NASCAR: Behind the scenes with Ryan Newman and the Army car
April 29th, 2012 | After Action Capital City 400 NASCAR | Posted by Mike Morones
Ryan Newman drives the Army sponsored car during the Capital City 400 in Richmond, Virginia on Saturday.
I spent the weekend at Richmond International Raceway to get a behind-the-scenes look at what it takes to run the Army car during Saturday’s Capital City 400 at Richmond International Raceway in Virginia. Driven by Ryan Newman, the Army-sponsored Chevrolet finished the night in 15th place.
In addition to the action on the track, I spent some time at the Army’s ‘Strength in Action Zone’ on the midway at the RIR complex. Besides an appearance by Newman and the presence of the Army #39 show car, the zone featured interactive displays and a helicopter flight simulator. While the rainy weather didn’t do much to help attendance, Army recruiters said they usually enjoy a fairly positive response from race fans.
Capital City 400 at Richmond
April 29th, 2012 | Army NASCAR | Posted by Mike Morones
Ryan Newman climbs into the #39 Army Chevrolet team moments before the start of the Capital City 400 at Richmond International Raceway in Richmond, Va. on April 28. Newman started in 12th position and finished in 15th. (Mike Morones/Military Times)
Ryan Newman Meet and Greet at Richmond
April 28th, 2012 | NASCAR | Posted by Mike Morones
Ryan Newman addresses race fans at the U.S. Army's Strength in Action Zone on the midway outside Richmond International Raceway in Richmond, VA on April 28, 2012. (Mike Morones/Military Times)
Here’s a shot from the Army’s Strength in Action Zone outside the track – they had some exhibits of equipment as well as some physical training test and of course the #39 show car. Because of the weather attendance was a bit sparse – at least until Ryan Newman arrived for a quick question-and-answer session.
Staff Sgt. Robert A. Olson III, a drill sergeant from the 194th Armored Brigade at Fort Benning, watches as James Lowry, 16, from Mechanicsville, Va. does pull-ups in the US Army's Strength in Action Zone at Richmond International Raceway in Richmond, VA on April 28, 2012. (Mike Morones/Military Times)
Army car ready for the race; fans also getting lubed
April 28th, 2012 | Army NASCAR | Posted by Mike Morones
Ryan Newman and his crew push the #39 Army Chevrolet following his qualifying laps for the Capital City 400 at Richmond International Raceway in Richmond, Va, on April 27. Newman will start in the 12th position. (Mike Morones/Military Times)
Her’s one more from yesterday afternoon’s Sprint Cup qualifying laps at Richmond International Raceway.
Since practice and qualifying took place yesterday, the track is fairly quiet this morning. Though on my drive in to RIR around 9:30 a.m. there were quite a few people kicking back in the parking lots, mentally preparing for the day’s action. And by mentally preparing I mean drinking beer. Keep in mind the race starts at 7:30 p.m., assuming there are no weather delays. The forecast does not look promising on that front so I might need a beer by the time it’s all over too!
Sprint Cup Practice
April 27th, 2012 | Army NASCAR | Posted by Mike Morones
Race fans watch as Ryan Newman turns a lap in the #39 Army Chevrolet during practice for the Capital City 400 at Richmond International Raceway in Richmond, Va. on April 27. (Mike Morones/Military Times)
I’m spending two days with the U.S. Army race team as they compete at Richmond International Raceway. I’ll also spend some time outside the track to check out the military presence in the lots and midway during a race weekend. Here are a few shots from today’s practice session. It’s relatively quiet at the track as far as crowds go but it’s still early. In the meantime the few fans interested in watching practice and qualifying appear to have their pick of seats. I’ll try to post some photos as things progress and time allows so check back for more throughout the weekend.
