Vets, rookies start Nationwide season strong

Posted on March 31, 2013 by Nascar

Sunoco Rookie of the Year battle, Hornish Jr.’s hot start are big stories

For Sam Hornish Jr. and his No. 12 Penske Racing Ford team, the key to the 2013 NASCAR Nationwide Series season was getting off to a good start.

With the series in the midst of a two-week hiatus, it appears Hornish and his group have accomplished just that.

“We started off the year just the way we wanted to, and have made sure we took care of the car throughout the first five races as well as we could,” Hornish, 33, said following his runner-up finish at Auto Club Speedway. “We wanted to get out of the box good, and I preached that to the team in the offseason.”

Thanks to a win at Las Vegas, and top-10 or better finishes elsewhere, Hornish leads the series’ points standings. He will carry a 28-point advantage into Texas Motor Speedway when teams kick back into gear April 12 with the running of the O’Reilly Auto Parts 300.

But Hornish knows there is a lot of company well within sight of the top spot. A mix of newcomers and veterans, new teams and established stars are just as eager to resume chasing the checkered flag. Regan Smith, who made the move to JR Motorsports during the offseason, trails Hornish in second, while Brian Scott (Richard Childress Racing), Justin Allgaier (Turner Scott Motorsports) and Austin Dillon (RCR) round out the top five.

“We’ve been working on stuff, trying to find that package that works for us and almost essentially testing at the same time that we’re racing and trying to gain points,” Smith, who finished thirdat Auto Club, said. “I’ve got a lot of confidence in this race team and a lot of confidence in the guys on the pit box calling the shots.

"We wanted to get out of the box good, and I preached that to the team in the offseason."

— Sam Hornish Jr.

“Once we get a few things scienced out, then hopefully, we’re the car up there battling with the 54 (Kyle Busch) and the 12 (Hornish) and really make it interesting.”

Trevor Bayne (Roush Fenway Racing), Kyle Larson (TSM), Parker Kligerman (Kyle Busch Motorsports), Elliott Sadler (Joe Gibbs Racing) and Alex Bowman (RAB Racing) complete the top 10.

Larson and Bowman are currently 1-2 in the battle for Sunoco Rookie of the Year honors.

Busch, a regular in Sprint Cup, is the Nationwide series’ most recent winner, capturing back-to-back races at Bristol and ACS. He won earlier this year at Phoenix as well, and five of his 54 career wins have come at Texas. Kligerman said being paired with such a talented teammate has been a boost to his own 2013 efforts.

“Kyle is such a great mentor as an owner and as a driver,” Kligerman said. “I like to tell the story (of) when we were at Phoenix and in 10 minutes, I learned more with him than I have with about most drivers I’ve met.

“He has a great feel for these (cars); he has a great feel for these race tracks. He’s obviously very talented and also very open about how to help you out and what you should do to get better.”

Wayne Auton, who took over as Nationwide Series director after overseeing the Camping World Truck Series since its inception, said he’s been impressed with the caliber of competition through the first five races. While Hornish has enjoyed the strongest start, others have kept pace and several surprises have already emerged.

“You can’t say enough about the competition level that’s there,” he said. “What we’ve seen with Kyle Larson, a young … up and comer; all the rookies that are in the field this year, how well they have participated. …

“I guess what I have been sort of proud of is the way that I’ve learned how these guys and gals and owners and drivers and crew members handle themselves in the garage area, and how good the cars really, really are … how competitive they are once they get on the race track.”

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Posted on March 30, 2013 by

With time off, NASCAR community keeps itself occupied

The rare off weekend between Auto Club and Martinsville allows members of the NASCAR family to take time to travel, relax and recover from the early part of the season. Ranging from testing to traveling to the beach, drivers and crew members elected to spend the weekend in different ways.

RICHARD CHILDRESS RACING

One of the perks of the time off is it’s a great time for special occasions, like weddings, births (if well-planned) and engagements. Brian Scott, driver of the No. 2 Shore Lodge Chevrolet, was two days into his vacation in Cabo San Lucas when he announced he proposed to longtime girlfriend, Whitney. He tweeted, “The Woman of my dreams and my future wife said YES! I am engaged and sooo happy!”

His teammate Austin Dillon was having a different off weekend, hunting with his grandfather and team owner Richard Childress in Argentina. Joining him was Truck Series driver and younger brother, Ty Dillon. Austin Dillon marveled at the "awesome" weather during the group’s first excursion — bird hunting.

