Gentlemen, Start Your Engines!!
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Busch helps Biffle to safety after crash in Vegas
Associated Press
LAS VEGAS -- Nextel Cup driver Greg Biffle was in a fiery crash Thursday while testing tires at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, and was helped from his burning race car by Kyle Busch.
The two drivers were helping Goodyear test tires on the remodeled speedway when Biffle apparently blew a tire, causing him to hit the wall between the first and second turns. The accident broke the fuel pump and caused his Ford to burst into flames.
Busch, who was trailing Biffle at the time of the accident, jumped from his car and helped Biffle to safety.
Although Biffle was uninjured, he did not continue the session.
"That was a really hard hit and we lost a good car, but I'm OK," Biffle said.
A track spokesman said Biffle was released from the care center, and left the race track driving his own car.
Biffle was scheduled to attend the Busch Series banquet at Walt Disney World on Friday evening, but the driver flew home to North Carolina and was going to wait to see how he felt before traveling to Florida.
Goodyear tested tires Wednesday and Thursday at Las Vegas, which added 20 degrees of banking this year. The tire company must find the correct compound to bring to a NASCAR-sanctioned test at the track in late January, and the Nextel Cup event there in March.
Busch completed the test and said he liked the track alterations.
"There are a lot of neat characteristics to the track," said Busch, a Las Vegas native. "It's still pretty wide and a great racing surface. It's wide enough that we'll be able to run two and three wide. The transitions from the corner to the straightaways and then the straightaways to the corners are awesome."
Associated Press
LAS VEGAS -- Nextel Cup driver Greg Biffle was in a fiery crash Thursday while testing tires at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, and was helped from his burning race car by Kyle Busch.
The two drivers were helping Goodyear test tires on the remodeled speedway when Biffle apparently blew a tire, causing him to hit the wall between the first and second turns. The accident broke the fuel pump and caused his Ford to burst into flames.
Busch, who was trailing Biffle at the time of the accident, jumped from his car and helped Biffle to safety.
Although Biffle was uninjured, he did not continue the session.
"That was a really hard hit and we lost a good car, but I'm OK," Biffle said.
A track spokesman said Biffle was released from the care center, and left the race track driving his own car.
Biffle was scheduled to attend the Busch Series banquet at Walt Disney World on Friday evening, but the driver flew home to North Carolina and was going to wait to see how he felt before traveling to Florida.
Goodyear tested tires Wednesday and Thursday at Las Vegas, which added 20 degrees of banking this year. The tire company must find the correct compound to bring to a NASCAR-sanctioned test at the track in late January, and the Nextel Cup event there in March.
Busch completed the test and said he liked the track alterations.
"There are a lot of neat characteristics to the track," said Busch, a Las Vegas native. "It's still pretty wide and a great racing surface. It's wide enough that we'll be able to run two and three wide. The transitions from the corner to the straightaways and then the straightaways to the corners are awesome."
NASCAR champ Johnson breaks wrist in golf cart fall
Sunday December 10, 2006 2:25PM
CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) -- Nextel Cup champion Jimmie Johnson broke his left wrist when he fell out of a golf cart during a celebrity tournament, his team said Sunday.
The injury occurred Friday at a tournament in Lecanto, Fla., and will prevent him from driving for at least four weeks. The injury was to his non-shifting hand, and he should be able to participate in preseason testing at Daytona International Speedway next month.
"I was in a golf cart and the driver took a sharp turn," Johnson said in a statement. "I wasn't holding on tight enough, landed awkwardly on the ground and heard a little pop. It was a fluke deal, but fortunately we're in the offseason and I don't plan to miss any additional time."
Johnson will not be able to compete in the Race of Champions Nations Cup at the Stade de France in Paris next weekend. Johnson, who teamed with Jeff Gordon and Colin Edwards to win the Nations Cup in 2002, said he will still travel to Paris as a consultant for Team USA.
He was scheduled to team with X-Games champion Travis Pastrana in Paris. A replacement for Johnson was not immediately announced.
"It's disappointing that I can't compete ... but I'll definitely be in Paris to cheer them on and provide any support that I can," he said.
Johnson wrapped up his first NASCAR championship last month and celebrated it Dec. 1 at the annual awards ceremony in New York City. It capped a whirlwind year for Johnson, who won the Daytona 500 and the NASCAR event at Indianapolis Motor Speedway en route to the title.
