Friday, February 23, 2007
Toyota scandal and Daytona 500 bring publicity for NASCAR
By Danielle Brown
sports editor
The Daytona 500 is the Super Bowl of
NASCAR, but unlike the Super Bowl, it
starts off the season for the drivers. This
race brings a lot of publicity to the sport,
but other NASCAR news took over the
headlines before the big event.
During the pre-qualifying inspection
for the Daytona 500, several Toyota cars
were accused of having a foreign sub
stance in their engines that was supposed
to help enhance their performance at the
Daytona 500.
NASCAR suspended the crew chiefs
for Matt Kenseth, Kasey Kahne, Scott
Riggs and Elliott Sadler. The most severe
punishment, however, went to Michael
Waltrip's crew chief David Hyder, who
was suspended indefinitely.
Along with the many crew chiefs being NASCAR drivers Kevin Harvick and Mark Martin finished neck and neck at the Daytona 500
suspended, there were also penalties given
to both the owners and drivers of the vehicles. Waltrip's Toyota
Camry is still being looked at and may face additional penalties.
Penn State Behrend senior Brian Kundrod said he believes this
incident should not have happened in NASCAR. "I don't think
these Toyota drivers should he able to continue racing, said
Kundrod. "NASCAR is an American sport, and American cars
Tennis team's devotion leads to victory
By Tommy Phillips
staff writer
The Behrend men's tennis team got their first
win of the season in an impressive fashion.
defeating Waynesburg 9-0. Behrend won all six
singles matches and all three doubles matches.
The victory improved the team's record to I-I.
Seniors Jim Palmer and Garrett Grenek, junior
Miles Boyea, and freshmen Scott Shaw, Shane
Mosier and Brad Nagel all won their singles
matches. Sophomore James Getty teamed up
with Mosier in one of the doubles matches,
which they won. The doubles teams winners
included Shaw and Boyea, and Palmer and
Grenek
Coach Jeff Barger said he was encouraged by
his team's, success in these mgtehes.
"Considering it is early in the season, everybody
looked pretty good," he said. "I was happy with
the bottom of the lineup. They all played very
well." Barger says he especially liked to see
how many players are getting involved. "With
the depth we have this year, the bottom [of the
Behrend's Men Rec team TOE takes a group photo after being crowned Intramural Champions
lineup] is our strength," he said. "It's good to
see it held true." Barger also says he was
impressed by the performance of the freshmen.
"We do have a number of young guys playing;
three freshmen," he said. "They all played
well."
When it comes to the season as a whole,
Barger says his team needs to avoid injuries in
order to be successful. "[We need to] pretty
much all stay healthy," he said. "It's a long sea
son. Last year, we had a couple of injuries that
hurt us. - Barger also says he thinks the team's
training will really help them. "We need to con
tinue to work hard and practice," he said. "Our
conditioning program is very good."
Behrend's next match is at home against
Franciscan University of Steubenville on Mar. 3.
Barger says that while be does not know the
opponent well, his team is looking forward to
playing them. "This is a new team. We've never
played them before, so I don't know a lot about
their team," he said. "We are looking forward to
that match. Hopefully we will continue that
good play."
should be the only ones allowed to drive."
Even though this news might have made some NASCAR fans
feel uneasy, the race last weekend turned out to be suspenseful,
but mostly toward the very end.
The beginning of the Daytona 500 started out a little slow.
There were no "big" crashes until lap 153 out of the 200. On lap
CONTRIBUTED PHOTO
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14
'`;--Venis Competitive League- Purple tobras
Men's Rec- TOE (5 years running)
Women's- Ciccarelli
The Men's Competitive Team the Purple Cobras pose for a picture after winning the Championship
Penguin fever still in Pittsburgh
By Andrew McLachlan
contributing writer
Penguin fever has hit the city of Pittsburgh and
most of western Pennsylvania. Even though the
Pittsburgh Penguins point streak had just ended on
Feb. 19 against the New York Islanders, the point
production from those games have fans filling up
the seats at Mellon Arena, and have them sitting in
fourth place in the Eastern Conference, jumping
nine spots when their point streak began.
