NASCAR - UAW-GM 500 - from Lowes - on NBC, Saturday 10/15 at 7:00pm ET

NASCAR/Jayski ^

[WestCoastGal]

BUT it's LEVEEEgated!! Oh oh.

Humpy better pray no one wrecks big time on his temporary re-surface this week. They plan on fixing it during the off season.

[WestCoastGal]

Morning grok. Gr8 job on the thread, thanks for putting it up this week.

Love Saturday night racing and the Friday Busch race has my favorite Buschwhacker running this week.

[WestCoastGal]

Talk about OH OH......

Latest enlisted to work on track is a monster

Every sport has one invention it has been unable to attain. In football, it's artificial turf that does not tear up knees. In baseball, it's a playoff game that ends early enough for kids to watch. In racing, it's a means to dry a wet track.
"That won't be the egg," Lowe's Motor Speedway President Humpy Wheeler says in the drizzle on pit road at his track Tuesday afternoon. "But it will be close to the light bulb."

Wheeler is racing's Thomas Edison. He is believed to be the first man to cover a track with canvas. How did that work?

"It didn't," he says.

He heard about a surface the S.C. Department of Transportation applied to roads near the N.C. line. He drove down to investigate. It was too porous for racing tires.

Wheeler considered putting hot coils beneath the track. But it was akin to the canvas, except underground.

He used helicopters. The whirling blades are effective, but the cost is exorbitant and the machines usually are required for the pre-race show.

Five years ago, he thought about building a giant dome.


Because the speedway will host the UAW-GM 500 on Saturday, there is no time to build a dome. There's not even time for hot coils.

But Wheeler must do something. The track has been dunked by about seven inches of rain the past seven days, and the rubber has washed off the asphalt.

The rubber is necessary. Without it, drivers can't get a grip. The speedway put in a new surface before May's Coca-Cola 600, and drivers blamed

You pull out the Texas Tire Monster. At least, that was the machine's name when Wheeler introduced it at 1 p.m. By 1:10, it had become The Levigator and by 1:20 it was Rubbergate. The name is subject to change without notice.

[WestCoastGal]

[glock rocks]

HAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!

[Fierce Allegiance]

NASCAR is like the "government" by penalizing success.

[glock rocks]

You pull out the Texas Tire Monster. At least, that was the machine's name when Wheeler introduced it at 1 p.m. By 1:10, it had become The Levigator and by 1:20 it was Rubbergate. The name is subject to change without notice.

On loan from the speedway's sister track in Texas, the thing is 14 feet long and 121/2 feet wide, weighs 12,000 pounds, has a pair of eyes painted on the back and consists of 12 used tires that can be placed at various angles as it circles the track. The rubber creates such a drag that the truck that pulls it, a big old Chevrolet with a V8 engine, can stop without tapping its brakes.

When Edison first saw the light bulb, he probably thought, "Let there be light."

What did Wheeler think when he first saw the monster?

"I thought it was so stupid looking it probably works," he says.

Does it?

"We don't know yet," says Wheeler. "It won't stop raining."

[steveegg]

