TMS President Eddie Gossage Conquering Cancer

Irving Texas
”Gossage made his first public appearance Thursday since revealing in July that he had cancer, though at the request of his family hasn’t disclosed the type diagnosed last fall.”You may not recognize me,” said Gossage, who wore with his customary dark suit a NASCAR Sprint Cup cap on his mostly bald head that resulted from chemotherapy. “I spent the summer pulling my hair out over the lack of media coverage of the new Cowboys Stadium.”That lighthearted jab at the Cowboys, the popular NFL team in the same market as his 1½-mile track, was classic Gossage, the showman known for his enthusiasm and promotional stunts.Gossage took a leave of absence in June after the IndyCar Series race at the track. He returned to work in August and his first public appearance since was to promote the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup and Nov. 8 race at Texas.”

Eddie Gossage covering Pre-Race Issues 2009. Photo by Bruce Cameron

I feel great, better than I have in years,” Gossage said.The 50-year-old’s hair is starting to grow back, though his dark beard has been replaced by a goatee that is predominantly gray — “I haven’t seen my face since the 70s,” he said. Gossage has also slimmed down, losing about 30 pounds after not wanting to eat for five or six weeks during his treatment.Gossage has been in Texas since the track’s inception, initially promoting a construction site in a rural area north of Fort Worth with the promise of races to come. The first NASCAR race was in April 1997.Among things Gossage has done to promote events at the track include escalating Danica Patrick’s light shove of Dan Wheldon on pit row at a previous IndyCar Series race into a weeklong “Rumble at the Speedway” buildup, and billboards for a NASCAR race that raised the ire of the Earnhardt family.Gossage once offered NASCAR drivers $15,000 for throwing a helmet in a fit of anger during competition (he got no takers), and tried to lure open-wheel drivers Michael Andretti and Al Unser Jr. out of retirement to race with sponsorship offers. There was an all-female pit crew for a NASCAR truck race, prerace motorcycle jumps by Robbie Knievel, and much more.Track officials long lauded the fact that eight Texas Stadiums could fit on its infield. The Cowboys make their regular season debut in the new nearly $1.2 billion stadium this week — Gossage has said 4½ of those would fit.While Gossage said he got a few new ideas while away from work, there was plenty of time he didn’t even think about the job.”Honestly, I put my mind in idle and just didn’t think a lot about it,” Gossage said. “There were a few weeks there where I was so sick that I didn’t think about it. … I didn’t worry about the speedway because (the management staff) had it well in hand, and that helped me focus on my recovery.”Sprint Cup drivers Jeff Gordon, Jimmie Johnson and Mark Martin, who were on a teleconference from New York with Texas media members, warmly greeted Gossage when introduced Thursday.Gossage described the outpouring of support during his illness as “pretty amazing.” He said he got cards and letters from people worldwide, including drivers and fans.

Virginia Native Hamlin Wins Chevy Rock & Roll 400; Chase Field Set

Virginia Native Hamlin Wins Chevy Rock & Roll 400; Chase Field Set

Text Adapted from NASCAR

RICHMOND, VA. – The Chase is on.

Twenty-six races into the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series season, there are now 12 drivers with a chance to win the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup.

The suspense of who would make that field culminated Saturday night at Richmond International Raceway.

Denny Hamilin 2009 Photo by Bruce Cameron

Local native Denny Hamlin from Chesapeake finally won a NASCAR Sprint Cup race at his home track after coming “oh, so close” so many times before. He also did it in convincing style, battling door-to-door with Jeff Gordon along the way. It was Hamlin’s second win of the season in his FedEx Toyota. He won earlier this year at Pocono.

Denny Hamlin. File photo by George Walker.

Hamlin is one of the 12 Chase participants but his Joe Gibbs Racing teammate Kyle Busch didn’t make it. Hamlin had locked in a spot before the race but Kyle needed to finish well ahead of Brian Vickers to make it. Kyle finished fifth but Vickers was seventh and wound up grabbing the 12th spot by eight points over Busch.

Kurt Busch finished second and made the Chase. Jeff Gordon was third and in The Chase.

Everybody’s favorite, Mark Martin, was fourth and secured a Chase spot and there wasn’t a happier man in Virginia on Saturday night when this race ended.

Kyle finished fifth and Clint Bowyer was sixth. Vickers was seventh and former Indianapolis 500 winner Sam Hornish finished eighth. Kevin Harvick was ninth and Ryan Newman 10th, which earned him a slot in the Chase, along with his car owner Tony Stewart, who had a rough night and wound up 17th.

Jimmy Johnson finished 11th and he’s in the Chase, along with 12th-place finisher Kasey Kahne and 13th-place finisher Greg Biffle. Carl Edwards and Juan Pablo Montoya also made the Chase. It will be Montoya’s first Chase as well as the first for team owner Chip Ganassi.

Former series champion Matt Kenseth finished 25th and failed to qualify for the Chase for the first time.

The first race in the Chase begins Sunday, Sept. 20 at New Hampshire Motor Speedway.

Saturday night’s race at Richmond had so many scripts, you couldn’t keep up. If so-and-so finished 20th or better, he made the Chase. If another driver finished 32nd, he made it.

This one was one for the record books, as only four drivers were guaranteed spots in the Chase to the NASCAR Sprint Cup and another eleven were in position to make it with either good luck for themselves or bad luck for others.

The ageless Martin, hoping to be one of the 12 contenders, started from the pole position after a late shower wet the track and delayed the start.

Martin kept the lead with local favorite Hamlin in his shadow. Hamlin passed Martin on Lap five.

Scott Speed brought out the first caution when he lost it off Turn 4 and hit the outside wall.

Hamlin maintained the lead after a restart and at 40 laps led Martin, Gordon, Martin Truex Jr., Kahne, Jimmie Johnson, Kyle Busch, Vickers, Harvick and Dale Earnhardt, Jr.

Another caution slowed the field at Lap 46 when David Stremme, Reed Sorensen and Stewart tried to maneuver Turn 4 while three abreast. Sorensen and Stewart spun.

Hamlin went out front again when the race restarted on Lap 50. Another caution was necessary when Regan Smith’s Chevy lost power on Lap 57.

On this restart at Lap 67, Hamlin held the lead with Gordon next, followed by Martin, Truex, Kurt Busch, Earnhardt, Harvick, Johnson, Kyle Busch, AJ Allmendinger, Montoya, Kahne, Vickers, Marcos Ambrose and Jamie McMurray. The Roush Fenway Racing drivers, at this point in the race, were pushing it to make the Chase with Edwards 20th, Biffle 24th and Kenseth 25th.

Gordon went back in front of Hamlin shortly before the 100-lap mark. A caution fell again on Lap 107.

Gordon held the lead until Hamlin slipped past on Lap 147. Another caution flew on Lap 173 for debris.

Casey Mears and Jeff Gordon Know that Hamlin is a Force to be Reckoned With..Photo by Bruce Cameron

At the half-way point of 200 laps, here’s how things stood: Hamlin continued to swap the lead with Gordon and Martin ran a strong third.

Another caution fell shortly after halfway when Regan Smith’s bad luck continued and something broke on his car.