Racing has begun for the 2009 season under somewhat of a dark cloud.  The sluggish economy has hit all forms of motorsports but especially NASCAR, where sponsorship can mean the difference between racing—or NOT!  Thus, mixed emotions set in as my announcing schedule kicked in starting with Daytona.  But there were some bright spots as well…

·          Toward the end of last season, NASCAR went around the garage and asked the team owners their opinions as to how to lessen the effects of the bad economy on the teams.  The overwhelming response was to eliminate testing; Michael Waltrip was quoted as saying that Daytona testing alone cost his team $1.1 million.  NASCAR agreed and banned testing by all three NASCAR top division teams (Cup, Nationwide and Trucks) at all tracks where any of those events are held.  For the last 9 years or so, Daytona has started the season with “Pre-Season Thunder”, NASCAR test sessions which were required for the teams to attend and were open to the public as well.  Thus, my announcing schedule would start in the first week of January and last 7 weeks through the running of the Daytona 500.  Because of the testing ban, three weeks work was lost and my schedule didn’t start until January 20^th, the week of the Rolex 24 at Daytona Grand American season opener.  Still, I was extremely pumped up as this year marked my 10^th anniversary of working at the “ World Center of Racing”.   It’s hard to believe I have been working there that long and it just serve to remind me just how fortunate and privileged I am to actually announce there.

·          The Rolex 24 at Daytona generated some great story lines.  David Donohue put the #58 Brumos Porsche Daytona Prototype on the pole, just .001 ahead of Timo Bernhard in the #16 Penske Racing Daytona Prototype!  But history was waiting in the wings.  The 1969 winner of this race was the late Mark Donohue, David’s dad.  He drove the #6 Team Penske Sunoco Lola to victory that year so both the front row qualifiers had a potential 40^th anniversary win to celebrate.  In addition, Chip Ganassi racing had won the previous three years but no team had ever won 4 in a row, which gave the Target teams something to shoot for as well.  Racing twice around the clock is a very grueling test for any team and its equipment and this year’s race was no exception.  In recent years, though, this race has taken on less of an endurance race feel and seems more like several shorter sprint races run back-to-back.  The best was yet to come as 4 cars were still on the lead lap in the final hour.  The last pit stops were made and now the race was to be settled out on the track.  Donohue had the final driving stint in the #58 and despite being pressed hard by Juan Pablo Montoya in the Ganassi #01, Team Brumos Porsche prevailed by the shortest margin of victory in Grand Am history.  A very emotional win for the team for at least two reasons:  David won on the 40^th anniversary of his father’s victory in the same race and the team won its first race since losing its leader, the late Bob Snodgrass last season. 

·          Once the Rolex 24 was completed, the schedule called for 9 days off, which turned out to be a good thing as a bad sinus infection set in.  The symptoms were there during the race weekend but thankfully, the voice held out.  Despite using many over the counter solutions, there was no improvement.  So it was off the to infield medical care center which is staffed by several members of the Halifax Medical Center of Daytona.  Antibiotics were prescribed to take care of the infection but during a routine blood pressure screening, the nurse discovered that it was too high (no surprise there as it runs in the family).  So I took another mid-life crisis in stride and began medication for that as well.  The staff insisted that I visit the center often so they could make sure that it was under control.  An appointment was also made with my normal GP so here we go…

·          NASCAR teams and drivers arrived toward the end of the first week of February and because of the testing ban, no one knew what to expect.  Several changes had taken place over the off-season like normal but some of them were striking.  Some teams had merged:  DEI and Ganassi had merged to form Earnhardt-Ganassi Racing (EGR), forcing Ganassi to change from Dodge to Chevys.  Paul Menard left DEI and took the Menards sponsorship with him to Yates Racing, changing from a Chevy to a Ford.  Gilette-Evernham Motorsports (GEM) had agreed to merge with Petty Motorsports to form Richard Petty Motorsports (RPM).  Ray Evernham is no longer a part of this team and neither is Kyle Petty, a somewhat strange situation.  Penske Racing took on Bill Davis as a minority owner and formed Penske Championship Racing, giving the #22 Davis owners points to Sam Hornish, Jr.’s #77 team.  Richard Childress has a new minority owner in the form of Bobby Ginn, who left DEI and brought the #01 owner’s points over with him.  He is now listed as the owner of the new #33 Cheerios team driven by Clint Bowyer, who switched rides from the #07 Jack Daniels team now driven by Casey Mears.  Jeff Burton still has the #31, now in Caterpillar colors and Harvick’s team is unchanged for ’09.  Mears was replaced as driver for the Hendrick Motorsports #5 team at the end of last season by Mark Martin; the other Hendrick teams were unchanged, other than a new paint scheme for Jeff Gordon and the #24.  But there were some interesting new teams that surfaced as well.  How about the debut of Stewart-Haas Racing???  Tony Stewart and Ryan Newman both had great runs in practice and qualifying in their new Chevys but an unfortunate practice crash took out both drivers’ primary machines which had Tony once again criticizing Goodyear for bad tires.  Just a few weeks before, veteran crew chief Tommy Baldwin decided to start up a Cup team, securing Scott Riggs as driver for the #36 Toyota.  The team arrived at Daytona with NO sponsor but that changed quickly as Riggs got the car qualified for the race.  Another team which formed late but still made the race was the #41 of Jeremy Mayfield, whose ride was sponsored by All Sport energy drink.  Yet another new team was formed by Larry Gunselman, a journeyman Nationwide Series owner/driver who got Geoff Bodine to drive the car for the race.  (All of these teams had purchased ex-Bill Davis Toyotas to run the race).  Mike Wallace drove for TRG (The Racers Group), formed by Grand Am GT team owner Kevin Buckler.  TRG fielded two truck series teams last year (getting one victory by Donny Lia).  They formed an alliance with Richard Childress racing, buying one of their spare cars to enter the race but came up short.  Boris Said and James Hylton entered two cars as a team but neither qualified.  Joe Nemechek, out of the #78 ride, came to Daytona the old-fashioned way with his own #87 cars for both the Cup and Nationwide races. (I talked with Joe’s mom, Martha, in the garage and she was hopeful sponsorship would be found soon as she had to buy tires for the team!).  Other changes were in the mix as well so there was plenty to talk about.  Kevin Harvick took the Bud Shootout win but it was qualifying for the 500 the next day which delivered some intrigue.  The front row starters were “Martin and Martin”, with Truex Jr. on the pole and Mark Martin right beside him.  The rest of the qualified field formed the starting lineup for the Gatorade Duel races, held later in the week…

