The race track where Jason Leffler lost his life plans to honor him

   The "Night of Wings" at Bridgeport Speedway in New Jersey on June 12 was suspended after NASCAR driver Jason Leffler died following an accident in a sprint car during the night's racing activities.

    The speedway has decided to reschedule the event for Sunday, Sept. 8, and with a much greater purpose - to honor Leffler's memory and raise money to support Leffler's son, Charlie Dean.
 
   Most of the original 410 Sprint Car drivers who were in attendance in June night have agreed to return to not only support this race, but honor their former fellow driver. They will be joined on the card by the TSRS Sprints.

   Admission is free but it is suggested fans donate at least the regular admission price of $13. All admission donations will go to a fund set up to help care for Leffler's son. There are also plans to have raffles throughout the night to raise additional funds.

   Those fans who were in attendance in June will be able to turn their general admission tickets into special VIP tickets. Preferred seating will be established and these fans will also be admitted to the speedway one hour before everyone else.

   For more information, contact the speedway at (856) 467-4407.

What made Dale Earnhardt Jr. sick to his stomach

   NASCAR's most popular driver didn't mince words when asked Friday at Watkins Glen (N.Y.) International about his reaction when he first heard Tony Stewart got hurt racing at a dirt track on Monday and would be out for a while.

 

   Here was Dale Earnhardt Jr.'s answer:

 

    “I was just real sick to my stomach about it. I woke up for some reason at five o’clock in the morning, which is rare and I just couldn’t sleep so I grabbed my iPad and that was the first thing that I saw and I just couldn’t believe it. I felt like I must have been dreaming. Tony (Stewart) is one of my competitors and you really aren’t supposed to have, you really aren’t supposed to have the kind of admiration I guess that I have for Tony as he is my competitor. You want to go out there and beat him on the race track and he’s fun to race with, he’s a hard racer and he takes it as good as he can get it. A lot of guys can’t take it very well. You all know what kind of guy he is so I won’t go on and on about it, but I hated it for him just knowing what being out of the car is like and knowing how much he loves what he does and loves how much he enjoys driving no matter what it is," Earnhardt said.

 

"I know he feels bad, you know. He hates to put his company and team in this situation and he personally is a bit upset and saddened. Just knowing the kind of guy he is, I hate that he has to go through that and I know they’ll be a lot of pain and rehab and things like that he will have to face and that’s unfortunate and you hate to see people have to deal with that.  He’s tough though, he’s really, really tough and everybody knows that he’s just going to beat the hell out of this and get back in the car before you know it. He’ll probably be back in the car before the doctors want to let him in. I don’t anticipate this really slowing him down at all.”

 

Stewart has successful second leg surgery; out indefinitely

   From Stewart-Haas Racing:

   KANNAPOLIS, N.C., (Aug. 8, 2013) – NASCAR Sprint Cup Series driver Tony Stewart underwent a successful second surgery on his right leg Thursday, Aug. 8 after suffering a broken tibia and fibula in a sprint car crash Monday night, Aug. 5 at Southern Iowa Speedway in Oskaloosa, Iowa.

   The first surgery, which happened early Tuesday, Aug. 6 in Iowa, served as a preliminary procedure to stabilize and clean the Grade 2 injury. The second surgery, by a specialist in North Carolina, involved inserting a metal rod inside the tibia, pressing it to its anatomic position.

   Stewart will remain hospitalized for observation. A discharge date has not been determined.

   Stewart’s injury will sideline him indefinitely from driving his No. 14 Bass Pro Shops/Mobil 1 Chevrolet for Stewart-Haas Racing, the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series team he co-owns with Haas Automation founder Gene Haas.

   Veteran racer Max Papis is serving as the interim driver for Stewart’s No. 14 Chevrolet during the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series event Aug. 9-11 at Watkins Glen (N.Y.) International. An interim driver has not been determined for the following race Aug. 18 at Michigan International Speedway in Brooklyn, or for any future races.

   Stewart was leading the 30-lap American Sprint Car Series (ASCS) feature at Southern Iowa Speedway when a lapped car spun in front of him. Stewart hit the lapped car and flipped.

One driver can clinch a spot in the Chase this Sunday. No guessing allowed

  One championship contender – Jimmie Johnson – can clinch a berth in the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup on Sunday at Watkins Glen (N.Y.) International.

