Nascar Raceways

Carl Edwards took his first laps in a new-generation USAC Silver Crown car Monday in testing at Homestead-Miami Speedway.

The NEXTEL Cup Series competitor – who is also a car owner in the Silver Crown ranks – had one seven of the new cars on hand preparing for the March 28 event at Homestead-Miami Speedway, during the Toyota Indy 300/Grand Prix of Miami weekend. That event will be the first race for the series on a 1.5-mile speedway.

Among the drivers also testing were Dave Steele and Shane Hmeil, in the No. 1 C&R; Bryn Gohn, No. 8 DRC; No. 21 C&R, Brian Tyler; No. 26 Riley, Aaron Pierce and Thiago Medeiros; No. 96 Stealth, Rodney Weesner; and No. 00 Stealth, Wayne Reutimann Jr.

Edwards had finished 16th in Sunday’s Budweiser Shootout at Daytona, but flew to Homestead Monday morning to “relax” on his day off.

“This is a whole new thing – it’s different,” Edwards said after making two runs in the No. 99 C&R Ford. “I thought this would be a great opportunity for me to get a feel for it.”

Edwards co-owns the car with Roger Johnson. Jerry Coons drove the car in the season opener at Phoenix. The team is undecided on who will drive the car at Homestead, but tested young Canadian Peter Shepherd in the car on Monday. Shepherd was part of Roush Racing’s “Racer X” series, where he finished fifth.

“Right now, it’s pretty wild with these new cars,” Edwards said. “They’re real fast. We’re going to keep working on them. By the end of the day, we hope to have a good feel for this track, and know what direction to take for when we come back. The car feels a lot alike the old Silver Crown cars. The difference for me right now is running on this big race track. This is an awfully big race track compared to what we’ve run the Silver Crown cars on before.”

While Edwards unofficially had the fastest lap of the day – 31.86 seconds, 169.8 mph – Hmeil was close behind, at 31.93.

“I respect Carl Edwards’ driving and his skill, and for him to say it’s pretty scary out there is pretty good,” Hmeil said. “I’m excited. It’s something I’ve been wanting to do for a long time is to run Silver Crown cars, and now they’re at bigger tracks and with bigger crowds. It’s something that I think is going to grow. It’s something I’m proud to be associated with.”

Steele won the only race for the new generation car in the season-opening Copper World Classic at Phoenix International Raceway. He left the test early to compete in a winged sprint car race at New Smyrna Speedway in Samsula, Florida – where he had won a race Sunday night. After he left the test, Shane Hmeil tested in Steele’s No. 1 car.

“This is definitely a nice track,” said Steele, visiting Homestead-Miami Speedway for the first time. “It’s a little different from the short track stuff I’m used to. I’m going to run around and get in a few laps, trying to get comfortable. I think USAC has some issues with the car they need to deal with, so I’ll try to give them some feedback and see how it goes.”

Edwards was not the only to race at Daytona on Sunday and test at Homestead on Monday. Tyler competed in Sunday morning’s ARCA 200. He was racing with the lead draft but lost a lap after he was bumped into the wall. He came back and chased eventual winner Bobby Gerhart, but could not get his lap back and finished 22nd.

“This is like a combination of the old car and a stock car,” said Tyler, the pole winner and third-place finisher in the season opener at Phoenix. “We’re searching for a shock and spring package, and find the attitude of what the car likes. Right now, the front end is stuck and the rear end wants to be loose. We need to find a happy balance.” Edwards agreed.

“Right now, it’s a little bit uncomfortable going into the corners at the fastest point of the race track, and we can’t tell what’s making it do that. We’re working on that.”

The Silver Crown race will be one of four events during the March 24-26 weekend, joining the IRL IndyCar Series, Grand American Rolex Sports Car Series presented by Crown Royal Special Reserve and IRL Indy Pro Series

Phoenix International Raceway President Bryan R. Sperber announced today the new schedule change for the Second Annual SUBWAY Fresh 500 Race Weekend. The most dramatic change to the schedule of events is the addition of NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Qualifying on Thursday afternoon, April 20.

“Working with NASCAR, we are pleased to announce that NEXTEL Cup Qualifying for the SUBWAY Fresh 500 will take place on Thursday afternoon,” said Sperber. “The pole-sitter for the Saturday evening NEXTEL Cup race will be crowned prior to the running of the Casino Arizona 150, NASCAR Grand National race under the lights.”

Gates open to fans at 9 a.m. on Thursday, April 20 and race fans will enjoy an exciting day of on-track action that includes practices in all three race divisions, the NASCAR Grand National Division, AutoZone West Series, the NASCAR Busch Series and the NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series. NASCAR Grand National qualifying is set for 3:35 p.m., prior to the 8 p.m. green flag in the Casino Arizona 150. NEXTEL Cup qualifying will get the green flag at 5:40 p.m.

