NASCAR could take a PR hit with these lawsuits

The lawsuits filed on behalf of Sterling Marlin and Joe Nemecheck against Ginn Racing isn't good for NASCAR.

A report listed on Jayski not only lists what the lawsuit is for, but it completely outlines the structure of the respective contracts for the drivers. It lists annual salary (roughly $1 million for each), race winning percentages they were allowed to keep (45 percent), merchandise percentages (33 percent) and bonus schedules (including individual races and final points positions).

It's not a secret that Nextel Cup Series drivers are well-paid. But unlike other professional sports contracts, NASCAR contracts are kept hush-hush. For a sport aimed at blue-collar workers and middle-America families, flaunting multi-million dollar salaries around a courtroom is a lose-lose proposition in the court of public opinion.

If Marlin and Nemecheck are making more than $1 million annually, what does that say for top-flight drivers. Suddenly, multi-million dollar athletes are right here and NASCAR. Can anyone envision a scenario in which Jeff Gordon, Tony Stewart or Dale Earnhardt Jr. -- arguably the 3 most marketable drivers out there -- aren't making $5, $10 or even $15 million each season?

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Busch East Series driver Max Dumarey may be taking his lumps in his 1st season with the series (he's 19th in points) after coming over from Belgium, but he enjoyed the recent stretch of time off.

Driving a Porsche 997 with Max Goosens, Maxime Soulet and brother Guillaume Dumarey, Max was part of the team that won the 24 hours of Zolda in his home country last weekend.

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J.J. Yeley is pulling triple-duty at NHIS this weekend.

Not only is he in his usual No. 18 for Joe Gibbs Racing in the Cup Series, but he's also in a Whelen Modified Tour entry (he qualified 5th for the New Hampshire 100) and he's entered in the USAC Silver Crown 75-lap event here on Saturday.

Yeley joins JGR teammate Tony Stewart as the only drivers in history to win all 3 USAC titles in the same season -- Silver Crown, Sprint and Midget.

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Todd Szegedy won the pole for the New Hampshire 100 with a time of 29.725 seconds around the 1.058-mile oval. It was the 1st career pole at NHIS for the former series champion.

"I think driver error is why I wasn't here sooner," Szegedy said. "It was driver error, either getting into the corners too hard or getting out of the groove somewhere."

Ron Yuhas, Donnie Lia (who has 5 wins this season), Tony Hirschman and Yeley rounded out the top-5 qualifiers.

Well, we're back at the Magic Mile

Here's a pet peeve of mine.

You know how when you're on a major 2-lane highway and every once in a while there'll be one of those hills, and on said hill, they'll put in one of those "slower cars keep right" lanes? Yeah, those.

Why is it that the 18-wheelers won't just let the passenger cars by? I mean, that's the whole reason they have those lanes in the first place. Of my 2 hour, 45 minute trip over to Loudon, I must have spent 2 hours of it behind either the largest Budget Rental truck on the planet or a grandmother in a caravan going 30 mph in a 50 mph zone.

Oh, well. I made it.

*****

Some interesting Busch East Series notes to pass along.

Ryan Moore, who is the car chief for Erin Crocker at Gillette Evernham Motorsports, is entered in a family-owned car. He's one of 41 cars entered in tomorrow's Aubuchon Hardware 125 at New Hampshire International Speedway.

Brad Leighton, the winningest BES driver in history at NHIS, is also here. Though he has 8 wins on the Magic Mile, it's hard to believe he hasn't won here since this event in 2003. Only Ted Christopher has more NHIS wins, with 5 in a Busch car and 4 in a Modified.

Joey Logano leads Matt Kobyluck by 82 points atop the BES standings with 2 events remaining. Logano, a BES rookie driving for Joe Gibbs Racing, can clinch the series title tomorrow. If he wins and leads the most laps, Kobyluck must finish inside the top-5 to remain alive.

Essentially, Logano need only leave here with a 118-point cushion. Only 30 cars will start the season finale at Dover, Del., next week.

*****

This will come as no surprise to regular readers of the blog: J.J. Yeley was not the fastest driver in Thursday's Whelen Modified Tour practice.

Yeley, though, is entered in Saturday's New Hampshire 100 for the tour. He's in the No. 7ny car (a replica of the late Tom Baldwin's ride) prepared by Martin Truex Jr.'s DEI crew chief, Kevin "Bono" Manion. Yeley did turn a lap inside the top-12 in practice.

40 cars are entered in the New Hampshire 100.

Maybe New Hampshire's not as important as we're all led to believe

In 2004, the year Kurt Busch won the Nextel Cup, he did so by sweeping the season's races at New Hampshire International Speedway. That 2nd win vaulted him from 7th in the Chase seedings to a tie with Dale Earnhardt Jr., and he never looked back.

Last year, however, Jimmie Johnson wrecked in the Sylvania 300 at NHIS and finished 39th. He still showed he had plenty of time to rally back and win the Cup, the 1st of his career.

"I don't think you necessarily are going to lose, and lose the championship in the first race," said defending Sylvania 300 champion Kevin Harvick. "I think Jimmie's proven that. And last year, (Johnson proved) that you can make mistakes and still come back, but you have to be able to go out and win races."

Harvick didn't discount the Chase opener on Sunday in Loudon, N.H., however, saying teams need to pick up wins in the Chase wherever they can get them.

"You've got to win a couple races, I think, you know, to be where you need to be come (the final race at) Homestead," said Harvick, who is tied with 5 other drivers for the 6th seed in this year's Chase. "I think you guys all make too big a deal about what you're going to change. You're going to obviously look to pick the intensity level up just another notch just because that's what you do when you're racing for championships.

"You know, if you're playing sports and trying to win in the end of a game or whatever the case may be, the good teams and the good players always seem to pick it up a notch, and you have to do that."

"Mainely Motorsports" sold to Steve Perry

The local cable racing icon "Mainely Motorsports" was sold this week to PASS marketing director Steve Perry.

Perry purchased the television show and corresponding web site from John Crawford. Terms of the deal have not been disclosed.

"Mainely Motorsports" is shown weekly on local cable affiliates and is a wrap-up of the state's local racing action, including highlights from local short tracks, as well as driver interviews and on-site features from non-stock car racing pursuits. As Crawford once said, "If it's motorsports, we'll do it."

One of Perry's 1st orders of business is to make the show's Web site, http://www.mainelymotorsportstv.com/ a more user-friendly entity. Perry has already hired someone to redesign the site and incorporate more news and information. Previously, the site had only a show schedule and pages of links to sponsor sites.

Reportedly, Perry also wants to put less of an emphasis on race highlights and more of an emphasis on interviews and news from teams, tracks and series.

Crawford, who was nearly killed in an accident at Unity Raceway in April of 2006, while filming footage of a PASS Outlaw Late Model race at the track for "Mainely Motorsports," remains the director of marketing at Wiscasset Raceway.

Kvapil, Kyle and a possible Kup debut

It's not often that it all works out like this, so it's why I'm glad for Travis Kvapil.

Usually, when a driver is out of a ride in the Nextel Cup Series and opts for a Craftsman Truck Series slate the following season, he can kiss his Cup career goodbye faster than a Morgan Shepherd start-and-park. Ricky Craven tried it and hasn't landed in a Cup seat since, ditto for others like Ron Hornaday and Johnny Benson, who haven't found reliable Cup employment either.

