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September 24, 2006

Photo of the Day - Georgia Sunset

Sea Island, Georgia, July, 2006.

I'll be on vacation in Oregon for the next week, so unless anything major happens, there likely won't be any entries here other than possibly some photos of the day until I get back. But I hope to come back with some decent images from Portland, Crater Lake National Park and the Oregon Coast!

Posted by silverdsl at 11:02 PM | Comments (1)

Steve Park Working on a New Ride

How many times have we heard that over the last year? This weekend at Dover, Steve Park said,

"We're looking to get back full time in '07 or '08 and hopefully we'll be able to make an announcement in a month. We're not looking at Cup because of the money factor. Trucks is what we originally looked at but now they're contemplating going to the Busch Series."

I'd love to get excited for Steve, but let's face it, he's talked about being close to having a ride and being able to make an announcement in a month's time before. So really, there's no telling if this deal is actually anywhere near close to happening this time, or whether it's yet another time that Steve and everyone else is going to get their hopes up, only to be disappointed. From the sounds of it, whatever he's working on might not be full-time in 2007, with the goal of not going full-time until 2008. I have to say that with how many obstacles part-time teams face, that part-time might not be such a great idea. It's very hard to put together a solid full-time team, particularly if this were to be a new team, but they would at least have a shot at racing their way into the top 35 in owner's points and getting a guaranteed spot, something a part-time team can't do. But the money might not be there to go full-time at first.

But that's if this ride actually materializes. Sometimes I wish that Steve wouldn't say much more than a vague "I'm weighing my options for the future in Trucks and Busch and I'll have an annoucement as soon as everything is finalized." Because when he puts a time-table on things, it leads to people having expectations of an announcement in a few weeks, and disappointment when it doesn't happen. I also think it's bad mojo to say too much about a deal before it's done. That especially seems to be true in Steve's case since he made reference quite often to fans and the media about the deal he was working on for a truck ride with Bill Davis Racing that fell apart. And whatever this deal is may very well fall apart too. That's not a reflection on Steve, that's simply the way things work as he knows well - what seems like a sure thing one day, can crumble to pieces the next.

So I'll just take this for what it is - Steve is talking to a team and/or sponsor about possiblities for the future. No more, no less. Maybe it'll turn into something great for him, maybe it won't, but I hope that things play out for him in the way that they should.

Posted by silverdsl at 01:44 AM | Comments (0)

Tide Likely Leaving PPI; Kvapil Likely Not Going to MWR

Speculation has run rampant for virtually the entire season that Tide wouldn't come back as the primary sponsor of the #32 at PPI Motorsports, and although Cal Wells doesn't know for sure, since he's not heard from them for sure abou their plans, he's operating under the assumption that they won't be back. I think that's a safe bet. The #32 team has struggled not just this season, but since the middle of 2004, when Ricky Craven was still with the team. And as a single-car team, the chances for them making dramatic improvements performance-wise aren't great. So I can see why Tide might not want to renew with PPI. But they might not end up with another team either. Wells says that Tide isn't negotiating (to his knowledge) with other teams, so it's likely that they will pull out of the sport completely, which is a shame given how long they've been a Nascar sponsor. Wells is looking for a different primary sponsor for the #32, something which may not be so easy considering the performance issues the team has had to deal with, though they have made improvements as the season has gone on.

Wells would like to retain the services of Travis Kvapil as driver of the #32 but he can't make him an offer until there's a sponsor in place which doesn't give Kvapil much job security... if he even wants to stay with the team. Kvapil has talked with Michael Waltrip about racing the #00 next season but he says that he hasn't heard from Michael in a while, and thinks that MWR is no longer an option for him. Based on the way Michael has been talking about how David Reutimann is his first choice for the #00, I'd say that Travis shouldn't be expecting a phone call anytime in the near future from Michael, unless something went very wrong at David's meeting with Burger King last week. I'm sure the Travis fans are going to grumble and complain about how Travis is a much better driver than David, but the reality is that David is already a part of the Waltrip organization, seems to be able to race anything he gets into this season up front, and would represent any sponsor very well. Travis is also a great driver and person, but the results for him haven't been very good since he left the truck series and his personality seems to be somewhat laid back, at least publically. So I don't think he's such a great fit for the #00. Which might not leave Travis with many options in Cup, and even less if the #32 folds.

Posted by silverdsl at 01:22 AM | Comments (0)

Harvick, Bowyer Have Words for Bob Dillner

It's pretty obvious that Kevin Harvick and his Richard Childress Racing teammates aren't going to let "Wheelgate" go away quite so easily. Not only did Harvick confront Dillner during Cup practice today, but both he and Clint Bowyer took shots at Dillner after the Busch race. Unfortunately all that's surfaced from the Dillner-Harvick showdown are some photos by Mark Reblias, who is probably beside himself with happiness that he was in the right place, at the right time, to capture this confrontation. Inquiring minds would surely love to know what was said during that discussion and thus far no one is saying, but I'm guessing that Harvick wasn't complimenting Dillner on his skills as a journalist.

Today's Busch race was an outstanding one for RCR, as Bowyer ended up in Victory Lane, his first win since last October, and Harvick finished third. During post-race interviews, both Harvick and Bowyer had a little something to say to Dillner. Harvick said,

“I just want to dedicate this to Bob Dillner and all the wheels that we have. I think this is pretty bittersweet to put all that to bed.RCR finished one and three. Take that and take it to the bank.”

From Victory Lane, Bowyer followed with

“By the way, we want Bob Dillner to come down (to victory lane) and check the wheels out for us.”

Some fans think that it's immature, unclassy and inappropriate for Harvick and Bowyer to have made those comments. However, I'm glad that RCR isn't going to let this be swept under the rug as quickly as some would like it to be. Dillner made mistakes in his reporting of this story, and he should be held accountable for that. The only way that a message is going to be sent that it's unacceptable for a reporter to seemingly do a half-assed job of reporting a story that could have major ramifications for a team is if the team speaks out about it in a strong way as RCR has been doing.

In addition, it's been reported that Delana Harvick informed RCR's public relations representatives that her husband won't agree to any interviews by Speed reporters nor will he appear on any Speed shows. Kevin's in a position where he can get away with that because as a driver in the Chase, and the driver leading in the points, he knows that he's going to get a signficant amount of exposure and attention from major media outlets to the point where it's not really going to effect or hurt him too much if he's not on Speed. Whereas some other drivers, such as a driver like Tony Raines or Sterling Marlin, who don't get much attention from the media, wouldn't be in a position to deny any requests for interviews, because they need all the exposure they can get for themselves, their team and their sponsors.

It's doubtful that it's going to happen but I'm hoping that if RCR continues to put pressure on Dillner, Speed and others in the garage area that more will come to light about who fed Dillner the information he used as the basis for his report, and why he opted to not give Nascar and RCR an opportunity to respond to the allegations, as well as why he didn't do as much follow-up as he should have to ensure that he was reporting accurate information.

Posted by silverdsl at 12:10 AM | Comments (0)

September 22, 2006

Steve Park Finishes 2nd in Busch East Race at Dover

Steve Park had a great car for the Sunoco 150 Busch East race at Dover this evening and was able to capitalize on likely being in the most competitive equipment he's been in all season to finish second! He even got to lead quite a few laps, but it came down to a battle between himself and the #9 driven by Tim Andrews, his former crew chief Paul Andrews's son, and Steve came up just short. While I'm sure Steve is disappointed that he's not in Victory Lane, second is still terrific and he should be very happy. From the sounds of it, there was a lot of great racing so hopefully he had a lot of fun! Steve really should feel good about himself!

Of course Steve should finish up front in a Busch East race, barring a mechanical problem or a subpar car. While the drivers in this series are likely very experienced overall in racing, Steve's got a significant amount more expererience in the higher levels of Nascar than anyone he was racing against. I was a bit concerned about him not finishing well, because I think the expectation from most people is that he should be finishing at least in the top five easily. So I'm glad that he was able to finish so well!

However, some are thinking that this race is going to translate into a full-time Cup or Busch ride for Steve because all those owners were present at the track. It would be great if he caught someone's eye and they gave him a shot in a competitive car or truck, but my feeling is that regardless of how well this race turned out for Steve, a lot of the same problems still exist in terms of the way he's likely perceived and a few other things. Steve can't turn back the clock and be 25 again, he's 39 or 40. No matter how many good races there are, some will still think he's damaged goods, until he gets those great results in Cup or Busch, which is going to be hard of course when he's not given an opportunity in a strong car. And Steve isn't going to fit into some sponsors marketing plans the way he might have in the past. Not to mention he's not raced Cup in three years now, and has only raced Busch a handful of times and the results were not good. So it's likely going to take a lot more than one good Busch East race to overcome some of the road blocks that exist that are preventing Steve from getting a good ride.

But I'm happy for Steve that he was able to race up front so much in this race and ultimately finish second. I think it's awesome for him. However, I'm also going to take it for what it was - a Busch East race that he was able to have some fun in, no more, no less. Being able to have fun on the track is awesome for Steve because this season hasn't been much fun for him! And he may be racing this car again next week in the Busch East race at Lime Rock, in Connecticut. So hopefully he'll have fun and finish great next week too!

Posted by silverdsl at 07:17 PM | Comments (0)

Former Employee Accuses RCR of Wrong-Doing

A former Richard Childress Racing employee, Anthony Corrente, who was an assistant manager for engine research and development, has filed a lawsuit alleging wrongful termination, defamation and breach of contract. In addition, Corrente claims that engines that the RCR teams used during Speedweeks at Daytona were modified in violation of some of Nascar's rules. Corrente also says that RCR has black-balled him within the garage area by telling others that he's a trouble-maker with an attitude problem. Well, I'd say if he was hoping to get another job in Nascar, he's going to have an even harder time now. A lot of teams are going to think twice about hiring someone who files suit after they're fired, and makes allegations that are damaging to the organization's reputation, whether the allegations are true or not.

What's interesting is that this comes the same week as "Wheelgate." Maybe there's no connection. Or is it possible that Dillner's source is Corrente or someone associated with him? That person would certainly have an agenda and reason to make up a story about RCR. Or maybe there was another source who heard something about the allegations in Corrente's lawsuit and mistakenly connected some dots that shouldn't be connected and jumped to some inaccurate conclusions.

Of course Richard Childress denies the allegations. He said,

"The allegations made about RCR in a lawsuit filed by a disgruntled former employee are absolutely untrue. Specifically, our cars passed NASCAR inspection both before and after qualifying for the 2006 Daytona 500. Additional allegations made are also untrue. We will make no further comments until after the issue is resolved in a court of law."

Thing is, unless Corrente can support his allegations with something other than his word, it might be hard to prove improprieties since the cars passed post-race inspection.

Posted by silverdsl at 03:10 PM | Comments (0)

Jason Giambi Has a Torn Ligament in His Wrist

Jason Giambi's wrist has been bothering him for a while, to the point where he got his third cortisone injection this week for the pain. As it turns out the source of the pain is not just tendinitis, but also a small tear in a ligament in his wrist. It's so bad that it might necessitate surgury in the off-season. Giambi will sit out this weekend's series with the Tampa Bay Devil Rays and hopefully the rest will go his wrist some good. I don't think this bodes well regardles of how much rest he gets this weekend for Giambi's ability to put up big power numbers during the post-season. There's no telling how productive he'll be able to be period.

Presumably Gary Sheffield is going to make some starts at first base this weekend. Suddenly the question of how well he's going to be able to play first, as well as whether he's going to be able to be as productive as he was before his injury, looms large.

Posted by silverdsl at 02:52 PM | Comments (0)

Bob Dillner Speaks...

... and what he said wasn't particularly satisfying in my mind in terms of shedding any light on the Wheelgate controversy. Just a few minutes ago on The Speed Report Dillner said that he continues to stand by his report and that he did in fact check with Nascar about "the inspection process" for the #29 and #31. First, of all if Dillner's going to say that he stands by his story he should explain why, if only for his own sake, so he doesn't look like he's being stubborn and can't admit to having reported something in error. If he's that convinced there's truth to the story and he should stand by it, produce some sort of evidence based on his investigative reporting or clarify what kind of a source he got the original information from. Something, anything to indicate his line of thinking about why this story is true! Because you've got people like Jim Hunter from Nascar and Jeff Burton saying that it was a complete fabrication. While being careful to say that he doesn't think Dillner was the one who made the story up, Burton had strong words about the story itself. He said today,

"We know the story is not true. We know that Bob Dilner was given the information. We know that Bob didn't create the story; he was given the information and we know the information is not true. So Bob's sources are Bob's sources and I'm not going to get into that because it's not fair to Bob. If a team did that it's highly unethical, if anyone, well, someone did it and it is unethical. It is unethical to lie - when you're 5 years old and you tell a lie you get your hand smacked. You're taught at an early age that it's wrong to lie. And without a doubt, someone was lying to Bob Dilner, no question about that.

So why then, is Dillner so insistent about standing by his story? If there's truth to it, produce the proof that his source wasn't off base. If it's a lie, then admit to it, apologize and move on.

As noted, Dillner also claims he asked Nascar about the inspection process. I'd like to know what he asked and what he was told. Because to my knowledge he didn't report anything that Nascar told him. Was it because the answers didn't fit with his story? Or because he didn't ask questions that had anything to do with the actual story, but rather general questions about the inspection process those cars went through? Not to mention, what did Nascar tell him? Did they say yes, there was an irregularity or did they deny that there was any truth to his story. And why didn't he report what they told him? An additional problem for Dillne, Monte Dutton says that Nascar gave the media the "all-clear" in terms of the post-race inspections before Dillner's report aired. So did Dillner get that report, and if so why didn't he include it in his story, or did he ignore it because it conflicted with his story?

In addition ,Burton, who spoke with Dillner this morning said,

"In retrospect, though, I think that Bob could have gone the next step, after he reported it, to figure out if it was reported correctly or not. Being that NASCAR and the teams were both saying it didn't happen I think Bob could have gone the next step and done an investigation of where are our wheels; do we have the same wheels, and to my knowledge, that didn't happen."

Indeed it doesn't seem to have happened, considering Dillner was unable (or unwilling) to produce anything that supports the story he reported. It's really disturbing to me that Dillner and Speed seem to think that it's acceptable for them to simply report what they hear, rather than doing any kind of follow-up to determine the accuracy of their story, particularly when it gets called into question in such a strong way.

Unfortunately the end result of this sorry mess is that a lot of people are going to be suspicious of any success that Richard Childress Racing has for the rest of the season, believe that there's Nascar cover-up underway, and some people like me, are going to have second thoughts about giving much weight to what Dillner reports.

Posted by silverdsl at 02:15 PM | Comments (0)

September 21, 2006

Photo of the Day

Driftwood Beach, Jekyll Island, Georgia. July, 2006.

Posted by silverdsl at 10:14 PM | Comments (0)

From Track Smack...

And for anyone else who still thinks that Bob Dillner didn't do anything wrong, that all members of the Motorsports media operate in the same way and they still can't figure out what the big deal is, David Newton and Marty Smith had the following to say in this week's edition of Track Smack:

David Newton: You hate to judge other reporters, but there's no excuse for not going to NASCAR and RCR to get their side of the story.

Marty Smith: I tend to agree with Newton. You hate to judge. Bob's been around. He has good sources and chose to go with one of them. But he was remiss in failing to report NASCAR's and/or RCR's take.

and then the following exchange between Dave Rodman and David Newton a bit further down:

Dave Rodman: Well you know the ol' saying -- never let the truth stand in the way of a good story -- or at least the corroborated truth.

David Newton: If we'd reported the same thing without checking all the sources we'd be dragged through the mud as well, Rodman.

Dave Rodman: I don't know everything about it -- but it appears Bobby was on a good scent, but maybe just needed a few more crumbs to complete the trail.

Dave Rodman: Well, I guess part of the point is, we didn't.

Maybe the biggest shame is that it's possible that Dillner had the potential for a good story, one that was actually breaking-news, if it turns out that there was anything to what he reported. However, the way he handled it might mean that Wheelgate will be more remembered for the poor way that Dillner reported it, rather than for the actual story (or non-story).

Posted by silverdsl at 04:03 PM | Comments (0)

Society of Professional Journalists Code of Ethics

I don't know that every journalist or media outlet pledges to follow the Society of Professional Journalists Code of Ethics, but I do know that the vast majority of media outlets do have some sort of code of ethics, rules and standards that they expect their reporters and producers to adhere to. When you look at this Code of Ethics, it becomes even more glaring how badly Bob Dillner seems to have dropped the ball on Wheelgate.

Under "Seek Truth and Report It," the Code of Ethics starts out by saying that journalists should

Test the accuracy of information from all sources and exercise care to avoid inadvertent error. Deliberate distortion is never permissible.

Let's give Dillner the benefit of the doubt here and assume that he asked his source many questions, and was careful to make sure that he understood exactly what his source was telling him. I would also guess that Dillner wasn't deliberately trying to decieve or distort, simply trying to break big news.

Second item in the Code of Ethics:

Diligently seek out subjects of news stories to give them the opportunity to respond to allegations of wrongdoing.

According to Richard Childress Racing and Nascar, Dillner never contacted them for a comment, thus denying them the opportunity to respond. That seems like a pretty big mistake. At least Speed allowed Kevin Harvick to respond on Inside Nextel Cup, and didn't edit out his disparaging remarks about the situation, or those of Michael Waltrip.

Third item:

Identify sources whenever feasible. The public is entitled to as much information as possible on sources' reliability.

Of course since DIllner was using an anonymous source, it wasn't possible to identify who his source was. However, to my knowledge he never even referred to the source as "a highly-placed Nascar official" or "someone familiar with the inspection process" or "someone present when the inspection took place" or even "someone close to Kevin Harvick/RCR/Jeff Burton." Any of those things would have protected the source's identity, yet given some sort of context by which the audience could come to some sort of judgement about whether or not the source knew what they were talking about.

Fourth item:

Always question sources’ motives before promising anonymity. Clarify conditions attached to any promise made in exchange for information. Keep promises.