Ryan Newman drives the #39 Army Chevrolet during practice and qualifying for the Capital City 400 at Richmond International Raceway in Richmond International Raceway, Richmond on April 27. (Mike Morones/Military Times)
Tuesday link central: National Guard invades Kansas (race track), lots of Air Force football, Navy bowl update
April 24th, 2012 | Air Force Army Baseball Football NASCAR Navy | Posted by Kevin Lilley
The Kansas National Guard assisted in the demolition of the Kansas Speedway track after Sunday's NASCAR Sprint Cup race. (AP photo by Orlin Wagner)
A handful of military-sports links for a Tuesday morning — weekend stuff you might’ve missed, some scheduling notes, and your typical mid-America military invasion (no, not this one):
1. Tank vs. track: When you absolutely, positively have to destroy a race track surface so it can be repaved and ready for a fall NASCAR Sprint Cup race, call in the National Guard. That’s what they did in Kansas on Sunday, using military equipment and know-how to break up the asphalt. As deployments go, you could do worse than the infield of a Sprint Cup race.
2. Falcon left behind: Missing from this video of President Obama honoring the Air Force Falcons football team at the White House on Monday is senior running back Asher Clark, who is not “meeting academy standards” and was not allowed to make the trip, according to this report. Clark stared 40 games over four seasons for the Falcons and is second on the all-time rushing list.
3. Better news from the sidelines: Another one from Frank Schwab at the Colorado Springs Gazette — read this feel-good story about former Air Force defensive coordinator Richard Bell returning to the sidelines at age 74 to help out a high school squad.
4. Speaking of former coaches: Despite years of therapy, Air Force football fans might still remember a 31-30 loss to nationally ranked Tennessee that started the 2006 season with a whimper. Why did head coach and College Football Hall of Famer Fisher DeBerry go for a late two-point conversion instead of playing it safe? He tells all here, and it sounds like he’d do it again.
5. Book your tickets: If Navy wins six games this year, it’s booked to play in the Kraft Fight Hunger Bowl, which will be held Saturday, Dec. 29 at AT&T Park — formerly Pacific Bell Park, formerly SBC Park … it’s safest just to go with “The Field Where the San Francisco Giants Play Baseball.” The game will be broadcast somewhere on the ESPN family of networks and is scheduled to include a team from the Pacific-12 Conference as well as the Mids.
6. Baseball milestone: The Army Black Knights, thanks in part to a Saturday no-hitter by senior southpaw Logan Lee, rank 30th in the nation in the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association poll — a first for the program. Army (33-9) is a perfect 16-0 in the Patriot League and will face Marist on Wednesday.
The curse of the National Guard?
May 31st, 2011 | NASCAR | Posted by Phil Creed
Both major Memorial Day weekend auto races — NASCAR’S Coca-Cola 600 and the Indianapolis 500 — featured dramatic collapses by the drivers who entered the final lap in the lead.
In NASCAR, Dale Earnhardt Jr. — who hasn’t won a Sprint Cup race since June 2008 — ran out of gas on the last lap of the Coca-Cola 600 in Charlotte. Kevin Harvick passed Earnhardt and won, while Junior ended up finishing 22nd.
Earlier in the day, in an even more heartbreaking finish, rookie driver JR Hildebrand inexplicably hit the wall in the final turn of the Indy 500. He managed to guide his car across the finish line, but not before Dan Wheldon drove by him and captured the checkered flag.
Two races on the same day, two excruciating collapses. The one thing both drivers had in common?
Both of their cars were sponsored by the National Guard.
Cue the Twilight Zone music.
Hildebrand hits the wall:
Dale Jr. gasses out:
Amendment to end Pentagon’s NASCAR sponsorship fails in House
February 18th, 2011 | Army NASCAR | Posted by Phil Creed
Ryan Newman and Dale Earnhardt Jr. can rest easy tonight: Rep. Betty McCollum’s amendment to end Pentagon sponsorships for NASCAR racing teams was voted down today in the House of Representatives by a 148-241 margin.
