WHITE READY TO UNVEIL A BIG SEASON AT WISCASSET RACEWAY

WHITE READY TO UNVEIL A BIG SEASON AT WISCASSET RACEWAY

In just few short weeks Wiscasset Raceway will pull back the curtain on the 2008 season and the start of a new era for "Maine's Center of Speed". Owners Doug and Becky White will roll out an ambitious schedule to start their first full season at the helm. While 2007 was a year of uncertainty, speculation and transition, 2008 is bringing a new feeling of excitement and anticipation. Nobody is more excited than Doug White himself. "We're going to make coming to the Center of Speed an event, an event not to be missed. It's all about giving the fans an exciting and fastpaced show, getting them home at a decent hour and leaving them feeling like they can't wait for next weekend." In his short time in charge last season and throughout the winter, White and his team have already made several noticable changes to the facility including fresh paint on the bleachers and buildings, a new logo and several new staff members, and a countless roster of eager sponsors. From the racers point of view, the back stretch wall has been moved back a foot and a half to allow better racing and more pit pads are being added for the growing list of drivers expected each week. Other slight changes have been made in lineup and qualifying procedures which White feels will only enhance the excitement on the track. Probably the biggest incentive for the drivers this year is the money that is on the table for them to win. Weekly purses have gone up and will pay deeper in the field and the season point fund will exceed $80,000 including a nice $10,000 payoff to the 2008 Prostock track champion. In January White was voted by the media as the "Promoter of the Year" at the Northeast Motorsports Expo. He and his family took control of track from longtime owners David and Sandra St Clair midway through last season, but this year offers the opportunity for White to put his own stamp on the continued success of the track.

 

The 2008 Wiscasset Raceway schedule will present a program featuring six weekly racing series divisions (Clark Car Crushing Prostocks; Smith Construction Late Model Sportsman; Unicel Super Streets; Keystone Automotive Strictly Streets; Aable Auto Parts Mini Stocks; and White & Bradstreet Truck Division) to go with appearances by several popular regional touring series. A significant portion of the Pro All Stars Series North schedule will be decided at Wiscasset with four visits including the $30,000 to win "Center of Speed 250" Sunday August 17th. PASS will also wrap up its season at Wiscasset October 4th and 5th with the championship weekend "Fall Brawl". To go along with the early October event, Wiscasset will host the $1,000 to win 50 lap Pure-Stock Mini Stock Nationals, the $3,000 to win 100 lap Street Stock Nationals, and the $10,000 to win 100 lap Super Street / Sportsman Nationals, putting a big exclamation point on busy season. Qualifing races for these three major events will be scattered throughout the 2008 schedule. Napa Auto Parts will present the return of the Labor Day Weekend Twin 100'a for Late Model Sportsman and Super Streets. Two prominant regional touring series will also make their first ever visits to Wiscasset Raceway in 2008. May 17th will welcome the quick and agile USAC Northeast Ford Focus Midgets for a Saturday afternoon show presented by Ray Haskell Ford. Then Saturday night July 28th Wiscasset Ford will help welcome the groundshaking True Value Modified Series to Maine's only high-bank oval. Finally, the Allison Legacy Series will return to Wiscasset after four years away and both the NELCAR Legends and Midcoast Super Minicup Series will also make occasional stops this season.

 

Memerial Day weekend will be a special time at Wiscasset Raceway as the Coastal 200 continues its holiday tradition by gathering the top LMS drivers from the northeast to shoot for the $10,000 winner's check. Last year young DJ Shaw outdueled Maine racing legend Mike Rowe in one of the most memorable Coastal 200 battles. Doug White has added to the festivities of this big event with the inclusion of "Operation Recognition"; a community initiative to thank military members past and present and their families. "Mark you calenders for Memorial Day weekend" says White. "We're planning a giant celebration and recognition program for our military that day. Our Govenor, our Adjutant General, and other military personel will be there as the Hero's we'll be honoring." As an added "thankyou", White has assigned five occasions this summer when the track will honor active duty military members and their families. On these selected dates Wiscasset Raceway will admit, free of charge, all active duty Military, National Guardsmen, and Reservists plus their spouses and children. The only requirement is that they be in uniform and present their military ID at the gate. The first of these five dates will be for the Coastal 200 on Sunday May 25th.

