The second day of the NASCAR Media tour definitely stepped it up from the previous day. It started out with Richard Childress Racing and the announcement that Austin Dillon, Richard’s grandson, was driving in the Camping World Truck Series this season. Dillon will be driving the Bass Pro Shops No. 3 truck a number that has not been used regularly since Dale Earnhardt’s death. The truck is black as well but Richard says it reminds him of Mike Skinner when he drove the No 3 truck.
Childress, coming off maybe his most disappointing season ever, feels optimistic about this year after running well the last six races of last season with 11 top 10 finishes with his four car team. Of course, this year they will have a three car team in the Sprint Cup Series after the dissolution of the No. 07 team piloted by Casey Mears. The remaining drivers, Jeff Burton, Kevin Harvick and Clint Boyer all seem very optimistic about the upcoming season as well. When Harvick was out on the stage and answering questions he didn’t seem to be the “Happy Harvick” of years past. This is his final year of his contract with RCR and it would surprise some to see him come back to RCR.
The next stop was Richard Petty Motorsports showcasing their new Ford Fusion race cars. Having officially signed the deal with Yates Racing back in December of 2009 to join forces and the alliance with Roush Racing engines, it seems everything is in order for the season. All four drivers, Kasey Kahne, AJ Allmendinger, Elliot Sadler and Paul Menard all seem excited about the change to Ford and the alliance with Roush -Yates Engines. Both Allmendinger and Sadler ran Fords in a few races at the end of last season. When they did, they ran as well or better than the Dodges of their teammates. This was also an opportunity for Ford showed off their new 2011 Mustang Pace Car for the 2010 Daytona 500. This will be the first time in 40 years that a Ford has served as the pace car for “The Great American Race” with the last time being in 1970 when a Ford Torino GT convertible did the honors. The actual car will be auctioned off at the 39th Annual Barrett-Jackson auction on January 23, 2010. All proceeds over the manufacturer’s suggested retail price will go to help cure childhood diabetes.
The Media tour then took the short ride to the newly renamed Charlotte Motor Speedway for lunch with Frontrow motorsports and The Wood Brothers Racing teams. I was lucky enough to sit at the table with Bill Elliot and Sam Bass. Elliot talked about helping his son Chase get into racing and the expense that it takes to keep him racing. He explained how difficult it is for these young talented drivers to get the quality equipment they need to have to be competitive. They need to stand out from the rest of the racers to get recognized and get the opportunity to make a career in the sport. He said “I do everything I can to open up doors for Chase and try and make something happen. That’s all I can do for him is just try and open doors” When asked if the younger Elliot listened to his Dad’s advice from his years of experience, he laughed and said, “No, he’s like every other kid.” For me this was really a enjoyable lunch and a great honor to be able to sit at the table with Awesome Bill. Sam Bass was asked about the guitar incident in Nashville where Kyle Busch destroyed the guitar trophy that was made by Bass. Look for more on that in the near future.
Frontrow motorsports probably made the most surprising announcement of the day by adding a third car to their team with the addition of Kevin Conway. Conway will be a ‘shoe- in’ for Rookie of the year honors as he will be the only full rookie in the field. The other two drivers for FRM will be Travis Kvapil and David Gilliland.
We then headed to the infieldof the speedway for the Roush Fenway Racing part of the trip. This by far was the most fun of the tour for me personally. Geoff Smith started everything off by saying that he is excited for the season and where the sport is and more importantly where he thinks it is going. He feels that with TV heading toward 3D in the near future motor racing is the best suited for that kind of programming. As many know Roush had to cut back from a 5 car team to 4 cars by NASCAR rules. That left Jamie McMurray out in the cold. Matt Kenseth got sponsorship from Crown Royal after losing the DeWalt sponsorship at the end last season.
Well now to the good part, Roush had his drivers take all the media members on the road course in the infield for a ride along in their new Mustangs! I think the second or third lap Edwards took he blew up one of the cars and they had to get the clean up trucks out of the garage to get the oil off the track. This was one of the coolest things I have ever done with my clothes on. I have had the opportunity to do the Richard Petty drive and ride along’ and they are awesome but nothing like a road course ride in a 400+ horse power street legal Mustang with a NASCAR driver. My driver was 22 year old Ricky Stenhouse Jr. and he was really having fun and so was I.
Dinner was at the new Hall of Fame in uptown Charlotte NC. after we received a tour of the hall itself. They have 110 days before opening and there is still a lot to be accomplished but it is going to be a fantastic fan experience. The Hall will be open before the All Star race in May with an Inductee ceremony scheduled near that time as well. There are great displays a unique design and artifacts from all decades of racing that will be very interactive to the fans. With all the exciting announcements this week in Charlotte everyone needs to take your vacations in Charlotte in May.
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