We have no way of knowing whether or not Dillner questioned his sources motives, which are now extremely suspect in light of the denials that have followed.

Then skipping down to the "Be Accountable" section:

Journalists should:

— Clarify and explain news coverage and invite dialogue with the public over journalistic conduct.
— Encourage the public to voice grievances against the news media.
— Admit mistakes and correct them promptly.
— Expose unethical practices of journalists and the news media.
— Abide by the same high standards to which they hold others.

As of this entry, neither Dillner or Speed have clarified or explained this situation beyond saying they stand by their story. Dillner hasn't said one word about how this story came to be. Nor has Dillner or Speed admitted to a mistake, and they've barely even acknowledged Nascar and RCR's denials. And for those who take issue with Claire B. Lang for bringing up more than once on her show the need for her colleagues in the motorsports media to contact Nascar and others for a comment on stories they're working on, that fourth item is for you.

A few other things not related to Wheelgate struck me as I read this. Under "Minimize Harm,"

Recognize that private people have a greater right to control information about themselves than do public officials and others who seek power, influence or attention. Only an overriding public need can justify intrusion into anyone’s privacy.

I immediately thought of the Ray Evernham/Erin Crocker situation when I read that. Obviously both are in the public eye and seek power, influence and attention to a degree. However, that last part is important. There's been quite a few fans who have complained about why the media ignored the Evernham/Crocker romance for so long. But I think until it became an issue in the Jeremy Mayfield saga, there wasn't a public need to know. That two people are dating, regardless of their circumstances, really isn't all that newsworthy.

Then there's this in the "Act Independantly" section:

Avoid conflicts of interest, real or perceived. Remain free of associations and activities that may compromise integrity or damage credibility.

That section is why it bothers me that Marty Smith is good friends with Jimmie Johnson, yet writes about him for Nascar.com. I always wonder whether Smith would write the way about Johnson if he wasn't such good friends with him. The same holds true for any one else who has a bias for one reason or another.

As I think I said in my other entry, no one is perfect and mistakes are going to be made. But reporting the news accurately, fairly, and ethically is tremendously important. Putting false information on the air or in the paper can do all sorts of damage.

Posted by silverdsl at 02:03 PM | Comments (0)

Ryan Moore Quits Key Motorsports

Ryan Moore was supposed to be at the wheel of the #40 truck for Key Motorsports at Las Vegas this weekend, but instead Tim Fedewa will be driving that truck. After a "difference of opinion" on the direction the team was headed in, Moore quit the team yesterday, just days before the race. Curtis Key, owner of Key Motorsports said,

"Ryan just basically disagreed with our philosophy and quit. He left us high and dry at the worst possible moment, so now we're scurrying to find another driver capable of putting the No. 40 Chevrolet Silverado up front at Las Vegas."

Moore hasn't said why he quit, but I hope he has a very good reason, otherwise it looks pretty bad for him to up and quit so close to the next race. That doesn't reflect well on him, and unless he's already got another ride lined up, that could make some teams wary of him since teams don't want quitters racing for them, they want drivers who are going to give it their all, no matter how many problems and differences of opinion there may be.

Of course this isn't the only team that Moore's left under somewhat mysterious circumstances. He was at one time a DEI development driver who had raced a couple of Busch races for them, then was suspended by Nascar for retaliating against another competitor after a Busch East (then Busch North) race. There was a rumor that DEI had severed their ties with him, only to have that be denied and Moore make one more Busch start for DEI. But it doesn't appear that he's associated with them any longer.

Posted by silverdsl at 11:53 AM | Comments (0)

New York Yankees Clinch American League East!

It probably wasn't the way they wanted to do it, but last night the New York Yankees were able to clinch their ninth consecutive American League East Division title, and of course a spot in the post-season. Awesome! Unfortunately, the Yankees didn't clinch because they won - they lost to the Toronto Blue Jays - but because the Boston Red Sox lost to the Minnesota Twins. Still, the Yankees sprayed champagne and celebrated just as much as if they had won to clinch. And they should celebrate. The Yankees haven't always had it easy this season. There's been many injury issues to contend with and some spotty pitching. But as the season went on, the team pulled together and became one that seems to be able to play as well as any other.

I think one of the biggest turning points was when the Yankees swept the Red Sox in five games last month. That seemed to really put a stake through the hearts of the Red Sox. From there the Yankees really took off and it's been exciting watching them play. The past couple of years it's seemed like the Yankees have struggled to come back when they fall behind in a game. But not this team. Suddenly I have so much more confidence that even if they're losing, the game truly isn't over until the final out because the Yankees might somehow find a way to win. There's no telling what might happen in the post-season, but I'm very much looking forward to seeing how things play out.

And for all those who think that the Yankees would have won all those Division titles, without Joe Torre and all his failings, Mariano Rivera said,

"We're not standing here without that man. All this, this is what he has done. Eleven years of this."

Posted by silverdsl at 10:17 AM | Comments (0)

More on Wheelgate

It may turn out that some slight shred of truth comes to light regarding "Wheel-gate," the story that Bob Dillner reported on Speed in which he alleged that Nascar had busted the Richard Childress Racing teams of Kevin Harvick and Jeff Burton for a grey area rules violation with the wheels on those cars. However, four days later that chances of that happening isn't looking too good as there has still not been any evidence to come to light to support Dillner's allegations. In fact, more has been said that calls that report into question than support it. All involved parties, from Nascar to RCR, to both Harvick and Burton, have made multiple, strong and detailed denials. Also, Claire B. Lang from XM was present during post-race inspection, and said that she neither saw nor heard anything to suggest there was any kind of problem with either car. While it's certainly possible that something happened out of her eyesight, she would have been in close proximity to the #29 car, as she was taping interviews for the "Teardown" segment of her show, so it seems to reduce the chances that she missed something so major.

In addition, I'm far from an expert on the technical aspects of what Dillner's story alleged, but others who are more familiar with the processes involved, have raised questions about whether or not his story was even technically accurate or possible. Harvick himself raised this issue yesterday on MRN (via Jayski),

"We have an inspection process that happens every week. The ironic part about it is that our wheels are taken to the racetrack by a wheel company every week. Really, the only thing you can touch is the valve stem. And the report was, that, you know, I don't even know, laser cut holes in the wheels. So, there's really no possible way that you could even wind up knowing what corner that the wheels are going to be mounted on, because the tires are already mounted when you get to the race track. If somebody would have just done their homework for thirty seconds or a couple of minutes and just figured out exactly what they were doing, they would have realized they would have realized that it's virtually impossible to do what they reported. So, it's just unfortunate that we've spent the whole week talking about Bob Dillner instead of talking about our win, and that's unfortunate for the Speed Channel that they are where they are in their journalism state of reporters."

If what Harvick is saying is correct regarding the way the tires are mounted, that seems to completely discredit Dillner's story.

The fact of the matter is that even if Dillner got some aspect of this story correct, he still made a major mistake by not contacting either Nascar or RCR for a comment. Because regardless of what his source was telling him, part of the story is also what Nascar and RCR are officially saying. That Nascar and RCR says that this incident never happened is an important part of the story, one that Dillner left out. The question in my mind is whether he neglected to contact Nascar and RCR because he was in a rush to get the story on the air and didn't want to take the time to get an official comment, or because he knew if he contacted Nascar and RCR, there were going to be denials and he'd have no story? A journalist absolutely must contact the involved parties for a comment, to not only ensure accuracy, but to give them a chance to respond.

Some are saying that Dillner's source is likely a higher-up in Nascar so there was no reason for him to contact anyone else because he could trust what that person was saying. First of all, no one other than Dillner, presumably his bosses at Speed, and the source himself, knows who the source actually was. So it could be anyone from a low-level employee with a team, to a Nascar official, to a fan with a garage pass who misheard something. Secondly, even if Dillner got his information from Brian France himself, it's essential that he fact-check and find secondary sources to support what the original source is saying. There's always the chance that no matter how much a souce seems to know, that they don't know the full story, got bad information, misunderstood something they were told or worst of all, and quite possibly likely in this case, had an agenda.

Many people believe that there's a Nascar/RCR cover-up. I have no doubt that there are times when those in the garage area don't tell the full story about things or spin things to suit their agenda. However, this situation is more complex than just a team trying to pretty up why a driver was released or Nascar trying to explain away why they penalized one team differently than another. Fact is, a cover-up would involve not only Nascar, their officials who were present during inspection, Richard Childress, all members of the #29 and #31 teams, Harvick and Burton, but also Claire B. Lang, since she was there during inspection, and likely any number of other people. Lang even had Harvick on her show on Monday and Robyn Pemberton on her show yesterday, both of whom talked about how Dillner's story was inaccurate. To say that there's a cover-up means that you're saying that a considerable amount of people are conspiring and lying. I have no doubt that there are many who do routinely try to mislead fans and the media about the truth, but this many people all at once? And a cover-up so big that it involves the governing body of the sport, a major organization, two drivers and XM? Unlikely.

For Dillner's sake, I hope he's been spending this week doing some investigative reporting and that his next report for Speed is going to be an in-depth examination of this story that features all the evidence that supports his allegations. Or that he's going to admit that his source gave him inaccurate information and apologize to RCR. At the moment his story seems to have holes in it large enough to drive a Mack Truck though and his silence, other than "I stand by my story," isn't doing any favors to his credibility. If it turns out that there isn't a single shred of evidence to support Dillner's allegations and he can't give a good explanation as to why he used his source's information without seemingly doing any other follow-up or fact-checking, then he's lucky he's working for Speed and not a hard news station, where he might find himself covering playground dedications and garden shows for the rest of his career instead of hard news.

Journalists are going to make mistakes. Dillner isn't the first, and he won't be the last journalist who's been given bad information. But when it happens there's usually some sort of retraction, follow-up, explanation, or apology. There's been none of that in this case. I think what bothers me most of all about all of this is that so many fans are willing to accept a reporter not doing their due dilligence to make sure that the report is accurate. To me it's essential that the news and information that media outlets report in and out of Nascar, is as accurate as possible.

Posted by silverdsl at 08:55 AM | Comments (0)

September 20, 2006

Michael Waltrip on Toyota, His Teams and 2007

There's an interview with Michael Waltrip on the motorsports section of Toyota.com that's pretty interesting. Sometimes these kinds of interviews for manufacturers or sponsors can be all "fluff" and not much else, but Michael did shed some light on how things are progressing for 2007.

For one thing Michael confirmed what's long been suspected, that DW's truck operation is becoming a part of Micheal Waltrip Racing. Michael said,

"We did a count yesterday -- and including the Toyota truck team that Darrell owns which will become a part of our organization -- we have 140 employees already. That's a lot of people and I would say 75% of them are focused on the 2007 Camry.

Of course it has seemed like MWR has been calling most of the shots with the truck teams already this season. It makes sense to consolidate all their personnel and have all the teams under one roof. And it certainly helps MWR to have the extra personnel now who can help with preparing for 2007. Thing is, 140 people is a lot, but a lot of the other large organizations probably have many more than that. So MWR is probably going to continue to hire, not just people to work on the teams, but also administrative, marketing, PR and other support personnel, as well as staff for Waltrip World.

Michael was asked what he's found the most rewarding and he said,

"There have been two things that have been really rewarding. On-track, what we did at the 'Car of Tomorrow' test at Michigan (August 21). Our car was competitive. We were really impressed with the way it drove. Dave (Blaney) drove it and I drove it and we both agreed that it was as close as anything we've driven before -- right off the truck. So, that's pretty big. Secondly, off-the-track, it's the sponsors that we've attracted. The people that believe in what we are doing and have partnered with us to go forward. Those two pieces are really fun for me to think about and it drives me to make sure that we do a great job for them."

It really must be an amazing feeling to see everything start to come together, to drive a COT that his organization has built, to have so many people believe and support him. I think that Michael should be proud of everything that he's done to get to this point because it's a major undertaking. With help from those around him, Michael has built Michael Waltrip Racing into an organization that down the road could be one of the powerhouses in Cup. Now some are going to say, Michael has never been that successful or otherwise dismiss MWR's chances for success. But the fact of the matter is that Michael is putting into place all the pieces that his organization needs to build a strong foundation that will likely lead to a lot of wins and maybe even a Championship for one of their teams in the future. When he goes to Daytona next year, I can't even begin to imagine how many different emotions Michael is going to feel, not only because he's making his dreams of fielding a Cup team for himself come true, but also that he's going to have several other teams there. As lousy as this season might be for Michael on the track, there's a lot to be excited about off the track.

The next bit made me laugh a little. Michael said,

"The No. 00 Burger King/Dominos car will have a driver in it -- a name driver in it -- within a week or two, I hope. I told people that before and it didn't come true -- and so I've been trying to bite my tongue and not say it. But, I think we are really close to deciding that we like where we are at with our driver and can't wait to announce it -- and add some crew chiefs and sort of finish things off. I think that there is a pretty good chance that David Reutimann will be in it. He's just a really quality guy. He's won in a Toyota before and he understands the system and the process. He'll be a proud addition to our team."

First he's saying that he's trying not to say anything about the driver of the #00, then he goes and say that there's a good chance that David Reutimann will be in the car! I think Michael did get burned before about talking about the driver of the #00. Some of his comments made it sound like he was pretty sure he was going to sign Jeremy Mayfield, something that thankfully never happened. I really hope that this time his predictions about David ending up in the car, do come true! I definitely think that David would be a wonderful addition to the MWR Cup program. I'd like to think that Michael wouldn't be talking like this about David unless he was very confident that he was actually going to end up in the #00, and another sign that David may end up in the #00 is that he apparently did some Cup testing with Michael this week, but things can change quickly, so there's no telling what might happen. I just hope an announcement comes soon.

Here's where I have a little problem with what Michael's says,

"Everybody is happy for us that we're doing our own team. About 99% of the time the fans have been very supportive, as far as saying; 'I have a Camry. I have a Tundra. I love it. We appreciate you teaming up with Toyota."

Saying that 99% of the time fans are suupportive and happy seems like a wee bit of an exaggeration. Why? Because from what I understand Michael and Dale Jarrett are getting booed at races, there's anti-Toyota signs at the tapings of the various Speed shows, there's a whole website devoted to hating on Michael and DJ for signing with Toyota (that I refuse to link to because I don't want to give them any extra traffic), and there are many fans who have expressed some very negative sentiments about Toyota entering Cup. Granted there are probably a lot of fans who are afraid to be negative about Toyota to Michael's face, and many of the fans he encounters are his own who are going to support anything he does, so he may very well get a lot of positive feedback about joining with Toyota. And of course all parties associated with Toyota are going to gloss over the negativity that some have been expressing, especially since people tend to let what other people think shape their own opinions, so some fans will probably be swayed to support Toyota if they think everyone else does. But I think that Michael and the rest of the Toyota drivers are going to have to deal with some very vocal negativity next season, at least early on when the Cup cars first hit the track.

Michael also talked about how his greatest fear heading into Daytona next season is of the unknown and how he'll be incredibly nervous. So will all his fans on his behalf!! But he said,

"I trust the people that I have put in place. We've got some smart people and they always pat me on the back and say; 'It will be alright Mike.'"

And it will be alright. Better than alright. Michael has already etched his name in the Nascar history books by winning the Daytona 500 twice, but he's also going to make history when he becomes one of the first Toyota Cup drivers and one of the first Toyota Cup owners. That's something that will be associated with Michael forever, that no one can take away from him, no matter how much they try to diminish or dismiss it. I don't know how much success Michael is going to have on the track as a Toyota driver or owner, though I hope it's a lot, but I do know that Michael is creating an organization and a legacy that will likely be a part of this sport for a very long time. I'm proud of him, and proud to be a fan of someone who is making so many of his dreams become reality in such a big way.

Posted by silverdsl at 02:05 PM | Comments (0)

Steve Park to Race NDS Busch East Car at Dover

Fans have been waiting impatiently to find out what team Steve Park would be racing for in the Busch East race at Dover International Speedway, and yesterday it was announced that he'll be in the NDS/Waste Management Recycle America/Jasper Ford for NDS Motorsports. Presumably that car will sport the #35 as it has in the past. Steve is looking forward to racing at Dover. He said,

"Dover has long been one of my favorite tracks. The Monster Mile, as it is known as, has its name for a reason. You have to race the racetrack, not the other cars. As soon as you get away from racing the track and start racing the cars, you get yourself in trouble. If you can conquer the track, you will find yourself in the front of the pack. It is extremely fast and very much a driver's racetrack. You have to be up on the wheel from start to finish and really be focused. The other important key is a good handling car and I know our Waste Management Recycle America/Jasper Ford will be the right ticket. I've had a number of top fives and top tens there and I think we can be successful this coming weekend."

I hope Steve's right and he can get a great finish on Friday! His average finish at Dover is 18.2 in Cup, 14.7 in Busch, and 23.3 in a truck. So hopefully the results for him in Busch East will be more like his results in the Busch Series. Steve did finish 2nd at this track in a Cup race in 2001, so he knows how to get around the track and finish well.

However, I have to admit I'm having a hard time getting excited about this race. I hope he does well and has fun. But I guess I feel like so much has gone wrong for Steve this season that I'm afraid that the results won't be to anyone's liking, just because that's unfortunately the way everything has seemed to go for Steve lately. And a poor finish in Busch East isn't going to really look so good. Some of the other drivers that Steve will be racing against are very experienced racers, but he likely has the most experience of any of them in Nascar's three highest levels. So the expectation is going to be that he should be able to dominate the race. Of course the reality is that he has to have a good car and his fellow competitors are sure to race him hard so they can say they beat a former Cup driver. But a poor finish wouldn't be a good thing for Steve because some will say that if he can't even beat Busch East drivers, then he doesn't belong in a car or truck on a higher level. In the end, as happy as I'll be if Steve finishes at the front of the field, and estatic for him if he were to win, this is only a Busch East race, not a Cup, Busch or Truck race, and it's hard for me to be as enthusiastic as others about this race.

