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SONOMA, Calif. (June 24, 2008 ) – The 16th stop of the 2008 season at Infineon Raceway in Sonoma, Calif., had the stars of the Sprint Cup Series experiencing heartburn. From extreme heat to a late race red flag, several of big-name drivers had several TUMSâ moments. Each weekend PRN lead anchor Doug Rice picks the Top 10 TUMS Moments from the weekend’s racing activities.
This week’s Top 10 TUMS honors go to:
10. Robby Gordon struggled throughout the entire race and finished two laps down. It was a tough day for the road course expert.
9. The so-called “Road Course Ringers” come up empty. Ron Fellows finished 29th, Scott Pruett came home 41st and Boris Said had a disastrous day. Is it about time to end this experiment?
8. Juan Pablo Montoya looked strong early, but after getting into a tangle with Marcos Ambrose he never threatened for the win again. Despite the incident, Montoya recorded his second top ten of the year.
7. I hate to do this, but Jeff Gordon has to be on the list of drivers with heartburn after he finished third. He has won five times at Infineon and he never even came close to contending. Gordon is still winless on the 2008 season.
6. Jeff Gordon is not the only championship driver without a win this year - Tony Stewart took 10th after a late race spin. Could the behind the scenes stuff be a distraction for Smoke?
5. Kasey Kahne starts on the pole but after leading the first four laps the Budweiser Dodge is never among the leaders again. Consequently, Kahne dropped two spots in the points standing.
4. David Reutimann’s day came to a sudden end when he wound up in the tire barrier in turn 10. Fortunately Reutimann came out okay, but his Toyota didn’t fare as well.
3. Elliott Sadler was headed for at least a top five finish, but the Stanley Tools Dodge developed a flat tire and he lost 14 spots on the last two laps to finish 19th.
2. Every driver needed a TUMS QuikPak after Kyle Busch looked terrible in practice and qualifying, but then blew away the field in the race. Busch hasn’t won five races by accident.
1. This week’s number one TUMS moment has to go to Marcos Ambrose. He looked poised to pull off the upset win, but a series of problems sidelined his Ford and he recorded a 42nd-place finish. Other drivers could learn a lesson from his positive outlook in the face of big problems.
Stay tuned each week for the Top 10 TUMS Moments to see which drivers and teams are most in need of TUMS fast relief.
LONG POND, Pa. (June 11, 2008 ) – The 14th stop of the 2008 season at Pocono Raceway in Long Pond, Pa., had the stars of the Sprint Cup Series experiencing heartburn. From extreme heat to a conclusion that lacked suspense, a fair share of big-name drivers had several TUMSâ moments. Each weekend PRN lead anchor Doug Rice picks the Top 10 TUMS Moments from the weekend’s racing activities.
This week’s Top 10 TUMS honors go to:
10. Sam Hornish Jr. had an adventurous day at Pocono after being directly involved in at least three cautions; not the best way to earn TV time.
9. Elliott Sadler had one of his best runs of the season, running consistently in the top ten only to have a late race flat tire spoil his day at Pocono.
8. It was a real TUMS moment for all the drivers when they were trapped in their race cars on a sultry day for an eight minute red flag. The drivers were all completely spent after 500 miles at Pocono.
7. After qualifying well, Dario Franchitti is involved in multiple spins at The Tricky Triangle; the transition to stock cars has proved to be a tough one for the veteran open-wheel star.
6. Carl Edwards was in position to challenge for a win when a flat tire on lap 181 moved him down to a ninth-place finish.
5. Clint Bowyer and Juan Pablo Montoya made contact on the front stretch which took out both cars; Montoya’s car burned like a 4th of July grill with too much lighter fluid.
4. Tony Stewart was going to finish in the top ten but got caught speeding on pit road and ends up in 35th, dropping to the bubble position in points.
3. Kyle Busch wrecked his primary car in practice on Friday and the team was forced to roll out a back-up Toyota which forced him to start in the back of the field.
2. Point leader Kyle Busch turned into Jamie McMurry on the front stretch and crashed. Kyle would finish last and see his point lead shrink of a miniscule 21 points over Jeff Burton.
1. Pocono Raceway continued to give drivers and crew chiefs heartburn throughout the weekend as they searched to find the right setup to handle the three unique corners at the 2.5 mile superspeedway, including the past master of Pocono – Jeff Gordon.
Stay tuned each week for the Top 10 TUMS Moments to see which drivers and teams are most in need of TUMS fast relief.
DOVER, Del. (June 3, 2008 ) – The 13th stop of the 2008 season at Dover International Speedway in Dover, Del., had the stars of the Sprint Cup Series experiencing heartburn. From an early multi-car wreck to a race ending that lacked suspense, a fair share of big-name drivers had several TUMSâ moments. Each weekend PRN lead anchor Doug Rice picks the Top 10 TUMS Moments from the weekend’s racing activities.
This week’s Top 10 TUMS honors go to:
10. Miles the Monster must have been taking a nap as there were only five cautions during the entire race. It was not your typical Dover wreck-fest.
9. Brian Vickers was on the receiving end of two NASCAR speeding penalties which cost him a sure shot at a top-10 finish.
8. The driver of the track’s jet dryer could have used some TUMS QuikPak after the jet dryer blew a huge hole in the asphalt on the track apron.
7. Kasey Kahne’s bid to continue his two race winning streak was snapped as he settled for a disappointing 31st-place finish.
6. Only six of 43 drivers somehow managed to finish on the lead lap - so much for parity.
5. Jeff Burton finishes eighth to remain second in points, but still loses ground to the point’s leader Kyle Busch.
4. Reed Sorenson’s frustrating season continued as he drove to a 26th-place finish. This season Sorenson has an average finish of 27th.
