Speedway Children's Charities donate $854K at Lowe's Motor Speedway tree lighting

The 50-foot Christmas tree outside Lowe's Motor Speedway in Concord, N.C.,
was lit earlier this week. (Photo taken by Brian Hedden / Carolina Lifestyles)

Christmas came early for several Charlotte, N.C.-based organizations when Speedway Children’s Charities awarded more than $854,000 in grants at Lowe’s Motor Speedway’s annual tree-lighting ceremony, held earlier this week.

Marcus Smith, Lowe's Motor Speedway president and general manager, and retired Air Force Maj. Gen. Tom Sadler, Speedway Children's Charities executive director, presented the grants to 93 nonprofit agencies that directly impact children in the Charlotte region.

Speedway Children's Charities raised the funds through a variety of fundraising activities, as well as donations from individuals and corporations throughout the year. This year’s total exceeded last year’s contribution by more than $100,000.

In addition to the grant distribution, Lowe’s Motor Speedway’s 50-foot Christmas tree was lit outside the track’s main entrance. The event also featured appearances by Santa Claus and Lug Nut, the speedway’s mascot.

For a list of the Charlotte-area organizations that benefitted from Speedway Children’s Charities’ donation, visit Carolina Lifestyles, who is graciously allowing Skirts and Scuffs to use their photo from the tree lighting.

For more information, visit:
Speedway Children’s Charities: http://charlotte.speedwaycharities.org/
Lowe’s Motor Speedway: http://www.lowesmotorspeedway.com/

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Your Top 5 Best & Worst Moments of 2009

Since the season ender at Homestead-Miami Speedway, I have been going over the season in my head. For example, what happened to Carl Edwards, what happened to RCR, who is at fault for Kyle Busch and Steve Addington mix up? Then I realized that this year wasn't all that bad, at least for me and my drivers. All of them had their ups and downs but mostly all of them won a race either on the Cup side or Nationwide side. Other than my drivers, many drivers had amazing seasons, Jimmie Johnson, Mark Martin, Tony Stewart, Kasey Kahne, and the list goes on. The 2009 season was full of controversy whether that be between drivers or crews or just a single driver that brought drama to the track every weekend. Of course everybody can remember "The Plot" against Jr at Hendrick Motorsports. We even saw some first time winners on the Cup side: Joey Logano, David Reutimann, & Brad Keselowski.

For the first time in my many years of loving NASCAR Racing, I wasn't impressed with NASCAR. It was a repeat every week, a driver would get out in front and would most likely end up in Victory Lane. Except for the Nationwide Series and Camping World Truck Series. These 2 series had some of the most exciting races of the whole season! Drivers duked it out each week and we had the repeat offenders that be wrecking or even tangling up on the track. I loved watching these 2 series each weekend because I knew that I would most likely be satisfied with the racing.

After all that thinking, I came up with my Top 5 Best and Worst Moments of the 2009 Season. Out of all the 3 Series or even something that happened off track, my list was complete! There were so many moments to choose from but these important 10 facts made my list! So here it is:

Best:
1. Meeting Kyle Busch July 22, 2009 [One of the best days of my life]
2. Kyle Busch becomes The 2009 NASCAR Nationwide Series Champion and Wins the race in the same day.
3. Kyle Busch smashes the Gibson Guitar after winning at Nashville Superspeedway June 6, 2009.
4. The Drivers Call Out NASCAR [My personal favorite hands down is Ryan Newman after his horrific Talladega wreck]
5. Nationwide and Camping World Truck Series Racing.

Worst:
1. The Flips of 2009
2. NASCAR Makes Rule Changes
3. Kyle Busch's Wreck at Daytona
4. NASCAR's Lack Of Rough Driving Penalties
5. Favoritism Of Drivers.

So mine had to do with Kyle Busch a lot but what can I say, I adore him! :)

I told you my Top 5 Best & Worst Moments of 2009, so what's yours?

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Women in Racing

If you are a frequent reader of Skirts and Scuffs you have probably seen our series of posts on Women in Racing/NASCAR. Regardless of whether they are seated behind the wheel, atop the pit box, or are standing in front of the camera, there are a lot of women out there involved in the sport we love so much.

It’s our intention to profile some of these women and show you how they got where they are today as well as where they hope the future will take them. We want to give you a glimpse into both the professional and personal lives of these ladies in the hopes they won’t be seen as just another pretty face in the crowd.

Skirts and Scuffs contributor Lindi Bess has put a lot of time and effort into crafting these interview posts and would love to work with any woman in the sport of racing who wants to share her story. You can contact Lindi via Twitter or through email to set up an interview or if you want to learn more about this series.

