Advice on Martinsville? Ask Dr. Phil
Virginia 500 Advance - Martinsville Speedway

MOORESVILLE, N.C. (April 10, 2003) - If nationally syndicated talk-show psychologist Dr. Phil can help those stressed-out, obsessive-compulsive, debt-ridden, control freaks with their relationship problems, surely he can help a NASCAR driver with his temper.

We're not looking for his 10 laws of life here - just advice on anger management.  It may be of some use this weekend when the NASCAR Winston Cup Series heads to Martinsville (Va.) Speedway - the birthplace of road rage.  Tempers tend to flare at this half-mile track, so when they do, Dr. Phil suggests the following:

"REFRAIN.  Ask yourself what really matters. If you are in touch with your authentic self - who you really are and what matters most - then you won't get consumed by little things that happen around you." SIRIUS Racing driver Jimmy Spencer says he's in touch with his authentic self, and his authentic self tells him to be consumed with the little things around him.  As for everything else, that's what spotters are for.

"RELAX.  take a deep breath. Calm down. Do you have any idea what upset you last week? Was it worth putting your health in jeopardy?"  Let's see, last Sunday Spencer had his No. 7 SIRIUS Dodge demolished in a 27-car pileup on the fifth lap at Talladega, which cost him six positions in the Winston Cup point standings and roughly $40,000 in prize money.  He did, however, take a deep breath; it's usually standard procedure in the infield care center.

"REACT RATIONALLY.  Stop thinking the world revolves around you."  The only one from the SIRIUS Dog Pound who overreacts from time to time is Mongo, and, well, the world does revolve around him.

With the Virginia 500 (1 p.m. ET on Fox) now upon us, the real test on Sunday may not be of driving ability or car set-up, but which driver can best refrain, relax and react rationally for 500 laps around this hairpin of a race track.  Anybody want to take those odds?

Jimmy Spencer's thoughts:

Five hundred laps at a little, half-mile race track like Martinsville sounds more like a game of survival than a race.  Is that the case?
"It seems that way.  A lot of things happen on a short track that can really mess you up, and you've got to be on top of your game the whole day to give yourself the best chance to avoid them.  If you can keep the car clean through the first 450 laps, you've probably put yourself in position to go for the win.  When Darrell Waltrip was my teammate, one thing he used to say is, 'I know it's a short track, but history says the guys without tires marks on their cars are the ones who usually win.' Darrell Waltrip is a big example of that. He helped me a lot when he was my teammate, and I really thought that was something to remember."

But how do you drive 500 laps around a cramped race track and not get your car roughed up?
"You could ask the same thing about Bristol, and we barely had a scratch after the Bristol race (March 23).  The biggest thing is controlling your temper.  Of all the tracks we go to, Martinsville is probably the easiest to lose your temper at.  If a guy does bump you, he probably doesn't mean it. You're running so close, and it's so competitive.  You've just got to remind yourself that.  There's got to be some give and take out there.  This is a track where you've got to qualify well. Most of all, you've got to have a good-handling car and keep your patience all day long."

So what you're saying is (crew chief) Tommy Baldwin could have his hands full keeping you calm on Sunday?
"I think we could all have our hands full keeping each other calm.  The whole team needs to stay focused.  Track position is so critical, so pit stops have to be fast.  The spotter has to be on top of his game, not only when the car is on the track but also when it's in the pits.  And I definitely need to stay focused and calm."

You know, Dr. Phil says all you've got to do is refrain, relax and react rationally.
"Yeah, he's got all the answers, doesn't he?"

He also says angry people lash out because they don't have the words, concepts or abilities to express their frustration in an appropriate way.  He says to consider alternative ways of venting your anger.  Do you have alternative ways to vent your anger?
"I can think of a few."

SIRIUS Dodge one to watch on Sunday
Virginia 500 Qualifying Report - Martinsville Speedway

MARTINSVILLE, Va. (April 12, 2003) - A solid qualifying effort on Friday was backed up by a productive practice on Saturday, as Jimmy Spencer registered the sixth fastest time in NASCAR Winston Cup Happy Hour this morning.

Spencer's quickest lap around the half-mile oval here at Martinsville took only 20.662 seconds (91.647 mph).  It was slightly slower than Friday's Bud Pole Qualifying time (20.337 seconds at 93.111 mph), which awarded him the 11th starting position for tomorrow's Virginia 500 (1 p.m. ET on Fox).

"Right now we're still a little loose getting in the corners," said Spencer, who will be making his 412th career Winston Cup start.  "The rear tires don't seem like they want to grip, but Tommy and the boys will get it figured out.  I feel really good about our car.  We should've been starting in the top 10, but I drove it in the corner too far yesterday on my qualifying run, and I couldn't get the car turned quick enough.  It was just a mistake on my part."

