By Fan4Racing


Will Dale Earnhardt Jr’s Dark Knight Rises – Diet Mountain Dew Chevrolet be the car to take him to victory lane at Michigan International Speedway?

Dale Jr stands by his Dark Knight Rises car Photo – PRNews/PepsiCo

Hope springs eternal for fans of Dale Earnhardt Jr, and with consistent performance so far in 2012, it seems his four-year winless drought may soon be over. Even Dale Jr. feels they’re getting close to a win.


“I feel like we’re getting really close. We’ve been really competing well and have been competitive every weekend and at every track. And that feels really good to say.” Dale Jr continues, “…We ran great last week. We had a strong car. So, the team is really excited. We’re just kind of going to each race track every weekend and seeing what kind of car we can put out on the starting grid on Sunday. I feel like if we keep going, we’re going to win some races. We’ve just got to keep working.”


This weekend at Michigan actually marks the four-year anniversary of Earnhardt Jr’s last visit to victory lane. To break his winless streak at the track of his last win would be a great transition for the team, but may prove to be a bit nerve-wracking for the driver if history repeats itself. Commenting about what stands out for Dale Jr. from his win four years ago, he said…


“Oh, probably just the nerves the last few laps and all those caution laps and knowing we had a green-white-checkered and not sure we had enough gas to make it.”


The high speeds seen at the Michigan track could impact fuel mileage again during the race on Sunday, which won’t help Earnhardt Jr’s nerves if he’s again in position to win the race.  But speeds in excess of 200-mph don’t seem to be an issue for Dale Jr.


“The speeds don’t feel that fast. I feel like my car is going 180, but it says on the chart it’s going 200 or whatever. It just feels like it’s always felt here. It kind of just feels like qualifying, but there’s a lot of grip and the car is pretty comfortable.”


Dale Jr is promoting the new Batman movie – The Dark Knight Rises – this weekend, and contrary to what some may think would be pretty cool, the batmobile known as ‘The Tumbler’ is not the car Earnhardt Jr is driving in the Quicken Loans 400 at Michigan.

The new Batmobile – The Tumbler Photo – AP File Photo

“We’re just out here promoting the new Batman movie with Diet Mountain Dew. And that’s the ‘Tumbler,’ the new Batman mobile. It looks pretty cool. I’m interested in going up there and taking a better look at it myself. But it’s pretty exciting. I think it’s a great cross-promotion for Hollywood and NASCAR and hopefully they enjoy it and I’m sure we will.”


With Batman Black featured on his car – not a color Dale Jr. normally sports in the summer – perhaps he’ll change his hot weather color preferences if he does win. The “Dew Crew” is certainly hoping the Dark Knight Rises theme will take them to victory lane. 


“…I normally wear white suits because of the heat in the summertime…” says Dale Earnhardt Jr. “I never remember driving a black car before, so we’ll see how it goes.” 


Although, Dale Jr wants to celebrate in victory lane soon, he’s says it’s not the winless streak that keeps him sleepless in Kannapolis.


“There are other things about finishes and weekends and what happens to you on the race track that can bother way worse … to keep you up at night,”  Junior says. “If you just have a bad day or make a mistake that can ruin a race for your team or whatever; if you’re that guy and make that mistake on that day, it’s difficult to go home and shake it off. So those kinds of deals are tough, but just the lack of winning and not getting in victory lane makes you really hungry and it makes you starve for it. Other than that it doesn’t really keep me up at night.”


Dale Earnhardt Jr’s goals go way beyond just winning a race in his near future – his eye is focused on a bigger goal of a championship in his sight and he wants a title added to his legendary name. 

The Sprint Cup Trophy awarded in Vegas Photo – Chris Graythen/Getty Images

“I want to try to win a championship. That’s what you run the whole season for and our team has really, really good speed now. We ran well last year in the Chase, but we weren’t in the battle for the championship. We did well; we did better than I think a lot of people anticipated us doing in the Chase. And so, we’ve put together a lot of great and consistent races and we’re second in points right now.” Dale Jr continues with, “And so if we can put together this type of performance in the Chase, I don’t see why we can’t consider ourselves with an opportunity to challenge for the championship. And we’ve got to go into that with great confidence. So I want to keep plugging away and tying to stay healthy as a team.” 


Timing just seems right for Dale Jr. to transition his winless streak with a win at the track that gave him his last victory and as a fitting Father’s Day tribute to his famous dad. Indeed, a win would be a nice transition toward a path leading to a championship and seems to be the desired goal for NASCAR’s most popular driver and what he wants most. 


So, even though Junior fans have been in-waiting four years to see their favorite guy in victory lane, it makes sense they also want to savor a championship even more! 

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Photo – Getty Images

By Jason Schultz

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NOTE: No publishing or redistribution of any content is allowed
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By Fan4Racing


How cool is it that Brad Keselowski is coming home to Michigan for Father’s Day weekend?

Brad Keselowski at Michigan Photo – Getty Images

In his teleconference this week, Keselowski reminds us how connected he feels to his home state and being around his family, still living near Michigan International Speedway. 


