TERRE HAUTE —
The recent announcement from NASCAR regarding the approved body styles for the 2013 Sprint Cup Series follows extensive wind-tunnel testing that was a year in the making.
The sanctioning group’s attempt to get its car body styling more in line with that of its stock manufacture models comes at the cost of many man hours of testing and putting the results to use on potential new creations that show up later at the race track.
Sullivan County native Brett Andrew is familiar with these factors. In his role as an aerodynamist, Andrew has had a first-hand approach in the testing sessions that led to NASCAR’s final approval of several models.
In his lengthy employment with Ford Motorsports, Andrew has been actively involved with the wind-tunnel testing at the Auto Research Center in Indianapolis, where the racing bodies are tested at 40-percent scale.
From that point, the test results are ultilized in a full-scale model at Ford’s test center in Charlotte, N.C. From there, the scene can switch to Marietta, Ga.
Andrew’s involvement in racing dates back to earlier roles with Pagan Racing in his Indy Racing League (IRL) days. This came following his outstanding basketball playing days — first at North Central High School in Farmersburg, then at Danville (Ill.) Community College and later at Marian College in Indianapolis.
While the bulk of his efforts are aimed at Ford’s NASCAR’s Sprint Cup and Nationwide series endeavors, his experience has not been limited to stocks cars.
He’s also been involved with John Force’s Funny Car program in NHRA, Jack Roush’s Mustang entry in the Grand Am series and Daytona Prototypes machines.
NASCAR approved the Ford Fusion for 2013 following tests that got underway last August. The test included more than a half dozen 8- to 10-hour sessions.
When not in a test session, Brett likes to join his dad Glenn to run UMP dirt modifieds at Indiana short tracks. His active schedule this past weekend included running the mods at Bloomington Motor Speedway on Friday night, spending time at the soccer field with his family that resides in Brownsburg on Saturday and Sunday and a flight to Charlotte late Sunday night.
The Ford facility had to be beaming, considering Marcos Ambrose’s Sprint Cup win at Watkins Glen earlier in the day.
The wild finish at Glen on Sunday only strengthens the belief in this corner that the stockers would make for a great show at Indianapolis. With the sagging fortunes and ho-hum racing that plagues the current Brickyard 400 format, how could a change not help?
As radical as the idea might seem to Speedway traditionalists, the idea of such a move was entertained a few years back. The concept included festival-type seating around sections of the track’s existing road course. Unfortunately, the concept never made it past those making the final call.
One can only imagine the kind of show that Tony Stewart, Kyle Busch, Jeff Gordon and Boris Said, to name a few, might deliver on a twisting IMS road circuit.
• Names in the news — It finally had to happen, but it was disappointing to see that legendary Steve Kinser missed his first Knoxville Nationals in 34 years over the weekend. It’s not a sign that Kinser might be slowing down, just that the competition in the World of Outlaws is so close these days.
Sammy Swindell joined Kinser on the sidelines Saturday night. Donny Schatz won the Nationals, his sixth win over the last seven years.
• First it was Ray Morgan’s surprise reemergence on the Wabash Valley sprint scene what with his team’s surprise win in the USAC Indiana Sprint Weeks race last month at the Terre Haute Action Track.
Now several of Morgan’s former Valley sprint-car competitors are back on the scene. Wil Newlin jumped back behind the wheel of his family’s UMP Modified earlier this season. Eric Burns is back in a sprinter.
Eric joins fellow Brazil racer Doug Heck in the sprints at Paragon on Saturday nights. Center Point’s John Nicoson also has been out in his sprinter this season. And don’t be surprised if the name of Seelyville’s Dusty Wright doesn’t rejoin the group in the near future.
Joe Buckles can be reached by e-mail at Joe Buckles4@frontier.com.
Trackside
TRACKSIDE: Brett Andrew plays role in developing NASCAR's new body styles
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Trackside: Midgets could be on rise in Wabash Valley
With Indiana Midget Week taking center stage this week at Wabash Valley ovals, it’s time to talk midget racing.
More specifically, it’s time to examine its status in the Hoosier State and what the future might hold for one of open wheel’s most competitive but yet overlooked forms of racing.
It’s no secret the mighty, little midgets have suffered from hard times in recent years. Spiraling engine costs and resulting smaller car counts have led to a sharp reduction in the number of races for the midgets.
Terre Haute Action Track supporters of the midgets know first hand. They lost their popular Hut Hundred a few seasons back and hope of them returning to the local half-mile clay oval remains a question mark. -
TRACKSIDE: Bad weather gives time to reflect
With weather-related issues continuing to plague the Wabash Valley racing scene, the lack of on-track activity presents an opportunity to offer an overall assessment of the 2013 campaign to date.
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TRACKSIDE: Burton’s death shows tragic side of racing
The tragic chain of events that had unfolded the previous night at Bloomington Speedway had cast a pall over what should have been an enjoyable night of racing at LPS.
Word had circulated the Putnam County racing facility that earlier in the day that young Josh Burton had succumbed to injuries from an accident the night before at Bloomington.
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TRACKSIDE: Chase Stockon hopes momentum stays with him in Terre Haute
Momentum, an element that can be as elusive to a race driver as that perfect setup, can spell the difference in winning or running at the rear of the pack.
It’s a force difficult to achieve and maybe even harder to maintain. One learns quickly to make the most of the opportunity when it comes his way.
It’s something Chase Stockon will carry with him coming into today’s Jim Hurtubise Classic at the Terre Haute Action Track.
