Monthly Archives: June 2012

Photo – NASCAR.com

By Fan4Racing


This past week marks the fifth year since Bill France Jr.’s death on June 4, 2007. Many have shaped NASCAR as we know it today, but Bill France Jr left his mark on the sport in numerous ways that fans continue to enjoy today.


Fondly remembered as “Bill Jr.” or “Little Bill” he led NASCAR as head of it’s sanctioning body from 1972 to 2000 as successor to his father Bill France Sr, who was the visionary in creating the National Association of Stock Car Automobile Racing, a.k.a. NASCAR. 


In 2000, after being diagnosed with cancer, France Jr. announced Mike Helton as the president of NASCAR, then made his own son Brian France the CEO and chairman of NASCAR in 2003. Bill France Jr remained active with the sport as a member of the six person NASCAR board of directors. 


In addition to owning NASCAR, the France family also has controlling interest in International Speedway Corporation – ISC. Bill France Jr. was chairman of the board until his death, with his daughter Lesa France Kennedy currently serving as ICS’s president. 


With his father actively involved in creating NASCAR, the future innovator of the sport, Bill Jr, grew up at race tracks by helping out selling concessions and parking cars. His humble beginnings served Bill France Jr well as the future leader and would become a trademark of his footprint within the sport. 

When Daytona International Speedway was built, Bill France Jr. worked twelve hour days, seven days a week for thirteen months by driving compactors, bull dozers and graders. When the motorized equipment stuck in the swampy terrain, he found a mule to help pull out trees from the mucky grasslands. Few executive level business leaders build their family legacy through their personal physical effort and problem solving skill at the very grassroots of their vision.  


With his father taking a lead role as a track owner in promoting what was originally known as the Daytona 200 and then Bike Weeks, Bill France Jr enjoyed riding off road motorcycles and entered several events including the Baja 1000 in the early ’70s. With motocross coming onto the scene around the same time, he would try that as well. Motocross would eventually grow into Supercross, which inspired the Daytona Beach Bike Week, that is still held annually at Daytona International Speedway. Again, Bill France Jr, was more than an innovator. As a fan and by participating as a driver, his perspective would enhance success that would endure for the future of the sport. 


With transition of power in mind, Bill France Jr. would also serve as vice-president of NASCAR for six years, before becoming the head of NASCAR on January 10, 1972, when his father retired. The International Motorsports Hall of Fame describes the transition – “Other than the founding of NASCAR itself, Bill Jr’s appointment to leadership is probably the most significant event in the history of the sanctioning body.”  During his tenure, NASCAR went from a Southern regional sport to a national sport, second only to the National Football League even today. 


Creating the next generation of NASCAR
Bill France Jr enhanced his father’s vision for NASCAR by promoting it’s growth with the Daytona 500 stock car race and Daytona 200 motorcycle race at Daytona International Speedway. The Daytona 500 is now known as the super bowl of NASCAR and as “The Great American Race.”  Today, Daytona Beach Bike Week is a mega event of the year for motorcycle enthusiast with thousands gathering at the center of motorsports annually. 

With RJ Reynolds, the Winston Million program was launched in 1985. Originally, the program awarded a $1 million bonus to the driver winning three of four races. Many variations of this event has continued over the years as a fan-favorite and is now known as the All-Star race at Charlotte Motor Speedway in the state of North Carolina, referred to as  the “hub of racing.” 


Originally known as NASCAR’s Grand National, the series was renamed in 1973 to the Winston Cup and is now known as the Sprint Cup Series. Under Bill Jr’s leadership, the points fund has increased from $750,000 to $2 million, with the champions portion of the fund becoming $2 million by 1998. According to Forbes.com today’s most popular drivers earned $10-30 million including their endorsements and merchandise sales in 2011. 


Bill France Jr, is also the visionary for NASCAR.com. He saw his vision become reality as the internet site was launched in 1996. NASCAR.com continues as a central source of news, statistics, and videos featuring highlights for fans across the globe.


In the early ’70s very few races were televised and those that found their way to the air waves were blended into other popular shows like ABC Wide World of Sports. Bill France Jr. facilitated a deal with CBS Sports to televise the 1979 Daytona 500 from green flag to checkered flag for the first time in the sport’s history.  