Some think that this ride is going to lead to a ride for Steve in another series. Maybe he'll catch someone's eye or being in the garage at Dover will give him the opportunity to network with some teams that still have openings for next season, but unless Steve is looking at racing Busch East on a regular basis next season, I'm thinking that this isn't much more than Steve racing for some old friends that he knows from back-in-the-day, when he raced in Connecticut and Long Island.

Posted by silverdsl at 09:08 AM | Comments (0)

September 19, 2006

Photo of the Day - Looking Up

Maine, 2002. Sometimes you can see interesting things when you look up.

Posted by silverdsl at 10:27 PM | Comments (0)

Jeff Burton's Pissed With Good Reason

Jeff Burton was none too happy when he heard that Bob Dillner reported on Speed that his car and that of his Richard Childress Racing teammate, Kevin Harvick, were found to have grey area rules violation during post-race inspection. That's because he knew the story was completely false. Burton said,

"It's pissed us off. It's made us mad. It's made us very mad. We've done nothing wrong. We have no trick that's made us run well. We've worked hard. We've worked smart. And someone in the media who chose to use unreliable sources has tainted that. And it pisses me off and it pisses my team off and I have little patience for it."

Poor journalism pisses me off too. When I read a newspaper, or listen to the news on TV or the radio, whether it's a hard news report or the sports report, I expect that what I hear has been checked for accuracy. Dillner did none of this, he simply relied on the word of an anonymous source, which is a very dangerous thing to do, because it's very easy to get burned by a source with an agenda. That's why many media outlets have strict rules regarding the use of anonymous sources and under what circumstances they can be used. Even with trusted sources, it's absolutely essential to get a second, and sometimes even a third or fourth source confirming some part of what the original source is saying, even in the smallest way, particularly when it comes to a major story. Some media outlets won't even use an anonymous source unless they can also find someone to go on record with some sort of statement regarding the source's claims. Dillner appears to have had none of this.

So far all Speed has said is that they stand by the story. Many people are interpreting that to mean that they have some sort of evidence to prove that there is some truth to the story and that this is a Nascar cover-up. However, neither Speed nor Dillner has thus far provided a single shred of evidence to support this story. Not one. Most reporters have some sort of research, interview notes, secondary sources or some sort of even vague proof on hand for situations exactly like this so they can't be accused of making things up. But so far Dillner and Speed have been unable to provide any of that, which says to me that no proof exists that this story is in any way true, other than what the source alleged.

Dillner can't be expected to say who his source was, but he's not even given the smallest of hints about who this person is, so there's no telling whether it was actually someone affiliated with a team or with Nascar, or someone with much less credibility such as a fan who misheard a conversation. There's also no way of knowing if this was a trusted source who had given him good information on multiple occasions in the past, or whether this was a new source who Dillner decided to take a risk on and trust because the story was so big. In addition, just because a source has passed on good information in the past, doesn't mean that they won't burn a reporter in the present or in the future. Even a good source might have an agenda or might have been feed incorrect information themselves. So again, it's absolutely essential that information from an anonymous source be checked, double-checked and triple-checked, when it comes to a major story.

But if not providing any proof isn't already a huge red flag that Speed has nothing concrete to back that this story has any shread of truth to it, the words of Chris Long, Speed's Executive Producer of Nascar Programming, are an even bigger red flag. He said,

"I'm backing Bob 110 percent, and we'll stick to the story he put out there. We have no reason to believe Bob would make up anything like that. I think NASCAR and RCR need to figure out where the story's coming from. It has nothing to do with us. We just report it."

No where does Long say that Dillner or others at Speed investigated this story to determine it's accuracy. In fact, he says "We just report it" which seems to indicate that all that they do is report what they hear, with no fact-checking and no consideration to whether it's true or not. That's shoddy and irresponsible journalism and completely unacceptable to me. I don't think this is the first time either. In August Dillner reported that Scott Wimmer was about to be announced as the driver of the #00 for Michael Waltrip Racing, something which apparently had no truth to it since Wimmer said a short time later that he had no ride for 2007. I seem to also remember Dillner reporting that M&Ms was going to leave Robert Yates Racing and go with Elliott Sadler to his new team, another item that had no truth to it. So it seems as if there's a pattern in which Dillner "just reports it" rather than actually verifies whether it's truth or fiction.

Speed has a responsibility to me and other viewers to report the news accurately. They have a further responsiblity to get the story right so they don't damage the reputations of those they cover on the basis of false information. To some this is probably no big deal, but I'm going to have a very hard time trusting what Dillner reports for quite some time to come, unless he, Speed or someone else can come up with some real proof that there is something to this story.

Posted by silverdsl at 09:33 PM | Comments (0)

In the News: Michael Waltrip (9/19)

Unfortunately for fans of Michael Waltrip who have grown used to being able to listen in to the #55 team's radio communications each week via Trackpass, Michael was taken off of Trackpass this past weekend in New Hampshire. Most people freaked out, and I was just as disappointed, but unlike everyone else I wasn't surprised. At some point in the past, I saw it said that drivers outside the top 35 in points aren't eligible to be included on Trackpass. So once Michael dropped to 36th in points, I knew that he could be removed any race. In addition, I knew that heading into the Chase for the Championship that those who run Trackpass were going to want to include as many Chase drivers as possible. Many fans emailed and called to complain, and some were told that Michael would be added back this weekend (and definitely in 2007), and I hope that's true, but I'm not getting my hopes up. It's a shame though because it adds to my enjoyment and understanding of the race when I can listen to Michael's radio. Not to mention it's often the only way of knowing exactly what's going on with the team and what problems they might be facing.

Since only those who subscribe to the in-car on cable TV were able to hear the radio communications of the #55 team it wasn't until the post-race report that most of us knew that Michael had to battle a lot of handling problems during the race to fight his way to a 23rd place finish. The car was tight, the car was loose, but somehow Tommy Baldwin, Jr. and the team got the car to be good enough for Michael to finish in the top 25 with it. He was even able to pass Dale Jarrett on the last restart for 23rd. Michael said,

“I’m real proud of how our team bounced back after last week. It shows just how much character we have. We didn’t have the best car out there today, but this NAPA Auto Parts team gave it their best shot and we finished 12 spots higher than where we started. Tommy and the guys in the pit did a great job.”

Finishing that many spots higher than where they started is an accomplishment to be proud of, especially considering how many races they've struggled to finish even a couple of spots better than where they started. 23rd isn't exactly amazing of course, but it's better than a lot of finishes they've had this season.

Bob Margolis, writing for Yahoo Sports, is just one of several media members and a number of fans, who took issue with Michael racing Kevin Harvick hard on lap 184 to stay on the lead lap. What's Michael supposed to do, pull over and let Kevin go by without a fight? Michael has raced for very little that counts this season, I don't think it's ridiculous for him to race hard to stay on the lead lap, when so many races this season he's finished multiple laps down. At New Hampshire he had a car that wasn't the most competitive on the track, but it seemed like it was good enough to be a lead lap car, though he ultimately finished as the first car a lap down. "Happy" wasn't exactly happy with Michael for racing him so hard either. He said,

"Maybe he should have been racing that hard earlier in the race so that he wasn't where he was [at the tail end of the field]."

Well, maybe if Michael had been given a better car by Bill Davis Racing, and didn't have so many handling problems, he wouldn't have to start the race at the back of the field and then he wouldn't have had to race Kevin so hard to stay on the lead lap. I find it kind of irritating when drivers and other complain that some driver or another shouldn't have been racing them hard. Yes, if a driver is 50 laps down, and has no hope of getting back on the lead lap, or if they're a much slower car or it's the last lap and they're in the way of the leader, I think a driver should ease up and let the faster, lead lap or leading cars go by. However, otherwise, the drivers are out there to race and that's exactly what they should be doing, even Michael who is out of the Chase.

Michael had a guest in his pit during the race, and it was A.J. Allmendinger, who finished 13th in his first Truck start for BDR on Saturday. The Tampa Tribune notes that Michael and DW will have a vacancy in the truck they will be fielding in 2007 and Allmendinger doesn't have a contract with a team yet. Michael already denied that Allmendinger is in the mix for the #00 Cup car, but that would be a nice pick-up to have a driver like Allmendinger in his truck. However, I think it's more likely that Allmendinger is being considered for the second Red Bull Racing Cup car, though it might be a good idea for him to get some experience, even on a part-time basis, before throwing him into a Cup car full-time.

In other Michael Waltrip Racing related news, I didn't see 7 Days on Speed last night, but apparently Jeff Dickerson, who is an agent and spotter for Kyle Busch was one. If I'm understanding correctly, one of his clients is Josh Wise, who is a USAC Sprint Car racer and apparently also now a MWR development driver. Apparently he will race some ARCA and Truck races for MWR next season. Like I said I didn't see this myself, so I don't know exactly how accurate all of this is, but I do hope that MWR has signed him to their driver development program. I'd like to see MWR add another young driver or two who might end up being the future of MWR. Too bad Joey Miller isn't still in the mix though.

Posted by silverdsl at 03:46 PM | Comments (0)

Is This is a Conflict of Interest?

Apparently Elliott Sadler, Dale Jarrett, and Elliott's business manager, Brett Griffin are partners in a company that handles marketing and public relations for sponsors and young drivers in Nascar. Sounds like a solid business venture right? After all, there will always be the need for public relations representatives and marketing plans. However, this company has as it's clients Stephen Leicht, who was not too long ago teammate of DJ and Elliott at Robert Yates Racing, and CitiFinancial, who is a RYR sponsor. My question is, now that both DJ and Elliott have left RYR, how can RYR trust that when their company is advising Leicht on his career, that they're not going to advise him to leave RYR too? And how can RYR trust that one of those drivers isn't going to convince CitiFinancial to go to one of their teams? After all, UPS already left RYR for Michael Waltrip Racing with DJ.

This probably isn't the only kind of situation like this in Nascar. But it really jumps out to me because of the fact that Driver's Choice represents an RYR driver and sponsor. That doesn't seem like a good road to go down to me, because it could open all parties to some uncomfortable questions in the future.

Posted by silverdsl at 01:40 PM | Comments (0)

#6 Will Have a Rookie Driver in 2007

But it might not be Todd Kluever who was originally Roush Racing's first choice to take Mark Martin's place in the #6. Kluever has been underwhelming in the Busch Series, which has opened the door for one of Roush's other young drivers to possibly race the #6 instead of Kluever next season. Geoff Smith, president of Roush Racing said,

"We have been able to put four of our Gong Show drivers in rides this year to scrutinize them: Todd; David Ragan, splitting duties with Mark in Trucks; Erik Darnell, rookie-of-the-year leader in Trucks; and Danny O'Quinn. One of those guys will be in the six. And by the time we get to Kansas City, we have to be done. We haven't had home runs out of the box with all four, but David and Erik have done extremely well. And Danny and David are only 20 years old. So we feel very good about where we are."

Seems like Ragan or Darnell might have leapfrogged over Kluever in the pecking order at Roush. However, it seems to me that none of that group have very much experience, not just in Cup, but in Nascar overall. Apparently Roush is going to enter Ragan in the #06 this weekend at Dover to see what he can do in a Cup car, but how much are they really going to be able to tell from his first Cup start ever? And that's if he's able to qualify in on time for the race. I suppose it really doesn't matter all that much which young driver they put in the #6 to start the season, as long as the sponsor, AAA is happy. After all, they'll have three other drivers to put in the car if the first fails.

Posted by silverdsl at 01:26 PM | Comments (0)

Why is Bill Elliott Doing This?

Bill Elliott is going to be racing the #37 R&J Racing Dodge in the Cup race at Kansas, and I have to say I'm not sure what his motivation is for wanting to race this car, other than perhaps it's a favor to someone. This team has missed nine out of ten of the races they've attempted to qualify for this season, and I don't recall them ever really having too many good runs in the recent past. Ernie Elliott, who I believe is Bill's brother will be providing the engine, and they'll be using an Evernham chassis, but I still can't imagine that the car will be all that great considering that this team is short on resources. Of course, unless a more recent Champion has to use it, Bill will be guaranteed a spot in the race by virtue of his Champion's provisional, so he knows for sure he'll be racing. I just don't understand why he would be willing to race a car that's likely to not be very competitive. It's one thing what he's doing for Michael Waltrip Racing and Red Bull Racing, because he's essentially doing R&D work for those teams and being competitive is likely secondary. But I don't think this is that kind of situation. So I would think this would be the kind of ride to stay away from, but maybe he really misses racing every week.

Posted by silverdsl at 01:15 PM | Comments (0)

Chad Chaffin Does it Right

I have to compliment Chad Chaffin because I'm impressed with what he's been doing lately. Not necessarily on the track, as much as I guess what could be characterized as his business decisions. Chaffin's not had a huge amount of success in Nascar, though he does have two wins in the Truck Series that date back to 2004, when he was racing for Bobby Hamilton Racing. Still, he's bounced around a little the past couple of years, without a huge amount of success on the track. However, recently Chaffin was named as the driver of the #59 HT Motorsports Truck that Steve Park used to drive for, and I've got to admire how he took advantage of an opportunity that presented itself to him. Apparently a big reason why Chaffin got the ride is because thanks to his prior association with Toyota, he was able to bring them on-board with the #59 team, which is huge for that team since they had previously been racing without any manufacturer support.

Chaffin said,

“My history with Toyota has played a vital role in my career. The people at TRD have allowed me the opportunity to get this joint venture started and have been extremely receptive. I am excited about reuniting with Toyota. I can’t speak highly enough about the equipment and the organization. TRD has top-notch engineers and factory support, which allows them to be the best manufacturer on the track. I look forward to driving their trucks and competing at a higher level of competition. I see no reason why we can’t continue Toyota’s history of success and win some races.”

I don't think that the #59 team is going to be instantly successful because they're still a small team, with less personnel and resources than other teams. But I do think that joining with Toyota will lead to improvements as time goes on. As Chaffin points out, TRD really is on their game when it comes to engineering and providing their truck teams with as many tools as they can to succeed. I have to commend Chaffin for recognizing that he had an opportunity to work a deal that would benefit both himself, because it gave him a ride, and the #59 team, because it got them a manufacturer.

Another area in which Chaffin has done well lately is in terms of public relations. The reality is that it's really difficult for drivers who aren't among the elite in Nascar to get exposure and attention. It's even harder for Busch and Truck drivers than it is for Cup drivers. However, there are things that drivers can do, and must do, because promoting themselves can be almost as important as promoting the sponsors they are or hope to be affiliated with. First thing that Chaffin's doing right is that he seems to be working with a PR/marketing company, Mountain Empire Sports Marketing Group, that specializes in motorsports clients. They likely do things for Chaffin that he can't or doesn't have time to do himself, such as writing press releases, pitching to the media, working with Harris Trucking to coordinate appearances, and come up with marketing and promotion plans to find ways to get Chaffin, his teams and sponsors the most attention they possibly can, as much of a struggle as it may be at times.

To that end, Chaffin has a new, nicely-done website. It's nothing fancy, but it doesn't have to be, as long as it looks good and visitors can find what they're looking for easily on it. These days drivers absolutely must have websites that are professional and informative, because often the first place fans go for information is to a driver or team's website. It's an important tool, and as much of a promotional piece as any other, to market that driver to fans, sponsors, teams, media members and to anyone else who might stop by. Of course it's improtant to have a lot of content, and to keep it continually updated with items that are going to create repeat visitors. To that end, Chaffin is going to have something pretty interesting on his site, that will make me a repeat visitor. His wife, Cyndi, is going to do a weekly journal that talks about their experiences each week at the track, similar to what Delana Harvick does periodically on Kevin's site. Cyndi's first entry was a good read and I thought it was pretty interesting to read things from her perspective. This past weekend the Chaffin's were lucky enough to get a ride to and from the track with Sterling Marlin and his wife on their plane. Since the Chaffins don't have their own plane, normally they have to ride commercial and deal with all the hassles that come with that, so they were very appreciative of the opportunity to ride on a private plane.

Chaffin is also launching a new fan club. I've never got the impression that Chaffin has a huge amount of fans, but even if he has only a few, a fan club is a good idea. Fans like to show their support of their driver by joining his or her fan club, and it's also a good way for the driver to promote themselves and their sponsors to the people who are most likely to be receptive. For now the fan club is very reasonable, just $12.95 for an individual membership, $15,95 for families, but it includes a fan club membership card, a t-shirt, a chance to win passes to a race, and it sounds like they're eventually going to have a Member's Only section, which is generally popular with fans.

Of course a lot of this comes because Chaffin is getting advice from a professional public relations and marketing firm, and may have others who are also guiding him. But I think it's impressive because sometimes lower-tier drivers don't recognize or don't have the means to do these kinds of things. Let's face it, having professionals guide your career and work on your website can sometimes take money that some drivers are unwilling or unable to spend. But it's a good investment because in the long run it could help develop or extend one's career. It's good to see Chaffin doing as much as he can to help himself. There's no telling how things are going to turn out and whether he's going to have as much success on the track as he'd like, but seems like he's going to give 100% to make the most of his opportunities both on and off the track.

As a side note, I was shocked to discover that Chaffin's truck series stats are actually better than Steve's. That was real eye opener because I had never thought much of Chaffin as a driver. But he's got 2 wins, 11 top fives, 26 top tens, and two poles as compared to 1 win, 8 top fives, 16 top tens and no poles for Steve. I actually hate comparing drivers because I don't think stats ever tell the whole story or take into account things like how competitive the car/truck was that the driver had to race with, mechanical issues, problems in the pits and other factors that are outside a driver's control. But it was interesting because Steve definitely has a lot of talent behind the wheel, so that means that at least as far as the trucks go, Chaffin probably does as well.

Posted by silverdsl at 08:37 AM | Comments (0)

September 18, 2006

Shoddy Reporting, Sabatoge or a Conspiracy?

