Dover part 2: Cold Pass access was HOT

Part 2 of a [non-committed mumble] part series on a great trip to Dover International Speedway from September 29 - October 2.

I was introduced to racing as a 9 year-old kid at a late model sportsman race at Nashville's Fairgrounds Speedway in the early 70s. The bug bit me that night, and I'm as fascinated by it today as I was then. I'm older, fatter, and more skeptical. My favorite driver has been retired for 20 years. And the costs to attend today far exceed what they did then (especially when (1) my parents or uncle paid for my ticket back then and (2) I didn't have any Schaefer expenses as a 9 year-old.)

One aspect of racing I really enjoyed in my teen years was going into the garage/pit areas before or after a race. The opportunity didn't present itself often, but it was so eye-opening when it did. Because of how seldom I've had the chance to tour the garage - then and now - I always appreciate and walk around with a dropped jaw at all the action.

At Dover, we were fortunate to have Cold Pass credentials provided to us. We pretty much had free reign of the Nationwide and Cup garages up until 1 hour before qualifying and race starts and pit access during the events.

We got to the track too early Saturday morning to tour the Cup garage. But no problem - over to the Nationwide garage we went.

As part of my on-going blog series about each of Richard Petty's 200 wins, I've reached out where I can to folks with first-hand accounts of the days at Petty Enterprises. One of the individuals I've had the fortune of trading messages with is Mike Beam. In the late 70s, Mike was the crew chief for late model sportsman legend Butch Lindley. He was hired by the King as crew chief for Kyle as his Cup career began in the early 1980s. Over the next 30 years, he was crew chief for many Cup drivers. Today, he is the crew chief for Carl Edwards in the Nationwide series.

Mike reconciled who I was after telling him I was 'toomuchcountry'. He then gave me several minutes of his time to talk about Lindley, getting hired by Petty Enterprises, the challenge of setting Carl's car for a green track after overnight rains, model car building, etc. Then rightfully so, he had to get back to work. I'm sure he used the great set-up tips I gave him because later that afternoon, Carl's #60 Ford DOMINATED the Nationwide race.

After parting ways from Mike, we roamed around a bit more, watched tech inspection, met the ageless Morgan Shepherd, and talked to the crew from the Jimmy Means-owned Nationwide team. Before Means began a multi-decade as a journeyman Cup driver, he came from Alabama to win the late model championship at Nashville's Fairgrounds Speedway in 1974.

As we circled back to Edwards' hauler, I spotted Jeff 'Hollywood' Hammond. Only word of advice I gave him (or at least wanted to): lose that Boogity guy...please.

After seeing pretty much all there was to see, we realized the Cup garage was now open. So we strolled from the Nationwide garage housed just below turns 3 and 4 to the Cup garage which is located just below turns 1 and 2.

I wanted to make a bee line for the Best Buy Racing hauler of A.J. Allmendinger with the hope of meeting The King again. Just as we arrived, Dale Inman walked out of the back door of the hauler. Everyone should know who Dale is - but I suppose some don't. Dale Inman is:

• Richard Petty's cousin
• Richard's crew chief for all of his seven championships
• the only eight-time NASCAR Grand National/Cup champion by serving as crew chief for Terry Labonte's first championship
• a veteran of the United States Army, and
  
• a member of the 2012 class of the NASCAR Hall of Fame.

I had with me an 8x10 enlargement of a photo I took at Charlotte in 1992. In the photo, Richard's 43 is being pushed to the starting line alongside eventual Cup champion Alan Kulwicki's Ford. Dale took the time to ask where I took the photo, studied it a bit and autographed it for me.

He then realized Robbie Loomis was part of the contingent pushing the car in the photo. I told him it was indeed Robbie, and I was hoping to get his autograph on the photo too. Dale went into the hauler and asked Robbie to come out to see my photo. As with Dale, Robbie studied it, laughed about how much younger he was then, and signed it for me.

Just one more autograph was needed to complete the three I wanted - The King. Dale then told us Richard had gone back to North Carolina to take his wife home. Unfortunately for us, he didn't plan to return. Oh well, c'est la vie. But Dale continued to chat with us. He challenged us to guess his age. He posed for a couple of photos with our crew.

