Know Your Tracks - Dover International Speedway

Dover International Speedway

The way to best illustrate the early history of Dover International Speedway would be to look at the list of winners in the track's early years as a site for Cup racing. From 1969 through '80, 21 of the 22 Cup races at Dover International Speedway were won by drivers who either already had or would go on to win championships in NASCAR's top series.

The names of those winners are part of the fabric of the sport Richard Petty, Bobby Allison, David Pearson, Cale Yarborough, Benny Parsons and Darrell Waltrip. Allison and Petty rank first on the all-time winner's list at Dover International Speedway with seven victories apiece.

About 3,200 seats were added in 1982. Each following year until 1998, more seats were added.

In 1995, the track's surface was switched to concrete making it the first all-concrete superspeedway in the sport. The unique look of the white concrete surface still makes Dover's appearance unique among the sport's bigger tracks.

Dover hosted the first Cup race held after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks on the United States. Dale Earnhardt Jr. got the win that day and took a giant American flag on a victory lap.

Contact Information

P.O. Box 843
Dover, DE 19903
(800) 441-7223

Gordon Finds California Race Mundane

By Ryan Smithson, NASCAR.COM
February 26, 2006
09:52 PM EST (02:52 GMT)

FONTANA, Calif. -- Jeff Gordon was busy checking his gauges during the Auto Club 500. He didn't have anything else to occupy his time.

Gordon found passing nearly impossible at California Speedway on Sunday in a race in which Greg Biffle's lead sometimes stretched as much as 13 seconds.

Biffle led 168 laps before a blown engine ruined his day. A train of cars heading single-file around the 2-mile track marked the 500-mile race.

"I was a little disappointed in this racetrack," Gordon said. "Right now, there's no passing. It's just really difficult to put on a good race here.

"I don't know what we've got to do. I think we've got the cars so good that we're just all running around the bottom of the racetrack."

Gordon finished 13th despite having to stop for a battery change mid-race.

"We had plenty of time to make it back up," Gordon said. "But we were just so loose on new tires that we'd lose a lot of time. But we were one of the best cars on the long runs. We just couldn't get track position."

Know Your Tracks - Daytona International Speedway

Daytona International Speedway

Daytona International Speedway opened in 1959, but the history of auto racing at Daytona goes back much farther than that.

In 1936, the precursor to today's Daytona 500 was born on a course that went down 1.5 miles of highway, then turned and came the same distance back up the beach.

William H.G. France, a mechanic and racer who'd moved south from Washington, D.C., eventually took over the job of running the beach races on the second of two courses used for those events. In 1947, he presided over a meeting at Daytona's Streamline Hotel where NASCAR was born.

A decade later, France began working on his showplace.

"Big Bill" France was building it, he insisted on 31-degree banking in the corners. That's as steep as he could make the turns and still keep the machines putting down the asphalt from tipping over.

When drivers gathered for the first Daytona 500, it was an eye-popping experience. Drivers were more accustomed to half-mile dirt tracks and saw the 1.366-mile paved track at Darlington as vast. A trip around Daytona International Speedway was 2.5 miles -- nearly twice that.

Bob Welborn ran 140.121 mph to win the pole for the first Daytona 500, and Lee Petty won in a photo finish over Johnny Beauchamp.

It was at Daytona International Speedway where Junior Johnson discovered that if he tucked his car right behind another one, he could go faster than he could run by himself. And drafting became a part of the sport.

It was at Daytona where Cale Yarborough topped 200 mph on his first qualifying lap in 1983 and then, as he went even faster on a second lap, his car took off and flew, turning upside down before crashing.

Bill Elliott set the Daytona track record in 1987, running 210.364 mph, just before restrictor plates were introduced to the sport.

The Daytona 500, considered NASCAR's biggest event, has played host to some of NASCAR's greatest moments -- and maybe its greatest tragedy.

Many considered the 1976 Daytona 500 as the greatest race of all time.

Richard Petty won seven Daytona 500s on his way to becoming "The King," but lost in '76 to rival David Pearson after they wrecked coming to the finish line and Pearson puttered across the finish line bumping his car along with his ignition.

In 1998, in his 20th try, seven-time Cup series champion Dale Earnhardt finally won the Daytona 500. Sadly, three years later, Earnhardt died in a Turn 4 crash in the 2001 running. It was a moment that changed the sport forever.

In addition to the Daytona 500, the track hosts the Pepsi 400 each July along with the Rolex 24, Americaýs premier endurance race, and annual motorcycle races that are the centerpiece of Daytona's Bike Week.

Daytona International Speedway renovated its infield before the 2005 Daytona 500 to add a "Fan Zone" that allows fans to buy tickets giving them one of the best up-close views of a NASCAR garage and other special amenities.

Contact Information

P.O. Box 2801
Daytona Beach, FL 32120
(386) 253-7223
Official Web site

Know Your Tracks - Darlington Raceway

Darlington Raceway

In the fall of 1949, when a crisp breeze toyed with the loose soil of an old cotton field on the westside of rural Darlington, SC, Harold Brasington saw more than just dirt dancing around that patch of land.