 

Wiscasset Raceway will hold its first open practice of the season on Saturday April 26th and then get the regular season schedule under way with Lester Morse Auto Sales Opening Day on Saturday May 3rd at 2:00pm.

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Williams Leads PASS South to the South Carolina Clash

NAPLES ME ( March 30, 2008)  Pro All Stars Series (PASS) South point leader Corey Williams will lead a strong field of PASS South competitors to Dillon South Carolina Saturday April 5th for the South Carolina Clash 125 at Dillon Motor Speedway.

 

Williams is coming off a thrilling victory at the PASS South season opener at Hickory Motor Speedway. Williams and 2007 PASS South champion Ryan Lawler waged war in the closing stages of the Easter Bunny 150, racing side by side and swapping the lead countless times.  Williams prevailed over Lawler and 15 year-old John Stancill for the win.

 

He'll face a strong field of challengers at the recently reconstructed 4/10 mile speedway. Hickory pole winner Heath Hindman is a confirmed entry. From Las Vegas Nevada comes Alex Haase in the Kyle Bush Foundation Toyota, and four time PASS North super late model champion Ben Rowe has filed an entry.

 

Spencer Wauters, South Carolinian Strom Altman and Georgia's Justin Wakefield are on the list; so are Justin Wakefield and John Batten. After their great result at Hickory, John Stancill's team will be back with PASS at Dillon to see if he can put his family team in victory lane. Tim Pinion and Clay Rodgers have both filed entries for "The Clash" as well.

 

It's the first time PASS has visited Ron Barfield's immaculate oval; although several teams have to be considered favorites after their showings at Hickory, the winner is anybody's guess!

 

The fastest full fendered racers in the south will hit the track at noon for practice; pole qualifying is scheduled for 4:00 P.M. and the racing goes green at 6:30 P.M.

 

For more information on the Pro All Stars Series, visit  www.racewithpass.com or www.proallstarsseries.com.

 

Dillon Motor Speedway can be found on line at www.dillonmotorspeedway.com .

 

Race Recap: Kroger 250

Setzer Takes Hamilton Racing Back To Victory Lane

MARTINSVILLE, Va. (March 29, 2008) -- For the first time since the late Bobby Hamilton won at Mansfield, Ohio, in 2005, Dennis Setzer took Bobby Hamilton Racing back to victory lane.

"This win right here is for Bobby Hamilton only -- he is the man!" shouted crew chief Marcus Richmond after Setzer, who had run 173 laps since his final pit stop, crossed the finish line with trucks wrecking in his wake.

Setzer's victory in the Kroger 250 NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series race Saturday at Martinsville Speedway was his third at the .526-mile short track and the 18th of his career. Setzer won for the first time since taking the checkered flag at Mansfield on May 26, 2007.

Hamilton, who posted 10 wins in the truck series before his death from cancer on Jan. 7, 2007, claimed his last victory at that same track on May 15, 2005.

"I ran second to Bobby Hamilton the year he won the championship (2004)," Setzer said. "We raced really hard against each other, but off the track, we were the best of friends. I don't think we ever had a harsh word for one another. I respected him a lot."

The 15th and final caution of the race on Lap 248 necessitated a green-white-checkered-flag finish that took Saturday's race three laps beyond its scheduled distance. As Setzer rounded Turn 3 on the final circuit, Kyle Busch powered his No. 51 Toyota beneath the second-place No. 23 Toyota of Johnny Benson as the trucks entered the corner.

Busch's truck clipped Benson's and both spun out of control. Matt Crafton dodged the wreck to finish second, and Rick Crawford came home third. Ken Schrader inherited fourth place and Erik Darnell fifth, as Benson and Busch dropped to 25th and 26th at the finish, respectively.

