Good Thing I Did Not Bet On Dale Jr.

NASCAR Race Mom spent three fun packed days playing in Laughlin, Nevada this weekend. Yes I know that was the Daytona 500 weekend. Not to worry, the race was streaming from televisions in every casino and restaurant we frequented. That was a good thing too; what with the six-hour – twenty minute rain delay – it would have been criminal to be stuck in a room somewhere waiting with the rest of NASCAR Fanatics.

If you are not familiar; Laughlin is a sliver of the Colorado River Valley where Nevada, California and Arizona meet. The city by the river now attracts nearly two million visitors annually and experience gambling and high-profile special events.

Our group of four fun seekers relished our premium seats to the LeAnn Rimes concert. LeAnn Rimes is an American country and pop singer and her rich vocals entertained us on Saturday night.

Sunday was dedicated to the ‘500.’ NASCAR Race Mom had placed her bets early. You can do that in Laughlin! NRM put $5.00 each on Kyle Larson, Paul Menard, Brian Vickers, and Cole Whitt. Since Whitt was not listed separately, the bet was a “field” bet.

Although Dale Earnhardt Jr. is one of NASCAR Race Mom’s favorite driver, I resisted the urge to bet on him. Probably a good thing, because the NRM jinx hit all of her Daytona 500 picks.

Sprint Cup Rookie Kyle Larson hit the wall at Daytona International Speedway twice in the opening laps of Sunday’s race. He was the first one drivers out of the race!

Austin Dillon (3), Kyle Larson (42), Danica Patrick (10), and others
including Paul Menard crash. (AP Photo/David Graham)

Paul Menard, in a backup car due to a wreck during Wednesday’s practice Wednesday, had led three times for twenty-three laps, getting to the front for five laps before the rain delay. He was also strong through the first full-field round of stops.

Unfortunately, a twelve-car wreck on lap 145 caused significant damage to the front of Menard's car. Repairing that damage cost him sixteen laps and he finished the race in thirty-second place.

"I had a really good car," Menard reported "We kind of got messed up on pit sequence a little bit, came out by ourselves once and got shuffled back, and that's about when everybody decided to wreck."

Brian Vickers fared a tad better. He managed to stay up front in the top five before the cycles of pit stops. Then on lap 162, he was collected in a multi-car incident when Pole Winner, Austin Dillon’s race car broke loose and triggered the pile up. Brian jumped to the high side, slammed on the brakes, but it was just too much, too fast- and he suffered significant damage to the car that dropped him out of contention and crossed the stripe at the end in 30th place.

“We had a good car, but just got caught up in one of the wrecks. A couple of those guys were just racing really aggressive and bouncing around, moving a lot. I knew it was a matter of time.” said Vickers.

NASCAR Race Mom still had one driver in the ‘Great American Race’ and had high hopes for Sprint Cup Rookie Cole Whitt. His race was going exceptionally well. Unfortunately, Austin Dillon gave teammate Ryan Newman a hard bump, sending him into the wall as he took out all the cars behind him. Yup, Cole Whitt was there and painted the Daytona Speedway wall his #26 Speed Stick Gear Toyota. Whitt finished the race in 28th position.

Ryan Newman (31), Brian Scott (33), Cole Whitt (26), Justin Allgaier (51),
Terry Labonte (32) and Parker Kligerman (30) (AP Photo/Mike Troxell)

“We were in position for a great finish. I was nursing the No. 26 Speedstick GEAR Toyota late in the race because of some water pressure issues but with 20 to go crew chief Randy Cox gave the order that it was ”time to go.” We raced up into the top 20 but then got caught up in a wreck that also collected my teammate Parker Kligerman.” Whitt explained.

Bad News: NASCAR Race Mom did not win on any of her bets!

Good News: Dale Earnhardt Jr. dominated a frantic two-lap dash to the finish to win his second Daytona 500.

Best News: NASCAR 2014 is here and made its arrival known with a thrilling event with a “feel good” ending.

*****Keep your eye on racing youngster, Cole Whitt. NASCAR Race Mom is predicting great finishes for him in his rookie season.

Is it NASCAR Silly Season already?

Tony Stewart won't be back any time soon after breaking his leg during a dirt track race.

Well this time last year, Matt Kenseth had already stated his intention to leave Roush Fenway Racing for Joe Gibbs Racing. He followed the path of Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Kasey Kahne, who in years previous were among those who cemented their future plans well before July.

There were a couple of important NASCAR announcements today: 

• Stewart-Haas Racing announced that Tony Stewart will be out the remainder of the year.
• Mark Martin will drive the No. 14 at Bristol and 11 other races. 
• Austin Dillon will drive for Stewart at Talladega.
  
• Michael Waltrip Racing announced that Brian Vickers will race 12 out of the 13 remaining races in the No. 55 car as Martin was enabled an early release to fill-in for Stewart.

Happy NASCAR Father's Day

The fathers of these NASCAR drivers have seen and done it all with their racing sons, everything from fishing trips to winning racing championships! It's clear that the adage "Like father, like son" applies in these cases as they share a few of their favorite memories to celebrate Father's Day.

Roger Mears
Father of Casey Mears, driver of the No. 07 Jack Daniel's Chevrolet

Tell us your earliest memories of your son racing.

One of my earliest memories is when Casey would sit for hours racing his little Hot Wheels cars when he was about 2 years old.

When he was about 3, we took him to watch different bicycle races, and they had kids racing Big Wheels. Next time we went, Casey was racing Big Wheels with them.

By 4, he had moved up to BMX bicycles. Casey was so little that he couldn't touch the ground when he was on top of his bike, so I would have to hold the bike for the start of the race and then run down the hill to catch him when he finished. After BMX, he started riding a motorized Honda three-wheeler in the backyard and then moved on to racing quads at Bakersfield Speedway in California.

Greg Newman
Father of Ryan Newman, driver of the No. 39 U.S. Army Chevrolet

Tell us your earliest memories of your son racing.

I remember using my foot to show him where to hit the corner when he was racing in quarter midgets at the age of 4. I would put my foot on the track and tell him to hit my foot - that's where he needed to be on the track.

Martin Truex, Sr.
Father of Martin Truex, Jr., driver of the No. 1 Bass Pro Shops Chevrolet

Tell us your earliest memories of your son racing.

Probably when he was 10 years old racing go-karts at the New Egypt Speedway in New Jersey.

Clyde Vickers
Father of Brian Vickers, driver of the No. 83 Red Bull Toyota

Tell us your earliest memory of your son racing.

Brian was 8 years old, leading a go-kart race in Tyro, N.C. He had a complete straightaway lead on the field, but he kept looking back and all around until he drove off Turn 2 right into the hay bales!

Paul Smith Jr.
Father of Moses Smith, driver of the No.16 Hasa Pool Products Toyota Camry

Tell us your earliest memory of your son racing.

One of my earliest memory of Moses and I going to the races is when he went with me to an off-road race in Riverside. He was about eight. Both Moses and I were working on the pit crew for Mark Hansen.

My earliest memory of Moses actually racing was when he was seven or eight. We went to the desert as a family. I would race my Kawasaki 250 three wheeler. One of the guys I was racing was really skinny and had a weight advantage over me. So I told Moses to go and race him. Moses never even hesitated. He jumped on the bike, but could not reach the kick starter I started the bike for him and off he went. He won that race and boy what a smile he had on his face.

Just click here for more funny/heartwarming NASCAR stories about Drivers and their fathers.