Rockingham Speedway

The Rock
Alan Kulwicki's 1990 winner trophy
Location	Marks Creek Township, Richmond County, North Carolina, at 2152 U.S. Highway 1 Rockingham, North Carolina 28379
Capacity	34,500[1]
Owner	Andy Hillenburg[2]
Opened	October 31, 1965[3]
Former names	North Carolina Motor Speedway (1965-1996) North Carolina Speedway (1997-2007)[4]
Major events	NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Good Sam Roadside Assistance 200 presented by Cheerwine CARS Pro Cup Series[5]
D-shaped oval
Surface	Asphalt
Length	1.017 mi (1.637[6] km)
Banking	Turns - 22 and 25 degrees Straights - 8 degrees[3]
Lap record	0:23.167 (Rusty Wallace, Penske Racing, 2000, NASCAR Sprint Cup Series[6])
Little Rock
Surface	Asphalt with concrete in turns
Length	0.526 mi (0.847 km)
Banking	12 degrees Straights - 2 degrees

Rockingham Speedway, formerly North Carolina Motor Speedway and later North Carolina Speedway^[4] is a racetrack located near Rockingham, North Carolina. It is affectionately known as "The Rock" and hosted two NASCAR Cup Series, the Subway 400 (1966–2004) and the Pop Secret Microwave Popcorn 400 (1965–2003), as well as two Busch Series races, the Goody's Headache Powder 200 (1982–2004) and the Target House 200 (1984–2003). Rockingham has hosted Automobile Racing Club of America and CARS Pro Cup Series races since 2008.^[4] Currently, the track is home to the Fast Track High Performance Driving School^[7], which is owned by new track owner Andy Hillenburg, and is used extensively for NASCAR testing. It has been used often for television and movie filming, and the 2004 ESPN telefilm 3: The Dale Earnhardt Story was filmed at the track along with some scenes from Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby. For the filming of the later movie, the walls were repainted to resemble famous tracks on the NASCAR circuit. It also was the site of the 2007 Bollywood film Ta Ra Rum Pum.

The track opened as a flat, one-mile oval on October 31 1965. In 1969, the track was extensively reconfigured to a high-banked, D-shaped oval measuring slightly over one mile in length. The track surface is rather abrasive compared to other tracks on the circuit, due to the high sand content of paving compounds made from local materials. This abrasiveness notoriously contributed to excessive tire wear. This characteristic is often cited as a demanding element of racing at the facility, necessitating strict management of tire wear by teams. In 1997, North Carolina Motor Speedway merged with Penske Motorsports, and was renamed North Carolina Speedway. Shortly thereafter, the infield was reconfigured, and competition on the infield road course, mostly by the SCCA, was discontinued. North Carolina Speedway played host to two NASCAR Winston Cup races each year through 2003. The final NASCAR Nextel Cup race at Rockingham was held on February 22, 2004 with Matt Kenseth winning the event.^[8]

In 2008, a new half-mile oval was built behind the backstretch for driving schools, but quickly became a popular test track for NASCAR race cars in preparation for races at Martinsville Speedway, as the tracks are similar in length and radius of turns. Since Rockingham is not on the NASCAR circuit, testing is unlimited. (Martinsville cannot be used for Sprint Cup testing.) On August 16, 2011 it was announced that Rockingham would install SAFER Barrier along the track walls to improve driver safety. However, rumors spread of the track possibly getting a date on the 2012 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series schedule.^[8] On September 2, an announcement was made by ESPN that Rockingham would receive a Truck Series race scheduled for April 2012 and a press conference would be held on September 7 with Andy Hillenburg and North Carolina Governor Bev Perdue to announce plans.^[9] The press conference on September 7 confirmed that the race would be called the "Good Sam Roadside Assistance 200" and be held on April 15. Wayne Auton, the director of the truck series, confirmed that teams can still test at Rockingham until December 31. However, testing on the .526 mile oval would remain legal.^[10] On November 22, 2011. The track announced that the track will be getting a NASCAR K&N Pro Series East and Whelen Southern Modified Tour dates along with the UARA Stars Late Model Series race on November 3, 2012.^[11]At the 2012 NASCAR Truck race at Rockingham, Kasey Kahne went on to win his first Rockingham race.

