Erin Crocker Vents About the Media/ DuQuoin Images/ Epic Battle for IndyCar Championship/ TV Schedule
Erin Crocker Vents About the Media
Erin Crocker took a moment to vent in her latest journal entry, co-written by NASCAR.com writer David Newton. Apparently, there were media reports (which have not seen) circulating about Crocker ending her driving career. In the article she says that is not the case and added,
“..We’re thinking about possibly running the ARCA race this weekend at Richmond and doing some testing.”
(She won’t be running the ARCA race this weekend at Richmond because ARCA runs this weekend at Chicagoland. Her entry is not yet listed for Chicagoland according to the ARCA website. Maybe she means Busch race, but is not listed in it either, but I digress.)
Crocker openly admits that she is frustrated with her finishes but is a very competitive person and is not ready to give up.
“If I don't feel like I belong, then I'd rather not do it. I'm not the type to be out there just to say I'm a racecar driver, just to be out there to be a novelty in the field.”
She left the Ford program reportedly because she felt that she would be a novelty there.
She has not raced an ARCA event recently because the Evernham R&D team that is developing their Car of Tomorrow also works on her ARCA car. She adds that the additional media attention from reports of her alleged relationship with Ray Evernham has been difficult to deal with.
“It's kind of been a tough time not driving a lot and being in the media a lot... I know I love racing and I still have a lot to do to prove myself. I've just been down and need to be positive again. That affects everyone. It affects everything. It affects you every day. The bottom line is I want to race.”
Erin Crocker is probably in the most difficult part of her career as a driver now. She and Ray Evernham are being scrutinized for their reported relationship. From here on out, it will be a bumpy road. She has two choices, quit or win. It looks like for now, her choice is to try to win races. The full journal entry can be viewed at http://www.nascar.com/2006/news/headlines/truck/09/06/ecrocker_rir/index.html
Allgaier and Shepherd at Chicagoland
Peter Shepherd will return to Chicagoland Speedway this weekend to race in the ARCA RE/MAX Series event there. It will be Shepherd’s second race at the track this season. The USAC Silver Crown rookie finished second there back in early July. Shepherd will drive the No. 39. Fellow Silver Crown driver Justin Allgaier is also scheduled to start driving the No. 16. The Illinois native is currently 11th in ARCA points. The ARCA RE/MAX Series race from Chicagoland airs live at 2pm eastern on SPEED.
DuQuoin Images
I have completed the photo gallery from DuQuoin.
You can look at all of my images by going to this link. http://www.flickr.com/photos/92448439@N00/sets/72057594134006261/
Fellow Shooter at DuQuoin
Additional images from DuQuoin can be found at http://www.girlsgoneracin.com/DSF%209.3.06.htm. The website is run by two women that love Motorsports. One is a professional photographer while the other is the editor and content manager of Who Won.com. Sorry guys, both are married.
Recommended Reading
Most blogs that are out there (sometimes this one) are filled with gibberish and pointless banter. Not www.carsnjaws.com. The writer has deep thoughts about the future of racing and also goes into detail about things like the commercial counts for the California Cup race. http://www.cawsnjaws.com/article/253/commercial-breakdown-for-the-sony-hd-500-race It is written well and I highly recommend it (along with Open Wheeler) for daily reading.
Epic Battle for IndyCar Championship
It doesn’t get any better than this. All season it has been Penske vs Ganassi. We have seen hard luck and critical mistakes cost good teams wins. The pressure is on for the final race of the season at Chicagoland that will decide who will be the champion. In 2003, two of the top contenders for the championship took themselves out in the final race. Scott Dixon won the titile that year.
Dixon who is 31 points out of first sas he is not worried. The Chip Ganassi driver says all the pressure is on Hornish and Helio.
“With just one point between them, they'll be battling each other,” siad Dixon. “Dan (Wheldon) and I have nothing to worry about now. We can work together since we have nothing to lose, and we will go all out for that win. Put enough pressure on people and they can make mistakes.”
Sam Hornish has been strong in past performances at Chicagoland winning in 2002 and 2003. He is also a two time IndyCar Series Champ winnng the title in 2002 and 2001 while driving for Panther.
Suprisingly with all of his Open Wheel acolades, the one thing missing from Roger Penske’s mantle is an IndyCar Series championship. The Captain has never won the title. His other driver with the big smile, Helio Castroneves as also been chasing the championship dream.
“I've been chasing an Indy car championship my entire career, and have never been able to accomplish this goal, so winning it would be a dream come true,” said Helio Castroneves.
