Sprint Nationwide Insurance Coverage Cup

Let me make sure I understand:

• So Sprint is a cell phone company that sponsors NASCAR, right?
• And they have nationwide coverage?
• But Nationwide is an insurance company that also sponsors NASCAR, right?
• And their races are shorter, quicker, and therefore more of a sprint?
• But many drivers who race in the Sprint-sponsored series routinely race in the Nationwide-sponsored series?
• And sometimes a Sprint driver uses the same car number in the Nationwide series?
• But sometimes a different driver uses the car number in the Nationwide series traditionally used by a Sprint driver?
  
• And some drivers only drive in the Nationwide races when the purses, prestige, and/or media coverage are greater?

If you are a casual race fan, I can see how you may exclaim ...

For decades, one could easily see the differences between NASCAR's top tiered tours - its Winston Cup series and Busch Grand National series (later shortened to just Busch Series). While some Cup drivers crossed-over occasionally to the Busch side, the Busch series had a core set of tracks the Cup series didn't run (e.g. Myrtle Beach, South Boston, Lanier, Hickory), a core set of competitive Busch regulars (e.g. Sam Ard, Tommy Houston, Jack Ingram, L.D. Ottinger, Jason Keller, Randy LaJoie), and often a different looking car.

Over the last 10-15 years, however, the lines have blurred to the point the two series (now Sprint Cup and Nationwide) are indistinguishable from one another. Most of the half-mile bull rings from the NW side have disappeared - just like they did in the early 1970s with the Cup series. Most of the old-line Busch/NW regulars either retired, got promoted to Cup, transferred over to the truck series, or simply went away. The drivers were replaced by a healthy dose of Cup regulars and a bunch of under-funded, less talented part-timers.

The only thing remaining to separate the series is the look of the car. Once NASCAR introduced the COT to Cup, the cars looked distinctly different than NW cars - as well as looking distinctly different from any kind of automobile.. However, now that a COT is being introduced in the NW series, that defining line may yet again be blurred.

I really don't know whether NASCAR has deliberately allowed the NW series to lose its identity or whether it happened slowly and unintentionally. But its clearly happened, and NASCAR seems to be content feeding off it.

Dale Earnhardt Jr.'s win in the Wrangler #3 Chevy Friday night was wildly popular. Fans went crazy. Folks cried. Protestants and Catholics in Northern Ireland sang kum-ba-yah. Peace in the Middle East came *this close* to happening. Memories of Dale Earnhardt Sr. who most famously drove a #3 car were evoked. It was Daytona.

Dale Jr. and the NASCAR Hall of Fame are even discussing if the winning car should end up in Charlotte at the Hall. Only one small problem. While the emotional relevance may have blown the Richter scale, the historical significance isn't that great. The Junebug had to drop down from Cup to NW and lesser competition to get the win, and it wasn't even his first win in a #3 car since the passing of his dad in the 2001 Daytona 500. He also won in a #3 Oreos Chevy in the 2002 Hershey's Kisses 300 at Daytona.

Sure, Dale Sr. had a lot of success in the Busch series - particularly in the February 300 mile race preceding the Daytona 500. He always seemed to be able to win it; however, he only closed the deal once in the 500. But clearly Sr.'s fame is in the Cup series. 7 championships. 70+ wins. The Intimidator. The Man In Black. The #3 was THE number in the 80s and 90s as the relevance of Richard Petty's #43 and the Wood Brothers' #21 began to wane.

The fact Jr's win was in a lesser series and not in his (or his dad's) primary series doesn't seem to matter to anyone. A Wrangler #3 car won with an Earnhardt behind the wheel, and that's all that seems to matter. Think any of these parties will clarify it for the casual fan?

• NASCAR? - Absolutely not. They're eating it up. Video footage and stories of Jr's win was everywhere over the weekend - possibly overshadowing Kevin Harvick's win in Saturday night's signature event.
• Action Diecast? - No way. Licensed product sales are down across the board and are in bad need of a boost. Action will sell exponentially more die-cast of an Earnhardt #3 Nationwide car at $80+ than they will of Harvick's #29 Shell/Pennzoil Cup replica.
• ESPN? - Don't bet on it. The network has the TV rights for all Nationwide races, and they'll use their footage to pimp the rest of the Nationwide races plus the upcoming last third of the Cup season that falls their way after TNT is done. Never mind that Dale Jr. doesn't have any additional Nationwide races planned - at least not in a #3 car.
  

