Believe that there are many photo thieves…. feel free to steal this… I hope you like the frame!!
For the rest of you good honest folks… I shot this at Loudon 2 weeks ago. My home track and a place close to my heart. Loudon is as boring a race as there is, but the facility itself is awesome and Bruton Smith is only making it better… my wish is he banks the corners…. make it another Vegas so to speak. Plans already include more seating and new modern restrooms. He’ll never have a problem filling the seats there, as it is by far the best track in the northeastern US, next in line to Dover.
I posted this shot of the #20 because it’s the final season with Smoke behind the wheel. I have a rather large diecast collection and after this past weeks announcement that Tony is leaving JGR I must add this car to my collection. It is many firsts… first year Toyota, COT and the first time Tony has raced something in Cup other than a Chevy. Then it can claim last as well. First and last in the same season. I will wait… my hope is Tony gets a victory and that raced version would be my purchase.
Some Stewart fans are distraught over his choice…I claim to be a fan of his, but I am the “NASCAR Fan Rare Breed”. He is one of several of my drivers of choice. I suppose I am not fanatical. I roll with change fairly well and I see this change as an incredible opportunity. This is where Tony’s heart is at and if one’s heart is in it, the rest will follow. A good example of this is Dale Jr.. With DEI and Mother Teresa out of the picture he has relaxed and his performance has shown dramatic improvement. I realize that equipment plays part of this, yet it cannot be denied that Jr.’s state of mind is allowing him to focus from his heart. Tony only knows where Tony’s heart is at…. but we all know it is with Chevy. That may seem trivial in the scheme of things, but guys do hold “things” as objects of affection. At least he’ll be driving the car he loves. No, it won’t be with Home Depot and we won’t see those silly commercials.
For those of you who are angry, upset, distraught or any other negative emotion… these are self centered feelings based on what you expect. Expectations can be our biggest disappointments in life. It’s much easier to roll with the River. Like that of a drifting twig… the twig knows it has no control over the river currents. It has times of turbulence and times of tranquility, but it only has true problems when it is caught up by resistance. Change is inevitable and acceptance is the key… so go ahead… rear up your heads and buck. I only hope y’all feel better for it.
Chalk up another win for Shrub.
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Tony Stewart was at one of the local Home Depot Stores (350 Centennial Pkwy Hamilton, Ontario) signing autographs for about 700 fans today. After he did that he then met with members of the media, myself and two other guys, and then signed stuff for the employees of Home Depot before leaving for Chicago.
Let me tell you, the PR people running the show did an awesome job.
There were people lining up as early as 5:30 am. Some people even travelled from the US to get a chance to meet Tony.
Tony was in a great mood tonight as well and it appeared to me that he was having a good time meeting the fans and even the media guys.
To the question about his future in racing Tony’s reply was, “I’m gonna shorten’ this up for you real quick. I’m gonna make you do just like everybody else and wait for tomorrow.”
That was the end of the ‘Tomorrow’s Big Announcement’ part of the interview and when it was brought up again in an other way Tony quickly shot the question down and remained cool, although I could tell he was a little bothered by the persistence of the individual in question (not me).
One of the other media guys then asked Tony, “Is it a dream of yours to eventually own your own team?”
Tony’s reply was, “We’ll know tomorrow,” quickly followed by, “I’ve got teams. I’ve got two World of Outlaws sprint car teams, two USAC teams with the two cars in the midget division Silver Crown Division, Sprint Car Division, so between four race teams and three race tracks it keeps me pretty busy.”
I then asked Tony about sponsorship and alluded to his possible sponsorship formula next year using Dale Jr as an example.
Tony’s reply was, “If you look at the (sponsor) program that Dale Jr has this year, it makes sense. You can’t keep asking the sponsors to keep spending more and more and more, but it costs more and more and more to go racing each year. The program that they’ve got where they’re flopping a couple of sponsors around on a car makes sense to me. Seems like a pretty good formula that’s working good for them over there. I don’t think you’re gonna see one sponsor that can keep affording to spend 20-25 million dollars for the primary sponsorship of a car and have a whole car to themselves anymore. It’s hard for one sponsor to do that, especially when the economy is bad, it’s hard to get the return on your investment. So [multiple sponsors] seems to be the better option for a lot of corporate America right now.”
