NASCAR/Racing Blog

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Category: Motorsports

Keselowski will drive Penske's Dodge and Jr's Chevy too

Taking a seat in a Dodge in NASCAR's Cup series used to mean you won't be driving that Chevy in the Nationwide series any more.

But not in Brad Keselowski's case.

Keselowski this weekend takes over Roger Penske's No. 12 Dodge in the Sprint Cup series for the final three races of the season. And he won't step out of Dale Earnhardt Jr's No. 88 Nationwide series Chevrolet, according to JR Motorsports.

Keselowski, who is third in Nationwide series points, will finish the season with the rare opportunity of driving Roger Penske Dodges and Rick Hendrick Chevrolets on the same tracks on the same weekends.

A spokeswoman for Earnhardt's race shop confirmed Monday that Keselowski will continue to drive the No. 88 for the rest of the Nationwide season.

Drivers doing costume changes between Cup and Nationwide sessions at Texas, Phoenix and Homestead isn't unusual. But doing it with uniforms that say Dodge and Chevrolet used to be taboo.

The announcement was made by Penske Racing Monday that Keselowski will replace David Stremme before the season ends to allow the Rochester Hills native time to build relationships and communication with the team in preparation for a full season of Cup series competition in 2010.

"These three races will provide a good base for both Brad and the team as we head into next year," Roger Penske said in a statement released by his team.

Maybe this highlights friendly cooperation between two respected team owners who competed over the rising star from Rochester Hills. Hendrick wanted to keep Keselowski. And when Kez signed in September, he credited Dale Earnhardt Jr. with convincing him that Penske was one of the few who could compete on the track with the Hendrick empire.

Keselowski has four Nationwide series wins, two poles and 20 top-five finishes this season driving for Earnhardt. He trails only Cup series stars Kyle Busch and Carl Edwards.

In 12 races driving for two different teams in the Cup series, Keselowski has four top tens including a win earlier this season at Talladega. Mostly, he's driven Hendrick's No. 25 Chevrolet. He finished sixth in his return to Alabama last weekend in James Finch's No. 09 Chevy.

This accommodation also is a reflection of the dwindling influence of the manufacturers in NASCAR and the sanctioning body's deliberate move away from the manufacturers with an increasingly homogenous spec car.

Brand loyalty is fading into NASCAR's past as fans realize the only difference is the engine block and the stickers on the nose and tail.

It seemed romantically fitting that Keselowski would join the Michigan-based Penske in Dodges next season. His father Bob Keselowski drove Dodges in the truck series. Brother Brian drives Dodges in Nationwide.

Next season, Kelly Bires will step out of a Toyota and into Earnhardt's No. 88 Chevrolets in the Nationwide series. Keselowski will compete in the nationwide series again next year, but in Penske's No. 22 Dodge sponsored by Michigan-based Discount Tire.

But NASCAR's head man, Brian France has explained it himself, saying NASCAR is well positioned by the Car of Tomorrow to weather the storms in Detroit and survive if the manufacturers fail. He has explained that the identities of the race cars with identical fenders and rooflines can be easily swapped. Just ask Robby Gordon.

So these loyalties NASCAR helped to forge in its fans in days gone by are more than blurred. It's no longer safe business for NASCAR to hold on to this element of the marketing package.

Kasey Kahne drove Toyotas in a few Nationwide races this season fueling speculation that Richard Petty Racing would switch from Dodge to the Japanese manufacturer before stunning everyone with a switch to Ford.

Do you remember that Kahne started in Fords and their parting included an ugly lawsuit? Well, everything's fine now because the sagging influence of the manufacturers in NASCAR means they're really just race cars.

And that's a good reason all NASCAR fans to root for full recovery in Detroit. Unless you like the way every car is exactly the same in the IndyCar series.

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Category: Motorsports

It was one of them racin' things

How many times have we seen this? The driver is cruising to a great finish. Just stay out of trouble and the podium is in sight. Suddenly, catastrophe strikes.

Now, I also know how that feels.

I was loudly wrestling with my frustration last weekend after the Rock Kart World Finals in South Bend, Ind., when another driver told me, "At least you have a story to tell."

