Q4G Interview: Meet Race Car Driver Justin Mullikin

Credit: Mary Schill

Queers4Gears’ Adam Lovelace interviews NASCAR Grand National Sportsmen driver Justin Mullikin.

Meet 27 year old Justin Mullikin, of Holmen, Wisconsin. Justin is an out and open race car driver running in the NASCAR Grand National Sportsmen division, which falls under the NASCAR Whelen All-American Series, at Lacrosse Speedway in West Salem, Wisconsin. We caught up with Justin, whose season opens this weekend at Lacrosse Speedway, to get his story. Follow Justin and his season at his JM Racing page on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/mullikinracing

How and when did you get started in racing?

I started in 2005 on a whim. A close friend of mine raced in the 4-cyl Hornet class at LaCrosse Speedway and I started mostly to prove him wrong in that I could do better than him (which was no small feat. He was quite a well respected and tough competitor.) So I scanned the local papers and came upon a 1994 Nissan Sentra that was well rusted and had zero brakes (there is a story in itself on driving it home). After two seasons racing in that division I was able to amass an unheard of amount of top 3 finishes up until that point. I finished outside the top 3 twice over a two year span. For the record, both years there were over 110 individual drivers, with roughly 70 people racing on a weekly basis. At the end of the 2006 season I sold my car to another competitor (my $200 investment became a $1500 car based on what I was able to do with it) and purchased a Thunderstock which was the next division up from what I was running. That idea did not last long, it was a wreck of a car that I traded for an old non-running truck. This was the start of something I am known for, chassis work. I had that car for about 3 months, completely gutted, rebuilt and sold to a driver that traveled 3.5 hours to get the car. I purchased my first sportsmen car at that point and decided that I would go to the 3rd tier division and try my hand at transitioning from a front wheel drive class on a 1/4 mile track to a V8, rear-wheel drive class on a very fast 5/8 mile track. Lacrosse Speedway has a 5/8 mile outer track and an inner 1/4 mile track that utilizes a portion of the front stretch and turn one of the big track. Six years later I am on my third car in this division

Credit: Forte Design

Tell us about your stats: best finishes, awards, season ending standings:

Several wins, a number of top 5`s and top 10`s. I really don’t keep track of the number of each. This past season I was chosen, by the track officials and tech directors, for the Competition Achievement Award, which is basically an award for someone who had an outstanding achievement at the track, is well respected by competitors and has an overall positive impact on the speedway.

What racing series do you follow?

I follow all of the NASCAR series (top 3 and regional), and the Formula One Championship.

Who is your favorite driver?

Regan Smith, Jenson Button, Jeff Gordon, & Johanna Long.

What is your favorite track?

This is a hard one. I tend to prefer the short tracks, specifically Martinsville and North Wilkesboro; however, Texas, Rockingham, Charlotte and Infineon rank near the top as well.

Other than your own, do you attend any other races?

When my schedule permits I attend the local dirt track, a 1/3mile true oval about 30 miles north of here. This season I will also be attending a track that has recently re-opened, a 1/3 mile flat, tight, asphalt track.

What are your future racing plans? Anything in the works?

This season I am currently looking to get a few starts in a late model under my belt; beyond that, perhaps a full season in late models, or in a touring late model series. The ultimate goal would be to progress to a level where I could compete in the ARCA series and see where that might take me.

Do you find any difficulties in being a race car driver that happens to be gay?

For the most part I have not had any issues. There is the occasional comment that gets back to me; however I typically don’t care if someone who has no meaning to me has anything to say. I did have an issue early on in my racing with another driver who happened to be my best friend when we were children. That was resolved after a bit of rough driving on my part and a good friend of mine saying to him something to the effect of, “Have you seen the front end on his car? You’re going to lose this battle” (in reference to my being known for having the most durable overbuilt front ends on my cars, in the event I needed to assist someone to get out of my way).

Credit: Justin Mullikin

After you are a big time drive, will you always remember us here at Queers 4 Gears??

Of course I will. How could I forget this site, and the frequent references someone makes about Kasey Kahne?

Now for some VERY important questions

Favorite movie?

First and foremost, Casino, then Titanic (it’s perhaps the best done movie ever), The Underworld Series, Eragon, Silent Hill

Favorite TV show?

Rupaul’s Drag Race (I am a sucker for a hilarious competition), Finding Bigfoot

Do you ever smile for pictures? (Asked because I never see him smile for pictures)

Hilarious given the fact that I rarely do!

