the jade gurss blog

Did He Hit You?

With the high likelihood of Jimmie Johnson, Chad Knaus and Hendrick Motorsports winning an unprecedented fourth consecutive championship this weekend, I thought back eight years to my first brief brush with Knaus on June 24, 2001.

It was a sunny and warm raceday at Sears Point (nee Infineon) Raceway in Sonoma, only two weeks before Dale Jr. would score a dramatic and emotional victory at Daytona. The confidence level was never very high at the California road course, so the Budweiser team and driver seemed almost relieved to score a lead-lap finish in 19th place, despite several late-race, off-course excursions. 

“God a’mighty!," Dale Jr. laughed on the radio during his cool-down lap. "Those last couple o’ laps were crazier than hell! I came into the hairpin coming to the white flag and it was just a wall of dirt and smoke and shit all over the place. I just tried to get through it…”

As he pulled toward the team hauler, the first thing Dale Jr. asked for was a towel. In hot, dry weather, he would occasionally get a nose bleed inside the racecar.  He took his helmet off and began to wipe away blood when he quickly and urgently said to me: "Here comes Stacy Compton! Stand right here -- just in case!"

Just in case of what I was unsure, but I suspected the possibility of some post-race aggression. 

It seems Dale Jr. had provided some final-lap, extra-curricular contact on Compton, who dropped to the 24th position driving for the underdog No. 92 Melling team. Compton strode up the red No. 8 car as I stepped aside slightly, bracing myself to somehow leap into action if needed. 

 "What the hell was that?!," Compton asked with anger as he stuck his head slightly inside the window. "I don't race you like that!"

"I didn't mean to get into you," Dale Jr. replied. "I was just holding my line!"

"Well, we don't race each other like that. That's bullshit! (Or perhaps something stronger but closely resembling that remark). We've always raced each other clean, and I'll remember that!," spat Compton as he stood and walked away. 

Junior quietly chuckled and began to unhook his seat belts, then said warily, "Oh no, here comes his little crew chief. Stay right there." 

Enter Chad Knaus, then a rookie crew chief with the Melling team, who walked, notebooks in hand, toward the car and saw Dale Jr. with a bloodied towel. 

"Did he hit you?!" Knaus snapped.

"Naw," Junior drawled, bracing for a tongue lashing or worse from the tightly wound crew chief. 

"I wanted to say 'thank you,'" were the surprising and very unexpected words from Knaus. "We need our driver to get up on the wheel, and if he's in your way, you just move his ass over! Thanks, man."

After climbing out of the car, Junior shook his head and laughed about the intense crew chief. "That was... strange." he said.

Your Turn

I see the gaping collective yawn regarding paint schemes, so let's stir the pot with a purely hypothetical (emphasis added) question: if there were a book written about Dale Jr's "Budweiser" years, what events would you most like to read about? What behind-the-scenes stories are you most interested in learning? Here's your shot to have your say, so let the suggestions fly in the 'Comments' section. 

What I'm Reading These Days: 

The Lefsetz Letter:  Unless you're really into music or the music business, some of this is a little 'Inside Baseball,' but there's no mistaking his passion for the music. I don't always share his taste in artists, but I love the energy.

Awkward Family Photos: Oh, devilish good fun. Who doesn't have a few of these stashed away in a shoebox somewhere?

Jeff MacGregor: Some might recognize Jeff from his NASCAR book "Sunday Money," but he's now doing a column at ESPN.com on the question of "what are sports for?" A superb literary writer who's scary smart and always set on full power. 

Corn Flakes with John Lennon: the new book by Robert Hilburn. Sadly, it's not available for the Kindle. 

Autosport.com: All fast things not-NASCAR. (And some NASCAR too, if you must...)

Wired.com: 'cuz it's good to be informed. And wired.

Google FastFlip: New and interesting. For interesting news.

UPDATE: For those who enjoyed the Greg Moore blog entry (see below), here's a lengthy piece about Greg from a Canadian paper. A lot of good memories with Dario Franchitti, Jimmy Vassar, Max Papis and Tony Kanaan. It will be 10 years ago on the last day of October.