Last night Bob Dillner reported on Speed that during post-race inspection Nascar discovered a problem with the Richard Childress Racing cars belonging to Kevin Harvick and Jeff Burton. The story went that the team had fooled around with the rims of the tires in such a way to release air pressure from the rim, something which might give them a competitive advantage. However, Dillner continued, there was nothing in the rule book to cover what the RCR teams did so they wouldn't have to face any penalties. Of course that was huge news because Harvick was the race winner and both he and Burton are in the Chase for the Championship. Naturally many people assumed that what RCR was "busted" for was why both cars had been finishing so well this season.

Only one problem. The story is completely false. Jim Hunter, Nascar's Vice President of Corporate Communications said,

"We’ve been checking valves and valve stems for about 4 months now. What it was, was one reporter trying to make something that wasn’t there. Then another reporter went on TV and reported it as fact, when it was actually totally untrue. It was one reporter’s unsubstantiated fantasy.”

Hunter also said that Dillner never asked anyone from Nascar for confirmation or for a comment before he reported it as fact on Speed. Even if Nascar is going to say "No comment," a reporter must check, and then double-check their sources. Maybe some think it's no big deal, but accuracy is essential when it comes to what's reported as news and fact.

Furthermore, Richard Childress said,

"Reports in the media, specifically on SPEED TV, that one or more of our NEXTEL Cup Series teams was found by NASCAR to be manipulating the rules yesterday at New Hampshire International Speedway are false and misleading. Our cars passed post-race inspection and officials at NASCAR assured us last night and again today that no one from RCR was told at any time not to bring a part back to the race track. The reported events and conversations did not happen. Our focus remains on two of our teams competing for the championship and the other finishing as high in the points as possible."

Which indicates to me that Dillner never asked anyone at RCR for a comment either. Absolutely inexcusable. I can understand that Dillner had a source that was telling him a potentially blockbuster piece of information. But with the amount of damage that could be done to the reputation of RCR, Harvick, Burton and even Dillner himself, it's essential that he be absolutely sure that his information is correct before he runs with it. Unfortunately, there's a lot of people who might only hear that there was a problem with the RCR cars, and never hear that Dillner reported false information, so they're going to have the impression that RCR did something wrong, when they didn't.

There's a lot of misinformation that circulates in this sport. Sometimes it's just that someone didn't know the full story, misheard, misunderstood or jumped to conclusions. But sometimes misinformation is deliberately spread because someone has an agenda. And that's what Harvick thinks happened, that a rival team deliberately spread a false rumor to try to distract them. According to Jayski's, he said on Sirius Satellite Radio,

"I absolutely think it was a plant from another team. NASCAR didn't say anything, so it's pretty obvious to me where it came from. It's an attempt to try and distract us from what we're doing, but they're going to have to do a lot better than that."

Which is a possiblity that Dillner should have considered before he went live with his story. He's been around racing and the garage area for long enough where he should have known that there might be some funny business afoot, and indeed there was.

Chris Long, Speed's Executive Producer for Nascar Programming said,

"Speed reporter Bob Dillner has a strong record of solid reporting from the NASCAR garage; so there is no rational reason for us to consider that the events and conversations he related to SPEED viewers are anything other than the truth."

What his statement doesn't include is how Speed is going to address this situation and prevent it from happening again. Nor does it indicate whether or not Dillner is going to be disciplined. Reporters simply must fact-check, and there must be guidelines in place for using information that comes from anonymous sources. If Speed wants to be taken seriously, viewers have to be able to trust what Dillner and their other reporters say. Given that this isn't the first time that Dillner's reported something that he's heard in the garage area that's turned out to not be true, I would be leery of trusting what Dillner reports in the future. I would guess others would be as well. So what is Speed going to do about that? How are they going to regain the confidence of their viewer when it comes to being able to trust what's said on-air?

Some are saying that this is a Nascar cover-up, that Dillner was reporting factual information and Nascar doesn't want it publically known that two Chase contenders were caught doing what some would view as cheating. I say, that kind of an accusation is as bad as accusing the RCR teams of wrong-doing. Where's the proof of that? There is none.

What's astonishing to me is that it's not like Dillner just started reporting for Speed. In fact, Dillner's not new to working in journalism period. He used to work for News 12 Long Island, a local cable news channel. I'm quite sure that there were journalistic standards that Dillner and his colleagues had to adhere to at News 12, so it's not like he can claim to be unfamiliar with the way things work in the journalism business in terms of ethics and standards when it comes to fact-checking and sources.

Posted by silverdsl at 08:15 PM | Comments (0)

Everybody but Steve Park Gets a BDR Truck Ride

Or at least that's what it seems like. Apparently Bill Davis Racing has signed former World of Outlaws champion Tyler Walker to race full-time in the #36 360 OTC truck next season. There's not been an official announcement yet, but there's an item about it on Jayski's with a confirmation from someone from 360 OTC on the Jeremy Mayfield forum on the 360 OTC site. I've said before that I suspected that there was more to the story than Nascar just not approving the sponsor that was to be on Steve's truck and now as things have evolved I think that may be the case even more. It may very well be that as time went on and BDR couldn't get things done with Steve and whoever his sponsor(s) were to be, as opportunities came up to work with A.J. Allmindinger, and now Tyler Walker, particularly since he has a full sponsorship for next season, BDR simply decided to go in another direction that they felt would be more fruitful for them. When it comes down to it, as much as BDR might like Steve, given their lack of sponsorship issues in the truck series, BDR is going to go with the drivers who they feel can help them get and keep sponsors, as well as who they think can be the most successful for them. Steve's fans think that he's the best of the best, but BDR might think otherwise, particularly in light of his less than impressive results this season.

I'm sure a lot of fans are going to be pretty upset about this, but I can completely understand why BDR might opt to go in another direction. Sponsors rule the the roost in Nascar and since 360 OTC is handing over a lot of money to sponsor the #36 Cup car, I can see why BDR would want to do whatever they can to make them happy, including opting not to field a truck for Steve so they can field one for Tyler Walker. I do think that if 360 OTC was willing to sponsor Jeremy, who isn't exactly a spring chicken in Nascar terms at almost 40 years old, Steve might be a good fit for their brand as well. But perhaps 360 OTC, and BDR, wanted to be involved with developing a young driver. After all, every other driver at BDR is considered "old" by many in Nascar. So I can't blame BDR for possibly wanting to get a young guy in the mix.

Posted by silverdsl at 08:41 AM | Comments (0)

September 17, 2006

Photo of the Day - Sculpture

Grounds for Sculpture, Hamilton, NJ, 2006.

Posted by silverdsl at 09:25 PM | Comments (0)

Fox Sports on Steve Park

The following was in Tom Jensen's column on Foxsports.com:

Tom from Green, Ohio: How come Steve Park hasn't been mentioned for any of these open rides? He has proven to be able to win in all three series. I think it's a shame that he and Ricky Craven have been labeled and blacklisted because they got hurt. Both have since recovered and have won since their accidents. When do you think they will -- and Steve in particular -- finally get a break?

Tom Jensen: Tom, wow, that's a great question. Craven got a ride with Roush Racing's truck team last year, but it didn't work out, while Park's truck deal didn't work out, either.

These days, once you leave the Nextel Cup Series, it's almost impossible to get back in. There are two reasons for this: 1. Sponsors who more often than not, pick the drivers want young guys on their way up; and 2. The setups on the Cup cars have changed so radically in the last year that guys who are used to way the cars used to be, seem to have an awfully hard time adapting to the new feel.

I'm not saying that's fair or right, but that's the reality. And it means Park and Craven will face very, very long odds of ever landing another top NASCAR ride.

I happen to agree with Jensen. I think Steve and Ricky both are going to have a very hard time getting another top Cup ride, and maybe even any top ride at all. Had things worked out differently in the Truck Series for both of them, in that they had more success, perhaps things might be different, but given their respective ages, that neither one is likely as marketable as they once were, that there could be some that still believe that they're "damaged goods," and that neither one has raced Cup in a few years, it seems unlikely that they their services are going to be in demand in Cup anytime soon.

I also think that Jensen has a good point in relation to Steve and Ricky having a hard time adjusting to the new set-ups of the cars. Fact is, it's been said that some current veterans who have been racing Cup are having trouble with getting used to the coil binding set-ups, it doesn't seem so crazy to me that drivers who haven't raced Cup in a few years might have even more trouble. And that's something that a lot of teams won't want to deal with, since they might not have much patience for drivers who need to get used to the way the Cup cars race now. Veterans are expected to get good results almost as soon as they get into a car, whereas with a younger, less experienced driver, there's likely to be lowered expectations at first, and more time given for them to adjust to a new situation. Steve and Ricky are both great drivers, who can race up front and win when they're given competitive cars or trucks, but as drivers who have been involved in Nascar, and racing overall, for a very long time, they've doubtlessly developed a driving style of their own, and like their cars/trucks set-up a certain way. If that way conflicts with the new set-ups in Cup, it might be difficult for them, and teams may take that into consideration when they're looking at drivers to put into their open rides.

In a lot of ways Ricky and Steve have found themselves in somewhat similar situations. They both won in the truck series in 2005, but overall their seasons were something of a disappointment and they parted ways with those teams to pursue other opportunities for 2006, which never really materialized. Steve ended up racing some races in the #59, but his deal with Bill Davis Racing fell through. Ricky's only race this season was a Busch race for Fitz-Bradshaw Racing, and he seemed to have a few ride possiblities that also never materialized. Which has left both Ricky and Steve sitting home, rather than racing regularly. If I had to guess I'd say that both will be doing more of the same next season. I hope to be wrong about that for both their sake's, but I'm thinking it's more likely we'll see them make spot starts in one series or another, or hook up with a lower tier team, rather than end up in an elite ride on any level.

Posted by silverdsl at 08:38 PM | Comments (0)

Johnny Benson Wins His Fourth Truck Race of the Season

For much of the season it looked like Todd Bodine was going to run away with the Championship in the Truck Series, but Johnny Benson is making things tough for Todd heading into the the last few races of the season. On Saturday in New Hampshire, Johnny won his fourth race of the season, putting him just 124 points behind Todd in the overall points standings. I'm thrilled that Johnny is having such an outstanding season! The only other driver in the series who's won as many races as Johnny is Mark Martin. Until this season Benson had never won a truck race, and his last win in Nascar was a Cup race in 2002. So all his succcess this season must really feel sweet to Johnny! I would rather see David Reutimann win the Championship, but since I've always been a fan of Johnny's as well, I would be happy to see Johnny as this year's Truck Series Champion as well.

As for David, he finished 12th, which is really good considering how bad things looked for him and his team in the early going. David was involved in a couple of incidents, including one with Mark Martin, that resulted in more than a little damage to the #17 truck. But he and his team never gave up - the team fixed the damage to the truck as best as they could and eventually David was able to race his way back up into the top 15. That's exactly what this team needs to do if they want to keep themselves in the hunt for the Championship. I think it's a longshot as they're 263 points behind Todd, but there's still seven races to go and anything can happen. If David keeps racing as well as he has all season, he should be able to stay in third in the points at least, which is excellent. I think that David flies under the radar and doesn't get as much attention as he deserves, but I think next season whether he's just in Busch, or in Cup and Busch both, I think he's going to surprise a lot of people with just how good he is.

Posted by silverdsl at 07:45 PM | Comments (0)

September 15, 2006

Where's Mark Martin Going to be Racing Next Season?

Is Mark Martin going to drive the #6 truck for Roush Racing next season or is he going to end up racing for another organization? Some can't imagine Mark with any organization other than Roush, but it's definitely not a done deal that he's staying with them in 2007. Mark seems to think that Geoff Smith, the President of Roush, is playing some sort of game and doesn't want to lock Mark in as the driver of the #6 truck in the hopes that they'll get him to agree to do something else for them, like maybe race the #6 Cup car for one more season. But I'm thinking that Mark is playing a chess game of his own at the moment, and that Roush may end up losing if they don't move quickly. Fact is, the available driver pool is pretty thin and there are a lot of teams who would jump at the opportunity to sign an accomplished driver like Mark.

Posted by silverdsl at 11:16 PM | Comments (0)

In the News: Michael Waltrip (9/15)

Whooo-hoooo! After last week's debacle which apparently included the #55 team being unable to get the engine cranked for a good chunk of the first practice, and then Michael Waltrip failing to qualify for the race at Richmond, the #55 team rebounded in New Hampshire. Michael won't be starting near the front, as he was only able to qualify 35th, but I'm just happy he made the race. His practice speeds looked like the car was going to be fast enough to get him into the field, but I was still nervous since any kind of problem, no matter how minor, could end Michael's weekend a lot earlier than he would want. But he did it! I really hope that next season, as hard as it's going to be with so many teams vieing for a small amount of spots, that Michael's going to be in the top 35 in owner's points and won't have to worry about missing races because he'll be guaranteed a spot.

As for the race itself on Sunday, I don't have very high hopes that Michael's going to finish very well. It would be great because it might keep their hopes of getting back into the top 35 alive, but sad to say, whatever progress they made when Tommy Baldwin, Jr. joined the team, might be lost after the DNQ last week. I hope Michael and his team prove me wrong, but I'm not very confident. Someone pointed out to me that if Michael doesn't finish in the top ten at least once this season, it will be the first time in almost 20 years that Michael hasn't had at least one top ten. That really highlights just how awful this season has been for Michael, because he's been in iffy cars before and has somehow been able to put together some decent races. But I think it highlights just how terrible these cars are that Michael's not been able to get even a top fifteen so far this season, let alone a top ten. I'd like to say that I hope that's going to change this weekend, but I feel like I'd be fooling myself. I know Michael is a much better driver than what he's been able to show this season, but I'm not thinking he's going to be given the tools to prove to the naysayers that he's a good driver any time before the end of the season.

Did you know that yesterday was Michael Waltrip day in Quincy, Massachusetts? Well, it was. How awesome is that? I think it must feel pretty neat to have a day in one's honor. Not only was it Michael Waltrip day, but Michael was the guest chef at a fundraising dinner that raised $10,000 that will be split between The Fisher Center for Alzheimer's Research Foundation, and Father Bill's Women's Shelter in Quincy. The dinner, which was a clambake featuring lobster, steamers, corn on the cob and chowder. Yummy! Michael was also given the seal to the city by the Mayor. Michael said,

"It's not everyday a NASCAR driver receives such an honor, and I thank Mayor Phelan for inviting me to be a part of this wonderful, caring community. Most importantly, I'm proud to have teamed with both the city of Quincy and my sponsor, Best Western, for tonight's charity event. The Fisher Center for Alzheimer's Research Foundation is an organization which is close to my heart, and I appreciate the generosity and support expressed this evening."

The funny thing is that I was actually thinking that drivers get a lot of proclaimations, keys, seals and other mementos from having various places have a day in their honor. That just seems like the kind of thing that a lot of cities and towns would do when a driver comes for an appearance, but I guess not. I'm hoping that as time goes on there's going to be a lot more events in conjunction with The Waltrip Challenge to raise money for The Fisher Center, and that some of them will be open to the public.

Otherwise Toyota is unvieling a new commercial during the race this weekend featuring Michael and his brother D.W. I usually don't have much use for commericals, but that's one I'll have to keep my eye out for because it's sure to be hysterical! Michael and D.W. are always great in the commericals that they do, and they're almost always pretty funny too.

Posted by silverdsl at 10:32 PM | Comments (0)

In the News: David Reutimann (9/15)

David Reutimann was 9th today in final practice for the Truck Race at New Hampshire tomorrow. I hope that means that he'll be able to qualify towards the front and then have a strong race! Although David is 3rd in the points and still in contention for the Championship in the Truck Series, Todd Bodine is ahead by a significant amount of points so the #17 team doesn't have much room for error. David said,

“Obviously, we’re not giving up hope as far as catching Todd. We have to have some really good races and he has to have some races that are not so good in order for us to catch him. We’re close to second (76 points out of second-place) as well. If we can buckle down and get back to running the way we were at the beginning of the year, it’s definitely doable. It’s really up to us how well we run in the last eight races. If we get back to our form the way we were at the beginning of the year, I know we can do it.”

I'd love to see him win this race - it would be great to see him in Victory Lane, but it would also help narrow the gap between himself and Todd. David's had a very strong season, which is why he's third in the points, but the one thing he's missing is a win. Problem is, there's going to be quite a bit of competition considering how many strong trucks there are, particularly from some of his fellow Toyota drivers. There were six Toyotas in the top ten in practice, with Jack Sprague, Mike Skinner and Ted Musgrave leading the charge. Johnny Benson was sixth in practice, and temporary teammate A.J. Allmendinger was 8th. It's definitely going to be interesting to see how Allmendinger does in his first-ever truck race.

But before he went to New Hampshire David had a busy week. On Tuesday he, and presumably Michael Waltrip, as well as others from Michael Waltrip Racing, went to Miami to meet with officials from Burger King. It's been said that Domino's has already signed off on David in the #00, so as the other co-primary sponsor of the car, it's all up to BK as to whether David will race Cup next season. It's unimaginable to me that BK would choose Travis Kvapil over David if the choice is between those two drivers. It's not that Travis is a bad driver by any means, but David has raced up front more often than not this season and I think his personality is more outgoing and dynamic than Travis's seems to be. Travis is a nice person, but I just don't see him being as good of a fit as David would be in the #00.

Then on Wednesday David visited Talladega along with Bill Lester to promote the upcoming Talladega 250 on October 5, which will be the first time the trucks will race at Talladega. I've seen some fans predict that the race is going to be a disaster with lots of wrecking, but I'm not so sure about that. It's not like the trucks have never raced at this kind of track - in fact they start the season with a race at Daytona. Only time will tell how the race turns out, but David thinks it's a much watch for fans.

"If you’re a die-hard race fan, you owe it to yourself to go watch a truck race, especially at Talladega. It’s history, to start with, so you want to be part of that and check it out. The more I talk to fans that weren’t necessarily truck fans when they came to a truck race, when they left they were."

And the winner of that race will be part of Nascar history too because they'll always be the driver to win the first truck race at the track - pretty cool!

