Jeff Byrd, president and GM of Bristol Motor Speedway, dies

    Jeff Byrd, who was a visible friend to race fans as president and general manager of Bristol (Tenn.) Motor Speedway, died on Sunday after a length illness. He was 60.

   Under his leadership, Bristol became one of the most popular tracks in NASCAR. He had led the speedway and its adjacent dragway since January 1996 when Speedway Motorsports Inc. purchased the facility.

 

   “From his days as a sportswriter to his time at R.J. Reynolds to the last 14 years, Jeff Byrd was one of the greatest promoters both stock car and drag racing has known,” said SMI Chairman and CEO Bruton Smith. “To say his passing leaves a void would be an understatement.

 

   “Simply put, Jeff got it. He understood that more than what happened on the track, it was the experience that fans took home with them that stayed in their memories. And those fans, and the people he worked with at Bristol Motor Speedway, were truly  like family to him.

 

   "Because of the mindset that he possessed, Jeff will stay in our hearts and memories forever."

 

   Prior to joining BMS, Byrd served 23 years in the sports marketing department at R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Co., departing as vice president of business development. He began his career as a sportswriter at the Winston-Salem Journal.

 

   He is survived by his wife, Claudia, daughter, Belton Caldwell and her husband Jerry; son, Christian Byrd and his wife Amy; and seven grandchildren.

 

   Funeral services remain incomplete.

Looking for volunteers to be last one inducted in NASCAR Hall of Fame

   There has been much discussion about next year’s NASCAR Hall of Fame class, but I couldn't disagree more with the theory that it doesn’t matter when anyone is inducted, just that they are.

   If that were really true, why are five inducted at a time? If it doesn’t matter who is first and who is last, then why not induct everyone considered worthy in the very first class?

   The reason is simple: It does matter. It matters to those who do and who do not get in, and it matters to the folks who run the place, whether it’s to sell tickets or get more exposure.

   There's an old addage in journalism: If you aren't first, you're last. Why? Because people remember who is first; people remember who found out first, got in first, did the first of something. There's a similar phrase used in racing: Second is the first loser.

   While in a perfect world it would nice to believe over the course of history of the NASCAR Hall everyone will be held in the same high regard as the first group inducted, the truth is that isn't so.

   Argue about why one nominee got in before another, argue over the process, argue over whether some have been left off the list entirely. But please, don't tell me it doesn't matter when someone gets in.

   I’m still waiting for any of those who believe that to volunteer to be the last one inducted.

Should Carl Edwards be expecting a NASCAR 'secret' fine?

   Carl Edwards had plenty to say about the upcoming Sprint Cup Series race at Talladega (Ala.) Superspeedway and although it was said in a much different environment - a formal media availability rather than outside the infield care center - it became obvious the message is one we've heard before.

   Back in the spring, after taking another wild wide in a bad-looking crash in a race at Talladega, Ryan Newman emerged from the infield care center and unloaded on the racing there.

   He said restrictor-plate races shouldn’t be points races, and that racing at Talladega "was something different besides racing.” He claimed Talladega and races like it were more marketing tools than competitions.

   On Thursday at Charlotte Motor Speedway, Edwards was asked pointedly, "Should there be races like Talladega?"

   This was Edwards complete answer: "Points should not be awarded at Talladega. In a fair competition they shouldn’t be because it’s so random. It’s just a treacherous race. Now, since there are points awarded, it adds a whole other level of stress to the race. You drive around and if you’re doing really well in the points, every lap your heart is pounding and you’re just trying to predict any wrecks that might happen and the best way to avoid them. I guess in a guy’s position like myself, the reasons that I don’t like it when I’m running well in the points are the same reasons that I look forward to it now.”

   There is one significant difference in the two responses: Newman received an unpublicized, hefty fine from NASCAR for making comments that "materially damage the sport." As of this morning, Edwards - as far as we know - has not.

   I look forward to learning how NASCAR officials plan to make the distinction between the two.

How come the disconnect in the NASCAR Hall of Fame voting?

   One thing was evident in Wednesday's results of the voting for NASCAR's Hall of Fame Class of 2011, and it was this: There was a significant disconnect between the published voting intentions of members of the NASCAR media (whether "official" voters or not) and the rest of the Voting Panel.

   Doesn't it strike anyone else as odd that 90 percent of the media members who made their personal preference choices known ahead of time or right after the vote all basically agreed with four of the five inductees?

