American Racing News - Issue 2 by American Racing News

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Jared Mees Gets Revenge In Texas

New Section:

Volume 1 Issue 2

A DenKel Media Publication

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Bench Racer

Hot Laps

10 Phoenix Grand Prix 13 Anatomy Lesson 14 Jared Mees Takes Texas 17 Dale Jr. Wins at Richmond 20 Straight Line 22 Stadium Trucks at Long Beach American Racing News is a digital magazine that aims to promote racing of all types, either in the United States of by American racers elsewhere in the world. If you have a press release that you would like to submit for consideration, please send it to

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24 Texas MotoAmerica 26 New Section

Hometown Racing News is your magazine. Weekly racing tracks and teams are welcome! Submit your Text (1000 word max) and Photos (12 to 24 is ideal) to: hometownracingnews@usa.com

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Cover Photo Courtesy of NASCAR.com

Bench Racer

“We Want More, We Want More” I remember a television commercial from a few years back that had some cute little kids saying “We want more, we want more! Wanting more is human nature. Most of us want more money, racers want more speed and American Racing News readers want more too. Starting in this issue, I will answer your calls for more by bringing you a new section; Hometown Racing News. This will be a showcase of local racing from around the country. Tracks, teams and regional race series promoters are welcome to send in photos and short articles so that ARN readers can get a glimpse of how racing looks around the United States. I was impressed with the quality of the race machinery, and the familiar look of the people in this first installment. It’s almost like looking at a family album. I guess in a way, we are all one big family of racers.

Dale Jr. being on the cover will get more attention than just about anything else we could have featured, but for me it is the local racers and fans that I do this for. While the top stars of NASCAR, IndyCar, NHRA and other top tier series may be worthy of our admiration, it is the local heroes that I really relate to. Most of these racers struggle to pay for their racing efforts. Most work 40+ hours a week at a regular job and then another 40 or so in the race shop. No luxury motor coaches or half million dollar haulers. No endorsement deals or TV commercial shoots. The weekly racer typically sacrifices greatly just for the thrill of racing. In reality, the weekend warriors don’t even need us, the fans. Sure, our attendance is what it takes to support the tracks they battle in, but these racers would race out in fields, streets or wherever they could find a place to race. That is what makes the local racers my heroes. Pure love of the sport! I hope that Hometown Racing News honors them and that we can be here to help the local racers in any way we can.

New Column This month, we will also present a new column - “Straight Line” by

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By Dennis Keeley Jim Jack. Jim Jack spent nearly three decades with Racers for Christ and has been in the middle of the action that whole time. Jim will be bringing us his column, which has been running since the mid nineties. Jim mixes in references to song lyrics and his racing adventures with a spiritual message. I hope you enjoy this very unique column.

Still More to Come Starting next month we will bring you more. More what?

More NASCAR More IndyCar More Drag Racing More Bikes More Dirt More ARCA More Everything! American Racing News will be adding more pages and setting aside space for each of the above racing types. This will ensure that you will not go a single issue without seeing your favorite type of racing.

Hot Laps AJ Foyt Trophy By Kate Guerra | IndyCar.com

A.J. Foyt's legendary racing career was almost done in by the streets of Phoenix nearly 60 years ago. Before he became an Indy car legend, a relatively unknown Foyt drove from his home in Houston to Phoenix to meet with crew chief Clint Brawner. Brawner’s driver, Jimmy Bryan, had just quit the team after winning his third Indy car championship in four years. Despite the success, Bryan was frustrated the team couldn’t capture the elusive Indianapolis 500 victory, so Foyt was called up for an interview. All Foyt had to do was find Brawner's home. The eventual four-time Indianapolis 500 champion was lost amidst Phoenix’s matrix of avenues and streets, which alternate depending on what side of the city you are on. “My heart was pounding out of my chest,” Foyt said. “I couldn’t find his house.” Eventually that fateful meeting happened, and Foyt began his relationship with Brawner that led to his first opportunity to race at Indianapolis Motor Speedway and kick

started his illustrious career. That tenure included a win at the first Indy car race at Phoenix International Raceway in 1964. Foyt joined Phoenix Raceway president Bryan Sperber, Hulman and Co. CEO Mark Miles and Verizon IndyCar Series drivers Graham Rahal and Ed Carpenter for a ceremony to unveil the AJ Foyt Champions Trophy, which will be awarded to the winner of the Desert Diamond West Valley Phoenix Grand Prix on April 2nd. The stainless steel trophy features a photo-etched image of Foyt’s face with his signature engraved underneath. The base is made of Grand Canyon onyx, which was found in a local Phoenix quarry. “It’s an honor (to have the trophy named after me),” Foyt said. “I wish I was younger and able to go out with these guys and compete for it, but I’m not.”

the Robert E. Petersen Theater in the hall’s new permanent home at Daytona International Speedway. The MSHFA, which has moved to Daytona Beach from Novi, Michigan, will be housed in the speedway’s expansive ticket and tours facility that greets thousands of motorsports fans each year at the “World Center of Racing.” A vital component in the relocation will be the new theater, along with a Robert E. Petersen “Tribute Room” that will greet guests entering the attraction. ____________________________

