It was only practice for the Budweiser Shootout but after Mark Martin (#5) and Denny Hamlin (#11) got together seven cars in total were involved in a crash.  Besides Denny Hamlin and Mark Martin, also involved were Greg Biffle, Clint Bowyer, Jamie McMurray all will go to backup cars, with  Joey Logano and Kyle Busch having minimal damage. Clint Boyer was in the #31 for Kevin Harvick who is suffering from the flu. 
 After the wreck, Hamlin said: “ Ultimately, everyone’s out there jockeying for position and everything to find out what their car can do. I mean, it’s hairy out there for sure, and those things are going to happen whenever you’re running that close and there’s miscommunication, you’re going to have guys running into each other.”
 Is this an indication of what to expect during the races here at Daytona? This season NASCAR has softened its bump-drafting rule. Drivers are permitted to be more aggressive on the track.
The Budweiser Shootout will be broadcast on FOX Saturday, Feb. 6 at 8:00pm.

 The No. 9 Action Express Racing Porsche pulled off what many call an upset by winning the Rolex 24. The No. 01 TELMEX/Target BMW Riley from Chip Ganassi Racing settled for Second place again.
 A heavy downpour caused the race to start under caution. Slippery conditions continued even after the rain ended.
The Action Express Racing drivers combined to lead 316 of the 755 circuits.  Joao Barbosa, Ryan Dalziel, Terry Borcheller and Mike Rockenfeller.

The GT race was won with a four lap advantage by Sylvain Tremblay, Jonathan Bomarito, Nick Ham and David Haskell  in the SpeedSource’s No. 70 Castrol Syntec Mazda RX-8.

This year’s Rolex 24 had a record 53 leader changes among 29 drivers. All but two of the Daytona Prototypes led in the event, and all but two of them experienced serious issues that forced them out of contention.

 David Poole who covered motorsports for the Charlotte Observer passed away today from a heart attack. David was not only a reporter but an out-spoken fan of NASCAR. Unlike others who never want to speak up, David also wrote and spoke what he believed. If he felt there had to be critisism of NASCAR, a driver or a team he would tell it the way it was. It was often his comments that created the debates and discussion that did bring about change. He also with 13 years of covering NASCAR and his broadcasts of “The Morning Drive” on Sirius NASCAR Radio identified with fans of the sport as a fan himself. David won the National Motorsports Press Association’s writer of the year four times.

  There are many including myself who received the Charlotte Observer even when not a Charlotte resident in order to read David’s coverage and opinion. Dale Earnhardt, jr. said “David Poole was as much a fixture in this sport as the actual cars themselves.” Often many drivers and team members would open up to him more than other reporters. It was the honesty yet fairness and the genuine person that he was.

 David’s family requests that instead of flowers, people consider his two causes. Pennies for Wessa  is a charity for Wessa Miller. Wessa was the six year old girl who  gave Dale Earnhardt a lucky penny the day before the Daytona 500 in 1998. Earnhardt glued the penny inside his car and finally won NASCAR’s biggest race. Wessa suffers from spina bifida and other medical conditions. You can send a memorium to Pennies For Wessa, Attention: Mike Damron, Community Trust Bank, P.O. Box 39, Mouthcard, Ky. 41548
 David also supported

Victory Junction camp  built in memory of Adam Petty, son of NASCAR driver Kyle Petty, to enrich the lives of seriously ill children and those with chronic medical conditions.
To contribute to the camp, you can visit the website or send a memorium to Victory Junction Gang Camp, 4500 Adam’s Way, Randleman, N.C., 27317.

