Ken Shrader

Pull Those Belts Tight! (Race Preview) The “Bermuda Triangle” Edition

Up Next: The Pocono 500, Sunday, June 8, 2008 at Pocono Raceway, Long Pond, Pennsylvania. Green flag: 2 p.m. EDT, 11 a.m. PDT. Broadcast: TNT- TV with Bill Weber, Wally Dallenbach & Kyle Petty. Radio Broadcast on MRN & Sirius Satellite Radio.

Track Facts- The first race ran here on August 4, 1974. Richard Petty took the checkered flag on the track that started out as a .75 miler when it was opened in 1968. The track was re-done in 1971.

Pocono Raceway is a 2.5 mile tri-oval track nicknamed “The Bermuda Triangle.” This track looks like a coat hanger with a front stretch of 3,740 feet, a short stretch of 1,780 feet and a back stretch of 3,055 feet. There is no banking on the straights, and 6 to 14 degrees of banking in the turns.

Track Records: Bill Elliott takes the honors as the leading winner at Pocono with 5 to his credit. Since Elliott is semi-retired, we should also mention that Jeff Gordon has 4 victories here as well.

Last year- Jeff Gordon and Kurt Busch won the Pocono events. Gordon won a rain-shortened Spring race, just edging out Ryan Newman in a controversial finish in which some fans felt favoritism was shown towards Gordon.

The qualifying record is held by Kasey Kahne. Kahne ran a lap time of 52.164 seconds on June 11, 2004 with a speed of 172.533 miles per hour. Bill Elliott and Ken Schrader have captured the most poles with 5 each. Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Ryan Newman won poles in 2007.

The fastest race was run by Rusty Wallace. The “Blue Duece” won the July 21, 1996 Miller 500 with a time of 3 hours, 27 minutes, and 3 seconds.

The oldest winner at Pocono is…..who else? Harry Gant. “Mr. September” won the June 7, 1990 AC Spark Plug 500 at the age of 50 years, 5 months, and 7 days. The youngest winner?….who else? Jeff Gordon, at age 24 years, 10 months, and 12 days. The win came at the June 16, 1996 Teamwork 500.

The caution flag waved a record 13 times twice- the most recent in June, 2005. The fewest “yellows” waved in the July, 1978. 1 waved on that day.

Some have referred to Pocono as a “drivers track.” Each turn provides its own unique set of challenges. The high RPM’s can contribute to a large number of engine failures. Six weeks separate the two Pocono events. Commentator Ricky Craven has commented that most teams will use the same set-up for the August event as the June race. It’s an idea that seems to work as Denny Hamlin swept the Pocono races in 2006 (he also captured both poles), Jimmie Johnson did in 2004, Tim Richmond did in 1986 and Bill Elliott in 1985.

This will kick off a challenging 6 week stretch for drivers as they encounter a different track style every week. After this race, the tour will move on to an intermediate in Michigan, a road course in Sonoma, a 1-miler in New Hampshire, a super speedway at Daytona, and a mile-and-a-half tri-oval at Chicago.

Other active winners include Bobby Labonte (3), Denny Hamlin (2), Jimmie Johnson (2), Kurt Busch (2), Ryan Newman (1), and Tony Stewart (1). Race analyst Kyle Petty has a win at Pocono too.

Check out my “Fearless Forecast” this Saturday, and I’ll offer up my forecast for the race winner.

NASCAR Terminology- A NASCAR For Dummies Primer

Contact patch: Sounds like a name for a football field. Actually, the “contact patch” is the portion of the tire that makes contact with the racing surface. The size of each tire’s contact patch changes as the car is driven.

Crankshaft: Before you get the idea that this is what FOX announcer Chris Myers calls pit report Dick Berggren, a crankshaft is “The rotating shaft within the engine that delivers the power from the pistons to the flywheel, and from there to the transmission.”

Magnaflux: What this is not is the condition you get from eating the red hot dogs at Martinsville. Magnaflux is “Short for “magnetic particle inspection.” A procedure for checking all ferrous (steel) parts (suspension pieces, connecting rods, cylinder heads, etc.) for cracks and other defects by utilizing a solution of metal particles and fluorescent dye and black light. Surface cracks will appear as red lines.” 

That’s all for now. Until next time “Keep it off the walls.”

 

“Pull Those Belts Tight!”- The “Monster Mile” Edition

Up Next: The Autism Speaks 400 presented by Best Buy, Dover International Speedway- Sunday June 1, 2008. Green flag start- 2 p.m. EDT, 11 a.m. PDT. Broadcast on FOX-TV network with Mike Joy, Larry Mc Reynolds and Darrell Waltrip. Radio broadcast- MRN, Sirius Satellite Network.

