Forum Activity for @dave-fulton

Toyota Brass Dissed With Kyle Busch Over Dover Comments

Current NASCAR

Oct 4, 6:38 PM EDT

Busch apologizes for rant against Toyota

TALLADEGA, Ala. (AP) -- Kyle Busch apologized Thursday to manufacturer Toyota for his profanity-laced rant about the fuel mileage at Dover.

Busch had to make a late stop in Sunday's race that he believed cost him the win. Joe Gibbs Racing teammate Denny Hamlin also had to stop for gas, but winner Brad Keselowski in a Dodge and Jimmie Johnson in a Chevrolet got better mileage and didn't have to stop.

Busch unleashed a string of profanities directed at Toyota on his in-car radio, and did not do media interviews after the race.

In a statement issued Thursday by both JGR and Toyota, Busch said his comments were "misguided."

"I made some remarks out of frustration on my radio at the end of last weekend's race in Dover that were very misguided," Busch said. "I owe my friends at Toyota and TRD an apology. We have a great partnership with TRD and they built me a motor that helped me lead over 300 laps and nearly lap the field.

"It's just frustrating that the caution fell where it did and suddenly it became a fuel mileage race and we were set up for maximum horsepower. Obviously, that worked well for most of the day and you can't control when the cautions will fall."

Busch has suffered several engine failures this season, and he missed a spot in the Chase for the Sprint Cup championship by just three points.

Still, TRD president Lee White was not pleased with Busch's comments Sunday.

But he seemed to understand Busch's frustration in the statement released Thursday, but has pointed out that JGR chose to go with engines heavy on horsepower at the expense of fuel mileage at Dover

"Kyle's had a frustrating year with several car and engine mechanical failures which were not his responsibility, and we're working extremely hard on our end to improve our products and processes," White said. "We will continue to address these issues, but we're ready to put this behind us and move forward with the remainder of the season, including the Toyota drivers battling for the championship."

Busch had to pit for fuel with 11 laps remaining after leading 302 of the scheduled 400-lap race. Keselowski went the final 89 laps without stopping for gas.

Team owner Joe Gibbs said in Thursday's statement the organization appreciates its relationship with Toyota, and that Busch shouldn't have cursed at the manufacturer.

"Kyle recognizes that his comments and the tone of his comments were misguided. We've been able to work through this issue and I think everyone is ready to get back to the focus being on racing and Talladega," Gibbs said.

Toyota Brass Dissed With Kyle Busch Over Dover Comments

Current NASCAR

Kyle Busch to apologize to TRD

Updated: October 4, 2012, 1:18 PM ET

By David Newton | ESPN.com

CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- Kyle Busch is expected to issue an apology to Toyota Racing Development for comments made about TRD engines following Sunday's Sprint Cup race at Dover, multiple sources told ESPN.com on Thursday. TRD president Lee White took offense to Busch's remarks after Busch settled for seventh in a race that was determined by fuel mileage. "Thank you, TRD,'' Busch said over his in-car radio. "F----- us out of another one. Piece of s--- mother------.'' White told Sirius XM NASCAR radio on Wednesday the No. 18 team made the decision before the race to go with horsepower over fuel mileage. Kyle Busch Kyle Busch Busch had to pit for fuel with 11 laps remaining after leading 302 of the scheduled 400-lap race. Winner Brad Keselowski went the final 89 laps without stopping for his second win in three Chase races. White told Sirius XM he and others at Toyota took Busch's comments personally, again reminding it was crew chief Dave Rogers who opted to go with horsepower over fuel mileage in the engine setup. He also reminded that Clint Bowyer won the final race of the regular season at Richmond on fuel mileage with a TRD engine. "Granted, they had to push the car to Victory Lane, but they won that race because of TRD and Toyota's fuel economy,'' White said on Sirius XM. "They did the same thing at Sears Point, too. "It gets a little lost in all this vitriol and dialogue, but that's the history. It's proven history, and it's documented history.'' Toyota offers teams, as other manufacturers do, different "lean maps'' to choose from, ranging from full power, full spark to all-out horsepower depending on how the team believes the race will play out. It is up to the team to decide. None of the Toyota teams chose to run lean at Dover. Rogers and Busch's Joe Gibbs Racing teammate, Denny Hamlin, admitted that was the reason they fell short. "You can definitely do some tuning with your fuel map -- that's an option,'' Rogers said after the race. "We were running more aggressive on power. There were some options to save fuel, but we were on max power today. It bit us a little bit. "We could have made some different choices. Every now and then you have a fuel mileage race. I didn't think this was going to come down to it, so we went full power. I'm not going to second guess our call. It was the right call. The car was fast." Hamlin finished eighth with a car that was running in the top three because he had to pit late and fell 16 points behind Keselowski in the Chase hunt. "It's so frustrating,'' Hamlin said after the race. "It's like all the hard work that you do -- it just doesn't pay off. Same thing at Richmond. We just didn't have the fuel mileage. We choose to have the horsepower over the fuel mileage and some guys don't tune that way. "When you have a race-winning car, you don't want to give up any of the horsepower. It's frustrating.'' Sources said Busch and Joe Gibbs Racing officials will release a statement, likely on Thursday, acknowledging their support of TRD and that they are on the same page moving forward. David Newton covers NASCAR for ESPN.com. He can be reached at dnewtonespn@aol.com.