On Friday, April 21, gates open at noon and race fans will enjoy two sessions of NEXTEL Cup practice from 1 – 2 p.m. and then again from 4:05 – 4:50 p.m. The NASCAR Busch Series will start qualifications at 2:35 p.m. prior to the 6 p.m. start of the Bashas’ Supermarkets 200.

The excitement builds when gates open at noon on Saturday, April 22 for the 5:25 p.m. green flag of the Second Annual SUBWAY Fresh 500, NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series race. Fans arriving to the track early can enjoy many of the tracks amenities including the Raceway Club, Trackside Club or any of the interactive displays located on the midway, behind the grandstands.

NASCAR racing has been a staple of the American culture for over five decades. When Bill France started NASCAR in 1949 he had a vision of ordinary guys racing ordinary every-day cars. Thus stock car racing was invented and Americans took notice. Only on a NASCAR track would you be able to watch your family sedan tear around a track rubbing paint with your neighbor’s new Ford. In the beginning stages of NASCAR anyone could race as long as he qualified, with any car he could find (including rental cars).

Up shifting into the next generation of NASCAR is anything but ordinary drivers and ordinary cars. Today’s "stock cars" are highly modified racers with million dollar sponsors and professional drivers. With heavy regulation on aerodynamics, materials, and engine displacement it’s up the drivers and their pit crews to win races with driving skill and car analysis. Whether drafting to stock pile horse power for the straight-away, monitoring tire wear and wedge angles or getting your car out of the pit quickly, the new NASCAR is a sport of millimeters, seconds and lightning fast reflexes.

Proving that NASCAR is one of the top sports in the country is the amount of raceways spread across the country. Misperceived as only popular in the south, NASCAR stages races in Chicago, Denver, California, Indiana, Michigan and Ohio to name a few. With over 12 percent of the television audience tuning in on race day, it’s no wonder why NASCAR has grown from an obscure American enigma into a legitimate sport… if not a national pastime.

State lawmakers might be on the verge of an unexpected monetary windfall if proposed legislation goes through, enabling Illinois drivers to order specialty license plates featuring the logos of their favorite professional sports team or NASCAR drivers.

Rep. Kurt Granberg, D-Centralia, is behind the proposal, hoping Illinois can cash in like other states have on the loyalty of their sports fans. Illinois law allows for specialty plates bearing pro sports teams’ insignias, but none are currently offered. Authorized teams for Illinois would be the Chicago Bears, Chicago Bulls, Chicago Black Hawks, Chicago Cubs, Chicago White Sox, St. Louis Rams and St. Louis Cardinals.

There would be a $30 fee for a pro sports or NASCAR-related logo.

"I think this would be a great way for people to show their pride and support their favorite team or NASCAR driver, while bringing in greatly needed revenue to the state," Granberg said.

Ten states are either offering the program, or will be beginning next year. One of those states with an existing license-plate plan, Mississippi, has collected $2 million alone on its NASCAR plates over the past three years.

"We should expect a tax break after all of the money the state will make off race fans from this plan, if it is approved," said Jeff Scott, assistant general manager at Quincy Raceways. "NASCAR fans would miss two meals in order to get those plates. They’re a little different. They don’t think like other people."

Scott said his wife, Shari, is a prime example.

"We’d definitely have Jimmie Johnson plates … definitely," Scott said.

Scott emphasized this would be a natural moneymaker because of sports’ fans devotion to their favorite drivers and pro teams.

"This could be huge," Scott said.

Dick Chapin of Quincy, who owns Diamond Cards, 3626 Maine, is a longtime Chicago Cubs fan and also thinks the license plate proposal is a gold mine waiting to happen.

"That’s easy money for the state, a no-brainer," Chapin said. "It would be a great, great moneymaker. I would think 90 percent of the cars around here would have Cubs or Cardinals license plates. The $30 fee wouldn’t hurt anyone."

John K. Potts of Quincy agrees with Chapin — sort of. Potts is a diehard Cardinals and Rams fan and thinks the majority of plates will bear the logos of those teams, not the Cubs or Bears.

"I imagine the state of Illinois will be surprised to see the Missouri teams on so many of its license plates," said Potts, the director of public relations at Culver-Stockton College in Canton, Mo. "People will stay away from (supporting) the epidemic of losing teams in Chicago."

All kidding aside, Potts said he thought the idea "was great" and would further whet the appetite of the state’s sports fans. Potts said it would not be a problem choosing between the Cardinals and Rams for a license-plate logo.

"We have two vehicles," he said. "We’ll get the Cardinals for one and the Rams for the other."