It was excellent advice, but I got beaten again. It was Detroit Free Press motorsports writer Mike Brudenell who told my story first.

Two laps from the finish of the feature race at Michiana Raceway Park, the planets had aligned. The go kart and driver had become one with the rain-slicked track. Following a frustrating day of spinouts and mistakes in the heat races, in the feature I had discovered the dry lines and the resolve to tiptoe through those turns where I hadn't.

It's true that slower can be faster.

I had come from nearly last on the starting grid to first. I even managed to remain calm when a faster karter passed me after enjoying about five laps in the lead.

"Second is great," I said aloud inside my helmet. Just don't get tempted to keep pace.

"Learn from his line," the voice said. And I did.

Nearing the end, yet another fast kart passed and the temptation to catch up was harder to resist. "Third is still on the podium. Stay out of trouble," the voice said.

Through the rain smearing my helmet visor I saw the flagman signal two laps to go. Ahead of me, entering the fastest turn on the track, I was quickly closing on another kart. It was my old friend, my teammate, Lance Wynn.

Can you picture the nightmare scenario yet?

"No need to pass him here," the voice said. I got my braking done in a straight line before the turn. No problem. My entry and line was higher than his, but then it happened: Lance's kart snapped into a spin and I flew off the top of the turn into the gravel trap, nearly rolling into the barrier.

I jumped from the kart to try and pull it from deep in the gravel before realizing, no matter what I do, the podium and all those clean laps are wasted. I finish last today.

I walked away, trying not to look like Danica Patrick stomping down the pit lane at Michigan International Speedway, but I was feeling every bit of the heat she experienced that day when she ran out of fuel in the closing laps.

I thought, so this is how Elliott Sadler feels all the time. Stuff like this seems to happen to him every time he gets a good run.

Brudenell and I will argue forever about who punted who in the race last year. And, although the long drive home with my buddy Lance started kind of quiet, we were soon laughing. He had beaten me in the heat races, but the handling on his kart had somehow disappeared. He was having a terrible race and didn't even know I was behind him. He kept saying, "I didn't do it on purpose."

I know, but Lance also understands the rules. I'll never let him forget this. Not a chance.

I have to admit that Brudenell, my competitor on the race track and in print, captured with his story the essence of racing's allure: that even a tough day at the track is better than a day without racing.

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Category: Motorsports

Michigan International Speedway renovation begins

The haulers are gone and down comes the roof.

Michigan International Speedway officials wasted no time following last weekend's NASCAR races to begin improvements for next season at the race track 50 miles west of detroit. And, in recognition of the region's economic troubles -- everyone noticed the empty seats last weekend -- prices on all seats will be cut for the two NASCAR weekends next season.

There's also talk that this is only the beginning of work that eventually could include a "fan walk" style infield redesign. You will like this if it is anything like what MIS owner International Speedway Corp did to Daytona -- with a landscaped garden midway behind the center of the pits with shops, entertainment and broadcast stages and windows to look right into the Cup series garages.

MIS spokesman Dennis Worden sent notice and photos this morning that the initial demolition underway, starting with part of the row of two-story offices and suites behind the pits. The terrace suites have been the backdrop for the pits for nearly 30 years. I've watched a lot of racing from the roof. My son Geoff shot this rooftop video with awesome sound of a restart during the June race.

"Alro Steel's suite on the south side of structure toward the racetrack's Turn 1 was the first to go, thanks to a CAT backhoe operated by Blue Star, the demolition contractor our of Warren, Mich," Worden wrote. "Steel, glass, concrete and other materials from the 30-year-old building crumbled under the force of the enormous machine. The materials from the old building will be recycled."

Although crews tore through most of the building Tuesday, the official demolition is set for Aug. 26 when driver Jeff Burton will plow a CAT excavator through several suites left standing on the north end. The speedway has invited a few fans to the event as part of its Fan Appreciation Program. The fans were selected from a random drawing held at the track over the weekend.

MIS President Roger Curtis said, "It's very exciting to see a building fall, but to know that this is the beginning of eventually redesigning our entire infield and being able to touch so many different aspects of our sport ... fans, drivers, crews, media and corporate partners ... makes this project truly special. We are also directly contributing to the local economy by using Michigan-based businesses."

