Hmiel gets a scolding
April 5

You know you’re having a bad day when you make Dale Jarrett mad.

Shane Hmiel hit Jarrett from behind during the Sharpie 250 Monday causing the race to be red flagged with one-lap to go.

(AP)

Jarrett climbed out of his car and walked down the front stretch to confront Hmiel. NASCAR officials tried to stop Jarrett before he reached Hmiel's car but the veteran Cup driver had no plans of stopping.

"Where did you think you were going?" Jarrett could be heard shouting at Hmiel over the in-car radio. "It's going to cost you one day."

Hmiel played dumb, holding up his hands in mock innocence. When Jarrett turned to leave, Hmiel extended his middle finger toward Jarrett on national television.

That gesture will most likely cost Hmiel when NASCAR hands out fines after a review of the tape. And his reckless driving on the track earlier in the race, he bumped two other drivers before wrecking Jarrett, will surely cost him later in the year on the track.

But Hmiel that doesn't seem to bother him .

"He'd better hurry up," Hmiel said about 48-year-old Jarrett's threat to get him later. "He doesn't have much longer."

Rescheduled race impacted more than fans
By Joe Geraghty
Bristol Herald Courier,April 5

Saturday’s rain wasn’t just an inconvenience for thousands of race fans.

The postponement of the Sharpie Professional 250 also had a direct impact on the bottom line of retailers, local governments and the Bristol Motor Speedway itself.

Bobby Dodson and his son Dustin watch prerace activities before the start of the Sharpie Professional 250 Monday morning. Dodson, of Telford, Tenn., didn't mind coming back for the race, which was postponed from Saturday due to rain. (Andre Teague/Bristol Herald Courier)

Race week had to be extended by a day, and that left the Bristol Tennessee Police and Fire departments scrambling to double their normal Monday staffing levels and pay for all that overtime.

The rain forced Ray Lady to keep his parking and camping lot outside of BMS open for an extra day. He figured he lost money all day Monday because he couldn’t reopen the farm supply business he ordinarily operates on the property.

And Elizabeth Jones, a NASCAR memorabilia vendor outside the track, had to spend an extra day in Bristol with no profits to show for her troubles.

"I’ll maybe make enough gas money today to make it to the next race," she said Monday. "If I could get out of here I would leave right now."

But until all the other vendors in line ahead of her moved their trailers, she was stuck in the mud that was Monday’s only reminder of the showers Saturday.

"I don’t know that anyone benefits from a rain-out," said Wayne Estes, vice president of events and communications at the speedway. "It’s not something that you ever want to have happen."

The last time rain forced the cancellation and rescheduling of a race was 1989, Estes said.

Public safety officials had perhaps the greatest trouble Monday. For a typical race day, Fire Chief Phil Vinson would have up to 110 firefighters in and around the speedway. On Monday, he only had about 60 at his disposal, half of whom were being paid unanticipated overtime for their day’s work.

"It’s all we can do because this is putting an extra load on an already extra load," he said. "It’s just something we have to allow for. Whatever it is, we’ll pay it."

Police Chief Blaine Wade was in a similar manpower position. Without the help of the reserve and auxiliary officers who had to return to their regular jobs Monday, the Police Department was left with just half the number of officers on hand Sunday.

"It’s very, very difficult to do this for an extra day," Wade said. "It’s been tough. It hasn’t been impossible, but it has been tough."

RCR closes gap faster than hoped
By David Newton
The State,April 5

Two days before Sunday’s Nextel Cup race at Bristol Motor Speedway, Richard Childress was asked about the dominance of Roush Racing and Hendrick Motorsports.

“Those guys have done their homework,” he said. “They put together a good program. They have got a little jump on us, but I can see us closing that gap.”

(AP)

It didn’t take long.

Kevin Harvick led the final 66 laps to end a personal 55-race winless streak and a 54-race winless streak for Richard Childress Racing.

If that wasn’t a strong enough message, he and RCR teammate Jeff Burton finished first and second in Monday’s Busch Series race, which was postponed Saturday because of rain.

Harvick won both from the back of the field. Roush Racing and Hendrick Motorsports had won six consecutive Cup races and nine of the past 10. The teams came to Bristol occupying the top five spots in the points race.

They left with only two drivers in the top five.

Hendrick’s Jimmie Johnson, who was sixth at Bristol, leads Roush’s Greg Biffle by 94 points. Joe Gibbs Racing’s Tony Stewart is third, followed by Roush’s Carl Edwards and Robert Yates Racing’s Elliott Sadler.

Behind them is Harvick, who hadn’t won since capturing the Brickyard 500 in 2003.

So, at least for a week, all the talk about the season being a two-team race is out the window.

Richard Childress Racing appears ready to reclaim its spot among NASCAR’s top teams. The team captured six Cup titles between 1986 to 1994 when the late Dale Earnhardt drove the Goodwrench-sponsored Chevrolet now driven by Harvick.

“It’s a big statement and a big relief for all us knowing all the hard work that’s gone into everything that we’ve done this year,” Harvick said.

Jack of all trades
As a steady spokesman, driver and track owner, journeyman Blaney finding a home at RCR
By Jill Erwin
Richmond Times Dispatch,April 5

He's not one of the ubiquitous young guns of NASCAR, but 42-year-old Dave Blaney has found a new - and profitable - home at Richard Childress Racing.

Even with his newfound level of success, Blaney also knows he won't always be racing.

Searching for something to fill his retirement years, Blaney has become a part-owner of Sharon Speedway in Hartford, Ohio. It's his hometown track, a ?-mile dirt oval where he has spent many nights. The track plays host to several series, mostly Sprint Cars and Modifieds.

Sitting before a group of reporters this past weekend at Bristol Motor Speedway with team owner Richard Childress, who has his own winery, and Jack Daniel's master distiller Jimmy Bedford, Blaney joked about his limited career options.

"You've got a whiskeymaker, a winemaker, and I can't even make lemonade," Blaney said, motioning at his panelmates.

Having partners to run the day-to-day business at Sharon Speedway while he competes in the Nextel Cup Series helps lighten Blaney's load, but it doesn't free him completely from the headaches of being a small-business owner.

"There's some days I wish somebody else owned that racetrack, but it's going to be OK," Blaney said. "Each year it's going to be something I have and can grow with."

Retirement is a long way from his mind right now, however. Blaney is enjoying a resurgence as a full-time driver on NASCAR's top circuit. He finished eighth at Atlanta Motor Speedway two weeks ago, his first top 10 since July 2003. On Sunday, he started on the front row of the Food City 500 at Bristol Motor Speedway.