Ken's NASCAR Notebook - March 7, 1997
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Notebook Publications
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Once again, my apologies to all of you for not getting a notebook out on
a regular basis. I know that I do not guarantee a certain interval, but
over the years, many of you know that I try to make them regular. However,
my whole family seems to be infected with a very persistent flu bug, and
we haven't been able to shake it for the past two weeks. Hopefully, the
future notebooks will be more regular.
Oh, I have not switched over to the new email address for the newsletter yet.
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NASCAR Pick-12 Contest
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Those of you who were participants in the GOB Pick-6 Contest know that
it has been sidelined this year. However, I've found another similar Contest,
which is based on a similar theme, and is available on the web. Check out
this URL:
http://www.cs.runet.edu/~pac/pick12.html
You can do all of the following via a Web interface: enter your picks, review the rules and instructions, talk to others on a bulletin board, view the statistics of the previous races, view the overall standings, and much more.
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Watkins Glen Int'l is now 100% ISC |
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Watkins Glen International is now a full-fledged member of the International
Speedway Corporation, joining the famed race tracks at Daytona Beach, Fla.,
Darlington, S.C., and Talladega, Ala. Corning Inc., which revived racing
at the world-renown circuit in 1984, announced Tuesday, March 4, that it
reached an agreement to sell its 50-percent ownership in WGI to its co-owner,
International Speedway Corporation. WGI owns and operates Watkins Glen
International, a 3.4-mile road course in upstate New York that is home
to the Bud at the Glen, a NASCAR Winston Cup Series race that attracts
large crowds, ranking ninth in television ratings on the 1996 Winston Cup
circuit. Corning and ISC brought the facility, which hosted the U.S. Grand
Prix from 1961 through 1980, out of bankruptcy and reestablished it as
a racing venue in the 1980s.
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Wheaties & Earnhardt
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For 64 years Wheaties, "The Breakfast of Champions," has featured
champion athletes from almost every sport on the box with one exception.
No NASCAR driver has ever appeared on the package. All that changed Thursday
when four Wheaties packages featuring seven-time NASCAR champion Dale Earnhardt
were unveiled at the Atlanta Motor Speedway. The packages will be available
for a limited time in grocery stores in the South. Also unveiled was the
No. 3 GM Goodwrench Service race car that will be carrying the familiar
Wheaties orange color and logo for NASCAR's Winston Select May 17 at Charlotte
Motor Speedway.
See the following images on my homepage: The cereal boxes image:
http://www.oocities.org/motorcity/1105/wheaties.gif
(188K)
The collector car image:
http://www.oocities.org/motorcity/1105/wheaties.jpg
(54K)
Wheaties packages saluting the seven-time champion will appear on grocery shelves throughout the South (predominantly in Florida, Alabama, Mississippi, Arkansas, Louisiana, Tennessee, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Virginia) this spring. Each of the package fronts has a different pictorial salute to Earnhardt. Products include the 12-ounce and 18-ounce toasted whole-wheat Wheaties (orange box), the 18-ounce Crispy Wheaties 'n Raisins and the 14.75-ounce Honey Frosted Wheaties.
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Rusty's Controversial Win
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As many of you know by now, Rusty's win at RIR was put on hold after the
engine apparently failed the compression test during the post-race technical
inspection. NASCAR officials measured the compression at 14.014 to 1, and
determined that the engine was over the 14.0-to-1 maximum allowed by the
Winston Cup rules.
The engine was then impounded, and brought to a warehouse for further testing. There, NASCAR's technical crew would reinspect the engine, along with Robin Pemberton (Penske crew chief), Mike Ege (Penske head engine builder) and Jeff Wilson (Penske engine builder). The engine was determined to have a compression of 14.011 to 1
However, the rule book lists the maximum compression ratio at 14.0 to 1. They only have one decimel point listed in the rule book, so technially Rusty's engine was within the rules. However, the compression ratio was definitely more than 14.0 to 1.
So, NASCAR determined that the engine met the technical requirements of the rule as noted by the 14.0 to 1 limit. Wanna bet they modify that rule in the future and include a few more decimel points?
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NASCAR Fines 2 Drivers @ RIR
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NASCAR has levied fines against two drivers for actions detrimental to
the sport after the Pontiac Excitement 400 at Richmond. The drivers involved
were Chad Little driver of the John Deere Pontiac and Robby Gordon driver
of the Coors Light Chevy. The two drivers got into each other on the final
lap, and then once again on the cool-down lap. The fines, issued by NASCAR,
are $10,000 dollars for Little and $5,000 for Gordon.
