If I Were Teresa Earnhardt, I'd ...

Originally Posted on foxsports.com on May 19, 2007

1.  Think about the Number 8:

 

Do I want to keep the number at DEI, or should I let Junior take it with him?  After all Dale bought it because it was his father's number and he wanted Junior to run it.  But is it so attached to the Junior phenomenon that a new driver won't ever feel comfortable about driving it?  Will the fans shun it because its not Junior behind the wheel?  Does the Good will possibly generated by letting it go overcome the history DEI has had with the number?  Letting it go wouldn't transfer the owner's points to the new team for qualifying purposes next year.  And I do have a step-grandson in our driver development program, so maybe an Earnhardt can drive the Number 8 again.  I'll need to think this through a bit more.

2.  Think about Replacement drivers.

How do you replace the most popular driver - with the prior title holder. I'd hire Bill Elliott to replace Junior.  I know he retired, but he runs enough races every year, that he's not that far out of the loop.  And he has the mechanical knowledge to be  a real help with the program.  Plus, he's run about every make of car in the last 10 years, so driving a Chevy shouldn't be a big deal.  If he won't do the whole season, maybe we can work out a partial season ala Mark Martin with a development driver or drivers.

3.  Think about Replacement sponsors.

Is Bud really leaving or is there room to negotiate with them about staying the primary sponsor?  If they leave, would they consider an associate sponsorship?  Nabisco has always been a strong associate sponsor, maybe they'd like to increase their presence in Nascar as the primary sponsor.  How about Walmart? Or Chevy?  Pennzoil? 

4.  Remember the Reason I'm doing all this:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

And remember he and I were in this together.  It may be time to re-examine my roots and find the next idea that will turn the Nascar world on its head.  After all, the branding and marketing ideas of the #3 and Dale Earnhardt were mine and Dale's, and look where those have taken the sport.  If I got through February 2001, this should be a piece of cake.

 

Is the Number Up?

Originally Posted on foxsports.com on April 22, 2007.

Incredible as it seems, last night, Jeff Gordon celebrated his first-ever win at Phoenix International Raceway.  The win was sweet in part, because it leaves only two tracks that Gordon has never won at in his Cup career:  Texas and Homestead.  The win, highlighted by a late duel with Tony Stewart,  topped off a memorable weekend for Gordon.

First, he won the pole for the race.  That pole earned him  fourth place on the Most Poles list, tied with Darrell Waltrip.  His win was the first for someone who also sat on the Pole at PIR.

The win tied Gordon for sixth place on the Nascar All-Time Win list with Dale Earnhardt.   Which, in turn, means that next weekend, Gordon could surpass Earnhardt for sole ownership of sixth place on the All-Time Win list. 

Gordon has never been popular with the majority of Earnhardt fans, but if he wins next week, it will be doubly insulting to diehard #3 fans. 

It could happen on Earnhardt's birthday, April 29th.  And at the site of his last win - Talladega.

I've never been a big fan of Gordon, but you have to admire a career that to date has spawned 59 poles,  76 wins, 4 championships, a lifetime contact with the owner, and a legion of diehard haters.

Gordon is always one to watch at Talladega.  But next weekend, I think he'll have a few more people anxiously waiting to see if he can win it. 

I, for one, think that Earnhardt would get a good chuckle out of the irony if Gordon wins.

 

What Could Have Been

Originally Posted on April 2, 2007 on foxsports.com

Jeff Gordon stands in third position of modern era winners, with 75 wins.  He has not won in 24 races, since late last summer.  One win ahead of him on the list is the late, great Dale Earnhardt.  At 84 wins, atop the standings, rests Darrell Waltrip.  Of the remaining top 10 drivers, only three are active - Gordon, Bill Elliott (who drives an occasional race each year) and Mark Martin, who is semi-retired/who knows this week. 

Of the top three, Gordon is the only one still running Nextel Cup races.  Gordon had the perfect opportunity to tie Earnhardt's record at Martinsville.  He was racing with his Hendrick teammate Jimmie Johnson, beating and banging on each other's front fenders and doors.  Johnson held on and won the race.

As the two were battling out who would win, I imagined what Dale Earnhardt would have done in the same situation.  It wasn't difficult, as Earnhardt memorably won several races by bumping the leader out of the way.

I thought how fitting it would be if Gordon had tied Earnhardt's record by using the same tactic.  Sure, a thumping of the rest of the field would be great too, but  I think Earnhardt would have been the first to raise the toast of a glass of milk if Gordon had bumped his teammate out of the way for the win.

From Senna to Earnhardt: The Development of the HANS device

Originally Posted on Foxsports.com on April 25, 2006.

May 1st marks twelve years since Ayrton Senna was killed during the San Marino Grand Prix at Autodromo Enzo e Dino Ferrari in Imola, Italy.   While leading the race, Senna slid off the track causing his right front tire to break off with its suspension.  The tire and suspension hit Senna in the head, causing  his death.  Senna's death followed by one day the death of another Formula One driver, Roland Ratzenberger, at the same track.