"Kyle drove in underneath that 23 and wheel-hopped it and opened the door for me," said Crafton, who had an up-close view of the accident. I kind of shut my eyes and went through the middle. In Kyle's defense, he wheel-hopped and got sideways, and that's why he wrecked the 23."

Setzer took the lead on Lap 128 when Brent Raymer spun in Turn 4 in front of Busch, who had surged past teammate Denny Hamlin on Lap 97 and stayed in front until the mishap with Raymer. Setzer remained in the lead the rest of the way, through nine more cautions that helped him stretch his fuel mileage.

Notes: Martinsville Speedway president Clay Campbell is part of the ownership group for Bobby Hamilton Racing, which relocated from Nashville, Tenn., to Martinsville after Hamilton's death. . . Busch retained the series points lead by 35 over Todd Bodine, who finished 12th Saturday.

ACT Late Model Tour release: American-Canadian Tour Opener Anything But Ordinary For “Outlaw” MacDonald

American-Canadian Tour Opener Anything But Ordinary For "Outlaw" MacDonald
Driver to attempt ACT/NASCAR double duty weekend

       LEE, NH – Stock car driver "Outlaw" Eddie MacDonald has lofty goals.  The Rowley, MA driver plans to run the American-Canadian Tour Late Model Championship season opener – the prestigious New Hampshire Governor's Cup – at his home track, Lee USA Speedway, on Sunday, April 20.  Ordinarily for MacDonald, that would mean a simple 40-mile drive north across the Massachusetts/New Hampshire border.
       This time, it's going to be a bit different.  About 2,000 miles different.
       The 27 year-old will climb from the seat of his NASCAR Camping World East Series car at Greenville-Pickens Speedway in South Carolina on Saturday night, then drive to Charlotte, NC and board a flight to Boston on Sunday morning.  That's when he can begin the more familiar drive to Lee, NH.
       "It's going to be awful tight trying to get to Lee in time for the drivers' meeting and practice and everything that goes on in the morning," MacDonald predicted.  "I'm scheduled to arrive in Boston at 10:30am, so we'll really have to make some good time on the way to the track."
       Making good time is a task Eddie MacDonald has proven he can handle.  While running part-time schedules last year with no less than four racing organizations, he won the second-fastest ACT Late Model Tour event on record by capturing the Time Warner Cable 100 at Maine's Oxford Plains Speedway in under 29 minutes.  Earlier in the season, he outran several multi-million dollar NASCAR teams to win at Stafford (CT) Motor Speedway.  Even before that, he stole the show at the Lee USA Speedway season opener by making up two laps under green flag conditions to finish inside the Top 10.
       "We did pretty well in 2007, and I hope the Late Model runs as well at Lee as it did last year," said MacDonald.  "There'll be a lot of tough competition with all the ACT teams in town, and with all the weekly Lee regulars racing we're going to have to come prepared.  It wasn't easy last year, and it's going to be even harder this year."
       'Not easy' is a colossal understatement: nearly 30 ACT Late Model Tour teams have filed full-season entries to date, with additional entries for the NH Governor's Cup event at Lee USA Speedway expected to flow in prior to the race.  Already included on the list of drivers are former ACT Champions Jean-Paul Cyr, Patrick Laperle, Phil Scott, Brad Leighton, and Donald Theetge, as well as title contenders Scott Payea, Brent Dragon, Randy Potter, and Joey Polewarczyk.  Lee USA Speedway regulars expected to enter the race include former Track Champions J.R. Baril and Ricky Wolf, Jr., and young guns Miles Chipman, Jeff Labrecque, Jr., Jeremy Harclerode, and Katrina Canney.
       The NH Governor's Cup, round one of 12 for the 2008 ACT Late Model Tour, will take place at Lee USA Speedway on the New Hampshire seacoast on Sunday, April 20 at 1:00pm.  For more information, contact ACT at (802) 244-6963 or visit www.acttour.com.  For information on Lee USA Speedway, call (978) 462-4252 or visit www.leeusaspeedway.com.

