It's More Than Just A Three-Day Weekend...

"Doctor Dirt" Signs Off Next Weekend

Next week’s NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race at Dover International Speedway marks the end of an era for NASCAR’s longest-serving TV pit reporter, who celebrates his 70th birthday at Sunday’s Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte.

Berggren (L) with NASCAR On FOX
colleagues Steve Byrnes. Krista Voda
and Matt Yocum

After 12 years on NASCAR on FOX, Berggren will give his final pit report for the network at Dover, in the same informative and passionate manner he has since first establishing himself in the role 31 years ago. Ironically, Berggren made his NASCAR broadcasting debut at Dover in 1981 alongside Mike Joy, his NASCAR on FOX and SPEED colleague. Interestingly, Joy is the only current NASCAR broadcaster who has been on-air longer than Berggren.

Don’t think for a second that Berggren is leaving NASCAR TV. It’s in his blood, and he assures his friends that he will still be found at some racetrack or another on a weekly basis. It may be smaller and less grandiose than the Cup venues at which he has spent the past three-plus decades, but he’ll be there.

“After the FOX portion of the year ends, I’ve always traveled to local tracks where I still enjoy sitting in the stands with a hot dog in one hand and a beer in the other, watching the local heroes,” said Berggren, whose claim to fame was once hustling a fire-breathing, fuel-injected dirt supermodified around the Maine’s Beech Ridge Motor Speedway, twisting it so tight that he spent most of the feature on three wheels and was affectionately known as `Doctor Dirt.’ “I can’t get enough of local-level racing,” he said, “so I’ll do more of that now.”

The founder of Speedway Illustrated magazine said that in addition to contributing stories and columns to the publication, he also has lofty goals and projects to which he can dedicate his newfound spare time. The Massachusetts resident has founded a corporation dedicated to building an auto racing museum on the grounds of New Hampshire Motor Speedway. He has already signed an agreement with the speedway, been awarded tax-exempt status by the IRS and recruited a powerful Board of Directors.

“There is no museum of Northeast auto racing open to the public in general that displays the area’s racing history,” Berggren said. “The Northeast has a rich racing history that deserves to be saved and displayed. We’re fund raising and accumulating things to display.

“Getting the museum up and running is a big job, and it’ll take a lot of my time.”

"I still enjoy sitting in the stands with a hot dog in one hand and a beer in the other. I can’t get enough of local-level racing, so I’ll do more of that now.” -- Dr. Dick Berggren

Berggren, who earned a PhD in psychology before becoming a college professor, admits he wasn’t always adept at time management. In fact, he nearly didn’t graduate from high school after spending too many days chasing his dream of driving race cars.

“I couldn’t have cared less about school, especially with a couple of garages on my way home to stop at,” Berggren recalled. “I didn’t do homework, didn’t study and didn’t pay attention in class. Only around 20 of 616 students in my graduating class had a lower grade point average than I. All I wanted to do was to be involved in racing.”

After graduation, Berggren quickly realized that even two jobs weren’t enough to fund his racing career, concluding that a college diploma was his only ticket.

Berggren with an early supermodified.
And more hair.

“But I couldn’t get into the colleges I applied to -- not with my grades,” he admitted. “I finally found one that would take anyone who could pay the tuition. My parents paid the bill and I was on my way. With the motivation to do well so I could race, I paid attention, did my homework and focused on my education. I earned terrific grades in college -- good enough to get into Tufts University’s graduate school on a full scholarship, where I earned an MS and then a PhD in psychology. And then, I got a job that paid well enough that I could afford to race.”

Following graduate school, Berggren accepted a position teaching at an all-women’s Catholic college in Boston. Once again, however, his love of racing got in the way. Following a weekend at the track, the professor drove to work in his mud-covered pickup truck with a Sprint Car still on the back.

“I parked the rig, which had my name on it, in the faculty parking lot,” Berggren recalled “It was there about 10 minutes when I was paged to the president’s office. Sister wanted to know what that ‘thing’ was in the parking lot. She explained to me it had to be off college property immediately. Well, I wasn’t about to park my race car on a Boston street. So, I disobeyed the college president and left the rig in the faculty lot all day. I knew my teaching job was over.”

The college’s loss was racing’s gain, as he took a job editing Stock Car Racing Magazine and began working as a track announcer at local speedways. Those positions eventually led to his current TV gig.

The only thing that ultimately ended Berggren’s driving career was Berggren himself. His racing days came to a screeching halt with a wreck in the IMCA Nationals in Boone, Iowa, in which he initially feared he’d killed hundreds of spectators and issued a desperate plea to God.