Brady Brings Home the Bacon USAC PR | Ryan Sellers Photo

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Motorsports H.O.F. Receives $2.5 Million Grant MSHF.COM

DAYTONA BEACH, FL – The Motorsports Hall of Fame of America (MSHFA) announced today that it has received a $2.5 million grant from the Margie & Robert E. Petersen Foundation of Los Angeles, with the money targeted to fund construction and development of

Brady Bacon methodically maneuvered his way from his sixth starting spot and in a three-lap stretch, a third of the way into the 30-lap feature, drove from fourth to first. Passing Dave Darland on lap 12 and held off a late charge from Kyle Cummins to take the victory in front of a standing-room only crowd in the USAC AMSOIL Sprint Car National Championship's debut at Montpelier (Ind.) Motor Speed-

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Hot Laps way Saturday night. Bacon, of Broken Arrow, Oklahoma earned ProSource Fast Qualifying honors in the early going, putting him outside of row three for the feature event. But, it was Darland, from his pole starting position, who quickly established the point at the start with Shane Cottle and Cummins in tow. By lap five, the freight train of Darland, Cummins and Cottle ran nose-to-tail as they each took to the high side to pull away from the pack. Meanwhile, Bacon went to the bottom, hugging the infield tires as he rapidly reeled in third-running Cottle. By the tenth lap, Bacon had disposed of Cottle for third, then ran down Cummins for the second spot one lap later before nearly getting by Darland, trailing by about a foot in a dead heat at the start/finish line before claiming the lead just moment later going into turn one on lap 12. As Bacon blew by the top-three for the lead on the bottom, the trio of Darland, Cummins and Cottle followed suit by heading to the inside line on lap 13 when Cummins got by Darland for second. Cummins moved his car from the bottom to the top and back to the bottom in search of the fast way around as the race crossed the midway point.

mins. On the restart, Bacon and Cummins both went to the inside with Cummins hounding Bacon, shadowing his every move, readying himself to pounce on any single slip-up that Bacon might encounter in the closing laps.

With seven laps to go, Cummins was able to get his right front wheel inside of Bacon's left rear in turn two, nearly making contact, but was unable to make it stick, falling back roughly four car lengths as the two headed into turn three, but a Bret Mellenberndt turn two spin brought out a yellow, providing Cummins with another shot. After a restart with six to go, Cummins was looking to gain an inch, a yard, anything that would give him an opportunity to gain valuable ground on Bacon at the end, but he was never close enough to mount a serious challenge. In the final laps as Bacon never blinked, distancing himself from the fading Cummins and taking the win in his Dynamics, Inc./Mean Green Lykins Oil/Triple X/WilliamsMopar.

An A.J. Hopkins backwards spin on the front-straightaway with 10 to go closed the gap between Bacon in first and second-running Cum-

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Daryn Pittman Scores Perris Win World of Outlaws and DIRTcar PR

PERRIS, CA - Daryn Pittman dominated Saturday night's SoCal Showdown at Perris Auto Speedway to claim his second World of Outlaws Craftsman速 Sprint Car Series victory of the season. The win came one night after a crash ended his night while he led at Bakersfield Speedway. "Last night was dumb," Pittman said of his Bakersfield Speedway run. "I ran over Joey [Saldana] and took ourselves out of contention for a win there and tore up a lot of equipment." Pittman, who claimed his first ever series win at Perris, said perseverance is the motto of his No. 9 Great Clips team. "This car has been so fast and we're right there in the hunt every night," Pittman said. "We've just got to put it together and that starts with me. "This track has been really good to me and I got my very first Outlaw win here beating Steve Kinser to the line by I don't know how close - it was really close. It's one I'll never forget so I always enjoy coming here." Pittman, who led the feature flag-to-flag, had to contend much of the night with traffic and perhaps more pressing, his Kasey Kahne Racing with Mike Curb

Hot Laps teammate Brad Sweet behind him. The all KKR front row, was in charge early, as Pittman took the lead on the first lap. As he worked his way through lapped traffic, he built up an impressive multisecond lead over Sweet and Shane Stewart. Sweet held firm in second as Stewart worked to close the gap on the second place position. The two were within a car length of each other much of the night. With one lap to go, Pittman made contact with Paul McMahan that sent McMahan spinning. The caution flag waved. Pittman later apologized to McMahan in victory lane. The reset field, with a green-whitecheckered finish ahead, looked for one last chance to make a move. Stewart, looking for the second position, made a bold charge on Sweet through one and two but was not able to get around the No. 49 Razorback Professional Tools car. The move opened the door for fourth-place running Saldana to close the gap with his No. 83 Roth Motorsports car. "I think Brad had his tires going down a little and Shane had a good racecar so he was trying really hard to get by him and he just used his tires up there or had his tires going down there and missed the rubber going into three," Saldana said. "That was the only shot I had so I went for it and luckily we were on the front straightaway." Saldana completed the pass on the final lap

coming off of turn four to finish third.

