December 18, 2008 - Thursday
Dale Earnhardt Jr. Adventures
By Ben Braden
With winter in full swing here in the Rockies and the scheduling book for Burandt’s Backcountry Adventures looking as thick as a Stephen King novel, Slednecks own Chris Burandt found time to schedule in a fairly high profile client…
Last week Dale Earnhardt Jr. and his family made a trip to Aspen and called upon the best backcountry rider in the world to show them what exactly a backcountry adventure was all about. The crew included Dale Jr., his mother Brenda Gee, his step father Willy, his brother Kerry, his two sister's Kelley and Taylor, along with many other in-laws, cousins, and friends.
We started the morning by meeting the crew at their hotel in. Dale Jr. fit right in with his full Colorado mountain man beard! We spent a few minutes meeting everyone and then realized that this was going to be the largest crew of people that we've ever taken out on a ride. We had 27 people with us that day! With four Suburbans full of people, and five pickup trucks with sleds in tow, we headed up the mountain.
Knowing Dale Jr's ability to handle horsepower, Chris decided to put him on a Burandt Backcountry Edition RTR 800 turbo. Instantly Jr's face was nothing but smile's when he saw what we had set up for him. His reply was a simple, but comical “look at that, it's got my name and number on it”, in his North Carolinian accent.
When we made our first stop to do a head count everyone was stoked! We made our way to the summit and found an open meadow with fresh powder waiting to be tracked up. Within seconds we had at least half of them stuck. However, within another 30 to 45 minutes of practice, everyone had learned enough to rival some of the Rockies native backcountry riders. We knew the Earnhardt's would be fast learners!
With every stop that we took to gather up people we would get a comedic commentary of what had just taken place by someone in the Earnhardt family. Kelley Earnhardt had a great story about ripping through the trees and loosing the cameraman off of the back of her sled and never even slowing down or looking back. Forget the cameraman, he was not important at that moment. Another good one was Jr. explaining how the sled picked the ski's five feet off the ground when he stabbed the throttle. By the end of the day each and every one of them was completely stoked on how the day went.
All in all we can add one more group of satisfied customer's to the list of clients of the Burandt’s Backcountry Adventure's. There are still a few open spots to book your trip….. Check the web site for available dates: Burandtsbackcountryadventure.com
Mixed Reactions to Bud Shootout Changes: How do drivers feel about the decision to change the rules governing next year’s season-opening Budweiser Shootout exhibition race at Daytona International Speedway? Well, it depends whether you’re in or out. Michael Waltrip, who finished 11th in the 2008 Shootout, would have needed to win a pole in the last 12 races to make the field in 2009 under the current rules. Instead, with the decision to include six teams from each of the four manufacturers, there’s an excellent chance for two of Waltrip’s team cars to make the field next February. Carl Edwards, who missed the 2007 edition because he failed to win a pole the previous year, thought he secured a spot with his run last week at Bristol. It turns out that he’s one of five Roush Fenway Racing drivers who will represent Ford in the 2009 Shootout. Edwards is in favor of the new rule. On the other hand, 2008 pole-winners Paul Menard and Joe Nemechek find themselves on the outside looking in. For Nemechek’s Furniture Row Racing team, the change was a huge blow. Nemechek said someone like Boris Said, who only runs a limited schedule, no longer gets additional benefit from winning a pole.(NASCAR.com)
AND: Ryan Newman says it does seem odd that Daytona International Speedway executives don’t want the defending Daytona 500 winner in their season-opening Bud Shootout next spring. Since Newman and new teammate Tony Stewart will be leaving their current teams at the end of this year and driving next year for a new team, they both will be ineligible for the Shootout. Ironic, since the Daytona 500 this year was Stewart-versus-Newman. Adding more irony: Joey Logano, who has yet even to run a Cup race, will be in the Shootout, in Stewart’s Toyota. And even more irony: David Stremme, who will likely be taking Newman’s ride with Roger Penske, would be in the Shootout instead of Newman. Stremme, whose only Cup run this year was at Talladega in April, where he finished 28th, has never won a Cup event. Newman has 13 career wins. “The new Shootout doesn’t seem to be about drivers, but about manufacturers,” Newman says. “It’s a changed race all the way around. (Winston Salem Journal)
AND: #88-Dale Earnhardt Jr. said he has no problem with the changes in the qualifying rules, but he has a big problem with a long final segment. “Fifty laps is forever on that track,” Earnhardt said. “It would be a lot more exciting for the fans and a lot more fun for us if we only did 10 laps at the end.” #11-Denny Hamlin, who won the race as a rookie in 2006, said he agrees with Earnhardt. “Only racing 10 laps at the end would be way better,” Hamlin said. “The tires go away pretty fast at Daytona, but they still would have a lot of grip for just 10 or 15 laps. We could really go all out and the racing would be a lot closer.”(ESPN.com)(8-30-2008) Comment here