Archive for January, 2011
Kevin Swindell solidified his place in motorsports early this month by achieving 2 unthinkable feats in the same night. Feat #1. He became the first driver in the 25 year history of the Chili Bowl event to win the race two years in a row. There have been a few multiple winners, but no one has won back to back. Feat #2. Swindell passed one of the greatest open wheel drivers on the planet on the last lap to win. Kevin Swindell passed his father Sammy to win the 25th Chili Bowl.
What happens now? Swindell like many other winners of the Chili Bowl Midget Nationals will have opportunities open up to him that were not there before. Swindell has already been racing stock cars in the K&N Pro Series East, and ARCA. At age 17 Swindell had already hooked up with Ray Evernham for a driver development program into Sprint Cup. Evernham Motorsports was sold to George Gillette and Swindell was not part of the sale. In 2011 Swindell will run more ARCA, K&N, and Nationwide races for various teams. As of now, there is no clear path.
After the win at Tulsa, some IRL officials talked about trying to get Swindell in an Indy Lites ride. Kevin Swindell has experience on pavement from karting that could fit well in this series. The IRL needs more names like Swindell in their series to keep its credibility in tact. What’s next for Swindell? Truth is, he could do anything he wants. Even if there are no Sprint Cup owners promising contracts now who cares? He is 21 years old and has the natural talent that so many wish they had. Swindell can drive anything and has a fan following to go with it. Enjoy the ride Mr. Swindell.
Checkout the updated probikehelmets.com site for all your dirt bike gear needs.
Travis Pastrana will make his NASCAR debut in less than 72 hours from now in the Toyota Allstar Challenge in Irwindale. Pastrana will be driving the car that won the K&N Pro Series Championship in 2009 and 2010 with Ryan Truex. So why would NASCAR fans bash Pastrana before he has even taken to the track?
Believe it or not, some NASCAR fans have never heard of Travis Pastrana! After reading many NASCAR blogs on the Pastrana topic, its obvious they don’t know. Its hard to imagine that anyone who enjoys motorsports would not know of Travis Pastrana. NASCAR fans have asked in a blog response “who is this Pastrana guy, and where did he come from?” Really? Another blog quote “how does flipping a bike upside down relate to driving a stock car?”
If you don’t know by now Pastrana has spent a lot of time driving rally cars. He’s actually a multiple time champion in rally. Before a NASCAR fan tells me that rally cars don’t race side-by-side so rally doesn’t prepare a driver for NASCAR, ya we know. All winning rally drivers have excellent feel for a car, and can give good feedback on what the vehicle needs to improve. Besides, how much worse than Danica could Travis be?
For all of us that want to see Travis Pastrana in a stock car find him this weekend. Friday night January 28 Pastrana will lose the motocross boots in order to attempt to qualify his number 99 Boost Mobile Toyota for the 225 lap main event on Saturday the 29th in Irwindale California. Pastrana wont run a stock car again until this summer when he attempts to compete in the X Games in Cailfornia and race a stock in Indiana in the same weekend . Catch him while you can!
There have been some great racing in the month of January and we are not done yet. 3 more major events will take place this weekend.
The Toyota AllStar Showdown will begin Friday January 28 with qualifying and late model racing. The main event of the weekend will be on the 29th live on Speed. This short track showdown has really become the Daytona 500 for short track racing. This year Toyota Speedway will host both non-US based champions in NASCAR. German Quiroga, NASCAR Mexico Champion and D.J Kennigton, Canadian Tire Series Champion are locked into the 225 lap main, along with K&N Pro Series Champions and race winners from 2010. Freestyle motocross star Travis Pastrana will also try to race his way into the main event. 49 drivers have pre-entered the event but only 40 will compete in the main event.
January 29th is also the start of the Daytona 24. This event brings names from all over the world and from many different disciplines of racing. The Grand Am regulars will be joined by drivers from NASCAR, Indy Car, ALMS, and former Formula One drivers. This exciting event has become a sprint race rather than an endurance race over the last 5 years. Look for the best road racers in the world to put on a great show for the full 24 hours.
To cap off an already busy weekend in motorsports the AMA Supercross Series will be in Oakland California for its fourth round. So far the season has been everything it was said to be. Ryan Villopoto, James Stewart, Ryan Dungey, and Trey Canard have had the best performances so far. Points leader Villopoto, will look for win number 3 on the season while Chad Reed and Dungey will look for a jump start to their season. The dirt bike gear, and fire suits will get a work out this weekend. Look for Speed Channel to be the center of all the motorsports action this coming weekend.