SROH member 200WINZ (L), 2012 NASCAR Hall of Fame inductee Dale Inman (C), & SHOFer Uncle Dave (R).

He gave me the opportunity to ask a few questions about the old days. We discussed Julian Petty (Lee Petty's brother, Richard's uncle, and a NASCAR driver/owner in his own right). We rattled off a few names from the past of Petty Enterprises including Bob Welborn, Tiny Lund, Buck Baker, Gwyn Staley, Red Myler, etc. I tried to remember if Welborn had driven a third Petty car in the inaugural 1960 World 600 (it was actually Bobby Johns). But Dale noted he couldn't remember because "the Army had me then" and wasn't at the first 600.

He finally and cordially let us know it was time to go to work. He climbed aboard the hauler to watch qualifying for the Nationwide race. Fifty years in this sport - and there he was still watching lap times, track nuances, etc.

Credit: Brian 200WINZ Hauck

After parting ways with Inman, the four of us set out in the Cup garage area. Unlike the spacious bays of the Neon Garage at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, Dover has a single, covered, tightly-packed garage area. Half the teams are on one side, and the other half is on the opposite side. In the middle of the garage is a pass-through area where NASCAR set up one of its three technical inspection areas.

Like the amateur NASCAR paparazzi we were, the four of us set out snapping pictures willy-nilly, kept our eyes open for possible driver sightings, and maintained our inner radar for Cup cars around us in the hope we weren't run over as the cars were rolled to the tech stations.

After spending a good bit of time in the garage, we spotted Coke 400 winning driver David Ragan. Thinking he may be one of many drivers to walk through the same area, we held our spot for a moment. Shortly thereafter, I spotted Paul, the PR rep for Best Buy Racing and driver A.J. Allmendinger. We had traded messages prior to the race, and he knew I was interested in meeting A.J. Saturday. As Paul and A.J. headed for the 43 hauler, I walked along and nabbed an autograph.

I enjoy taking multiple photos, but I prefer to be behind the camera vs. in front of it. But one photo-op I wanted was to have my picture made with A.J. However, he went in the hauler to change to his driver uni and get his mind right for Cup qualifying. As a neat, runner-up gesture, Paul took my pic next to the 43 and tweeted it to his followers.

Before long, Cup qualifying was scheduled to begin, and an NASCAR official let me know my Cold Pass no longer worked in the 'hot' garage. So off to pit road we headed to watch a bit of qualifying.

The Richard Petty Motorsports teams get ready to qualify...

A.J. Allmendinger's 43 Ford shortly before A.J. ripped off a lap to qualify seventh.

The #9 Stanley Ford of Marcos Ambrose. If only that cat with the camera would get out of the away. Oh wait ... that's SROH member 200WINZ walking around like he owns the joint!

With 200WINZ getting up close and personal on pit road as qualifying took place, he was able to nab some great photos such as these:

Credit above two photos: Brian '200WINZ' Hauck

I walked back and forth, up and down pit road just to take in the sights. Finally, I just settled in around the RPM cars as they nudged forward one car at a time as the cars with slower practice times banked their qualifying speeds. The fine folks at DingerWorld were kind enough to put in a good word for me with A.J. and Lynne Allmendinger in case our paths crossed. Sure enough, as I was walking behind the pit wall watching the 43 inch down pit road, I was fortunate to spot Lynne. I called her name, and told her nothing more than 'My name is toomuchcountry.' Sure enough, she knew who I was based on the pre-race message from DingerWorld. Lynne could not have been nicer.

Credit: Brian '200WINZ' Hauck

Then it was time to get the party started. With only a few cars in front of him left to qualify, A.J. belted in, the crew readied him for his lap, and the tension of those around him seemed to escalate. As the 43 hit the track, a few key folks took an obvious interest in his lap:

• Paul (aka @Best_Buy_Racing on Twitter) - PR rep for Best Buy
• Lynne Allmendinger - A.J.'s wife
• Robert Miller (talking to Lynne) - VP of Business Development for Richard Petty Motorsports
  

As A.J. took the checkers, his lap was solid enough at the time for the front row. When the dust settled, he had fallen back to seventh. A great run - the best start I was going to see for the 43 in many, many years.

With qualifying completed, we slipped up to the stands to watch Edwards decimate the field in the Nationwide race.

