USA WEEKEND brings swimsuit models to NASCAR
This weekend's Fabulous February cover story brings together two American institutions — NASCAR and the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Edition — for the first time. For our exclusive cover story, photo shoot and inside-the-magazine poster, we invited three of NASCAR's biggest name drivers — Dale Earnhardt Jr., Clint Bowyer and Martin Truex Jr. — and two top swimsuit models — Brooklyn Decker and Julie Henderson — to pose for famed SI photographer Walter Iooss Jr. at the Richard Petty Driving Experience in Concord, N.C. (Find out what newspaper near you carries USA WEEKEND with this list.) Check out a slideshow of photos from the shoot taken by our senior photo editor, David Baratz, and click read more below for some on-set scoop from senior writer Dennis McCafferty. You'll also find a time-lapse video that shows you how many people it really takes to make a photo shoot successful.
October 10, 2008
NASCAR drivers and 'SI' models make for easy shoot
Our USA WEEKEND photo shoot with the NASCAR drivers and swimsuit models wrapped up easily this afternoon and everyone had a good time, reports our Dennis McCafferty, pictured at left with Dale Earnhardt Jr.
Brooklyn Decker, the Sports Illustrated Swim issue star with whom Dennis is pictured at right
, told him,"The guys were really sweet, though we didn't get much chance to talk to them because we were working.They also seemed a little bit out of their element. You got the feeling it wasn't a photo shoot they do all the time."
That may be true for the guys — we're talking top NASCAR drivers Earnhardt, Clint Bowyer and Martin Truex Jr. — but for the ladies, Brooklyn and Julie Henderson, today was the equivalent of getting out of school early. "Most of our photo shoots with Sports Illustrated go for 10 hours," Brooklyn said. Today, by comparison, was a breeze. They shot for about an hour because the drivers had to get back to the track and practice before tomorrow's big race at Lowe's Motor Speedway.
October 09, 2008
Top NASCAR drivers meet swimsuit models
Our Dennis McCafferty is in Charlotte, N.C. this week for our annual NASCAR/Daytona 500 photo shoot. And he has good reason to be excited because - well, I'll let him tell it.
"We’re featuring three of the very top drivers in NASCAR — Dale Earnhardt Jr., Clint Bowyer and Martin Truex Jr. — with two of the top models in this year’s Sports Illustrated Swimsuit issue. Since both the Swim issue and the Daytona 500 are the biggest events for sports fans in February, we figured: Heck, why not combine the two and get a great, star-studded photo shoot out of it?
We’ve actually been trying to line this one up for years, so it’s great that it’s actually going to happen. We’re really thrilled with the SI Swim models who will participate, Brooklyn Decker and Julie Henderson. They’re both stars and very familiar to SI Swim issue fans. Brooklyn is actually from Charlotte too, so this will be a homecoming of sorts for her! You can check their work out here for Decker and here for Henderson. I did, of course, because that’s the kind of total professional that I am.
Oh, and there’s something else about this shoot that has me and WEEKEND really jazzed: SI is being generous enough to provide the great Walter Iooss as the photographer. Anyone who’s read SI knows that Walter is one of the all-time great photographers anywhere, and he’s the magazine’s top Swim issue shooter as well. We can’t wait to see what kind of images he comes up with! (His work can be found at http://www.walteriooss.com/.)
Anyway, we’ll keep our readers posted on how things go. The actual cover/spread will publish in early February, just before Speed Week leading up to the 500, just before the Swim issue hits newsstands.”
August 21, 2008
Kasey Kahne and Dierks Bentley's photo shoot
Our Dennis McCafferty just called me from Nashville with a report from our going-on-now photo shoot with NASCAR driver Kasey Kahne and country musician Dierks Bentley. Here's the scoop: Kahne actually took his own plane from his home near Charlotte, N.C., to the airport in Nashville to pick up Dierks. Then they both hopped in Dierks's pickup truck, and Dierks gave Kahne a tour of Nashville, including Music Row and a stop for lunch at a Cajun joint. The two have been friends for awhile now, so they spent a couple of hours hanging out before heading out to Bristol Motor Speedway for the shoot.
When they got there, they walked into a big group of kids from Kahne's foundation, which raises money for chronically ill and disadvantaged kids, who are also a part of the pictures being taken for our Make a Difference Day cover story in October. Dierks gave everyone high fives, including a little girl named Melissa. She gave him such an energetic high five that he had to shake his hand out, and joked with her that "Boy, you've got some muscles there!"
(photo courtesy kaseykahne.com)
July 22, 2008
Jimmie Johnson is happy to chat
OK, Nascar fans, here's a fun little story about Jimmie Johnson (at left). Our senior writer Dennis McCafferty interviewed him a few weeks ago and tried to do "something a little tricky" beforehand. Things didn't go quite as planned, but No. 48 was a good sport about all of it. Here's Dennis's report on how it went down:
March 06, 2008
Carl Edwards helps you propose
Would you like your marriage proposal featured on the back of a race car at NASCAR? I wouldn't, but I know there are plenty of people who would, so this item is for you.
