What Does it Take to Break a HANS Device?
By: HANS Performance Products

Atlanta, Georgia (05/02/2007): Kyle Bush tried, but failed, to break his HANS Device in a "big-one" at this past weekend's Busch Series race at Talladega. Kyle gets to walk away and race another day, thanks to the safety systems in his car, and the HANS Device he wears in every race. Three years of use and abuse, then one huge front-end wall hit, 8-barrel rolls, 2 spins on his roof, and a body slam have failed to break the HANS Device.

The only injury was to his HANS Device - As James Bond might have said, "cracked, not broken." HANS Performance Products CEO Mark Stiles commented, "We were pleased to see Kyle shrug off such a dramatic wreck. It takes a lot to even produce a slight stress crack in a HANS Device. It worked as designed, and was ready for more action - like its driver!"

He continued, "HANS Devices are the only head and neck restraints built to the strength standards demanded in all major international race series. While other manufacturers are content with simply meeting the requirements of the SFI 38.1 performance specification, we go the extra mile. It just makes sense."

Inventor of the HANS Device, Professor Bob Hubbard added, "Since we introduced the first HANS Device more than 20 years ago, we have focused our research and development on providing racers with robust and reliable products.

Wrecks like Kyle's confirm the value of this investment. Having over 35,000 HANS Devices in use worldwide means we get a lot of feedback on how they work, time and time again, to help save lives and livelihoods."

Goodbye 2007
Hello 2008

Well the race scanners have been put away, the flags taken down. Racing T-shirts come to rest in the attic for the winter and the drivers are on vacation. Another racing season has come and gone and now begins the waiting game. We know race fans are never content to sit idly by during the racing season but no one can replace the excitement when Daytona Speedweek starts rolling.

Every year at the end of the racing season I personally need a couple of weeks to take a break. Racing seasons are quite long and although at first the winter seems like a nice break in the action it doesn't take long before the countdown for the next season begins. So it time to start preparing for the 2008 season. Over the next few weeks the site will be going through the 2007-2008 transition. The new schedules will be posted. The 2007 stats will be archived and the countdowns will begin.

We hope the 2008 season is as exciting as the 2007 season. We will have a lot of information for you in 2008 including a race results page for every series covered on the site. We also have begun working on a huge project for the site that we hope to launch in time for Daytona. Keep checking back for more information.

2007 Prelude to the Dream an Event to Remember

6/7/2007
By: Rubber Racer

The national racing media and racing’s finest descended upon Rossburg, OH to wow the fans and make some money for a great cause last night and the boys certainly did not disappoint. Listening to the guys in the booth prior to the race was proof of that excitement. The format was similar to the World of Outlaws racing format with 2 laps of qualifying followed by 3 Heat races, a B Main and the eventual A Main. The top 5 finishers in the heats immediately transferred to the A Main with the others going to the B Main to determine their starting spot for the feature. Every driver gets to transfer to the feature. The 3 Heat races were 10 laps, followed by the 12-lap B Main and the 30-lap A Main. read more...

Scott Speed Proves He Has More Than Just a Fast Name

August 8, 2008
By: The Rubber Racer
Just like something out of the Disney movie Cars, a hot shoe with a fast name has surfaced on the NASCAR scene. He’s not your typical American stock car driver. He likes to get pedicures and he dresses quite European. He looks like he would still fit in on the paddock at Monte Carlo or lying on a yacht with Kimi Raikkonen. But does his style really matter? This young man can straight up drive a stock car. Unlike much of his open wheel predecessors Speed has shown promise immediately. In his very first ARCA/ReMax series start at Talladega Superspeedway in October of 2007, Speed finished with a resounding 7th place. Dario Franchitti finished in 17th at the very same race. Juan Pablo Montoya finished in 3rd place in the 2006 Talladega race. We all know how quickly Montoya has assimilated into stock cars. But instead of rushing him right into stock car’s biggest venue Speed was given the opportunity to cut his stock car teeth in the ARCA Re/Max and the Craftsman Truck series where he has 4 victories between the 2 series. His first ARCA Re/Max victory came on the intermediate Kansas Speedway. Since that first win in a stock car, Speed has won at Dover in the Craftsman Truck series and went back to back in the ARCA Re/Max series winning at both Kentucky and Berlin Speedway in July.  If there’s any doubt that this young man can wheel a stock car a simple look at his statistics in the heavier cars will squash those doubts.read more...