To be continued...

TMC

Dover part 1: The arrival, the King, the races

I've had the pleasure of attending close to 60 NASCAR Grand National / Winston Cup races. I've got my favorite tracks to go - places such as Bristol, Charlotte and Talladega (well, back in the day).

Over the last 15 years or so, I've enjoyed the opportunity to visit tracks for the first (and probably only) time. I've got the ticket stub, event pin, and Schaefer stories from places such as Texas, Loudon, Indy, Vegas, and Richmond. This year, I was finally able to notch one for Dover.

We had plenty of good times during the extended race-trip weekend. I'll try to focus on the races themselves and the track in this post. From there, well ... I'll see. I've got a few ideas rattling around in my head about how to 'theme' post them. Stay tuned.

Knowing this may well be our only trip to the Monster Mile, fellow Schaefer HOFer Philly and I wanted to do it right. As life-long Petty fans, we had no choice but to sit in the Richard Petty Grandstand.

Representatives of the Schaefer Hall of Fame and Ring of Honor rolled in at various times Thursday, September 29:

• SROH member 200WINZ from Trenton, NJ (and Dover fan since 1969) rolled into the grounds with his camper Thursday morning.
  
• SHOFer Uncle Dave from Cleveland, OH trucked 439 miles to the Philadelphia airport to pick up me.
  
• SHOF co-founder Philly charted a multi-hour, long, interstate drive from Charlotte, NC, and
• yours truly, SHOF co-founder TMC from Middle by-cracky Tennessee flew into Philadelphia airport, donned a Schaefer cap, and thumbed a ride at the curb with Uncle Dave.

The first recognizable sight Uncle Dave and I saw as we entered the campground was the full-flowing, old-school, red-and-blue, 43 flag. We immediately knew where our home was going to be the next 3 days.

WINZ landed an ideal camping spot - right in front of the track and Richard Petty Grandstand. We had a bit of highway noise at night, but we could also hear the roar of the engines from the track as practice sessions took place. An ideal, audial experience.

After shaking hands, settling our gear, celebrating the beginning of race weekend with a cold Schaefer (or two or three), etc., it wasn't long before we wanted to go eat. So off we headed for Sambo's, a local seafood tavern in Leipsic - about 3 miles from the track.

As we arrived, we spotted a familiar silhouette in the shadows of a street light. Sure enough, it was the King, Richard Petty! He and a few others had just finished their dinner. As he is with all his fans, he was gracious enough to stand for a photo-op and offer an autograph. Petty has been retired as a driver for 20 years. I was a fan then and still am today because of his simply stopping long enough to recognize a fan.

After parting ways, it was time for crab cakes, hush puppies, fresh shrimp and crabs, and plenty of cold beer to celebrate our fortuitous timing and good fortune.

Dover opened in 1969, and in some ways I'm not sure the track has changed much since. We were taken aback by some of the old school aspects of the track that remain.

• For instance, we sat near the top of the Richard Petty Grandstands. Near us was a stairway leading out of our section. Yet we had to descend multiple sets of stairs for bathrooms, concessions, and souvenirs. Unlike other tracks who have amenities on every concourse level, all of Dover is lower-level based.
  
• The bathrooms didn't have soap dispensers - seemingly a standard everywhere these days including just about every dive bar. But Dover didn't have the motion-activated ones or even the hand-operated kind. Instead, each sink literally had a bar of soap. I'm no germophobe, but even that cootie haven freaked me out a bit.
• Thirdly, the garage areas for the Nationwide and Cup teams were tighter than a CFO's cost budget in an Obama economy. I realize Dover was built before the days of tractor trailer haulers. And I understand they have a horse racing 'trotter' track inside the speedway that affects how much expansion the track can do. But it was amazing how close every team was to one another, now little room the teams had to maneuver, and how fans could easily have run over if you didn't keep your head on a swivel.
  

We spent Saturday morning touring the Nationwide and Cup garage areas. Saturday afternoon, we watched Cup qualifying from pit road and then slipped into the stands to watch Carl Edwards flat-out dominate the 200 lap Nationwide race. Carl's Ford was hooked up to be certain, but the overall racer quality was pitiful. At least 12 start-and-parkers - about 25% of the field - were back on their haulers within a handful of laps. And by lap 100, only 12 cars remained on the lead lap.