·          Before the Bud Shootout, the ARCA ReMax season opener was held and I had the privilege of working for their new webcast as well as PA duties.  Among the entries was a very familiar team from Western New York.  Todd Hoddick came down to try to qualify for the race and it was really great to see both Karl Hehr and Dennis Petrie among the crew members helping Todd.  Some last-minute rule changes regarding carburetors caught the team off-guard and they never quite found the speed to make the race.  They deserve a lot of credit for trying to qualify and even though they left disappointed, the experience gained and lessons learned from this trip will make it easier for them the next time.  Another “feel good” story came in the form of a local female racer and her great qualifying run.  Alli Owens grew up in Daytona, racing at several local tracks over the years including nearby New Smyrna Speedway.  She qualified for last year’s race but was mid-pack at best.  This year, she had much better equipment in the form of an Eddie D’Hondt Toyota and she nearly got the pole, settling for the outside of row 1.  Bobby Gerhart, the veteran PA driver who has dominated this series at Daytona over the last few years, struggled a bit and qualified 5^th.  Unfortunately for both, neither one of them had a good race:  Gerhart had a tire issue which sent him into the wall hard and sent him to the hospital overnight for observation.  Owens got caught up in one of several big accidents not of her own doing but she was OK.  The crash fest also produced one of the scariest moments of Speedweeks as Patrick Sheltra got caught up in a big wreck.  As he was coasting to a stop after already being involved, Larry Hollenbeck had nowhere to go and T-boned Sheltra’s almost stationary machine hard at nearly full speed, causing Sheltra’s car to go into several sickening spins.  Both drivers had to be assisted out of their cars and were put on backboards as a precaution before being taken to the infield care center at first, and then transferred to Halifax Medical Center.  Both drivers were eventually released the next day with Sheltra getting the worst of it with a compression fracture in his 4^th vertebrae.  His racing schedule is obviously now on hold as he recovers…

·          Once the final days of Speedweeks kicked in, everything seemed to go by quickly.  The Gatorade Duel produced wins for both Jeff Gordon and Kyle Busch, increasing both drivers’ chances to win the “Great American Race”.  For the third year in a row, a driver from Joe Gibbs Racing and Hendrick Motorsports each won the Duels.  Camping World stepped in as series sponsor for the Truck series and their first race was a good one.  Colin Braun took the #6 Conway Freight Ford out first in qualifying and his lap was good enough to take the pole.  (I can’t remember the last time a driver went out first and his time held out through all of qualifying!)  Todd Bodine went back-to-back as winner of this race, despite no sponsorship on the sides of his truck…

·          Despite his troubles with his Cup team, Tony Stewart got another win in the Nationwide Series season opener, driving for the first time for Hendrick Motorsports.  Both he and owner Rick Hendrick seemed to really enjoy this victory as Tony had the car to beat for most of the race…

