Sunday, June 10, 2012

Why Dale Junior doesn't want to mess up on pit road

   Dale Earnhardt Jr. was not among the drivers caught speeding on pit road during Sunday's Pocono 400 at Pocono Raceway. Apparently, that's a very good thing.

   While Earnhardt never wants to make mistakes on pit road - which can ruin an opportunity at a win or even a good run - there is a particular reason Earnhardt would like to avoid such issues.

   You might be surprised at the reason, which Earnhardt describes in this answer to a question about the abundance of speeding penalties on Sunday.

   "Steve (Letarte, crew chief) told me about them and just said to be careful. So I was extra careful. I was probably really ridiculously slow coming onto pit road. But I just don’t want to get popped.," he said.

   "I get burned on TV and by the fan base whenever we do anything stupid on pit road such as miss our stall or something. It takes me about a year-and-a-half to get over that in a lot of people’s eyes; so I can’t make too many mistakes on pit road. We have to be pretty careful."

Cotton Owens laid to rest

   Everett "Cotton" Owens, recently elected to the NASCAR Hall of Fame, was laid to rest on Sunday in Spartanburg, S.C. The funeral was held at Milestones Church. A private burial was held in Sunset Memorial Gardens.

   Owens, 88, was elected last month to the Hall of Fame and will be among five inductees in the Hall's 2013 class in February.

   Memorials may be made to Mobile Meals, P.O. Box 461, Spartanburg, SC 29304; or Spartanburg Regional Hospice, 101 E. Wood Street, Spartanburg, SC 29303.

   Dunbar Funeral Home & Crematory is serving the Owens' family.

   Click here to read the complete obituary.