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December 31, 2006

Looking Back at 2006, Looking Forward to 2007

I was going to look back at some of the news that I discussed in this space over the last year, but I realized that every blog, newspaper, magazine and website is doing the same thing, so why do what everyone else is doing? I'll just say that while 2006 wasn't such a great year for many of the teams and drivers I'm a fan of, it was an excellent year for me personally. I don't discuss too much of my personal life in this space, but among the highlights were moving into a new condo with my husband and going on some wonderful trips, both near and far.

For 2007 I'd like to see the New York Yankees fare much better in the post-season in 2007, Steve Park find himself a new ride on some level in Nascar, Michael Waltrip have a outstanding season as a driver and as an owner, David Reutimann continue to blossom, Kevin Harvick continue to race as well as he did in 2006, Elliott Sadler have better results in 2007, and that all the drivers have injury-free races in 2007. Anything can happen in both baseball and racing, so I'm not going to make any predictions, but I'm excited to see what happens in both sports. There's a lot of nay-sayers and negative-nellies who can't find anything good about either sport, but I think there's much to be excited about and look forward to.

My hope is that 2007 is also as terrific as 2006 was. Not only for me, but for all my friends and family. I wish everyone health and happiness in the new year!

Posted by silverdsl at 11:13 AM | Comments (0)

December 30, 2006

Photo of the Day

Marginal Way, Ogunquit, Maine, July, 2004. A wave near my favorite rock frozen in time.

Posted by silverdsl at 11:04 PM | Comments (0)

Quote of the Day

"For the call of the running tide is a wild call and a clear call that may not be denied."

-John Masefield

Posted by silverdsl at 10:59 PM | Comments (0)

John Andretti Doesn't Have an Official Website

In looking for some information for the previous entry about ppc Racing, I discovered that John Andretti doesn't have a website. That's astonishing to me that in a time when the internet is how many people get all their news and information, that Andretti doesn't even have a basic webpage. So there's no way for Andretti to get news and information out to his fans online, which means that a lot of people likely have no idea what he's up to. Sure, ppc Racing has a website, but that would only feature news that relates to what Andretti does for ppc and the #10 team. There might be other news or events that Andretti's involved with that would be ideal to promote on a personal site. Until recently there was a fan website, but that's currently down because the domain expired, but a fan site isn't the same as an official site, no matter how good it might be.

So currently the only way for Andretti's fans to get the latest information about him online in one place is if they have the message board that was associated with the fan site bookmarked. It was said on that board that the reason why Andretti doesn't have a website is because he doesn't have "people" to maintain it for him. I think that's a pretty poor excuse. Steve Park doesn't have too many "people" either, and he manages to have a basic website, though it could use a significant amount of work. But at least Steve has a web presence, as frustrating as it might be at times to see so little be done with it. It does cost money to get someone to professionally develop and maintain a website, but if Andretti feels he can't afford that seems to me that maybe he can enter into an agreement with the person who does the fan page to do johnandretti.com, or there's even the no-frills option, as suggested by someone on the fan board, and go with a myspace - that wouldn't cost any money.

Likely, both drivers don't really understand the importance of having a strong web presence and how much of an asset it can be for them.

Posted by silverdsl at 05:01 PM | Comments (0)

ppc Racing to Field Only One Busch Car in 2007?

Last season the #22 and #10 cars fielded by ppc Racing were two of the best Busch-only cars, meaning that they weren't a part of, or supported by a Cup organization, and Cup drivers weren't behind the wheel. Kenny Wallace finished 11th in the overall points, and John Andretti finished 12th. Taking out all the Cup drivers who Buschwacked, that meant that Wallance and Andretti finished 3rd and 4th in points among Busch-only drivers. While neither car saw Victory Lane, those results are still extremely good considering the level of competition with so many Cup backed teams in the series. However, it's apparently not good enough. Autozone will no longer sponsor the #22 car, and ppc is apparently having trouble finding a replacement sponsor, which means that it's likely that ppc will only field one car in 2007, the #10 for Andretti. The rumor is that ppc is looking to sell one of their car number, presumably the #22. I can't blame them for that since the owner's points on that car will surely bring in a decent amount of money.

I find it disappointing regardless of the circumstances to hear that a good Busch team is struggling with sponsorship issues that will likely cause them to downsize. But it's especially disappointing because I've thought ever since Wallace announced he was leaving the team to focus on racing Cup, that the #22 Busch car would be a good fit for Steve Park. There's been rumors that Matt Crafton was in line for the ride, but I was holding out hope that since Steve supposedly has at least a partial sponsorship to bring to a team, that ppc would be interested in his services since they were in need of a sponsor for the #22. That they had Andretti and Wallace behind the wheel this past season shows a willingness to work with veteran drivers, and I think it would have been a good opportunity for Steve, since the ppc cars were perhaps not spectacular, but solid last season.

I find it completely mind-boggling that there are so many teams with sponsorship issues that might force them to stop fielding cars or trucks - or even close their doors completely - yet Steve, who has a sponsor to bring to a team, still has no ride. One would think that teams would be falling all over themselves to make use of his services. Maybe the sponsor he was working with all this time changed their minds about sponsoring him, or maybe the sponsorship money they have available isn't enough to be a full-time primary sponsor. I can see how that would make things difficult for a team because they'd have to find additional sponsorship money somewhere to cover the costs of fielding a truck or car for a full-season for Steve. Still, it would seem that some sponsorship money is better than no sponsorship money at all.

Maybe it's just that all the things that I've mentioned previously about why some teams might shy away from Steve - his age, the "damaged goods" tag, that the results for him have been poor for the past two years other than the Truck Series win early in 2005, etc... Maybe there simply aren't any teams left who believe in Steve's ability to get good results for them, and it's too hard for teams to overlook that in spite of having a sponsor to bring to a team.

Separate from Steve, I think this is one more sign that the Busch Series (and the Truck Series) aren't doing very well if one of the better independent Busch teams is struggling to field more than one car due to sponsorship issues. I would guess that even when Andretti or Wallace had good runs going, other teams that had Cup drivers behind the wheel probably got more exposure, even if they weren't racing as well. I can see how a sponsor like Autozone might get frustrated and look for other opportunities were they might get more exposure - or even opt to leave the sport all together and market or advertise themselves in a different way. Sadly, I don't see the trend of sponsors leaving and teams struggling changing any time soon.

Posted by silverdsl at 04:19 PM | Comments (0)

December 28, 2006

Whelen to End Sponsorship of #31 Busch Car

After ten years, Whelen Engineering has opted to end their sponsorship of the #31 Busch car, fielded by Ted Marsh Racing. From Jayski's:

Whelen ends sponsorship of #31 team: Whelen Engineering will no longer sponsor the #31 Marsh Racing Busch Series program, as Whelen has stepped up its sponsorship in NASCAR, sponsoring the All American Series [NASCAR's weekly racing program]. The #31 typically ran approximately. ten Busch Series races for the past 10 years with Whelen as the sponsor. No word if Marsh Racing will attempt any 2007 Busch Series races.(12-27-2006)

I can't say I blame Whelen. The fact is that the results were putrid this season for the #31 car, and with how increasingly hard it is for part-time teams to be competitive, in combination with the lack of resources that the #31 team has, it's hard to imagine that the results will get any better for that team in the near future.

There's been some speculation that maybe Whelen is the sponsor that Steve Park's been working with, and that the reason they're leaving the #31 team is so that they can be the sponsor of his new ride. After all, Steve has a relationship with Whelen dating back to 2000, and he just raced for them as driver of the #31 this past season. On top of that Steve is also going to be taking part in the Bodine Bobsled Challenge next week that Whelen is heavily involved with.