Track Facts- The first race ran at the Deleware track on July 6, 1969 as the Mason- Dixon 300. “The King”, Richard Petty won that race, the first of his 7 victories on the “Monster Mile.”

Dover International Speedway is a one mile track with 24 degrees of banking in the turns and 9 on the straights.  With the banks and changing elevation on the track, drivers liken the ride on the concrete track to riding on a roller coaster. Another interesting fact: there are only 42 pit stalls for the 43 drivers. Two of them will have to be nice and share.

Track Records: Richard Petty and Bobby Allison are the all-time leading winners with 7 victories at Dover. Jeff Gordon and Mark Martin are the leading winners here among active drivers with 4 each in Cup competition.

Last year- Martin Truex Jr. and Carl Edwards won the Spring and Fall events respectively. For the New Jersey born Truex it was his first and so far, only career victory at the Cup level.

The qualifying record is held by Jeremy Mayfield, who did it in a Dodge for Ray Evernham on June 4, 2004 with a speed of 161.522 m.p.h., for a lap time of 22.288 sec. David Pearson, who won 105 NASCAR Cup races, holds the record for poles at Dover with 5. Ryan Newman and Jimmie Johnson started out front in the Spring and Fall of 2007.

Who’s the fastest at Dover? Mark “The Kid” Martin finished the MBNA 400 in a time of 3 hours and 50 seconds with an average of 132.719 m.p.h. on Sept. 21, 1997 driving a Roush Racing Ford. 

The oldest race winner at “DIS” was Harry Gant won the race the age of 52 years, 4 months and 21 days on May 31, 1992. The youngest? Jeff Gordon at 24 years, 1 month and 13 days on Sept. 17, 1995. Ever hotice how these guys always show up on this one?

The yellow flag waved a record 16 times on Sept. 16, 1993. There were NO cautions waved at the June 6, 1971 edition of the Mason- Dixon 500.

When fans think of Dover, they think of crab cakes and concrete. Given his record of excellence on concrete tracks, be on the look-out for “Cousin Carl.” Because the surface is concrete, there will be no need to worry about changing track conditions like we had at Lowe’s.  With it’s positioning in the Northeast United States, this is the closest thing to a home track for Martin Truex Jr. and Todd Bodine. Don’t think being close to home matters? “The Onion” (Bodine) has won 3 Nationwide races at Dover, Randy Lajoie 2 in the “second series.” Martin Truex has won a Cup race and 2 Nationwides at DIS.

Some other active winners here include- Jimmie Johnson and Ryan Newman have 3 wins at Dover, Tony Stewart has climbed the fence in Delaware twice. Greg Biffle, Jeff Burton, Dale Earnhardt Jr. Bobby Labonte, Matt Kenseth, Kyle Petty, and Ken Schrader all have a single win at Dover.

We’ll be keeping all these things in mind as we prepare for the “Fearless Forecast” this Saturday. Hopefully, rain won’t be the factor it was last year, though I should warn you the long range forecasts call for a significant chance of rain Sunday. Thankfully, if that be the case, by virtue of being a radio sports guy I have to (oh darn) watch the race at work!

Like that little dog in the Disney movie that Cheech Marin did the voice for said: “If this is torture, chain me to the wall.”

NASCAR Terminology- A NASCAR For Dummies Primer

Fire extinguisher switch- Did you know that the cars had one of these? All you do is pull the switch and fire-suppressing chemicals are released into the driving compartment. How cool is that?

 Axle- (Not to be confused with Axel, as in Rose)- Rotating shafts connecting the rear differential gears to the rear wheels.

Gears- Circular, wheel-shaped parts with teeth along the edges. The interlocking of these two mechanisms enables one to turn the other.

That’s all for now! Until we meet again, “Keep It Off The Walls.”

 

 

Pull Those Belts Tight! (Richmond Preview)

Up Next: Crown Royal Presents The Dan Lowry 400, Saturday, May 3, 2008 at Richmond International Raceway, Richmond, Virginia. Green flag- 7:30 p.m. Eastern Time, 4:30 p.m. Pacific. Broadcast on FOX-TV with Mike Joy, Darrell Waltrip and Larry Mc Reynolds. Radio- MRN and Sirius Satellite Radio.

Richmond International Raceway (RIR) is NASCAR’s 3rd shortest track next to Bristol and Martinsville at .75 miles. Richmond has 14-degree banking in the turns, 8 degrees on the front stretch, and 2 degrees on the back stretch.

The first NASCAR Cup race ran here on April 19, 1953. Lee Petty won that day. In fact, 3 generations of Petty’s won here. RA young Richard Petty won on the Virginia track in 1961 and Lee’s grandson Kyle won in a Wood Brothers Ford in 1986.