I tried to pin Tony down on who he might have for a Crew Chief next year, now that we know his longtime Crew Chief Greg Zipadelli will not be going with him. I even asked him flat out if he was going to take the Crew Chief of JGR’s #20 Nationwide car, Dave Rogers, with him.
Tony: (laughs) I don’t think you could pry Dave Rogers off of that 20 car right now … they’re one (win) away from tying the record (for wins) in the Nationwide Series and we’re just barely half-way through the season. I don’t think you could take a crowbar and pry Dave away from that program right now. It would be foolish to see him leave right now because they’re having so much success right now.”
I then ask, “In a perfect world, knowing that Zippie and Dave are out of the question, who would top the list of Crew Chiefs that you would want to work with?”
Tony: (laughs) “I don’t even know right now to be honest. I’ve never worked with anybody else so I don’t know. I don’t know who the perfect Crew Chief is really.”
So there you are, make of it what you want. There’s more to the interview and I’ll have that at a later date. I just put up the things that I thought you might find interesting due to the fact that he is having his press conference tomorrow at 2:30 pm to announce his future plans in racing.
I just want to thank Tony for giving us the chance to talk with him. It was certainly a pleasure to interview him and let me tell you, he was great all evening with the fans and media. I even asked him to smile for a picture and he smirked, looked up and gave one of his patent ‘goofy’ smiles. That is the picture that I’ve posted here because I think it exemplifies the whole evening with Tony at the Home Depot, just flat out fun for everyone.
Hey Tony, in case you are reading this I just want to say, from myself and your fans, ‘Thank-you’.
Take Care
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Or maybe it’s a case of asking and receiving, or ranting and raving, either way the irony is… I wrote that crap yesterday about Newman and Stewart only to wake to an article in Fox NASCAR today… Report: Stewart to be granted release from JGR
I always liked Gene Haas, but he got caught with his hands in the cookie jar. The Fed’s merely slapped his hands with 24 months in the slammer, a gift in comparison to what he could have received. Albeit, it has opened the door for Stewart to buy into Haas CNC Racing where rumors state he will totally revamp the entire organization. He’ll be back in the Chevy Saddle again and give himself the opportunity to remain with NASCAR well into the future.
What’s even more ironic is… rumor has it that Newman has plans to go with Stewart. Smart move… I think?
Joey Logano in the #20… that’ll take some getting used to.
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With Silly Season now in full swing I wish I were this green eyed Deer Fly. If you’ve ever encountered one of these pesky creatures, you’d know they have the ability to literally get in your hair and any place else they feel like.
There is much happening and many of us “wanna be” flies wish we knew. One example for me is… I want to know what is happening in the Penske camp with Ryan… his contract is up and I’ve heard very little. I suppose I should pay Mike a visit…if anyone has the scoop on Newman, he does. We all know that Sam Hornish should have stayed in Open Wheel and other than Kurt Busch’s luck of the draw and Ryan’s 500 win, things are not looking good for Roger.
Then there’s Smoke… in my opinion he should remain with Gibbs… perhaps a two year renewal will give him enough time to make up his fleeting mind on what his damn future holds. His performance this season is lacking so far and some say it’s because he has too much on his plate… well now… if that is the case how will he perform as an owner/driver?… Get your head out of your ass Tony!!
The smartest decision made is Mark Martin’s. He’s no fool.
More night racing this weekend at Chicagoland…. perhaps Tony can do a repeat!
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Here is my latest offering that was in today’s newspaper followed by an addition to the column after the article.
Tomorrow’s race at Daytona will mark the halfway point in the NASCAR season, with only eight races left to “The Chase” - a 10-race shootout between the top 12 in points at the end of the previous 26 races in the regular schedule.
One driver not making the trip to Daytona is last year’s Indy 500 winner Dario Franchitti as Chip Ganassi Racing with Felix Sabates (CGRFS) ceased operation of the team’s No. 40 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series (NSCS) Dodge driven by Franchitti due to a lack of sponsorship funding.