UAW-GM 500 (Cup) entry list (with a Jayski note) -

Car	Driver	Hometown	Make	>Sponsor	Owner
0	Mike Bliss	Milwaukie, OR	Chevrolet	NetZero Best Buy	Gene Haas
01	Joe Nemechek	Lakeland, FL	Chevrolet	U.S. Army	Nelson Bowers
2	Rusty Wallace	St. Louis, MO	Dodge	Miller Lite	Roger Penske
4	Mike Wallace**	St. Louis, MO	Chevrolet	Lucas Oil Products	Larry McClure
5	Kyle Busch*	Las Vegas, NV	Chevrolet	Kellogg's	Rick Hendrick
6	Mark Martin	Batesville, AR	Ford	Viagra	Jack Roush
7	Robby Gordon**	Orange, CA	Chevrolet	Jim Beam	James Smith
07	Dave Blaney	Hartford, OH	Chevrolet	Jack Daniel's	Richard Childress
8	Dale Earnhardt Jr.	Kannapolis, NC	Chevrolet	Budweiser	Teresa Earnhardt
9	Kasey Kahne	Enumclaw, WA	Dodge	Dodge Dealers/UAW	Ray Evernham
09	Johnny Sauter**	Necedah, WI	Dodge	Miccosukee Gaming & Resorts	James Finch
10	Scott Riggs	Bahama, NC	Chevrolet	Valvoline	James Rocco
11	Denny Hamlin	Chesterfield, VA	Chevrolet	FedEx Express	J D Gibbs
12	Ryan Newman	South Bend, IN	Dodge	ALLTEL	Roger Penske
15	Michael Waltrip	Owensboro, KY	Chevrolet	NAPA Auto Parts	Teresa Earnhardt
16	Greg Biffle	Vancouver, WA	Ford	National Guard	Geoff Smith
17	Matt Kenseth	Cambridge, WI	Ford	Carhartt	Mark Martin
18	Bobby Labonte	Corpus Christi, TX	Chevrolet	Interstate Batteries	Joe Gibbs
19	Jeremy Mayfield	Owensboro, KY	Dodge	Dodge Dealers/UAW	Ray Evernham
20	Tony Stewart	Rushville, IN	Chevrolet	The Home Depot	Joe Gibbs
21	Ricky Rudd	Chesapeake, VA	Ford	Motorcraft Genuine Parts	Glen Wood
22	Scott Wimmer	Wausau, WI	Dodge	Caterpillar	Bill Davis
24	Jeff Gordon	Pittsboro, IN	Chevrolet	DuPont	Rick Hendrick
25	Brian Vickers	Thomasville, NC	Chevrolet	GMAC/ditech.com	Mary Hendrick
29	Kevin Harvick	Bakersfield, CA	Chevrolet	Snap-On Tools	Richard Childress
31	Jeff Burton	South Boston, VA	Chevrolet	Cingular Wireless	Richard Childress
32	Bobby Hamilton Jr.**	Nashville, TN	Chevrolet	Tide	Calvin Wells, III
34	Hermie Sadler**	Emporia, VA	Chevrolet	Mach One Inc.	William Edwards
37	Tony Raines**	La Porte, IN	Dodge	Patron Tequila/BoSPOKER.net	John Carter
38	Elliott Sadler	Emporia, VA	Ford	M&M's	Robert Yates
39	David Stremme**	South Bend, IN	Dodge	Commit Nicotene Lozenges	Floyd Ganassi
40	Sterling Marlin	Columbia, TN	Dodge	Coors Light	Felix Sabates
41	Casey Mears	Bakersfield, CA	Dodge	Target/Breast Cancer Rsrch Fndation	Chip Ganassi
42	Jamie McMurray	Joplin, MO	Dodge	Texaco/Havoline	Floyd Ganassi
43	Jeff Green	Owensboro, KY	Dodge	Petty Fan Fest	Richard L Petty
45	Kyle Petty	Randleman, NC	Dodge	Georgia-Pacific/Brawny	Kyle Petty
48	Jimmie Johnson	El Cajon, CA	Chevrolet	Lowe's	Jeff Gordon
49	Ken Schrader	Fenton, MO	Dodge	Schwan's Home Service	Elizabeth Morgenthau
50	Jimmy Spencer**	Berwick, PA	Dodge	Allied Steel Structures	Don Arnold
66	Kevin Lepage**	Shelburne, VT	Ford	Peak Fitness	Jeff Stec
77	Travis Kvapil*	Janesville, WI	Dodge	Kodak/Jasper Engines	Douglas Bawel
88	Dale Jarrett	Hickory, NC	Ford	UPS	Robert Yates
97	Kurt Busch	Las Vegas, NV	Ford	IRWIN Industrial Tools	Georgetta Roush
99	Carl Edwards	Columbia, MO	Ford	Scotts	Jack Roush
100	David Reutimann**	Zephyrhills, FL	Chevrolet	State Fair Corn Dogs	Buffy Waltrip
136	Boris Said**	Carlsbad, CA	Chevrolet	CENTRIX Financial	Bob Sutton
151	Stuart Kirby**	Bowling Green, KY	Chevrolet	Marathon American Spirit Motor Oil	Joe Auer
192	Eric McClure*/**	Chilhowie, VA	Chevrolet	Front Row Motorsports	Bob Jenkins
195	Stanton Barrett*/**	Bishop, CA	Chevrolet	Stanton Barrett Racing	Stanton Barrett
200	Carl Long**	Roxboro, NC	Dodge	Royal Administration	Raynard McGlynn

* Denotes Rookie
** Denotes driver/team not in the top 35 in owners' points, must qualify on time (fastest 8 of 15; 8th-fastest will start 43rd)
Note - Jayski is reporting that Tony Raines will not be in the #37 for at least this race and next weekend's race at Martinsville.

