BREAKING: Childress Penalized $150k For Run-In With Busch

From NASCAR their ownselves...

NASCAR has fined owner Richard Childress $150,000 and placed him on NASCAR probation until Dec. 31 for violating Section 12-1 (actions detrimental to stock car racing – involved in an altercation in the garage area) of the 2011 NASCAR rule book. The violation occurred following the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series race June 4 at Kansas Speedway.

The probation includes all NASCAR-sanctioned events.

And, no, there's no video of any of this yet...
More when we know more...

Richard Childress takes a swing at Kyle Busch - Updated

Kyle Busch/Courtesy: autoblog.com

((ht: charlotte observer))

--UPDATE AT THE BOTTOM OF THE STORY--

What is it about Kyle Busch that brings out the evil in people? He's already in trouble due to his issues with Carl Edwards and he hasn't exactly endeared himself to several other NASCAR drivers.

Now comes word that an owner took a swing at him Saturday night.

You heard me right. Richard Childress according to reports--and a couple of witnesses, came up to Busch after the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series race Saturday afternoon in Kansas and took a swing at Busch...and put him in a headlock.

Read the entire story from the Observer, RIGHT HERE

This is kind of funny, but yet it's not. The incident apparently had something to do with Busch getting tangled up with Childress's driver, Joey Coulter on the last lap and after the race. Coulter apparently laughed it off, talking about how much he learned. However, Childress apparently wasn't amused.

According to reports, NASCAR has confirmed they are looking into the altercation

**Update/11:30am**--According to the Associated Press and ESPN, NASCAR has cleared Busch and won't be punishing him per Mike Helton of NASCAR. Helton said Busch "Did nothing to warrant the actions of Richard Childress".

NASCAR will allow Childress to stay and work Sunday's race in Kansas City and will address Saturday's issue on Monday.

Here's a compliation of reports from the 4-Letter that were posted on YouTube:

BREAKING: NASCAR Announces 2011 Schedules

((HT: NASCAR their own selves))

The ideas and ruminations that NASCAR has had on their schedules have officially come out today for all of us to see...

OSG HQ has been keeping you on top of it all here...

“The adjustments and realignment of the 2011 NASCAR Sprint Cup schedule will make for an exciting race season next year,” said NASCAR Chairman and CEO Brian France. “The revised schedule provides better situated dates for the tracks, a more challenging lineup for the drivers and ultimately more intrigue for the fans.”

To wit and in final:

The second race of the season goes to Phoenix a week after the Daytona 500. PIR replaces Fontana in Week 2. Texas takes over in the Phoenix spot on Saturday, April 9 for a night race.

Fontana will now run March 27. A second Kansas date follows the Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte and will be held on June 5. The Kentucky race will be held under the lights on Saturday, July 9.

The "Chase" will begin at Chicagoland Speedway on Sunday, September 18th.
Chicagoland’s previous date was in early July, that now goes to Kentucky. New Hampshire Motor Speedway, which previously had the first Chase date, will now have the second, on September 25th.

The Nationwide Series:

34 races in 2011, all featuring the new car that is being run a total of four times this season.
Iowa Speedway gets a second date in 2011. May 22nd and Saturday, August 6th.
Chicagoland gets a date on Saturday, June 4th and again on Saturday, September 17th as part of a weekend tripleheader.
Road America returns on Saturday, June 25th.
Kentucky Speedway adds July 8.

The Truck Series:

The trucks will get 25 races, one of which will be announced at a future date.
Phoenix International Raceway used to do November, now they get February 25th.
Darlington Raceway moves from August to Saturday, March 12th.
Michigan's June race now goes with the August 20th race weekend.
Kentucky Speedway and Las Vegas Motor Speedway will now be back-to-back in October on the 1st and 15th...

More when we know more...

Hornaday Sets Truck Series Record With 5th Straight Win

((HT: Tennessean/Kreager))

The Camping World Truck Series master added to history Saturday night.

Ron Hornaday, Jr. ((pictured, thanks Larry McCormack/Tennessean)) led 115 of 154 laps at Nashville Superspeedway and won the Toyota Tundra 200 by .941 seconds over Brian Scott.

The win is Hornaday's fifth consecutive in the truck series — a series record. He set the record a week ago with four straight at Indianapolis.