On the Sprint Cup side of the organization, Jeff Burton and Kevin Harvick started out their off weekend with some fishing, although not together. Burton listed off every fish he caught (Sailfish, Kingfish, Mahi-mahi) and Burton’s trainer was around to cook for dinner.

In South Carolina, Harvick was also fishing before heading home to spend some time with his family.

ROUSH FENWAY RACING

Ricky Stenhouse Jr. tweeted pictures of his new signature Tony Lama brand boots and New Balance shoes, referring to the new additions as “Christmas in March.”

Stenhouse’s teammates in the Nationwide Series, Trevor Bayne and Travis Pastrana, also used Twitter to share their pictures.

Bayne plugged sponsor Cargill when he posted this picture, saying he was “grillin and chillin” to start the weekend. Pastrana, meanwhile, headed home to Maryland, where his tricked-out backyard was covered in snow.

JOE GIBBS RACING / KYLE BUSCH MOTORSPORTS

One of the biggest stories as the off weekend began was Denny Hamlin’s injured back and the fact he would be out for up to five races. He tweeted to his fans “If me getting back in a car was based on pain tolerance then I would be in the car next week. There’s just more to it that I can’t control.” While resting at home, he began his recovery by spending time with his daughter, Taylor.

Hamlin’s teammate, Kyle Busch, began his time off following a win at Auto Club Speedway and extended his stay in Los Angeles to hang out in Hollywood. In a succession of tweets, Busch posted pictures of his time on the set of FX’s “Anger Management” starring Charlie Sheen. Busch and his wife, Samantha, took off to parts unknown, using the hashtag #paradise to describe where they were hiding out.

Nationwide Series driver Brian Vickers began his off weekend with a trip to Dollar General in Nashville for Dollar General Employee Day. Elliott Sadler posted a video about his plans to go to the beach through his sponsor, One Main Financial.

Kyle Busch Motorsports driver Parker Kligerman announced on Twitter he was given the keys to a Lexus IS F for a month and was thinking of taking it on a road trip — and did exactly that. Kligerman, a native of Westport, Conn., drove the 11 hours from Charlotte to the streets of New York City on his way home, saying the streets of New York are like Bristol and the avenues are like Talladega.

HENDRICK MOTORSPORTS

Five-time champion Jimmie Johnson, known for running in triathlons in his down time, was back to training for his next event, posting a picture of his bike with the hashtag #BackYardTrails. His teammate and four-time champion Jeff Gordon took to the snow, saying he had plans to go skiing with his family.

Kasey Kahne headed to Ohio for his off weekend to race in one of his Kasey Kahne Racing machines. He said he was looking forward to racing in the dirt again because he hadn’t raced since last year. Before leaving, he shot a commercial for Time Warner Cable with golfer Ian Poulter and football player Victor Cruz.

Points leader Dale Earnhardt Jr. said he didn’t want to have the off weekend “as well as (they’ve) been running.” With a friend getting married on the other off weekend of the season, Earnhardt said he plans to spend time with family and friends but would rather be at the track. His crew chief, Steve Letarte, decided to take a break from Twitter to spend time with his family and said he would be using his “Letarte Koozie” during the weekend.

PENSKE RACING

Brad Keselowski started his off weekend by announcing a brand new website, including a fan-interactive “Crew Challenge,” which will allow fans to create content for his website and win prizes. Other than answering questions about the site on Twitter, Keselowski said he plans things “one day at a time” and can’t plan out far ahead.

Teammate Joey Logano, who had been silent on social media sites since the race ended at Fontana, started his time off with a golf tournament for his sponsor, Shell. Joined by his crew chief Todd Gordon, the two played in the Shell Houston Open, where Gordon brought home a trophy.

OTHER DRIVERS:

Casey Mears (Germain Racing) went to Little Rock to do some testing while Michael McDowell (Phil Parsons Racing) went hunting. Aric Almirola (Richard Petty Motorsports) had a chore list from his wife, Janice, to complete while Earnhardt Ganassi Racing’s Juan Pablo Montoya was spending time at the Sony Open tennis tournament with his wife (and riding his bike during down time at the event).