Past interviews conducted by Lindi include the following:


Drivers: The ladies behind the wheel

• Caitlin Shaw – Up-and-coming driver in developmental series
• Alli Owens – ARCA Series driver for Venturini Motorsports
• Tiffany Daniels – Up-and-coming driver in developmental series
• Leilani Munter – Open-wheel and stockcar driver, stunt woman and environmental activist
• Jennifer Jo Cobb - NCWTS driver/owner
• Johanna Long - Up-and-coming driver gaining notice in NCWTS

TV Personalities / Public Relations: The ladies in front of the camera

• Wendy Venturini – SPEED TV Personality – 3 Part Series (Part 1 – Part 2 – Part 3)
• Monica Palumbo - Miss Sprint Cup
• Shannon Spake - ESPN Reporter
• Jamie Little - ESPN Reporter
• Nicole Briscoe - ESPN Reporter
• Krista Voda -  FOX/SPEED TV Reporter

Racing Wives: The ladies on the pit box

• Krissie Newman – Wife of Ryan Newman
• Samantha Sarcinella – Fiancée of Kyle Busch
• Amanda Speed - Wife of Scott Speed

Racing Moms: Ladies who give it all for their sons to reach their dreams

• Mary Lou Hamlin - Mother of Denny Hamlin

We would love to hear from you regarding who you would like to see us interview in upcoming columns. We have several more interviews in the works, but are always open to suggestions. We can be contacted through email or via our Twitter account.

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What to Read? Sunday Money

Ready for another book review about NASCAR? Today Katy looks into Jeff MacGregor's book Sunday Money and gives her honest opinion.

Jeff and his wife Beep, yes that's what he calls her throughout the book, have an idea. They decide to purchase a motorhome and spend 40 or so weeks on the road following the NASCAR Cup circuit. The year is 2002 and the motorhome is a 26.5 foot long beast that the couple plan to live out of as cheaply and as basic as possible. They will stay in campgrounds across the country or spend the week in the local Wal-Mart parking lot waiting for the races to come to town.  On race weekend they will move their mobile home to the track where they will camp amongst the thousands of NASCAR fans that descend when the Cup boys are in town.

Sounds like the perfect job right? Who among us hasn't thought it would be awesome to follow the entire season? Oh, did I mention that Jeff is a writer who has written pieces for Sports Illustrated and The New York Times and that his wife Beep (I think her name might be Olya) is a photographer? Jeff and Beep plan to spend the 10 months covering the circuit writing a book and letting the world know about their "Hot Lap Around America With NASCAR."

The result of this venture is the book Sunday Money written by Jeff MacGregor. The 367 page book covers the 2002 NASCAR season. A year when the country was still recovering from September 11th and a year when the NASCAR Nation was looking for a new hero after the death of Dale Earnhardt.

Sunday Money isn't your typical NASCAR book. It doesn't dive headfirst into the history of the sport and it doesn't look at things through the eyes of a fan either. MacGregor isn't your typical fan who comes to the track decked out in the gear of his favorite driver but he's not a member of the bona-fide media either. He spends a lot of time talking to fans in the parking lot or in the camping areas. He spend the first half of the book trying to find the perfect location to watch the race and still be able to understand what's going on. It's pretty obvious the guy has never covered a race before and that he's probably never even watched every lap on television either.

Some parts of the book are extremely funny while at other times it seems as if he is mocking NASCAR and it's fans. The language in the book isn't going to make everyone happy, but if you've ever been to a race and sat beside a fan who's had a few too many beers then the language isn't that bad by comparison. The book isn't about the love affair most of us have with NASCAR but more about the grueling season that never seems to end.

In the beginning of the book MacGregor covers each race but by the end you can tell his heart isn't in it and he's worn out. He sympathizes with the drivers, motorcoach drivers, and those who haul the cars across the country for most of the year. While the first half of the book is full of fun stories, interactions the ending of the book becomes the same story over and over again. It may as well read "43 drivers went out and drove around in circles for three hours. Some dudes wrecked, some dudes blew up, and a few purposefully wrecked each other. In the end some guy won and when they interviewed him he sounded like he had a mouth full of marbles...oh yeah and Tony Stewart won the Championship." Okay, so maybe it's not that bad but you can definately see that the long schedule took a toll on the writer and that he was glad to return to his New York home at the end of the season and sell his motorhome.

This book will appeal to some but others will walk away wondering why they wasted their time. It's not a book I would ever read again but it was nice to see an outsiders perspective of the sport, at least for the first 150 pages or so.

Have you read this book? What did you think?

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Ask the Skirts: Prize Money

Today we will begin a new series here on Skirts and Scuffs called "Ask the Skirts." If you've got a question we've got the answer, or we can at least find the answer.  Questions come from our readers, twitter followers, and from members of this site. If you've got a question send us an email and we will get the answer!

Today's question is all about prize money:  Trop asks:

After every race we see each driver's winnings given their place at the end of the race. Does the entire amount go to the driver? Is it shared with the team? Does the team owner get a cut? 

