NASCAR Sprint Cup
The Next News Compiled by Dwight Drum
Photos by Dwight Drum Web work by Larsen & Drum
Tony & Team
Tony Stewart [No. 14 Chevrolet ][NSCS]
Smoke Signals
College Football and NASCAR Together Again in the Southeast
Labor Day weekend means the kickoff of college football, and thanks to the second annual night race at Atlanta Motor Speedway, Labor Day weekend also means the return of NASCAR racing in the Southeast.
After a five-year sojourn to Auto Club Speedway in Fontana, Calif., the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series and accompanying NASCAR Nationwide Series returned to the Southeast on Labor Day weekend for last year's inaugural night race at Atlanta.
For decades, Labor Day in the Southeast meant two things: football and racing, and not necessarily in that order. The Southern 500 at Darlington (S.C.) Raceway was a Labor Day staple until schedule realignment in 2004, when instead of running 500 miles around a quirky, egg-shaped oval that first began hosting NASCAR races in 1950, 500 miles were instead run around a 2-mile, D-shaped oval nearly two hours outside of Los Angeles with a history dating all the way back to 1997. (Whoa, Nellie!)
Tailgate cuisine went from barbecue and corn dogs to tofu and kuskus. Needless to say, it was a seismic shift of tradition.
But after enduring an endless series of blast furnace-hot temperatures, the series' second SoCal race was mercifully moved to mid-October beginning last season, and in turn, Labor Day in the Southeast meant college football on Saturday and Sprint Cup racing on Sunday, as Atlanta was awarded the Labor Day weekend slot on the 36-race calendar.
So, after Louisiana State University and the University of North Carolina - Chapel Hill play in the College Kickoff Saturday night in an SEC/ACC matchup at the Georgia Dome in downtown Atlanta, fans can stay in the area and on Sunday venture an hour south to Hampton, Ga., home of the 1.54-mile Atlanta Motor Speedway. There, the Emory Healthcare 500 will kick-off under the lights at 7:30 p.m. on ESPN, less than 24 hours after its parent network, ABC, finishes its broadcast of the LSU-UNC game.
It will be the just the second official night race for the Sprint Cup Series at Atlanta, for well before last year's Labor Day visit, the series' held an unofficial night race at Atlanta in 1998 when rain delayed what used to be the season finale deep into the night and the track's recently installed lights had to be called into service.
Tony Stewart, driver of the No. 14 Office Depot/Old Spice Chevrolet Impala for Stewart-Haas Racing, wasn't in Sprint Cup yet, as his rookie year came in 1999. But that's not to say he doesn't have experience running under the lights at Atlanta. Stewart was able to participate in a Goodyear tire test prior to last year's race and, of course, he logged 500 miles worth of track time in the 2009 Pep Boys 500.
That bit of experience, combined with Stewart's 23 career Sprint Cup starts at Atlanta - a mark that includes two wins, eight top-fives, 13 top-10s and 790 laps led (10.6 percent of the 7,423 laps available) - means that the two-time Sprint Cup champion is poised to kick-off the season's fall stretch with another championship-worthy performance.
CHECK OUT TONY"S NEW RACING WEBSITE: Office Depot Racing.com
Ryan Newman [No. 39 Chevrolet ][NSCS]
Rocket Trail
Newman Will Be Chasing Record, Points in Atlanta
Sporting a paint scheme that will pay tribute to the U.S. Army Reserve, NASCAR driver Ryan Newman and the No. 39 Stewart-Haas Racing team are looking to draw upon their own reserve heading into Sunday night's Emory Healthcare 500 Sprint Cup race at Atlanta Motor Speedway.
Newman, who is in position to set a career-pole record at the 1.54-mile oval, also finds himself in a precarious spot with two races remaining before the Chase for the Sprint Cup championship begins. He currently sits 15th in the driver standings, 118 points from the final Chase position of 12th.
"No matter how many realistic ways you dissect the numbers our backs are to the wall in every scenario," said Newman, a three-time Chase participant, including last year. "We're going into the race with the expectation of contending for the win in the U.S. Army Reserve Chevrolet. This is the Army team and you'll never see us quit. We have more than one million Army Strong Soldiers to answer to.
"We know we have a lot of ground to make up, and after the last race in Bristol (Aug. 21) it looks like we need a win to gain in points. We finished sixth in Bristol and went backwards in the standings. That's a pretty good indicator about how fierce the competition is week in and week out."
NASCAR's pre-Chase regular season ends Sept. 11 at Richmond (Va.) International Raceway. The 10-race Chase playoff commences at the following Cup event -- Sept. 19 at New Hampshire Motor Speedway.
The good news for Newman is the high-speed Atlanta track is one of his favorites. He and his former mentor Buddy Baker share the Atlanta Motor Speedway record with seven career poles. Newman posted six consecutive poles at Atlanta, starting with the March 2003 race. He will have the opportunity to be the sole holder of Atlanta's pole record during Saturday's time trials.
"It would be an honor to set the pole record in Atlanta and we'll do everything we can to achieve that milestone," said the 32-year-old Newman. "Atlanta is one of the best tracks we go to for three- and four-wide racing in the corners. I've always enjoyed Atlanta, especially during qualifying."
Newman's career record at Atlanta includes: 17 starts, one top five and five top 10s. He has a 6.7 average start and a 17.9 average finish. At this year's March race in Atlanta, Newman qualified seventh and finished 17th.
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