Blake Shelton's speech inducting Dale Jarrett into the NASCAR Hall of Fame

 

 

   BLAKE SHELTON:  Honored to be here, everybody, and I didn't think this was going to be an emotional deal for me until the airplane ride over here to Charlotte today, and so I decided, I got to thinking about what this is and what it means to you and what it means to me.  So I decided to write this stuff down because I knew I would screw it up if I tried to wing it.  I'm going to read this to you as it came to me on the airplane today.

   People ask me all the time how I became a NASCAR fan, and my answer is always, man, I guess I was just born that way.  You see, my dad was a driver when I was a kid, not like y'all, but he raced on local tracks, stock cars, and what are the ones with the wing?  Okay, sprint cars but without the wing on them, that look like a sprint car, a midget.  I guess my dad raced midgets, okay.  You know what I'm talking about.

 

   See why I wrote this down?

 

   He was also a huge fan of races on TV, and I can't remember my dad ever missing a Daytona 500 or an Indy 500, and I put in parentheses here, although compared to NASCAR, those other cars blow.  I just put that on there. 

 

   Anyway, I think my dad always had a secret dream of one of us kids becoming a race car driver.  He entered all three of us into local motocross events.  My brother was good, my sister was okay, and I sucked.  So I learned to play the guitar, thank God.

 

   Ironically, though, that's how my history with NASCAR came full circle.  Country music and NASCAR go hand in hand, y'all, and I take great pride in being a meaningless but very loud, very defensive ‑ Clint ‑ sometimes pot‑stirring voice among the fan base and the inside of this sport.

 

   Over the years, I've been lucky enough to witness in person some really cool things hanging around you people, and the best part is back in the day I got to bring my dad along with me.  My dad was there the day that Elliott Sadler dove off the SPEED stage here in downtown Charlotte, missing the crowd by about the length of his face.  Do you remember that?  Man, that was funny.

 

   He got to see Michael Waltrip ask meaningless question after meaningless question at a drivers' meeting at Texas Motor Speedway.  To us that was a big deal, I guess.

 

   I watched him shove old women and children aside at Talladega to shake the hands of his favorite drivers:  Dale Earnhardt Jr., Richard Petty, and this man right here, Dale Jarrett.  As years went on, Dale and I crossed paths many times, and although my dad's health began to keep him from traveling, he loved hearing all the stories about the time I spent with Dale.

 

   I didn't tell him everything.

 

   Dale even spoke to him on the phone a time or two.  I believe it was little things like that that kept my dad happy those last few years.  You guys were his heroes.  And even though I know he was beyond proud of my accomplishments in music, he just couldn't get over the fact that I got to spend time with guys like Clint Bowyer and Elliott Sadler, and most of all, Dale Jarrett.  And man, what I'd give if he could have seen the old boys standing around talking about what was the biggest flower arrangement at his funeral, not because it was so big but because it came from Dale Jarrett.

 

   I hope you drivers realize the kind of impact you have on the lives of everyday, hard‑working people, people like my dad, and that's why it's my honor to be here tonight to induct Dale Jarrett into the NASCAR Hall of Fame.  So on this 29th day of January 2014, I want to present the NASCAR Hall of Fame inductee and officially induct my friend Dale Jarrett into the NASCAR Hall of Fame.

Could Jeff Gordon retire after the 2014 NASCAR season?

  

 

   Could four-time Cup series champion Jeff Gordon finally step away from fulltime competition after the 2014 season?

   Maybe, Gordon said. Then again, maybe not.

   Like if he were to win a fifth Cup series championship this season in the season finale at Homestead, Fla.

   "I will call it quits - I'll tell you that right now - right there on the spot," Gordon, 42, said Tuesday during the NASCAR Sprint Media Tour. "I think that would be a great way to go out.

   "But I know if we did that, I'd be thinking, 'Maybe we could do it again next year.'  So, don't hold me to that. I'm jokingly serious."
  
   As Gordon has gotten older, he said it's not uncommon to take time each season to consider his future.

   "I've done everything I've wanted to do in sport. I want to go out feeling good about who I am and what I'm doing and being competitive," he said. "Then you have a bad year and  your back is hurting and you say things like (it might be my final year)."

Could Jeb Burton's 2014 NASCAR season get derailed?

  

 

    Last-minute sponsorship problems could derail Jeb Burton's planned 2014 season in the NASCAR Truck Series.

    A team spokesperson confirmed to the Observer on Tuesday that if sponsor Arrowhead Electronic Cigaretes is unable or unwilling to fund the Turner Scott Motorsports team this season, then the organization will have to "review" its options for the season.

