 |
|
 FRONT PAGE
Race
Shop Tickets
Fantasy
Garage Opinions
Contact |
|
|
Welcome to the Cup Scene Daily for
August 28,2003
Vol. II,No.VIXII FINAL EDITION
|
7 DAY ARCHIVE
INSIDE TODAY'S ISSUE: Teams test at Kentucky Speedway Busch speaks of respect/Spencer apologizes Southern wins are thrillers Gordon eyes record at Southern 500 Johnson says he learned from '02 race Earnhardt Jr. dedicates climbing wall Helton will keep it in the family, but which one? Bobby Labonte a Darlington ace Busch could don black hat and be another Earnhardt Bruton vs. Bill? Now that's a fair matchup The Cup Scene Daily Newsletter off line for now, new one to debut soon! Next Race Race Shop RACE Tickets Fantasy Garage NEW!
SEARCH THIS SITE: The Cup Scene Daily T-Shirt Shop
Ladies
Racing Apparel
|
TODAYS FRONT PAGE<
ON MORE TIME
Cale Yarborough lowers his head slightly as he thinks about his beloved home track, Darlington Raceway.
"I don't know," said Yarborough, a five-time Southern 500 champion. "Progress has to be made I tell you what, Labor Day weekend will never be the same again." It won't be the same for race teams, who'll need more precious hours returning to their East Coast shops. It won't be the same for Darlington officials, who'll fight to sell a November race date to fans accustomed to tank tops and cookouts. It won't be the same for anyone who values tradition over modern megabucks. "If you're a purist, and I am, Darlington has a lot to do with tradition," driver Ricky Craven said. It's been that way since Harold Brasington plowed over some farmland to build the 1.366-mile egg-shaped monstrosity. The first Southern 500 was run Sept. 4, 1950, with a field of 75 cars. Time trials lasted 15 days. The race took 6 hours, 38 minutes, with Johnny Mantz winning with an average speed of 75.250 mph. Hall of Fame owner Bud Moore, competing in that historic race, recalls Mantz's car slowly making its way around the asphalt track without problems while other competitors were blowing tires right and left. "That first race in 1950 will always be special," he said. "I can still see in my mind those 75 cars lined up three abreast to start the race." Ever since, the track and the date have served as a touchstone for the formerly Southern-fried sport. Kyle Petty, who once famously said they should turn the speedway back into a fishing pond because of his struggles there through the years, grew up playing baseball and football in Darlington's infield and watching his father, King Richard, win the Southern 500 in 1967. "So, yeah, love it or hate it, that track is a big, big part of my life," the younger Petty said. And a big part of NASCAR's history. Bill Elliott earned the nickname "Million Dollar Bill" when he won the 1985 Southern 500 to complete the first Winston Million bonus by taking three of the sport's four crown jewel events. David Pearson is the track's all-time winner with 10 victories. The late Dale Earnhardt won six of 10 races there from 1986-90, including three Southern 500s. He also incredibly passed out at the wheel at the start of the race in 1997. Darrell Waltrip, who'll be enshrined in the National Motorsports Press Association's Hall of Fame this weekend, won his 84th and final Winston Cup race at the Southern 500 in 1992. Recently, Jeff Gordon has created the most memorable moments. He won an unprecedented four straight Southern 500s from 1995-98, then tied Yarborough's mark of five with a win here last year. "I know a lot of people are concerned with it moving off that Labor Day weekend, and that does end a long period of tradition," Petty said. "But we're still going to be there twice a year." Dale Jarrett, a second-generation NASCAR champion, is saddened by the impending change. "I've known very little else on Labor Day weekend than the Southern 500," said Jarrett, the 1999 series champion and son of two-time title winner Ned Jarrett. "I've been going there every year since I was born and when you talk about tradition and how things got started in our sport, you certainly think of Darlington and the Southern 500." As far as the younger Jarrett is concerned, adding his first Southern 500 win to the three spring victories at "The Track Too Tough To Tame" would be a big accomplishment. "Knowing the history of this sport and being there with my dad when he won there in '65, yeah, this is the one on my resume that is not there right now that I'd like to have," Jarrett said. Jarrett said he understands that change is inevitable if the sport is to continue growing, adding, "If we would have kept things the same forever, then where would we be now? It wouldn't be nearly as exciting. "But there are some things you wonder why we couldn't keep them the same. Since Darlington is keeping the race and we're still going to have the Southern 500, only on a different