Toronto Star Wheels: Norris McDonald column on up and comers

Norris McDonald has a piece in today's Toronto Star Wheels section about a pair of young Canadian stock car drivers (Chris Raabe and Mike Lichty) to watch out for. Click here for the story.

MARK MARTIN: I PRACTICED DRIVING!

Mark Martin stepped away from the No. 5 Kellogg's Chevrolet literally shaking.

"I ran out of talent," admitted Martin as he talked about his pole-winning qualifying effort at Atlanta Motor Speedway on Friday night for Sunday's Kobalt Tools 500; his first pole in 281 events dating back to Richmond in 2001.

"I feel like a rookie, I really, really do. Not only did the lap scare me and I felt like I ran out of talent up off of turn four, there was no possible way I could hold my foot on the floor and not hit the wall with the back end first up off of turn four. It was really fun, I live to scare myself like that, that is part of it. But, I continued to be nervous all the way through the rest of qualifying much like I used back in the early '90s when we lucky enough to get poles back then. Has been a long time. I do want to commend the No. 8 car bunch for putting me the outside pole six times last year, which was pretty incredible. But I wouldn't come out of the trailer until (Travis) Kvapil (final qualifier) ran. I would not budge because that would just be my luck. So, I feel like a rookie right now. It was a pretty strenuous qualifying session, I'm looking forward to working on race setup tomorrow."

Martin's lap of 29.640 seconds, 187.045 mph, was a full tenth of a second faster than second place qualifier Kurt Busch and seven tenths faster than last place qualifier Mike Bliss.

For Busch, Martin's lap was strong enough to convince him he couldn't match it. It was, according to Busch he difference between "shaking and tentative."

“It is," said Busch when asked about shaking and being tentative. "It’s amazing. When you hit a lap as good as Mark did tonight, I think everybody saw that lap get posted and say ‘man, I can’t touch that, I’m not even going to come close.’ Everybody is holding their breath the 30 seconds they are out there. The fact is, if you hit it just right, you’ll know if you’re tight or loose, you’ll know if you’re sliding. You hope that the lap ends and it’s over with. Whoever could slide their car the fastest was going to end up the quickest. For us, I couldn’t get in the corner right because I was shaking, I felt like I was too tentative to throw it in the corner and step on the gas hard. I’m still surprised that we’re second. We ran a different groove and maybe that came into play. We ran a groove up, the second lane of asphalt. It was a little slower through the corners, but a little better down the straightaways. There’s where our Penske Dodge has been running better this year. I think that is going to be a trend the rest of the weekend, running up a little higher.”

Jamie McMurray's third place effort prompted the Roush Racing driver to believe a lot of his fellow competitors would be complaining come race day. For him, the car and the lap were okay, even thought he admitted to shaking just a bit from the experience.

“I wasn’t on the pole, so maybe I should be shaking more," McMurray said. "I don’t know, I think it’s been more adventurous for me here when I’ve qualified 30^th and you’re trying to hang onto that car. My car, it wasn’t that thrilling of a lap. I think my save last week at Vegas was way more exciting for me than my qualifying lap here.”

Following the mandatory victory lane functions Martin, still in constant motion as he sat before the media, talked about his lap, which was possible because of a combination of good preparation and driver discipline.

"Most of the day, I didn't know what to tell the team to do," Martin explained. "The car was tight in practice and we loosened it up and that didn't help. We went the other way and that didn't help. From there, I told them to leave the car alone and I practiced driving.

"I'm an old man and I don't need to practice how to drive but today I needed to practice discipline."

It might be that a few of Martin's fellow competitors should take a cue from the old salt and instead of searching frantically on how to adjust the car to go faster, practice a little discipline in their driving and see if that doesn't transfer into faster speeds.

By Stan Creekmore

Driver News - Mike Vincec: 2009 racing season starts

Mike Vincec begins the 2009 campaign... Stars of Karting and Skip Barber National Series on tap

Stouffville, Ontario (March 05, 2009) Looking to pick up where he left off the 2008 racing season, Mike Vincec, who will turn eighteen in just a few weeks, is in Ocala, Florida for the first round of the Snap On Stars of Karting Series presented Indy Racing League. The young Canadian comes to the first race as the reigning national champion in the series looking to continue on the successes of the previous season. Following this, Vincec will head to Sebring, Florida for the first round of the Skip Barber National Series for open-wheel, Mazda-powered race cars.

