JWack's Blog: Wack at the Track

I couldn’t help but notice the way Talladega was spelled on James Hylton’s new hauler during testing for the Daytona 500.

Hylton, who will attempt to run the Daytona 500 in the No. 58 Chevrolet Monte Carlo built and prepared by Richard Childress Racing, raced at Talladega Superspeedway 25 times, winning in 1972.

His win in 1972 Talladega 500 is commemorated on the side of his hauler saying "Driver James Hylton, winner of the Taladaga 500 and Richmond 400."





















Posted: 1/15/2007 1:45:00 PM Total Comments: 0

As RacingOne reported last week, Regan Smith will test the No. 39 Chevrolet for Ginn Racing at Daytona Int’l Speedway today through Wednesday.

Ginn plans to have Smith on the entry list for the Daytona 500, which will give the team three of four cars that are required to qualify on time or race into the 500.

Smith's first race in the No. 01 Army Chevrolet is scheduled for Bristol Motor Speedway in March. Mark Martin will debut the new No. 01 driver lineup in the Bud Shootout.

With an estimated 60 plus cars scheduled to be in attendance at Daytona that will mean a lot of good teams will have to pack up early.
Posted: 1/15/2007 8:00:00 AM Total Comments: 0

The time has finally arrived.

As you might have read on the message boards, many of the winners from the inaugural Dale Jr. Reality Cup Racing season are headed to Daytona to celebrate their winnings.

Around 100 attendees will have the chance to meet Dale Earnhardt Jr. during Monday night’s celebration along with free admission to Daytona USA. RCR members will also get the opportunity to see Dale Jr. test his Budweiser Chevrolet, if they choose to, earlier that day during Jackson Hewitt Preseason Thunder at the speedway.

Players can thank Josh Miller, also known as Dr. Nailbender on the boards, for putting together this gala along with running the game this year. The 2007 season is right around the corner and I’m sure he’s got a great sophomore season planned.

All of us from RacingOne will be there and look forward to meeting everyone that made the trip down.
Posted: 1/7/2007 3:19:00 PM Total Comments: 4
Although sponsorship for the 2007 IROC Series is still up in the air, NHRA POWERade Funny Car driver Ron Capps is still looking to compete in the series sometime in the future.

“I’m still trying,” Capps told RacingOne. “I have been talking to Signore (IROC President, Jay). I run Tony Stewart’s Eldora race every year with the Late Models so there’s a chance that will be there again.”

Stewart, who won the 2006 IROC championship and the $1 million prize, is willing to give back his winnings if the IROC Series will come to Eldora.

The biggest problem for Capps could be scheduling conflicts with NHRA’s two-day, four round, qualifying sessions.

After returning from a cruise with his wife, Capps (pictured No. 18) returned to racing last Thursday as he took part in the Stars of Karting celebrity event in conjunction with the PRI show in Orlando. Capps, who joined fellow NHRA drivers Steve Johnson, Doug Herbert and Larry Dixon, finished sixth in the 40-lap event that was won by Buddy Rice.








Posted: 12/17/2006 6:36:00 PM Total Comments: 0
Be sure to rent or buy the Talladega Nights DVD and watch all the special features that includes a spot called "Will Ferrell Returns to Talladega." In that segment I was able to ask a question, plus Will jokes with me with a line he used in the movie.
Posted: 12/12/2006 12:56:00 AM Total Comments: 1

A look at some of the highlights from the NASCAR Busch Series banquet that will air on Tuesday, Dec. 19 on TNT at midnight (ET).

  • Kenny Wallace was named the Most Popular driver of the Year this season in the Busch Series. His speech was one of the best of the night and it even included him doing a dance on stage.
  • Numerous drivers took home contingency award money, with Paul Menard earning the most at $55,000.
  • Jim Gaffigan entertained the audience with two hilarious acts.
  • Marty Snider and Lindsay Czarnaik hosted the event.
  • Robert Randolph and The Family Band played a two-song set, with Carl Edwards joining them on stage to play guitar. It reminded me of Marty McFly from Back to the Future.

Some of the funny moments during the individual driver interviews between the drivers, Snider and Czarnaik included:

  • Snider asking Kyle Busch if he can still get his girlfriends name right.
  • Johnny Sauter joked about his fall on a bicycle this summer, and said he was just trying to get fit after seeing Edwards on the cover of ESPN the Magazine.
  • Denny Hamlin's hatred for Lobsters and how he can’t even stand the site of them. He tells the story about how one was placed in his motorcoach toilet at New Hampshire and how he had to call his mom to remove it.
  • Clint Bowyer confused about why he had to pay the bill for the RCR after party, plus he runs over to check if the guitar Edwards played is real.
  • Edwards explains he's trying to grow a mullet.
  • Harvick brings back the story about the Lobsters and explains why Bowyer is a mooch.
Posted: 12/9/2006 7:03:00 PM Total Comments: 1

NASCAR needs to have it’s week in New York to showcase the series after the season, but televising a three hour long banquet is not the way to go.