Sunday Mark Martin won the Subway Fresh Fit 500 at Phoenix International Raceway. It was Martin’s first win in 97 races. His last win was at Kansas in 1995. He dominated the race, starting on pole and leading 157 of the 312 laps. In most forms of racing age 40 is the age where retirement is a requirement and not an option. But for Mark Martin at age 50, racing is a requirement. His workout regimen makes most twenty-somethings cringe. In Forumla 1 most retire or are released from their teams while still in their 30’s. But Mark Martin is thinking of the championship and not retirement.
A comprehensive study of every race winner & championship since 1949 shows that drivers who are a relative age of 31 (based on their age as of July 1 of that racing season) win more races and championships, on average. Of 2,174 total races recorded, drivers with a relative age of 31 have won 201 times, or more than 9 percent of the time. So age does seem to factor in. Since Dale Jarrett earned his title in 1999 at the relative age of 42, no driver over age 36 has won a championship. But then you have Harry Gant who did not win his first race until he was 42.
Mark Martin is not the oldest driver to win in NASCAR. Harry Gant is the oldest driver to win a Next Cup (formerly Winston Cup) race.
For a comparison:

Harry Gant, 52 years, 219 days at Michigan International Speedway on August 16, 1992
Morgan Shepherd, 51 years, 51 years, 147 days at Atlanta Motor Speedway on March 20, 1993
Mark Martin, 50 years, 99 days at Phoenix International Speedway on April 19, 2009
Bobby Allison, 50 years, 73 days at Daytona International Speedway on February 14, 1988

Mark Martin always one for protecting equipment even after a race prerserved the car. “No burnouts for me,” he radioed his crew. “Just a backward Polish victory lap for my man Alan Kulwicki.”

 On Saturday at the NASCAR Nationwide race in Nashville, Joe Nemechek flipped his #87 car. There was 11 laps to go when Ricky Stenhouse Jr. driving the #16 Roush-Fenway Racing Ford, hit the wall in turn 4 causing Ricky to jump left and hit Joe’s car. Joe ended up on its top and skidded upside down through the frontstretch. The car finally flipped back right-side up and Joe turned to avoid the wall and drove on back to the pits. Joe wanted to finish the race but NASCAR officials determined the car was not safe to continue. Joe finished the Nashville 300 Nationwide Series race in the 34th position.

 Joe Nemechek has endured a lot during his career and life. Nemechek was the NASCAR Busch Series Rookie of the year in 1990. He won the Busch Series championship in 1992 by beating Bobby Labonte by only three points. Joe has collected 16 wins in the NASCAR Nationwide (formerly Busch) Series and 4 wins in the NASCAR Sprint Cup series. Today Joe races in both series for his own team, NEMCO Motorsports with limited sponsorship.
 Tragedy struck the Nemechek family in 1997 when Joe’s younger brother John Nemechek, was killed in 1997. Racing in the Craftsman Truck series at Homestead-Miami Speedway with 25 laps to go John had a horrific crash in turn 1. John died five days later from the injuries sustained in the crash. Joe named his son John Hunter after his brother. The Homestead-Miami Speedway was reconfigured due to the accident.
 Joe’s Mother Martha attends nearly all of his races. Martha Nemechek is a regular site at the tracks. Joe credits his Mother and his religion as how he gets through tough times. Much like the tumble Joe took at Nashville, Joe survives no matter the circumstances and drives right on.