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LUCAS OIL Off Road Pro 4 Unlimiteds at Lake Elsinore

Lucas Oil Inc. PR

IIn Pro 4 Unlimited, things got ugly in a hurry, and it was a rough and tumble race from flag to flag. After a six-truck inversion of the qualifying results, it was Doug Mittag and Greg Adler who started from the front row, and Mittag led Adler, Carl Renezeder, Rob MacCachren, and Bryce Menzies at the end of lap one. Kyle LeDuc got by Menzies on the inside at turn one to take over fifth on lap two, with MacCachren then passing Renezeder down the inside at turn two to move into third. Renezeder then charged hot into turn three, setting off a little smash

fest, and mixing up the order around him. By the end of the lap, Mittag still led, with MacCachren now second, Adler third, Menzies fourth, and Renezeder fifth. LeDuc then got by Renezeder at turn one on the next lap, but it was now an angry five-truck pack battling hard in positions two through six. LeDuc moved up to third by lapâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s end, while up front, Mittag was streaking away in the lead. The end of lap five saw a full course caution after Bradley Morris, making his long-awaited return to competition after breaking his neck in a mountain biking accident two years ago, rolled over in turn three. After several yellow flag laps, racing resumed on lap 10, with Renezeder having dropped to the back of the pack and Adler changing a tire under yellow, it was now Mittag, MacCachren, LeDuc, Menzies, and Doug Fortin in the top five.

On the restart lap, MacCachren ran hard into turn three while trying to hold LeDuc off, and wound up smacking LeDuc hard when he set himself back down on all four wheels. LeDuc initially got away quickly, but then slowed with obvious right front suspension damage. At the end of the lap, it was now Mittag, Menzies, Fortin, LeDuc, and Adler in the top five.As LeDucâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s pace slowed to a crawl, he quickly dropped out of the top five, and at the end of the next lap, a second

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Hot Laps full course yellow came out after Eric Barron came to a stop in turn four. On the restart, it was now Mittag, Menzies, Fortin, Adler, and MacCachren in the top five, with MacCachren getting by Adler coming out of turn one to move into fourth. Late in the lap, Menzies moved right up to Mittag’s back bumper, but couldn’t quite make a pass. Two laps later, on lap 15, Fortin biked badly in turn three and dropped back to eighth as he waited for the field to pass and a clean spot to get turned around. Menzies then finally got around Mittag for the lead early on the next lap, as Mittag was now struggling with being unable to shift above third gear. As Menzies quickly moved clear, MacCachren moved up to pass Mittag early on lap 17 to grab second, but Mittag battled back at turn four to stay a nose ahead at the start/finish line, just ahead of another full course yellow. On the return to green flag racing, MacCachren was way off the pace with an issue. Up front, Menzies was absolutely flying, and really seeming to test the limits of how hard he could throw his truck into the corners. Behind him, Renezeder got Mittag inside at turn one on the final lap, and in the final corner, Fortin tried to get Mittag as well. Unfortunately, Mittag may not have anticipated Fortin diving down so late, and as Mittag dropped down to the inside

line, Fortin had nowhere to go, as he drove into Mittag’s door and then spun himself out, dropping back to fifth. At the finish, it was Menzies who got the big first win for his new Huseman brothers-built #7 Red Bull/Pennzoil Ford, with Renezeder second, Mittag third in the #81 Maxxis/Custom Off-Road Design Ford, Barron fourth in the #32 Icon Vehicle Dynamics/Method Race Wheels Toyota, and Fortin fifth in the #96 General Tire/E3 Spark Plugs Toyota.

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Largest Turnout of Chevys

JUPITER, FL - Palm Beach International Raceway™, TEN: The Enthusiast Network, and Publishers of Super Chevy Magazine celebrated the Official Super Chevy Show over the weekend. The racers and car show participants showed up in record numbers for the two-day event. The world's largest Chevy automotive event featured drag racing action, a premiere car and truck show, sold out swap meet,

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car corral, vendor midway and much more. The drag strip competition was highlighted by several different sportsman classes: the Camaro Gen 5 challenge, E.T. Bracket classes, Junior Dragster, Ultra Street, and the X632/Outlaw 632, over the weekend. Each class had an opportunity to walk away with a cash prize and bragging rights as the winner of the Super Chevy Show. On Saturday, the Camaro Gen 5 challenge, Bracket 1, Bracket 2, and Jr. Dragster classes competed with Chelsey Martin, Richard Beswick, Troy Stafford, and Jordyn Prince, respectively, taking home the top spots. In addition, the X632/Outlaw 632 and Ultra Street qualified on Saturday in preparation for eliminations on Sunday. On the drag strip, Chelsey Martin (12.36 dial-in), from Pembroke Pines, FL, went up against Mikey Tell (10.80 dial-in), from Palm Beach Gardens, FL in the Gen 5 challenge final round and posted a .099 reaction time with a 12.398 at 82.18 mph against Tells' .139 reaction time with a 11.140 at 100.52 mph pass. Richard Beswick (7.17 dial-in), Lake Worth, FL, went six rounds and landed in the Bracket 1 finals with Andrew Reaves (6.09 dial-in) from Roswell, GA. Reaves fired off a .027 reaction time to the even fast-