Next month, David will be participating in a charity event that should be a lot of fun for the participants because it's not the kind of thing that they normally do. On October 11 the Women's Auxiliary of Motorsports (WAM) is going to have a charity Homerun Derby at the homefield of the Kannapolis Intimidators, a minor league Class A team. The derby participants will all be drivers and members of the media including David, Kenny Wallace, Tony Raines, David Stremme, Kerry Earnhardt, Hermie Sadler, Ted Musgrave, John Roberts, Steve Byrnes, Rick Allen, Bob Dillner and Marty Smith. The first 500 fans who register will be able to get autographs from the drivers, and there will also be games and prizes for fans. It's too bad that I live so far away because it sounds like a lot of fun! Proceeds from the event will go to a variety of charities the WAM supports including the building of a playroom at the Jeff Gordon Children's Hospital in Concord, N.C

Posted by silverdsl at 09:41 PM | Comments (0)

Changes to this Blog and as a Fan

Starting today there's going to be a few changes to this blog. Really, the vast majority of changes will be subtle ones in terms of how blog entries are categorized. Sharp-eyed readers may notice that I've added new categories for Dale Jarrett, David Reutimann, Michael Waltrip Racing, and Elliott Sadler. The addition of the first three categories reflects the additions of Jarrett and Reutimann to MWR for 2007 and since I've written a lot of entries on Elliott this season, and he's a driver I like a lot, I figured he deserves his own categories.

I think the biggest change that some will notice is that there's going to be a lot more content about David. That's because this season David has moved very high up on my list of favorite drivers. And it's not just because he's a MWR driver. David has been exceptional in both the Truck Series, where he's third in points and in contention for the series championship, and in the Busch Series, where everytime he gets behind the wheel of the #99 Aaron's Dream Machine, he races it into the top ten. Recently, I've become very impressed with David as a person, with the way he represents MWR and his sponsors, and with how fan-friendly he is. A couple of weeks ago, David made an appearance on an internet radio show that a fan from Michael Waltrip's site does. Internet radio is very different than traditional radio, because there's a very small audience and it can be glitchy. But David took this appearance as seriously as any other media appearance. He spent an hour answering fan questions that were submitted by IM, and also talked to fans, including myself, who called in on the phone. I can't say enough about how terrific he was, and how much thought he gave to answering our questions in a meaningful way. So I'm starting to become quite a fan of David's. There's also how my energy as a fan is shifting from Steve Park elsewhere.

Fact is, and I have no problem admitting this, I'm not the same fan of Steve's as I once was. Don't get me wrong - I still adore Steve, I support and believe in him 100%. I still think that if he's given a competitive car he can take it up front and win. I will always want the best for him, cheer for him, and wish him well. But I'd be a liar if I claimed that I felt as passionately about Steve as I did a few years ago, or as I feel about Michael. That's probably obvious to regular readers of this space. I'm disappointed with the direction that Steve's career has taken over the past few years and I find it very depressing to think about his future. To be blunt at the moment he doesn't have one in this sport. I don't mean that Steve's not going to find himself another ride, though some days I feel very pessimistic about that, what I mean is that there's going to come a point where Steve's going to fade away and likely won't be heard from very often, because unlike Michael he doesn't own any cars, unlike Randy LaJoie he doesn't have a racing-related business, unlike Jimmy Spencer he doesn't have a TV career, unlike Mark Martin he doesn't have a son involved in the sport, unlike many other drivers he doesn't have a foundation to raise money for charity, and perhaps worst of all when Steve's not at the track he disappears.

There's more to it than that though. I simply don't view Steve in the same way as I did a couple of years ago. There was a day a couple of years ago when I think a lot of things changed in terms of the way I view the drivers, those who are around them, the teams, fans and the sport. Since then a number of other things have happened to change how I look at Steve. And as much as I try to force myself to ignore certain things, I simply can't. There are some things that are specific to me, and there are some things that I know a lot of other people feel the same way about. There are some things that I'm not comfortable being a part of. People change and grow, and sometimes we discover that things that were very important to us at one time, really weren't so important after all. Fandom shifts and changes. I'm not a SParkie, whatever that means and I never was. I'm just a Steve Park fan. I always will be, but it's not as fun as it once was and hasn't been for quite some time. I'm tired of trying to pretend that I'm as optimistic about Steve as others or that I'm blind to some things. I'm not going to stop blogging about Steve, in fact there probably won't be much of a change there, but a while back something did change and I'm now just getting around to talking about it. I'm not going to stop being a fan of Steve's, but I'm not ashamed to admit that he's no longer as high up on my list of drivers to cheer for as he once was. Probably a lot of this is cryptic and doesn't make a lot of sense, but that's okay. It makes sense to me.

More of my energy as a Nascar fan is going to be directed towards Michael of course, as it has been for quite some time now, but towards David and hopefully some drivers that catch my eye in the future, whether they're associated with MWR or not. Because the thing is, I've learned that there are a lot of drivers who have a lot of talent behind the wheel, a lot of drivers who have the ability to represent their sponsors well, a lot of drivers who are dedicated to charitable causes and a lot of drivers who go out of their way to be fan-friendly and show their appreciation to their fans. Some would like to think that because Steve or another of their favorite drivers isn't having much success on the track, if they're racing at all, that the entire sport sucks. It doesn't. Nascar is far from perfect as a sport and as a governing body. There are plenty of problems that need to be addressed. But there's also lots to enjoy, be excited about and look forward to, particularly as Toyota enters the sport next season. So I'm thinking that more of my time, energy and emotion is better served being redirected in places where that excitement is going to be.

And if anyone happens to feel that I'm a bad fan, I'm an idiot or that I should be ashamed of myself, I couldn't care less what you think. One of my favorite quotes has always been this one by Dr. Seuss that I understand Steve is fond of himself, “Be who you are and say what you feel because those who mind don't matter and those who matter don't mind." Wise words.

Posted by silverdsl at 01:44 PM | Comments (0)

September 14, 2006

Good Times...

It's a Photo of the Day, but it's not one of mine. I don't know the photographer and I forget when it was taken, but it was when Steve and Michael were teammates at DEI and I believe it was a race one of them had won. Maybe it was even Steve's magical Rockingham win. I'd like to say that this is the way things should be, but I'm not sure that either Steve or Michael would be satisfied if they were still at DEI. This photo captures a happy moment, but in some ways it makes me sad, because I think they're still going in different directions as it relates to what happens on the track in the present. This season has been such a struggle for both Michael and Steve, and I really wish things had gone better for both of them. But at least Michael has a lot to look forward to for next season, hopefully we hear some news about Steve having good things in his future as well.

Posted by silverdsl at 10:05 PM | Comments (0)

Things Never Said Before by a Nascar Driver

The ten drivers in the Chase for the Championship were on The Late Show With David Letterman last night, and from Jayski's, here's the top ten list they did:

Things Never Before Said by a NASCAR Driver:
10) Kasey Kahne: "Anyone Know How to Drive a Stick"
9) Jeff Gordon: "Does this gas taste funny to you"
8) Jeff Burton: "I don't care much for country music or beer"
7) Mark Martin: "Switch the "R" and "C" in 'Racing and you get 'Caring'
6) Dale Earnhardt Jr.: "Wow, Letterman Looks so young in person"
5) Denny Hamlin: "Your're looking at a guy who ca driver 500 miles without taking a Leak"
4) Kyle Busch: "A Truely Great Driver doesn't mind asking for directions, am I right, Ladies?"
3) Kevin Harvick: "It would be nice if the guys in the pits occasionally surprised me with a piece of carrot cake or something"
2) Jimmie Johnson: "The Nextel Cup is great, but what I'm really excited for is The Late Show ventriloquist week"
and.....
1) Matt Kenseth: "If You think I'm fast in my car, you should see me in the bedroom"
(from watching the Late Show with David Letterman)(9-14-2006)

I've got a few to add to the list of things that Nascar drivers have likely never said...
* "My sponsor's product causes birth defects, blindness and cancer. Enjoy!"
* "I would rather race for last, not first."
* "I'm so sick of driving around in circles!"
* "I don't think I'm going to wear any clothes at the track today."
* "I think I'll ask that nice Satanic Church around the corner if they want to sponsor my car."
* "I would much rather have to qualify in on time. A guaranteed spot in a race is too boring!"
* "No, thanks, I have enough sponsorship."
* "Why won't these women stop flashing me already? I'm disgusted by the sight of naked women!"
* "I think it's about time I come out of the closet."
* "I'm sure none of my sponsors and Nascar will mind if I'm on the cover of next month's edition of High Times"

Posted by silverdsl at 02:19 PM | Comments (0)

Ricky Rudd to Test COT for Wyler Racing

Wyler Racing is moving forward with their plans to expand into the Cup Series next season, by participating in a COT test at Talladega Motor Speedway on October 9, with Ricky Rudd behind the wheel. When fans last saw Ricky on the track it was when he relieved Tony Stewart at Dover, and ever since there's been speculation that he's been looking to make a return to the Cup series full-time in 2007. I'm sure the speculation will only grow now, particularly since he's testing a Toyota, which leads one to wonder if he's a candidate for the vacant second Red Bull Racing car. Or maybe since I don't think Wyler Racing is planning on racing the full Cup schedule in '07, Ricky will be their driver for those Cup races they do choose to participate in, which would work well for him if he wants to stay semi-retired. Or he could just be doing them a favor.

The question was posed elsewhere about why Steve Park wasn't going to be involved in this test, presumably since he's such good friends with Jeff Wyler. I love Steve, but I'm guessing the answer has something to do with the fact that when a team could make use of the services of an extremely accomplished veteran like Ricky, they're going to jump at that chance. It's unlikely that it has anything to do with the Busch East ride that Steve has, which is what someone suggested, given that the Busch East season ends on September 30. When Steve gets passed up for various opportunities, it's very common for someone to say that Steve wasn't interested anyway. But I'm thinking that Steve doesn't have a lot of room to be too fussy about what chances he passes up when it comes to a decent car/truck and team, so it seems to me that he might be interested in at least giving a listen to a lot more than some seem to think he would.

Posted by silverdsl at 01:04 PM | Comments (0)

September 13, 2006

Photo of the Day - Flowers

Longwood Gardens, August, 2001.

Posted by silverdsl at 10:13 PM | Comments (0)

Car Crashes Into Second Floor of Apartment Building on Long Island

I, and I'm sure plenty of other people, have been puzzling over how this could happen. In fact, when I first read the headline, I thought it had to be a typo and they meant that the car had crashed into the first floor of a house. But incredibly, the car did in fact get airborne so high that it crashed into the second floor. What apparently happened is that someone pulled out of the driveway of their house and for some reason accelerated to over 100 miles per house, hit a dirt berm at the end of the road and their momentum carried them the length of half a football field and into this woman's apartment on the second floor. Seeing the photos and video, it's absolutely incredible how far the car traveled, and lucky that the woman who owns the apartment was on the other side of the apartment.

But no one will ever know exactly how things unfolded or why because the driver of the car was killed in this accident, not suprisingly considering how hard the car slammed into the building. Speculation is that he had some sort of medical emergency that caused him to speed up, because he was wearing his seatbelt, which seems to indicate he wasn't suicidal. Just a very strange accident.

Posted by silverdsl at 09:43 PM | Comments (0)

It's Not that I Didn't Have a Lot to Say Today...

... but I've been really busy with a whole host of stuff. And there's some stuff that's best kept to myself just in case I might offend someone.

Posted by silverdsl at 09:39 PM | Comments (0)

More on Kevin Grubb

So now Kevin Grubb says that he got a concussion in a wreck on Friday night at Richmond during the Busch race, and that's why he was behaving erratically and wouldn't agree to take the drug test. From an article in the Richmond Times-Dispatch,

"I don't remember most of being at the track," Grubb said. "I had people pulling me in 20 different directions. I ended up leaving, from what I understand."

Grubb said he woke up Sunday morning, still feeling "terrible" and unable to remember what day it was. He went to the hospital and was diagnosed with a concussion.

"I'm guessing that explains me acting crazy at the track," Grubb said. "I didn't know what was going on."

A few things - one, how is it that the medical staff in the in-field care center didn't notice that he had a concussion and released him? Second, Grubb admits he was acting crazy at the track, so what choice does Nascar have in light of his past history than to ask him to agree to take a test? Most of all, how is Nascar supposed to know days later since he wouldn't agree to a test, that Grubb was clean and just had a concussion, as opposed to having used a banned substance that might have led to the wreck, which caused the concussion. And that's if Grubb actually has a concussion and really got it the night of the wreck. I would assume he has medical records to indicate that's the case, but given how drug abusers, and I'm not saying Grubb is one, are prone to making excuses for their behavior, again, given the past history, one has to wonder. Additionally, I believe Grubb was racing at his home track so he likely had a lot of friends and family there - why didn't anyone advise him to take the test?

Maybe something will be worked out between Grubb and Nascar in light of the concussion, but I fully support Nascar taking a hard stance on this one. This is a dangerous sport, and Nascar can't take any chances when it comes to the possibility of a driver being on the track under the influence of a banned substance.

Posted by silverdsl at 08:15 AM | Comments (0)

September 12, 2006

Photo of the Day - Ogunquit

Ogunquit, Maine, July, 2004.

Posted by silverdsl at 10:25 PM | Comments (0)

A Few Items

*This afternoon Claire B. Lang played an interesting interview with Kyle Petty on her show on XM. Kyle is very good at PR speak, but he also can most definitely tell it like it is, very candidly when he wants to. One of the topics that he discussed in the interview was sponsorship, and he said that he's set with not only his sponsors, but also just signed a new contract with Dodge. The only sponsor he's apparently unsure about what their plans are is Schwan's, but Kyle's fine with them leaving Petty Enterprises, in fact he's encouraging them to do so. Why? Because he feels that they belong back with Ken Schrader. Apparently, when Ken left BAM Racing, Schwan's wanted to leave as well. However, since Ken had a non-compete clause in his contract, Schwan's couldn't go with him to the Wood Brothers Racing but still wanted to remain in the sport. So Ken called up Kyle and asked if he had room for Schwan's to come on board at PE, which Kyle said that he did. However, for next season Kyle feels that they should go back to Ken (presumably the non-compete has expired) and enter into a personal services contract with him because he's been associated with them for so long. That's pretty classy of Kyle that he's not going to attempt to pitch to Schwan's in an effort to get them to stay on board, even though PE could probably use the extra sponsorship money.

*If a charity doesn't deposit the check that you and others sent them after four months, even though they have them, apologized for the delay and promised to deposit them asap, does that mean that they don't really want your donation after all? I guess in the face of much larger donations on a regular basis, this group of donations seems insignificant.

*There had been some speculation that when A.J. Allmendinger made his debut in the #24 truck for Bill Davis Racing, that the truck was either going to be sporting some sponsorship that Allmendinger brought with him, or that one of the leftover sponsors from Steve Park's failed deal was going to be on the truck. Based on the preliminary entry list, the truck is actually going to be unsponsored. Of course that could change, as for now that means that BDR is essentially running the truck out of their own pocket. In fact none of their four trucks this weekend appear to have outside sponsorships other than what Toyota is providing them. But I have to say this - a lack of sponsorship was what prevented BDR from being able to field a truck for Steve. Yet they can field an unsponsored (as of now) truck for Allmendinger. So again, why exactly can't they put a truck on the track for Steve for a couple of races, if a lack of a sponsor doesn't seem to be a barrier to them fielding a truck?

*The New York Yankees sure aren't having any problems handling the Tampa Bay Devil Rays tonight. It's the 6th inning and the score is already 12-0. Bobby Abreu is responsible for knocking in seven of those runs. What's really incredible is that Abreu got six of those RBI in the first inning thanks to a three-run homerun and a three-run double, becoming the first Yankee in 55 years to get six RBI in an inning. He later added another RBI with a bases loaded sacrifice fly. That's a career high for Abreu for RBI in a game. Just as awesome is the return of Hideki Matsui. He's been out since May when he fractured his wrist making a catch in the outfield. That he came back before the end of the season is wonderful enough, but Matsui has thus far also gone 4-4, with an RBI and two runs! Wow! Sure it's only the Devil Rays, but Matsui hasn't faced major league hitting for months! I've kept my expectations for Matsui very low, but perhaps he will end up being able to contribute for the Yankees not only the rest of this season, but also in the post-season.

*My husband got me an IPod as an early anniversary gift. I never thought I'd have one of those as I was content with the iRiver portable digital music device that I had. That is, until I lost the charger and couldn't find it anywhere. So that necessitated either tracking down a new charger or getting a new device. Jim opted for getting me an IPod. I have to admit it's pretty fun and easy to use.

Posted by silverdsl at 08:36 PM | Comments (0)

Kevin Grubb Suspended Again

In June, Kevin Grubb was reinstated by Nascar after being banned indefinitely due to a violation of Nascar's substance abuse policy. Since then he raced five Busch races for MacHill Motorsports. The results were unspectacular, other than a 10th place finish at Gateway International Raceway. Grubb won't get a chance to improve on those results this season, and likely not for a long time into the future, if ever, as he's been suspended indefinitely for the second time. But this time it's not because of a positive test. Incredibly, even though Grubb agreed to Nascar's terms for his reinstatement under their substance abuse policy, which gave them the right to ask him to submit to a drug test at any time, he refused to agree to a test when Nascar asked him to take one after Friday's Busch race in Richmond. What amazes me is that Nascar even gave him time to think about it, and presumably consult with others, and he still refused! That just boggles my mind - he knew what the consequences would be - why would he refuse to take the test?

Really there's only one of two possibilities - Grubb knew he would test positive for something or he felt that them asking him to take the test then was somehow unfair and he wanted to stand up for his principles. Thing is that he just committed professional suicide. Not only is he now suspended once more, but a lot of fans aren't getting that he's suspended for refusing to take a drug test. They're assuming that he tested positive again. I would also guess that most teams would be extremely leery of taking a chance on him again, especially in light of Shane Hmiel, who threw all the chances that he was given away too. I'm not in favor of drivers who test positive for a banned substance being allowed to race again, but it's still a shame that Grubb worked so hard to get back to Nascar, found a ride, and then flushed it all down the drain. Grubb said all the right things when he was reinstated, but one has to wonder how much of it he actually meant.