Hornaday's five wins tie him with Richard Petty and Bobby Allison for the second most consecutive wins in any of NASCAR's top three series. Petty has the NASCAR record with 10 straight Cup wins in 1967. Petty and Allison each won five consecutive in 1971.

"You can never compare someone to the King or Bobby Allison," said Hornaday, who drives the No. 33 truck for Kevin Harvick Inc. "I'm just glad I'm in the same book with them."

Hornaday's win was his first in five truck starts at Nashville. He was fifth here last year and runner-up in 2007. The win is his 45th victory in 239 starts in the truck series. Hornaday has had 12 top-10 finishes in 13 races this season.

"I finally got a Sam Bass guitar (trophy)," Hornaday said. "Five (in a row) — can you believe that?"

Hornaday raised the Les Paul Gibson Guitar in Victory Circle after the race and gave it a kiss.

"That thing will be polished," Hornaday said. "This thing means so much to me.

"This is beautiful. I'm going to have to get smaller trophies because I don't think I can afford a Gibson guitar for the whole crew."

Kyle Busch won the Nationwide Series race here in June and then smashed the guitar trophy. Hornaday said he didn't think Busch considered the fallout that he would receive.

"I think it was a little disrespectful," Hornaday said. "I don't think Kyle really thought about it that way."

Sam Bass, who designs the artwork on the guitars, said this week that Busch has ordered three more guitars, which cost $1,700.

Hornaday leads the truck series by 216 points over Matt Crafton. Mike Skinner slipped from second to third, 248 points out of first, after finishing 14th.

"Right now, the KHI stuff with (Ron) Hornaday Jr. — they are in their own zip code," Skinner said.

The win marked the 27th win in the truck series for Hornaday's crew chief Rick Ren, who is now the all-time winningest crew chief in the series.

"That's an honor," Ren said. "A lot of people don't really realize how hard that is to do. What I really feel good is that I've done that with five different drivers."

Hornaday led 115 of the 154 laps. Several of the final laps came in a slight drizzle. He took the lead from polesitter Timothy Peters on lap 34, two laps before a competition yellow. Hornaday restarted fifth after the race's fourth caution, but charged to the front.

He made a three-wide pass at the start-finish line, passing Jason White and Scott four laps later.

The race ended with a green-white-checker finish. after Terry Cook spun and hit the wall in turn two with two laps to go. There were six caution periods in the race, including one for three laps near the midway point caused by rain.

"He's awesome," Scott said of Hornaday. "He's the master in the truck series. He's a legend."

Benson Upgraded To Fair Condition

((HT: WOOD-TV))

NASCAR driver and Grand Rapids native Johnny Benson Jr. was hospitalized after crashing his ISMA supermodified car Saturday night at Berlin Raceway.

Benson originally was in serious condition at Spectrum Hospital, but as of 4:30 p.m. Sunday, he is in fair condition. There is no word on when he will be released.

Berlin Raceway officials say No. 21 Johnny Benson and other racers were coming around to take their second lap when Benson got into a wreck between turns three and four with No. 92 Larry Lehnert. This resulted in a crash, causing Benson's car to catch on fire.

Benson was extracted from the vehicle and the fire was quickly extinguished. Racing was delayed about an hour as crews cleaned up the track. Lehnert was not injured.

His sister, Barbara Benson, was at Berlin Raceway to witness the collision.

"It was a horrific crash," she said. "The safety crew got there as fast as they could to put the fire out. And I was sitting there at the fourth turn, so I had a first-hand view of all of it."

But despite Johnny Benson's injuries, he is awake and alert, Barbara Benson said. He might have a broken rib, but is keeping his spirits high and his humor intact, she added.

"This is a little bump in the road, and he's always - no matter what comes his way -optimistic," she said.

Despite countless wins across the country, Barbara Benson said her brother will never forget where his career and passion began.

"He has built (his career) from the ground up," she said. "We grew up at Berlin Raceway, watching my dad race, and that's what we did on Saturday nights. So, he feels close to the heritage of Berlin, and he's made every effort to come back here."

Johnny Benson has won the 1995 Busch Series championship and the 2008 Craftsman Truck series championship, among many others.

