Kathy's Pit Stop

Robby Gordon may test Daytona afterall - Dakar Rally cancelled

Brendan Gaughan was scheduled to sub for Robby Gordon for Daytona testing, but Gordon may go ahead and test himself since the famous Dakar Rally was canceled due to terror threats.

The cancellation came as a disappointment to many, but organizers felt they had no choice in the matter.

It was the first time in the 30-year history of the automobile, motorbike and truck race that it has been called off. In a statement, organizers blamed international tensions, the tourists' Dec. 24 murders and "threats launched directly against the race by terrorist organizations."

The race's central appeal -- its course through African deserts, scrubland and savannas -- is also its weak point, making it difficult to protect thousands of people as they traverse such remote regions.

"No other decision but the cancellation of the sporting event could be taken,'' organizers said.

Robby Gordon was set to compete in the event this year, as he has done in the past, but with the cancellation, it leaves the question of will he test in Daytona himself since he won't be racing or still have Gaughan do the testing? 

So far, no word from Gordon as to what he will do or his thoughts on the matter.

Your thoughts? 

Old School Racing Champion's Tour - Will it give us some good old school racing?

This has been out for a while now, but there's a new series that's going to be running some races around the same venues as NASCAR does.  Old School Racing Champion's Tour is a new series to start in 2008, there will only be 10 races on the regular schedule, a "Last Chance" race and then a "Championship Race".  They will run on short tracks, that is tracks 3/4 mile or smaller, and be only 100 laps or less depending on the track. 

Eligible drivers are previous NASCAR Cup, Busch, Truck race winners, series champions from ARCA, CART and Indy Car, and previous Indy 500 winners that are not currently competing full time in any of the previous series. There will be 15 drivers competing in each regular season race and 20 drivers in the OSRCT Championship Races.

You can read more on the series here.  They even have a picture of one of the cars there now.

I think it sounds interesting and gives older drivers a chance to race when they still want to without the grueling schedule like other series, like NASCAR, has.  This allows them to prove, at a different level, that they can still compete and have fun.  Right now they have about 26 drivers listed, some you may recognize, like Phil Parsons, David and Larry Pearson, Geoff Bodine and Andy Hillenburg, just to name a few.  I think if you take a look at their list, there should be quite a few you recognize.

I guess the biggest question is how will it be received?  I think it sounds interesting, I think the during the week thing may hurt attendance though, other than locals, I don't think you'll have people traveling far to see one of these during the week.  If one was close to me, I'd go watch.

I think it would be great if they got some TV coverage though, haven't heard anything about that.  I think SPEED should take a look and see if they can get involved, I know lots of fans that would tune in to watch some old school short track racing.

Your thoughts?   

Another Wallace wins at Michigan!

Steve Wallace, son of Rusty Wallace, made his third start in the ARCA race at Michigan today.  Wallace turned 18 on Thursday, which allowed him to enter the race at Michigan.  Michigan is considered a super speedway and you have to be 18 to race at those tracks.

Wallace started 5th, he had a shot at the pole, but he over drove the car, but 5th was still a good start for only his third race. 

This was the first time I was able to see him race, thanks to the Speed channel showing the ARCA race.  They set him up in a damn good car, he was able to take the lead fairly early and kept it until he made his green flag pit stop.  The stop was scary, not that Wallace or the crew did anything wrong, but the yellow flag flew as he was leaving his pit stall.  Luckily, with everyone else pitting and when the yellow flew compared to where he was, he stayed on the lead lap and ended up restarting second.  He took the lead back rather quickly, but there were more cautions which kept closing up the field.

The race ended with a green-white-checkered, something Wallace had never done before in a stock car, but he pulled it off and got his first ARCA win in only his third start and on a super speedway no less.  Way to go Steve!  I wonder if he heard me cheering him on?  I was loud enough, just ask my family.

Rusty Wallace had to do Trackside Live, so had to go to the booth before the race was over, they kept informing him what was happening and you should have seen the smile on his face when they showed him the final lap when Steve won..."I'm one proud papa", he said and you could see it on his face, he was very proud of his son.

I heard stories that the kid was good and they weren't tall tails, the kid is good.  He will race a few more ARCA races and I think they have him set up to run a couple of Busch races later this year too.

Where and when he'll end up as a full-time driver is still up in the air.  Rusty doesn't want to move him into the Busch Series too soon, so they're just seeing how things go.  Richard Childress also has his eyes on him, so we may wind up seeing him in a Childress Cup car sometime in the future.

Aspiring NASCAR star

On April 8, 2005, Trey Robb made his debut in the Sprint cars at Oklahoma City's State Fair Speedway, he's run two weeks in a row and now sits 11th in points.  What makes this so amazing is that Trey is racing guys that are two and three times his age, Trey is only 12 years old and racing with the big guys at the local track.  Why make the move at such a young age?  Trey's father summed it up pretty easily - because he's ready for it. 

Trey started racing at the age of 8, at I-44 Speedway, just south of Oklahoma City.  His first year out he raced in a class called Kid Sprints, powered by 100 cc motorcycle engines and a top wing.  Trey won Rookie of the Year, Track Champion and the Claremore and Ft. Cobb Oklahoma Fall Fling races and the Craighead Memorial.  His second year, he moved up to the Restricted Class and won Rookie of the Year, Track Champion and won the Craighead Memorial.  Third year he stayed in the Restricted Class and won Track Champion again.  At age 11, he pulled double duty and ran two classes, the Multi Class and the A Class, he won Rookie of the Year in both, placed third in points in the Multi Class and won Track Champion in the A Class.  In his four years of racing, he has won 66 "A" Features.

Asked what he would consider a successful Rookie season, Trey said he would like to finish in the top ten in points.  Will it happen?  Who knows, but he sure is going to try.  If things go well for him in the Sprints, they are looking towards USAC pavement midgets and eventually wants to make it into NASCAR, his ultimate goal. 

I wish him the best of luck in his racing career and maybe one day, we'll see him in NASCAR.

Hutchens or Hans, it wouldn't have made a difference for Venturini

Billy Venturini is slowly on the mend after his big wreck at Daytona, where he broke a vertebra in his neck.  The doctors said it would be three to six months before he could get back in a car and he is hoping for the lesser time frame.  The halo device will come off in about three to four more weeks and he's already thinking ahead and thinking about getting back in the car as soon as he can.  With the way the ARCA season is set up, he's hoping only to miss three races, but hopefully he won't try and jump in to race too soon.

Venturini was wearing the Hutchens device at the time of the accident and doctors say that the injuries would be the same if he had been wearing the Hans device.  Both devices help with the whiplash effect, but his injuries were sustained with violent side to side motion, something neither device really takes into account.

I wonder if this sent up any red flags with NASCAR, who recently told all drivers they were to wear the Hans device because the Hutchens device didn't pass their tests?  I wouldn't be surprised to hear about adjustments to the Hans device to address this problem or maybe even a new head and neck restraint system in the future.

I wish Billy Venturini a speedy recovery.