Well the west coast swing was a Smoking Success
Current NASCAR
only 10 points out with this win !
updated by @johnny-mallonee: 12/05/16 04:04:08PM
Forum Activity for @johnny-mallonee
Current NASCAR
updated by @johnny-mallonee: 12/05/16 04:04:08PM
HOW SAFE ARE YOU IN THIS MODERN AGE OF COMPUTERS
General
How safe are you in this new world of computer/Racing world?
Jeff probably knows of this due to his knowledge of computers and along with his sidekick Dustin BUT if you have important info as such as the story im attaching maybe you should pay attention and YES its pertaining to Racing from Flatheads to modern Nascar type engines..
SPRINT CUP SERIES
THEFT, RANSOM ... BITCOINS? THE STORY BEHIND CSLFR'S NEW SPONSOR
By Kenny Bruce | NASCAR.com | June 24, 2016 at 08.00 AM
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Photo Credit: Nigel Kinrade Photography
Circle Sport- LeavineFamilyRacing begins an association with a new sponsor this weekend at Sonoma Raceway, and how the arrangement came into being is one of the more unusual stories in NASCAR.
Malwarebytes, a California-based company that provides advanced malware prevention and remediation, will serve as an associate sponsor on MichaelMcDowell 's No. 95 Chevrolet for Sunday's Toyota/Save Mart 350 (3 p.m. ET, FS1, PRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio). The company will be the team's primary sponsor next month at NewHampshireMotorSpeedway as well as other select events this season.
Before this year's SprintCup Series race at TexasMotorSpeedway in April, crew chief Dave Winston wasn't familiar with Malwarebytes. But after a virus infected his company computer, encrypting crucial files and leaving him and his team feeling helpless, he learned not only about computer security, but about an entire underground network of cyber thieves, ransomware and the digital currency known as bitcoin.
The story sounds more similar to a script for a spy thriller than a real-world occurrence, full of intrigue and secrecy, including a theft and a ransom note, the result of a virus attack that left no trail and few clues.
But this was no Hollywood movie. The attack and the ransom note were real.
The hostage in this instance was crucial information belonging to the CSLFR team -- chassis information, wind tunnel and simulation data stored on Winston's computer. With the team making preparations for the Texas race, the inability to access those files brought work to a standstill.
Winston told NASCAR.com that he was in his office working on his computer when he noticed random files beginning to show up in various folders.
"I started seeing them more and more and said 'What is this?,' " he said. "I clicked on one of them and I don't remember if it came up with an actual picture of something, but what it looked like was a screen shot of a logo or an email or something like it. I kept working and didn't think anything of it. But as I went on through the day I saw more and more of that happening. Didn't know why. I deleted a couple of them and just kept on going."
While on his way to RichardChildressRacing (CSLFR has a technical alliance with the NASCAR SprintCup Series organization) later that day, Winston said his team's engineer called and said files from the crew chief's computer were downloading into Dropbox, a file-sharing site used by the team.
At the RCR shop, Winston said he checked his laptop, while staying off the RCR network, "just to see if I could see what was going on.
"I tried to open a couple of files and all of a sudden every file I tried to open was encrypted and I couldn't open anything. Needless to say, it sent fear running through my body really quick. You understand how much information we use. Nothing of course was backed up because nobody ever backs up their computers until it's too late, and I was guilty of that. Now we've learned from that."
With the Texas race looming, "I couldn't open up any of the spreadsheets that I had created, any of the wind tunnel data that I had on my computer or anything. I didn't have access to any of it," Winston said. "I finished up what I had to do at Childress' and came back to the shop. About five or six of us decided that Tuesday night was a good time to learn about ransomware."
SNEAK ATTACK
According to Nathan Scott, Malwarebytes' technical manager for ransomware, the particular virus "always has to do a certain set of things to be classified as ransomware.
"If it gets on your machine and it doesn't destroy your backups so you can't come back from the attack, if it doesn't encrypt your files and doesn't leave you a ransom note, then it's not ransomware," he said.
