NASCAR Resume
Heather is most passionate about covering NASCAR and other forms of racing. She has a knack for finding local angles to this national sport. She currently has a NASCAR blog that has won several awards. Heather creates all the graphics, in addition to writing the blog. You can see the latest blogs HERE.
On-air and online reporting
From Hustler to Hall of Famer
Behind the scenes at PRN
Remebering Steve Byrnes
NASCAR and the real world
Excerpts from "The Backstretch Blog"
Rush to Judgement- Pubished Aug 12, 2014
I know I probably won’t change many minds when it comes to the events in New York involving Tony Stewart and Kevin Ward, Jr. Those who believe Stewart did wrong have already convicted him. Those who support him will not relent that he might have done something wrong. Such is your right and such is the way it has become in this instant information society.
I don’t claim to know Tony Stewart. I am just a local sports reporter, with dreams of covering NASCAR on a bigger scale someday. I have interviewed Stewart maybe a dozen times in my 13 or so years of covering the sport. The one time I got to spend a little time away from the track with him, I found him charming and funny. But I have also been on the wrong end of a Tony Stewart bad day.
I never met Kevin Ward, Jr. At 20, his life was taken far too soon. Those that did know him say he was a good kid with a passion for racing. He had been behind a wheel since he was four. And he was pretty good at it too, winning the 2010 Rookie of the Year honor in Empire Super Sprints.
This is what I do know; if I was either man, I would not want the events of Saturday night to define me, not until we know for sure what happened. And we may never know. So I am asking people, no matter what side you fall on here, who you think is to blame, to just take a step back and consider these are real people, a real life was lost and many others changed forever.
For starters, let’s stop blaming Ward for getting out of his car. Was it the smartest decision he could have made? Of course not. Is he the first driver to ever do it? Again, of course not. Just go to YouTube and search Kurt Busch or Ward Burton or even Tony Stewart himself and you can find examples of drivers doing what Ward did.
It doesn’t make it right; it just makes it a thing drivers do. Ward paid the ultimate price for a decision he made in a fit of anger. We have all made poor decisions in those types of moments, and there but for the grace of God go I.
Also, lets tamper down the Tony Stewart is a hot head talk a bit. Yes, Tony Stewart can be a hot head. Yes Tony Stewart had to go to NASCAR ordered anger management. But some of what is out there right now is just way over the line. Stewart has never intentionally hit a crew member. And the sound bite of Stewart saying he was going to “run over” Matt Kenseth is being taken out of context. First of all, he meant in the race car, not while he was on foot. Second of all, he really didn’t mean it as far as I can tell. Stewart never made good on that promise of two years ago. Haven’t we all said stuff when we were mad that we regretted later?
Another thing, this is NOT a NASCAR issue. Yes it involved a NASCAR driver, but those calling for government regulation or intervention in NASCAR are so off the mark, they aren’t even on the board. If an NFL player hurts someone during a backyard flag football game should the government go after the NFL? You may not like racing, you may not understand it, but this is not the time to attack it. This has nothing to do with NASCAR. Sprint Cars and the Sprint Cup are not the same thing.
Finally, I am begging anyone out there with a public opinion about what happened, to do a little research on Sprint Cars first. They are not like the car in your garage, they are not like a dirt modified and they are definitely not like a stock car. They only have one gear, you sometimes use the throttle to steer them and under a caution they usually have to run a pretty good speed because of the lack of gears. You cannot watch the video and judge the way Stewart reacted, based on how you would react in a car driving down the street. I have talked to a number of experienced racers and not one agrees completely with the other as to what happened. Because based on the video you just can’t tell. Only Tony Stewart knows for sure.
My heart breaks for Ward and his family this is a terrible tragedy that could have been avoided. My heart breaks for Stewart as well. He will have to live with what happened for the rest of his life.
I can’t “take sides” on this one. I don’t know nearly enough of the facts about what happened. But I do know this. I would never want someone to judge me based on the worst day of my life. And whether you think Stewart was at fault or Ward, Saturday was the worst day for different reasons in both men’s lives, and one’s life ended way too soon as a result.
Chase Club- Published Sept. 10, 2013
The first rule of 'Chase Club', you do not talk about what you do to get into the 'Chase Club."
The second rule of 'Chase Club', you do not talk about what you do to get into the 'Chase Club."