However, as nice as it would be if Whelen was going to sponsor Steve next season, I don't think it's likely. For one thing Steve is good friends with Ted Marsh - would he "steal" a sponsor out from under Marsh Racing? I put "steal" in quotes, because I don't really think that a sponsor opting to leave a team when their contract is up to go to another team, with or without a driver they've worked with previously, is stealing, but there are some in the garage area and some fans who sometimes view it in a negative light. As if sponsors and drivers are supposed to stay with the same teams forever. Personally, to me it's just business - drivers and sponsors need to make the moves they feel are best to help them achieve their goals. But I'm not sure with as nice as Steve is that he'd be so willing to do something that some might view as screwing Ted Marsh over.

Beyond that, does Whelen need to sponsor a team if they're going to sponsor a series? Of course that series isn't as popular as the Truck, Busch or Cup Series are, but Whelen will be featured prominantly in all marketing, advertising, and PR related to the series, their teams and drivers, and the series will be renamed the Nascar Whelen All-American Series. The Whelen name will be mentioned every single time the series is mentioned, which is huge. That will likely end up giving them more exposure to their target audience than they would get on a Truck or Busch car, particularly if they only had the money to be a sponsor for the same ten races they've always done with the #31 team.

What's uncertain is what the future of the #31 team is. They have some sort of working relationship with Richard Childress Racing, where that organization provides some support in exchange for RCR drivers being behind the wheel of the #31. Peyton Sellers, an RCR development driver, raced a few races in the #31 last season. However, I'm not sure how much Sellers can develop in a car that's so non-competitive, so I have to wonder whether RCR is going to want to continue working with Marsh Racing. Without a sponsor, and without help from a larger organization, I don't see any way that Marsh Racing can continue to race in the Busch Series, which means that another team may be shutting it's doors.

Posted by silverdsl at 04:05 PM | Comments (0)

December 26, 2006

Photo of the Day - Georgia

Jekyll Island, Georgia, July, 2006.

Posted by silverdsl at 10:52 PM | Comments (0)

Brendan Gaughan's "Funky" Season

Some would call it "unimpressive" but when you're a PR rep for a race team your job is to spin even the poorest results into something positive. Since 2003 Orleans Racing hasn't exactly lit the the Truck Series garage area on fire, and 2006 was no different. While Brendan Gaughan managed four top fives, highlighted by a second place finish at the last race of the season in Homestead, a 15th place finish in the points in the Truck Series is nothing to write home about since only 19 drivers raced in all 25 races this season. So essentially Brendan was among the worst of all the drivers who raced in the Truck Series full-time last season.

Of course that's likely not his fault. Orleans Racing as an organization has had problems for a while now. This season the support that the team received from Dodge was reduced, and Brendan's truck didn't have a full-time primary sponsor. A lack of manufacturer and sponsor support only makes things harder for a team that was already struggling to be competitive with the other trucks on the track. OR has made a number of personnel moves, and might change manufacturers, but will any of it make a difference? The past three off-seasons have been full of optimism and talk of contending for a Championship in the following season, but the reality has fallen far short.

Heading into 2007, the changes include a new crew chief for Brendan, and yet another general manager, probably at least the third or fourth general manager OR has had over the past three seasons. Brendan said,

"Looking forward to '07, Bryan Berry is going to be at the reins and it's his job to use those pieces and get people in place. Tom Buzze is the General Manager and Tom's job is to run this team like a real damn race team. We're going through budgets. We're working on finally sitting down and saying, 'Here's what office stuff that we're not doing right. Here's what marketing stuff we don't do right. Here's what accounting stuff we don't right.' We just want to clean up the office side of this team now and let Bryan Berry get this team winning races since we feel we've gotten back to that level."

I just had to pause a minute so I could stop laughing. We've heard quite a bit over the past three years, and particularly when Steve Park was released, about what wonderful business people the Gaughans are. After all, they've been heavily involved in the casino business in Las Vegas for years. Of course they surely must know all there is to know about successfully running a race team. Yet they weren't able to correctly market their race team, or even do accounting correctly? Gee, could there be a connection there between having a poor approach in those areas, and the lack of a primary sponsor for the #62 team for two years before it folded as well as the lack of a full-time sponsor for the #77 team this past season? Which would then contribute to poor on-track performance before of a lack of financial resources to keep up with the other teams. Seems to me that they needed to address those issues should have dawned on them a long time ago, especially since Brendan, who has a B.A. from Georgetown University, was the general manager of the team in 2005.

OR is lucky to have found Victory Lane with Steve Park in 2005, because they haven't been an elite organization for quite some time. And it shouldn't have taken them this long to figure that out. But I'd guess that 2007 probably won't be much different for OR. Single truck teams have it tough to begin with because there's not another driver, crew chief or team to share information with. OR will have it especially rough if they can't change manufactuers, but particularly if they can't find any outside sponsorship for the third season in a row. Since Michael Gaughan opted not to keep the #62 on the track for the last few races of 2005 because he didn't want to field the team out of his own pocket, or so they said, then I have to wonder how long he'll keep wanting to field a truck the full season out of his own pocket with iffy results and not much money coming in, even for his son.

Posted by silverdsl at 04:12 PM | Comments (0)

December 22, 2006

Photo of the Day - Aruba Sunset

Aruba, September, 2005.

There likely won't be any updates to this space until next Tuesday... I hope everyone has a Merry Christmas, Happy Haukkah, Happy Kwaanza, or Happy Whatever Else you might celebrate!

Posted by silverdsl at 04:09 PM | Comments (0)

Dontelle Willis Arrested on Suspicion of Drunk Driving

The Florida Marlins young pitcher Dontrelle Willis was arrested early this morning on a suspicion of drunk driving charge after police officers in South Beach observed him pull over, get out of his car and urinate in the street. Classy. Not only did Willis smell strongly of alcohol, but he also had a hard time keeping his balance. Drunk driving really bothers me to begin with, but it really gets me when someone like Willis gets arrested for (suspicion of) DUI. Thing is, a baseball player is in a position where it's easy for them to have someone else driving, whether it's because they ask one of their "people" to drive, or because they hire a driver for the night. Or once they've had a few drinks, they can certainly afford to call a cab.

Recently I heard a story from a few years ago, and I don't know how much truth there is to it, about a Nascar driver that I like a lot (not Michael Waltrip) from one of the infamous Jamaica trips, where this person allegedly took a van that didn't belong to them and wrecked it. It's been said that was because he had a wee bit too much to drink before getting behind the wheel of the van. I have no idea how true that story is, but if it were true, I'd be pretty disappointed in that driver. Not the point where I'd stop being their fan, but drinking and driving is something that I really have a problem with, and it's hard for me to overlook that and brush it off like it's no big deal.

Posted by silverdsl at 02:22 PM | Comments (0)

December 21, 2006

Steve Park To Race in Bodine Bobsled Challenge

For the second year in a row, Steve Park will join other Nascar drivers and race a bobsled in Lake Placid, NY, as part of the Chevrolet Geoff Bodine Bobsled Challenge, presented by Whelen Engineering. Whelen of course is the sponsor of the Busch car that Steve drove a few races in this past season. Other drivers who will participate other than Steve include Todd Bodine, Brendan Gaughan, Kevin LePage, Boris Said and Randy Lajoie. The Challenge, as well as a dinner and auction benefits the Bo-Dyn Bobsled Project, which creates, develops and supplies the U.S. Men’s and Women’s Bobsled teams with their bobsleds. Tickets for the dinner and auction, which includes a meet and greet with the drivers, are $150 a person. The Challenge and related events will take place January 4-6, 2007.

Of course the first question that comes to mind is whether this will be the only kind of racing Steve does in 2007? I certainly hope that's not the case! The next question is when the heck is this going to be posted on Steve's website? Steve does so little these days, it seems to me that getting information about the one thing he is involved with up on his site should be a priority. Especially since this event is open to the public, so it's an opportunity for Steve's fans in the Northeast to see him. Steve rarely does appearances these days so this is a rare chance to see him outside the track. Unfortunately if no one knows about it, very few of his fans are going to be there to cheer him on.