But it's all working out nicely for Kvapil, and the he is also getting what he really wants -- a Cup ride and a chance to go racing. Kvapil will drive Yates Racing's No. 88 Fords in 2008. Not only that, but according to a report on Jayski today, he'll also get to run some Busch Series races, too.

Last year, when Kvapil was driving for Cal Wells, he said he wanted to run more than just a Cup schedule -- but sponsor Tide wouldn't allow for extra-curricular racing. Now, he's not only returning to Cup but he'll get to keep racing and keep improving, too. I say, good for him.

Kvapil is 3rd in the Truck standings and has won 3 of the last 8 races heading into Saturday's New Hampshire 200.

* Kyle Busch will pull double-duty this weekend. He's obviously entered in the Sylvania 300, but he's also going to drive the No. 51 truck in the New Hampshire 200.

* With the Indy Racing League season complete, Sam Hornish Jr. is concentrating on NASCAR. He'll attempt to make his Nextel Cup debut this weekend by qualifying for the Sylvania 300 -- 1 of 49 teams expected to be on hand. Though Penske isn't saying exactly which races Hornish will enter, they know that the 28-year-old former IRL champ won't run more than 7 events between now and the end of the season as he seeks to protect his rookie status for '08.

There are no concrete plans for Hornish next season.

Caisse gets Toyota truck ride

Sean Caisse, driver of the No. 44 for Andy Santerre Motorsports in the NASCAR Busch East Series, will make a hometown debut on Saturday.

Caisse, 21, from Pelham, N.H., will drive a Toyota Tundra for Germain Racing in the New Hampshire 200 Craftsman Truck Series event at New Hampshire International Speedway. Caisse has 3 BES wins this year, giving him a 2-year total of 7 wins with ASM.

"Working with Andy has been very good for me," Caisse said. "There's no better teacher or driving coach than Andy. Being a 4-time Busch (East) champion — he knows everyone and he's really been the one to help me get in contact with the right people."

Currently, Caisse is 3rd in the BES standings, behind Joey Logano and Matt Kobyluck. He is the most recent race winner, having won at Mansfield (Ohio) Motorsports Park.

Said-heads have a reason to head to NHIS

Time to grow the hair out, let the goatee come in and laugh at every joke there is.
The ridiculously likeable Boris Said will be at New Hampshire International Speedway this weekend. Gillett Evernham Motorsports announced that Said will drive the team's 4th entry in the Sylvania 300 -- the No. 98 Stanley Tools Dodge. Said has driven in 9 Busch Series events over the last 2 seasons with GEM.

Said will serve as a teammate to Kasey Kahne, Elliott Sadler and Scott Riggs. Of course, Said is not guaranteed a start in the Sylvania 300. He must qualify on time on Friday.

Said has not qualified for the last 2 events he entered -- at Watkins Glen and at Daytona, though he was on the provisional pole when rain washed out qualifying at Daytona in July.

3 heads are never better than 1

The scene on the frontstretch Saturday night bordered on comical, made more absurd for anyone with a radio turned to the frequency used by the track officials at Wiscasset Raceway.

Owner Doug White, right-hand man Johnny Crawford and starter Derek Mingo standing on the track, huddled up like a football team about to call a play. Alternately, each raised his arms, shook his head and pointed fingers. On the radio, one could be heard making one call regarding the NAPA Auto Parts 100 for the Pro Stock division while another made a different decision.

They hashed it out until they came to something that resembled a consensus. I think.

What Wiscasset Raceway needs is a race director. One person. One voice. One final decision. And that race director needs to be tucked away in a tower somewhere, out of view of the fans and teams up where he can see the entire track.

Even if the trio that policed the racing Saturday got things right, the fact remains that arguments over the air lead to a lot of interpretation from a lot of onlookers.

Matt Lee got the worst of it in the 100.

With 17 laps left, Lee and Chuck Colby got together in turn 3. Colby had been running 2nd on the restart, but the inside line was freight-training him as he tried to do everything he could to get in line somewhere and not fade to the tail end of the lead lap. As Lee ran up on him, the 2 cars made contact and Colby spun to bring out a caution.

White wanted Lee sent to the rear for rough driving. Crawford wanted Lee to keep his position. In the end, White's decision was the final one -- but the 2 officials arguing in front of everyone deals a serious blow to credibility. And certainly if Lee went looking for an explanation from someone after the race, he was going to know who was on his side and who wasn't. When Dave St. Clair owned the track, he dealt weekly with a perception of favoritism. If White, Crawford and Mingo are arguing about race calls, and racers know that they're lining up on opposite sides of the fence, eventually this regime will deal with similar accusations, too.

Later in the race, Crawford was screaming over the radio at the scorers in the tower, wanting to know where Colby and Johnny Clark were running in the order after they had each hit the pits and then ended up alongside lapped cars. Crawford raised his arms wildly and yelled loudly and aggressively over the radio for an answer.

When the lineup was determined, Crawford walked across the track in front of the flagstand and hollered out, "Thank you! And now I know I was right!"

Crawford may well have been right, but it's not appropriate for officials to behave in that manner. They are the face of the facility, the people fans and teams look to for some semblance of professionalism. Hey, people get heated and stress can rule at a race track -- but having the race director in a secluded spot where such conversations can be held privately (or at least out of view) saves face for the entire operation.

Right or wrong, a race track needs 1 race director. One voice. One face. One final say, from somewhere out of the way.

It's the only way.

Wow. That IS big news...

Doesn't this just say it all?

I mean, if it qualifies as "big news," that tells you all about J.J. Yeley's Nextel Cup Series career to this point, doesn't it?

Rules are rules, as Wiscasset competitors are quickly learning

Cassius Clark and Scott Chubbuck became the latest casualties of the new regime at Wiscasset Raceway.

Clark led every lap of the NAPA Auto Parts 100 on Saturday night at the track, but he failed post-race technical inspection. His No. 8 EJP Chevrolet carried too much left side weight. Cars are allowed 57 percent of their weight on the left side, and according to track PR guru Ken Minott, after several trips across the scales, Clark measured out at 57.1 percent on the left side.

Travis Benjamin was credited with the win. Johnny Clark was 2nd, and Scott Moore of Anson was bumped up to 3rd.

Chubbuck, who originally finished 3rd, was also disqualified for too much left side weight.

Though Pro Stocks were brought to the track less than 6 weeks ago, the new management team led by Doug White is showing that it is drawing hard lines in the sand at the tech shack. In addition to Clark and 5-time track champion Chubbuck, the teams of Jay Cushman and Bill Penfold have all been disqualified already at some point for weight infractions.

Though behing 0.1 percent over the allowed left side weight probably wouldn't have made a difference in Clark winning on Saturday night, the message is a clear and deliberate one.

A rule is a rule, and Wiscasset Raceway isn't going to allow any leeway. They're also showing that they're not going to play favorites -- something the previous ownership was accused of time and time again, either rightly or wrongly.

Taking high-profile local teams and chucking them out the door will send the message. Though unfair to fans in the stands who don't get to see a race decided on the track, Wiscasset Raceway is doing the right thing for all involved in the long run.

Cassius Clark leads every lap

Cassius Clark led every lap en route to winning the NAPA Auto Parts 100 on Saturday night at Wiscasset Raceway.

It was the first Pro Stock win of Clark's career at Wiscasset, and it also snapped a long drought that hadn't seen him win a race since taking a PASS North Series race in Halifax, Nova Scotia in June.