Posted by silverdsl at 03:26 PM | Comments (0)

September 11, 2006

Photo of the Day - Distant Mountains

Distant Mountain Range, Las Vegas, Nevada. January, 2005.

Posted by silverdsl at 10:27 PM | Comments (0)

Elliott Sadler and Dale Jarrett Shed More Light on Why they Left Robert Yates Racing

Elliott Sadler and Dale Jarrett participated in a golf fund-raiser for a candidate for Sheriff in Brunswick County, Virginia. While they were at the golf outing they both spoke to the Roanoke Daily Herald at length about leaving Robert Yates Racing. DJ has mentioned in the past that he was concerned about the lack of focus on engineering at RYR being one reason why he was leaving for Michael Waltrip Racing, but Elliott has always declined to get into specifics until now.

Apparently Elliott was unhappy with the way the Roush-Yates engine partnership worked and how the Roush Racing cars seemed to benefit more. He said,

“I knew how much we helped Roush Racing. I knew how much the motors meant. Robert Yates and Doug Yates build so many great motors and really helped Jack Roush's bunch out a lot and Jack and those guys wouldn't return the favor, really didn't care how we ran, so that's one reason I left. I was tired of all the help we gave them and nothing in return so I really wanted to get out of that situation, get out of that picture, as quick as I could.”

I'm surprised by how critical Elliott was of Roush considering he had said previously that he didn't want to say anything bad about anyone, but perhaps he figures that now that he's no longer associated with RYR, he has nothing to lose. Thing is, it's hard to tell whether Elliott is right that RYR gave Roush a lot of help, but RYR didn't get the same kind of consideration, or whether that's just Elliott's frustration about his poor finishes this season in the #38 coming to the surface. I don't know why RYR would stay in a partnership that doesn't benefit them, but I suppose that given the other problems that the organization is facing, having to worry about being completely on their own regarding their motors isn't something that they're probably prepared to handle at the moment.

Elliott continued,

“The big difference is I believe in what the 19 team is doing. That's why I decided to go to Evernham Motorsports. I really believe in his direction. I love his fire. I love his intensity. I'm not saying what everyone at Robert Yates Racing was doing was wrong. I just couldn't buy into the system they had and the direction they were going in. I really wanted to buy into a program I really believed in and I like the way Ray Evernham does business. I like the direction he's going in so it just a little bit fits my cup of tea a little better.”

I think the key part there is "I just couldn't buy into... the direction they were going in." Translation: Elliott saw the writing on the wall that RYR is a sinking ship and he wanted out! Evernham Motorsports has their own issues, but they aren't talking about possibly shutting down a team, they've got a car in the Chase, and Elliott seems to be racing better there in just a few race than he did all season at RYR.

On the other hand, DJ repeated what he's said previously about how RYR has fallen behind on engineering, which is deadly when there's so much emphasis by the big teams on engineering. He said,

“That's where we've fallen behind at Robert's is on the engineering side and that's Toyota's total focus, on their engineering. That's how they do everything, whether it's building a good passenger car or whether it's in their motorsports department. They realize how important engineering is and their staff is second to none and I think that's what will allow us to be competitive right from the beginning.”

I hope he's right! I'm being more conservative in my predictions, in that I think that while the Toyota teams won't be terrible, that it will take some time for them to be competitive and race up front. But it's very good to hear there's such a focus on engineering at Toyota, as increasingly a strong engineering program seems to be essential for teams to suceed. I figured that Toyota was big on engineering, which is one reason why when Michael Waltrip fans get wistful for Tommy Baldwin, Jr. to leave Bill Davis Racing and be Michael's crew chief next season, I'm not among them. Doug Yates said on XM that neither Tommy nor Slugger Labbe are engineering oriented crew chiefs, and I think that in the current climate in Nascar with how important engineering is, that's a big black mark against both men. Which makes me wonder how well Tommy is going to mesh with Toyota's style of doing things next season.

Back to DJ, what I really like is that he's looking forward to the challenge that next season is going to present. He said,

“It's a new challenge for me and there's not a lot of people in sports that get to do something totally new and take a big chance like I am when you're 50-years-old. I like the challenge it presents, the opportunity to get in on the ground floor with a new team, a new manufacturer coming in. To have a hand in developing their entire program is a challenge I look forward to.”

I think it really is a special opportunity because DJ, and the other drivers who are part of Toyota's Cup program next season, will always have a place in the Nascar history books as the first to drive Toyotas in Cup. That's something pretty cool. And hopefully they will have a lot of success doing it too!

Posted by silverdsl at 03:47 PM | Comments (0)

Five Years Later

Hard to believe its been five years since that day that turned September 11th into far more than just another day in September. A lot has changed since then, a lot has stayed the same, but what troubles me is that the threat of another 9/11 like terrrorist attack is as much of a threat as it ever was. Depressing.

May all the victims of the attacks on 9/11 rest in peace.

Posted by silverdsl at 09:52 AM | Comments (0)

Driver by Driver: Richmond

1. Kevin Harvick - Yay! Kevin swept both the Cup and Busch races at Richmond! What an awesome season he's having. Not only is he racing significantly better than last season, but he's likely to win the Busch Championship and he's also in the Chase for the Championship in Cup. Say what you will about Buschwackers but I think it's truly outstanding what Kevin's accomplished so far this season. Staying at Richard Childress Racing is looking like a very wise move on Kevin's part.

2. Kyle Busch - Lost the lead to Kevin with just one lap to go, but still a great night for Kyle and his team to solidify their spot in the Chase.

3. Kasey Kahne - Kasey and his team did exactly what they needed to do to get themselves in the Chase by going out and racing as well as they possibly could to put themselves in a position to take advantage of another Chase contender's misfortune. Which is exactly what happened - Tony Stewart had a bad night, which allowed Kasey to get into the Chase. Which is where he belongs, imo. I know there are a lot of people who are upset that Tony didn't make it in, particularly since he's last season's Champion and has raced well this season. But Kasey has won the most races of any driver this year and I think that deserves a spot in the Chase. He and his team have done an outstanding job of rallying to get back into the Chase.

4. Dave Blaney - Unfortunately for Dave, his best finish since 2003, and only the second top five of his career came on a night when all the focus was on who made the Chase. So there was no post-race TV interview for Dave, which had to be incredibly frustrating for him, his team, and his sponsor. Really a terrific night for Dave, and it shows that BDR is capable of fielding a decent car.

5. Mark Martin - Did what he needed to do to make sure he made the Chase. Anything can happen over the next ten races, but I don't have a good feeling about his chances for making the Chase. I feel like Mark and his team might have dropped off a little from where they were earlier in the season, maybe because of all the distractions related to the speculation about what team Mark's going to be racing for next season.

6. Greg Biffle - A good finish for Greg, which moves him up to 12th in the points. That puts him in position to race Tony Stewart for 11th in points and the bonus money that comes with that.

7. Ken Schrader - Another driver who got no attention for a terrific race. This is Ken's best finish since Bristol in March of 2004, but not many people noticed with all the hype for the Chase.

8. Matt Kenseth - Matt's 16th top ten of the season.

9. Jeff Burton - Also did what he needed to do to lock up a spot in the Chase. I'm not sure that this team is strong enough to really make a run at the Championship, but I'm really happy for Jeff that he made it in. I doubt many people thought he'd be able to do it going into this season.

10. Scott Riggs - Good race for Scott. He knows how to race but his team needs to build a little more consistency. I don't think he'll ever be a Championship contender, but I do think he makes a very good third driver at Evernham. He's a solid driver and he doesn't seem to get into too much trouble on the track.

11. Casey Mears - Best finish for Casey since the second Daytona race in July.

12. Clint Bowyer - Follows up last week's 3rd place finish with a top 15 which isn't bad, particularly considering he's only a rookie.

13. J.J. Yeley - Started 32nd, but raced his way to a top 15.

14. Reed Sorenson - Finished 5th in Friday night's Busch race and finished pretty well here too, especially considering he started 29th.

15. Denny Hamlin - Kind of hard to believe that it's one of Joe Gibbs Racing's veterans who is representing the organization in the Chase, but Hamlin's had an outstanding season for a rookie, including two wins. A lot of people seem to think that a rookie has no chance at winning the Championship, and it probably is a long-shot, but Hamlin doesn't race like a rookie and he could surprise a few people.

16. Elliott Sadler - Not an amazing finish for Elliott, but the results continue to be better for him in the #19 than in the #38. The team also didn't race this far up front very often with Jeremy Mayfield behind the wheel, so I'm sure they're pretty happy as well.

17. Dale Earnhardt Jr. - An issue with leaking brake fluid that the team never could fix hindered Junior from finishing better.

18. Tony Stewart - Heartbreak for Tony and his team. Alll season they've been in position to make the Chase, only to lose their spot in the final race before the Chase begins. It just goes to show that anything can happen in racing, and every race is important.

19. Robby Gordon - All season there's been a lot of talk about how successful Robby's been this season as a single-car team that he's fielding himself. And it's true - he's had some really solid races and he's doing extremely well at building his organization. However, when one looks at the overall points standings instead of just at individual races where he's done well, Robby's only 26th in points, which isn't stellar. So I think that Robby needs to continue to pursue joining with another organization to ensure that he continues to progress.

20. Ryan Newman - Handling problems plagued Newman and his team. He drops to 17th in the points standing, really a disappointing season for such a good driver.

21. Dale Jarrett - DJ's season has been so bad that finishing 21st is a pretty good finish for him and his team.

22. Bobby Labonte

23. Jimmie Johnson - Highest finishing Hendrick car. Which is kind of amazing considering he spun twice. Not that he had to worry any, since he had already clinched a spot in the Chase.

24. Brian Vickers - Started 37th, so I guess this is an improvement.

25. Jamie McMurray - An ill-handling car caused (yet another) subpar finish for Jamie and the #26 team. I probably have mentioned this a thousand times before but Jamie has been a real disappointment this season.

26. David Stremme - Fought a loose condition for much of the race.

27. Kurt Busch - Just like his teammate, had to deal with an ill-handling car all race long. Remains 14th in the points.

28. Travis Kvapil

29. Scott Wimmer - Qualified extremely well, in the top ten, but that didn't translate into a strong finish for Scott and this team.

30. Sterling Marlin - Not a good finish by any means, but good enough to keep the team in 35th in the owner's points. Sugger Labbe is now his interim crew chief, but I doubt Slugger will be able to do much to improve this team's fortunes, because it's going to take a lot more than just changing the crew chief.

31. Jeff Gordon - Had a handling problem and a brake issue to contend with. There were probably some extremely nervous moments for Jeff and the #24 team, hoping that they'd be able to finish well enough to make it into the Chase.

32. Joe Nemechek

33. Kevin Lepage

34. Kyle Petty - Kyle's lucky to have made it into this race and finishing this poorly keeps him and his team out of the top 35 in owner's points. I wouldn't be surprised to see him miss a race before the end of the season.

35. Carl Edwards - Spun early and the team was never able to get the car right after that.

36. David Gilliland

37. Kenny Wallace

38. Chad Chaffin

39. Tony Raines

40. Martin Truex Jr. - Spun on pit road, then had a flat tire which did a lot of damage to the car.

41. Jeff Green - Jimmie Johnson got into Jeff causing him to spin. Jimmie immediately took the blame and asked for an apology to be conveyed to the #66 team. However, that wasn't good enough for Jeff because during another caution, after Jimmie had spun, he proceeded to go over and use his car as a weapon against the #48. Unacceptable. And Nascar agreed as they parked him for the remainder of the race. Some are asking why Jeff was parked and not other drivers who have done the same - I would guess that might be due to the fact that Jeff has a history of retaliating, and at this very track no less. I believe it was last year when he went after Michael Waltrip multiple times.

42. Chad Blount - Another start and park?

43. Morgan Shepherd - Almost certainly a start and park.

Posted by silverdsl at 08:26 AM | Comments (0)

September 10, 2006

Photo of the Day - Driftwood Beach

Driftwood Beach, Jekyll Island, Georgia, July, 2006.

Posted by silverdsl at 09:59 PM | Comments (0)

On Tony Stewart Missing the Chase

Color me as one of the few people not entirely surprised by this. Tony Stewart is one of the best drivers in Cup right now and the #20 is an extremely strong team, but Tony won't be attempting to win his second Cup Championship in a row, as he missed the Chase by just 16 points. However, I've just felt like something's been off the past month or two, which is funny to say considering Tony's still been racing up front in the top ten quite frequently. But more than that, when Tony wrecked his primary car during Friday's practice, had to go to a back-up, and then had to start at the back of the field, I thought that he was done for if Kasey Kahne had a strong race, which he did. And Tony was never a factor at any point in the race, and pretty much struggled throughout to get into the top 15. He ended up finishing 18th, and perhaps he's lucky to have even finished that well.

In his post-race interview Tony said that it wasn't just something that went wrong recently, that their performance over the entire 26-races to that point had to be better. He said,

"There were 25 nights and 25 weeks before this one that counted, too. We had a blown engine at California early in the year, we got crashed at Loudon leading the race. There were a lot of things leading up to it. It was a little bit of 26 straight weeks."

And that's true. But I have to wonder if Tony's injuries also played any kind of a factor. The one injury that Tony most definitely had was a broken shoulder blade, which hurt him so much that he had to be relieved by Ricky Rudd at Pocono in June. Supossedly it completely healed and stopped bothering him, but did it really? Then there's also the recent incident from when Tony flipped his sprint car at Skagit Speedway during a charity event for Kasey Kahne's foundation. Apparently Tony might have gotten a minor concussion in that incident. Sure, he was cleared to return to race by Nascar, but I still have to wonder if Tony might not have been feeling some lingering effects from the various times that he's gotten beat and bruised up this season.

I have to admit I'm not all that disappointed that Tony didn't make the Chase. While I have tremendous respect for his ability behind the wheel and I love how dedicated he is to charitable causes, I don't love the way he seems to lose his temper and act out at times. I would much rather see Mark Martin and Jeff Burton, two of the classiest drivers on the track, in the Chase, as well as Kasey, who has won more races than any other driver.

Posted by silverdsl at 03:58 PM | Comments (0)

On Michael Waltrip Missing Richmond

As any fan of Michael Waltrip knows by now he failed to qualify for his third race of the season this weekend at Richmond International Speedway. After seeing that Michael missed a large chunk of practice and then was extremely slow when he finally did make it onto the track, I had prepared myself for the possibility that he wouldn't be racing on Saturday night. Still, I thought that somehow Michael and the #55 team would get it together enough to make the race, even if they didn't have such a great car. Unfortunately, I was wrong about that because as it turned out there was a problem with the engine that was apparently unresolvable, at least to the point where Michael would have a car he could make the race with. The car was dreadfully slow and the result was that Michael didn't make the show. The car was so bad he was outqualified by Morgan Shepard, a driver whose team has a fraction of the resources, financial and otherwise that the #55 team has. Pathetic.

I didn't see it myself but apparently Michael was on the verge of tears during his post-(non) qualifying interview on Speed. I can completely understand why. He, and a lot of other people, are putting in a tremendous amount of hard work into trying to right the ship and build a good foundation for 2007. In addition, despite what a lot of fans think, Michael doesn't just care about making TV appearances and plugging his sponsors - the results on the track matter to him. He has just as much of a competitive fire as any other driver on the track, but there's no way that he can possibly race competitively if the engine is bad and the car is slow. No driver can succeed under those circumstances. I feel terrible for him, because a problem with the engine is completely out of his hands. It's got to be an incredibly helpless feeling. I know Michael is capable of so much more and I dearly want him to be able to show it. I really want to see him race up front, have some fun on the track, and compete for wins, because I know he'd be a lot happier that way.

Missing a third race is unacceptable for this team. NAPA is probably spending as much as $15 million or more to sponsor the #55. For that amount of money, the car shouldn't be missing this many races, regardless of the fact that they don't have any manufacturer support. Bill Davis Racing is simply not providing Michael with cars that are competitive. On one hand, it's understandable on one level that their focus, especially as the season starts to wind-down, would be with the #22 team and Jeremy Mayfield, who is the future of BDR. However, I would think that Bill Davis and everyone else in the organization would have enough pride to want a team that they're associated with to at least make all the races, if not be competative. Missing races, and being outqualified by the smallest of the small teams, is embarassing. But seems like Davis doesn't really care about being embarassed - or anything else related to the #55 team - since his obligation to Michael is only going to last for another ten races.

It's incredible to me that just a couple of weeks ago Michael and the team were in high spirits because Tommy Baldwin, Jr. had brought improved results to the team. At that point it seemed like it might be possible, though unlikely, that the #55 might make it back into the top 35 in owner's points if the results continued to be more positive than they had been. But missing this race pretty much spells the end to any hope of getting back into the top 35 in owner's points, which means that Michael is going to have to worry about qualifying into on speed for the first five races of next season as well, rather than being a guaranteed a spot. Which, Toyota support or not, is something to be concerned about considering how many good teams will be fighting for a small amount of spots.

What really irks me going back to Morgan Shepard is that he lasted only 18 laps on Saturday night. And going into the race, they pretty much knew they wouldn't be around long considering I saw it said that the team didn't have that many sets of tires, didn't have a very big crew, and they had never worked together prior to this weekend. So essentially Shepard showed up to "start and park" as they say, to try to make the race, know that they're only going to race a very limited amount of laps before dropping out of the race due to mysterious mechanical problems, but for their efforts they'll pick up last place purse money. Meanwhile, although there's always the chance of disaster striking for a team early in a race due to being caught in a wreck or having a mechanical issue, the odds are that the #55 team would have turned a lot more laps than just 18. But I can't cry about how unfair it is - Shepard's team made the race fair and square by outqualifying the #55 team, it's just a shame that they weren't there to actually race the entire race.