Here's the MIS plan so far: A $17 million, solar-powered, glass and steel, two-story structure for corporate clients and a newsroom for the media. This also gives the track vendor/caterer Americrown a new kitchen.

This requires relocation this fall of the Sunoco gas station that you might have trouble seeing right behind the old buildings and in front of the race car garages. It also means extending the narrow pedestrian tunnel under the start finish line. Right now it pops up in the grass at the bottom of the tri-oval and has to be shut down during racing. The new version will extend behind pit row.

Yikes! It's already claustrophobically long and narrow and dank, but making it available throughout the race cuts a lot of steps off trips to the turn one tunnel. That is currently is the only way in and out of the infield if you don't happen to have access to a helicopter.

The plan is to finish this first phase just three weeks before the June 11-13 NASCAR weekend in 2010.

There are some complications. Although the racing season is over, the track still is committed to several events including driving schools and the Michigan State High School Athletic Association cross country meet in November.

I'm told the "fan walk" improvements are coming soon, just not during this busy off-season.

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Category: Motorsports

Vote for a Keselowski, but vote for Brian

Have you voted for your favorite Keselowski yet?

I'm going totally homer on the fan vote that started Monday for NASCAR''s most popular Nationwide driver.

Here's the link. Go there and vote. It takes two seconds.

I voted for the hometown guy, but I voted for big brother, Brian after getting e-mail from one of his fans.

"Brian is the hardest working racer out there today and is a man of the people. Brian drives his race car, builds his race car and drives (the hauler) to the track himself along with a crew of the hardest working guys in racing," explained Tim Bean of Fowlerville, who hopes race fans will rally their friends on Facebook and Twitter. "We need everyone to spread the word and get their friends to vote for Brian."

As soon as NASCAR opened the Internet polls, little brother Brad Keselowski jumped into the lead, ahead of Sprint Cup regulars Kyle Busch, Carl Edwards and Clint Bowyer. The Rochester Hills native who drives for Dale Earnhardt Jr's Nationwide team won last year's fan vote, too.

So Brad, 25, doesn't need my vote.

Brian, 27, does, and as of this posting, he's ahead of many of the better known Nationwide series regulars.

Brad currently is third in the Nationwide points and is the hottest candidate for next year's Sprint Cup rookie of the year competition having already collected his first Sprint Cup victory at Talladega this season.

Brian is 23rd in the points and missed qualifying for Daytona last week, despite putting the car into the field for all 15 prior races this season. He's finished in the top 20 twice, including 14th at Talladega.

His dad, Bob, is his crew chief. Mom, Kay, is his spotter. Yes, the trusted voice in Brian's ear through every race is his mother's.

Come on! Brian's the funny one. The brothers even joke about being polar opposites. Well, Brian does. Brad tells you about it, and means it. Ask Carl Edwards how serious Brad can be.

Brian is the one driving the family car maintained in a shop in Pinkney with only a few skinny, but loyal sponsors. During the Detroit Red Wings' run to the Stanley Cup Finals, Brian got permission to put Red Wings logos on his race car and helmet. He didn't get paid. He did it because he's from here and he's a Wings fan. And, it got him introduced on the ice during Game 2 at Joe Louis.

So start stuffing the electronic ballot box, but here's the trick. NASCAR's computers are registering your computer's IP address so you only get one vote per day. But, there's a lot of days between now and Oct. 31 when the balloting ends, and I have access to four different Internet-connected computers. You can even squeeze in some votes for Brad too. Ain't democracy great?

You also can vote for your favorite truck series driver. And, if you are a totally serious NASCAR fan, select a favorite driver in each of NASCARâ�,��"�s regional touring series: NASCAR's Camping World Series East and West, NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour, NASCAR Whelen Southern Modified Tour, NASCAR Mexico Series and NASCAR Canadian Tire Series.

Our other Michigan NASCAR driver, Johnny Benson Jr., won the fan vote in the truck series last season. And you can still vote for the defending truck series champion even if he got knocked out of his ride by a younger driver with more sponsor money. Not that I'm bitter, but voting for Johnny made me feel a little better.

