Monday, August 23, 2010
Irwin Tools Night Race
I'm guessing that's what it was called, that's the only name given on NASCAR.com. I didn't see much of the race as I was out with family celebrating my birthday (which was Friday). Anyway, Dale Jr started 27th, and from what I could hear on the scanner, battled a loose car all night. Lance said at one point that whatever changes they threw at it to try to make it better only made it more loose. Dale was able to bring home a 13th place finish, however due to David Reutimann's strong finish, Junebug moved down another spot in the chase to 18th.
Thursday, August 19, 2010
Almirola signs multi-year deal to drive No. 88
JRM has a driver for the #88 Nationwide ride for next year! I am so excited, I was really hoping that Aric Almirola would sign and he has! The following article was taken from NASCAR.com --
JR Motorsports cemented an integral part of its future Wednesday by signing Aric Almirola to a multi-year driving contract for the company's flagship No. 88 Nationwide Series team starting in 2011, general manager Kelley Earnhardt announced.
A 26-year-old native of Tampa, Fla., Almirola has 32 career Nationwide Series starts, including one for JR Motorsports in which he finished third at O'Reilly Raceway Park in July. Almirola's full-time duties as the No. 88 driver will officially begin in 2011, but he could potentially fill the seat in select races this season while he continues to run for a Truck Series championship.
"The chance to drive full time in the Nationwide Series with a top caliber team is something I am extremely excited about," Almirola said. "I was at the shop [Tuesday], and Kelley gathered all the employees around to announce our deal. The energy and excitement was addicting. We raced at ORP together a month ago and had a really good run. There is no reason why we cannot compete like that every race, and there is no reason why we shouldn't be running for a championship. I would expect nothing less."
Almirola comes to JR Motorsports with proven credentials. In 2006-07, he competed in the Nationwide Series with Joe Gibbs Racing, earning three poles and six top-10s. He is credited with one victory -- the June 23, 2007, race at Milwaukee Mile -- in which he and Denny Hamlin shared seat time in the victorious No. 20 car. That performance was part of a successful 2007 campaign, which opened doors to a lifelong dream of racing in the Cup Series. Dale Earnhardt Inc. signed Almirola to a part-time driving deal in 2008 with the unique task of splitting seat time with one of NASCAR's all-time greats, Mark Martin. Nineteen of Almirola's 30 Cup starts came with DEI (later to become Earnhardt Ganassi Racing). In his very first race of the 2008 season, Almirola scored a career-best Cup finish of eighth at Bristol.
Almirola continued racing in sporadic Cup and Nationwide series races in 2009 and 2010, but the opportunity to compete full-time this year with Billy Ballew Motorsports in the Truck Series was too good to pass up. In 15 races this season, Almirola has two wins (Dover on May 14 and Michigan on June 12) and has finished in the top 10 in all but four events. He currently sits second in the championship point standings.
"If there is a quintessential JR Motorsports driver, we feel it's Aric Almirola," Kelley Earnhardt said. "The way he drives, the ambition he carries, the way he represents himself on and off the track, it all fits within our company's dynamics, our core objectives, and the values of our sponsorship partners. We look forward to putting him in our No. 88 car so he can continue his success."
Almirola's one stint for JRM took place on July 24 at O'Reilly Raceway Park. He started the Kroger 200 in sixth position, led one lap, ran among the top-five all night, and finished third in his debut in the No. 88. Almirola is one of 10 drivers who has or will have raced the No. 88 Chevrolet at least once in 2010. Team owner Dale Earnhardt Jr. will drive the No. 88 Chevrolet at Bristol on Friday night in the Food City 250.
"This has been a far different year than anything we have ever experienced before, but we feel like our decision to take our time and not be rushed into naming a full-schedule driver for the No. 88 paid off with the signing of Aric," Kelley Earnhardt said. "He brings a lot to the table for us, as well as our sponsors. He is someone they can build their brands around, and he has the talent to take them to the [Victory Lane]."
JR Motorsports cemented an integral part of its future Wednesday by signing Aric Almirola to a multi-year driving contract for the company's flagship No. 88 Nationwide Series team starting in 2011, general manager Kelley Earnhardt announced.
A 26-year-old native of Tampa, Fla., Almirola has 32 career Nationwide Series starts, including one for JR Motorsports in which he finished third at O'Reilly Raceway Park in July. Almirola's full-time duties as the No. 88 driver will officially begin in 2011, but he could potentially fill the seat in select races this season while he continues to run for a Truck Series championship.