“This is a difficult decision for (co-owner) Felix and I that did not come without its share of anguish,” said team owner Chip Ganassi in an official press release earlier in the week.
“In this tough business environment, continuing to run the car without proper funding, has become increasingly difficult.”
If you recall, I have written about the possible sponsorship problems that teams outside of the top 35 of owner points may face and this move by CGRFS is proof positive that making each and every race is important in keeping sponsors and generating interest from new ones.
The blame cannot be laid solely on Franchitti either. CGRFS has had significant perormance issues the last few years.
The lack of performance and not consistently making every race has not been beneficial in luring prospective sponsors to CGRFS, especially for the No. 40 car.
With sponsorship for a top-flight Cup team in the mid- $20-million US range, one can see why sponsors are a little apprehensive in dolling out that kind of money to a team that did not qualify for two races, has not finished higher than 22nd, is 40th in owner points and had a substitute driver for five others while Franchitti sat out with a broken ankle.
At this point in the season, a lot of people are starting to watch what drivers are doing for next year — are they staying with their teams or are they moving to another? — it is commonly referred to as ’silly season’. Case in point, Tony Stewart. Rumours about what he’s doing next year are swirling around faster than the car he drives on the track each weekend and it is getting to be a little ’silly’.
But what people should be watching out for now are not what the drivers are doing, but what the sponsors are doing because if you don’t have a sponsor, you can’t operate a competitive team even if your driver is two-time Cup champion Tony Stewart.
I have a feeling it will be the sponsors deciding which team they want to put their money with that determines where drivers end up next year and not the other way around.
Richard Childress already has a driver-less sponsored car for next year. Who do you think will end up driving it? My guess isn’t Tony Stewart. But you never know, that’s why its called ’silly season’.
Enjoy the race tomorrow, and listen for any ‘firecracker’ sponsorship announcements over the next few weeks, because those just might determine who is driving where next year.
ADDITION: What I really should have said, but didn’t as it was more implied than anything else was that the way the economy is going - especially with the ‘R’ word hanging heavy in the air - NASCAR teams may be forced to find more than one or two sponsors (like Jr did with AMP and National Guard) in order to get the capital needed to fund a competative team as no one sponsor may put up the full amount needed to compete. Jack Roush has been doing this for years.
IT’S FREE COKE ZERO ACROSS U.S. IF ONE OF 13 NASCAR DRIVERS WINS INAUGURAL COKE ZERO 400
ATLANTA, July 1, 2008 – For members of the Coca-Cola Racing Family, each victory in a NASCAR Sprint Cup Series™ race is traditionally followed by a thirst-quenching chug of an ice cold Coke Zero in the winner’s circle. This weekend, 13 of the sport’s top drivers will attempt to give fans around the country their own “taste of victory” by taking the checkered flag in the inaugural Coke Zero 400 Powered By Coca-Cola at Daytona International Speedway (July 5, 8:00 p.m., TNT).
The Coke Zero “Taste of Victory” program will give fans an added incentive to pull for their favorite Coca-Cola Racing Family members during this weekend’s race. If any one of 13 drivers sponsored by Coca-Cola wins, people across the United States will be able to enjoy the Real Coke Taste and Zero Calories of Coke Zero for free.
Participating Coca-Cola Racing Family drivers include Tony Stewart, Kevin Harvick, Jeff Burton, Denny Hamlin, Mark Martin, Greg Biffle, Elliott Sadler, Jamie McMurray, Bobby Labonte, Michael Waltrip, Clint Bowyer and David Ragan. Terry Labonte also is eligible as the driver of the #45 Petty Enterprises Dodge and substitute for Coca-Cola Racing Family member Kyle Petty, who is in the TNT broadcast booth this weekend.
Coca-Cola drivers have won the July race at Daytona five of the last six years – including McMurray’s victory last season – and currently hold six of the top 12 spots in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series™ point standings.