This is the second year for the fan vote. Last year more than 250,000 votes were recorded. The 2009 Most Popular Driver of the Year Awards will be presented at the various banquets for each series at season's end. Voting for the Nationwide and truck series end on Oct. 31.

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Category: Motorsports

What Tony George's ouster means to auto racing

The Indy Racing League runs on funding from the Hulman-George family coffers. The IRL never has made a profit and the current economic downturn has only made matters worse.

But, a hopeful sign came from Mari Hulman George's pledge of continued support in the same dramatic statement that announced Tuesday her son Tony George no longer controls the family purse strings.

â�,��"These changes underscore our familyâ�,��"�s commitment going forward to all of our companies, especially our commitment to the growth of the Indy Racing League and the sport of open-wheel racing,â�,� Mari Hulman George said in the statement released on Tuesday.â�,��"We believe the Hulman-George familyâ�,��"�s long stewardship of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, beginning in 1945, and our significant investment in the Speedway and in the IRL demonstrates that we have full confidence in all of our companies and that we intend to grow them in the future.â�,�

The IRL was Tony's spawn, born to do combat with CART and make the Hulman George family the France family of American open wheel racing. Problem is, it took more than a decade of expensive warfare to take total control of the sport. It happened only last year, late to advantage from the now long past economic boom that propelled NASCAR and the France family to national popularity, power and riches.

Some are saying there is no way to predict the impact of George's departure on IndyCar and NASCAR racing.

IRL and IMS live or die together

The Hulman family money must continue to flow to the Indy Racing League. Without it, the IRL would fold. But then, so would the Indianapolis 500 without an open-wheel series to provide race cars.

"IMS and the IRL are hooked at the hip," Panther Racing team owner John Barnes told Indianapolis Star writer Curt Cavin. "Only a fool would believe that's not the case, especially after you see how many people show up for the (NASCAR race) compared to how many people were at the Indy 500."

There has been a significant downturn in ticket sales reported for the July 26 Brickyard 400. Every NASCAR track is suffering, but Indy is taking a double hit because last year's race was another tire-problem related farce.

Fans will never forget what happened at the 2005 Formula One race, when just five of the 22 cars took the green due to tire safety problems. Last summer, Goodyear produced a tire for the NASCAR stock cars that wouldn't hold up for more than a handful of laps without exploding.

Angry fans poured out of the historic race course and Goodyear has been back numerous times, testing a new tire it claims will perform well this time.

But the survival of NASCAR doesn't depend on the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. The Brickyard 400 is just another race. Indy's ownership is supporting the entire IRL series.

This year's Indy 500 was a nationally followed emotional resurrection for open-wheel racing and for the popular Helio Castroneves after being cleared of tax evasion charges. The event claimed a near capacity crowd. Although the IRL says its brand is growing since the unification, the ticket-holders I spoke with described lots of empty spaces in the 250,000 seat facility.

Still, it was a good showing compared with other events in this summer's difficult economy. After all, we here in Detroit saw our IndyCar race on Belle Isle canceled because even the promotional power of Roger Penske couldn't land enough sponsorship.

Tony George apparently had been less and less involved in the daily operations of the IRL and IMS since the founding of his own race team, Vision Racing, in 2005.

"I don't think (George's departure) changes the league much because Brian has been effectively running the league," race team owner Sam Schmidt, told USA Today.

Penske told Cavin he has confidence in the newly appointed management team of Jeff Belskus and Curt Brighton, because they come from within the organization with intimate knowledge about the business, the Speedway and the IRL: "Those are good people and capable people, and they represent the family's interest," Penske said. "They've been involved in the discussions before, so it's not like we've got a brand-new cast of characters that we don't know."

Resurrecting the messenger

SPEED TV's Robin Miller broke the story about the Hulman George family feud in May. He wrote that Tony George's three sisters on the businesses board of directors voted to oust Tony from power, then Miller got castigated for his reporting when the family circled the wagons and denied his reporting's now obvious truth. Other news agencies were quick to follow up with similar reports, confirming and expanding on Miller's original report. Miller has long been a lightening rod for his frequent agitation against Tony George's controversial decisions.

