NASCAR 2013

[laughedatbytime]

Well, the Bud Shootout (or whatever it is these days) is only a week out and Daytona is only 15 days away. So it's time for a new season...with hopefully better racing and new car templates. Here's an example of all three manufacturers, Dodge having left the series as champions.

 

First, the Monte Carlo...

 

http://www.jayski.com/schemes/2013/sprintcup/testing/29bud-cms2test-rside.jpg

 

Next, the Ford.

 

http://jayski.com/schemes/2013/sprintcup/testing/2millerlite-cmstest-mrn.jpg

 

And finally, the Toyota...

 

http://jayski.com/schemes/2013/sprintcup/images/47house-autry-front.jpg

 

I like the new look, and am ready for some racing!

[Tombstone Mountain]

Hey LABT!!!! Come to Bristol...you can play a great disc golf course, party with me and my peeps, and check out the best track on the circuit. I'm only 20 minutes away. Edited February 9, 2013 by Tombstone Mountain

[laughedatbytime]

Hey LABT!!!! Come to Bristol...you can play a great disc golf course, party with me and my peeps, and check out the best track on the circuit. I'm only 20 minutes away.

Sounds good to me. My wife's sister and mom live in Mooresville, NC where some of the race shops are. I've been to races at Michigan (rain shortened race won by Kahne), the 600 in Charlotte (the only one for Casey Mears), and Atlanta (Edwards nipped Johnson at the line for his first Cup win).

[Tombstone Mountain]

Oh, we also have Don Shula's favorite BBQ place in my town. Little tug at your Dolphin heart...d'ya feel it?

[Tombstone Mountain]

They all pale in comparison to Bristol...you have to be there to understand.

[laughedatbytime]

Oh, we also have Don Shula's favorite BBQ place in my town. Little tug at your Dolphin heart...d'ya feel it?

 

Pretty cool. I go back with the Fins to before Shula so I fondly remember the Shula era.

 

As Oail "Bum" Phillips once said, "Don Shula can take his'n and beat your'n. Or he can take your'n and beat his'n."

[Tombstone Mountain]

Bum was a piece of work...Earl Campbell kept him employed for a while

[laughedatbytime]

Bum was a piece of work...Earl Campbell kept him employed for a while

http://travisodee.files.wordpress.com/2011/03/71348-custom.jpg

[Tombstone Mountain]

My in laws own property right across BMS...My first race was 2000 before we married, maybe just started dating...Stewart won. We walked to the track...literally everybody in their subdivision was sharing moonshine, a certain leafy substance, and BBQ. By the time we made it inside I couldn't remember how to get back to her parents house. It was fun, I just don't remember much

[Babycat]

Thanks for the tag! :D

[burgeranacoke]

Preseason thunder brought us the first wreck...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OMxsFSycDu4&feature=player_detailpage

 

But the biggest wreck is the new look of nascar.com

 

http://i.imgur.com/gIjWpZi.jpg

[laughedatbytime]

Preseason thunder brought us the first wreck...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OMxsFSycDu4&feature=player_detailpage

 

But the biggest wreck is the new look of nascar.com

 

http://i.imgur.com/gIjWpZi.jpg

I could take or leave the new look, though they probably needed to cut back if they wanted to make available the video from Rusty Wallace's HOF induction speech.

 

That thing was longer than a 500 mile race at Pocono.

[burgeranacoke]

was going to posr tv schedule but.. Edited February 11, 2013 by burgeranacoke

[KenJennings]

Harvick wins Budweiser Duel #1.

 

That gives him the opportunity to be the first Daytona-Trifecta winner: the Shootout, the Duel, and the 500. Here's hoping!

[KenJennings]

Kyle Busch wins race #2. Meh.

 

Nice run by Austin Dillon in 3rd though!

[laughedatbytime]

Interesting and thoughtful comments from Brad Keselowski. And he's right about Danica.

 

Of course, NASCAR will probably fine him and ream his ass for being forthright.

 

http://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/nascar/2013/02/21/how-brad-keselowski-would-change-nascar/1937443/

 

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. — Stroll through the compound where NASCAR's traveling circus lives, and it's easy to find Brad Keselowski's abode.

 

Just look for the motor home that doesn't resemble anyone else's.

 

At the end of a row inside the Sprint Cup drivers' gated community at Daytona International Speedway sits living quarters that could be disguised as a delivery truck.