The move from karts to cars is not unknown to Vincec who was selected from the Sunoco Ron Fellows Karting Championship in 2007 to compete in a Skip Barber Regional series last winter (2007-2008) where he recorded podium results, including two wins on his way to second overall in the championship and receiving the Rookie of the Year honors.

Mike's reward for winning the Stars of Karting national title in 2008, where he also collected both east and west division championships, was a scholarship to compete in the Skip Barber National Series. This is an important step for any karter looking to move up in the sport as the winner of this series will receive a scholarship for the Star Mazda Series presented by Goodyear which includes greater exposure for the driver at premiere race events and international television coverage.

The immediate task at hand however, is to put his Cameron Motorsports/CRG in contention to defend his Intercontinental C (ICC) championship.

"It will be great to get back on track after a long winter" commented Vincec before heading off to Florida. "We did some testing in the Skip Barber cars last week but this will be our first competition in months. It will be fun to be working with Trevor (Wickens) again and we hope to put our combined efforts at the top of the charts this weekend."

Mike will remain in Florida to tune for a junior member of the team at the Florida Winter Tour Rotax weekend and then head to Sebring, Florida for the first two rounds in the Skip Barber National series. This event takes place as part of the 12 Hours of Sebring weekend and which includes ALMS, Atlantic and Star Mazda events making it an ideal showcase for young drivers.

News updates and results from Ocala will be posted on Mike's website as they become available.

From Chris Jameson / Level Ten Communications

Sports Car Club of BC - March 2009 newsletter

Peter Weedon of the Sports Car Club of BC (SCCBC) forwarded this link to the new March 2009 edition of the club's Pit Pass newsletter.

Lincoln Electric and NASCAR announce five-year extension

Lincoln Electric and NASCAR announce five-year extension... Exclusive Partnership Agreement Through 2014 Includes Contingency Program

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (March 4, 2009) – Lincoln Electric and the National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing (NASCAR) announced a five-year extension of their agreement in which Lincoln Electric remains an exclusive automotive partner under the NASCAR Performance brand and retains its competition contingency sponsorship which includes the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series in 2009.

Lincoln Electric became the exclusive NASCAR Performance sponsor of welders and welding helmets in 2000 and held contingency award programs in the NASCAR Nationwide Series, NASCAR Camping World Truck Series, NASCAR Canadian Tire Series and the NASCAR Whelen All-American Series.

In 2009, Lincoln Electric will add contingency sponsorships in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series and the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series with weekly prize money provided to eligible teams based on finish position. Lincoln Electric will also continue their programs in the NASCAR Canadian Tire Series and the NASCAR Whelen All-American Series. In addition, a year-end award of $5,000 and a Lincoln Welder will be presented to the NASCAR Whelen All-American Series National Champion car owner during the season ending banquet.

“Our partnership with NASCAR has been valuable to our business and we see continued benefits from this sponsorship,” said Mickey Holmes, motorsports marketing manager, Lincoln Electric. “Utilizing the NASCAR Performance brand and continuing our contingency program keeps the Lincoln Electric name in front of millions of brand loyal NASCAR fans.”

“Lincoln Electric is a great example of a sponsor expanding its support in our sport,” said Odis Lloyd, managing director of NASCAR’s Automotive Group. “Entering the sport in 2000, Lincoln became an integrated partner with team relationships as well as the contingency program, and we are proud to have them continue that partnership.”

NASCAR is one of the few professional sports leagues that have created an automotive-specific marketing program for its family of automotive sponsors. The platform, branded as NASCAR Performance, includes exclusive marketing rights, the ability to co-brand products and product packaging as well as involvement in a long list of integrated media programs.

From NASCAR

AIM Autosport - Peter Dempsey joins 2009 Star Mazda squad

Peter Dempsey joins AIM Autosport Star Mazda squad at Sebring

Woodbridge, Ontario (March 05, 2009) AIM Autosport is pleased to announce that Peter Dempsey will join the team to contest the 2009 Star Mazda Championship presented by Goodyear. Dempsey, a native of Ashbourne, Ireland, is slated to run in a third car for AIM starting with the first race of the season at Sebring, Florida in a few weeks. The twenty-year-old who was selected the Motorsport Ireland Young Racing Driver of the Year, is returning to the series following a strong run in 2008.