If a Coca-Cola Racing Family driver takes the checkered flag Saturday night, fans will be able to visit www.CokeZero.com July 5 through July 13 and follow the instructions to receive a coupon for a free 20-ounce bottle of Coke Zero (*).
“Coke Zero is the only soft drink that delivers real Coke taste and zero calories, and we’re really rooting for one of our drivers to deliver a taste of victory to millions of people this holiday weekend,” said Bill Kelly, senior vice president, Coca-Cola Brands, Coca-Cola North America. “It would be a great way to top off the first-ever Coke Zero 400 with a celebratory toast in Victory Lane.”
“It’s pretty common for the winning driver to spring for a round of drinks after the race, but we’re taking things to a whole new level for the inaugural Coke Zero 400,” said two-time NASCAR Sprint Cup Series™ Champion Tony Stewart. “It would be pretty cool to come through for race fans with free Coke Zero. I hope to be in Victory Lane Saturday night telling millions of people that drinks are on me.”
The “Taste of Victory” program is one of many ways Coke Zero has taken a prominent role in NASCAR® this year. Title sponsorship of the Coke Zero 400 Powered By Coca-Cola serves as the centerpiece for the brand’s expanded presence in the sport, and an online voting contest recently allowed fans to select the new race logo. In addition, marketing efforts have included the launch of Coke Zero’s first-ever NASCAR®-themed advertising campaign, driver appearances, high-visibility track signage, at-track sampling and much more – all promoting the brand’s core message – Coke Zero has “Real Coke Taste and Zero Calories.”
Since its launch in 2005, volume for Coke Zero continues to accelerate. Among 350 sparkling beverage brands launched since 2001, Coke Zero is one of only six to surpass 1% market share, and the only one to maintain it – with a current share of 1.5%. By using irreverent, humorous communication and delivering Real Coke Taste and Zero Calories, Coke Zero has established a strong connection with young adult males and achieved the highest trial of any recently launched Coca-Cola North America brand.
The debut of the Coke Zero 400 Powered By Coca-Cola is part of a 10-year sponsorship agreement between Coca-Cola North America (CCNA) and International Speedway Corporation (ISC). Through a variety of track partnerships, brands from CCNA will be refreshing fans at 13 race tracks in 2008 before expanding to 17 race tracks by 2012. Coca-Cola is the official sparkling beverage of NASCAR and has been involved with stock car racing for more than 40 years. A signature part of Coca-Cola’s innovative NASCAR program is the Coca-Cola Racing Family – a collection of veteran drivers and rising stars. In addition to the Coca-Cola sponsored drivers participating in the Coke Zero 400, the Coca-Cola Racing Family includes fan favorite Kyle Petty and recently retired former NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Champion Dale Jarrett, who will be serving as grand marshal for this weekend’s race.
(*) Coupons for free 20-ounce bottles of Coke Zero will be redeemable until September 1, 2008 at participating retailers across the country where Coca-Cola products are sold. Limit is one coupon per person. All U.S. residents 13 years of age or older are eligible.
About The Coca-Cola Company
The Coca-Cola Company is the world’s largest beverage company, refreshing consumers with more than 450 sparkling and still brands. Along with Coca-Cola, recognized as the world’s most valuable brand, the Company’s portfolio includes 12 other billion dollar brands, including Diet Coke, Fanta, Sprite, Coca-Cola Zero, vitaminwater, POWERade, Minute Maid and Georgia Coffee. Globally, we are the No. 1 provider of sparkling beverages, juices and juice drinks and ready-to-drink teas and coffees. Through the world’s largest beverage distribution system, consumers in more than 200 countries enjoy the Company’s beverages at a rate of 1.5 billion servings a day. With an enduring commitment to building sustainable communities, our Company is focused on initiatives that protect the environment, conserve resources and enhance the economic development of the communities where we operate. For more information about our Company, please visit our website at http://www.thecoca-colacompany.com/.
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It’s Saturday night and I say to my 7 year old son, “You want to go to a stock car race with me tomorrow? It isn’t NASCAR, it’s ARCA and it’s about as close to NASCAR as you can get without it being NASCAR.”
