Bloggin' is Racin'

Earnhardt's switch hurt merchandising

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported some unusual news Thursday. For once Dale Earnhardt Jr. was the cause of slumping merchandise sales rather than gains. NASCAR's souvenir merchants are hoping sales of Dale Earnhardt Jr.'s new No. 88 merchandise will help them recover from a disappointing 2007 selling season.
According to a Sporting News report in Ernie Saxton's Motorsports Sponsorship Marketing News, NASCAR'S top souvenir seller, Motorsports Authentics, is expected to report operating losses of $20 million to $25 million this year.
The main reasons cited for the loss are the drop in sales for items from Earnhardt, who announced in mid-season that he was leaving his No. 8 Budweiser-sponsored Chevrolet to drive for Hendrick Motorsports. If you attended a late-season race, you saw the reason for the losses. While the lines were still just as long at the No. 8 merchandise trailers, the price for your average t-shirt or hat ranged from $3-$8, rather than $15-$30.

--Michele Vincze

Force on road to recovery

NHRA Funny Car legend John Force was back at Baylor University Medical Center in Dallas on Nov. 18 to have casts removed on his left ankle and for a second surgery on his left hand. Force was seriously injured in a wreck at the Texas Motorplex in Ennis in September.

Force, a 14-time Funny Car champion, had five pins removed from his wrist and was reportedly doing well after surgery.

-- Dusty Schwab

Indianapolis thinks F1 will return

Bloomberg News reported Wednesday that Indianapolis Motor Speedway officials believe Formula One will return to the track in the future. A curious notion since F1 boss Bernie Ecclestone made it pretty clear this summer he was disappointed in the way the race was promoted and was considering other cities, namely Las Vegas, for future U.S. Grand Prix events. Formula One will not race in the U.S. next season after an eight-year run at IMS.

Formula One's return would help IMS recover some of the investment it made to attract the series a decade ago, speedway President Joie Chitwood said, adding that some of the circuit's teams have indicated they'd be interested in returning to the U.S.
“I think that Formula One will come back, I really do,” Chitwood said in an interview in New York. “There's nothing definitive but I think there has been some dialogue. It's coming up with the right plan so everybody can benefit from it.”
The speedway spent two years renovating the track and facilities to accommodate the 2.605-mile (4.19-kilometer) road course.
“We've made a lot of investment in the property,” Chitwood said. “We were disappointed when it went away. For us, the goal is to see if we can get them to come back at some point.”

-- Michele Vincze

Breaking news: Junior is most popular

In news that should not be a shock to any NASCAR fan, Dale Earnhardt Jr. was once again voted most-popular driver by the fans. It's Junior's fifth consecutive most-popular award. He received 1.5 million of the total 3.8 million votes cast online, despite finishing 16th in the final Nextel Cup standings and not winning a race.

“After the year I had statistically and off the race track, that was not the response I was expecting from my fans,” Earnhardt said after accepting the award in New York on Thursday.

Jeff Gordon finished second in the voting, followed by Michael Waltrip.

-- Michele Vincze

Helio's split

Out of the pile of "Dancing with the Stars" follow-up news and gossip comes the revelation that winner Helio Castroneves has called off his engagement with fiancée Aliette Vazquez. Castroneves told People Magazine, “I can confirm that Aliette Vazquez and I have called off our engagement and are no longer together.” Frankly, it's none of our business, but of course now many of the message board wolves are calling for Helio to hookup with his pro dancing partner Julianne Hough. Time will tell.

-- Michele Vincze

Car chiefs, crew chiefs, turmoil, etc.

Some news and nuggets grabbed from various places on the Web:

Jeff Gordon gets a new car chief

SceneDaily.com reported Wednesday that Jason Burdett has left Michael Waltrip Racing, where he served as crew chief for Dale Jarrett, to become the car chief for Jeff Gordon, a Hendrick Motorsports spokesman confirmed. Burdett worked on the Gordon and Jimmie Johnson teams at Hendrick from 2000-2002 before joining Robert Yates Racing as the car chief for Jarrett. He joined MWR in May 2007 to replace Matt Borland as Jarrett's crew chief for the first-year Nextel Cup team. Burdett replaces Jeff Meendering, who has taken over as crew chief for Bobby Labonte and the No. 43 team at Petty Enterprises. A replacement for Burdett at MWR has not been named.

New crew chief for Ryan Newman

Penske Racing South announced that Roy McCauley, who was crew chief for Kurt Busch for part of the 2007 season, has been named to the same position for Ryan Newman and the No. 12 Sprint Cup team. McCauley replaces Mike Nelson, who has been promoted to Vice President of Operations at the company. It was also announced that Don Miller, who has served as President of Penske Racing South, Inc. since its inception in 1990, is retiring from his position after nearly two successful decades at the highest levels of stock car racing.