This is the second consecutive year that NASCAR's reigning champion was injured during the offseason.
Tony Stewart broke his wrist and bruised his ribs last January when he flipped a car during a qualifying race for the Chili Bowl Midget Nationals. Stewart's arm was placed in a cast, but he was able to compete a month later when the season opened at Daytona.
Sunday December 10, 2006 2:25PM
CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) -- Nextel Cup champion Jimmie Johnson broke his left wrist when he fell out of a golf cart during a celebrity tournament, his team said Sunday.
The injury occurred Friday at a tournament in Lecanto, Fla., and will prevent him from driving for at least four weeks. The injury was to his non-shifting hand, and he should be able to participate in preseason testing at Daytona International Speedway next month.
"I was in a golf cart and the driver took a sharp turn," Johnson said in a statement. "I wasn't holding on tight enough, landed awkwardly on the ground and heard a little pop. It was a fluke deal, but fortunately we're in the offseason and I don't plan to miss any additional time."
Johnson will not be able to compete in the Race of Champions Nations Cup at the Stade de France in Paris next weekend. Johnson, who teamed with Jeff Gordon and Colin Edwards to win the Nations Cup in 2002, said he will still travel to Paris as a consultant for Team USA.
He was scheduled to team with X-Games champion Travis Pastrana in Paris. A replacement for Johnson was not immediately announced.
"It's disappointing that I can't compete ... but I'll definitely be in Paris to cheer them on and provide any support that I can," he said.
Johnson wrapped up his first NASCAR championship last month and celebrated it Dec. 1 at the annual awards ceremony in New York City. It capped a whirlwind year for Johnson, who won the Daytona 500 and the NASCAR event at Indianapolis Motor Speedway en route to the title.
This is the second consecutive year that NASCAR's reigning champion was injured during the offseason.
Tony Stewart broke his wrist and bruised his ribs last January when he flipped a car during a qualifying race for the Chili Bowl Midget Nationals. Stewart's arm was placed in a cast, but he was able to compete a month later when the season opened at Daytona.
from Jayski....
http://jayski.com/teams/24.htm
Jeff Gordon and Wife Expecting Baby: Ingrid Vandebosch, wife of four-time
Cup Series champion #24-Jeff Gordon, is pregnant. "We're obviously very
excited," said Gordon, who announced his engagement at Infineon Raceway in
June and married Vandebosch on November 7. "Christmas came early for us this
year. "This is a very special gift for us - one that we're both looking
forward to. The due date is early July, and Ingrid and I can't wait to be
parents. "We've known for a little while, but we couldn't wait any longer to
share the good news with our friends and fans."
http://jayski.com/teams/24.htm
Jeff Gordon and Wife Expecting Baby: Ingrid Vandebosch, wife of four-time
Cup Series champion #24-Jeff Gordon, is pregnant. "We're obviously very
excited," said Gordon, who announced his engagement at Infineon Raceway in
June and married Vandebosch on November 7. "Christmas came early for us this
year. "This is a very special gift for us - one that we're both looking
forward to. The due date is early July, and Ingrid and I can't wait to be
parents. "We've known for a little while, but we couldn't wait any longer to
share the good news with our friends and fans."
Alabama site picked for $600M Earnhardt project
Earnhardt siblings invest in racetrack and entertainment complex
By Garry Mitchell, The Associated Press
December 15, 2006
05:59 PM EST (22:59 GMT)
MOBILE, Ala. -- A $600 million Dale Earnhardt racetrack and entertainment complex will be built on 2,500 acres in the Prichard-Saraland area just north of Mobile, the track's investors announced Friday after ruling out two sites in south Baldwin County.
It could take about two years to build the four-track motorsports park off Alabama 158, near Interstate 65, with a full season of activity expected in 2010, track spokesman Bill Futterer of Raleigh, N.C., said. The chosen site faces the University of Mobile campus.
A 5,000-space RV park, a theme park and a 7,000-seat arena also are planned, along with hotels, retail, restaurants and music theaters. The site, while near the busy north-south I-65, also would benefit from its proximity to the east-west Interstate 10 on Mobile's southern edge.
Investors in the track include Dale Earnhardt Jr.; his brother, Kerry Earnhardt; and sister Kelley Earnhardt Elledge.
