THE UNIVERSITY OF DARYL KANSAN
MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 29, 2008
SPORTS
5B
NASCAR
Jimmie Johnson. driver of the No.48 car. peels out in front of the orand stands while waving the checkered flag Sunday afternoon. Johnson still sits atop the Nascar Sprint Cup Series standings after Sunday's victory at the Kansas Speedway.
A Sunday at the races in Kansas Ci
Weston White/KANSAN
Motorized beasts and elk heads highlight NASCAR spectacle Sunday
Bryan Wheeler and I arrived at Kansas Speedway a little short of 7:30 a.m. Short on sleep and fueled by Red Bull left over from the night before, we passed innumerable rows of RVs with various flags erected to salute Jimmie Johnson. Clint Bowyer and the rest of the field.
A few wrong turns and the friendly assistance of the grounds crew lead us to a parking spot in the infield...a few hundred yards from where cars would be eclipsing speeds of 180 mph.
A Crown Royal vendor poured what looked to be his first drink of the day as we made our way through the infield. The media center was spacious, clean and quiet early all descriptions that would be insufficient soon enough.
The first look at the beasts on display came at 9 a.m. when, with garage passes in hand, Wheeler and I inhaled our fair share of fumes while their engines resved maddeningly.
The garage is a site to behold. Each driver was set up with a bevy of endosed products on display — a potentially lethal environment should the Red Bull team and Little Debbie boys engage in some trading. I couldn't help imagine a death race in which cranked out drivers flip and crash their way into oblivion
Yet easily the best setup of the day belonged to the Bass Pro team. Propped up against a stack of tires were two huge mounted elk for all to see and touch.
When we reconvened in the media room, it was thick with racing scribes. I wasn't sure if they had been briefed on the day's events at that point as talk centered on whether one fellow should start Carson Palmer or Kerry Collins in his fantasy football league.
One dubious duo then suntered in wearing a sleeveless shirt that did a sweeping job accentuating each others' farmers' tans.
A diverse bunch indeed, but one that can be taken only in moderation. Luckily a NASCAR staff member swept these two lowly college sportswriters out of that environment and into one absolutely surreal place: the pre-race meeting between the higher-ups, the drivers and their crews.
The Busch family earned the majority of Kansas City's disdain. Kyle and Kurt aren't welcomed around these parts.
It was the first meeting I've attended that I could say I was joined by Dale, Jr. sitting a few feet away from me. As the speaking began, we dipped and dodged around various garage fare and ended up standing directly behind a group that included the CEO of Sprint and the president and vice president of NASCAR, among others. A strange and wild moment indeed, topped moments later when we were yet again granted impossible access — this time on the track for the pre-race introductions.
Absolutely surreal. Deafening boos and cheers greeted each driver in a scene comparable to a United Nations summit in front of 81,000 diverse crazies.
Fantasy football and baseball talk still permeated the newsroom — no sign of anticipation of what was about to occur.
The air was cut in half as the race began. Standing in the infield we were truly in the eye of the Hurricane. Even earplugs could not prevent the inevitable piercing of mw eardrums.
The crowd has become thick and is further whipped into a frenzy via pyrotechnics as we head back to the media room.
At approximately 1:09 p.m., "Gentleman, start your engines," booms over the loudspeakers, followed in succession by Metallica's "Fuel."
Ye Old Media Hut is saturated at this point, most still poured over the happenings of other sporting events despite the race's sounds entering the room.
The air was crisp and clean while the sun beared down on the track and a light breeze delivered the pungent odor of fuel.
"The jets scored 31 points in the second quarter!"
One writer had a baseball game
feed taking up his entire computer. Another researched real estate. It's easy to forget there was a race going on. So it was back outside where the action is.
Few moments in sports are as intense as the resuming of a race after a caution lap. Each driver propels forward round the corner with jet-like intensity — emitting those familiar senses: the smell of fuel and the sound of madness. And no, NASCAR is nothing on television compared to the experience of being there.
This was complete sporting access ... a literal drop into the center of the event.
After awhile it was back to the bleak media room — someone behind me convulsed in a seizure-like manner, infuriated that his computer wouldn't load a baseball score fast enough.
