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Play poker with NASCAR stars in a new website

Good news for NASCAR fans out there.

A new website brings some of the NASCAR favorites such as Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Kasey Khane closer to the enthusiasts of the popular racing series.

The Victory Lane Players Club (www.vlpclub.net), which has recently started, enables its members to play a virtual poker against their favorite NASCAR stars such as Tony Stewart (who was twice a Nextel Cup champion), Elliot Sadler, Jamie McMurray, Dale Jarrett, Khane, and Earnhardt.

�These are the biggest names in racing, and VLP Club will make these racers more accessible to their fans,� according to Power Play Development�s Chief Executive Michael Clebnik, as quoted in Boston Herald�s September 27 report.

Members of the website use a points-based system, instead of cash prizes, which they can swap for an autographed item, tickets to NASCAR races, among others.

Several privileges await future members such as advance notice when the NASCAR drivers are playing online, the chance to meet the drivers at exclusive VLP Club events, and first priority in customer service inquiries�all for a minimal cost of $20.

Source: Boston Herald

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Talking Points

Bob Osborne (left) with teammate Carl Edwards

�Well it's nice to have a teammate that's under the same pressure and in the same situation. Someone who understands the circumstances you're in is a great asset. We can talk about game plans and come up with strategies; two heads are always better than one.�

--Crew chief Bob Osborne of Roush Fenway Racing, speaking on having his teammate Carl Edwards back at the Chase in an interview with Nascar.com.

What it takes in broadcasting NASCAR races

Who says covering car races for television such as NASCAR is easy as counting your toes?

Broadcasting NASCAR proves to be a very demanding task for TV station ABC/ESPN. But the cable TV network seems to be unfazed and is up to the challenge.

A case in point was the Nextel Cup Dodge Dealers 400 at Dover International Speedway last September 23, which was telecast live on ABC.

ABC/ESPN senior motorsports producer Neil Goldberg relates his experience in a Delawareonline article, thus: �It's like trying to land 43 planes on the same strip at one time."

So much so that Goldberg is destined to confinement inside his command center, which includes an expensive, custom made flat-bed trailer. This trailer contains over 60 high-definition TV screens, wherein the producer selects the best shots at any given moment to be shown to viewers.

"There are 43 cars to tell stories about," Goldberg said in the same article. "It's exciting. The story always changes. We're producing it on the fly."

Now in its first of an eight-year contract to broadcast NASCAR, ABC/ESPN will broadcast the final 17 races of the Nextel Cup Series. Aside from ABC/ESPN, the Series�s 36 seasons are divided between TNT, FOX, and the Speed Channel. The deal signifies the comeback of NASCAR to the station owned by Disney, which has not broadcast races for six years.

The preparations alone underscore the hard work the TV network has been putting into this just to deliver the latest from NASCAR straight to the audience�s TV sets. According to the ABC/ESPN, it uses approximately 13 huge vehicles in a convoy that contains all the equipment to every race. Some of the vehicles are allocated for audio and a system where the crew can record everything to replay at any given time. For every NASCAR telecast, ABC/ESPN employs over 100 workers working on the 75 cameras, which are more than double of the average used for covering a football game.

The ABC/ESPN crew starts working today with a conference with the team of producers. From that point onwards, everything is ready, according to Goldberg.

"The challenge in coverage is being prepared to react," Goldberg further said. "So much is going on, but it all makes sense.�

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September 2007 Dream Car of the Month - Porsche 959

Well since last month's car was the Ferrari 288 GTO, why not spotlight it's contemporary and arch rival the Porsche 959. The 959 was produced from 1986 to 1989. Development started in 1981 as a study of the future of the Porsche 911. It was decided within Porsche that the best way to go about developing and testing the new car would be through a racing program. They decided that Group B racing was where they would focus their efforts.

Porsche began with an existing racing engine and went from there. The racing version of the car was designated 961 and used a 2.85 liter flat 6 cylinder, twin sequential turbocharged engine. The cylinder heads were water cooled and the block was air cooled. This engine was capable of over 600HP fully tuned in the race car and was connected to an advanced all-wheel-drive system that could vary power to the front and rear wheels. The body was made of aluminum and kevlar keeping weight to a minimum. The 961 prototype made it's debut at the 1983 Frankfurt Motor Show and was an instant hit.


Paris-Dakar Rally Car

The 961 however never made a big impact on the racing world. The Group B road racing class switched to a rally class killing any hopes of a Ferrari 288 GTO - Porsche 961 showdown. Porsche briefly considered entering the 961 as a rally car but decided it wasn't worth it. They did however enter 959 spec 911s in the 1985 and 1986 Paris-Dakar Rally. In 1985 all three cars failed to finish but in 1986 the Porsches finished 1-2. In 1986 the 961 made its debut in the 24 Hours of Le Mans finishing first in its class and 7th overall. The following year it was back but failed to finish. That was all she wrote for the 961.