It is the Earnhardt siblings' first professional collaboration. The 20 investor partners are operating as Gulf Coast Entertainment LLC.
The Earnhardts will help design the seven-tenths-mile, lighted oval track in the complex. There also will be a three-eighths-mile dirt track; a 3-mile road course; and a quarter-mile drag strip.
Mobile County Commissioner Steve Nodine said that while no monetary commitment by the county has been made to the investors, the county will offer infrastructure improvements.
A project of this size would be a windfall for Prichard, which has a population of about 28,000 and is one of Alabama's poorest cities. Prichard Mayor Ron Davis said it's an "exciting day" for Prichard and he pledged to "focus on the partnership" to make the complex a success. Construction on the complex could generate 5,000 jobs.
Baldwin County sites in Loxley and Summerdale were considered. While Summerdale courted the track investors, Loxley was less than enthusiastic about the proposal because residents voiced concerns about racing noise and traffic.
"Most people I talked to were not in favor of it," Loxley Mayor Billy Middleton said.
Summerdale Mayor David Wilson said the cost of the land knocked his city out of the competition. He said property near the toll highway to Alabama beaches was considered.
Wilson said two of the investors already owned some of the Mobile County property needed for the project.
"We were humbled to have been considered," a disappointed Wilson said.
Earnhardt siblings invest in racetrack and entertainment complex
By Garry Mitchell, The Associated Press
December 15, 2006
05:59 PM EST (22:59 GMT)
MOBILE, Ala. -- A $600 million Dale Earnhardt racetrack and entertainment complex will be built on 2,500 acres in the Prichard-Saraland area just north of Mobile, the track's investors announced Friday after ruling out two sites in south Baldwin County.
It could take about two years to build the four-track motorsports park off Alabama 158, near Interstate 65, with a full season of activity expected in 2010, track spokesman Bill Futterer of Raleigh, N.C., said. The chosen site faces the University of Mobile campus.
A 5,000-space RV park, a theme park and a 7,000-seat arena also are planned, along with hotels, retail, restaurants and music theaters. The site, while near the busy north-south I-65, also would benefit from its proximity to the east-west Interstate 10 on Mobile's southern edge.
Investors in the track include Dale Earnhardt Jr.; his brother, Kerry Earnhardt; and sister Kelley Earnhardt Elledge.
It is the Earnhardt siblings' first professional collaboration. The 20 investor partners are operating as Gulf Coast Entertainment LLC.
The Earnhardts will help design the seven-tenths-mile, lighted oval track in the complex. There also will be a three-eighths-mile dirt track; a 3-mile road course; and a quarter-mile drag strip.
Mobile County Commissioner Steve Nodine said that while no monetary commitment by the county has been made to the investors, the county will offer infrastructure improvements.
A project of this size would be a windfall for Prichard, which has a population of about 28,000 and is one of Alabama's poorest cities. Prichard Mayor Ron Davis said it's an "exciting day" for Prichard and he pledged to "focus on the partnership" to make the complex a success. Construction on the complex could generate 5,000 jobs.
Baldwin County sites in Loxley and Summerdale were considered. While Summerdale courted the track investors, Loxley was less than enthusiastic about the proposal because residents voiced concerns about racing noise and traffic.
"Most people I talked to were not in favor of it," Loxley Mayor Billy Middleton said.
Summerdale Mayor David Wilson said the cost of the land knocked his city out of the competition. He said property near the toll highway to Alabama beaches was considered.
Wilson said two of the investors already owned some of the Mobile County property needed for the project.
"We were humbled to have been considered," a disappointed Wilson said.
Earnhardt family feud heats up
Racing series NASCAR
Date 2006-12-16 (New York City)
By Linda Przygodski - Motorsport.com
The Earnhardt family feud is heating up.
Teresa Earnhardt, the widow of the late Dale Earnhardt and stepmother of
Dale Earnhardt, Jr. took a pot-shot at the young driver in Thursday's Wall
Street Journal.
When asked about Earnhardt, Jr. and his relationship with his father's
legacy, Dale Earnhardt, Incorporated, Earnhardt told the WSJ, "Right now the
ball's in his court to decide on whether he wants to be a NASCAR driver or
whether he wants to be a public personality."
