HOORAH for the invention of the SAFER barriers often referred to as Soft Walls. It prevented driver Eric McClure from sustaining serious injury following a lap 163 wreck that saw his Ford crash head on into the wall. The driver was taken to a local hospital as a precautionary measure. It was reported that he had a left foot bone bruise and ankle sprain but thankfully no broken bones.
HOORAH to series veteran Mike Bliss for his strong run in the Memphis race and his fourth place finish which moves him up to sixth in the series” point standings. This is a guy who doesn’t have a full time ride and has been climbing in any seat he can in an effort to keep himself in the top ten of the points. It’s amazing someone hasn’t offered this man a full time contract yet.
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Meanwhile back in Martinsville-Virginia last Saturday another home town hero was setting a personal milestone. HOORAH to young Timothy Peters for scoring his first ever NASCAR national win. Peters, who lives just down the freeway from the race track, won the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series’ Kroger 200. It was the first win for his team, Red Horse Racing, since 2006.
HOORAH to crew chief Chad Kendrick who also won his first major NASCAR event. The nervous chief, who was actually seen on live television making the sign of the cross during the final laps, later said “I’ve never had a feeling like this other than the time when I met my wife.”
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The final WAZZUP of the week goes to the ESPN2 Network’s “NASCAR Now” program who last week did some live interviews from the North Carolina shop of Richard Childress Racing. RCR was celebrating their 40th anniversary in the sport and opened the facility up to the fans. Making the special day even nicer was the fact that all proceeds from the events were being donated to the Childress Institute For Pediatric Trauma.
Right in the middle of a live television interview show host Nicole Manske made a highly inappropriate move by steering the direction of the questions to the disappointing performance levels of the four RCR race teams and the recent loss of primary sponsor Jack Daniels that could force them to shut down their fourth team and release driver Casey Mears. Childress answered the questions as quickly as possible and it was apparent he was not pleased with the new direction of the interview.
Following a commercial break the show returned to the RCR shop for a live interview with drivers Jeff Burton and Clint Bowyer who were apparently warned to expect the inappropriate line of questions. The always candid Burton abruptly answered the questions and desperately tried to change the subject. Bowyer didn’t seem to want to talk at all. In fact, before Manske could finish thanking them for their time Bowyer was already removing his audio ear piece and was leaving his chair.
This interview ambush was way out of line. This was a day to honor the legacy of Childress’ 40 years in NASCAR. It was a time to reminisce and share funny antidotes for the many successful seasons. It was a time to salute RCR for their contributions to the sport. It was also time to support a very important charity. ESPN2 and “NASCAR Now” should be very embarrassed over this interview.
Relative to this story is the final HOORAH of the week which goes to the NASCAR Foundation who donated $100,000 to the Childress Institure For Pediatric Trauma.
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