Jeff Gordon won the Bud Pole Award on Friday with a time of 20.079 seconds.  Dale Earnhardt Jr. will make up the outside of row one, but he had problems on Saturday during the final practice.  Earnhardt ran into the car of Jack Sprague when both were slowing to enter the garage.  It caused moderate damage to the nose of Earnhardt's car and the rear of Sprague's.

"Man, can you believe this?  You've got Earnhardt with damage, and you've got several other cars with damage," Spencer told Fox pit reporter Jeanie Zelasko.  "You've got to love Martinsville.  This is real racing.  I've loved coming here ever since my modified days.  It's just one of those cool tracks."

Spencer has now qualified in the top 20 in six of the last seven races.  The problem for the Dog Pound the past two weeks, though, has not been starting, but finishing.  A pair of unfortunate accidents left Team SIRIUS with finishes of 33rd and 38th at Texas and Talladega, respectively.

"You know, when we left Bristol we thought we really had a shot at being in the top 10 by the Martinsville race, but now we're in 30th," Spencer said.  "We've made a few mistakes, but we're learning from our mistakes.  I still wouldn't trade this team for the world.  We've got a good car here this weekend, so we've got a chance to get things turned around.  I still think we can finish in the top 10 in points and even contend for a win.  Some people think I'm crazy, but I don't care.  I like what we've got going here."

RIDING WITH THE 3RD:  Spencer will be riding with some reassurance on Sunday.  The SIRIUS Dodge will sport the insignia of the 3rd Infantry Division, which has been leading the coalition charge into Bagdad.

"I can't tell you how proud I am of our troops fighting in Iraq," Spencer said on Saturday.  "It took three weeks for them to oust Saddam Hussein.  Think about that.  I know there's still fighting to be done, but I think it's pretty obvious we're achieving our objective.  I fully support our troops, and it's an honor to carry the logo of the 3rd Infantry Division on the SIRIUS Dodge this weekend."

ULTRA TOUGH:  Jim Smith's weekend has already gotten off to a good start, as his truck driven by Ted Musgrave finished second in the Advanced Auto Parts 250 NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series race here today.  Musgrave started the No. 1 Mopar Dodge on the pole, and fended off a hard-charging Kevin Harvick for the second spot at the end.  Smith's other entry, the No. 2 ASE/Carquest Dodge driven by Jason Leffler, finished 11th after starting 25th.  The race, which was won by Dennis Setzer, was marred with 11 cautions.

RULE CHANGE COMING:  NASCAR announced today that all cars or trucks competing in the Winston Cup Series, Busch Series and Craftsman Truck Series will require a second tether for the front wheels at events on all tracks 1.25 miles or more in length, excluding road courses. 

"Since the incident last Sunday at Talladega where the No.12 car's front wheel became disconnected, we have been analyzing the car and data at our new Research & Development Center in Concord, North Carolina," said NASCAR Managing Director of Competition Gary Nelson, who also oversees and manages the R&D Center. "After thorough and exhaustive analysis, we have determined that two Vectran® HS V-12 fiber cables would add more than double the strength of one steel cable. Consequently, steel cables will no longer be permitted."

The new ruling will take effect beginning with the April 27 race at California Speedway, a 2-mile oval.

MUST SEE TV:  Spencer will be a guest host on the SPEED Channel's Inside Winston Cup next week.  The SIRIUS Racing driver will join hosts Allen Bestwick, Ken Schrader and Johnny Benson to recap the Virginia 500.  Inside Winston Cup airs Monday at 7 p.m. and midnight, and Wednesday at 5 p.m.

Dog Pound finishes 19th at Martinsville
Virginia 500 Race Report - Martinsville Speedway

 
MARTINSVILLE, Va. (April 13, 2003) - What could've been good turned bad, and what could've been bad turned reasonably decent.  When it was all said and done, it was just another day at a short track.
 
The SIRIUS Racing Team took one step closer to maturity on Sunday when a pit-stop mishap cost the team a chance at a top five and possibly a win in the Virginia 500 here at Martinsville Speedway.  In fifth place, Jimmy Spencer brought the No. 7 SIRIUS Dodge into the pits under caution for a two-tire stop, but when he pulled out the gas can went with him, warranting a NASCAR penalty.  Spencer had exited the pits in first place, but had to give it up and go to the end of the longest line.
 
The Dog Pound spent the rest of the day on a new mission to salvage a good finish, which it accomplished.  Spencer managed to avoid 11 cautions - none of which came at a beneficial time - and also a wreck in front of him at the end to finish 19th.  It was the Dog Pound's fourth top-20 finish of the season.
 