“In one of my heats, I got turned at the end of the backstretch -- the highest-speed part of the track,” Berggren explained. “So many people were in the pits, they had overflowed to an area that wasn’t separated from the racing surface by anything other than a dirt bank. When I got turned, that’s where the car headed. I tried to go hard left and kept my leg in it, hoping the car would straighten out and go back down the track. It didn’t.

“I hit that dirt bank and saw hundreds of people scatter as I headed for them,” he said. “I’m not a religious person, but in the car that night, I said a prayer as I hit the dirt bank. ‘God, if you get me through this without hurting anyone, I won’t do this anymore.’ I closed my eyes, hit the bank, flew through the air and crashed into the pits. As the car stopped, a guy stuck his head in the window and asked if I was OK. With my eyes still closed, I asked how many people were under the car. ‘You didn’t hit anyone,’ he said. I climbed out and that was it. You don’t go back on a promise like that. It’s hard, because I’ve been offered rides in cars I dearly would like to race. But I won’t.”

"Doctor Dirt" (#80) in hot pursuit!

All said, Berggren’s 20-year racing career spanned stock cars, sprint cars and supermodifieds, including numerous feature wins, the majority in dirt track sprint cars. He was elected to the National Sprint Car Hall of Fame in 2002, and is a member of a number of other Halls. Berggren has also been the recipient of many prestigious awards for journalism, including the 1999 Cunningham Writer of the Year Award presented by the National Motorsports Press Association.

He will be remembered most, however, for the indelible mark he made outside the race car, as a reporter, commentator and tireless crusader for safety.

“As a colleague and friend, Dick has had no equal in the 40-plus years I’ve been in this business,” Joy said. “Whatever the event, Dick by far is the best-prepared pit reporter this business has ever known, and he always has brought a great degree of professionalism to every telecast he has worked.”

Not surprisingly, keying his microphone one final time at Dover will not be easy for Berggren. Anyone who knows the man in the trademark cap knows how bittersweet the moment will be.

“Life will be different without FOX,” admitted Berggren this week. “I’m very proud of having been part of the NASCAR on FOX broadcasts from the beginning. I’m dreading the 2013 Daytona 500 because I won’t be there on pit road as part of that team. It will be hard, but nothing is forever and I understand that. I’m looking forward to walking into the museum on the day it opens. That’s a whole new challenge and one I fully expect to conquer. But it’s time to move on.

“I’m ready,” he said. “However, it would be nice to pick up a few TV things here and there. I’d really like that.”

As would his NASCAR colleagues and fans the world over.

Photo Credits: KristaVoda.net, TheChromeHorn.com

Circle Sport LLC Tabs Leicht For Cup Effort

Circle Sport, LLC, has announced that 2012 Rookie-of-the-Year Contender Stephen Leicht will drive the No. 33 Circle Sport Chevrolet this weekend at Charlotte Motor Speedway in the debut effort for the Sprint Cup Series organization. Joe Falk recently acquired the No. 33 from Richard Childress Racing, and formed Circle Sport to operate the fledging organization. Falk, a Virginia businessman who has been a part of the sport since the late 1990s, is making a return to fulltime competition in NASCAR’s top series. Falk previously fielded the No. 91 Sprint Cup entry for drivers Dick Trickle, Greg Sacks, Kevin Lepage, Mike Wallace and Todd Bodine, and claimed a career-best Top-5 finish in 1998 season finale at Atlanta Motor Speedway.

Stephen Leicht returns...

“When the opportunity was presented to acquire the No. 33 owner points from Richard Childress Racing, we felt this was the way to build a solid foundation for our emerging Sprint Cup operation,” Falk said. “Circle Sport is positioned to offer companies of all sizes entry into NASCAR’s top tier of racing and the ability to reach the sport’s 75 million fans. We are actively seeking marketing partners that want to either test the waters of NASCAR or have been told that their budgets can’t support a NASCAR program.”

Leicht, the 25-year old former development driver for Robert Yates Racing and winner of the 2007 Nationwide Series race at Kentucky Speedway has been selected to pilot the No. 33 Circle Sport entry in Sunday’s Coca-Cola 600. Leicht enters the weekend event with three NASCAR Sprint Cup Series starts to his credit, after making his debut for legendary owner and engine builder Robert Yates in 2006. Leicht was recently approved for the NASCAR ROTY program and will be guided by veteran crew chief Tony Glover. Glover is a three-time Daytona 500 championship crew chief credited with 14 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series victories with drivers Ernie Irvan, Sterling Marlin and Joe Nemechek, and joins Circle Sport after a longtime leadership role with Earnhardt-Ganassi Racing.