3. Elliott Sadler had his contract extended at Gillette Evernham early in the weekend before getting involved in a race-ending crash just barely after the green flag fell.
2. Tony Stewart and Dale Earnhardt Jr. get caught up in the “big one” and both ended up spending way too much time in the garage.
1. Denny Hamlin took a big hit by finishing dead last and completing just 18 laps.
Stay tuned each week for the Top 10 TUMS Moments to see which drivers and teams are most in need of TUMS fast relief.
CHARLOTTE, N.C., (May 27, 2008 ) – The 12th stop of the 2008 season at Lowe’s Motor Speedway in Charlotte, N.C., had the stars of the Sprint Cup Series experiencing heartburn. From engine and tire troubles to several brushes with the wall, a fair share of big-name drivers had several TUMSâ moments. Each weekend PRN lead anchor Doug Rice picks the Top 10 TUMS Moments from the weekend’s racing activities.
This week’s Top 10 TUMS honors go to:
10. Haas CNC Racing had both of their primary cars confiscated by NASCAR for unapproved modifications - not exactly the way to start the longest race of the year.
9. Even though he was driving the company car in the Coca-Cola 600, Kyle Petty continued to struggle.
8. Brian Vickers looked like the car to beat in the early going, but a wheel came off putting the Red Bull Toyota in the wall.
7. It was a sad day for longtime Lowe’s Motor Speedway President and promoter H.A. “Humpy” Wheeler as he retired following the race.
6. Chip Ganassi’s car won the Indy 500, but his three Sprint Cup cars all struggled in the 600.
5. Jimmie Johnson came up 50 laps short in his bid to win a fourth Coca-Cola 600 as the Lowe’s Chevy had a motor go south.
4. Kyle Busch overcame a dead battery and charged back to a third place finish. Without the electrical problems, Busch may have had his fourth win of the season.
3. Denny Hamlin, Dave Blaney, Reed Sorenson and Martin Truex Jr. all suffered damage when Tony Stewart bottled up the field with a super slow restart on lap 308.
2. Jr. Nation was poised for a major league party as he was pulling away from the field but a right rear tire denied him victory, again. Instead of champagne, it’s TUMS once again for the No. 88 crew.
1. With two laps to go, the checkered flag was insight for Tony Stewart, but a flat tire forced him to pit and he finished 18th. Kasey Kahne inherited the lead and the win.
Stay tuned each week for the Top 10 TUMS Moments to see which drivers and teams are most in need of TUMS fast relief.
TALLADEGA, Ala., (April 28, 200 
– The ninth stop of the 2008 season at the 2.66 mile Talladega Superspeedway had the stars of the Sprint Cup Series experiencing heartburn. From engine troubles to a late race, multi-car accident, a fair share of big-name drivers had several TUMSâ moments. Each weekend PRN lead anchor Doug Rice picks the Top 10 TUMS Moments from the weekend’s racing activities.
This week’s Top 10 TUMS honors go to:
10. TUMS’ driver Dario Franchitti is sidelined after breaking his ankle in the Nationwide race; David Stremme stepped in and did a masterful job in the No. 40 Tums QuikPak Dodge.
9. Reed Sorenson, looking to follow-up on his Daytona success, falls short as the Polaroid/Target Dodge experiences engine problems and is out of action after just five laps.
8. Matt Kenseth stages an early exit when his right front tire lets go, forcing the car into the Talladega Superspeedway wall. Kenseth drops four spots and now resides in a very un-Kenseth like 19th position in the championship standings.
7. Joe Gibbs Racing could use a TUMS QuikPak after Tony Stewart spends the whole weekend dropping hints that he wants out of his contract and may be starting his own team.
6. Ken Schrader shocks everyone by qualifying 3rd on Friday but reality sets in and he finishes 42nd with engine problems.
5. Paul Menard runs in the top 5 with the end in sight but gets spun after making contact with Juan Pablo Montoya. Menard recovers and finishes 14th.
4. Race fans that didn’t get to see the race finish under the green should get a TUMS QuikPak. The race was shaping up to be a classic.
3. Jr. Nation is still on hold as he gets collected in a wreck not of his own making; To his credit he stages a great comeback to claim 10th.
2. Elliott Sadler runs near the front for the entire race but the last lap crashes ruin his day as he finishes 29th, he deserved better.
1. Tony Stewart had a rough day. Stewart gets into the wall after cutting down a tire. The No. 20 crew gets the car back up to speed before being caught up in the big wreck. Tony falls two spots in the standing and he’s now ninth and still winless on the season.
Stay tuned each week for the Top 10 TUMS Moments to see what drivers and teams are most in need of TUMS fast relief.
PHOENIX, (April 14, 200 – The eighth stop of the 2008 season at Phoenix International Raceway once again had the stars of the Sprint Cup Series experiencing heartburn-inducing incidents. From engine troubles to late race fuel strategy, a fair share of big-name drivers proved to have several TUMSâ moments. Each weekend, PRN lead anchor, Doug Rice, picks the Top 10 TUMS Moments from last weekend’s racing activities.
This week’s Top 10 TUMS honors go to:
10. FOX and NASCAR postpone the start of the race for 15 minutes waiting for the Red Sox – Yankees baseball game to end, only to have fans miss both the final out of the game and the first lap of the race. That’s like two errors on one play.
9. J.J. Yeley gets caught in a five car crash and finishes 39th. He drops out of the top 35 and now has to suffer the stomach churning agony of having to qualify on speed, or go home early.
8. It is the second week in a row the No. 45 failed to qualify, this time with Kyle Petty at the wheel. The trouble continues for Petty Enterprises.
7. An early pit road penalty for Carl Edwards forces him to race uphill for most of the race, likely killing any chance for Edwards’ fourth win of the year.