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Tri-Star Releases Allen
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Loy Allen Jr. has been released from the Tri-Star Motorsports team. Gary
Bradberry has left the Feed The Children/Sadler Racing team to fill this
vacated seat.
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Shake Up at Sadler Racing
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First, three crew members quit the Feed The Children/Sadler Racing team
upon arriving home after the team failed to qualify for the prestigious
Daytona 500. Now, Gary Bradberry, driver, has resigned to fill the seat
of Loy Allen, who was released by Tri-Star Motor Sports. Bradberry was
scheduled to test the FTC/SADLER RACING Chevrolet Monte Carlo at Atlanta
Motor speedway. Ed Berrier of Winston-Salem, NC. has been hired by Sadler
Racing to pilot the Feed The Children/Sadler Racing Chevy Monte Carlo in
the Primestar 500 in Atlanta. Barrier will also be entered in the Stihl
Outdoor Power Tools 300 in the ARCA division.
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Bob Glidden joins NASCAR
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Bob Glidden, the winningest driver in the history of the National Hot Rod
Association, announced that he has retired from drag racing, and will now
develop engines for NASCAR Winston Cup stock cars. Lee Morse, spokesman
for the #7 QVC team owned by Geoff Bodine, confirmed that Bob Glidden will
do engine development for Bodine's team. In addition, other reports seem
to indicate that Glidden is also working on assisting with the engine development
for Bill Elliott's team.
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Bill Elliott's $1 Million Challenge
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On Saturday, March 8, at the Atlanta Motor Speedway, NASCAR fan and truck
driver Tim Vincent will be only the second fan to race against NASCAR champion
Bill Elliott for the chance to win $1 million in the "REESE'S/Bill
Elliott $1 Million Driving Challenge." Vincent's name was randomly
selected from over 300,000 entries. As the grand prize winner of the national
promotion, Vincent receives a trip to Atlanta and the once-in-a-lifetime
chance to race against NASCAR champion Bill Elliott. The race will be a
one-lap timed event on a special course set up on the speedway's front
straightaway. If he beats Elliott's time, Vincent will receive a $1 million
payout. If he doesn't earn the million dollar purse, Vincent will receive
a 1997 "REESE'S-ELLIOTT" Signature Edition Ford Thunderbird as
a consolation prize. Whatever the outcome, REESE's will continue the winning
spirit with a contribution of $10,000 to the Children's Miracle Network.
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Mrs. Elliott Passes Away
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Mrs. Ann Elliott, grandmother of NASCAR Busch Series competitors Hermie
and Elliott Sadler, recently passed away. Elliott Sadler, driver of the
#29 Diamond Ridge Chevrolet, was extremely close to his grandmother. His
parents traveled extensively when he was a child, and Elliott was practically
raised by the grandmother after whom he was named. Mrs. Elliott was in
her late eighties and was suffering from cancer that left her unable to
speak. When Elliott made an early trip to his native Virginia this past
Wednesday to see her, he told her he was racing in Richmond that weekend.
She responded by giving him the thumbs-up signal.
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Grand Marshal for Atlanta
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United States Senator Paul Coverdell (R-Georgia) has been selected as Grand
Marshal of the 38th annual Primestar 500 on Sunday, March 9 at Atlanta
Motor Speedway. Senator Coverdell serves as chairman of the Senate Foreign
Relations Committee on the Western Hemisphere; chairman of the Majority
Leader's Task Force on Education; chairman of the Agricultural Committee's
Subcommittee on Marketing, Inspection and Product Promotion and is a member
of the Small Business Committee. "The Star Spangled Banner" will
be performed by country music sensation Clay Walker. He will be joined
in voice by North Springs High School for the Performing Arts student Stephanie
Dorfman, who will sing "Georgia On My Mind." Mandy Kenknight,
who tours with Faith Hill, will perform "The Star Spangled Banner"
before the March 8 Stihl Outdoor Power Tools 300.
PS: Robby Gordon in his #40 Coor Light Chevy has taken the Pole for the Primestar 500 in Atlanta. Tim Bender in the #17 Kraft Singles Chevy took the Pole for the Stihl Outdoor Power Tools 300.
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Happy Motoring :-)
=Ken=
E-Mail: MustangKen@oocities.com or MustangKen@compuserve.com
CyberHome: http://www.oocities.org/motorcity/1105/
Please contact me if you wish to repost or redistribute this notebook, or wish to be added to the email distribution list.
Disclaimer: The information contained herein was compiled from a variety of sources, including the rumor mill and the grapevine, so its accuracy cannot be completely guaranteed. Use of copyrights or trademarks are for descriptive fair-use purposes only. The opinions expressed are my own, and not my employer's.
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