History[link]

Opening[link]

Rockingham Speedway, then known as North Carolina Motor Speedway, was the project of Harold Brasington and Bill Land. Brasington, a land developer, also built NASCAR's first superspeedway, Darlington Speedway, in 1950. Land owned the property, which is settled in the sandhills of North Carolina, and together, they set out to find funding. They went to local lawyer Elsie Webb who assembled a group of backers. The duo also sold shares to the locals for $1 per share, and at one time had about 1,000 shareholders.^[6]

The speedway was built as a 1.000 mile oval with flat turns. North Carolina Motor Speedway opened on October 31, 1965, holding its first race on the same day. The American 500^[12] was a 500 lap, 500 mile NASCAR Grand National Series race won by Curtis Turner at an average speed of 101.942 miles per hour. Turner dominated the race, which was attended by 35,000 people, leading 239 laps and winning by 11 seconds. The winner's purse was $13,090 ($88434.05 adjusted for inflation). The American 500 was the 54th of 55 races in the 1965 season, which included NASCAR legends including Cale Yarborough (who finished second), Richard Petty, Ned Jarrett (who would go on to win the championship), Buddy Baker, David Pearson, and Junior Johnson. Only 19 of the 43 car were running at the end of the race.^[13]

The speedway held two Grand National races the next year, the Peach Blossom 500, and American 500. The Peach Blossom 500 would change names multiple times, usually using the name Carolina 500, before ending as the Subway 400. The American 500 would also change names multiple times ending as the Pop Secret Microwave Popcorn 400. The first race was typically held in early March or late February, and the second race was held in late October. In 1967 and 1968 the Carolina 500 was run in June. The speedway held two Grand National series races every year until 2004.

Demise[link]

As part of the acquisition of the Penske Speedways in 1999, the Speedway was sold to International Speedway Corporation (ISC) and in 2004, one of its two Sprint Cup races (the crucial fall race, often the penultimate date on the schedule) was transferred to ISC's California Speedway. The change was made after sagging attendance at Rockingham Speedway. It left the track with only one date, in late February, a highly unpopular date for spectators due to the commonly unpredictable weather. That date was moved up from the traditional early spring date in 1992 when Richmond International Raceway wanted a later date than the traditional post-Daytona date because of two postponements in the late 1980s caused by snow. Rumors persisted that the track's lone remaining date was also in jeopardy, as several new tracks in larger, warm-weather markets coveted the date, which was the first race following the Daytona 500, and in 2002 and 2004, Fox's first race of the season.

Despite wide speculation that the race was in its final year, it failed to sell out, falling nearly 10,000 short of the 60,000 capacity. The track indeed hosted its final race on February 22, 2004. In that last race, Matt Kenseth held off then rookie Kasey Kahne on the last lap to win by only 0.010 seconds. This finish was one of the closest in NASCAR history, and viewed by many fans as one of the best finishes that season. It is also known for a wild crash early in the race in which Carl Long flipped wildly down the backstretch.

In the wake of the Ferko lawsuit, and the sagging attendance, the track's state of affairs was sharply altered. In the settlement, ISC sold Rockingham Speedway to Speedway Motorsports (SMI), and the track's lone remaining race was "transferred" to Texas Motor Speedway. Some NASCAR fans saw things differently, however, because it was Darlington Raceway's prestigious Southern 500 removed from the schedule for the second race in Texas, and the date for The Rock was sent to Phoenix International Raceway. SMI agreed to host no NASCAR events at the track while it was under their ownership. Upon its exit from the NASCAR circuit, The Rock joined such facilities as Ontario Motor Speedway, Riverside International Raceway, North Wilkesboro Speedway, Texas World Speedway, and Music City Motorplex as tracks removed from the circuit.

Most agree that the lack of any other tourist attractions in the area (the nearest major attraction is the legendary golf venue Pinehurst Resort, where a NASCAR on Fox promotion had a sweepstakes winner winning a trip there as part of race tickets), and the relatively small size of the city hurt ticket sales. In addition, other tracks nearby such as Lowe's Motor Speedway and Darlington Speedway (in the Florence-Myrtle Beach region) had a tendency to lure away fans looking to catch a race. All of this despite Rockingham's reputation for good racing (though it never reached 40 official lead changes in a single race; the most was 37 in 1981) and for having great sightlines for spectators. It must also be mentioned that the facility made limited infrastructure reinvestments over the years while being owned by the DeWitt family, and seemed to lag behind other facilities which continually modernized and updated their business plans, especially after it was sold to pay off estate taxes owed by the DeWitt and Wilson families which had owned the track.

New ownership[link]

Speedway Motorsports put the track up for auction on October 2, 2007.

ARCA RE/MAX Series Series car owner and former driver Andy Hillenburg, who owns Fast Track High Performance Driving School, paid $4.4 million for the track.^[14]

Just hours after closing the deal for the sale, he called some sanctioning bodies to arrange dates for his new circuit.