Brasington, a local businessman, had a lofty vision that most of his peers dismissed as utterly ridiculous. His friends laughed at him when returned home from the 1933 Indianapolis 500 and mentioned the idea of little Darlington having a paved superspeedway, a place to hold big-time stock car events.

They nearly committed him when he told them that he was going to build it. Nevertheless, believing that Bill France's fledgling NASCAR just might catch on, Brasington set out in the fall of 1949 to shape a 1.25 mile speedway on land that had once produced peanuts and cotton.

To the chagrin of family and friends, Brasington and his crew toiled for a year, Brasington himself often manned the controls of bulldozers and grading equipment. His plan called for a true oval, but the racetrack's design had to be changed in order to satisfy the landowner, who did not want his nearby minnow pond disturbed. The west end of the track (Turns 3 and 4) was narrowed to accommodate the fishing hole, creating Darlington's distinctive egg-shaped design.

The first race was scheduled for Labor Day 1950. Brasington expected no more than 10,000 fans, but the crowd of more than 25,000 showed up.

Californian Johnny Mantz drove to victory that day in the first Southern 500. The race took more than six hours to complete. Still, it set a precedent for a sport that would grow to be one of the largest spectator sports in the country.

Mantz started dead last in the field of 75 racers, many of whom had never raced on asphalt, but roared to the checkered flag averaging a blistering 76 mph. Over the next fifty years, names like Baker, Flock, Thomas, Pearson, Yarborough, Petty, and Earnhardt became commonplace in Victory Lane.

Fifty years later the Darlington Raceway is known as the track "Too Tough to Tame."

It is still remembered as the original superspeedway and as one of the pillars of the NASCAR establishment. There is no other sporting facility in the world more steeped in history and tradition than Darlington Raceway, which has aged gracefully over the years but retained its feisty charm.

Still, nobody loves the feisty track more than the drivers. "You never forget your first love," said seven-time Cup Champion Dale Earnhardt, "whether it's a high school sweetheart, a faithful old hunting dog, or a fickle racetrack in South Carolina with a contrary disposition. "And, if you happen to be a race car driver there's no victory so sweet, so memorable, as whipping Darlington Raceway."

The track "Too Tough to Tame" continues to keep pace with the booming NASCAR world, standing as a monument to the drivers and loyal fans who sowed the seeds of stock car racing fifty years ago.

Contact Information

P.O. Box 500
Darlington, SC 29540
(866) 459-RACE

Knaus Suspended Through Atlanta

Chad Knaus will return atop the No. 48 pit box at Bristol in late March.
Credit: Autostock

No. 48 loses no points, Knaus fined $25,000; No. 96 penalized

By David Newton, NASCAR.COM
February 21, 2006
07:52 PM EST (00:52 GMT)

CHARLOTTE -- Chad Knaus was shocked when Jimmie Johnson's car didn't pass NASCAR's post-qualifying inspection for Sunday's Daytona 500, resulting in what amounts to a four-race suspension for the veteran crew chief.

"Yeah I was shocked,'' Knaus said after NASCAR announced on Tuesday he would miss the next three races on top of being ejected from the 500 won by Johnson.

"I didn't know what was going on. I came back [from getting ready for the rained out Budweiser Shootout] and our car, I thought was going through inspection, was covered up. Yeah, I was shocked.''

Knaus, who also was fined $25,000, would not discuss the specifics of what NASCAR referred to as a device that that pushed the rear window out more than three-quarters of an inch to create an aerodynamic advantage.

Although he has apologized to Johnson, sponsors and everybody at Hendrick Motorsports, Knaus showed little remorse and never admitted during a lengthy conference call that what he did was a blatant attempt to break the rules as NASCAR said.

"There's a lot of things out there that can be called intentional,'' said Knaus in his first interview since being ejected from Daytona. "The fact of the matter is, when NASCAR went back, it didn't fit the templates. How that happens is pretty irrelevant.''

Knaus' response didn't seem to surprise Robin Pemberton, NASCAR's vice president of competition.

"Maybe that's why he's in trouble,'' Pemberton said.

Knaus was relieved that Johnson was not penalized championship points as Terry Labonte, driving for Hall of Fame Racing, was for having an unapproved carburetor during qualifying.
Labonte was docked 25 points and team owner William Saunders was penalized 25 owner points. Crew chief Philippe Lopez was fined $25,000.

Pemberton said Knaus' penalty was in line with past violations. He cited the four-race suspension given to Todd Berrier, the crew chief for Kevin Harvick, for rigging a fuel cell to appear full during qualifying last year at Las Vegas.

Pemberton said the difference between Knaus' penalty and the Hall of Fame penalty was Labonte's car had an illegal part.

"When we lay our hands on that, that's when we generally go with points,'' he said. "In the case of [Johnson's car] it was all legal parts and pieces, the window and the jack bolt.

"It wasn't anything illegal about the pieces. They just were orchestrated in a way to alter the back of the car.''

Pemberton believes the loss of a crew chief for a month is more severe than a points penalty. On that, Knaus agreed.

"I would honestly say that losing the head coach of the team or crew chief or a leader to an organization is more detrimental than any points you could possibly take away,'' he said. "Obviously, we won the race and everything went picture perfect.

