'll see."

Earnhardt Jr. and his sister, Kelley, met with Max Siegel, DEI's new president of Global Operations, on Wednesday along with director of motorsports Richie Gilmore. Earnhardt Jr. said it was more of a get-to-know-you meeting with Siegel than a contract negotiation, but added Siegel could expedite the process he initially hoped would be concluded by April or May.

"He's a great guy to talk to and a great guy to work with," Earnhardt Jr. said of Siegel. "He's going to speed things up. He's going to improve negotiations and help those things make it a little bit easier." Not in the meeting was Teresa, who has been asked to step aside in negotiations because of her somewhat tumultuous relationship with Earnhardt Jr.(ESPN.com)

Goodyear Re-ups With NASCAR

 

Goodyear and NASCAR Extend Agreement:

The Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company and NASCAR jointly announced on Saturday that they have signed an extended agreement for Goodyear to continue as the exclusive tire used in NASCAR’s top three racing series for the next five years. The agreement through 2012, naming Goodyear the “Exclusive Tire Supplier” of NASCAR’s Nextel Cup Series, the NASCAR Busch Series and the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series, was signed in front of more than 2,000 attendees at the 2007 Goodyear Dealer Conference.

Goodyear Chairman and CEO Bob Keegan, Jon Rich, president of the company’s North American Tire business, and Mike Helton, NASCAR president, delivered the news to Goodyear’s customers. “This extension of the more than 50-year relationship of two American icons is one that we are extremely proud to announce,” said Rich. “Nothing says racing like NASCAR, and Goodyear has been recognized as the longest-running sponsor of the sport. We plan to have our Eagle tires in the winner’s circle for another 50 years.”

“Our longtime relationship with Goodyear is a testament to the company’s consistent high-quality tire it supplies the race teams,” said Helton. “Goodyear has been a vital partner, which has been essential to NASCAR’s side-by-side competition.”

Goodyear has had an uninterrupted commitment to NASCAR since becoming a race tire supplier in the 1950s. This relationship has become one of the longest-running supply programs in any sport. Over the last 50 years, Goodyear has worked to bring innovation to its racing products, which, in turn, has helped foster heightened competition on the track. Since it first began supplying tires to NASCAR, Goodyear tires have logged 1,410 NEXTEL Cup (and formerly, Winston Cup) victories, and the number continues to rise. As a further extension, Goodyear takes innovations and cutting-edge technology from the race track, and applies that technology to tires that consumers use on streets and highways.

Goodyear is one of the world's largest tire companies. The company manufactures tires, engineered rubber products and chemicals in more than 90 facilities in 28 countries around the world. Goodyear employs more than 75,000 people worldwide. For more tire information on Goodyear tires, go to www.goodyeartires.com(NASCAR/Goodyear PR)

Jimmie Johnson Spills His Guts!

 

Get ready for the new Jimmie Johnson
Reid Spencer / Special to FOXSports.com

SAN DIEGO, Calif. - Quick!

Think of all the personality traits you'd ascribe to NASCAR Nextel Cup Champion Jimmie Johnson.

Charming, intelligent, disarming, thoughtful, competitive and focused all might come to mind. You could even throw in courteous and kind.

Now you can add outspoken and edgy to the list. That's right. Johnson is using the platform of his championship to dispel the bland, Boy Scout image he knows he projects in public — and thinks is undeserved.

So don't be too surprised if you hear the champ question the cost savings of NASCAR's current sacred cow, the Car of Tomorrow, or take issue with the new structure of the Chase for the NASCAR Nextel Cup.

This is the new Jimmie, imbued with the authority of his title. Though his delivery might be as low-key and matter-of-fact as ever, the message is not.

Johnson, 31, was in town for Wednesday's Jimmie Johnson Day in San Diego, a celebration complete with proclamations from Mayor Jerry Sanders and the County Board of Supervisors, not to mention a message from Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger.

Enshrined in the city's Hall of Champions in Balboa Park, Johnson, who was born in nearby El Cajon, is the first driver in any of the speed sports named athlete of the year in San Diego. After the festivities, at a lunch table on the Hall's second floor, Johnson fielded questions from a handful of writers and made his feelings crystal clear.

"For me personally, it's been hard to have my personality show up on camera, in articles, on the radio," Johnson said. "When I go to work, I put on my work shoes, and that's what I do. I go to work, and I treat it as a professional.

"But after work and away from it, I have just as much fun as everyone else out there. But I've had this labeling put on me as being too 'PC' or too correct, and it's been hard to really see my personality. But it's only because I take my work seriously."

Johnson also takes his sport seriously, and he's acutely aware of the enormity of resources the conversion to the Car of Tomorrow has required at Hendrick Motorsports, which fields his No. 48 Lowe's Chevrolet.

Jimmie Johnson speaks out on FOXsports.com