BEHIND THE WHEEL, A WEST SIDE STORY FEWER COME FROM SOUTH AS SERIES GOES NATIONAL.Byline: Louis Brewster Staff Writer FONTANA - Ernie Irvan Ernie Irvan (born January 13, 1959 in Salinas, California) is a former race driver in NASCAR. Early beginnings Irvan began his racing career in California at the age of nine driving go-carts, winning the California Championship at the age of 15. and Mike Skinner Mike Skinner is the name of:
Area, 52,586 sq mi (136,198 sq km). Pop. to fulfill their dreams of competing on NASCAR's premier series. The cross-country move enhanced their chances of being noticed. After all, NASCAR racing The NASCAR Racing series of video games, developed by Papyrus, started in 1994 and ended with the release of NASCAR Racing 2003 Season in 2003. Later NASCAR games were released by Electronic Arts, who took over the official sport license. 20 years ago was deeply rooted in the Southeast. Winston Cup drivers were usually from small towns in Georgia, Alabama, North Carolina and Tennessee. But as NASCAR NASCAR (National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing), organization that sanctions American stock-car races, est. 1948. It held its first race in Daytona Beach, Fla. has opted to spread its footprint across the nation, the number of Southern drivers has dwindled. There are currently 15 drivers with Southern ties, but nine are more than 40 years old. As the Nextel Cup The NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series is NASCAR's top racing series. It was formerly known as the Strictly Stock Series (1949), Grand National Series (1950-1971), and the Winston Cup Series (1972-2003). Series pulls into California Speedway The California Speedway is a two-mile, low-banked, D-shaped oval superspeedway in Fontana, California, similar to that of "sister track" Michigan International Speedway. It is located approximately 40 miles east of Los Angeles on the site of the former Kaiser Steel mill. this weekend, it'll be homecoming of sorts for five drivers. California now rivals North Carolina for the most homegrown drivers in the Series. Bakersfield is among five cities across the nation with two drivers, Kevin Harvick For the racing team owned by Kevin Harvick and his wife Delana, see . Kevin Michael Harvick (born December 8, 1975 in Bakersfield, California) is an American race car driver and car owner, competing in the NASCAR NEXTEL Cup and Busch Series for Richard Childress Racing, driving and Casey Mears Casey James Mears (born March 12, 1978 in Bakersfield, California) is the driver of the #25 National Guard/GMAC Chevrolet in the NASCAR Nextel Cup Series for Hendrick Motorsports. He also drives the #24 National Guard Chevrolet in the NASCAR/Busch Series for Hendrick Motorsports. . Robby Gordon Robby Gordon (born in Bellflower, California, on January 2, 1969) is an American racing driver who currently competes in the NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series, owning his #7 Ford Fusion, sponsored by Jim Beam, and also owning his #55 Verizon Wireless/Motorola ride which competes part-time is from Orange, Jimmie Johnson hails from El Cajon and Jeff Gordon was born and reared in Vallejo before the lure of less-stringent racing rules pushed him east. Gone are the days of the ``Alabama Gang,'' when Hueytown boasted of the Allison clan (Bobby, Donnie, the late Davey), Hut Stricklin and Red Farmer. ``It's something that I looked at about a year ago,'' said Sterling Marlin, the series' lone driver from Tennessee. ``I looked around and all of a sudden there weren't any drivers from Alabama. Me and (NASCAR Craftsmans Truck Series) Bobby Hamilton were the only ones left from Tennessee, and I don't see any more coming from Tennessee or Alabama any time soon. ``I want to see drivers from all over the country, but it looks like more are drifting away from the South. Hopefully they'll come back.'' History might be against Marlin, the son of a former Cup driver. A look at the current Cup roster indicates that team owners will find the talent, regardless of location. Defending Cup champion Matt Kenseth is from Wisconsin, as are rookies Scott Wimmer and Johnny Sauter. That's one less than the numbers of drivers who hail from Virginia, home to Elliott Sadler, Ricky Rudd and the Burtons, Ward and Jeff. Nevada - with Kurt Busch and rookie Brendan Gaughan - and Washington - Greg Biffle and rookie Casey Kahne - have as many drivers as Florida (Joe Nemechek), Georgia (Bill Elliott), Arkansas (Mark Martin) and Tennessee combined. South Carolina South Carolina, state of the SE United States. It is bordered by North Carolina (N), the Atlantic Ocean (SE), and Georgia (SW). Facts and Figures Area, 31,055 sq mi (80,432 sq km). Pop. (2000) 4,012,012, a 15. , Mississippi, Louisiana and Alabama are not represented in the Nextel Cup series. Being close to NASCAR teams is no longer required. Harvick, Busch and Gaughan gained their reputations in the NASCAR West and Southwest Tour series. Johnson and Robby Gordon first gained attention in off-road before beginning on the paths that took them to Cup racing. Biffle caught the eye of former Cup champion and current television commentator Benny Parsons during the Winter Heat Series in Tucson, Ariz. Richard Childress has not been shy to venture outside the traditional base for drivers. Harvick and Robby Gordon drive two of his three Cup cars and he also previously hired Skinner and Palmdale's Ron Hornaday Jr. to drive in the truck and Busch Series. ``There's so much going on in California,'' Childress said. Marlin, whose son Steadman has visions of racing in the Nextel Cup, knows why owners are quicker to look elsewhere for talent. ``It's hard to go to the local tracks anymore,'' Marlin said. ``Used to be you could go all over the country and run the same car. You could go to Birmingham, come run at Nashville. Now they've got the rules so messed up all over the country you can't take your car from place to place. I think it kind of hurt. ``You've got ASA Asa (ā`sə), in the Bible, king of Judah, son and successor of Abijah. He was a good king, zealous in his extirpation of idols. When Baasha of Israel took Ramah (a few miles N of Jerusalem), Asa bought the help of Benhadad of Damascus and and they've always had a good series and they stayed together,'' Marlin said. ``Some great drivers came out of the ASA and they're still running. It's just a deal in the South where the local tracks want to have their own rules.'' Marlin is among the oldest drivers on the circuit, the majority from the South. The veteran group includes Ken Schrader, Rusty Wallace, Dale Jarrett, Terry Labonte, Rudd, Jimmy Spencer, Martin, Kyle Petty, Jeff Green and Ward Burton. All but Spencer (Pennsylvania), Schrader and Wallace (Missouri) have Southern ties. Louis Brewster, (909) 483-9363 l-brewster(at)dailybulletin.com CAPTION(S): 3 boxes, map Box: (1) TRACK INFORMATION (2) WEEKEND SCHEDULE (3) DIRECTIONS Map: no caption (California Speedway) |
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