There is one here as well (with several nice photos), and I'm sure more to come in the next couple of days. 

SPEEDtv.com has a rememberance from Robin Miller and a nice photo retrospective as well. 

Have they been listening for the past decade?

Where Have They Been for Ten Years?!: Are things really that dull at the start of the Chase that a non-story is the lead story? I try to be kind to the motorsports media members with whom I have worked for more than a decade. But, I despise the lack of original thinking, lack of creativity and the follow-the-leader laziness which pervades the sport. This week's all-pervasive non-story? "Dale Jr. and Tony Jr. Argue on the Radio."  Have these people not been listening for the past decade?! Have they failed to read nine seasons of Budweiser Race Reports - almost all of which included highlights (and low lights) of their radio chatter?! If I see/hear/read one more story about this non-topic, I think my head will explode. Luckily, we have a race today at Dover, and we'll see another non-story-du-jour to replace Radiogate...

---

Can Americans Really Be This Stupid? Apparently, yes. Here are a few reasons this presidential election scares the hell out me. (Or, in the words of a lifelong friend of Sarah Palin, "I'm proud of Sarah, but she scares the bejesus out of me...") The two reasons for the most concern? Racism and those which are called "Low Information Voters," who believe false emails and out-right lies of TV commercials without paying attention to any real facts. I can't imagine the horrors of four more years of the same-ol' policies which have undermined our constitution, ruined our economic system and reversed 200+ years of ideals and principles which guided this country to such great success, not to mention becoming despised around the globe.

I can only urge you to vote based upon issues and ideas. Choose the candidate you believe offers the greatest chance to correct the horrific failures of the past eight years - instead of upon the color of one's skin...

Dilbert's Creator Creates Serious Study of the Details of the Candidate's Tax Policies: Why must we rely upon a cartoonist to pay for an intelligent study for which we should be relying upon the media?

Racism Could Cost Obama the Election: How sad of a commentary about our country - especially forty years after the acclaimed civil rights movement.

Obama is NOT a Muslim: but large portions of Americans still believe he is.

Judge Palin on Policy, Not on Religion: The hoopla around her seems to fade as her horrific governing style, outright lies and policies are exposed.

I can rail and rail all I want, but my gut tells me I'm in trouble in a nation where 55% of those polled believe guardian angels protect them. Seriously? If someone can explain this to me, have at it. 

VOTE NOV. 4!

Popular

He's a Popular Guy: For the fifth consecutive year, Dale Jr. has been named among "America's Favorite Athletes" by a Harris Interactive poll.  It was always a badge of great pride to see the poll each year because it showed his appeal reached far beyond the racing world into the general public. Junebug remains in sixth place on the list for the second consecutive year- but there's a slight shock as he's behind Jeff Gordon on the list. It's the first time another driver has topped him since he appeared among the top-10 each year since 2004. While he's unquestionably the most popular among NASCAR fans, could this reflect a slight slip among the population at large if Gordon was able to somehow slip past him? Sixth is still a superb rating, but has the lack of backing from a major consumer product lessened his visibility outside of diehard fans? We'll see which way the arrow goes in '09. A championship for #88? If managed correctly, we'll see his numbers climb again easily if/when that happens.

CRIBS, Redux: It now appears Dale Jr's MTV debut of Cribs "Version 2.0" (of his 'new' home, which has actually been torn down since the segment was taped last fall) will be this Sunday, July 27th (instead of the previously listed July 26). Enjoy.

A New Outlet: Stay tuned for an announcement of a new venture for the fingerprint blog. I'll soon be doing a weekly column for a major site. It should mean new exposure and a wider audience for the humble lil' blog. Details when we can make it public... In the meantime, leave topic ideas in the comment section. When the new column hits the cyber raceway, you might see a slight adjustment to the front page here as I'll likely feature some of the more popular entries on the main page to welcome new readers.

Dale Jr Victory: Post-Race Audio

Here's the raw audio from the post-race news conference after Dale Jr's victory at Michigan. Enjoy.

Click to play: 2008_michigan_june_dale_jr.mp3

It will open a new page - and may take a few seconds to load, so be patient and it will play.

"My Dad Was Tough..."

