Richard Petty – CaptainBlowdri

January 18, 2009

Petty’s Legacy-Kyle

Kyle Petty doesn’t have a Sprint Cup ride so far this season, and he certainly won’t be a part of the Petty- Gillette merger plans for 2009! Nevertheless, the legacy that Kyle Petty leaves behind is just as monumental as the one that his father, “King Richard” Petty leaves!

Kyle Petty’s legacy is born out of tragedy, not triumph! His son, Adam, died May 12, 2000 (Mother’s Day weekend) from injuries sustained in a crash during practice at New Hampshire Motor Speedway. Kyle Petty refers to his son’s death as “Adam’s accident”. Adam was just two months short of his 20th birthday, and was a very young and energetic teenager. As a driver, Adam was to take the Petty banner into the 21st century under the tutorship of Kyle and his grandfather, “King Richard”.

From that devastaing loss of his son came The Victory Junction Gang Camp, which Kyle and his wife Pattie established in Adam’s memory! Through this camp, which serves children ages 6-16, Kyle and Pattie have welcomed thousands of children into their extended family. In actuality, the core of this idea came from Adam prior to his untimely death. According to Pattie, it was Adam who had discussed the idea of helping out terminally ill children. This idea from a teenager, obviously a well grounded young man!

For reasons too many to list, Victory junction, as a concept, has resonated throughout the NASCAR community and now throughout the corporations sponsoring the NASCAR teams! The focused commitment of Kyle and Pattie Petty is a powerful magnet, one that attracts support from NASCAR’s top stars. Tony Stewart stages a race at his race track, the famed Eldora Speedway, in support of Victory Junction. That race, Prelude to the Dream, is the who’s who of racing. Stewart invites the stars of NASCAR, NHRA, and dirt track legends to race each other with all the proceeds going to TheVictory Junction Gang Camp. This year Stewart donated ONE MILLION DOLLARS to Victory Junction! The Jimmie Johnson Foundation donated $600,00.00 for a bowling alley at the camp. Mike Helton, NASCAR president, auctioned off his prized Harley for Victory Junction.

Kyle had announced that another Victory Junction Camp will be built in Kansas City to compliment the facility built in Randelman, N.C. Even though the economy is slowing, Kyle is still committed to building that facility. He further boosts that he committed to establishing facilities throughout the USA!

For Kyle, his tenure at Petty Enterprises ended with close of the 2008 season and the merger of Boston Ventures with Petty Enterprises. He will, however, be remembered for what he has accompolished off the track more than his racing prowess. While his father excelled in the racing game and IS NASCAR, Kyle has excelled as a human being and humanitarian!! The vision of his son, Adam, and the drive and desire to make Adam’s dream a reality, is very impressive.

COMMENTARY:

When this reporter reflects on the Petty family and and their contributions to NASCAR the two men stand out head and shoulders above all their peers for very different reasons. For Richard Petty, there are no comparisons in his accompolishments of winning races. He accumulated 200 wins over his storied career. His closest competitor is “The Siver Fox” David Pearson at 105 victories.

On a different stage, Kyle Petty has become a huge fund raiser for many charities, and the founder of The Victory Junction Gang Camp. He and his wife have brought to fruition Adam’s dream and it has flourished bigger than anyone could have dreamed. The Victory Junction Gang camp invites these children to attend camp for one week at no charge. These children are around other children who also suffer from some of the same afflictions and enjoy one week of fun and laughter. They are able to, at least temporarily, forget about the seriousness of problems and just have fun!!

Kyle Petty’s fetes may just out live anything that his father did on the race track! As you can tell, this reporter is a huge fan of, and contributor to, The Victory Junction Gang Camp. After having two grandaughters that lived only a few hours, I have made a commitment to donate each year to this wonderful organization so that children will have a chance to be children. If you need more information on The Victory Junction Gang Camp go to the link, http://www.victoryjunction.org/ .

For those of you who are trying to tie the picture to the post, once again I will help you. That picture was taken by yours truly at The California Speedway. It is Adam Petty’s Busch Series car being pushed out on the pit road.

AS ALWAYS, I LOOKED IT UP SO THAT YOU WOULDN’T HAVE TO!!!