    Reports surfaced on Monday that the company would not be serving as Burton's sponsor for the 2014 season. Last year, the Internal Revenue Service raided raided Cherokee Tabacco LLC, the parent company of Arrowhead Electronic Cigarettes, seizing business records.

    Burton, the son of former NASCAR driver Ward Burton, had a successful rookie season in Trucks in 2013, earning a win and finishing fifth in the series standings.

    The team spokesperson said the organization hoped to have an update on the situation in the "near future."

Where does auto racing rank among America's favorite sports?

   According to a survey taken this month by the Harris Poll, which has been asking adult fans, ages 18 and over about their favorite sport since 1985, pro football is the most popular sport in America for at least the 30th straight year.

    In 2014, 35 percent of fans call the NFL their favorite sport, followed by Major League Baseball (14 percent), college football (11 percent), auto racing (7 percent), the NBA (6 percent), the NHL (5 percent) and college basketball (3 percent).

   Read more here.

Hockey + NASCAR drivers = Human Bowling ???

  

 

    NASCAR Sprint Cup Series drivers Ryan Newman, Joey Logano and Clint Bowyer will headline the Charlotte Checkers’ annual "Race Night," which will take place Friday at 7 p.m. ET at Time Warner Cable Arena in uptown Charlotte. 

   The drivers will take part in an autograph session before the game and the human bowling intermission activity after the first period. Additionally, Newman will participate in a post-game jersey auction.

   The Checkers will wear specialty race-themed jerseys which will be up for auction live after the game. Proceeds from the auction will benefit Rescue Ranch, Hospitality House of Charlotte and the Isabella Santos Foundation.

   The first 2,500 fans through the door will receive a Checker cowbell and the first 5,000 fans will receive a Bojangles' mystery card worth $1 to $100.

   The following drivers and celebrities will be available for autographs:
  
   Ryan Newman
   Joey Logano
   Clint Bowyer
   David Latour
   Tyler Lester
   Michael McDowell
   Corey Joyce
   Bob Dillner
   Justin Boston
   Chris Buescher
   Brennan Poole
   Ray Dunlap
   Steve Arpin
   Joey Coulter
   Brandon McReynolds
   Clint King
  

  

NASCAR qualifying changes almost like adding more racing

   NASCAR on Wednesday officially unveiled its qualifying format changes for 2014, switching to a group "knockout" qualifying process in all three of its national series - Sprint Cup, Nationwide and Trucks.

   Each driver entered in each race will take to the track during the opening qualifying round, going out in a randomly selected order. Either two rounds of qualifying or three will be used depending on the size of the track until a final group composed of the 12 fastest drivers remain.

   Those 12 will determine who wins the pole. The 12 drivers in the final group will start 1-12 in the race.

   The practical effect will be to see almost mini-races.

   “This style of group qualifying has all the makings of being highly competitive and more engaging to our fans in the stands and those watching on television and online," said Robin Pemberton, NASCAR's vice president of competition.

   Nationwide and Truck teams will use the new format next month at Daytona but the Cup series will retain its traditional qualifying format for the Daytona 500. The Truck series will retain its heat-race format for its annual stop at Eldora Speedway.

   Although NASCAR considered the idea, it will not award points to series pole winners.

Cheerios honors the 'Legacy of the 3'

 

 

   Race fans in Cincinnati got revved up for the start of the 2014 NASCAR season as Kroger and General Mills partnered to bring NASCAR star Austin Dillon to Kroger’s hometown where he met with fans, employees and unveiled new Cheerios packaging that honors the continued legacy of the No. 3 in the sport.

   Dillon, who will be competing in his first full season in NASCAR Sprint Cup Series, revealed an over-sized version of the Cheerios box at Kroger in West Chester, Ohio earlier this afternoon while meeting fans. 

   The one-of-a-kind packaging showcases the iconic No. 3 on the front of the Cheerios box with historic photos and facts about the No. 3 covering the entire back side of the cereal package. Fans will be able to purchase their collectible Cheerios box exclusively at Kroger beginning Feb. 16.

   “Not only is it an honor for me to drive the No. 3 Cheerios Chevrolet SS, it’s very humbling to have the heritage of the No. 3 featured on a Cheerios box,” said Dillon. “When I began racing, I wanted to race the No. 3 because that was the number my grandfather, Richard Childress, raced before Dale Earnhardt made it famous. It’s a special number for our family and to see the history of the No. 3 being showcased on a box of Cheerios is really cool. It’s a great example of the support General Mills and Kroger has for our sport and its fans.”