·          Daytona International Speedway was able to announce a sellout for the Daytona 500, although track president Robin Braig said he wished to put an asterisk next to it as many of the seats sold at reduced prices.  Then, Mother Nature came in uninvited with a forecast calling for 60 percent chance of showers later in the day.  Weather radar verified the worst fears:  wide areas of precipitation formed off the Gulf of Mexico and headed east, making a bulls-eye on the track.  Thus, the 3pm starting time for the race didn’t look so good and the overcast skies threatened for most of the race.  But the race produced some huge drama and controversy before any bad weather arrived.  Dale Earnhardt, Jr. had his day go from bad to worse—he was racing a lap down because he completely missed his pit stall on his first stop, then got penalized on the second for being out of the pit box.  Both he and Brian Vickers were racing one lap down for the “Lucky Dog” down the SuperStretch just before turn 3 with many of the leaders on the high side.  Jr. made his move to the inside of Vickers, who threw such a huge block, it forced Jr. down below the yellow line.  Struggling to get his car under control, Jr. came back onto the track and nudged Vickers.  The resulting hit turned Vickers’ car to the right, producing the “Big One” which took out several lead cars in the process.  Some blamed Vickers for the severity of the block; others blamed Jr. for the severity of the contact.  Then, just past lap 150, the skies opened up, forcing the red flag and the field came down pit road.  Facing the threat of more heavy rain and needing nearly 3 hours to dry the track once the rain stopped, NASCAR came to the conclusion it had no other choice but to call the race.  Matt Kenseth had made a nifty move down in turn one some 5 laps before the rains came to pass then-leader Elliott Sadler and it turned out to be THE move of the race.  Thus, Kenseth got his first 500 win and amazingly, the first Daytona 500 for Jack Roush.  (Sure, he had been successful at Daytona previously in road racing but over 20 years had never gotten a 500 victory).  Even more amazing was the win for crew chief Drew Blickensderfer—his first time on top of the box in Cup racing and he gets NASCAR’s biggest prize.  No one likes having a race end this way unless you’re the one out front when it happens but Matt’s team deserved this one.  Once again, I got to MC the Champion’s Breakfast the next day with Matt, Jack and Drew…

·          Once Speedweeks ’09 was over, I flew back home and rested a few days, and then it was back out on the road for race #2 on the NASCAR schedule at Auto Club Speedway of Southern California.  Once again, there were dire predictions of how the economy was going to affect this race as well.  Neither the qualifying day on Friday nor the doubleheader Camping World Truck Series and Nationwide race on Saturday was well attended.  That’s too bad because history was made on Saturday as Kyle Busch became the first driver to win back-to-back NASCAR top division races on the same day at the same track.  He also had the chance to become the first driver ever to win all three NASCAR top series races on the same weekend.  The crowd turned out to be better than expected for the Cup race despite (once again) the threat of rain.  Although it sprinkled somewhat during the early laps, the heavier stuff stayed to the north and east, allowing for a great race.  Several celebrities attended the race which is commonplace for the track located just outside of LA:  Billy Ray Cyrus sang the National Anthem at the Nationwide race and was Grand Marshall for the Cup race.  “Little Big Town” sang the National Anthem for the Cup race.  Jason Seahorn, former NFL player, threw autographed footballs to the crowd while accompanying his actress wife, Angie Harmon (Law and Order) as she had Honorary Starter duties for the Cup race.  She is a HUGE NASCAR fan as evidenced by the fact she never got down off the starter’s stand for 25 laps, cheering wildly each time the pack came around!  “Mr. October”, Reggie Jackson, who has a huge automobile collection, was in attendance as well.  Back to the race, Kenseth once again had the car to beat and went to Gatorade Victory Lane, the first time a driver had won the season’s first two races since Jeff Gordon did it in 1997.  After the race, I took my first ever “red-eye” flight back home, leaving just after midnight Pacific time and getting back home at noon eastern time on Monday.  Thankfully, “jet lag” never set in and although I was tired, I came home still pumped up from the races.  It won’t last long, however as my next NASCAR announcing gig won’t be until April in Phoenix. But that will also be the start of three weekends in a row out on the road announcing races.  Until then, I’ll keep busy with college and high school basketball announcing, which I still enjoy very much…

Mike Paz, Motorsports Announcer

            DAYTONA, BABY!!!!

It is a place like no other in racing (save for maybe Indianapolis).  When you mention its name, even to non-racing friends, they KNOW what it is.  The more you know about racing, the more you know how BIG this place truly is.  If you're a fan, a crewmember, a crew chief, an official or an owner, but especially if you're a driver, THIS is the ONLY place you want to be.  Daytona International Speedway--"The World Center of Racing".  That title was earned every step of the way, ever since "Big" Bill France Sr.  dreamed of a place bigger than anything else back in the late '50's.  Having already formed NASCAR some 10 years earlier, France realized that racing stock cars on the beaches at Daytona Beach had to come to an end and a purpose-built facility was badly needed.  But just like everything else in his life, it had to be big--REALLY big.  Not content to build a 1/2 mile or even a "super-speedway" (a mile in length) that were the norm of the day, France's big dream was to be 2 1/2 miles around.  To help acheive even greater speeds, the turns HAD to be banked, in this case an unheard of 31 degrees.  To make that happen, huge amounts of dirt was scooped out of the infield to make the base of the banking.  What to do with the giant hole that was left afterward?  Simple--fill it with water!  Thus, Lake Lloyd was created and added even more mystique to the place.

A project this large had the potential of failure but that word was not in France's vocabulary.  Despite almost going broke, the track was completed and ran its first race in 1959.  Word about the place spread like wildfire all over the country, especially in the southeast where small tracks were all anyone ever ran on.  Imagine the emotion created in every racer when they heard the news back then:  "2 1/2 miles around..the biggest track EVER???  I gotta be there!!!"  There was even a bumper sticker created years ago which pretty much summed it up:  "If You Wanna Race, Daytona's The PLACE!!!"

