How the NFL could put a damper on NASCAR fans in Charlotte

   NASCAR fans in seven affected markets will watch ABC’s telecast of Saturday night’s NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race at Bristol Motor Speedway on alternate channels through arrangements made by their local ABC affiliates.

 

   ABC affiliates in Buffalo, Charlotte, and Rochester, N.Y., will join either "NASCAR Countdown" or the race telecast in progress following the conclusion of a 4:30 p.m. ET NFL preseason game between the Buffalo Bills and Washington Redskins.

 

Obituary and funeral arrangements for Floyd R. Ganassi

Floyd R. Ganassi (1926-2013)

On Monday, August 19, 2013, Floyd R. Ganassi slipped away from his loved ones quietly and peacefully reuniting with his beloved wife Marie Moia Ganassi whom he married in 1957.  He leaves behind an incredible story of a life well lived and a legacy of family, friendships, mentoring, business leadership and philanthropy in the communities he touched. 

He was born the fourth of six children to Paul Ganassi and Dora Moire in Blythedale, Pennsylvania on July 25, 1926.  He was preceded in death by his brothers Mario, Eugene, Ronald and his sister Norma (Oldham).  He is survived by his brother Victor (Louise). He led his life with a combination of risk, persistence and loyalty to those who were fortunate enough to work with him.

Father of Annette D. Ganassi (Greg Terpin) and Floyd R. Ganassi, Jr., a.k.a. Chip Ganassi; grandfather of Tessa Ganassi; he is also survived by nieces, nephews, many loving family members and friends.

Floyd was a self-employed investor who began his career as a paper boy.  After attending McKeesport High School in 1944 he joined the U.S. Army where he eventually achieved the rank of Corporal in the 3^rd Armored Division where he was responsible for driving a tank. Upon honorable discharge from the U.S. Army he was employed in Sacramento, California by United Airlines as a baggage handler.  Returning to McKeesport in 1947 he was employed as an appliance salesman.  His entrepreneurial spirit would not allow that job to continue and in 1950 he started Westmoreland Paving which he would eventually sell in the mid-1970s.   In 1966 he purchased Davison Sand and Gravel where for approximately 20 years he was the President.  Davison Sand and Gravel was a critical company in the Renaissance II rebirth of Pittsburgh supplying quantities of sand, gravel and stone from New Kensington for projects as large as the construction of the US Steel Building.  After selling Davison he formed the FRG Group located in the RIDC Park North where he would continue to work for the remainder of his life.  His ability to find value where others may have given up led him to business ventures ranging from telecommunications to manufacturing.

His investments and business acumen had a profound influence on companies including Applied Test Systems, Funding Systems, Pittsburgh International Teleport, Iron and Glass Bank and Presidents Casino.                                      

His philanthropy included serving on boards for MIMS, Passavant Hospital, the Birmingham Foundation (Chairman), the Ganassi Foundation, Family House, Duquesne University, Board of Visitors of the Katz Graduate School of Business at the University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh History and Landmarks Foundation and the Civic Light Opera.  In terms of his charitable work perhaps he was best known for involvement in the Western Pennsylvania Chapter of the American Automobile Association where he proudly served as its Chairman for several years. 

He was an active member of the Allegheny Club, the Pittsburgh Field Club and the Duquesne Club.

Friends will be received at JOHN A. FREYVOGEL SONS, INC., 4900 Centre Avenue at Devonshire Street www.freyvogelfuneralhome.com on Tuesday, Aug. 20 and Wednesday, Aug. 21 from 2-4 and 6-8 p.m. Funeral Service to be held Thursday, August 22 in Fox Chapel Presbyterian Church at 10 a.m.

 

Who does Mark Martin compare Tony Stewart to?

   NASCAR veteran Mark Martin was officially announced as Tony Stewart's substitute driver for the remainder of the 2013 season at Stewart-Haas Racing. When asked to talk about the opportunity to fill in for Stewart, Martin had this to say about the three-time Sprint Cup Series champion and what other racing legend Martin believes Stewart is similar to:

    "Well, I'm incredibly honored. Sometimes I have a hard time understanding how Tony could possibly feel that way toward me when the guy is so amazing, the modern‑day A.J. Foyt. When I was growing up, A.J. drove anything and everything and was fast and won in everything he drove.  And Tony is the guy today that really does that and is successful at it," Martin said.