Earnhardt, Jr. is the face of NASCAR's youth movement and the most sought
after driver for interviews and television appearances. He has struggled
over the years to balance his celebrity with his driving duties, and is
often teased about his hard partying and loathing of early mornings.
But no driver has shown he can straddle such commitments as Earnhardt. 2006
was perhaps his breakout season, as he showed a level of maturity unmatched
in previous years on the circuit. He competed for the Nextel Cup, and if not
for a bump by Brian Vickers at Talladega, he was emerging as a genuine
threat for the title.
Currently, Earnhardt's contract to drive the No. 8 Budweiser Chevrolet
expires at the end of the 2007 season. Contractual talks have been ongoing
but DEI and its only namesake have failed to reach a long-term agreement.
This is not the first time the two Earnhardts have tangled. Up until June of
this year the widow refused to give Earnhardt the rights to his name.
"Sometimes I wish I had a different first name," Earnhardt commented to The
Charlotte Observer earlier this year. "Teresa (Earnhardt, his stepmother and
team owner) has her idea of what she wants to do with Dad's name over the
next several years. And I'm still racing in my career and doing my thing and
I have the same name.
"So it gets hard because we're sort of in the middle of trying to get the
rights. I don't have the rights to my name. I'm trying to get 'em. She
(Teresa Earnhardt) don't want to come off it too easy, because she wants to
make sure my dad's name is always thought of as the way it is. If I didn't
have the same name -- and I kind of wish I didn't sometimes -- I wouldn't
have to be worrying about it."
Allegedly, she wanted to protect the way the Earnhardt name was used and
there were some misgivings of how Earnhardt, Jr. would portray his father's
legacy. After great scrutiny and pressure from the press, she finally
acquiesced and gave Earnhardt naming rights back.
Earnhardt was also dogged by rumors in 2004, after suffering injuries in an
American Le Mans race that his stepmother was refusing to fly him to and
from races on any of the company planes because his real mother, Brenda, was
accompanying him to help take care of his burn wounds.
While Earnhardt denied those reports multiple team sources from DEI and
Richard Childress Racing (who took over the job of getting Earnhardt and his
mother to the track) confirmed that Teresa Earnhardt had indeed expressed
her dissatisfaction with Brenda's presence and the fact that Earnhardt had
sustained those burns while driving in a non-NASCAR extracurricular race,
killing his chances of a championship that season.
Teresa has also expressed her displeasure over Earnhardt, Jr.'s statement
that at some point in is career he would like to drive the infamous No. 3
Chevrolet once piloted by his father.
"That is something that is an opportunity for us, and it would be fun for me
and Richard to do something like that in the future," Earnhardt said in
2005. "We haven't sat down and decided that is what we will do, but maybe
the last one or two years in my career, that's a possibility.
"I look forward to it. That is just something we just leave laying out there
and joke about it, but it is something that we want to do, and we will do."
But the widow Earnhardt is not amenable to that ever happening, "Contrary to
popular belief, everyone cannot be replaced," she said on the television
special, NASCAR Five Years Later. "Legends live on forever. I don't think
the No.3 will ever be driven by anyone else."
With the momentum of 2006 in his pocket, Earnhardt is poised to have one of
his best seasons ever in 2007. As a further sign of his maturity level
rising, he declined to address that statements made to the Wall Street
Journal.
Racing series NASCAR
Date 2006-12-16 (New York City)
By Linda Przygodski - Motorsport.com
The Earnhardt family feud is heating up.
Teresa Earnhardt, the widow of the late Dale Earnhardt and stepmother of
Dale Earnhardt, Jr. took a pot-shot at the young driver in Thursday's Wall
Street Journal.
When asked about Earnhardt, Jr. and his relationship with his father's
legacy, Dale Earnhardt, Incorporated, Earnhardt told the WSJ, "Right now the
ball's in his court to decide on whether he wants to be a NASCAR driver or
whether he wants to be a public personality."
Earnhardt, Jr. is the face of NASCAR's youth movement and the most sought
after driver for interviews and television appearances. He has struggled
over the years to balance his celebrity with his driving duties, and is
often teased about his hard partying and loathing of early mornings.
But no driver has shown he can straddle such commitments as Earnhardt. 2006
was perhaps his breakout season, as he showed a level of maturity unmatched
in previous years on the circuit. He competed for the Nextel Cup, and if not
for a bump by Brian Vickers at Talladega, he was emerging as a genuine
threat for the title.
