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NASCAR and MotorSports – From a Queer Perspective

Monthly Archives: March 2010

Texas Motor Speedway Better Bring Cookies

image via NACAR Media Group

Or at least Eddie Gossage, President of Texas Motor Speedway, had better bring some cookies to the Media Center when the NASCAR Press Core comes rolling into town in April.    It seems he has upset a few journalist with a ill-timed April Fools Day Prank.

Yesterday – Texas Motor Speedway sent out a Press Release announcing a new promotion.  TMS offered $100,000.00 to any local radio D.J that would change their legal name (and the name of their show) to TexasMotorSpeedway.com  To qualify for the prize the D.J would also have to get a tattoo with the name of the speedways website.  A Dallas Radio Host took Gossage up on the offer – pictures were taken and the “presser” was sent out.

The NASCAR Press – almost on whole – took the presser at face value and ran with the story.  It appeared on ESPN, SceneDaily.com, SPEED and SBNation.com  -  which are very dependable sources for NASCAR journalism.

Today Eddie Gossage revealed that it was all an early April Fools Prank – there was no contest – there was no money – it was only an attempt to get publicity.

And it worked!   I follow a lot of NASCAR writers on Twitter and they were none to happy with Texas Motor Speedway and Mr. Gossage.

I don’t blame the press – as a “pretend” NASCAR journalist – I depend heavily on press releases from NASCAR, different tracks and teams.  I take these “pressers” as gospel – and generally feel no need to fact check them.

This stunt will cause all reporters to look at future Texas Motor Speedway articles with a skeptical eye.  While TMS may be enjoying all of the publicity – it may not prove the wisest move in the long run.

If anything makes me angry – it would  be the amateur nature of this prank – figures one of those “morning zoo radio guys” would be involved.

I won’t be at the races in Texas – but I would suggest that Eddie Gossage bring lots of cookies to the Media Center – but don’t be surprised if some of the reporters want to test them for poison first!   (For the record – I would forgive anything for cookies – I can be bribed with a good chocolate chip)

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Denny Hamlin Wins Another Clock in Martinsville

[ Via Reid Spencer Sporting News NASCAR Wire Service ]

Credit: Jason Smith/Getty Images for NASCAR

MARTINSVILLE, Va.—Mr. Martinsville is dead.

Long live Mr. Martinsville!

Denny Hamlin plowed through traffic after a green-white-checkered-flag restart Monday to post his second straight victory at Martinsville Speedway, wresting the title “Mr. Martinsville”—at least temporarily—from Jimmie Johnson, who rode a nondescript ninth-place finish to the NASCAR Sprint Cup points lead.

On fresh tires, thanks to a pit stop under caution on Lap 493, Hamlin powered past Ryan Newman, Matt Kenseth and Jeff Gordon on Lap 507 of 508 after Kenseth and Gordon traded shots earlier on the same lap.

Hamlin cleared Gordon’s Chevrolet through Turns 3 and 4 and finished the race on a cut tire, .670 seconds ahead of teammate Joey Logano, who weaved his way through the melee to give Joe Gibbs Racing a 1-2 finish at the .526-mile short track.

“Whose house is this?” Hamlin radioed after taking the checkered flag.

“Denny Hamlin’s house,” spotter Curtis Markham answered.

Gordon finished third after leading the field to the Lap 507 restart. Newman ran fourth and Martin Truex Jr. fifth.

The race was delayed by one day because of rain. So was Hamlin’s surgery, originally scheduled for Monday, to repair a torn ACL in his left knee, the result of a pickup basketball injury two months ago.

Though Hamlin is eager to get the operation behind him, he savored Monday’s victory, the ninth of his career.

“This is probably the most gratifying win I’ve had, simply because we came through adversity so many times, whether it be because of pit road (dropping the jack too soon on an early pit stop) or that dash at the end,” said Hamlin, 29. “We just flat out drove through ’em at the end and got the win. I’m not sure we’ve gotten a win like this before.”

A late call for four tires put that win in jeopardy. Hamlin, who led a race-high 172 laps, had a lead of 2.7 seconds when Jeff Burton blew a tire on Lap 491 and caused the 12th caution of the race. Hamlin and teammate Kyle Busch, who was running second, came to the pits for tires, handing the lead to Gordon.

Hamlin restarted ninth on Lap 497 and quickly made his way toward the front, knocking off two cars with a harrowing three-wide pass in Turn 1. Hamlin was fourth when Busch spun in Turn 3 after contact with Paul Menard’s Ford on Lap 499 and brought out the final caution, with Gordon tantalizingly close to the start-finish line and his first victory since April 2009 at Texas.

If NASCAR calls a caution after the leader takes the white flag—which signals the final lap—the field is frozen as it runs. Gordon was within 30 yards of the flag when caution flew for Busch’s wreck.

“We were a hundred feet away from getting that white flag, getting the victory,” Gordon said. “So that’s frustrating. But I shouldn’t be too upset. We were a third-place car before that, and we finished third.

“I’m not exactly sure what happened on that last restart. I got an OK restart. Spun the tires a little bit, got going. I looked at my mirror, (and the) 17 (Kenseth) was pretty far behind me. … Next thing I know, I got nailed. I don’t know who got into me. I thought it was the 17. If it wasn’t, I apologize to him. I made sure he didn’t win the race down the straightaway.”