Up and Comer Tyler Reddick Invades Central Pennsylvania

Fans of rubberracer.com are no strangers to the name Tyler Reddick. Being the youngest of all of the up and comers whose progress we watch regularly, we were more than excited to learn that Tyler was coming to our neck of the woods. Central PA is well known for it’s caliber of talented dirt track drivers and the prospect of a PA Speed week full of 600 Micro Sprint action drove the Reddick family to the area. The PA 600 Speed week consists of a 5-day grueling schedule covering all types of track sizes with purses totaling $80,000.00.

First, we travel to the 1/3-mile Trailway Speedway. The action began Saturday night with over 80 Micro Sprints in the field. Tyler’s pill draw led him to a start on the outside of row 4. On the start Tyler powered to the outside to move past the 6th and 7th place cars. Tyler slid high to the outside of turn 2 to power past the 5th place car and slid into the middle of a 3-wide battle in turn 3. With some distance on the 5th place car Tyler went to work on local driver Ben Murphy in the #36 machine. Ben managed to hold Tyler off for several laps as the “California kid” worked hard on the rear of the 36. Tyler dove low into turn three to make the pass on Murphy just as the caution flag flew. On the restart Tyler lined up in the 4th spot and again went to work on Murphy, who was racing hard against the youngster. Tyler finally powered past Murphy with only 2 laps remaining and no more time to advance. Tyler finished in 3rd in his heat but rain shortened the event. He should start on the outside pole of the B Main when the action continues on Tuesday night.read more...

Statistically Is Kurt Busch Better Off At Penske?

4/13/2008
by: Rubber Racer

It’s been almost 3 years since Kurt Busch shocked the racing world by announcing his intentions to move from Roush Racing to Penske Racing. The defending NASCAR champion at the time was seeing much success at Roush so his decision was seen as a huge surprise. Since moving to Penske, Kurt Busch has seen some success but since analyzing the numbers we found that he was twice as succesful with Roush. Only time will tell if his move to Penske was a smart move over the long haul. But in the meantime it seems as though he could have been quite successful had he remained at Roush. No one knows for sure the details of the contract with Penske so it’s hard to say if his choice was more financially sound. But we thought it was all about winning races and championships. Let’s take a look at the numbers:

Oh Where Oh Where Has My Bristol Gone?

3/18/2008
by: Rubber Racer

For years fans have flocked to Bristol Motor Speedway. Bristol has long been the most coveted ticket in NASCAR. It wasn’t just the charm of this jewel nestled in the Tennessee hills that brought the flocks of fans. It wasn’t just the incredible views of the race from anywhere in the stands that kept them coming. And it wasn’t simply the endless nights of partying in the campgrounds that drove them here.

It was the helmet tossing, fist throwing, car crashing excitement that brought the fans. It was the single groove, move them out of the way to win, fast paced grudge fest that kept them coming back for years and years. It was 18+ cautions, twisted metal, cars hitting the wall at full speed and high emotions. It was where friends became enemies and drivers would do anything to make a pass. It was Dale Earnhardt spinning out Terry Labaonte for the win. It was Kurt Busch pushing Matt Kenseth out of the way for a chance at the lead. It was Dale Jarrett getting his car repaired only to return to the track to get some payback on Ryan Newman. It was drivers cursing on the scanners and spotters arguing on the roof. Almost every lap was a hold your breath chance to see fireworks. At almost any point in the race there was a controversy brewing. Remember the endless clips of drivers standing on the track, waiting to throw something at the guy who just ended their day? Remember the rumors of guys fighting in the pits after the race? And of course we all remember Jimmy Spencer punching Kurt Busch in the face after an on-track incident? read more...