Because lets real, the issue is not really the crime, it's the lack of cover up. No one really believes that no one in the history of NASCAR has manipulated the out come of the race or the Chase field. No one has ever given a teammate a bonus point for a lead lap they didn't deserve, by pulling over. No one had ever pitted to give a teammate a point or thrown a water bottle out a window to try and create a caution.
The problem is, Michael Waltrip did so this week, with the grace of the Keystone Cops. If they had not fumbled through their effort to gain Martin
Truex, Jr points with the grace of Anthony Michael Hall in "Sixteen Candles," no one would have noticed or cared. If Ryan Newman's crew could have not screwed up the stop, no one would have cared. And the situational ethics of the the entire mater actually makes me sick.
If you really care about manipulation of the Chase, then you should care when teammates are swapping places for lap leads and bonus points in June. Why is a point in September less ethical then one three months earlier?
If you really care about manipulation of the Chase, then you should care that Denny Hamlin pitted to try and get Kyle Busch in the Chase a season ago. Why is laying down to help a teammate in the chase an issue, only when it works?
Let's be clear, I HATE what MWR did. The same way I hate every time a teammate plus over to give a bonus point. But this whole thing makes me sick because people act like this has never happened before. Like no team has cheated, entered extra cars to park them and help a teammate or an other laundry list of strategies to "manipulate the outcome of the race."
Get real.
People do all sort of things to get ahead in NASCAR. The sport thrives on the reputation of 'if you ain't cheating, you ain't trying.' Oh now we are worried about ethics. Really?
Meanwhile, there are a series of amazing coincidences that make this sport look more like WWE than any spin by Clint Bowyer ever could, but lets not talk about that because...
The first rule of 'Chase Club', you do not talk about what you do to get into the 'Chase Club."
Frankly my dear, I don't give a Danica-
Published Aug.31, 2012
So as we head off to Atlanta, I have something I need to get off my chest: frankly my dear I don't give a Danica. The Media needs to stop talking about Danica Patrick. I know that as a member of said media, by writing this blog, I am contributing to the problem. But seriously she is got to be the most talked about 27th place driver in the history of racing.
I realize she is a woman and the novelty of that is pretty exciting, but come on the statute of limitations of that have long come and gone with the wind. It's not like she's the first woman to drive a race car, she's not even the first to drive a Sprint Cup Car.
I understand that she is an international brand, and men think she is attractive. But there are plenty of drivers that I think that are good looking guys. That's shouldn't be enough to get you a mention every week. She has one nationwide
pole and two top 10s in her career. So I'm just saying, we got to tone it down a bit.
Okay, now that I have that off my chest, lets talk about the Atlanta Motor Speedway. This is one of my favorite track to see a race in person. To me there is nothing better than sitting in turn one and taking in the pure speed of these awesome machines. Although that speed does tend to lend to a lot of lapped cars. Because this is a track that really separates the have horse powers, from the have nots. And as a result, there is usually a lot of lap traffic.
This race was really breathed new life when it became the Labor Day weekend night race. Drivers and fans seemed to re-fall in love with the mile an a half speedway.
“Atlanta is fast, especially when the conditions are right," said Ryan Newman. "You have to hit your marks. It’s bumpy enough that those bumps can spit you right out. Getting into turn one and the middle of three and four, you’ve got catch everything just right."
Newman has been fast on pole day at Atlanta, but he has not been one of the guys to beat on race day. That list includes guys like Jimmie Johnson, Carl Edwards, Bobby Labonte, Tony Stewart, Jeff Gordon, both Busch Brothers, Kasey Kahne, Kevin Harvick and Dale Earnhardt, Junior.
“I really like racing at Atlanta," said Junior. "It’s a fun race track; it’s incredibly fast, and we’ve run well there. The track is wide so you can find a groove that works for you. I’m looking forward to seeing what we can do down there.”
And I guess since I started this blog talking about Danica, I should finish talking about here, too since she is running the cup race this weekend. Just, don't expect this every week from me.
“I’ve heard lots of great things about Atlanta. It’s good racing," said Patrick. "For me it’s going to be a big weekend not only from the standpoint that there’s Cup and Nationwide, but it’s a big Coca-Cola weekend so I’ll be really busy. I think nothing is better than going to a new track and having lots of track time.”