Falk’s Little Joe’s Autos has served as a sponsor in the races leading up to the Coca-Cola 600 with Precon Marine, a Virginia-based company that specializes in heavy marine constructions, in an associate role. Additionally, Circle Sport welcomes marketing partners new to the sport of NASCAR – HotTorque.com and Moon Shine Attitude Attire – for this weekend’s race at Charlotte Motor Speedway. HotTorque, a social media forum and phone APP for car enthusiasts, was designed to help connect, communicate and share with automotive enthusiasts worldwide and will become the world’s first social media app for motoring enthusiasts to become a sponsor in NASCAR. Moon Shine Attitude Attire is a designer of quality brand name apparel that conveys the attitude and traditional values of every generation.

Complete details of the sponsor-driver lineup for the remainder of the season will be announced at a later date.

Front Row Sweep Rejuvenates Petty, Team

Richard Petty was, as he himself might say, one happy cat Thursday night after sweeping the front row in qualifying for Sunday’s Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway. Richard Petty Motorsports drivers Aric Almirola and Marcos Ambrose qualified first and second for the 43-car starting field, with Almirola topping the speed charts with a lap at 192.940 mph.

Almirola copped the Coke 600 pole

After the sweep, Petty said that while he has put cars on the 600 pole in the past, Thursday’s performance was especially gratifying.

“I think I sat on the pole in 1961 because they ran 100-mile races and I won one of them,” he recalled. “It wasn’t speed, it was just that we won the race.

The 200-time NASCAR Cup Series winner said Almirola’s pole was a direct result of the effort expended by the No, 43 team and new crew chief Mike Ford. “There’s nobody that works any harder than our crowd,” he said. “It really makes me feel good that our guys have been working hard for a long time and finally got a little bit of recognition. Everything came together tonight with both cars and… it shows that what these guys have been doing has been right. We just haven’t had circumstances right.”

Petty called the front-row sweep “a confidence-builder (and) a big deal. We’ve got bragging rights for a couple of days here, so that makes all of us feel good.”

RPM competition Director Sammy Johns echoed those sentiments, saying, “The last time I saw (Richard) this giddy, I think, was in Victory Lane at Sonoma. It means a lot. It’s a pleasure to work for Richard Petty. He lets us do our job and like he tells us all the time, it’s our race team. It’s up to us to go out and get it done. So it means a lot to sit here next to Richard Petty and know we’re sitting on the front row for the Coca-Cola 600.”

Petty was all smiles Thursday

Almirola called his fast lap, “really awesome. To get my first pole right here in Charlotte, I get to drive home and sleep in my own bed tonight. That’s really cool.” He also lauded Ford’s efforts, saying this is the first weekend he has been able to put his mark on the team’s cars. “He came on at Talladega and we ran Darlington with what already was in the car,” said Almirola. “(When) we came here for the All-Star Race last weekend, he’s like, ‘I’m gonna step off the island this week. It may or may not work, but we didn’t run good enough last week for it to matter.’ We struggled last week, so we came (back) with something totally different and it’s paid off. We’ve got a really fast car.”

Ambrose, meanwhile, said the team’s front-row qualifying effort was an indication of better things to come.

“We’re a two-car independent team trying to take it to the big super teams. It’s just a great night for us (and)… our team really has it together. It’s a proud day for us and we’re looking forward to more things to come in the 600.

“Nothing would make me happier than to see the King smile in Victory Lane,” said Ambrose. “And that’s our goal. I’m proud to represent him and even prouder to run well for him, so it’s an honor to be a driver for him. He should feel good about what we did today, because a year and a half ago he singlehandedly saved this team and kept it alive. He’s still steering the ship for us and he’s here at the track.”

Ambrose did admit disappointment in not claiming the pole himself, joking, “Aric might be missing a toe by Sunday. I might have to stomp him on the foot because he pretty much took my first pole away from me. He got his out of the way and I’m still looking for mine, but it won’t be far away with the way we’re running right now.”

Petty said it doesn’t matter which RPM car succeeds, as long as the team performs well.

“I’m not pushing the 43 more than I’m pushing the 9 car; or even when we used to run the 44 (and) the 45 car. It didn’t make any difference as long as we were involved in some way, shape or form. It’s sort of like a Hendrick deal. If any of his cars win, he’s a winner and that’s the way I always looked at it.”