While digging through some research material, I came across a copy of the Budweiser commercial which was created shortly after the death of Dale Earnhardt.

Anheuser-Busch had major media plans for the 2001 season, and had hoped to shoot at least two big-budget, humorous commercials starring father/team-owner and son/driver. After meetings at Daytona that fateful week, both of the scripts were given the "go ahead" and all seemed good. Until the sad Sunday changed everything.

Several weeks following the fatal crash, Anheuser-Busch approached Dale Jr. to see if he would like to do a tribute to his father. It was decided to utilize a paraphrased version of the tribute Dale Jr. had written for his father only months before as a script. The production team was rushed into action to shoot the video in secret and for Dale Jr. to record his narration in a local recording studio.

The day of the shoot at the North Carolina Motor Speedway (better known as Rockingham), the weather was bone-chilling cold, overcast and very windy. (While they added the wind sound effects in the editing room, it was close to accurate for the day.) Unfortunately for Dale Jr., his new firesuit was designed to allow increased airflow and circulation. When it's a hot summer day, that's an air-conditioning feature which is welcome, but on a windy winter day in North Carolina, Dale Jr. was miserable.

"It's like I'm standing out there naked..." he murmured.

So, miles from civilization, a production assistant was dispatched to find long underwear or another option for Dale Jr. to put on under his uniform to avoid shivering during shooting. After each shot, he was wrapped in coats and blankets by the crew. (I don't recall if they found appropriate long underwear anywhere nearby. I think we ended up wrapping him as best we could between each take.) Each shot seems poignant, and the close-ups of his eyes not only echo his father's eyes, but show their deep, sobering hurt.

The final shot when Dale Jr. "peels out," was a one-take wonder. The crew had placed bits of rubber and dirt under the rear tires for maximum effect. The showcar looked nice, but apparently didn't have a very sturdy transmission - which snapped during the first take. It seemed to be the highlight of the day for Dale Jr. as he seemed to get a lot of laughs out of the fluids and broken metal hanging beneath the car following the shot. Luckily, we were able to shoot the remainder of the spot with a stationary car. It meant it had to be pushed from spot to spot around the track as the shooting continued.

The commercial was shown only a few times (three or four at the most). It was aired during the race telecasts - always the first commercial to run after the green flag, and only once per telecast. It was an expensive proposition for Budweiser to create a commercial which would be seen so few times. The only way to tell it was a Budweiser ad were the legal credits which run at the bottom of the opening shot. It was a heartfelt and sincere effort to show support for Dale Jr. and honor his father. Seven years later, I think the tagline remains relevant: "His inspiration lives on."

The Texas 'Incident'

I am girding myself for the 1500 times we will see and hear about Junior's "audition" in the Hendrick Motorsports No. 5 Kellogg's car last year at Texas. While it was a foreshadowing of things to come, it was not premeditated, and it was much less of a big deal for the participants than the media will make it out to be this week.

However, it was an interesting confluence of events - so let me give you the real scoop. The season had been a rough one for the No. 8 Bud bunch, and Texas (as usual) was the tonic for Dale Jr. and the boys. They led the race for 96 laps - easily - and seemed poised to get a victory. However when Dale Jr. slowed to avoid a spinning Tony Stewart. he was drilled from behind at high speed by Kyle Busch in the No. 5 car. You know all that already.

The damage to the No. 8 was repaired, but after returning to the track, the engine expired (a familiar theme in 2007). After pulling into the garage, Junior was surrounded by the sizeable media scrum, telling about his up-and-down day. Rick Pigeon, a friend of Dale Jr. and jackman on the No. 5, pulled me aside and wondered if I could ask Junior to take their repaired car out for the final laps of the race since their driver had already left.

"Hell yeah - ask him!" was my immediate reply. So, he did. In front of the entire media throng. Dale Jr. jumped at the chance.

Dale Jr. hollered to make sure I found Max Siegel or Richie Gilmore of DEI to approve the switch, and I frantically ran through the garage and burned up the cell-phone. No luck there, but I did find Tony Eury Jr. His response: "tell him to drive the hell out of it!" At the same time, Junior's uncle Mike had retrieved his helmet and HANS-device from inside the crippled Bud machine.