This particular virus met all the qualifications, including a note stating that a key to decrypt the files could be obtained for $500 in bitcoin currency.
Members of the management team began making calls in an effort to find someone who could clean the computer and recover the files.
"Of course, no one was able to help us," Winston said.
Internet searches provided less-than-appealing suggestions, that the best course of action was to pay the ransom and hope the key to unlock the files was delivered.
"You don't want to believe them," Winston said. "Why would they give you your files back if all they are looking for is your money? But we needed to try something so we made the decision to go ahead and pay the ransom, which opened up a whole other event.
"We had to learn about bitcoins, figure out how to buy them so we could pay it."
BITCOIN BREAKDOWN
A long day grew longer as executives settled in around the conference room at the team's headquarters trying to understand ransomware, bitcoin currency and "trying to get Dave off the ledge because his data had been hacked and was being held for ransom," team Vice President Jeremy Lange said.
"All Dave wanted to do was pay the ransom. He didn't care if it was credit card, bitcoin, cash, he would have probably sold a child to get his information back."
Fortunately, again through searches on the internet, the team discovered that a bitcoin ATM was located barely two miles from the team's shop in Concord, North Carolina.
"We looked like the Keystone Cops walking into a little convenience store to buy these bitcoins," said Winston.
"We drove there and scouted it out," Lange added. "The guy thought we were nuts. We were asking questions, kind of skeptical because none of us had ever heard of a bitcoin ATM before."
The team's IT personnel had already downloaded an application for a bitcoin wallet, necessary for obtaining the online currency. Once they had the required amount, the bitcoin was then provided to the ransomware and the key to decrypt the files was delivered the following morning.
"We programmed the key in and then the files were available within hours," Lange said. "We tried to do it here (at our shop), then went to RCR and used their IT team; they helped us out and later that day the files were unlocked."
Winston said while working with the RCR group to prevent similar problems from occurring in the future, one company name that kept coming up was Malwarebytes.
"Now we're working together with them to try and make it known to people that this can happen to anybody," he said. "You're not immune to it; everybody is susceptible to it. It's like insurance, you never think about it until you need it."
It isn't known how Winston's computer became infected. But the damage done is a story that is all too common.
It starts when the ransomware virus gets on a computer.
"In the end, it leaves a ransom note that gives you a website to go to where you have to pay them in bitcoins, most of the time between $500 and $1,000 for an average user," Scott said.
PERFECT PAIRING
The sponsorship package is "a mid- to six-figure deal," according to Lange and is for the remainder of the 2016 season.
Unlike traditional sponsorships, it is the first sponsor agreement for the team using a CPM (Cost Per Impression) model as a sales tool.
"We're selling assets but we're (also) selling impressions," he said. "We're selling a guaranteed amount of impressions and then we are going to use the assets -- paint schemes, social media, driver appearances, press, etc., to basically drive the value of impressions to reach a certain amount, and that's what the program is based on."
Lange said the incident led the team to share its story with Malwarebytes and "let them know how impactful it was.
"And it truly illustrated that it can happen to anybody, he said. " It's really to build awareness among the NASCAR community and elsewhere by talking to people let them know about the story. (That) was really what drove us to reach out to Malwarebytes because it's a real, live case study of sorts. Dave and CSLFR were at the mercy of the ransomware.
For Malwarebytes, Scott said this was a "traditional story."
"But what makes it extra special is that it's with a sport that people love and are influenced by, put their hearts into and enjoy it," he said. "It's different from me trying to call people or stand on a stage and tell them about it where they think I'm exaggerating or they aren't interested. If they actually see that somebody with NASCAR is getting hit by these things, then it's going to feel a lot closer to home to them. we need all the knowledge out there that we can get."
