Budweiser's role at Daytona grows

    Budweiser and Daytona International Speedway announced on Friday the beer brand will take on an enhanced role in NASCAR’s season opening festivities.

   Beginning with the 2013 season, Budweiser will become the official title sponsor of Speedweeks – the 10-day stretch of stock-car races from the Shootout to the Daytona 500. Budweiser also will secure entitlement of the Budweiser Duel at Daytona, the two 150-mile qualifying races that determine the starting lineup for the Daytona 500. These enhancements to Budweiser’s partnership with DIS will replace the brand’s existing entitlement of the season-opening, non-points Shootout, which concluded this season.

   “Speedweeks at Daytona International Speedway marks the official start of the NASCAR season, and the opportunity to expand our presence throughout the ten-day event puts Budweiser even more in the thick of it all,” said Brad Brown, vice president of sports & entertainment marketing, Anheuser-Busch. “The Shootout has been an important element of our NASCAR program for 34 years, but this opportunity to enhance our partnership makes Budweiser even more relevant to our consumers as well as the fans of the Daytona 500.” 

   As part of the sponsorship, Budweiser will also receive the presenting sponsorship of the Daytona 500 pre-race broadcast show. The brand will also receive increased access for consumer hospitality events, including naming rights to the 5th Turn hospitality area throughout Speedweeks.

Trevor Bayne lends an assist

   The Daytona 500 qualifying process of late has brought out the best in some NASCAR drivers.

   Last year, it was Brad Keselowski who drafted with his older brother, Brian, in a two-car tandem, helping Brian claim a transfer spot and making the field for the Daytona 500.

   On Thursday, Michael McDowell got a serious boost in his Gatorade qualifying race to earn a transfer spot as his friend and last year's 500 champion, Trevor Bayne, worked with McDowell for a large portion of the race.

   McDowell said Bayne was "absolutely the reason" he is in the 500 this season.

   "Trevor is obviously a close friend of mine and for him to take the unselfish route and help me out means a lot to me," McDowell said. "There’s been a lot of ups-and-downs for him in his career as well, so it’s just cool we’ve been able to go through those together and for him to push me into the 500 is definitely pretty special."

   Working with a small team (Phil Parsons Racing), McDowell knew the road was going to be tough to make another 500 field.

   "I had to qualify in and I’ve been on the outside looking in too, so just know that this is extremely special not just for me and my family, but for our whole team," he said.

   "We’ve got six guys back at the shop that worked really hard in the off-season to give us a fast car and it’s just cool to be able to carry the Curb-Agajanian brand, the 98 car, and to have K-LOVE radio – a Christian radio network on the car – and to have Curb Records as well is a good start for us. This is the start of big things for us.”

Dale Junior on what it means to win the Daytona 500

   Dale Earnhardt Jr. was well aware of how long it took his father to win his first and only Daytona 500.

 

   But he said he still never realized what it meant to win NASCAR's biggest race until he did himself.

   “I had no idea what winning that race would feel like until I won it. I didn’t know what to compare that to. When you win that race it is really hard to explain. It’s just really hard to explain. All the things that you want out of life and all the pressures you put on yourself or you feel from other people all the things you want to accomplish; everybody sort of has this mountain in front of them that they put in front of themselves that they want to climb," Earnhardt said.

   “For a moment or for a day you are at the top of that mountain. Nothing matters, all your wants and needs, all the problems you have little petty things that bother you everything goes away. You just feel like you have realized your full potential. Everything is sort of just maxed out for the day. All the things that you wanted to achieve. Obviously you set a lot of goals for yourself and that is just one of the goals. But just for a moment, just for that one day whether it is thirty minutes or an hour after you cross that finish line you feel like it can’t get any better than this. It is a pretty incredible emotion. I feel so lucky to have had that opportunity to experience it. It is such a special moment."

   Earnhardt said all the memories and feeling come flashing back any time he sees a replay of his 2004 500 victory.

   "Every time I see that I just think about how fortunate I feel to have won that race. Some of the greatest drivers come through this sport and don’t win it. It just doesn’t seem right, but only certain ones get that opportunity," he said.

Dodge will unveil 2013 car at Vegas

   The 2013 Sprint Cup Series model of the new Dodge Charger will be officially unveiled on March 11 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway,

   The reveal will take place in the speedway's Neon Garage at 10:30 a.m. Local prior to the running of the Kobalt Tools 400. Along with the 2013 Cup car will be a production 2012 Dodge Charger R/T, giving fans and media an opportunity to see the many features of the production Charger that have been incorporated into the new race car.

   In October 2009, Dodge introduced the Challenger R/T as the “new car” for the 2010 NASCAR Nationwide Series season.

   “The reception for the Dodge Challenger was simply outstanding,” said Ralph Gilles, president and CEO. “It’s been another remarkable effort by our SRT Motorsports design and engineering teams and Penske Racing, working together with NASCAR, to achieve a Dodge Charger that embodies so many of the characteristics of the production version. 

   "Our team is confident, that even with the iconic design features incorporated into the Sprint Cup car, there has been no compromise in the area of competition.”

Tony Stewart's excellent explanation

   Three-time Sprint Cup Series champion Tony Stewart wasn't always a fan of the big pack racing at Daytona and Talladega, but given the choice between that and the two-car tandem racing which has dominated those tracks the past two seasons, he prefers the former.