A 500-kilometer ARCA RE/MAX Series race took place during the weekend of May 3–4, 2008, featuring two rounds of qualifying and practice on Saturday and the Carolina 500 on Sunday. It was the richest race on the 2008 ARCA schedule and featured a starting field of fifty cars. Up and coming NASCAR star Joey Logano won the race at 17 years 346 days, the youngest to win a major race at the track, by passing Ken Schrader, who was making his 53rd start (39 NSCS, 13 NNS) at the track, after a caution. Logano dominated the 500-kilometer affair, winning the pole, leading the most laps, and passing Schrader with five laps remaining to win the track's return to major racing with Bill Venturini's Chevrolet. The 500k distance was not held again for ARCA, as ARCA had a pair of 200-mile (320 km) races in 2009 at the track. Rockingham lost one race in 2010, but will still hold the season ending American 200. For 2011, ARCA left and was replaced by the UARA and CARS series for the two races.

The road course has been restored, and in December 2007, testing on the road course commenced. The road course's first week of racing was on January 5–6, 2008, featuring Legends Cars, Bandolero, and Thunder Roadsters.^[15]

A 150-lap street stock race, the Polar Bear 150, was held on January 1, 2009, and the event has since become an annual race. Street stock is generally the entry-level class of racing at most short tracks, become an annual race. Dale Earnhardt Jr. entered a pair of cars for the race, one for his car chief at Hendrick Motorsports and another for an Earnhardt Ganassi Racing mechanic who decided to race in the event. His brother-in-law, Jimmy Elledge (crew chief for Scott Speed in the Sprint Cup) also drove in the race. The race was moved for the 2010-11 offseason to Thanksgiving weekend, and in November 2010, Kurt Busch drove in the street stock race, debuting his new number (#22).

Since 2008[link]

Starting in 2008, Rockingham has held the ARCA Racing Series presented by RE/MAX and Menards season ending race, dubbed the American 200. This has been the premier event at Rockingham since its reopening. In 2009 Rockingham held an additional ARCA race, however that race was not held in 2010. Rockingham also holds the Carolina 200, the finale for the CARS Pro Cup Series. In addition to these events, Rockingham will also have Chumpcar World Series, Legends and Bandolero racing.

Racing through turns 1 and 2 during the NASCAR CWTS Good Sam Roadside Assistance 200 on April 15, 2012

On September 7, 2011, it was announced that Rockingham would hold its inaugural Good Sam Roadside Assistance 200 on April 15, 2012, the first NASCAR Camping World Truck Series race held at the track since the series inception. The announcement made by track owner Andy Hillenburg and North Carolina governor Bev Perdue, who said that the track would help the local economy by about $7.2–$10.5 million (2011 USD). Wayne Auton, the Truck Series director, announced that NASCAR testing would end on December 31, 2011 on the main track, but would remain on the half-mile facility.^[10]

On January 30, 2012, it was announced that the second annual Carolina Rebellion festival would be held at the Rockingham Speedway.^[16]

Kasey Kahne, who had been beaten at the line by Matt Kenseth in the 2004 Cup finale, avenged the defeat with a win at the Good Sam Roadside Assistance 200, after Turner Motorsports teammate Nelson Angelo Piquet scored the pole and dominated the race, only to be nailed by a late-race speeding penalty on the last pit stop.

Testing[link]

Rockingham has become a test track for many Sprint Cup and Nationwide Series teams because of testing restrictions by NASCAR on active tracks. After the track was stripped of its dates, teams began using the circuit to test cars and engines, especially to simulate abrasive wear at certain tracks (Darlington and Atlanta most notably). In 2005, Kyle Petty tested his Darlington car at Rockingham days before its race to not waste one of his five assigned tests.

In 2006, new rules banned all testing at active Sprint Cup tracks except at selected NASCAR-approved open tests during the season, thereby making testing at Rockingham crucial. Penske Racing tested at the track in mid-April 2006, and with the abrasiveness of the Atlanta Motor Speedway surface, which has not been repaved since reconstruction in 1997, and Atlanta's participation in the Chase for the Sprint Cup, many teams are considering returning to Rockingham in September or October to test their cars to simulate Atlanta's similar surface.

NASCAR's new Car of Tomorrow (or COT) has led to a boom in testing at the track, and many teams used the track for testing the new cars when it was announced the car would be used in 2007.

In the runup to the COT's debut, Michael Waltrip Racing, Gillett Evernham Motorsports, Yates Racing, and Roush Fenway Racing tested their COT's at the track.

Elliott Sadler was asked about testing the Car of Tomorrow at Phoenix International Raceway the day after the 2006 Checker Auto Parts 500.