If you read it to the end then I hope you never fall prey, protection is the key use "it"
updated by @johnny-mallonee: 12/05/16 04:02:07PM
You young and old Geezers
General
The Math is Simple HAPPY FATHERS DAY
updated by @johnny-mallonee: 12/05/16 04:02:07PM
Kenny Wallace and his brother Mike
General
Saw that video but I know Mike and have never seen this side of him, and still its 3 to one - I cant count his daughter. Lets see what the outcome is
Kenny Wallace and his brother Mike
General
Nathan Lucas, 22, of Indian Trial; Paul Lucas, 29, and Randolph Magnum, 24, of Monroe
CHARLOTTE, N.C. Three men have been arrested for allegedly attacking and beating NASCAR veteran Mike Wallace and his daughter after a North Carolina concert.
Motorsport.com reported that Nathan Lucas, 22, of Indian Trial; Paul Lucas, 29, and Randolph Magnum, 24, of Monroe, face charges in the incident.
Mike Wallace was brutally beaten by the suspectsafter attending a Rascal Flatts concert with his daughter Friday in Charlotte, according to his brother Kenny Wallace.
Kenny Wallace posted a graphic photo of the alleged incident to Facebook.
My brother Mike laid on the ground knocked out and it was NOT even a fight and 3 men kept kicking my knocked out brother in the face, Kenny Wallace posted, in part, on his official Facebook page. Think about it? .. My brother was knocked out and they were kicking him in the face.
Kenny Wallace said his brother receieved 12 stitched inside his mouth and has been released from the hospital, according to FOX Sports .
Nathan Lucas and Randolph Mangum face charges of simple assault. Both were released on $1,000 bonds. Paul Lucas was charged with assault on a female and was released on a $1,500 secured bond. All three have court in Mecklenburg County planned for July 22.
Mike Wallace made 197 starts with three top-five and 14 top-10 finishes during his career in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series.
Kenny Wallace and his brother Mike
General
Found this just a minute ago reguarding Kenny Wallace's brother Mike. I dont think it was race related but he is a racer at heart, if I find out different I will post it here or delete the post. This is posted by Kenny
I am "tore up" and "sick to my stomach" about my brother "Mike" and his daughter Lindsey Wallace Van Wingerden and everyone involved in this senseless ass beating after a concert in Charlotte NC on Friday night .. My brother Mike laid on the ground "knocked out" and it was NOT even a fight and 3 men kept kicking my "knocked out" brother in the face.. Think about it? .. My brother was knocked out and they were kicking him in the face ( I didnt post the rest because of Language used). Hope all injuries are minor --- Heres pulling for Mike to bounce back Wallace style 
updated by @johnny-mallonee: 12/05/16 04:02:07PM
Could a Ruse have been pulled on Nascar by Chrysler in the 70s?
Stock Car Racing History
In 1968, Chrysler shipped two brand new 1969 Charger 500s to Hot Rod magazine for a press preview. One was a B-5 Blue 500 equipped with a Hemi and a 4-speed. The magazine took the two 500s to a drag strip where the B-5 knocked off a quarter mile in 13.48 seconds.
Shortly after Hot Rod brought the cars back from the drag strip, the B-5 was stolen. Later, it was found in a bad neighborhood missing its Hemi, its interior and driveline. The write up in Hot Rod was nice but Chrysler could not repair and sell the B-5 car. They decided to turn it into an engineering test car. The shell was shipped as essentially a body in white to Nichels Engineering in Griffith Indiana.
Nichels rebuilt the car to NASCAR standards, including all of the knowledge Chrysler racing had developed for the Charger. They raked the body nose-down. They installed the bars inside the engine compartment from the firewall to the radiator support to stiffen the front end. They put in a roll cage, a race Hemi and matching drivetrain. Nichels then shipped DC-93 back to Chrysler. Incidentally, it was Nichels that designated the car DC-93. Indiana required cars to bear some sort of identification number and many of the cars in Nichels shop did not have VIN tags. Nichels simply numbered them sequentially with the letters designating the manufacturer and sometimes the model. DC stood for Dodge Charger.