Photo Credits: Getty Images/NASCAR, SI.com

Lessons Learned From Barney and Ken

Wednesday night, as part of its annual Hall Of Fame ceremonies, NASCAR announced the creation of a new award; the Squier-Hall Award for NASCAR Media Excellence. Named for broadcast pioneers Ken Squier and Barney Hall, the award will recognize deserving members of the media for their efforts in the sport.

I feel like I have already won it, and here's why.

Barney Hall (L) and Ken Squier

In the summer of 1978, I was preparing for my senior year of High School, cooking burgers at a local restaurant, chasing race cars around New England to whatever extent my meager income would allow and writing a weekly column called Notes From The Northern Circuit for Val Lesieur’s Speedway Scene trade paper.

My main haunt was Thunder Road International Speedbowl, just a few miles up US Route 302 from my home in Montpelier, Vt. Dubbed “The Nation’s Site of Excitement,” Thunder Road was owned by Ken Squier, best known then (and now) as the man who first talked CBS Sports into broadcasting the Daytona 500 live and flag-to-flag. After years of manning the public address microphone at his rustic little short track, Squier faced an increasingly hectic travel schedule with CBS, and needed someone to fill-in on the microphone at Thunder Road.

Somehow, he chose me.

I didn’t really know Ken at the time, and I’m sure he knew very little about me. At best, he had read a couple of my newspaper columns, and found me to be an enthusiastic kid with a semi-workable vocabulary. More likely, he looked around the pits one Thursday night, saw me standing around with my finger in my nose and thought, “There’s a kid with some time on his hands.”

Either way, I was Thunder Road’s new track announcer.

Every week that summer, Ken would slip me the microphone for a couple of heat races, while handling most of the heavy lifting himself. The following morning, I would sit in his office staring at the carpet while he systematically stripped the flesh from my bones.

“You’re doing it all wrong,” he would say. “You’re telling people things they can already see for themselves. Here’s the way you should be doing it…”

Learning at the "Site of Excitement"

Squier took a typical, know-it-all teenager with a low tolerance for criticism and found a way to break through. I soon realized that a golden opportunity had been laid at my feet; an opportunity to learn the racing game from one of the premier voices in the history of the sport. I wisely decided to check my ego at the door and listen – really listen – to what Ken was teaching me.

Early on in the process, Squier ended our weekly disembowelment with the first in a summer long series of homework assignments.

“Go home and create a list of 15 ways to say, `side by side,’” he ordered.  “Bring it to the track next week.”

I spent the next few days playing amateur wordsmith, arriving at Thunder Road the following week with my finished list, ready to deliver.

“Door to door, nose to nose, elbow to elbow, wheel to wheel,” I said, rattling off all my new descriptors.

“Fantastic,” said Squier afterward. “Now use `em all tonight. Never say the same thing, the same way twice.”

In subsequent weeks, I crafted similar lists of ways to say, “on the inside, on the outside, nose-to-tail” and many of the other catch phrases announcers are called upon to use. In time, those phrases became a normal part of my race-night vocabulary, and before long, I developed a sort of “inner ear” that allowed me to monitor my own play-by-play banter and change the phraseology from lap to lap.

Squier was also a stickler for preparation.

Whenever he boarded an airplane for a NASCAR race, he did so with a briefcase filled with dozens – perhaps hundreds – of 3x5 index cards. Ken had a card for every driver, featuring his name, hometown, sponsor, crew chief, car owner and as many details of his career as could be jammed onto 15 square inches of paper. The top owners and crew chiefs all had a card, as well.

Ken’s personal assistant, Della Truax, culled through every racing magazine and trade paper in the country – every single week – updating information and re-writing those cards. He would study them endlessly, memorizing every bit of information for instant on-air recall. That preparation, combined with a God-given talent for storytelling, put Ken head-and-shoulders above the competition and made him the best in the business.

I learned from Ken’s example, and emulated him in every possible way.

Squier taught by example

At the height of my short-track career, I called races four nights a week from Memorial Day through Labor Day; chasing race cars from Ontario, Canada to northern Maine, from upstate New York to southern Connecticut. Each track had multiple divisions of race cars, and in all, I had memorized somewhere between 800 and 1,000 drivers. I drilled names, hometowns, sponsors and car makes into my brain with endless hours of pre-race practice, until I could introduce the main event field without so much as a glance at the written lineup sheet.

If you arrived at the track five hours before show time, you’d see me in the pits, waiting for the drivers to unload their cars so I could pick their brains. Squier taught me – mostly by example – that if I was going to do my job correctly, I needed to know what was going on in that garage. I needed to know who was angry at whom, who was nursing a balky powerplant and who was distracted with a kid in the hospital.

