Tag: Kasey Kahne

Martinsville race week for the 2014 Goody’s Headache Relief Shot 500 has been one for many to remember for a very long time. There will be discussions and “I was there!” bragging rights over Dale Jr.’s win for quite a while. His drive to victory was a thing to see and generates yet another chapter for the historic little track in Martinsville.
Even more so when you consider all of the little bits that add the frosting to the victory cake. Dale Jr. grew up in the shadow of Martinsville grandfather clocks as his iconic father won there several times. He earned his first win of the CHASE playoffs after being eliminated from championship contention just one week before. He is a spokesman for Goody’s. He drives for Rick Hendrick which also owns the #24 car of Jeff Gordon, a main rival to his father. Hendrick suffered a deep loss of family and friends from an aircraft crash at Martinsville and a team victory helps ease the pain of returning. Dale Jr. lost his father at a race track. The little bits of history that create the foundations to generate more history are abundant.
Yet Dale Earnhardt, Jr. earning his first win at the little historic track is just another piece of the timeline for the smallest track in the CHASE.
The folks at Martinsville Speedway have never let the words “little” or “small” get in their way as they consistently weave big things into their racing events. The history of racing there and the grandstand view from practically every seat to see practically everything happen makes this place a favored fan destination. It is also a perfect setting to get fans involved in ways that larger facilities just can not do in the same way.
The October race put much of this in motion. Breast Cancer Awareness month was highlighted at every turn with the race curbing painted pink. The Chevrolet pace cars were pink. As part of this, Chevrolet partnered with the speedway and brought cancer survivors into the race experience with a special ride-along on the track following the VA Lottery Pole Day.

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Race drivers Kasey Kahne, Martin Truex, Jr. and Ron Hornaday drove the pink Chevy pace cars and a Chevy pace truck with these special passengers hanging on for the ride. Surviving through the fight with cancer was certainly more difficult than taking turns at a race track with a NASCAR star but the smiles on their faces seemed to indicate this was much more fun.
The simple matter of size makes it much easier for fans to see on-track activity such as driver introductions, interviews and Grand Marshall Richard Petty. The compressed real estate of the track also contributed as it took little time away from tight schedules to help bring one young fan into the mix with driver Clint Bowyer.
At a pre-event sponsor dinner in Roanoke, VA a couple of weeks before the race, Bowyer happened to meet this young fan. Bowyer is a fun fellow. He doesn’t wear the NASCAR fame as an unapproachable shield. He jokes, he laughs, he smiles…  He jumps into the fan experience and has fun with it. It was evident on race day as he paused even moments before the race to pose with fans next to the #15 AAA Toyota. It was evident as he slid into the restaurant booth weeks before and just started having a one-on-one with this young man as if they had been friends that just happened to meet while being out.
The result was a coordination with speedway staff to get the boy and his family into the infield on race weekend, have a tour with Clint Bowyer that involved the #15 hauler, the garage and a sit down in the race car. It is a memory sure to linger well beyond the checkered flag.

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Bowyer later challenged for the Goody’s Headache Relief Shot 500, led several laps and finished in the top 10 at 7th place. It is very likely there was a young fan in the stands with an autographed #15 hat cheering him on.
These are small pieces of what makes Martinsville Speedway special for so many people. The views, the people, the memories…  It is the small track with big things woven into the fabric of its history for so many. It is why racing here is a highlight for drivers and fans.
Dale Earnhardt, Jr., some very special survivors and a young race fan have their memories. 95,000 fans on that race day have their own stories to share about “being there when Dale Jr. won” and the folks at Martinsville Speedway are cleaning up and starting the cycle all over again for racing in 2015.

To see more fan memories and even post your own check this Facebook post from Martinsville Speedway!
Go get some memories and go racing!

This CHASE is set… No… wait…  OK… NOW the CHASE is set!

After penalties were issued by NASCAR over “manipulation” of the race at Richmond, the actual CHASE group of 12 drivers eligible to win the Sprint Cup Championship was altered slightly. Martin Truex, Jr.  and other Michael Waltrip Racing drivers and teams were docked and fined and the result replaced Truex, Jr. with Ryan Newman.

Once that was settled, the CHASE drivers were spread out across the states and places with upcoming races for the “CHASE Across America”. The race this weekend, the first in the Championship CHASE, is in Chicago. As a premiere for all the remaining races, drivers were out meeting fans and participating in racing communities.

