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Elliot edges Jr. for MPDA

Continuing his dominance of fan popularity, Bill Elliott edged out fellow racer Dale Earnhardt Jr. to win the Grands!? Biscuits NMPA NASCAR Most Popular Driver Award for 2002.

Elliott and Earnhardt battled for the leader position in recent months as fans across the country placed more online votes than ever before as part of the only fan-based NASCAR award. The announcement was made Friday during the National Motorsports Press Association's (NMPA) Myers Brothers Awards Breakfast at the Waldorf-Astoria in New York City.

Elliott, a 27-year racing veteran who drove for Dodge this season, has won the Most Popular Driver Award more times than any other driver -- this marks his 16th victory.

"Everyone knows that the fans are the real heart of NASCAR. I owe many thanks to them because my fans have stuck by me and kept me going all these years," said Elliott, a Dawnsonville, Ga., native. "I am so fortunate to be part of this great sport and be recognized by this award."

More than 3 million votes were cast by thousands of NASCAR fans, shattering all voting totals posted in previous years. Earnhardt, Jr. actually led much of the season with Elliott's votes coming on strong in the final months. Jeff Gordon and 2002 Winston Cup winner Tony Stewart were a distant third and fourth respectively. More than 40 drivers received fan votes.

"It is fitting that the most popular driver in NASCAR history wins the award in the year it was the most popular ever," said Kenny Bruce, president of the National Motorsports Press Association, which administers the award. "Bill Elliott leads past award winners, including Richard Petty, Bobby Allison, Darrell Waltrip and David Pearson, among others. That says a lot about his popularity, not just in a single year or even a single decade, but for all time."

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From pit road to the booth

During the second half of the 2001 season, when we weren't on the air, I went to every race because I did consulting work for Petty Enterprises. But in 2002, my schedule was full of more broadcast work. On the Friday night before every race in the first half of the season, I did the live "Trackside" show with Steve Byrnes, Darrell, and Jeff Hammond on the Speed Channel, which is now owned by FOX. In the second half of 2002, I'm doing the same show from each race track with Jeff, Mike Joy, and Michael Waltrip.

These days it almost seems like my days are longer. Sometimes the only thing you can do is say "no" to people who want a piece of your time. By the time you read this, I'll probably have a business manager, so he can wear the black hat. I'm also recognized a lot more because of the exposure I get on television. Linda and I had the opportunity in 2001 to spend three May nights in Cancun, Mexico. Even there, I couldn't totally get away from it. Some of the other American tourists there knew about racing, of course. I signed a few autographs and chatted with the fans.

One of the greatest things about my broadcast career is that I've had more time for my family. After the race at Talladega in April 2001, I took time out during the week to do something I had wanted to do for a long, long time. I visited my grandfather, James Rogers, at his home in Panama City Beach, Florida. He was almost 102 years old then. I had lived with "Pa-Pa" and his late wife, Mary, while I was in elementary school.

I spent the better part of two days with him. He lived with his girlfriend, who was in her 80s. He still drove. He had the mind of a 60-year-old. He liked to show people his driver's license, because his birth year was listed as "99." He was born in 1899. He was pushing 100 when he moved to Florida, but he drove the car himself and towed a U-Haul trailer. It was good that I saw him when I did, because Pa-Pa had a heart attack a few months later. He survived, but moved back to Birmingham with my Aunt Noreen. He slowly went downhill and died in December 2001.

I also get to see my daughter Brooke's dance recitals, and I can work with my son, Brandon, on the Bandolero cars that he races on the quarter-mile track in front of the main grandstand at Lowe's Motor Speedway. Sometimes, I find myself juggling my son's racing schedule against my own work schedule. At Charlotte in May 2001 on Coca-Cola 600 qualifying day, I had to be in the booth around 6:30 p.m. to get ready for qualifying. But Brandon was racing on quarter-mile track. I was helping as much as I could, sweating up a storm in my good FOX clothes. Fortunately, Matt Yocum, who wasn't doing the qualifying show, and Jimmy Fowler, a friend of ours, were helping out.