I owed it to the fans to educate, entertain and inform them; every single night. Ken Squier taught me that.

Squier’s influence went far beyond my early days in the sport. He was the one who insisted I send an audition tape to Motor Racing Network; an organization he helped found. He followed up (I’m told) with a telephone call to then-MRN President John McMullen, using his influence to lobby for a kid from Vermont he believed worthy of an audition.

He didn’t have to do any of that. In fact, it was in his best interest to keep me under wraps and hidden from the world. By the time he brought me to the attention of MRN, I was working full-time for Squier as PA announcer for both his racetrack and touring series, and as Sports Director and play-by-play man for his group of Vermont Radio stations. He could have kept me under his thumb forever, toiling away merrily in the Green Mountains of Vermont.

He could have, but he didn’t.

Instead, he remembered the people who helped him when he was an up-and-coming youngster. He believed he owed it to them – and to me – to pass that help along.

I will never forget it.

When I first began to get some national exposure with NASCAR and Motor Racing Network, I stepped into the realm of yet another mentor.

Barney Hall has been the central voice on MRN’s broadcasts since Day One; a comfortable pair of shoes that fans across North America have happily slipped into since the 1960s. Barney is a quiet, gentle man, and people who know him only through his radio work are shocked to discover he doesn’t say much when the microphone is turned off.

In my first few years with the network, my interaction with Barney was fairly limited and mostly business. We’d discuss who we should interview during the pre-race show or compare notes on a story we’d picked up in the garage, but that was about it. Barney studies people, taking his time to decide whether they're alright or not. He probably needed a little longer to make up his mind about me, and that’s completely understandable.

Hall enjoys respect and trust

Once you receive the Barney Hall Seal of Approval, however, you’ve got a friend for life and an invaluable sounding board. Barney is old-school in every possible way. He writes out his race notes in longhand on a yellow legal pad, and gets his information the old-fashioned way; by getting out in the garage and actually talking to people. There’s not a crewman in the garage who won’t lay down his tools when Barney Hall stops by, and no one in NASCAR commands more respect.

People respect Barney because they know they can trust him. He knows things most reporters never hear about, simply because he is worthy of people's trust. Secrets are safe with him, since he’d sooner throw himself under a jet dryer than break a confidence. He has served as an intermediary for dozens of major deals over the years, pulling a driver aside to say, “You know, you really ought to go talk to so-and-so. He might be looking for a driver next season.”

Barney taught me early on about the importance of earning respect in the NASCAR garage. “There are things you can talk about on the air, and things you can't," he’d say. “You can break a confidence and get a really big scoop, but it’s the last story you’ll ever break. If you don't have the trust of the garage, you've got nothing.”

Over the years, there has been a handful of reporters who betray a racer's trust to get a big headline. They trade their integrity for a fleeting moment in the spotlight and an opportunity to say, "I reported it first." Invariably, they regret that decision. In fact, there are individuals in the garage today who intentionally plant bogus stories with certain media members, simply because they know they’ll run with it without doing their homework.

I tell drivers, crew chiefs and team owners all the time, “I want to talk with you, before I talk about you.”

Barney Hall taught me that.

Photo Credits: Getty Images/NASCAR, ESPN.com

2013 NASCAR Hall Class An Eclectic Group

NASCAR announced the 2013 class of inductees into the NASCAR Hall of Fame late yesterday. The five-person class, which will be officially inducted in a ceremony on Friday, Feb. 8, 2013 at the NASCAR Hall of Fame in Charlotte, N.C., consists of Buck Baker, Cotton Owens, Herb Thomas, Rusty Wallace and Leonard Wood.

Members of the 54-member NASCAR Hall of Fame Voting Panel met in a closed session to vote on the induction class of 2013. The announcement was made by NASCAR Chairman and CEO Brian France in the NASCAR Hall of Fame’s “Great Hall.”

The Voting Committee had a tough job

Next year’s class was determined by votes cast by the Voting Panel, which included representatives from NASCAR, the NASCAR Hall of Fame, track owners from major facilities and historic short tracks, media members, manufacturer representatives, retired competitors, recognized industry leaders and a nationwide fan vote conducted through NASCAR.COM. The accounting firm of Ernst & Young presided over the tabulation of the votes.

Voting for this year’s class was as evenly distributed as any previous NASCAR Hall of Fame induction class. Herb Thomas and Leonard Wood each garnered 57 percent of the vote, followed by Rusty Wallace (52%), Cotton Owens (50%) and Buck Baker (39%).