Ever the promoter, France allowed 59 cars to qualify for that first race.  There were convertibles and hardtops, with drivers from all over the country, who came to see and race Daytona.  That first race also lived up to the size of the facility and the hype surrounding it.  The last lap became the stuff of legend--3 cars crossing the finish line at the same time (1 of those a lap down).  The other two crossed as one and Johnny Beauchamp was originally named the winner.  Lee Petty (father of 7-time NASCAR champion Richard Petty) felt as though he had won and lodged a protest.  Remember, there were no in-car cameras, no slow-motion replays, no digital cameras.  Film cameras was the ultimate technology of the day and France sought out several photographers who had pictures of the finish but he had to wait until they were developed.  When the pictures came back, it provided visual proof that Petty was right.  Thus, from its very first race, Daytona established itself as a legendary place.

Word again spread quickly about the size of the place and the speeds that could be generated there.  Racers being what they are, they started to flock to the place in greater numbers.  Daytona's legendary status grew year after year and continuing improvements were made to it on almost an annual basis.  Not to be content with hosting just stock car racing, France invited sports cars, motorcycles and even go-karts to run races at his new place.  Those, too, have grown in prominence over the years along with the track itself.  Although it started off as just a 3-hour event, the Rolex 24 at Daytona grew in both time and reputation as the biggest North American sports car race.  AMA Motorcyles have their biggest event here too--the Daytona 200. 

Nothing, however, compares to the grandeur and pageantry of "The Great American Race"-- the Daytona 500.  Long considered the "Super Bowl of NASCAR", the 500 welcomes fans and media from all over the world.  It's so big it requires the running of "Speedweeks", consisting of several smaller races which help build excitement leading up to the big event itself.  Crowds estimated at 250,000 come to Daytona to witness first-hand racing history.  (For racing fans and drivers here in the chilly northeast part of the country, Speedweeks in Daytona is like a harbinger of spring--when they start racing at Daytona in February, we know that racing in our part of the world will be starting soon!).

Ask nearly any driver of any kind of racing that races at Daytona what they would like to have on their racing resume and they all say the same thing--a race victory at Daytona.  Some will even tell you that they would trade any and all previous wins for just one at Daytona--it is THAT special.   Ask any racing fan:  if you could choose just one race to go to, where would it be?  The overwhelming response would be "DAYTONA!!!".  It ranks right up there with the emotion it evokes as the old Yankee Stadium did for baseball fans. 

To this day, no matter who you are, whether you're in racing or not, the first time you see the place is something you'll always remember.  If you're a driver, the first time you WIN there is something you'll never forget!!!

Mike Paz, Daytona International Speedway PA Announcer

IT'S THAT TIME ONCE AGAIN!!!  PAZ OFF TO DAYTONA FOR SPEEDWEEKS '09!

Despite NASCAR banning testing at all sanctioned tracks this season, the racing season is poised to begin at Daytona International Speedway for Speedweeks '09.  It kicks off with the running of the Rolex 24 at Daytona next weekend.



This will be my 10th consecutive year handling the PA announcer duties at the "World Center of Racing" and I couldn't be more fortunate or privileged to have that honor!
As time allows, I will hopefully post some information and thoughts from my perspective as the next 4 weeks unfold. 

Please watch this space for more information!

Just Pazzin' Thru...My 4th annual wish for Christmas Holiday Season for local, regional & national race personalities:

Because of the times we find ourselves going through this year, my annual Christmas wish list is down to only two:

For everyone, especially those involved in motorsports, may this Christmas season teach us to completely understand the true meaning of the holiday. 

Then, as 2009 rolls around, here's hoping for a much improved economic scenario for everyone!

Mike Paz, Motorsports Announcer

Some random thoughts about Ford Championship weekend at Homestead-Miami Speedway:

• History was made in all three NASCAR Championships decided at Homestead-Miami Speedway.  Of the three, the closest points margin going in and coming out of the race was for the Craftsman Truck Series title.  Ron Hornaday Jr. was shooting for an unprecedented fourth series crown and, for most of the early going, it appeared that he was running well enough to drive around points leader Johnny Benson, Jr., who was looking for his first NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series championship.  Unlike the previous race in Phoenix which had the two combatants overcoming early damage from wrecks, this race was very clean.  At the end, Todd Bodine won the race--he claimed in victory lane that he didn't feel his truck was good enough for the win but they got it somehow!  This one went down to the last lap and even then, the #23 team was unsure at first if the title was theirs.  Sure enough, it was Benson becoming only the second driver in NASCAR history to earn both a Truck and Nationwide Series Championship and Bill Davis getting his first NASCAR championship.  It appeared to be a slightly subdued Championship celebration for the Bill & Gail Davis owned team with Benson moving on in '09 and uncertainty surrounding the Bill Davis organization. 

• Carl Edwards came into both the Nationwide Series and the Sprint Cup Series races with a chance to go for the championship in both series.  Coming into the Nationwide race, the gap was 56 points between the defending series Champ and series points leader Clint Bowyer, going for his first ever NASCAR Championship.  Carl did what he had to do--win the race--but Clint also performed well enough to put his name on the first-ever Nationwide Series trophy.  The championship stage also featured J. D. Gibbs receiving the first ever manufacturers' trophy in the series for Toyota and the Gibbs team getting their first series Owner's title.  The Joe Gibbs team had four different drivers--Kyle Busch (who earned a record-tying 10 regular season series wins, 9 of which were in Gibbs machines), Tony Stewart (setting the tone early in the season by winning back-to-back races out of the gate), Denny Hamlin and even new sensation Joey Logano--all contributing to the 19 wins out of 35 races.  Even Richard Childress, whose team picked up 13 wins enroute to their owner's trophy last year, was duly impressed by JGR's team performance.