No reply. He pretends that if he didn’t hear the question he won’t have to answer it - classic 7 year old (or is it male?) mentality.
He hates NASCAR by the way.
Move on to bed time.
It is my wife’s turn to put our son to bed - I get our daughter. My wife says to our son, “Well are you going to the race tomorrow with Daddy?” “No.”
My wife smiles, then says, “Great! Then you can go shopping with me and Grandma instead!” She then kisses him goodnight, and goes to leave when she is suddenly stopped by a tiny almost inaudible voice.
“I’d rather go to the race with Daddy than shopping.”
My wife, bless her heart, turns and smiles and says, “You mean you’d rather go to a stock car race than shopping?” trying to notch up the score a bit.
“You and Grandma will probably try on underwear or something,” was the deadpan score equalizing reply.
Move onto Sunday.
Time to get dressed. I ask him my son if he wants to wear one of his NASCAR shirts - he only has two to choose from - Dale Jr or Dale Sr. He just owns the shirts by the way, he does not wear them.
“Neither.” “O.K., but there will be other kids there, and they will be wear racing shirts for sure. Tell you what, you can take it off as soon as we get home if you want.”
He picked the Dale Sr. shirt.
We get to the track, Cayuga Motor Speedway, get my complimentary tickets at the ticket booth from Steve and Charlie who happen to be the announcers for the race along with my Media Pass - one of the perks of writing a column for the local newspaper.
We walk along the display alley, and get something to eat.
I’m watching him as he eats his hotdog with ketchup, and I think that what he really is eating is ketchup with a hotdog.
We hit one of the merchandise vendors and he pick out a small diecast of Dale Earnhardt Sr to buy because I told him he could have one souvenir and a program.
“You know, you can pick out any car you want. You don’t have to pick that one because it is Daddy’s favourite driver,” I say.
“Ya, but this is a cool car and I know the driver even though he is dead.”
“There’s a Dale Jr car with Mountain Dew on it,” I say as I point to it.
“No I want this one.”
No problem.
Later I realize it is the 10th anniversary CoT edition of Dale’s Daytona 500 victory. The one I said I wouldn’t buy because it was a money grab. I still would have bought it for him even if I knew, because it was for him and not for me and he doesn’t understand the politics behind its manufacturing.
Next we go into the media tower to meet Charlie and Steve. Cool guys to say the least, they even took the time to talk to my son and ask him some questions. Much appreciated guys, since I know how busy you were.
We then move on to the autograph session. We got to go out onto the track and meet the drivers by there cars.
My son got to meet 9-time ARCA Champ, Frank Kimmel, Former F1 ace Scott Speed, and Roush/Fenway developmental driver Ricky Stenhouse Jr before the skies opened up.
My son was all shy around those guys, but each and every driver we went to treated him and every other kid with great respect. I was impressed.
ARCA then moved the autograph session to a big tent, and that is where he got to meet James Hylton. That was cool. You should have seen my son’s face when I told him that James raced against Dale Earnhardt at one time. He was impressed.
After the autograph session we sough shelter under the grandstand and hung out for a bit.
The rain stopped, and we took our seats and had a good time talking and watching the track drying process. He had a lot of questions.
We then watched the race, and had several ‘pee’ breaks.
I noticed that he wanted to go ‘pee’ during long green flag periods.
You know, he held it together pretty good. It wasn’t until the last 50 laps that he started to ask when it was going to be over. That is a lot longer than I thought he would last let me tell you.
But I manged to re-focus him by telling him to watch the #60 car of Patrick Sheltra because he was spun out while leading the race and that he will charge through the field because he was mad. He then watched Sheltra’s progress with more interest, until he pulled off the track due to some mechanical problem. By that time we were both watching Scott Speed get back on the lead lap after being 5 laps down. That was impressive, and my son even thought so.
After the race I took him down to see the victory lane celebration, and he thought it was funny how the team all changed hats and then had their picture taken over and over again.
He laughed when I told him that it is sometimes called “the hat dance”.
We then met up with Charlie and my son took an awesome picture of Charlie and I - Steve was still in the broadcast booth doing his thing, so he missed the photo op of a lifetime.
