Dickies 500 2009 Preview by Bruce Cameron, The Racing Reporter

Brian Vickers Could Surprise Texans with a Win. Photo by Shane Trammel

Despite an ailing economy, NASCAR fans will attend this year’s Dickies 500 Sprint Cup race at Texas Motor Speedway (TMS) in droves. The race will be held on November 6-8, 2009.

TMS President, Eddie Gossage, announced the return of the popular “Backstretch Buster” tickets, which sold as low as $20 per ticket. Gossage has pulled out all of the stops to boost fan attendance. The Seven Eleven four pack, which includes four hot dogs, is one example. Even though this effort has been made, many seats remain available throughout the track. Individuals can get free tickets to this race by purchasing 2010 season tickets.

Prior to the race, fans at the track will get to see legendary rockers, ZZ TOP, perform. This is sure to pump up an already feisty crowd anticipating the starting of the engines. The band will headline the American Racing Custom Wheels pre-race show with a free concert at the November 8 Dickies 500 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race at Texas Motor Speedway. Billy F. Gibbons, Dusty Hill and Frank Beard will also serve as grand marshals for the race. They will give the command to the 43-car field to start their engines prior to the start of the race. The 2.5-hour pre-race show that will also include the RE/MAX Skydiving team, Texas Christian University Marching Band, U.S. Army Reserve Command, 11th Aviation Command, and the 7-158th Aviations Regiment. The pre-race show will begin at TMS at 11:45 a.m. and ZZ Top will perform on the speedway’s front stretch at 12:30 p.m. The band will play a one-hour set. It will mark the first-ever appearance for ZZ Top at TMS.

The Dickies 500 is the eighth race in the NASCAR “Chase for the Cup”. This is NASCAR’s version of the World Series. Texas has the largest purse in the “Chase” . It is in excess of $7.3 million! Texas pays more money than anyone else and has one of the largest crowds of the tracks in the Chase. An estimated 400,000 spectators, over the course of the weekend, make TMS the seventh largest race in the state of Texas.

The top five drivers on the leader board for the Sprint Cup Chase have all enjoyed success at Texas Motor Speedway. Jimmie Johnson, who won in 2007, leads by 184 points over his nearest competitor, Mark Martin. Mark Martin has had success here in Texas. He won the Texas 500 in 1998. Jeff Gordon has fought his way to third place. In April, Gordon snapped a long winless streak at Texas, posting a win at the Samsung 500. Juan Pablo Montoya, who is currently 4th in the Chase, had a top 10 finish at TMS in April. The 5th place driver, Tony Stewart, won the Dickies 500 in 2006. What happens here this weekend could affect the Sprint Cup Chase standings significantly, particularly if Chase leader Jimmie Johnson has difficulty.

The defending Dickies 500 champion, Carl Edwards, hopes to return and repeat his performance of last year. Edwards’ share for last year’s Dickies 500 victory was $496,300.00. Edwards hangs like a loose tooth in tenth place in the Chase standings. There is little to no hope of him winning the Sprint Cup Championship this year. He will also be racing in the O’Reilly Challenge on Saturday November 7th, where he will be battling for the Nationwide Series title.

Tired of seeing Jimmie Johnson strategically progressing toward his 4th Sprint Cup in a row? Let’s pick a driver who is an underdog, a hard charger, and who has some attitude then. Who can we cheer for this year at TMS?  There’s alway Brian Vickers, who is overdue for a top finish, but will no doubt give it “his all” at TMS.

One such driver poised to win this year’s Dickies 500, is Tony Stewart. Stewart has hit major strides in his first year as an owner/driver for Stewart Haas Racing (SHR). Stewart has pushed himself to the fifth position in the Chase for the Sprint Cup. The driver of the No. 14 Old Spice/Office Depot Chevrolet Impala SS. On October 4th, Tony earned his 22nd top-10 of the season, with five season victories to his name. Stewart has been successful at Texas, winning here in 2006.

Tony Stewart at TMS April, 2009 Photo by Shane Trammel

Tony Stewart and SHR employee/team member, Ryan Newman, are both represented in this year’s Chase for the Championship. Stewart is 279 points behind the leader, Johnson. Newman gained one spot to seventh, 402 points out of first. Newman has no shot at the Cup title, but can be an invaluable resource for Stewart, pushing him toward the front of the pack.

Stewart must win the Dickies 500 in order to win the Cup Championship, Jumping from 5th to 1st place in the Chase is not impossible, but sadly, improbable. Statistically, given that this is one of the last Cup races of the season, only a series of rare mishaps could dislodge Jimmie Johnson from winning the Sprint Cup.

In addition to the featured race on Sunday, there will be a NASCAR Camping World Truck Series WinStar World Casino 350k, the NASCAR Nationwide Series O’Reilly Challenge. The truce race is on Friday.

Events for the Fans

November 5- Sam Hornish Jr. will host the Autotrader.com Celebrity Bowling Tournament. This is open to the public and will be held at Main Even in Grapevine, Texas. It will benefit Speedway Children’s Charities. More information is at http://bit.ly/1u1MK.

November 5- Beretta Celebrity Clay Shoot will be held at Ross Perot Jr.’s Circle T Ranch. It is located on Texas 114 at Trophy Club, Westlake, Texas. Sponsored teams will pair with local and national celebrities to see who is the best shot.

November 7- Texas Motor Speedway Track Walk
Walk begins 30 minutes after the conclusion of the O’Reilly Challenge Nationwide Series race. Driver Joey Logano is scheduled to walk with fans. Visit http://texas.speedwaycharities.org for more information.

Joey Logano will make a DFW Area Appearance before the Race. Photo by Shane Trammel

November 7-Live NASCAR Memorabilia Auction at the Texas Motor Speedway Hospitality Village
This event begins immediately after the O’Reilly Challenge Nationwide Series race. Auction is open to the public.

Bruce Cameron, The Racing Reporter