TURNING POINT:  The problem in the pits actually started long before the pit stop ever took place, and on the other side of the track at the refueling station.  When Baldwin called Spencer in at lap 119 for a two-tire pit stop under caution, there were no ready gas cans.  As it turns out, there was a pump malfunction at the refueling station, and it caused a massive stall in the process.  At least four teams - the No.7, the No. 23, the No. 99, and the No. 9 - had not returned to their respective pit stalls in time for the race's second caution, which came at lap 119.
 
Without gas cans ready to go, Baldwin immediately radioed gas man Jeff Miles to borrow a can of gas from Tony Stewart's No. 20 team, which was pitted in the adjacent stall.  Miles promptly did so, but by the time he crossed the wall to refuel the No. 7 Dodge, Spencer had already arrived and the two-tire stop was in process.  In the melee, the jack dropped, Spencer sped off, and the can went with it.
 
So the question, what really happened over at the fuel pumps?  That's what Baldwin wanted to know when he and Spencer went into the NASCAR trailer after the race.
 
"NASCAR has an open-door policy, so we just went in there and asked about the fuel pump situation," Spencer said.  "NASCAR knows there was a problem over there, and they were very understanding with our situation.  We didn't go in there with hot tempers or anything.  We just wanted to find out what really happened.
 
"The deal is you've got the fuel pump in turns three and four, and there are a lot of teams that are pitted in (turns) one and two, and it's a long way to go to get refueled.  I think they should at least let those teams have an extra can.  You had teams that didn't have their fuel back in time when the caution came out.  We had decided to make a two-tire stop, and fortunately Tony Stewart's team let us borrow some fuel.  From what I hear, they had just made it back themselves."
 
WHAT COULD'VE BEEN:  For what it's worth, Baldwin had a game plan that appeared dead-on.  Spencer had started 13th, climbed to fifth and was ready to take the lead.  With it being extremely difficult to pass on this short, half-mile track, Baldwin saw an opportunity to help Spencer jump positions with pit strategy.  He called for a two-tire stop, and it worked.  Spencer went out in first place.
 
Unfortunately, he was not allowed to stay there.  The penalty for the gas can forced Team SIRIUS to go to the tail end of the line.  Baldwin decided to go ahead and put left-side tires on, and Spencer restarted 26th.  He soon went a lap down.
 
CAN'T CATCH A BREAK:  Knowing it had a car as fast as the leaders, Team SIRIUS tried to use pit strategy on two separate occasions to attempt to get back on the lead lap.  On the fifth and seventh cautions of the race, Baldwin told Spencer to stay out on the track while everyone else pitted.  That would put the No. 7 Dodge on the tail end of the lead lap, restarting right in front of the leaders.  All Team SIRIUS would need is a quick caution to be able to regroup with the lead draft.
 
But the caution never came either time, and old tires eventually set in.
 
"It was just a chance we had to take," Baldwin said.  "We had to get back on the lead lap, but we didn't have any chance of doing that by pitting, because there were so many lapped cars in front of us.  So we stayed out and hoped for a quick caution, but it never came.  Jimmy did a heck of a job driving a car with old tires.  That's not an easy thing to do here at Martinsville."
 
SPENCER'S TAKE:  "This was a great Martinsville race.  I love coming here.  We obviously had a good car, but just made a mistake in the pits and got pushed to the rear of the field.  We never could catch back up after that. Every time we tried to get a lap back the caution wouldn't fall or whatever. Once you lose track position it's pretty tough. We were going to be leading the race and instead had to go to the back.  You can't recoup from it, or at least we didn't recoup from it.
 
"We're going to make mistakes, that's just part of being a new team.  Sure, it's frustrating when it happens, but it's like I've said many times before, I wouldn't trade this team for any of those other ones.  I think our biggest problem today was our rear shocks.  I think Tommy did a great job on the car and in the pits.  He did all he could, he made the right calls, and we just couldn't catch a break when we needed it."
 
GREAT FINISH:  While Spencer was fighting his way into the top 20, a spectacular sprint was taking place for the win.  Bobby Labonte, Jeff Gordon, Tony Stewart and Dale Earnhardt Jr., traded paint and positions in an all-out dash for the checkers.  Labonte had the lead, but pole-sitter Gordon finally took it from him in turn one with 14 laps to go.  He held on from there to claim his first win of the season.  Labonte finished second, followed by Earnhardt, Jeff Burton, Elliott Sadler and Stewart.  Rounding out the top 10 were Sterling Marlin, Rusty Wallace, Jimmie Johnson and Ken Schrader.
 
POINTS CHASE:  Spencer gained two spots to 28th in the NASCAR Winston Cup Championship point standings with his 19th-place finish on Sunday.  He now has 846 points, just five points behind 27th-place Steve Park.
 
WEEK OFF:  The NASCAR Winston Cup Series will enjoy its first weekend off before heading to California in two weeks for the Auto Club 500 (2:30 p.m. ET on Fox).  Team SIRIUS will test at Kentucky in the meantime.