Ever gotten a speeding ticket?

Not a single ticket on my record

Your last concert?

Marilyn Manson at the Eagles Ballroom in Milwaukee

Do you untie your shoes when you take them off?

Nope. I rarely wear shoes, I am usually seen in flip flops (including at the track)

iPhone, Android, Blackberry, pager, or bag phone?

Iphone all the way

Two-car tandem or pack racing?

Anything is better than the 2013 Daytona 500. I tend to prefer pack racing, however the two car tandem was enjoyable to watch as well.

Follow Adam Lovelace on Twitter at @aclovelace

The Dudtona 500

Adam’s Daytona 500 rant.

The Daytona 500 has been here and gone and will likely only be remembered for Danica Patrick’s pole and good run, leading laps and running up front before finishing in 8th place. The TV ratings were up a good amount, but the race was not a sell out and the grandstands for all of Speedweeks had a LOT of noticeably empty seats. With empty seats and declining TV ratings we’ve been told it’s the economy, but I don’t fully buy that (other than your cable/satellite TV bill, it costs nothing to watch). Last year’s Chase started out with a fizzle and a major lack of action on the track, which was not unlike a large amount of the 2012 season. This year was going to be different. We were all looking forward to the build up to Daytona and the Gen 6 cars, which look great, but failed miserably to put on much of a show at Daytona. Four Sprint Cup races during the week, the Unlimited, the Duels, and the 500 itself resulted in four follow the leader duds. If I were not a fan or just a casual fan, I can tell you for a fact, that I would not have paid money to go watch races like that either. The opening race, the “Super Bowl” of our sport, millions of eyes watching and we give them a dud. As a long time follower of this sport, that I love by the way, I knew that the truck race and the Nationwide race would be the best races of the week and they were packed full of action, racing, & passing. If not for the final lap crash that injured fans on Saturday, I would say those two races overshadowed the big show in a big way!

Yes the cars are new and the drivers and teams will get it figured out, I get that, but it’s our biggest race of the year, our chance to grab new fans, get them interested in the sport to tune into the next 35 races. It should already be figured out. Don’t experiment on our biggest race of the year. We throw a party every year for the Daytona 500 and invite friends that follow the sport and other friends that don’t know what number Jeff Gordon’s car is. After Sunday’s race, I guarantee you those non-fans won’t be tuning into the next 35 races. On Friday I tried to get some other friends interested by having them tune into what I think is one of the best races of speedweeks, the truck race. The race was great, but during the whole race it was non-stop with the “R U Faster Than a Redneck?” promos. Really? I thought NASCAR wanted to get away from that image. We have that demographic wrapped up. Stop it already.

The last two days I’ve read many tweets from some prominent and not so prominent racing media condemning the fans that have complained about the racing and telling us how few cars finished on the lead lap 30 and 40 years ago. While true, NASCAR did not have a multibillion dollar tv deal then either, or any real tv deal for that matter. As a fan and being involved with this sport for 20 years, I know that not every race is going to be exciting all the time. So, I don’t know the answer to the cars at Daytona and I for one, will be tuning into the next 35 races and I know that these new cars have the potential to put on some great racing and I can’t wait to see it. But insulting fans and going after the same old demographic over and over is not the way to get more eyes on the sport. I don’t need to be convinced to tune in or go to the track, ~~NASCAR has my demographic wrapped up~~, err, trust me, I’ll be watching.

Here’s to a great 2013!!

Follow me on Twitter @aclovelace

Gaynalysis: Kansas: Cautions? Yeah, cautions!

"Gay NASCAR" by Keith J. Varadi - 2009

After the all the non-drama of four of the first five Chase races, who wouldn’t be looking forward to the excitement of another 400 mile race at yet another 1.5 mile race track? Just kidding, I fully expected Kansas was going to be yet another snoozefest, boy was I wrong!

Kasey Kahne started on the pole alongside Mark Martin, but given that there was no new shirtless picture of Kasey to come out this week, we all knew he wouldn’t win. Note to Kasey: shirtless pictures = wins. Got it?

Matt Kenseth, who started 12^th and hit the wall on lap 173, scored his third win of the year. Kenseth hit the wall while avoiding Aric Almirola, who has great teeth started near the front of the field and lead the race early on before hitting the wall twice during the day. The second hit would take Almirola out of the race with a 29^th place finish.