"In the future, that could be a very detrimental thing, me not being there. We're going to do the best we can and see what happens.''

Hendrick Motorsports does not plan to appeal the suspension, which will include this week's race at California, Las Vegas and Atlanta, all three tracks which require more adjustments than Daytona. Lead engineer Darian Grubb, who replaced Knaus at Daytona, will continue in that role.

Knaus' biggest regret is the scrutiny Johnson has been under since winning the "Great American Race'' for the first time. Ryan Newman noted after finishing third that three of Johnson's last four wins were under scrutiny.

David Letterman questioned Johnson about what has been called "cheating'' on his show Monday night, and it came up again Tuesday morning when Johnson appeared on the Regis and Kelly show in New York City.

It also was the main topic on Johnson's Tuesday afternoon national conference call before the penalty was announced.

"There's nothing I can do about it,'' Johnson said.

Knaus said Johnson knew nothing about the car's setup and that he shouldn't have to defend himself for winning the biggest race of his life.

"When all of this stuff started going down I said, 'Look, dude. There's going to be a little grief for this,' '' Knaus said. "There should be absolutely no grief for what happened in the Daytona 500.
"They won the Daytona 500, no questions asked. And after that they went through technical inspection again. I don't want to take anything from those guys. They did an incredible job.''

Without saying a four-race suspension was unfair, Johnson said Knaus already has missed the biggest race of the season.

"From my standpoint, we've been through a lot already for a qualifying infraction,'' he said.

But Johnson admitted what happened at Daytona was educational.

"I can tell you after this and what this experience has taught us, we'll be walking on the right side of the line for sure,'' the points leader said.

Knaus, often called the most innovative crew chief in the garage, also admitted he'll have to take a different tact.

"I've got to make adjustments to the way I prepare race cars,'' he said. "Everybody has got to make adjustments to how NASCAR makes penalties.''

Knaus added that the incident wouldn't be getting so much attention if "we ran 25th every week.''

Johnson has finished second in points in two of the past three seasons and was fifth last season. Knaus said the team goal while he is out will remain the same as it was at the start of the season, to get solid in the top 10 in points to be in position to make the 10-race Chase.

He said the "funny'' thing about the suspension is the organization spent the entire offseason trying to prepare Johnson's car to run well in the 500, not qualify well.

Knaus said not being there in person to enjoy the moment was "extremely painful,'' comparing it to missing a child's first day of kindergarten.

"I was happy when they pulled into Victory Lane,'' he said. "But honestly, I had a little tear in my eye.''

Knaus watched the race from a small room at his house and plans to do the same for the next four weeks. During the week, he will be allowed to work on the cars before they are sent to the track and communicate with team members.

"It was unfortunate,'' Knaus said of the incident. "We pushed something a little bit too far. We got caught with something NASCAR didn't like. We have to accept that and move forward and try to win the championship."

Know Your Tracks - Chicagoland Speedway

Chicagoland Speedway

The plan to build a superspeedway in the third-largest market in the nation had been rumored for years. Auto racing executives and major-league sanctioning bodies had long maintained that the untapped market of Chicago was perhaps the most lucrative in the country.

The race to build a major speedway in the Windy City took its first step towards becoming a reality during an informal meeting between Indianapolis Motor Speedway President Tony George and Bill France in late 1995.

The Motorsports Alliance, consisting of George, France, and home-remodeling magnate John Menard, was formed in the spring of 1996 and immediately began considering sites that summer.

The first effort to begin the project was to focus on a 500-acre plot of land less than 30 miles from downtown Chicago, near the Dupage County Airport. Faced with constructing a facility that would be able to host NASCAR and the Indy Racing League on a small parcel of land, the trio decided that the extremely high price of real estate would not fit properly into the budget.

The Alliance was contacted by several communities that were interested in building the facility and even looked at sites as far west as Rochelle, before turning their attention to the small farm community of Plano, about 70 miles west of Chicago, in the fall of 1997.

Unfortunately, Illinois annexation laws at the time prevented Plano from incorporating the land. The project was abruptly stalled.

Menard then withdrew from the Motorsports Alliance, citing an increased demand to attend to his business affairs. However, as auto racing's visibility continued to skyrocket, the desire to begin racing in Chicago grew. Then came a call from Dale Coyne, who was raised in nearby Plainfield. He had successfully negotiated with Joliet to build the ultra-modern Route 66 Raceway there in 1997.

When it opened in 1998, Route 66 Raceway was the best state-of-the-art facility built for drag racing. The facility was an instant success, not only with race fans and participants, but in Joliet as well.

Aware of the trials and tribulations Motorsports Alliance were having in building a superspeedway, Coyne suggested Joliet officials meet with the ownership group to discuss the possibility of building a 1.5-mile state-of-the-art speedway adjacent to Route 66 Raceway property.

In May 1999, Raceway Associates was unveiled. Coyne relinquished his position of chief operating officer of Route 66 Raceway, and was appointed president of Raceway Associates, joining George and France as partners in building a premier, multipurpose motorsports complex in Joliet.

With all of the pieces finally in place, development of the 930-acre dream began in August 1999.

The news that all of Chicago was waiting for was finally revealed on May 8, 2000, during a press conference at scenic Navy Pier. The onlookers learned the name of the track -- Chicagoland Speedway.

