Monday, September 29, 2014

40 Years Ago: The Day Earl Ross Propelled Canada into NASCAR Victory Lane

Image taken from STP Promotional Postcard



For the past several months, I had been counting down to a major milestone in Canadian motorsports that happened 40 years ago on this exact date. On September 29th 1974, a stock car driver from the modest community of Ailsa Craig, Ontario pulled off a feat no competitor outside of the United States had accomplished. Taking place at the 0.526-miles short track oval of Martinsville Speedway, a 33-year old Earl Ross crossed the finish line first at a NASCAR Winston Cup (now Sprint Cup) event. Driving a #52 Carling-sponsored Chevrolet owned by Junior Johnson, Ross won the Old Dominion 500 with a full lap lead over second-place Buddy Baker. Entering victory lane, the prominent Canadian maple leaf flag was carried onboard Ross's #52 car allowing his country to share in part of the celebration four decades ago.

Mentioning the 500-lap Martinsville Speedway race as a triumphant moment for Canada on the world stage, the memory of this moment is now also a memorial. On this past Thursday, September 18th, sadness was shared among the Canadian stock car racing community as Earl Ross had passed away at the age of 73. Having heard news of his passing, I thought it would be more fitting to give tribute to him on this 40th anniversary the legendary Canada's win against the titans of NASCAR.

A humble athlete, Earl Ross became a standout in Canadian short track racing prior to his high profile venture south of the border. Outside of London, Ontario was the place where his name grew into a something heard with enthusiasm by race fans but also trembled with fear in the eardrums of on-track competitors. Delaware Speedway was the scene where Ross demonstrated speed and consistency. The 1968 Late Model champion when the oval was ¼-mile, Earl Ross captured the Diamond and Late Model crown at a half-mile Delaware track in 1970. At this time and through the latter part of his career, the popular Canadian short track of Delaware Speedway presided as a special place for the driver.

In 1973, Ross first began burning pavement in major American stock car racing competition with major funding coming from Carling’s Red Cap Ale. A far cry from the half-mile Canadian track he cut his teeth, Earl Ross was first fielded by an ARCA race driving a #52 Chevrolet on the grand 2.5-mile Daytona International Speedway. Starting 11th, Ross finished the race 13th in his maiden event on the superspeedway. A week later, the Canadian stock car wheelman received a baptism by fire in the NASCAR Winston Cup series racing in the Daytona 500. Ross qualified 30th in the so-called Great American Race piloting a Bobby Allison Racing car owned by Allan Brooke. His first NASCAR race lasted only 34 laps when a valve problem ended his first run against stock car greats like Richard Petty, Cale Yarborough and A.J. Foyt. Ross made two more NASCAR Cup Series starts in 1973 at Talladega and Michigan but was met with mechanical problems on both occasions. In those early races, the Brooke-fielded car also featured Canadian crew chief Ken McKichan and several other Canadian crew members.


Photo Credit RacingOne/Getty Images



Getting his feet wet in the waters of the United States stock car competition in 1973, 1974 would be an all-out campaign for the Canadian. The year started once-again at Daytona in an ARCA race. In the 30-car, 200-mile race, Earl Ross qualified third and finished third. Following the second-runner-up finish, Ross’ 1974 NASCAR season started with his first completed race in Winston Cup resulting in an 11th place run. After the Daytona race, the driver of the #52 car showed the circuit just what kind of talent could be bred on a Canadian short track. Ross took fifth in the World 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway and finished runner-up to Richard Petty at the June race on the two-mile Michigan International Speedway. After Michigan, famous former driver and renowned team owner Junior Johnson took responsibility for the #52 Chevrolet.

During the month of September in 1974, Earl Ross was red hot. Qualifying on the front row at Richmond, he amassed back-to-back top-5 finishes at Dover and North Wilkesboro Speedway. It was at the end of that month where Ross pulled off his best ever result in NASCAR. Starting 11th in the 500-mile event, Earl Ross won the Martinsville Speedway race after leading 79 laps in his 1972 Chevrolet race car. It was the first victory in the NASCAR’s top series by a non-American driver (the only until Juan-Pablo Montoya‘s win at Sonoma in 2007). In addition to winning at Martinsville, Ross grabbed the 1974 NASCAR Winston Cup Rookie of the Year award and finished eighth in the overall points.