Matt Kenseth went to Chicago, Dale Earnhardt, Jr. went to New York, Kyle Busch was with the Armed Forces at Dover Air Force Base, Greg Biffle was celebrating First Responders in Birmingham, Harvick was in Texas…

Martinsville Speedway is on the CHASE schedule, too, with the Goody’s Headache Relief Shot 500 coming in late October. To celebrate their part of the CHASE, the folks at Martinsville hosted Kasey Kahne in nearby Roanoke, VA. The folks at the Speedway said a major fan base comes from the area and it was a good fit to have Kahne drive a Sprint Car through the streets of Roanoke. They were right… (more…)

Front Row Motorsports made the last lap run around to take the one and two spots at Talladega.

However, there was more going on at the Aaron’s 499. Some rain held it back. Some cars got tangled. Some tempers were tugged.

You could leave it at that as it sums up the day at Talladega. Everything else is just marbles next to the outside wall.

Or is it…?

The “Big One”, the Talladega Shuffle that seems to always come, happened early at lap 43 as Kyle Busch and Kasey Kahne bumped and spun involving 14 other cars in the high speed bumper dance. Busch said over the radio it was his fault with the move on Kahne that set it in motion.

However, fast forward to the latter laps and you get the “Big One – The Sequel”. The #17 of Ricky Stenhouse, Jr. scraped the wall bouncing J.J. Yelley into the #78 of Kurt Busch and the ride begun… (more…)

Wow. That didn’t take long. The “big one” before the “big one” season starting Daytona 500 even got the green flag. The testing of the new Gen-6 car went wild during draft and group testing at speed…

Apparently, Dale Earnhardt, Jr. discovered a “draft fact”, that is if his post run comments were on the mark. Marcos Ambrose went loose setting off a chain of events that left a eleven cars in a state of insurance headache. Ambrose’s Ford went sideways after a rear clip from Earnhardt, Jr.’s Chevy which apparently lead to his comments. (more…)

Rain… It is as necesary as air…

However, on race day for NASCAR Sprint Cup, it is as unwelcome as a Bud hat in a Miller campsite…

The entire season blew the storm of the Chase into Richmond with wildcards and points on the line. That storm was put off as another storm blew in and kept the race in the garage for almost two hours. NASCAR and RIR staff kept things tight as the rain moved out. After all, the plan was to run under the lights. The weather was watched and the decision was held. Jet dryers and utility vehicles did a number on the track to dry it out but even then they ran the first few laps under caution.

Finally they went green on a green track with any rubber from qualifying and the Nationwide race the day before  thrown to the inner wall. The crowd braved the rain to watch Jeff Gordon blow by pole sitter Dale Earnhardt, Jr. and Dale, Jr. to regain the lead shortly after. (more…)

Racing at New Hampshire was in the pits, so to speak. The race itself brought a lot of close calls but little contact of consequence. The big picture included pit road and, yet again, some stiff lips from some of the drivers.

As an example, Jimmie Johnson and Kyle Busch take the run out for a pit stop just before David Reutimann blows an engine on the track. The caution throws Johnson and Busch to the back and a lap down but Johnson drew the “lucky dog” to regain the lap. NASCAR hasn’t exactly seemed consistent on the calls on cautions while other cars are handling green flag pit stops. At times it seems almost arbitrary. Perhaps it really is the luck of the split-second time of where, when and what color cap is being worn by the fan in seat 34B. (more…)

Sunday racing was a full day. A wake up with Formula 1 followed by the showcase Indy 500 and close it down with NASCAR at the Coca-Cola 600 in Charlotte.

F1 gave us a spin or two and a Kobayashi bunny hop at Monaco. A good start to the day. From Monaco to Indianapolis the racing went up a notch and was matched up in Charlotte with the Coca-Cola 600.

There might have been a phone call. “I’ll do it if you do it!”

We’re referring to Dario Franchitti and Tony Stewart. It is odd that on the same day two defending champions encounter the same incident, and relatively speaking, at the same location. Coming into the pits at Indy, Franchitti is clipped by E.J. Viso and is spun sideways in the pit stall. The extra time and damage check put him to the back of the field. Skip ahead to the Coca-Cola 600 and here comes Tony Stewart to the pit stall only to have Brad Keselowski make the bump sending “Smoke” around facing traffic. (more…)