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RACING SCENE Column
By Tim Kennedy
Los Angeles, CA. -- The San Gabriel Valley Tribune Business Section on Friday, January 23, 2009 ran a complimentary 12" story and 4 X 4" photo on page one. The subject was Gale Banks, 66-year old founder/president/CEO of Banks Power. (aka Banks Engineering). The automotive after-market industry leader occupies several buildings on one block in Azusa. The firm employs 180, including corporate publicist Doug Stokes, who has worked at speedways in Perris and Irwindale. Gale, who is celebrating 50 years in business, was honored by the Automotive Hall of Fame Saturday, January 24 in New Orleans. The resident of Bradbury received the Automotive Hall of Fame 2009 Distinguished Service Citation. The oldest, ongoing award by the organization is presented each year to persons who have had a significant impact on the automotive industry. Past recipients of the award include Harvey Firestone, founder of Firestone Tire & Rubber Co, Lee Iacocca, the CEO who revived Chrysler Corp. during the 1980s, and Charles Kettering, inventor of all-electric automotive starting, ignition and lighting systems. Congratulations Gale for joining such elite company.
Banks Power makes a variety of power-enhancing products for diesel and gas-powered light trucks, motor-homes, SUVs, Jeeps, Hummers and boats. He also collaborates with the elite U.S Navy SEALs to upgrade their "covert action boats" for operation in sub-zero to high temperatures above 120 degrees. Banks has served as a consultant to automotive leaders GMC, Buick, Pontiac, Chevrolet, Volvo and Robert Bosch LLC. Banks' twin-turbo V8 engine prototype concept led to the Buick Grand National. He has set a variety of marine, auto and motor-home land speed records and national championships. Gale's first speed record in 1960 came at California's El Mirage Dry Lake where he topped 189 mph in a modified 1953 Studebaker. His firm still builds and runs innovative dragsters. Banks is the subject of a retrospective covering the first 50 years of his distinguished career. It is on display currently and through September 2009 at the Wally Parks NHRA Motorsports Museum at the Fairplex in Pomona. The first page of the December 4, 2008 SGV Tribune Business Section also ran a four column story about Gale Banks and his firm's display at the NHRA Museum. The story quotes Gale about the current problems for the auto industry. He believes government bailouts are not the answer. He said the US auto industry needs to build what people seek—more fuel-efficient vehicles that still offer engine performance. Banks' firm is a key player in getting better mileage and performance out of engines.
TV TEAM: The Versus Network 2009 Indy Racing League (IRL) TV broadcast talent team was announced on January 14, 2009. Respected Bob Jenkins, an ESPN play-by-play lead announcer for NASCAR Cup and Indy Car telecasts some years back, will be the lead announcer for the Indy Car telecasts on Versus (the former Outdoor Life Network). Retired Indy Car driver Robbie Buhl will be the analyst in the booth. He has raced in the Indy 500 numerous times and is co-owner of Dreyer-Reinbold Racing. Robbie has years of experience as the color analyst for the IRL support series—Indy Lights—the former Infinity Pro Series. Retired open-wheel driver Jon Beekhuis will be an analyst also. He has on-camera experience with the Firestone Indy Lights TV tape delayed telecasts in recent years. Pit reporters will be long-time ABC-ESPN Indy Car pit reporter Jack Arute, a knowledgeable veteran in the pits and friend of many current and past drivers. Two IRL newcomers also will work as pit reporters. They are Robbie Floyd, who did the Olympic Games for NBC, plus motocross, skateboarding and bull-riding, and Lindy Thackston, a blond TV newscaster. She covered American LeMans Series for XM Satellite radio and SPEED Channel in 2008. Gone from the TV booth are Marty Reid and ex-IRL driver Scott Goodyear. Gone from the IRL pits are Vince Welch and Brienne Pedigo, daughter of a co-owner of IRL's Panther Racing. Reid and Welch have other TV racing gigs. Affable and informative Welch was covering the pits last week at a NASCAR race in Daytona Beach. The Firestone Indy Lights broadcast team will be outstanding Mike King, the voice of the Indy Motor Speedway radio network, and Indy Lights veteran driver Arie Luyendyk, Jr. in the TV booth. He is the son of the two-time Indy 500 winner. Kevin Lee, a veteran racing broadcaster from Indianapolis, will handle reporting from the pits. The one-hour recap telecasts will air on Mondays following the races.
Early season 2009 USAC races are fast approaching. The Fri.-Sat. February 20-21 third annual "Copper on Dirt" at Manzanita Speedway in Phoenix will feature three open-wheel series. Silver Crown cars will race the Manzy half-mile clay track for the second time. The 410 sprint cars of the National and CRA Regional Series will compete, as will the USAC National and Western Midget Series. All races carry vital 2009 points, so championship hopefuls will be racing for sure. The USAC 410 sprints (National and CRA Regional) and USAC National and Western Midget Series will race Wed. February 25 on the half-mile dirt track at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. The 410 World of Outlaw winged sprint cars will compete Thur. February 26 on the LVMS dirt half-mile. Then the two USAC 410 sprint car series and two USAC Midget series will trek west to Perris Auto Speedway south of Riverside, for a doubleheader with championship points awarded in four separate USAC series—two national and two regional. That has to be the best ever open-wheel racing season opening slate of races in the West.