Despite 1974’s accolades, 1975 would not prove as fulfilling for Earl Ross. Due to Carling cut funding of his NASCAR efforts, Ross’ career in the south was effectively parked. He would make a pair of one-off appearances driving for Julie Donlavey in 1975 and L.G. DeWitt in 1976 with limited success. One of his last efforts in the Cup series came in 1978 attempting but failing to make that year’s Daytona 500.







Following his unceremonious end in NASCAR Winston Cup competition after a victorious but short 26-race career, Ross would make the odd appearance in ARCA, ASA, NASCAR Modified and even an SCCA Trans Am event at Mosport in the late 1970s into the 1980s. Returning to Canada and his old stomping ground of Delaware Speedway, Earl Ross entered the first McKerlie Millen 200 race in 1982. While it seemed that the former NASCAR Cup series Rookie of the Year had hung up his helmet, he remerged as a participant in the CASCAR Super Series during the mid-1990s driving a Ford co-owned by series champion Dave Whitlock. Competing for several seasons, the now-senior Ross could still pull off some impressive runs including a third at Capital City Speedway in 1997. Shortly following his retirement from CASCAR, his entire career was immortalized by inception to the Canadian Motorsport Hall of Fame in 2000. 

Spending the better part of his 73 years on Earth wheeling a stock car on some of North America’s most challenging tracks, the legacy of Earl Ross has been a modest one. Despite the Canadian’s NASCAR Winston Cup series success, the time and even difficulty of some sports fans to truly accept driving a race car as an athletic competition has kept the achievement farther from the minds of the mainstream. For Earl Ross and his fans, there has been no request for vanity on what was a monumental moment in time 40 years ago at Martinsville. What Earl Ross proved in his life was how glorious, incredible feats sometimes arrive from an unassuming persona.


Thank you to www.canadianracer.com and www.ultimateracinghistory.com for aiding in the compilation of this article.

Saturday, September 27, 2014

Chasing Numbers: Beyond the NASCAR Chase Drivers' Finishes at New Hampshire

 Photo Credit: 301763 Sarah Glenn/NASCAR via Getty Images


The second race of the 2014 NASCAR Sprint Cup Chase provided the expected varying range of outcomes on the 1.058-mile New Hampshire Motor Speedway.

Winning the Sylvania 300, Chase challenger Joey Logano locked his #22 Ford Fusion into the Contender round (securing both Penske Racing cars into the next progression in the 2014 Chase. On the other hand, Kurt Busch and Denny Hamlin each experienced a dismal outing at New Hampshire. The #41 Chevrolet SS of Kurt Busch was recorded in 36th place while the #11 Toyota of Hamlin finished 37th. Due to the results, both drivers are on the outside of the 12-driver cut-off entering as the third and final race of the Challenger round wraps at Dover International Speedway. However, there is currently only 10 points separating 16th place from 11th place in the bottom end of the 2014 NASCAR Chase heading into Dover meaning the race is largely wide-open prior to Sunday's AAA 400.

Below is a chart mapping out how the 16 Chase eligible drivers performed compared to their 2013 results and career average. Joey Logano showed the biggest improvement but surprises also came from Aric Almirola and AJ Allmendinger who both stepped up their previous performances at New Hampshire.



New Hampshire 2013CareerFinish2014 vs 20132014 vs Career
Jeff Gordon
15 11 26 -11 -15
Jimmie Johnson
4 10.5 5 -1 5.5
Dale Earnhardt Jr.
6 15.5 9 -3 6.5
Brad Keselowski
11 11.4 7 4 4.4
Kasey Kahne
37 16.7 23 14 -6.3
Joey Logano
14 19.3 1 13 18.3
Carl Edwards
9 13.8 17 -8 -3.2
AJ Allmendinger

