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In the metropolitan Nashville area, there is a NASCAR-related battle brewing. In one corner, the Nashville Fairgrounds. In the other corner, the Nashville SuperSpeedway just outside of Lebanon, Tennessee. This battle, truthfully, is nothing new as race-fans have been debating whether the racing at the Fairgrounds is better than the SuperSpeedway or not for over 10 years now. Early on, the SuperSpeedway had grandiose plans and great crowds. Some of the early plans included a 5/8 mile asphalt track and a dirt track as well. Plus the early crowds the SuperSpeedway drew were excellent. But after the new-factor wore off, the crowds started to dwindle precipitously.
When one hears the names Carl Edwards, Jamie McMurray, Justin Allgaier, the late Tony Roper, and the late Kenny Irwin Jr., it's a varitable who's who among NASCAR. Now what do these drivers have in common? Mike Mittler. Now, some fans are likely scratching their heads as to who in the world is Mike Mittler? The truth is he launched all of these driver's NASCAR careers and sadly, he gets little to no credit for it. "I don't know if I can remember how I originally got into racing, but as long as I can remember I have always liked racing." said Mittler. "I fooled around with go-carts when I was younger and one thing led to another." Another little known fact about Mittler's team is that they have been the only team in the series that has always been a part of the series since 1995. Mittler reflected on how the series has changed from then to now. "Over the years, I've seen the series get a lot more professional and the competition get tougher. Originally it was a West Coast-based series with a lot of regional owners such as myself. Now you see a much higher Cup presence and things are much more professional now."
The name Nick Hoffman might not ring any bells for casual fans, but this young 18-year old is the latest driver to drive a truck for the Mittler Brothers and is poised to make his 2nd career start at Nashville SuperSpeedway this week-end. "Basically I started off running dirt modifieds." said Hoffman. "Then I started running asphalt late models and quarter midgets when I started along with Lazy Cars, Bandoleros, the typical kid's path to NASCAR." Hoffman was running dirt modifieds when one day, he got the opportunity of a lifetime, to drive for the Mittler Brothers in the Camping World Truck Series. "When I was a kid, I would joke with Mike (Mittler) and Carl (Edwards) to one day let me drive their truck." joked Hoffman "I'm really appreciative of this opportunity, it's really big for us. My dad worked for Mike when Carl was in the Trucks and I've always wanted to drive for the Mittler Brothers."
Over the years, NASCAR teams have done some pretty despicable antics just to keep their teams in the starting field. It was bad enough when teams were start and parking and not bothering to bring pit crews, as Phoenix Racing did at Rockingham back in 2004. It's been painful to watch Darrell Waltrip, Bill Elliott, and Terry Labonte pimp out their past champion's provisionals just to race, but this week-end at Talladega, NASCAR has hit an all-new low. Whitney Motorsports plans to have Bill Elliott qualify the car and J.J. Yeley will get in the car at some point during the race, more than likely, for the sole purpose of parking the car. Whitney Motorsports has, in fact, not finished a single race that they have attempted this year, so it is more likely than not going to be a start and park effort.
The 2011 NASCAR season has been chock full of storylines, ranging from Trevor Bayne's miraculous Daytona 500 triumph to Jeff Gordon breaking a long winless drought and so many other storylines. One storyline that has, amazingly, been given little to no media attention whatsoever has been the early-season qualifying prowess of Cato, New York's Regan Smith. In a category where one would expect names like Carl Edwards or Jimmie Johnson to dominate, it has been the unheralded Regan Smith that, going into Texas, was averaging a 5.8 qualifying average, and after a 5th place start at Texas, that number is only going to go up further. But it's not as if Regan's qualifying expertise happened overnight. No, race fans, back in his rookie season in the USAR Pro Cup Series, he accumulated four pole positions that year.
To say that Bon Aqua, Tennessee's Willie Allen has come a long way in the last two years has been an understatement. From all the high-points to the low-points, the one constant for Allen is his strong resolve to keep going. The man had to resort to start-and-parking after he was released by ThorSport Racing following his 2007 Craftsman Truck Series Rookie Of The Year-winning campaign, lost his father due to the debilitating disease known as ALS, or Lou Gehrig's Disease, and spent a number of months on the sidelines due to circumstances beyond his control. And yet, Willie keeps pressing on, even with the odds stacked against him.
In her first trip to the half-mile leviathan known as Bristol Motor Speedway, Danica Patrick felt the unyielding wrath of the Bristol beast. On Friday, when she got here, the usual media circus surrounding her was unrelenting and the fans that had access to pit road kept hounding her endlessly for autographs. She was getting so much unwanted attention that one could not help but feel a bit sorry for Ms. Patrick. With Danica trying to focus on the task at hand, it seemed like she was pursued by a seemingly endless stream of well-wishers and autograph-seekers that might have distracted her a bit from her duties for Jr. Motorsports. In qualifying, she started an ignominious 29th. But as the race progressed forward, she was slowly, but surely gaining experience on the half-mile and had, in fact, worked her way into the top 20.
The path Jeremy Clements has taken to the NASCAR series has been a long, hard road with many twists and turns, but through it all, Clements and his small family-operated team have managed to survive and even thrive in the NASCAR Nationwide Series, going up against teams with far greater resources than they have available to them. Clements started his career in the dirt track ranks, going from modified 4-cylinders to dirt late models. "It was a pretty huge transition to go from modified 4-cylinders to dirt late models." recalled Clements. "Everything was different from the steering to triple the horsepower in the engine. It was fun, though. I won my first dirt late model race and it was a great learning experience for me.". Back in 2003, Clements got his first taste of the Triple A level of NASCAR in a Busch Series race at Pike's Peak. "We didn't have a clue what we were getting into." Clements said. "We had been running ARCA at the time and wanted to get into the Busch Series. We went to Pike's Peak with a car we bought and we were so loose there, and in fact, we ended up wrecking early and it made me realize how tough it was at that level."