Senna was and is regarded as one of (if not the) best Formula One drivers ever.  Last weekend, another great driver, Michael Schumacher, captured his 66th pole - breaking a tie he held for most poles with Senna.  Ironically, the race last weekend was at Imola.

The race following Senna's death was marred by a serious accident involving another Formula One driver.  While this accident did not result in death, the press and public were disenchanted with the dangers of Formula One racing and began demanding new safety measures. In a twist of fate, Senna had been leading the charge for safety the morning of his death during an informal meeting with other drivers. 

February 18th marked five years since Dale Earnhardt was killed during the Daytona 500.  Earnhardt was and is regarded as one of (if not the) best stock car drivers ever.  Earnhardt was on the final lap of the race when he crashed, ultimately dying from the head injuries he sustained.  Earnhardt's death followed the deaths of Kenny Irwin, Adam Petty and Tony Roper.   

Following Earnhardt's death, the public and the drivers were unhappy with driver safety and demanded that something be done to prevent any further racing deaths.

Fast forwarding to today, most race sanctioning bodies mandate the use of a HANS device (Head And Neck Support) for drivers.  The device is to prevent the violent and often fatal head injuries sustained in high speed / high impact crashes.  The HANS device was brought to the forefront in most American's minds after the death of Earnhardt, however, the device was available well before that. 

And perhaps the tragedy is that the device was available to drivers before the death of Earnhardt and even before the death of Senna.

The HANS Device was developed by Dr. Robert Hubbard , a professor at Michigan State and his brother-in-law, Jim Downing, to prevent head injuries from racing accidents.  After testing, the device was marketed in 1991 - a decade before Earnhardt's fatal crash. 

In October of 1996, (after Senna's death), FIA, Mercedes-Benz, and McClaren contacted Hubbard and formed an agreement to adapt the device to Forumla One use. 

Why mandate HANS?  According to "Helping Hans" by Ross Stonefeld in Atlas F1:

Below are average strengths of the head and neck. The force withstood is dependent on location of impact, strike object size, and bone tissue density amongst other factors.

• Frontal bone (forehead): 1,000 to 1,600lbs of force
• Temporal-parietal (sides of head): 700 - 1900lbs of force.
• Rear skull: 1,440
• Facial: 280 - 520
• Neck (under forward movement): 140

In a full human form crash test simulating a 40mph dead stop impact utilising the HANS device, neck loading was kept under 130lbs whilst the unrestrained head endured over 1,000lbs

"As soon as your head - which weighs, with the helmet, 13 or 14 pounds - has a sudden acceleration, it stretches your neck," (Jim) Downing explains. "If it stretches a little too far, you get a neck fracture or a skull fracture at the base of the skull where your head connects to your spine. With HANS on, the head sort of goes forward then back and looks OK. At the same speed with a fully belted dummy, the head smashes into the steering wheel and it's just appalling. The drivers say, 'Wow. That can't be.' In layman terms, keeping your head close to your body is what it's all about with HANS."

Racing will never be an entirely safe sport.  Hopefully the HANS device, or devices similar to it, can cut down on the number of deaths and the severity of the injuries sustained. 

We will never know if Senna or Earnhardt could have been saved by a HANS device.  But we all know drivers who's lives were saved by it - whether we know it or not.

 

Information gathered from Stonefeld, Wikipedia, Formula One, Jayski, and Wind Tunnel with Dave Despain.

Championship Predictions Based on Rookie of the Year?

Originally posted at Foxsports.com on January 2, 2006.

The pattern of Nextel Cup Champions  and Rookie of the Year winners over the past few years:  3 years into their career, many drivers peak and become series champions. 

For example, in 1999, Tony Stewart was the Rookie of the Year (ROTY).  He won the (then) Winston Cup Championship in 2002. A year after Stewart was ROTY, Matt Kenseth was ROTY, and turned around an won the championship in 2003.  Both of those championships were won under the "old" series point system.  Kurt Busch upheld the tradition by being a rookie, but not ROTY in 2001, and winning the championship in 2004 under the "new" Chase format. (Jeff Gordon won his fourth championship in 2001).

This isn't entirely a new trend.  Dale Earnhardt and Jeff Gordon initially set the bar high by winning their championships in less than 3 years.  Earnhardt won his first championship the year following his ROTY season. Gordon was ROTY in 1993 and won his first championship in 1995.

In 2002, Ryan Newman claimed the ROTY trophy over Jimmie Johnson.  Both were in contention for the championship this year but were foiled by Stewart.

What does that mean for the rookie class of 2003 and the Championship in 2006?  In 2003, Greg Biffle and Jamie McMurray battled for ROTY honors.  McMurray won ROTY honors that year, but Biffle was on a hot streak in 2005.   Biffle is a clear favorite by most commentators as a contender for the 2006 Championship.   Many believe that McMurray, now in Jack Roush's cars, could also be a contender for the Cup.

With the Chase to the Nextel Cup now instituted, in theory any of the top ten drivers could win the championship.  All Biffle and McMurray need to do to continue the pattern is make the Chase and stay consistent.