24.2 13 11.2
Ryan Newman
16 13.6 18 -2 -4.4
Kevin Harvick
20 14.3 3 17 11.3
Kyle Busch
2 14.4 8 -6 6.4
Denny Hamlin
12 8.9 37 -25 -28.1
Aric Almirola
21 21.3 6 15 15.3
Matt Kenseth
1 13 21 -20 -8
Greg Biffle
3 15.7 16 -13 -0.3
Kurt Busch
13 15.4 36 -23 -20.6

Wednesday, September 24, 2014

NASCAR Sprint Cup Car to Lose Horsepower, Gains On-board Track Bar Adjuster for 2015

Photo Credit: 301763 Sarah Glenn/NASCAR via Getty Images


Right now, the immediate focus related to the NASCAR Sprint Cup series surrounds the 2014 Chase. However, with eight races remaining in the 2014 season, NASCAR announced a series of rules changes affecting the way the 2015 race cars will be prepared for competition.

For the 2015 NASCAR Sprint Cup season, the Chevrolet, Ford and Toyota race cars will most notably feature less rear downforce as well as less engine power. Trimming the rear spoiler on this year's car by two inches, the 2015 height for the aerodynamic accessory will be a maximum of six inches. Power for the V-8 engines propelling Sprint Cup cars is being reduced for the upcoming year with the use of a so-called tapered spacer (the same device used on NASCAR Nationwide and Camping World Truck Series vehicles). Adding the tapered spacer, performance output available from the powerplants of 2015 cars is predicted to circulate around 725 horsepower. Other technical revisions for 2015 includes brake calipers, an altered radiator pan width and the reduction of the overall weight of the NASCAR Sprint Cup to 3,250 pounds without the driver (down by 50 pounds more than 2014 rules).

Another major addition for 2015 places more handling control in the hands of the driver. For the 2015 NASCAR Sprint Cup season, drivers and teams can choose to install optional onboard adjustment tool for the track bar. Teams have long exploited the track bar for dialing in the on-track performance of the stock cars on the tour but it had existed only an adjustment that could be made during pit stops. The driver-controlled track bar adjustment tool will be available as an active tool that could take work off the hands of pit crew members and provide competitors with quicker tailoring of the vehicle's track performance. At this time, one of the only other adjustments available to a driver inside the race car is brake bias.

Changes for the NASCAR Sprint Cup series will not be limited to the cars for 2015 There will also be a number of changes made to the sporting and operations of Sprint Cup series. Destined to affect teams the most is the ban of all private track testing. This measure is seen as a measure to reduce costs and to prevent advantages gained by the higher-funded organizations on the Sprint Cup tour. Teams will be invited to take part in NASCAR-sanctioned tests or Goodyear tire tests only. NASCAR also noted that there will be no test at Daytona International Speedway ahead of the 2015 Daytona 500.

The NASCAR Sprint Cup series will also introduce the group qualifying format that debuted this season at all tracks for 2015 including its implementation at the Daytona 500. At the road course of Sonoma and Watkins Glen, series tire supplier Goodyear is providing fans the chance to watch a race even in wet conditions. The Akron, Ohio tire company has pledged to create rain tires for Sprint Cup road races. Used more often in the NASCAR Nationwide series in past seasons (including the last race at Road America), Goodyear's rain tires have never been used in a Sprint Cup main event. Additionally, NASCAR Sprint Cup cars will be required to run windshield wipers, window defogger system and a red rear marker light in preparation for wet weather racing.

These changes are the highlight of a total of 60 enhancements made to the 2015 NASCAR Sprint Cup car rules for 2015.

Sunday, September 21, 2014

NASCAR Chase Numbers to Watch for at New Hampshire

Photo Credit: Nick Laham/Getty Images



One race down, nine to go. The 10-race 2014 NASCAR Chase for the Sprint Cup is entering its second event this weekend with Brad Keselowski claiming a crucial victory. Securing himself a spot from the Challenger to the Contender round in the 2014 Chase, Keselowski's win is quite an impressive score for the Penske Racing driver. For the three years that Chicagoland has played host to the opening round of the NASCAR Chase, the winner has gone on to win the championship twice. Of course, with a new Chase system in place, it's hard to determine how much of an advantage an early Chase victory would be for winding up in contention for the trophy at Homestead-Miami Speedway.