January 1, 2009January 1, 2009

The End of an Era!

THIS WEEK’S STORY LINES

1. IT IS OFFICIAL– PETTY MERGED WITH GEM:(foxsports.com)

2. ALMENDINGER REPLACES SADLER @ GEM:(espn.com)

3. LABONTE LOOKING FOR A NEW RIDE:(motorsports soapbox)

4. WOOD BROS. RUNS A PARTIAL SEASON:(espn.com)

5. EARNHARDT-GANASSI SCRAMBLES FOR SPONSORS:(racing one)

6. HMS SUES DEI AND GINN RACING:(SceneDaily)

7. 2009 TENTATIVE TEAM CHART: (jayski.com)

8. BILL DAVIS SELLS RACE REAMS: (scene daily)

9. EVERNHAM STILL WANTS A ROLE IN NASCAR:(Charlotte Observer)

The 2009 season will witness an end of an era!!! On Christmas Eve Petty Enterprises merged with Gilette-Evernham Motorsports. On the outside that statement really does sound like an earth shaking event, but let us look closer. Earlier in the 2008 season Richard Petty sold a majority interest in his family business of Petty Enterprises to Boston Ventures. That is the same Petty Enterprises that his father, legendary NASCAR icon Lee Petty, started in 1949 in NASCAR’s infancy. The same Petty Enterprises that dominated NASCAR in the 1960’s and early 1970’s. That is the same Petty Enterprises that produced the “Petty Blue” color scheme on the Plymouths of those glory years. Richard Petty and NASCAR have been synonymous for the last 50 years! With this merger, Richard Petty has relinquished his control and influence in Petty Enterprises!! The details have yet to be made public, but one thing is for sure, the number 43 is now in the Gilette-Evernham Motorsports stable!

Speaking of GEM, with this merger just being announce, there are some shake-ups in the driver’s seat there. It appears that, even after signing a two year contract extenion, Elliot Sadler has been ousted from the #19 Dodge. A. J. Almendinger is set to replace Sadler in that ride. It also apears that Reed Sorenson is set to jump into the “newly acquired #43 Dodge GEM Dodge”!!

In another sign of the tough times, Bill Davis has sold his racing operations to Triad Racing Development. The 2009 season for #22 Toyota is still up in the air. The new owners are trying desparately to secure sponsorship in order to put that car on the track for the 2009 season. The economic environment is proving to wreak havoc in the NASCAR garage for the 2009 season. The DEI-Ganassi merger, Earnhardt-Gannasi Racing (EGR) likewise is finding sponsorship a difficult chore. Even though the new team will be running Chevrolets, they are still “beating the bushes” for sponsorship for their four teams!

COMMENTARY:

When this reporter read that Petty Enterprises merged with GEM, it piqued my interest. When the details come out, it will reveal that Richard Petty will no longer have a stake in his NASCAR racing team. It appears that the Petty name will remain, but “The King” will not have an owner’s stake in it!

This reporter remembers his one and only conversation with “The King”. I was about 1987 at the Atlanta airport. I walked into the restroom in the C concourse “to let out some diet coke”. As I was standing there a tall slender gentleman walked up next to me. As I slowly looked to my right I noticed the big hat, sunglasses, and an embroidery of an STP #43 on his hip pocket of his jeans. Holy Moly, it is Richard Petty!!! As we washed our hands I engaged him in some conversation. I first acknowledged how much I loved watching him race! I then asked him a few questions, which he very gracefully answered. I then asked him a question that I heard was true. I asked “The King”, about his philosphy of signing autographs. He told me, “Son I will sign autographs til there is nobody left that wants one. I learned a long time ago that if there is nobody in the stands watching the races, then I don’t make any money! ”

Here I was talking to a NASCAR icon, an American Hero, presumably a wealthy race car owner and businessman. What really surfaced there was that Richard Petty, Mr. NASCAR, “The King”, was a very humble good ol boy and southern gentleman!! He was very appreciative that this young airline pilot at the time acknowledged him. But more importantly, he took time to talk to me, answer my questions and take an interest in what I was asking him. He wan’t all business!!