Over fourteen races last season, Dempsey recorded seven podium results including four victories and he started from pole three times. He would finish the season third overall in the championship but is hoping the move to AIM Autosport, which brought home the 2008 championship, will provide the opportunity to be on the top step this year.

"I am really looking forward to the challenge this year with a new team" commented Dempsey. "I feel I am with the right team to try and make amends for last years disappointments. Hopefully with the support from Motorsport Ireland and my sponsors that are to come on board we can we can get of to a good start at Sebring and stay in the title hunt for the whole year. I would like to thank Keith at AIM Autosport for being so patient as we put this deal together and I feel like the whole team package is right for 2009."

There are some challenges ahead for teams and drivers this year as there have been some updates to the car. Peter had this to say about the changes.

"The Star Mazda car has changed from last year with new aero and suspension upgrades which will help. It is a extremely competitive championship so it is going to take a lot of hard work to make sure we are fighting for wins every weekend. I am really up for it this year after learning so much in my first season of slicks and wings last year."

On finalizing the deal AIM Autosport's Star Mazda team manager Keith Willis said "It is great to have a driver with Peter's skill and determination on the team. He was among our toughest competitors last season and we now hope to bring him the championship in 2009." Willis continued, "Peter will also be a solid addition to the AIM team in terms of technical feedback and car setup that will help his younger team mates to develop the skills necessary to become championship contenders in the future."

Dempsey and the AIM Autosport crew will get their first chance to test the new car setup in the days leading up to the race at Sebring after weather conditions forced the team to change plans for a scheduled test. "Peter has his work cut out for him at Sebring, but we know he will be up to the task" commented Willis.

The Star Mazda Series presented by Goodyear has a long tradition of drivers moving up the motorsport ranks across North America and around the world. The series regularly competes on the under-card at major motor racing events including the Rolex Grand Am Series and American Le Mans. This presents unique opportunities for the drivers to display their talent in front of leading international race teams. The series also enjoys television broadcast nationally on SPEED TV.

The first event of the 2009 calendar for the Star Mazda Series presented by Goodyear takes place March 20 in Sebring, Florida.

AIM Autosport Facts: Established in 1995, AIM Autosport  has a mandate to identify, train and manage emerging motorsport talent. AIM has provided many young drivers with a solid foundation on which to build a career in professional racing. The success of the AIM driver development programs has been achieved through the dedication of our employees and the ongoing support of our commercial and technical partners. Away from the track, AIM Autosport serves the needs of the racing community with a purpose-built preparation shop situated in the Toronto suburb of Woodbridge, Ontario. In addition to the Star Mazda team, AIM fields the No. 61 Ford Riley with drivers Mark Wilkins and Burt Frisselle and the No. 51 Ford Riley with drivers John Farano and Alex Figge in the Grand Am Rolex Sports Car Series presented by Crown Royal Cask No. 16

From Chris Jameson / Level Ten Communications

Lincoln Electric Helps Power Kyle Busch to Sprint Car Victory in Las Vegas

Cleveland - Las Vegas native Kyle Busch roared to victory for his first hometown win at the March 1 Shelby® 427 NASCAR® Sprint Car Series at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. And Lincoln Electric helped put him there, as the company is the exclusive provider of welding equipment and products to Kyle Busch and his team at Joe Gibbs Racing.

Busch enjoyed a truly sweet victory: Although he won the pole, he started at the rear of the field due to an engine change during Friday's practice and still came back to claim the hometown win.

Lincoln Distributor and Customer Score Day at the Track
Busch's win wasn't the only excitement for Lincoln Electric customers in Las Vegas. The winners of Lincoln's s recent Power MIG® XT / Magnum® 100SG spool gun promotion were also on site at the Las Vegas Motor Speedway for the Shelby 427 race.

Two winners - one distributor and one customer - each brought a guest and spent a VIP day at the race visiting a couple of Lincoln-sponsored teams and watching Kyle Busch land in the winner's circle.

Winners included:
Distributor: Cynthia Griffin of Airgas® Intermountain, Boulder, Colo.
Customer: Thad Tuin of Grand Junction, Colo.