One more important note leftover from the Chicagoland race is that the average finish for championship winners at the track was 2.33. For Brad Keselowski and Jeff Gordon, the historical calculations could bode well to their championship chances for 2014.

Here is a review of last week's race at Chicagoland comparing the 16 NASCAR Sprint Cup Chase contenders run to historical data. Despite the all-new ladder Chase system, I still believe maintaining the highest possible result throughout the 10 races is key. For many driver's, improving on their 2013 and career average finish was paramount at the MyAFibStory.com 400 at Chicagoland Speedway. After the 2014 race Denny Hamlin, Jeff Gordon, Dale Earnhardt Jr as well as Joey Logano rose to the Chase occasion by bettering both their 2013 result and average finish in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series at the track. Aric Almirola's mechanical misfortunes at Chicagoland resulted in the driver of the #43 Ford Fusion furthest negative decline based on historic criteria.



Driver
Chicagoland 2013CareerFinish2014 vs 20132014 vs Career
Jeff Gordon
6 11.6 2 4 9.6
Jimmie Johnson
5 8.9 12 -7 -3.1
Dale Earnhardt Jr.
35 15.8 11 24 4.8
Brad Keselowski
7 12.6 1 6 11.6
Kasey Kahne
12 18.3 13 -1 5.3
Joey Logano
37 19.4 4 33 15.4
Carl Edwards
11 16 20 -9 -4
AJ Allmendinger
21 17.6 22 -1 -4.4
Ryan Newman
10 14.5 15 -5 -0.5
Kevin Harvick
3 9.9 5 -2 4.9
Kyle Busch
2 12.4 7 -5 5.4
Denny Hamlin
33 20.5 6 27 14.5
Aric Almirola
13 15 41 -28 -26
Matt Kenseth
1 11.8 10 -9 1.8
Greg Biffle
16 18 23 -7 -5
Kurt Busch
4 17.2 8 -4 9.2




For the second race 2014 NASCAR Sprint Cup Chase event, the Sylvania 300 at New Hampshire Motor Speedway has been part of the 10-race play-off style championship since its inception in 2004. This year's championship contender Matt Kenseth is seeking to defend his 2013 win. Comparing Career average finishes at New Hampshire, Kenseth's Joe Gibbs Racing teammate Denny Hamlin holds the advantage. The driver of the #11 Toyota race car has placed in an average spot of 8.9 since joining the Sprint Cup series in 2006. Hamlin will start fourth on Sunday for the Sylvania 300.

The average finish for past championship winners at New Hampshire Motor Speedway has been ninth place. The worst finish at the track for a driver during a successful title run occurred in 2006 when Jimmie Johnson crossed the line in 39th place. In fact, two of Johnson's championships resulted in New Hampshire being his worst track in the Chase. The race in New England was also won twice by the year's champion with Kurt Busch in 2004 and Tony Stewart in 2011.

The 16 Chase contender along with 27 additional cars will race for 300 miles around the 1.058-mile oval track. As the final important number to state, start time for Sunday's event is 2:15 PM Eastern time.

Sunday, September 14, 2014

Predicting the 2014 NASCAR Chase Future Through Past Finishes





For ten years, NASCAR has been operating the Chase in the Sprint Cup series as a playoff for major league stock car racing. For 2014 though, the Chase has received a substantial makeover. Up to 16 drivers in contention, three rounds involving drivers getting knocked out and Homestead-Miami Speedway becoming a guaranteed showdown for four finalists is new traits found in the 2014 NASCAR Sprint Cup Chasse. The only lingering leftover from the last chase format is the 10 races used to decide the championship’s outcome.

Attempting to predict the 2014 Chase for the Sprint Cup, I have considered the prospect computing race results of the 16 drivers participating in this year’s hunt. Using the historical finishes or average finishes, I came up with three interesting outcomes. Keep note that I am not taking into consideration the bonus points for victory in calculations. Using the Challenger, Contender and Eliminator rounds, I compiled the average finishes of each driver. With this information, I have extracted some entertaining accounts of where the 16 Chase drivers could end up in the 2014 championship fight. While I tried to make this a decent math lesson for myself, please do not put money on this information (I most certainly would not put my money on the line).