Though Sidney Crosby has been explosive, keep
ing a 14-point lead over Vincent Lecavalier of the
Tampa Bay Lightning for the scoring title, it has
been other players that have been coming up big for
the Pens. Rookies Evgeni Malkin and Jordan Staal
have been playing their best hockey during the past
month, combining for 53 of the 203 goals scored
this year by the Penguins.
Also, some of the role players have been produc
ing when needed. Second year center Maxime
Talbot currently has nine goals on the season. Four
of the goals were short-handed goals and another
three goals were game-winning goals. Right
winger Jarkko Ruutu, scored two goals in a recent
clash with the first place New Jersey Devils on Feb.
16. Left winger Ryan Malone, who started off slow
this season, got his second hat trick in the past few
months against New York Islanders on Feb. 19.
Penn State Behrend junior Dan Thiessen, a for
ward for the Behrend Ice Hockey Team and long
time Pens fan, said that he is not surprised that
players other than Crosby, Malkin, and Staal are
putting the puck in the net. "This year's Penguin
team has a lot more balance than they have had in
years past. They got a great mix of goal scorers,
r 1
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153, Tony Stewart, who was in the lead, and Kurt Busch, who
rode close behind in second place, collided, knocking themselves
both out of the race.
Then on lap 175, defending Daytona 500 champion Jimmie
Johnson was involved in a five-car pileup, and was also knocked
out of the race.
On lap 196. Matt Kenseth bumped into the back end of Jamie
McMurray. knocking themselves, Ricky Rudd and Dale
Earnhardt, Jr. out of the top 10. This wreck caused an 11-minute
stop in the race, with Mark Martin in the lead
Since it took so long
clean up the debris, the dr
ers had two extra laps
complete before a wimp
could be determined. W
the last two laps to g
Kevin Harvick moved
into second place and w
going after Martin for tl
win. In the final turn of tl
race, cars began spinning ol
behind the two leade:
Martin and Harvick jti
missed the wreck, hut will
they crossed the finish lin ,
less than five feet apar
Harvick had pushed forwar
winning the Daytona 500
LA E :
play-makers, and grinders. Plus, it doesn't hurt
having Sidney Crosby on your team." Thiessen, a
leading goal scorer for the Behrend squad, also
went on to say that he sees the Pens making the
playoffs this year.
With the Penguins about to embark on their
toughest part of the schedule, playing 17 games in
the month of March, it might be in the best interest
for General Manager Ray Shero to acquire some
help before the trade deadline, which is Feb. 27.
Over the past five years, the Penguin organization
has had the role of being sellers at the trade dead
line. Now with the team looking to make their first
playoff appearance since 2001, the Pens will look
to pick up players that will give them the extra push
towards their goal of the Stanley Cup.
Bill Guerin, a right winger for the St. Louis
Blues, has been mentioned as a target for the
Penguins. Guerin is having another solid year, with
27 goals and 19 assists. Guerin will not come
cheap. The Penguins could land Guerin for the
price of Malone and a prospect for a high-end draft
pick.
Another player that the Pens have mentioned,is
St. Louis Blues defenseman Eric Brewer. The one
time all star has been circling through the trade
rumors for months now and will be a costly player
at the deadline. Brewer is on many deadline wish
lists, so getting him may be difficult. Parting ways
with either highly touted defensive prospects
Kristopher Letang or Alex Goligoski could land
Brewer. Other names to watch for at the deadline
will be Colorado defenseman Ken Klee, Los
Angeles defenseman Brett Sopel, Philadelphia
Forward Geoff Sanderson, or Columbus forwards
Fredrick Modin or Anson Carter.
The Behrend Beacon I
Daytona 500 winner Kevin Harvick
ate
FPI
CONTRIBUTED PHOTO