Return of relief drivers this weekend?

The weekend forecast in Sparta KY shows 101 for highs on Friday and Saturday. That seems chilly compared to our middle TN forecast of 107. And I'm sure our folks in Georgia, Texas and elsewhere may get blasted hotter than that.

We really haven't seen many relief drivers used the last 15-20 years. Power steering, advances in car set-ups, improved cool suits/helmets, and better driver conditioning all gratefully contributed towards that.

But with these brutal temps, I wonder if we may see a start and park driver get a shot at running more laps Saturday night. The upside is the Cup race will run after the sun goes down. It won't be the same as Daytona at 10AM on Independence Day, the Talladega 500 in August, the Southern 500 on Labor Day, the Lone Star 500 in College Station, or the Dixie 500 in July.

With daytime practice and qualifying and responsibilities with fans, media, and hospitality, some drivers (or crewmen) could be wiped out by race time.

If my trivia mind is accurate, I'm pretty sure the last relief driver to win a race was at Talladega in 1977. Darrell Waltrip took over in relief for Donnie Allison and won the Talladega 500. The irony of course is that 1 year earlier DW was hired by DiGard to replace the fired Donnie.

Hearing whispers that one of the teams may try to slip this aero package past Robin Pemberton's inspectors:

Soooo...

This

Plus this

Equals this?

Huh, well I'll be dawged. Go figure. Hey, I'm purty good at this math stuff ain't I?

I understand that New York City Mayor Bloomberg is available to NASCAR teams at Kentucky this weekend as a "cooling specialist."

Click the link :

I think the technician in the video is wearing a NASCAR "Hard Card" on that chain around his neck!

I think Robin suffers from my affliction! We both used to be skinny.

All kidding aside, Robin is one of the nicest, most down to earth folk I ever met in NASCAR, back when he worked for the Pettys. His brother, Randy, was one of the first employees for Bob Pearse at Sunbelt Video as a cameraman/reporter. He, too, was a tremendously nice guy and very talented. Back in the day he was often the only person at the track shooting any video. They traveled to the track in an old bread truck that had originally been converted to a mobile television studio by WRVA Television in Richmond and sold to Pearse at Sunbelt.

I don't know Pemberton brothers, Ryan or Roman... but the two I do know, Robin & Randy are pretty nice guys for Yankees!!

The New York Daily News did an interesting piece four years ago on Randy returning to NASCAR that mirrors just exactly how many of us feel about today's generation of drivers:

Randy Pemberton renews his love affair with NASCAR
Comments
By Richard Huff
daily News Staff Writer
Thursday, February 14, 2008, 1:00 PM

Randy Pemberton apologizes frequently for sounding too negative when he talks about racing, but a few years ago, he gave up on NASCAR. Hed been around the sport since he was a kid growing up in Malta, N.Y.

His family is immersed in NASCAR, and hed been broadcasting aspects of racing since he broke in back in 1986. And then he walked away. I was just soured on it, he said.

For a guy who was used to having instant access to the best in the sport, he, like others, found the new breed of driver, armed with public relations teams, and heavy schedules, hard to deal with. New drivers started coming in, their attitudes are different, said Pemberton, 48. Kids today, theyre already used to instantaneous gratification.

"Some guys didnt work on their cars the way Mark Martin did, or Rusty Wallace did, or Dale Earnhardt did. They came into the sport as jockies. The breaking point came after a couple of run-ins with drivers he refuses to name. He understands the drivers' side to a point. The demands on drivers has grown as the number of media outlets covering racing has increased. When Pemberton worked at The Nashville Networks Inside NASCAR it was nearly the only game in town. Not any more.

So he walked.

Even though he was away from it on a day-to-day basis, it was impossible for Pemberton to be completely detached. His brothers work in the business. Robin is the vice president of competition for NASCAR and a former crew chief; Ryan serves as the crew chief for David Reutimann; Roman spots for Dale Jarrett. Pemberton himself returned to the sport in 2007 working for the Speed channels NASCAR Live and DirecTVs NASCAR Hot Pass program.

Its good to be back, he said. Its great. The sport has changed in a couple of years. I dabbled in it on the outside. Its just a great feeling to go in there and I love the fact that I have perspective on racing. Ive been watching it since I was six years old. My first hero, before Walt Clyde Frazier, was (modified driver) Eddie Flemke.

What he found being away is that despite the hassles he might have had with some of the newcomers, he truly loved racing.

Hes fascinated with how teams work to make cars faster, and has a deep respect for the people on those teams. The relationships hes made in more than 20 years covering the sport still come into play, and that history gives him an advantage over some broadcasters, he said. When I walk by Mark Martin, I know I have a connection with him from back in the day, Pemberton said. I would not trade my early days in the sport for anything. Im proud to have been part of watching the growth. Indeed, he still gets jazzed walking through the garage during race weeks, chatting with drivers, team owners and crew members.

You just get the sense that every one of these people that is contributing to the sport, theyre doing everything they can, he said. Im not sure its that way in the NBA. How hard does a guy with a $26 million contract practice?

Read more: http://www.nydailynews.com/sports/more-sports/randy-pemberton-renew...