Tuin was randomly selected after registering his product at http://www.lincolnelectric.com/.

The Lincoln Electric Company, headquartered in Cleveland, Ohio, is the world leader in the design, development and manufacture of arc welding products, robotic arc welding systems, fume extraction equipment and plasma and oxyfuel cutting equipment. The company holds a leading global position in the brazing and soldering alloys market.

Canadian customers can reach Lincoln Electric Company of Canada by calling 905-565-5600 or visit www.lincolnelectric.ca

NASCAR TRUCKS: TRG Motorsports' J.R. Fitzpatrick Ready for Atlanta Truck Race

TRG Motorsports' J.R. Fitzpatrick Ready for Atlanta Camping World Truck Race

Mooresville, North Carolina (March 3, 2009) - John Ryan (J.R.) Fitzpatrick and his No. 7 Mammoet-sponsored, TRG Motorsports Chevrolet Silverado is headed to Atlanta Motor Speedway for the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series American Commercial Lines 200 to be run Saturday, March 7.

Fitzpatrick is running for the Raybestos Rookie of the Year. With his rookie season comes learning new tracks, Atlanta Motor Speedway will be one of those.

"I am excited to run Atlanta Motor Speedway," Fitzpatrick said. "I am getting the tapes of last year's race from Butch (Hylton, crew chief) so I will be studying them before we start practice on Thursday. We are using the same truck as we did in California. We need to get the truck to handle a little better and we can be in the top 10 for sure."

TRG Motorsports ran solidly in the top 10 at Atlanta last year.

"The team ran eighth with the truck there last year. So that is why we want to take the same piece back. In California they ran a different truck, so our notes weren't quite as good. I hear that the trucks do 190 mph around Atlanta. The speed doesn't bother me, but when you are going that fast and you have to roll out of the gas, you lose a few places. We have to get the truck handling so we can run towards the front. We are going to try and keep it really free. I was just way too tight the last race in California."

Kevin Buckler, TRG Motorsports team principal, knows that Fitzpatrick will have his challenges as he goes through his first full season in the Truck Series.

"We are committed to helping J.R. through all of the challenges and development of his first full season in the Truck Series," Buckler said. "We have committed Butch to the program. Butch is very good at bringing the best out of young talent as well as managing all aspects of a championship level program. Atlanta will be a big race for J.R., but with his natural talent and tremendous learning curve we all know he can do the job."

The NASCAR Camping World Truck Series American Commercial Lines 200 will be televised live on the SPEED Channel Saturday, March 7 starting at 1:30 p.m. ET.

TRG Motorsports is based in Mooresville, North Carolina. Currently the team fields a NASCAR Sprint Cup Series entry as well as a Camping World Truck Series effort and an ARCA RE/MAX Series team. The Racer's Group was founded in 1993 and has been competing at the top level of sports car racing. TRG's Porsche sports car program is run out of the company's headquarters in Petaluma, California. The team has the most wins of any team in the Grand-Am Rolex Series with 26, including the 2005 and 2006 Rolex Series GT championship trophy to go along with wins in the Rolex 24 Hours at Daytona (three) and the 24 Hours of Le Mans.

For more information contact please contact Kyle Chura at (248) 821-0468 or chura@aol.com. Detailed team info can be viewed at www.trgmotorsports.com or www.theracersgroup.com.

From Kyle Chura / TRG Motorsports

NASCAR Entry List for American Commercial Lines 200 - Atlanta Motor Speedway - 3/7/2009

Canadian J.R. Fitzpatrick is entered as the driver of the #7 Mammoet NASCAR Truck for this weekend's race in Atlanta.

COMPASS360 SIGN MILLER AND POBST FOR 2009 SEASON

Toronto, ON -- Compass360 Racing today announced that Christian Miller and Randy Pobst have been signed to drive the team's #74 Honda Civic Si for the 2009 season.

After a strong showing at Daytona, where the duo were immediately comfortable with each other and their Civic Si, the Team is excited to extend that relationship for the rest of the year. "Randy and Christian are one of the best driver pairings in the series," remarked Technical Director Ray Lee. "They worked well together, and are great team-mates."

