Wishing you all the best this Memorial Day Weekend!
As a reminder, this is the first of this summer's eight BAR-Affected Grids. All grids leading up to the Brickyard 400 this July will be using this format as I study for the California BAR Exam: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xQ2pOnUNplk
On this day at this moment, yours truly became a Jerry Nadeau fan.
When the green flag dropped on the 1998 Save Mart / Kragen 350 at Sonoma, Nadeau, the outside-polesitter, made a daring pass on Jeff Gordon going into turn two to take the lead. Driving the #13 First Plus Financial Ford for Bill Elliott and Dan Marino's team, Nadeau sped around Gordon in turn one, but overdrove turn two and drove through the dirt.
Though he managed to save his car and avoid contact with the leaders, Nadeau lost the lead to Gordon and damaged his track bar, causing Nadeau to wreck a few laps later in the Esses. Nadeau finished 43rd, tail-end of the field.
Nadeau would finally lead his first laps during the middle stages of the 1999 event at Watkins Glen, leading nine laps during green-flag pit stops.
Not being much of a Jeff Gordon fan, particularly during his dominant 1998 season, I was really excited to see someone try so valiantly to make a move on him. Being a driver for a lesser-known single-car operation as well as a newcomer, I revered his underdog status and wore a #13 hat when I cheered him on during his amazing run as a road ringer in the 2002 Infineon event four years later. :)
Clip includes the start and the opening laps of the race, including Sterling Marlin's equally-gutsy pass on the inside of turn 11 and Ron Hornaday's spin at the exit of The Chute driving Tim Beverly's new car after contact with Brett Bodine.
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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TR7KkpTmNqY
173 clapped-out machines braved a frigid, rain-soaked Infineon Raceway last Saturday as part of Sears Pointless, the third race of The 24 Hours of LeMons season.
My brother and I went out on Saturday, Day 1 of the race, to test the water resistance of my camcorder in capturing some video of this unique racing action.
Full race results following the Saturday and Sunday's action can be found here: http://www.mylaps.com/results/showrun.jsp?id=1814398
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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mKVkPayb4qQ
Beneath the hype generated by a sport trying to reinvent itself all at once, the 2004 NASCAR Nextel Cup season was also defined by a sudden lack of competitive, fully-funded teams. In this episode, we take a look at the events that led to this, and similar instances from NASCAR’s past.
#RiseOfTheFieldFillers #ROTFF
VIDEO CREDITS
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLjZQnMo0uMCEvhvzUPfgrt68Ps4ztHaXJ
WEBSITE CREDITS
Jayski’s Silly Season Site
Racing-reference.info
BOOK CREDITS
Wood, Perry Allen. “Declarations of Stock Car Independents: Interviews with Twelve Racers of the 1950s, 1960s and 1970s,” McFarland, 2010 - https://www.amazon.com/Declarations-Stock-Car-Independents-Interviews-ebook/dp/B005N5CYXS
MUSIC CREDITS
“Get Tough” – TrackTribe
“Come On Out” – Dan Lebowitz
"The Awakening" – Patrick Patrikios
PHOTO CREDITS
Apexoff.com
Are We There Yet? Travel
David Allio
eBay
Google Images
Historical Stock Car Racing Forum
@JerryHill56
Ratus Walter Collection, www.raceplace.zoomshare.com
Rubbin’s Racin’ Forums
@TimmyHillRacer
USA Today
Wikipedia
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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hubO3ZIwBzU
Sonoma is a city. Infineon is a company. If you're talking about the race track, it goes by just one name - Sears Point.