"No, I'm going to Rockingham on Wednesday to test the (Car of Tomorrow). We wanted to go to a very bumpy racetrack. The car slams down on the banking very hard at Rockingham and make sure we've got all the springs and all the bumps very smooth feeling. That'll be my first time in the COT. I'm pretty anxious and looking forward to it. NASCAR fans, and we're all fans in this garage, don't like change. We're just skeptical of it, and we've had some really good racing this year, some of the best racing we've had in a while. We're just starting to learn how to get our cars better with the short spoilers. Nobody really wants to change, but how can you complain or argue with NASCAR? They've done such a good job the past 10 years of growing our sport and making it more fan friendly and appealing to TV and things like that. If they think this is going to help our sport grow, we've got to get in there whether we think it's right or wrong and do it with them."

Greg Biffle said during the 2007 NASCAR Jackson Hewitt Preseason Thunder press conference, "Pat (Tryson, crew chief, who was subsequently released and joined Penske Racing) and I are going to Rockingham (January 18) with a COT to try to learn some things about them, bump stops and all of the things that are new on them, you know, because we are going to race them at Darlington. But those are going to be keys to making the Chase is running well with that COT car and getting our downforce cars to handle good."

Testing at Rockingham has become a premium because of NASCAR's rules limiting testing imposed since 2006 to the NASCAR-sanctioned open tests. NASCAR rules state testing at tracks not on the series in question is not controlled by the sanctioning body, and many teams evade the testing ban at such tests, which also include the Greenville-Pickens Speedway and Concord Motorsports Park (short tracks), and the Kentucky Speedway (Sprint Cup tests only). Testing at Rockingham is restricted to series that do not run at the circuit (NASCAR mostly), while restrictions to ARCA and CARS-sanctioned open testing apply in those two series because Rockingham is on both series' schedules in 2008. For NASCAR teams, the track has become one of the most popular tracks to test shorter to intermediate tracks on the circuit.

For the 2009 season, NASCAR imposed a blanket ban on testing at any track used by any of NASCAR's three national series or its Camping World touring events. Rockingham, unlike many tracks used in testing historically, is not on any of the series in question, and teams will use both tracks to run around NASCAR's testing ban.

With the opening of the new half-mile oval, the track expects more testing on both the half-mile and mile ovals. The blanket ban will be reimposed on the main speedway for 2012, but the half-mile oval will be legal for testing.

Little Rock[link]

A new half-mile track (.526 miles), dubbed the Little Rock, was built behind the backstretch for other classes of short-track cars and for the Fast Track driving school Hillenburg owns, and opened October 13, 2008. NASCAR Sprint Cup teams immediately christened the track for testing in preparation for the TUMS QuikPak 500 at Martinsville Speedway that ensuing weekend, as "Little Rock" is designed similar to Martinsville with 800' straights, 588' turns, and the inside lanes of the turns are concrete. Unlike the 1.017-mile (1.637 km) oval, which will be restricted to NASCAR testing on January 1, 2012), NASCAR testing will remain unrestricted on the Little Rock.

The half-mile oval is unique in that instead of a traditional guardrail around the outside of the track, it uses gravel traps similar to road courses. Hillenburg said this is for economical reasons, as a car sliding into a sand trap will not damage a car as much as hitting a wall.

Hillenburg noted, “We've designed a track that can measure one's skill level and they can slide off into a sand trap and not a wall. I can now give parents a straight-up answer as to where their kids stack up.”^[17] Jimmie Johnson was part of the opening group of drivers to test at "Little Rock," and blew a tire. He joking said he nearly ran into his own transporter because of the track's design that lacked the concrete wall for safety.^[18]

The new half-mile track, with its intentional similarity to Martinsville, quickly became a testing venue for Sprint Cup teams in 2008, and it with NASCAR testing rules, will likely be a testing hotbed for Sprint Cup teams to test before Martinsville's two races in 2009, since new NASCAR rules prohibit testing on any track on the three national series or the Grand National division, and Rockingham is not on any of those schedules.

The track also has an integrated quarter mile oval for the Bandoleros and Legend's Cars.

Film and commercial usage[link]

The speedway has become a venue for active filming for movies, television programs, and television commercials, often with its venues being used for various facilities. Notable films include:

• 3: The Dale Earnhardt Story
• Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby
• Ta Ra Rum Pum (a Bollywood film)
• SPEED Road Tour Challenge (final task)
• 2007 UPS commercials featuring Dale Jarrett, the UPS truck, and team.

When it was part of the NASCAR Winston Cup circuit, it also was a filming location for

• Days of Thunder

It was also used as venue for the truck pull event during Worlds Strongest Man 2011.