Brad’s racing roots begin with his grandfather, John Keselowski, who raced motorcycles and snowmobiles and continue with his father, Bob Keselowski, a 1997 race winner in NASCAR’s Camping World Truck Series. Brad’s dad has also raced in NASCAR’s Grand National and ARCA series, winning the championship in 1989. Bob still ranks in the top 10 on ARCA’s all-time winners list. Brad’s uncle Ron Keselowski, competed in the Sprint Cup Series in the early ’70s. Brian Keselowski is Brad’s older brother and competes in NASCAR’s ARCA series. The two brothers grew up in Rochester Hills, Michigan around their dad and uncle’s successful racing careers.


Growing up in a racing family, it’s natural that Brad and his brother spent a lot of time at some of the region’s race tracks in and around Michigan. Toledo Speedway holds a lot of great memories for Brad, which led to a question during the teleconference about how the track may have fostered his development as a driver and what it means to come back to this area, his backyard and drive at MIS?


“Oh, I still have very fond memories of Toledo for sure. It’s one of my favorite tracks from growing up, and I attribute it a lot to my success as I’ve grown up and ran well at tracks like Bristol because of its similarities. So I miss running there, for sure.


“One day, I would like to do that again and have a shot at going down and running a couple of the big races they have got. I think they still have the Glass City 200 that they run there. I wish it wasn’t on a current Cup weekend or one year I might go down and run it. That track was very formative for me. I remember I think being five or six years old and being snuck into the pits in the trunk of an old car. Some of my early racing memories took place there and will always have a place near and dear in my heart. It’s a great track and I’m glad to be back in that vicinity, back in Michigan. Obviously, Toledo is in Ohio but it’s right on the border there, so we spent a lot of time in that area. It means a lot to be able to come back and race, and race with competitive teams like I have at Penske Racing. I feel very fortunate to be where I’m at in the sport right now, and it makes it all seem worth it, the sacrifices that you have to make as a kid to be a professional race car driver, whether that’s skipping the prom or not doing those other things with friends and taking that time to become the best race car driver you can, or the best racer, in case you don’t make it as a race car driver, being able to come back to Michigan with some success in the profession that I’ve chosen, is very rewarding and makes it all seem worth it, so it’s very gratifying personally.”

Bob Keselowski Photo – Wikipedia

Being part of a successful racing family at the various tracks in the region certainly influenced Brad’s career choice of becoming a professional racer. 


When asked about his dad’s influence on his career and to share a couple of quick stories, Brad said, “Ironically, that’s where I was before I walked into this teleconference; I was spending some time with him. I was able to rent out a small little shop for him to work on some cars that he’s pursuing. He’s building this car to go to the bottom of the salt flats and he’s going to take my uncle. My dad and my uncle are both in their 60s now, and it’s my dad’s dream to go to Bonneville and run 235 in a Cup car. So he’s been building this car to go do it. I went down there and watched him; told a few stories. It’s interesting, because when I walk into a shop, I see all of the tools I grew up using, and of course they all look the same. It just brings back so many memories of what it was like growing up in Michigan with my dad, he was more than just my dad. He was a mentor and a boss.


“So it’s funny, looking back now, and how things have changed, how my life has grown and certainly he was a large part of the base that makes up who I am from the code that he taught me early on in life of work ethic, which I certainly didn’t inherit all of his work ethic. His work ethic is amazing, but the basics of it, I feel like I did; to the approach of where you don’t expect anyone to do anything for you, on the racetrack or off. Your success is in your own hands, and if you’re not successful, you don’t point fingers. You point it at yourself and say I need to work harder and I need to work smarter. I think I learned a lot of that approach to the sport from him, and like I said, that’s part of the fundamentals of my success.


“So I owe a lot that to my dad, and I have a lot of good stories; I could go on for a long time, I want to spare you guys from that. But certainly being stuffed in the back of that car into a racetrack, may not one he wants me to tell but it’s one that sticks out, and there’s a lot of those moments.


“…I look back at them and I think of how lucky I am to be where I’m at right now in this sport, and how he was certainly the leader in putting me in this position.”

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Generational Competition Began in Early Days of the Sport’s History

Since the early years of NASCAR, racing sons and grandsons have celebrated Father’s Day virtually every weekend.


It’s a family sport where the love of racing – and talent – have been passed from generation to generation.


Richard Petty became the first son to win a NASCAR premier series race in which his father also ran. His first of a record 200 victories came on Feb. 28, 1960 at the Southern States Fairgrounds in Charlotte, NC. The elder Petty, a NASCAR Hall of Famer like his son, won the pole but finished 20th.


Lee Petty, however, scored 16 victories competing against his son between 1958 and 1964. Richard Petty got the better of his father just five times.


Other fathers and sons who won races head-to-head in NASCAR’s premier series include Richard and Kyle Petty, Bobby and Davey Allison, Dale and Dale Earnhardt Jr, and Buck and Buddy Baker.


Baker, co-host of a show on SIRIUSXM NASCAR Radio, recalls the day he decided to follow in the footsteps of his two-time NASCAR Sprint Cup Series champion father. The elder Baker had just won the 1953 Southern 500 at Darlington Raceway. Children did not go to Victory Lane in those days and Baker, then 12-years-old, watched the celebration from under the track’s flag stand.