That's actually a really good question. One that a lot of people wonder about. There's not really a correct answer because it differs from driver to driver and from team to team. Drivers contracts are usually written to say they get a certain percentage of the winnings for each race. What that percentage is varies from one driver to the next. A rookie driver or one without a high number of wins may only get a small percentage of the purse while a veteran, champion, or driver with a high number of wins usually gets a higher percentage of the winnings. It's thought that most drivers get about 40% of the prize money from the race sponsor. The remainder of the prize money goes to the owner who then distributes it. Some team members like the crew chief or the car chief may also have stipulations in their contracts that give them a certain percentage of the prize winnings as well.

Most drivers also have a base salary they receive for competing each season. This is written into their contracts. Regardless of where they finish in the field they receive this money and any prize winnings from the race are in addition to this salary. Drivers also receive incentives for participating in certain programs. That's why you see all those small logos on the car. Most of those are linked to an associate sponsor program. Let's say for illustration purposes that Skirt and Scuffs has agreed to pay the driver leading at half way a $100 bonus (we are cheap...sorry). Any driver can be eligible for that as long as they carry a sticker promoting our company on the car. If the driver leading at 1/2 way doesn't have the sticker they don't get the money. If you've ever been to a race and seen those large checks they give out during driver introductions that's what those are for. Those are the incentive checks.

Remember if you have a question please send us an email and we will look into it for you.

**Liz Allison's book The Girls Guide to NASCAR provides a great explanation on how this works.
Photo courtesy of foxumon 

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What to Read?: DW: A Lifetime Going Round In Circles

Continuing the series What to Read Katy discusses DW: A Lifetime Going Round In Circles by Darrell Waltrip and Jade Gurss.

Perusing the shelves at my local library for a book on NASCAR worth reading is actually more difficult than it sounds. I wasn't in the mood for another history of the sport. I've read three or four of those in the last few weeks and wasn't sure if I could handle another. (Reviews of those coming in the next few weeks) Finally after flipping through several I came across DW: A Lifetime Going Round in Circles. It seemed like the obvious follow up review to Jeff Hammond's Real Men Work in the Pits considering how many years Hammond and Waltrip spent together.

Between Cale Yarborough and Dale Earnhardt in the record books is a man who many of us are familiar with these days because of his job with NASCAR on Fox and Speed TV. We know his catchphrase and wait each Sunday with anticipation for him to say those three little words. When we hear them the green flag flies and for the next few hours we have the joy of listening to his insight and comments on the race and how things have changed over the years.

From his start in Owensboro, Kentucky to his current job as a commentator Darrell Waltrip has never been softspoken. He's never been the guy who stood on the sidelines and let everyone else take the credit for the win. He's never been afraid to tell the media or NASCAR what he thinks. At times that's gotten him in trouble and at times it's lead to improvements in the system. Whether or not you like him as a racer or as a commentator you have to admit that if it weren't for drivers like Waltrip the sport wouldn't be what it is today.

In his book DW: A Lifetime Going Round in Circles Waltrip discusses racing, achievements, failures, personal loss, and his faith. It's not your typical biography of a driver that details each and every race. The book is more about the journey from start to finish and the things that shaped him into the man he is today. Sure you read about those big wins and Championships. The rivalries are in there as well but after reading this book I look at DW in a different light than I did before.

In the book he discusses how there are two Darrell's. One was the cocky self assured guy who partied with the guys while the other was a husband, father, and Christian man just wanting to make his dreams come true. While there is no visual dividing line between the two parts of Walrtip you can see a change in the writing as the story progresses. The beginning of the book is filled with grit and determination as it profiles his years with Junior Johnson and his three Championship seasons. It deals with the struggles he and his wife had in the early years along with the hatred many fans had for him because he spoke out against some of the greats.

About the time Waltrip joined Hendrick and began driving the "Tide Ride" the book changes. Waltrip begins to focus more on his faith, his family, and the strained relationship he had with his siblings, especially Michael. He discusses the founding of Motor Racing Outreach and his desire to become a better man. A man that his family would be proud of and a man who would later become the winner of the Most Popular Driver award.

The story also goes into a side of DW we aren't used to seeing. Still behind it all the determination is there. It was that drive that led Waltrip to leave Hendrick to start his own team and that drive that later made him realize he wasn't cut out to be an owner. Determination led him to climb behind the wheel of a car with a severely broken leg so that he would be the driver of record for the race. A move that DW later called the dumbest thing he has ever done. The determination to go out on top led Walrip to swallow his pride and accept the offer to drive for Dale Earnhardt while Steve Park was recovering from injuries.

DW: A Lifetime Going Round in Circles wasn't what I expected. It's not all racing all the time. It gives a nice comprehesive look into the Waltrip years but there's more to the story. If you want a more detailed history of Darrell's races then grab Hammond's book. If you want to know about the man behind the name "Jaws" and the road from Owensboro to the broadcast booth then pick up this one.

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Happy Thanksgiving

No new posts today on Skirts and Scuffs. Our team will be spending time with our families and ask you to do the same. Be thankful for everything that you have and enjoy your day of turkey, dressing, and sweet potatoes. (yuck!) We will return with new posts shortly.

Happy Thanksgiving!

~Katy and the team at Skirts and Scuffs!

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