6. After winning the pole, Ryan Newman triggers a five car crash and exits the event early with a 43rd place finish.
5. Elliott Sadler’s Dodge Charger starts on the outside of the front row and has a strong run going when the motor gives out on lap 161 and he winds up in the wall.
4. The 2008 campaign continues to be a rough one for Matt Kenseth as he cuts a tire and suffers problems in route to a 38th place finish, falling to 15th in points.
3. Dale Earnhardt Jr.’s losing streak is now at 70 races and counting. The No. 88 looked strong for most of the night but had to stop late for fuel and finished seventh, moving him up to third in points.
2. Mark Martin was in prime position to take the win but had to pit for fuel with just 10 laps remaining and had to settle for fifth.
1. Four time champion, Jeff Gordon still hasn’t found his magic this season. After finishing last in Texas, Gordon was never a real threat to win in Phoenix.
Stay tuned each week for the Top 10 TUMS Moments to see what drivers and teams are most in need of TUMS fast relief.
FORT WORTH, Texas, (April 9, 200 – The seventh stop of the 2008 season at Texas Motor Speedway once again had the stars of the Sprint Cup Series experiencing heartburn-inducing incidents. From drivers on the edge of the top 35 in owner points to a spectacular wreck in qualifying, a fair share of big-name drivers proved to have several TUMSâ moments. Each weekend, PRN lead anchor, Doug Rice, picks the Top-10 TUMS Moments from last weekend’s racing activities.
This week’s Top-10 TUMS honors go to:
10. Petty Enterprises announced that was going to evaluate the performance of the No. 45 Dodge by allowing Chad McCumbee the opportunity to qualify at Texas. Kyle Petty steps aside, but a misunderstanding in regard to the decision makers behind the move lead to a media frenzy. To make matters worse, the No. 45 does not qualify on time and falls further outside the top 35.
9. Jeremy Mayfield finishes 38th at Texas and then finds out the next day that he has been replaced by Johnny Sauter at Haas CNC Racing for the upcoming Phoenix race.
8. Martin Truex Jr.’s Chevrolet explodes just four laps from the end and costs him a guaranteed top 10 finish.
7. J.J. Yeley is one of the few cars to crash at Texas as he finishes 42nd. Yeley has fallen out of the all important top 35 in car owner’s points.
6. After total domination last year; Hendrick Motorsports is now 0 for 2008. You can bet none of the other teams have any sympathy pains.
5. Greg Biffle rolls into Texas riding third in points but leaves the Lone Star State in ninth; it was a rough day for the Biff.
4. Robby Gordon spends most of the day getting to know the walls at Texas but some how manages to bring his scarred up Dodge home in 30th.
3. Dale Earnhardt Jr. wins the pole but loses the handle on his Chevy and finishes out of the top ten for the just the second time this season.
2. Jeff Gordon battles an ill handling car and finally hits the wall. The team spent a great deal of the race in a glorified test session. This was only the second time in his long and established career that Jeff Gordon finished 43rd.
1. Michael McDowell becomes a household name for all the wrong reasons as he survives a wild crash in qualifying. McDowell may become the new poster child for “The Agony of Defeat” on The Wild World of Sports.
Stay tuned each week for the Top-10 TUMS Moments to see what drivers and teams are most in need of TUMS fast relief.
MARTINSVILLE, Va., (April 2, 200 – The sixth stop of the 2008 season at Martinsville Speedway once again had the stars of the Sprint Cup Series experiencing heartburn-inducing incidents. From drivers on the edge of the top-35 in owner points to the beating and banging that is commonplace at Martinsville, a fair share of big-name drivers proved to have several TUMSâ moments. Each weekend, PRN lead anchor, Doug Rice, picks the Top-10 TUMS Moments from last weekend’s racing activities.
This week’s Top-10 TUMS honors go to:
10. Sprint Cup Series fans just can’t seem to escape the cold as winter-like conditions had everyone seeking warmth at Martinsville. There was no warmth to be found.
9. Fan favorite Kyle Petty fails to qualify for the Goody’s Cool Orange 500.
8. Elliott Sadler hurts his lower back while working out earlier in the week and has to race in pain all day while managing a 15th place finish.
7. Kyle Busch enters Martinsville the point’s leader but suffers transmission problems and finishes 38th to drop him from the points lead.
6. While battling for third Jimmie Johnson spins out and has to restart all the way back in 24th position, costing him a chance to win his fourth-consecutive race at Martinsville.
5. Matt Kenseth earned his TUMS. He was involved in no less than three cautions. He would struggle to a 30th place finish.
4. Kurt Busch tangles with little brother Kyle early on and suffers nothing but problems the remainder of the race. He finishes in the 30th position.
3. Michael Waltrip spends most of the week talking about a misplaced sway bar and then to make matters worse he finishes a forgettable 35th.
2. Jr. Nation is still waiting for Dale Earnhardt, Jr. to win in the No. 88. They’ll have to be satisfied that he sits fourth in points.
1. Jeff Burton is held up over the closing laps by rookie Michael McDowell and it robs Burton of any chance at victory. McDowell will need that favor returned one day.
TUMS announced on Friday that its using its newest product, the TUMS QuikPak instant dissolve powder, to bring its fastest relief ever to Martinsville Speedway as the entitlement sponsor or the October 19, 2008 Sprint Cup series race – The TUMS QuikPak 500.
BRISTOL, Tenn., (March 17, 200 – The fifth stop of the 2008 season at Bristol Motor Speedway once again had the stars of the Sprint Cup Series experiencing indigestion-inducing incidents. From drivers on the edge of the top 35 in owner points to late-race engine troubles, a fair share of big-name drivers proved to have several TUMSâ moments. Each weekend, PRN lead anchor, Doug Rice, picks the Top-10 TUMS Moments from last weekend’s racing activities.