Malasian Grand Prix

 When Honda announced it was shutting down its Formula 1 team, there was not much surprise as performance was not on par with some of its other racing operations. When Ross Brawn announced he was purchasing the Honda team only a few weeks before the start of the 2009 F1 season, there was some surprise. As much success as Ross Brawn was responsible for, where could he take the remants of Honda and in such a short time before the first race? But the first two races of the 2009 F1 season has produced two poles and two wins. The biggest surprise of all!
  Qualifying one-two in the season-opening Australian Grand Prix left many amazed. The one-two finish with Jenson Button and Rubens Barrichello established Brawn GP as the team to beat in 2009. Development on the 2009 Car can be traced back to November 2007 but even Button was looking for other rides after Honda ceased operations in December. Button is reported to have taken a 50% cut in salary to allow Brawn to have enough finances to complete its aquisition and start-up costs. Now that Jenson Button has a second win at in Malasia, the driver and team are really showing the strength.
 There is still a controversy over the use by several teams including Brawn GP of the Diffuser. The rear diffuser, channels the flow of air out of the back of the car as smoothly as possible for maximum grip and downforce. The Williams and Toyota teams also use the diffuser. Ferrari, Red Bull, BMW Sauber and Renault teams have lodged the appeal which is to be heard at the International Court of Appeal (ICA) hearing on April 14th in Paris. Ferrari’s Kimi Raikkonen has stated he can not win the championship if the diffusers are allowed. Ferrari has yet to score any points. McLaren has scored only a single point. Forumla 1 unlike NASCAR and other forms of racing does not use set in stone rules. Instead the FIA issues guidelines that allow for technical development.
  Ross Brawn had previous success working for many teams including Williams, Force and Arrows. But his major success came Team Director for Benetton in 1991 with Michael Schumacher winning F1 Driver Titles in 1994 and 1995. Brawn left to join Ferrari in 1996 where his influence made that team again a top contender winning driver’s titles and Constructor’s championships. Now at Brawn GP he is on track for continued success in Formula One.

  This weekend marks the start of the 2009 Indycar season. The first race this year will be at the streets of St. Petersburg, Florida. But do not look for it on your local ABC station or ESPN. And forget about the NASCAR channel sometimes called Speed. It will be on VERSUS. 

  I never even heard of VERSUS before their deal to broadcast the Indycar races was announced. They signed a deal to broadcast the races for ten years or until the next breakup; or CART makes a comeback; or USAC decides to be involved again.  The Indianapolis 500 will still be on ABC. So if you are a fan of Indycar racing then you will have to see if you even have VERSUS. Many cable systems do not carry it. From a little research, even if your cable system has it, you need to be on one of their premium plans.  So being the end of the week,  if you intent on catching the race, you may need to run on down to your cable office to get one of those digital boxes.

 But other than Indycar is it worth it just for VERSUS? Well besides Indycar VERSUS brings you dynamite related sports like Bull Riding and Bicycling. At least they have some veteran broadcasters such as  Bob Jenkins, Jack Arute and Jon Beekhuis. Also will be Robbie Buhl and 2001 Indianapolis 500 Princess Lindy Thackston. Lindy is Indycar’s version of former Miss Teen Nicole Mansky.

So if you have VERSUS and are a fan of Indycar racing check it out. Qualifying Saturday at 5:00pm EDT. The race will be Sunday at 2:00pm EDT. Check it out!

 This past Saturday was the 3rd annual Legends Helping Legends of Racing Fundraiser held at Memory Lane Motorsports & Automotive Museum in Mooresville, N.C. This year was to benefit the medical fund for J.C. “Jake” Elder, known as Suitcase Jake. 
  Jake, 72 is bedridden in a Statesville assisted living center and suffers from dementia and seizures.  He lead David Pearson to two championships in the late ’60s and Earnhardt to one in 1980.  Some call him the greatest crew chief ever.  In 1968 alone with David Pearson they earned 16 wins, 11 in 1969.  Known for his down-to-earth style, Elder told a young Dale Earnhardt after his first win, “Stick with me, kid, and we’ll win diamonds big as horse turds.”
  Jimmy Hensley, Ronnie Thomas, Ned Jarrett, Neil “Soapy” Castles, Dave Marcis, Lil’ Bud Moore, D.K. Ulrich, Geoff Bodine, Bobby and Donnie Allison, and “The King” Richard Petty were all at the event. As were crew chiefs and mechanics: Jeff Hammond, Tim Brewer, Travis Carter, Mike Beam, Waddell Wilson, Lou LaRosa, and Billy Nacewicz.  Jake was not at the event but his sister Helen Moore who is his guaridian was.
  If you missed the event but would like to make a donation to Jake send a check to his sister Helen Moore in care of the “Jake Elder Fund” .  
Mail to: Memory Lane Museum 769 River Hwy, Mooresville, NC 28117.