As the 1969 Daytona 500 approached, Chrysler racing engineers were certain DC-93 was state of the art. They painted the car blue and put #99 on it. They offered to let Nichels Engineering field the car for the race. Paul Goldsmith drove it. It did not run on pole day but NASCAR had gone to its dual qualifying race format. Goldsmith ran it in the second qualifier where Bobby Isaac, Charliet Glotzbach and Goldsmith completed a 1-2-3 sweep in Charger 500s. Things looked promising. DC-93 ran the fastest laps that weekend but crashed out of the main race on lap 62.
It was at this point that Chrysler decided to go to the next level and install the ultimate aero package the nose cone and the wing, making it a Charger Daytona.
All through 1969, DC-93 was used for testing the aero package. Many configurations were first tested on a low speed DC-74 and then tested on DC-93. Much of the testing was performed by NASCAR drivers like Charlie Glotzbach and Buddy Baker (above).
The team of engineers working on the problem now included rocket scientists from Chryslers missile division, some of whom had moved over and were working full-time on the aero cars. John Pointer fabricated and experimented with shapes of the nose cone and the wing at Chelsea. Bill Wright installed instrumentation on the cars, much as he would a rocket. Wright drilled a hole in the dashboard for the buttons and switch to control the instruments.
The test results convinced Chrysler higher ups to make the winged cars and sell them to the public so they could be raced in NASCAR. While Chrysler worked out the logistics of building the 500 cars necessary for the public, Chrysler racing made the wings and nose cones available to teams racing the Charger 500s. None of the teams would race actual Charger Daytonas; they would merely add the modifications to the 500s they were already running. The newly configured cars would make their first track appearance at Talladega in September 1969.
Larry Rathgeb brought DC-93 to Talladega for testing. Rathgeb would eventually bring DC-93 to every major track where the winged cars raced so Chrysler racing could gather its own data on setups for the cars. Once optimal speeds were achieved, the information was passed along to the race teams. Rathgeb feared that his creations would be shut out of the first big chance they had to race because of a threatened driver boycott. To make sure there was at least one wing in the race, he talked Nichels into entering DC-93 with Glotzbach at the wheel. Technically, a Chrysler-owned car could not race in NASCAR. As he had at Daytona, Nichels entered the car at Talladega as if he owned it. The car was outfitted to look like a Nichels-owned racer and the number 88 was applied to it.
The first day of practice at the track led to the headline: 200 MPH Certain At Talladega Track. Practice laps by Glotzbach and Isaac were faster than 195 MPH. Isaac was driving the K&K Daytona and Glotzbach was driving DC-93. The qualifying speeds were blistering. Glotzbach led the way in DC-93 at 199.466 MPH. He predicted he would be even faster on race day. He was slated to sit on the pole and then the Professional Drivers Association walked out. After reshuffling the starting lineup to account for the 30 drivers who were missing, Bobby Isaac was on the pole on race day. His 196.386 speed seems impressive NASCARs previous top speed had been set that July at 190.706 except that it had been slow compared to drivers who were sitting out the race. His qualifying laps were only sixth fastest at 196.386.
Richard Brickhouse won the race in another Nichels Engineering car not DC-93 leading a top-five sweep by Chrysler products. Only Brickhouse and Isaac were driving the new Daytonas, however. All of the other Daytonas at the track had been parked because of the boycott. DC-93 had sat the race out.
On March 24, 1970, DC-93 ran its transmission test where it broke 200 MPH with Buddy Baker at the wheel. The speed was a NASCAR record and world record for a closed course. After the Talladega record runs, the car was sent to Chelsea where Chrysler continued using it for tests.
For the rest of the 1970 season, Rathgeb continued bringing DC-93 to the major races where winged cars would run. A driver like Baker or Glotzbach would run practice laps with instrumentation in the trunk and engineers would crunch the numbers to find the best race setups for the cars at each particular track. DC-93 did not ever race again, however.