Harlequin, a romance novel publisher, and Office Depot, an official NASCAR partner, are offering a contest in which one couple will get the ultimate NASCAR wedding proposal or the chance to renew their vows. Individuals can submit their proposals online and the winning wordsmith will have his or her declaration of love featured on the back of Carl Edwards’ No. 99 Office Depot Ford Fusion during the 2008 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series All-Star Race in May and will win a prize package worth more than $10,000.
From now until March 31, you can submit proposals of 50 words or less to www.GetYourHeartRacing.com. This parnership will make more sense to you if you know that Harlequin has a popular line of NASCAR-themed romances (begun in 2006), and that Edwards has had cameo appearances in two of the novels.
February 15, 2008
Five former NASCAR champions
If you're a NASCAR fan, this weekend's issue of the magazine is a must-see. Our staff NASCAR expert Dennis McCafferty rounded up five Daytona 500 winners from the past five decades. It's quite a feat to get five celebrities in a room together, at all, much less all these big names: Darrell Waltrip, Richard Petty, Bobby Allison, Jimmie Johnson and Sterling Marlin. You can read the full article here, but Dennis gave us some inside scoop that didn't make the final story.
"Jimmie Johnson was a true-blue good guy. Usually when you do photo shoots, if it's an active driver his publicity team insists that he wear his firesuit -- especially on a cover -- because they want their sponsors to get exposure. But Jimmie insisted on not wearing his, because he knew the others wouldn't and didn't want to stand out. Just last weekend Jimmie clinched the pole spot for this year's Daytona 500, but we're not that quick -- we got lucky on that one. The shoot was done toward the end of last season at the Richard Petty Driving Experience, next to Lowe's Motor Speedway in Charlotte, N.C. All the guys had a really good time together, trading stories and joking around. Bobby Allison was the last to leave, and Darrell Waltrip joked with Petty about his hat -- but you'll have to read the article to find out about that."
November 30, 2007
NASCAR stars in their own words
Dennis has spent the last two days talking with the NASCAR drivers and telling you what they've been saying. But if you check out the podcasts below, you can hear those drivers tell it themselves.
Click here to listen to Clint Bowyer
Click here to listen to Carl Edwards
Click here to listen to Jimmie Johnson
Click here to listen to Matt Kenseth
Kurt Busch finds his way through the Waldorf
Looking at Dennis' NASCAR gallery I am reminded of Woody Allen's 1983 movie Zelig, about a man who becomes a celebrity and meets all kinds of famous people. And our Dennis is still on the NASCAR beat today, wondering the storied Waldorf-Astoria. Here's his latest report:
I needed to get my tickets for tonight’s dinner and awards at the Waldorf by 1 p.m., and, as usual, the Waldorf 
is a bit of a maze to figure out and I was completely spun around. I turned to a well-dressed gentleman walking in the same hallway where I was, figuring he was heading the same way. “Are you looking for the ticket area too?” I asked. “Umm, no,” the gentleman politely responded. Of course he wasn’t. It was Kurt Busch (pictured at left). “Ha!” I said. “I guess you don’t need one.”
That’s the way it is here in NYC this week, a place where you can bump into drivers or their pit guys or owners at any time. Last year, my wife, Laura, and 8-year-old son, Ryan, joined me in NYC on Friday morning. Before noon, I indicated that I needed to go to the Waldorf for my tickets. “We’ll go with you,” Laura said. “Maybe Ryan will see a driver.”
Back then, I was skeptical. “Honey,” I said. “It’s not like these guys hang out in the lobby of the Waldorf. They’d get mobbed.”
“Well, we’ll go anyway,” she said. So we all walked over and ended up in front of the hotel, where cabs are hailed. “Do you see anyone?” Laura asked me.
“No,” I said. “I told you it wasn’t likely.”
“Who’s that guy getting his picture taken?” she asked, pointing to a silver-haired gentleman posing with a well-dressed couple.
“Oh,” I said. “It’s Dale Jarrett.”
Which led to a nice exchange between Jarrett and my son, who, of course, knew Jarrett and the UPS car he drove. Years ago, I had a nice chat with Jarrett, Jimmie Johnson and Jeff Gordon and he remembered this. He had also seen the more recent WEEKEND cover story in which his famous dad, “Gentleman” Ned Jarrett, took part, and he expressed appreciation for that as well.
For those looking to find a driver during NASCAR week in NYC, however, I’d say go with no expectations and you won’t be disappointed. Instead of stakeouts, it’s usually the moment when you don’t expect to see a driver here that actually produces one.
(photo courtesy penskeracing.com)
Jimmie Johnson, Dale Earnhardt photos
The NASCAR Nextel Cup awards will be broadcast tonight on ESPN classic at 9 p.m. ET. Meanwhile, we continue our week of NASCAR coverage behind with a short photo gallery taken by our own Dennis McCafferty, who managed to talk to most of the big name drivers Thursday. Check back later this afternoon for a short sound bite or two.