• Edwards has to be commended for his "never-say-die" attitude and gritty performance all weekend.  Despite losing the Nationwide Series title even though he won the Ford 300, Carl went out and again did all he could to put his team into a position to win the Championship.  He led the most laps, picking up 10 bonus points (5 for leading a lap, 5 for the most laps led) and again took his car to Victory Lane, becoming the only driver ever to sweep both a Nationwide and a Sprint Cup series race weekend at this particular track which has been dominated by Roush-Fenway over the years.  It still wasn't enough to prevent the #48 Lowes team juggernaut from getting their date with destiny.  With a commmanding points lead coming into the race, all Jimmie Johnson and crew needed to do was to finish 36th or better, no matter what Edwards did.  They could have coasted all day (some would argue that's exactly what they did).  Not quite--they only qualified 30th, moved up to 19th by lap 15 and even held the lead at one point in the race, thus getting back 5 points.  In the end, the term "points racing" had been given a different definition this past season, with more emphasis placed on the "racing" part.  The #48 team hit their peak just as the Chase for the Sprint Cup began and nothing could stop them--not even Edward's 3 wins out of the last four races.  Thus, Jimmie Johnson joins Cale Yarborough as the only drivers in NASCAR history to get 3 consecutive Championships.  Interestingly, Chad Knaus became the ONLY crew chief in the sport's history to claim a third title--when Cale did it, he had two different crew chiefs on the way to his third crown.  Once again, I had the privilege of being the emcee of the Champion's flag raising ceremony following the trophy presentation.
  
  
• As he was all year, Kyle Busch was a big factor in all three weekend races.  Though he didn't win any of them, he led for many laps in two of the three races, Trucks and Nationwide.  True, many fans don't like Kyle for one reason or another but his 21 NASCAR victories spread across all three series speak loudly about his driving prowess.  His future is limitless if he can continue that kind of on-track performance.

• Tony Stewart, in his 356th and last race for Joe Gibbs racing, also led dring the running of the Ford 400.  He was greeted during the pre-race ceremonies by a "card stunt" performed by the fans and paid for by sponsor Home Depot.  The entire front stretch crowd held up cards which read "Thanks Tony for 10 Great Years".  He leaves both the team and sponsor which has been synonymous with his entire NASCAR career for a chance to own and race for his own team in '09 with fellow Hoosier Ryan Newman, who also drove his last race for team owner Roger Penske and long-time sponsor Alltel.

• Jeff Gordon failed to win the race, his last chance to extend a streak of 14 consecutive seasons with at least one win.  Despite that disappointment, the team has been strong this year but with his teammate Johnson's outstanding season, Gordon and his team have been forced out of the spotlight at Hendrick Motorsports.  At least he gets to share in some of the glory as co-owner with Rick Hendrick of the #48 team.
  
  
• Most people thought I was crazy to take a jacket with me to South Florida for the weekend.  Though nowhere near as cold as it gets around Western New York, the weather changed dramatically between Saturday and Sunday.  The temps were near the upper 40's early Sunday morning and combined with a gusty NW wind, many people were wondering where all the sunshine and warmth went.  By the end of the race, many fans were "bundled up" as if they were watching a football game up north.  Hey, it IS late fall in the northern hemisphere!
  

Mike Paz, Motorsports Announcer

On Monday, Sept. 8, NASCAR rolled out some newly-designed cars for the Nationwide Series in a debut test session at Richmond International Raceway.  Since I drove down to announce the race and didn't have to come back to Rochester at a specific time on Monday, I decided to stick around for a couple hours to see and take pics of the new car. 

Each manufacturer (Chevy, Dodge, Ford & Toyota) were allowed to bring two cars maximum to the test.  Richard Childress Racing and Johnny Davis Motorsports each brought a Chevy, Roush-Fenway had 2 Fords,
Chip Ganassi broght the lone Dodge and Michael Waltrip Racing provided the only Toyota.

Several drivers were on hand to test the new machines:  Bryan Clauson was first out in the Ganassi Dodge; Morgan Shepherd (long time friends with Johnny Davis Motorsports) tested their Chevy while Scott Wimmer handled the RCR Chevy; MWR & Toyota had David Reutimann shaking
down the new Camry and Roush-Fenway had Carl Edwards (fresh off his win at RIR Sunday night in the Nationwide Series) along with David Ragan and Colin Braun driving the Fords.



The main difference between the current NASCAR Nationwide car and the new car is the chassis and the body.  Whereas the current chassis has a 105” wheel base, the new car will be a 110” NASCAR certified chassis, the same as the current NASCAR Sprint Cup car. This will also allow current NASCAR Nationwide Series components to be brought forward in an effort to contain costs.

