“Suitcase” Jake Elder operated out of a suitcase and in the shadows. At one point, he jumped to three different teams over a 4-month period. But he was a crew chief extraordinaire, making the careers of many top NASCAR drivers. He died Wednesday in his native Statesville, NC, at 73, after suffering a stroke in 2006 and remaining in failing health.

Just ask Bobby Allison, David Pearson, Darrell Waltrip, Fred Lorenzen, Mario Andretti, or A.J. Foyt (USAC stock cars) who put them on track. It was Elder, who also worked his magic for the late Benny Parsons and rookie Dale Earnhardt Sr. He worked for Petty Enterprises 1963-64 before the Chrysler boycott. While with Petty, Richard won 23 races and his first Cup Series championship.

His 1960s Ford involvement came through Holman-Moody. In 1972, Elder spent time with Roger Penske and driver Mark Donohue.

“Suitcase” wasn’t one to seek out media exposure. Instead of going to the press box with his winning driver and car owner,

  

At the beginning of the 1979 season, Jake was on with Buddy Baker, who already had the dynamic but aging Herb Nab on board. The two literal geniuses were friends, but clashed, so Suitcase packed up.

Elder, who was given his nickname by Waltrip, did not have a formal education, and never intended to make racing his career. By chance, he was a good welder who was sought-out in the mid-1950s by a local racer at Hickory, NC, and his future path became defined.

Jake “Suitcase” Elder was all business about the business of winning race cars. He didn’t allow time for BS, and those who did would quickly find themselves clashing with him. Jake was all about old school. He was as much a winner as his cars, and will be sorely missed.

All aboard, Suitcase Jake has respectfully moved on.

Related articles by Zemanta

• “Suitcase Jake” Elder: Remembering a Legendary NASCAR Crew Chief (bleacherreport.com)
• Remembering Legendary NASCAR Crew Chief “Suitcase Jake” Elder (tracksmack.net)
• Former NASCAR crew chief J.C. Elder dies at 73 (cbssports.com)

He won one race and made the Chase in 2008, but finished 12th in the points. Last year, while teammates Jimmie Johnson, Mark Martin and Jeff Gordon finished 1-2-3 in the championship, Junior failed to win a race and wound up 25th in the points.

Team owner Rick Hendrick has said repeatedly since the end of last season that he and the team were going to do whatever it took to get Earnhardt’s No. 88 Chevrolet turned around this year.

You could tell it wasn’t the finish Earnhardt was looking for. It was the first time in awhile JR was dejected taking second place.

“I feel good about the finish,’’ Earnhardt said. “It’s just frustrating coming that close. You’re mad because you just want to get a top 10. When you get a top 10, you’re pissed off because you can’t get in the top five. Then when you’re running second it gets you mad because you didn’t get a win. That’s how race car drivers are, I hope.

“We worked hard all week. I felt foolish about what happened to us in the 150 qualifying race. We beat the fenders off the car and had to drop back and punt. I just didn’t like racing that way. We ran pretty hard today. We had a car that got ill handling and we faded a bit. We worked on it. We had all kinds of messes going on there.

“When it got cool,’’ he added, “everybody’s car gripped up. The outcome, I don’t know. We worked hard. I’m pretty happy for my team. They needed a good finish.’’

But plate racing at Daytona and Talladega is very different from the rest of the season and Earnhardt knows he and the 88 team still have a lot to prove.

“This is not a true gauge on what the changes are going to do to our team,’’ he said. “The next couple racetracks will definitely give us a better understanding of where we are and If we can go to Fontana, Vegas, be competitive at any point during them races, it would be a little more validation.’’

“It was all a blur,’’ said Earnhardt, whose finish was reminiscent of his father’s last victory at Talladega, when he sliced through traffic and drove from 18th to first in the last 10 laps. “I was just going wherever they weren’t.

“I really don’t enjoy being that aggressive. But if there was enough room for the radiator to fit, you just kind of held the gas down and prayed for the best.’’

You could tell in Earnhardt eyes that this was the most fun he’s had on a plate track in while.

“Yeah, I had a hell of a time tonight,’’ Earnhardt said. “When you got a good car, one that will make some moves and don’t wreck. I wrecked out of the last couple 500s. I figured, `What do I have to do to finish one of these things and finish it good?’ I might have been a little too careful (in the past), you know.

“Tonight, I just let it all hang out. If there was a hole in the middle, I went there, wherever it was.’’

I think this is just what Earnhardt need, hopefully this will give him a kick start to have a year.

Speed TV contributed to this report.