Track Records: “The King” Is King. Richard Petty owns the most Richmond victories as 13 of his 200 Cup wins came here. Among active drivers, Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Tony Stewart have 3 wins each. It does bear noting that Mark Martin has 5 Nationwide wins at RIR, Kevin Harvick 4- to go with his 1 Cup win.

The Pole “Cat”: Brian Vickers owns the qualifying record with a lap of 20.772 seconds in May, 2004 while driving the #25 for HMS. Richard Petty and Bobby Allison captured 8 poles apiece during their storied careers.

The fastest race? The recently retired Dale Jarrett ran the fall, 1997 race in 2 hours, 45 minutes, and 4 seconds (speed: 109.047 m.p.h.)

“Mr. September” Harry Gant was the oldest Richmond winner. He was 51 when he won here during that magical run of 4 wins in a row in September (when else?), 1991. Richard Petty owns the record for being the youngest Richmond winner. He got that win at the age of 23 years, 9 months in April of 1961. Kyle Busch turns 23 Friday. Think he’ll threaten this record?

15 Caution flags waved in the May, 2003 race for the record. Miraculously, none waved in 1976’s spring race.

Old school racing fans should love this race. They’ll be on an old, short track, racing under the lights- just like they do in the small towns. The only thing missing from this race is the dirt.

If trends from earlier races hold up here, I’d look for a good race from local boy Denny Hamlin- who showed short-track prowess at Martinsville. Jeff Burton (also a Virginian) won on the short track at Bristol. In fact, I’d say the strongest team for this place could be Richard Childress- as Clint Bowyer also seems to thrive in this environment, as does Kevin Harvick. Jimmie Johnson has a little history on his side- the #48 won both races at RIR in 2007. Jeff Gordon also has a pair of wins here and Junior got his last win at this very track in the spring of 2006.

I look for Childress, HMS and JGR to all run strong here. It doesn’t seem that among the big boys that the Roush boys do that well here. Don’t be surprised to see Kasey Kahne run well. The #9 won on this track in 2005.

By the way- Ken Schrader will sit in for the injured Dario Franchitti (ankle) in the #40 Dodge. No word on who might drive the #70 that Schrader drove at Talladega. Travis Kvapil has a sponsor for at least the next two weeks. Scott Wimmer will try to qualify in a 4th RCR car that will bear the #33.

Short tracks mean rubbin’ and racin’- so cinch those belts up good!

NASCAR Terminology- A NASCAR For Dummies Primer

Apron: Besides being what the Grillmaster wears at the infield BBQ, the apron is the “Pave portion of the trackthat seperates the racing surface from the (usually) unpaved infield.

Brake Caliper: The part of the braking system that, when applied by the driver, clamps the brake disk/rotor to slow or stop the car.

Round: Besides being Tony Stewart’s shape (more to love, right ladies?), “round” is a “Slang term for a way of making chassis adjustments utilizing the racecars springs. A wrench is inserted in a jack bolt attached to the springs and is used to tighten or loosen the amount of play in the spring. This in turn can loosen or tigthen the handling of a racecar.

That’s all for this week. Look for a Fearless Forecast Saturday morning, and I may offer up some of my thoughts on Tony Stewart’s “free agency”, Danica Patrick and Dale Earnhardt Jr. on Friday.

 

Fearless Forecast: Smoke Will Sweep at Talladega

It’s just a hunch. By now, every serious NASCAR fan knows how Tony Stewart has finished 2nd 6 times in Cup competition. He’s been knocking on the door for quite some time….and tomorrow Tony Stewart’s kicking it down.

Here’s what I’m expecting tomorrow…..the teams that have put forward the stout engines will run up front. Look for strong (and victory worthy) performances from the HMS boys: Jimmie Johnson, Jeff Gordon, Dale Earnhardt Jr., and Casey Mears. Remember that Junior has won at ‘Dega 5 times and Gordon 6. There’s no reason to believe they won’t be in the mix.

This assumption also bodes well for Stewart and his Gibbs’ teammates Kyle Busch and Denny Hamlin. In fact, I number Hamlin, Kasey Kahne and Ryan Newman as my dark horses. Yes, I expect Dodge to be well represented tomorrow, so that means Kurt Busch could be a part of the action.

With that extra horsepower, I expect other Toyotas to run well…..you should not be shocked if Michael Waltrip (a super speedway specialist of sorts), Brian Vickers (also a former Talladega winner), or even A.J. Allmendinger make a substantial amount of noise. In fact, I considered using Mikey as my “upset special” pick. Now that’s a fearless forecast!

Of course, I wish good things for those unexpected front-runners. I mean, who here expected Joe Nemechek and Ken Shrader in the top 5? Hear that sound of silence?

All speculation aside (and Heaven knows I;ve heard more insane tea leaf reading than I care to think about this week), here’s what you need to know…..

Tony Stewart will win (again) at Talladega!!