Apparently, it only took Tony George's family 20 years to catch up.

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Category: Motorsports

Tony George is out at Indianapolis Motor Speedway

Tony George, the architect of the civil war that savaged American open wheel racing for a decade, has been ousted as president and CEO of his family's businesses -- including the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

The Board of Directors of Hulman & Company and the Speedway announced this afternoon that a new management team of current Speedway executives will head the Hulman-George companies effective tomorrow.

George remains on the board of directors. But the man who for 20 years exercised so much willful authority over auto racing in the United States is virtually left only with his IndyCar racing team. Vision Racing's driver is George's stepson, Ed Carpenter.

Tony got dumped. There's no other way to read even the carefully written statement issued today by his family-dominated business. The question remains whether this should have happened many, many years ago.

He denied the rumors that he was about to be deposed when the board met after the Memorial Day weekend running of the 98th Indianapolis 500.

Today, it was Tony's mother making the announcement:

â�,��"Our board had asked Tony to structure our executive staff to create efficiencies in our business structure and to concentrate his leadership efforts in the Indy Racing League,â�,� said Mari Hulman George, chairman of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway board. â�,��"He has decided that with the recent unification of open-wheel racing and the experienced management team IMS has cultivated over the years, now would be the time for him to concentrate on his team ownership of Vision Racing with his family and other personal business interests he and his family share."

A lot of race fans hate this guy, but it was the sour economy that caught up with Tony's decades of willful spending on consolidating open-wheel racing under his family's name in the way the France family controls NASCAR's dominance of stock car racing. Tony has long displayed horrible fiscal restraint, with estimates ofhis spending on the Speedway and IRL over the last 13 years in the hundreds of millions.

While today's statement made no admission that the family businesses are in trouble back in Terre Haute, Ind., the speedway and IRL have been cutting back. About 60 staffers have been let go in the last six months. Even Tony's wife Laura lost her job as an adviser. George told the Associated Press that she hasn't been fired.

W. Curtis Brighton becomes president and CEO of Hulman & Company. He's currently executive vice president and chief legal counsel to the family's companies that were founded on Clabber Girl Baking Powder.

Jeffrey G. Belskus will be president and CEO of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Corporation. Belskus is currently executive vice president and chief financial officer of the family companies.

And, according to the statement, Brighton and Belskus have the support of Tony's mom:

â�,��"Jeff and Curt have both been with the company for many years in positions of top leadership,â�,� said Mari Hulman George. â�,��"Tony, as well as the entire Board of Directors, has the utmost confidence in their capabilities.

In other words, one is an accountant and the other is a lawyer. That's who runs businesses these days with all the passion of undertakers.

George's grandfather, the late Tony Hulman was widely adored by race car fans because he bought the abandoned historic race track, restored and reopened it after World War II. Mari Hulman George continues her father's tradition by issuing the command before each race to, "start your engines."

It was Tony who changed things at a place where change and innovation is constant, but clinging to the traditions of the track's 100-year history is not only a good marketing strategy -- it's religion to many fans.

At age 29, Tony George took over the speedway after the 1989 death of Tony Hulman's trusted manager, Joe Cloutier. Tony ruffled feathers bringing NASCAR's stock cars to the hallowed ground in 1994, but it was a move that has paid off big and helped the Speedway to a piece of NASCAR's popularity. The International Race of Champions was added in 1998 long after its popularity had waned.

And then, Tony made a deal with the devil, bringing Bernie Eccelstone's international Formula One circus and the return of Grand Prix racing to the United States in 2000.

Tony poured money chasing and pleasing the F-1 set, new garages, new suites, a new road course that reconfigured the beloved infield. All for a race in 2005 that fielded just 5 of 22 cars and complete abandonment after 2007 when Tony refused to pay Bernie as much as the treasuries of Asian and Middle Eastern nations competing for the calendar slot.

Add the MotoGP motorcycle grand prix in 2008, and the required infield remodeling turned what was left of the famous turn one "Snake Pit" into a desert of gravel.