Hot Laps er .005 reaction time of Beswick as he went on to win on Saturday. . In Bracket 2, Troy Stafford from Orlando, FL, faced off against "Super" Sonny Freeland from Hollywood, FL in the final round. Stafford dialed in at 10.36 seconds to run a 10.382 at 96.92 mph taking victory over Freeland. In Junior Dragster, Jordyn Prince of Titusville, FL found himself up against Nick Ferraro from Ft. Lauderdale, FL in the finals. Ferraro jumped at the line resulting in a foul and Prince heading to the winner's circle. Troy Pirez took the number 1 qualifying position in Ultra Street with a pass of 4.967 at 144.13 mph, while in X632/Outlaw 632, Johnny Pluchino went quickest, 4.455 at 158.61 mph to grab the top spot.

Stewart Earns Texas Outlaw Nationals Victory WoO PR | Patrick Grant Photography

MESQUITE, TX - An emotional Shane Stewart climbed from his car and wiped away tears of joy after he fought his way to the front of the field and claimed Saturday night's Texas Outlaw Nationals $20,000 to-win finale at Devil's Bowl Speedway, his second World of Outlaws Craftsman Sprint Car

Series victory of the season. Stewart is just the third driver to chisel his name into the Ted Johnson Memorial trophy, after Daryn Pittman claimed the inaugural event in 2014 and Donny Schatz won in 2015. "I'm a little choked up, this is a big win for me," Stewart said. "A lot of people have helped me get to this point. I drove for a lot of good car owners, like my mom and dad who are here. It's been a long road to get here that's for sure, and some days you don't think you're ever going to get here, but when you finally do it makes it really special. There were plenty of times I thought "this is it, I am going to hav to get a regular job" but people kept believing in me and giving me opportunities.â&#x20AC;?

Next Issue: Rising 3rd Generation NASCAR Star !

By Jerry Bonkowski | IndyCar,com AVONDALE, AZ. -- In the heat of the desert, the "Ice Man" lived up to his nickname by remaining cool all the way to Victory Lane.

Reigning VERIZON IndyCar Series champion Scott Dixon won the Desert Diamond West Valley Phoenix Grand Prix at Phoenix International Raceway under caution after rookie Alexander Rossi made contact with the wall two laps from the finish of the 250-lap event. It was the first career win at PIR for both Dixon and Chip Ganassi Racing Teams (in any race series).

neves. It was also the 101st Indy car win for the Ganassi team. “It was tough, definitely one of the toughest races on these short ovals,” said Dixon, the four-time VERIZON IndyCar Series Champion. “The car was super-fast. I think we had the best car out there on strategies and pit stops.” Dixon now has 20 wins on oval tracks and 19 on road/street courses. He will attempt to even that number up in the next race on April 17, the Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach (4 p.m. ET, NBCSN and Advance Auto Parts INDYCAR Radio Network), where Dixon is the defending race winner. “We definitely had bad luck at St. Pete (finishing seventh), but we’re a strong team,” Dixon said. “If we can figure it out at the start of the season, it’ll make it a little easier for us.”

Dixon started sixth in the No. 9 Target Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet and went on to earn the 39th win of his Indy car career, tying him with Al Unser for fourth in all-time victories. The race marked the return of the series to Phoenix International Raceway's historic 1.022-mile oval for the first time since Sam Hornish Jr. won in 2005. Dixon also set an Indy car record by winning a race for the 12 consecutive season. He was previously deadlocked at 11 with Bobby Unser, Emerson Fittipaldi and Helio Castro-

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Simon Pagenaud, in the No, 22 DeVilbiss Team Penske Chevrolet, finished second for the second consecutive race and took over

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the lead in the VERIZON IndyCar Series points standings for the first time in his career. Unofficially, Pagenaud has 83 points and leads Dixon by four. “That’s good news,” Pagenaud said. “That’s exactly what we want to do. This is not our strong suit, short ovals, but if we can be strong, that’s a good sign.”

podium. We have to improve a couple of things. … It was tough racing.” Added Rahal, “It was tough to pass. I felt like I had a really good race car. Unfortunately, our competition had about a 5 mph advantage on us, I feel like. I was just doing everything I could to get it.”

Pagenaud gave credit where it was due. “I was loose, loose, loose at the beginning of the race,” he said. “But my engineer (Ben Bretzman) made an adjustment and my car woke up.” Will Power, who missed the season opener two weeks ago at the Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg due to an inner ear infection, finished a strong third in the No. 12 VERIZON Team Penske Chevrolet.

The highest-finishing rookie was Max Chilton, who placed seventh in his first VERIZON IndyCar Series race on an oval in the No. 8 Gallagher Chip Ganassi Racing Chevy.