   David Pearson, Bobby Allison, Cale Yarborough and Darrell Waltrip were selected by virtually anyone in the media who offered an opinion of what the second Hall class should look like.

   Yet when the actual vote of the entire panel was compiled Yarborough and Waltrip appeared on less than 45 percent of all voters' ballots.

   Even the fan vote, compiled by NASCAR.com, revealed virtually the same thing: Pearson, Allison, Yarborough and Waltrip all found common support.

   For some reason, the remainder of the voting panel had a different thought process than most media members and NASCAR fans as a group.  I mean generally it's hard to get media and race fans to agree on a lot, but this seemed pretty straight forward.

   Yet one large segment of the voting panel thought differently. What did the media and the fans miss?

   Some component of recognizing NASCAR's history? Certainly, Yarborough and Waltrip and their respective careers encompass most if not all that has contributed to NASCAR's history.

   Is it, as Waltrip suggested, some idea of wanting to recognize people while they are still with us to enjoy it? That's certainly possible. Yet, it seems to me if that were the case, Raymond Parks would have been a shoo-in for the first class.

   In any case, no one should be willing to throw the word "lock" around when it comes to any Hall of Fame class for a long time to come.

NASCAR Hall of Fame Class of 2011 unveiled

   NASCAR announced on Wednesday the second class of inductees into the NASCAR Hall of Fame. That class consists of: David Pearson, who was named on 94 percent of ballots; Bobby Allison - 62%; Lee Petty - 62%; Ned Jarrett - 58%; and Bud Moore - 45%.

    The NASCAR Hall of Fame Voting Panel, consisting of members of the Nominating Committee along with 31 others representing all facets of the NASCAR industry, met in a closed session in Charlotte, N.C., to vote on the induction class of 2011. The announcement was made in the Great Hall inside the NASCAR Hall of Fame.

   The class was determined by 53 votes cast by the panel and the nationwide fan vote conducted through NASCAR.com. The accounting firm of Ernst & Young presided over the tabulation of the votes.

   The Class of 2011 will be officially inducted in a ceremony in May 2011 at the NASCAR Hall of Fame in Charlotte. Also receiving votes were Dale Inman, Cale Yarborough and Darrell Waltrip.

LIVE chat with Scott Fowler noon-1

Chat live with Observer sports columnist Scott Fowler from noon to 1 p.m. today. We'll launch about 11:45 and start taking your questions. Click here for the link. Can't join us? You can replay the chat later today at the same address.

Tony Stewart talks about Shane Hmiel

   Sunday's Sprint Cup race winner, Tony Stewart, is a former USAC champion and very familiar with the series and former NASCAR driver Shane Hmiel, who was critically injured in a crash Saturday during a Silver Crown series qualifying run.

   After his win, Stewart was asked to talk about Hmiel, who was banned from NASCAR after three failed drug tests, and his quest to start fresh in another racing series.

   Q. If anybody knows USAC talent, you've seen them all.  You know, where did you feel like Shane Hmiel is? Where do you feel like he is and what's your response to his actions?
  
   Stewart: I'll be honest, when Shane started running sprint cars and midgets and silver crown cars, it was like, oh, man, this could be very interesting because he had never really ran those types of cars, he had never raced on dirt.  Be he just never was scared of it, he never backed down from it, he said I've got to learn at this, and he has given 110 percent ever since day one.  He's really turned into a great open‑wheel driver.

   So that's actually part of the reason I had called Irish last night was to check on Shane, and he was going to the hospital to see him.  But you know, just ‑‑ it's something that doesn't happen a lot in open‑wheel racing.  It was just a freak accident that happened, and the way that he crashed was ‑‑ the way he hit the concrete wall was not too many guys hit like that.  But it was a devastating hit, and obviously his injuries reflected that.

   But to get an update from those guys at Indianapolis this morning and hear how well he made it through the night and hearing the optimistic thoughts from the doctors, you know, it made us all, I think, breathe a sigh of relief today knowing that he made it through that first night, and that's a big step.  To hear the doctors say they don't think there's going to be any paralysis with a broken neck and broken back, we just went through that a month and a half ago with a close friend, and with Shane we didn't want to see that happen again.

   That's why we mentioned it in victory lane.  Definitely our thoughts are with him right now for sure.

   More info on Hmiel's wreck can be found here.