1979 Daytona 500 first televised NASCAR event Photo – Getty Images

With a little help from mother nature, a snow storm from the Midwest to the Northeast bolstered high television ratings. Although Richard Petty won the race,  it is the crash and subsequent fight between Donnie Allison and Cale Yarborough on the final lap that took center stage historically. The high ratings and later the press coverage led to television contracts with ESPN in 1980, TNN in 1990 and then TBS. By the end of France Jr’s career, he was responsible for a record-setting $2.4 billion television broadcasting contract in 1999 for the 2001 season. 


Just last week, fans watched the FedEx 400 benefiting Autism Speaks. Five years earlier on June 4, 2007 during the Autism Speaks 400, Bill France Jr’s death was announced during the live broadcast of the race. The track’s flag was lowered to half staff and the broadcasters held a “moment of silence” during the next restart. 

Bill France Jr’s influence is still apparent today from every fan attending the races at Daytona International Speedway, the track he personally helped to build, to those watching every week on their television from home. When fans visit NASCAR.com to catch up on the current news or watch the highlight videos, it was Bill France Jr’s vision bringing our favorite sport closer to fans. 

With a strong foundation built by the France family, the sport still thrives under the leadership of CEO and third generation Brian France. This week fans are watching the Pocono 400 presented by #NASCAR, introducing the next evolution of the sport for fans. The integration of social media with Twitter and NASCAR brings fans even closer to the track activities throughout the weekend. 


All other sports really are just a game. The truly American sport of NASCAR has been created as a lifestyle beginning with the grassroots of the sport’s visionary and innovators, enduring through the technology age and continuing to set the standard high by encouraging fan interaction. That’s quite a legacy courtesy of the France family. 

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NOTE: No publishing or redistribution of any content is allowed
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Top-Ten Finishers Get Transporter Filled with Food from Feed The Children Delivered to Their Hometown or City of Choice.

ROSSBURG, Ohio (June 6, 2012) – After knocking on the door to victory lane countless times in his five previous runs in the Prelude To The Dream at Eldora Speedway in Rossburg, OH, Kyle Busch finally broke through Wednesday night to score his first win in the all-star dirt Late Model race benefiting Feed The Children.


“This is cool,” said Busch, who outlasted strong challenges from Kasey Kahne and Clint Bowyer before finishing 2.283 seconds over runner-up Tony Stewart. “This is what it’s all about when you go dirt racing. It’s a lot of fun. I can’t say enough about (team owner) Scott Bloomquist and all these guys. They give me great race cars every time we come here and I’ve torn them up a few times, including tonight – in qualifying. We were able to come back through, get a good heat race, get a good starting spot for the main event and run up front there with the leaders all night.”


Busch started the 40-lap feature event in second place and dueled with Kahne and Bowyer, who together led the first 24 laps – Kahne 1-12; Bowyer 13-21; Kahne 22-24 – before Busch took over the lead on lap 25 when Kahne crashed into Bobby Labonte. Busch then checked-out, beating three-time Prelude winner Stewart to nab his first career victory at Eldora.

Kyle Busch celebrating his Eldora Win Photo – Getty Images

“When Kahne had his mishap, we inherited the lead and just were able to set sail from there, “Busch said. “I felt like Kahne had a fast car tonight. He was probably the class of the field. Bowyer was really hustling hard and making it work through traffic and got by him. Then we caught the lapped cars and everybody just slowed down, the pace slowed up and everybody got loose trying to slide each other. Crazy, freak deal there with Kahne sliding – into the No. 44 car of Labonte – in (turn) three. I don’t know if he didn’t see him, or what. They called the caution a little late and I bet he didn’t even have time to react. From there, we had 16 laps to go and it felt like the longest 16 laps of my career here at Eldora.”


Finishing third was Austin Dillon in just his second Prelude start. Four-time World of Outlaws Sprint Car Series champion Donny Schatz finished fourth in his dirt Late Model debut. Stewart’s NASCAR teammate at Stewart-Haas Racing, Ryan Newman, finished fifth. Aric Almirola, Cruz Pedregon, Dave Blaney, Ty Dillon and Justin Allgaier completed the top-ten, all of whom will get a tractor-trailer filled with food from Feed The Children delivered to their hometown or city of choice.


Stewart, owner of Eldora Speedway, took great pride in seeing the sixth different winner take the checkered flag in the charity race he created back in 2005.