[steveegg]

Dollar General 300 (Busch) entry list -

Car	Driver	Hometown	Make	>Sponsor	Owner
0	Kertus Davis*/**	Gaffney, SC	Chevrolet	RaceGirl	Johnny Davis
1	Johnny Sauter	Necedah, WI	Dodge	Yellow Transportation	James Finch
2	Clint Bowyer	Emporia, KS	Chevrolet	ACDelco	Richard Childress
4	Kevin Hamlin	Snohomish, WA	Dodge	GEICO	Fred Biagi
5	Adrian Fernandez	Mexico City, Mexico	Chevrolet	Lowe's/Hitachi Power Tools	Rick Hendrick
6	Bill Elliott	Dawsonville, GA	Dodge	Country Crock Spread	Ray Evernham
7	Jeff Fuller**	Auburn, MA	Chevrolet	Big Boar Customs	Andrea Nemechek
8	Martin Truex Jr.	Mayetta, NJ	Chevrolet	Bass Pro Shops/Tracker	Teresa Earnhardt
9	Matt Kenseth**	Cambridge, WI	Ford	Pennzoil Platinum	Jack Roush
10	Brent Sherman*/**	Chicago, IL	Ford	Serta "Counting Sheep for the Cure"	Gregory Pollex
11	Paul Menard	Eau Claire, WI	Chevrolet	Menards/Quaker State	Teresa Earnhardt
12	Steadman Marlin	Columbia, TN	Dodge	Hot Tamales	Mimi Fitz
14	David Stremme	South Bend, IN	Dodge	Navy "Accelerate Your Life"	Terry Bradshaw
15	Michel Jourdain Jr.*/**	Mexico City, Mexico	Ford	CENTRIX Financial	Keith Barnwell
18	J.J. Yeley	Phoenix, AZ	Chevrolet	Vigoro/The Home Depot	Joe Gibbs
19	Tony Stewart**	Rushville, IN	Chevrolet	Texas Instruments DLP HDTV	J D Gibbs
20	Denny Hamlin*	Chesterfield, VA	Chevrolet	Rockwell Automation	Joe Gibbs
21	Brandon Miller*	Rancho Sante Fe, CA	Chevrolet	Reese's	Richard Childress
22	Kenny Wallace	St. Louis, MO	Ford	AutoZone	Gregory Pollex
23	Mark Green**	Owensboro, KY	Chevrolet	BMAR	Keith Coleman
25	Ashton Lewis	Chesapeake, VA	Ford	U.S. Marines	Ed Rensi
26	Kim Crosby*/**	Slidell, LA	Chevrolet	Vassarette	Keith Coleman
27	David Green	Owensboro, KY	Ford	Kleenex	Tammy Brewer
32	Jason Leffler	Long Beach, CA	Chevrolet	KB Home	Todd Braun
33	Tony Raines	La Porte, IN	Chevrolet	Outdoor Channel	DeLana Harvick
34	Todd Bodine	Chemung, NY	Chevrolet	Dollar General	Frank Cicci
35	Jason Keller	Greenville, SC	Ford	McDonald's	Sam Rensi
36	T.J. Bell	Reno, NV	Chevrolet	TUCSON	John McGill
38	Kasey Kahne	Enumclaw, WA	Dodge	Great Clips	Brad Akins
40	Sterling Marlin	Columbia, TN	Dodge	Family Dollar	Armando Fitz
41	Reed Sorenson*	Peachtree City, GA	Dodge	Discount Tire	Chip Ganassi
44	Justin Labonte	Thomasville, NC	Chevrolet	U.S. Coast Guard	Terry Labonte
47	Jon Wood*	Stuart, VA	Ford	Clorox/Wisk	Jodi Geschickter
49	Steve Grissom**	Gadsden, AL	Ford	Advil Liqui-Gels	Jay Robinson
55	Robby Gordon**	Orange, CA	Chevrolet	Robby Gordon Motorsports	Robby Gordon
58	Regan Smith	Cato, NY	Dodge	Samson Stone	Scott Glynn
59	Stacy Compton	Grit, VA	Ford	Kingsford/Bush's Beans	Tad Geschickter
60	Carl Edwards*	Columbia, MO	Ford	Charter Communications	Jack Roush
64	Jamie McMurray	Joplin, MO	Dodge	Top-Flite Golf	Rusty Wallace
66	Greg Biffle	Vancouver, WA	Ford	Duraflame	Clarence Brewer
72	Kevin Lepage**	Shelburne, VT	Chevrolet	Vector Security	Pat MacDonald
79	Jeremy Mayfield**	Owensboro, KY	Dodge	Auto Value/Bumper to Bumper	Ray Evernham
81	Dale Earnhardt Jr.**	Kannapolis, NC	Chevrolet	Menards	Dale Earnhardt, Jr
90	Elliott Sadler**	Emporia, VA	Ford	CITI Financial	Robert Yates
99	Michael Waltrip**	Owensboro, KY	Chevrolet	Aaron's	Elizabeth Waltrip
139	Ryan Newman**	South Bend, IN	Dodge	ALLTEL	Don Miller
143	Aaron Fike**	Galesburg, IL	Ford	Channellock Code Blue	Mike Curb
157	Kyle Busch**	Las Vegas, NV	Chevrolet	Lowe's/Spectrum Spectracide	Rick Hendrick
167	Johnny Benson**	Grand Rapids, MI	Dodge	Panasonic	Michael A Smith
248	Jimmie Johnson**	El Cajon, CA	Chevrolet	Lowe's/Kobalt Tools	Rick Hendrick