“I’m really happy to finish third. Missing the first race and dealing with a few health issues, I was just happy to complete the race in a great position,” Power said. “I got more energy as I went along. I was worried about this being my first race and how physical it was, but have to give it to the VERIZON guys and pit crew tonight. They were awesome and I had a lot of fun tonight. Congrats to Dixon.”

“Chip Ganassi gave me a fantastic car,” Chilton said. “Obviously, Scott won this event, TK (Kanaan) flew past me with about 10-15 to go, so maybe I didn’t have necessarily the fastest car, but I think as a team we had a very, very strong car. “I think there was a few mistakes I made as a rookie, just because I hadn’t experienced it before, where we could have been top two or three. I’m really happy with what we came away with this evening.”

Tony Kanaan finished fourth in the No. 10 GE LED Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet. Graham Rahal was the top-finishing Honda driver, placing fifth in the No. 15 Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing.

A couple early front-runners had issues in the first half of the race. Team Penske pilots Castroneves and Juan Pablo Montoya both cut right-front tires that forced them to pit from the lead.

“We charged at the end and at the end it was fun,” Kanaan said. “We missed an opportunity to be on the

The race saw five caution periods for a total of 56 laps.

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Story and photos courtesy of jaredmees.com

By Miriam Deitcher Jared Mees earned a tough victory at the inaugural Harley-Davidson Lone Star Half-Mile at Circuit of The Americas Saturday night. Mees faced disappointment in last year’s Summer X Games in Austin but won the 25-lap Harley-Davidson GNC1 presented by Vance & Hines class race over No. 27 Robert Pearson (Harley-Davidson 750). Mees charged the pack after Brad Baker (No. 6 Harley-Davidson 750) was forced to leave the track due to technical difficulties on lap seven and was challenged again when a red flag with five laps to go turned Round 3 of the AMA Pro Flat Track season into a five-lap shootout. “You go into every race just wanting to win, but this place owed me big time,” Mees said.

Mees locked in his main event placement with a third-place finish in the second heat race and kept the momentum going into the main. He took the lead on lap 8 and never relented, which earned him the McElroy Packaging “Lucky 13 Award” in front of a packed house of both American and International spectators. Mees took home the Öhlins “Fastest Lap Award,” as well and was pleased with the victory. “I don’t know if I had anything for Brad,” Mees said. “I’d just settled into my groove and I don’t know if I could have run him down. At the red flag, I thought, ‘Don’t do this to me, you owe me.’ It was really good to win. I needed this for the confidence after I had a so-so Daytona. The credit goes to the team. We relate very, very well. They never let me down.

Jared Mees | American Racing News | 15

About AMA Pro Flat Track AMA Pro Racing sanctions many disciplines of motorcycle racing, but the oldest and most traditional is flat track - sometimes referred to as “dirt track” racing. While the roots of flat track racing date back to the early 1900’s, it wasn’t until post-World War II that the sport evolved into its current modern structure, a uniquely American type of motorcycle racing. Riders finesse their machines sideways through the turns, just inches apart from each other, at speeds over 130 mph. In short, AMA Pro Flat Track provides one of the most thrilling spectacles in motorsports.

16 | American Racing News | Jared Mees

Photo Courtesy of JR Motorsports

By the Numbers

14 – Years separating Earnhardt Jr's last time racing in NXS at Richmond and today. He won both.

JRMotorspots.com

10 – Current ranking for Earnhardt Jr. on the all-time NXS wins list, tied with Tommy Houston.

Dale Earnhardt Jr. scored his 24th career NASCAR Xfinity Series (NXS) victory Saturday by taking the checkered flag in the ToyotaCare 250 at Richmond International Raceway. Pertinent numbers relating to Earnhardt Jr.’s popular victory:

9 – Victorious drivers for JR Motorsports all-time in NXS. They include Kevin Harvick (6), Brad Keselowski (6), Regan Smith (6), Chase Elliott (5), Dale Earnhardt Jr. (1), Ron Fellows (1), Kasey Kahne (1), Mark Martin (1) and Jamie McMurray (1).

50 – All-time NASCAR wins for Earnhardt Jr. He’s won 26 times in Sprint Cup Series and 24 times in Xfinity Series. 31 – All-time victories for JR Motorsports in national touring divisions (28 in NXS, 2 in NCWTS, 1 in ARCA) 28 – All-time NXS victories for JR Motorsports, dating back to its first win on March 1, 2008, with Mark Martin. 24 – Career NXS victories for Earnhardt Jr., dating back to his very first on April 4, 1998, at Texas Motor Speedway. 19 – Years spanned of victorious races by Earnhardt Jr., starting in 1998 with seven wins and continuing in 1999 (6), 2002 (2), 2003 (3), 2004 (2), 2006 (2), 2010 (1) and 2016 (1).