References[link]

1. ^ "The seating capacity is 34,500, which does not include the suites, and infield area." Robert Ingraham (Director of Operations, Rockingham Speedway)
2. ^ http://www.speedwaymedia.com/Articles/07/100407Fleshman.asp
3. ^ ^{a b} http://www.rockinghamracewaypark.com/trackfacts.html
4. ^ ^{a b c} Jayski's Rockingham Speedway Track Page
5. ^ http://www.rockinghamracewaypark.com/
6. ^ ^{a b c} http://premium.nascar.com/TRACKS/northcarolina/
7. ^ http://www.fasttrackracing.com/
8. ^ ^{a b} McGee, Ryan (August 16, 2011). "SAFER walls coming to The Rock". ESPN The Magazine. http://espn.go.com/racing/nascar/story/_/id/6867150/rockingham-speedway-installing-safer-walls-month. Retrieved September 4, 2011. 
9. ^ McGee, Ryan (September 2, 2011). "Sources: Rockingham to host Trucks". ESPN The Magazine. http://espn.go.com/racing/nascar/truck/story/_/id/6923960/rockingham-host-trucks-race-2012. Retrieved September 4, 2011. 
10. ^ ^{a b} "NASCAR returns to historic Rockingham in '12" (Press release). NASCAR.com. September 7, 2011. http://www.nascar.com/news/110907/racing-returns-to-rockingham-speedway/index.html. Retrieved September 7, 2011. 
11. ^ 51, Speed. "NKPSE, NWSMT at the Rock in 2012". http://www.speed51.com/2011_Stories/KN_East/Rockingham_announcement_11_22.html. 
12. ^ http://www.racing-reference.info/race?id=1965-54&series=W
13. ^ http://www.racing-reference.info/tracks?id=101
14. ^ The nickname "Indiana Andy" is used to prevent confusion with another driver of a similar name in the World of Outlaws from Oklahoma.
15. ^ Rockingham Speedway
16. ^ [1]
17. ^ http://www.gofastnews.com/board/racing-business-news/1342-rockingham-raceway-park-showing-why-nc-racing-capital-usa.html Rockingham Raceway Park is showing why North Carolina is the Racing Capital of the USA
18. ^ http://www.nascar.com/2008/news/opinion/10/17/one.menz.jmenzer.martinsville.rain/1.html

External links[link]

• Rockingham Speedway Track Page
• 2008 Rockingham Speedway Schedule
• Track statistics and winner list at racing-reference.info
• Track page at NASCAR.com
• Tom Roberts Public Relations news release on Kurt Busch and Penske Racing testing at Rockingham.
• 2003 Sports Illustrated article on NASCAR considering removing the raceway from the schedule
• AP article on NASCAR being gone from Rockingham
• An article on the pending auction of the track
• Andy Hillenburg's Fast Track High Performance Driving School

Coordinates: 34°58′27.05″N 79°36′37.51″W / 34.9741806°N 79.6104194°W / 34.9741806; -79.6104194

Frank James Kimmel
Kimmel racing in ARCA in 2006
Nationality	American
Born	(1962-04-30) April 30, 1962 (age 50)
Related to	Bill Kimmel, Sr. (father)
2012 Automobile Racing Club of America
Debut season	1990
Current team	ThorSport Racing
Car no.	No. 44
Former teams	Tri-State Motorsports
Starts	349
Wins	74
Poles	40
Best finish	1st in 1998, 2000, '01, '02, '03, '04, '05, '06, '07
Previous series
2006	International Race of Champions
Championship titles
1998, 2000, '01, '02, '03, '04, '05, '06, '07 1986,'87 1989	ARCA RE/MAX Series (9 Times) Charleston, IN Speedway Track Champion Louisville (KY) Motor Speedway Track Champion
Awards
1992	ARCA RE/MAX Series Rookie of the Year

Frank James Kimmel (born April 30, 1962 in Clarksville, Indiana) is an American stock car driver/owner. He drives the #44 Ansell Gloves/Menards Toyota in the ARCA RE/MAX Series. Kimmel has won the ARCA championship nine times, including eight consecutive. He won the championship in 1998 and also won the 2000 through 2007 championships.^[1]

Personal[link]

Frank Kimmel was born in Clarksville, Indiana on April 30, 1962. His father Bill Kimmel Sr. was 3 time ARCA race winner.^[2] Frank resides in Borden, Indiana ^[3] with his wife Donna. He has 2 children Holly, Frank II^[4] He also has 2 years of college education. Frank likes to be involved in the community he participates in school events and he coaches youth sports.^[4]

Early career[link]

Kimmel made his first career start racing street stock at the age of 15. Seven years later he moved to late models Before racing in ARCA, Kimmel won three championships racing Late Models.^[5]

ARCA[link]

Frank's first ARCA race came in 1990. His first full season was 1992, driving the #02 Indiana Steel Co. Pontiac. Kimmel was consistent and was able to claim Rookie of the Year honors. Frank won his first race at Toledo Speedway in 1994.