    The five-time Cup champion is the only driver holding a clinch scenario this weekend. Johnson has to leave The Glen with a 193-point lead over the 11th place driver. Currently, he holds a 178-point lead over 11th, which is occupied by Tony Stewart.

   Stewart will miss Sunday’s race after breaking a leg in a sprint car race on Monday night, and will be replaced by Max Papis in his No. 14 Chevrolet on Sunday. Reigning Cup champion Brad Keselowski is 12th, 180 points behind Johnson. Johnson is the only competitor to have qualified for the Chase field in all nine seasons.

   A win at The Glen will guarantee Johnson at least a wild card entry. 

Is Tony Stewart's injury the 'straw that broke the camel's back'?

   Former NASCAR Cup champion and Speed TV analyst Darrell Waltrip was asked Tuesday whether Tony Stewart’s injury will cause more NASCAR Sprint Cup owners to prohibit their drivers from competing outside their fulltime rides.

   Here is Waltrip's response:

   “When an injury happens to a driver of Tony’s magnitude -- one of the sport’s most visible superstars -- such as when Dale Earnhardt’s death spawned safety innovations, everyone takes a closer look.  We already were questioning the wisdom of racing in other series, especially sprint cars.  But I think Tony’s injury probably is the straw that broke the camel’s back," he said. 

   "Some owners and drivers now might decide it’s too risky and curtail this.  When Tony has time to evaluate everything, he might come up with some safety innovations that could make sprint-car racing safer.  Anytime something like this happens to someone like Tony, everyone will benefit down the road.”

Tony Stewart's 2013 NASCAR season could be cut short with leg injury

   Tony Stewart’s 2013 NASCAR season may be cut short after the three-time champion suffered a broken leg following a serious accident Monday night in a Sprint car race in Iowa.

   Stewart sustained a broken right tibia and fibula in a violent wreck Monday night at Southern Iowa Speedway in Oskaloosa, Iowa, team officials confirmed.

   Stewart was transported by ambulance to a local hospital then airlifted to another facility in Des Moines, where he underwent surgery early Tuesday morning.

   The wreck is Stewart’s third in a Sprint car in as many weeks.

   According to a team release, Stewart’s planned test Tuesday at Atlanta Motor Speedway has been canceled.

   Stewart will also miss Sunday’s Sprint Cup Series race at Watkins Glen (N.Y.) International but a replacement driver has not been immediately named.

   Additional information is expected Tuesday afternoon, the statement said.

   Compound lower leg fractures with cast immobilization typically require 12 to 16 weeks of healing time. A period of rehabilitation is generally required as well.

   There are 15 races left in the 2013 Sprint Cup Series season. After his ninth place finish in Sunday’s race at Pocono (Pa.) Raceway, Stewart was 11th in the series standings.

   There are five races remaining before the 12-driver Chase for the Cup field is set. As of now, Stewart would have qualified for one of the two wild card spots.

   Once Stewart sits out a race, he’ll lose likely any chance at making the Chase this season.

   Just this past weekend, Stewart offered a vigorous defense of his frequent visits to dirt tracks across the country in addition to his NASCAR obligations.

   Stewart barrel-rolled his car several times last week in wreck in a Sprint car race in Ontario, Canada.

   “You guys need to watch more sprint car videos and stuff. It was not a big deal,” Stewart said at Pocono. “It's starting to get annoying this week about that, so that was just an average sprint car wreck. When they wreck they get upside down like that. That was not a big deal.”

What Kyle Petty said Sunday that Denny Hamlin didn't like

   What Speed TV analyst Kyle Petty said about NASCAR driver Denny Hamlin before Sunday's race
                                               
   Kyle Petty:

   “I think Denny’s a good race car driver -- really solid race car driver -- and he’s been banged up numerous times this year. We go to California. We can go to a lot of race tracks --Dover -- that hit he took up there. Honest to gosh, though, he didn’t have a shot at making the Chase, though. I’m sorry. He just didn’t. He was so far out. You can’t compete with teams like Jimmie Johnson and those guys and sit out five or six weeks. I think since that time now, he’s started to talk a lot. He’s talked about being the face of Joe Gibbs Racing. I think he’s got a little bit of the ‘BK (Brad Keselowski) syndrome’ in him right now. He’s not relevant to the sport right now as far as the Chase and what’s going on in the Chase and winning the championship. He can win the next four or five races, but it’s not going to change the championship this year, and it’s not going to change the Chase. It is what it is and he needs to focus on next year, get his body back together and come back and have a shot at winning next year.”