Tony Stewart owner of Eldora Speedway Photo –  RustyJarrett/Getty Images

“We had another first-time winner tonight. That’s what the fun part is,” said Stewart, the three-time and reigning NASCAR Sprint Cup Series champion who like the rest of his Sprint Cup counterparts had to commute between a test at Pocono (PA) Raceway and the Prelude To The Dream at Eldora. “There’s a lot of stuff going on. Five days in a row at Pocono, and for these guys to leave practice at the end of the day today, fly here and race, and then fly back to Pocono tonight and be back in cars at Pocono at nine in the morning, I think that speaks volumes to what this event is all about and what it means for these guys to be here. I know as a promoter and a fellow driver in the Cup series, I’m honored they were that committed to doing this with us tonight to benefit such a good cause as Feed The Children. Really, ‘honored’ is the best word I can think of to describe it. It’s truly an honor with the week we’ve got this week at Eldora and Pocono.


Results of Prelude To The Dream Benefiting Feed The Children
Starting position in parenthesis, driver, laps completed and reason out – if any.

1.   (2)  Kyle Busch, 402.   (9)  Tony Stewart, 403.   (4)  Austin Dillon, 404.   (8)  Donny Schatz, 405.   (6)  Ryan Newman, 406.  (10)  Aric Almirola, 407.  (18)  Cruz Pedregon, 408.  (20)  Dave Blaney, 409.   (5)  Ty Dillon, 4010. (22)  Justin Allgaier, 4011. (14)  Jimmie Johnson, 4012. (15)  Kenny Wallace, 4013. (16)  Ray Evernham, 3914. (19)  Bill Elliott, 3915. (25)  Danica Patrick, 3716.  (1)  Kasey Kahne, 24, Accident17.  (7)  Bobby Labonte, 24, Accident18. (12)  Jason Leffler, 23, Mechanical19.  (3)  Clint Bowyer, 22, Mechanical20. (21)  David Gilliland, 18, Mechanical21. (23)  Ron Capps, 3, Accident22. (13)  Tony Kanaan, 2, Mechanical23. (24)  J.J. Yeley, 2, Accident24. (11)  Kenny Schrader, 1, Accident25. (17)  Steve Kinser, 1, Accident26. (26)  Kurt Busch, DNS, Accident in Heat Race

Race Statistics
Winner’s average speed – 51.211-mph
Time of race – 23:25.951
Margin of victory – 2.283 seconds
Lead changes – 3
Leaders – Kahne 1-12; Bowyer 13-21; Kahne 22-24; Kyle Busch 25-40
Attendance – Approximately 20,000
Broadcast – HBO Pay-Per-View


Eldora Speedway-Press Release


Fan4Racing Commentary:
It was great to see Kyle Busch win this race after falling short in his previous attempts. It’s been a trying week in the Busch family so this race was a welcome diversion and a chance to celebrate. 


Although the added practice days at Pocono made it a challenge for Cup drivers to participate, they willingly made the effort knowing the benefits offered by Feed the Children to their and our communities.  Once again, our favorite drivers are actively giving back to support those in need.  As fans, we applaud your efforts and recognize everyone participating as winners!

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NOTE: No publishing or redistribution of any content is allowed
unless there is written, documented permission from Fan4Racing

By Fan4Racing


NASCAR is fortunate in that many drivers within the sport are sincere advocates and  raise funds – to the tune of millions of dollars – to support a wide variety of charities and causes. It’s one of the reasons, the sport has so many fans. Fans are proud of their drivers’ involvement and not just with worthy charities and causes, but because of their patriotism and support of troops and veterans who have or are serving our beloved country, enabling the freedoms we enjoy every day. NASCAR truly is an American sport. 


There’s not one driver that stands out from the others when it comes to giving back and supporting these causes, because every driver is giving back through their own ways and means. From a fan’s perspective, these drivers all give of their time and money sincerely and from their hearts.  It’s why our drivers are so beloved by their fans – we admire their dedication to support others off the track as well as their talent on the track. 


When a driver comes to NASCAR, they come because they love to race and they are competitive in wanting to win as many races as possible. Again, there’s not one driver who stands out from the others in their love of racing and intense desire to win. The higher a driver advances in the sport, the intensity and desire of all drivers advance as well. The highest level of any sport has the most intensity, providing fans the most competition among the best talent. 