Fans and drivers of every racing division have a connection with Dale Earnhardt. After the death of the NASCAR icon, safety innovation in motorsports became a top priority. The industry was shocked by the loss of a man we thought would never die.
Dale Earnhardt Sr. is best know for his 7 Championships in NASCAR. He and Richard Petty are tied for the most NASCAR Championships in the sport’s history. Earnhardt was also known for being the common man’s racer. He was a high school dropout who became the most recognizable character in motorsports. His abilities in business and marketing rivaled those of college educated professionals. Most of us remember him for his grit and determination through his career. Earnhardt did what he had to do to be successful in NASCAR. Whether he had to crash someone to win the race, or plain out drive them, Dale would do it. There are so many great races that he can be remembered for like Bristol, Daytona, Talladega, and Sears Point to name a few.
Above all, followers of Earnhardt’s career know that this man was the toughest most determined human behind the wheel of a race car. He seemed invincible, immortal, and unique. When the motorsports public learned that the immortal could die in a racing accident, the industry woke up. Today race drivers are protected by head and neck restraints, carbon fiber shelled seats, and impact absorbing material built into the race cars and into the tracks. Drivers now walk away from accidents that would have killed a driver before the death of Earnhardt. Every driver that walks away from a terrible crash today knows that they owe their life to the awakening caused by that terrible day in 2001.
Safety gear and dirt bike gear has improved greatly in the last 10 years. Let us remember how we got here this February 18th, on the 10 year anniversary of the death of a hero.
Extreme sports athlete, star of Nitro Circus, multiple time X Games Medalist, and 2 time Rally America Champion Travis Pastrana will make his NASCAR debut January 28 at the Irwindale Speedway in Southern California. Pastrana will try to race his way into the Toyota All Star Showdown in a Red Bull sponsored Toyota.
The All Star Showdown is the Super Bowl of short track racing in which regional racers try to make their mark on a live TV broadcast. Many drivers are already locked into the main event because of their performances during the regular season. Race winners and series champions will have a guaranteed spot while drivers like Pastrana will have to race their way in through qualifying, heat races, and the last chance qualifier.
This event has been one of the most exciting race of the year due to the large audience for this regional event. Racers in NASCAR regional series rarely have an oppurtunity to be the main attraction for a televised event. Great racing and amazing finishes are common in this race due to the high stakes for these “semi-pro,” racers.
Travis Pastrana will unveil his new ride for the 2011 NASCAR season at the Staples Center in Los Angeles this Friday from 6pm to 9pm. Pastrana will also have his dirt bike at the event. Pastrana’s progressive entry into the ranks of NASCAR will allow him to stay involved with the Nitro Circus and events like the X Games. Pastrana will always keep his motocross boots near by during his NASCAR transition. Good luck to Pastrana and everyone on his team.
Exciting preliminary night’s at the Chili Bowl Nationals have lead up to tonight’s main event. The drivers who were lucky enough to lock into the A-feature had to fight for it.
Wednesday night it was Broken Arrow Oklahoma racer Donnie Ray Crawford who won a exciting feature. Damion Gardner was second and Thomas Meseraull was third. Cole Whitt, Gardner, and Crawford had an exciting battle on the last lap for the lock in positions which left Gardner tumbling across the line and Whitt dropping to 7th.
Thursday Night Sammy Swindell was in control from the start. Swindell locked himself into Saturday’s main from pole. Jerry Coons Jr locked in from second and Nick Knepper from third. Notables Jason Leffler and Levi Jones finished 6th and 7th and will have to go through the alphabet soup to make the A-feature.
Friday night’s prelim saw Shane Cottle take the win with Dave Darland second and Kevin Swindell third. Shane Cottle started third and was able to take the lead from Darland and Chris Windom on the very first lap.
12 drivers are locked into the A-feature tonight and the rest will come from the B-features. The K-features are underway in Tulsa and the A-feature is scheduled for 10pm on HBO. The motocross gear will also hit the track tonight live on Speed Channel at 6:30pm pacific.
The 2011 edition of the Dakar Rally played out its final stage today in Argentina. Although Carlos Sainz won his 7th stage of this years rally, it was Nasser Al-Attiyah who took the over all. Sainz won many stages and held the over all lead for most of the rally but it was Al-Attiyah who stayed within striking distance of lead Sainz throughout. When Sainz had a bad stage, Al-Attiyah was right there to take advantage.