Currently, Earnhardt's contract to drive the No. 8 Budweiser Chevrolet
expires at the end of the 2007 season. Contractual talks have been ongoing
but DEI and its only namesake have failed to reach a long-term agreement.
This is not the first time the two Earnhardts have tangled. Up until June of
this year the widow refused to give Earnhardt the rights to his name.
"Sometimes I wish I had a different first name," Earnhardt commented to The
Charlotte Observer earlier this year. "Teresa (Earnhardt, his stepmother and
team owner) has her idea of what she wants to do with Dad's name over the
next several years. And I'm still racing in my career and doing my thing and
I have the same name.
"So it gets hard because we're sort of in the middle of trying to get the
rights. I don't have the rights to my name. I'm trying to get 'em. She
(Teresa Earnhardt) don't want to come off it too easy, because she wants to
make sure my dad's name is always thought of as the way it is. If I didn't
have the same name -- and I kind of wish I didn't sometimes -- I wouldn't
have to be worrying about it."
Allegedly, she wanted to protect the way the Earnhardt name was used and
there were some misgivings of how Earnhardt, Jr. would portray his father's
legacy. After great scrutiny and pressure from the press, she finally
acquiesced and gave Earnhardt naming rights back.
Earnhardt was also dogged by rumors in 2004, after suffering injuries in an
American Le Mans race that his stepmother was refusing to fly him to and
from races on any of the company planes because his real mother, Brenda, was
accompanying him to help take care of his burn wounds.
While Earnhardt denied those reports multiple team sources from DEI and
Richard Childress Racing (who took over the job of getting Earnhardt and his
mother to the track) confirmed that Teresa Earnhardt had indeed expressed
her dissatisfaction with Brenda's presence and the fact that Earnhardt had
sustained those burns while driving in a non-NASCAR extracurricular race,
killing his chances of a championship that season.
Teresa has also expressed her displeasure over Earnhardt, Jr.'s statement
that at some point in is career he would like to drive the infamous No. 3
Chevrolet once piloted by his father.
"That is something that is an opportunity for us, and it would be fun for me
and Richard to do something like that in the future," Earnhardt said in
2005. "We haven't sat down and decided that is what we will do, but maybe
the last one or two years in my career, that's a possibility.
"I look forward to it. That is just something we just leave laying out there
and joke about it, but it is something that we want to do, and we will do."
But the widow Earnhardt is not amenable to that ever happening, "Contrary to
popular belief, everyone cannot be replaced," she said on the television
special, NASCAR Five Years Later. "Legends live on forever. I don't think
the No.3 will ever be driven by anyone else."
With the momentum of 2006 in his pocket, Earnhardt is poised to have one of
his best seasons ever in 2007. As a further sign of his maturity level
rising, he declined to address that statements made to the Wall Street
Journal.
I heard dumb ol' jerkoff johnson didn't fall out of the cart, but off the top of the cart...
http://www.thestate.com/mld/thestate/sports/motorsports/16392262.htm
1973 NASCAR NEXTEL Cup champion Benny Parsons is currently hospitalized
in the Intensive Care Unit of the Carolinas Medial Center in Charlotte.
Parsons, who became a popular television and radio personality after
retiring from driving in 1988, entered the hospital Dec. 26 as the
result of complications stemming from his battle with lung cancer.
The cancer was diagnosed earlier this year and was recently reported to
be in full remission.
Parsons' family has been overwhelmed by the outpouring of support from
fans and the NASCAR community and they encourage everyone to keep Benny
in their thoughts and prayers. Parsons is not allowed visitors at this
time, but fans and associates can continue to send him messages at
bp@goprn.com.
1973 NASCAR NEXTEL Cup champion Benny Parsons is currently hospitalized
in the Intensive Care Unit of the Carolinas Medial Center in Charlotte.
Parsons, who became a popular television and radio personality after
retiring from driving in 1988, entered the hospital Dec. 26 as the
result of complications stemming from his battle with lung cancer.
The cancer was diagnosed earlier this year and was recently reported to
be in full remission.
Parsons' family has been overwhelmed by the outpouring of support from
fans and the NASCAR community and they encourage everyone to keep Benny
in their thoughts and prayers. Parsons is not allowed visitors at this
time, but fans and associates can continue to send him messages at
bp@goprn.com.