   "So it's hard for me to comprehend that, but he's made great friends ‑‑ we've been good friends for quite some time with amazing respect, mutual respect.  It's an honor to be in the situation where we're able to do this. I'm really, really sorry that it comes at the expense of Tony getting hurt.  But one thing I do want to say that is really important here is the amazing amount of cooperation that it took to get this deal done by so many parties, and I haven't seen this much cooperation in the past, and I think it was largely in part for the incredible amount of respect that everyone has in the sport for Tony Stewart."
 

Mark Martin to take over Tony Stewart's No. 14 next week

   NASCAR veteran Mark Martin will take over the driving duties of Stewart-Haas Racing's No. 14 Chevrolet as soon as next weekend's Sprint Cup Series race at Bristol, Tenn., multiple sources confirmed to The Observer and ThatsRacin.com.
 
   Martin will drive the No. 14 while Tony Stewart continues to recover from two broken bones in his right leg, which he suffered in an accident in a Sprint car race earlier this month. Martin will remain the team's driver the remainder of the 2013 season if necessary, except for the Oct. 20 race at Talladega, Ala., sources said.

   If Stewart still needs a replacement driver for the Talladega race, Nationwide Series regular Austin Dillon will likely drive the car in that race, sources said. Dillon served as the team's driver Sunday at Michigan and finished 14th.

   An official announcement of the move is expected on Monday.

   Martin was scheduled to run several races yet this season with Michael Waltrip Racing's No. 55 Toyota team, but Brian Vickers is expected to take over those races for the remainder of the season, sources said. 

   Last week MWR announced Vickers would drive for the team fulltime beginning in the 2014 season.

   There was no immediate response from MWR to a request for comment.

   A spokesman for SHR called the report "premature."

Humpy Wheeler's take on Juan Pablo Montoya's NASCAR experiment

   Former Speedway Motorsports Inc. and Charlotte Motor Speedway president H.A. "Humpy" Wheeler is never at a loss for words, especially lately with his YouTube postings. But Wednesday, he wrote down his thoughts on this week's announcement that Juan Pablo Montoya would not return to Chip Ganassi Racing's No. 42 Chevrolet in 2014:

   One of the world's greatest drivers Juan Pablo Montoya fired, booted, dismissed … what is going on?

   In case you were on sabbatical in Katmandu it was announced Tuesday he would part ways from car owner Chip Ganassi. I mean this guy is a hero in Colombia and South America. In Europe as a Formula One world champion he was as well known then as U2. However, in 239 starts in NASCAR this Indy 500 winner has won only two races.

   A more probing question is why great road and Indy racers can't cut it in NASCAR Cup cars? Do these heavyweights of racing possess some mysterious qualities that make them very difficult to drive?

   I have talked to just about all of them from A.J. Foyt, probably the most successful in NASCAR of all of them, to Juan Pablo himself. Foyt, the ornery Texan, could drive anything from a fork lift to a D8 dozer, and won the Indy 500 a record five times and seven NASCAR races.

   "You gotta remember I started off driving the old front engine sprint cars and later Watson Indy car roadsters. I learned the rear engine later. Stock cars are front engine, rear wheel drive so maybe I had an advantage there from these guys who have only driven rear engined cars. All of your Indy and Fl drivers today came from a background where they started driving rear engine cars," Foyt said.

   World champion F1 driver Jimmy Clark whom I worked with at Firestone once told me: "My background was rear engine, very light, very quick, darty  formula cars. When you ran that first test for us at Rockingham in the Holman Moody cars I thought they were beasts. First, they weighed about a ton more than my  Lotus-Ford and felt like it even though we were going very fast. Also, the brakes were awful. I never thought I would learn to stop on pit road. I couldn't believe how narrow the tires were which made driving them even worse compared to my Indy or formula car. Could I ever be successful in NASCAR? Maybe if I had started off with them. Now … it will take me a long time," he said. He died tragically a few years later in a F1 car and never had another crack at NASCAR.

   Former world champion Alan Jones hit the bell when I asked him about the NASCAR car. "It is bloody black magic. It looks easy. Everything seems so simple. It isn't. Anyone who thinks they can jump out of a formula type car into one of these beasts and do well right off is in for a big surprise. Also there is that element of drafting which one must learn. They are just so heavy and powerful at the same time," he said after spending a week at Charlotte Motor Speedway prior to the 600.

   A lot of guys have tried the 3,500 pound stock cars including Fl driver David Hobbs and Dan Gurney, Indy drivers Parnelli Jones, Gordon Johncock, Sam Hornish, A.J. Allmendinger, road racers Elliot Forbes Robinson, Max Papis, Marcos Ambrose to mention a few. Hornish, Papis and Ambrose are still racing in NASCAR.

