Edition 42, May 20th - 2009

Charlotte Spring Race

I was not sure I wanted to stay home Saturday night and watch the Sprint All Star race. The exerpts shown by Fox from previous races and our weather that dipped into the mid 30’s changed my mind about attending the local race program at the Dells track. That and an insistent spouse that politely yet firmly suggested that I stay home to watch the two-phase race with her. After all Charlotte is one of our favorite Sprint racing venues.

If you have never been to the Charlotte area, you should try to find an excuse to attend one of the two Sprint race weeks in the NASCAR schedule. We have attended both race weeks and there are advantages to both weeks, but the spring race over Memorial Day weekend definitely has some distinct advantages including great warm weather, huge amounts of race fans, speed week fan fest in downtown Charlotte, and of course visits to all the race team shops in the area. As this is a huge monetary shot in the arm for this city and the surrounding area, all the area businesses go out of their way to make you feel appreciated. A large variety of race souvenirs are available, and I even picked up a restrictor plate from the #17 team a few years back. (Hum maybe I should pencil in a trip back there some day).

Back to the 2009 Sprint All Star race; formerly called “The Winston” as this local cigarette manufacturer had a close association with the races at Charlotte Speedway. The field was pre-set by a pre qualifying session including a pit stop, with the fastest times starting at the front, and two or three additional drivers added to the race from the winners of a pre-race called the Sprint Showdown. These of course are races only for fame and fortune as no race points are awarded.

The showdown allows all drivers with proper credentials to attempt to race there way into the all-star event. This year’s field included seasoned high dollar teams including Target, Crown Royal, and Bass Pro Shop entries racing for twenty laps against under funded and rookie entries including Wisconsin’s own Dexter Bean. With only twenty laps to race to the front, the boys pushed and shoved there way past their fellow competitors. The Rousch entry piloted by McMurray wasted little time and by lap five had moved up thirteen spots from his starting position. More jostling for position, and when the checker fell, Sam Hornish and Jamie McMurray finished 1 and 2 to transfer to the all-star race. Logano transferred in based on fan vote.

The All-Star race had Johnson on the pole with Curt Busch on the outside and Kenseth and Earnhardt Jr. filling out the second row. The four-segment race began with Johnson jumping out in the lead with Matt and Curt chasing. All too soon Kyle Busch and Jeff Gordon joined the group and at the end of first segment, Johnson led to the mandatory caution. The second session saw the #18 wedging his way to the front and he held off the pack to win segment two followed by the Dewalt entry. Segment three saw some cars waking up and Jeff Gordon and Ryan Newman flew towards the front passing on all sides. The end of this segment saw Gordon winning with Kenseth and the two Busch brothers filling out the top four. The final ten-lap segment was some of the best racing I have ever witnessed. Five cars were in a gridlock, with no one running away from the pack. The #24, 39, and #18 entries all were badly beaten up from on track skirmishes, and it appeared Kenseth was going to steal one, when out of pack and running the bottom, Tony Stewart who had not made a presence all night, took Kenseth on the inside with two laps to go and won the event to the delight of most of the crowd. This was certainly a great prelude to the 600-mile race on tap for Memorial Day weekend.

Watch our next report for updates on our 2009 short track program. We are piloting a new car with a new team and to the end we have started out with a few glitches, but we are gaining ground and confidence. We will make our presence known in the very near future.

RACING TO THE CHECKERS

Jim