Stewart-Haas Racing driver Ryan Newman had a visit from Junior Johnson at his farm and then traveled to Utah with his family while No. 55 crew chief Rodney Childers headed to camp at the beach with his family (but still stayed connected to answer questions about Mark Martin filling in for Denny Hamlin).

In one of the more fun events to start an off weekend, Turner Scott Motorsports teammates Justin Allgaier and Kyle Larson headed to Pahrump, Nev., to drive exotic cars at the Spring Mountain Motor Resort and Country Club. Allgaier tweeted his view while Larson did the same.

The Sprint Cup Series heads to Martinsville Speedway on April 7 for the STP Gas Booster 500 while the Nationwide Series will return at Texas for the O’Reilly Auto Parts 300 on April 12. Making its second appearance of the season, the Camping World Truck series returns to Martinsville for the Kroger 250 on April 6.

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Posted on March 30, 2013 by Staff Report

Points leader, series sponsor roll out Sprint Drive First™ app

Video: Dale Earnhardt Jr. ad campaign | Vote Now. Vote Often. Sprint Fan Vote

Sprint Drive First could describe Dale Earnhardt Jr.‘s points lead after the first five races as NASCAR Most Popular Driver enjoys a strong start to 2013 at the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series season’s first off-weekend.

But Sprint Drive First™ is a mobile application which helps drivers avoid the distraction of texting while driving.

Earnhardt teamed up with Sprint for a 30-second ad to promote the app, which can block and send automatic replies to text messages while you drive. Scott Vincent, a director for three years on comedian Dave Chapelle’s "The Chapelle Show," directs the spot, which was shot at Charlotte Motor Speedway in mid-March. It will begin airing during the race weekend at Martinsville Speedway.

The overarching message is that driving isn’t the problem, and texting isn’t the problem; "and" is the problem — as in texting "and" driving — and we all can live without the "and." To help remove the temptation to drive and text at the same time, the Sprint Drive First app is offered as a solution.

The ad features Earnhardt Jr. with two members of his crew in the garage at a track. One of them says, "Hey Dale, I got your text that said you couldn’t text." Then the other says, "Wait. What? Why would he text that he couldn’t text?” Earnhardt replies: "I was driving." The exchange ignites a discussion about how and why a text is sent when the person who sends the text doesn’t actually send it — all of which refers to the Sprint Drive First app and how it sends reply text messages while someone is driving.

An additional video will be shown at the Sprint Unlimited Experience at tracks each weekend throughout the season where they can interact with Earnhardt by texting his number. The video features Earnhardt at a Sprint Unlimited Experience race simulator, where he talks about how driving in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series takes laser-like focus. He invites fans to try and distract him with a text as he gets into the simulator and sets his phone down at his side as the simulated race begins.

Throughout April, fans who sign up to receive information from Sprint at the Sprint Unlimited Experience or online at www.Sprint.com/drive will receive a special poster of Earnhardt that includes Sprint Drive First information, and fans who sign the Focus on Driving pledge will receive a bumper magnet.

Earnhardt on the set of the TV commercial shoot at Charlotte Motor Speedway earlier this month.

Earnhardt’s car on the set at Charlotte Motor Speedway earlier this month.

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Posted on March 29, 2013 by

Veteran driver to return to No. 55 ride at Texas; Vickers to take over No. 11

Mark Martin won’t be a permanent substitute for injured Denny Hamlin after all.

Michael Waltrip Racing announced late Friday afternoon that Martin would return to his No. 55 car April 13 at Texas Motor Speedway, rather that pilot Joe Gibbs Racing’s No. 11 entry for the entire time Hamlin is out recovering from a fractured vertebra in his lower back.

"We wish Denny a speedy recovery. Mark is a big part of our organization and committed to our sponsors, especially Aaron’s and Toyota."

—Michael Waltrip

On Thursday, JGR announced that Martin would pilot the No. 11 while Hamlin is recuperating from his injury suffered in a crash last weekend at Auto Club Speedway.

After MWR’s Friday release, JGR announced that Brian Vickers — who drives the No. 20 Gibbs entry in the Nationwide Series — will race the No. 11 JGR Sprint Cup ride, beginning at Texas.

"Obviously having to find someone to fill in for Denny is not an ideal situation to have to be in and when you start a process like this you obviously begin to look at the drivers that are not only available but also able to drive for your race team and manufacturer. We were a bit premature in determining Mark’s status past Martinsville however," said J.D. Gibbs, president of Joe Gibbs Racing, in a statement. "We’re real happy to have the opportunity to get Brian in our Cup cars and with him driving Nationwide for us we think we have some continuity there that is beneficial."

