Updated: 8:16 p.m.

East 7, Volunteer 6

3:54 remaining in second quarter

Posted by Brian T. Smith

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“It’s just crazy the way everything has kind of come along this year, but we were fortunate it’s come along on us.”

Transcript of an e-mail interview conducted with Kyle Busch, driver of the No. 18 M&M’s Toyota Camry, and current points leader in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series.

Q: Think back to when you were a kid. What would you have thought of possibly being able to have a season like you’ve had so far.

A: It’s fun.  I said from the beginning of the year that we just wanted to keep riding and keep going in the way that we have been, and fortunately we’ve been able to do that.  Yeah, there’s been a couple weeks where, yeah, you might fall back a little bit.  But you look at Pocono and we were running fourth before we ran out of gas.  Whether we didn’t get it full on that last stop or whatever, it was unfortunate there.  And then at Indy, we were running in the top 10 much of the day, top five, we led some, and probably had probably a fifth through tenth place car, and that’s where we were going to end up coming out of that final pit stop but my guys got run over and launched underneath the car by the 88 so we just had to wait for them to get back out.  We missed our shot there at a Top 10.  You’ve got to keep it going in the right direction, you’ve got to look at what you can do and what you’ve been able to do and just try to keep doing it.
It’s been a great year and we could never really ask for more, but you hope that the success can continue and you can hope that you can have a shot for the championship when it’s all said and done.

Q: What’s your opinion of racing at Bristol?

A: I think years ago it was just a race where everybody could go balls out, and now it’s sort of tamed it a little bit.  With the track being a three-groove race track there’s a lot more room that everybody can drive around it so it’s kind of cooled off a little bit in that sense, too.

Q: What’s made Toyota so successful this year?

A: It’s great that we’ve had the success that we’ve had this year being in a Toyota but any other manufacturer would hope that they’d be able to run just as strong.  With the affiliation that we have at Joe Gibbs Racing with the Toyota brand is something that NASCAR has brought into the sport that we’ve been able to use to our advantage and win some races with.

Q: There are still a lot of races to go this year, as well as the Chase. What would you like to accomplish during the remainder of the season?

We’re setting up for the Chase.  We were setting up for the Chase from Daytona.  I’m just kidding.  It’s just crazy the way everything has kind of come along this year, but we were fortunate it’s come along on us.  We’ve just been fortunate to run as well as we have at places and yet we’ve struggled at a couple others.  We’ve got some work to do.  I heard earlier today that the 48 (Jimmie Johnson) has been testing like 18 times this year and stuff, and we’ve tested a couple places but nothing like that.  So we’re looking forward to the next couple weeks.  We’ve got some tests lined up and we’re going to try to learn something and keep our mojo going and keep it going through and into the Chase. 

Posted by Brian T. Smith
NASCAR
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“I believe that you have to crawl before you can walk and I just felt it was the smartest place for me to start in this sport.”

Full transcript of an e-mail interview between the Bristol Herald Courier and Randy Moss, New England Patriots wide receiver and half-owner of Morgan-Dollar Racing’s NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series team. Moss’ No. 81 Kobalt Tools Chevrolet truck will be driven by NASCAR driver Jimmie Johnson in tonight’s O’Reilly 200 at Bristol Motor Speedway.

1.) Why did you decide to pick Bristol for Jimmie Johnson to race your truck?

It really just all happened this way as all of the pieces fell into place.  Hendrick Motorsports and Chevrolet came to us awhile back expressing their interest in putting Jimmie in the truck at Bristol as it was something they were looking to do to help him get some more seat time. It is an honor to have a champion like Jimmie driving the No. 81 truck and hopefully we will be able to have a lot of success together this week.

2.) Why get into trucks and not NASCAR Sprint Cup or Nationwide?

I believe that you have to crawl before you can walk and I just felt it was the smartest place for me to start in this sport.  I have seen many others come into NASCAR and want to go to Cup right away and their success has not necessarily been the best.  I wanted to give myself the best avenue for success and I think this is it.

3.) How long have you wanted to participate in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series?

This is something that I have wanted to do for quite a while.  I have been a big fan of the sport for a long time and have been involved in a few other racing opportunities. I’ve sponsored a local dirt track in West Virginia and am also a Goodwill Ambassador for the Urban Youth Racing School. Supporting and being involved in the youth programs is always something that I enjoy doing and it is a major component of Randy Moss Motorsports.

4.) What do you think so far about how everything has gone in terms of being involved in Truck Series racing?

So far, racing in the Truck Series has been great. The racing that happens every week is always action-filled and it has been cool to see that 81 truck going around the track. We have had a couple of good solid runs, but we are hoping to improve our finishes and break into the top-five here soon.

5.) A lot of people don’t know that you’re from the South. Do you take pride in coming from the South and staying involved in the world of Southern sports, such as auto racing?

I take a huge amount of pride coming from West Virginia. I’m just a good Southern boy from West Virginia, who enjoys some good cooking and is proud of where he came from. Growing up, I would be outside playing football and one of our neighbors had a racecar. He would rev his engine and we would always listen to it. This was my first interaction with racing.

6.) Will trucks be enough for you or do you want to get involved in bigger things in terms of racing?

I would like to make it up to the Sprint Cup Series at some point but we will just play this thing out and see where we end up. I definitely want to work my way up the ladder and be successful, competing for wins at every level. I think this week with Jimmie is going to give us a great opportunity to get the No. 81 truck in Victory Lane.