"The chance to drive full time in the Nationwide Series with a top caliber team is something I am extremely excited about," Almirola said. "I was at the shop [Tuesday], and Kelley gathered all the employees around to announce our deal. The energy and excitement was addicting. We raced at ORP together a month ago and had a really good run. There is no reason why we cannot compete like that every race, and there is no reason why we shouldn't be running for a championship. I would expect nothing less."
Almirola comes to JR Motorsports with proven credentials. In 2006-07, he competed in the Nationwide Series with Joe Gibbs Racing, earning three poles and six top-10s. He is credited with one victory -- the June 23, 2007, race at Milwaukee Mile -- in which he and Denny Hamlin shared seat time in the victorious No. 20 car. That performance was part of a successful 2007 campaign, which opened doors to a lifelong dream of racing in the Cup Series. Dale Earnhardt Inc. signed Almirola to a part-time driving deal in 2008 with the unique task of splitting seat time with one of NASCAR's all-time greats, Mark Martin. Nineteen of Almirola's 30 Cup starts came with DEI (later to become Earnhardt Ganassi Racing). In his very first race of the 2008 season, Almirola scored a career-best Cup finish of eighth at Bristol.
Almirola continued racing in sporadic Cup and Nationwide series races in 2009 and 2010, but the opportunity to compete full-time this year with Billy Ballew Motorsports in the Truck Series was too good to pass up. In 15 races this season, Almirola has two wins (Dover on May 14 and Michigan on June 12) and has finished in the top 10 in all but four events. He currently sits second in the championship point standings.
"If there is a quintessential JR Motorsports driver, we feel it's Aric Almirola," Kelley Earnhardt said. "The way he drives, the ambition he carries, the way he represents himself on and off the track, it all fits within our company's dynamics, our core objectives, and the values of our sponsorship partners. We look forward to putting him in our No. 88 car so he can continue his success."
Almirola's one stint for JRM took place on July 24 at O'Reilly Raceway Park. He started the Kroger 200 in sixth position, led one lap, ran among the top-five all night, and finished third in his debut in the No. 88. Almirola is one of 10 drivers who has or will have raced the No. 88 Chevrolet at least once in 2010. Team owner Dale Earnhardt Jr. will drive the No. 88 Chevrolet at Bristol on Friday night in the Food City 250.
"This has been a far different year than anything we have ever experienced before, but we feel like our decision to take our time and not be rushed into naming a full-schedule driver for the No. 88 paid off with the signing of Aric," Kelley Earnhardt said. "He brings a lot to the table for us, as well as our sponsors. He is someone they can build their brands around, and he has the talent to take them to the [Victory Lane]."
Wednesday, August 18, 2010
Commercial shoots like pair of old shoes to Junior
Driver of the Week: Nationwide spots good times for Earnhardt
By: Raygan Swan, NASCAR.COM
Ever wonder whose kitchen that is where Dale Earnhardt Jr. and his sister are standing in those Nationwide Insurance commercials?
Well, it isn't his. It's a loaner from a high-end neighborhood on Lake Norman in North Carolina where Joe Gibbs lives.
What about the phone?
Nope, that's not his either. It's Nationwide's trademark prop.
However, the cast of characters is real. Yes, that is his sister, Kelley Earnhardt, and his uncle, Tony Eury Sr. The spots tout the Earnhardt family image and 30-year dedication to the insurance provider.
And yes, that is even the same insurance agent, Steve Cook of Kannapolis, N.C., Earnhardt met when he was a young boy. Earnhardt and Cook shot their commercial and a couple of others in December building off last year's Nationwide advertising campaign.
"I couldn't believe it but Steve was nervous," Earnhardt laughed. "Being an agent and having the ability to talk to people, that surprised me. He was funny, unintentionally that is. But yes, he's legitimately been my agent for all these years. I remember having to go to him about speeding tickets and all kinds of stuff. He was a good family friend."
Earnhardt enjoyed shooting the commercials because it offered the opportunity to spend a good amount of time with friends and family away from his hectic NASCAR lifestyle.
"It was good to be around him that long because we don't get to talk that much and I've know him for all these years and then being able to shoot a commercial with him was cool. We were both just standing there thinking who would ever thought we'd be doing this," Earnhardt added.
Eury didn't think he'd ever be in any commercial campaign. The crew chief for Earnhardt's No. 88 Nationwide Series team is most comfortable under the hood of a car, not in front of a camera. Thankfully for him, his commercial shoot was at the JR Motorsports shop so he wasn't totally outside his element.