Jimmie Johnson was the first NASCAR driver to visit Victory Lane at Chicagoland after winning a Busch Series race on July 14, 2001. A day later, Kevin Harvick won the speedwayýs first Cup event.

Contact Information

500 Speedway Blvd.
Joliet, IL 60433
(815) 727-7223

Daytona: The Real Deal

As crew chief of Jimmie Johnson's winning Daytona 500 run,

Darian Grubb can toil in anonymity no longer. Credit: Autostock

Crew chief stand-in Grubb steps to the forefront in biggest race

By Marty Smith, NASCAR.COM
February 20, 2006
01:02 PM EST (18:02 GMT)

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. -- Darian Grubb was bored, treading water professionally at Volvo in Greensboro, N.C. It was 1999 and as good a time as any to chase a dream.

He was in his mid-20s, a graduate of the Virginia Tech engineering school and always wanted to work in racing. So he posted a resume on an Internet site designated for racing jobs. It was a one-in-a-million chance, but at least the site was free.

Somehow Kyle Petty found that resume, and hired the young engineer to help develop the Dodge Intrepid. Then, in 2001 when Hendrick Motorsports expanded to four teams, Chad Knaus was hired as crew chief and Grubb as lead engineer.

He has been on the No. 48 team since, the yin to Knaus' yang. Knaus has an authoritative leadership style. Grubb hangs back, soaks it in. You wonder sometimes if the guy has a pulse.
He goes about his business quietly, negotiates the garage almost anonymously.

He will never again be anonymous. In the wake of Knaus' ejection from Daytona, he is Darian Grubb, Daytona 500 champion crew chief.

The last time one man raised his stock this much in one race? Jamie McMurray, Charlotte, 2002.

The last time one man raised his stock this much in the Daytona 500? Derrike Cope, 1990.

Big Fish: Jimmie Johnson, Casey Mears, Penske Racing South

• Johnson was a pinball on restrictor-plate tracks in 2005, hit everything but the Powerball jackpot. So it stands to reason the stealthy manner in which he prevailed in the 48th Daytona 500 was that much more satisfying.

Make no noise. Upset no one. Hang out until go time.

"I've tried to learn from my mistakes," Johnson said. "[Sunday] I drove a much different plate race than I've driven before. I took a different approach."

Now the sights are set on reversing a title trend: Just once since 1979 has the same man won the Daytona 500 and the championship in the same season.

• Johnson may have taken the checkered flag, but Mears had the most impressive run in the 500. His split-second decision to draft with Johnson instead of Newman was the deciding factor in the race.

"It was pretty wild there at the end," Mears said. "I wanted to go with Newman, but as soon as he pulled out, [Elliott Sadler] had a big run on me and I had to block the bottom."

• Legendary car owner Roger Penske has never won the Daytona 500, but Newman and Kurt Busch made it clear the Penske Racing plate program is stout. Had Busch not been taken out by Jamie McMurray, we might be talking about Newman this morning.

"I feel really bad because he had a car capable of winning [Sunday], and I kind of screw that up for him," McMurray said.

LL Cool J: Tony Stewart

It is ridiculous that Stewart finished fifth Sunday. He hit the wall after a run-in with Jeff Gordon on Lap 47, and poked a hole in the nose of the No. 20 Chevrolet. Restarted 38th. Thirty laps later, following a caution, he restarted sixth.

Then, on Lap 106 he body-slammed Matt Kenseth, leading to a NASCAR penalty that sent him to the end of the longest line. He later pitted too close to the pit wall and subsequently ran over the jack. That's a penalty, too. Again, he went to the rear.

But come trophy time there he was, top-five. And top-five on a day like that sniffs of the luck required to win a title come November.

The Biggest Loser: Matt Kenseth

By the halfway point of the Daytona 500, Kenseth had established himself as the man to beat. But on Lap 106, he was battling Tony Stewart for position in the top five when Stewart purposely veered left into the side of Kenseth's Ford.

Kenseth slid wildly through the infield grass, spun around backward then shot back up the banking into oncoming traffic. Amazingly no one hit him. NASCAR sent Stewart to the end of the longest line for aggressive driving, but it was of little solace to Kenseth.

"Tony took me out intentionally, there's no two ways about that," Kenseth said. "Tony went out and said all that stuff earlier in the week. If he's worried about people's lives and everything and he's gonna wreck you on purpose at 190 [mph], I wasn't too happy."

Adding insult to injury, Kenseth was penalized for pitting too soon. Then, as both drivers exited pit lane, Kenseth sped up to Stewart's outside. He was black-flagged by NASCAR, technically for violating the blend-in rule exiting pit road.

Crew chief Robbie Reiser was none-too-pleased, and openly questioned NASCAR's officiating.
"We didn't cause the wreck, I don't understand any of it, at all," Reiser said. "I don't think there is a blend line with the way they're calling this race."

Roush Racing has never won the Daytona 500, and Kenseth has never finished better than 10th in the Great American Race. At the time of the accident, Kenseth had led 29 laps.