Vickers is slated to drive MWR’s No. 55 car at Martinsville, allowing Martin to pilot the No. 11 car that weekend. MWR and JGR both field Toyotas.

On the advice of doctors, Hamlin is sitting out six weeks, which means the earliest he can return is May 11 at Darlington. Martin will fill in for Hamlin next weekend at Martinsville Speedway. But according to MWR’s announcement Friday, Martin will be back in his usual ride the following week at Texas and then resume his regular schedule of events for MWR – a slate that also includes Kansas and Richmond, events Hamlin also is scheduled to miss.

“I think it is great that a driver of Mark’s caliber is available to support our fellow Toyota team during this difficult time for them,” Waltrip said in a statement. “We wish Denny a speedy recovery. Mark is a big part of our organization and committed to our sponsors, especially Aaron’s and Toyota. We have a lot of goals yet to reach this year, and we are very focused on accomplishing them.”

On Sirius XM NASCAR Radio on Friday, Waltrip said, "We agreed that Mark would drive (the No. 11) at Martinsville, and we were working through what it would look like after that. For some reason, before we got it all figured out, a press release was put out. I guess it said that Mark would drive it until Denny was better, and that just wasn’t what we agreed to yet."

Waltrip is slated to drive the No. 55 car May 5 at Talladega.

Hamlin suffered a compression fracture of his L1 vertebra in the crash last Sunday, when he hit an inside wall after making contact with former teammate Joey Logano, with whom he was battling for the victory on the final lap.

READ MORE:

READ: Hamlin sustains
back injury

WATCH: Logano, Hamlin
wreck at Fontana

READ: Stewart goes
after Logano

READ: Latest driver
reports

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Posted on March 29, 2013 by Holly Cain

Pairing has second-longest driver/crew chief relationship in garage

Spend much time watching the interaction between Hendrick Motorsports driver Kasey Kahne and his longtime crew chief Kenny Francis and it starts to feel like an old fashioned sitcom.

Except in this case, both stars are always playing the straight-man. And you keep waiting for a punch-line.

Take this exchange during the recent race weekend at California’s Auto Club Speedway.

Reporter: “Only Jimmie Johnson and his crew chief Chad Knaus have worked together longer. Are you and Kasey at the point now that you complete each other’s sentences?’’

Francis: “Well, Kasey doesn’t really talk a lot.” Long pause. “Neither do I." Silence.

When Kahne is later told about this exchange, he leans back, smiles and says simply, “He’s right."

Never has silence been so golden; as in shiny trophy hardware. In the case of the powerhouse Hendrick team’s newest roster additions — Kahne and Francis — actions really do speak louder than words.

They have combined for 14 wins since pairing in 2006, and Kahne capped off his 2012 Hendrick debut with a career-best fourth-place showing in the Sprint Cup championship. And his No. 5 Chevrolet already notched a win four races into the 2013 season at Bristol.

The two have the longest current tenured combination in the Cup garage except for the five-time championship duo of Hendrick teammate Johnson and Knaus.

Unlike Johnson and Knaus, however, Kahne, 32, and Francis, 43, have been together through extreme tests of commitment, talent and resources from the heyday at Evernham Motorsports in the mid-2000s to the uncertainty of ownership changes, team financial difficulties and three different employers. They are the only current pairing to have worked with four manufacturers in the past half decade.

And yet, they have endured and succeeded at every turn no matter the situation.

“We’ve had some things thrown at us over the years and we’ve just always stuck together,’’ Kahne said. “At the end of each year we’ve talked and sometimes he’d be like, ‘Man, do you want me to still be your crew chief?’ We were just always kind of upfront with each other and it was easy to say that I didn’t want anybody else.

“For myself, I feel like he’s given me more opportunities to win in the situations we’ve been in than anybody else ever would have.’’

"We’ve had some things thrown at us over the years and we’ve just always stuck together."

— Kasey Kahne

Francis is also bolstered by the loyalty and perhaps even a bit amazed at the accomplishments despite the trying times.

“Some of the down times were related to the business side of things, and that was hard to go through,’’ Francis said. “We always had good equipment and tried to be as focused as we could be, but when you’re talking about stuff like what’s going on financially with the company and guys are worried about their jobs, it just takes away.