I'd like to think that the #55 team is going to show up next week in New Hampshire even more motivated than usual and determined to make this race and the others that follow through the end of the season. But I fear that things might get worse for Michael. Now that they probably can't get back into the top 35 in owner's points, there's even less reason for BDR to give Michael decent cars or support. I suspect that Tommy will start working more with the #22 or even with Jeremy, which leaves Michael out in the cold, likely without a strong crew chief. Just when they were starting to make some progress too. So I'm afraid that Michael could potentially miss more races, because it's possible that BDR is going to give up on him completely.

I suppose there's the possiblity that Michael will somehow get out of his contract with BDR and build #55 cars for himself for the rest of the season at MWR. They would have to be Chevys though and I'm not sure how that might fly with Toyota, though MWR is using Chevys for Bill Elliott with the #00. I'm also not sure that it's wise for MWR to take on fielding the #55 right now when they're still trying to get everything in place for next season. They might be better off taking their lumps, no matter how bad it might get in the short-term, in order to ensure that they don't derail their progress for the long-term. Only thing is that NAPA is surely not very happy with missing races, especially considering how much money they're spending, so they may put the pressure on Michael to explore that kind of an option. Seems to me that they should be putting some pressure on BDR to make things right for Michael.

Michael's season has been a mess so far and it got even messier this weekend. But at least he has a full-time ride, that he's not in any danger of losing because I doubt he's going to fire himself, unlike some drivers like Steve Park who don't have any full-time ride at all. It's just depressing to see Michael struggle this much. I hope the future holds much brighter things for him.

Posted by silverdsl at 02:07 PM | Comments (0)

September 08, 2006

Robert Yates Racing May Shutdown the #88

Can things get any worse for Robert Yates Racing? Not only did they lose two drivers and a primary sponsor, but they've not yet been able to replace UPS or Dale Jarrett in the #88, so one option is for the team to be shutdown next season. It's pretty unbelieveable how far RYR has sunk, and if they're a one-car operation in 2007, with their only driver being a rookie, David Gilliland, I think things could get worse. I think that's going to be essential for RYR to form some sort of partnership, if not merge all together, with another organization, such as the deal that was proposed for them to merge with Robby Gordon Motorsports. But if they can't find a way to improve the results on the track, I don't see how they're going to be able to find a primary sponsor for the #88 or convince M&Ms to stick around once their current deal expires.

Posted by silverdsl at 04:34 PM | Comments (0)

September 07, 2006

Photo of the Day - Wouldn't It Be Nice to Live Here?

Morning Star Villa, Cape May, New Jersey, 2005. I used to think this was a newer construction but I believe I read recently that this is actually a building that dates back 100's of years. It's right across the street from the ocean, and right next door to where Jim and I got married, in a quieter part of town. It's all condos, which naturally go for big money since they're right on the beach. I'd love to live at the Morning Star Villa - I've never seen what it looks like on the inside, but the outside is lovely and it would be awesome to wake up every day with a view of the waves crashing to shore.

Posted by silverdsl at 10:03 PM | Comments (0)

David Reutimann is Awesome!

Last night David Reutimann was a guest on an internet radio show that a member of Michael Waltrip's fan club/website hosts every Wednesday night. Now doing an internet radio show isn't the same as doing an interview on MRN or CNN. The audience is far smaller, tiny in fact, and because it's fan-run there can occassionally be some glitches. However, David took this appearance just as seriously as any other he might do. Not only did he give extremely thoughtful and detailed answers to all the questions that were asked of him, he asked to listeners who called in and spent almost an hour on the show. An hour! Many drivers would probably have given only a few minutes of their time, if they had even bothered to agree to do the show and call in at all.

David answered a question I asked about the transition from the trucks to Busch in great detail, and I called in towards the end of the show to ask him about how he felt about the current rookie class in the truck series. Unlike Brendan Gaughan, who went on a major rant on XM a while back about how much the truck series rookies suck, David said that he's never had a problem with any of the rookies and hasn't heard much negative talk about them. I realized afterwards that while it may be true that he's never had any problems with any of the rookies, it's also possible that he didn't want to be candid in answering that question because his former teammate Joey Miller is a rookie. So I kind of put him on the spot with that one. Oops! But he spoke well about Aric Almirola, and also discussed what advice he would give a rookie when I asked him about that too. He said that he's not asked often for advice, the rookies usually go to the more experienced veterans like Ted Musgrave, but that he would advise them about not trying to do too much all at once with their trucks, that there's a lot of laps to get to the front.

It really was a thrill to talk to David. I'm sure some think it's silly because I wasn't talking to him in person, only over the phone and it was for an internet radio show. But I don't get to the track or to driver appearances very often - in fact not at all so far this year - so for me it was very exciting!

I can't even begin to say how impressed I was with David. He was well-spoken, friendly and was really wonderful! David has a tremendous amount of talent behind the wheel as evidenced by the fact that he's contending for the truck series Championship, but also by his fine finishes in the #99 Aarons Dream Machine that he will race full-time in the Busch Series next season. But it's also clear that he represents Michael Waltrip Racing and Darrell Waltrip Motorsports exceptionally well. From what's been reported in the media, Domino's has already signed off on David as the driver of the #00 in Cup for MWR next season. Based on last night, along with his performance on the track, I can't imagine how Burger King could possibly want to go in another direction.

Posted by silverdsl at 02:27 PM | Comments (0)

Mark Martin to the #88 Denied

Benny Ertel, Mark Martin's business manager, says that there's no truth to the rumors that Mark Martin might buy Robert Yates Racing or race the #88 for RYR next season. He said,

"Wishful thinking. I read that online. There's no truth to it."

and

"I can't say Robert wouldn't want Mark in his car. They may come at him hard when we get to Richmond. I don't know. I know we haven't talked to Robert Yates; (or) to my knowledge, nobody at Yates Racing."

Those sound like pretty clear denials, with no wiggle room for any talks to have taken place. But how many times have we seen in this sport a denial be followed not too much later by a confirmation that what was rumored was true afterall? Martin might not have had any discussions about racing for RYR next season. Or it's possible that they feel that out of respect to Jack Roush, who is still trying to sign him to race a truck for Roush Racing next season, that they can't openly talk about Martin talking with other teams. I think it's interesting that Roush has said quite a few times that they'd like Martin to race that truck for them in 2007, yet somehow the deal to make that happen still isn't done. That certain leaves the door open to Martin racing elsewhere next season. Of course it's also possible that this rumor is complete BS, maybe even floated by RYR to draw some attention to the #88. After all, if some think that Martin is interested in this ride, it would help combat the perception some have that the #88 is a lousy ride. Which might lead to some interest from drivers and sponsors.

Posted by silverdsl at 01:54 PM | Comments (0)

Mike Mussina Nominated for Marvin Miller Man of the Year Award

Every year each team's players select one of their own to be nominated for the Marvin Miller Man of the Year Award, which recognizes outstanding performances on the field in combination with contributions to community service. Fans can go to MLB.com and vote for one player in each division. Then players will vote for who they feel should be the winner of the Award from among the six finalists. This year, Mike Mussina has been voted by his fellow players on the New York Yankees as being the one from the team who is most deserving of being nominated for this honor. Mussina was nominated because

Mike established the Mike Mussina Foundation in 2000 in his hometown of Lycoming County, Pa., to benefit local children and child-related charities. Through the Foundation, Mike has directed the College Bound Program, which grants a college scholarship to a graduating senior from 12 local high schools. Always concerned with helping young ballplayers, Mike donates his time to the International Board of Directors for Little League Baseball. He and the foundation also have donated more than $300,000 to Little League Baseball. Mike is also involved with the American Red Cross, the Make-A-Wish Foundation and the Major League Baseball Players Trust's Buses for Baseball program.

Mussina has been one of my favorite Yankees since he joined the team, but I came to like him even more once I found out how much he does in the area around where he lives in Pennsylvania, as well as all that he does with his foundation. I'm very happy that Moose was nominated for this award and I hope he wins!

Posted by silverdsl at 01:40 PM | Comments (0)

Marion Jones Didn't Take a Banned Substance After All

I don't follow Track and Field in the least, except perhaps during the Olympics, but I think that it turns out that five-time Olympic gold medal winner Marion Jones actually isn't guilty of doping is worthy of a mention. Last month it was announced that Marion's "A" sample, which was taken during the U.S. Championships in Indianapolis, had tested positive for EPO. But a test of her "B" sample came back negative, which puts Jones in the clear regarding the possible use of EPO. As it turns out, according to her lawyer, the "A" positive test was borderline to begin with. I think what this shows is the importance of not rushing to judgement. Mistakes can happen and in this case, a supposedly foolproof test was in error. Because of how much the topic of performance enhancers has been in the news, it's easy to assume that someone is guilty, particularly when there's a supposed positive test. But not everything is always what it seems. The unfortunate thing is that it was big news when the first test came up positive, but that she's been cleared likely won't get as much coverage.

Posted by silverdsl at 01:28 PM | Comments (0)

September 06, 2006

Photo of the Day - Aruba Ruins

Arikok National Park, Aruba, October, 2005.

Posted by silverdsl at 10:18 PM | Comments (0)

Steve Park to Race at Dover...

... but not in the truck, Busch or Cup Series. Okay, it's in a Busch series - the Busch East Series - but not the Busch series that everyone pays attention to. This bit of news was posted on Steve's site tonight, but no further details are given other than a small photo of part of the car, I guess to tease the fans and build suspense. Yay. I'm glad that Steve's going to get to race again this season, but I'm having trouble mustering the proper enthusiasm for a Busch East race. I'm sure he'll have fun getting back on the track, and it's a great opportunity to do some networking with the Busch and Cup teams that will be there, but Steve deserves a full-time ride in one of Nascar's three highest levels. The drivers in the Busch East division race just as hard as the drivers in any other series do, and I'm sure they will love racing against an accomplished driver like Steve, but it's just not quite the same thing as racing in the Truck, Busch or Cup series. At any rate, I hope that he's able to go out and kick some booty for whatever team it is that he'll be racing with!

I have to say this though - on Steve's site it says that he'll be racing in the Busch North race at Dover. The series had it's name changed to Busch East prior to this season. It's the same thing as when his deal to race the #31 was announced and the Busch Series was referred to as the Busch Grand National Division on his site, something that it hadn't been called for a number of years. I know some see this as making a big deal out of nothing, but I think it's essential that Steve's website reflects the best of him, including making sure that there are no mistakes like that. If a potential sponsor were to stop by, they might wonder if he would be able to get their company or product's name right if he can't get the names of the divisions he will be racing in right. So I hope they make that correction at some point. I certainly make my share of mistakes, no one is perfect, but it really pains me to see stuff like that show up on Steve's site because I know that a lot of people notice and remember that kind of thing.

Unfortunately, I'm not sure that this race is televised anywhere, so we'll be dependent on fans who go to the race to know what happens - hopefully some photos at least will turn up on Steve's site. I also hope that someway, somehow this will translate into a more regular ride for Steve. Maybe this team is connected to a Busch team that Steve can race with next season. Or maybe he'll catch the eye of some team who's looking for a driver. Or maybe he'll get to talking to someone in the garage area and shake a ride loose. I just hope everything works out for him the way he wants it to.

Posted by silverdsl at 08:24 PM | Comments (0)

September 05, 2006

Photo of the Day - National Zoo

National Zoo, Washington, D.C., July, 2005. I don't have any photos of alligators or crocodiles, or even any animals in the wild unless one considers a squirrel a wild animal, but here's a photo of these guys from the Zoo in honor of Steve Irwin, who died too young from a freak accident with a stringray. RIP Steve.

Posted by silverdsl at 10:05 PM | Comments (0)

Mark Martin to the #88?

From the Athens-Banner Herald, via Jayski's:

UPDATE: #6-Mark Martin's farewell tour will be extended yet another year when he drives the #88 Ford next year for Robert Yates Racing. Martin originally said last year would be his final as a full-time driver in the Nextel Cup Series, but he changed his mind to return to his familiar #6 Ford at Roush Racing this season. Now it appears he will keep going, but for a new team. Three different sources close to Ford Racing said Martin will take over for Dale Jarrett at Yates after Jarrett moves into a new Toyota Camry at Michael Waltrip Racing in 2007, Morris News Service has learned.

If this happens it's going to throw a lot of people for a loop because the idea of Mark Martin racing for an organization other than Roush Racing seems inconcievable to them. But I can't say I'm all that surprised if there's any truth to this rumor. Back in July, Mark said that he was open to racing Cup next season, and it sounded like he was making his services available to other teams. At the time he said that he would only want to do something part-time, but I wonder if Robert Yates Racing made him an offer he couldn't refuse to make him consider racing full-time at least one more season? The same article also indicates that Mark also was interested in buying into RYR, just as Robby Gordon tried to do recently, so it'll be interesting to see if Mark ends up in the #88, if an ownership piece of that car comes along with it. But now that Mark to the #88 is in play, I can see why things suddenly came to a screeching halt in terms of Robby buying into RYR. Maybe it will still happen down the road, but I have a hard time picturing Mark racing for Robby.

Posted by silverdsl at 03:18 PM | Comments (0)

A.J. Allmendinger to Race Two Truck Races for BDR

It's now a done deal - Champ Series driver, A.J. Allmindinger will race the #24 truck for Bill Davis Racing at New Hampshire on September 16 and Talladega on October 7. So let's review - BDR can't field a truck for Steve even for a race or two after negotiating with him for months, but they can field one for Allmindinger? A fan wrote an email to Mike Brown, general manager at BDR, and he responded by claiming that they're just doing a favor for Toyota and evaluating his talent level for another team, but that he doesn't fit into their long-term plans. Which with BDR's track record, could mean that they're already talking to him about a multi-year deal! According to Allmindinger, he started making phone calls about possible opportunities in Nascar a number of months ago and that this came out of those phone calls. Gee, I wonder if those phone calls were around the same time that Steve's deal with BDR fell apart?

In the same email to the fan, Mike Brown also said regarding the deal they were working on with Steve,

"We did have an opportunity to have him drive one of our Trucks, but the sponsorship fell thru, or you could say the sponsor backed away from a verbal commitment they had made both to Steve and BDR."

Several sources, including Claire B. Lang on XM, have said that Nascar didn't approve the sponsor that BDR and Steve had lined up, which some have said was due to a conflict with Sunoco, but Brown says that the sponsor they were talking to, that they had a verbal agreement with, backed out. Which is it? There's a huge difference between a sponsor not getting approved and a sponsor backing out before the deal was finalized. Someone pointed out that maybe the sponsor pulled out because Nascar wasn't going to approve the deal, but Brown's email sure seems to place the blame with the sponsor, not any other extenuating factors. What also gets me is that everyone's been talking as if this was a done deal, with press releases written and trucks ready to go, but if all they had was a verbal agreement with a sponsor, and no contracts actually signed, then wouldn't all of that be jumping the gun, regardless of whether or not Nascar approved the sponsor? When all you've got is a verbal agreement, seems to me that anyone can walk away, at any time, and there's not much that can be done about it. Steve knows all about that seeing as how he said he had a verbal agreement with a Busch team in the off-season leading up to the 2004 season, that he broke to race for Orleans Racing.

Of course a lot of this is just speculation. Mike Brown's comments in that email, is the first time anyone has really gone on record about why Steve's deal with BDR fell apart, beyond saying that it fell apart due to a lack of sponsorship. Problem is, an email to a fan is hardly an official statement. And given BDR's track record, it's impossible to know whether or not what they say can be trusted. So we're left with some very vague comments by Steve, that don't entirely fit with a lot of the rumors that are making the rounds, plus a lot of what I call message board rumors - someone might have good information from a credible source, but on a message board anyone can post anything, at anytime, and there's often no way of checking whether they're passing along accurate, unbiased information or not.

Then there's also the problem of how there's often several sides to every story, particularly complicated situations as this one seems like it might have been. Steve's perspective on why the deal fell apart might be completely different from that of BDR, or that of the sponsor, that or Nascar, or that of an impartial outsider. Each of those parties has a different agenda, though they all have to work together to one degree or another to get a deal completed, and there's no guarantee that any of those that are involved shared with each other the totality of their plans or what they were thinking during the process or afterwards. Especially afterwards when there's surely lots of ass-covering going on. So really even if someone were to address what happened, it would likely all be spin anyway - but what else is new? At least it would be something since right now speculation is running rampant.

As if it really matters - at least the fans are still talking about Steve and some people care that he doesn't have a ride. Because outside of his fans, no one seems too interested in whether he continues racing or not.

Posted by silverdsl at 11:21 AM | Comments (0)

Driver by Driver: Fontana II

1. Kasey Kahne - Swept both races this weekend, and did what he needed to do to put himself in a position to get into the Chase. Kasey now has five wins, the most of any other driver. It would be a shame if the most winningest driver this season wasn't a part of the Chase. Kasey and his team did an outstanding job of rallying from the speeding penalty to come back through the field. I guess that's what happens when a driver has confidence that they have a car strong enough to get them back out front.

2. Dale Earnhardt Jr. - Junior hasn't been very strong at this track the past few years, but he sure had a strong showing last night, including leading six laps. Somehow he didn't get busted for speeding on pit road even though he followed Kasey Kahne in very closely on a stop that Kasey got penalized for speeding into pit road on. Speeding penalties aren't a judgement call - it's all done by computer and a driver either is or isn't speeding, no grey area. Yet it was curious that he wasn't speeding there but Kasey was.

3. Clint Bowyer - Started third, finished third, thanks to pit strategy and playing the fuel mileage game. It worked out a lot better for him than fellow rookies Reed Sorenson and J. J. Yeley. Bowyer hasn't been amazing this season, but I have a feeling we'll be seeing bigger and better things from him in the future.

4. Carl Edwards - Finished well enough to move up to 12th in the overall points, but he was still mathematically eliminated for contention for the Chase.