For the first time in Voting Day history, there was a tie for the fifth and final induction spot. Voting Panel members chose Baker over Fireball Roberts after a re-vote between the two nominees.

The next top vote getters were Roberts, Jerry Cook and Tim Flock. Results for the NASCAR.COM Fan Vote, in alphabetical order, were Benny Parsons, Fireball Roberts, Wendell Scott, Rusty Wallace and Leonard Wood.

Buck Baker: Elzie Wylie “Buck” Baker established himself as one of NASCAR’s early greats, becoming the first driver to win consecutive NASCAR premier series championships. His repeat performance in 1956-57 was the highlight of an incredible four-year span; in 1955 and ’58 Baker finished as the series championship runner-up. His career victory total of 46 ranks tied for 14th all-time.

Cotton Owens: Everett “Cotton” Owens enjoyed success as both a driver and owner in NASCAR. Behind the wheel, he won nine times in NASCAR’s premier series competition, including the 1957 Daytona Beach road course. He nearly won the 1959 championship, finishing second to NASCAR Hall of Famer Lee Petty. But as an owner, Owens stood out as one of the greats of NASCAR’s early eras. His eye for talent was unmatched. He hired NASCAR Hall of Famer Junior Johnson in 1962, the same season in which he began a future championship relationship with another NASCAR Hall of Famer David Pearson. Owens won 38 races as an owner.

Rusty Wallace is headed for the Hall Of Fame

Herb Thomas: Herb Thomas was truly one of NASCAR’s first superstars. He was the first to win two NASCAR premier series championships (1951, ’53). He finished second in the points standings in 1952 and 1954 giving the North Carolina veteran top-two championship finishes in four consecutive seasons. He finished outside the top two in the championship only once (fifth in 1955) between 1951 and 1956. Thomas won both his championships driving self-owned cars.

Rusty Wallace: Russell William Wallace Jr., the 1989 NASCAR premier series champion, won his first of 55 races in 1986, capturing the checkered flag at Bristol Motor Speedway. His 55 victories rank ninth all time. He was especially adept on the circuit’s short tracks winning 25 times at Bristol, Martinsville, North Wilkesboro and Richmond. His influence on the sport continued after his retirement, as an analyst on ESPN.

Leonard Wood: The Wood Brothers team is renowned as the innovator of the modern pit stop. Leonard Wood, brother of Glen and Delano Wood, was front and center in its development as chief mechanic (crew chief) for the Stuart, Va.-based team. As crew chief, Wood amassed 96 wins and 117 poles in 990 races.

Squier, Hall Honored With New Media Award



Barney Hall (L) and Ken Squier

Following the announcement of the 2013 NASCAR Hall of Fame class, NASCAR announced the creation of a new award to honor the contributions of media to the success of the sport. The award, which will become part of the annual NASCAR Hall of Fame ceremonies beginning in February 2013, will bear the names of the first two award winners, legendary broadcasters Ken Squier and Barney Hall, and be called the Squier-Hall Award for NASCAR Media Excellence.

A special exhibit will be created as part of the existing media section within the NASCAR Hall of Fame to recognize the careers of Squier and Hall, as well as honorees in the years to come.

“Media have played an important role in the growth and popularity of NASCAR over the years by telling the stories of legendary drivers, championship moments and week-to-week action to millions of fans across the world,” said Brian France, NASCAR chairman and CEO. “The voices of Ken Squier and Barney Hall are an indelible part of our sport’s history and we couldn’t be more pleased to recognize their long and outstanding careers.”

Squier, one of NASCAR’s original broadcasters, carved a massive footprint during NASCAR’s formative broadcast years. Beginning with the Motor Racing Network (MRN) in 1970, Squier’s golden voice took NASCAR to a national audience thirsting for live coverage. He is perhaps best-known for his work during the 1979 Daytona 500, a milestone moment for the entire sport, as Squier’s voice on CBS welcomed millions to the first live flag-to-flag coverage of “The Great American Race” – a moniker he coined.

Following that signature moment, including his call of the post-race fight between Bobby Allison, Cale Yarborough and Donnie Allison, Squier proceeded to call races for CBS and TBS until 1997 before shifting to the studio as host for NASCAR broadcasts until 2000. Squier continues to enlighten NASCAR fans to this day, mostly through special appearances on SPEED.