The following scenarios is work compiled as merely an entertaining exercise to see if the NASCAR Sprint Cup Chase champion could be arrived to even before the first race at Chicagoland Speedway has received a green flag:



Potential Chase Outcome Scenario #1: Based on 2013 Finishes


Let’s say if for some miraculous reason drivers somehow finish races in identical or similar positions as 2013, the conclusion will be highly favourable for three of the four Hendrick Motorsports cars heading into homestead. In this study, in addition to average finishes, I have taken into account 2013 wins by some drivers as automatic entry into the next Chase round. This allowed Brad Keselowski to advance through the Contender round and given Jeff Gordon a chance to compete for the NASCAR Sprint Cup in this possible Chase.

Since AJ Allmendinger did not run in all 10 races in 2013, I substituted 2014 results at the tracks where he did not run last fall.


Finalists Dale Earnhardt Jr.

Jimmie Johnson

Kevin Harvick

Jeff Gordon
Eliminated in Eliminator Round Brad Keselowski
Carl Edwards

Matt Kenseth

Kurt Busch
Eliminated in Contender Round Joey Logano
Ryan Newman

Kyle Busch

Greg Biffle
Eliminated in Challenger Round Kasey Kahne
AJ Allmendinger

Denny Hamlin

Aric Almirola



 

Potential Chase Outcome Scenario #2: Last Race Run by Driver at Track


In this one, I used data from the last time drivers completed at a specific track on the Chase schedule. Eight of those race tracks have already held 2014 NASCAR Sprint Cup races. In the case of Chicagoland Speedway and Homestead-Miami Speedway, I used the 2013 races for both ovals.



Finalists Kevin Harvick

Jeff Gordon

Jimmie Johnson

Matt Kenseth
Eliminated in Eliminator Round Greg Biffle
Carl Edwards

Kyle Busch

Brad Keselowski
Eliminated in Contender Round Dale Earnhardt Jr.
Joey Logano

Ryan Newman

Denny Hamlin
Eliminated in Challenger Round Kasey Kahne
Kurt Busch

AJ Allmendinger

Aric Almirola



 

Potential Chase Outcome Scenario #3: Average Career Finishes Mixed with Last Race Finishes


Since I thought that average career finishes might not have been entirely accurate, I decided to weigh their recent results on a driver’s average. In the case of Denny Hamlin, the result was no change. For Kyle Busch, Matt Kenseth and Aric Almirola, the computation of measuring career finishes against recent finishes showed a around five-position overall improvement for the final 10 Chase race tracks. Jimmie Johnson and Kurt Busch have shown the largest negative change with their recent finishes measuring poorly to their career averages.


Finalists Carl Edwards

Jeff Gordon

Jimmie Johnson

Kyle Busch
Eliminated in Eliminator Round Kevin Harvick
Kasey Kahne

Denny Hamlin

Aric Almirola
Eliminated in Contender Round Brad Keselowski
Ryan Newman

Kurt Busch

Matt Kenseth
Eliminated in Challenger Round Dale Earnhardt Jr.
AJ Allmendinger

Greg Biffle

Joey Logano




 

These three possible NASCAR Sprint Cup Chase outcomes are largely based on what has happened. One thing to know about the future is that it doesn’t always take advice from the past. There are so many variables beyond previous finishes to consider. The 2014 Chase has three drivers competing with their first full season with a different organization than in previous years. Also, Carl Edwards and long-time team Roush Fenway Racing are parting company at the end of this season potentially influencing the #99 Ford in a strongly positive or negative way. Tracks like Talladega Superspeedway and even Martinsville Speedway have to potential to radically shift the points balance.

With Chicagoland Speedway readying to host the first race of the 2014 Chase, all 16 drivers will be trying to register the right numbers to compete for the Sprint Cup at Homestead-Miami.