Dale Jr's big-time NW win isn't the only area where NASCAR seems to enjoy blurred lines of its series. Consider...

• A couple of years ago, Michael Waltrip's 1,000th career NASCAR start was promoted. At the time, I remember doing a double-take at the news. Richard Petty had 1,000+ career Cup starts, and I couldn't possibly understand how Mikey was closing in on that number. Then I realized the truth. Waltrip's milestone was total NASCAR starts - the old Daytona Baby Grand/Dash series, Trucks, Busch/Nationwide, and Cup series.
• Articles have been written about Kyle Busch possibly ending up with 200 career NASCAR wins. Even Kyle has suggested it as a goal for himself. I knew this bit of hype was bunk from the time I saw it. The King has 200 Cup wins, and the closest to him is David Pearson with 105 Cup wins. Kyle is a huge talent, and he can seemingly win in any series when he hits the track. But wins by a Cup superstar in the truck and Nationwide series just don't rank the same in the annals of Cup history in my opinion.
• On ESPN's NASCAR Now show Monday night, Alan Bestwick referenced an on-line poll for fans: Will Dale Jr's NW win help him win soon in the Cup series? What????
• The latest bit of NASCAR blurred-line buzz is Danica Patrick. In late 2009 and throughout 2010, Danica-mania has invaded NASCAR. Media coverage has increased. Lines are long at her souvenir trailers. And her 30th+ place finishes get mentioned in newscast blurbs and fine print of newspapers alongside the top 3 - even when the rest of her race competitors get next to no coverage. ESPN is even running a commercial of Danica's voice mocking her critics: "She's no Tony. She's no Juan Pablo." You'd think she was locking horns with the best of the best in the most competitive motorsports series - The Sprint Cup Series. But she isn't! She's running abysmally in the Nationwide series, and no plans have been announced for any sort of Cup effort. By running 30th or worse in the minor leagues, she's still hedging embarrassment that would surely be even greater if she ran the same way on the Cup side.

At Daytona over the weekend, NASCAR Chairman and Chief 3rd Generation Flunky Officer Brian France intimated changes may be made in 2011 for the Nationwide series. Is this going to be a case of too little too late? With the passage of time, the lines between the two series may have become inseparably blurred. Many tracks now depend on Cup drivers dropping down to the NW race to help sell tickets. When Cup drivers don't participate, attendance is down dramatically. (If you don't believe me, ask Nashville Superspeedway.)

In the end, congrats to Dale Jr. A win is a win I suppose. And I do long for a return to a clearly defined line between the Cup and NW series, so I guess I somewhat anxiously for what Brian has to say.

But until any substance is put on the table, the "form" I see is a continual melding of the two series without an effort by NASCAR to re-establish an identity for both.

TMC

July 3 - This day in Schaefer racing history

The Inaugural 1971 Schaefer 500
USAC Indy car race
Pocono International Raceway
Pocono, Pennsylvania
Winning driver: the late Mark Donohue
Full results: Racing-Reference.info

Program and scoring tower photos source: Permission from Frank Hadl at Picassa

Thanks for the pics Frank and especially for your service in Vietnam!

Source: Wikipedia

Source: Toledo Blade via Google News Archive

Source: First Schaefer 500 recap at Motorcaster

Some notables from July 3, 1971:

• Donohue's win was the first career Indy/Champ car win for car owner, Roger Penske. Gee, I wonder whatever happened to that guy.
• NASCAR interloper, Cale Yarborough, finished 32nd in a 33 car field.
• Another NASCAR regular, Donnie Allison, continued his dalliance with Indy cars and finished 18th.
• Bill Simpson finished 18th. He ended his racer career in 1977 and then turned to a career of innovative racing products. He founded Simpson Performance Products. His most controversial moment came when Simpson products were used in Dale Earnhardt's car when he died at Daytona in February 2001.
• For those who follow NASCAR's Silly Season on Jayski.com regularly like I do, Donohue was Jay's favorite driver back in the day.

TMC
Edited 2011-12-21: For video clips from the race, jump to this post.

July 1 - This day in Schaefer racing history

1973 Schaefer 500
USAC Indy car race
Pocono International Raceway
Pocono, Pennsylvania
Winning driver: "Super Tex" A.J. Foyt
Full results: Racing-Reference.info

Road course legend Peter Revson surprised the oval racing bunch by laying down the quickest qualifying lap to nab the pole.