This week’s Top-10 TUMS honors go to:
10. For the second week in a row, the Nationwide race is a victim to weather. The die-hard fans wait out a two-hour rain delay to watch 171 laps of action. At least the race was entertaining.
9. Jimmie Johnson fails to regain his championship form. He runs in the top five for most of the race, but finishes 18th. His average finish this year is a meager 17.8.
8. Jamie McMurray has another rough day. His Crown Royal Ford finishes last.
7. After winning the Daytona 500, the magic seems to have deserted Ryan Newman. He is involved in a crash early and struggles to 33rd.
6. Mike Skinners’ day literally goes up in blaze as his Red Bull Toyota is engulfed in flames. Luckily, Mike is uninjured.
5. Dale Jarrett makes his last start in a point race and finishes an inglorious 37th. Thanks Dale for being such a great ambassador to the sport.
4. Jeff Green, John Andretti and Patrick Carpentier don’t have a chance to make the show when qualifying is rained out. I’m sure they could all use some Tums.
3. Kyle Petty manages to finish 28th at Bristol, but has now fallen to 40th in car owner points. He will now have to qualify on speed.
2. Denny Hamlin’s car sputters on the green-white-checkered restart. His chance at victory quickly evaporates.
1. Tony Stewart dominates the race, but is crashed out by Kevin Harvick with only two laps to go. Not sure if Tums makes anything for heartbreaking defeat.
Stay tuned each week for the Top-10 TUMS Moments to see what drivers and teams are most in need of TUMS fast relief.
ATLANTA, (March 11, 200 – The fourth stop of the 2008 season at Atlanta Motor Speedway once again had the stars of the Sprint Cup Series experiencing several indigestion-inducing incidents. From near hard tires to late-race engine troubles, a fair share of big-name drivers proved to have several TUMSâ moments. Each weekend, PRN lead anchor, Doug Rice, picks the Top 10 TUMS Moments from last weekend’s racing activities.
The Top 10 TUMS honors go to:
10. Kasey Kahne – after finishing in the top ten for the first 3 races, Kahne mows through the infield grass and finishes a lackluster 28th.
9. Kurt Busch – he just couldn’t get the Miller Lite Dodge up to speed and went a lap down to Dale Earnhardt Jr. early in the race, although he rallied to a top 10 finish.
8. Every fan that showed up early for the Nationwide race on Saturday – the fans were greeted with howling winds and snow, fortunately the weather improved a little.
7. The Atlanta TV weathermen – they predicted rain all day Friday, but by 10 a.m. the sun was out and everything resumed on schedule. With all their sophisticated gear, they still can’t get the weather right.
6. Atlanta Motor Speedway race fans – it’s the last time they will see Dale Jarrett compete at Atlanta Motor Speedway.
5. Jimmie Johnson – he comes up short in his bid to win three in a row at Atlanta Motor Speedway. He spent most of the race a lap down and finished 13th.
4. Elliott Sadler – he struggled all day long and brought the caution out twice; his Best Buy Dodge eventually wound up on the rollback.
3. Carl Edwards – he seemingly had the fastest car, but his Ford has a motor explode as he is leading on lap 274.
2. Toyota – the second-year manufacturer scores a historic win but Stewart’s tirade against Goodyear steals the headlines, (see Tums Moment No.1).
1. Tony Stewart – he declares war on Goodyear and robs Toyota of their day in the sun, creating a public relations nightmare for Goodyear.
Stay tuned each week for the Top 10 TUMS Moments to see what drivers and teams are most in need of TUMS fast relief.
KURT BUSCH (No. 2 Miller Lite Dodge Charger)
ON RACING IN LAS VEGAS: “It’s been an exciting week already with people coming out of the woodwork with people requesting pit passes and grandstand tickets, so my poor buddy Jeff Motley, I’ve been wearing him thin. It’s always great to come back home and see familiar things and familiar people. Last night we had an appearance at PT’s Pub. There were more than 400 people there and we had to start turning them away because we had too many people trying to get in the door. It’s great to come back home and see that. Tonight we’re busy over at The Palms. Miller Lite is heavily involved over at The Palms. I’m sure maybe on Saturday night Roger (Penske) may want to go out to dinner somewhere. Maybe if we go to In-and-Out Burger that would be perfect. That’ll conclude our Vegas weekend.
“Hopefully everything goes great for us. We’re fourth in points, but we’re parked in the wee back area of the garage area, because we don’t have any of the points from last year. So, we’re just trying to chip away at our points and make sure that everything goes as smooth as it possibly can for us in the race. The tough trick for us this weekend will be the tire. This tire is very hard and it doesn’t grab the race track all that well, but yet if you hit it just right you can carry a ton of speed. There will be some very fast race cars and some very slow ones, so we hope that we’re on the other end. The 400 miles here will come down to a pit stop at the end that’ll challenge your fuel mileage, because the tires last for so long that they won’t be an issue.”
AT WHAT POINT DID YOU SEE THE POTENTIAL IN KYLE BUSCH TO RUN AT THIS LEVEL? “I think it’s that urban legend of the first time he ever beat me. I think that’s when I saw that he had the talent to do it, but I don’t know if he ever did beat me legitimately when we ran legend cars together. It was a fun time that my Dad and I both taught Kyle everything we knew. It was great to have him as a student, yet at the same time I was learning as much as I could, and when I’d go race modifieds or late models even when I got called up to go run the Southwest Tour, that’s when he was really starting to find his game so to speak. That was 1998, and so when I came back to my legend car we would just dust it off, where his was running every week. He was keeping track of how the track was changing through the spring to the summer months, and he flat out beat me one night. It was 25 laps straight through – it was all green flag laps, there were no yellows – so as the older bull I just let him go ahead. He was the younger bull charging straight ahead to the front and he was like, ‘I’m going to go get everybody.” And I’m like, ‘alright, I’ll just take my time.’ By the time I caught him there was two laps to go and I couldn’t pass him. At that time, that was 1998, he had been racing for a couple years, but it was like he was on his own. He was on his own and it was time for him to get more of an opportunity to try different rides.”