Surprisingly, Clark utilized the crate motor in his retro red-and-white Chevrolet to take advantage on a couple of late race restarts, when he was able to hold off 2nd-place finisher Travis Benjamin.

"I was a little surprised. When you can set your own pace, you can pick up the speed a little bit." Clark said. "I probably shouldn't tell anybody that, but it's kind of what you have to do with a crate motor. You get it revved up so you can shift in there. Everything worked out for us, and we're finally back in victory lane again."

Scott Chubbuck, Johnny Clark and Scott Moore rounded out the top-5. Just seven of 19 starters finished the race on the lead lap, and the top-4 were all PASS invaders with that series enjoying a weekend off.

Maurice Young sets new mark at Wiscasset

Maurice Young won't call himself the King of Wiscasset, but he no longer has an equal at the track.

By finishing 2nd in the 20-lap Strictly Street feature at Wiscasset Raceway on Saturday afternoon, Young clinched his 6th career championship at the track. Five of the titles are Strictly Street titles, and the other came in what is now the Late Model Sportsman class.

Young has a 70-point lead over Bobby Mesimer with one points race remaining. A driver can collect 10 points for winning a heat race and 50 for winning the feature, but Young still needs to at least start next weekend to be officially credited with the championship. Wiscasset uses a multiplier for its points, which multiplies the total number of feature starts a driver made by his or her point total.

Young had previously been tied with Scott Chubbuck of Brunswick with 5 titles. All of Chubbuck's came in a Pro Stock.

"I don't know," Young said about how he felt. "It will sink in, I'm sure, down the road, but I'm not tied with anyone anymore. I'm never going to say I'm the king, but obviously I'm alone on top."

It took Young 6 years to win his first championship, which came in 1999. He also won in 2000, 2001, 2003 and 2004 (LMS). His father, Bob Young, was a 6-cylinder champion at both Wiscasset and Unity Raceway.

"When I first started racing, I asked my dad how he ever won a championship," Young said. "It's a long process. Then I finally got the first one, and I learned how to do it.

"The points deal gets a lot of people wound right up. That first year, I'd sit in the lineup wanting to puke, gagging. It really gets to you."

Steve Pierpont won the race, with Zach Creamer finishing 3rd. Mike Moody and Mike Short rounded out the top-5. Mesimer ended up 8th.

How many divisions can you fit into a single race program?

Wiscasset Raceway could start a 24-hour race hotline, and chances are, whenever you chose to call, there would be cars racing on the track there.

Saturday afternoon's (and evening's) race program at Wiscasset called for a whopping 9 divisions of racing, heats included for all -- capped off by the NAPA Auto Parts 100 for the Pro Stock division. What's the over/under on the number of hours it's going to take to get this thing done? Six? Seven? Twelve?

Track announcer Ken Minott likes to joke that whenever I show up at Wiscasset, he knows he's not getting out of here before midnight. Might be true tonight, despite the afternoon start time...

*****

Just 19 cars showed up for the $3,000 to win NAPA Auto Parts 100 for the Pro Stocks. Cassius Clark and Bill Penfold will led the field to the green flag later tonight.

With the heat win, Penfold picked up 10 points toward the track's Pro Stock championship and is 4th behind Charlie Colby, Jeff Burgess and Scott Moore. The 3 leaders finished out of the points in the heats.

Clark, Johnny Clark, Travis Benjamin, Curtis Gerry, Derek Ramstrom and Gary Smith are among the PASS North Series regulars who are here.

*****

The $30 pit fee at the back gate met with some criticism.

"If they want to have Pro Stocks," said one support division member, "then they shouldn't make us pay for it."

It's a valid point. It may be a 100-lap event on the card, but it's still a regular, weekly race program. That ought to count for something.

*****

I'm sure he's glad to have the ice cream cake.

On a day with temps soaring off into the 90s, Wiscasset track photographer Peter Taylor was honored with the birthday cake and a card. Only problem? Taylor's driver's license says his birthday isn't until Sept. 29.

"Hey I just read what they tell me to read and say what they want me to say," Minott joked after making the presentation.

Hey, my birthday's in January. Can I get a case of cold beer over here?

5 days and counting...

Because I spend a ridiculous amount of time worrying about time (enough, probably, to label me as clinically insane), and because we all saw a Modified Tour race cut short in June by time constraints, thought I'd pass next weekend's Sylvania 300 weekend schedule along.

If we all thought the Saturday in the summer at New Hampshire International Speedway was busy, wait 'til you see this one. Couple of notes -- obviously, the addition of the USAC Silver Crown cars makes for a long day on Saturday, though arguably one of the best ticket values around with 3 races plus a couple of Cup Series practices. Also, gone are the days of local touring series practices on Saturday morning, as final Mod practice at the crack of dawn has been nixed to make room for the Silver Crown guys.

THURSDAY, Sept. 13:
11:15 a.m - Whelen Modified Tour practice (1 hour, 25 minutes)
12:50 p.m. - Busch East Series practice (1 hour, 30 minutes)
2:35 p.m. - Whelen Modified Tour practice (10 minutes)
2:50 p.m. - Whelen Modified Tour, qualifying for New Hampshire 100
4:15 p.m. - Busch East Series, qualifying for Aubuchon Hardware 125

FRIDAY, Sept. 14:
9:40 a.m. - Craftsman Truck Series practice (1 hour, 10 minutes)
11:20 a.m. - Craftsman Truck Series rookie practice (30 minutes)
12 noon - Nextel Cup Series practice (1 hour, 30 minutes)
1:45 p.m. - Craftsman Truck Series final practice (1 hour, 15 minutes)
3:10 p.m. - Nextel Cup Series, qualifying for Lenox 300
5:10 p.m. -- Busch East Series, Aubuchon Hardware 125

SATURDAY, Sept. 15:
8 a.m. - USAC Silver Crown practice and group qualifying (50 minutes)
9 a.m. - Nextel Cup Series practice (50 minutes)
10:05 a.m. - Craftsman Truck Series, qualifying for New Hampshire 200
11:30 a.m. - Nextel Cup Series final practice (1 hour)
1 p.m. - Whelen Modified Tour, New Hampshire 100 3 p.m. - Craftsman Truck Series, New Hampshire 200 5:45 p.m. - USAC Silver Crown, New Hampshire 75

SUNDAY, Sept. 16: 2 p.m. - Nextel Cup Series, Lenox 300

Guess what? I went to Unity Raceway and it didn't rain

Well, it didn't rain, but that doesn't mean some things won't change at Unity Raceway.

This just in: Nate Weston won a 75-lap Super Street race at the track he won the championship on a year ago.

The PASS Sportsman driver blistered the field, leading more than 2/3 of the Gary Mitchell Memorial on Friday night to beat out track regulars Brad Bellows and Mark Dodge. It was Weston's 2nd open win at Unity this year in 3 starts.

Though he won by nearly a 3-second margin, Weston said it wasn't quite as easy as it looked.

"I'm never going to say it's easy at Unity," Weston said, "but I was feeling pretty comfortable at the end."

About the only thing that could have slowed Weston was a late caution flag, but that never came. The last 54 laps went clean and green, and Bellows never got the chance he sought at re-starting on the outside of Weston's No. 47.

"Our cars were going the same speed," said Bellows, who had a 3-race winning streak snapped. "I would have liked a caution, maybe I could have gotten up to him and gotten him."

Weston said his car wasn't as fast on the inside.