 

"It's about $2.25 million for one of those brand-new Prevosts, and resale value is maybe $800,000 to $1 million," Keselowski, 29, says about his peers' motor homes. "That's ridiculous. They break down all the time."

 

So with the help of assistant Bill Cole, Keselowski built his home for about a third of the price but with a more spacious interior thanks to two pullout slides. The weekend he debuted his more reliable model last summer, he won at Kentucky Speedway.

 

It was further validation for the unconventional mind of the most iconoclastic NASCAR champion in recent memory.

 

"Every time I do something different, I'm more successful," says Keselowski, who was the first driver to tweet during a race a year ago when the Daytona 500 was stopped by a jet dryer inferno. "I know I'm doing something right when people look at me and go, 'You're (screwed) up.' "

 

PHOTOS: History of the Daytona 500

 

Butting heads has been a modus operandi since Keselowski broke into NASCAR's premier series full-time in 2010, warring with veterans such as Carl Edwards, Kyle Busch and Denny Hamlin. He earned respect in qualifying for the Chase for the Sprint Cup the past two seasons and becoming the eighth-youngest champion in history in 2012. Yet some drivers have dubbed him "Craze-lowski" because of his outspoken manner.

 

Whether it be about sponsors, the schedule, social media or Danica Patrick ("I don't think, 'Oh there's that girl.' I think, 'Oh, there's that 30th-place driver.' "), Keselowski seems to always have something to say.

 

"I think we all sit back and chuckle at times at some of the things he says and does," five-time champion Jimmie Johnson says. "He is a great guy. He has the best of intentions for our sport, for his sponsor, for his team. He just needs to mature a little."

 

"I can always be wiser, if that's what he means," Keselowski says when told of Johnson's comments. "I can always make better decisions. Obviously, I'm mature enough to win a championship, so I can't be too far off."

 

But it's not all bluster for the youngest of five raised by a Rochester Hills, Mich., racing family with bedrock Midwestern values and blue-collar work ethic. In his champion's speech last year, Keselowski struck themes of humility, piety and unity in pledging to help move the sport in a positive direction as it wrestles with relevance and recapturing a younger, hipper audience amid sagging TV ratings and attendance.

 

"I might not be that guy, but that doesn't mean I can't step up to the plate and try to swing the bat," he says. "It doesn't mean I'll be successful. You're trying to take a crack at a Randy Johnson fastball in his prime. It's a tough sell.

 

"But someone has to step up to the plate first. Until that happens, this sport isn't living up to its potential, and I think it has a very high potential. We've got a great story to tell."

 

USA TODAY Sports asked the reigning Sprint Cup king to tell his. In a wide-ranging interview in that unlikeliest of motor homes, Keselowski shared his idyllic vision of NASCAR .

 

It's the world according to Keselowski. "It's a different place," he says with a laugh.

 

Here it is in the champ's words.

 

Overall vision

 

The problem I see in the sport is that there are multiple entities that have to work together for us to be successful.

 

We have sponsors — partners, or whatever the hell you want to call them — tracks, the sanctioning body and the teams. Those are our four groups, and how well they cooperate dictates what we have as a product for our fans. And our fans create everything.

 

You combine that with the shift in all spectator sports to a TV-dominated world . For the longest time, NASCAR had twice the amount of people at the game than the NFL did, but we don't even have 50% of their TV viewership. What's happened is that TV has become more popular and attendance at the track or any sporting facility has dwindled with the exception of major events — Super Bowls, Daytona 500s, World Series.

 

We haven't adapted as a sport to that. But why haven't we adapted?

 

When Bill France Jr. was in charge of NASCAR, he had control of all these pieces and wasn't at the mercy of the TV world. He had control of the tracks and NASCAR, which is now divided in two with Lesa (France Kennedy, president of International Speedway Corp. that controls 12 tracks) and (NASCAR Chairman) Brian (France). France Jr. had relationships with the sponsors, drivers and teams. Now we don't have that. Those three other pieces are segregated. Those three pieces need to get together. And until all three of those can unite, we're a house divided, and we're making bad decisions that are affecting how to generate revenue for the sport.