The final trip outside during the race was one of pure immersion. I was on the track ... literally up against the wall. Within reach of the motorized beasts.
Visions of bystanders being crushed by errant wrecked cars entered my mind several times during the brief stay. A few kind words with NASCAR officials found us headed back to the media room with a dozen laps to go — time for the press to awaken.
On my way back into the media center, I ran into and had a brief exchange with 98.9 The Rock's Johnny Dare.
Dare — looking as gleefully burnt out as us — was a true member of the working press Sunday...out in the field where you go to the story, it doesn't come to you.
"It was something else," said Dare regarding the day, "What did you think?"
Brother, there aren't enough superlatives in my vocabulary.
—Edited by Ramsey Cox
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Weston White/KANSAN
Two drivers return to their home track
BY BRYAN WHEELER
bwheeler@kansan.com
Clint Bowyer, a Kansas native and driver of the Jack Daniel's number seven car, waves to the fans before the start of the race Sunday afternoon during the driver introductions.
KANSAS CITY, KAN. — Two drivers wanted to win at Kansas Speedway's Camping World RV 400 on Sunday more than anyone else: a Kansas driver and a Missouri driver.
On the Kansas side, Emporia native and Jayhawk clan Clinton Bowyer called Sunday's race a border war.
On the Missouri side, Carl Edwards of Columbia, Mo, said the race meant more to him than any other race on the schedule. The racers both called it their hometown track.
With the race being a homecoming race with major implications for the Sprint Cup Series Championship, both racers made risky moves.
Bowyer, looking for his first win at the speedway after a second-place finish in 2007 and a ninth-place finish in 2006, got off to a rough start. After beginning the race 24th, Bowyer jumped the start, resulting in a pass-through penalty, which put him one lap behind.
Though the penalty put him in 43rd place, Bowyer came back to compete for a win and was in third place 120 laps into the 267-lap event. Bowyer was in sixth place 210 laps into the race but was penalized for starting a pit stop too fast and fell 10 spots. Bowyer finished the race in 12th place.
Edwards, who hoped to hold onto the top spot in the Chase for the Sprint Cup, attempted to pull off what he called a "hanzai move" on the third turn of lap 266 to pass race winner Jimmie Johnson. As a result of this maneuver, he hit the outside wall of
"I planned on hitting the wall, but I didn't plan on the wall slowing me down that much," Edwards said. "In video games, you can just run into the wall and run it wide open."
the track
On second thought, Edwards said, he thought the risky maneuver should have been called a "Kamikaze move" instead.
"I watched him pound the wall and get back in the gas and thought, man, he's serious about this win," Johnson said.
With seven races remaining in the Chase for the Sprint Cup, Bowyer is in seventh place in the standings and 64 points behind first place Johnson. Edwards fell to second place on Sunday and is ten points behind Johnson. Johnson has won the Sprint Cup series the last two years.
Next up in the Sprint Cup Series is the AMP Energy 500 at Talladega Superspeedway in Talladega, Ala. on Oct. 7.
Edited by Adam Mowder
Sprint Cup Standings
Rank/Driver/Points/Points Behind
1 Jimmie Johnson 5575 --
2 Carl Edwards 5565 -10
3 Greg Biffle 5545 -30
4 Jeff Burton 5454 -121
5 Kevin Harvick 5439 -136
6 Jeff Gordon 5432 -143
7 Clint Bowyer 5411 -164
8 Dale Earnhardt Jr. 5385 -190
9 Matt Kenseth 5383 -192
10 Denny Hamlin 5332 -124
Place/Driver/Number/Manufacturer
1 Jimmie Johnson 48 Chevrolet
2 Carl Edwards 99 Ford
3 Greg Bliff 16 Ford
4 Jeff Gordon 24 Chevrolet
5 Matt Kenseth 17 Ford
6 Kevin Harwick 29 Chevrolet
7 Jeff Burton 31 Chevrolet
8 David Ragan 6 Ford
9 AJ Allmendinger 84 Toyota
10 Elliott Sadler 19 Dodge
Sprint Cup Results
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