"The outside lane was really getting me on the restarts," said Weston, who saw Mike Landry pass him twice in the outside groove coming to green flags. "With 5 to go, it could have been a whole different story. I definitely was not wanting to start underneath somebody."

Weston also said that he wasn't pushing the car as hard as he could have. He was wary of running too hard with a big lead and a new engine, after blowing up in a PASS Sportsman race at Canaan (N.H.) Fair Speedway last weekend.

"We were one of the fastest cars in practice at Canaan," Weston said. "Then we blew up, so I learned never to cash the check until the last lap, so to speak."

Just 13 cars started the main event, which was twice rained out and was named after a fan who was killed at the track in 1995.

In other feature racing, Dylan Lancaster of Skowhegan won the Mini Stock main event and Sam Whitmore won in the Wildcats.

ESPN: Continuing to bring racing coverage to new lows

After missing the end of the Busch Series race at Bristol a couple of weeks ago and bringing us such wonderful insight from Brad Daugherty as "it's the best 43 drivers in the world" during the Nextel Cup Series race the next night, who knew ESPN could sink much further.

Of course, this is ESPN, and with the 4-letter network, anything is once again possible.

On Friday morning, while standing in the garage stall of the famed No. 8 at Richmond International Raceway, pit reporter Jamie Little declared that practice was important, because what happened in practice might dictate what happens in Saturday night's race.

Wow. What happens in practice might have a bearing on the race? Really? No kidding?

It's a good thing Little was there to straighten it all out for us.

I'm thinking it's just a clever little way to fill some space during a 2-hour broadcast covering practice. Then Dr. Jerry Punch begins to pontificate with a little NASCAR Praise 101, straight from the sanctioning body's media relations clearing house.

Mark Martin is a man of his word, Punch tells us, because he told his family that he would only race a partial schedule in 2008, and doggone it, that's what he's going to do when he teams with Aric Almirola in the No. 8 Budweiser Chevrolets next year for Dale Earnhardt Inc.

I'm wondering, though, if Mark Martin is such a man of his word, what are we to believe about the end of the 2005 season -- when he said he was retiring to spend more time with his racing son Matt, sold a bunch of farewell tour merchandise to a drooling fan base and then abruptly changed his mind to help friend and owner Jack Roush.

He drove full-time for Roush in 2006 (adding a part-time Truck slate to the full-time Cup side), and then went out and ran a partial Cup series slate in 2007 for Ginn Racing/DEI. That leads one to wonder just how great the friendship between he and Roush was at the end of their partnership -- not only did he ditch Roush, but he ditched Ford and kept on racing in the process.

It's another example of NASCAR and ESPN doing whatever they can to paint a picture of these guys that may not always be accurate. Martin has every right to race as long as he wants to, and for as long as he can find gainful employment. Just don't try and sell me some story about how he's a stand-up guy for still racing after he said he was calling it quits.

He said he was going to, and he changed his mind -- but heaven forbid we look into that at all.

Oxford 250 champ still riding high

When in the midst of a championship hunt, sometimes the hardest thing for a race car driver to do is step back and look at the big picture. That's not necessarily the case for Roger Brown of Lancaster, N.H., the American-Canadian Tour driver who won the TD Banknorth 250 at Oxford Plains Speedway in July.

"In a sport where it's very hard to accomplish things that will stay with you forever, it still feels really good," Brown said.

Also, Wiscasset Raceway and Katie Hagar Enterprises team up for Make-A-Wish.

Read the complete story in today's Kennebec Journal.

Joe Gibbs Racing makes it official: Toyota

The worst kept secret in NASCAR was made official on Wednesday.

Joe Gibbs Racing, which will field cars in the Nextel Cup Series for Tony Stewart, Denny Hamlin and Kyle Busch in 2008, will field Toyota Camrys. The switch ends a 16-year relationship with Chevrolet for the 3-time championship organization.

For JGR, it was about taking a leadership role with a manufacturer instead of being just another team within a large group.

"I think we feel like Toyota has some good teams and in years to come will be very good. I think it will be a good partnership for us," said J.D. Gibbs, president of JGR. "I do think GM’s got 4 really strong teams. And I think obviously there are certain things we think we'd like to have a leadership role in. I think this gives us that leadership role."

Tony Stewart, who has won 2 Cup titles for JGR in Chevrolets and is aligned with Chevrolet as an owner in the World of Outlaws sprint car series, said he welcomes the change but does not expect it to affect his open-wheel efforts.

"I'm excited about it. We're in the middle of contract negotiations right now and working to extend my contract already, so I'm excited about this," said Stewart, who is currently 2nd in the Cup standings, one spot ahead of teammate Hamlin. "It's like J.D. said, it's a good opportunity for us to take a leadership role and have a little more input on what we can do here. But as far as my USAC and World of Outlaw teams, we're still going forward with Chevrolet on that side now. We made it work when I had Mopar and I was driving for Chevrolet on the Cup side. We've done it before. We can make it work again."

Rumors had been flying for weeks that JGR was going to make the switch to Toyota, and the newest addition to the team, Busch, all but confirmed it during the race weekend at California last week.

JGR joins Target Chip Ganassi Racing, Bill Davis Racing, Michael Waltrip Racing and Team Red Bull as Toyota-affiliated teams in the Cup Series. JGR also intends to run Toyotas in Busch Series competition.

"Our plan has always been that as we entered NASCAR Cup series, that we would grow," said Jim Aust, president and CEO of Toyota Racing Development. "The opportunity is one of the things that you don't know when that's going to come available to you. So the plan is that as we entered, we entered with new teams, with the addition of Bill Davis and Bill bringing the experience that he had.

"But certainly there is a lot of skill, a lot of experience, many years of championships here (at JGR) that I think are going to help Toyota in the long run, and I think you'll see the benefit of that next year."

It's one way for Yeley to make the Hall of Fame

Add J.J. Yeley to the list of Nextel Cup Series drivers who have no idea just where they fit in the sport.

On Tuesday, Yeley announced that he is joining Hall of Fame Racing in 2008 to take over the No. 96 machines currently driven by Tony Raines. With the earlier announcement that Joe Gibbs Racing has hired Kyle Busch to drive the No. 18 in the Cup Series, it left Yeley looking for a ride.

Yeley claimed to have a long list of suitors for his services, which comes as something of a surprise considering the so very little he's done to distinguish himself with the championship-caliber Gibbs folks.

"This may come as a surprise to some people that I've chosen to come here, but with all the options I had, I felt this was going to be the best for myself," Yeley said in an Associated Press story by Jenna Fryer.

That's NASCAR-speak for "nobody wanted me to drive for an established team, so I took an up and coming team that could get me on the cheap."

Within the last several weeks, guys like Sterling Marlin and Jeremy Mayfield have been bounced from Cup rides but insisted that they'd only entertain competitive offers. Given how little Marlin has done in the last decade and the smoke shows Mayfield has left behind at virtually every organization he's been with, they can both be grouped in with Yeley as guys who just don't get "it."

Yeley has just 1 top-5 finish in 67 career Cup Series starts and only 4 top-10s with an average finishing position of 25th.

If you can't run competitively at JGR -- which, by the way, will have its 2 other drivers in Tony Stewart and Denny Hamlin in the Chase this fall, and won 2 Cup titles with Stewart and another with Bobby Labonte when he was driving the No. 18 -- it has to make you wonder if you can run competitively anywhere.

The real shame in Yeley's signing with HOF is that Tony Raines is out of the seat.