Thanks to homologation rules, Porsche had to design and build a certain number of street legal cars to qualify the racing version of the car. When the Group B series folded, Porsche focused on making the most technologically advanced sports car ever. About 226 cars were built for public consumption and designated 959 which debuted at the 1985 Frankfurt Motor Show as a 1986 model. The major differences between the race car and the road car were that the road car had an automatic ride height adjustable suspension where the race car had a fixed suspension, the road car had hollow wheels that were sealed to the tires and contained air and a tire pressure monitoring system, and the road car "only" produced 444HP. Even so, weighing only 2917lbs, the street legal 959's performance was seriously impressive. The car could hit 60mph in 3.6 seconds and the quarter mile in 11.8 on it's way to a top speed in excess of 198MPH.



The first 959s were delayed a year and deliveries did not start until 1987 instead of 1986. The cars price was set at $225,000US but it is claimed that it cost Porsche twice that amount to actually build each car. The 959 however was never made legally available in the US due to the fact that Porsche refused to give 4 cars to the NHTSA for crash testing. Several cars did make it to the US via the "grey" market. Two such cars belonged to Microsoft founders Bill Gates and Paul Allen who both had their cars sit in impound after they were shipped to the US due to them not being legal for use. Because of this Bill Gates was instrumental in helping pass the "Show and Display" law which removed the crash test requirements and only required the cars to pass emissions standards as they were when the cars were new.

The 959 influenced and paved the way for the future of Porsche's venerable 911 sports car. It started out as a design study to determine the future viability of the rear engine layout and became legendary. In 1991 the 964 model 911 became the first 911 to be available with all wheel drive, the same system used on the 959. By the 993 generation 911, Porsche decided to make all wheel drive standard on all 911 turbos. They also introduced twin turbos for the first time in the 993 turbo. The 993 was the generation of 911 most influenced by the 959 as noticed by the overall design which was very similar in appearance to the 959 and is considered by some to be the best 911 ever produced. Even the current 911 Carrera 4 and Turbos use an all wheel drive system derived from the one used in the 959. The 911's very existence to this day and foreseeable future may be thanks to the developments made in the 959 program.

Today 959s are very rare throughout the world, even more so here in the US where they were never officially sold. When they do appear on the market they command prices of around $1millionUS. I remember being a kid when they first came out and the leaps in technology and performance that they made propelled them to almost mythical status. Truly one of the greatest sports cars ever built.

Former NASCAR driver pleads innocent on drug charges

Aaron Fike, former NASCAR driver, pleaded innocent to a heroin charge on September 19.

Fike and his crew and fianc�e Cassandra Davidson were both suspended from NASCAR races following their arrest last July 7 at an Ohio amusement park carrying heroine and drug tools, according to the police. Police further claimed they found Fike and Davidson in a parked vehicle with bloody napkins, syringes, a spoon and black tar heroin.

A grand jury charged Fike of possession of heroin, a felony, and possession of drug abuse instruments.

If convicted of heroine possession, Fike will serve a sentence of up to one year imprisonment. The court allowed Fike to remain free after his court appearance Wednesday in Warren County, northeast of Cincinnati.

A Craftsman Truck Series driver and contender for Rookie of the Year honors, Fike, 24, had been slated to compete a week after his arrest at the Kentucky Speedway. At the time of his arrest, Fike ranked eighth in the point standings.

Meanwhile, Davidson pleaded guilty of the same charges last August 23. Her sentence will be released on October 11.

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Muscle cars dress up Busch Series anew

NASCAR seems to never run out of fresh and interesting ideas. Recent reports have it that the racing series plans to do a major change for as early as 2009�a switch to muscle cars.

The next-generation NASCAR Busch series cars, if the plan pushes through, will be Chevrolet Camaros, Dodge Challengers, Ford Mustangs and a soon-to-be-known model from Toyota.

Ford made huge transformation to the Mustang as a 1960s-retro model in 2005 to satisfying results. The Camaro and Challenger, like the Mustang, are rear-wheel drives, two-door coupes with and V-8 engines. All of them carrying retro themes, the new race cars remind us of the good old days of 1960s muscle cars.

The current NASCAR Nextel Cup uses the so-called Car of Tomorrow vehicles, which sport only stickers showing the headlights and grille of their manufacturers.

The Busch Series seems to have undergone an identity crisis lately. The Busch Series is one of the three NASCAR series, the other two being the Craftsman Truck Series and the Nextel Cup Series. Veteran drivers have taken the Busch Series, which is intended to be a platform for up and coming drivers, as their podium. Switching to muscle or �pony� cars will keep the seasoned drivers while getting viewers hooked to the Busch Series. Many believe that the shift to muscle cars would be a great way to give the Busch Series its own identity.

Personally, I think this is an exciting development as I�m looking forward to seeing the new race cars Mustangs, Challengers, and Camaros speeding in the next NASCAR season. The plan is also ideal since these cars will be built using the older NASCAR Nextel Cup chassis.

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