Still, commercial stardom is not in Pop's future, joked Earnhardt .
"Working with Pops, um he was really nervous ... he would just assume not be in the middle of it," Earnhardt said.
"Oh yeah," Eury said with a laugh. "We made like probably 10 or 12 different shots or scenes and every scene we did it took like three each with different camera directions.
"They tell you what expressions to make and when to nod your head where. They tell you all that, but actually it was pretty neat to see how they do it."
There was a time Earnhardt, now a seasoned commercial actor, was admittedly just as tense.
"It's not comfortable doing a commercial when there's 15 or 20 people on the other side of the camera watching you and it's tough when you're young and an introvert anyway," Earnhardt said. "I think you get more comfortable with experience but the first several commercials you're nervous and stiff. I took me a long time to get comfortable with it but now I can go in there and I know what I want to accomplish. I know how long things take and I can help move it along."
So, are there any Oscar-nominated films in your future, Dale Robertson ... err Earnhardt?
"Those are still nerve-wracking because I get star struck," he smiled.
Hard to imagine the sport's most popular driver and one of the world's most recognizable athletes still gets star struck.
But Earnhardt didn't reach his commercial star status overnight. Like other commercial actors, he's gone through the ropes and on-the-set-training.
"Absolutely, the directors all have a lot of experience working with a lot of different people and they'll give you tone and sort of [tell you] what to say, obviously, before you do the commercial," he explained. "You have to see it in your head kind of all happening together. Sometimes, you get to commercial shoots and read the script and you don't understand how it is working and don't know what the tone is. Whether you're being demanding or coy or whatever, you don't know what emotion to have. So they go through that during the process as your shooting it. And then it is easy, they tell you what to do and you just do it. That's all there is to it."
It's lights, camera, action ... but what about wardrobe?
"They have choices and you choose what you're most comfortable in," Earnhardt said. "They never force you to wear something you don't want to wear. I've been in situations where they put some options out that I won't wear."
Defined by his iconic white T-shirt and jeans accessorized with a pair of sneaks, the star keeps it simple.
"I love shoes," said Earnhardt, who says he custom-designs up to eight pairs in one order. "But then you get them back and you realized you screwed up this part or man, that was a poor choice of color, so five out of the eight are cool. Then you give the other three pair to your buddy and say, 'Hey, I got you a gift."
By: Raygan Swan, NASCAR.COM
Ever wonder whose kitchen that is where Dale Earnhardt Jr. and his sister are standing in those Nationwide Insurance commercials?
Well, it isn't his. It's a loaner from a high-end neighborhood on Lake Norman in North Carolina where Joe Gibbs lives.
What about the phone?
Nope, that's not his either. It's Nationwide's trademark prop.
However, the cast of characters is real. Yes, that is his sister, Kelley Earnhardt, and his uncle, Tony Eury Sr. The spots tout the Earnhardt family image and 30-year dedication to the insurance provider.
And yes, that is even the same insurance agent, Steve Cook of Kannapolis, N.C., Earnhardt met when he was a young boy. Earnhardt and Cook shot their commercial and a couple of others in December building off last year's Nationwide advertising campaign.
"I couldn't believe it but Steve was nervous," Earnhardt laughed. "Being an agent and having the ability to talk to people, that surprised me. He was funny, unintentionally that is. But yes, he's legitimately been my agent for all these years. I remember having to go to him about speeding tickets and all kinds of stuff. He was a good family friend."
Earnhardt enjoyed shooting the commercials because it offered the opportunity to spend a good amount of time with friends and family away from his hectic NASCAR lifestyle.
"It was good to be around him that long because we don't get to talk that much and I've know him for all these years and then being able to shoot a commercial with him was cool. We were both just standing there thinking who would ever thought we'd be doing this," Earnhardt added.
Eury didn't think he'd ever be in any commercial campaign. The crew chief for Earnhardt's No. 88 Nationwide Series team is most comfortable under the hood of a car, not in front of a camera. Thankfully for him, his commercial shoot was at the JR Motorsports shop so he wasn't totally outside his element.
Still, commercial stardom is not in Pop's future, joked Earnhardt .
"Working with Pops, um he was really nervous ... he would just assume not be in the middle of it," Earnhardt said.
"Oh yeah," Eury said with a laugh. "We made like probably 10 or 12 different shots or scenes and every scene we did it took like three each with different camera directions.
"They tell you what expressions to make and when to nod your head where. They tell you all that, but actually it was pretty neat to see how they do it."
There was a time Earnhardt, now a seasoned commercial actor, was admittedly just as tense.
