Bleacher Report - Articles by Chris Lail

Kay Yow Passes Away After Long Battle with Cancer

Chris Lail — Sat, 24 Jan 2009 12:37:30 -0500

Hall-of-Fame coach Kay Yow passed away this morning after a long, hard-fought battle with cancer. She was 66.

Kay was first diagnosed with Cancer in 1987 and fought long and hard to be an inspiration to others. She won more than 700 games during her 34-year career with North Carolina State University. She has been a great representative for the Wolfpack and will be missed.

Please make donations to the Jimmy V Foundation to help fight this dreaded disease.

Wood Brothers Racing Will Only Run 12 Races in 2009

Chris Lail — Sat, 06 Dec 2008 03:10:23 -0500

Per ESPN, The Wood Brothers team will only run 12 races in 2009 due to the tough economic times. They also announced that Bill Elliott will run all 12 races for them.

According to ESPN, Eddie Wood stated that they are going back to the way they used to do it by picking and choosing the races they felt the team was best qualified to win. Those races are all the mile and a half tracks and the Daytona 500.

Eddie Wood also announced that Wood Brother's Racing had to let 22 employees go due to the current economic situation.

Can Things Get Any Worse for Tom O'Brien and NC State Wolfpack?

Chris Lail — Tue, 23 Sep 2008 16:20:38 -0400

Yes, the Pack picked up a huge upset win (that's hard for me to say considering it was ECU) on Saturday. However, the injury bug keeps biting—and boy, does it bite hard.

On Monday, Tom O'Brien informed the media that Wolfpack starting quarterback Russell Wilson will be out Saturday against No. 13 (AP Poll) South Florida.

We will not find out until Thursday what the injury actually is. According to a few posters on PackPride, the rumor is that Wilson suffered a separated shoulder in the second quarter of the ECU game.

If Wilson doesn't play Saturday against the Bulls, this will be his second start missed out of four games.

On Saturday against ECU, it looked like the injury-plagued Pack had made a step forward, especially at the quarterback position. Wilson played well, completing 21 of 31 for 210 yards with three touchdown passes. He looked solid, making good decisions and escaping trouble against the Pirate defenders.

With Wilson being out, the Wolfpack will have to depend on redshirt junior Harrison Beck to get the job done. Beck has had an up and down career at NC State after transferring from Nebraska. He's a strong-armed kid that can put pressure on the Bulls' secondary. His poor decision-making could cost the Wolfpack.

Another starter was lost in the ECU game. Nate Irving, the breakout linebacker, suffered an ankle injury. He left the game and tried to return, but he wasn't the same Nate Irving we Pack fans had become accustomed to over the first three weeks. Hopefully both Nate and Russell will be back on the field soon.

The Pack and Tom O'Brien have had a tough time with injuries this season. The Wolfpack have now had injuries to 16 players in this short season and have had several season-ending injuries. Hopefully the Pack can continue to field a team at this rate.

The 1988 NASCAR Winston Cup Season: 20 Years On

Chris Lail — Tue, 23 Sep 2008 11:39:26 -0400

Nascar's 1988 season proved to be one of heartache and triumph. Several of Nascar's greats made their last runs (Cale Yarborough, David Pearson, Benny Parsons, and Bobby Allison) and a few legends (Ken Schrader and Allen Kulwicki) got their first wins.

The season started with one of the most exciting Daytona 500 races in history. On the 106th lap of the race, Richard Petty's No. 43 lifts off the track and begins one of the most horrific wrecks in Nascar history.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bnYk4Hfzs_c

The race ends in with father and son, Bobby and Davey Allison, taking first and second.

Lake Speed wins his first Nascar Winston Cup Race at Darlington's TranSouth 500 on March 20th. Phil Parsons gets his first career Winston Cup win later in the year at the Winston 500 at Talladega Speedway.

"Awesome" Bill "From Dawsonville" Elliott comes back to win his first short track race at Bristol Motor Speedway after spinning out late in the Valleydale 500.

The Nascar circuit bids farewell to Riverside International Raceway and Rusty Wallace claims victory.

Then heartache hits. Bobby Allison spins after cutting a tire in the "tunnel turn" and gets nailed by Jocko Maggiacomo in the driver side door. Allison was airlifted to the hospital and later lapsed into a coma for a few weeks. Allison would recover, but he would never race again.

Here is a great account of the day and the other Allison tragedies by ESPN.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MoURQkLpzHQ

Talledega proves to be lucky for another first time winner when Ken Schrader wins a pass on the final lap. Here is a look at the last three exciting laps of the Diehard 500. This was Buddy Baker's final race.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9qqrl7-CToo

Another first time winner came at Phoenix International Raceway on November 6, 1988. It would be the first of many for driver Alan Kulwicki. He would later win his first championship by the closest margin of victory in the history of Nascar, only 10 points.

Who did Kulwicki beat that year? The winner of the 1988 Nascar Winston Cup Championship, Bill Elliott. Bill finished 24 points ahead of Rusty Wallace in the final standings. Dale Earnhardt finished third. Bill ended up with 6 wins. Here is a look at his championship run.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G86DDhwjXqg