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ICEBREAKER just around the corner

Thompson, CT.  The long New England winter is loosing its grip on the region and race fans are ready for the annual renewal of high-speed excitement. It all begins each year with the ICEBREAKER race event at the Thompson International Speedway in Thompson, CT. This year's ICEBREAKER will be held April 5^th & 6^th.

            An especially harsh winter in the region has made race fans hungry for the return of their favorite sport and Thompson will present a full weekend of high speed spills and thrills. The annual season opener will feature eight different divisions of race cars in a two-day extravaganza.

            The ICEBREAKER is much more than a major racing event. It has become a weekend for race fans to renew old friendships, make new friends and enjoy the full-

Service atmosphere that has made this race something very special to thousands of fans.

The action on the ultra-fast race track is the focal point of the ICEBREAKER. But, the social scene also plays a major role in the event's popularity.

            The Thompson International Speedway complex features the Raceway Restaurant and Lounge, a championship golf course, putting greens and driving range. Hundreds or race fans converge upon the speedway complex each spring in their campers and simply move in for the weekend. Most don't even leave the grounds of the complex since just about any need they might have can be found at the track or at the clubhouse. Thompson offers up a complete menu for the weekend including incredible high-speed racing action, great food at the track and the restaurant and plenty of liquid refreshment in the Raceway Lounge.

            Breakfast is offered both Saturday and Sunday mornings with a great dinner and dance Saturday night at the Raceway Restaurant. The Lounge is the main attraction for 'bench racing' on both Saturday and Sunday nights. All of this is convenient and within easy walking distance of the free camping area.

            While the ICEBREAKER is a big social gathering, it is all based on a major racing event. The NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour tops the eight divisions of racing competition that will be ICEBREAKER 08. The mighty NEMA Midgets will open their 56^th consecutive season at the ICEBREAKER and these two exciting divisions will be joined by Thompson's NASCAR Whelen All American Series "Super Six". The "Super Six" consists of the fan favorite Sunoco Modifieds, Pro Stocks, Late Models, Thompson Modifieds, Limited Sportsman and Mini Stocks.

            All divisions will practice and qualify on Saturday. Once qualifying is complete, the Sunoco Modified and Thompson's Late Model divisions will roll out onto the track for their first of two feature races on ICEBREAKER weekend. Once the Saturday program has been completed, all attention will move to the "clubhouse" for a fun-filled night of food and drink.

            Sunday's activity begins with breakfast served between 7 and 11 AM. The track's huge grandstand will open at 9:30 AM and the first on-track activity will begin at 12 Noon. Fans will be treated to eight feature event races in a very fast-paced race program.

The NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour 150 is slated for a mid-afternoon start and will be preceded by a very special pre-race program that will honor three of the NASCAR Modified division's past champions.

            Those wishing to avoid the long ticket lines on Sunday are urged to purchase their tickets ahead of time by calling the Thompson International Speedway track office. 860-923-2280. Those looking for a complete schedule of events for the ICEBREAKER weekend will it on the track's web page at www.thompsonspeedway.com

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Heading Home To Martinsville

Harrisburg, NC. (March 27, 2008)- The Wood Family's home town of Stuart, VA. is located only 20 miles from the historic one half mile oval where Wood Brothers Racing began competing in 1953 with family patriarch Glen Wood who piloted the long lived #21 Ford. 58 years later, Bill Elliott will be driving the no. 21 Little Debbie Nutty Bars Ford Fusion at Martinsville Speedway this weekend in the Goody's Cool Orange 500 on Sunday, March 30th.

Although the team has had numerous poles and top five finishes at the infamous speedway, they won their first victory in 1968 with Cale Yarborogh in a Ford Mercury. In 1973, David Pearson drove the Wood Brothers race team to the legendary 11 out of 18 wins and Martinsville one of those victories.

The original 1971 no. 21 Purolator Mercury that brought the team to success in 1973 will be on display at the Wood Brothers Museum in Stuart, VA beginning this week.  It has been housed in Darlington Speedway's Museum for 34 years and has finally made its way back home to the Wood Brothers race shop in Stuart, VA. for routine maintenance and restoration.