Posted by silverdsl at 01:37 PM | Comments (2)

Ricky Rudd Rejoins Robert Yates Racing

Big news for Ricky Rudd fans. As previously rumored, Rudd will be returning to full-time action in the Cup series after a year's absence. Rudd will drive a car, number to be announced, for Robert Yates Racing that will be sponsored by Masterfoods, who will put Snickers on the car. Masterfoods must certainly believe in RYR, or perhaps they're just getting a very good sponsorship package, because they're also the primary sponsor of the #38 car, driven by David Gilliland, via M&M's. Rudd said of his return,

"When I took a break from racing at the end of 2005, I knew that I would return to competition if the right opportunity presented itself. Returning to Robert Yates Racing and partnering with Snickers was the ride to get me back into competition full time. In today's market, you have to have a multi-car organization to be competitive and win races and with Masterfoods' support I believe we have the ability to do both of those next year."

I think Rudd's going to have a difficult time getting into Victory Lane next season given that RYR appears to be behind some of the other teams. However, he'll definitely be an asset to RYR, and I think he'll help them rebuild to the point where they will be competitive enough to contend for wins down the road. Having an accomplished veteran like Rudd on-hand is also going to be very good for David, since he'll have a veteran teammate to go to for advice and help.

Rudd was lucky in that he had more than one opportunity to get back into the Cup series since at one point he had also been discussing a part-time schedule with Wyler Racing. Although Rudd stepped out of Cup racing for the most part this season, he remained active by filling in for Tony Stewart at Dover after Stewart was injured the week before. In addition, Rudd did some testing for Wyler Racing. While neither of those things were regular work by any means, it kept him connected to the Cup garage, and kept him up-to-speed with changes to the cars and to Cup racing in general between this season and when he had last raced.

I think Rudd's return, and some other announcements during this past season show that there is still a place for veterans in this sport. Yes, the trend is still to look at youth when a team has a vacancy, and obviously sponsorship is a factor. But Rudd's back, Ward Burton's back, Dale Jarrett has a new ride, Mark Martin has a new ride, and Bill Elliott raced part-time last season, to name a few of the veterans who were part of the silly season rumor mill over the past year. I think the ideal situation is a good balance between young-but-still-experienced, and veteran drivers, which is what the Cup Series seems to be right now. Of course some of the reason why some veterans are coming back into the series is likely due to how thin the talent pool is of good drivers available to step into Cup rides, but it's not such a bad time to be a veteran driver, particularly if one has had a lot of prior success in Cup.

Given RYR's struggles this season, I'm not sure everything is going to be smooth sailing for Rudd in his return, but it's definitely going to be good to see him back at the track!

Posted by silverdsl at 12:02 PM | Comments (0)

Larry Carter Leaves MWR for Roush Racing

It's been rumored for a few days, and just confirmed yesterday by Ty Norris, general manager at Michael Waltrip Racing, that Larry Carter has left MWR to to join Roush Racing as Jamie McMurray's crew chief in 2007. Larry joined MWR in 2005, and had played a big role in helping the team prepare for next season. At one point it had been expected that Larry would be Michael's crew chief, but a recent announcement indicated that plans had changed and that Larry would be paired with David Reutimann. Perhaps that should have been the first sign that something was amiss when Michael asked David Hyder to be his crew chief, saying that they "spoke the same language." Perhaps Michael and Larry weren't on the same page?

Ty Norris's comments yesterday certainly seem to indicate that not only was Larry not on the same page with MWR, but that the parting of the ways wasn't very amicable. He said,

"We only need people who are willing to sacrifice themselves for a period of time for the betterment of our company. You're either in the mode to do it or you do not want to.There were a couple of people who were not willing to do it."

That could be interpreted as a dig at Larry. Of course there's no way of knowing what really went on behind the scenes, but it doesn't sound like Ty is very happy with what they got from Larry, though that could just be sour grapes as a result of him leaving.

Apparently Larry used an "out" clause in his contract to leave. Ty said,

"Larry Carter came on board when we didn't have anything. So we gave him the option. No, it's not a setback. Not at all. I'm not trying to be cavalier. It is just not a setback."

I think it's interesting how insistent Ty is that Larry leaving isn't a setback. No organization is going to admit that someone leaving hurts, but on the other hand taking both of Ty's comments together, it seems to indicate that MWR feels that Larry might not have been doing all that he could have been doing for them, and that someone else could fill his shoes quite easily. And they'd probably be right. At this level of racing, there's a considerable amount of very talented people in the garage area. People come and go from organizations all the time, and while it might hurt in the short-term, I don't think there are too many people who are so irreplaceable that an organization's success or failure rests entirely on their shoulders.

It's all speculation as to where things went wrong between Larry and MWR. It's possible that Matt Borland coming over was an issue, since there was tension between the #2 and #12 teams at Penske Racing when Larry was the crew chief for Rusty Wallace, and Matt was Ryan Newman's crew chief. So perhaps Larry and Matt weren't going to work well together. Or it's possible that Larry found that the approach that Toyota, and therefore MWR takes, which is so engineering based wasn't to his liking. Or maybe Larry simply didn't fit in at MWR. We'll likely never know.

I think the biggest problem for MWR is finding someone who can take over for Larry quickly because testing at Daytona is right around the corner. A while back it had been rumored that David's truck series crew chief, Jason Overstreet, was going to follow him to the Busch Series - I wonder if it's possible that Jason could end up as David's Cup crew chief? It seems to me that it might work well for David to continue working with someone who he's not only comfortable with, but who he's had success with.

As for Larry going to Roush, I'm not so sure he's going to find working with Jamie to be smooth sailing. For one thing there's going to be a tremendous amount of pressure on the entire #26 team for their results to vastly improve in 2007 over what they were this season. And I'm not sure Jamie is up to the challenge. I don't think he's a terrible driver by any means, but my sense is that he's somewhat overrated. So I don't think he's ever going to be able to live up to the expectations that Roush has for him. Which might not be so good for Larry - often the crew chief is the first person to be blamed when things aren't going well for a team. In fact, Larry's Jamie's fourth crew chief in less than a year. It should be a red flag to Larry that talented crew chiefs like Jimmy Fenning and Bob Osbourne, both of whom have had success with other drivers, weren't able to do much to help Jamie get consistantly good results.

Ty also had an interesting comment about Jack Roush. He said when asked to comment on Jack's remarks regarding how much money Toyota is supposedly throwing at people to hire them,

"I was told a long time ago if you walk by a snake coiled up and hiding in the bushes, don't prod it. So I won't say anything."

I would guess there's quite a bit that Ty would like to say in response, some of it not very nice! Thing is my guess is that Roush made Larry a very generous offer to entice him to be Jamie's crew chief, especially considering that others had turned down the job. So how would that be any different than one of the Toyota teams offering a generous deal to someone they want to hire?

In the long-run I'd guess that Larry leaving MWR won't make much difference in whether MWR's teams are a success next season or not. In the short-term it's probably a problem because they have to scramble to find a replacement during the holiday season to be ready for testing. If there's one thing that does seem a little strange about all this, it's that this happened just a week after Larry was officially announced as David's crew chief. So I would guess that MWR might have been caught off guard a little by Larry leaving now for Roush. But it's probably better off for this to happen sooner rather than later.

ETA: What I apparently missed the first time I read the ESPN article is that Larry informed MWR that he was leaving after Matt Borland was hired. Now, it's possible it's just coincidence, but the timing does seem to suggest that a personal issue with Matt is what caused Larry to leave. That would fit with Ty's comment about how some people weren't able to make sacrifices for the good of the company. I have no idea how bad the ill will is between Larry and Matt; however, people aren't always going to be able to only work with those they like. There's going to be times when people need to put their differences aside and work together for a common goal. If Larry is unable to leave prior problems in the past, then it's better off that he left MWR now.

Posted by silverdsl at 08:27 AM | Comments (0)

December 20, 2006

Photo of the Day - Portland Head Light

Portland Head Light, Portland, Maine, July, 2005.