Miller and Pobst join Matt Pritiko and Travis Walker as season-long drivers for C360R. "We've got two pretty remarkable sets of full-time drivers for 2009," noted Team Principal Karl Thomson. "We're very lucky to have four guys of this caliber driving for us. Travis and Matt did a great job at Daytona by finishing third, as it was a sprint race from beginning to end, with Chris and Randy right in the thick of it as well."

"I can't tell you how excited we are to secure Christian and Randy this year," added Thomson. "Randy really is one of the best drivers around, and to be able to pair his amazing talent with Chris, who impressed when he drove with us last year, is a dream come true."

Miller qualified fourth at Daytona, and Pobst ran as high as second, fighting for the lead with just a few laps to go before he had to pit for a quick splash of fuel, dropping him down to 12th. "The racing competition was among the most intense and satisfying of my entire career," said Pobst. "The racing was so close, with four or five cars racing back and forth for the lead. Really great stuff. The car was so well set up. It was fun to be in a Honda again with the high reving VTech engine. It howls like a race engine. I love that sound."

The next KONI Challenge race is at Homestead/Miami Speedway. Grand-Am is offering free tickets to the infield as part of their Fan Appreciation Weekend. If you want to have a chance to see great racing, absolutely free, visit http://www.grand-am.com/konitickets

Compass360 Racing (C360R) is the motorsports division of Compass360 Marketing Communications, a firm offering branding expertise to clients in diverse industries across North America. For details visit http://www.C360R.com or http://www.compass360.com

Dirt From The Stands by Greg Cybulski... March 2009

Dirt From The Stands  by Greg Cybulski

Racing In A Troubled Economy

Well race fans,

In the face of an economic crunch, dirt track racing heads into the 2009 season with many questions before it. 

How will this affect race night?  How many teams will run full or limited schedules?  What will become of touring groups?

More than any other year, 2009 will be the year that racing promoters and managers will prove their worth and passion for the common good of the sport they love.  If a self-proclaimed promoter, who only opens the gate and sells tickets, thinks that he/she will get by this year they had better think again.  Advertising is at a premium in all sectors of entertainment and products as businesses fight for their survival with the consumer's dollar.  A seasonal business like a race track has to work just as hard, if not more so, due to it's narrow window of opportunity, to bring in their customers, to entertain them for 3 hours and hope they did a good enough job to get some valuable word-of-mouth customer advertising around the community.  Never underestimate the power of a satisfied customer.

The groups this reporter will be watching with great interest are the tours.  Not so much the larger national tours like the World of Outlaws and Lucas Oil ASCS National Series, but the regional series.  Organizations which are able to prove their management skills, such as look after the interests of their customers, the speedway, and the majority of teams in their region should, in theory, remain in good shape.  Having said this, there would be no surprises if some schedules were shortened this season.

Specifically in the sprint car class, co-sanctioning may be a necessity in keeping up car counts.  Regional managers including Chuck Zitterich of the ASCS Northern Plains region and William Gold of the ASCS CanWest Series will look after their teams and work towards a satisfactory product on the track come race night.  This season, I believe the 360 sprint car class will show race fans why they will survive during a low economy.  A nationally accepted ASCS rules package allows many teams the freedom to travel and offer support to races outside their region.

One does not have to look far to see that this is a model for success.  In Canada, the two largest sprint car events are without a doubt, the Canadian Sprint Car Nationals, at Ohsweken Speedway in Ontario and Castrol Raceway's Gold Cup race in Edmonton, Alberta. The Canadian Sprint Car Nationals are held each September with no less than 5 affiliated 360 sprint car sanctions with 70+ teams participating.  Castrol's Gold Cup features some of the best ASCS teams in western Canada, western and northwestern United States.

The late Fred Brownfield of Snohomish, WA., was instrumental in creating one of the largest regional 360 sprint car tours in North America, the Northern Sprint Tour.  His legendary speedweek tours along the Pacific Northwest achieved consistent car counts of 50+ on race night.  Since his passing, the torch has been passed on to people who understood Fred's dream and with it a knowledge of how to create growth in a sport loved by many.  Each year these same people, who's lives Fred Brownfield touched, return to Gray's Harbor Speedway in Elma, WA. to race, pay tribute to and honor the man and his vision with the Fred Brownfield Memorial.

Until next time...

Take care and good racing,
Greg Cybulski