HOW DOES THE AIR RESPOND TO THE CAR OF TOMORROW: “It’s punching a bigger whole in the air, but that’s because the windshield is so tall. It’s almost like the truck series has a big greenhouse to it, and so the new Car of Tomorrow has a big greenhouse to it, but what it’s missing is that element of drag in the rear spoiler. It’s just got a rear wing on it, and so the air goes right over the windshield and clears that rear wing. Instead of having a spoiler on there with the drag built in to it you can actually get side by side with people and slow them down when you put air onto their rear spoiler, where you can’t really put air on a rear wing because it’ll just go under it or over it, and so that side by side thing is missing a little bit. Maybe at Talladega when we saw the cars run there last year in October, maybe at Daytona a little bit of the single file. At California it was interesting, when you tried to race someone side by side whoever had the outside lane seemed to have the momentum to drive right on by, because you couldn’t slow them down by putting air on their rear spoiler. That’s something interesting and we’ll see how that develops.”
ON QUALIFYING AT THE END OF THE SESSION BASED ON LAST YEAR’S POINTS: “It’s definitely time for all of that to come into play now with California having the qualifying session rained out, this will be the first real chance to go out late in the session. Usually when you go late the draw helps you because the track is starting to cool down and you’ll have a better chance than some of the other guys. At the same time – we’re locked in. We’re guaranteed to be in the show. It would be great to get a pole here in one of the first few qualifying runs, whether it’s Vegas, Atlanta or Bristol I think is the last opportunity where we’ll be going late. The draw can really help your weekend as far as when you go out and qualify. It’s the same at every race track, when you go out late in the session usually you’re going to have a better shot at running a faster lap time. The only exception is Indianapolis and that’s because we qualify Saturday morning at 10 a.m., so you want to go out first at Indy.”
IS IT EASIER TO STAY OUT ON THE WEST COAST? AND HOW DO YOUR FRIENDS FROM OUT HERE REACT TO YOU WHEN YOU’RE HERE? “I think it’s an advantage to stay on the West Coast during these two weeks, just because for me I can park my plane and not have to fly it all the way back, so I save a lot of money that way. And then the other thing is yes, with the time zone I’m not waking up at 5:30 a.m. or 6 a.m. thinking it’s 8 a.m. or 7:30 a.m., so it’s easier and dinner reservations are at normal times instead of 10 p.m. East Coast time it’s 7 p.m. here. That’s nice. On the other side of that, catching up with all of my friends and it’s great that we’re able to still communicate and keep in touch. Texting is beautiful, because you can quick get to somebody and tell them where to meet you or where to grab the tickets, and so on and so forth. The tough part is I think the perception of me changing, just because now they are like, you’re some big time NASCAR guy and you’re still talking to me I feel nervous almost. I’m like no, just be cool. I’m Kurt – I’m the same guy that we used to race race cars together with or go to high school or play golf whatever it might have been.”
WHAT IS THIS CITY LIKE TO GROW UP IN? “As a local, as a kid, when you’re underage you don’t see The Strip that much. It was almost like when we packed the family car up to go down to The Strip for a prime rib dinner maybe once every six months. Maybe we did it three times a year – I don’t know. It was a special event to go down to The Strip as a family. As a kid growing up, once you get your drivers license that’s the first place you go. You’re there cruising The Strip, riding with the music as load as you can have it and just cruisin’ The Strip until the cops say, ‘okay, we’ve seen you too many times. Go somewhere else.’ And then when you become come of age it’s a brand new game, being able to come to the casinos and pop in a couple quarters and drink a Miller Lite and just have some fun. There is a life outside of The Strip. There is a great school system here with the Clarke County School District. My Mom worked there for 30 years, and the way that when you stay out of The Strip area it just feels like a regular community, almost like a Phoenix or a Palm Springs or something like that. It’s just a hot desert and you try to stay in the A/C.”
HOW WOULD YOU COMPARE THIS FACILITY TO SOME OF THE FACILITIES IN EUROPE? “I like to look at this place as one of the top five Cup tracks to win. When you do something special here it feels that way because Daytona is Daytona of course, Indy is history and allure, and then there is Charlotte where we’re based out of, and Bristol is exciting, but Vegas is right in that mix. To see everything that’s been done here with the media center, the garages – it’s first class, top notch. The way that fans can have such a great time in the neon garage and be so close to the racing action of it. There are not many tracks where there are 60,000 people for a qualifying day. This place does that. I don’t know what it is. I think everybody just comes out for a three or four day vacation. They come out and they hang out in the beautiful sunshine most weekends and they enjoy themselves. The facility here is comparable to what we see at Indianapolis with those Formula One garages right there on pit road. I’ve been to ING MAGYAR NAGYDIJ, I’ve been to Hungary for that race. Those tracks reminded me a little bit of what our history is, like Martinsville and Darlington when I went to those style tracks. Now I haven’t been to the new ones in Bahrain. I’m sure that’s cutting edge. I’m sure the track in Suzuka is something special and I’m sure the one in China. This is Vegas. This is top five in American racing history right here.”