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FOX Sports team to deliver Daytona

This February, "The Great American Race" gets even greater as FOX Sports and its family of networks open the NASCAR racing season with more than 75 hours of programming from Daytona SpeedWeeks, leading up to the season-opening Daytona 500 live on FOX on Feb. 16. The unprecedented coverage, shared by FOX, FX, Fox Sports Net and SPEED Channel, includes nearly 50 hours of on-track coverage and another 20-plus hours of studio programming, marking a dramatic increase in programming hours from 2001, when FOX offered 43 hours during its network premiere from Daytona.

"The Daytona 500 is known as 'The Great American Race,' but there's so much more going on during SpeedWeeks and for the first time we'll be able to show most of it to fans in America and around the world," said David Hill, Chairman, Fox Sports Television Group. "We're excited to have FOX Sports, SPEED Channel, FX and Fox Sports Net combine to nearly double our telecast hours. This is the type of comprehensive coverage of SpeedWeeks we had in mind when we began our relationship with NASCAR."

In addition to complete coverage of the Daytona 500, network programming will be highlighted by live coverage of the 70-lap Bud Shootout (Feb. 8, FOX), presented for the first time in prime time, and the debut of the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series on SPEED Channel (Feb. 14).

"This will be far and away the largest production event SPEED Channel has ever been involved with," said SPEED Channel President Jim Liberatore. "But this is what SPEED is all about - bringing race fans closer to the action than they have ever been before. There is an honest excitement in taking on a project of this magnitude."

Other programming highlights include live coverage of the Feb. 8 ARCA race (SPEED), the Feb. 9 Goodies Dash race (SPEED), the Feb. 13 Gatorade Twin 125s (FX) and the Feb. 15 NASCAR Busch Series race (FOX). The FOX Sports networks also will provide live coverage of NASCAR Winston Cup Series and NASCAR Busch Series qualifying (FOX, SPEED), as well as Winston Cup Happy Hour (FX) and NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series qualifying (SPEED)

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Santa Stewart

Tony Stewart played the role of Santa Claus and delivered an early present to his crew chief Greg Zipadelli. In 1999, Stewart promised Zipadelli that if the duo ever captured a NASCAR Winston Cup title, he would buy his crew chief a Corvette.

He delivered on the promise Friday morning as he brought Zipadelli outside the Waldorf-Astoria to Park Avenue, where a 2003 candy apple red Corvette was waiting.

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Smile!

Stewart and the champions of all of NASCAR's national and regional divisions greeted the firefighters of FDNY Engine 23 outside the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel on Friday morning.

Captain John Bendick and the Engine 23 crew were invited to take part in a special photo shoot with all of the champions, commemorating the NASCAR championship celebration in New York.

Stewart and the other drivers spent 30 minutes meeting and talking with the firefighters while photographers and television cameras captured the excitement along Park Avenue in mid-town Manhattan.

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Honoring Helton

NASCAR President Mike Helton usually spends this week bestowing honors on others, but on Friday he was a deserving recipient at the annual Myers Brothers Breakfast hosted by the National Motorsports Press Association and ConocoPhillips.
Helton was presented the Myers Brothers Award, which is voted upon by NMPA members and given to an individual for outstanding contributions to the sport of stock-car racing. Helton took a customary seat on the stage for the breakfast as a special guest, but was quite surprised when he was named the recipient of the 43rd edition of the award that honors former racers Billy and Bob Myers.

"I've got to tell you, I don't know what to say. I wish this was a drivers' meeting where I could fuss at someone," Helton said to the audience. "For a long time, you come to these awards ceremonies and listen and celebrate with who won the awards. It's [nice] joining an exclusive group and a group that is annually recognized.

"It's an important award because when Bill [France] Sr. put [NASCAR] together in 1948, it was designed for a purpose and a reason. It was about delivering on what was promised. I wish he and Bill [France] Jr. were here to celebrate this. They are the ones who have made us click and have made a weekend hobby a great thing to be a part of. From the bottom of my heart, I personally and sincerely thank everyone."