Jimmie Johnson wrecked on lap 137. Jimmie had lost a lap earlier in the race after an untimely caution sent him from leading the race to the tail end of the field. While trying to race his way back to the front, he spun out and backed his car into the wall, which would effectively end anyone else’s day. Unbelievably, crew chief Chad Knaus was able to fix Jimmie’s mangled car on pit road without losing a lap and he would salvage a 9^th place finish for the day.

The race on the newly repaved Kansas track produced 14 cautions for 66 laps. Two of those were brought out by Kyle Busch. Busch spun out by himself on lap 41 but was then taken out for good on lap after Ryan Newman poked him in the rear sending the 18 hard into the wall and wrecking himself in the process. Kyle wasn’t happy. Shocker. “I’m glad he’s wrecked along with me, and he’ll get another here before the year is out”, said Busch, who apparently has forgotten about his retaliation against Ron Hornaday at the end of last season. Tsk tsk!!! Busch finished in 31^st position.

Danica Patrick and Landon Cassill got together on lap 155 after racing hard together. Replays showed Cassill had gotten into the side of Danica a lap or two earlier and then Danica bumped Landon from behind causing both to spin out. Cassill recovered after the spin, but Patrick spun into the wall ending her day. “Well, rule number one in stock car racing is learn how to wreck someone without wrecking yourself”, said Cassill on the radio after the incident.

Martin Truex Jr. finished the race in 2^nd place followed by Paul Menard and pole sitter Kasey Kahne, who could’ve won if… well, you know. Tony Stewart, who also spun during the race, finished in 5^th followed by Clint Bowyer in 6^th. Regan Smith, driving for the injured Dale Earnhardt Jr. started 39^th and finished in 7^th.

Points leader, Brad Keselowski , who started pretty deep in the field in 25^th position, finished in 8^th place holding on to his points lead. Brad leads Jimmie Johnson by 7 points as we head to teeny-tiny Martinsville this weekend.

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Brad Keselowski Wins the Inaugural Indiana 250 NASCAR Nationwide Series Race at Indianapolis Motor Speedway

Brad Keselowski wins at Indy. Photo by Adam Lovelace

Indianapolis Motor Speedway kicked of its inaugural NASCAR Nationwide Series race today with stories and drama galore! Three jumped restarts, only one of which resulted in a penalty; Danica Patrick’s return to the Brickyard resulted in a wrecked car; the Dillon brothers finishing in the top 5 with Ty beating out brother Austin; Michael Annett wins the $100,000 Dash for Cash; and Brad Keselowski wins the race after Elliott Sadler is black flagged with 10 laps to go.

Kasey Kahne started on the pole and was jumped on the start by Kyle Busch but never penalized. Kyle Busch led 3 times for 51 laps. Kyle was running in the top 5 on lap 80 when he spun in front of the field and lost a ton of track position. Kyle would go on to finish 22nd.

On lap 40 of the 100 lap event, Danica Patrick got into the #98 of Reed Sorenson causing the two to get together and end Danica’s day. Danica finished 35th and Reed Sorenson finished in 33rd. “I just tapped him a little bit, and when I did, he slid sideways. I tried to go around him and didn’t quite get by him and spun around, and unfortunately that was it. I am sorry if I did anything to affect his day, but I didn’t mean to” Danica said after the accident.

On a lap 82 restart Elliott Sadler was running in 2nd place behind Brad Keselowski. Elliott was being pushed by Austin Dillon, and in-car cameras made it sound as if Keselowski spun his tires. The result was a black flag for Elliott Sadler with 11 laps to go in the race. The black flag cost Sadler, in the #2 OneMain Financial Chevrolet, a shot at the win and a $100,000 bonus in the Dash for Cash. Sadler, who finished in 15th, tweeted after the race, “After meeting with NASCAR.. They said I DIDNT JUMP START but seems to be my fault the 22 spun his tires… I’m devastated”. Michael Annett, in the #43 Pilot Ford, finished ahead of Sadler and claimed the $100,000 Dash for Cash from Nationwide Insurance. “This is awesome. This is the Brickyard. We aren’t kissing any bricks today but we have a big cardboard check that we can lay our lips on” said Annett.