All of this turned the historic Speedway into a monster that Tony himself described as "... a place that wakes up every morning and eats money."

Now remember, all of this spending was going on while Tony spent a decade establishing his own sanctioning body, the Indy Racing League in the image of NASCAR. From 1996 to 2008 he poured more money into his opposition of CART and then Champ Car never learning the lessons of Napoleon and Hitler -- never fight a two-front war.

And while the confused crowds dwindled and open-wheel racing missed the American economic boom of the late 1990's and early 2000's, NASCAR blossomed.

Mom tossed her boy some nice words on his way out the door today.

â�,��"Our family and the entire racing community are grateful to Tony for the leadership and direction he has provided since 1990," Mari Hulman George said in the press release. "We are pleased that he will continue to be an important part of the Indy Racing League as a team owner and as a member of our Board of Directors, and we wish him every success.â�,�

Other familiar Indy executives remain in place: Joie Chitwood stays as president and chief operating officer of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Terry Angstadt is president of the commercial division of the Indy Racing League. Brian Barnhart is president of the competition division of the Indy Racing League. Charlie Morgan is president and COO of IMS Productions. Gary Morris is president and COO of Clabber Girl.

â�,��"These changes underscore our familyâ�,��"�s commitment going forward to all of our companies, especially our commitment to the growth of the Indy Racing League and the sport of open-wheel racing,â�,� Mari Hulman George said. "We believe the Hulman-George familyâ�,��"�s long stewardship of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, beginning in 1945, and our significant investment in the Speedway and in the IRL demonstrates that we have full confidence in all of our companies and that we intend to grow them in the future.â�,�

Just not with Tony at the helm.

It is going to be intersting to see what that means. Some of it you might not like. For all of his modernization of the Speedway, Tony George never sold the right to name the Indianapolis 500. As a reader of this blog pointed out in our comments section, Allstate has been attached to the Brickyard 400 for years. How long do you expect it will take the lawyer and the accountant to cash in on the millions sponsors will pay to put their names in front of the Indy 500?

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Category: Motorsports

Mark Martin wins at Michigan by surprise

Mark Martin was lamenting in the post race interview about how it's never been his luck to win a race like this, when car owner Rick Hendrick chimed in:

"You're going to have to stop that," Hendrick said.

Jimmie Johnson and Greg Biffle ran out of gas ahead of him. But, Martin saved just enough to make it to victory circle.

The self-described "surprise winner" of NASCAR's Lifelock 400 at Michigan International Speedway this afternoon kept talking about being unlucky, but it was obvious the boss believes the veteran's luck is just fine.

Martin was nursing his car to a comfortable, and respectable third place finish behind Johnson and Biffle, when first Johnson ran out of fuel and then Biffle on the backstretch of the final lap. They had pushed each other to go too fast. But the old man was patient.

"He (Johnson) just came up there and put presure on me, gave Mark Martin the win," Biffle said. "Put peressure on me to run the car hard. He ran his car hard and we both ran out of gas and the 5 won."

Martin and crew chief Alan Gustafson were playing it safe. They had won two prior races this season, but were still outside of the top 12 and the chase positions for the championship due to bad luck at other races.

"If we had been in the position Jimmy and Chad (Knaus) were in, more comfortable in the points, we'd have been pushing it too," Martin said.

To hear Martin talk about it, he has his own personal little rain cloud following him around. The car drove well, but the electrical system glitched early and there were no fans to cool the brakes, the tire beads or the driver.

"Here we go again," Martin said when he started switching off power systems to save voltage early in the race. "I got sick at my stomach."

It really wasn't neccessary for Hendrick in the interview room to reminded everyone how much Martin is respected in this business. He's won 38 times in NASCAR's top level. He's won five times at Michigan. That he's now sitting eighth in points isn't completely by "surprise."

"There's a word in the sport. Respect," Hendrick said of the man he talked out of retirement for another shot at the championship he's never won.

"When he sits down to explain a car, others listen," Hendrick said. He said his other drivers, Johnson, Jeff Gordon and Dale Earnhardt Jr. all have benefitted from Martin's presence and wisdom. "Jeff Gordon told me that before he came over (joined the team). Jimmie told me we've got to get him to stay on for a couple more years."