Toyota Brass Dissed With Kyle Busch Over Dover Comments

Current NASCAR

What do ya reckon all them good ole boys and gals was saying back in the chalk board days? Had to be a lip reader. I guess when David Pearson flicked a cigarette butt in your car you didn't need a radio to know his feelings!

Toyota Brass Dissed With Kyle Busch Over Dover Comments

Current NASCAR

The Studebaker folks have let their displeasure with Kyle Busch be known following his tirade at Dover. This is hot off the Charlotte Observer wires:

Wednesday, October 3, 2012
Toyota takes issue with Kyle Busch's comments at Dover

After leading - by far - the most laps in Sunday's AAA 400 at Dover International Speedway, Kyle Busch was forced to make a late pit stop under green flag conditions in order to make it to the end of the race.

The stop cost him the win and he finished seventh, one lap down. Only six cars, including winner Brad Keselowski, finished on the lead lap. And only two cars stretched their fuel the entire 89-lap distance that Busch was trying to do - Keselowski and Jimmie Johnson.

As he crossed the finish line, Busch let loose a short, vulgarity-laced tirade over his team radio directed at Toyota Racing Development, claiming the in-house tuning shop for all Toyota cars had cost him and his No. 18 Joe Gibbs Racing team "another one."

On Wednesday, Lee White, TRD president, took issue with Busch's comments.

"We're as frustrated as he was that he didn't win that race considering how many laps he led, considering he and Denny (Hamlin) both literally dominated the race. We're as disappointed as he was. However, we've got used to saying 'That's just Kyle, you know' But this is a bit of a special case," White said.

"We're extremely disappointed in his negative comments and the tone of the comments after the event. It is under discussion as we move forward. We certainly are very disappointed, having said that, Kyle is an amazing talent in a race car and he takes it very personally when something goes wrong and he loses a race he thinks he should have won.

"Every one of our teams ran full power, full rich (fuel mixture) and kicked their ass. All six of them and some other teams did, too. It wasn't just TRD power that had this issue. The race didn't fall their way and we've seen it happen more lately.

"I'm not going to aplogize for TRD. We went there and qualified three out of the top five. We led a gazillion freaking laps. We should have won the race but circumstances didn't work out that way and I'm sorry. We don't have anything to apologize for. The thing I am most disappointed in is TRD is not some separate entity - we are Toyota. We are a global company. Every person globally shares in our passion for winning and competing - and that's hundreds of thousands of people. All those people and their families basically had their feelings hurt by those comments last week.

"I look forward to take it up with coach (Joe) Gibbs and see if we can't do something to sort it out so that we have a better working relationship in the future. I am confident that we will."

Posted by Observer Sports at 2:05 PM

Read more here: http://thatsracinluckydog.blogspot.com/2012/10/toyota-takes-issue-with-kyle-buschs.html#storylink=cpy

updated by @dave-fulton: 12/05/16 04:04:08PM

Hey Dennis Quaid, What ever happen to the motion picture movie on NASCAR's race driver Richard Petty that you was producing.

Stock Car Racing History

Darned good question, Dennis.

I find many references to Quaid announcing the movie in 2002 and then in 2003, The Orlando Sentinel printed the following:

Petty Family Focus Of Upcoming Film
NASCAR - The Beat
October 20, 2003

Hollywood came to Martinsville (Va.) Speedway on Sunday. Director Callie Khouri was at the track to scope out the NASCAR scene in preparation for a movie about Richard Petty and his family.

Khouri, who won an Academy Award for her screenplay for Thelma and Louise and recently made her directing debut in The Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood, said the Walt Disney movie will star Dennis Quaid as Petty.