Bobby Labonte to drive for RCR in Nationwide Series

NASCAR.com reported Tuesday that Richard Childress Racing has signed Texas native Bobby Labonte to drive a part-time schedule in the NASCAR Nationwide (formerly Busch) Series next year. Labonte is scheduled to compete in 15 races in the No. 21 Chevrolet. Securing sponsorship for the team is ongoing. 

Brendan Gaughan looking for a ride

SceneDaily.com reported Wednesday that the merger between Craftsman Truck Series teams Wyler Racing and South Point Racing is off. It was also confirmed that South Point Racing, based in Las Vegas, Nev., will close its race shop. The merger was announced in October and the new team was to be called Wyler-Gaughan Racing with its headquarters in Charlotte, N.C. Brendan Gaughan, son of team owner Michael Gaughan, was scheduled to drive the No. 77 Toyota for the team. Brendan Gaughan is now exploring other rides. A spokesman for Wyler Racing said the team will return in 2008 with its No. 60 Toyota and a driver to be determined. Brendan Gaughan, who won four consecutive Craftsman Truck Series races at Texas Motor Speedway in 2002-03, finished 11th in the Truck series standings this season and had a best finish of second at Bristol in August and Texas in November.   

Dodge picks Charger over Avenger for 2008

Bloomberg News reported Wednesday that the Dodge Charger will be back in NASCAR Sprint Cup competition next season after Chrysler LLC decided to switch from the Avenger model that was campaigned during the 2007 season on the Car of Tomorrow.
Dodge dealers overwhelmingly supported keeping the Charger nameplate in NASCAR's top series, the company said in a statement.
Dodge is the first manufacturer to change models for next year. The Dodge COT cars will remain the same in 2008, with the exception of a new set of decals to represent lights and the Charger name.
Chevrolet, which used its Impala SS model instead of the Monte Carlo SS on its Car of Tomorrow cars in 2007, hasn't announced plans to change its nameplate for next year. Ford (Fusion) and Toyota (Camry) used the same model for both cars in 2007.

--Michele Vincze

Kelly is everywhere

Fresh off her snowy performance at Texas Stadium during halftime of the Cowboys-Jets game on Thanksgiving, Kelly Clarkson is scheduled to perform during the Nextel Cup awards ceremony Friday in New York City. No tellin' when and how many songs Kelly will sing during the always too-long show, but we're guessing she will be happy to be indoors for this performance. Need more reason to watch? Comedian/actor David Spade will serve as the featured performer. ESPN announcer Dr. Jerry Punch will the MC the shindig.

The awards ceremony, which will honor the top-10 drivers, will air live on ESPN Classic at 8 p.m.

Two questions, though. Why invite 12 guys into the Chase and not invite all 12 to the awards banquet? And does the 13th-place guy still get that cool mil like the 11th-place guy did last year?

-- Michele Vincze

Helio is the champ

Helio Castroneves has never won an IndyCar title, but he can now call himself a "Dancing with the Stars" champion.

Castroneves and his pro partner Julianne Hough beat out Spice Girl Mel B and her partner Maksim Chmerkovskiy to become the third consecutive sports figure to win the title. Former Cowboy running back Emmitt Smith was the first athlete to win in season three and Olympic speed skater Apolo Anton Ohno won last spring. Former 49ers receiver Jerry Rice was a runner up to Drew Lachey in season two. Helio is the first foreign-born champion on the show.

It remains to be seen how Helio's success will help the IndyCar Series, which recently lost two of its biggest stars Sam Hornish Jr. and Dario Franchitti to NASCAR. It's safe to say, though, that the major media exposure the two-time Indy 500 winner received these last three months has helped the series more than any other PR campaign they could have cooked up.

At least everyone knows how to pronounce Helio's name now....at least we hope.

-- Michele Vincze

Texas-size talent

A young driver to keep an eye on next year is a Texas native with more than 10 years of racing experience already. Colin Braun, from tiny Ovalo 30 miles south of Abilene, is 19 years old, but he's been racing since he was six. He's raced all over the world in karts and most recently he competed in the Grand-Am Rolex Series in a Daytona Prototype Riley Pontiac fielded by Krohn Racing.

In June, Braun signed a long-term contract with Roush Fenway Racing and raced in a few races in the ARCA ReMax, NASCAR Busch and Truck series late in the 2007 season. Braun will drive the No. 6 Con-way Freight Ford F-150 next season in the Craftsman Truck Series.