weekend, it looks like we could have switched things around a little bit better and made it happen." Darlington president Andrew Gurtis expects the realigned dates - the next Southern 500 will run Nov. 14, 2004 - to bring a boost to an economically depressed region. Even without the race, Labor Day tourists will fill the area's hotels and restaurants, he said. "If you still have a great Labor Day and then add a great November, it's got to be a net positive," Gurtis said. The track typically brings $50 million a year to the region, according to a 2002 study from the University of South Carolina commissioned by Darlington. Gurtis says about 60 percent of that comes from Labor Day weekend. "If you have 100,000 people coming, it doesn't matter if it's in March, September or November," said Tom Regan, the South Carolina researcher who headed the survey. The change could mean more wear and tear for drivers. Points leader Matt Kenseth said it was easy to slip away from Darlington to the race shop a couple of hours away in North Carolina. Now, there's a cross-country trek, Kenseth said. A race in the cool California night should continue NASCAR's remarkable growth spurt, says 1999 Southern 500 champ Jeff Burton. But he thinks it's a shame it comes at the expense of a NASCAR tradition. "It's hot, it's slippery, it's slick, it's all those things and that's what makes the Southern 500 great," Burton said. "I do wish there was a way to keep it here on Labor Day weekend. On the other hand, we'll start some new traditions. It'll be OK." It appears that the next Southern 500 could be run under the lights. Track officials recently got the go-ahead to install the lights and expect them to be ready to test by the fall of 2004. Teams test at Kentucky SpeedwayAugust 28 Research and development was the phrase of the day for six NASCAR Cup Series teams which tested the 1.5-mile tri-oval at Kentucky Speedway. Teams gathered information to prepare for a season-ending, 12-race stretch that features several intermediate tracks. Bill Davis Racing drivers Kenny Wallace and Scott Wimmer, Evernham Motorsports veteran Bill Elliott, Joe Gibbs Racing Busch Series regular Mike Bliss, MB2 Motorsports super sub Mike Skinner, Petty Enterprises namesake Kyle Petty, and Hendrick Motorsports test specialist David Green were part of the session. Skinner and Wimmer were potentially auditioning for full-time series rides in 2004. Skinner, who was released from his Morgan-McClure Winston Cup contract following the June 8 race at Pocono, is wheeling the No. 01 Army Pontiac for MB2 Motorsports while primary driver Jerry Nadeau continues to mend his injuries. Skinner authored his best performance through three starts in the No. 01 last week at Bristol when he started fourth and finished 18th. Skinner used the test to get better acquainted with the MB2 team. "We've really only worked together for three races and we're still learning each other's language," Skinner said. "It's basically a 'get-to-know each other test' and we're learning some stuff that will help us." He added that a string of strong performances in the No. 01 is important to his racing future. "Every race is a little bit of an audition for every driver," Skinner said. "We've had a couple of years where injuries or the race team not being up to speed have been issues. It doesn't hurt to have good runs and show people you can still get the job done. "We're working on a lot of things. Hopefully Jerry has a full recovery and can get back with this race team. In the event that doesn't happen, you never know, we might drive this. We'll wait to see what happens. Wimmer, who enters the week ninth in the Busch series standings and riding a string of nine straight top-10 finishes under Davis, also may be in line for a full-time Cup ride if Davis can secure sponsorship for a third series entry. "We're pretty close to it," Wimmer said of a Winston Cup deal. "Sponsorship is dictating everything like it does in this sport. We have two great sponsors with Stacker 2 and Caterpillar, so hopefully we can find the third one for me and build on the success we'd have so far. A second scenario might find Wimmer behind the wheel of the No. 22 Caterpillar car should Ward Burton vacate the seat. "I'd love to drive for those guys (the Caterpillar team). It's a great race team, the Caterpillar car has a been a real good car and Frank Stoddard has done a lot of great things over there. "I'm sitting on the other side of the road with my Busch program. I have a lot of great people over there that I don't want to particularly leave, but it's a weird sport. We'll have to see what happens. The next few months will be pretty interesting. I'm looking forward to moving my whole Busch team up and maybe getting another driver in for Ward's seat." |
DAILY BRIEFS
|