When I asked my son if he had a good time he replied, “Yes,” and I left it at that.
The real surprise was when we got home and he told Mommy about everything that happened with great enthusiasm - really - including the girl who was sitting in front of us in a bikini top with tattoos on her back of early 70’s Chrystlers and a bad case of plumbers butt. I thought he didn’t see her as she was a few rows below us and to the side a bit - man he sees everything.
He even went and got all of his NASCAR hotwheel cars that he never plays with and played with them before, during, and after supper.
But the best part of the day, for me anyway, came after bed time.
My son comes down the stairs at about 10:30 pm, way past his bedtime let me tell you, but before I can ask the mandatory, “What are you doing out of bed?” question he says, “Daddy I just wanted to tell you that I really wasn’t looking forward to going to the races with you today. I thought it would be boring, but I didn’t want to go shopping with Mommy so I went with you. But I had a great time, it was fun and I got to meet some famous drivers like that Speed guy and the guy who raced Dale Earnhardt. I’m glad I went.”
He then hugged me, turned, and went back up the stairs leaving speechless, which is very hard to do, just ask anyone who knows me.
Wow.
I then looked at my wife and was about to ask her if she put him up to that, when she read my mind and said that she didn’t put him up to that before I could even ask her the question. We’ve been together too long.
Before I went to bed I went and checked on him as I always do and found him asleep with all of his track swag and NASCAR hotwheels. He was still wearing his Dale Sr shirt too.
Cool.
Picture credits: Me, except the one of Charlie and I that would be my son. Picture 1: Scott Speed on left and Dexter Bean on right Picture 2: James Hylton Picture 3: Myself and Charlie from On Pit Row
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It’s late and I’m tired and this is what I will write about tomorrow:
- I went to the ARCA race today with my son at Cayuga and had a great experience
- met some fellow bloggers at the race too, some pretty cool guys one might say
- TSN time delayed the NASCAR Cup race today until 11:30 pm due to the EURO 2008 Soccer Championship game, so I didn’t really watch the race today anyway
- Fell asleep watching the time-delayed-and-editied-for-time race (go to comercial on lap 6 and come back on lap 67)
- Too tired to watch it so I am recording it and will watch it tomorrow (actually, later today)
O.K., can’t stay awake any longer … going to bed now … will be in touch later today … promise … zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz …
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This has been our pattern the past week or two… rain for two days, sun for one and it’s looking as if Sunday’s race will be threatened by rain… a race I have tickets for!! We live just far enough away…3 hours…that it’s normally not a bad trip, but with gas at $4.20 and rising… well we better bring a tent and sleeping bags!
A very odd weather pattern…it’s raining today, nice tomorrow with rain forecast for Saturday and Sunday, then nice again on Monday…. I am tempted to gamble and plan on a delay until Monday, but I cannot win a craps shoot with loaded dice. Plus we all know that if at all possible NASCAR will try to get to the 1/2 way mark.
Whatever happen to the Luck of the Irish? Must be that other European blood of mine that rules ! Oh well… umbrellas, rain slickers, hot coffee a tent and a zip lock baggie for my Canon… perhaps Kyle Busch can ask the Luck Angels for help…he seems to have them wrapped around his finger !
Wish us luck!
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So far NASCAR Sprint Cup Stars Carl Edwards, Greg Biffle, Clint Bowyer, David Ragan, and Paul Menard, & Patrick Carpentier are confirmed for the NAPA Auto Parts 200 Nationwide race in Montreal on Aug 2nd.
Don’t forget JGR and Jr Motorsport Nationwide sensations Joey Logano and Brad Keselowski will be there as well.
Just for your info, I was not asked to place this on my site I just wanted to share the info that I got with anyone who might be interested in going and didn’t know how to get tickets.
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How in the hell can Silly Season predictions possibly be warranted so soon?? Lee Spencer of Fox NASCAR has jumped on the bandwagon with her annual crap. Silly Season is silly enough and the Big Wig Media folk have to hype it up even more. Nothing against Lee personally… in fact I enjoy her editorials, but she has a huge leap of faith or a crystal ball or perhaps she’s got a chair in the Oval Office.