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

Yet Another Way For Sponsors to Reach Fans

A few weeks ago DirecTV announced a new feature, Hotpass. The way it works is somewhat similar to the in-car feature already available on cable in that there will be a separate channel for five different drivers each week. Viewers will be able to watch the race as that driver views it, hear radio communication between the driver and their team, plus have an announcer dedicated soley to calling the race from that driver's perspective. Of course logos from that team's sponsors will be prominantly featured, but now comes word that the sponsors will also be able to buy additional commerical time specifically on that driver's channel. Apparently during local commercial time, the team will also have a minute in which they can advertise anything of their choosing from merchandise to charitable efforts. The beauty of all of this is that the advertising, whether it's from the sponsor or from the team, will directly reach those who are most receptive to it - the fans of that driver. However, the downside is the limitations of DirecTV. The majority of people don't have DirecTV, and there's probably only a small number who are likely to order it just to be able to access these channels, which will only be available to those who pay $100, particularly since the featured drivers will change each week.

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

Rescue Effort on Mt. Hood Now Turns to Recovery

The other reason that I'm not going to feel terribly broken-hearted if Steve Park doesn't land a ride in 2007 is that there are worse things that can happen than not racing. Like losing one's life. Last week I briefly mentioned the three men who were missing on Mt. Hood. Kelly James's body was found in a snow cave on Monday, and the other two men who were climbing with him, Brian Hall and Jerry Cooke, are now presumed dead. The evidence suggests that on their way to get help from James, who was likely injured as they decended from the summit of Mt. Hood, the two other men had an accident of their own in a tricky area that is notorious for falls.

There are some parallels between Steve and those that were climbing Mt. Hood. Race car drivers and mountaineers both engage in a risky activity that many don't understand the allure of. But both driver and mountaineers are passionate about what they're doing - they have to be. In 2001 Steve nearly lost his life doing what he loved. Unfortunately these three men also lost their lives doing something that they loved. Some believe that those that climb are stupid for putting their lives at risk, and that they're particularly irresponsible for doing so if they have children. However, life is about living it to the fullest - these men were certainly doing that. May they R.I.P.

Posted by silverdsl at 03:43 PM | Comments (0)

Time Marches On

As pessimistic as I've been about Steve Park's chances for finding a ride for 2007, I've always thought that until it got to be mid-December there was still time for Steve to find a ride. But now that it's December 20th, I think time is really starting to run out. No deal is going to be announced at holiday time. In addition, once the teams get back to work they'll be gearing up for testing and focused on the season to come. It's still possible for Steve to find a ride, but the more days that pass without him having anything, the less and less likely it gets, at least for a full-time ride with even a somewhat competitive team. At this point Steve's best chance for a ride is likely looking at putting together some part-time deals like he did last season. There's still a few teams that haven't announced their plans yet for 2007, but I would guess most of them have drivers at least semi-locked up this late in the game. I hope that Steve proves me wrong and finds an awesome ride for 2007, but there hasn't been anything in months to indicate that there's even a remote possiblity of that happening.

Wait, but Steve was negotiating with a team back in October, some might be saying. Well, even that deal seemed nebulous, with Steve not knowing if it would be part-time, full-time, in the Truck Series, or a Busch ride. His comments at that time didn't fill me with a lot of confidence that anything was going to come of it, so I can't say I'm all that surprised that nothing was ever announced in relation to that. Nor am I surprised that there's been no indication since that Steve has anything else in the works either. And contrary to what some would like to believe, it's very unlikely that's due to everyone keeping what he has in the works a secret - everyone talks in this sport. Unless it's with a team that's so tiny that no one cares about it, if Steve was working on anything with a decent team, there would have been a message board rumor at the very least if not something on Jayski. Silence isn't a good thing.

It's sad that Steve might not have a full-time, or any, ride next season, but I'm not as broken-hearted about it as some will be if that's how things ultimately play out. I didn't think Steve would get a full-time ride last season, and he didn't, so I've been prepared for this scenario for quite some time. But beyond that Steve has won races on all three of Nascar's highest levels. He's had quite a few challenges to deal with over the past few seasons, but he's enjoyed some success as well. Steve has experienced a lot of things on- and off-the-track by virtue of being a Nascar driver that many will never get to enjoy. So it'll be disappointing if Steve's not on the track much, or at all, next season, but I won't be shedding tears for Steve if his career ends sooner than he would like. He's led a full life to this point and he has many more years ahead of him that he can fill with other pursuits, whether those are on his motorcyle, by getting involved in another part of Nascar besides racing, or just enjoying himself with his friends and family.

I know a lot of fans are resentful towards Nascar, the owners, teams and sponsors for many of their attitudes that have led to Steve having difficulty finding a new ride. But I'm not. In fact, while I think that Steve would be an asset to a lot of teams, putting aside my feelings as a fan and looking at things from the point-of-view of an owner or sponsor, I would likely look at other drivers before I looked at Steve too. As a fan, I believe that Steve can still race up front and win if he's given a competitive car or truck, but If I'm an owner or sponsor, the recent results don't instill confidence that's true. Add into that all the things I've mentioned a hundred times before - his age, the "damaged goods" tag, etc... and it's very hard to find reasons to put Steve in a car or truck other than that he's a great person, who is very personable and outstanding with the fans. And that's just not enough.

Whatever Steve ends up doing, whether he finds a ride for 2007 or not, I hope he's happy.

Posted by silverdsl at 12:47 PM | Comments (0)

December 19, 2006

Josh Wise Topped the Speed Charts at ARCA Testing

Josh Wise tested an ARCA car for Toyota this past weekend in Daytona and he was fast. So fast that he topped the speed charts in testing on Friday and Saturday. Which is an accomplishement for a driver who doesn't to my knowledge have a huge amount of experience in stock cars. Wise is a Michael Waltrip Racing development driver and the ARCA team he'll be driving with next season has an alliance with MWR. That Wise was so fast is encouraging news about MWR's overall operations because

The ARCA Re/Max Series and NASCAR Nextel Cup Series run virtually identical equipment. The data numbers recorded here will be taken back to Waltrip Racing and crunched by a slew of engineers.

Which hopefully means that the MWR Cup cars will also be fast when they show up at Daytona for testing in January. I'm also happy to hear that there's a slew of engineers at MWR!

I've seen some mild criticism of Wise topping the speed charts because he's affilated with a Cup team. What gets me is that a lot of fans have been riding the young driver=bad driver bandwagon and complaining about how drivers are being handed rides before they have any experience, without accomplishing anything in lower series. So here we have an organization developing a young driver, taking it slow by starting him out in ARCA and the truck series, yet there's still criticism, because his team is affiliated with a Cup team. The car isn't fielded completely by MWR, the team is presumably just getting some help technically and otherwise from MWR. What's MWR supposed to do, have their development driver fend for himself in ARCA? I think MWR is doing things exactly right with Wise because they're going to help him develop as a driver, help him get experience and get a sense of what results he might be capable of before advancing him full-time to a higher level.

I've not seen any discussion of this anywhere else, but I can't help but notice that another driver affiliated with a Cup team was also testing an ARCA car - Erin Crocker. Some have speculated that she's done as a driver since things didn't work out for her in the Truck Series thus far, but apparently not. I think it's unfortunate that she might have to take a step back to a lower level next season if sponsorship for a truck can't be found, but it also might benefit her to race where they'll be less attention on what she's doing - or in her case not doing on the track. I'd really like to see her succeed but I think she needs to develop more confidence and learn more about racing in Nascar's higher levels.

Posted by silverdsl at 04:27 PM | Comments (0)

Truth or Consequences

I'm reading Jurisimprudence, which contains some hysterical "laws" related to fandom in certain corners of the 'net and I came across this gem which cracked me up:

Truth: actual objective fact that exists independent of popular opinion. eg; the sky is blue, dinosaurs are extinct, the internet is full of idiots.

Consensus: what most members of a given group seem to agree on. eg; Elijah Wood is gay, carbs are evil, The Princess Diaries II was worth paying ten bucks to see.

