Local Look: Off week

Event: Off week

Local papers covering: Port Huron Times Herald, Winston-Salem Journal, Las Vegas Sun, Wilmington News-Journal

'NASCAR dads' may affect election outcome

ALSO  •  More from the NASCAR.com Newswire  •  Complete race coverage

The deal: Bill Chapin of the Port Huron Times Herald in Port Huron, Mich. says the fact that more than 70 million Americans are NASCAR fans has led political pundits to coin the phrase "NASCAR Dads." Some say it's this group that will decide this year's presidential election.

Why we care: Democrats and Republicans would like to tap into the family values associated with NASCAR. Many pollsters think NASCAR dads may have the same effect in this election that soccer moms had in 1996. But no one seems able to agree on what a NASCAR dad is -- other than a male race fan with children.

Almost all definitions say NASCAR dads are white and working-class. Others add such qualifications as being conservative, age 33 to 55, patriotic or rural.

For more NASCAR news from around the globe, click here.

Stoddard says Wimmer is doing everything right

	Wimmer sits in the NASCAR Top 10 after two weeks. Credit: Autostock

The deal: Mike Mulhern of the Winston-Salem Journal says Frankie Stoddard is tickled pink with Scott Wimmer's first two races this season. And, don't look now, but Wimmer, a quiet rookie, is right there in the top five in the Nextel Cup standings, sandwiched between Kevin Harvick and Jeff Gordon.

Why we care: Dodge executives might be having second thoughts about kicking the Bill Davis team out of the fold. Wimmer and Stoddard are far ahead of the Dodge regulars, even though the No. 22 team is no longer factory backed by anyone.

"Yes, this sport is changing, changing, changing, and it will be an uphill battle if we don't get some manufacturing support going down the road," Stoddard told the paper. "But did we have any for the 500? No. Did we have any for Rockingham? No. We've got what our guys can do in house."

For more on Wimmer, click here.

Kenseth: New spoilers, tires will help at LVMS

The deal: Brian Hilderbrand of the Las Vegas Sun tells us that defending NASCAR champion Matt Kenseth believes that the shorter rear spoiler and new tires mandated this year by NASCAR in the Nextel Cup Series will help the racing next weekend at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.

	Matt Kenseth won at the Rock last weekend. Credit: Autostock

"I don't think it's going to produce more side-by-side racing," Kenseth told the paper, "but it should be easier to pass the leader or pass the second-place guy or pass whoever is in front of you."

"Sitting and watching those cars race around the track, it never occurred to me that I'd be doing the same thing one day."

Why we care: Next weekend's UAW-DaimlerChrysler 400 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway will give the NASCAR Nextel Cup drivers their first true taste of how the shorter rear spoiler and new Goodyear tire will affect the racing this season.

"If you're faster than (the guy in front of you), you won't have to be that much faster than him to pass because you shouldn't be as aero-tight behind somebody," Kenseth told the Sun. "... so I think you're going to see a little bit different race at Vegas than what you've seen in the past -- but I don't think it's going to be nearly as drastic as like what you see at Rockingham or Darlington or anything like that."

For more on Kenseth, click here.

Johnson far from hitting the panic button

The deal: Mike Finney of the Willmington News-Journal in Wilmington, Del. says a scuba-diving experience with Jeff Gordon -- his teammate and car owner -- in the Bahamas during the offseason helped give Jimmie Johnson a new perspective on life.

	Jimmie Johnson finished 41st at Rockingham. Credit: Autostock

Chasing sharks will do that to you.

"It's weird how calm you are when surrounded by one of your biggest fears," Johnson told the paper. "I realized there wasn't anything that I could do to get away from them and, if they wanted to, they would just swim over and take a bite out of me.

"I hung on to a rock on the bottom for a little bit and then left. I climbed out of the water basically speechless. But Jeff was high-fiving one of the guys who was with us on the dive."

Why we care: Johnson fell out of the NASCAR Top 10 for the first time in 70 weeks last weekend after a crash at Rockingham.

"Obviously, this is not the way we wanted to start the season, but there's a lot of races left and we'll just go on from here and collect points at the next one," he told the paper.

For more on Johnson, click here.