 

In today's sports world, you have to be very powerful in drawing people to TV, and we're not TV-friendly. That's one of the key areas for success. Part of that is we're not delivering a product. And we're fighting the tracks. We have to be up on the wheel a little more and looking for what's in front of us, and when we see it, we have to be able to react on it. And in order to be able to react on it, we need to be united.

 

PHOTOS: The career of Brad Keselowski

 

Brad Keselowski won his first career Sprint Cup championship, Nov. 18, 2012 at Homestead-Miami Speedway. Keselowski won two of the 10 Chase races and five races overall in 2012. Mark J. Rebilas, US Pesswire Fullscreen

 

Next Slide

Digital and social media

 

Without a doubt, all tracks should have Wi-Fi. That's so obvious, you don't even think it has to be said. But it does, and it goes back to all the factions not pulling in the same direction.

 

MANTRA: Keselowski says 'Be authentic' on social media

 

Three years ago, a track tried to put in Wi-Fi and was told no because of the Sprint (title sponsorship) agreement. Someone needs to step in at that point and say, "I'm sorry, we're putting Wi-Fi in." We can't miss out on these things. The speedway had funding in place from the government to do it, and we said no? Are you kidding me?

 

I know I'm considered a social media leader because I'm active on Twitter, but it's much larger than Twitter. It's about technology, because that is what's driving my generation. Being able to text your friend and say, "Hey, I'm at the hot dog stand, do you want a hot dog?" while they're in your seat, and you're in a line that took 30 minutes, you need to have service to do that.

 

The fact I can go to a race with a Verizon phone and not have service when the race starts is a major problem. What needs to be done to fix that is you need to allow other carriers to come in with their boosters and whatnot, and that's not happening. That's not acceptable.

 

You can't tell a fan that doesn't have service, "We're working on it." They bought their ticket already. That money they spent was for "worked," not "working." We have to open our eyes to the big picture. That's our sport's challenge. Can we do that?

 

I really don't know many people my age that do anything on Facebook. I hear from my older sisters, older brothers and that's it. I don't know anyone in their 20s really into Facebook other than a fan page. It's not our generation. And unless you have an app that can do video, it's really not worth anything because you can find all that information online. So I'm excited about the NASCAR app because it has video capabilities, and that's inside access. But again that's "working" instead of a "work." Those types of projects are gold, but we've got to get them done.

 

Instagram has really taken off. I don't see that being the path forward for the future. I think that's a fad. I think that'll go away, and five or 10 years from now, it'll be like, "You still have an Instagram account?" It'll be like MySpace. So you can take photos like they're from the 1970s. Big deal.

 

I really think Twitter will be here a long time because it can serve multiple uses. It's more than social media. I use it more as a news service than anything else. I don't know if I necessarily consider that to be social media. There is some social media in the sense of following a celebrity, but if you follow USA TODAY, that's a little different. I see it as being able to serve multiple roles and personally catered to you, and that's going to make it sustainable for extended periods of time. But I don't see that in any other social media service.

 

Competition

 

The reality is no matter what we do with all these things, if we don't have an on-track product, it's worth nothing. And we've got to work really hard on that.

 

The new (Gen 6) car is a big step forward . It's part of the solution. It doesn't matter what you do, there will never be a whole season of last-lap passes for the win. It's not realistic.

 

The big thing we need is to a convey a spirit of cooperation, unity and happiness so when we don't have the last-lap pass for the win, everyone can still say, "Wow, that was engaging and enjoyable, and I'm glad I was there for it."

 

 

Reigning Sprint Cup champion Brad Keselowski will start 15th in Sunday's Daytona 500.(Photo: John David Mercer, USA TODAY Sports)

Business model

 

We have to change the business model to move away from team sponsors because the way it's set up now encourages us to harm each other. And by doing that, we're hurting the sport.

 

I feel bad for NASCAR because it's not their fault. But what NASCAR needs to do is somehow wean ourselves off our sponsors and make the sport more affordable to where you can basically race off the purse.

 

For example, now you have NASCAR, who can approach Miller Lite and say, "Hey, why don't you take $5 million of that funding off the No. 2 car and put it on to be the official NASCAR partner?" Whoever works at NASCAR who signs that deal gets a 10% cut and says, "Yes! Nailed it!"