He is the only nine-time champion in the Re/Max Series and the only driver to win eight championships in a row (2000–2007). As of the end of the 2008 season, he is second on the all-time win list with 74 victories. None of those victories have come at Daytona. He also has 207 top-5 finishes and 258 top-ten finishes in 349 starts.^[1] Kimmel became the first ever ARCA Re/Max Series driver to be assigned a seat in the IROC (International Race of Champions) Series in 2006.

As of 2006, the crew chief on Frank Kimmel's team is his brother, Bill Kimmel Jr.^[3] For 2008, the Kimmel brothers will leave Tri-Star Motorsports to form their own team, known as Kimmel Racing. The team initially ran a Dodge with the support of Cunningham Motorsport and sponsorship from Riverside Auto at Daytona before joining forces with Ford Racing for the remainder of 2008.

On August 2, 2008 Kimmel was seriously injured in a 3 car crash on lap 68 at Pocono Raceway, suffering a partially torn sphincter and pulled groin; he was taken to the hospital for observation overnight.[1] Though lacking a title sponsor for the entire year of 2008, Frank and team were able to pull out a 2nd place finish in points by a margin of 50. The loss of the championship was not the surprising part of that year but rather the surprise was how close Kimmel Racing was to winning a tenth title.

Following the 2011 ARCA Racing Series season, Kimmel left the Kimmel Racing team, and will drive for ThorSport Racing in the ARCA Racing Series in 2012.^[6]

NASCAR[link]

He has made seven starts in the NASCAR Winston Cup (now NASCAR Sprint Cup) Series,^[7] six of these starts with Travis Carter Motorsports in 2002.^[8] He so far found little success in the series. His best finish to date was a 26th place finish at Lowe's Motor Speedway. He had one Busch Series start.^[7] Through 2010 he had had two Top-10 finishes from twelve Craftsman Truck Series starts.^[7] and will be running the 2011 Camping World Truck Series season finale at Homestead-Miami Speedway for ThorSport Racing.^[6]

IROC[link]

Kimmel was invited to participate in the 2006 edition of the International Race of Champions, IROC XXX. Kimmel was the first ever ARCA Re/Max Series driver to be assigned a seat in IROC.

That season, he placed seventh in points^[9] with a best finish of third in the first race^[10] of the four-race IROC season.^[9]

References[link]

External links[link]

• Official website
• Frank Kimmel at Racing Reference

The Edge
Background information
Birth name	David Howell Evans
Born	(1961-08-08) 8 August 1961 (age 50) Barking, Essex, England, United Kingdom
Origin	County Dublin, Ireland
Genres	Rock, post-punk, alternative rock
Occupations	Musician, songwriter, activist
Instruments	Guitar, vocals, keyboards, piano, bass guitar
Years active	1976–present
Labels	Island, Mercury
Associated acts	U2, Passengers
Website	www.u2.com
Notable instruments
Gibson Explorer Fender Stratocaster Gibson Les Paul Fender Telecaster Gretsch Country Gentleman Gretsch White Falcon Rickenbacker 330/12

David Howell Evans (born 8 August 1961), more widely known by his stage name The Edge (or just Edge),^[1] is a musician best known as the guitarist, backing vocalist, and keyboardist of the Irish rock band U2. A member of the group since its inception, he has recorded 12 studio albums with the band and has released one solo record. As a guitarist, The Edge has crafted a minimalistic and textural style of playing. His use of a rhythmic delay effect yields a distinctive ambient, chiming sound that has become a signature of U2's music.

The Edge was born in England to a Welsh family, but was raised in Ireland after moving there as an infant. In 1976, at Mount Temple Comprehensive School, he formed U2 with his fellow students and his older brother Dik. Inspired by the ethos of punk rock and its basic arrangements, the group began to write its own material. They eventually became one of the most popular acts in popular music, with successful albums such as 1987's The Joshua Tree and 1991's Achtung Baby. Over the years, The Edge has experimented with various guitar effects and introduced influences from several genres of music into his own style, including American roots music, industrial music, and alternative rock. With U2, The Edge has also played keyboards, co-produced their 1993 record Zooropa, and occasionally contributed lyrics. The Edge met his second and current wife, Morleigh Steinberg, through her collaborations with the band.

As a member of U2 and as an individual, The Edge has campaigned for human rights and philanthropic causes. He co-founded Music Rising, a charity to support musicians affected by Hurricane Katrina. He has collaborated with U2 bandmate Bono on several projects, including songs for Roy Orbison and Tina Turner, and the soundtracks to the musical Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark and the Royal Shakespeare Company's London stage adaptation of A Clockwork Orange. In 2011, Rolling Stone magazine placed him at number 38 on its list of "The 100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time".

