Motor Racing Outreach Did You Know Newsletter, August 27, 2008

-Bristol Motor Speedway
-Pit Note
-Register to Win...
-Limited Edition MRO Die Cast Car
-NASCAR Sprint Cup Race Schedules
-Please Pray

- Carl Edwards ‘bumps and runs’ to his 6th win of the season. With 31 laps to go, Carl rubbed the rear bumper of Kyle Busch who had led the race from lap 55 to 469. Kyle’s hesitation in ‘catching’ his loose car was just enough for Carl to make the pass. The move has become expected on the last lap at Bristol with many seemingly slower cars overdriving the final turn, hitting the leader, and then covering the last 400 feet to claim the win. Carl’s move was a little different. By making the move with 31 laps to go, he was clearly placing himself in danger of having Kyle return the favor. To risk the move and not be worried about the retaliation proved that Carl actually had the faster car. In the Nationwide race the night before, the winner, Brad Keselowski, slowed down, followed the leader, Clint Bowyer, and passed Clint when Clint made an ‘unforced error’ and got loose in Turn 1. Should Carl have waited for the same from Kyle? He could have, but the mistake might not have happened, and even on the short track at Bristol, getting in front in the ‘clean air’ makes a HUGE difference.

- Kyle Busch was called to the NASCAR office after intentionally running into Carl after the race. Carl retaliated by spinning Kyle out, but was celebrating in Victory Circle while Kyle ‘faced the music.’ John Darby, Cup series director, escorted Kyle, his crew chief and Joe Gibbs into the meeting with Mike Helton.
"To me, the neat part about tonight is that, like in so many years past at this place, the dominant car of the night doesn't end up in Victory Lane because somebody figured how on that last run how to catch and pass him," Darby said. "I was very, very pleased with the whole race. It was real good."

The incident will probably result in a fine for Kyle Busch and Joe Gibbs Racing. It will result in more boos for Kyle during the drivers’ introductions next week and beyond. Carl Edwards will probably become the ‘good guy’ to more fans; Burton Smith will not have to answer the complaint that the new concrete at Bristol ‘ain’t the same,’ and NASCAR gets a needed rivalry that has been largely missing since Dale Sr. died.

- Kyle and Carl have won 14 of the 24 Cup races in 2008; and they are both locked into the Chase. If the Chase started now, they would have 5080 and 5050 points respectively. Jimmie Johnson would be third with 5020; Dale Jr., Jeff Burton, Denny Hamlin & Clint Bowyer would each have 5010. Tony Stewart, Greg Biffle, Kevin Havick, Jeff Gordon and Matt Kenseth would be tied for 7th with 5000 points. Hamlin and Bowyer would be tied for 4th if the Chase started today because their one win each would move them from their current 11th and 12th place standings which is based on total points accumulated to this point of the season. With two races remaining to the beginning of the Chase, David Ragan is in 13th place, 12 points behind Kenseth, followed by Kasey Kahne at 56 points behind. Kasey fell from 11th to 14th in the Chase, when he finished the race 40th after being involved in a crash of seven cars on lap 215.

- Dale Jr. finished 18th after being penalized for passing cars before he crossed the Start/Finish Line at the start of the race. He passed to the right which is legal on restarts, but not on the initial green flag.

- The first of eight caution flags did not come until lap 97, a near record at Bristol.

- The 2009 schedule has three changes, but no new venues. There will also be a much needed break the week before Labor Day, cutting the last run to twelve straight weeks, instead of the seventeen weeks that has been the norm for many years. That will give four weekends off, instead of three during the 38 race season.

- NASCAR will allow more testing in 2009. The final rules have not been set, but it is apparent that only the test at Daytona will be dictated. The rules will embrace the realities of the multi-car teams by limiting the number of team cars that can be taken to any test and the total number of days of testing to twenty-four. The changes will also have an effect on the tire policy that was instigated to restrict testing at non-Cup race tracks.

Joe Gibbs Racing received HUGE penalties for the attempted rigging of NASCAR’s Nationwide Series engine test after the Michigan race. Joe and JD Gibbs responded to the allegations within 48 hours, even before NASCAR issued their findings and penalties. In fact, they announced that they would issue internal penalties and require those guilty to pay monetary fines.

Pit Note:
Joe Gibbs is a man of integrity. He lives his faith at home, on the job and in the press. His personal faith is shared with his employees, many of whom have chosen to embrace Jesus as their Lord and Savior because of the consistent life they see in action. So, it is not surprising that the Gibbs family will ‘punish’ the wrong doing, while seeking to ‘redeem’ those who did these acts.

Once again, in bad times, as well as the good, Joe Gibbs is a Champion.

Register to win a trip to the BIG Race at Daytona in February 2009 and a Team Racing Jacket from Focus on the Family and Motor Racing Outreach.

One winner will be selected each month from the entries submitted to receive a team racing jacket (estimated value $150).

In addition, entries for the grand prize drawing will be accepted through November 20, 2008. One grand prize winner will be selected to receive a trip for two to the Daytona 500 on February 15, 2009. The trip will include two (2) infield pit passes to the race, two (2) roundtrip coach airfare tickets (up to $500 each), rental car expenses, and hotel room (excluding meals and expenses) for two nights, February 14 and 15, 2009. The approximate value of the grand prize is $2000.

CLICK HERE TO ENTER THE DRAWING and TO SEE THE OFFICIAL RULES AND DETAIL

Motor Racing Outreach is now accepting pre-orders for the Limited Edition (only 3,000 being produced) 1:64 Scale MRO Die Cast Car. The suggested donation amount for each car is $10.00. These cars will make a great Christmas gift, and your donation goes to support the ministry of Motor Racing Outreach. Please note that the scheduled delivery of cars is mid-November!!

If ordering more than one car, please do so separately, each individual donation will be considered for one car.

CLICK HERE

Focus on the Family has produced a 2008 NASCAR Sprint Cup race schedule for MRO to hand out to the fans at the race tracks. We would like to share some of these with any organizations and/or businesses that would be interested in distributing them. Not only do they have the Cup race schedule, they also include the "Sinner's Prayer" and web-site information for topics relating to relationships and marriage, parenting, faith, entertainment, life challenges and social issues.

This pocket-size schedule comes in packets of 100. Please contact Cheryl Shore via email (cshore@go2mro.com) or phone (704-455-3828) if you would like for us to send some to you.

- Team MRO, MRO Board of Directors, MRO Association Members and Shop Study Leaders.
- Safety for the drivers and their crew members etc. this weekend at California Motor Speedway.
- The fan outreach efforts throughout the race weekend hosted by Raceway Ministries and other ministry organizations.
- Bill Krick, chaplain of the ARCA Series, is recuperating after open heart surgery.
- Please pray for the upcoming Bible/Shop Studies scheduled during the week of September 1-5, 2008.

Baker Curb Racing
Roush Racing/Nationwide
Riley Technologies
Roush Racing/Cup
Richard Childress Racing
Motorsports Authentics
NASCAR Technical Institute
D-v-8 Youth Bible Study
Team Rensi
Phoenix Bible Study
Penske Racing
PPI Motorsports
Ganassi Racing/Engine Shop