Raines has always done the best he could in underfunded equipment at every stop, and he's taken it on the chin for 2 years now to get HOF up and running, even when they replaced him at the start of 2006 so Terry Labonte could get the new team in the first several races of that season.

But, again, it just goes to show that you don't have to be very good at what you do -- or any good at all, really -- as long as you have a resume in hand, a pretty face and plenty of marketing potential.

NASCAR still hasn't recovered from losing No. 3

It ends with the late Dale Earnhardt asking, "Are there really any heroes?"

Not anymore.

So much of CMT's documentary, "Dale," is well put together -- wrapping 2 of Earnhardt's passions around the entire film. On one hand it's his obsession with the Daytona 500, the race it took him 20 times to win. On the other, it's his farm and his fishing pond.

But more than anything about Earnhardt's stunning and interesting life and racing career -- and there is so much about it that draws emotions from family, friends and fans -- it's something that NASCAR president Mike Helton says that truly speaks to Earnhardt and everything he meant to stock-car racing.

Helton says that, in Earnhardt's 2001 death, NASCAR was faced with its biggest obstacle in

trying to move forward.

It's an obstacle that NASCAR never cleared.

Even after 6 years, NASCAR still hasn't found its own identity. Think about it. The racing is more boring, the racers are more vanilla and the television coverage is more unbearable than it ever was before.

Earnhardt would have scoffed at the idea of points racing, the philosophy that dominates every single Nextel Cup race.

"It pays more to win."

Earnhardt didn't make friends, didn't care about anything other than competitors, didn't care about the toeing the party line.

He was "The Intimidator."

Earnhardt didn't need floating graphics, color-coded field rundowns or in-car cameras and split-screens.

He was the show.

If Tony Stewart drops an "S"-bomb in victory lane, we're awash it talk about fines and points penalties. If Matt Kenseth gives Jeff Gordon a little bump-and-run at Bristol, we're squaring off on pit road. If Kevin Harvick and Juan Pablo Montoya aren't getting along, we've got nothing but satellite radio soundbites.

Gone are the days where a guy like Earnhardt would just take care of all of that stuff himself -- right out there on the track, his own Car No. 3 police force.

"Dale" doesn't make me like or dislike Earnhardt any more or less than I did before. I appreciate some of the difficult decisions he had to make, but there's not a whole lot of new ground that's broken. It's more like a good family photo album -- plenty of memories but not a lot of ol' Uncle Earl downing a fifth of Jim Beam in the basement out of everyone's eyesight.

Given that the documentary had both NASCAR's and Teresa Earnhardt's blessing, that was obvious going in.

But, again, what's more obvious than ever is that NASCAR has never been able to replicate what Earnhardt gave the sport. It never will.

Trip to Thunder Road doesn't disappoint

When your job takes you from race track to race track to race track, one right after the other, day after day each weekend, they all begin to blend. One is like the other -- crowded pit areas, dusty parking lots, bad food, too many divisions, too many inept wreckers, too much of the same thing over and over.

And then you walk over the top of the hill, and immediately Thunder Road Speedbowl in Barre, Vt., sets itself apart.

Certainly, all the elements are there.

The track itself is as unique as they come, a high-banked 1/4-mile that holds fast cars like they're running the spin cycle inside a washing machine. The views, of course, are amazing -- from the hillside grandstands the views of the racing are second-to-none, as are the views of the mountains all around Barre. The food is above-average track fare (though, in full disclosure, ever since my writing cohort Shawn Courchesne contracted food poisoning from a cheeseburger at the Waterford Speedbowl a few years back, I pass on concession stands), the people have a generally positive disposition and the racers race by rules they know all too well.

For most of Sunday, I was at a loss for words.

"Wow, a writer who's left speechless," said Thunder Road announcer Troy Germain. "That's saying something."

Indeed, it was.

How popular is racing at Thunder Road? In the support Tiger Sportsman division, more than 40 cars show up every week for one of fewer than 30 starting spots in the feature. According to Germain, nobody -- NOBODY -- has qualified for every feature this season. That they keep coming back says plenty, given the racer's penchant for hunting out greener (and less competitive) pastures.

But is as unique a place for racers as it is for fans?

"It's worse," Ben Rowe said after finishing 5th in the ACT Bond Auto Labor Day Classic 200. "This is a tough place."

The front gate admission is less than 10 bucks, fans can bring their own cans of beer and the program moves swiftly and energetically. No wonder the place is jammed -- for weekly Thursday night shows.

There are things about Thunder Road that I, personally, could do without. I don't need a hokey nickname for every driver ("Irish" John Donahue, winner of the 200, for example, is no more Irish than the spark plugs in my Subaru Forester), and some of the pomp and circumstance for a race a the local speedway is over the top. Of course, I'm wearing a media hat most days and not my fan tuk, and I don't want pomp and circumstance, I want to make deadline.

I'm aware that I'm not most people, that that kind of pomp and circumstance gives it all an "event" feel and keeps people coming back for more.

But if my biggest gripe is a bunch of nicknames, then there's not a whole heck of a lot wrong. I only wish it wasn't a 4-hour drive for me to the track, that more people could get there more easily. Then again, wouldn't it lose its charm, the way most things do, if it was so easily accessible?

Clark gets big payday north of the border

One car seems to be getting the job done for Johnny Clark Motorsports.

2-time PASS North Series champion Johnny Clark won the Peterbilt 250 at New Brunswick International Speedway on Sunday night. One of 7 different leaders in the event, Clark came from an 18th starting spot on the grid to collect a guaranteed share of $15,000 (Canadian), plus lap leader bonus money.

Clark, who has been down to 1 completed race car in his shop for the last month and a half after a rash of crashes in the month of July, beat out fellow PASS North driver Travis Benjamin for the victory.

*****

Peterbilt 250

Unofficial top-5

1. Johnny Clark; 2. Travis Benjamin; 3. John Flemming; 4. Lonnie Somerville; 5. Justin Labonte.

John Donahue wins at Thunder Road

For once, John Donahue didn't have to drive more than 3 hours to win a Late Model race.

The Graniteville, Vt., driver dominated the Bond Auto Labor Day Classic 200 at Thunder Road Speedbowl, taking the lead from Scott Payea in lapped traffic prior to the halfway point and never relinquishing it en route to the 1st American-Canadian Tour win of his career.

Randy Potter of Groveton, N.H., rallied from a 2-tire pit stop to finish 2nd, with multi-time ACT champion Jean-Paul Cyr 3rd. Brent Dragon and Ben Rowe rounded out the top-5.

Previously this season, Donahue, who competes weekly in Thunder Road's Late Model division, won a 100-lap open at Oxford Plains Speedway. Oxford once served as a 2nd home for Donahue's racing efforts -- he would drive more than 6 1/2 hours, round trip, to compete in a Strictly Stock owned by a relative.

"I live about 4 minutes down the street," Donahue said of Thunder Road. "But I'd (travel to Oxford) again, too, to race. I just like going around in circles. You know, drive 4 hours to drive a 20-lap race and then drive 4 hours back."

Donahue started 3rd, and he followed the pole-sitter Payea into heavy lapped traffic as the race was slowed only once in the first 100 laps by caution. On lap 94, with Payea waiting for lapped cars to sort themselves out in front of him, Donahue pounced on the chance and took the lead.

Donahue also started 3rd the day he won for the 1st time this season -- winning the L/A Harley-Davidson at Oxford on June 10.