 

Then there's the tracks, who have that same thing with the fans. They'll kill a sponsor and say, "We can't let them do a press announcement, because they're not the official track sponsor." And then there's the team side, which says, "Hey, when you get out of the car, make sure you thank everyone of your sponsors. This one twice. And name the CEO when you do, because if you don't, they might not re-sign, and if they don't re-sign, we don't have any revenue because we don't get enough from the other factions."

 

All those pieces keep stacking up against each other, and we have to change. It's just a matter of when. It'll either be in the next two to five years, or in 10 to 15 when the sport is really run down. But you cannot have a sustainable business model that encourages all the parties in it to fight each other. And that's where we're at. And we're really paying for it.

 

Schedule

 

We have too many races (36) at too many tracks. We're at too many tracks repeatedly. I can't name the races because I'll be a bad guy if I do, but we need to cut out several tracks that have two races, and we need to go to a couple other tracks.

 

We need to go to Iowa. We need to go to build a track in Toronto or Vancouver. I don't really care about New York.

 

In order to do so, we can't add these races. We have to remove them from those tracks that have two and don't really deserve it.

 

Fan experience

 

You have two factions of fans:

 

Those that just barely make it to the racetrack financially. Their expectations are to have the cheapest price possible. Much like a low-fare airline.

 

Then you have the guy who makes $80,000 a year, can afford to go to a race and bring his family, and his expectation is to have a great experience.

 

Those conflict with each other because they end up sharing the same experience. So now you somehow have to split the cost between what their expectations are. It's easy for me to stand up and be a hero and say, "Ticket prices should be lower!" Yeah, everybody wins then.

 

But on behalf of the track owners, that would not be a fair thing to say, because when a track brings in Charlie Daniels or Journey or whatever band, it's because they're trying to improve the experience and add ticket value. The biggest thing we need to do is raise the value proposition of the sport.

 

Diversity

 

There's no reason why someone from a multicultural background can't make it in this sport.

 

There are limiting factors for everybody. At this level, I don't see bigotry. If there was a Latino or African-American driver that could run as well as Jeff Gordon now, he'd be here running. Team owners don't care. And (drivers) don't care.

 

When Danica (Patrick) gets in the car, I don't think, "Oh there's that girl." I think, "Oh, there's that 30th-place driver." That's the reality of it. People who talk to me about Danica and say, "Man, you need to give her more of a chance." No, you need to give her less of a chance. You need to treat her equally and think about those who never came even close to getting the opportunity she had.

 

Entertainment

 

You can't tell someone how to sing the national anthem. No different than The Ed Sullivan Show, and they tried to tell The Doors not to get high and the Rolling Stones not to dance so provocatively. Same with Elvis. They're artists. Let them be artists.

 

Cross-promotion is big for us and everybody. NASCAR is working really hard on the cross-promotion with the Hollywood types and the film industry. There's been some progress, but it wouldn't hurt to dedicate more resources without a doubt.

 

Personal

 

It's everybody's responsibility to carry the sport whether they're a champion or not.

 

I feel I've taken that responsibility as much as I was allowed to last year, and some people have told me along the way — a lot of people — they wish I'd be quieter and that I hadn't earned the right to speak. But I never listened to that.

 

I've always done as much as I wanted to do and could manage. I'm sure there will be more demands going forward, and I think I'm capable to handling it smoothly. That doesn't mean I've got it figured out. It just means I've been working on it.

 

The key thing for me in anything I do is having enough self-awareness to know when you can have fun and put on the clown suit, and when you've got to put on the business suit. When you win the championship and are enjoying those moments with your team that are once-in-a-lifetime experiences, have fun, man. Enjoy it. Those are going to blow right by you, and I might not ever have that experience again.

 

I don't plan on that happening, but it might not. I'm going to enjoy what I can when I have the opportunity to enjoy it. That doesn't mean I'm not self-aware enough to know there are situations where you need to be buttoned up. I'm constantly learning what those situations are.

[KenJennings]

Brad Keselowski is the best thing to come into NASCAR in a long time. If NASCAR knows what's good for it, they'll be doing whatever they can to encourage guys like him to come back to the sport. He's got the best combination of raw talent, outspoken gumption, and aggression since Tony Stewart came along.

[laughedatbytime]

If NASCAR knows what's good for it, they'll be doing whatever they can to encourage guys like him to come back to the sport. He's got the best combination of raw talent, outspoken gumption, and aggression since Tony Stewart came along.

