Before Saturday's Scotts 300 began at Bristol Motor Speedway, driver Jennifer Jo Cobb elected to get out of her car rather than "start and park" it, as her team owner asked her to do.
Following her decision to not participate in the race, Cobb released the following statement explaining her actions:
"It feels like such a 'Jerry Maguire' moment. There were rumblings all week about us start and parking this race. I have a commitment to my sponsors, my fans, NASCAR that I won't start and park. I'm very serious about my career and my performance, and I've worked hard to prove it to everyone. The conversation was never had with me until 10 minutes before the race that I was to start and park. I had already bought tires for the race, so you can imagine that this was a blow to my principles and my finances to get this news.
"As the owner of 2nd Chance, he has the right to ask NASCAR to black flag me and said he would do that if I didn't comply. There were also rumors that he was going to surprise me and take me out of the car at California. We have a five race agreement that says I am racing for him, which is why I decided to collect Nationwide Series points and not Camping World Truck Series points.
"Because of those promises, I made decisions accordingly for my career. So after thinking about it for a few minutes, which there weren't many, I made a decision to walk away. I thank God for giving me the strength to do that. Sometimes that is the best thing to do. I just felt like I owed it to my fans and my sponsors that I'm seeking and to NASCAR that if I say, 'I'm here to race,' that I go out and race."
Saturday, March 19, 2011
Friday, March 18, 2011
Jeff Gordon leads way in TV mentions
Jeff Gordon, who earlier this season snapped a 66-race winless streak with a victory at Phoenix, has generated more on-screen time for his sponsors during television coverage of the first three NASCAR Sprint Cup Series events than any other driver, according to data collected by Joyce Julius & Associates Inc, which has monitored every NASCAR race telecast over the last 27 seasons.
However, overall team sponsor exposure fell 25 percent compared to the same point in the season a year ago.
Driver Sponsor Exp. Verbal RG Exp. Driver Interview Driver
Time Mentions Value Interviews Durations Mentions
1) J. Gordon 1:50:16 18 $7,557,330 4 0:05:35 453
2) C. Edwards 1:47:28 34 7,065,910 7 0:08:01 362
3) T. Stewart 1:41:25 8 5,330,390 2 0:00:42 436
4) Ky.
5) D. Earnhardt Jr. 1:23:06 0 9,634,060 2 0:01:56 290
6) T. Bayne 1:16:42 14 9,259,655 6 0:06:06 259
7) J. Montoya 1:11:53 8 3,679,550 2 0:01:16 183
8) J. Johnson 1:11:06 6 4,053,770 2 0:01:41 185
Tuesday, March 15, 2011
Edwards: Let NASCAR be NASCAR
After his win at Las Vegas, Carl Edwards made some remarks about the quality of racing that went largely unnoticed.
Yet they probably are some of the most important that have been spoken by a NASCAR driver in some time.
Asked about the ability of the race leader to drive off to a big lead on every restart at the Las Vegas races, Edwards offered this assessment:
“I can tell you from the driver’s seat that there are no more exciting tracks to drive on. This place has a lot of character. You slide the car at 200 mph through the corner and there are multiple grooves. I think striving to deliver a product that is impossible to deliver in auto racing is foolish,” he said.
“I think we need to be NASCAR. We need to be what we are. Some days we will have races that are more single-file and some days we won’t. The true sport of auto racing is making your car fast, driving in perfectly and having the engine have tons of power.
“I think the fans can appreciate that without having to be in a giant pack with the restrictor plates. I think the savvy fans know what is going on.”
But do they?
Edwards couldn’t be more correct in his reasoning. Every sport has games with blowout scores, even championship games. Fans of the winning team generally don’t care how their team wins, just that they do.
Yet for some reason in NASCAR, it is almost expected that every finish must be down-to-the-wire and a fender-banging affair to be considered “good racing” by many fans and media alike.
Because so many people expect that from the sport, NASCAR itself feels compelled to make rules that help assure those kinds of outcomes. In the process, the outcomes too often appear contrived, which inevitably hurts the sport’s perception.
Edwards said it best.
Just let NASCAR be NASCAR, whether it’s winning by a lap or racing four-wide across the finish line.
Monday, March 14, 2011
Chip Ganassi up for two SBJ Awards
The nominees for the 2011 Sports Business Awards, presented by Street & Smith’s SportsBusiness Journal and SportsBusiness Daily were announced on Monday and there were a couple categories with NASCAR connections.
George Bodenheimer from ESPN; Chip Ganassi from Ganassi Racing; David Levy from Turner Broadcasting System; Kevin Plank from Under Armour; and Pat Riley from the Miami Heat; have been selected as nominees in the Sports Executive of the Year category.
Ganassi Racing, the New York Jets, Orlando Magic, Pittsburgh Penguins and San Francisco Giants have been selected as nominees in the Professional Sports Team of the Year category.
The Sports Business Awards recognize excellence and outstanding achievement in the business of sports for the period from March 1, 2010 through Feb. 28, 2011. Winners will be announced at an awards ceremony that will be held May 18, at the New York Marriott Marquis at Times Square.
Please click here for the nominees in all 15 categories.