Brad Keselowski, in the #2 Discount Tire Dodge, gave team owner Roger Penske his first stock car victory at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, and 100th NASCAR win. Brad Keselowski said, “I’ve been watching races here since I was a kid in Michigan. Everybody knows how special Indy is and any win that you can have here, whether it’s the Indy 500 or the Brickyard here tomorrow, the first Nationwide race, every race is special.” When asked about the final restart and black flag for Sadler, Keselowski said, “I can tell you my perception of it was I got a push from Sam (Hornish), and it was a little more that I could take, and certainly I wasn’t going full throttle but I was not in the zone when Elliott took off. It appeared that Elliott got a push from behind, as well, and maybe he just couldn’t slow down, I don’t know. I don’t know how it all played out.”

Sam Hornish Jr., also driving for Roger Penske in the #12 Alliance Truck Parts Dodge, finished in 2nd place and led 7 laps during the race. Ty Dillon, driving the #51Wesco Chevrolet, finished 3rd beating brother Austin, who finished in 5th, by two spots. Denny Hamlin finished in 4th place. The rest of the top 10 were Michael Annett in 6th, Joey Logano 7th, Paul Menard 8th, Ricky Stenhouse Jr. 9th, and Jeremy Clements finished 10th.

The race had 9 lead changes among 6 drivers, 5 cautions for 24 laps, and margin of victory or 3.304 seconds. Elliott Sadler now leads Austin Dillon by just 1 point in the driver standings after 19 races.

Follow Adam on Twitter @aclovelace

Austin Dillon Wins Kentucky Speedway, Then Fails Post-Race Inspection

Austin Dillon leads the field at Kentucky

Credit Adam Lovelace

Austin Dillon won his second pole of the 2012 season Friday afternoon in the Feed the Children 300 at Kentucky Speedway with a lap of 31.359 seconds and a speed of 172.199 mph. Kevin Harvick qualified 2nd, Brad Keselowski started 3rd, Sam Hornish 4th, and Ricky Stenhouse Jr. started in 5th.

Dillon would go on to dominate and a bring the famous black number 3, owned by Dillon’s grandfather, Richard Childress back to victory lane scoring his first win in 26 starts in the NASCAR Nationwide Series. Dillon’s win is the first for the number 3 in the Nationwide Series since Dale Earnhardt Jr. won with it in 2010.

“I know Dale is smiling down to see that 3 get a win tonight” said team owner Richard Childress.

Dillon, in the Bass Pro Shops Chevrolet, lead by as much as 9 seconds and at one point in the race had lapped all but 8 cars until a caution came out on lap 143 when Mike Wallace hit the wall. The caution came out during a round of green flag pit stops. Dillon restarted first and would never be challenged for the lead. He would lead 192 laps in the 200 lap event.

Kurt Busch, driving the Monster Energy Toyota owned by his brother Kyle, finished in 2nd after starting in 8th place. Kevin Harvick finished 3rd in the Hunt Brothers Pizza Chevrolet. Michael Annett scored his best ever Nationwide Series finish in 4th driving the Pilot/Flying J Ford. Justin Allgaier finished 5th. Sam Hornish Jr. finished 6th. The rest of the top 10 were Brad Keselowski 7th, 8th was Rick Stenhouse, 9th was Elliott Sadler, and 10th was James Buescher. Danica Patrick finished two laps down in 12th. Only eight cars were running on the lead lap.

Dillon’s win broke the race record for most laps lead at Kentucky breaking Carl Edwards’ record of 150 laps lead. This race was also the fastest NASCAR Nationwide Series 300 mile event at Kentucky Speedway being with an average speed of 152.54 mph shattering the previous speed of 138.46 mph.

Dillon currently leads the points by 2 over Elliott Sadler.

Following post-race inspection, Dillon’s car was found to be too low in the rear. Dillon’s crew chief, Danny Stockman, said “We’ve had an issue before. We addressed it in a meeting. It should have been addressed. That’s the only comment I’ve got.”

Elliott Sadler’s team failed post-race inspection in Iowa for a similar infraction and the team was docked 6 points and fined $10,000. NASCAR has stated the penalties will be announced early in the upcoming week. If a point penalty is assessed, Dillon could lose the point lead he currently has. -Adam Lovelace

Follow Adam @aclovelace

The Michigan Gaynalysis: Quicken Loans 400

Credit: John Harrelson/Getty Images for NASCAR

143 races ago. 4 years ago. 209 weeks ago. 1463 days ago. Over 35,000 hours ago. That was the last time Dale Earnhardt Jr. won a NASCAR Sprint Cup Series points paying race. Today that losing streak came to an end. Dale Earnhardt Jr. won the Quicken Loans 400 at Michigan International Speedway in dominating fashion. His last win came at this same track in 2008. Today, on Father’s Day, the 88 finally made it back to victory lane. And the world breathed a sigh of relief. This all had something to do with the Mayans and a calendar, although I’m not sure what. Actually, I’m making that up, but Dale Jr. WON!!