MUSIC
“Elevators Need Rock Too” - Spence
“Barilicious” – Dan Lebowitz
PHOTOS
Amazon.com
Getty Images
Luis Torres
MarcGoosens.com
Motorsport.com
NASCAR Home Tracks
Racingjunk.com
Racing-reference.info
(Also included are photos taken by myself from 1992 through 2019)
VIDEOS
1988 Budweiser 400 at Riverside
USER: nick hebert
LINK: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BDoFBL2woYU
1989 Banquet Frozen Foods 300 at Sears Point
USER: Randall Dubin
LINK: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b5yE4Q6-ztI
1990 Banquet Frozen Foods 300 at Sears Point
USER: SMIFF TV
LINK: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1t-CYTj-DbE
1991 Banquet Frozen Foods 300 at Sears Point
USER: rowdyeverylap
LINK: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SZ9XoSwkmJg
1992 Save Mart Supermarkets 300 at Sears Point
USER: Matthew Sullivan
LINK: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kbVtFe3Ljf8
1993 Save Mart Supermarkets 300 at Sears Point
USER: SMIFF TV
LINK: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UNYMWDjXf_8
1994 Save Mart Supermarkets 300 at Sears Point
USER: SMIFF TV
LINK: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zVhzOiEdLLM
1995 Save Mart Supermarkets 300 at Sears Point
USER: SMIFF TV
LINK: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CiyKjgD0koY
1996 Save Mart Supermarkets 300 at Sears Point
USER: Mike Pinto
LINK: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1xr9W7cUrCg
1997 Save Mart Supermarkets 300 at Sears Point
USER: SMIFF TV
LINK: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xf5vconZW3Q
1997 Sears Point Qualifying
USER: jinjabreadman
LINK: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UKabHbGEc9Q
1998 Save Mart / Kragen 350 at Sears Point
USER: jinjabreadman46
LINK: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=94EvfurbXo4
1999 Save Mart / Kragen 350 at Sears Point
USER: SMIFF TV
LINK: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Emur4QqrIIk
2000 Save Mart / Kragen 350 at Sears Point
USER: SMIFF TV
LINK: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5wt2oc6jKGg
2001 Dodge / Save Mart 350 at Sears Point
USER: Dave W
LINK: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9Pbf2pufgGw
2002 Sears Point Qualifying
USER: Dave W
LINK: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DTQV_MZfCoI
2002 Dodge / Save Mart 350 at Sears Point
USER: wfrncsu012
LINK: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aNIHje13UFI
2003 Sears Point Qualifying
USER: Michael Johnson
LINK: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v1Dtx9mt_6w
2003 Dodge / Save Mart 350 at Sears Point
USER: Dominic Carranza
LINK: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y6P7bDZYUNQ
2004 Sears Point Qualifying
USER: NASCAR RACES
LINK: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ie0J6uZRB6E
2004 Dodge / Save Mart 350 at Sears Point
USER: KingCuervo88
LINK: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7d9_qvijfRc
2005 Dodge / Save Mart 350 at Sears Point
USER: Dave W
LINK: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v
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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e9TS2BLMFK4
Pre-race shows are way too long.
Nowhere is this more clearly shown than in ESPN's broadcasts of these two NASCAR championship races.
On the top is the satellite feed from the 1992 Hooters 500 at Atlanta, widely regarded as one of the best - if not THE best - NASCAR races. Heading into the race, there were too many storylines to count. Six drivers with a mathematical shot at the championship. Richard Petty's final start. Rick Mast's first career pole in Oldsmobile's last race. And, in hindsight, the first start of then-Busch Series standout Jeff Gordon. ESPN could have spent hours covering just these stories, and yet they didn't. They managed to cover it all in just 20 minutes and 30 seconds, bringing us right to the green flag.
On the bottom is the actual broadcast from last fall's season finale, the Ford EcoBoost 400 at Homestead. Again, the championship battle is a compelling story as, for the second-straight year, two drivers were set to race for it in the final event. Penske Racing was set to bid for an elusive first title. There was also the controversial wreck between Jeff Gordon and Clint Bowyer at Phoenix the week before. It also marked the final appearance of the "Gen-Five" car. Good stories, but nowhere near as plentiful as those in 1992. So, they took less time, right? Wrong. Although Kid Rock says "it all starts right now" at 1:58 in this video, the green flag is actually nearly TWO HOURS LATER.
If you believe ESPN needed all that extra time, take a close look at these first twenty minutes. Both broadcasts begin with a musical introduction saluting the championship contenders, but from there, the 2012 broadcast immediately hits the brakes. The 2012 crew remains in the booth, kicking around topics while the crowd files into the track. There's a leisurely tone to their discussion because, after all, they have plenty of time before the start. By the time the green flag drops in the 1992 broadcast, the cars are still covered-up on pit road, making way for Kid Rock's concert.
In 1992, Bob Jenkins and .38 Special launch us trackside after just a few minutes with drivers in their cars and pit reporters working the rounds. It feels more exciting to know the green flag is moments away, but the commentators aren't rushed, either. Instead, they are extremely efficient with the time they're given. They manage to interview several drivers, do a full field rundown, and check in with every reporter on pit road. It runs like clockwork, keeps the excitement levels up, and above all, doesn't waste our time.
And, in reality, today's commentators don't NEED to take more time than that. Sports fans aren't stupid, no matter what their age. Some of my most demanding and knowledgeable viewers when I made NASCAR starting grid videos were still in grade sc
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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KdyoYbzZ6k0