Junior was strapping into the No. 5, the media were going berserk, and he drove the battered machine onto the track for a few laps - enough to climb one spot in the standings for the Kellogg's bunch (passing their teammate Jimmie Johnson) to gain three extra points. It was the first time Dale Jr. had driven a car other than the No. 8 Bud machine in any Cup points race - and it created an even bigger media frenzy. (Probably because, as they remind you every 10 minutes, everything is bigger in Texas.)

"Is this an audition?!" was the first question, as Hendrick PR rep Kendra Jacobs offered Junior a towel and bottled water.

"No," he answered.

"How did it drive?" was next.

"Like it was wrecked," Junior quipped.

"Why would you get in another car? "

"Because they asked me. I have some friends on that team - and I'll always jump at a chance to climb into someone else's car to see what it's like. They used to do that all the time back in the day. You'd have relief drivers getting into someone's car almost every week, so it was kinda like a step back into NASCAR history or something. Old school! It was cool."

And so on.

Behind the scenes, Junior was quick to share his assessment with Eury Jr. about the ease of steering on the damaged car - and especially the Hendrick horsepower.

At the helipad on the way home, Junior animatedly told Elliott Sadler "oh man, that thing hauls ass on the straights!"  When Junior spotted Rick Hendrick, he pulled him aside for a brief chat, which ended with laughs and big smiles for both men.

How big was the incident for what was to come later in the year?  For Junior, Hendrick was his top choice from day one, so nothing changed there. But, perhaps Busch's childish outburst was a sign of the trouble brewing with an immature driver and might have been one of the reasons Hendrick could justify letting him out of his deal a few months later.

And that's the real story. And a bonus question (no Googling please!): can anyone even remember who won that race last year?

Leap to the Present:  It could be a big weekend for Junior - Texas seems to always provide a nice boost when he needs it. Not only his historic "first" victories, but even smaller things such as a Bud Pole Award in 2001 - the first real bright spot after his father's death. I'm not predicting a win, but I wouldn't be surprised.

Also, Kevin Harvick could become the all-time victories leader at TMS if he is able to score a fifth Texas win in the Nationwide race (starting from the pole) or in the Cup battle royale on Sunday.

Gollie! You've won a... Light Pole?    How sad is the layout and font choice? (Almost as bad as the beer itself?)

Behind the Scenes: Dale Jr's CRIBS 2.0

Since the new episode has already hit the web in grainy, bootlegged glory, here's a second behind-the-scenes photo album from Dale Jr's upcoming episode of MTV's CRIBS. Click here for the photo album.

We'll let you know when an official air date is determined. Once it airs, we expect a lot of additional footage will be featured online at MTV.com.

For a look at the previous photo album from the CRIBS shoot, click here.

If you're new to the blog, you can see the entire fingerprint inc./ Dale Jr. media archives since 1999 by clicking to the directory, then selecting from sections such as mainstream media coverage, sports media coverage as well as a listing of Dale Jr's TV/film/radio/video history from 1999-2007.

Enjoy.

READER FEEDBACK:  I'm looking for your thoughts about my new tattoo. (pictured, right) What do you think? Does it make me look cooler? Hipper? Younger?

File this under "You Might Be are UNDOUBTEDLY a Redneck." No more Budweiser for this guy.

Post-Race Tire Update: Dale Jr. and Tony Stewart

I wrote a blog entry Saturday about Goodyear Tires. As a follow-up, Tony Stewart and Dale Earnhardt Jr. had a much more in-depth analysis of their racing tires after Sunday's Atlanta 500.

Be sure to click the link at the bottom of the post to read the entire transcript. We will use that feature on longer posts to keep our front page leaner and visually pleasing.

THE MODERATOR:   We are pleased to be joined by our third place finisher in today's Kobalt Tools 500.  That is Dale Earnhardt, Jr. Your thoughts about your race out there this afternoon.