Honorable Mention Biggest Losers: Carl Edwards, Jeff Gordon

Edwards, whom many experts tabbed as the preseason championship favorite, wrecked out of the 500 early. Gordon, the world's Daytona 500 pick, got together with Stewart on Lap 47 while battling for position. Both drivers brushed the outside wall. Gordon made multiple pit stops to survey and remedy the damage.

"I put blame on both of us. I went underneath there and got tight, and he didn't want to give it up, either."

On the restart, Gordon ensured his crew he'd make it up to them. He nearly did. He battled back into the top 10 before McMurray wrecked Busch with 14 laps to go, triggering a melee that tore the right-side from Gordon's Chevrolet. He finished 26th.

Random note from the Daytona 500

Prior to leading the Daytona 500 field to the green flag as pace-car driver, Jay Leno graced the media center to lament on the intricacies of NASCAR. His estimation of race-car driving:

"Race-car driving is a little like sex -- all men think they're good at it. When you are out there by yourself, you actually are good at it -- until somebody else comes out on the track."

Know Your Tracks - California Speedway

California Speedway

California Speedway has a history that you might expect a track just 50 miles from Hollywood to have.

The speedway sits on a 568-acre site that once hosted the first steel mill located west of the Rocky Mountains, Kaiser Steel Mill. The mill produced the steel that helped build the Liberty ships used by the Allies to win World War II.

Kaiser Steel went out of business in 1983. Following that, the site fell into such disrepair that it was used in the movie The Terminator to portray a post-Apocalyptic world where men and machines battled each other for supremacy and survival.

Penske Motorsports Inc. purchased the land and completed the track in 1997. The first race held on the track was a Winston West Series race won by Ken Schrader on June 21, 1997. Later that day, Mark Martin won an International Race of Champions event at the new facility. Jeff Gordon won the track's first Cup race the following day.

California Speedway has also played host to races in the NASCAR Busch and Craftsman Truck Series, as well as events in the IndyCar Series and what is now the ChampCar World Series on its oval and road racing and motorcycle events on its road courses.

In 1999, Penske Motorsports Inc. merged with International Speedway Corporation, bringing California Speedway into the ISC family of tracks. Beginning in 2004, California Speedway's two-mile oval became the host of two NASCAR Cup Series races each year, adding a Labor Day weekend event to is roster of activities.

Contact Information

9300 Cherry Avenue

Fontana, CA 92335

(800) 944-7223

Official Web site

Gatorade Duel Winners

Jeff Gordon will start on the outside pole for the Daytona 500.
Credit: Autostock

Sadler, Gordon win Gatorade Duels

Three-time winner Gordon downplays being favorite for Daytona

By Jenna Fryer,
The Associated Press
February 16, 2006
09:39 PM EST (02:39 GMT)

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. -- Jeff Gordon thinks it's far too early to label him the Daytona 500 favorite.

But based on his early Speedweeks showings and an outstanding string of success in the Great American Race, he's the only one who doesn't think he's once again the driver to beat.

Gordon staked his claim Thursday by winning one of the twin qualifying races at Daytona International Speedway that is used to set the field for Sunday's season opener. Elliott Sadler won the first race, which also had strong runs from Dale Earnhardt Jr., Jimmie Johnson and Tony Stewart.

"I don't know how you can just pick one guy, there's strong cars out here," Gordon said. "I felt like [Sadler] was really strong in that first race. I know that Tony and Junior and Jimmie and those guys who weren't in our race are going to be strong."

Gordon, coming off a disappointing season that saw him miss the Chase for the Nextel Cup, needs to start 2006 out on a high note to show his team he has rebounded. Daytona is the perfect place for him to do it: He's the defending race winner and a three-time 500 champion.
So when considering his entire body of work, Gordon finally acknowledged that he's got a good chance Sunday.

"I think with our track record here at Daytona, with the performance that we've got going for us already this week, I'd like to think that we're one of the favorites," he said. "But whether we're the guy to beat or not, we'll find out in the closing laps of the 500."

Gordon will face a stiff challenge in the main event from Sadler, who is having a stout week for his Robert Yates Racing team. Sadler was fourth in time trials and was dominating in his victory.
"It feels pretty good," he said. "We beat them all pretty handily."

Sadler will lean on past lessons learned to transfer the momentum from this win into Sunday's event. He won a qualifying race in 2004, only to fade to a seventh-place finish in the 500.
And teammate Dale Jarrett was in the same spot last season after winning a qualifier, and he wound up a disappointing 15th.

But Sadler believes his team is more prepared at the start of the season than ever before.
"From a mental standpoint, not from a nut-and-bolts thing with the race car, but from a mental standpoint I think this team is more focused and more ready to go," Sadler said. "I feel like I'm the quarterback of this race team. It's time for me to act like it."

The qualifying races are used to set the field for the Daytona 500, and 23 drivers went into Thursday vying for the four open spots on the starting grid.

Kevin LePage and Bill Elliott each raced their way in during the first event, then Mike Wallace and Kirk Shelmerdine grabbed the other two spots. A quirk in the way the field is determined pushed Robby Gordon into the 500 before he even began his qualifying event, rectifying the disappointment of last season when he was shut out of the biggest race of the year.

