Have a Happy & Healthy New Year! - the Parklander

SPORTS
NASCAR SEASON BEGINS AND ENDS
Story & Photos by Peter F. Grom
The NASCAR season always begins in Daytona in February, re-visits in
July and ends in Homestead, in November. Throughout this time, a
demanding and grueling schedule has the drivers, their teams, and their
cars crisscrossing the nation visiting and competing in every major motor
speedway along the way. Is it any wonder that Florida is their favorite?
With the warm air, clear skies and millions of obsessed racing fans that
treat this sport more like a religion, it’s pretty easy to know why.
Homestead-Miami Speedway is a modern-day palace to NASCAR
fans. They make the long drive south on the Florida Turnpike only to
come within a few exits of the wilderness swampland known as the
Florida Everglades and the Gateway to the Florida Keys. The Speedway
is a 1.5 mile oval on 600 acres of land. It accommodates 65,000
grandstand seats, plus a multitude of on-site spaces. Homestead-Miami
Speedway was dedicated for use on November 3, 1995 and hosted the Jiffy
Lube Miami 300. Joe Nemechek was that year’s Pole winner and the
track’s first winner was Dale Jarrett.
For the 2006 season, the Nextel Cup was going to be awarded to the
champion that scored the highest number of points throughout the
season. Jimmy Johnson, driving the No. 48 Lowe’s Chevy, drove a slow
and careful tour-de-force to win the championship with 6,475 points
overall. This was his fifth time! There were some uneasy moments during
the race when Johnson had dropped to as low as 40th, but he finished the
Ford 400 in ninth place giving him the 2006 Nextel Cup Championship.
Matt Kenseth came in second with an oh-so-close 6,419, followed by
Denny Hamlin with 6,407. Kevin Harvick came in fourth with 6,397 and
NASCAR heart-throbs Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Jeff Gordon trailed with
6,328 and 6,256, respectively.
Not to be over-shadowed by Johnson’s title capture, Greg Biffle, driving
the No. 16 National Guard Ford, won the Ford 400 for the third straight
time.That also gave him a second win this season.
On the morning of November 18th, Mark Martin announced that he
was retiring from 19 dedicated seasons with Roush Racing. He now plans
to drive the 01 Chevrolet for MB2 Motorsports. He also has plans to
participate in truck racing. A fan wearing a shirt with Martin’s photo and a
drawing of his famous No. 6 car, shouted, “Mark, we’re really going to
in Florida
98 JANUARY 2007
miss you!” He heard the comment and dipped his head down
momentarily, then waved good bye to the crowd that came out to wish
him well.
On November 19th, it was noted that among active NASCAR drivers,
Martin holds the record for the most races started in a row. He has begun
616 – and hopefully will keep counting!
No championship race would be complete without a visit from “The
King”. King Richard that is – seven-time Winston Cup Series
Championship winner along with 200 career wins, Richard Petty was on
hand to receive a few personal achievement awards.
To get things started on race day, the U.S. Army’s elite parachute team,
the Golden Knights, jumped from high above the stadium and landed
close to the start/finish line. Taylor Hicks sang the National Anthem so
vibrantly and patriotically, it was clear how he had won the American Idol
award for 2006.
Certain drivers and their teams return year-after-year as winners or
place-holders. The fans that come out to support them always have hopes
of meeting and greeting them in person. They come back year-after-year,
to build on their love for this fast moving and dangerous motorsport.
They relish the moment when their chosen driver waves back at them
after winning both the race and a place in their hearts and the NASCAR
record books.