5. Jeff Gordon - Led 42 laps. Had to come in because of fears that he had loose lugnuts after a pitstop, but was able to make his way back up into the top five. There was an interesting moment when he moved teammate Kyle Busch out of the way and then said over his radio to convey the message that he raced Kyle the way Kyle raced others and that was a lesson that he should learn from. I wonder if teammates normally try to teach other that way? I kind of doubt it, which makes me think that Jeff and others at Hendrick might have tried to talk unsuccessfully to Kyle about how he sometimes gets himself into trouble on the track unsuccessfully so Jeff finally decided to show him.

6. Denny Hamlin - Hasn't finished outside the top ten since the race in Chicago on July 9, almost two months ago. As Yogi says, it's not over 'til it's over, but it looks like Denny's going to make the Chase in his rookie season - that's an accomplishment to be proud of!

7. Matt Kenseth - Couldn't make it three wins in a row, but 7th is still a strong finish.

8. Kyle Busch - Most fans would like Kyle to fall out of the Chase, but I don't think that's going to happen.

9. Tony Stewart - 14th top ten of the season. The numbers indicate that Tony is still in the midst of a very strong season, but I feel a little like this team might have fallen off a bit from where they were earlier in the season.

10. Dale Jarrett - Hard to believe, but this is DJ's first top ten since Atlanta in March, the 4th race of the season. I think they were able to finish this well due to playing the fuel mileage game and taking a gamble on staying out that they wouldn't run out of gas. Unfortunately, I'm not expecting too many more top tens from DJ this season - this team needs major work for 2007.

11. Jimmie Johnson - Finished 11th but it wasn't enough to keep him in first in the points thanks to Matt Kenseth finishing better and his two wins the past two races. I still think that the #48 team will be hard to beat for the Championship.

12. Mark Martin - Just barely hanging on to a spot in the Chase. Apparently Mark won't be back in the #6 no matter what next season, but I suspect he's not done racing Cup. I would guess that we might see him race part-time for some team.

13. Elliott Sadler - Another good finish for the #19 team. Elliott even led a few laps. It sure would be something if we saw Elliott contending for a win before this season is over. I don't think it's out of the realm of possibility since Elliott's driving style, and attitude based on Ray Evernham's recent comments, seems to be much more fitted to this team than Jeremy Mayfield's was.

14. Casey Mears - First top 15 since he finished 7th at Daytona on July 1.

15. Kevin Harvick - Had a good car for most of the night, often racing in the top ten. But he had to pit with just 15 laps to go because he was short on fuel, which put him back on the track in 21st, though he was able to race his way back up to 15th.

16. Jeff Burton - Another team that's in danger of dropping out of the Chase. Over the last month Jeff has really started to struggle, in comparision to the rest of the season when it seemed like he was always racing up front. Jeff will have to be very good at Richmond next week - he does have a Cup win at that track in 1998 and has 7 top fives and 11 top tens. But his more recent results haven't been all that great which might not bode well for him.

17. Scott Riggs - Couldn't follow-up last week's top five with another strong finish. I wonder if Scott is going to develop further or whether we're seeing the best of him? Which isn't terrible - he's 19th in points and is clearly capable of racing up front at times.

18. Martin Truex Jr. - Lost a tire as he was leaving his pit after a pit stop. If it's not one thing for Truex, it's another. I continue to be surprised that Martin and his team haven't been able to put together some better races more often.

19. J.J. Yeley - Gambled on staying out at the end, but ran out of gas.

20. Jamie McMurray - Apparently California is one of Jamie's best tracks, but it sure didn't seem that way this weekend. He started 31st and due to handling problems never made much noise. Then again, he's not been much of a factor the majority of races this season.

21. Reed Sorenson - Was in the lead with just a few laps to go, but ran out of gas. Many were hoping to see Reed win his first Cup race ever but it wasn't to be.

22. Jeff Green

23. Ken Schrader - Blew an engine in Happy Hour and had to start from the back. So finishing 23rd isn't bad all things considered.

24. Greg Biffle - Had a fast car but had a number of problems including brushing the wall twice and a cut tire, that prevented him from finishing better.

25. Joe Nemechek

26. Bobby Labonte

27. Kurt Busch - Had to be a tremendously frustrating night for Kurt and the #2 team. They started from the pole and led the first 11 laps but fought handling problems the rest of the night.

28. Dave Blaney - Neither Bill Davis Racing entry was very good at Fontana.

29. Sterling Marlin - Not a very good finish for Sterling, but it was good enough to get him back into the top 35 in owner's points by two points.

30. Scott Wimmer

31. Michael Waltrip - 31st has to be very disappointing for Michael because the past few weeks with Tommy Baldwin, Jr. as Crew Chief, it had seemed like the #55 team was making some progress. But in this race no matter how many changes they made they never could get the handling right. I hope they don't slide backwards, not that they've started to give Michael some cars that he can actually race with. I'd really like to see Michael get at least one top 15 or even better a top 10 before the season's out.

32. David Gilliland - If not for MIchael's explanation last night on Inside Nextel Cup, we'd probably never know that Gilliland spun out because Michael came down in an effort to avoid Kevin Lepage, which caused Gilliland to move down as well and spin himself out. Gilliland's had a rough start in Cup so far, and some are writing him off as a failure already. But what do people expect? He has very little experience and it's going to be rough going until he gets used to racing Cup. I doubt the results will be very good for him this season at all.

33. Ryan Newman - Bad night for Ryan. Had an ill-handling car, radio problems and his brakes caught fire at one point. But what hurt the team worst of all was probably when he got into Elliott Sadler on pit road, which put a hole above one of the grill openings and necessitated other repairs.

34. Travis Kvapil - Never had a good car at any point this weekend and only barely qualified for the race. This team hasn't been great at any point this season, but they've made strides to where they've usually been a little better than this recently.

35. Kyle Petty - With this finish Kyle falls out of the top 35 in owner points. I'm just surprised that it took this long. I have a tremendous amount of respect for Kyle, particularly because of all that he does for the VJGC, but the results haven't been anywhere near good for him for a while now. I wouldn't be surprised to see this team miss a race before the season's over.

36. David Stremme - Fought handling problems all race like many other drivers.

37. Tony Raines

38. Kevin Lepage

39. Kenny Wallace

40. Terry Labonte

41. Brian Vickers - Got into Mark Martin, and got a cut tire - the tire then came apart and badly damaged the car.

42. Bill Elliott - Was off the track for at least 26 laps but no word as to what the problem was.

43. Robby Gordon - Apparently had some sort of transmission problem.

Posted by silverdsl at 10:30 AM | Comments (0)

September 04, 2006

Photo of the Day - WDW's Version of China

Epcot Center, Walt Disney World, Orlando, Florida, January, 2004. It looks like China, but it's not, it's only the Chinese pavilion in Epcot. Probably the closest I'll ever come to China!

Posted by silverdsl at 10:02 PM | Comments (0)

September 03, 2006

Random Thoughts on Last Night's Busch Race

*I thought this was a pretty good race last night. Yes, there were parts where nothing much happened, but there was definitely some drama there at the end. I know some hate when things are decided by something other than drivers racing their asses off against each other, but the fuel mileage game added some extra excitment. Ultimately Paul Menard ran out of gas on the last lap but I thought it was a pretty good battle between he and Kasey Kahne over the last few laps - I can only hope that the last few laps of tonight's race are like that. It was cool to see Menard congratulate Kahne in Victory Lane, and it shows that there is a lot of respect there.

*Snuggle was Kahne's sponsor and all I could think of is that's what many of his female fans would like to do to him. Personally, he doesn't do anything for me. I can understand how some women find him attractive, but to me he's too feminine looking, too pale, and looks like a stiff gust of wind would blow him over. In essence he has many of my features!

*For a while it looked like David Reutimann was on his way to another top ten in the #99 Aaron's Dream Machine. Unfortunately, a problem on a late pit stop put them back in the field and Reutimann was never able to recover. He finished 20th, which isn't terrible, but has to be a disappointment considering he had raced up front for much of the night. That's not the first time that problems in the pits have been costly for this team. Of course very team has there issues in the pits from time-to-time, but if they want to contend for the Championship with Reutimann next season, they've got to be on their game in the pits.

*I loved Kyle Petty in the booth. First of all, he looked outstanding! A lot of times Kyle seems kind of scruffy at the track, but I've seen him in street clothes before and I know he cleans up well. Last night was no exception. He looked great in the suit he was wearing. As an aside, I have to ask - if he, who is so involved with Petty Enterprises, can have long hair, then why can't fellow owner, Michael Waltrip? But Kyle was terrific in the booth and I enjoyed listening to his insights into the track and the race itself. Kyle brought up how important the guys in the pits are in terms of solid pit stops, pit strategy and the fuel mileage game and I couldn't agree more. So often the fact that this is a team sport is overlooked, but the drivers can't be in a position to win without the support of their teams who work so hard for them.

Posted by silverdsl at 06:04 PM | Comments (0)

More on Teams that Steve Park is No Longer Affiliated With

Steve Park isn't making much news these days unfortunately but teams that he was working with this season are continuing on full-steam ahead without him.

Steve was replaced in the #59, fielded by HT Motorsports, by Chad Chaffin, who confirmed to Nascar Scene last week that the team will be getting factory support from Toyota starting with the next truck race in New Hampshire. What I had forgotten is that Chaffin has a prior relationship with Toyota, having raced for both Germain-Arnold Motorsports and Wyler Racing, both Toyota teams, last season. It appears that he's continued his relationship with Toyota, including doing some testing for them, which led to him helping the #59 become a Toyota team. Chaffin said,

""...I had a great relationship with TRD [Toyota Racing Development], I did a lot of testing for them throughout the year, so they were real receptive to bringing the team I'm driving for back into the fold. I've always admired them, I'm glad to know the feeling is mutual. They've taken me back in and hopefully we can stick together."

So it's possible that if Steve had stuck with the #59, they might not have made the switch to Toyota. However, it's that loyalty that Toyota seems to show to their drivers, continuing to work with them even when they're not still full-time in a Toyota ride, that I want Steve to be able to benefit from. I want him to have a team, sponsor or manufacturer who is so loyal and supportive of him, that they will follow him from team to team and create opportunities for him. That's the relationship Michael Waltrip has with NAPA, Dale Jarrett with UPS, Ken Schrader with some of his sponsors even though they haven't sponsored him in Cup for years, and Chaffin and some other drivers with Toyota. That's really something I want for Steve.

As I mentioned a couple of days ago, it was rumored that Champ Series driver A.J. Allmendinger tested a truck for Bill Davis Racing at Richmond recently. That's since been confirmed and apparently Allmendinger is also talking to BDR about a truck ride for next season. That's just incredible to me. They can't field a truck for Steve, after they've worked with him for all these months, but they can field one for Allmendinger? I have to wonder when they started talking to Allmendinger and if their talks with him started around the time Steve's deal with them fell apart? Maybe the two things aren't connected, but it does raise some questions in my mind. I can't blame BDR for talking with Allmendinger as he is a young driver who might bring sponsorship to the organization that Steve can't, but it does seem rather unfair to Steve that someone else might end up in a ride that he was supposed to have.

Of course that's the way this sport works. A deal that seems like it's a sure thing one day, fall apart the next such as what happened to Steve. Every time hints were dropped about a "cat in the bag" this season that indicated that Steve had a done deal for a full-time ride I cringed. While many other fans were getting excited, there were certain things that were making me feel like it was premature to get my hopes up that things were finally working out for Steve. And unfortunately that feeling was correct. Steve isn't the first driver to have things turn out badly for him in regards to a deal for a new ride, and he won't be the last. I just hope that some day soon things will finally go the way they should for Steve, and that he'll end up in a competitive ride with a great team who supports and believes in him 100%.

Posted by silverdsl at 05:14 PM | Comments (1)

September 01, 2006

A.J. Allmendinger, not Steve Park to Be in a Truck for BDR?

This morning I came across the following item, which was posted on Jayski's:

Allmendinger tests truck at RIR? hearing that Champ Car driver A.J. Allmendinger tested a Toyota Truck this week at Richmond International Speedway, while confirmed a Toyota Truck was testing this week, no team was mentioned but hear it was for Bill Davis Racing which could field Allmendinger in a Truck Series race sometime this season.(9-1-2006)

I know next to nothing about A.J. Allmendinger, other than he's a young Champ Car driver. What I do know is that The Fates seem seem very displeased with Steve Park recently. There couldn't possibly be anyone who's been to this blog recently who's missed the numerous times I've discussed the debacle that was Steve's "done" deal with Bill Davis Racing for a truck ride which became very much undone. The way this all has gone down have left a sour taste in my mouth, and I'm less pleased to hear this rumor that BDR might put Allmendinger in a truck for a race at some point this season. Because if they can put Allmendinger in a truck, then why can't they put Steve in a truck for a few races too? Mike Brown, BDR's general manager spoke glowingly of Steve and claimed that they would love to give him a ride - maybe not so much after all?

Of course it's entirely possible that BDR will put Steve in a truck before the end of the season or that he's working on a deal with another team that will put him in a car or truck this season or next. But since the deal with BDR fell apart so spectacularly, there has not been one single concrete rumor that links Steve to any ride on any level. No, I don't consider the Asbury Park Press item about Steve possibly racing a Busch car part-time for DEI to be very concrete given that the writer had some trouble getting other facts straight and misspelled Steve's name. Steve may very well be in contact with any number of teams, and could be working on another team at this very moment. But the silence is deafening, and I can't help but have the sinking feeling that there might not be very much in the works for Steve at the moment.

Which makes BDR putting someone else in a truck ride all the more frustrating. The unofficial party line is that the deal fell apart because Nascar didn't approve the primary sponsor because they conflicted with Sunoco, the official fuel of Nascar. But I've suspected for a while that there might be more to the story than that, and if BDR puts Allmendinger or someone else in a truck, I think that's an indication there were, and are, other things going on that contributed to this deal falling apart. Maybe Allmendinger, or another driver, could attract sponsorship that Steve can't. Maybe Steve has decided that he no longer wants to work with BDR, even for a few races. Or maybe BDR decided that Steve wasn't the driver they wanted racing for them in the truck series after all. We'll likely never know.

There's been some talk lately that Steve's been black-balled by Nascar, and that they don't want him in the sport. Some feel that he's been singled out for unfair penalties during races. I don't agree with those who feel that way. Nascar has a problem applying the rules fairly, and they do a terrible job of explaining why took the actions that they did, but those things happen with all drivers, not just with Steve. Furthermore, Steve has had rides the past few years - if Nascar truely didn't want him in the sport he wouldn't be. I think the issues are mostly his age, his lack of consistantly good results the past few seasons, and the perception that Steve is still damaged goods because of his accident.

Before I get to that-which-shall-not-be-discussed-in-detail (the accident), I should also mention that I believe that it's possible that Steve's approach towards certain things has also hindered him as well at times too. I've hesitated to say too much on that particular topic for quite some time, and I'm still not going to share all of what I think in this space. But I'm not going to pretend to be blind to certain things either out of fear of getting ripped for daring to criticize Steve's skills as a business man (he's not - one would have to have a business to be a business person), or because I don't want someone calling me a bad fan. Fuck that. I'm certainly not an authority on much, but I do have certain real-world experience which might apply in some small way, and oh yeah, some might disagree, but I'd like to think I'm not an idiot either.

When Steve seemingly disappears when he's not at the track he does himself a world of hurt when it comes to looking for a new ride. Ward Burton showed up at the track multiple times this season, and spoke to the media each time he was there, which kept his name in the silly season rumor mix. He may not end up getting another ride, but no one forgot about him, that's for sure. Meanwhile Steve's not been seen or heard from, other than a photo being posted on his website that depicts Hurricane Ernesto going through his backyard in North Carolina since the Kroger 200 in August. I think it was a very good idea that something was put up on his website that indicates to Steve's fans that he's still around and kicking, but seeming to drop off the face of the earth, doesn't do Steve any favors with the fans, or when it comes to finding a new ride. There's a few other things that I could get into, but I'll just say that Steve could really stand to take some lessons in self-promotion and keeping one's self visible from his good friend, Michael Waltrip. And yes, as hard as it is for drivers who aren't racing up front each week to stay visible, there are ways of doing it even in the barest of ways such as interacting with fans via his website which ensures the fanbase stays supportive, even when one doesn't have a ride.

But now that I've gotten that off my chest, let's get back to the single biggest reason why I think Steve has so much trouble finding a new ride - the lingering perception that he's never fully recovered from the accident. I discussed this topic at length a few months ago, and I'm not going to bother to repeat everything I said then. While I think that Steve is the same driver now as he was prior to the accident, and that if he's given a competitive car, he can race up front with it and win, there is a significant amount of people who believe differently. And if fans have the perception that Steve is still damaged goods, then I think it's very likely that there are some, maybe even a lot of people in the garage area, who feel that way too. The sad fact of the matter, is that unless Steve puts up some kick-ass results on a consistent basis on the track, something that's not going to happen unless he's in a good car or truck with a strong team, it's likely that will always be the way that he's regarded. It's all fine and good to say that Steve's not going to give up when it comes to finding a new ride, but what if most of the owners have given up on him being a viable candidate to drive for them because they think he can't get it done behind the wheel? I'm not saying that Steve will never have another ride again. But I do think as time goes on and he doesn't have age or a tremendous amount of recent success going for him, that inaccurate perception that some hold might be a bigger and bigger road block for him.

I couple of weeks ago I pondered the question of whether it's over for Steve or not, and I can't say that I've changed how I feel since then. I most certainly haven't given up on Steve, but as I said then I've not felt very optimistic about Steve's situation for quite some time, and I've come to feel even more pessimistic now.

ETA: There's now a photo of Steve and his brother as little kids on his site, plus a message wishing people a happy Labor Day. That's a very good thing in terms of keeping the fan's spirits up, and making them feel like Steve still cares about his fans and wants to reach out to them even though he's not at the track. I hope they continue to update his website periodically with fun photos or little messages. It may seem unimportant to some, but things like this are a big deal to fans.

Posted by silverdsl at 01:38 PM | Comments (2)