Month: April 2017

By David G. Firestone

In NASCAR, there are usually two kinds of teams: big and small. The big teams include Stewart-Haas Racing, Hendrick Motorsports, Team Penske, Chip Ganassi Racing, Joe Gibbs Racing, and Furniture Row Racing. Big teams are multi-car teams that are championship caliber, and have little if any trouble with sponsorship issues. Small teams are teams like Tommy Baldwin, Germain Racing, Premium Motorsports, BK Racing, The Wood Brothers, Go FAS Racing, Circle Sport/TMG, Rick Ware Racing, and Leavine Family Racing. These teams, while they may have more than one team, are often underfunded, have mediocre drivers and on track results.

Interestingly, there is a third group, which could really either be considered big or small, depending how one looks at them. These teams include Richard Childress Racing, JTG Daugherty, Richard Petty Motorsports, Roush-Fenway Racing, and Front Row Motorsports. These are all teams that while they have multiple teams and decent sponsorship, they aren’t championship caliber, even though they do often make the playoffs and win races. The have a decent driver or two, and have decent fan bases. One of the most well-known and least appreciated of these teams is Front Row Motorsports.

Founded by Bob Jenkins and Jimmy Means in 2005 as a single-car team, the original team merged will Mach 1, and began a two-car operation. Eventually, the team shad as many as three teams, with two full time. Since team owner Bob Jenkins owns over 150 franchises from Yum! Brands, including Taco Bell and Long John Silver’s, as well as Morristown Driver’s Services or MDS, those sponsors frequently appear on the sides of his cars. While the team hasn’t shown much strength on many tracks, they show strength on superspeedways.

Mach 1 Motorsports, which would merge with Front Row in 2005, was founded by William Edwards in 2004, and raced with Randy LaJoie, Todd Bodine, Geoff Bodine, Larry Gunselman, Derrike Cope, Chad Chaffin, Jeff Fuller, P.J. Jones, Ted Christopher, and Mike Skinner in 35 races from 2004 to 2005. The team was a failure, failing to score even a top 10. While Randy LaJoie raced the #34, everyone else raced the #98, except Mike Skinner, who raced the #00. During their run, a crew member wore this vest/shirt pit crew suit.Obviously, being a minor team searching for sponsorship, this Impact! vest/shirt combination was used. The vest could be swapped out if a sponsor was found for a race, or even a season. The vest itself is in good condition, though some race wear is present. The undershirt doesn’t show that much wear.

The vest shows some scuff marks from race-use.The collar is unadorned, and there is no tag in the cowl.The right chest features a NASCAR NEXTEL CUP SERIES logo and a Chevy bowtie logo embroidered into it.The left chest features a GOODYEAR logo embroidered.The front torso has a MACH 1 MOTORSPORTS logo present.Underneath the front logo, next to the zipper is the Impact warranty tag.Impact has special Velcro adjustment straps on the hem, and this vest is no exception. A second Impact tag is in the bottom of the hem, in the rear, and has the name J MAZZA written in faded Sharpie.The vest epaulets are blue strips with white outlines, with no logos present. The rear of the vest shows some scuff marks below the logo. The back of the neck features 34 embroidered into the collar, and an American Flag patch sewn just below it.Just below the American Flag patch is a MACH 1 MOTORSPORTS logo, embroidered higher than the logo on the front.While the shirt did see race use, it doesn’t show any wear to speak of.The collar doesn’t have a tag, but it has an Impact logo on the back of the neck, and the name Adam is written in faded Sharpie in the square.The front of the shirt is unadorned blue Nomex.The shoulders are unadorned. The right sleeve has an IMPACT Z logo, a NASCAR logo, and the SFI certification. Usually,the SFI certification is on the left sleeve, but here it is on the right sleeve for some reason. There are no logos in television position. The left sleeve has an IMPACT Z logo, a NASCAR logo, and a SUNOCO logo, with no logos in television position. Aside from the small Impact patch just below the neck, the back of the shirt us unadorned, and shows no wear. Front Row Motorsports is a small team but they are making an impact in the Cup Series. They have two wins, and have decent showings, especially at superspeedways. They also have a history in the Xfinity Series, which we will examine next week.

By David G. Firestone

I’m fascinated by trophy design. Trophies can be anything from The Wally, to a tea service, to a cut glass bowl. Racing trophies are anything from functional items to stand alone trophies, to over sized napkin rings. When it comes to the smaller events, or smaller sanctioning bodies, trophy design can be very interesting.

Like many national racing sanctioning bodies, The Sports Car Club Of America or SCCA has several regions that have their own racing. Other sanctioning bodies that have regions are NASCAR, and the NHRA, to name a few. While some drivers go on to national success, many drivers come to be great in one specific region.

The Southern Indiana is one of 115 regions, which are divided in to nine divisions. One such region is the Southern Indiana Region, which holds events in Southern Illinois, Indiana, and Kentucky. One driver who raced in a number of events was a driver named Walter Scott. Racing from at least 1960 to 1995, Scott won a number of different awards and trophies, which survive in my collection, including this small bowl.

The bowl is for a 10th place finish for an unnamed event or series in 1960, and is in great condition. For another unnamed event or series in 1962 , Scott finished 10th. He was awarded this small bowl as a result. Walter Scott was a navigator for a driver in something called the “Thimsen’s Terrible Rallye” in 1965. The duo finished 2nd. This trophy was awarded to him for that 2nd place finish. For a third place finish in an unnamed Rallye in 1970, Scott was awarded this small bowl. It has some scratches. 1973 had Walter Scott perform well, and winning this small Thimsen Memorial Trophy for Rallyist Of the Year, which has some small scratches and dings. That same year, Scott won a small bowl for finishing 7th in something called the SIR Concourse, which shows some scratches. Walter Scott was still going in 1988, where he won this large trophy for the 1988 Year End Award for finishing 6th place. It doesn’t show any damage. In 1995, the Southern Indiana Region celebrated 40 years. Walter Scott had been a member for 35 years, and was awarded this plaque clock to commemorate his long time with the SIR. In 1996, Walter Scott competed in a Rallye called the “Tulips and Other Spring Flowers,” where he finished first in his class. He was awarded this small plaque as a result. It is in great condition. Racing trophy design is an interesting topic, because the various kinds of trophies are interesting. I would genuinely love to sit in on a design session for a racing trophy, and see how it is designed from paper to final product. Some drivers cherish their trophies, other drivers give them away. It’s a fun topic to discuss and I hope to discuss it again soon.

Next week, we revisit The Vest Project.