7.) Have you been to Bristol Motor Speedway before? If so, what’s your opinion of it. If not, do you think you’ll attend the August races?

I have never been to Bristol and unfortunately I am busy in preseason training and games with the New England Patriots and I will not be attending this race.  Maybe I can get to the track at some point in the future.

8.) Is it hard to balance your NFL life with racing, or does it work well because of the NFL’s offseason?

Well, first and foremost playing in the NFL is my job. I love playing football and it has given me the opportunity to do things like own a race team in the Truck Series.  During the NFL season, football is my main priority, but that doesn’t mean that I won’t be paying attention to the action on the track. I will be watching every race and be in communication with the team. You probably won’t see me around the track during football season and hopefully I am playing football until February, but when the season is over, you will definitely see me around more.

Posted by Brian T. Smith
NASCAR
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Skip Caray was a Legend

Back in October 2007, I posted this blog after the Atlanta Braves’ run on the SuperStation WTBS came to an end:

“Growing up in Southwest Virginia, there were two options for Major League Baseball when I was a youngster. You had the Chicago Cubs on WGN and the Atlanta Braves on TBS. The Cubs usually came on after I got home from school and interfered with the cartoons I watched, so I only caught their games occasionally.

I am sure many of the folks in Southwest Virginia and Northeast Tennessee share these memories as well and were sad to see Atlanta’s run on the SuperStation come to an end.”

Yesterday was an emotional day as well. Skip Caray passed away at his Atlanta home at the age of 68. Skip was the voice of Braves baseball for more than 30 years and a bonafide legend. When the Braves were terrible in the 1980s and losing 90-100 hundred games a year with a lineup that included the likes of Ozzie Virgil, Bruce Benedict and Obdie McDowell, Skip (along with Dale Murphy) may have been the biggest star Atlanta had. And then the 1990s, things turned around. There was Worst to First miracle in 1991, Bream’s slide in ‘92 and Marquis Grissom recording the final out of the ‘95 World Series. Skip was there through it all and provided an excellent soundtrack.

It was Skip and Ernie Johnson, Sr. Skip and Sutton. Skip and a host of others whose names I have forgotten. But the best combination was Skip and Pete Van Wieren. Two of the best.

When I was in Atlanta in 2003 to cover Bristol native Jimmy Gobble making a start for the Kansas City Royals in an interleague game at Turner Field, Van Wieren happened to step on the same media elevator that I was in. I was in awe, but at the same time I felt like I had known the guy all my life. But the more I thought about it, I had been listening to Skip and Pete provided the voices for the games I had watched all my life.

Throughout my life, Skip was always there, calling Braves games. It became a routine as I got older. On a Saturday, it was WCW Saturday night at 6:05 and the Braves at 7:05 on Ted Turner’s cable network. Great talking by Ric Flair, followed by great announcing by Skip Caray.

Those were good times.

Thanks for the memories, Skip.

Posted by Tim Hayes

By now, even the most casual sports fan has heard about the ugly drama that unfolded Sunday at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

Drivers were universal in their disgust after the high-stakes blowout at the Brickyard.

By now, even the most casual sports fan has heard about the ugly drama that unfolded Sunday at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

Drivers were universal in their disgust after the high-stakes blowout at the Brickyard.

Consider that 52 of the 160 laps ran under caution and the longest green flag period was 13 laps. Sound like $100 worth of fun?

If anything good comes out of this mess, it’s that drivers, fans and media types were so open in their criticism of NASCAR and Goodyear.

Earlier this season, NASCAR officials actually called a closed-door meeting to chastise drivers for being so open in their complaints about the generic Car of Tomorrow. Dictatorship?

With inconsistent rulings and lackluster racing with the COT, ripping NASCAR is about as easy as shooting a cow.

There’s a huge difference between throwing out insults and actually offering constructive suggestions, however.
Yes, this sport has problems but it’s still a compelling and popular spectacle on most weekends.

For some reason, many fans blindly and passionately defend anything related to the top levels of NASCAR. They will accept and defend cornball commentators, bratty drivers, crude fan behavior and boring events.

To these true believers, it’s fine to offer blanket attacks on stick-and-ball sports without facts. However, don’t you dare say anything about their sport, team or man. It’s all about being part of a community or family.

And yes, that colorful family of followers includes some members of the media who do nothing praise the sport and its stars. Objectivity anyone?

The fans who have built this once-regional game deserve so much better. It was refreshing on Tuesday to hear a NASCAR official issue an apology for Sunday’s debacle at the most hallowed ground in motorsports.

Goodyear and NASCAR should clearly share the blame for failing to predict how the current car would react to the unique conditions at Indy.
Instead of moaning and hand wringing, how about we do something to reward the earnest folks who actually fuel this billion-dollar sport.

While crowds have been down at some tracks this season, fans are still making expensive sacrifices to worship at the stock car altar.

Here’s a suggestion. Let’s honor those disciples with reduced ticket prices, reasonable concessions and free souvenirs.

Whatever the gesture, NASCAR officials and track operators need to reach out to fans who endure bore-a-thons like Sunday’s Allstate 400 yet keep coming back for more.
With gas and grocery prices slicing the family budget, the time for accountability is now.

Posted by Allen Gregory
NASCAR