NASCAR AT DAYTONA: The Sprint Cup 500 (or 380 really) was good in parts and ultimately unsatisfying for many. Rain prevented us from knowing which driver would have won the race at the full 500 mile distance. Matt Kenseth is one of the good guys and was winless in 2008 Cup racing, so it was nice to see him get untracked. Many of us feel Kyle Busch would have won the race if he had not been taken out in the big ten-car crash. Lapped drivers Brian Vickers and Dale Earnhardt, Jr., driving energy drink sponsored cars for Red Bull and Amp Energy, collided while racing for the "lucky dog" free pass back to the lead lap. They took out lead lap cars racing for the victory. FOX TV commentator Darrell Waltrip seemed to blame Earnhardt initially and then backed off a bit on replays. In no uncertain terms, Jimmy Spencer blasted Earnhardt as the cause during the post-race NASCAR Victory Lane telecast. On Tuesday ESPN's NASCAR Now show reported that 189,000 viewers responded to the question about which driver caused the big crash. The result showed 45% blamed Earnhardt, 26% blamed Vickers for coming down and blocking, and 29% blamed both drivers. Earnhardt received the "lucky dog" pass after the yellow he caused. That's just wrong. What galls most of us is the five lap penalty Jason Leffler received during Saturday's Nationwide Series race for getting into Steve Wallace's car and causing the big one in that race. Either Leffler should not have been penalized so severely or Earnhardt should have received the same fate. The same thing happened in the Camping Work Truck Series race Friday night. Following a penalty,Todd Bodine was making up time and got into the back of the No. 10 truck and caused "the big one"crash in that race. He got off free and won the race.
Subjective calls by NASCAR officials, based on who you are (driver or team), will be a quick turn-off for fans who object to favoritism. Auto racing must not turn into pro wrestling. I like the local short track rule that if you spin someone out you both go to the back of the field; if you wreck another car that is unable to continue you are out of the race too. With that rule drivers are more careful and self-police their on-track racing moves. The pre-race show Sunday was way too long and the Aussie singer was unnecessary. Why does NASCAR have to mimic the NFL Super Bowl with such a drawn out pre-race? Overly long pre-race time could have been used for racing. With rain imminent the starting time could've been moved up. People come to the track for the main course, not the appetizers. If the race had started earlier Sunday the full 500 laps could've been completed. On Monday non-racing fan hosts of radio sports talk shows could only talk about the 500 mile race being cut to 380 miles. They equated that to a competitive Super Bowl being cut short in the fourth quarter. As Darrell Waltrip has stated, NASCAR should start all their races at the same time (1:00 pm local time) so fans would know when races begin each week. NFL football uses that approach for Sunday games. Earlier starts would provide more time to complete races on the same day if rain delays occurred. Daytona 2009 winner Matt Kenseth flew to New York City and appeared as the second guest on David Letterman's Monday night show. Clean-cut, articulate Kenseth made a great impression and was an outstanding ambassador for racing in general and NASCAR in particular.
NEWLYWEDS: NASCAR Sprint Cup drivers Carl Edwards and his medical doctor fiancee Katie got married during the racing off-season. Elliott Sadler also wed his fiancee shortly after Christmas. Roger Penske Racing Indy Car driver Ryan Briscoe, 27, and Nicole Manske, an on-camera host of NASCAR Now and a pit reporter for ESPN and formerly for SPEED Channel, are engaged to be married. Briscoe, a three-race winner and fifth place driver in 2008 IRL points, popped the question to Manske during December in his native Australia. They plan to wed next December in Hawaii, which is midway between their hometowns of Sydney, Australia and Roscoe, IL. Yes, her hometown is the same as IRL driver Danica Patrick. Wonder how Nicole and Danica get along???? .... Drivers Jerry Coons, Jr. and Casey Mears are new dads. New parents Jerry and Amy named their first child Cale on December 28. ... For an excellent read find the December 8, 2008 Sports Illustrated magazine and read the story titled "The Stuntman". It profiles second-generation movie stunt-man and race car driver Stanton Barrett, the son of Stan Barrett. Stanton owned his own No. 30 and 31 NASCAR Nationwide Series cars last year and will be racing as an IRL Indy Car 2009 rookie.