In May 1970, Bill France thought he might like to have DC-93 donated to the NASCAR Museum of Speed. He asked Chrysler if they were willing to donate it to his museum. It was an interesting question. Chrysler was still using the car but there were some people within the department who were less than happy with how France had treated Chrysler. France had never been all that welcoming to the winged cars and now he wanted one donated to his museum? There was already grumbling that France wanted to outlaw the winged cars altogether.
Chrysler racing also still had DC-74, the low-speed car from Chelsea which had been raced at one point as a 1968 Charger by Isaac. It had been given the Daytona treatment but was not being taken to NASCAR tracks for testing. It had been put out to pasture. Rather than commit to giving DC-93 to NASCAR, Chrysler decided it was more expedient to pull a fast one and donate DC-74, pretending it was DC-93. An internal memo described the plan.
[W]e will take our old No. 71 car, DC-74, paint it to look like the Engineering car No. 88 which was used in breaking the 200 mph speed record, and present it to NASCAR. This No. 71 car has outlived its usefulness and would be scrapped in the event we werent to use it for this purpose.
The memo noted the limited cost to Chrysler: paint and shipping. The upside: promotional benefits. The car will be of considerable interest in the future as a part of the overall speed museum. No explanation was given as to why NASCAR was being tricked. There is no question that some of the men who made the decision did it because they were unhappy with how NASCAR had treated Chrysler in the recent past. Years later, one of the men involved in the decision told this writer that the move was indeed intended as a way to give France the finger.
DC-74 was painted blue. In February 1973, at Daytona, a ceremony was held on the infield of the track to note the donation of the first 200 MPH car to NASCARs Museum of Speed. Chrysler vice-president Bob McCurry posed with France next to the car, along with Richard Petty and Buddy Baker. The shiny blue paint job hid the red paint on the former 1968 Charger.
Press releases of the event were distributed, accompanied by a confusing montage of photos. Along with the picture of McCurry, France, Petty, Baker and the car, there was one of a mock-up of a street Charger Daytona, white with a red stripe. Below that was a picture of DC-74, when it still wore red paint. The press release described the 200 MPH car which was not in any of the three pictures and the K&K car which set records at Bonneville. It, too, was not in any of the pictures with the release.
But that left the question: What happened to DC-93?
Don White was a driver best known for his USAC presence he was USAC champion in 1963 and 1967 and that circuits winningest driver with 53 victories he also raced occasionally in NASCAR for Nichels engineering. White was good friends with Chrysler racings Ronnie Householder and wondered what would happen to DC-93 after it had outlived its usefulness to Chrysler. Householder offered to give the car to White. White accepted and took delivery of the car in late 1970.
Because USAC allowed cars to be run for one more year than NASCAR, White could race DC-93 in its Daytona treatment through the 1971 season. Whites racing operation was not that big and he had to be a bit more economical. On a shorter track, he would remove the wing and the nose cone and run DC-93 as a Charger 500. A couple of times, he even raced the car on dirt. Then, when he went to a bigger track, hed reinstall the nose cone and the wing.
When the 1971 season ended, DC-93 could no longer run as a 1969 model. For the 1972 season, White removed the wing and also the front fenders and nose cone, which were welded together. He dumped the front end sheet metal in the weeds behind his shop. He put a 1970 Charger front clip on the car and raced it, even though the back window was wrong. NASCAR might not have allowed that but USAC didnt complain. He raced his 1970 Charger for a couple of years in USAC.
He completely reskinned the car as a 1973 Charger when the 1970" could no longer run. The later year Chargers were a bit wider than the 1969 Charger, so he had to finesse the sheet metal to make it fit. After a few more years of racing, he parked DC-93 by his shop and left it.
A Chrysler technician named Greg Kwiatkowski was fascinated by Chryslers racing legacy and often asked his coworkers about their knowledge of the companys history. He spoke with Rathgeb and others who had been instrumental in the field. One day, Rathgeb mentioned to Kwiatkowski that the 88 car at the NASCAR museum was not the 200 MPH engineering car.