Related articles by Zemanta

• Power Rankings: Body of work from Speedweeks factored in (cbssports.com)

The adrenaline rush of the final two laps, the second attempt at a green-white-checkered-flag finish under rules implemented by NASCAR before Thursday’s Gatorade Duels, all but erased the frustration of almost 2½ hours of stoppages as track workers at Daytona International Speedway repaired potholes in the asphalt between Turns 1 and 2.

You couldn’t have asked for a more story book finish. When other teams wrote him off and even Jammie wasn’t sure where he would be for the 2010 season, owner Chip Ganassi  gave McMurry the chance to come back and drive for Earnhardt Ganassi racing.

“Oh, my God!” McMurray screamed after taking the checkered flag. “I can’t freaking believe it right now. Thank you so much. I can’t believe we just won the Daytona 500.”

Later,  in Victory Lane, McMurray fought back tears. Though he won one race last season at Roush Fenway Racing, he struggled in his final year there and was the odd man out from his team’s NASCAR-mandated reduction from five teams to four.

“It’s a dream — it really is,” he said. “To be where I was last year, and for Johnny Morris owner of sponsor Bass Pro Shops, Chip and co-owner Felix Sabates to take a chance on me and let me come back what a way to pay them back.”

With the new areo package and restrictor plate size, cars were not able to come up through the field like years past. There wasn’t a lot of drivers  sitting out back waiting to avoid the big wreck.

The Roush Fenway Ford Fusions look to be strong all night. Greg Biffle in the #16 3M car finished third, Matt Kenseth in the #17 Crown Royal car finished 8th and soon to be father Carl Edwards finished a respectable 9th place.

Clint Bowyer, who led 37 laps, finished fourth, followed by David Reutimann. Martin Truex Jr. and Kevin Harvick the 2009 Daytona 500 winner.

Under the new NASCAR rules the race leader must take the white flag and start the final lap under green before the race can end, unless three attempts at a green-white-checkered-flag finish are exhausted.

The field failed to make it to the white flag under green on a restart on Lap 203, because NASCAR called a caution for a wreck off Turn 2 involving Kasey Kahne, Tony Stewart, Robert Richardson and Jeff Gordon. By then, McMurray had rocketed to second position behind Harvick and restarted next to Harvick on Lap 207.

The push from Biffle gave McMurry the lead he need to win the race.

Coming into turn three on the last lap  McMurry look in his mirror only to see the #88 Chevy National Guard car driven by Dale Earnhardt Jr, McMurray said, “No!” but there wasn’t enough time for Jr to make a move for the win.

Nascar .com contributed to this report.

Related articles by Zemanta

• McMurray holds off Earnhardt to win at Daytona (thenewstribune.com)
• After Delays, McMurray Captures Daytona 500 (nytimes.com)

This will be Stewart’s third consecutive and fifth overall February Nationwide at Dayton that he has won, and showing his dominance on restrictor-plate races in the Nationwide series getting his sixth win. Tying Dale Earnhardt and Dale Earnhardt Jr. for the career lead in that category.

“There were some really good cars that got mangled up Saturday,” Stewart said, referring to crashes that damaged the cars of Earnhardt, Kyle Busch and Brad Keselowski, among others. “We were just lucky to be in front when it happened.”

Kevin Harvick, who owns the No. 4 Chevrolet that Stewart was driving in his only scheduled Nationwide appearance of the year, finished third in his own No. 33 Chevy. Justin Allgaier came home fourth and Brian Vickers fifth.

There was some wild racing and on lap 92, Dale Earnhardt Jr in his #88 Chevrolet went for a wild tumble flipping his car on the backstrech, after Carl Edwards tried to squeeze into a small hole in the outside lane. Edwards made contact with Brad Keselowski spinning him into Earnhardt.

“We were having a real good run, and I felt good about our chances,” said Earnhardt, whose company, JR Motorsports, also owns the car Patrick will drive in selected races this season. “I’ll have to go back and balance the books — it was an expensive day for JR Motorsports.”

After an 11-minute red flag for Earnhardt’s accident, Stewart took command for his 15th win in a stock car at Daytona, moving him into a tie with Cale Yarborough for third all time at the storied track. He now trails only Earnhardt (34 wins) and Bobby Allison (16) for most at Daytona.

“I would trade a couple of them just for a win in a Sunday race here,” said Stewart, who is 0-for-11 in the Daytona 500. He’ll start sixth in Sunday’s main event.

Patrick’s scheduled to run the next two Nationwide races, at Fontana and Las Vegas.

“We’ll go to these other tracks where she’ll literally be driving the car, it’ll be handling good or bad,” Earnhardt said. “Then people can start forming their opinions on what kind of learning curve she has. But I feel pretty confident. She’s been in a tough situation with the media and the pressure and the attention, I couldn’t have done it.”
Nascar.com contributed to this report.