Hall began his career in the 1950s working at local radio stations in North Carolina and served as Bristol Motor Speedway’s first public address announcer when the track opened. He called his first Daytona 500 in 1960, and has missed only three broadcasts in the 54-year history of The Great American Race. He joined MRN as an original announcer at the network’s inception in 1970, first as a turn announcer and then moving to the booth in the late 70s where he has been a fixture ever since at race tracks from coast to coast. The Elkin, North Carolina, native who is widely known for his calm voice and unmatched storytelling, was inducted into the National Motorsports Press Association (NMPA) Hall of Fame in 2007.

Hall has called a number of the sport’s milestone moments, including the landmark 1979 Daytona 500, Richard Petty’s 200th-career victory in 1984 and Dale Earnhardt’s 1998 victory in the Daytona 500. Still active, Hall led the MRN broadcast of last week’s NASCAR Sprint All-Star Race at Charlotte Motor Speedway.

Each year, five nominees will be selected by a panel made up of NASCAR executives, NASCAR Hall of Fame staff, and the president of the NMPA, among others. From there, a voting panel will select an annual winner of the Squier-Hall Award for NASCAR Media Excellence, beginning with the third honoree (Squier and Hall are the first two) in 2013. It is anticipated the annual award winner will be announced in June, approximately one month after the Hall of Fame inductees are announced.

Squier-Hall Award winners will remain eligible for NASCAR Hall of Fame induction. Likewise, current and future inductees who made significant contributions as a member of the media will be eligible to win the Squier-Hall Award.

The 2013 NASCAR Hall of Fame induction ceremonies will be held Feb. 8, 2013.

Sadler's Nationwide Team Docked By NASCAR

NASCAR has penalized the No. 2 team in the NASCAR Nationwide Series as a result of rule infractions discovered during post-race inspection Sunday at Iowa Speedway.

The No. 2 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet driven by Elliott Sadler was found to be in violation of Sections 12-1 (actions detrimental to stock car racing); 12-4J (any determination by NASCAR officials that race equipment used in the event does not conform to NASCAR rules); and 20A-12.8.1C (body height requirements – car failed to meet the minimum rear car heights) of the 2012 NASCAR rule book.

As a result, crew chief Luke Lambert has been fined $10,000, while owner DeLana Harvick and driver Elliott Sadler have been penalized with the loss of six championship owner and six championship driver points, respectively.

NASCAR Reinstates Suspended Crew Member

NASCAR has reinstated crew member Keith Wolfe upon his successful completion of NASCAR’s Road to Recovery Program following his Feb. 29, 2012 suspension for violating the sanctioning body’s substance abuse policy.  Wolfe was a crew member on the JJCR Camping World Truck Series team at the time of his suspension.

Indianapolis 500 To Air On Sirius XM Radio

Sirius XM Radio, the Official Satellite Radio Partner of INDYCAR, the sanctioning body for the IZOD IndyCar Series and Firestone Indy Lights, announced today that it will offer comprehensive coverage of the world renowned Indianapolis 500.

SiriusXM listeners will have access to the live call of “The Greatest Spectacle in Racing” from Indianapolis Motor Speedway on Sunday, May 27, on channel 94 on XM and channel 212 on Sirius Premier (formerly known as “The Best of XM”).  

SiriusXM’s raceday coverage begins at 9:00 am ET. When the green flag drops at 12:00 pm ET, SiriusXM will air the race live in its entirety, followed by a post-race recap and interviews. 

In addition to the Indianapolis 500, SiriusXM will broadcast the Firestone Freedom 100 race featuring the Firestone Indy Lights at 12:00 pm ET on Friday, May 25 (channel 94 on XM and channel 212 on Sirius Premier). The 100-mile race from INDYCAR’s developmental series features some of the world’s best young open-wheel drivers. After the Firestone Freedom 100, SiriusXM will air the Indy 500 Pit Stop Challenge and a recap of the day’s Indy 500 practice.  

SiriusXM’s motor racing coverage on Sunday, May 27, will showcase three marquee races. That morning the renowned Formula One™ Grand Prix of Monaco will air at 8:00 am ET (Sirius channel 94 and XM channel 208). After the running of the Indianapolis 500, listeners can hear the Coca-Cola 600 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race live from Charlotte Motor Speedway at 5:00 pm ET on SiriusXM NASCAR Radio (channel 90 on Sirius and XM Premier).

For more information, please visit www.siriusxm.com.

Michael Waltrip Racing To Remain With Toyota

Michael Waltrip Racing has announced a new, multi-year contract extension with Toyota Racing Development U.S.A. to keep the organization in the Toyota camp for years to come.