Here's a really GOOD thing:  the new car will provide the same safety enhancements that are in place on the current NASCAR Sprint Cup car and will also make more bolt-on parts interchangeable (for example, rear end housing), creating cost savings for the teams. One BIG difference:  the new car will continue to use the rear spoiler whereas the NASCAR
Sprint Cup car has a wing.  However, on the new Nationwide COT, the spoiler mounting location is located 2" forward of the current car's spoiler.



The car also utilizes a similar front "splitter" to the NASCAR COT Cup car, although the "lip" is 2" shorter.  Engines are the same as the current Nationwide Series cars except for the spacer design (it's now closer to the intake).

The body designs, especially the front nose, are a work in progress--so much so, in fact, that NASCAR asked all of us taking pictures to try and avoid shooting the front ends of the Chevy and the Dodge in the shots (Toyota and Ford had no such restrictions on the photographers--hmmmm).

So here they are, in alphabetical order:  first, the Chevy...



Now, the Dodge...(this one is intriguing...)




Here's the Ford...



and finally, the Toyota...



More testing will be done soon at Lowes Motors Speedway and other tracks with more teams and cars.  Final approval of each manufacturer's design is still some time away as the teams gather more data from each test to submit to NASCAR. 

I will try to keep you posted!



For more information on Richmond International Raceway,
visit their website:  www.rir.com


Mike Paz, Motorsports Announcer

Since I haven't posted for awhile, I thought I would try some "semi-live" blogging--giving some quick thoughts as I'm announcing the Pepsi 500 NASCAR weekend at Auto Club Speedway of Southern California...

(Sunday 8/31/08)

• Race day for the Sprint Cup Series at Auto Club Speedway is hot and WINDY!   The wind is gusting 20-25mph and is a headwind down the back stretch and a tailwind on the front stretch.  Average speeds will probably be down as a result.

• So just how WINDY is it?  When is the last time you ever saw a track caution light assembly get loosened up completely by a combination of the cars going past at speed coupled with the wind?  The unit falls in the high line turn one to bring out the yellow...

• Jimmie Johnson has had a very good race car since unloading on Thursday, similar to the kind of racing machine Kyle Busch had last night in the Nationwide Series.  Johnson's car got the pole (just like Busch) and the car pulls away smartly on restarts.  The difference:  Johnson's crew will have to deal with the changes brought on by the transition from day to night racing.  Will the car stay as strong???  We'll see...

• A VERY strong performance for BOTH Red Bull cars.  #84 A.J. Allmendinger has the best car he has ever had in Cup racing and #83 Brian Vickers has another solid run going for the second night in a row...

• Kurt Busch rubbed side-to-side on the high side of Martin Truex Jr. out of turn 4 and by the time he got to turn one, the left rear came apart.  The carcass of the tire made contact with Ryan Newman and both Elliott Sadler and David Gilliland made contact trying to avoid the incident...

• Joe Nemechek had a tire go down on lap 68 and whacked the wall pretty good in turn 2.  Joe got out of the car and is OK...

• Greg Biffle tried Johnson on the restart on lap 74 but wasn't able to complete the pass.  Biffle then had to hold off Denny Hamlin for the runner-up spot for a few laps...

• Although Johnson has the dominant car at lap 75, there's been plenty of 3-wide action throughout the field.  Kyle Busch has a very tight race car and the crew believes it will get better as the sun goes down...

• On lap 85, the caution light assembly underneath the starter's stand on the frontstretch came under intense inspection by NASCAR officials.  The upper "hood" (designed to make it easier to see in the sun) is being buffetted by the wind and the cars going by, shaking it pretty violently.  They don't want a repeat of what happened earlier...

• Jeff Gordon pitted along with other drivers on lap 114 and complained of a very loose racecar.  Two and 1/2 turns counterclockwise on the wedge adjustment ratchet is the solution Steve Letarte came up with...

• Lap 121 finds Martin Truex Jr. coming in for an unscheduled stop because the lug nuts were not tightened enough on the green flag stop.  Brian Vickers may have a similar problem on the left front of the #83 Red Bull Toyota...

• Johnson's car still leads just past halfway but Biffle and Denny Hamlin seem to have new life as well...

•  Remember the front stretch caution light that was shakin' in the breeze earlier??? Believe it or not, it brought out the yellow flag on lap 160 as a piece of it finally came apart and hit one of the cars going by at start-finish!!! That's just BIZARRE!!!

• Jimmie Johnson drove by EVERYBODY on the restart from sixth to go back to the lead in just two laps.  No one has anything for him right now...

• After Robby Gordon brushed the wall and plowed the turn 4 grass bringing out yet another caution, Johnson again restarted in 6th on the lap 187 restart.  He got 3 positions the first lap and went back into the lead the next lap...

• Caution flies at lap 218, setting up the final pit stop for everyone on the lead lap.  Unless something happens to Jimmie Johnson or someone pulls out a magic rabbit, the #48 team should be able to hold onto the win.  Biffle beats Johnson out of the pit road...

• It only took Jimmie Johnson just over a lap to get by Biffle.  This car has been just stinkin' AWESOME all race long for the #48 team!

• Johnson WINS!!! First time anyone ever won a race here from the pole!!!