Where was the real DC-93? He eventually heard that Householder had given it to Don White. Kwiatkowski called White, introduced himself, and asked if he knew what happened to the car. Of course he did; it was sitting right outside his shop.
White described the car to Kwiatkowski and told him how it was now configured as a 1973. It had been parked since 1976 but was not for sale. Kwiatkowski told him that was fine; he was happy to learn as much as he could about the car and that it survived. He stayed in touch with White and during one conversation, White asked Kwiatkowski what he thought the car was worth. Kwiatkowski said he had no idea but if White ever sold it, hed be happy to buy it. How much did he think it was worth? White said after noting that the car was still not for sale - $5,000. Kwiatkowski told him he thought it was a fair price and to keep him in mind. A few months later, White offered to sell him the car.
Kwiatkowski had no doubt the car was real but he realized he had no idea what the car looked like. He asked White if he would take some pictures of it for him. He sent down some disposable cameras and some money for postage so White could mail them back. Kwiatkowski told him to just take as many pictures as he could of it. A short while later White sent back the cameras, along with the change from the money Kwiatkowski had sent for postage. After developing the film it was clear: the car was in rough shape but it was the right car.
Rathgeb had given him photos from the 200 MPH run and Kwiatkowski scrutinized them alongside the pics hed gotten from White. Key details matched. The main hoop of the roll bar had flaking paint, underneath was blue paint. Kwiatkowski called White back and said they had a deal. He offered to send him a deposit even though White said it wasnt necessary. He sent a money order for $500 and began making arrangements to get the car.
When he got to Whites Iowa shop three weeks later, White told him that another person had come by shortly after they had struck their deal and offered him $10,000 for it. Don told the man the car was already sold. The car was in rough shape from sitting outside. It was 1998 and the car had been outside for more than twenty years.
Kwiatkowski asked White if he had any of the old parts for the car. White suggested checking the woods out back. There, he found the front clip. The fenders and nose cone were welded together and now plants were growing up around them. It took four men to haul it out. It was awkward and heavy, more so because animals had stuffed the nose cone full of nesting material. Kwiatkowski trailered the car back to Michigan and began the long task of dismantling and restoring the car. In 2001, the Aerowarriors held a reunion for winged car enthusiasts in Auburn Hills, Michigan. Kwiatkowski attended as did Rathgeb, Pointer, George Wallace and a few others who had worked on the program. He invited the men to his garage to see DC-93. There, they saw the car dismantled the 1973 body panels were removed but they recognized it. Wright recognized the hole he had cut in the dash for his instrumentation.
George Wallace was kind enough to draft a letter of authenticity for Kwiatkowski. Although all of the men positively identified the car, Wallace was a good candidate for the letter. He had been at Talladega to see Glotzbach qualify the car and then at the track when Baker broke 200 MPH. He also spent time inside the car as a passenger, sitting on the floor and writing notes while clinging to the roll cage as the car ran at speed on various tracks.
Kwiatkowski is now in the process of a full restoration of the car to its configuration as it was on the day it broke the 200 MPH mark at Talladega. He has even located an engine which can be documented as having been used at one time in the car during its time with Chrysler. Meanwhile, NASCAR still has DC-74 in its collection. It is still painted blue.
Story by
Steve Lehto
updated by @johnny-mallonee: 12/05/16 04:00:58PM
Earnhardt Trivia
Trivia
It must have been in 1979 -80 with Rod Osterlund. He won one race at Bristol and one pole along with several top fives I think. Correct me if im wrong,because im not perfect..
Raymond Parks: NASCAR HOF
Current NASCAR
The patience that Mr Parks showed in his lifetime with racing as many of us know became a reality now . He would wait his turn and most times win over his adversities.
Iknew of him back in the middle 50s when the circle I grew up in would venture into N Ga or Fla and he would be there at the track and or meetings.O to have had access to a recorder back then. Bet there is a joyous happening in the great track in the sky after thisannouncement. Could there be an involvement in this by a higher being?