Mexican "Studebaker" Series to Race at Phoenix in 2013

Current NASCAR

Oct 1, 4:11 PM EDT

NASCAR Mexico Series to race at Phoenix in 2013

By JENNA FRYER
AP Auto Racing Writer

The most popular motorsports series in Mexico will make its U.S. debut next season at Phoenix International Raceway.

The NASCAR Toyota Series will run at Phoenix on March 1 in conjunction with the Sprint Cup, Nationwide and K&N West Series. The race will be the 2013 season opener for the series, which runs Mexican V8 stock cars.

George Silbermann, NASCAR vice president of regional and touring series, said the race further develops a vision by chairman Brian France to offer racing that appeals to U.S. Latinos. NASCAR took its second-tier Nationwide Series to Mexico for four races from 2005-08.

"Mexico has a long and rich motorsports heritage but not necessarily in stock car racing," Silbermann said Monday. "The whole Mexican motorsports culture has followed either open-wheel racing or sports car racing. Brian made it very clear that a strategic goal of his was to reach a growing fan base and connect with Mexican-American fans here in the states. It was a seed that was planted in 2005 and it has now grown into a tree."

NASCAR and PIR officials scheduled a Tuesday news conference in Phoenix. The event will be a 75-lap race with a scheduled break after 50 laps for pit stops.

The series was launched in 2004 as the "Desafo Corona." NASCAR sanctioned it in 2007, and it was called the NASCAR Corona Series. It became the NASCAR Toyota Series this year, and has run 125 races, all in Mexico.

Bryan Sperber, president of PIR, said he jumped at the opportunity to host the first series race in the U.S. and the demographics of his track's fan base made it a natural fit.

"I look at this as a real opportunity for sports to bring people together," Sperber said. "It's no secret in terms of NASCAR that we want to broaden our consumer base and reach the Latino market. NASCAR Mexico allows us to reach out potentially to new race fans but also give exposure to this series and its drivers."

It's welcome exposure for 20-year-old points leader Daniel Suarez, who has relocated to Charlotte, N.C., in an attempt to climb through the NASCAR ranks.

Suarez has been identified as part of the NASCAR's Next 9 - a group of nine drivers who are under 21 and represent the next wave of young talent. He's on track to become the youngest champion in series history, and won his first race in May at Mexico City.

Suarez said the chance to run at the same track on the same weekend as the premiere Sprint Cup Series gives Mexican drivers an opening to showcase their talent to prospective owners and sponsors.

"People can see what is going on in Mexico," he said. "There are fans who know nothing at all about racing in Mexico. This series is the best in Mexico, the racing is the best. We have more fans, the best drivers, the best sponsors and the chance to race in America is a very big first step."

The race at PIR is a one-year agreement, per NASCAR guidelines. But Silbermann said it's part of a long-term plan for NASCAR.

"This is an important race for making the connection on both sides of the border," he said. "From a business standpoint, a lot of the series sponsors and partners see the value of a race in the U.S., and everyone sees the value in building the sport among Spanish speaking audiences. We believe the race will shine a spotlight and be a pleasant eye-opener for fans when they see the high caliber of talent in that series."

updated by @dave-fulton: 12/05/16 04:04:08PM

WAKE UP SLEEPY

Stock Car Racing History

Terrific candid shots!

Strawberry Hills raceway

Stock Car Racing History

Dennis, when I was working at Wrangler in the early 80s they did at least one tractor pull at the old Richmond layout, but I was not there. Could have been more than one. I'm not familiar with Monster trucks there, but certainly could have been.

Strawberry Hills raceway

Stock Car Racing History

Dennis, I have seen some of the stuff on Eddie Boomhower's web site. I'm not familiar with the State Fair book. Thanks. I'm guessing wayne Dementi was/is from Dementi Studios in Richmond.

Strawberry Hills raceway

Stock Car Racing History

Seldom mentioned is the fact that there was a second 1946 AAA Big Car Championship race at Strawberry Hill on November 12, 1946. That 25 lap feature race was won by Pennsylvania's Tommy Hinnershitz in a Ted Horn Engineering entry. Hinnershitz won one other 1946 AAA Big Car race driving for Ted Horn at the Winston-Salem Fairgrounds half-mile on October 5, 1946.

On the same date that Horn won Strawberry Hill's first race - October 12, 1946, Bill Holland won a AAA Big Car Championship race at the Charlotte Fairgrounds.