Personal life[link]

The Edge at a U2 concert in Anaheim (2005)

David Howell Evans was born at the Barking Maternity Hospital,^[2] Essex, England to Welsh parents Garvin and Gwenda Evans.^[1] When he was one, his family moved to County Dublin, Ireland where he attended St Andrew's National School. He received piano and guitar lessons and often performed with his brother Dik Evans before they both answered an advertisement posted by Larry Mullen, Jr. at their school, Mount Temple Comprehensive School, seeking musicians to form a band.^[3] The band accepted both of them. This band went through several incarnations before emerging as U2 in March 1978 (Dik Evans left the band just before the name change).^[3] U2 began performing in various venues in Ireland and eventually began developing a following. Their debut album, Boy, was released in 1980.

In 1981, leading up to the October tour, Evans came very close to leaving U2 for religious reasons, but he decided to stay.^[3] During this period, he became involved with a group called Shalom Tigers, in which bandmates Bono and Larry Mullen Jr. were also involved.^[4] Shortly after deciding to remain with the band, he wrote a piece of music that later became "Sunday Bloody Sunday".^[3] The Edge married his high school girlfriend Aislinn O'Sullivan on 12 July 1983.^[5] The couple had three daughters together: Hollie in 1984, Arran in 1985 and Blue Angel in 1989.^[4] The couple separated in 1990, but were unable to get officially divorced because of Irish laws regarding marriage annulment; divorce was legalised in 1995 and the couple were legally divorced in 1996.^[4]

In 1993, The Edge began dating Morleigh Steinberg, a professional dancer and choreographer employed by the band as a belly dancer during the Zoo TV Tour. They had a daughter, Sian (born 1997), and a son, Levi (born 25 October 1999),^[4] before marrying on 22 June 2002.^[4] He appeared in the 2009 music documentary film It Might Get Loud.^[6] The Edge has been criticized for his efforts to build five luxury mansions on a 156 acre plot of land in Malibu, California.^[7] The California Coastal Commission voted 8-4 against the plans, with the project described by the commission's executive director, Peter Douglas, as "In 38 years...one of the three worst projects that I've seen in terms of environmental devastation...It's a contradiction in terms – you can't be serious about being an environmentalist and pick this location."^[7] The Santa Monica Mountains Conservancy agreed to remain neutral on the issue following a $1 million donation from The Edge and a commitment from The Edge to designate 100 acres of the land as open space for public footpaths.^[7]

Music style[link]

Guitar playing[link]

As a guitar player, The Edge has a sound typified by a low-key playing style, a chiming, shimmering sound (thanks in part to the sound of VOX AC-30s) that he achieves with extensive use of delay effects and reverb. The feedback delay is often set to a dotted eighth note (3/16 of a measure), and the feedback gain is adjusted until a note played repeats two or three times.^{[citation needed]}

On 1987's The Joshua Tree, The Edge often contributes just a few simple lead lines given depth and richness by an ever-present delay. For example, the introduction to "Where the Streets Have No Name" is simply a repeated six-note arpeggio, broadened by a modulated delay effect. The Edge has said that he views musical notes as "expensive", in that he prefers to play as few notes as possible. He said in 1982 of his style,

"I like a nice ringing sound on guitar, and most of my chords I find two strings and make them ring the same note, so it's almost like a 12-string sound. So for E I might play a B, E, E and B and make it ring. It works very well with the Gibson Explorer. It's funny because the bass end of the Explorer was so awful that I used to stay away from the low strings, and a lot of the chords I played were very trebly, on the first four, or even three strings. I discovered that through using this one area of the fretboard I was developing a very stylized way of doing something that someone else would play in a normal way."^[9]

Many different influences have shaped The Edge's guitar technique.^{[citation needed]} His first guitar was an old acoustic guitar that his mother bought him at a local flea market for only a few pounds; he was nine at the time. He and his brother Dik Evans both experimented with this instrument.^[9] He said in 1982 of this early experimentation, "I suppose the first link in the chain was a visit to the local jumble sale where I purchased a guitar for a pound. That was my first instrument. It was an acoustic guitar and me and my elder brother Dik both played it, plonking away, all very rudimentary stuff, open chords and all that."^[9] The Edge has stated that many of his guitar parts are based around guitar effects. This is especially true from the Achtung Baby era onwards, although much of the band's 1980s material made heavy use of echos.