WHAT ABOUT NASCAR MAKES IT SO POLARIZING TO THE FANS? “I think it’s just the fact that it’s not two teams playing each other. It’s not the Giants against the Patriots. It’s 43 groups, 43 drivers, 43 teams, and so when you’ve got one to root for you’ve got 42 to root against, not just one or two. You can absorb teams. You can pick Penske Racing in general, because maybe you work for Penske Truck Rental, or maybe you work for one of his 250 dealerships. And then there is the Hendrick Motorsports clan, and maybe you want Jimmie Johnson, Jeff Gordon, Casey Mears or Dale Earnhardt, Jr. You can pick brands, for instance Dodge. You can root for a Dodge, but there is that many more guys to root against than it is to finding a combination of guys that you like. It’s great when households have a Tony Stewart shirt on the husband, a Kurt Busch shirt on the wife and the kids have the M&Ms stuff on because they love Kyle. It’s great.”
WHAT ARE YOUR THOUGHTS ON YOUR BROTHERS TRANSITION FROM LAST YEAR TO THIS YEAR? “I was really impressed with how he and his team handled the departure. They did really well with staying on the same page, competing to win races and it was very professional. I like to see that. The decision to go to Toyota, I think you can look at it with the new Car of Tomorrow is almost a wash. There’s still manufacturer support, yes, they’re still helping us understand Goodyear Tires and develop shocks that have more grip. Then engines are probably the biggest key with the manufacturer right now. The Toyotas love the high RPMs, the Chevorlets, Dodges and the Fords are a little different. Right now at Dodge we’re working on a new cylinder head and a new block. We’ve almost got what we had last year with the cars with running a regular car and a new car. At Dodge we’ve got the old engine and the new engine that we’re trying to faze in. it’s just a matter of going and racing your car. I don’t think that the brand matters in the long run, but it matters to the fans that want to see that American emblem out there, but I’m looking at more and more Toyota plants pop up in the U.S.”
TALKING TO YOU A COUPLE YEARS AGO YOU SAID, ‘IF YOU THINK I’M GOOD YOU SHOULD SEE MY BROTHER.’ HE SAID PEOPLE ARE COMPARING HIM TO TIM RICHMOND, WHO DO YOU THINK YOU ARE MOST LIKE? “Wow, I was trying to sell him into the sport. I was like, ‘Okay, you think I’m good you should try him out.’ I was just trying to get him a ride. I think that worked. He’s doing okay. I think that having my father and myself helping him out, it’s definitely more than what I had. I just had my father. Don’t get me wrong, my Mom was there too. She was there cracking the whip on us and running the stop watches, but I just felt all along that he was going to have a great opportunity in this sport, and he has fallen into a category like Tim Richmond. I like his tenacity, his aggressiveness, his belief of, ‘hey man, I’m just here to win. I don’t care about anything else.’ And then the fact that he’s driving trucks, he’s driving Busch, he’s driving Cup – he’s driving anything he can get his hands on.
“The second part of your question - I don’t know who I would compare to. I’ve always looked up to guys like Mark Martin when I raced at Roush. Of course, Rusty Wallace, we know he had some rough beginnings, and then he was able to setting in and find his groove and people rooted for him. He’s a champion. He’s a 55 race winner. And then there are guys like Bobby Labonte. I always wished I could be quieter when I’m out on the track and kind of fly just below the radar, but yet still produce good results. I’ve always looked up to the Labonte brothers in a sense because Kyle and I almost fit that. I don’t know if the Labonte’s would appreciate being compared to the Busch brothers – I don’t know. It’s hard to really find a spot.”
HOW WOULD YOU RACE YOUR BROTHER IF IT CAME DOWN TO THE LAST LAPS HERE? “I think we would go back to our roots like when we were in Legend cars with each other, and that is to give each other room, race each other hard and to get into the element of trying to outsmart the other guy. The momentum on the top groove, whether it’s a slide job where you slid into turn one and slid up in front of him in Turn Two. I think that we would race each other to the bone – it’d be clean, it’d be fun and it would be something that people would talk about.”
WHAT DO YOU SAY TO PEOPLE WHO SAY THAT NASCAR DRIVERS ARE NOT ATHLETES? “It’s a tough sport, and it’s continuing to gain its flair and its color and to be compared to the NFL and baseball. It’s a sport that’s a little bit easier to get around. I don’t think that there is anyone in the garage area that’s on steroids, so we don’t have that issue around here. You want to go out there and prove to people that it’s a tough sport, because it is tough. You sit in a race car for four hours, it’s 130 degrees in there on those hot summer days, your body is dehydrated, you get cramped up, especially when it gets down to the end of the race. You’re nervous. You’re pushing the gas pedal through the floor board, but the biggest thing is wrestling that wheel all day long. You’re staying focused and committed with your team and what changes you need to make on the car, how many laps are on your tires, how many laps until you have to pit and you’re pushing yourself every lap to run the best lap time that you can. That would be the same as in any sport. Grabbing your glove and heading out to the field after the inning is over or when the defense has to take the field and put up a stand on the goal line. There are many comparable things, and yet at the same time we’ve got your team around you. You’ve got your pit crew which is very athletic and they can jump over the wall and you’ve got your crew chief who acts as the coach. There are those same elements that are there in any sport.”
FONTANA, Calif., (February 20, 200 – The second stop of the 2008 season at the newly renamed Auto Club Speedway of Southern California once again had the stars of the Sprint Cup Series experiencing several indigestion-causing incidents. From weepers and rain delays to four car accidents and red flags, the Auto Club 500 proved to have several TUMSâ moments. Each weekend, PRN lead anchor Doug Rice picks the Top 10 TUMS Moments from last weekend’s racing activities.
The Top 10 TUMS honors go to:
10. The sparse crowd at the Monday’s rain-delayed race shows that NASCAR still has a long way to go in Southern California.
9. Denny Hamlin has early problems and is out of contention right after the green flag falls.
8. It was a TUMS moment for all the drivers who fell victim to a slippery race track in California.
7. After a top-10 run in Daytona, Elliott Sadler spins out and tags the wall.
6. NASCAR schedules a truck and Nationwide race on the same day and then is forced to hold a Sprint Cup and Nationwide race on Monday. The double-header concept is sidelined by Mother Nature.