GOD BLESS YOU RICHARD PETTY!! THOSE ARE HUGE SHOES THAT YOU LEAVE TO FILL!!

ONCE AGAIN, I LOOKED IT UP SO THAT YOU WOULDN’T HAVE TO!!

IT IS 45 DAYS TILL “GENTLEMEN START YOUR ENGINES”!!!!!!

I WISH YOU ALL A VERY HAPPY AND POSPEROUS NEW YEAR

November 17, 2008November 17, 2008

The Right Stuff!!

THIS WEEK’S STORY LINES

1. JIMMIE JOHNSON WINS THIRD CHASE IN A ROW:

2. CARL EDWARDS WINS AT HOMESTEAD:

3. DEI-GANASSI NAMED EARNHARDT-GANASSI RACING:

4. EARNHARADT-GANASSI RACING RUNS CHEVYS IN ’09: (espn)

5. STEWART MOVES OVER TO STEWART-HAAS RACING:

6. CREW CHIEFS NAMED FOR STEWART-HAAS RACING: (TSC/SHR PR)

7. NASCAR BANS ALL TESTING IN 2009: (winstonsalemjournal)

8. CALE YARBOROUGH ABSENT FROM HOMESTEAD: (orlando sentinal)

The 2008 NASCAR racing season has come to close. The running of the Ford 400 at Homestead-Miami Raceway has ended with excitement and a place in the record books of NASCAR. The winner of the race, Carl Edwards, won it in a dominating fashion, however that was only one half of the story. Edwards attained his ninth win of the season, the most of any driver this year. He also led the most laps enroute to the win. Unfortunately, “Cousin Carl” couldn’t overcome the 141 point disadvantage in this last race. He did, however cut a significant amount of points off from Jimmie Jonhson’s lead! Edward’s surge over the last four races was short of a miracle in the NASCAR ranks!!

The real story of the weekend was Jimmie Johson’s third consecutive championship!. That feat had only been accompolished once in NASCAR’s 60 year history. Johnson got himself in the history books along side Cale Yarborough as the only other driver to score three championships in a row. The consecutive championships won by these two individuals were exactly 30 years apart!!

COMMENTARY

At last, you say, I can finally figure out the title, the picture, and their relationship to NASCAR!! Well let me tie them together anyway for you. A few years ago Tom Wolfe wrote a book titled “The Right Stuff”. It was a book chronicaling the beginnings of supersonic flight in the 1940’s and 1950’s, the brave adventerous pioneering pilots involved, and the teamwork that it took to overcome the dauting tasks that was before them. There were heros, rivalries, brilliant people, and hard partiers, but the common theme was TEAMWORK!! Everyone would sacrifice whatever it took to accompolish the goals given them. You might remember or recognize some of those men, Chuck Yeager, Scott Crossfield, Bob Hoover, Neil Armstrong, John Glen, Buzz Aldrin, Deke Slayton, and James Lovell just to mention a few names. They all hold their place in aviation history.

Racing has its men that have “The Right Stuff” also. Try on a few of these names on for size, Lee Petty, Richard Petty, Fireball Roberts, David Pearson, Cale Yarborough, Marvin Paunch, Buddy Baker, Benny Parsons, Bobby Allison, Ned Jarrett, Darrell Waltrip, and last but not forgotten Dale Earnhardt, Sr (in the staute above). These men were just some of the brave pioneers of NASCAR. They, too, were heros, rivals, hard partiers, and yes they were brilliant in their own way! They were focused on accompolishing the dauting tasks of winning races and being better than their competitors day in and day out! They realized that it took TEAMWORK to succeed!!!

Well add one more name to the history books. What Jimmie Johnson and the #48 Lowes HMS Chevy accompolished in the last three years has cemented their place in the NASCAR history books!! That whole team sacrificed everything to be the best when the going got tough!! Winning three consecutive championships put them in the same sentence as Cale Yarborough. Until Sunday there was only one driver and team that could lay claim to three championships in a row.

MOVE OVER CALE, HERE COMES JIMMIE!!!