Helton received the ultimate honor of the breakfast, but several others were recognized for their achievements during the 2002 NASCAR Winston Cup Series season.

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'Rookie' ain't nothin' but a name


Ryan Newman, who won the 2002 Rookie of the Year Award in a close competition with Jimmie Johnson, said he never really thought of himself as a rookie. "The bottom line, it's just a label," he said as he prepared to accept the award Friday night at the NASCAR Awards Ceremony. "I'm no different than Ricky Rudd or Dale Jarrett or Rusty Wallace. We're all doing the same job."Asked if he is relieved he won't have to answer questions about being a rookie any more, Newman said, "There will still be a lot of questions, obviously questions about a sophomore jinx or sophomore slump."

How will he avoid falling into the second-year blues that hit so many top rookies?

"You can't get lazy and you can't get cocky or overconfident," Newman said. "I'm with a great team, and it takes a good driver and a good team to get the consistency you need to be successful. I think we should be championship contenders next year."

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Awards galore

Checks and trophies were handed out in bunches Friday as part of NASCAR's Champion's Week. Among them:

NASCAR president Mike Helton was presented the Myers Brothers Award, given each year to an individual or group making an outstanding contribution to the sport. The award is named after NASCAR pioneers Billy and Bobby Myers and presented by the National Motorsports Press Association.

Stewart won the $76,000 76 Gasoline Champion's Award, while Jeff Green got $76,000 for the 76 NASCAR Motor Oil Award. They were the highest finishing drivers using that particular product.

Newman got a $100,000 check for winning the Bud Pole Award. His six poles during the season were the most by any driver.

Mark Cronquist, the chief engine builder for Joe Gibbs Racing, which fields cars for Stewart and Bobby Labonte, won $77,000 as the Clevite Engine Builder of the Year.

Jeff Gordon won $75,000 for taking the Gatorade Front Runner Award, given to the driver who leads the most laps.

The $75,000 Mechanix Wear Pit Crew of the Year Award went to the crew of the No. 40 Chip Ganassi Racing Dodge, driven by Sterling Marlin until he was injured late in the season. The crew is headed by crew chief Lee McCall.

Kurt Busch, the hottest driver in the Winston Cup Series late in the year, winning three of the last five races, was presented $75,000 for the Outback Steakhouse Bloomin' Onion Favorite Driver of the Year Award, voted on a race-by-race basis.

Matt Kenseth, Busch's Roush Racing teammate, won the $75,000 Waste Management Picking up Places Award, given to the driver who improves his position the most during the season.

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Recent SpeedMail

Don from Van Nuys, Calif.: I saw last week that Ray Evernham planned on releasing Casey Atwood. I feel it will be a mistake he will regret. In an article by DW, he also thought that the move of Atwood to the No. 7 and Mayfield to the No. 19 was also questionable. Can you explain, if possible, what Ray's thinking?

Jeff Hammond: I have nothing against Casey Atwood, but if you want to cut to the chase, the bottom line on this whole thing is attitude. If Ray were being very honest about the overall situation, I think he's looking at the age difference, maturity and experience between Casey and Jeremy Mayfield. I think he was looking at Mayfield as an opportunity to get an experienced winning driver into his operation to further Dodge and Evernham Motorsports. At the same time, I can't help but believe when he made the adjustment with Casey, he was telling the young driver, "Hey man, get your head in the game."

It's a lot like a coach on a football team when he takes his starting quarterback who's not moving the team and benching him for a few games to try to say, "Hey, if you want this job, it's yours. You can get it back, but you've got to step up and get the job done." I believe that's what it was all about with Casey. I'm hoping that somebody with Casey's talent will understand the message and take advantage of his opportunities because he's a great kid, and he's shown that he's got a lot of raw talent.

But I don't care who you are, you've got to have the right kind of attitude. If you start thinking you are too good or you're better than the rest of the drivers, the next thing you know, you're going to mess up.

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