It's time for Kyle to grow up- Published
May 25, 2011
Tuesday, Kyle Busch was cited for driving 128 mph in a 45. My quick Missouri math tells me that is three times the speed limit.
Let me start by saying, if you or I were going 83 miles over the speed limit, we would probably be arrested. And the fact that Busch got away with just a citation is part of the problem. It fuels the idea in his head that he is the invincible "Rowdy" Busch. That he can do this sort of dumb stuff. And police, NASCAR, sponsors and fans continuing to make excuses for him, are not doing him any favors.
Let me take this time right here to say, I like Kyle Busch. I think the sport desperately needs Kyle Busch. He wears the black hat with pride, and if the sport was full only of good guys, that would be boring. But being "bad" has it's limits when other people's lives are at risk.
This incident and the recent incident on the track where Busch rammed a driverless car into the wall on a busy pit row post race, shows that he gives not thought to how his actions might affect other people.
When Busch was pulled over in Mooresville, he reportedly told police "it's just a toy." Just a toy? That is your response when you have done something so inherently reckless?
"I was test driving a new sports car and I got carried away," Busch, who was stopped between the towns of Troutman and Mooresville, said in a statement. "I went beyond the speed I should have been going on a public road. I apologize to the public, my fans, sponsors and race teams for my lack of judgment.
"I take responsibility for my actions, and I can assure you that something like this will never happen again."
I really don't like apologizes. Want to show you are truly sorry? Learn from the mistake and do not repeat it. A concept Busch is clearly not familiar with.
You know how you make sure it never happens again? Park him. Joe Gibbs Racing, the team Busch drives for has yet to comment on what happened. I have a tremendous respect for Mr. Gibbs. Maybe more so than any other single person in the sport. If he wants to do what's right, he needs to stop this seemingly escalating pattern.
No matter what Busch is getting off easy. Even for a professional driver, driving that fast could have had a tragic ending. This is not a closed track. Any number of external hazards could have caused him or someone else to be seriously injured even killed. He got lucky it was a cop that stopped him, and not another car pulling out in front of him.
I think that Kyle Busch could be the most talent driver we have ever seen on the track. But he will never reach his full potential until he grows up. And it's clear he's having a tough time getting there.
Oh brother, where art thou?-Published
Feb. 17, 2011
What makes Daytona special from other races? It's the history, it's the pageantry, it's knowing that you are racing, where all the greats raced before you. That's why, generally speaking more people show up at this race than any other all season long. It is the essence of NASCAR, anyone with a car and a dream (and NASCAR approval) can race here.
Now truth be known, I have never been much of a Brad Keselowski fan. I always thought he was brash kid who's equipment and ego always out weighed his talent. But what he did on Thursday, has made me take a second look.
Enter his brother Brian. The older, but obviously not quite as talented brother. Not that Brian doesn't have talent, cause to get to this point, you have to have some talent. But he's not on the level of little brother. And that has to be tough.
"There's always a little bit of jealousy," Brian told the Associated Press.
It's something many of us can relate to. And the two admit, their relationship has been a little rocky as a result.
So here we are, the Daytona Duel. For guys like Brian Keselowski, it's their only chance to make the Daytona 500. He, is in an underfunded ride, run by him, his dad and his uncle.
Brad, on the other hand, is racing for NASCAR powerhouse Penske racing, and is safely locked into the show. But he had a little trouble in his Daytona duel (the qualifying race for the Daytona 500), and likely counldn't win the thing. So what does he do? The only thing a brother can do. Lock onto the back of the big brother's bumper and push him to a 5th place finish and into the biggest race of Brian's life.
"It's just an awesome feeling,'' Brad said. "You can't always do something for your family, but when you can, you try to. I was able to do something for him.''
"I'm really, really, really glad that that happened," Brian said "I can look everybody in the eye again and say, 'Thank God this worked.' I told everybody this is going to work, just hold on, please help', and they did."
It's a story that even touched other drivers.
"That was awesome,'' Michael Waltrip said. "I loved seeing that. Brad was committed and he made it work out. I don't know about you, but I thought that was a really cool story.''
It's is a cool story Michael. It's one of those that makes us remember what we love about racing. And it's the only kind of story you can get it racing. It's story of perseverance, of family and triumph. He probably won't win. But in this case, getting there really is half the battle, maybe even the whole thing.