Source: Spartanburg Herald via Google News Archive

An interesting entry was Mel Kenyon. The long-time USAC midget racer also ran in several Indy car races so his driving a car wasn't that surprising. His sponsor, however, was a bit interesting for the times: the Atlanta Falcons NFL team. Kenyon's car owner, Lindsey Hopkins, was a minority investor in the franchise.

Though I'm uncertain if the Falcons sponsorship was the first in motorsports for the NFL, it certainly preceded the NFL's associate sponsorship of Joe Gibbs Racing's NASCAR team by two decades.

Credit: illeagle10

Credit: jkacing50 on Flickr

Source: Observer-Reporter via Google News Archive

The front row of pole winner Revson, second place starter Al Unser and third place starter Mario Andretti.

Credit: National Speed Sport News

A.J.'s car being pushed from the track to the paddock.

Credit: illegale10

The first half of the race saw many drivers at the point. In the second half, however, Roger McCluskey was the dominant car leading 62 of the final 100 laps. With a comfortable lead over Foyt on the final lap, McCluskey was headed for victory...until. McCluskey and his team attempted to stretch his fuel load to the end and almost made it...almost. He instead ran out on the final lap, and Foyt was able to pass him for the win. McCluskey's car was unable to even coast around to take the checkers yet still finished second to Foyt albeit one lap down.

Winner celebration FAIL. You win the SCHAEFER 500 - yet you drink champagne in victory lane? C'mon A.J., you shoulda known better than that.

Source: The Victoria Advocate via Google News Archive

But at least a Schaefer did make it to victory lane.

Source: Reading Eagle via Google News Archive

Some notables from July 1, 1973:

• Jerry Carl finished 26th driving for legendary NASCAR innovator and trickster Smokey Yunick.
• Wally Dallenbach finished 29th driving a #40 STP Eagle/Offenhauser (shown below in his 1974 colors at Indy):

Credit: Russ Thompson

• Two decades later, his son and current TNT announcer, Wally Dallenbach, Jr., found himself driving the #43 Petty Enterprises Pontiac - also sponsored by STP.

Source: Reading Eagle via Google News Archive

TMC
Edited July 1, 2014

June 30 - This day in Schaefer racing history

1974 Schaefer 500
USAC Indy car race
Pocono International Raceway
Pocono, Pennsylvania
Winning driver: "JR" Johnny Rutherford
Full results: Racing-Reference.info

TV commercial for the race.

Indianapolis 500 multi-time winner Bobby Unser captured the pole position. A trio of STP-sponsored drivers qualified second, third and fourth: Steve Krisiloff, Wally Dallenbach Sr. and Gordon Johncock. Race winner Rutherford lined up fifth.

Source: Lawrence Journal World via Google News Archive

Source: Reading Eagle via Google News Archive

Pre-race scoring pylon showing the top five starters of Unser (48), Krisiloff (60), Johncock (40), Dallenbach (20) and Rutherford (3).

Credit: Frank Hadl at Picassa
Thanks for the pics Frank and especially for your service in Vietnam!

Unser, Dallenbach, and Mario Andretti hogged most of the laps. The three of them combined to lead 171 of the race's 200 laps. Rutherford led 18 laps himself, however, including the final 13.

Rutherford's opportunity to take the lead came at the expense of others. Dallenbach had engine problems while leading with a baker's dozen laps to go, and Johncock ran out of gas while leading - though he did eke out a third place finish one lap down to Rutherford.

But as has been the case many times throughout the history of racing, it's often better to be lucky than good.

Source: The Hour via Google News Archive

Credit: Frank Hadl at Picassa

Source: Reading Eagle via Google News Archive

Some notables from June 30, 1974:

• Al Loquasto, who later drove a Schaefer-sponsored Buick in the 1981 Mountain Dew 500 NASCAR Cup race at Pocono, finished 11th.
• Sam Sessions finished 30th driving for legendary NASCAR innovator and trickster Smokey Yunick.
• Rookie Tom Bigelow finished 19th. No special trivia here. I just enjoy the thought of introducing myself as "Tom. Tom Bigelow. Yes, I'm just a Bigelow".
• Though the Pocono 500-mile race was only three years old, JR became the first driver to win the Indianapolis 500 and Schaefer 500 in the same season.