Information and photo source: NASCAR, Richmond International Raceway

Saturday, September 13, 2014

Feel the Electricity in the Air: Formula E Readies for Historical First Race


 
A new chapter in motorsports will be written this weekend as the first professional tour for electric cars take to a race course in Beijing China. After two years of active development by the FIA, Formula E comes to life as a zero-emission motorsport competition.

For motorsport viewers needing a quick lesson into what is Formula E, the following details of the series will provide some quick insight into what to expect when seeing a 2014/2015 season race.

 


The Series:


For the inaugural Formula E season in 2014, the tour will run 10 races in some stunning locales. The series’ first race will take place in Beijing, China on what is called the Olympic Green Circuit (3.44-kilometer, 20-turn course). Race dates are also slated for London, Los Angeles as well as Monte Carlo. While nine dates are confirmed, the series starts with one race still left to be announced.

Formula E will operate with a schedule that runs through the calendar year. The composition of a 2014/2015 Formula E season is something unusual in auto racing. When the Indy Racing League launched in 1996, the series attempted a similar scheduling strategy where May’s Indianapolis 500 would have crowned an overall season championship but it was quickly abandoned.

 




The Cars:


The Formula E will launch as a spec vehicle series with all teams competing with a Spark-Renault SRT_01E race car. Built by Spark Racing Technology, the car’s carbon fiber monocoque chassis construction has been outsourced to Dallara. The Formula E vehicle closely resembles a Formula 1 car but features some distinctive aerodynamic elements on the vehicle’s front wing and along the side. Minimum weight of a Formula E car is 888 kilograms with the drive included (just less than 200 kilograms heavier than a Formula 1 race car).

The all-electric powertrain involves the cooperation between two organizations rooted as Formula 1 rivals. Subsidiaries of McLaren and Williams give the Spark-Renault SRT_01E Formula E car motion. McLaren Electronics Systems provides the electric motor and gearbox while Williams Advanced Engineering supplies the battery. Limited to a weight of 200 kilograms (440 pounds), the battery pack delivers 28kWh of usable energy. In comparison, the Tesla Model S features up to 85kWh of usable energy but weighs around three times more. The electrical power system of the Formula E produces a maximum of 200 kilowatts (the equivalent of 270 horsepower). However, only 150 kilowatts will be available to drivers under a race mode. Because the electric motors are largely silent compared to Formula 1 cars, but the electric race cars do produce around 80 decibels of noise.

Michelin will be supplying 18-inch treaded tires for the Spark-Renault SRT_01E designed to operate in dry and wet conditions.


The Team and Drivers:


There will be 10 teams completing in the inaugural Formula E championship fielding two cars. Amlin Aguri, Andretti Formula E, Audi Sport ABT, China Racing, Dragon Racing, e.dams-Renault, Mahindra Racing, Trulli, Venturi and Virgin Racing are the names of the organizations participating in the 2014 season.

Of the 20 drivers in the field for the first race, the 13 have driven at least one Formula 1 race. Some of those former F1 pilots driving in the 2014 Formula E championship include Bruno Senna, Jarno Trulli, Takuma Sato and Nelson Piquet Jr. Other notable drivers competing in Formula E includes Oriol Servia and Katherine Legge who will be one of two females part of the international championship along with Italy’s Michela Cerruti driving for Trulli.

 


The Races:


With practice and qualifying sessions, the 2014 Formula E weekend lead to the main feature race called the ePrix. The ePrix races will be scheduled to last around one hour. As the end of the ePrix, drivers are rewarded points for position, pole position as well as the race’s fastest lap. Using a similar system similar to that currently in use in Formula 1, the top-10 of every Formula E ePrix will even points for their position with the winner receiving 25 points. Unlike Formula 1, drivers will also be given three points for a pole position and two points will go the competitor setting fastest lap in each race.

Having already mentioned the electric powerplant output of the Spark-Renault SRT_01E race car, Formula E will provide three lucky drivers with five seconds of additional power through a popularity contest. Called FanBoost, three drivers will be chosen by the fans through an online poll. The drivers with the most votes will receive five seasons where they receive 30 extra kilowatts of energy.


Information and photo credit: Formula E, Renault UK