Credit: Wesley Hitt/Getty Images for NASCAR

After a two hour rain delay to start the race, Marcos Ambrose started from the pole, his first, and led early. Dale Earnhardt Jr. started in 17th and promptly dropped like a rock, falling as far back as 29th position and Jr. Nation sighed and said, “well, it’s not gonna happen this week”. ~~Grumpy Grumpy Grouchyface~~ Kurt “Sunshine” Busch brought out the first caution of the day on lap 2 after spinning out in turn 2. Meanwhile, Trevor Bayne, who is apparently expected to win every time he starts a race even though he doesn’t, blew an engine along with Josh Wise 9 laps into the race. Earnhardt and crew chief Steve Letarte used the early cautions to bring the 88 in to make adjustments to the car knowing that NASCAR planned to throw competition cautions at lap 25 and lap 50 so that teams could monitor tire wear early in the race. By lap 40 in the 200 lap event, Jr. had made his way back up to 13th, and took the lead for the first time on lap 70.

Kyle Busch, in his attempt to take the heat off his brother, suffered yet another day of engine troubles. If you’re counting, that is three races in a row that the 18 has had engine woes. Kyle ended up 32nd, 43 laps down to Dale Jr., who would go on to win the race. Did I mention that? Kyle Busch’s day was nothing compared to Joe Gibbs’ checkbook. Joey Logano, who ran up front early and looked like he was on his way to another good run, wrecked on lap 127. Seven laps later Denny Hamlin wrecked and went up in flames. Not a good day for Mr. Gibbs.

Credit: Wesley Hitt/Getty Images for NASCAR

Dale Earnhardt Jr. was challenged once by 2nd place finisher Tony Stewart, but pulled away at the end to a 5.393 second margin of victory. Jimmie Johnson started in the rear of the field and finished 5th. Matt Kenseth, finished a strong 3rd, followed by teammate Greg Biffle in 4th. The rest of the top ten were Jeff Gordon in 6th, Clint Bowyer 7th, Juan Pablo Montoya 8th, Marcos Ambrose 9th, and Kevin Harvick finished in 10th. Matt Kenseth now holds a 4 point lead over Dale Earnhardt Jr. in the point standings.

Follow Adam on Twitter @aclovelace

Gaynalysis: Charlotte All-Star Race 2012

The Gaynalysis is just one gay NASCAR fan’s take on the race weekend.

"Gay NASCAR" by Keith J. Varadi - 2009

Drama!! Drama!! Drama!! Beating, banging, fists flying, carnage everywhere! It’s the Sprint All-Star Race and the talking heads at Speed told me that’s what we could expect. And we got just that, well, except for the beating, and banging, and fists flying, and the carnage.

The night began with the Sprint Showdown. The Showdown is the race to get into the All-Star race. The top two finishers in the Showdown advance to the All-Star race along with one other driver that is voted on by the fans. The fan vote was almost certainly going to Dale Earnhardt Jr., robbing us of drama and suspense, until Jr. ~~blew it at the end~~ won the Showdown. Yes, Dale Earnhardt Jr. won! Finished 1st. Lead every single lap of the Showdown and put the talk-to-the-hand on the rest of the field. The first couple laps were exciting with Jr. battling Martin Truex Jr. for the lead, but once Jr. cleared Truex, he was gone and would not be challenged again for the lead. A.J. Allmendinger started on the pole but had to follow the pace car to the pits for a flat tire as the rest of the field took the green flag. A.J. stayed on the lead lap and was able to catch up to the rest of the field after the first of two 20 lap segments were completed in the race. A.J. and Jamie McMurray raced each other hard for the 2nd place position, with A.J. topping McMurray and advancing, with Dale Jr., to the All-Star race. Dale Jr’s win, which meant they would take the 2nd place finisher of the fan vote, left us all hanging on our seats to find out who would win the fan vote. Would it be Truex? Logano? McMurray? No! It was… Bobby Labonte? Ok fine. Labonte advanced and finished the All-Star race in 19th position. Allmendinger would advance and finish the All-Star race in 11th.