“It doesn’t take much of a distraction in this business to hurt your performance. It’s subtle, but the competition is so close, you just can’t have that."

They both say the decision to stay together was easier than the circumstances they faced.

“Kasey needed to try something different so he said, ‘Let’s try to make this work together. If we can’t, then no hard feelings, but try to see what we can do together and give it an honest chance to see if we can improve how we’d been doing.’

“We had a couple Chase runs and had won a few races here and there, but we didn’t have the consistency we wanted. We always knew we wanted to try and stay together, but we didn’t know if it was going to work out. We just really didn’t know.

“The opportunity is definitely there with Hendrick Motorsports. We just want to take it to the next level.’’

It’s hard to imagine either without the other.

Ironically, for two guys that admittedly don’t like to talk much, they both insist communication has been the key to their relationship.

“It works for me because he’s a really good driver and really good at feeling what the car’s doing and understanding what he needs to do,’’ Francis explained. “He’s pretty good at communicating what he’s looking for and I think he understands a lot more about the cars than he did, say seven, eight years ago …

“And he’s always been a really good driver, really fast."

Adds Kahne, “We’re just on the same page in how we communicate. Between that and work ethic — Kenny’s nonstop trying to figure out how to make the race cars faster — and I try to do everything I can to know about the car and also by physically and mentally being as prepared as I can be.’’

Both Kahne and Francis are normally soft-spoken and introspective — contentedly more dash than flash — but it belies a fiercely competitive spirit. Francis was an accomplished late model driver, and he brings that racer mentality to his skillset as a college-educated engineer.

“I’m a really serious person, I don’t do a lot of joking around and he’s a lot like me, pretty serious,’’ Francis said. “We’re both pretty intense."

That intensity is evident in their recent victory at Bristol, Kahne’s first at NASCAR’s famed half-mile bullring. Not only did Francis not celebrate beyond the required Victory Lane photo demands, but he also refuses to feel any more optimistic or overly confident about the next race or races on the schedule.

“I went home and went to bed," Francis said of the Bristol victory. “I purposely suppress it because you just never know. This next week could be terrible. You want to win every race, but you can’t expect to win every race. It’s just not realistic.

“So when you do win, it’s more relief. If you’re a good football team you can expect to win half or three-quarters of your events, where a good race team that has its best year, you’re lucky to win 15-20 percent. That would be an incredible year. You really have try to be more realistic, which is hard because you get more disappointed.

“The hardest part for me is to try to enjoy the good times without letting the negatives bring you back down.’’

Fortunately, there have been more good times than bad.

And certainly their success is a lesson in listening more and talking less.

“I think because we have a really good relationship, understand each other and have a lot of respect for each other and our work ethic, and I know how he goes about things, I enjoy working with him — and to have that long relationship is good,’’ Kahne said.

“It hasn’t gotten old or even times when you’ve felt like change might be better.

“I think it’s nice because of where we’re at now and how we worked together to get to this point together on a lot of different levels. Nice to be here now and be with Hendrick Motorsports and have a chance to win championships.”

While Kahne and Francis may not have staged a huge celebration after the Bristol victory, Kahne did something a bit uncharacteristic in the wake of his big win. While in California, he posted a photo on Twitter showing his left biceps with a fresh tattoo of his grandfather’s initials — a bold move for sure.

“I don’t know if Kenny even knows about it," Kahne said jokingly.

“And no, he will not be getting a tattoo."

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Posted on March 28, 2013 by

The Joe Gibbs Racing driver is expected to miss at least five races but still has a championship in mind

Read more: Martin to fill in for Hamlin

Denny Hamlin is days removed from an accident that fractured one of his vertebra, and in the hours immediately following left him wrapped up in a neck brace and unable to eat. His Joe Gibbs Racing team is working to find a replacement driver for the five races he’ll miss while recovering. But the perennial championship contender on the Sprint Cup Series is already thinking about getting back in the car — and perhaps still making a charge at the title.

“I think he’s definitely thinking about it,” JGR team president J.D. Gibbs said Thursday. “But at the same time, your safety is more important than those points. I think for us, we’ll take it easy. You definitely keep it in the back of your mind, as does he — hey, we’ve still got a shot …. Really, I was thinking it was over. When you kind of lay it out, the way the points system works, there’s a shot. And I know Denny wants to be a part of that.”