"It's not comfortable doing a commercial when there's 15 or 20 people on the other side of the camera watching you and it's tough when you're young and an introvert anyway," Earnhardt said. "I think you get more comfortable with experience but the first several commercials you're nervous and stiff. I took me a long time to get comfortable with it but now I can go in there and I know what I want to accomplish. I know how long things take and I can help move it along."
So, are there any Oscar-nominated films in your future, Dale Robertson ... err Earnhardt?
"Those are still nerve-wracking because I get star struck," he smiled.
Hard to imagine the sport's most popular driver and one of the world's most recognizable athletes still gets star struck.
But Earnhardt didn't reach his commercial star status overnight. Like other commercial actors, he's gone through the ropes and on-the-set-training.
"Absolutely, the directors all have a lot of experience working with a lot of different people and they'll give you tone and sort of [tell you] what to say, obviously, before you do the commercial," he explained. "You have to see it in your head kind of all happening together. Sometimes, you get to commercial shoots and read the script and you don't understand how it is working and don't know what the tone is. Whether you're being demanding or coy or whatever, you don't know what emotion to have. So they go through that during the process as your shooting it. And then it is easy, they tell you what to do and you just do it. That's all there is to it."
It's lights, camera, action ... but what about wardrobe?
"They have choices and you choose what you're most comfortable in," Earnhardt said. "They never force you to wear something you don't want to wear. I've been in situations where they put some options out that I won't wear."
Defined by his iconic white T-shirt and jeans accessorized with a pair of sneaks, the star keeps it simple.
"I love shoes," said Earnhardt, who says he custom-designs up to eight pairs in one order. "But then you get them back and you realized you screwed up this part or man, that was a poor choice of color, so five out of the eight are cool. Then you give the other three pair to your buddy and say, 'Hey, I got you a gift."
CARFAX 400
Dale Jr batlled a loose car throughout much of the race, going a lap down at one point. The error was corrected as Lance had the crew change a spring on one side of the car. This sent the race car from way loose to somewhat tight, but driveable. Dale was pretty frustrated through the majority of the day, but ended the day in 19th. After he crossed the start/finish line, Dale commented over the radio and said, "I'm sorry for being such a bear today." When walking towards his RV, a reporter just had to ask the question, "So what do you think of your chances to make the chase?" Dale, who of course would have the blunt answer, simply stated, "I don't give a sh*t about that right now. I just want to go home, so that's where I'm heading." Good answer Dale!!
Friday, August 13, 2010
Heluva Good! Sour Cream Dips at the Glen and news
Dale started way back in the pack and had worked himself way up into the top 20, however late in the race he fell back and couldn't make his way back up to the position he had held early on. Dale is 16th in the points and if he has any hopes of making the chase at this point, he needs to step up and get moving.
My Dale Jr Pics at Pocono
 |
I happened to look between two of the merchandise haulers and there was Dale, staring at me and the rest of the fans who saw him. |
 |
| An awesome moment for me was standing in front of Dale's pit area, also on a Hendrick related note, one of the first people I passed on pit road was Chad Knaus! I didn't say anything, not only beause I didn't want to draw attention to him, but also because I know that on raceday he's all business. (Pic of his back down below) |
The guy in the middle of the picture with the black jacket and black pants was Chad Knaus.
Saturday, August 7, 2010
Shaq Vs. (Dale Earnhardt Jr)
Did anyone watch this? I did, and I thought it was great! If you missed it you can check out the full episode at
http://www.hulu.com/watch/168736/shaq-vs-shaq-vs-dale-earnhardt-jr
http://www.hulu.com/watch/168736/shaq-vs-shaq-vs-dale-earnhardt-jr
Sunoco Red Cross Pennsylvania 500
Yes I was there! I have pics from the race, including ones from the pre-race tech inspection area, and I will post them either tomorrow or Sunday. Since I couldn't hear the scanner, I didn't really have a good understanding of how Dale's car was handling. However, from where I sat, I could tell by the middle of the race he was sliding off the corner in turn 3. At one point he took 2 tires which put him up in second, but being lose made him spin out on his own, bringing out a caution. Dale made it around the track and to pit road. This put him down a lap and in 27th for the rest of the day. He is still hanging in at 14th in points, but really needs to pick it up if he's going to be in the chase this year. There are 5 races until the cut off for the chase and considering where Dale was this time last year. I can see a change in the changes that where made at Hendrick over the off season. This weekend the big boys are north of me in New York at Watkins Glen.
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