Dan Weldon has had a frustrating season yet is only 17 points out of first. The Emberton, England left his home to find success in the United States. He is willing to do whatever it takes to be champion.
“As fast as we've been all year, as aggressive as everyone knows I can be, no one is going to want to mess with me in Chicago,” said Weldon. “I have nothing to lose now, and I'm not ready to give up.”
Besides the points race, there are other stories to follow. Vitor Meira and Team Panther have been strong all season. Can they finally win one this season after scoring podium after podium finish? How will AJ Foyt IV perform in his first race back in the IRL? Will Danica Patrick or Sara Fisher have a break out race? The season comes to a dramatic end Sunday at 1:30pm eastern on ABC. Check out Open Wheeler Sunday night for a complete recap.
IRL Takes the Stage Sunday
With the NASCAR Busch Series running Friday night and the NASCAR Nextel Cup Series running Saturday, the national racing stage is open for the IRL unless you like the NFL, but you can record the NFL game, its just the opener right? Here is the Busch Series entry list.
Busch Series Entries for Richmond
10 John Andretti
11 Paul Menard
18 J.J. Yeley
32 Dave Blaney
38 Jason Leffler
60 Carl Edwards
77 Burney Lamar
TV Listings
Sept 8
2:30 pm NASCAR Nextel Cup Practice Richmond (SDD) SPEED
4:30 pm NASCAR Busch Qualifying Richmond (LIVE) SPEED
6:00 pm Nextel Cup Qualifying - Richmond (impound) TNT
7:30 pm Busch Series Pre-Race Richmond TNT
7:45 pm Busch Series Race Richmond TNT
Sept 9
2:00 pm ARCA RE/MAX Series Chicago (LIVE) SPEED
5:00 pm USAC Silver Crown Series DuQuoin OUTDOOR CHANNEL
7:00 pm Countdown to Green Richmond Pre-Race TNT
7:30 pm Nextel Cup Race at Richmond - Last Race to make the Chase TNT
11:00 pm NASCAR Chase Special [after the race] TNT
Sept 10
1:30 pm IRL IndyCar Series Chicagoland Champion Crowned (LIVE) ABC
8:00 pm The SPEED Report SPEED
9:00 pm Wind Tunnel with Dave Despain (LIVE) SPEED
Coming Thursday, Not So Fast.
Images appearing in this blog courtesy of NASCAR Images, ARCA, SPEED and R.E. Technologies.
Erin Crocker took a moment to vent in her latest journal entry, co-written by NASCAR.com writer David Newton. Apparently, there were media reports (which have not seen) circulating about Crocker ending her driving career. In the article she says that is not the case and added,
“..We’re thinking about possibly running the ARCA race this weekend at Richmond and doing some testing.”
(She won’t be running the ARCA race this weekend at Richmond because ARCA runs this weekend at Chicagoland. Her entry is not yet listed for Chicagoland according to the ARCA website. Maybe she means Busch race, but is not listed in it either, but I digress.)
Crocker openly admits that she is frustrated with her finishes but is a very competitive person and is not ready to give up.
“If I don't feel like I belong, then I'd rather not do it. I'm not the type to be out there just to say I'm a racecar driver, just to be out there to be a novelty in the field.”
She left the Ford program reportedly because she felt that she would be a novelty there.
She has not raced an ARCA event recently because the Evernham R&D team that is developing their Car of Tomorrow also works on her ARCA car. She adds that the additional media attention from reports of her alleged relationship with Ray Evernham has been difficult to deal with.
“It's kind of been a tough time not driving a lot and being in the media a lot... I know I love racing and I still have a lot to do to prove myself. I've just been down and need to be positive again. That affects everyone. It affects everything. It affects you every day. The bottom line is I want to race.”
Erin Crocker is probably in the most difficult part of her career as a driver now. She and Ray Evernham are being scrutinized for their reported relationship. From here on out, it will be a bumpy road. She has two choices, quit or win. It looks like for now, her choice is to try to win races. The full journal entry can be viewed at http://www.nascar.com/2006/news/headlines/truck/09/06/ecrocker_rir/index.html
Allgaier and Shepherd at Chicagoland
Peter Shepherd will return to Chicagoland Speedway this weekend to race in the ARCA RE/MAX Series event there. It will be Shepherd’s second race at the track this season. The USAC Silver Crown rookie finished second there back in early July. Shepherd will drive the No. 39. Fellow Silver Crown driver Justin Allgaier is also scheduled to start driving the No. 16. The Illinois native is currently 11th in ARCA points. The ARCA RE/MAX Series race from Chicagoland airs live at 2pm eastern on SPEED.