The museum of Wood Brothers memorabilia spans 58 years of racing.  Among some of the many items on display are; a 1989 Neil Bonnett Thunderbird, a 1937 Glen Wood Ford Coach, and cars from Jon Wood and Keven Wood's careers.

The museum is open weekdays from 9:00am to noon, & 1:00pm to 5:00pm.  There is no admission fee, and the gift shop offers varied souvenir items.  It's located only thirty minutes from Martinsville Speedway, just off highway 58.  The museum and souvenir shop is also open this Saturday during the Martinsville Race weekend until 1pm.

For more information on how to get to the Wood Brothers Racing Museum and Wood Brothers Racing please go to www.woodbrothersracing.com

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MCMURRAY JOINED BY INTERNATIONAL DRIVER MARCUS MARSHALL AT MARTINSVILLE SPEEDWAY

CONCORD, N.C. (March 27, 2008) – There will not be just one IRWIN
Industrial Tools driver at Martinsville Speedway this weekend, but two.
 Roush Fenway Racing driver, Jamie McMurray, who will pilot the No. 26
IRWIN Industrial Tools Ford Fusion at Martinsville this weekend, will be
joined by his Australian counterpart, Marcus Marshall.  Marshall drives
the No. 26 IRWIN Industrial Tools Ford Falcon in the V8 Supercars Series
in Australia.

Marshall, who lives on the Gold Coast in Australia, will travel more
than 9,300 miles to attend his first NASCAR race.

The two IRWIN Industrial Tools drivers have a lot more in common than
what they may think.  The pair are both sponsored by IRWIN Industrial
Tools, both pilot the No. 26, both drive for Ford Racing, and both won
Rookie of the Year in their respective series in 2003.  Marshall won
2003 Rookie of the Year in the Australian Carrera Cup Championship,
while McMurray was honored with the 2003 Sprint Cup Series award.  This
weekend, the two will get a chance to compare notes.

"I'm really looking forward to meeting Jamie McMurray and seeing the
IRWIN Racing team as well as the Roush Fenway Racing operation," said
Marshall.  "It will be good to compare notes with Jamie on how he
approaches his racing. Even though I raced Champ cars in the U.S. in
2005, running a NASCAR on a tight oval track like Martinsville is very
different to what I've experienced."

Both McMurray and Marshall will help promote IRWIN Industrial Tools
"Ultimate Tradesman Challenge" which has gone international in 2008.
This year, participants from the United States, as well as Australia and
New Zealand will compete for a chance to win $1.26 million dollars and a
Roush Performance Ford F-150 truck.  More information on the challenge
can be found at www.irwinchallenge.com.

"It's pretty cool that I'll be able to meet my Australian counterpart
this weekend in Martinsville," said McMurray.  "Martinsville is great
track for Marcus to come and visit.  It's a lot different kind of track
than what I think he is used to running on, but overall, I think he'll
enjoy the weekend IRWIN Tools has planned for him.  Not only will he
visit the track this weekend, but I think they are taking him to the
Roush Fenway shop for a behind-the-scenes look at our race team
operation."

TONY STEWART

Harried at Martinsville? Not This Year

ATLANTA (March 26, 2008) – Tony Stewart comes into Martinsville (Va.) Speedway relaxed and refreshed after a rare off-weekend on the 38-race weekend NASCAR Sprint Cup Series schedule. The driver of the No. 20 Home Depot Toyota for Joe Gibbs Racing is also a bit more aerodynamic, for the long hair he had sported since the end of last season is gone. Stewart’s mane looks more like it did when he was a rookie in 1999. Perhaps prompting the retro style was the sting of having his back waxed, as Stewart underwent the painful process in the name of charity.