In fact, after Kenseth bumped Gordon’s Chevrolet in the corner, Gordon rubbed Kenseth’s Ford down the backstretch and sent him high into Turn 3. Kenseth finished 18th after most of the lead-lap cars streamed past him.

Queers4Gears Hosts 1st Gay NASCAR Fan Appreciation Night

Not only will Queers4Gears be covering the entire Race Weekend Live from Phoenix – Q4G will also be hosting their 1st Gay NASCAR Fan Appreciation Night.

Q4G has partnered with a local bar – The Cash Inn Country to host this NASCAR Night for Lesbian and Gay race fans.  The bar is located about 15 miles from the track – @ 2140 E. McDowell Rd Phoenix, Arizona 85006

The event will be on Friday Night, April 9th after the Nationwide Series Race.

There will be small give away items – some cool prizes plus a chance to win tickets to Saturday’s Sprint Cup Race.

Don’t miss out on all the fun!

Harvick Wins Truck Race in Martinsville

[ via NASCAR Media Group / Reid Spencer - Sporting News Wire Service ]

Jason Smith / Getty Images and NASCAR Media Group

MARTINSVILLE, VA —  It was a relatively uneventful day for Kroger 250 winner Kevin Harvick.

The same can’t be said for Harvick’s teammate, Ron Hornaday Jr., who started deep in the field in Saturday’s Camping World Truck Series race at Martinsville Speedway and survived a late-race dust-up with Johnny Sauter to post a much-needed runner-up finish.

Harvick, who owns his No. 2 Chevrolet and the No. 33 Hornaday drives, led 187 of 250 laps in winning his second truck series race of the season in as many starts and the eighth of his career. He started from the pole after rain washed out Friday’s qualifying. Brian Ickler ran third, with points leader Timothy Peters fourth and Johnny Benson fifth.

Harvick chose the outside lane when he and Hornaday teamed up for a side-by-side restart on Lap 232, after contact from Hornaday turned the No. 13 Chevy of Sauter to cause the 11th and final caution of the race 10 laps earlier. An angry Sauter confronted Hornaday on pit road after the race.

“I don’t know if he got into the curb or checked up or whatever, but I got into him pretty good,” Hornaday said after the exchange. “It was a tough day. I hate to see that, but Johnny’s all mad, and that’s what truck racing’s all about.”

Harvick, working for the first time with new crew chief Butch Hylton, passed Peters for the lead on Lap 190 and held it the rest of the way.

“It was a lot of fun for me, just for the fact that the thing was so dominant to drive,” Harvick said. “I didn’t really have to do a whole lot different—I just drove my line every lap, and we were able to make our way through traffic when we needed to.

“When we passed the 17 (Peters) for the lead there, it looked like his truck started to get a little loose getting into the corner, and we were able to capitalize on that.”

Notes: Peters’ series lead is now 59 points over sixth-place finisher Aric Almirola. Todd Bodine, the points leader coming into Saturday’s race, finished 30th after his truck overheated. … Narain Karthikeyan, a former Formula One driver from India, finished 13th in his truck series debut after taking advantage of two free passes back to the lead lap. … Harvick’s margin of victory was 1.552 seconds. … Hornaday, the defending series champion, gained 16 positions to 12th in the standings. He started the race in 31st position.

Boris Said Tests at Road America

[ via NASCAR Presser ]

If Boris Said’s disappointment at not running the inaugural NASCAR Nationwide Series race at Road America is any indication, fans are in for a treat.

“I’m really [angry] that I can’t come because I’m going to be somewhere else that weekend,” he said Wednesday, following a morning test session at the famed course. “It’s going to be a great show and I’ll be sure to watch it on TV.”

Said, a road-course ace who has competed in each of NASCAR’s three national series, drove a car provided by Roush Fenway Racing today at the 4.048-mile, 14-turn track in Elkhart Lake, Wis., site of the Bucyrus 200 presented by Menard’s.

Data compiled from the test will be available to teams in advance of the June 19 event. Said and the Roush Fenway Racing crew collected information that included gear selections, shock travel, braking, RPM and acceleration.

Said, who has competed on the Road America course more than 20 times over the last two decades in various series, also narrated a video of laps around the track that will be shared with the teams.

NASCAR officials also were able to gather logistical information for the teams.

“We have a rather large footprint of equipment at our events,” said NASCAR Nationwide Series Director Joe Balash. “The potential for 50 haulers, our series and partner haulers, not to mention our broadcast partners’ equipment. Where will they park? Where will the garage area be? All of those things need to be included with the data that will go out to our teams.”

“This data will give the teams a leg-up before they get here,” said Brett Bodine, NASCAR’s director of research and development. “Goodyear engineers are also here to give us a tire that’s going to do a great job for us on race weekend.

“It’s exciting to see a NASCAR Nationwide car on this track. I told Boris you don’t get many chances to make history.”

Said noted that the track is a very technical course and that “managing brakes will be a key. I hit about 170 mph on the straightaway; 43 of these things in Turn 5 is going to be fantastic.

“These cars aren’t as big, heavy and bulky as they sound,” he added. “That’s what makes it fun. I remember talking to Juan Pablo Montoya about comparing them to an F1 car. He said, ‘It’s boring. These cars are way better because you have to drive them.’ ”

The afternoon session included longer runs on fresh tires and a full fuel cell, followed by a few short runs to complete the test.