August 3, 2008November 13, 2008

Rain, Fuel, and Pocono

Story lines:

1. Pocono History :

2. Track Design:

3. Fuel Strategy:

5. Newman says he has made his decision. www.jayski.com

6. Reflections on Indy: www.nascar.com

7. Crunch time for the Chase:

Pocono is the last race track to be independently owned. The track was the idea of Drs. Joe amd Rose Mattioli of the Philadelphia area. Back in 1952 Joe and Rose met at Temple University. Joe was going through Dental School and Rose later became a Podiatrist. In 1960 they purchased some land in the Pocono Mountains of Pa. with the thought of bringing racing to the New York-Philadelphia area.

The first track was a 3/4 mile track on site, but by 1971 the track was rebuilt to be a 2 1/2 mile tri-oval. The track was designed by former Indy 500 winner, Roger Ward. There a three very distinctive turns and the longest straight way on the NASCAR circuit. Turn #1 is modeled after the now defunct Trenton Speedway in NJ with a banking of 14 degrees, the Champ Cars used to race there in the 40’s, 50’s, and 60’s. Turn #2 is modeled after the Indianapolis Motor Speedway with a banking of 9 degrees. And finally, turn #3 is modeled after The Milwaukee Mile with banking of 6 degrees.

Notable NASCAR firsts at Pocono:

1. Richard Petty wins inaugural race in 1974.

2 1986, Tim Richmond wins after recovering from an early crash to beat Ricky Rudd and Geoff Bodine in a photo finish.

3. 1988, Bobby Allison suffers a career ending injury in a first lap crash getting T-boned by by #63 Jocko Maggiacomb.

4. 1999, Bobby Labonte sweeps both races.

5. 2000, Jeremy Mayfield knocks the late Dale Earnhardt, Sr. out of the way to win the race.

6. 2006, Rookie Denny Hamlin sweeps both races.

Once again rain played an integral part of the race weekend. Qualifying was completed on Friday, but Saturday’s practice was completely washed out. So when the race started, it was the first time that the drivers were in the cars since Friday afternoon. The drivers made it all the way to the tunnel turn, turn# 2, before there was a wreck!! Joe Nemechek got under and into Kevin Harvick turning both of the cars around. Fortunately, nobody got in the retaining wall. This reporter will admit that ol “Happy ” Harvick really got “up on the wheel” and kept it off the wall!! It looked a liitle like the race a few weeks ago at “Smoke”‘s track in Ohio where they were sideways slinging dirt everywhere!!! That race was the Prelude to the Dream at Eldora Speedway that many Cup drivers participated to raise money for The Victory Junction Gang Camp.

The race was relatively incident free except for when Menard tangled with Nemechek about mid-race. Shortly thereafter with 69 laps to go, the rains came. The rain mainly fell back on the tunnel turn, but NASCAR threw the Red Flag. The delay was fairly short and the NASCAR officials got the track dried and the race was restarted.

Now the crew chiefs had to formulate their fuel strategy. Could they make it on one more stop or do they have to make two??? The calculators were a smokin’, the tension and excitement was escalating! As the laps were winding down there was many strategies that were unfolding. Some teams waited til their pit window opened up, some short pitted, and some were rolling the dice staying out to the end! Which strategy would be the winning one?

Carl Edwards’ crew chief elected to keep him out, hoping that they had enough fuel to go to the end. It worked!!! Edwards held off the rest of the field. A few of the competitors, Dale Jr. included ran out of fuel coming off turn 4. A slight miscalculation that caused them eight places in the finish! Remember that I said that Harvick was involved in the first lap spin, he came all the way back and finished fourth today!!

With just five races left until the Chase begins, the drivers and the the teams are feeling the pressure. It is crunch time! For those on the outside, it is time to make your move to the front! For those in positions 6-12, you have to solidify your efforts and your position in the standings. Consistency is key to making The Chase!

Finally, both NASCAR and Goodyear have publically apologized to the fans and the race teams for really missing the tire setup last week at Indy. It is this reporter’s opinion that, in this day and age of technology, it is almost impossible to think that the tire compound was so far off!!! With all the research that was done prior to emplementing the new car, both agencies should have known the characteristics of the car and the associated tire wear tendencies.

You didn’t have to look it up, ’cause I aready did!!!!!