On March 17 during Tony Stewart Live on SIRIUS Satellite Radio, Stewart had to live up to the bet he made with friend and competitor Kevin Harvick nearly a year ago. On Friday of last year’s spring Martinsville race weekend, Harvick dared Stewart to have his back waxed. Stewart took the dare, albeit with one caveat – that $100,000 gets raised for Victory Junction Gang Camp. An impressive $125,000 was raised, and in turn, Stewart’s back became hairless and the Victory Junction Gang Camp’s coffers rose by six figures.

It’s ironic that Stewart’s stature is slightly less hairy as he returns to a race track known for its harried racing. The .526-mile Martinsville Speedway is known for its less-than-forgiving confines. Forty-three cars roaming the paperclip-shaped layout for 500 laps usually makes for a handful of sheet metal skirmishes and a driver’s occasional angry gesture.

Yet, short track racing forms the foundation of NASCAR’s 60-year heritage, and throwback racers like Stewart who will race anything with four wheels for the pure fun of it, relish the gritty style of racing Martinsville promotes.

How much so? Stewart has two wins at Martinsville and three poles, and has finished outside of the top-10 only eight times in 18 career starts. He’s also led 1,193 laps, second only to Jeff Gordon, who in 30 career starts at Martinsville has led 2,466 laps.

And while the style of racing piques Stewart’s interests, so does the trophy Martinsville Speedway President Clay Campbell gives to the race winner. An authentic grandfather clock made by Martinsville-based Ridgeway Clocks goes to the victor, a tradition dating back to 1964 when Fred Lorenzen won the Old Dominion 500.

With Stewart’s last Martinsville victory coming in April 2006, he feels it’s “time” to pick up a third grandfather clock when the checkered flag drops on Sunday’s Goody’s Cool Orange 500.

Martinsville Part Of Inaugural NASCAR Schedule In 1948

There From The Start: Martinsville Part Of Inaugural NASCAR Schedule In 1948

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (March 26, 2008) – The NASCAR Sprint Cup Series races at 22 tracks, only one of which was part of the sanctioning body’s historic first season in 1948.

Martinsville Speedway.

The .526-mile oval is located in relatively tiny Martinsville, Va. (population approximately 15,000). But in truth, it resides in the very heart and soul of NASCAR, a status resulting from a 60-year history that has run concurrent with NASCAR.

Martinsville Speedway represents everything NASCAR was – and everything NASCAR is today.

They started with 750 seats in 1947. (Yes, Martinsville actually got a year’s head start on NASCAR. Today, there are 65,000, encircling a paper clip shaped configuration that places a premium on braking – and not breaking, be it mechanically or mentally.

Martinsville is tough – on car and driver. That will be evident once again on Sunday, as the track hosts the Goody’s Cool Orange 500.

“It’s long, and it really is one of the hardest races that we do,” said Jeff Burton, winner two weeks ago at another storied short track, Bristol Motor Speedway.

“Martinsville is both a physical and emotional race. I think it’s the ‘longest feeling’ race that we run all year.”

Fonty Flock won the first NASCAR-sanctioned race at Martinsville, a July 4 event that featured primarily Modifieds but also featured NASCAR founder and president Bill France Sr., who finished eighth.

In 1948, “stock cars” were few and far between, over the course of a 52-race season. The division known as “Strictly Stocks” became viable in 1949, and an eight-race schedule resulted in Red Byron winning the first championship of what would evolve, through the years, into today’s NASCAR Sprint Cup Series. Martinsville was on that 1949 schedule too. Byron won that year’s race, a 100-miler.

In 1950, NASCAR‘s premier series started racing twice yearly at Martinsville – and so it remains that way today, with its second race part of the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup, the 10-race “playoff” that determines the series champion.

How important is the place to NASCAR history?

• Richard Petty won there 15 times, Darrell Waltrip 11.
• Fred Lorenzen won four races in a row at Martinsville and five out of seven between 1963 and ’66. In the midst of that run, Lorenzen morphed into the perfect NASCAR storm – leading 493 of 500 laps in September of 1964.
• Petty Enterprises has won 19 races overall, the last coming in the spring of ’99, with John Andretti taking the legendary No. 43 into Victory Lane.
• Junior Johnson won twice as a driver – and 13 times as a car owner.
• In present-day terms, history is being made still. Hendrick Motorsports drivers Jimmie Johnson and Jeff Gordon have won eight of the last 10 NASCAR Sprint Cup events.