5. All the track personnel logs endless laps around Auto Club Speedway in an effort to dry the track.
4. Micheal Waltrip’s Toyota develops an oil leak on the parade laps and finds himself behind before the race even starts. Waltrip would later spin and hit the wall.
3. Dale Earnhardt, Jr. fans see their guy involved in a wicked four car crash that takes out Casey Mears, Sam Hornish, Jr. and Reed Sorenson.
2. All the drivers that never got a chance to qualify when rain washed out pole day.
1. All the brave fans that held out hope for over six hours of red flag down time on Sunday only to see the race postponed until Monday.
Stayed tuned each week for the Top 10 TUMS Moments to see what drivers and teams are most in need of TUMS fast relief.
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla., (Feb. 20 200 – The first stop of the 2008 season at Daytona International Speedway once again had the stars of the Sprint Cup Series experiencing several indigestion-causing incidents. From qualifying woes to last-lap lead changes, the 50th anniversary of the Daytona 500 proved to have several TUMSâ moments. Each weekend, PRN lead anchor Doug Rice picks the Top 10 TUMS Moments from last weekend’s racing activities.
The Top 10 TUMS honors go to:
10. Jacques Villeneuve finds out that he is out of Bill Davis Racing after failing to make the Daytona 500.
9. Bill Elliot fails to qualify for the Daytona 500 and the Wood Brothers are forced to go home early.
8. Joe Nemechek has a lug-nut go through the oil pan dashing his hopes of a good finish.
7. Despite winning both series support races, Toyota falters late in the 500 as Tony Stewart finishes third followed by teammate Kyle Busch in fourth position.
6. Jeff Gordon fails in his attempt to win his fourth Daytona 500 as his DuPont Chevrolet has suspension misery and struggles to a 30th-place finish.
5. After contact from behind on Lap 177, Jimmie Johnson and his Lowe’s Chevrolet never can recover and drops out of contention.
4. On Lap 183, Clint Boyer gets turned around while leading the Daytona 500 by Juan Pablo Montoya and relinquishes the lead.
3. David Ragan swerves on the track and pushes his teammate Matt Kenseth into the wall.
2. Casey Mears crashes into Turn 1 on lap 195 after contact from Tony Stewart.
1. Tony Stewart is leading at the white flag but is denied his first Daytona 500 after being double-teamed by the Dodge’s of Kurt Busch and Ryan Newman.
Stayed tuned each week for the Top 10 TUMS Moments to see what drivers and teams are most in need of TUMS fast relief.
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. — Bill Davis Racing has announced that it will tap into its pool of veteran Cup Series drivers to pilot the No. 27 Toyota Camry during the next several Sprint Cup Series races. Truck Series standouts Mike Skinner and Johnny Benson are both expected to step behind the wheel of BDR’s No. 27 entry.
Bill Davis Racing will continue to support Jacques Villeneuve in his pursuit of a successful career in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series. Villeneuve failed to make the Daytona 500 when he crashed out of the second Gatorade Duel.
“We know that Jacques has the talent and the desire to be in NASCAR, and are diligently working on a long-term relationship with him,” team owner Bill Davis said.
Mike Skinner, last year’s Truck Series runner-up, will drive the No. 27 Toyota Camry next weekend at California Speedway.
Mike Neff and his John Force Racing teammates are testing in Phoenix this week, getting ready for the 2008 NHRA POWERade Funny Car season, which opens in two weeks at Pomona. Neff is preparing for his first full season with JFR after competing in two races in 2007.
MIKE NEFF – John Force Racing Ford Mustang Funny Car – AFTER THE WINTER BREAK, HOW DOES IT FEEL TO BE BACK IN A FUNNY CAR? “It feels good. We’re a little behind schedule than what we wanted to be. We got here and weren’t able to run on Friday or Saturday when the sun was out, and then it rained. We were ready for Sunday, but it rained all day long. Monday was our first day of running. My car shook the tires the first run and then smoked the tires the second run. We’re trying some different stuff in the clutch that didn’t work out the way we wanted it to. John Force’s car, he made a really good run. He ran 4.78 [seconds], 327 [mph], which I believe is the quickest run in Funny Car so far this weekend.”
ARE YOU TESTING WITH THE NEW FORD BOSS 500 ENGINE? “We’re all running the new chassis, and I’m running the new Ford motor. Just me.”
IT’S VERY EARLY, BUT WHAT ARE YOUR THOUGHTS ON THE NEW MOTOR? “It might be a little too early to tell the whole story, but we have made a couple runs at half track, and it ran really good. We’re really confident in it that it’s going to be better than what we’ve got right now.”
WHAT’S YOUR TESTING SCHEDULE FOR THE REST OF THIS WEEK? “We’re going to, hopefully, make three runs today (Tuesday), three runs tomorrow (Wednesday), and maybe a couple more on Thursday.”
YOU RAN TWO RACES FOR JOHN FORCE RACING LAST YEAR AND KNEW YOU WOULD HAVE A RIDE THIS YEAR. HAS IT BEEN A PARTICULARLY LONG WINTER FOR YOU, WAITING TO GET BACK IN THE CAR? “No. I am glad that we’re out at the track now, and able to just start concentrating on the race car. This winter has probably been the busiest winter that I’ve ever had, as far as racing goes. Back in Indy, with the new shop there, the Eric Medlen Project building, that Force built back there. We moved the machine shop into that, and we also, this winter, completely assembled a fabrication shop. We built jigs for cars. Eventually, we’ll build our own chassis. We built four jigs, and right now the biggest project we took on is we’re now mounting our own bodies, putting all the tin work and tubing, and basically doing all that in-house, which they previously were having done by an outside source. So, with all of that and the new chassis design and the carbon tub that we had to design and build for that, it’s just been extremely busy for us this winter. It hasn’t let up yet, and I don’t think it’s going to for a while. It’s going to take us a while to get caught up. It might be a few months where we’re actually up to speed where we would like to be.”