If I had the chance to layout out the Championship celebration I would do it in Charlotte on the Sunday after the New York Awards banquet. Only highlights of the banquet would be shown on the televised portion of the Sunday event thus giving the formal event on Friday a time where the drivers, teams, owners and journalists can relax and have fun with a nice dinner with no staged speeches or comedy acts.

Now what would happen on Sunday?

Well, lets start by having the event at the new Charlotte Bobcats arena. Fans can fill the stadium and some of the proceeds can benefit various charities that the top drivers represent. Fans would be able to travel in to see their favorite drivers one last time for the season with out spending an arm and a leg to stay in Manhattan.

Prior to the event, the top 10 drivers would hold autograph sessions (limited numbers) inside the stadium where show cars, merchandise and sponsor booths would also be present. Also the traditional race team’s souvenir blowout would move from Lowe’s Motor Speedway to downtown during the event. Once the Hall of Fame is done, the champion will be honored there early in the day.

The event card would consist of:

1. A concert on a stage in the center of the stadium featuring various acts - Country, rock and rap (for Mark Martin) with each group or artist singing a few songs each. No sedate music will be near the celebration, so that means no Jewel. During brief intermissions between acts fans will be able to win prizes from NASCAR sponsors when their seat number is displayed on the scoreboard.

2. Drivers will be presented one by one in between music acts. Each driver will be able to select their music entrance – similar to basketball team intro – while their season highlights play on the scoreboard with fireworks blasting off. From there, each driver will get their trophy and will talk about their season briefly (no teleprompters) before taking a limited number of questions from fans throughout the stadium.

3. After the champion speaks, one last concert will setup for the grand finale, which will consist of an Arena Race between the top 11 drivers in micro cars painted up just like their respective NEXTEL Cup rides. The winner will take home a check for the charity of their choice.
Posted: 12/4/2006 12:22:00 AM Total Comments: 1

In case you missed it, Dale Earnhardt Jr. gave thanks to RacingOne during his acceptance speech Friday night during the NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series banquet in New York.

Earnhardt Jr. is the official partner for the fantasy game at R1.

That mention was the highlight for me during the boring ceremony. Maybe with the exception of Kyle Busch calling his girlfriend “Eva.”
Posted: 12/1/2006 10:36:00 PM Total Comments: 0

Today I had the chance to meet one of Jeff Gordon’s youngest fans.

While on vacation with my Dad, Aunt and Uncle, we were eating lunch on Marco Island and sat next to a family originally from New Zealand.

The family had a four-year-old boy that happened to see the Daytona 500 shirt my Dad was wearing and asked to see the back of it.

The conversation then started by asking him who his favorite driver was.

To make a long story short - I just thought it was the coolest thing to hear a four-year-old with an accent from across the globe rattle off NASCAR drivers names, numbers and sponsors.

Of course his favorite being “No. 24 Dupont.”
Posted: 11/30/2006 11:15:00 PM Total Comments: 1

Robert Yates revealed this weekend at Homestead-Miami Speedway that he will be back with two cars in the NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series in 2007 after recently finding a sponsor for the No. 88 (maybe 28) car.

"The way I'll sum it up is it's been a wonder for months and it's now full and it's wonderful. We've got sponsorship for both cars.” Yates said.

The unnamed sponsor has yet to sign the deal, but Yates feels confident heading into the off season that the No. 88 will be ready to race starting at Daytona.

"That's their time,” said Yates about getting everything close to being signed with the sponsor. “They can take all the time now because we know what we're gonna do. We can focus on building cars and things are great. It's gonna happen. We're gonna go racing. I didn't get that from some fly-by-nighter, these are wonderful people I'm dealing with."

After one of his worst seasons as a Cup owner, which included losing UPS as a sponsor and Dale Jarrett as a driver, Robert Yates is excited about the future as the team heads into its 19th season.

“I'm so happy and excited that we've got an opportunity to get our act together and I believe we can. We're excited. I think I have wonderful teams and people that want to do this, so that's where we are today,” Yates said.

David Gilliland will remain with the team driving the No. 38 Ford, while Stephen Leicht will pilot the No. 90 in the Busch Series full-time. The driver of the No. 88 will be announced at a later date.

Gilliland will also drive the No. 25 part-time for Team Rensi in the Busch Series.
Posted: 11/19/2006 9:27:00 AM Total Comments: 0

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