Among the drivers who failed to make the race was Scott Riggs, who moved into the strongest ride of his career this season when he was hired by Evernham Motorsports, and Scott Wimmer, who ran a full season last year.

Also missing out was 1990 Daytona 500 winner Derrike Cope, and Paul Menard in a car fielded by Dale Earnhardt Inc.

Things were rather uneventful in the first race until Chad Chaffin blew a tire with two laps to go.
NASCAR threw out a caution flag, and as the field worked its way around the track the lead drivers noticed a chunk of debris from Chaffin's car in the middle of the asphalt. They all slowed up to avoid running over it, and Sterling Marlin was unable to avoid hitting anyone.

He swerved into the back of Jarrett's car, severely damaging his own vehicle while sending the unsuspecting Jarrett spinning into the grass. Marlin will have to go to a backup car for the 500.

NASCAR didn't have to scold anyone for bump drafting, an aggressive racing technique that has been under fire since last Sunday's exhibition race. Tony Stewart warned the problem was so bad that someone could be killed during the 500, so NASCAR warned the drivers during their pre-race meeting that it would be policed and penalized on Thursday.

The drivers in the first race listened and avoided bump drafting.

"It comes down to knowing what you are doing out there," Earnhardt said. "There are guys there, not naming any names, but there are guys you don't want to get bump-drafted by. And there are guys that you love to see in your rearview mirror."

Know Your Tracks - Bristol Motor Speedway

Bristol Motor Speedway

The land, upon which Bristol Motor Speedway is built, used to be a dairy farm.

Larry Carrier and Carl Moore traveled to Charlotte Motor Speedway in 1960 to watch a race and it was then that they decided to build a speedway in Northeast Tenn. However, they wanted a smaller model of CMS, something with a more intimate setting and opted to erect a half-mile facility instead of mirroring the 1.5-mile track in Charlotte.

Work began on what was then called Bristol International Speedway in 1960 and it took approximately one year to finish. Track officials scratched many ideas for the track on envelopes and brown paper bags.

The land on which BMS now sits, as well as construction of the track, cost approximately $600,000. The entire layout for BMS covered 100 acres and provided parking for more than 12,000 cars. The track itself was a perfect half-mile, measuring 60 feet wide on the straightaways, 75 feet wide in the turns and the turns were banked at 22 degrees.

Seating capacity for the very first NASCAR race at BMS, held on July 30, 1961, was 18,000. Prior to this race, the speedway had hosted weekly races. The first driver on the track for practice on July 27, 1961 was Tiny Lund in his Pontiac. The second driver out was David Pearson. Fred Lorenzen won the pole for the first race at BMS with a speed of 79.225 mph.

Atlanta's Jack Smith won the inaugural event, The Volunteer 500, at BMS on July 30, 1961.

In the fall of 1969 BMS was reshaped and re-measured. The turns were banked at 36 degrees and it became a .533-mile oval.

The speedway was sold after the 1976 season to Lanny Hester and Gary Baker. In the spring of 1978, the track name was changed to Bristol International Raceway. In August of that year, the first night race was held on the oval.

On July 6, 1983, Warner Hodgdon completed 100 percent purchase of Bristol Motor Speedway. Hodgdon named Larry Carrier as the track's general manager. On January 11, 1985, Warner Hodgdon filed for bankruptcy.

After Hodgdon filed for bankruptcy, Larry Carrier formally took possession of the speedway and covered all outstanding debts.In Aug. 1992, BMS became the first fully concrete speedway to host a Cup event.

On Jan. 22, 1996, Larry Carrier sold the speedway to Bruton Smith at a purchase price of $26 million. At the time of the sale, the facility seated 71,000.

On May 28, 1996 the track's name was officially changed to Bristol Motor Speedway. By August of that year, 15,000 seats had been added bringing the seating capacity to 86,000.

For the August 1998 Goody's 500 the speedway featured more than 131,000 grandstand seats and 100 skyboxes. On Aug. 26, 2002 work began on the most ambitious construction project since Speedway Motorsports, Inc., purchased BMS in 1996. The new backstretch increased the venue's seating capacity to more than 160,000.

Contact Information

151 Speedway Blvd.,

P.O. Box 3966

Bristol, TN 37625

(423) 764-1161

Know Your Tracks - Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez

Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez

Most of the history of the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez comes from Formula One racing. In fact, it was the success of a Mexican-born Formula One racer, Ricardo Rodriguez, that hastened the trackýs creation.

Rodriguez drove a Ferrari in the 1961 Italian Grand Prix at the age of 19, making him the youngest driver to complete at least 12 laps in an F1 event. Two years later, in 1963, the track hosted its first F1 event.

Formula One continued running there through the 1970 season, when the FIA took the track off the schedule due to security concerns after a string of crowd control problems at the track.

The track sat dormant until the aging track was rebuilt in 1985. A year later, the F1 teams returned. The track was bumpy but they all agreed it was a great challenge, particularly the final curling banked 180-degree corner called the Peraltada. There were modern pits and high fences and guard dogs ensured that the crowds did not get too close to the track.

However, as years went on, the trackýs bumps became a major liability. In 1991, Ayrton Senna turned his McLaren upside-down in the Peraltada in qualifying. Whatýs more, Mexico City was becoming too crowded and polluted and the stop had become a chore for the teams. F1 pulled the track from the schedule again in 1992.