(Saturday 8/30/08)

• Ho-Hum, just another pole position for Kyle Busch in the NASCAR Nationwide Series here at Auto Club Speedway of Southern California.  Let's see--that makes 14 career poles in the Nationwide Series, 4 in the Sprint Cup Series and 2 in the Craftsman Truck Series to go along with 12 career Cup wins, 17 career Nationwide Series wins and 9 in the Craftsman Truck Series.

• His Joe Gibbs Racing teammate, young sensation Joey Logano, starts right behind Kyle from the 3rd spot.  Carl Edwards starts in the top 5 and Jimmie Johnson is a making a rare appearance in the series--WHOOEEE, this could be FUN!!!

• The early part of the race was another Kyle Busch affair, with Brian Vickers providing the only competition.  The first yellow didn't happen until lap 56.  The first green-flag stops 15 laps earlier proved costly to both Joey Logano and Brian Vickers.  Logano slid through his pit box and had to be pushed back.  Vickers had to come in a second time for a missing lug nut.  Tough luck for both drivers but they both stayed on the lead lap.

• Busch continued to dominate through the middle of the race as well.  Bad luck for Brad Keselowski in the #88 NAVY JR Motorsports Chevy on lap 105 as electrical problems ended their competitive run.  Another unscheduled pit stop for Kevin Harvick on the same lap for a possible wheel mounting issue put him a lap down but it may work out for him as the pit window opened up to go the rest of the way without a stop.  Joey Logano has a potential top 5 going... 

•  Busch had a scare around lap 115 as the temps soared on the #18 Toyota but he found a lapped car to follow for awhile and was able to shake loose some debris which had accumulated on the radiator opening on the front of the car.  Driver took care of the problem himself!
• Final pit stops for the field started on lap 123.  These stops will go a long way to determining the final finishing positions in the race.  Edwards came in one lap later and his crew had no issues getting the car in and out quickly.  Logano came in as well and no problems on his stop.  Leader Kyle Busch came in on the next lap and his crew was as quick and smooth as they had been all night long.  Reutimann and Stremme came in on the next lap, turning the lead over to Clint Bowyer.
• On lap 126, Busch pinned Carl Edwards up against the wall behind the lapped car of Steven Wallace.  He kept him up there until the entrance of turn 3 where Kyle was able to pull away from Edwards.
• Pit stops finally cycled the lead back to Busch on lap 129.  Keselowski came back out on the same lap, some 22 laps down.  Chase Miller brought out the yellow flag with a solo spin and brush up against the wall on lap 132.  Only Kevin Harvick, who was off pit sequence with a wheel problem earlier, decided to pit on the yellow flag.

• Green flag flew on lap 142 for an 8-lap shootout.  Edwards tried to challenge Busch but had to go to a defensive posture as Jeff Burton tried to get by for 2nd.  Edwards held him off and drove away with Burton losing third to Brian Vickers.  Vickers went to work on Edwards and that's all she wrote.  Kyle Busch won his 7th Nationwide Series race of the year.  It's too bad a lot of people don't like him.  We are seeing an unbelievable performance from this driver in all 3 of NASCAR's top divisions.

(Friday 8/29/08)

• Joey Logano, tabbed to be Tony Stewart's replacement in the #20 Home Depot Toyota next year, continues to impress.  He had the fastest practice times in both NASCAR Nationwide Series sessions on Friday.  Qualifying is Saturday but it's an "impound" race and some teams concentrate on race setup rather than going for the pole.  He is a legitmate threat to win the Camping World RV Service 300 here.  Next weekend, he'll get his first start in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series as Joe Gibbs Racing will field a second Home Depot Toyota, #02, for Joey.  I'll be there as well...

• As tremdous a season as Kyle Busch has had this year (I, too, am truly impresed with his on-track performances), he may not be a certain lock for the championship.  Both Carl Edwards and Jimmie Johnson are coming on strong (Johnson got the pole for the Cup race and Edwards is 2-for-2 in the win column in the last two races) and these teams will definitely figure into the Chase for the Sprint Cup.  Johnson has ALWAYS been tough at Auto Club Speedway ever since he got his first career win here in '02 and the experience of having won 2 championships will give this team a huge boost going down the stretch.  Edwards (and, in fact, the ENTIRE Roush-Fenway organization) is historically good here and also at Michigan, the "sister" track to this place.  The newest "rivalry" between Busch and Edwards only serves to further heighten the interest in NASCAR as we go through the final 12 races of the year.  It's gonna be a wild ride! Stay tuned...

• Speaking of great performances, GEM (Gilette-Evernham Motorsports) had a pretty good day in Sprint Cup qualifying here on Friday.  Their 3 cars, the #9 of Kasey Kahne, the #10 of Patrick Carpentier and the #19 of Elliott Sadler, qualified 4th, 5th and 6th respectively for the Pepsi 500 on Sunday.  Sadler went out second in the qualifying order and his time stood strong for awhile.  Dodges have needed a good run in the series as they haven't had much to celebrate since Ryan Newman's Daytona 500 win at the beginning of the season...