* Denotes Rookie
** Denotes driver/team not in the top 30 in owners' points; must qualify on time (fastest 12 of 20 plus either, in order, Dale Earnhardt Jr-1999 Busch champ, Johnny Benson-1995 Busch champ, Steve Grissom-1993 Busch champ, or 13th-fastest of 20)

[SouthTexas]

Texas Tire Monster

It has a spoiler. :)

Back to work.

[Fierce Allegiance]

I would think a tire with tread would be more effective to make more roadspray. Maybe the goal is heat from friction.

Imagine that sucker breaking loose behimd you when pulling it with a pickup? It'll drag you bassackwards into the safer barrier. Unnngh.

[steveegg]

This isn't meant to dry the track; it's meant to put the rubber back in the track after a resurfacing or a long hard rain in less time than it takes race cars.

[Fierce Allegiance]

Oh. Duh.

[SouthTexas]

Then they can get out the track dryers and blow off all the new marbles. The track crew is just showing off. ;)

[fideist]

Who'd a thunk it! This is a real possibility --

Rusty is back part-time in 2006; MM is back full-time in 2006.....

And Rudd retires this year!

[fideist]

RE: Levigator

Do the wheels turn or do they drag?

[steveegg]

You called the Bowyer-for-Blaney move (though it won't be official until Friday). The rest of the Jayski dirt -

• Raines update - the 2 weeks off of the #37 is a leave of absence due to "conflicts" with his Busch program. Meanwhile, Mike Garvey completes the trade (at least temporarily-former #37 driver Kevin Lepage is in Garvey's old #66 ride) as he takes the wheel for the Charlotte race.
• Jon Wood plans on doing at least 7 races in Cup next year, and wants to do a full-bore double-dip if he can. He doesn't know about the #21 situation though.
• Speaking of the #21, scratch Schrader from that rumor mill. He's staying at BAM for his last year in Cup.
• Robot now regrets not giving Rubberhead 5 bonus points at Kansas.