And Martin, he told us it would be an honor to be included again among the 12 drivers headed for The Chase. He's a grateful and lucky man, no matter what he says.

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Category: Motorsports

Kid Rock and The Schwartz got them started at MIS

They were just a couple of regular guys, sitting side-by-side at a NASCAR race. But, Kid Rock and new Detroit Lions' head coach Jim Schwartz are playing special roles today here at Michigan International Speedway.

Rock very enthusiastically made the call for drivers to start their engines. Schwartz was the honorary starter -- dropping the green flag on the field for the initial start.

They both also recognize their roles as missionaries for their beleaguered home town -- Motown. They joked, and got serious about their feelings about hard times.

Schwartz talked about being impressed that Lions fans are like NASCAR fans -- extremely loyal even through hard times.

"I feel it every day," Rock said. "I still live here. I live in Clarkston, Michigan. I see a lot of stuff, a lot of my friends, houses foreclosed, losing their jobs, trying to find work. Theyâ�,��"�re embarrassed about it. One thing Iâ�,��"�ve known about this town, the reason why I stay here -- and I could live any where I want in the world -- is because of the people. Because of who they are. Itâ�,��"�s a hard working town. Great people in it. Itâ�,��"�s not the first time weâ�,��"�ve been down. Weâ�,��"�ll get back up. Iâ�,��"�m sure of that. I see hope every day in a lot of peopleâ�,��"�s eyes. You know, my buddies at the race, theyâ�,��"�re talking about Tony starting his own thing now and especially at a time when itâ�,��"�s very difficult to do it. Heâ�,��"�s doing very well and I think itâ�,��"�s like anything else, itâ�,��"�s persistence and hard work and doing the right thing when times get tough. Thatâ�,��"�s what Iâ�,��"�ve always seen about Michigan and especially Detroit."

Rock said he's working on a couple of songs about hard times and the Midwest. He said when he was younger, he wrote about wild times and women. Now, he's older, His son is growing and he sees more serious things to sing about.

But Schwartz brought Rock back to his base by declaring the particularly raunchy "Cocky" as his favorite song. He even recited a view lines .

"Itâ�,��"�s ainâ�,��"�t bragging if you can back it up," Schwartz said.

Kid Rock laughed, "He even knows the lyrics. Heâ�,��"�s my man. Heâ�,��"�s the best coach weâ�,��"�ve ever had in Detroit."

"I just hope youâ�,��"�re saying that in about six months," Schwartz said.

"It couldn't get worse," Rock reminded him.

Schwartz earlier talked about hanging out at a quarter-mile dirt track near his home as a kid.

"We would go on Friday and Saturday nights, probably mostly to drink beer more than anything. Obviously it was a lot different racing. Lot of paint swapping and things like that. This is, obviously, a two-mile track. Theyâ�,��"�re going to get going. Itâ�,��"�s a completely different style of racing. I canâ�,��"�t wait to see it."

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NASCAR back in Michigan, but not so close to Detroit anymore

That's not what Detroit needed. Toyotas on the front row at Michigan International Speedway.

While I was covering the Red Wings loss of the Stanley Cup to the Pittsburgh Penguins on Friday, Brian Vickers was winning the pole for today's NASCAR Sprint Cup race. Kyle Bush is right next to him and David Reutimann is in the second row beside the first Detroit brand, Jimmy Johnson's Chevrolet.

But not all is lost. While the Pittsburgh Pirates were drubbing the Detroit Tigers in baseball Saturday (notice a couple of trends here?) Collin Braun was setting things straight in the NASCAR truck race. Braun put Jack Roush's Ford into victory circle at MIS by passing Kyle Busch's Toyota.

There is still hope this weekend for salvaging some of Detroit's pride. I hope.

A kid who won't graduate from high school until next week won the ARCA race here on Friday.

While I was busy with the Red Wings, the now bankrupt General Motors is cutting funding to NASCAR's Nationwide and Truck teams. What else did I miss?:

Johnny Benson lost his truck ride, then crashed on Saturday night driving in a late model race at his home track, Berlin Raceway near Grand Rapids.