DuQuoin Images
I have completed the photo gallery from DuQuoin.
You can look at all of my images by going to this link. http://www.flickr.com/photos/92448439@N00/sets/72057594134006261/
Fellow Shooter at DuQuoin
Additional images from DuQuoin can be found at http://www.girlsgoneracin.com/DSF%209.3.06.htm. The website is run by two women that love Motorsports. One is a professional photographer while the other is the editor and content manager of Who Won.com. Sorry guys, both are married.
Recommended Reading
Most blogs that are out there (sometimes this one) are filled with gibberish and pointless banter. Not www.carsnjaws.com. The writer has deep thoughts about the future of racing and also goes into detail about things like the commercial counts for the California Cup race. http://www.cawsnjaws.com/article/253/commercial-breakdown-for-the-sony-hd-500-race It is written well and I highly recommend it (along with Open Wheeler) for daily reading.
Epic Battle for IndyCar Championship
It doesn’t get any better than this. All season it has been Penske vs Ganassi. We have seen hard luck and critical mistakes cost good teams wins. The pressure is on for the final race of the season at Chicagoland that will decide who will be the champion. In 2003, two of the top contenders for the championship took themselves out in the final race. Scott Dixon won the titile that year.
Dixon who is 31 points out of first sas he is not worried. The Chip Ganassi driver says all the pressure is on Hornish and Helio.
“With just one point between them, they'll be battling each other,” siad Dixon. “Dan (Wheldon) and I have nothing to worry about now. We can work together since we have nothing to lose, and we will go all out for that win. Put enough pressure on people and they can make mistakes.”
Sam Hornish has been strong in past performances at Chicagoland winning in 2002 and 2003. He is also a two time IndyCar Series Champ winnng the title in 2002 and 2001 while driving for Panther.
Suprisingly with all of his Open Wheel acolades, the one thing missing from Roger Penske’s mantle is an IndyCar Series championship. The Captain has never won the title. His other driver with the big smile, Helio Castroneves as also been chasing the championship dream.
“I've been chasing an Indy car championship my entire career, and have never been able to accomplish this goal, so winning it would be a dream come true,” said Helio Castroneves.
Dan Weldon has had a frustrating season yet is only 17 points out of first. The Emberton, England left his home to find success in the United States. He is willing to do whatever it takes to be champion.
“As fast as we've been all year, as aggressive as everyone knows I can be, no one is going to want to mess with me in Chicago,” said Weldon. “I have nothing to lose now, and I'm not ready to give up.”
Besides the points race, there are other stories to follow. Vitor Meira and Team Panther have been strong all season. Can they finally win one this season after scoring podium after podium finish? How will AJ Foyt IV perform in his first race back in the IRL? Will Danica Patrick or Sara Fisher have a break out race? The season comes to a dramatic end Sunday at 1:30pm eastern on ABC. Check out Open Wheeler Sunday night for a complete recap.
IRL Takes the Stage Sunday
With the NASCAR Busch Series running Friday night and the NASCAR Nextel Cup Series running Saturday, the national racing stage is open for the IRL unless you like the NFL, but you can record the NFL game, its just the opener right? Here is the Busch Series entry list.
Busch Series Entries for Richmond
10 John Andretti
11 Paul Menard
18 J.J. Yeley
32 Dave Blaney
38 Jason Leffler
60 Carl Edwards
77 Burney Lamar
TV Listings
Sept 8
2:30 pm NASCAR Nextel Cup Practice Richmond (SDD) SPEED
4:30 pm NASCAR Busch Qualifying Richmond (LIVE) SPEED
6:00 pm Nextel Cup Qualifying - Richmond (impound) TNT
7:30 pm Busch Series Pre-Race Richmond TNT
7:45 pm Busch Series Race Richmond TNT
Sept 9
2:00 pm ARCA RE/MAX Series Chicago (LIVE) SPEED
5:00 pm USAC Silver Crown Series DuQuoin OUTDOOR CHANNEL
7:00 pm Countdown to Green Richmond Pre-Race TNT
7:30 pm Nextel Cup Race at Richmond - Last Race to make the Chase TNT
11:00 pm NASCAR Chase Special [after the race] TNT
Sept 10
1:30 pm IRL IndyCar Series Chicagoland Champion Crowned (LIVE) ABC
8:00 pm The SPEED Report SPEED
9:00 pm Wind Tunnel with Dave Despain (LIVE) SPEED
Coming Thursday, Not So Fast.
Images appearing in this blog courtesy of NASCAR Images, ARCA, SPEED and R.E. Technologies.
posted by Blake Johnson at 5:03 PM
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