   I have left out former Indy driver Tony Stewart because his background was like Kasey Kane, Jeff Gordon and Ryan Newman. They all cut their teeth on front engined midget and sprint cars so were prepared for the NASCAR scene. Ambrose has been moderately successful but he came from the Australian Supercar series which  is really stock cars on tough road courses down under.

   Smokey Yunick, one the greatest wrench turners in NASCAR and the only person to win in both Indy and stock cars as a crew chief, once told me: "to make the crossover from Indy or formula cars to NASCAR is the most difficult of challenges in auto racing. It's like going from a hot jet jockey to flying a bush plane in bad weather in Alaska (Yunick was a bomber pilot in Europe during WWII). I don't know if it can be done today no matter how good the driver," he said.

   I believe that it is more the difficulty of heaving the weight of the NASCAR car around on high banked tracks on the narrowest tires in major racing than anything else. The rear engined Indy or F1 cars have huge tires and major downforce that greatly help the driver deal with their tremendous acceleration and corner speeds.

   Like one noted Indy driver told me: "If you have the courage of a bullfighter you can drive one of these. On the other hand, a stock car is much more difficult because it is all over the place compared to an open wheel car."

   So, to aspiring NASCAR wannabes my advice is to start with a Legends car and stay with front engine, rear wheel drive cars -- late models, midgets and sprint. For the open wheel novice start with rear engine cars and stick with them. Unfortunately, we probably will not see drivers successfully cross over like the old days again unless you are of the House of Stewart or Foyt.

Ross Kenseth set to make ARCA debut in Wisconsin

   Ross Kenseth, the 20-year-old son of 2003 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series champion Matt Kenseth, will attempt to make his first start in the Automobile Racing Club of America series  on Sunday, Aug. 25, at Madison (Wis.) International Speedway.

   Driving the No. 52 Blain’s Farm & Fleet Chevrolet for Ken Schrader Racing, Ross Kenseth’s ARCA debut will occur just 100 miles from his hometown of Little Chute, Wis., and only 20 miles from Cambridge, Wis., the home of his famous father.

    “It’s a great opportunity to get in a Ken Schrader Racing car," Ross said. "They always have good stuff, especially at short tracks. It’s also a big deal to make this start with Blain’s Farm & Fleet, which is based nearby in Janesville (Wis.) and has been with me each step of the way. I’m thankful to both for this opportunity and I’m excited to make my first start in a heavier-style stock car at Madison.”

   “We’re excited to get Ross in the car to go to Madison,” said team owner Ken Schrader. “He’s proven that he’s ready to race ARCA and he knows how to get around that track. We’re going to go up there and try to win this thing together.”

   While this will be his first start in a heavy stock car similar to the ones used in NASCAR’s top series, Ross Kenseth is no stranger to success at Madison International Speedway, having won at the half-mile paved oval five times in various series during his young racing career.

   But Kenseth’s ties to the Madison track run deeper than just his success at the 60-year-old facility. Matt Kenseth was the 1994 track champion and Ross’ grandfather, Roy Kenseth, has promoted races at the facility throughout the years.

   "There isn’t a greater place for Ross to get his first ARCA start than Madison," said Matt Kenseth. "That track has meant a lot to us through the years. We both have enjoyed some great times and have won some big races there."

   Ross Kenseth is also a mechanical engineering student at Clemson (S.C.) University.

   The TV broadcast of the Herr’s 200 ARCA Series race from Madison will air tape-delayed Thursday, Aug. 29, on NBC Sports.

Austin Dillon to replace Stewart at Michigan

Austin Dillon will replace the injured Tony Stewart in the Stewart-Haas Racing No. 14 Chevy this weekend at Michigan International Speedway.

Stewart, who broke his leg in a sprint car race last week in Iowa, also missed Sunday's race at Watkins Glen International, where he was replaced by Max Papis. Stewart was released from the hospital Sunday.

Dillon, 18, the 2011 NASCAR truck series champion, is leading this season's Nationwide points standings. He has two Nationwide victories this season.

SHR hasn't announced who will replace Stewart, who could miss the rest of the season, at Bristol, Tenn., on Aug. 24.

“I’ve watched Austin for many years and at each stage of his racing career he’s been successful,” Stewart said in a statement. “He’s proven to be a very fast learner, and he’s able to adapt quickly. Being the youngest champion in the history of the Truck Series is proof of that. His background in dirt racing is an asset, and off the track we share many of the same interests, specifically, hunting and fishing. I know he’ll perform well at Michigan and I’m just as confident in his ability to properly represent Mobil 1 and Bass Pro Shops throughout the race weekend.” -- David Scott