A rather shocking lineup for the Sonoma race. Kudos to Kahne, but what a surprise and the top 5 are not what I expected with Road King Robby Gordon qualifying 6th. Freaking J. Johnson and J. Gordon in the top 5! WOW…. well Robby is my choice to win this… like him or not, he’s due.
My own mother grew up with and dated Johnny Benson’s dad. They are all Grand Rapids Mich. natives… I was born there… could it be Johnny’s comfort level at Milwaukee is because it’s close to home? Well actually there is 80 miles of water over the big pond of Lake Mich., at any rate…he has become the Milwaukee Beer Blast with 3 consecutive wins there.
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I got an interesting email today from a media company working on behalf of Amp Energy drink.
It seems that the first 70,000 individuals to purchase a can of AMP and enter the code found on the bottom of the can at http://www.ampenergy.com/, will have their names featured on Dale Jr’s car, while the remaining names will be featured on his pit wall, car cover, and other areas around the track.
Now I know that this may be old news to some of you as this promo was announced back in April (see press release below), but what I have for you now is something newly added to the promo:
“To celebrate Dale Jr’s first win in 76 races at the Michigan International Speedway last week, AMP Energy has posted a FREE AMP Energy entry code on the website for the Ride with Dale Jr. promotion. The free code is DALEWINS.”
So what are you waiting for? Go do it!
For more info read the following press release:
FANS CAN ‘RIDE WITH DALE JR.’ IN THE AMP ENERGY 500 AT TALLADEGA SUPERSPEEDWAY
FIRST 70,000 TO SIGN UP WILL HAVE NAMES FEATURED ON NO. 88 CHEVY
CONCORD, N.C. – If Dale Earnhardt Jr. goes to Victory Lane in the Oct. 5 AMP Energy 500 at Talladega (Ala.) Superspeedway, he will bring the names of 70,000 members of JR Nation with him.
To become one of the many people who will catch a “Ride with Dale Jr.” all you need is one can of AMP Energy drink and a computer. Beginning April 22, Earnhardt fans can simply take the code found on the bottom of any AMP Energy can, log onto
www.AMPEnergy.com and register. The first 70,000 will have their names featured on the special No. 88 AMP Energy/National Guard Chevrolet “Ride with Dale Jr.” paint scheme. But the program doesn’t end there. AMP Energy will include each and every person who signs up to “Ride with Dale Jr.” by featuring the additional names on Dale Junior’s pit wall, his car cover and other areas around the track.
“My fan base at Talladega is incredible, so it’s a fitting place for this program,” said Earnhardt, who has won five times at the 2.66-mile superspeedway. “I’m proud of my sponsor, AMP Energy, for giving my fans an opportunity to ride along with me and my team for the AMP Energy 500 in October. It’s a great promotion, and I can’t wait to see how many people sign up to ride along with us.”
For AMP Energy, it’s all about getting Dale Earnhardt Jr.’s avid fan base one step closer to their hero.
“We want every member of Junior Nation to be there with Dale Jr. as he goes for victory in the very first AMP Energy 500 race,” said Ralph Santana, VP of sports, media and interactive marketing, Pepsi-Cola North America. “To have Dale compete in this special AMP Energy paint scheme, surrounded by his fans, will be the ideal way for us to launch our title sponsorship at Talladega.”
About AMP Energy
AMP Energy is a co-primary sponsor of Dale Earnhardt Jr.’s No. 88 Chevrolet and the title sponsor of the AMP Energy 500 at Talladega. Launched in 2001 as a brand extension of the original energy drink, Mountain Dew, AMP Energy is continuing Mountain Dew’s heritage in racing.
With its energizing blend of B-Vitamins and a specially formulated, intense combination of taurine, ginseng and guarana, AMP Energy keeps you focused and on top of your game at all times. AMP Energy is currently available in original, sugar free and Overdrive (cherry) as well as the new line extensions - AMP Energy Elevate, AMP Energy Relaunch and AMP Energy Traction. Look for new limited edition Dale Jr. products this summer.