Carl in the process of completing his victory back flip...

Credit: Brian '200WINZ' Hauck

I'm not exactly sure how many fans the track can accommodate. Probably 120,000 or so. What I do know is that Saturday's Nationwide race couldn't have had more than 12,000 fans - despite being a companion event. Dover has already shuttered three Nationwide tracks it owns: Memphis, Gateway and Nashville. Now it can't even draw a respectable crowd to its one remaining, flagship track.

For the Cup race, the stands were barely half-full - this despite the track's attempt to cover many sections with ad banners. This economy is in trouble. This sport is in trouble. And this track is in trouble.

But we went to Dover to RACE baby - not be a voice of gloom-and-doom about the state of the sport. Despite brisk temps, a fierce wind, and misting rain, we made our way through the gates of Richard Petty Grandstand and settled in.

Our seats were great. I've been to many 1-1/2 mile tracks and short tracks. But Dover is right between them at one-mile in length. The track's banking, limited infield clutter, the one-mile distance, and our seat location made for an ideal setting to take in all of the sights of the race.

Earlier in the week, the weekend forecast was fantastic. Virtually no chance of rain, plenty of sun, and warm temps. The weather geeks nailed it - for Friday and Saturday morning. But after lunch on Saturday through Sunday, wow. Clouds rolled in, temperatures dropped, the wind picked up, and we got a good dose of rain Friday and Saturday nights. Fortunately, we didn't lose either race on Saturday or Sunday to rain - though Sunday's race had two cautions for a light misting shower passing through.

By the time I started earning my own way in this world and had the discretionary income to go racing, my hero's competitive days were behind him. With rare exception, Richard Petty fared poorly in the last few races I got to see in his final few years as a driver. Sadly, the drivers of his teams at Petty Enterprises and more recently Richard Petty Motorsports haven't fared much better when I've been in the stands.

So it was a fantastic, adrenalin-rush day to be there and witness the competitiveness of the legendary 43 with A.J. Allmendinger as the driver. Making the day even more memorable was that first-year RPM driver and Glen winner, Marcos Ambrose, was competing for a top 10 finish most of the day.

Nearing the half-way mark, A.J. was atop the leader board and I was on cloud 9.

A.J.'s spot atop the pylon was even more remarkable because of what happened on lap 7. Denny Hamlin doinked the 43 coming into turn 3. Incredibly, A.J. had the presence of mind to hang the car waaaay to the right and dirt track it through turns 3 and 4. Sure enough, the car bit, A.J. straightened it out, and he later climbed into the #1 spot. I really thought it was the team's day...

Credit: Brian '200WINZ' Hauck

I expected Hamlin's nudge of the 43 would lead to an afternoon of retaliation, collateral damage, etc. In addition, with overnight rains washing rubber off the track, Chasers fighting for precious points, and many drivers auditioning for 2012 sponsors and rides, I thought we would see many wrecks. Instead, cautions were infrequent and mainly for yet-to-be-found debris, a light rain, and single car wall bangers.

Several drivers took turns leading a handful of laps. Their moments up front didn't really matter, however, because the 48 of Jimmie Johnson ran off and led for long stretches of the race. I wasn't happy at all that JJ and Chad Knaus were on their game and headed for victory because:

• Jimmie won both times I went to Loudon.
  
• He won when I went to Vegas.
• He won the Coke 600 at Charlotte in 2004 - my first time back at Charlotte in seven years.
• He won the only time I went to Darlington in what was then thought to be the final Southern 500.
  

When the teams pitted for the last time with about 40 laps to go, however, Kurt Busch's team made the right adjustments. He forged ahead of Johnson following the restart and motored away to the win. I'm not the biggest KuBu fan - but he did beat the 48 and that was good enough for me.

To be continued...

TMC

Kentucky: The tour and the race

Over 10 years. The ownership, management, local residents and fans of Kentucky Speedway waited over 10 years to finally land its coveted Cup date. It took a change of ownership and and an agreement by a bunch of lawyers to stand down before it could happen. But both events happened, the Cup date was granted, and Darrell Waltrip got so giddy over the whole deal that on more than one occasion I'm quite sure he nearly pee'd himself.