HOW IS THE TEAM’S MOOD RIGHT NOW? “Actually, it’s pretty good. We’re all really encouraged about the new chassis. Everybody that looks at it – even other competitors – when they look at it, everyone’s really impressed and really thinks that it looks good, and that it’s the right direction to go. So, we feel really good about the way that turned out. And, we’re really pleased with the expansion of the program, with being able to mount our own bodies and make those a lot nicer. And, we’re all excited about the new Ford motor. It looks really neat, it’s a neat project and we believe that it’s going to be better. So, we’re excited about making some runs with that and learn some more about that.”
The final stop of last week’s annual Charlotte media tour was at Roush Fenway Racing, where representatives from Ford Racing’s NASCAR Sprint Cup Series teams participated in Q&A sessions. Dan Davis, Director of Ford Racing Technology, answered a variety of questions during the one-on-one portion of the program.
Left-Dan Davis Right-Jack Roush/Photo by Jeff Kluss-SIT
DAN DAVIS, Director, Ford Racing Technology — JACK TOOK A LOT OF THE BLAME ABOUT NOT TESTING THE COT EARLIER. HOW DID YOU FEEL ABOUT THAT? “We knew what they were doing. Jack’s word was ‘guillotine,’ but I was thinking that somebody was going to get whacked there. All of the indications were that those that are pushing the envelope are going to get brought in and it didn’t happen. That’s life. That’s the way it goes. Jack says it’s his fault, but it’s our collective fault. We all make judgments. I think the most important thing for me is that we got after it hard afterwards and he’s done that, so I’m fine. We had a similar discussion about the seven-post rig. There was a lot of debate about whether or not some of these modern tools needed to be brought into NASCAR or not.”
THEY’RE ALREADY HERE. “They were, but it was like, ‘Are they really effective?’ Do you really have to do it? I was in there going, ‘Now, now, now. Go and dig your hole. Let’s get this thing running.’ To Jack’s credit, when we decided a year-and-a-half ago to get it done, he took a one year process and condensed it into like five months. So am I satisfied with that kind of partner? You bet.”
TRADITIONALLY YOU HAVE BEEN ABLE TO LEARN THINGS FROM RACING THAT YOU TAKE BACK TO THE MANUFACTURER AND USE IT FOR STREET CARS. WITH AS TIGHT AS THE NEW CAR IS FROM A RULES STANDPOINT, IS THERE AS MUCH YOU CAN LEARN AND TAKE BACK? “Probably not. As far as product, no. Processes and that sort of thing is all there, but the actual product being raced it’s getting harder and harder because the things we’re racing are getting further and further away from the production roots. So that part of it is harder. We’ve got guys that are doing new engine castings and intake manifold castings and all that work we’re doing applies to the production program. A lot of stuff does transfer, but it’s not as much transfer as we would like. I guess if we had a voice in the rule-making of stock cars down the road, it would be that they tend to get more towards the production car. That’s one of the reasons we’re interested in some of the Grand Am Racing that we’re doing in the sports cars because we’re racing the car we build in Flat Rock (Mich.) – the Mustang. It’s that car. There are a lot better ties and our customers see that tie a lot better. These race fans and customers are very savvy people. I think maybe we don’t give them enough credit for what they know. They know a lot about what’s going on.”
ARE WE GOING TO SEE THAT IN NATIONWIDE? “I think what we’re going to see in Nationwide is a car that’s closer to what a race car ought to look like. From everything I’ve seen, it’s going to be a more pleasing looking car and more of a racy kind of car, so that’s a plus. And I think it’s gonna have a spoiler, so I think we’re getting back to something that’s more pleasing to us and more pleasing to the race fan, but it’s not any closer to a stock car, I don’t believe, than we’ve ever seen in the past. I know they’re trying to get some of the stock car cues involved and all that, and I’m all for that, that’s great. But, again, I don’t think you can dupe that fan out there by putting some creases on a hood that look like your production car and all of a sudden think you’re racing a production car. It just doesn’t work like that, but any move we can make is a good one.”
WHERE IS FORD ON THE NATIONWIDE SERIES AND THE POSSIBILITY OF RACING MUSTANG? “There was a thought that we might want to race a pony car. We have a lot of different interests. Right now, we’re evaluating whether or not that’s the right way to go. We’re starting to lean more towards possibly using the Fusion, but we’re not real sure. It looks like the Camaro is not coming in and if that’s the case, then here we’ve got a Mustang racing against a Camry or Malibu or something like that and that’s not real appealing either. We’re taking another look at it deciding what we want to do.”
HOW FAR ALONG IN THE PROCESS ARE YOU? “It’s pretty far. The Fusion is a lot easier. If we decide to go that route, we already have the Fusion in place so that’s pretty straightforward. The Mustang was quite far along and we knew what we wanted to do there, so we could really go either way at this point.”
HOW MUCH MORE COOPERATION WILL THERE BE BETWEEN TEAMS THIS YEAR COMPARED TO THE PAST? “Usually what would occur is you would have one team, let’s say the Robert Yates organization. They’re wanting to do something technically, so you put engineers and you put a lot of work involved in what they want to do. Well, they didn’t want to share that with the Roush people. Meanwhile, you’ve got the Roush group over here doing some things and they don’t want to share that with the Yates people. And then you’ve got the Wood Brothers over here doing some things and they don’t want to share that with any of the other groups. So we ended up doing things three times or we would end up doing them with a different spin here and there, or the data one group had would be different