Here's continuing coverage from our friends at WOOD-TV in Grand Rapids...

Benson Injured in Fiery Crash

((HT: WOOD-TV))

Reigning NASCAR Truck champion Johnny Benson is in serious but stable condition after a fiery crash during a supermodified race.

The driver was starting his second lap when he collided with another car on Saturday night at Berlin Raceway in Marne, Michigan. His car slammed into the wall and erupted into flames.

Benson, of from Grand Rapids, Michigan, reportedly had multiple injuries, including burns and broken ribs.

The 45-year-old driver lost his full-time ride last Monday when Red Horse Racing folded his Camping World Truck Series team because it couldn't find sponsorship.

WOOD-TV's Jessica Leffler is in Grand Rapids with your Sunday update and video of the crash...

How 'Bout Slider Instead of Skinner

((HT: NASCAR/SpeedTV))

From the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series...or whatever they call it these days...
Mike Skinner gets smacked by TJ Bell and the Toyota Tundra ends up moving forward from a position other than "on its wheels."
Enjoy...unless, of course, you're Skinner...

PETA Feathers Ruffled For Talladega Race

It seems PETA (a.k.a. People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals) are not happy that fans attending the NASCAR races this weekend at Talladega Super Speedway might be doing the chicken dance.

It's an attempt to enter the Guinness Book of World Records with the largest group chicken dance. KFC is the sponsor and that's has PETA's feathers ruffled. The organization says the company is cruel to chickens and has asked Guinness World Records, Inc not to recognize the record.

"If this record is allowed, it could encourage other animal abusers to attempt silly feats that make a mockery of animal protection," said Tracy Reiman, executive vice president of PETA.

Here's the press release and letter that was sent to Guinness World Record, Inc. by PETA President Ingrid E. Newkirk.

It's the chicken dance at a NASCAR race. When was the last time a PETA member went to a wedding? The chicken dance is a wedding reception tradition (see below).

I know, PETA doesn't have a problem with the chicken dance, it's KFC. Yeah... right.

By the way, KFC defends its animal rights record.




Those of us at the OSG HQ are going to have lunch at KFC today.

NASCAR Team Owner Charged With DUI

There's a joke about trying to make a right-hand turn in there somewhere...

But we'll leave that to the professionals...

NASCAR team owner Billy Ballew ((pictured, thanks Allen Sullivan/AJC)) was arrested for driving drunk at Atlanta Motor Speedway. Ballew confirmed the Wednesday night arrest during a telephone interview Thursday.

“There’s a lot of circumstances I don’t want to go into right now,” Ballew said. “I am 100 percent sure that it will be dropped.”

A Henry County Sheriff’s Office sergeant arrested Ballew at 7:45 p.m. Wednesday night, according to department Major David Foster. Ballew was booked into the county jail on a DUI charge and later released, a jail official said.

Ballew said he was driving a sponsor from his condominium to the passenger’s motor home when “an irate cop” wearing a cap marked “security” stopped him. The condo and the mobile home, said Ballew, are both on racetrack property.

Ballew said he refused to take a breathalyzer test, but acknowledged that he was carrying a mixed drink in the car when he was pulled over.

“It was only one drink. I was not drunk,” Ballew said. “I was on Atlanta Motor Speedway property. I was not on the highway.”

According to Henry County Solicitor Charles A. Spahos, Georgia drunk driving laws do not distinguish between DUI offenses committed on public roads or private streets.

However, Spahos said, Ballew’s arrest on racetrack property is notable.

“It’s certainly a factor I’ll look at when I get the case.”

Ballew, a former stock car driver, is a well-known figure in competive truck racing. The NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series team owner has enlisted an all-star lineup of drivers over the years.
The list includes Denny Hamlin, Martin Truex Jr., Geoffrey Bodine, John Andretti and Kyle Busch. Busch is scheduled to drive Ballew’s “No. 51” Toyota Tundra in a NASCAR Camping World Truck Series race this Saturday at the Atlanta Motor Speedway.

All those of us at OSG HQ can really say is that we're glad Ballew wasn't on US19/41- mixed drink in the car or not- only one drink in his system or not.

We look forward to hearing more about the "irate cop," though.

((HT: AJC/Ben Smith))