“I thought maybe I’ll get the same opportunity someday,” said the younger Baker, who won the Southern 500 in 1970. He won one race in which he competed against his father, at Talladega Superspeedway in 1976.


“I thought it would be a great feeling but it wasn’t,” said Baker. “He was my hero growing up.” The elder Baker then 57 and in his final year of competition, told him, “If it makes you feel any better, at my age I can still beat your butt.”


Buck Baker, who’ll be inducted into the NASCAR Hall of Fame in February 2013, died in 2002. “I still miss him every day,” his son said.

Dale Earnhardt Sr with son, Dale Jr Photo – FanIQ

Dale Earnhardt Jr is the only current NASCAR Sprint Cup Series driver to have traded victories with his NASCAR Hall of Fame father.


“He’s taught me a lot of things by watching him on the race track,” said Dale Jr prior to making his first start against his father in a NASCAR Sprint Cup car at a non-points race in 1998 at Motegi, Japan. “But the things he taught me off the race track have profited me more than the things I have learned on it.”


Earnhardt Jr, whose grandfather Ralph also raced in NASCAR’s premier series, won a race his father was in for the first time at Texas Motor Speedway in 2000, the season before his father’s untimely passing in the 2001 Daytona 500. Coincidentally, Earnhardt Jr’s last win came on Father’s Day, June 15, 2008, at Michigan International Speedway, site of this weekend’s Quicken Loans 400.


After claiming victory on that memorable day, an introspective Earnhardt Jr said, “It’s special. You know, my daddy, he meant a lot to me. There’s a lot of people that I look up to that just happen to be great fathers themselves, role models for their sons. It means a lot to me to do well on Father’s Day. It’s a special day for my family, special for my sister. She’s very, very happy at home and in tears on the telephone so it means a lot to her. I’m glad she’s as happy as she could possibly be today under the circumstances. And it makes me feel good. I know I can’t tell my father Happy Father’s Day but I get the opportunity to wish it upon all of the other fathers out there, and I genuinely mean that when I say it, because that’s what today is all about. It’s for all of the fathers out there.


Speaking of third generation drivers, Austin Dillon makes his second NASCAR Sprint Cup Series start on Sunday at Michigan. His grandfather, Richard Childress, drove in 17 Michigan races with four top-ten finishes. Childress’s cars count three victories at Michigan International Speedway most recently in 2010 with Kevin Harvick, Dillon’s father, Mike Dillon, competed in five NASCAR Nationwide Series races at the 2.0-mile track.

David Gilliland with his son Todd and Father Butch Photo – DavidGilliland.com

David Gilliland, who also competes in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series, will induct his father Butch Gilliland, into the West Coast Stock Car Hall of Fame on June 21 prior to the event at Sonoma, California. The elder Gilliland is a former NASCAR K&N Pro Series West champion.


“I was lucky to grow up in racing and really that’s all I’ve ever wanted to do from the first time I remember going to the race track, hanging on the fence and watching my dad,” said Gilliland, who ultimately became his father’s crew chief. “And then I got to be in the pits and work on his car and everything.


“It was special growing up with him in racing.”


The next wave of talent about to break into NASCAR’s national series include a trio of competitors whose fathers long have been an integral part of the industry. Chase Elliott’s father, Bill Elliott, is a former NASCAR Sprint Cup Series champion. Corey LaJoie, a NASCAR K&N Pro Series East winner, learned at the knee of two-time NASCAR Nationwide Series champion Randy LaJoie. Ryan Blaney is the son of NASCAR Sprint Cup driver and open-wheel champion Dave Blaney.


Elliott, 16, was 6-years-old when the racing bug bit. He remembers some of his father’s major victories including the Brickyard 400 at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.


“It was very cool to be part of that,” said the Hendrick Motorsports development driver. “He’s been pretty much at all my races and he spots for me in practice. I had a chance to race against him in the Denny Hamlin race in Richmond – in 2011 – and he got caught up in a wreck on the first lap so we didn’t get a chance to race each other.”


The elder LaJoie, who manufactures seats found in many NASCAR cars, at first, discouraged his son from competing. “He actually tried to get me to become a golfer and not be a race car driver because he told me it would be hard.” said Corey LaJoie, 20.


“He got me a set of golf clubs but I never wanted to do it. I just wanted to get in a go-kart and go around in circles. A lot of stuff that’s ingrained in my brain is from him not going on to the Cup level on Sunday so he could stay back and teach me and my brother how to race.”


Ryan Blaney, 18, won the NASCAR K&N Pro Series West season finale last November in Phoenix. He finished eighth in his NASCAR Nationwide Series debut last month at Richmond International Raceway and is the third generation of his family to compete in some type of motorsports.


“You’ve got so many people you can ask about what they see and they’ve go the racer’s intellect,” said Blaney. “It’s definitely a big help that I’ve got somebody that thinks like that and they’re really close to me that I can talk to them always.


“The only – disadvantage – would be not living up to what they’ve done already. If anything, that kind of motivates me to be better than they are and to achieve more.”


NASCAR Press Release

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