DALE EARNHARDT, JR.:  Well, we started off awesome.  The car was real fast.  The tires, you know, have spring rates.  We went softer and softer as the day went.  That was the wrong thing to do.  We had to keep adjusting on the car to tighten it up.  The thing was just out of control after a few laps.  I wasn't as bad as most of them, I don't reckon. That was interesting today to be out there.  I do say that.  I'm glad that's over with.

Q.  Dale, is the tire beyond drivable?  Do you understand the predicament Goodyear is in or was it beyond drivable?

DALE EARNHARDT, JR.:  Well, I'll say that Goodyear Tire Company makes good racing tires, they make a safe tire.  You know, there's a lot of technology goes into making them tires and I give them a lot of credit.  I mean, you know, it's a reputation risk just to be in this sport as a company like that.  They can be the quarterback sometimes on Sunday as far as criticism goes.

But they do a good job.  This was just a bad combination, this tire at this track.  Just a poor combination. I know the tire we used to run would wear into the cords, but you could still run hard on it.  It wasn't dangerous.  You would run into the cords and run like that for 10 laps.  That was a pretty good tire.  Even though it was on a cord, you could still run it for a while, get to the next pit stop.

I'll tell you, I'm still seeing the center line in my tires, the mold line in my tire after 30 laps.  So I went from running a tire that would wear to the cord to a tire that I still see the center cord after 30 laps.  There's got to be several combinations in between that.  I mean, Lord, that can't be the next step.

So great racing tire, it's safe and everything, but it's a poor choice for this track.

Q.  We heard in your post race comments a few minutes ago before you came in here talking about it sounded like you and Tony weren't on the same page during the race.  Y'all have been obviously together for a long time.  Was it a communication breakdown?  Did you want to do something that he didn't?

DALE EARNHARDT, JR.:  No, you know, the tires have spring rates.  You sort of figure what your game plan is as far as you want to go stiffer on the right front or let the right front fall out from under it as the race goes.  They don't make a tire that's exactly the same as every other tire, so you can't have the same exact set every set.  They're going to change some.So what the crew chiefs do is they put them in a sequence which they'll go a certain way until the driver complains, then they make them flip it around.  But it's got to go one way or the other.  We went the wrong way at the start of the race. I just made it really hard on him.  You know, just in his ear all the time about trying to get on his A game, help me out, help me out, because the car was just out of control.  And you just don't like driving cars like that. But he's my cousin.  He's tough.  That's why I guess more than anything, besides his talent, I guess that's why I got him, because he's the only one that would put up with me.

THE MODERATOR:  Let's hear from Tony Stewart.  He was second in today's race.  He drives the No. 20 Home Depot Toyota.  Tony, your thoughts about how you ran out there today.

TONY STEWART: I'm really excited that I didn't crash.  That was half the battle in itself.  Been racing 28 years and been a part of a lot of different professional series and never seen a quality of racing tire like I've seen this weekend.  It's a little bit like I caught Dale saying.  I mean, you know, there's got to be something in between.  And if Goodyear thinks that was their best effort today, I'm really disappointed because, you know, these teams spent so much money to come here and the competition is so close.

You know, to tell us a week before we come to Atlanta that all of a sudden we're going to have a new tire and give us the data a week before and expect everybody to figure it out in a week is pretty disappointing.

But, you know, I guess I can't say it's surprising because, I mean, they got run out of Formula One, they got run out of CART, the IRL, they got run out of World Outlaw Sprint cars, they got run out of USAC divisions because they couldn't keep up and make a quality enough product.

You know, this weekend shows their true colors and what they're about.  You know, they've done some great things over the years.  But, you know, as technology has gone on and as the technology of these cars has gone on, they can't keep up.  That's what puts us in positions like we were in this weekend as drivers and teams.  It makes for a miserable day out there.

Like Dale said, it's so hard.  It's hard enough just to get the balance of your car from stop to stop making the changes, but then when you put tires on and don't know what they're going to do when you put them on, it makes it that much more disappointing.  You know, it makes also days like today, when you get lucky enough to finish, you know, second and have your teammate win, it makes days like that great.

But, man, I mean, if the rest of the year, if that's what we got to look forward to, is weekends like this, there will be a lot of drivers going into retirement a lot earlier because nobody's going to want to keep doing this like this.