• A.J. Allmendinger was the surprise of Cup qualifying as he got the outside pole in his #84 Toyota.  Remember, this is the same driver who was taken out of the cockpit for a few races earlier this season, replaced by veteran Mike Skinner to evaluate the car and give some advice both to the crew and the driver to get it going in the right direction.  Together, they must have found something and the "time off" looks to have been just what Allmedinger needed to get his "head screwed on straight".  Nice job!

• Speaking of Mike Skinner, he accomplished something in qualifying on Friday that I don't think I've ever seen before.  Most of the drivers and teams opted to run only the first lap due to the hot track conditions.  Skinner was one of the few to put in a second lap and his time for BOTH laps was IDENTICAL--right down to the thousandth of a second!  Talk about consistency--JEESH!

That's it for now--check back often for more updates from the "best seat in the house" from Auto Club Speedway!  Just Pazzin' Thru...

There are many aspects of being a race fan:  some of us collect every little item if it "belongs" to a particular driver.  Others might use their creativity to fashion racing memorabilia.  For all race fans, whatever "it" is, "it" becomes personal and, most of the time anyway, enjoyable.

Like many of you, I collect racing diecast.  Mostly 1/64 scale but I also have many 1/24 as well.  They provide that little "extra" for me in my love for motorsports.  Take a look at this picture:



Do you have this one in your collection?  I have it in mine for a lot of reasons but one overshadows the rest.

This is one of those racing memories which, over the years, has become bittersweet--and it involves one of the wildest characters, both on and off the racetrack, in NASCAR history, Tim Richmond. 

Watkins Glen International had reopened in 1984 after being dormant since 1982.  I decided to volunteer for the media center so I could get closer to the racing action.  J.J. O'Malley, the press director at the time, put me to work on pit reporter notes, those updates that tracks provide periodically to the media during race events.  The track was putting on great road races but the question was constantly being asked:  "When will we see a NASCAR race?" 

It finally came to fruition in 1986 (I had not yet announced my first race but the itch was there!).  NASCAR was coming to the Glen!  I remember the excitement in the air as the NASCAR circus rolled into the village and up the hill to the racetrack. 

Now, prior to my interest in announcing, one of the ways I added to my enjoyment of motorsports was photography.  (I would like to state for the record right here and now that, although I am comfortable with my basic abilities for taking pictures,  I do NOT consider myself a professional "lensman"; I refer to myself as an "enthuisastic amateur").



While at the Glen NASCAR race in 1986, I took pictures of all the cars and whatever drivers I could snag.  I had an advantage, of course, because I was working for the media center.  For the practice session on Friday, I decided to "stake out my spot" just in front of the old media center, next to the garage exit.  I figured I could take pictures of the cars going in and out of the garage as well as out on the track and also the drivers as they walked in and out of the area.  Well, I had taken quite a few pictures of the cars out on the track but now I was trying to capture the "human" element too.  So I started looking around and I didn't have to look far.  Right behind me (and I have no idea how long he had been there) was Tim Richmond.  He was sitting under a tent right next to the media center used as an auxiliary press area and was watching a practice session of another series out on the track.  At first, I didn't know whether I should even try to get a picture of him but the opportunity presented itself and I finally got up the courage to take the shot. 



Look familiar? It's the picture that was used on the diecast! So how did it get there?  Hang on, I'm getting to that...

Richmond went on to win the Glen that year and notched 6 wins overall.  By the time NASCAR came back to the Glen in 1987, I had met up with local racing photographer, Ron Rigby.  We instantly hit it off as friends with a common interest:  motorsports photography.  Rigby was working at Kodak at the time and when I showed him the shot of Richmond, he explained that he could get it "blown up" to poster size proportions.  I said "Do it!" and took a few with me to the Glen that following year.  The opportunity came that I was able to present both Tim and his mother that poster size enlargement--and of course, I didn't charge them for it.  Tim said "Thanks!" and his mom remarked how different the picture looked to her as opposed to so many others of him.  "Most of the time he is caught 'straight on' and 'clowns' for the camera.  Your shot shows another side of him.  I really love it--thank you very much". 

Little did I or anyone else know at that point that Tim was beginning to feel the effects of a little-known (at the time) disease called AIDS.  The ignorance and prejudice that came from it during that time prompted NASCAR to make an unpopular decision by 1988--they suspended Tim from competition on the suspicion of drug use.  Some of those drugs were being used to treat his ailments but that was no matter to those in charge at the time.  (There are several people who have stated their opinion that the suspension, as much or more than the disease itself, may have been a contributing factor to his death).

But back to the story--as a tribute to Richmond (and let's face it, to make money), several companies released racing memoriabilia of the man.  One of those was the 1/64 diecast car pictured above.  Imagine my surprise the first time I saw one of those hanging on a pegboard!  "HEY, THAT'S MY PICTURE!!!" 

Now I know what some of you might be thinking--did I get paid for it?    NO--and here's why:  because I gave a copy of it to both he and his mom, I had given away my "rights" as the original owner.  Sure, I still have the 35mm negative, mostly because Ron Rigby kept it in a safe place until I asked for it back.  But I wasn't entitled to a dime for it being used on the diecast.

It doesn't matter, though.  I have something worth more--a great racing memory of the man himself!

Mike Paz, Motorsports Announcer