"It worked out good that day, too. (The season) started out good and now it's ended good here. Perfect," Donahue said. "It's the same car, too. It's not the one I run here every week, it's the tour car. I probably should have run it here every week this summer.

"It is important to start up front. I started up front at Oxford and it made it easier that day, too. You don't have to beat on your equipment trying to get up through. It is important -- and I'm just learning this."

*****

ACT Bond Auto Labor Day Classic 200

Unofficial results

1. John Donahue, Graniteville, Vt.; 2. Randy Potter, Groveton, N.H.; 3. Jean-Paul Cyr, Milton, Vt.; 4. Brent Dragon, Milton, Vt.; 5. Ben Rowe, Turner, Maine; 6. Brad Leighton, Center Conway, N.H.; 7. Scott Payea, Milton, Vt.; 8. Jamie Fisher, Shelburne, Vt.; 9. David Avery, North Woodstock, N.H.; 10. Eddie MacDonald, Rowley, Mass.

For Adams, it's a team sport

There has to be something to the way Travis Adams views a track championship, something that has been the key to him winning 3 of the last 5 Late Model championships at Oxford Plains Speedway.

After finishing 4th in the 1st of 2 40-lap features for the division on Saturday night, Adams was a little disappointed at not winning the feature won by his closest competition -- Ricky Rolfe. In fact, for him it's all about winning races, something he did 6 times in 15 starts en route to the championship.

"You asked about big pictures, but I'm a racer," Adams said. "Racers come for the wins. It seems as though the crew comes for championships."

Giving all the credit to his crew is a trait that can't be overlooked. In fact, in a world where race car drivers are increasingly self-absorbed and egotistical by nature, Adams was happy to give all of the championship "glow" to his team.

Even Rolfe, who finished 2nd to Carey Martin in the nightcap and lost the title race by 28 points in Oxford's 1st season with the Late Models as the headlining division, was happy for Adams.
In fact, he was happy either way, even after Adams finished 3rd in that race to lock up the crown.

"I'm satisfied if I win or if Travis wins," said Rolfe, who works full-time at Race Basics building race cars. "I built both the chassis.

"We did everything we could do," Rolfe said. "(Adams) deserved to win the championship. He had the best year of anyone down here in all the divisions."

The Strictly Stock fight, Tommy Tompkins of Mexico was crowned the champion after finishing 4th, two spots ahead of Sumner Sessions, in the 2nd of 2 30-lap features.

*****

Unofficial results

Mini Stock feature (30 laps) -- 1. Don Mooney, New Gloucester; 2. Bill Irving, New Gloucester; 3. Jim Childs, Leeds; 4. Bill Thibeault, Oxford; 5. Kevin Bishop, Oxford.

Strictly Stock feature (30 laps) -- 1. Skip Tripp, Sabattus; 2. Mike Short, Auburn; 3. Matt Williams, Brownfield; 4. Tommy Tompkins, Mexico; 5. Rick Thompson, Naples.

Late Model feature (40 laps) -- 1. Carey Martin, Denmark; 2. Ricky Rolfe, Albany Township; 3. Travis Adams, Canton; 4. Shane Green, ; 5. Brad Hammond, Sabattus.

Rolfe wins; long shot for title

Either way, Ricky Rolfe figures he's a winner.

Rolfe won the 1st of 2 40-lap Late Model features at Oxford Plains Speedway on Saturday, cutting Travis Adams' lead atop the division to 30 points with a single race remaining. Rolfe figured it was much too late to catch the 2-time division champion Adams, but he's happy either way with the 1-2 finish.

"I'm satisfied if I win or if Travis wins," said Rolfe, who works full-time at Race Basics. "I built both the chassis."

Rolfe's win was his 3rd of the season, but Adams finished 4th behind him.

"I really need him to have a bad night," Rolfe said. "I don't wish bad luck on nobody, but that's what it's going to take for me to beat him. He's just been way too fast, way too good."

Earlier in the night, Tommy Tompkins stretched his lead in the Strictly Stock standings to 8 points by finishing 2nd in a 30-lap main won by Rick Thompson. Tompkins and 2nd-place Sumner Sessions have another 30-lapper later this evening to settle the championship fight.

*****

Unofficial results

Mini Stock feature (30 laps, from Aug. 26) -- 1. Bill Childs, Leeds; 2. Bill Thibeault, Oxford; 3. Don Mooney, New Gloucester; 4. Shane Kaherl, Jay; 5. Kevin Bishop, Oxford.

Strictly Stock feature (30 laps, from Aug. 26) -- 1. Rick Thompson, Naples; 2. Tommy Tompkins, Mexico; 3. Matt Williams, Brownfield; 4. Skip Tripp, Sabattus; 5. Sumner Sessions, Norway.

Late Model Stock feature (40 laps, from Aug. 26) -- 1. Ricky Rolfe, Albany Township; 2. Mark Childs Sr., Mechanic Falls; 3. Shawn Martin, Turner; 4. Travis Adams, Canton; 5. Dave MacDonald, New Gloucester.

Childs becomes 1st Oxford champ of '07

Jim Childs sure made short work of Saturday night.

The Oxford Plains Speedway driver needed less than 15 minutes to claim the first championship of the Oxford Championship Series' 2007 season. Childs won the 1st of 2 Mini Stock features Saturday night (the final 22 laps of a 30-lap race originally scheduled for last Saturday) to earn his 2nd straight Mini Crown.

The victory was Childs' 6th this season and 28th of his career, and it made him the 1st repeat Mini champion at Oxford since Harold Beisaw won 3 straight from 1974-76.

Childs entered the night with a 112-point lead over rookie Bill Irving and needed only to show up for the rain-delayed event to win. He added to the drama by winning.

Putting Late Models to the holiday weekend test

Call it a "Late Model Immersion" weekend for me.

We're kicking it off at Oxford Plains Speedway, where 26 Late Models are on hand for championship night at the track. There are a pair of 40-lap features to run, and it's Travis Adams who has the chance to take home the hardware. Ricky Rolfe is second, 36 points behind.

Tomorrow, I'm heading off for Thunder Road in Vermont, one of those racing places I've never been to but that you're supposed to go to if you're any kind of auto racing writer worth your salt. I'm not sure that I'm worth my salt -- or what that term even means -- but it's a holiday weekend and the idea of a Nextel Cup race at California on television makes my eyes glaze over and the drool start pooling at the corners of my mouth.

They say if you want to see the ACT tour at its very best, then Thunder Road is the place to do it. So, I'm game.

Landry takes his act on the road

Even after winning a championship at Beech Ridge Motor Speedway last season, not much has changed for Mike Landry.

Landry, the 2006 Sport Series champion at The Ridge, still enjoys competing both at the track and in open shows around New England.

Read the complete story in today's Kennebec Journal.

Adams can become a track champion

Travis Adams is a 2-time Late Model champion at Oxford Plains Speedway, but he has an opportunity on Saturday night to truly call himself a track champion for the 1st time.

Saturday is Oxford's final points night of the season. It marks the end to the 1st year at the track with the Late Model division as its headliner. That ought to be all the motivation Adams needs to hold onto his 36-point lead over Ricky Rolfe this weekend, and he'll have to survive 2 40-lap features to do it.

The term "track champion" gets thrown around quite a bit, and we in the media are as guilty as anyone. We refer to drivers all the time as "track champions" in stories -- whether it's a Pro Stock division at Wiscasset Raceway or a Mini Stock at Thompson (Conn.) International Speedway. In many ways, we've all lost sight of what a track champion really is.