Source: Spartanburg Herald via Google News Archive

TMC
Edited June 28, 2014

June 29 - This day in Schaefer racing history

1975 Schaefer 500
USAC Indy car race
Pocono International Raceway
Pocono, Pennsylvania
Winning driver: "Super Tex" A.J. Foyt
Shortened by rain after 170 laps and 425 miles
Full results: Racing-Reference.info

Gordon Johncock won the pole in his #20 Pat Patrick-owned Wildcat. Foyt took the outside of the front row. Jerry Grant, Bobby Unser and Johnny Rutherford rounded out the top 5 starters. The start of the race was delayed two hours as rains pelted the track - a common occurrence for Pocono races.

Credit: Frank Hadl at Picassa
Thanks for use of the pic Frank and especially for your service in Vietnam!

The race was a competitive one with multiple drivers taking their turn at the front for a limited number of laps. Lap leaders included Johncock, Rutherford, Pancho Carter, and Mario Andretti. Each time a driver took the lead, however, it wasn't long before Super Tex passed them back for an extended stint.

Source: Reading Eagle archives June 30, 1975

When the day was done, A.J. tallied 115 laps as the leader. Johncock led the second most laps with 29 and was perhaps the only other car capable of hanging with Foyt for the win. But while running second and trying to overtake another car, Gordo simply lost it and backed it into the wall ending his day at lap 140.

The end of the race was affected the same way as the start of it - with rain. With 32 laps to go, showers returned to bring out the caution. Two laps later as it intensified, the race was called and Foyt was shown the checkered flag.

Credit: Frank Hadl at Picassa

Some notables from the race:

• Johncock's teammate, Wally Dallenbach finished 2nd. He is the father of Wally Dallenbach, Jr. who once raced in NASCAR (including for Petty Enterprises) and now works as a color announcer for TNT.
• Al Loquasto, who later drove a Schaefer Buick in the 1981 Mountain Dew 500 NASCAR Cup race at Pocono, finished 12th driving for himself.

Credit: jkracing50 at Flickr

• NASCAR's Bobby Allison, driving for Roger Penske, jumped the fire line to USAC Indy cars and finished 27th.
• Tom Bigelow finished 21st. No special trivia here - I just like saying "Bigelow".

Foyt arrives to a soggy victory lane with gloomy clouds still lingering above the track.

Source: Palm Beach Post via Google News Archive

Race highlights


TMC
Edited June 28, 2014

June 27 - This day in Schaefer racing history

1976 Schaefer 500
USAC Indy car race
Pocono International Raceway
Pocono, Pennsylvania
Winning driver: Al Unser, Sr.
Full results: UltimateRacingHistory.com

Some notables from the race:

• Unser's victory was his first win since 1974. I'm guessing Big Al thought nothing quenched a two-year drought better than a cold Schaefer.
• Wally Dallenbach finished 3rd. He is the father of Wally Dallenbach, Jr. who once raced in NASCAR (including for Petty Enterprises) and now works as a color announcer for TNT.
• Al Loquasto, who later drove a Schaefer Buick in the 1981 Mountain Dew 500 NASCAR Cup race at Pocono, finished 15th driving for himself.
• Johnny Parsons won the pole but finished 22nd in the race.  Ten years later, Parsons became part of the small Schaefer fraternity when he got a shot in a Schaefer / Machinists Union Indy car.

Photo courtesy of Russ Thompson

In scouring the web for information about the race, I ran across the blog Life of a Small Town Photographer. As fate would have it, he blogged about some of his experiences at the Pocono Indy races back in the 1970s. He was kind enough to give me permission to share his pictures for these next two trivia nuggets.

• A.J. Foyt, "Super Tex", had a Sucky Day and finished 31st out of 33 starters. I'm guessing this photo was made before the race vs. afterwards.

• Janet Guthrie, a racing pioneer as the first woman to drive in both the Indy 500 and the Daytona 500, finished 24th. On race day 1976, however, she had the unfortunate timing of being photographed next to the iconic Miss Hurst Shifter, Linda Vaughn.

The engine cowling cover for Unser's Cosworth engine...

Credit: brooklandsspeedway on Flickr

...and the nose of his American Racing Wheels sponsored Parnelli Jones chassis.

Credit: jkracing50 on Flickr

Source: Spartanburg Herald via Google News Archive

Race report from The Beaver County Times - including some candid language from Parnelli Jones about his former driver, Mario Andretti. Yowza.

I like this headline from the Spartanburg Herald better. The wording is more emblematic of some race day memories of the Schaefer Hall of Fame after a late Saturday night.

TMC
Edited June 26, 2014