Marc Coma came into control of the rally early on. He was able to stabilize a comfortable lead with minimal mistakes. Cyril Despress stayed in touch but could never capitalize. Portuguese rider Helder Rodrigues takes third. The motocross boots can take a rest from the dunes of Argentina until next year.
Vladimir Chagin wins the trucks by 30 minutes. The Tsar of the Dakar had to battle to win this year’s rally but in the end Chagin asserts his talents again. Chagin wins his 7th Dakar trophy.
We will have a complete Dakar wrap up after all the finishers arrive at their destination. Completing the Dakar is a win in itself.
Midget ace Bryan Clauson won Tuesday Night’s qualifying main event for the 2011 Chili Bowl Nationals. Clauson beat out pole sitter Michael Pickens from New Zealand for the win.
The 65 car field was cut down to just 24 main event starters after a full night of action on the Tulsa indoor track. Clauson, Pickens, and Jon Stanbrough have locked themselves into the A-feature on Saturday night. All others will go through the alphabet soup on Saturday trying to grab one of the remaining start positions in Saturday’s A-feature.
Wednesday’s qualifying action includes former NASCAR Sprint Cup driver and USAC triple champion J.J Yeley, midget racer Bobby East, past Chili Bowl winner Damion Gardner, Kasey Kahne protege Brad Sweet, and NASCAR/USAC Red Bull racer Cole Whitt. Look for Wednesday results tomorrow night on offroadaccessoryreview.com and probikehelmets.com facebook page.
Don’t worry 2 wheel fans, the dirt bike helmets will be back on this weekend in Pheonix Arizona.
The return to Argentina in today’s special stage 10 brought good fortune to each of the class leaders. Al-Attiyah, Coma, and Chagin all extended or regained(Chagin) their lead today.
The dunes of Argentina proved challenging in navigation and technique. Second place Cyril Despres took a wrong turn early in the stage and lost time to Coma. To make matters worse, Despres went slightly of course late in the stage and got stuck losing more time. In the end Marc Coma extended his overall lead to over 18 minutes by winning today’s stage. Despres and his motocross gear will need to be flawless and much faster than Coma to win this year’s rally.
Carlos Sainz saw his Dakar Rally hopes slip away much like Despres in the bikes. Sainz is now over 12 minutes behind in the overall after getting lost and losing 10 minutes to Al-Attiyah and 18 minutes to stage winner Giniel De Villiers. Saniz’s navigation error now puts Al-Attiyah comfortably ahead in the overall. Al-Attiyah will not have to push 100 percent to stay in front of Sainz during the last 2 stages of the 2011 Dakar. De Villiers was followed to the line by the BMWs of Holowczyc and Peterhansel. Al-Attiyah was 4th and Sainz 5th.
Vladimir Chagin re-took the lead in the truck today by beating his teammate Firdaus Kabirov by 21 minutes. Chagin once again asserts his dominance in the trucks by taking a 17 minute lead into stage 11. Strong stage 11 runs by the leaders can solidify their championships tomorrow.
Today’ was the final stage in Chile before heading back to Argentina. Stage 9 was all about the dunes. The drivers who are comfortable in this terrain ran well today.
To no ones surprise Al-Attiyah and Sainz finished first and second. Sainz beat his teammate by 1:56. The battle through the stage between the teammates was some of the best side by side racing on the rally. Al-Attiyah retains the lead going into Argentina tomorrow. De Villiers finished 3rd on the stage and remains 3rd overall. Peterhansel’s goal of getting on the podium with the Red Bulls is starting to fade. The BMW driver lost 9 minutes on stage 9. American Mark Miller needs to beat Peterhansel in the final stages by 1 hour to complete a sweep of the first 4 positions by Red Bull VW.
The bikes had a unique stage today. The bikes started as a group today instead of individually. The bikes and quads started in waves with the highest in the overall standings going first. The tough to navigate stage 9 saw Helder Rodrigues take an early lead and seem to be in control of the stage. Coma and Despres were not spectacular in this stage finishing 7th (Despres) and 9th (Coma) but holding on to the two top spot in the overall. Late in the stage Rodrigues ran out of fuel handing the stage win to American Jonah Street. The unusual start of the stage caused navigation problems for some of the rider. The remaining racers will put on their motocross gloves on for stage 10 tomorrow.