6 – Seasons since Earnhardt Jr. had previously won an NXS race, dating back to July 2, 2010, at Daytona. 4 – JR Motorsports’ current streak of multiple win seasons, dating back to 2013. 4 – All-time NXS victories by Earnhardt Jr. at Richmond International Raceway in only six tries. His wins came in 1998, 1999, 2002 and 2016. 4 – Wins for Dave Elenz since becoming crew chief in 2015. 3 – Consecutive years that JR Motorsports has conquered Richmond. It won in 2014 with Kevin Harvick, 2015 with Chase Elliott, and 2016 with Dale Earnhardt Jr. 3 – Wins for Hellmann’s since becoming a primary sponsor at JR Motorsports. Hellmann’s scored wins

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Photo Courtesy of NASCAR.com

on Sept 4, 2010, at Atlanta with Jamie McMurray, July 4, 2014, at Daytona with Kasey Kahne, and April 23, 2016, at Richmond with Dale Earnhardt Jr. Hellmann’s announced this weekend that it has extended its partnership with JR Motorsports through 2018. 3 – Drivers in which Dave Elenz has scored victories with. They include Kevin Harvick (2), Chase Elliott (1), and Earnhardt Jr. (1).

Banana, Mayo and Marketing Genius It doesn’t matter who’s idea it was, the sport’s most popular personality celebrating a big win with his sponsor’s (Helmmann’s) product is a marketing grand slam. Drivers (including Jr) have celebrated with sponsored products like Coke and Pepsi or Bud and Miller, but the oddity of a banana and mayo sandwich is almost as much of a story as the win. Whoever thought of this, our hats are off to you.

Photo Courtesy of NASCAR.com

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3 – Teams in which Earnhardt Jr. has won NXS races with. They include Dale Earnhardt Inc. (21), Richard Childress Racing (2), and JR Motorsports (1).

1 – Wins by Earnhardt Jr. in a JR Motorsports car.

Photo Courtesy of NASCAR.com

Straight Line

By Jim Jack

The Crime of the Century Contents

If asked, “What do you think is the crime of the century?”, we’d all probably have a different answer, depending on our age, environment, family heritage, and how much education we‘ve experienced. If you grew up in the mid-to-late twentieth century, your answer would vary from those who grew up in the mid-to-late ninetieth century. Strange as it sounds, many people today do not know anything about world history (or biblical history either). Since organized drag racing is not yet a century old, it really can’t claim to have a crime of the century—but it does have some history of catastrophes. Someone outside the world of drag racing would be unable to answer an inquiry if drag racing was the premise of the question. A sad pronouncement is many people in this day-and-age really don’t give a hoot about what happened in the past—good or bad—even if it affects them personally. Drag racing has had plenty of misfor-

tune in its history, but you really couldn’t say a crime took place. The blemishes of racing incidents can’t be described as criminal, but to a surviving loved one it feels like they were violated, and the violation can feel like a crime. If we look back in world history, the crime of the century, in the twentieth century, may well be the horrors of the Holocaust, or the hideousness of Hiroshima. Maybe in the ninetieth century it was the Civil War, or in the eighteenth century the Revolutionary War and so on as we delve back into history. I’ve been attending drag racing for almost six decades and the only crimes I know about happening at the races are fights, robberies, drug abuse and drug transactions. Sad to think these crimes could be committed at a drag race, but unfortunately, there are sinister people everywhere you choose to go. Many racers throughout the years have felt they were figuratively beaten, robbed or raped, thus outwardly repulsed because they were denied a victory. People need to understand when bad things happen, it has the outward appearance of being unfair at the time of the incident, but no one is guaranteed a perfect life without any problems. The phrase things happen for a reason is a misnomer (but too many people believe this statement is fact). Things happen because; First: You reap what you sow, if you sow good things you may reap good things, but

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if you sow bad things you may well reap bad things. Second: Other people also sow good and bad, and fortunately, or unfortunately, you may be the recipient of reaping their good or their bad. Third: We live in a fallen world, so things will happen, things will break, and things will simply let you down with no reason! In drag racing, sometimes you win, sometimes you lose, and sometimes you just have to get by singing the blues. When it’s your weekend to take home the trophy, things fall in place and your hot rod simply runs to [almost] perfection. When it’s not your weekend, stuff happens, things break, nothing seems to go your way—but that’s how racing goes. No reason needed! Why do unpleasant things happen? Because no one knows you’re going broke…or you committed a small offense after you woke…you said it was only rum and coke…you indulged in a small toke…you think your child deserved a minor poke…you faked the impression of being the best bloke…so following worldly things is no laughing joke. Because of mankind’s fallen nature and living in a sorely depraved world—after sin entered in—there’s only been one innocent crime, and it took place back in the first century. The corruption and rebellion continued to escalate between the Garden of Eden and the Garden of Gethsemane. God knew it was time to sow His grace and truth. It was not only the crime of the century. It was the crime of eternity happening right be-

