Danica Patrick reveals 2012 Sprint Cup plans; will honor Dan Wheldon Saturday

Image via Wikipedia
On to Feb. 26, 2012, where there will now be three drivers to root for at Stewart-Haas Racing at the 2012 Daytona 500.

In addition to Tony Stewart and Ryan Newman, Danica Patrick has announced that she will start the 2012 season with a limited Sprint Cup schedule in the #10 GoDaddy car, beginning at Daytona.

Patrick will also be driving full time in the Nationwide Series in 2012. Won’t it be fascinating to watch this capable  woman racing in a stock car? She will start by running the last three races of this year’s Nationwide season, just to get additional seat time before her season officially begins.

Patrick will contribute to Dan Wheldon’s Memorial Trust Fund

Patrick said today, “she will be happy to have a roof over her head,” referring to the open-cockpit cars of the IndyCar series she is leaving behind. The last race Patrick drove, which had been her plan, was the season finale at Las Vegas Oct. 16. That race was cut short after the horrific 15-car crash that claimed the life of two-time Indy 500 winner Dan Wheldon.

In this Saturday’s race at Texas, Patrick will honor Wheldon with a special paint scheme on the hood of her Nationwide car. It will bear the same image that Wheldon wore on his helmet.

Her helmet will also be specially designed to pay tribute to Wheldon. Following the race Patrick's helmet will be auctioned off. The proceeds will go to the Dan Wheldon Memorial Trust Fund. Patrick will also donate her prize winnings from Saturday’s race to the fund.

The fund was started when Graham Rahal donated his helmet to be raffled off in what he thought would be a small gesture to benefit Wheldon’s widow and their two young sons. When Rahal announced his intentions on Twitter the response from the motor sports community was overwhelming. In three days, more than $200,000 was raised. Since that time, the fund has continued to grow.

Martinsville wreckfest; Stewart drives like a champion

Tony Stewart (Image via RottenTomatoes.com)The word of the day for Sunday’s race at Martinsville is “wreckless.” The word refers to some of the drivers, not the race itself, which was far from wreck free. There was plenty of action on the track in the form of torn up race cars, rumpled fenders, and shredded tires.

For some reason the names Dale Earnhardt, Jr. and Brian Vickers come to mind. What was up with the wreckfest? It seems that each time there was an incident, one of them was involved. In my opinion, it was the result of a bad attitude and/or lack of talent. Much of it was totally unnecessary, not that I minded a little extra racing action. It was an action-packed race, but then it is a short track after all.

Now that I have gotten that off my chest, congratulations to Tony Stewart.

What an awesome display of driving prowess. It was so good to see him beat Jimmie Johnson in the closing laps. He certainly worked hard for the excellent result.

Johnson was praised by commentators for class in the way he raced Stewart without wrecking him. From what I could see, Jimmie Johnson didn’t race Stewart any different than any of the other drivers out there. Johnson nudged Stewart’s car several times. A driver with less skill could easily have lost it, but Stewart knows how to handle his race car.

I would say that simply put, Tony Stewart exhibited championship ability on Sunday. With his third win, it will be exciting to watch the final three races. Carl Edwards has been consistent, but Stewart has been stellar. The championship at this point, is Stewart’s to lose.

Talladega bites Newman again

Image via WikipediaIts Talladega, a wildcard race 

Once again, high hopes were dashed at Talladega for Ryan Newman. 

At least the drama surrounding the crash that ruined his day was minimal, with all four wheels still on the ground, thank goodness. 

The race started out so promising, with Newman and Tony Stewart working together and leading laps. They seemingly figured out how to make it all work. Who would have thought that a mistake by the boss man would ruin Ryan's day? 

Newman's quick short-cut from one end of the track to the other after being nudged in just the wrong way by Stewart, resulted in so much front end damage. Newman didn't even hit anything. But, what a mess! Leave it to Newman's rocky relationship with Lady Luck to screw up his day. 

Race Buddy

One of the positives about watching the race this weekend was Race Buddy. It was nice to see Race Buddy back on ESPN after it wasn't excluded from last week's coverage on ABC. Race Buddy is a real enhancement to enjoying the race, especially one at Talladega. It is sometimes difficult to follow a specific driver, who doesn't happen to be the ever-popular Dale Earnhardt, Jr. no matter where he is on the track and who is talked about incessantly by commentators. I really Race Buddy allowing me to enjoy enjoyed riding with Tony Stewart as he pushed his teammate to the lead several times. The varied camera angles make watching racing much more enjoyable. I hold my breath though, with the hope that this service remains consistent and free. 


Image via WikipediaCongratulations to Clint Bowyer,...

While the last lap of the race was stellar, and it was great to see Clint Bowyer win again, the racing at Talladega leaves lots to be desired. Tandem running really isn't racing. For drivers to have to rely on other drivers to achieve success at this track, taking their own driving prowess out of their own hands, just doesn't seem right. 

That isn't to say that parts of the race weren't exciting. I have to admit that I enjoyed much of the race, even though it was a very different kind of enjoyment. It is certainly an improvement over the single-file stay-in-the-back-until-the-end kind of racing it used to be. But, it would be nice to watch drivers back in control of their own destiny. 

Ryan Newman to be inducted into Talladega-Texaco Walk of Fame

Image by Getty Images via @daylife

Congratulations Ryan Newman.

Racing fans selected Ryan Newman as the latest honree into the Davey Allison Memorial/Talladega-Texaco Walk of Fame on Saturday, Oct. 22.

Newman will join NASCAR’s elite drivers, and at the same time pay tribute to the late Davey Allison, for which a huge memorial is built in the walk of fame park built in the summer of 1994. Allison, the son of legendary driver Bobby Allison, was killed in a helicopter crash in the infield of the race track in 1993.