For the record, a true track champion is the season's champion in its premier division -- whatever division the track claims as its top one. At Oxford, it's the Late Models. At Thompson, it's the SK Modifieds. At Unity Raceway, it's the Super Streets.

Maurice Young is a 5-time champion at Wiscasset and he's looking to claim his track-record 6th title in just a few short weeks. But Young is not about to be crowned a 6-time track champion -- only 1 of his titles came in what was considered Wiscasset's top circuit.

This year's title will be No. 5 in a Strictly Street. That's not to say what he's done isn't amazing and worthy of an immense amount of respect, because it is. It's just that it's an important distinction to make. There are championships at a track, and then there are track championships.

There are regular season division winners in Major League Baseball, and there are World Series champions.

On Saturday, if Travis Adams stays within 18 total positions of Ricky Rolfe in the 2 features (not including the 1 qualifying heat he'll run), he'll have 3 Late Model titles on his resume. But Adams will be a track champion for the 1st time, after winning his 1st 2 titles when Oxford ran Pro Stocks as its premier division.

Yeah, Adams has been here before. But, in a sense, he's never been in this position at all.

Doing it F1 style

How's that old saying go? You can take the man out of Formula 1, but you can't take the Formula 1 out of the man?

First, Juan Pablo Montoya comes along and makes the move from F1 to NASCAR. Now, it Jacques Villeneuve is making the jump, racing Craftsman Trucks for Bill Davis Racing this fall before likely hopping into the Cup ride being vacated by Jeremy Mayfield in 2008.

But it's not enough for an F1 driver to make the switch and throw a little praise in NASCAR's direction. Nope. Villeneuve's got to toss a few barbs at Montoya in the process.

Montoya's transition into the NASCAR garage hasn't been all that smooth on or off the track, and Villeneuve is among the first to say it's to be expected.

"Apparently, no matter what you're driving, nobody likes the new boy," Villeneuve said. "Anytime anybody (new) got into F1, we didn't like it and we made their life hard."

But Villeneuve didn't stop there with that general assessment.

"But [Montoya] was like that in Formula 1, extremely aggressive and got on people's nerves," Villeneuve said. "I guess he kept the same personality going into NASCAR, which once he settles in, it will be all right. He's driving hard, he's fast, and he's making a name for himself. Now he's earning respect, so that's fine. But I've never been as aggressive as him, I would say."

Unfortunately for New England racing fans, Villeneuve's Craftsman Truck debut is slated for Sept. 22 at Las Vegas — one week after the 200-lap Truck event at New Hampshire International Speedway.

Dearborn has his day at Speedway 95

With the 2 cars that dominated the event gone from contention in the final laps, Richie Dearborn leapt at his opportunity.

Dearborn muscled the lead from rookie Trevor Sanborn with 6 laps remaining on Sunday, and the Hollis driver picked up his 3rd career PASS North Series victory in the PASS 150 at Speedway 95.

Read the complete story in today's Kennebec Journal.

Must have been humidity

Bobby Clark, the brother and crew chief of PASS North Series driver Johnny Clark, sent the message loud and clear.

In front of the media assembled around Richie Dearborn, winner of the PASS 150 at Speedway 95 on Sunday, Bobby voiced his displeasure regarding some contact between Dearborn and his brother on the track. Bobby screamed while he pointed at Dearborn, letting him know that all that stood between Dearborn and retaliation was a flat tire on the Clarks' No. 54.

It was that kind of a day. Hours earlier I'd been telling Cassius Clark about how everybody in the PASS ranks genuinely seem to get along and, for the most part, to enjoy competing against one another.

And then Dearborn and Clark were tossing verbal jabs at one another.

"There's no need for him racing people like he did. That was ridiculous," Clark said of Dearborn, who took the race lead from him on a lap 118 restart after contact in turn 1. "He doesn't need to run people off the race track. He slammed into me going into turn one and ran me off the race track. It about wrecked the whole field."

"(Johnny's) hit me a ton of times, too," Dearborn said. "Johnny gets a little hot-headed -- we all do. ... I'm one of the cleanest drivers out here, and these guys don't like it now that I'm giving a little back to them."

Enter Bobby Clark, stage right.

"You're lucky we had a flat tire, Richie," Bobby yelled. "The 2nd time you drove the 29 straight
up the track, we'd have been right there to do the same thing right back to you. You're lucky we had a (expletive) flat tire, buddy."

"Sure," Dearborn deadpanned. "Perfect."

Then Jay Cushman and former driver Scott Chubbuck were sparring, too. Cushman's rookie driver Trevor Sanborn finished 2nd with Chubbuck 3rd.

"(Cushman) don't remember there's people listening (on the radio)," Chubbuck said. "He's telling (Sanborn) to run everybody wide and do this and do that, but nothing changes. He used to do the same thing when I was in the car."

Cushman said Chubbuck's driving forced him to warn Sanborn.

"He cut across 2 lanes in front of us, and there was enough space to drive a truck through," Cushman said.

The 2 drivers one most expected to be upset with each other -- Dearborn and Sanborn, who each made a pass on the other (with contact) for the lead on late-race restarts -- were the most cordial.

"With 10 laps to go or whatever, you've got to expect that," said Dearborn, who made contact with Sanborn on lap 144 while taking the lead en route to the win "Really, it could have been a lot worse. It's bad enough I lost the lead, but luckily we had that caution with six or seven (laps) to go to regain it."

Sanborn agreed the contact was well within the boundaries.

"It was a handful, that's for sure. That was good racing," said Sanborn, who tagged Dearborn 4 laps earlier while earning the lead. "I got run up a little bit, but I used my surface in the same area he did. That's racing. I ain't crying about what he did, and I hope he doesn't cry about what I did."

Just another day of PASS racing at the tight and tricky Speedway 95.

Welcome to Speedway 95! Now, please hurry home...

And you wonder why local stock-car racing doesn't get more media attention...

Aside from PR man and track announcer Bill DaButler, who not only does a professional job but always does it with a smile on his face, the reception at Speedway 95 on Sunday was chilly at best.

Here's how it went down:

After the PASS Modified and North Series heats, I hitched up the press box phone line to the back of the laptop to update the blog. I was on-line for all of 5 minutes, after which I unplugged the line. I was then asked by the track's head scorer if I had been using the phone line. When I answered that, indeed, I had, I was met with a resounding, "Oh."

"I'm sorry," I said, "I hope it wasn't a problem."

"No, it's not now," I was told with a roll of the eyes.

Less than 5 minutes later, while putting some notes down on paper, the same scorer tapped me on the shoulder.

"That's one of our scorers' seats," she said, followed by nothing else, as if it needed no explanation. She just glared at me until I moved.

So, I moved my belongings and headed back out to the pit area.

As if that weren't bad enough, when the races were over, I was alone in the press box working on my story for Monday's Kennebec Journal and Morning Sentinel. The phone lines had been removed, and there was no one around to help. No phone lines means no e-mail access for those of us jurassics with dial-up, and that means either missing deadline or not getting a story into Monday's papers altogether.

That would go over big with everyone -- me, my editors, my bosses, the race teams and the readers and fans.

There were also no local results, and the only PASS results were the ones DaButler let me jot down off his one and only copy.

Thanks to the help of a gas station attendant down the road, I sent the story from a back room at a convenience store -- a story about a regional touring series with a solid fan following at a track that hosted 2 racing events this weekend. Not exactly how you'd like to drum it up.