fore the eyes of the people. “For my eyes have seen your salvation which you have prepared in the sight of all people,” (Luke 2:31 NIV). Jesus, fully man and fully God, could have easily shamed, judged, or obliterated all the people. He did have a reason! The crime of the century was a strange story. “Christianity is the only view of life that presents a vulnerable God—a God who, in love and for love, subjected Himself to be mauled by His own Creatures. Someone had to enter those dark woods of our own making; someone had to descend into our self-chosen chasm; someone had to find us and rescue us—even if that meant dying in our place,” (Matt Woodley). God’s love and justice met at the cross. This crime was foretold hundreds of years before it would take place…evil was the cause for this felony case…iniquity left more than a trace…no pomp or frilly lace…the green flag dropped to start the last race…now people could accurately see God’s face. Racing has seen its share of cheating, calamity and cover-ups, but it has weathered the storms and people still love it. Rules, regulations and rebellion have chased a small percentage of racers, sponsors, and spectators away from what once was their passionate desire. Once the racing addiction grabs you, it’s tough to let go. Unfortunately this habit has been the cause of broken homes and friendships which is like a crime…sticking like grime…can be as sour as a lime…leaving you left with only a dime…can’t be flavored with a sprig of thyme…racing and impropriety surely don’t rhyme. An ultra high-horsepower engine is kind of like a crime in itself. You spend lots of money. You buy all the best parts. But there’s no guarantee it will make it to the finish line. Rac-

ing can be like a burglar stealing your hard-earned bucks in exchange for a barrage of broken bearings and busted blowers while your endeavors bleed dry your bank account. We’ve all witnessed situations in racing thinking it was a crime. But was that all-aluminum engine really an innocent by-stander? It was designed to churn out thousands of horsepower, and do whatever it takes to get the job done. But things don’t always go your way, nevertheless you survived the ordeal. But was it by your own skill, wisdom, bank account, or your ingenious and innocent plan? Probably not! But, God’s plan was truly genius considering all that was at stake. To us humans, it looks heart-breaking for a Father to sentence His innocent Son to be a sacrifice for all the people who were scheming to commit the crime of the century. Most of the people didn’t believe He was who He said He was. They viewed Him from a human viewpoint. Not from faith in God.

But that's not right, oh no, what's the story? But there's you and there's me.” You mean the crime of the century was committed by you and me. Yes, we’re all guilty of that heinous and horrible crime in the first century of crucifying Jesus Christ. But His crucifixion was a part of God’s plan for the salvation of mankind. This crime was accomplished to free you and me from the stranglehold of LSD: Lust, Sin and Death. Sad but true…crime leaves you blue…causes some to want to sue…when they think they know a thing or two…doesn’t help being on the best crew…cause if you’re stuck in crimes goo…it’s time to seek you know Who…He’s the only One who can take your old crime and make you brand new! [BTW – There is one more “Crime of every Century.” It’s when someone fails to receive Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior!]

Presented by

It’s said, beauty is in the eye of the beholder and the beauty of grace and truth looked battered, bloodied, and bruised that blustery day, but let me tell you something brother, Jesus’ beat up body was broken for you! As I often like to do, I design a column around a favorite song. So check out these lyrics from the song “Crime of the Century” by Super Tramp. “Now they're planning the crime of the century, Well what will it be? Read all about their schemes and adventuring, Yes, it's well worth a fee. So roll up and see how they rape the universe, How they gone from bad to worse. Who are these men of lust, greed and glory? Rip off the masks and let's see.

DenKel Media Automotive Media Services

Volume 1, Issue 2 | American Racing News | 21

LONG BEACH, CA - Sheldon Creed captured the SPEED Energy Stadium SUPER Trucks Presented by TRAXXAS race No. 2 at the Grand Prix of Long Beach Sunday. In an amazing duel with Robby Gordon, that had the thousands of fans that lined the 11 turn 1.968-mile street circuit, on their feet the entire race, in pure amazement on how thrilling these SST races truly are.

For ten consecutive laps, the two drivers absolutely stunned the crowd with the most impressive display of the cleanest SST racing you could ask for. They kept passing each other, back and forth, with side-by-side racing into the corners, bumping into each other’s rear bumpers, as they would slide around the corners, smoking their ultra though Toyo tires.

Immediately from the start Robby Gordon would jump out to an early lead on Lap-2 from his sixth starting position, as Sheldon Creed would navigate through the traffic jam with perfection to place his TRAXXAS truck right on the rear bumper of Gordon from twelfth. The only two SST Champions, in its four year history were prepared to put on a show for the capacity crowd that stuck around after the IndyCar event, to witness the high-flying, tire squealing chaos we call Stadium SUPER Trucks.

The two drivers were checked out from the field, having an absolute blast, when USAC officials waved the red flag at the start of the eleventh lap, when Pat O’Keefe violently rolled his truck over the front stretch TRAXXAS ramp into the catch fence. As safety crews checked on O’Keefe, the race was deemed complete with Creed the victor over Gordon.