Those who confuse the two, or try to argue the former from the latter, will be declared idiots both in truth and by consensus.

Obviously all the "laws" are meant to mock various oft-seen and often amusing/annoying behavior.

Posted by silverdsl at 02:35 PM | Comments (0)

December 18, 2006

Photo of the Day - Grounds for Sculpture

Grounds for Sculpture, Hamilton, New Jersey, May, 2006.

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

360 OTC

I've been wondering for quite some time now, and even more-so now that they've been announced as the series sponsor for World of Outlaws - where exactly is 360 OTC/Rockford Montgomery Labs getting their money from? Their 2007 commitments include being the primary sponsor of Jeremy Mayfield's Cup car, primary sponsor on Tyler Walker's Truck, partial sponsor on Johnny Benson's car, an official partner in the WWE wrestling series, and now series sponsor for World of Outlaws. Plus there's the giant blimp that 360 OTC plans on having at many of the sporting events they're involved with. All this with the 360 OTC brand of pain and hangover relievers having not hit the shelves yet.

Posted by silverdsl at 03:00 PM | Comments (0)

Steve Park Central Down...

Steve Park Central has been down all day today, not just the forum but the entire site, and I've not heard a word about what's going on. It occurs to me if the site was down permanently for whatever reason, Steve would be really, really screwed. Given the failings of his own official site, for as much as there are issues on the forum which lead to more than a few fans being unwilling to participate in the discussions, there is no better source for news, information and talk about Steve. Although they've been making more of an effort the past few months, there's rarely any real news posted on Steve's site, no articles are ever posted there, no race reports or photos from his team when Steve is actually racing, there's no official fan forum, and no way for fans to interact with each other - all of that happens on SPC. What's long been a problem for Steve is that when he's not at the track it seems as if he disappears. The forum at SPC helps keep him visible, even if it's just among his own fans, which in turn help keeps them fans. In addition, practically speaking his merchandise sales would take a hit too because every new piece of merchandise these days is promoted on SPC. Since a lot of fans don't bother with Steve's site very often given the lack of news there, that's probably the first place that many fans see that Steve has some new merchandise available.

Maybe the site will be back up later today, or in a few days, but if it's gone permanently, unless another forum pops up to take it's place, not having any one place that's constantly updated, even if it's only a fan forum, where fans can go for news, information, and photos, wouldn't be very good for Steve.

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

Yankees Exploring Trading Randy Johnson?

This rumor is probably entirely false given that it comes from the New York Post, and they don't have the best track record when it comes to getting things right. But it gives me something to talk about at a time when the news is pretty slow in coming. George King claims that Randy Johnson has asked the New York Yankees to explore trading him back to a team closer to where he lives with his family in Arizona. And given that RJ's been underwhelming as a Yankees, supposedly they are more than willing to try to make it happen. Alan Nero, RJ's agent denied the rumor flatout, but Brian Cashman said,

"He hasn't called me officially and asked me to trade him, no."

If the Post is reporting that quote accurately - and that's a big if - then that could be interpreted to mean that RJ hasn't officially asked for a trade, but that unofficially he's made some noise about how he would like to be traded to a team out West. Still, there's not much to support this rumor having much merit.

In fact, it doesn't make much sense in some ways because I find it hard to believe that there'd be much of any interest in RJ at the moment when no one knows for sure whether he's going to be ready to pitch by Spring Training due to having just undergone back surgery during this off-season. That's without taking into consideration his decline on the mound, his age, and other reoccuring health issues such as his knees. So even if the Yankees can get some team interested in RJ, it's unlikely they'd get much of anything for him, and they'd probably have to pay quite a bit of his salary. Doesn't seem like a deal that's likely to happen.

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

December 17, 2006

Photo of the Day - B&W WDW

Spaceship Earth, Epcot, Walt Disney World, January, 2004.

Posted by silverdsl at 09:46 PM | Comments (0)

The Off-Season Stinks!

The off-season for baseball and Nascar really isn't all that long, but it certainly seems that way. What makes it really tough is that we've rapidly approaching the holidays so there's very little news of significance around this time. So there's not a heck of a lot of talk about, which is why there were no entires in this space this weekend. Really nothing happened other than the Yankees are thinking about trading Melky Cabrera, but haven't done it yet, and Steve Park still has no ride. I suspect this week is probably going to be a pretty quiet week too.

Posted by silverdsl at 09:03 PM | Comments (0)

December 15, 2006

Everything Not So Rosy Between Junior and Teresa Earnhardt?

A number of interesting items surfaced in relation to DEI's hiring of Max Seigel, a former music executive who ran the Zomba Music Group, and also happens to be an African-American. One of which is a strange comment by Teresa Earnhardt in relation to her step-son, Dale Earnhardt, Jr. Teresa said,

"Right now the ball's in his court to decide on whether he wants to be a NASCAR driver or whether he wants to be a public personality."

Surely, something must be taken out of context because I can't figure out what she's really trying to say here. Is Teresa taking a dig at Junior and saying that he's more focused on his celebrity status than he is on racing? I don't see any way that a driver as popular as Junior - Nascar's most popular driver in fact - could possibly separate being a public personality from being a driver. In addition, it's particularly perplexing that Teresa might voice that opinion when her company has made a tremendous amount of revenue from Junior the celebrity, particularly when they still owned the rights to his name. On top of that, all of Junior's sponsors, including want him to get the maximum amount of exposure possible, because it means they're getting a tremendous amount of attention as well. So part of the "Cult of Celebrity" that surrounds Junior has been created for him by others who are looking to maximize the attention he, and they, get from the media and from fans.

Of course if Junior is distracted from his resonsibilities as a driver to the point where it effects his performance on the track then it would be a problem. But Junior finished 5th in points, with a win, 10 top fives, and 17 top tens. I'm sure that DEI would like to see Junior in Victory Lane more often, but making the Chase for the Championship and finishing 5th in points doesn't seem like the season a driver having trouble focusing on racing would have.

Could Teresa's comment be related to the battle over the rights to Junior's name? It's been said that he wouldn't discuss a contract extension with DEI until he got the rights back to his name. But Junior should always have had the rights to his own name - every other person, driver or not, in his position owns the rights to their own name. So I think it's a stretch that Teresa is interpreting Junior's request to have ownership of his name as him being more interested in his public persona than in racing. Not negotiating a new contract gave him some leverage because the reality is that DEI can't let Junior go - without him they have no superstar, no huge source of revenue, maybe even no Budweiser sponsorship.

Another strange comment by Teresa is in reference to why she hired someone from outside of Nascar for such a high level position at DEI. She said,

"Most of the other team owners are just so passionate about the need for speed and the competitive aspect of it. That's what drives them. ... I never could find someone who could take the blinders off and see outside that."

Wha? I can understand that there are other aspects to the business DEI conducts other than just racing, such as their dealerships and the Dale Earnhardt Foundation . However this sport is all about speed and being competitive. I'd say that the majority of everyone in the garage area, not just team owners are driven by a need for speed and for being competitive. An organization that doesn't focus on speed and being competitive aren't going to get very good results no matter how talented the drivers they are who are racing for them. I also don't understand why Teresa appears to be getting on Junior's case for not being as focused on racing as she thinks he should be but was looking to hire someone for Siegel's position who's focus is beyond speed and competitiveness. Seigel is going to be overseeing DEI's marketing, promotion, sales and sponsorship - does he need to be focused on speed and competitiveness to do that? Not necessarily, but I think those things are tied into speed and competitiveness because sponsor money and revenue from other sources is what allows DEI to have the resources to go fast and get results on the track.

The other thing about the Siegel hiring is that he's African-American. In another industry this wouldn't even be mentioned, but in Nascar because there are so few minorities in any aspect of the sport let alone a high level position, it's big news. Apparently Siegel is in the highest position of any African-American in the entire sport. I would like to see a day when there are so many minorities in the sport, that issues related to race aren't a part of the story when a hire like this is made.