MWR and Toyota entered the Sprint Cup Series -- NASCAR’s premier division -- together in 2007. MWR currently fields three NASCAR Sprint Cup teams and is enjoying its best season with Martin Truex Jr. and Clint Bowyer in the Top-10 in NASCAR Sprint Cup driver points and all three of its cars in the top 12 in owner points. MWR Toyotas have earned three poles and seven Top-5 finishes in the first 11 races of the season.

“Toyota has been the cornerstone of MWR,” said co-owner Michael Waltrip. “They took a chance on us in 2007 and together we have matured into who we are today. It was an honor to be part of the freshman class. Knowing we will be with Toyota for the next several years gives our drivers, our team members and our sponsors a sense of stability and confidence. MWR will be able to continue its competitive rise because we are insured Toyota’s tier one level resources. Toyota is a partner in the truest sense of the word.”

“For us, this is a vote of confidence that we are making positive moves towards a championship,” said MWR co-owner Rob Kauffman. “There is more work to do and with Toyota’s long-term support, it helps us make longer term decisions for the betterment of the business.”

“We look forward to continuing our relationship with Michael Waltrip Racing -- a member of our ‘freshman class’ from 2007,” said Lee White, TRD’s president and general manager. "MWR has steadily grown into a championship-caliber race team, and the team is now stronger than it’s ever been. We’re extremely proud of all the team's accomplishments, and we look forward to much more success together.”

TRD will continue to provide MWR engines from its facility in Costa Mesa, Calif., as well as chassis engineering support from its state-of-the-art facility in Salisbury, N.C.

NASCAR Hall Of Fame Profile: Leonard Wood

LEONARD WOOD – Crew Chief/Engine Builder (b. 9/22/34)

Hometown: Stuart, Va.

Competed: 1950-Present

Starts: 1,381

Wins: 98

Poles: 118

The Wood Brothers team is renowned as the innovator of the modern pit stop. Leonard Wood, brother of Glen and Delano Wood, was front and center in its development as chief mechanic – that’s what they called crew chiefs in the early days – and part-owner for the Stuart, Va.-based team. 

Wood was what you might call a tinkerer. He built a washing machine engine-powered go-kart from parts and pieces he found when he was 13. It still runs and can be seen in the Woods’ museum. 

When NASCAR began adding superspeedways – and pit stops – Wood figured out ways to get the race car serviced in the least amount of time. 

One major achievement in the team’s pit stop arsenal was the light-weight jack that replaced floor jacks weighing more than 100 pounds found in the repair shops of the day. With Wood’s choreography the team excelled like no other. Wood continued to go over the wall to change tires well into his 50s. 

In 1965, Ford and Colin Chapman hired the Woods to service Jim Clark’s car in the Indianapolis 500. Another Wood innovation, an internal device allowing fuel to flow more quickly from a gravity-based fuel tank, dramatically reduced pit times and was key in Clark’s victory. 

Wood’s accomplishments were not confined to pit road. He ran the team’s engine shop that provided horsepower and longevity on a par with rivals Holman-Moody and Petty Enterprises. That was instrumental to the success NASCAR Hall of Fame inductee David Pearson enjoyed as Pearson won 43 races between 1972 and 1978. Racing legends Neil Bonnett, Cale Yarborough, A.J. Foyt and Dan Gurney are among drivers winning in Wood Brothers-prepared and crewed cars. 

This is the last in a series of GodfatherMotorsports.com biographies profiling the 25 nominees for the 2012 class of the NASCAR Hall Of Fame.

NASCAR Hall Of Fame Profile: Joe Weatherly

JOE WEATHERLY – Driver (b. 5/29/22 – d. 1/19/64)

Hometown: Norfolk, Va.

Competed: 1952-64
Starts: 229
Wins: 25
Poles: 18

Joe Weatherly won two championships (1962-63) and 25 races in NASCAR’s premier series. 

But that’s only part of his story, which is long on versatility. 

A decade earlier in 1952-53, he won 101 races in the NASCAR Modified division, capturing that championship in ’53. He even tried his hand in NASCAR’s short-lived Convertible Division from 1956-59. 

Weatherly was one of the first drivers who attracted fans to NASCAR as much for his personality as his racing ability, thus his nickname the “Clown Prince of Stock Car Racing.” 

When he won his first NASCAR premier series championship, in 1962, he drove for legendary owner Bud Moore. When he repeated as champion a year later, he drove for nine different teams. 

Weatherly was named one of the NASCAR’s 50 Greatest Drivers in 1998.  

This is the latest in a series of GodfatherMotorsports.com biographies profiling the 25 nominees for the 2012 class of the NASCAR Hall Of Fame. Each of the 25 candidates will be profiled in the coming weeks, in alphabetical order.