Last year at this time, Carl Edwards was sitting in 13th place in points and the lone highlight (or lowlight, depending on one's point of view) was Carl crossing swords with Brad Keselowski at Atlanta, sending him into the fence and at Bristol, he finished 6th. Fast forward to a year later, and Carl has a runner-up finish at Daytona to his credit, along with a win at Las Vegas. He also had a car capable of winning at Phoenix but after contact with Kyle Busch, his victory chances were sent up in smoke in the turn 3 wall.
When one brings up the name Paul Menard, until roughly this time last year, people just assumed that he was only in the sport because his father is Midwestern home-improvement tycoon, John Menard, but nothing could be further from the truth. In the past two years, Menard has gone from an average, at best, driver to being a legitimate contender to win races. To say that Menard has come a long way from his largely dismal D.E.I. and Yates Racing years is an understatement. Most of all, in what was perceived to be a make-or-break opportunity for Menard at Richard Childress Racing, he has more than exceeded expectations. In fact, he's currently the top dog at Childress, ahead of Jeff Burton, Clint Bowyer, and even Kevin Harvick.
At every other track on the NASCAR circuit, driver introductions are, generally, a rather boring and bland affair. Usually, the introductions are just an announcer saying where a driver is starting and his name. Occasionally, a driver will bring their family on stage, but that's about the only variety to your typical driver introduction ceremony. But at Bristol, it's a totally different kind of animal. Before the race, drivers, in a page almost out of professional wrestling, come out to their selection of introduction music. The songs range from a college fight song (Dave Blaney's choice of the Ohio State Buckeyes fight song), to classic rock (for example, Kurt Busch's selection of "One Bourbon, One Scotch, One Beer" by George Thorogood) to TV theme songs (Carl Edwards' choice of the "Cheers" theme song and Ryan Newman picking "The Dukes Of Hazzard" theme song) and everything in between. In the past, songs from movies (The "2001: A Space Odyssey" theme that Elliott Sadler picked last year) and even, somewhat appropriately, pro wrestling music (David Reutimann's selection last year of "The Game" by Motorhead)
When you think of NASCAR owners, you generally assume all the teams have roots entrenched in the Carolinas. One team owner in NASCAR has East Tennessee roots and recently, OnPitRoad.com had a chance to sit down with Front Row Motorsports owner Bob Jenkins and talk about his unlikely rise from East Tennessee businessman to a NASCAR Sprint Cup Series team owner. "I grew up as a rabid fan of NASCAR and have always been a fan." recalled Jenkins. "It was always a dream of mine to own a race team and I wanted to do it and the opportunity came about to do so, so in 2004, we started racing in the Sprint Cup and Nationwide Series and I've been in NASCAR ever since."
While he's not necessarily a house-hold name, Jimmy Means has managed over the past 35 years to persevere with limited finances and second-hand equipment. He's managed to keep himself firmly entrenched in the sport, even as teams with more money and better equipment infiltrate the Nationwide Series. Still, with the odds against him, Means has managed to survive when many other independent teams have fallen by the way-side over the years. Recently, at Bristol Motor Speedway, I had the opportunity to sit down and talk to Mr. Means about his career and what exactly has kept him going when other independent teams such as his have had to close up shop.
There is no mistaking the fact that the sport of auto-racing has been a male-dominated sport for years. But lately, there has been a bit of a surge in the number of females attempting to break into the sport. Enter Ali Kern, who, at 17 years of age, is trying to make an impact on the K&N East Series. "Ever since I was six years old, I've been around racing." Kern said. "I turned six years old and started racing motocross and haven't wanted to stop ever since." The former quad motocross, go-kart, and modified driver has definitely had to work her way up the ranks to get to this point, so there is no questioning this young lady's drive and determination. "It definitely helped me by starting somewhere back in the ranks. You can't just jump into racing and expect to be dominant off the bat."
In recent weeks, Eric McClure has found himself having some things in common with the biblical Job. First, his home was badly damaged by a tornado that hit his hometown of Abingdon, Virginia and a run of bad racing luck knocked Eric out of the top 35. But through it all, Eric has stayed strong with the help of friends, family, and faith. While he might not be contending for wins or top 10's on a frequent basis in the NASCAR Nationwide Series, no one can dare say that Eric McClure does not have his priorities in place. At Nashville SuperSpeedway in April, just before McClure's home was hit by a tornado, I had the chance to sit down with him and talk about his racing career, his faith, and his family.
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3.16.2011
Kern Hoping To Make Her Mark In NASCAR
3.23.2011
Despite His Struggles, Willie Allen Keeps Going
Danica Does Bristol
3.21.2011
Jeremy Clements Making His Mark In NASCAR
3.21.2011
Edwards Flipping His Fortunes In 2011
3.20.2011
Paul Menard Is Slowly Converting The Masses
3.20.2011
Bristol Gives Driver Introductions A Unique Twist
3.20.2011
East Tennesseean Making His Mark As A NASCAR Owner
3.19.2011
Means Solidering On
3.18.2011
4.10.2011
Regan Smith Is Getting Up To Speed In NASCAR
4.16.2011
A New Low In NASCAR…
4.22.2011
Nashville Fairgrounds Or The Nashville SuperSpeedway? Make Your Choice!
Mike Mittler: Discovering NASCAR Talent Since 1995
4.21.2011
Nick Hoffman Poised To Be Mittler Brothers Next Big Thing
4.21.2011
6.2.2011
Faith And Family Fuels Eric McClure