Posted by silverdsl at 03:44 PM | Comments (0)

What's This All About?

Yesterday Key Motorsports announced a marketing alliance with JR Motorsports, who later denied that any such thing exists. Today Key Motorsports issued a statement that says that the program does exist, but that they didn't have JR Motorsports approval to go ahead with the release. Unfortunately there are no links to the actual press releases, but here's what Jayski has:

JR Motorsports and Key Motorsports Form Alliance: UPDATE 2: Two of NASCAR’s newest race organizations, the Key Motorsports Craftsman Truck Series team owned by Curtis W. Key, Sr., and JR Motorsports, the Dale Earnhardt, Jr.-owned Busch Series company, have formed a marketing alliance. The new union enables the two companies to include the other organization in its marketing and sponsorship processes. It will give corporations the opportunity to establish their branding and customer-related support and activation activities in two of NASCAR’s three leading touring series and with multiple teams and drivers. The two organizations worked together in a driver development format of sorts late last year when rookie driver Shane Huffman, driver of the JR Motorsports #88 Navy Chevy, was hired to run four races in the NCTS for Key Motorsports.(Key Motorsports PR)(12-14-2006)
UPDATE: JR Motorsports denies any formal alliance with Key Motorsports.(12-14-2006)
UPDATE 2: A statement from Key Motorsports owner, Curtis Key: "Yesterday, our organization released information to the media pertaining to a marketing alliance that we had established with JR Motorsports – one that would have helped both of our racing organizations. Nothing in this release was inaccurate, but we did neglect to gain approval from JR Motorsports’ officials first before releasing it. For that, we apologize to JR Motorsports for any problems or misconceptions that this action may have caused, but I must emphasize that nothing inappropriate was ever intended. It was simply an overzealous reaction to a program that we all believed in and were very excited about building."(Key Motorsports PR)(12-15-2006)

This begs any number of questions. First of all, why would JR Motorsports team up with Key Motorsports? It seems to me that a race team owned by Dale Earnhardt, Jr. doesn't likely need much help as far as marketing themselves go. And if they do, why would they opt to join up with a tiny team like Key, who don't even have a driver at the moment for their truck? Why would JR Motorsports deny that this program exists, when in reality it does according to Curtis Key? And for crying out loud, why the heck didn't Key Motorsports run the press release by JR Motorsports before they released it to the media? That's a cardinal sin in PR, and one that often comes back to bite one in the rear end, as it did to Key. The whole thing seems very odd.

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

December 14, 2006

Photo of the Day - Cape May

The Mainstay Inn, Cape May, New Jersey, September, 2005. I've always wanted to stay in this Inn.

Posted by silverdsl at 10:33 PM | Comments (0)

J.J. Yeley Involved in Most Wrecks Among Cup Drivers

J.J. Yeley inherits a dubious title from Michael Waltrip - Yeley's the Cup driver involved in the most crashes during the 2006 season. Last season poor Michael found himself wrecked 19 times, this season Yeley was involved in 17 incidents that led to torn sheet metal, something those back in the shop at Joe Gibbs Racing probably weren't all that thrilled with.

Before I go further, I should note that while I find an analysis of the stats as they relate to wrecks interesting, the stats as they relate to individual drivers don't take into account what the wrecks were a results of - being wrecked by another driver, a mechanical problem, or just driver error. So some use these stats to "prove" that certain drivers suck, I think that one needs to use some caution when it comes to drawing conclusions from these stats and instead look at overall trends. For example, this season Michael was only involved in 8 wrecks, which is about the average for him per season since USA Today started keeping track. So last season when he wrecked 19 times, appears like it was an abberation, as much as some fans who dislike him insist that Michael wrecks all the time - the numbers don't lie (they're only twisted around sometimes) - he doesn't.

One thing that jumps out at me about the list is that in spite of a rookie having wrecked the most this season, it's pretty obvious that it's not just the young drivers who find themselves in trouble on the track. In fact the driver with the second most wrecks in 2006 is a 14-year veteran, Joe Nemechek. There was a tie for third place among three other veterans - Ryan Newman, Casey Mears and Robby Gordon, with 15 wrecks each. Then fourth place went to Sterling Marlin with 14 wrecks. Then the next rookie can be found on the list in fifth with 12 wrecks, tied with Kyle Busch and Elliott Sadler.

2004's most wrecked driver, Robby Gordon who was high on this list in 2006 as well with 15 wrecks, had an interesting comment. He said,

"The field is so competitive. You have to push yourself to the maximum, week in and week out."

I can't be 100% sure what Robby is referring to. And as noted above, there's plenty of reasons why drivers wreck, some of which are out of their hands completely. However, Robby seems to be indicating that hard racing and pushing one's self - and one's car - to the limit is a factor in why some wrecks occur. Robby is certainly a driver who gives everything he's got to every race, non-stop. I can't help but wonder if perhaps some wrecks might be avoided if Robby and some other drivers didn't push quite so hard every lap of every race. After all, there's going to be sometimes when a driver doesn't have a competitive enough car to race up front with. But that doesn't seem to stop some drivers from trying. Maybe racing a 20th place car like it's a 20th place car, until their crew chief is able to make changes to make it better, is a wiser course of action than trying to race 5th with that car?

I can't help but notice the driver who took this unfortunate title in 2002 and 2003 - Steve Park. If that's not a glaring reason, in conjunction with the damaged goods tag that he's been unable to shake, for why he's not been under consideration for any decent Cup rides recently, I don't know what is. Again, all of those wrecks weren't all due to driver error. However, as I've said before in this space a lot of people, including those with teams and sponsors, have trouble looking beyond the stats at what might be behind the numbers.

Something else that's interesting is that Kasey Kahne went from being involved in a lot of wrecks his first two years in Cup - 15 in 2004, 16 in 2005, to being tied for least wrecks (5) with Kevin Harvick. Is that due to Kasey having gained more experience as the years passed? Because of the cars he's driving? Just a matter of luck? No way of knowing for sure, but Evernham Motorsports has to be very happy with him being able to bring his cars home in one piece most of the time in 2006.

Ah, yes the off-season - time to analyze semi-useless stats in the hope that they'll offer some insight into the following season.

Posted by silverdsl at 01:57 PM | Comments (0)

Stocks for Tots

Stocks for Tots was Tuesday night in Mooresville, North Carolina. The annual event, which features Nascar drivers, has raised $400,000 for organizations fighting child abuse and has distributed more than 30,000 toys to children in the area since 1989. A large amount of fans always attend, and this year was no exception since drivers like Carl Edwards, Greg Biffle, Dale Earnhardt, Jr., Denny Hamlin, A.J. Allmendinger, Kurt Busch and others were taking part in autograph sessions for fans. What was supposed to happen is that each driver was supposed to sign for fans for two hours. But that's not what happened in all cases.

In fact, some fans of Junior were upset because he left after only an hour, without having signed for all 350 fans with wristbands to get his autograph. Now I'm not big on autographs, especially when one has to stand on a huge line to get them. And I'm one of the most understanding people when it comes to the demands that drivers have on their time which often causes them not to be able to fulfill all their obligations to their fans in the way that they'd like. I also understand that sometimes a driver's having a bad day, has other things on their mind or an emergency comes up. But it appears that there was no emergency that forced Junior (along with Denny) to leave early. No pressing business concern to take care of with JR Motorsports. No sponsor obligation. Instead, Junior left early so he could take part in an online SIM race.

It's the off-season and the drivers don't get much of a chance to relax, so I'm sympathetic to Junior's desire to do something he enjoys. But I can't blame the fans who were present who are upset that Junior left early so he could race online. I don't think the drivers owe their fans much, but I do think they owe them some respect. I'm not sure leaving early to play on the computer is showing fans who were likely there waiting for hours at an event he committed to attending is showing all that much respect for people who took time out of their lives to support not only him, but the Stocks for Tots charity.