NASCAR's penalty process lines up with the real world

This blanket penalty process however has a dark side as well. To compare Michael Waltrip Racing’s penalty last year during Daytona, in which an unapproved liquid was placed into the gas tank in a perceived effort to get more speed out of the car, to  Robby Gordon’s penalty, in which an unapproved nose piece was accidentally placed on the car, is ludicrous. The natural thing for Robby Gordon to do was to appeal the penalty because he felt the punishment did not fit the crime. Fans in general have seemed to take the side of Robby Gordon in this situation. The appeals board did what an appeals board is supposed to do. They took a look at each infraction on a case-by-case basis and made their judgment accordingly. In the case of Robby Gordon the appeals board ruled that his points penalty be erased but his monetary penalty was increased.

Much like it is in the real world when each crime is looked at individually and punishments are handed out based on that individual case. We applaud the way NASCAR has handled their penalty situations this year. They found a way to remain consistent with their penalties with the fairness of an appeal. One thing is for sure. Every time a team gets a penalty you can almost guarantee that penalty is going to be appealed. This may make the appeals board a very important and highly watched group of people.

Reflections From Bristol 2007

Every August we make the pilgrimage to Bristol, TN for a week full of racing, partying and memories. This year was full of all 3 and we would like to share them.

The trip began on Tuesday August 21, 2007. All of the preparations were made. Groceries were purchased, the camper repaired from our last trip andthe gas tank wasfull. The trip began around 10pm as we pulled out of Gettysburg, Pa and began the 400-mile trip south. The drive down went smoothly as always and wearrived at the Red Barn Campground around 5:30am.read more...

Kentucky Speedway Needs a Nextel Cup Event

6/18/2007
By: Rubber Racer

Kentucky Speedway is no stranger to making news. The track lawyers have been in and out of courtrooms trying to secure a Cup series race. Unfortunately for the track NASCAR and Brian France have been stalwart on their position of not adding any tracks to the schedule. Or have they? NASCAR has been trying for several years to add several tracks to their schedule and Kentucky has never been in consideration.  NASCAR has made their wishes for tracks in the New York and Northwest markets clear. Representatives from the sport have spent many hours and multiple resources in an attempt to win over the public and government officials in these markets. After several years NASCAR still has yet to break ground in these areas.

In the meantime Kentucky Speedway is alive and thriving with great racing. Some of the best racing in the Busch series schedule happens at this 1 1/2 mile D-shaped oval. The track was obviously built with the fan in mind. High pitched grandstands and a lowered infield provide great views of the track. The track is shaped similarly to Las Vegas, Fontana, Kansas, Nashville and Chicagoland but the transitions in the turns set this track apart from the others. This configuration lends itself to some very exciting racing. 3 wide racing and evasive moves are commonplace at this very intense track.

So is there room in the schedule for Kentucky and NASCAR to both get what they want. We certainly think so and it’s about time for NASCAR to address the schedule and make changes that would be beneficial to everyone. Getting a track in the New York market would be an easy fix. Currently Pocono Raceway has 2 events, which serve this market. We feel if NASCAR finally breaks ground in the New York area that Pocono could go to 1 race and move the other to that track. Adding a track to the Northwest could be addressed by taking one of the Martinsville races, preferably the one in the chase. Build another short track around Seattle and that problem is solved.

So where would Kentucky fit into the schedule. It seems pretty simple to us. Both Phoenix and New Hampshire have 2 races. New Hampshire serves a smaller market and only has seating for 91,000. The New Hampshire race fans would also gain from the track in the New York market. Removing one of the New Hampshire races would open up the schedule for Kentucky. Phoenix is only 5hrs from Las Vegas by car. Removing the spring Phoenix event would allow race fans in that area to get a race in nearby Las Vegas.

At some point Kentucky will have to be addressed. We don’t think that fighting NASCAR in court is the way to go but the track needed some attention. Someday the track may get a sympathetic judge similarly to the judge AT&T and Childress had in their fight to get AT&T on the car. Instead we feel NASCAR should take the initiative and consider Kentucky in its schedule. Leaving Kentucky Speedway to fend for itself only lends itself to more bad PR for the sport. Good luck Kentucky Speedway fans. We are in your corner.