The threat of getting hurt in motor sports is a constant. Even one of the pilots in the Red Bull Air Races over the Detroit River Today, Peter Besenyei, got hurt in an emergency landing in Canada earlier this week. The qualifying rounds were held Saturday and the finals are today in a terrible scheduling conflict for Detroit motor sports fans. The races are beautiful and thrilling over the river.

Kirby Chamblis, the defending champion of the Detroit race, is the top qualifier .

Brian France, head of NASCAR's ruling family, just spoke to us in the media center about the challenges faced by the series in these tough economic times. The surprise was that he said NASCAR has spoken with "other manufacturers" about future participation in the series.

"We have spoken to others, yes," France said. "I'm not going to mention names, but we have companies interested in developing the North American market as robustly as they can. They are manufacturers like Toyota who are building cars in North America and want to develop this market."

I think you can read Honda into that statement. But, he said talks like this can't result in changes overnight. But, when the new companies join, it will be easier because of the generic nature of the "New Car" which basically is the same for every manufacturers, except for the engine block.

France said the goal of the new car was to improve safety and cut costs, but it also is generic enough to help teams through changes in manufacturer no matter what happens to GM and Dodge. Forget the fact that fans are turned off by a car that bears no resemblance to the cars we find in showrooms.

"The new car will solve that particular problem well," said France.

So NASCAR is planning a future without the former Big Three. I guess it only makes sad practical sense.

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Category: Motorsports

Rain washes out ARCA qualifying at MIS

ARCA's stock car drivers are getting used to this.

Steady rain scrubbed today's 3 p.m. qualifying for the ARCA RE/MAX series at Michigan International Speedway.

This is ARCA's fourth race in a row where the starting lineup had to be set by current owner's points due to rain. In what might be a strong argument for the effects of global warming, ARCA's Menard's Pole qualifying washed out at Kentucky, Toledo, and Pocono. This is the first time in the 57-year history of the series that four consecutive qualifying sessions have been cancelled.

The weather report is ideal for Friday's 5 p.m. race which follows the 3 p.m. qualifications for NASCAR's Sprint Cup series.

ARCA's Wildlife 200 will be broadcast live on SPEED TV. Live timing and scoring will be available during the race at ARCA's web site .

NASCAR's Camping World Truck series is set to race at 1:30 p.m. Saturday at Michigan International. The Sprint Cup stars of NASCAR's top series are to practice at 11:30 a.m. Friday and Noon on Saturday. The Sprint Cup race will start at 1:30 p.m. Sunday.

Track and series officials today still were hoping the weather would clear enough over ther 2-mile track near Jackson to allow ARCA and truck practice. Rain showers have plagued the area most of the day.

The National Weather Service predicts the rain will end overnight. The forecast calls for mostly sunny skies and temperatures in the low to mid 70s Friday and Sunday. There is a chance of thunderstorms predicted for Saturday.

Worse than the weather, the effects of the economy also have impacted the racing itself. The truck series' defending champion, Michigan's Johnny Benson, lost his ride on the eve of his home race due to lack of sponsorship. Red Horse Racing announced it was shutting down the team last week, following the race Texas Motor Speedway that ran three trucks short of a full field.

Yesterday, the team announced it would race with a new driver, Timothy Peters, who happened to bring a sponsor along with him.

In racing, nothing goes faster than money.

"It certainly is effecting us," said Ron Drager, president of ARCAs RE/MAX series. "We are sharing the same pain that everyone else is. Anybody who makes it through this will be stronger for it after the recovery."

The ARCA series has 41 race cars on hand to qualify at Michigan, which constitutes a full field for the series. "Previously we've always had more than a full field show up to qualify, so you have to use your own measuring stick to determine how it is impacting you."

Tickets remain available at the Michigan International Speedway box office for all of the weekend's events, including Sunday's normally sold-out Sprint Cup race. Tickets for the ARCA race are just $15, the truck race, $40, and there still are seats available in every grandstand for the Cup race, ranging from $40 to $110.

And once the skies clear, the still available spaces at the campgrounds surrounding the big speedway are going to look very inviting.