In all fairness, it should be noted that it specifically says on the website that drivers aren't committed to come for the entire event, so fan's complaints will likely fall on deaf ears, since they'll just be told that they should have expected that Junior might not stay the entire night. In addition, the event organizers could have specified that Junior would only be there for an hour, and they could have given out less wristbands. Still, it strikes the wrong note with me that Junior opted to leave early from a charity event that he agreed to attend for a SIM race.

No driver can please all their fans. It's impossible to sign autographs for everyone. It's impossible to smile, wave and acknowledge everyone. Sometimes people are going to end up being disappointed, and they just have to deal with it. But I can't help but think that maybe fulfilling his obligation for the night to the fans that were there, the fans who are why he's perpetually the most popular Cup driver, might have been more important than SIM racing, though probably not as fun.

Interestingly enough the last time I pondered the question of what athletes owe their fans it was also after an appearance by Junior left some fans unhappy.

Posted by silverdsl at 01:06 PM | Comments (2)

December 13, 2006

Photo of the Day - Mt Hood

Mt Hood, Oregon, October, 2006. Somewhere up there those three climbers are still lost in the midst of some brutal winter weather.

Posted by silverdsl at 09:27 PM | Comments (0)

Mother Goose Rhyme

Star Light Star bright,
The first star I see tonight,
I wish I may, I wish I might,
Have the wish I wish tonight.

Posted by silverdsl at 09:24 PM | Comments (0)

Lend a Hand - Edward Everett Hale

I am only one,
But still I am one.
I cannot do everything,
But still I can do something;
And because I cannot do everything
I will not refuse to do the something that I can do.

Posted by silverdsl at 04:50 PM | Comments (0)

Ward Burton to Race the #4 in 2007

As expected, is going to return to Cup racing full time in 2007 as the driver of the #4 for Morgan-McClure Motorsports with State Water Heater as the sponsor. This is good news for Ward's many fans because they'll get to see him race regularly. However, it says something that to return Ward had to be willing to accept racing a car that might not be very competitive too often. It's possible that with a full-time sponsor for the entire season, the team will be able to make improvements over this season, but I think it's going to be difficult for them to compete against the larger teams. Ward did good by getting into the #4 for a few races this season, because it gave him the opportunity to adjust to the changes to the cars and Cup racing in general since he last was in a car.

Posted by silverdsl at 03:24 PM | Comments (0)

Crew Member Suspended for Violation of Substance Abuse Policy

Of course it's highly unlikely we'll ever hear the details behind this, but yesterday Nascar announced that they've indefinitely supended a crew member on the #25 Truck Team, Derek Lusk, for testing positive for a banned substance after the November 10th race at Phoenix. A banned substance could be anything from cocaine to maurijuana to steroids to simply an over-the-counter substance that's on the banned list. As I've mentioned before, Nascar doesn't do random drug testing, though some teams do. Nascar only tests when they have suspicions that someone is using something they shouldn't based on their own observations or information they're given. So unfortunately Lusk may not be the only pit crew member using a banned substance at the track.

Posted by silverdsl at 03:16 PM | Comments (1)

December 12, 2006

Three Missing on Mt. Hood

Seems like it's a bad time to be in the wilderness in Oregon, because another group of people have gone missing in Oregon, this time on Mt. Hood. Of course the reality is that people aren't going missing in Oregon any more often than they normally do, but both the Kim family saga, and these three climbers missing on Mt Hood happen to be high-profile stories that are attracting more attention than missing persons cases usually do.

In this latest situation, two climbers from Texas and one from New York set out on Thursday to summit Mt. Hood, planning to return on Friday. But something apparently went wrong and they never showed up to meet a friend at Timberline Lodge as expected. On Sunday morning one of the men, Kelly James, called his son to tell him that he was holed up in a snow cave below the summit, and that the other two climbers went to get help. It's either unknown or not been released to the media why James was in need of help. Unfortunately none of the three have been heard or seen from since. And the weather on Mt. Hood has been horrendous, with extremely high winds and blizzard-like conditions. Rescuers set out yesterday to look for the men, but had to turn back due to the poor conditions. They've headed up the mountain again today, and hopefully they'll be able to find them. All three men are experienced climbers, who have climbed other large mountains before like Mt. Rainer, but none of them had ever been on Mt. Hood before. I hope this story has a happy ending.

Posted by silverdsl at 03:21 PM | Comments (0)

Could Steve Park End Up Back in the #59?

I'd like to know what's up with this - Chad Chaffin joined HT Motorsports to race the #59 after Steve Park left the team, and less than a year later, after Chaffin used his connections to help HT Motorsports align with Toyota, he and the team have parted ways. The results that Chaffin got in the #59 weren't all that much different than Steve in the ten races he was in the #59 - unimpressive. However, the team finished the season in the top 30 in owner's points and is guaranteed a spot in the first few races of next season, which is an accomplishment for a tiny team with no primary sponsor.

I'm just not sure the results will be any better with a different driver. HT has a marketing company helping them look for a "marketing partner" - in other words, a sponsor. Jim Thomas, Director of Business Development for that company said,

"Since joining the Toyota stable in September, HT Motorsports has really started to hit its stride. 2007 will certainly be a breakthrough year for the entire organization."

Please, don't make me laugh. No sponsor is going to buy that HT is on the verge of a breakout season, particularly when they look at the season's results which show that there's really not a huge difference between the results before they joined with Toyota, and those they got afterwards. That said, adding a primary sponsor with some money to spend could really help improve this team's fortunes. They work hard, they have the desire to get better results, and more funding would help them be able to field more competitive trucks. I still think they would struggle against the larger teams until they added more personnel and had more resources, but some improvement could be possible. However, when there's top teams who can't find sponsors, what are the chances that this team will be successful?

Of course the natural question to ponder, hence the title of this entry, is whether Steve might reunite with this team since at the moment he appears to have nothing lined up for 2007. When he was with the team he claimed that they were a team that could eventually contend for wins, which is something he's also said that he's looking for in a ride. Both he and HT also had nothing but good things to say about each other when they parted ways. So it does make some sense that they might look to revist their prior partnership, especially since Steve might have at least a partial sponsorship to bring with him, assuming that's still viable.

Or maybe HT will contact Steve and this will be one more offer for a ride that he'll turn down. Since according to some fans the reason Steve doesn't have a ride is because all the teams with openings have been calling him but none of them meet his standards. Yeah, right. And I have a bridge to sell. I'm sure there are some putrid offers that Steve has turned down. But I find it hard to believe that Steve has turned down offers from Robert Yates Racing, Roush Racing, Spears Motorsports, Key Motorsports, Bobby Hamilton Racing, ppc Racing, and other teams who had openings that they're either recently filled or are close to filling (likely with drivers other than Steve). Yeah, Steve's going to turn down a ride with Roush, one of the top organizations in all of Nascar - very doubtful! More like most teams don't have Steve very high on their list of drivers they'd consider giving a ride to - that there have been zero rumors connecting Steve to any rides thus far is pretty much reflective of that. If he were a player at all in silly season, he's likely have been mentioned somewhere even in a vague way for some ride.

Ht could also decide to go in another direction. As I mentioned above the results for Steve in that truck weren't anything to get excited about, regardless of how many of the reasons were due to HT's limitations regarding how competitive they could be in comparision to other teams. So HT might want to throw another driver in the mix and see what happens. Which doesn't mean that they won't put Steve behind the wheel at a later date - Mike Wallace raced the first few two or three races for HT before Steve took over.

There's also the question of how long HT will survive if they don't find a sponsor. I can't imagine Jim Harris being able to continue fielding the team almost entirely out of his own pocket forever. So even if Steve rejoins this team, if they can't find a sponsor they might be on life support, particularly if they don't stick in the top 30 in owner's points next season, though that's not all that difficult to do in the Truck Series.

Posted by silverdsl at 01:59 PM | Comments (0)

December 11, 2006

Photo of the Day - Ogunquit Sunrise

Ogunquit, Maine, July, 2004.