Hamlin suffered a compression fracture in his lower back after a final-lap crash Sunday at Auto Club Speedway, where he and former teammate Joey Logano made contact racing for the victory and Hamlin’s No. 11 car struck an inside wall not protected by the SAFER barrier. He was airlifted to a local hospital, where he spent the night. Tuesday, Charlotte-area neurosurgeon and spinal specialist Dr. Jerry Petty told Hamlin that he wouldn’t require surgery, but would need six weeks to recover.

"He’s handling it well, but I know he’s just frustrated."

— Team president J.D. Gibbs on Denny Hamlin

If Hamlin keeps to that timetable, he’d miss five Sprint Cup events and return May 11 at Darlington. He’d also be a long shot to qualify for the Chase for the Sprint Cup — which he’s never missed — given that he’d have to win races and be in the top 20 in points to have any hopes of earning a wild-card berth.

“All the guys are just discouraged,” Gibbs said on a conference call with reporters. “They were thinking as we all were, maybe he could start and let someone else drive a few of the races. But when we got the results, they were really frustrated and bummed out. Just because they know how good Denny is, and the shot we had.”

Even so, Gibbs wouldn’t discount Hamlin making a run at the playoff once he gets back in the car, or the No. 11 still contending for the owners’ championship. The team announced Mark Martin as a substitute for the next race at Martinsville.

Meanwhile, Hamlin is dealing with not only the physical pain of his injury, but also the frustration of missing time in the car.

“He’s handling it well, but I know he’s just frustrated,” Gibbs said. “The good news we got from Dr. Petty is, hey, it’s not a major fracture. It’s not ligament damage, both of which would require surgery. It’s just a healing process. And really, you don’t know how long it will take. It’s just kind of up to Denny’s body. But he’s handling it well. We’re staying in touch with him and his team, asking what do you think, would this person make sense, and just keeping him a part of the process. He’s been through this before. He’s a tough dude. And so I think for him, he’s fighting to get back in the car as fast as he can.”

In 2010, Hamlin returned to the car 10 days after undergoing reconstructive surgery on his knee, and gritted his way through a full race at Phoenix before going on to enjoy his best season on NASCAR’s premier series. Gibbs visited Hamlin before flying home Sunday evening, and could see his driver was dealing with a great deal of pain, which he said has abated somewhat in the days since.

“I think now, it’s painful,” Gibbs said. “Right away, it was super painful. And you had to keep the neck collar on and they wouldn’t let you eat, so that was even more frustrating for him. I think when he got some of that done and got back home, he’s feeling a little better. But it still hurts.”

Even so, Gibbs said Hamlin has been exchanging texts messages with Grubb, and he believes the driver will play an active role on the team even while someone else is driving his car.

“I think he’ll be involved,” Gibbs said. “There’s the whole healing process, how much can he move around, when can he start moving around. That all just kind of depends on how quickly he heals. He’s already working with Darian and the guys saying, ‘Here’s what I think, here’s my two cents.’ So I think he’ll be involved like he has been before. I think the frustrating thing for him is, he just won’t be behind the wheel.”

The accident that injured Hamlin stemmed from contact between two drivers who had feuded the week before on the Bristol short track. Logano drove four years for Gibbs before moving to Penske prior to this season, and Gibbs said his former driver was “a great teammate” over that time. Gibbs did not believe Sunday’s contact by Logano was retaliation for the incident involving the same two drivers a week earlier.

“My personal take is, I think Joey was really trying to make a point,” Gibbs said. “He was pushing it. He was like, ‘I’m going to win this thing or else.’ But at the same time … I think when he realized Denny was hurt, it took a whole new turn. So from what I’ve seen, he’s really hurt by that as well.”

Logano, who has kept mostly silent since the incident, has exchanged text messages with Hamlin and on Thursday sent him well wishes through Twitter. “Hope he gets back to the track soon,” he wrote. Hamlin, meanwhile, can only wait on his injured back to heal.

“If you ask Denny, he’d want to be back in the car right now,” Gibbs said. “But when you talk to Dr. Petty and the teams we’ve been working with, it has to heal up properly before you can do that. As soon as we can do that, trust me, he’ll want to be back in that car. He has enough wisdom to say, ‘I’m going to wait until that time is here.’”

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