AMP Energy is a product of Pepsi-Cola North America, the refreshment beverage unit of PepsiCo Inc. in the United States and Canada.
Well TSN (Totally Screws NASCAR fans) sports station did it again, as I predicted too, they preempted the 24hr delayed NASCAR race from MIS yesterday to play the US Open playoff with Tiger Woods.
There appears to be no re-scheduled time for the re-broadcast either.
TSN didn’t even put the race on their alternative station, instead they had the exact same thing on as their core station: Golf!
I guess I’ll have to wait until Speed airs the race on Thursday.
That’s it, I’m done!
Maybe I’ll be back Tues night with something better to write about.
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Finally a Nationwide race worth remembering. We have another prodigy on our hands… Joey Logano. ‘nough said!…. He will become a household name, but then so has Kyle Busch. The difference being..Logano is a likable kid.
Today’s race in my home state…Michigan!! Great state for sure. The race is rather on the boring side though… oh well. It’s still racin’ and the Winner will be…………….
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I’ll be back tonight with my post race review. If you are craving for something to read then head on over to my Black Widow blog for my latest post and if you are a Stephen King fan I’ve put something up over at my Stephen King blog too.
Take Care.
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In my weekly race preview last week I wasn’t too far off with my Brian Vickers prediction.
And two weeks before that I had the top 5 pretty much nailed, including Kasey Kahne.
It almost looks like I know what I’m talking about.
Personally, I consider it a form of beginners luck because I’m just starting out with this whole newspaper thing. I’m quite sure that I’ll miss the mark with my predictions and watch-for’s sooner or later. Until that happens though I’ll just keep on riding that wave.
As far as who I’m really pulling for at MIS this weekend, well, even though I didn’t really mention him in my article, I really want Dale Jr to get that 1st win monkey off of his back. But if Jr does not win then I would really like to see Travis Kvapil in the unsponsored Yates Racing Ford pull a victory out of his hat. I think it would be good for his team to get that win, more so than Dale Jr getting his first win for Hendrick that’s for sure.
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This shot I took the other night reminds me a little of this past weekends racing…. Changes!!
It all started with Kyle Busch not winning the NCTS race and ended with Kyle Busch not winning the Pocono race. Perhaps it had something to do with his stretching things to the limit. He practically had to move at the speed of light to get from Pocono on Friday to Texas where he finished a respectable 2nd in the Truck race, but it was downhill from there. He was back in Pocono Saturday for practice only to wreck his primary car. He then bounced to Nashville for the Nationwide race only to have a terrible race, by his standards, with a lowly 20th place finish. A big kudos to Brad Keselowski for his 1st and well deserved Nationwide victory! Busch is either insane or just plain stupid because his showing in the Cup Race at Pocono Sunday was an obvious spectacle of an over tired, fatigued driver. With a careless move on the 47th lap where he just seemed to move up the track aimlessly only to find Jamie McMurray there. Busch’s car was extensively damaged. Able to return later 87 laps down, he held out until he spun the car again with only 22 laps remaining landing him a 43rd place finish. His points lead has been narrowed considerably with Jeff Burton now only 21 points behind him.
Pattyjo, my wife, says Busch is a pompous ass and deserved what he got. She says … “Look at me!!” “I’m Kyle Busch… the next best thing to…” Well, you get my drift and I tend to agree with her. I also highly doubt he’ll learn anything from this as he’ll rationalize and place blame everywhere except on himself.
An outstanding race by Kahne and The Biff…. well, if Greg’s luck would only turn we’ll see him in Victory Lane.
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Dover always delivers and last nights NCTS race was proof.
Seeing Kyle Busch lose his Tranny turned my whole attitude around…. for the simple reason of redundancy. Unless of course you want to refer to the past 3 Truck races having first time winners…that being redundant, but not a boring one. Shrub’s name in the news is very old.
Congratulations to Scott Speed.
Greg Biffle is high up on my Fave Driver’s list……….GO GREG!!!!!
He won the Coors Light Pole Award, but can his Roush equipment hold up? He has h
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