9/11 Memorial

As part of the 9/11 remembrance, Lt. Mickey Kross of the New York City Fire Department was an honored guest throughout race weekend in Richmond. Kross was one of the first responders who escaped the North Tower when the World Trade Center when it collapsed on Sept. 11, 2001.

“Obviously it’s a very, very special day for me,” Kross said. “I think in the military they call it the ‘alive day.’ The anniversary of the day I was almost killed. For some reason I’m here.”

Kross was attending his first NASCAR race but said he quickly found a love for the sport. “To be honest with you, I didn’t know a lot about NASCAR other than the little bit I saw on TV, but now I’m a huge fan.”

But Kross was also in Richmond to talk about the 9/11 Memorial being constructed in NYC.

Jenna Noonan, with the 9/11 Memorial Foundation, described what the monument will be like when completed.  The memorial will take up eight of the 16 acres on which the World Trade Center stood. Two large waterfall pools will dominate the memorial site and they will be inscribed with the nearly 3000 names of the fallen.

The foundation has been working closely with families to create a museum that will recognize the lives of the individual lives lived by each of the victims.

“What they’re doing for us in New York is very thrilling,” Kross said. “It just brings more awareness for what we’re trying to do, which is create this museum memorial which will go on for a long time, long after I’m gone. So young people will know about it and what went on that day and the sacrifice that so many people made, including 343 of my brothers in the fire department, some very close friends. So today is very special. Being here is very special.”

To donate to the 9/11 Memorial, one needs only to text the letters WTC to the number 25383 to make a $5 donation.

‘Chase’-ing the top 12 means everything

Gred Biffle, driver of the No. 16 3M Ford currently sits in 11th place. He is ahead of 13th place by 68 points and will clinch a spot in the Chase if he finishes 11th or better, 13th and leads at least one lap or 15th and leads the most laps. He posted the second fastest time in the first practice on Friday. What’s at stake for those who don’t make the top-12? Not much according to Biffle.

“It’s a big deal when you’re not in. There’s really nothing to look forward to for the rest of the season. Winning races, obviously, but you’re waiting for next season and making a run at getting in the Chase again,” he said.

Biffle won the first two races of the 2008 Chase and thinks it’s great that the racing starts at Louden.

“I think Louden is a great place to start the Chase, especially since I won there last year,” Biffle said. “It’s a good old NASCAR type short track, and I tell you what, I will be relieved and celebrating and sleeping very good for those five days after I make the Chase, if I make the Chase. I’m looking forward to that.”

To some Cup teams are a pain

An ongoing debate exists on whether the Nationwide has been harmed by the presence of Sprint Cup drivers who cross over Series. But Nationwide only driver Kenny Wallace was quick to point out that it is not the Cup drivers who cause the problems.

“What’s hurt the Nationwide Series is the Cup car owners, not the drivers,” Wallace said. “The Cup car owners come in with just massive amounts of money and they just make their cars really fast. So, people say we need identity. We don’t need identity, we just need less money in the sport. There’s too much money. When you need a six million dollar sponsor to go Nationwide racing there’s something wrong. Right now that’s something that’s wrong.

Wallace went on to relay a thought that originated from his brother Rusty.
“It’s very, very depressing that – the top 10 in the Nationwide Series has always been a big deal,” Kenny said. “But this year, NASCAR has elected to put the Camping World Truck Series and the Nationwide Series banquets together and only celebrate the top five drivers. So Rusty’s got two teams that got six million dollars apiece, he’s got all these sponsors and these CEOs that Rusty wants to invite them to the banquet. He’s in the top 10 and now he can’t even bring them to the banquet because they’re only going to take the top five drivers. So I think they need to relook that. Kyle Busch currently leads in Nationwide points followed by Carl Edwards and Brad Keselowski.

“The banquet is not just about the drivers it’s about thanking the people that spent six million dollars a year on your team, say, ‘Hey come on down here to Florida, we’re going to have some cocktails,” Wallace added. “We’re going to go out there, our driver finished 10th in the points so that we need to take back and fix that.

Wallace pointed out that if not for the presence of Nationwide only driver Jason Leffler in the top five, it would be all Cup drivers at the banquet. “How embarrassing is that,” Wallace said. “Let’s have a Nationwide banquet, by the way, all top five people are Cup drivers. And they don’t want to be there. They think it’s funny.

“So, I’m relaying that for my brother, so he can slap me if he thinks I shouldn’t.”

Sara Page is the sports editor for the Midlothian Exchange.