   Saturday night after finishing second in the Budweiser Shootout, Stewart offered a very comprehensive explanation as to why he would rather run in the packs and why Saturday night's race may have been a lot more wild than what will take place in next Sunday's Daytona 500.

   "My point is this is better than having to sit there and stare at the back of a spoiler for 500 miles and not be able to see where you're going half the race. We had control of what lane we got to run in. We got to move whenever we wanted. You didn't have to not move because you had a guy behind you that you had to rely on making your decision on what he had to do also. We had more control as drivers today," Stewart said.
 

    "Look at the history of this race. They always crash here. Go to Talladega, they crash cars there. It's a yard sale every time we go to a restrictor

   "It's not that bad. It's the Bud Shootout. Everybody pushes the envelope. Everybody tries to see what that limit is, what that boundary is. When it comes to Sunday, you have to race 500 miles, you have to make it last till the end. It's not that they're not conscious of the fact you have to make it to lap 75 tonight, but you have the flexibility of not worrying about points standings and not worrying about the 500 title, losing it if you make a mistake tonight.

   "The competition is so tight, you have to try things tonight. If you don't, somebody else is and they're going to learn from it whether it's right, wrong or indifferent. You had to be aggressive tonight and you had to see what you can get away with. You have to try things. It's a great opportunity for trial and error.

   "As you saw tonight, it worked out sometimes and it didn't work out a lot of times. The guys that crashed, it didn't work out, there's something they took away from it and said, That didn't work out so well. Just like last night when I crashed Kurt (Busch), that wasn't even close to what I had in mind for practice, but that's what happened. It's part of the trial and error process. You have to go through that.

"Forty-three cars can win this race a week from tomorrow. If you don't push yourself into figuring out what you can or can't do, I would rather do it with my Shootout car than I would with my 500 car."

Former 'Dukes' star blasts NASCAR

    Former Georgia congressman Ben Jones, who starred as ace mechanic "Cooter" Davenport on the hit television series "The Dukes of Hazzard", issued a statement on Friday criticizing NASCAR for its decision to prevent the use of the popular "General Lee" 1969 Dodge Charger at the Phoenix Sprint Cup race in March.  
  
   "At a time when tens of millions of Americans are honoring their Union and Confederate ancestors during this Sesquicentennial of the Civil War, NASCAR has chosen to dishonor those Southerners who fought and died in that terrible conflict by caving to 'political correctness' and the uninformed concerns of corporate sponsors," Jones said in a release.

   "This is also an extraordinary insult to rural Southerners, who are NASCAR's oldest and most fervent fan base, and it sends a message against inclusion and against the need for diversity.  Many of us who are descended from ancestors who fought for the South see this as a crude dishonoring of our kinfolks and our heritage. Our ancestors were proud Americans who had fought for our Nation before the Civil War and have served honorably in every conflict since then.

   "The Confederate Battle Flag is on display at many National Battlefields and is displayed by countless historical and heritage groups who are descendants of those who fought in that crucible of the American experience.  'The Dukes of Hazzard' remains a beloved classic television show which is watched by Americans of all races and regions and is watched internationally as an upbeat reflection of the American Spirit. It is also watched by our troops in Iraq and Afghanistan and around the world.

   "While it is true that the Confederate Battle Flag has been used by extremist groups like the KKK, these groups also display the American Flag and the Christian cross in their rituals. However, the vast majority of the display of the St. Andrews Cross Flag is in a benign spirit of remembrance and reverence. I am a veteran of the Civil Rights Movement, a Life Member of the NAACP, and a proud member of the Sons of Confederate Veterans. 

   "As a cast member of 'The Dukes of Hazzard' and the owner of several 'General Lees', I can attest that the car and our show reflect the very best of American values, and that Hazzard County was a place where racism was not tolerated. This action by NASCAR  is a provocative and unnecessary over-reaction to a problem that doesn't exist.  It is a disgraceful and gratuitous insult to a lot of very decent people. It is prejudicial toward those good-hearted folks who, like Uncle Jesse Duke, are in fact 'never meanin' no harm'."

Daytona or Phoenix? Where is Dale Junior more likely to win?

   Daytona or Phoenix?

   Where does Dale Earnhardt Jr. think he is more likely to win? The answer could well surprise you.

   Earnhardt offered his opinion during Thursday's Media Day at Daytona International Speedway while discussing the uncertainty of how the racing will unfold the next two weeks at Daytona.

   "This weekend will be enjoyable but I am looking forward to going to Phoenix because I know I have better odds of winning there. I look forward to going to tracks where I’m driving the car, where I can make a difference. I don’t know what is going to happen in the Daytona 500, I don’t even have a clue what the race is going to be like now and that’s frustrating but that’s just the way it is," Earnhardt said.

   "We’ll go through Shootout practice tomorrow and get the chance to practice a little bit and see what works and doesn’t work. Then we’ll run the Shootout and really see some people play their hand and see what we’re capable of doing and after that race we’ll have a pretty good idea of what to expect the rest of the week. Right now, I have no knowledge and it’s frustrating as a driver to go in a situation like that.

   "Everything we’re going to have to learn, we’re going to have to learn really fast in just a few hours of practice. Just waiting to get that going, waiting to get that practice started and see what kind of racing we are going to be doing.”

   For the record, Earnhardt has two career Sprint Cup wins at both tracks.