“By being one of the first tracks and running as long as it has, I think it represents the very core of what Big Bill France wanted at the very start,” said Hal Hamrick, a veteran auto racing journalist who did the first radio broadcast from Martinsville, in 1952.

“Martinsville is the very essence, the very backbone of what the thing is all about. That’s why you have the big crowds every year. The drivers have to truly master the race track at Martinsville, instead of just driving the car around.

“It’s one of the premium tracks.”

The late H. Clay Earles was one of the premium individuals in NASCAR. He founded Martinsville, nurtured it. His grandson, W. Clay Campbell, now serves as track president – and caretaker of tradition.

“We’ve achieved a lot,” Campbell says, “but we can achieve much more.

No Bull About It, Herbert Heads to Site of Biggest Win

BAYTOWN, Texas. (March 26, 2008) Returning to Houston Raceway Park brings fond memories to Doug Herbert, owner and driver of the SnaponFranchise.com Top Fuel dragster.

In 1999 at this historic track known for record-setting performances, Herbert became the first and only Top Fuel team to win the $100,000 Winston "No Bull" Challenge.

"Winning the 'No Bull' Challenge was one of the biggest wins of my career…so far," said Herbert. "But the Snap-on team has things to prove and more races to win. We are going to do what it takes to win."

Three races into the 2008 NHRA POWERade season, sitting in the Top 10 in points and just two months since the passing of his two sons, Jon, 17, and James, 12, in a tragic automobile accident, Herbert's motivation to gain the title of champion is greater than ever.

"I've said it a million times and I will probably say it a million more," said the veteran driver and heart broken father. "I want to make my boys proud. They saw their Dad win some races and four IHRA Championships, but I want to win the NHRA championship for them.

"The Snap-on team is behind me a hundred percent. We tested on Monday after the last race, and we are really encouraged by what we learned. We are ready to get out there this weekend and start racking up points toward the championship, and we want to start out by bringing home another win from Houston Raceway Park."

Herbert can be seen on ESPN2's coverage of the NHRA Spring Nationals beginning this Saturday, March 29. Qualifying coverage will air beginning at 4:30 p.m. and 10:00 p.m. Elimination coverage will air Sunday, March 30, at 4:30 p.m. All times listed are Eastern.

Earnhardt Seeks Breakthrough Win; McDowell Seeks Solid Debut

The upside for Dale Earnhardt Jr. (No. 88 Amp Energy/National Guard Chevrolet) coming into Sunday’s event at Martinsville Speedway:

He’s fifth in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series point standings, the highest-ranked of Hendrick Motorsports’ star-studded four-man team.

The downside: He has never won at Martinsville Speedway.

That’s not to say he hasn’t been close.

Earnhardt has seven top fives in 16 Martinsville starts — including a fifth in 2007’s spring event.

Of Earnhardt’s 17 NASCAR Sprint Cup victories, four have come on short tracks (ovals less than one mile in length) — three at Richmond International Raceway, one at Bristol Motor Speedway.

Meanwhile, on the other end of the learning curve this week we find Michael McDowell, who is technically replacing David Reutimann in the No. 00 Aaron’s Dream Machine Toyota for Michael Waltrip Racing. But in reality, he’s replacing NASCAR legend Dale Jarrett, who retired after the March 16 race at Bristol, leaving the No. 44 UPS Toyota to David Reutimann, the former driver of the No. 00.

McDowell is assured of making his first NASCAR Sprint Cup start Sunday; the No. 00 is safely within the top 35 of the owner points and is thus guaranteed a spot in the field.

Said McDowell: “To make your debut at Martinsville is tough. Lot of laps … lot of hard laps. … I’ve done a lot of training to make sure I’m in shape for 500 laps.”