Vocals[link]

The Edge in June 2005

The Edge also supplies the backing vocals for U2. U2's 1983 live album and video release, Under a Blood Red Sky and Live at Red Rocks: Under a Blood Red Sky are good reference points for his singing (as are the live DVDs from the Elevation Tour, U2 Go Home: Live from Slane Castle and Elevation 2001: Live from Boston). For example, he sings the chorus to "Sunday Bloody Sunday" (Bono harmonizes on the final 'Sunday'). U2 used this tradeoff technique later in "Bullet the Blue Sky" as well. His backing vocals are sometimes in the form of a repeated cry; examples of songs that use this approach include "Beautiful Day", "New Year's Day" and "Stay (Faraway, So Close!)". Another technique he uses in his backing vocals is the falsetto, in songs such as "Stuck in a Moment You Can't Get Out Of", "Sometimes You Can't Make It on Your Own", "A Man and a Woman", "The Wanderer", live versions of "The Fly", and "Window in the Skies".

The Edge sings the lead vocal on "Van Diemen's Land" and "Numb", the first half of the song "Seconds", dual vocals with Bono in "Discotheque", and the bridge in the song "Miracle Drug".^[4] He also sings the occasional lead vocal in live renditions of other songs (such as "Sunday Bloody Sunday" during the PopMart Tour and "Party Girl" during the Rotterdam Zoo TV show when it was Bono's birthday).^[10] He also plays a solo acoustic version of the song "Love is Blindness" that is featured in the documentary film From the Sky Down.

Other instruments[link]

He has played piano and keyboards on many of the band's songs, including "I Fall Down", "October", "So Cruel", "New Year's Day", "Running to Stand Still", "Miss Sarajevo", "The Hands that Built America", and "Original of the Species" and others. He plays the organ on "Please". In live versions of "New Year's Day", "The Unforgettable Fire", "Your Blue Room", and "Moment of Surrender", he plays both the piano and guitar parts alternately. In most live versions of "Original of the Species," piano is the only instrument played during the song. Although The Edge is the band's lead guitarist, he occasionally plays bass guitar, including the live performances of the song "40" where The Edge and bassist Adam Clayton switch instruments.

Solo recordings[link]

In addition to his regular role within U2, The Edge has also recorded with such artists as Johnny Cash, B. B. King, Tina Turner, Ronnie Wood, Jay-Z, and Rihanna. The Edge connected with Brian Eno and Lanois collaborator Michael Brook (the creator of the infinite guitar, which he regularly uses), working with him on the score to the film Captive (1986). From this soundtrack the song "Heroine", the vocal of which was sung by a young Sinéad O'Connor was released as a single.

He also created the theme song for season one and two of The Batman. He and fellow U2 member, Bono, wrote the lyrics to the theme of the 1995 James Bond film GoldenEye. The Edge, along with bandmate Bono, recently composed a musical adaptation of Spider-Man. On May 25, 2011, a single titled Rise Above 1: Reeve Carney Featuring Bono and The Edge was released digitally.^[11] The music video was released on July 28, 2011.^[12]

Musical equipment[link]

Edge's 1964 Vox AC30 on stage in Foxborough for the U2 360° Tour.

The Edge plays electric guitar, acoustic guitar, keyboards, piano, bass guitar (on "40" and "Race Against Time") and lap steel guitar. Compared to many lead guitarists, The Edge is known for using many more guitars during a show. According to his guitar tech Dallas Schoo, a typical lead guitarist uses four or five different guitars in one night, whereas The Edge takes 45 on the road, and uses 17 to 19 in one 2.5-hour concert. He is estimated to have more than 200 guitars in the studio.^{[citation needed]}

Philanthropy[link]

In 2005, The Edge along with Bob Ezrin and Henry Juszkiewicz co-founded Music Rising, a charity that helped provide replacement instruments for those that were lost in Hurricane Katrina. The instruments were originally only replaced for professional musicians but they soon realized the community churches and schools needed instruments as well. The charity's slogan is "Rebuilding the Gulf Region note by note" and has so far helped over a hundred musicians who were affected by Hurricane Katrina. The Edge also serves on the board of the Angiogenesis Foundation, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization dedicated to improving global health by advancing angiogenesis-based medicine, diets, and lifestyle.^[13]

See also[link]

• Timeline of U2
• List of people on stamps of Ireland

References[link]

Footnotes

Bibliography

External links[link]

This article's use of external links may not follow Wikipedia's policies or guidelines. Please improve this article by removing excessive or inappropriate external links, and converting useful links where appropriate into footnote references. (October 2011)

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: The Edge

Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to: The Edge

• U2.com, official U2 site
• Music Rising
• The Edge at the Internet Movie Database
• The Edge – Album Credits
• A Study of The Edge's Guitar Delay
• The Edge: 'It's all about the vision'
• Food Bank For New York City public service announcement
• Comment on the mathematical analysis of The Edge's guitar sound