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SST Grand Prix of Long Beach SPEED Energy Stadium SUPER Trucks by TRAXXAS Round 7 Results 1. Sheldon Creed; No. 1; Alpine, CA; TRAXXAS | 2. Robby Gordon; No. 7; Orange, CA; Arctic Cat/ SPEED Energy/ Toyo Tires / TRAXXAS | 3. Matt Brabham; No. 83; Gold Coast, Queensland, Aus.; United Fiber & Data/ LIVE/ Think Loud Development | 4. Erik Davis; No. 75; Burbank, CA; Always Evolving/ AERNow/ Replay XD | 5. Tyler McQuarrie; No. 6; Walnut Creek, CA; SafeCraft Safety Equipment/ GoPro/ Golden Gate Petroleum | 6. Dustin Scott; No. 20; Inver Grove Heights, MN.; SPEED Energy/ Toyo Tires/ Cobra Transportation Services/ Delacy Automotive/ Valley Motorsports | 7. Bill Hynes; No. 57; Nazareth, PA; United Fiber & Data/ LIVE/ Think Loud Development | 8. Khaled Al Mudhaf; No. 888; Kuwait City, Kuwait. G-Force Auto Worx/ Kuwait Combat Athletics | 9. Pat Oâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;Keefe; No. 14; Pleasant Hill , CA; SafeCraft Safety Equipment/ GoPro/ Golden Gate Petroleum | 10. Paul Morris; No. 67; Norwell, Queensland, Aus.; United Fiber & Data/ LIVE/ Think Loud Development | 11. Davey Hamilton; No. 30; Nampa, ID; Royal Purple Synthetic Oil l 12. Keegan Kincaid; No. 47; Crandon, WI; TRAXXAS

Story and photos provided by SPEED Energy Stadium SUPER Trucks Presented by TRAXXAS

Team Hammer enjoyed a spectacular opening to the 2016 MotoAmerica AMA/FIM North American Road Racing Championship season at the Circuit of The Americas in Austin, Texas, securing the 139th podium of its storied history. Adding to that excitement was the fact that it was taken by series newcomer Valentin Debise on the M4 SportbikeTrackGear.com Suzuki GSX-R600. Frenchman Debise instantly signaled his intent to be a serious player in this year's Supersport title fight by kicking off his MotoAmerica career with an impressive third-place result. The former Moto2, World Endurance, and World Supersport competitor clung onto the battle for the lead just long enough to stretch out a sizable gap over the fight for fourth. That early padding ultimately proved invaluable as Debise narrowly fought off a competitor's late attempt to steal away the spot. "My race went well," 23-year-old Debise said. "I knew the front two guys were really fast, and I tried

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to push hard and stay with them in the beginning. After they got away, I just focused on myself and my bike. I tried to manage the gap behind me and just post steady lap times." M4 SportbikeTrackGear.com Suzuki teammate Cameron Petersen also opened his '16 campaign in solid fashion, picking up a sixth-place finish. After qualifying one spot behind Debise in fourth, the South African was embroiled in a spirited battle for that same position for much of the contest. In the end, he missed out on a top-five finish by less than two tenths of a second, despite clocking an even faster lap time in the race than his qualifying time. Chris Ulrich, M4 Suzuki, COTA, MotoAmerica, Superbike Photo by Brian J. Nelson M4 MedAge Suzuki's Chris Ulrich registered a pair of points-paying finishes in this year's deep and talented combined Superstock/Superstock 1000 field.

M4 MedAge Suzuki's Chris Ulrich registered a pair of points-paying finishes in this year's deep and talented combined Superstock/Superstock 1000 field. Photo by Brian J. Nelson

Volume 1, Issue 2 | American Racing News | 25

Send your Track news to HometownRacingNews@usa.com

By Jenna Bree | Photos provided by the track

7.174 on his 7.12 dial and Randy went 7.856 on a 7.80 dial. Our Sportsman class saw Keith Walters and Greg Spore paired up against each other. Keith took the victory when Greg left the line early. Keith went 8.427 on his 8.31 dial and Greg turned in a breakout 8.197 on his 8.21 dial.

Congratulations to the first 2016 Bracket Winners Lyons Indiana - In Super Pro, Matt Roberts defeated Jim "Shorty" Rader running a 4.773 on his 4.77 dial. Shorty turned on the red by -.010 and coasted through with a 4.798 on his 4.65 dial In Pro, Eric Bowling and Randy Fidler put on a "dump fest" with Eric turning on the win light. Eric went

26 | American Racing News | Hometown

Jr.Dragsters matched up two past champions pairing Teagan Miller against Brianna Gottman. Brianna gets the win with a 7.940 on her 7.90 dial and Teagan breaks out trying to catch her with a 8.911 on a 8.92 dial. 20th Century Car Club racer Randy Fidler won the Drag class over Greg Spore. The Street class winner was Bill McCarty over Sonny Miller who broke in the water box. Great weekend of racing and we appreciate everyone who came out to run and to watch!

Hometown | American Racing News | 27

Send your Track news to HometownRacingNews@usa.com

Photos by Iwsycphotos | Tiffany Oâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;Neall

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Photos by Iwsycphotos | Tiffany Oâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;Neall

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Send your Track news to HometownRacingNews@usa.com

Lincoln

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by Barry Skelly & Allan Yeager Photography

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d n e e Th Barry Skelly & Allan Yeager Photography