In order to race in NASCAR, every driver needs to present their talent and personality to a variety of owners within the sport. The owners choose the drivers they feel will attract sponsorship to their organization, because even owners require sponsorship to keep their employees working and their teams on the track to compete every week. 

Sponsors cannot continue to support an organization or a specific team unless they get exposure for their brand leading to greater sales, than their investment. It’s a simple matter of marketing and elementary level arithmetic. 


A sponsor cannot spend more than they are bringing in, any more than fans can with their personal home budgets. If we find that our jobs are not giving us the money we need to support our spending, we either have to cut back or we look for another job with more pay. That’s what sponsors do, when it comes to drivers. If they aren’t getting the exposure they need to increase their sales, they look for another driver or sport to carry their brand. 


Fans hear our drivers promoting their sponsors every week. Sometimes it’s under great circumstances, with the best exposure when our driver is running up front and wins the race leading to victory lane. Everyone is happy. 


But fans also know that every driver, at some point, is in front of a camera with their sponsor’s brand proudly displayed on their fire suit or team cap, under less than desirable circumstances. Sometimes, its not a comfortable time, it’s down right stressful because the driver is at the same time dealing with a variety of emotions based on what just happened on or even off the track. 


But most of our favorite drivers take a deep breath and step in front of the camera because they know fans want to hear their perspective of what happened. They understand they have an obligation and responsibility to their sponsors to take advantage of every camera moment – whether it’s good or bad timing – to give them positive exposure for their brand. Most drivers, do a great job of demonstrating control of their mixed emotions and present themselves and their brand well, in spite of the difficult circumstances. As fans, we admire and respect those drivers for their integrity and ability to endure through a difficult time and that’s good for the sponsor’s brand. 


But for any driver with difficulty in managing their emotions of anger and controlling their presentation of themselves and their sponsors when given an opportunity in front of a camera, a difficult moment can become a real dilemma. If emotions get the best of our favorite drivers, in most cases, we understand, it’s an exception and not a common practice. It’s an understandable weak moment that can be easily forgiven. But the dilemma gets worse for those with anger management issues that are repeated over and over again. 


Sure, a driver can walk away and not say anything. And in some cases, this has been an ideal way for a driver to handle a difficult situation. But what happens, is  the driver and their sponsor give up brand exposure and fans are left wondering what the driver is thinking about the situation. Although we may or may not hear from the driver at some point later, that moment in time is now lost as exposure for the sponsor. 


If the driver continually handles their emotions of anger by walking away, they takes away their value to the sponsor. If media stops talking to the driver because they know the driver doesn’t handle pressure well, they take away the driver’s opportunity for sponsor exposure, also leading to less value of the driver to the sponsor. 


Whether fans, or drivers like it or not, the sport of NASCAR is sponsor-driven.  They provide the money the keeps our favorite drivers on the track competing for their best performance in a highly competitive environment every week. In order for them to have the money they need to be sponsors, depends on whether they are making money or losing money. Less exposure, means less money and less reason to continue their sponsorship, presenting a dilemma for those with on-going anger management issues.  


Every time any driver continues to demonstrate their inability to manage their emotions in front of a camera, especially under difficult circumstances, they continue to weaken their personal brand and their value to sponsors, even if they possess tremendous talent behind the wheel and without regard to how much they give back to others off the track. If any driver continues this path, they will ultimately have so little value to a sponsor or team owner, there is no longer any path for their career in this sport. 


Fortunately, everyone wants to see people overcome their problems.  We cheer for them to recognize and confront their challenges so they get to a better place. This is a sport that gets behind those with problems and helps create an environment of support. Remember, this is one of the many reasons we love our drivers. Because this is what they do for others. 


But as much as we may want those dealing with anger management to overcome their issues, there comes a point, where we want them to want it for themselves even more. Because, we understand that unless they want to recognize and confront their challenge, their problem will never be resolved. And if they don’t want it for themselves enough to make changes in their lives going forward, they give less reason for others to want it for them. 


For those drivers choosing to hang on to their anger, without management and without control of their emotions, they and they alone control their ultimate consequence for their personal choice. Again, it doesn’t matter what a great person they are otherwise, how much talent they have, nor how much they give back to others. In reality, it’s their personal choices that create their dilemma and eventually their future. 

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NOTE: No publishing or redistribution of any content is allowed
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