No cover this week (I was a little busy celebrating a birthday). But here's a few FAQs from the week - short & sweet (?) and better late than never?:
Racing Highlights
CUP - Winner: Matt Kenseth
Unofficial Standings:
BUSCH - In one of the wildest finishes of the NASCAR Busch Series season, Dale Earnhardt Jr. bumped Carl Edwards aside on the white flag lap of a green-white-checkered finish at Michigan International Speedway on Saturday to capture the 22nd win of his series career, putting him in a tie for fourth on the all-time NASCAR Busch Series win list with Tommy Ellis and Sam Ard.
Quoting this...
Dale Jr.: "I didn't mean to spin him out. I don't go around wrecking people. I wouldn't have waited two years to get back at him for wrecking me in Atlanta in 2004 pretty much the same way.
We got a run off that corner, and Carl just got sideways and he wasn't in the gas. I guess he was pretty mad at me, but there wasn't much I could do."
Edwards showed his displeasure by plowing into Junior after the race.
Dale Jr.: "I had my hand out the window. He could have taken my hand off. But he didn't. Pretty stupid. That was just rude."
CE: "He just wrecked me off [Turn] 2. I just wanted to make sure he knew I was mad that he wrecked me. It's racing."
Carl Edwards was fined $20,000 and put on probation for his post-race actions.
NCTS - Bye
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Photo of the Week
Evernham Motorports owner Ray Evernham and EMS drivers
Erin Crocker and Elliott Sadler (Photo: Rusty Jarrett)
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Michigan MOST FAQs
Q1. Is Evernham Motorsports owner Ray Evernham having and affair with his driver Erin Crocker?
A. That most certainly depends on your definition of affair.
Sources confirmed and TGOM reported back in April that the two have "an intimate relationship beyond that of driver/owner."
The recently terminated EMS driver Jeremy Mayfield stated in court documents that Ray has a "close personal relationship with a female driver he engages to drive on NASCAR's ARCA, truck and Busch Series." As most of you are already aware, Erin Crocker is the only female driver in in the Evernham stable.
Ray hasn't commented on this... except to say that he doesn't comment on his personal life--at least not since March.
Flashback to this...
"My wife (Mary) and I of 19 years decided to go and lead separate lives last year, before the end of last season. I spend a lot more time on the road going to tests. I spend a lot more time probably in the office. It's not something that you want to happen, for sure, but it has allowed me to have some more time. When you don't have anything else, you put a lot more time in what you do have." [thatsracin.com - Mar. 31, 2006]
Q2. Who was the girl on the #8 pit box at MIS?
A. I have seen only one pic and it's not a closeup so I can't say for sure. More than likely it was Amy Eury or a DEI team member. I'll certainly let ya know if I find out anything to the contrary.
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Shana Mayfield Falsely Accused
NASCAR.com - The wife of Nextel Cup driver Jeremy Mayfield took issue with a comment made by a member of the No. 19 Evernham Motorsports team during a recent legal dispute with team owner Ray Evernham.
Shana Mayfield was mentioned in a deposition given by Chuck Efaw, a mechanic on the 19, during an August 9 hearing over the conditions of the termination of her husband.
"At the race in Loudon, N.H., last month, Shana Mayfield, Jeremy's wife, said to me, 'I told Jeremy he better not have that car in the top 35 at the end of the season,'" Efaw said in the court document.
Shana said that never happened.
"Those accusations were false," she said. "The judge had access to all those written documents, along with verbal testimony. She saw both sides and ruled in favor of the deserving party, and that usually ends up being the ones who tell the truth."
The judge ruled in favor of Mayfield, who filed a restraining order to keep Bill Elliott out of the car last week at Watkins Glen, to position himself for a financial settlement with Evernham.
After the ruling, Evernham agreed to pay Mayfield for the rest of the season to clear the way for Elliott Sadler to drive the 19 in the remaining 14 races.
Mayfield, who will sign to drive for Bill Davis Racing's new Toyota team next week, initially was fired without compensation.
"If Ray would have done what he said he was going to do all along, he and Jeremy sit down and talk about any issues, then it would have never come to this," Shana said.
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Drivers Are Husbands Too
Quoting this...
Kevin Harvick on Delana: "We obviously spend a lot of time together. It's nice to have a person who cares about winning as much as you do. We have a good relationship, personal and business, on and off the track." [Detroit Free Press, Aug. 15, 2006]
Sterling Marlin: "My wife, Paula's kind of got me hooked on Desperate Housewives..." [NASCAR.com, Aug. 16, 2006]
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In case you missed this...
- NASCAR's love fuels kids camp
The NASCAR record book says Kyle Petty hasn't produced a victory since 1995.
It seems everyone associated with NASCAR or anyone who has set foot inside the Victory Junction Gang Camp would beg to differ.
What Kyle and wife Pattie Petty have accomplished in the woods of Randleman — in the shadow of Petty Enterprises, in memory of their son, Adam, and with the help of their extended NASCAR family and friends — transcends the traditional concept of success in sports.
Victory Junction Gang camp offers chronically ill children and their families the chance to feel like champions. The camp's slogan, "Feel your heart race," redefines winning, not only for campers but for sponsors, many of whom have deep roots in racing. Full story (includes comprehensive details of the camps features) [USA Today, Aug. 16, 2006]
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Reminders
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