McCollum had proposed the amendment last week, saying that “[t]axpayer-funded NASCAR race cars are an absurdity at a time when the Republican Tea Party is cutting federal support for homeless veterans, law enforcement officers, and firefighters.”
Three racing teams are currently sponsored in part by the Pentagon — Ryan Newman’s Army car, Dale Earnhardt Jr.’s National Guard car and AJ Allmendinger’s Air Force car.
In a sign of how any political issue can bring out the worst in people, the McCollum amendment was apparently so offensive to one idiot that he/she sent a death threat to the congresswoman. Sigh.
Legistlator wants to end DoD’s NASCAR sponsorships
February 17th, 2011 | Army NASCAR Navy | Posted by Phil Creed
Ryan Newman is greeted by members of the Virginia National Guard during driver introductions for the Crown Royal 400 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race at Richmond International Raceway in Richmond, Va. (AP Photo/Steve Helber)
As the deficit spirals to record levels, there’s no shortage of politicians eager to cut the fat from the federal budget. What exactly constitutes “fat” is usually a matter of perception, and a proposal by Rep. Betty McCollum to end the Pentagon’s sponsorships of NASCAR race teams illustrates how even the smallest of proposed cuts can generate a lot of pushback.
McCollum’s amendment to the 2011 budget has been met with resistance from NASCAR, where three cars — Ryan Newman’s #39 Army car, Dale Earnhardt’s #88 National Guard car and AJ Allmendinger’s #43 car — are sponsored by the military. On Ryan Newman’s official Facebook page, the 2008 Daytona 500 winner has posted an appeal to fans to tell their congressman that they “support the U.S. Army’s involvement in motorsports.”
NASCAR spokesman Ramsey Poston argued in favor of the sponsorships, saying they’re effective in connecting the services with the type of people who
“NASCAR fans are the kind of people who fight America’s wars, which would put into question the wisdom of banning the military’s ability to reach out to them,” Poston told the Virginian Pilot.
The director of the Army’s sponsorship also defended the program, telling the Wall Street Journal that the service finds it to be effective.
““Youth surveys show that motorsports is a passion point for young Americans,” Col. Derik Crotts told the paper. “It is critical that the Army use these passion points to communicate with prospects and their influencers.”
McCollum, a Democrat from Minnesota, said on her website that sponsoring race teams while we’re proposing cuts in programs that support veterans and law enforcement is irresponsible.
“Taxpayer-funded NASCAR race cars are an absurdity at a time when the Republican-Tea Party is cutting federal support for homeless veterans, law enforcement officers, and firefighters. I know NASCAR fans are passionate and patriotic. This amendment gets the government out of NASCAR and gives them the opportunity to encourage the private sector to demonstrate its patriotism by donating a military sponsorship,” McCollum said.
What do you guys think? Are these sponsorships — more than $100 million in the 10 years DoD has sponsored race teams, according to McCollum — worth the money? Is it a wise investment for recruiting or a needless waste of taxpayer dollars?
Get your face smashed in — on the Army’s #39 NASCAR Chevy!
September 17th, 2010 | Army NASCAR | Posted by Phil Creed
Love NASCAR? Love NASCAR crashes? Ever wanted to be part of one? Well now you’ve got a chance, if you’re a vet.
The Army and Stewart-Haas Racing have announced a promotion for veterans to put their faces on Ryan Newman’s #39 Army-sponsored Chevy for the Kobalt Tools 500 Sprint Cup at Phoenix International Raceway on Nov. 14. That’s right, if you’re a veteran, you may be able to get your mug painted on the bumper of the #39 car — the same bumper that could put that weenie Jeff Gordon into the wall or get rear-ended by crazy man Carl Edwards.
“All veterans are eligible for inclusion among the photos in the special paint scheme,” a story on the official Army blog said. “[Images] selected will be featured on the hood, trunk, side panels and bumpers when Newman gets behind the wheel of the No. 39 U.S. Army Chevrolet in Phoenix.”
The deadline to submit your photos is Sept. 24. Go here to enter.