NASCAR: " State of the Sport "

[Don]

Joe:

The tires not being able to be rolled freely, I don't really understand.

Appears to be a safety issue, preventing the tires from leaving the pit box , which has occurred. When the pit crew chases the tire, subject to being hit by another race car

Ron & Joe:

Not sure, but Toyota assembles all their engines at the CA facility and then the engines are shipped to the race Teams ?

[Ron61]

Don,

The article in Hot Rod was only about the Chevy engines and didn't really say where they have their big facility. It seems that Chevy only furnishes a rough block and rough head castings and they do the rest. They would build the engines from scratch but NASCAR insists on something coming from the manufacturers. Also wouldn't let out the horsepower figures but it is over 850 and they are setting them up to run 9400 RPM. They make everything in shop including cams & etc. It is an interesting article.

Ron

[Don]

From MotorSports.com

Fines to benefit NASCAR Foundation
Racing series NASCAR
Date 2008-01-21
NASCAR Fine Payments Going To NASCAR Foundation

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (Jan. 21, 2008) -- The National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing (NASCAR) announced today that starting this season, all money collected from fines issued to drivers will go to the NASCAR Foundation for its charitable initiatives.

"Now that the NASCAR Foundation is well established and supporting dozens of charitable organizations it is the logical place for fine money to be distributed," said NASCAR Chairman and CEO Brian France.

"We are excited to be able to work with our charities and help them develop a program that will maximize the impact they can have with their organizations," said Sandy Marshall, executive director of the NASCAR Foundation.

[Ron61]

That is great. They should send some to Kyle Petty's Victory Junction Camp as I think that is a great thing for those poor kids that have terminal illness and they get to go there free and have top notch medical care too.

Ron

[Joe Wicked]

Originally Posted by Ron61

That is great. They should send some to Kyle Petty's Victory Junction Camp as I think that is a great thing for those poor kids that have terminal illness and they get to go there free and have top notch medical care too.

Ron

They are. The Nascar Foundation is a "family" of charities from the Nascar Drivers, teams, owners, and some sponsors. VJGC is one of the charities that is part of the Nascar Foundation.

[Don]

Joe:

I contacted real time NASCAR Chat Support @

Nascar Customer Chat

Asking for the web link to the rule book


"Only teams, drivers, NASCAR Officials can get a Nextel Cup rules book."

I then asked about the tire change rule for 2008, reply was

Did not have the details, For further assistance with this issue, please contact NASCAR's Main Office. You can reach them by phone at 386-253-0611. You may also send a letter to the following address:

NASCAR
P.O. Box 2875
Daytona Beach, FL 32120"

[Don]

From AutoWeek.com on 1/22:

by DENISE MCCLUGGAGE

Either nerve endings rubbed tender by NASCAR's 2007 season have healed or they won't. Whatever. Daytona is creeping over the horizon, promising significant changes for '08: COT will be COT, Toyota joins a new fraternity after a tough pledge year, Little E packs his bags, and more open-wheel driv-ers grow fenders and learn to speak grits.

But the change I speak of is the fading of Busch and Budweiser from their prominence in NASCAR. So I want to say some laudatory words about the guy who got Anheuser-Busch involved to begin with.

I first met the late Monty Roberts when he was doing PR for Ford. He invented the press kit. Honest. Those now ubiquitous folders full of typing and photos simply didn't exist until Monty put some together for Freddie Lorenzen and other Ford drivers. Monty was a manic promoter. He'd give signs boldly declaring "FORD WINS!" along with fistfuls of dollars to track hangers-about. When a checker fell on a Ford, they'd get his signal, and fans saw little else but Ford signs on every fence and post as they left.

After Monty left Ford, several decades passed before I ran into him again. Wow, he'd been taking Paul Newman lessons. His hair had gone white, making his eyes even bluer. At a Bridgehampton race, Monty played decoy, ducking into a limo to draw the crowd so Paul could come and go as he wished in a nondescript car.

Still strong for NASCAR, he was now brand manager of Busch beer. Busch, with its commercials featuring a rearing black stallion and the rumbling bass voice of Hoyt Axton, sponsored Junior Johnson's No. 11, Cale Yarborough up. Champion-ships rolled in.

Monty also came up with the Busch Clash, that dash of a race at Daytona for all the pole winners from the previous season. Until then, qualifying fastest was a fleeting glory.

NASCAR saw only Busch blue at that time, no Budweiser red. Seems the A-B powers didn't consider NASCAR premium enough for their premium brew. That changed, but after Monty and A-B parted. NASCAR bloomed and boomed. Budweiser red appeared on race cars. The Clash became the Bud Shootout. Busch became a series . . . Fade out.

Whatever it's called when the pole winners line up for their race in February, I'll think of Monty and watch the Busch Clash. Join me.


AutoWeek | Updated: 01/16/08, 3:31 pm et

Article URL: http://autoweek.com/apps/pbcs.dll/ar...FREE/908784350

[Joe Wicked]

Originally Posted by Don

Joe:

I contacted real time NASCAR Chat Support @

Nascar Customer Chat

Asking for the web link to the rule book


"Only teams, drivers, NASCAR Officials can get a Nextel Cup rules book."

I then asked about the tire change rule for 2008, reply was

Did not have the details, For further assistance with this issue, please contact NASCAR's Main Office. You can reach them by phone at 386-253-0611. You may also send a letter to the following address:

NASCAR
P.O. Box 2875
Daytona Beach, FL 32120"

Well that sucks. Usually they do not hide the rule changes. I can understand the rule book being kept only to the competing teams, but there should be a "condensed" version for the fans IMO. My wife did was not a fan until she went with me to a truck race here in Texas, and then she still didn't really get into it until she started to understand the rules. Point system still gets her, but they have been changing every year.

[Joe Wicked]

Originally Posted by Don

Joe:

The tires not being able to be rolled freely, I don't really understand.

Appears to be a safety issue, preventing the tires from leaving the pit box , which has occurred. When the pit crew chases the tire, subject to being hit by another race car

Ron & Joe:

Not sure, but Toyota assembles all their engines at the CA facility and then the engines are shipped to the race Teams ?

The tires that rolled free are from sitting them down and finishing the stop before going around. They let go of the tire too quickly and it rolls. Rolling back to the pit wall doesn't go free. I am still looking for more information on it. If it is a case where they can't sit it down, but as soon as it is off, must be carried back, that is different, but say good bye to sub 20 second pit stops. We might as well go back to the pitstops of having a beer in one hand and a tire wrench in the other. There will be lots of people trapped laps down because of caution flags. I will have to take some time this weekend to look up the actual rule changes to get more than the condensed version, so i understand what the change really is.