SHANE HMIEL: The former NASCAR Nationwide Series stock car and Craftsman Truck Series driver is the subject of an excellent story by Dustin Long in the November 8, 2008 Roanoke (VA) Times. Check it on the Internet to understand the ordeal Shane, 28, went through to get back into racing as a driver. In January 2006 NASCAR officials banned him for life as a competitor after he failed his third random drug test in two years. That ban from NASCAR is still in effect. He had been using marijuana and cocaine and relapsed. He was also diagnosed as being bipolar, which is characterized by wide mood swings, anger and a sense of being overwhelmed. His ailment was diagnosed correctly in 2006 and it was treatable by medication. Shane's father Steve started with Petty Enterprises in 1974. He was a respected NASCAR crew chief for Roush Racing driver Mark Martin and most recently worked as competition manager for DEI Racing. Steve tried to help his son but they eventually became estranged. Once Shane realized he had hit bottom, he accepted rehabilitation to get off his drug addiction. Shane voluntarily enrolled in Talbot Rehabilitation/Recovery in Atlanta, GA. Shane was reluctant at first but he extended his six-week program to the nine-week program from July to October 2007. He became a model participant, assisted other enrollees and became the graduation valedictory speaker for his group. Upon graduation from rehab, Shane worked in Billy Ballew's NASCAR truck racing shop doing whatever needed to be done, from sweeping floors to cleaning parts.
In 2008 a friend of his father arranged for Shane to get back behind the wheel of a racing car. He raced at tracks that were new for him. With NASCAR out of the picture, Shane began his career in open-wheel cars, a type of racing new to him. On March 29, 2008 he made his debut in a BCRA Midget (Marc DeBeaumont's No. 21 DMS Race Products car) in a three-race deal. Shane was second fastest qualifier in a 17 car field and won his first feature at Shasta Speedway, a 3/8-mile semi-banked paved track in Anderson, CA. He started 11th and led the final three laps of a 30-lap main event. A week later on April 5, at the paved third-mile Madera (CA) Speedway, Shane started ninth and led laps 23-30 to win his second consecutive BCRA midget feature in the No. 21 Beast/Esslinger, extending his BCRA series point lead. A week later (on April 12) Shane made his USAC Western Series 360 cu. in. sprint car debut at All-American Speedway, a quarter-mile paved track in Roseville, CA. He drove the No. 20 Ken Kaplan Chevy sprinter out of Chico, CA to fastest qualifier honors in a 19-car field. Then he took the lead on lap 37 and won the 50-lap feature. Shane, who calls Huntersville, N.C home, went to the Midwest for a September test in a sprint car at Kokomo, IN and competed in USAC National Midget and 410 Sprint Cars. He drove for the No. 32 RFMS Beast/Esslinger Ford midget and Chevy sprint car team owned by Don Fike, of Galesburg, IL. Fike's younger son Aaron had his promising NASCAR truck racing career cut short by a widely-publicized NASCAR ban related to his drug dependence. Shane won a pole at the paved Clermont, IN track and also set a new USAC track record in Iowa. He also competed in a Silver Crown car for the No. 17 RW Racing two-car team as a teammate to 2008 USAC S/C champion Jerry Coons, Jr.
Shane finished the 2008 USAC season back in the western states and raced Thursday, November 6 at the Phoenix International Raceway paved mile in S/C and midget divisions. He drove the No. 32 RFMS midget to 15th fastest qualifying time in a 45-car field and finished tenth in the 25-mile feature. Shane raced the No. 17 RW Racing S/C car to ninth fastest qualifying time in a 28-car field and placed 12th in the 100-lap S/C feature. In the Fri.-Sat. Nov. 7-8 Western World Championship at Manzanita Speedway in Phoenix, Shane raced the 2B Racing Team No. 21B Maxim/Gaerte sprint car. On Nov. 7 Shane set 18th fastest qualifying time on Manzy's half-mile clay track, started 8th and finished 13th in the 25-lap feature that night with 22 of 28 starters on the lead lap. In the 40-lap feature Sat. Nov. 8 he started 18th and finished 21st after stopping in the second turn on lap 15. Shane raced for the first time on the Irwindale, CA half-mile paved track during the annual USAC Thanksgiving Grand Prix. He raced the No. 40 Western Speed Racing Eagle/Toyota 360 sprint car. Shane turned 12th fastest qualifying time in a 33-car field and finished 16th in the 40-lap feature. His entered No. 32 RFMS midget was a no-show.
Shane began his 2009 racing season by competing at the annual Tulsa, OK Chili Bowl Midget Classic from Jan. 13-17 with 281 drivers in competition. He drove the No. 56 Steve Pruett-2B Racing Dave Ellis chassis with an Esslinger engine. He was one of 67 Chili Bowl rookies on the indoor quarter-mile clay track. Shane finished seventh in one of two Saturday 20-lap B-mains that transferred the first six finishers to the 50-lap A-main. After missing the prestigious feature by only one position in his first attempt to make the race, Shane is seeking full-time rides in USAC during 2009. He wants to continue making his living driving race cars. He will race Feb. 20-21 for the second time at Manzy in Phoenix. He is entered in the No. 17 RW Racing S/C car in the USAC triple-header on the half-mile clay track. Sixteen months removed from his drug intervention program, Shane is tested each week and he remains drug free. Some patients he met in the Atlanta drug rehab program have relapsed and a few have died. Racing has motivated Shane to remain clean and drug-free. He intends to keep racing, no matter what series it is. He is racing for money again and is getting on with his life in a successful manner. Good luck to him and others who are fighting to come back from their no-win drug problems.
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