New track owner Bruton Smith - who is not exactly a wallflower owner/promoter - gushed that the race would be the biggest event of the year. When the weekend was done, he was kind of right with his prediction. He likely hosted the biggest STORY of the season. Sadly, the weekend will be remembered for ridiculous traffic jams, a lack of parking, a breakdown of communications and commitment by track management and staff, and a complete abdication of responsibility by those in charge (e.g. Bruton joking about the snafus on pre-race shows, Bruton blaming I-71's condition and width, press releases stating the track "regretted" the situation).

Despite all the perimeter noise, the inaugural Quaker State 400 Cup race was run. And representatives of the Schaefer Hall of Fame and Ring of Honor were there to christen the event.

We arrived on Friday afternoon - primarily just to get a feel for the vibe of the crowd, scout some parking, tour the souvenir trailers, enjoy a Schaefer ... and maybe a second, etc. While roaming through the various sponsor exhibits, we spotted a replica of the car Michael Waltrip planned to race. It was skinned to pay tribute to Darrell Waltrip's first Cup win at Nashville Speedway in 1975. When qualifying was rained out, however, Mikey was left on the outside looking in.

Schafer HOFer Uncle Dave was excited to find the Robby Gordon souvenir trailer. I'm not quite sure why. Uncle Dave may well be the last fan ol' Robby has. I kind of expected Robby's souvenirs could fit comfortably inside a pull-behind U-Haul trailer.

In the early to mid 90s, Kyle Petty had some incredibly dominant runs at Rockingham Speedway - especially when sponsored by Mello Yello. After all these years, I think I finally found the answer. He was racing with organic fuel maaannnn. (reference to Cars 2 for those who don't get it).

I was fortunate enough to land a hospitality pass with Stanley Tools through Rick - who was recently inducted into the Schaefer Ring of Honor in May at Charlotte Motor Speedway. As we walked towards the hospitality tent, I snapped this photo of the Marcos Ambrose / Stanley show car.

As we settled in with a nice lunch, one of the Stanley guys announced some prize giveaways. "The first person to show me a photo of the Stanley race car wins a prize." I jumped up with a WHOO, showed him the pic on my Blackberry, and just like that earned myself a soft-sided Stanley tool "box" or bag. Shortly thereafter, they had drawings for garage tours. I had been told we could visit the pits, but the garage tour was an extra. Sure enough, I went two for two as my name was drawn to visit the garage.

Before heading down for our tour, Marcos Ambrose dropped by the tent to ask a few questions. He answered such inquiring-minds-want-to-know questions as "what is your favorite pre-race meal?", "will you put Kyle Busch in the wall for us?", "what is your favorite TV show?", etc. I got the privilege of asking one, and mine went something like this: In the 2-car drafting tandem at Daytona, you seemed to draft better with your pushing A.J. than when he tried to push you. Was that because of the differences in the cars or your individual driving and drafting styles? Unlike the other ones, he started his response with "well, that's a great question mate..." before explaining the answer as a little bit of both.

After Ambrose left, it was time for our walking tour of the garage. I'm guessing we were supposed to keep a healthy distance away from the individual garage bays. But I couldn't help myself. I wanted to get a couple of close-up shots - especially of the Richard Petty Motorsports Fords.

Here is the Porter Cable #9 raced at Kentucky by Marcos Ambrose...

And here is the famed #43. The Valvoline Ford of The Dinger, A.J. Allmendinger.

After roaming a bit more around the bays and seeing a few cars go through technical inspection, our group headed for hauler row. I lagged back a bit when I got to the Best Buy trailer. I was hoping to catch a glimpse of Allmendinger, The King, Robbie Loomis, Dale Inman, or someone else of vital importance I might recognize. Not seeing them, I still made myself at home a bit. Having a Schaefer in hand is a bit like being a V.I.P. - it gets you into interesting places with meaningful people. Don't believe me? Check out the expression on the dude's face in the white shorts. I'm quite certain he's thinking "Are you kidding me? I had to surrender my first born to get a hot pass - yet this guy just strolls in with nothing more than a Schaefer?" Yeah buddy, deal with it.