Two Rick Ware Racing contract employees involved in fatal wreck
Two independent contractor employees of Rick Ware Racing's NASCAR Nationwide and Truck teams were involved in a fatal accident Friday night in Thomasville, N.C.
The driver of a Toyota Tundra truck, Dean Shaut, lost control of his vehicle while driving on Ball Park Road in Thomasville and was pronounced dead at the scene, police said. The passenger Stephen Masch was airlifted to Baptist Hospital in Winston-Salem, N.C., with spinal cord and head injuries and is listed in critical condition.
Shaut, 44, and Masch, 29, began assisting RWR this season on the Nationwide and Truck teams as independent contractors. Shaut was a 20- year veteran of the NASCAR community as a fabricator and mechanic. Masch is an independent contract mechanic for the RWR's N0. 15 Nationwide team driven by rookie Timmy Hill.
“All of us at RWR are deeply saddened about the news and are suffering a great loss over this tragic accident,” said team owner Rick Ware. “We can’t express our condolences enough at a time like this to each of the families and words alone right now just don’t express our thoughts enough."
Shaut is survived by his wife, Sandy; stepchildren, Chris and Megan; brother, Rick Shaut; and two nieces. Memorial service is 7 p.m. Friday at Davidson Funeral Home, 858 Hickory Tree Rd., Winston Salem, N.C. Visitation is 5 to 7 p.m. Friday.
The driver of a Toyota Tundra truck, Dean Shaut, lost control of his vehicle while driving on Ball Park Road in Thomasville and was pronounced dead at the scene, police said. The passenger Stephen Masch was airlifted to Baptist Hospital in Winston-Salem, N.C., with spinal cord and head injuries and is listed in critical condition.
Shaut, 44, and Masch, 29, began assisting RWR this season on the Nationwide and Truck teams as independent contractors. Shaut was a 20- year veteran of the NASCAR community as a fabricator and mechanic. Masch is an independent contract mechanic for the RWR's N0. 15 Nationwide team driven by rookie Timmy Hill.
“All of us at RWR are deeply saddened about the news and are suffering a great loss over this tragic accident,” said team owner Rick Ware. “We can’t express our condolences enough at a time like this to each of the families and words alone right now just don’t express our thoughts enough."
Shaut is survived by his wife, Sandy; stepchildren, Chris and Megan; brother, Rick Shaut; and two nieces. Memorial service is 7 p.m. Friday at Davidson Funeral Home, 858 Hickory Tree Rd., Winston Salem, N.C. Visitation is 5 to 7 p.m. Friday.
Memorials may be made to the American Heart Association, 101 CentrePort Dr., Suite 130, Greensboro, N.C. 27409.
To see the story filed by Fox 8 TV out of High Point go here.
To see the story filed by Fox 8 TV out of High Point go here.
Wednesday, March 9, 2011
Monday, March 7, 2011
More from Kevin Conway on his run-in with Robby Gordon at Vegas
Late Monday, NASCAR driver Kevin Conway released a statement further describing his run-in with Robby Gordon Friday afternoon at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.
Gordon was placed on indefinite probation by NASCAR for his role in the incident. Conway was not penalized. Conway filed a complaint with the Las Vegas Police Department on Friday night.
Here is the statement in its entirety:
“I don’t mind stiff competition, but I want to make sure the hard facts are told. First and foremost, I love being a part of NASCAR and have worked very hard to earn the privilege of competing in the Sprint Cup Series. On Friday night, Robby Gordon, who has a long history of issues in NASCAR decided to ambush me in the garage area at the Las Vegas Motor Speedway, completely unprovoked. Robby even confronted Joe Nemechek, my car owner, on pit road during Cup Series qualifying shoving him and telling him that he was looking for me and going to assault me. We have many witnesses including a crew chief that signed a police report documenting the truth of his physical attack on me.
"Situations like this are not good for our sport. It’s one thing if we were racing each other and I wrecked him or he wrecked me, that’s an entirely different situation. It’s very unfortunate that he chose to physically attack me to address his rage. Our fans, sponsors and NASCAR expect and deserve more from our competitors than this bullish, illegal behavior that was displayed by Robby against me.”
To read the original story about the incident, go here.
Gordon was placed on indefinite probation by NASCAR for his role in the incident. Conway was not penalized. Conway filed a complaint with the Las Vegas Police Department on Friday night.
Here is the statement in its entirety:
“I don’t mind stiff competition, but I want to make sure the hard facts are told. First and foremost, I love being a part of NASCAR and have worked very hard to earn the privilege of competing in the Sprint Cup Series. On Friday night, Robby Gordon, who has a long history of issues in NASCAR decided to ambush me in the garage area at the Las Vegas Motor Speedway, completely unprovoked. Robby even confronted Joe Nemechek, my car owner, on pit road during Cup Series qualifying shoving him and telling him that he was looking for me and going to assault me. We have many witnesses including a crew chief that signed a police report documenting the truth of his physical attack on me.
"Situations like this are not good for our sport. It’s one thing if we were racing each other and I wrecked him or he wrecked me, that’s an entirely different situation. It’s very unfortunate that he chose to physically attack me to address his rage. Our fans, sponsors and NASCAR expect and deserve more from our competitors than this bullish, illegal behavior that was displayed by Robby against me.”
To read the original story about the incident, go here.
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