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Shea Holbrook Launches Crowd-Funding Effort, ClutchFunded Launches New Platform

The concept of crowd-funding — using the internet in general and social media in particular to raise money for a personal or business enterprise — is on the rise. Forbes.com recently reported that crowd-funding worldwide in 2013 hit $5.1 billion, which is double the 2012 global total. (Details here.)

Race car drivers have previously dipped into the crowd funding market. In 2013 Shannon McIntosh's fans responded to a campaign by donating more than $11,000 to help get her a test in ARCA. (Details here.)

Shea Holbrook is among the latest to try crowd-funding. Shea just launched a campaign using darkhorsepros.com to asking fans to help her raise $30,000 to finance getting a drag racing license. She hopes to add a drag racing schedule to her road racing program in 2015.

Tammy Kaehler Doesn’t Just Turn Laps with Her New Book, Avoidable Contact

The best compliment you can pay Tammy Kaehler after reading her third book, Avoidable Contact, is a big one: she’s not just out there turning laps.

One of the dangers of multi-installment series featuring the same protagonist is they can morph into a sort of same-story-different-location exercise. That is, the fundamentals of each book start to replicate -- the protagonist pulls out the same bag of tricks to solve the mystery, the same types of characters appear -- and all that changes is window dressing like location or time of year.

But in the racing vernacular there’s no “holding station” for Kaehler in book three. She’s not just doing the literary version of saving fuel and tires trying to make it to the end of a several-dozen-book run of her Kate Reilly racing-themed mystery series. Instead she’s driving for the win, even in the early stages of what fans hope is a long run.

The Monetizing of Indianapolis Motor Speedway and How I Came to Love it

It's just business ....

To be an IndyCar fan is to get used to the fact that the Indianapolis 500 is the HUGE fish in the small IndyCar pond. So much so that for many people, the month of May and the Indy 500 are the entire IndyCar series. To be an IndyCar fan is to hear fans of the 500 expound on its virtues with admirable passion all year.

I can finally confess that for a long time as someone who lives eight hours from Indianapolis these facts grated on me. Those of us who attend one or more of the dozen-ish non-Indy 500 races can feel like Children of a Lesser God .. er.. Event. HUGE THINGS PLANED FOR INDY 500! Well, what about us? Table scraps.

Jealousy and envy are as seductive as they are unsightly. So, Confession II: I fell into the trap of resenting all the focus put on the Indy 500 while the Iowa Speedway race got — at least in my opinion — cursory attention. Corollary: I believe that this phenomenon has contributed to the demise of many an IndyCar focused racing blog based outside driving distance of IMS, but … I digress.

If You're Not First, You're Last ... and Other Unfortunate Myths

The Academy Awards were last night, which reminded me of what a travesty it was that Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby never won an Oscar. It’s a damn shame, and emblematic of what’s wrong with this great nation.

At one point in the movie (I’m pretty sure, anyway) Ricky says: “I’m a winner! I can do what I want!” which is the theme of the entire movie. If you’re not first, you’re last. More expository dialog:

(Ricky’s sons, Walker and Texas Ranger, are talking smack to their grandfather at the dinner table.)

Chip: [to Ricky Bobby] Are you just going to let your sons talk to their grandfather like this?

Ricky Bobby: Hell yes I am! They are winners! That is how winners talk!

Carley Bobby: If we wanted two wussies, we would have named them Dr. Quinn and Medicine Woman!

Racing's Disconnect with a New Generation

Can racing capture the Selfie Generation?

An interesting comment on another blog got me to thinking: why don’t the youngsters seem to get into racing?

Well, of course, there’s more competition for attention now. The rise of the Internet and cable/satellite TV has given everyone easy access to a flood of information, entertainment, and other sports — including some sports that didn’t even exist a generation ago.

Which leads to the question, what are racing’s challenges in competing for attention? Ah, the billion-dollar question. As the father of an 18 and 22-year-old, some stream-of-consciousness thoughts.

Danica Patrick Wins an Intense Chopped Cooking Athletes Episode

 
Tiki Barber, Danica Patrick, Chuck Zito and Natalie Coughlin in this Danica Patrick-tweeted photo.

In the end, the kale and candy-coated peanuts made the NFL star fumble, the chocolate-covered marshmallows knocked out the mixed marshal arts fighter, and under-cooked beef sank the swimming champion.

That left NASCAR and IndyCar star Danica Patrick — who stayed consistent over all three stints and used an “anti-griddle” as push-to-pass in the final round — standing as champion of Food Network’s “Chopped” cooking competition.

Uncle pressdog’s Fireside Chat — Bristol and Sonoma Edition

Yo yo yo, what up peeps? Couple thing have jolted me out of my contented slumber and caused me to fire up the dark roast, so DRINK (coffee), ye BASTARDS and let’s discuss a case of no contact (Bristol) and contact (Sonoma). 

NASCAR at Bristol: How Kasey Kahne Became My Personal Hero —

Setting: Bristol Motor Speedway

Cast: Matt Kenseth, P1, Kasey Kahne P2, 15 laps to go.

Background Sound Effects: Steady stream of bitching on Twitter (Bitching on Twitter? SHOCKER) about how Bristol has lost its mojo. How the banging and “bump and run” style racing is gone forever. Sprinkle in the tinkle of tears of lamentation.

Cue the swelling musical scores ….

Knoxville Raceway Works to Balance Tradition and Heritage with Innovation

Fans fill the main concourse during 2012 Knoxville Nationals

Knoxville Raceway has a lot of people who are very concerned with what it does. Consider the constituencies:

• The track is governed by the 24-member Marion County Fair Board

• Operation since 1954 has raised Knoxville Raceway to cultural icon status and created a large cadre of long-time, hard-core fans who are passionate about the track and its heritage

• Local civic leaders recognize the track as a chief economic driver for the town of 7,300

All those interested parties — “stakeholders” in the business lexicon — means a lot of people expect to be heard on issues facing the track. Honoring its heritage has always been a big part of Knoxville Raceway. But at the same time the racing world is littered with once-mighty race tracks that are now abandoned to weeds because they rested on their legacy laurels rather than keeping up with the ever-evolving requirements for winning fans’ entertainment dollar.

Erin Crocker Describes the Wild Ride in a Sprint Car

Not only is sprint car driver Erin Crocker the only woman to ever qualify for the Knoxville Nationals A-Main, she’s done it twice, most recently in 2010. She’s also on the board of directors of the Knoxville Sprint Car Hall of Fame.

During a chat at Peace Tree Brewery in Knoxville this summer, Woman of pressdog® Erin talked about what it’s like to drive a winged sprint car.

pressdog: So in a sprint car you’ve got no mirrors, you’ve got no radio and spotter, is it just like mayhem? I always wondered about this .. are you just always focused forward.

Erin Crocker: You always focus forward.

pressdog: Can you hear other drivers?

Knoxville Nationals Ready to Host the Sprint Car World

Competing cars line up on the infield of the 2012 Knoxville Nationals

Part tradition, part innovation, part “cultural festival,” an annual celebration of winged sprint dirt track racing is set to transform an Iowa town of 7,300 into the Mecca of sprint car racing next week.

The 53rd Annual Knoxville Nationals — what amounts to a four-day racing tournament that has been described as the Super Bowl of sprint car racing — kicks off August 7 in Knoxville, Iowa.