It would be another 10 years before the Mexico City road course would host another international event. CART team boss Gerry Forsythe went into partnership with the Mexican entertainment company CIE to rebuild the track yet again and promote a CART race.

In Aug. 2004, NASCAR announced the track would host a Busch Series event, beginning in 2005.

"Mexico has a long tradition in motorsports, and we are thrilled that NASCAR is now part of it," said NASCAR Chairman/CEO Brian France.

"Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez is a beautiful track that provides our NASCAR Busch Series teams the opportunity to perform on an international stage.

"We look forward to providing this event for our growing Mexican fan base."

Contact Information
Mexico City, Mexico 15850
52-55-5322-4500
2005 inaugural event page

Know Your Tracks - Atlanta Motor Speedway

Atlanta Motor Speedway

Few who saw Atlanta Motor Speedway in its infancy would recognize the track today.

Situated on 870 acres in Hampton, Ga., just 25 miles south of Atlanta, today's Atlanta Motor Speedway is one of NASCAR's most sought-after destinations.

But it's far from the Walker Jackson, Lloyd Smith, Garland Bagley, Ralph Sceiano and Ike Supporter envisioned when they planned the speedway in 1958. Before construction of the proposed superspeedway had been completed, insufficient funds forced four of the founders to abandon ship. Dr. Warren Gremmel, Bill Boyd, Jack Black and Art Lester joined Bagley in the venture and spent $1.8 million to get the facility ready.

Ready, in this case, was a relative term. Some of the seats were so low fans couldn't see over the retaining wall. The only bathroom facility in the infield was a three-hole outhouse. There was mud all over.

When the 1.5-mile track, then called Atlanta International Raceway, finally made its debut on July 31, 1960, it became the seventh superspeedway -- a paved facility of one mile or more -- to play host to a Cup race.

The track's future was hazy in the 1960s and '70s, when it suffered several financial setbacks. The track was recognized under Chapter Ten bankruptcy proceedings in the 1970's and went through several general managers before settling down with Walt Nix, who served as general manager for much of the next two decades except for a brief period when current NASCAR president Mike Helton was in charge.

Despite the great racing and national attention, Atlanta International Raceway was still a meager facility struggling to get by.

Bruton Smith changed all that when he purchased Atlanta International Raceway on Oct. 23, 1990, and renamed the facility Atlanta Motor Speedway. A year later, the addition of the East Turn Grandstand expanded the seating capacity by 25,000, and the 30 suites that rimmed the top gave the track a high-class look.

Under Smith's stewardship, Atlanta Motor Speedway has undergone massive expansion.

In 1994, Tara Place, the nine-story building that houses 46 luxury condominiums, Tara Ballroom, the speedway office complex and more luxury suites opened, as did the adjacent Tara Clubhouse. A year later, the North Turn Grandstand opened, and in 1997, the Champions Grandstand was added, and the total of luxury suites was increased to 137.

When the Champions Grandstand was built, the start/finish line was moved from the west to the east side of the track, and two doglegs were added to the frontstretch to form a 1.54-mile quad-oval, which replaced the original oval. The only reminders of the track that used to be are the suite tower and the Weaver Grandstand, which are now situated on the backstretch.

In 2004, an F2 tornado had blazed through the track, causing tens of millions of dollars in damage less than four months before that year's fall race. Miraculously, the track was more than ready for that October race, and it went off without a hitch.

Contact Information
P.O. Box 500
Hampton, GA 30228
(770) 946-4211
Official Web site

Old Faces In Different Places

How Kurt Busch interacts with crew chief Roy McCauley
will play a key role in his first year as driver of the
No. 2. Credit: Autostock

By Jarrod Breeze, NASCAR.COM
February 6, 2006
03:17 PM EST (20:17 GMT)

Discounting rookies, 13 full-time drivers will be behind the wheels of different cars in 2006. Some of those changes will be for the better, some for the worse. But most won't matter at all:

• Kurt Busch
No. 2 Dodge

In case you've been following the IRL or Formula One for the past year and missed the news, Kurt Busch signed with Penske Racing during midseason 2005. That deal led to Busch's acrimonious departure from Roush Racing, where just the season before he won the Nextel Cup championship.

Busch said all the right things in the offseason, and now believes the move to Penske has made his professional life more personable.

"When it gets down to the bottom line, I've got to look at where Kurt Busch can go and win races. I believe with Penske and Dodge I can do that far more into the future," Busch said.
Good luck with that, Kurt.

Rusty Wallace didn't make the Chase in 2004 and didn't win a race last year.

• Jamie McMurray
No. 26 Ford

Again, if you haven't heard this before where have you been? Jamie McMurray signed with Roush in '05, and now takes over the car previously occupied by Kurt Busch. Owner Jack Roush, in an attempt to all erase all ties with Busch, changed the car's number from 97 to 26.
But it's the number 10, as in top 10, that has McMurray's attention -- and this move gives him his best chance yet of making the Chase.

"It's somewhat like Matt [Kenseth] said when you know that you have cars that are capable of winning, you just have to do your part and work with your team and put yourself in the right position, so I'm very optimistic about the season," McMurray said.