Although I didn't see anyone of vital importance at the Best Buy hauler, I did spot one quasi-celeb. Look again at the above photo - over the left shoulder of the guy whose back is to me with a #7 shirt and blue shoes. Recognize him? Its Paul Menard, sideburns and all.

Allmendinger's trailer - still in its Best Buy colors vs. the 1-off Valvoline sponsor for the weekend - was sandwiched between the haulers of Menard and Juan Montoya. With those two flanking the RPM hauler, it was amazing the 43 didn't get wrecked while being unloaded!

As we wrapped up our tour of the garage and headed for pit road, we passed by a booth where a radio broadcast was taking place. When I walked by, I heard the announcer say "we're glad to have Jerry Carrol here with us", and I paused.

Carroll built Kentucky Speedway and lobbied for years for a Cup event. The lobbying later turned into a lawsuit against NASCAR. As long as the lawsuit continued, Carrol had about as much a chance of landing a Cup date as drivers named Regan and Ragan could each win a race and in the same season.

Wait - check that. Regan and Ragan both have won races this season, and Kentucky did get its Cup date. So miracles do happen. But of course, it required Carroll's selling of the track and getting the lawsuit withdrawn to make it happen.

A view of the upper portion of pit road. Look carefully near the center of the picture, and you may be able to see the pit board for the 43 team.

A view of the start-finish line with the grandstands, suites and Indiana Tower behind it.

After completing our tour, I returned to the hospitality area. I downed a water, cracked a beer and said so long to some of the folks I'd met at my table. Not long after I returned to our own tailgating site, SROH Rick called me to say they were going to have more drawings. Knowing I'd already won the toolbox and garage tour, I figured my luck was exhausted and/or was ineligible for more. Apparently not. A couple of hours later, he returned along with the guys from the table with more swag - some of it autographed by Marcos. They told me my name had been drawn again, but I had to be present to win. So *oof* - a swing and a miss for me. Sure, it stung. But I'd been lucky, I was thankful for the freebies I already won, and there was no sense crying over missed opportunities or autographed swag.

It was now race time! With qualifying rained out, the field was set by practice speeds. As such, Allmendinger started about half-way through the field. He is shown here leading out the second pack of cars for a couple of pace laps.

Sadly, that's about as well as the 43 car would run all night. The team was off its game from the time they unloaded. I call it the Valvoline curse. Don't get me wrong - I appreciate the company's partial sponsorship of Richard Petty Motorsports. But it seems anytime the 43 is skinned in Valvoline colors, the car runs horribly. He ran the same scheme at Vegas in 2010 when I was there - similar type of result.

The race was pretty uneventful. Kyle Busch set the pace early - with his only significant challenge in the early stages coming from brother Kurt. In the mid-laps of the race, Brad Keselowki put the blue deuce out front for an extended segment. Yet we knew the 18 was still very much in the thick of things. Sure enough, as the race hit its three-quarters mark or so and the cars cycled through green-flag pit stops, KyBu's Toyota returned to point.

The finish. Sorry for the blurriness of the cars. A Blackberry 3.2 megapixel camera isn't quite up to par with a Nikon. But that is indeed Kyle Busch winning with David Reutimann in second and Jimmie Johnson in third.

Kyle is no question a polarizing guy. Many, many people still boo him. He does have some passionate fans - though I suspect most have just crawled aboard his winning bandwagon. But you have to give the guy his due. He sets 'em up and knocks 'em down - trucks, Nationwide, Cup. He can win them all on any given weekend. And I don't think anyone can match him on burnouts.

One of these days, I half-way expect him to pull a Chris Angel stunt. Light 'em up, create a tire smokescreen, and disappear into thin air before the smoke clears.

Once the checkers fell and the burnout smoke cleared, SROH member Chet and I made a beeline for the car. We had made the decision to drive throughout the night back to middle Tennessee rather than staying somewhere overnight. We made it as far as Louisville before the weekend caught up to us: road stare, excessive yawning and hunger.

Just as is often needed during a long race, it was time for a green-flag pit stop. Waffle House! Say it with me: Waffle House!

Yep. Nothing soothes the stomach and wakes the soul quite like an All Star at 2AM.

Next: The Schaefer Hall of Fame and Ring of Honor celebrate and induct many new members.

TMC