Well, apparently they don't. Brad was apparently called onto the carpet for these comments.

 

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. -- Reigning Sprint Cup champion Brad Keselowski earned an early trip to NASCAR principal's office for recent comments in the media.

 

NASCAR chairman Brian France and International Speedway Corporation chairman Lesa France Kennedy met individually with the Penske Racing driver on Friday to strongly emphasize he needs to more informed before speaking.

 

"Everybody loves Brad's candor, Brian included,'' Brett Jewkes, NASCAR's chief communications officer, said on Saturday. "But there are some things Brad's not as informed on. He's not aware of things that are being worked on or achieved.

 

"The message Brian wanted to send was you need to understand the issues you're talking about a little deeper before you talk about them.''

 

Reigning Sprint Cup champion Brad Keselowski met with NASCAR officials over recent comments to the media.

Keselowski was not penalized. He declined through members of his public relations department to discuss the meeting. His only comments came via Twitter.

 

"Spent some time with the Lesa and Brian from the NASCAR team after yesterday's [uSA Today] article, the passion we all share for our sport is amazing!" Keselowski wrote.

 

Jewkes said the meeting was not just about the USA Today article. He did not specify what Keselowski said to earn a trip to France's office across the street from Daytona International Speedway two days before the Daytona 500.

 

But Keselowski did mention France and his sister directly along the lines of sponsors, teams and tracks not always working together with NASCAR.

 

"And until all three of those can unite, we're a house divided, and we're making bad decisions that are affecting how to generate revenue for the sport,'' Keselowski said in the newspaper.

 

This is not the first time Keselowski has been called on the carpet for being outspoken. He was fined $25,000 in 2011 for criticizing NASCAR's move to fuel injection.

 

He also was fined $25,000 for tweeting during a red flag stoppage last year at Phoenix, defying a request by NASCAR that drivers don't carry cell phones inside their cars after he tweeted during a stoppage in the 2012 Daytona 500.

 

"Brad has been asking for more dialogue with Brian,'' Jewkes said. "He wants to be a leader in the garage. Frankly, Brian wants more dialogue with him. [Friday], there was a good reason to have dialogue.''

 

Tony Stewart predicted this might happen. The three-time champion said during last year's banquet that Keselowski hasn't learned to be cautious and encouraged people to let him be himself.

 

"Hopefully, that won't bite him like it has a lot of drivers in the past,'' Stewart said of Keselowski being outspoken. "It's refreshing. It's nice to see somebody who just speaks from the heart and isn't guarded, and that's the way all of us should be.

 

"I think that's what the fans want to hear. But I'm so scared that at some point, somebody is going to turn on him, and it goes downhill from there."

 

Four-time champion Jeff Gordon said he could see NASCAR wanting Keselowski to be more informed.

 

"It's not out of the ordinary for a new champion to feel confident to be able to express an opinion on things,'' he said. "Brad cares a lot about the sport. He's not trying to do anything that would hurt the sport. When you're that open, it doesn't surprise me NASCAR is wanting to talk about it.''

 

Jewkes made it clear the meeting was not to discourage Keselowski from speaking his mind.

 

"The most important thing is Brian wants him to be candid,'' Jewkes said of Keselowski. "He wants him to speak his mind. But we all prefer he be up to speed on everything.''

 

http://espn.go.com/racing/nascar/cup/story/_/id/8977535/brad-keselowski-meeting-nascar-chairman-comments-media

 

Yes, Brian, you're obviously doing a fine job....keep up the good work...

[laughedatbytime]

15 fans injured enough to be taken to area hospitals in last lap crash at Daytona. No drivers seriously injured.

 

Thoughts and prayers with the injured.

[KenJennings]

Scary wreck. Glad to hear none dead so far.

 

Regan Smith started the chain reaction, but Sam Hornish really turned the wreck into the danger it was. He punted his own teammate in his furvor to get back to the line. That action sent the 36 into the stands more than anything.

Edited February 24, 2013 by KenJennings

[KenJennings]

COMMERCIALS!

[burgeranacoke]

Well at least you know we can look forward to total coverage after this last pit...

 

been a fun race to watch so far.

[burgeranacoke]

Daytona.. argghhh that last caution!

[KenJennings]

This sucks.

[treeduck]

It's over and DP only came 8th, they're interviewing her though not the winner...