Drivers Get a Kick Out of Daytona

Please forgive me, but we’ve fallen behind a wee bit as we get this blog started while I began working through another physical challenge that’s been placed in front of me. A lot is going on and it’s going to get busier yet as Lowe’s Motor Speedway hosts the annual NASCAR Media Tour and the Grand American Rolex Sports Car Series kicks off its season with the grueling 24 (hours) At Daytona.

I had never been to the 24 until a couple of years ago when I got a personal invitation from my friend Adam Saal, who is the Senior Director of Marketing and Communications for Grand Am. He told me it would be a great event and it was. If you haven’t gone, consider this my personal invitation to you to make the trek to Daytona.

A bunch of folks from NASCAR, The Champ Car World Series, the Indy Racing League and more will be participating in this year’s 45th edition of the twice-around-the-clock competition. They all – most notably the Nextel Cup guys – found it a much more relaxed atmosphere than they faced week-in and week-out in their regular series.

A driver lineup that really caught my attention includes Memo Gidley, Michel Jourdain Jr. and Oriol Servia. All three have competed successfully in Champ Car in the past, as well as other disciplines. They will be joined in the Doran Racing JE4 Ford by Fabrizio Gollin, who has been a regular in Grand Am.

More on the announcement of the drivers can be found at :
http://www.grand-am.com/News/Article.asp?ID=7549
or Gidley’s web site:
www.memogidley.com

There’s trouble in Paradise. Dale Earnhardt Jr. and his step-mom, Teresa, have apparently traded some barbs. Teresa took over Dale Earnhardt Inc. (DEI) when the NASCAR icon lost his life in a crash at the end of the 2001 Daytona 500. Junior drives for DEI but he wants more say in the racing operation.

Lewis Franck proposes a solution – form two companies. Read what Lewis has to say on SI.com in his weekly Inside NASCAR column:
http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2007/writers/lewis_franck/01/15/earnhardts/index.html

There’s more to come, including what some folks have been saying about the loss of Benny Parsons, who finally succumbed in his battle with cancer. I will also be at the NASCAR Media Tour Monday through Thursday and at the 24 At Daytona next weekend and will file a number of reports from those two events. Have a great day.