I bet the PASS folks would love to know that the track hosting its event nearly thwarted any efforts to get the news out about the race there.

See, I'm a roll with the punches kind of reporter. I've been covering local racing for a decade now, and I know more or less what to expect in short-track press boxes -- sometimes you'll have space to work, sometimes you won't quite have enough, but at the very least there will be a phone line. And I'm OK with that.

I know I'll be back to the race track again next weekend, and likely back to Speedway 95 before the season's over. It's my beat, and it's a beat I enjoy covering a great deal. But the fact remains that such a media-unfriendly environment like the one provided by Speedway 95 on Sunday would turn off many a reporter, particularly those who could give 2 cents about auto racing at any level.

There are people on the sports staffs at the 2 papers I work for who would never return to cover a race after an experience like mine -- some who would have left before the races were even half-over, complaining of no place to work. And it's not just our papers, it's other papers that I've worked at and dozens more. If people don't want to cover racing, it won't get covered -- that's the bottom line.

Short-track racing doesn't suffer from a lack of media coverage. It's the short tracks that suffer from a lack of understanding regarding how to deal with the local media. Get the results to the reporters, give them a place to sit and plug into an outlet and give them access to a phone line.

Do that with consistency, and you'll have your media coverage.

Dearborn collects 3rd career PASS win

Never having done much of anything at Speedway 95, it was the last place PASS North Series driver Richie Dearborn expected to find victory lane.

The Hollis driver survived some contentious elbow-to-elbow racing to win the PASS 150 on Sunday afternoon, his 1st career top-3 at the .333-mile facility. Previously, Dearborn owns series wins at Lee (N.H.) USA Speedway and White Mountain Motorsports Park.

"This is the last spot I ever thought I'd win at," said Dearborn, who started on the pole in the 21-car field. "To get my 1st top-3 here and have it be a win is just amazing."

Dearborn first butted heads with Johnny Clark to take the lead on a lap 118 and then swapped the lead with Trevor Sanborn after 2 late-race restarts. Clark suffered a flat right front tire later on and ended up 13th.

"With 10 to go, you've got to expect a little bit of that," Dearborn said.

Unofficial Top-10 Finish:
1. Richie Dearborn, Hollis
2. Trevor Sanborn, Parsonsfield
3. Scott Chubbuck, Brunswick
4. Ben Rowe, Turner
5. Travis Benjamin, Morrill
6. Paul White, Corinna
7. Derek Ramstrom, West Boylston, Mass.
8. Mark Thomas, Hermon
9. Curtis Gerry, Waterboro
10. Ryan Deane, Winterport

Norris wins PASS Mod feature

It all went downhill for Gary Norris Jr. last weekend the moment he hit the road for Riverside Speedway in Groveton, N.H.

The 1st half of a PASS Modified doubleheader weekend ended with a broken axle, a problem compounded by mechanical troubles in Norris' street truck once the them hit the road for its West Gardiner home. Two days later at Wiscasset Raceway, Norris was caught up in an accident and done in with broken suspension parts in the front of the car.

"It was a tough, tough weekend," Norris said after winning Sunday's PASS Modified 40-lap feature at Speedway 95 in Hermon. "We took a big hit in the points and a big hit in the checkbook. This will help the checkbook get flowing again."

Norris started 6th in the 13-car field and was comfortably riding in 3rd by the halfway point of the event. A restart on lap 30 gave Norris the shot he needed, and he uncharacteristically used the bottom groove to launch past leaders Troy Morse and Richie Morse.

Norris then survived a restart with 7 laps remaining, holding off points leader Chris Staples. Norris dropped from 3rd to 8th in the series standings after his 2 DNFs last week, though the top 10 in the standings are separated by fewer than 100 points.

"I just drove it in as deep as I could, really deep," said Norris, who has 3 Modified wins this season, including a season sweep at Speedway 95. "I just hoped it would stick. If it didn't, it didn't."

Staples finished 2nd, with Troy Morse 3rd and Richie Morse 4th. Marc Lucas, Staples' teammate, rounded out the top-5.

Sunday afternoon = PASS North Series date

It's just another sleepy racing Sunday afternoon here on the PASS North Series tour.

The PASS guys just wrapped up their heats at Speedway 95 in advance of their 150-lap main event later on today. Richie Dearborn, Mike Rowe and Scott Chubbuck won their respective 12-lap heats.

There are 21 cars signed in and ready to go, an unsurprising drop-off following a 30-car field last weekend at Wiscasset Raceway. Like at Wiscasset, today's field picked up a few of the track's weekly regulars, though one would think a Sunday afternoon would draw a few more cars out of the woodwork. Maybe everyone's summer racing budget is kaput.

Maybe it's because bear hunting season starts this week...

*****

PASS car owner Jay Cushman, who fields the No. 29 Fords for rookie Trevor Sanborn, made it back from Bristol, Tenn., in time for last night's regularly scheduled Pro Stock feature at Speedway 95.

The lady in Cushman's life won a trip through Citibank to the the guest crew chief for the No. 90 of Stephen Leicht in Friday's Busch Series race at Bristol. Because Cushman is a Ford man, tried and true, he already knew a bunch of the guys on the Robert Yates Racing Busch team.

How'd that go?

"Just like my own guys," Cushman said. "I had a whole list of changes I wanted them to make to the car, and nobody listened to me."

Leicht finished 20th in the Food City 250.

Cushman had some bad luck in the Speedway 95 race, opting to pit Sanborn under a yellow flag. Rain then came and the race was red-flagged and never restarted.

"We finished last," Cushman said. "Don't pit during a red. No matter how good the changes you make to the car, you can't win under red."

Good point. I'll have to remember that.

*****

Two PASS drivers are looking for an improved showing over their efforts at Speedway 95 in May.

Cassius Clark nearly had the field lapped in that event, but he was tagged for an illegal rocker arm and stripped of his win later that week. Mike Rowe crashed not once, but twice, in practice with faulty brakes and ended finishing a somewhat miraculous 11th in the feature.

Clark was 2nd fastest in all 3 of the practices he participated in this morning.

"We're the only car with a crate motor going well," Clark said. "You're not going to be the fastest with one of those."

But Clark was consistently turning laps in the 14.7- and 14.8-second bracket on the odd .333-mile layout where the outside groove is by far the most preferred.

*****

There are just 3 races left in the PASS North season after today.

Heading into the PASS 150 here, Ben Rowe leads his father, Mike Rowe, by 12 points. It's a little further back to defending series champion Johnny Clark, who is 49 points out of the lead and in need of some big-time help from the Rowes (read: misfortune) to win his 3rd series title and equal Ben's championship total.

Richie Dearborn and Trevor Sanborn are 54 and 122 points back, respectively.

ASM has big day at Mansfield

Andy Santerre Motorsports had itself quite a night on Saturday.

Sean Caisse won the NASCAR Busch East Series Mansfield 150 at Mansfield (Ohio) Motorsports Park, with rookie teammate Jeffrey Earnhardt finishing 5th.

Caisse won the pole for the inaugural Mansfield event, and then led 136 laps in holding off Matt Kobyluck for the victory. Joey Logano was 3rd, and veteran Jerry Marquis was 4th.

Logano retained his series points lead.

Hard as it is to believe, the next event for the BES is the Aubuchon Hardware 125 at New Hampshire International Speedway on Friday, Sept. 14.