The park, which covers one entire city block in downtown Talladega, is in the shape of Talladega Super Speedway. Its walkways mimic the race track. The memorial to Davey Allison is a huge marble monument.
In addition to Davey Allison, the first inductees into the walk of fame, are those of NASCAR’s “Alabama gang,”--Bobby Allison, Donnie Allison, Red Farmer, and Neil Bonnett.

Each year, an active driver is nominated by fans, along with up to two inactive drivers. Along with Newman the late Alfred “Speedy” Thompson was also nominated for this year’s honor.

Newman, 33, is not your ordinary NASCAR driver. A graduate of Indiana’s Purdue University, Newman not only has immense talent behind the wheel, he also has an in depth understanding of what a car is designed and built to do on the racetrack. It is that combination that has made him one of the most successful and respected figures in modern motorsports. After graduating from Purdue in 2001 with a degree in vehicle structure engineering, the South Bend, Ind., native followed his heart and his talent to the racetrack and NASCAR’s premiere division – the Sprint Cup Series. Known for his ability to qualify at the head of the class, Newman has scored at least one pole position in 11 consecutive seasons.

Newman’s biggest career victory came in February 2008 when he won the 50th Running of the Daytona 500 while driving for Penske Racing. Now driving the #39 for Stewart-Haas Racing, Newman has collected 47 poles and earned 15 victories. When not on track, the avid outdoorsman focuses his attention on the efforts of the Ryan Newman Foundation.

Inactive driver nominee, Alfred “Speedy" Thompson was one of the most successful drivers of the late 1950's.  He made 198 starts from 1950 – 1971, winning 20 races along with scoring 78 topfives, 106 top-tens, and 20 poles. Thompson passed away April 2, 1972.

Past active driver inductees have included Dale Earnhardt, Dale Earnhardt, Jr., Ernie Irvan, Dale Jarrett, Bill Elliott, Jeff Gordon, Tony Stewart, Bobby Hamilton, Ricky Rudd, Mark Martin, Kyle Petty, Darrell Waltrip, Kevin Harvick,  Matt Kenseth, Bobby Labonte, Morgan Shepherd and Kasey Kahne. Richard Petty and Benny Parsons were the first inactive drivers to be inducted, later joined by Alan Kulwicki, Cale Yarborough, Ned Jarrett, Buddy Baker, David Pearson, Junior Johnson, Harry Gant, Lee Petty, Tim Flock, Fireball Roberts, Buck Baker, Joe Weatherly, Red Byron, Bobby Isaac, Fred Lorenzen, Fonty Flock, Herb Thomas, Terry Labonte, Rex White, Jack Smith and Jim Paschal.

Walk of Fame drivers have bronze plaques placed around the park.

Uneasy about upcoming NASCAR Talladega race after death of IndyCar's Dan Wheldon

Image via WikipediaI’ve been unable until now to write about the IndyCar crash Sunday at Las Vegas that took the life of Dan Wheldon. Suffice it to say that for anyone with an interest in racing, this was an unspeakable tragedy. The loss of this young race car driver was just too tragic, almost to bear. My heart is broken for his family, his friends, and everyone who knew and loved him.

While I have not been an IndyCar follower, I certainly had heard of Dan Wheldon. I knew a little about his career and had admired the milk mustache he wore after his first Indianapolis 500 win, which seemingly came out of nowhere. His name and face were familiar.

I do follow NASCAR, closely. While there are a few differences between the two series, there are more than a few similarities.

NASCAR’s Chase for the Championship race comes to Talladega Motor Speedway Sunday. I admit that after watching the crash that took the life of Dan Wheldon, and seeing the entire racing community mourn his loss, I feel a little uneasy about this weekend’s race. Talladega usually always has some kind of drama attached to it. This year, to add to the unknowns, NASCAR has instituted new changes—opening up the carburetor restrictor plate—which will add horsepower. This may actually translate into safer racing, and a better race, which is its aim.

At Talladega, there is always talk about the “big one,” which might be defined as a nail-biting multi-car wreck involving major damage to numerous race cars. Drivers generally emerge from the crumpled metal relatively unscathed. But it is impossible to predict what will happen at this unpredictable track.

I will never forget 2009 at Talladega, both in the spring and the fall.

Ryan Newman is the driver I root for each week. Both his spring and fall races at Talladega in 2009 left images in my mind that I can’t forget.

In the spring, Carl Edwards’ car went airborne, crashing into Newman’s car. Pieces of Edwards’ car then went flying into the catch fence, injuring fans sitting on the other side. Little was said about Newman, who finished third, as usual, despite Newman who was racing for the win only to get a race car in his windshield. He went on to finish third. http://youtu.be/c9FsYDEIZWk

Later that year, in the fall, Newman’s car was hit from behind. It went airborne, rolled several times, and landed on its hood. For a few gut-wrenching moments, there wasn’t a sound from Newman’s radio. He later explained that the antenna was knocked off the race car in the crash. When he was able to check in with Greg Newman, his father who was his spotter at the time. I think I forgot to breathe for a moment. Hearing him say he was OK brought a real sense of relief. http://youtu.be/S8BljwffrGc

Newman is only one driver that has been victimized by on-track incidents at Talladega. So many others have been involved in similar incidents there as well. There is even a video about them all. http://youtu.be/RCPRdKMgfSo

The danger in racing is palpable. I’m grateful that safety for drivers is a high concern in NASCAR. I hope some of that trickles down to IndyCar racing. And, I’ll be glad when Talladega concludes and hopeful that Newman has a good finish.

Related articles

• Heartbreak On The Race Course: UPDATE (annem040359.wordpress.com)
• Blount: The great unknown that is Talladega (espn.go.com)
• IndyCar Racer Dan Wheldon Dies In Fiery Crash (buzz103.radio.com)