Dale Earnhardt Jr. Showdown Victory Lane

Credit: Jared C. Tilton/Getty Images

2012 Sprint All-Star Race Jimmie Johnson Victory Lane

Credit: Jared C. Tilton/Getty Images

The All-Star race had a little ~~threesome~~ three-wide action and a whole lot of sand-bagging. The race consisted of four 20-lap segments and one final segment of 10-laps (that’s 90 laps total, in case you are counting). Each 20-lap segment winner got to move to the front of the field for the final 10-lap segment. Jimmie Johnson won the first segment and then was not seen again until the final 10-lap segment, ~~sandbagging~~ finishing 21st, 21st, and 19th in the next three segments with no real incentive to do anything else until that point. Segment two went to Matt Kenseth who beat Dale Jr. for the win. Segment three was won by Brad Keselowski who beat Kasey Kahne to the line by .006 seconds in what was, by far, the most exciting finish of the night. Dale Earnhardt Jr. won the 4th segment beating Marcos Ambrose by 1.618 seconds. After the final 20-lap segment, Johnson, Kenseth , Keselowski, and Earnhardt pitted in that order. None of them took tires and they came out in that same order for the final 10 laps. At the green flag, Kenseth got off to a slow start allowing Johnson to jump to the lead and never look back. Johnson lead the final 10 laps and won his third All-Star race, tying Dale Earnhardt and Jeff Gordon for the most wins in the event. Johnson’s win was worth $1,071,000. Other than the cautions separating the segments, there were two that were brought out by Greg Biffle, and Carl Edwards, who both had blown motors during the event. No pass in the grass, no real sparks, no wrecks, no fisticuffs, and no meltdowns by Kurt Busch, lead to yet another ho-hum race in this writer’s opinion. The very tame 2012 season continues.

Follow Adam on Twitter @aclovelace

Gaynalysis: Martinsville 2012

Martinsville Gaynalysis by Adam Lovelace, April Fools Day Edition.

credit: Kevin R Tengesdal

Danica Patrick Wins in First Start at Martinsville!!

Yeah, April Fools, she wasn’t even there.

Martinsville, or Gordonsville as it should’ve been called today was actually won by Ryan Newman in the #39 Outback Steakhouse Chevrolet, but Jeff Gordon lead the most laps and dominated most of the event, but David Reutimann ruining the 200th win (in the Cup series, because that’s how most win totals are calculated. I’m talking to you Kyle Busch) for Hendrick Motorsports is the story everyone seems to be talking about. Confusing? I know, right?

Credit: Jeff Zelevansky/Getty Images for NASCAR

Jeff Gordon, in the #24 Drive to End Hunger Chevrolet, started from the 9th spot and took the lead for the first time on lap 22 and would go on to lead 328 of the 500 laps of the race while team mate Jimmie Johnson rebounded from a poor qualifying position and early pit road speeding penalty to lead 112 laps in his Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet. Kasey Kahne started from the pole and Dale Earnhardt Jr. in the #88 Amp Energy Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet also ran up front all day and it looked like the 200th win for Hendrick Motorsports was inevitable at the half mile Martinsville Speedway. However, like clockwork this year, Kasey Kahne’s motor blew and he finished the race in 38th position continuing his miserable start to the 2012 season.

The real drama occurred late in the race when David Reutimann driving the #10 ~~Danica Patrick~~, err, Accell Construction Chevrolet brought out a controversial late-race caution with only 3 laps to go. Reutimann was riding around slow on the track, many laps down to the leaders, just trying to finish race when his motor blew and he came to a complete stop on the track setting up a green-white-checkered finish. When the caution flag flew Jeff Gordon had just taken the lead from Jimmie Johnson and the drivers behind the front two decided to pit for mostly fuel and two tires. The restart saw Gordon and Johnson 1st and 2nd with Clint Bowyer in 3rd and Ryan Newman in 4th. On the restart, Bowyer dove under Gordon to make it three wide into turn one sending Gordon and Johnson into each other and Johnson into the wall. After the smoke cleared, the race restarted with Ryan Newman leading and A.J. Allmendinger in 2nd. Allmendinger would not catch Newman in the final laps and Newman, who also came back from a pit road speeding penalty, scored his 16th career victory. Jeff Gordon finished in 14th, one lap down after running out of fuel in the extra laps. Jimmie Johnson finished in 12th after his damage.