And from BGNRacing.com -

• Erin Crocker, who has been diagnosed with a cracked rib from the crash at Dover, will not compete full-time in the Busch Series next year, but instead run the Craftsman Truck Series and a limited Busch schedule.
• Western Union and Duesenberg are combing forces with Dwayne Leik to make a 2006 assault on the Busch Series. The #01 Western Union Chevy will run with Jay Sauter for most of the year, with Dwayne doing select events.
• Over at Team Rensi, #35 crew chief has resigned effective the end of the season.
• AJ Foyt IV will start running the #38 next week at Memphis.

[fideist]

From Jayski, February 2004 --

Texas Tire Monster II - The Sequel: It's back!!! The newest sleekest version of the Texas Tire Monster is about to be unveiled for the 2004 season at Texas Motor Speedway. Rising out of a creative idea, sketches and drawings on paper, and some remarkable ingenuity, Texas Tire Monster II is about to lay some rubber on the 1.5-mile super speedway in preparation for the Samsung/RadioShack 500 weekend, April 1-4. The original Monster was the brainchild of speedway president and general manager Eddie Gossage, who wanted to find a way to work rubber into the speedway asphalt and drew a rough sketch of a trailer with multiple tires on it.

"The Texas Tire Monster is another example of the tremendous talent and creativity we have here at Texas Motor Speedway," Gossage said. "There really seems to be nothing our Operations crew can't do. A lot of time and effort was put into building the original Tire Monster and the new and improved version as well. It is a tremendous asset to have this piece of equipment in making our track race ready."

In the speedway operations department, David Cantwell and Tim Altom took the crude renderings and came up with a design, which they developed into reality last year. Cantwell and co-worker David Wilson went to work building the Monster from scrap metal, pieces of old trailers, a little of this, and a little of that. The device hit the road prior to the Samsung/RadioShack 500 last year, laying down rubber on the speedway. But, like all research and development, there was a better way to be found. "We had to find a way to make the tires have better wear, make the Monster transportable, and create a separate transport axle," Cantwell said. "Now, all 12 wheels are on independent suspensions with the exact same weight on each tire. Each tire has 6 ½ degree toe in and out, and we can adjust each one individually. That has made the biggest difference in getting better wear on the tires." Texas Tire Monster II consists of 12 Goodyear Eagle tires as well as the separate transport axle and weighs 5,500 pounds. The new version of the Monster is longer and more narrow and features, as is tradition in motorsports, a rear hood for decal display. Building the original Tire Monster and the sequel has been a task of ingenuity and determination for Cantwell and Wilson. "The whole project has been one of creativity," Cantwell said. "We had to design and make all the working parts, including the pivots for the shocks, the tire arms, and we even made an upright band saw out of hand tools so we could work on the sheet metal." Texas Tire Monster II will be rolling out on the speedway surface soon to begin logging some miles and working some fresh rubber into the grooves. But Cantwell is already thinking about what is next. "I have an idea of how the third generation and even fourth generation Tire Monster should look and what we need on it."

With just the final touches to be added, Texas Tire Monster II has work to do getting the asphalt ready for Texas Motor Speedway's biggest weekend of the year. The NASCAR Busch Series O'Reilly 300 is Saturday, April 3, followed by the NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series Samsung/RadioShack 500 on Sunday, April 4. In addition, the Texas Motor Speedway will host the Crown Royal IROC Series on Friday night, April 2. For ticket information, contact the speedway ticket hotline at 817-215-8500 or go online to www.texasmotorspeedway.com(TMS PR)(2-27-2004)

[glock rocks]

They need to hook the monster up to a one-ton Chevy Tonawanda 454 dually sporting sticker Eagles and let Pete drive it. The challenge would be to determine who laid down more rubber... the truck or the trailer :o)

Nork, Tork and I could ride in the truck bed and keep the BBQ hot and the beer cold. Now that would be a parade lap. LOL... wanna play marbles?

[WestCoastGal]

At first I was dubious because Blaney and RC are very good friends. But, the source was good so we had the scoop.

Now, here's another one. It's probably about his Busch team.....

Chuck Howard, sports director of WCNC Charlotte, announced last night on the 11:00 news that Dale Jr. would have a big announcement to make Friday @ 1:30 at Lowe's Speedway.