All five of Roush's cars made the Chase last year and the teams combined for 15 victories. McMurray hasn't won since his second career start in 2002 but has just missed out of the Chase the past two years, finishing 11th and 12th in the final points.

The move from Ganassi to Roush will prove to be the biggest of them all.

• Bobby Labonte
No. 43 Dodge

The 2000 champion for Joe Gibbs gives Petty Enterprises renewed optimism, and Bobby Labonte the opportunity to drive Richard Petty's No. 43. But this isn't King Richard's NASCAR.

If Labonte couldn't win a race for Gibbs the past two years, what makes him think he can in the No. 43? After all, the care has found Victory Lane just three times -- the last coming in 1999 -- since Petty won the 200th and final race of his career in 1984.

"I think that it is a great opportunity for me. I feel like we got things in the right place ... like we got great race cars. There's not an ounce or venation of 'Oh, God this is gonna be a struggle' because we don't think that," Labonte said.

Yes, Labonte will have former champion crew chiefs Robbie Loomis and Todd Parrott in his corner. But no, this is not a step up.

• Casey Mears
No. 42 Dodge

Casey Mears doesn't change teams, he just moves from the No. 41 to McMurray's old ride.

Winless in NASCAR, Mears got close in 2005. But he still finished 22nd in points, the same position as '04.

While also going winless in the same time frame, McMurray ranked 13th in '03, then 11th and 12th in the first two Chase years.

"I think we'll find out how we work together as the 42 team as opposed to the 41 team last year. We're trying to distinguish some stuff from what we ran last year against what Donnie [Wingo, crew chief] and Jamie ran," Mears said.

Working with Wingo is the biggest change for Mears, but his maturation as a driver will be his biggest asset. Mears will win a race in '05, but the move from the No. 41 to the No. 42 will not be the difference-maker.

• Sterling Marlin
No. 14 Chevrolet

Sterling Marlin was hoping to retire with Ganassi, but after a third consecutive season without a victory the No. 40 Dodge was given to rookie David Stremme. That sent Marlin to MB2 Motorsports and a brand new Cup entry.

Marlin has gone from finishing third in points in 2001 to 30th last season. In his two years with MB2, new teammate Joe Nemechek has one victory and a 17.1 average finish in the final rankings, far surpassing the 29.1 average finish the previous two years with Rick Hendrick.

"Things happen for a reason. [I] had some offers out there and made the best choice I could. We've got fast race cars and if I drive good and not make any mistakes. ... I'm confident we can win a race this year," Marlin said.

I'm confident someone from MB2 will visit Victory Lane in '06. But it won't be Marlin.

• Michael Waltrip
No. 55 Dodge

Michael Waltrip leaves DEI's Chevys for Bill Davis Racing's whatever. It was supposed to be a Dodge, but a feud between Davis and the manufacturer leaves BDR's rolling stock with a frame without a name.

Nonetheless, it doesn't really matter. Waltrip wasn't a factor at DEI and he won't be at BDR. Besides, he'll be too busy playing Toyota Man upon that manufacturer's entry into Cup in '07.

• Dave Blaney
No. 22 Dodge

Richard Childress cut ties with Dave Blaney in favor of up-and-comer Clint Bowyer. So Bill Davis plucked Blaney to take over for an up-and-comer who didn't, Scott Wimmer.

As far as Blaney is concerned, it won't make a difference, unless he gets a piece of BDR's association with Toyota in '2007.

• Ken Schrader
No. 21 Ford

The Wood Brothers like their veterans, replacing the retired Ricky Rudd with the 50-year-old Ken Schrader. Here's hoping the old-schoolers can pull one off in 2006.

• Jeff Green
No. 66 Chevrolet

Jeff Green had only one top-10 in two years driving the No. 43. True, Petty isn't what it once was, but it's not Haas CNC Racing, either.

• Tony Raines
No. 96 Chevrolet

New team Hall of Fame Racing will start Terry Labonte for the first five races to get the former champion's provisional points then hand off the reins to Raines. All of which means Raines will start every race (except the two road courses; Labonte returns for those), but let's see how many he finishes.

• Travis Kvapil
No. 32 Chevrolet

Will the No. 32 face a similar fate as Travis Kvapil's former ride, the now-defunct No. 77 Dodge? I think not. But this might be Kvapil's last chance to prove he's more than just a Craftsman Truck Series driver.

• Scott Riggs
No. 10 Dodge

Scott Riggs goes from MBV Motorpsorts' Chevrolet to Ray Evernham's Dodge, but his car number remains the same. One number he hopes this change will change is the '0' under the win column.

The opinions expressed are solely of the writer.

2006 NASCAR Nextel Cup Series Drivers Posted!

Finally! This is what we've been waiting for - With Daytona just around the corner - and all of these last minute changes - the list is out!

2006 NASCAR Nextel Cup Series Drivers
http://www.nascar.com/drivers/list/cup/dps/index.html

For other driver-related information:
http://www.nascar.com/drivers/

Check the schedule for dates!
http://www.nascar.com/races/cup/2006/data/schedule.html

Let's go racing!

'06 Cup driver previews