2012 Martinsville March NASCAR Sprint Cup Race Victory Lane

Credit: Jared C. Tilton/Getty Images

Ryan Newman gave Reutimann his grandfather clock trophy in victory lane while the other 41 drivers looked on in shock and Gordon and Johnson threw rotten Martinsville hot dogs at them both. Again, April fools. And yes, I must.

Other drivers who were expected to be a threat like Kevin Harvick and Kyle Busch had their own problems as well. Harvick’s team, and all of the other Richard Childress Racing teams for that matter, couldn’t manage to race more than 40 laps without the handling going away. Harvick finished the race two laps down in 19th position. Kyle Busch wrecked early in the event and would finish 80 laps down to the leaders in 36th position.

Greg Biffle, who came into the weekend as the points leader was never a factor in the race and managed to salvage a 13th place finish. He hangs on to his point lead by only six points over Dale Earnhardt Jr, who continues his string of good runs to start the 2012 season.

David Reutimann was last seen being dragged from the track screaming something about jet dryers, Daytona, and Juan Pablo Montoya… not really.

Follow Adam on Twitter @aclovelace

“In the Red”, by Jade Gurss, A Must Read for any NASCAR Fan

Credit: octanepress.com/book/red

A book review by Adam Lovelace, stay tuned to Queers4Gears.com for an interview with Jade Gurss.

Jade Gurss is the owner of fingerprint, inc, a sports publicity company. Jade provided publicity and media relations for Anheuser-Busch and their sponsorship of Dale Earnhardt Jr’s number 8 Budweiser NASCAR team from 1999 through the 2007 season in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series and is the author of “In the Red”. “In the Red” follows Dale Earnhardt Jr. throughout the 2001 Daytona 500, a race in which his father would lose his life on the last turn of the last lap of the race, and the rest of the 2001 season.

“In the Red” begins with Jade Gurss telling the reader about Dale Jr.’s appearance at the 2001 Winston Cup Preview (Winston being the title sponsor of the series at that time) in which Jr. tells of a dream he had about winning the Daytona 500. Dale Jr. is asked about where his father is in the dream and the answer gave me goosebumps then and gives me goosebumps to this day every time I hear the story.

Credit: www.fingerprintonline.com

The 2001 season saw Dale Earnhardt and Dale Earnhardt Jr. team up for the the Rolex 24 Hours at Daytona just weeks before the Daytona 500. Father and son finished 2nd in their class and 4th overall. Jade takes us through the Rolex and gives the reader insight into the relationship between Earnhardt and Dale Jr. in a way that most fans never get to see from the usually private Earnhardt family. “In the Red” takes you behind the scenes of the Earnhardt family and the tragedy they went through in 2001.

From the 2001 preview, to the Rolex, to the Daytona 500, to the dark weeks that followed, “In the Red” will take you on a week to week, up and down, roller coaster ride of emotions through the entire 2001 season. Whether you are an Earnhardt fan or not, whether you are even a race fan or not, “In the Red” is a very compelling read and a must for any racing fan.

Jade Gurss is also author of “Driver #8” which chronicled Dale Earnhardt Jr.’s rookie season, as well as co-author of “DW: A Lifetime Going Around in Circles”

Follow Jade Gurss:
@JadeGurss, @InTheRed2001 on Twitter
“In the Red” on Facebook
fingerprint, inc

Follow Adam Lovelace:
@aclovelace on Twitter

48 Team Penalized for Infractions at Daytona

The 48 team of Jimmie Johnson heads to Phoenix for race number two of the season with a total of -23 points after NASCAR penalized the team by docking them 25 points. After starting the season with a 42nd place finish in Daytona and securing two whole points, that’s not a good start to championship number six.

Crew chief Chad Knaus and car chief Ron Malec have been suspended from the next six NASCAR Sprint Cup Series races and placed on probation until May 9th. Knaus was also fined $100,000.

NASCAR says that the 48 car was found to be in violation of Sections 12-1 (actions detrimental to stock car racing); 12-4J (any determination by NASCAR officials that race equipment used in the event does not conform to NASCAR rules detailed in Section 20 of the rule book or has not been approved by NASCAR prior to the event); and 20-2.1E (if in the judgment of NASCAR officials, any part or component of the car not previously approved by NASCAR that has been installed or modified to enhance aerodynamic performance will not be permitted – unapproved car body modifications).

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