Only days following the biggest victory of his young and promising career, the $10,000-to-win USAC feature at Lawrenceburg, Stockon followed that up with another rich payday this past weekend at Tri-State Speedway. -
TRACKSIDE: Stanbrough continues points chase after recent skirmish with rival
Veteran sprint car driver Jon Stanbrough has never been one to hide his distaste for chasing point championships. It simply doesn’t bode well with his style of racing.
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TRACKSIDE: Brett Andrew plays role in developing NASCAR's new body styles
The recent announcement from NASCAR regarding the approved body styles for the 2013 Sprint Cup Series follows extensive wind-tunnel testing that was a year in the making.
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TRACKSIDE: Stockon takes giant step forward in USAC
One of the more impressive and welcomed storylines of the recently completed Indiana Sprint Week was the emergence of area driver Chase Stockon on the national sprint car scene.
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TRACKSIDE: Indiana Sprint Week rises above heat, rain, poor economy
The 25th annual version of Indiana Sprint Week is now officially in the record books and the latest chapter will go down as one of the most successful in recent years.
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TRACKSIDE: Late models may have no long-term future in Indiana
Reflecting on what was billed as the biggest week of the summer for dirt-track stock-car racing … while preparing to shift gears for the busiest week of the year for non-wing sprint-car racing in the Wabash Valley.
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TRACKSIDE: Summer heat has made this ‘The Hell Tour’
It is fittingly billed as “The Hell Tour” for many of the Midwest’s leading late model stock car drivers and their crews.
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TRACKSIDE: Retired driver LaJoie spreads the word of safety
In his roles as past driving champion and television analyst, Randy LaJoie has rightfully earned the reputation as a major contributor to the sport of auto racing.
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Trackside: Stanbrough on track at midseason
When veteran driver Jon Stanbrough ushered in a new season in Florida back in February, he found himself facing a pair of unfamiliar challenges.
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TRACKSIDE: Clauson bucks the IndyCar trend
On the surface, the distance from the dirt oval at Lincoln Park Speedway to the massive, paved Indianapolis Motor Speedway may appear only a few miles apart.
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TRACKSIDE: USAC Midget Classic not nearly as revered as it once was
It might be three years removed from its birthplace but the Hut Hundred USAC Midget Classic still holds a special place in the hearts of Wabash Valley racing buffs.
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TRACKSIDE: What could have been: Indy’s folklore got richer this week
It’s a question that will linger for years and only add to the folklore of the Indianapolis 500.
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TRACKSIDE: Sprint car event could generate close racing
One of the hottest and most competitive weekends of the 2012 motorsports season gets under way tonight at the Terre Haute Action Track with the scheduled running of the Tony Hulman Sprint Car Classic.
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TRACKSIDE: Mulling over the biggest weekend in motorsports
We’re approaching what has traditionally become one of the busiest and most prestigious weekends in all of motorsports.
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TRACKSIDE: Helfrich: Short-track racing has good future
When questions arise regarding the current state of sprint car racing, whether they be at the local or national level, one doesn’t have to search much further for the answer than veteran promoter Tom Helfrich.
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TRACKSIDE: Near-capacity crowd turns out for opening night of racing
Opening night at one of the midwest’s premier short track operations can be like no other time of the year.
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TRACKSIDE: Racing season has promise
With several “test and tunes” sessions and season openers having already taken the green flag, it’s a sure sign the Wabash Valley racing campaign is shifting into high gear.
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TRACKSIDE: Valley racing showed best, worst of times in 2011
A look back on the 2011 Wabash Valley auto racing season reveals the best and worst of times the sport has to offer.
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TRACKSIDE: Menard's victory at Brickyard momentous for family, race fans
Who says one of those familiar bright fluorescent-colored Menards race cars can’t find its way to victory lane at Indianapolis?
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TRACKSIDE: After a delayed start, the Terre Haute Action Track gets season cranked up
Its arrival may have been delayed by several months — for a host of reasons — but the 2011 Terre Haute Action Track season is finally out of the blocks.
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TRACKSIDE: Changes come up on Indiana racing scene
With the highly anticipated USAC Indiana Sprint Week sprint card on tap at the Terre Haute Action Track tonight and the Tony Hulman/Don Smith Classic and a host of events leading up to the Brickyard 400 looming on the horizon, it would appear that it’s the best of times for Wabash Valley racing buffs.
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TRACKSIDE: Fortunes of dirt track racing at Action Track can be written in the dust
In the 40 plus years of covering motorsports, it would appear the process of writing this weekly race column would come together rather routinely.
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TRACKSIDE: Auto racing in May in Indiana runs on history and tradition
Possibly nowhere in the sports world does history and tradition play such a key role in an event’s success and future as that found in auto racing.
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TRACKSIDE: Wabash Valley racing ready to take green flag — even Action Track
Despite having already lost several bouts to the elements, the 2011 Wabash Valley motorsports season has taken the green flag and will soon be shifting into high gear on several fronts.
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TRACKSIDE: Fitzpatrick on track to continue impressive start to racing career
One of the top stories on the Wabash Valley motorsports stage last season was the emergence of Blake Fitzpatrick as a legitimate front-runner on the national sprint-car scene.
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Frightening finish to season at Terre Haute Action Track
The 2010 Terre Haute Action Track season came to a climactic close over the weekend. Unfortunately, the campaign closed on a near-tragic note for the second consecutive year.
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Trackside: Attractive USAC sprint car card this weekend
With the area circle track season rapidly drawing to a close, fans will have a pair of attractive USAC sprint car cards to attend this weekend. Back-to-back shows at Lincoln Park Speedway and Terre Haute Action Track not only offer fans a final opportunity to see the sprints in action one final time, but they also serve as pivotal stops in the chase for the USAC sprint car drivers championship.
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