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

Mark Martin Not Gone From Roush Racing After All

Not long ago Mark Martin said that there was a possiblity that he might race for four different teams in the various Nascar series next season, and today it was revealed that one of those teams is the organization he raced for the majority of his career - Roush Racing. Martin will race two Busch Series races for Roush with Dish Network as the sponsor. Those two races are the season opener at Daytona in Febuary, and also the Texas race in the spring. Some of Martin's fans were really hating on Roush on his behalf, talking about how Jack Roush and others had done Martin wrong. But if Martin's willing to continue racing for Roush, I'd say there aren't many hard feelings there.

Most of Roush's other drivers will also take a turn behind the wheel of the Dish Network car. Dish Network will also be an associate sponsor on all of Roush's other cars and trucks, which maximizes the amount of exposure that they'll get, as will having a variety of Cup drivers behind the wheel of the Busch car. Having an "All-Star" line-up behind the wheel of a Busch car seems to be getting more and more popular. I'd expect to start seeing more of that in the Truck Series as well - that's what Michael Waltrip Racing will be doing next season with their truck entry.

Posted by silverdsl at 03:27 PM | Comments (0)

Kenny Wallace and Johnny Benson Most Popular Drivers

This weekend two Most Popular Driver Awards that actual mean something were handed out. Kenny Wallace was awarded the Busch Series MPD award at that series's banquet, and Johnny Benson was given a MPD award at the Truck Series banquet. I say that these awards actually mean something because they're voted on by the drivers themselves, not the fans. So winning a MPD award from one's peers is high praise indeed! Whereas, sorry to say Steve Park fans, the MPD awards run by BGNracing.com and Truckseries.com are commonly viewed as jokes by many - at least those who even care that those awards exist to begin with. I don't even remember the winner of truckseries.com's poll being announced, though I might have missed it. Both Kenny and Johnny are good guys, as well as solid drivers, and I can understand why they're so popular with their fellow drivers. Kenny had a pretty good season in the Busch Series, but Johnny had a stellar year in the Truck Series - it's awesome to see great people be successful!

Posted by silverdsl at 02:43 PM | Comments (0)

Jimmie Johnson Breaks His Wrist

But not in a racing accident. Instead Jimmie Johnson broke his wrist in a freak golf cart accident. No scratch that too. Actually Johnson was on the roof of the golf cart when the driver of said cart hit a berm and he fell off. So in reality it was probably somewhat predictable that things might not end well. Luckily for Johnson, although the injury will force him to miss the Race of Champions race next weekend in Paris, he'll be fine for testing at Daytona International Speedway in January.

Some are making fun of Johnson about this injury, and now that it's been revealed that he was horsing around, that's certainly understandable. However, what bothers me a little is those who seem to be delighting in the fact that Johnson is injured, almost as if they wish it were something worse. Johnson may have been clowning around, something that I'm guessing more than a few other drivers have been known to do at the golf course and elsewhere, but it doesn't mean that he deserved to get a broken wrist or that it's funny that he's hurt.

Posted by silverdsl at 01:36 PM | Comments (0)

I have to behave, even though it's so hard sometimes!!

Posted by silverdsl at 01:36 PM | Comments (0)

December 10, 2006

Photo of the Day

Aruba, September, 2005. Sure would be nice to be lying on one of those lounge chairs right about now!

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

December 08, 2006

Michael Waltrip Racing Announces Crew Chiefs for 2007

For a while now it's been rumored that Matt Borland was going to leave Penske Racing for Michael Waltrip Racing, and I'm happy to hear that's exactly what's happened! I didn't want to get my hopes up because Penske sounded pretty positive that he was going to stay with him, but I'm pretty excited now that it's actually happened. I think Borland is an excellent addition to MWR, and with his engineering background, he should work extremely well with a Toyota team, given how engineering centered that manufacturer is.

Borland will be paired with Dale Jarrett next season, which should make DJ extremely happy considering one reason he left Robert Yates Racing is because of how behind their engineering department was in comparision to other teams. Larry Carter, who was expected to be Michael's crew chief, will instead work with David Reutimann, who should benefit from his veteran experience in Cup. Michael will work with David Hyder, who isn't as much of a "name" as the other crew chiefs, but still has a tremendous amount of experience in Cup, including working with Petty Enterprises and Ken Schrader.

According to Michael, DJ actually asked for a crew chief like Borland, and what a happy surprise for him, he actually gets Borland! DJ said,

"There are a lot of smart, innovative individuals in the NASCAR Nextel Cup Series and I am thrilled that Michael Waltrip Racing was able to secure one of the best in Matt Borland. He's obviously had a lot of success in the few years he's been in this position. I think Christmas came a little early for Michael Waltrip Racing and myself. This announcement just adds to my excitement about 2007. I think he'll truly be a valuable asset to this No. 44 UPS Toyota team and will complement Michael Waltrip Racing as a whole."

I agree with DJ - Christmas did come early for MWR! Borland will definitely be valuable to DJ and MWR not only next season, but into the future.

Some fans are upset that Michael won't be working with Carter or Borland, and instead choose Hyder as his crew chief. But I think Michael knows what he's doing. It's extremely important that Michael trust and be comfortable with his crew chief. There were communication problems with some of the crew chiefs he worked with last season, and it seemed as if Michael didn't really completely trust that they knew what to do with the cars. He has to be able to trust his crew chief to make decisions so he can put his focus on racing. Michael said,

"David was someone that I was interested in from the beginning because he speaks my language. He's someone that has built and raced cars his whole life. He has a respect and knowledge for engineering, which coupled with Borland's engineering background, we hope to continue our creation of a strong team atmosphere."

That Hyder speaks Michael's "language" is a very good thing! I suspect not everyone can do that because Michael is a complex person, who is probably a little more unique than some other drivers. But I really like that he's also an engineering driven crew chief. That's essential in Cup these days. Given that Hyder has worked with some of Michael's closest friends, I'm sure that he knows pretty well what Hyder is capable of. In the past Michael has had to work with whatever crew chiefs his current teams have wanted him to work with. But now he's completely in control, which is a good thing.

There's another reason why I think it's good that Michael is opting to work with Hyder over Carter. That's because I think it'll be a really good thing for David Reutimann. David's Cup experience is limited to just one race, and he's going to also be racing the full Busch schedule. So I think he's going to need a really strong crew chief to help guide him through the challenges that next season will present. Carter will be able to do that. Plus Carter's been working with the team and organization for the past year, so he already has a good feel for things, which will also help David.

So I'm pretty happy to hear this announcement and it makes me even more excited about next season for Michael and Michael Waltrip Racing!

Posted by silverdsl at 02:41 PM | Comments (0)

Driver Shuffle in the Truck Series

A number of driver changes have been announced this week in the Truck Series. Ken Schrader will take over for Bobby Hamilton in the #18 truck for Bobby Hamilton Racing, with a yet-to-be-determined driver racing the races where Schrader has a conflict due to his Cup schedule. Kerry Earnhardt and Thorsport Racing parted ways. Bill Lester is likely going to Billy Ballew Motorsports. Due to the possiblity that Morgan-Dollar Motorsports might only be able to field one truck next season, Dennis Setzer will race the #75 for Spears Motorsports in 2007. In the most shocking news to me this week, David Starr is out at Red Horse Racing in spite of an excellent season, and Aaron Fike is in, because Fike brings sponsorship with him to the team.

Until recently, it had been expected that Bobby Hamilton would return to the track next season, if not at Homestead, after he finished treatment for head and neck cancer, than certainly in 2007. However, Hamilton opted to skip Homestead without explanation, and Ken Schrader has now been tapped to replace Hamilton in the #18 next season for most of the races. Speculation is that Hamilton's health has taken a turn for the worse again, but it may be that he's re-evaluated things and found that he has other priorities now outside of racing. Hamilton not only went through treatment for cancer, but also recently got married. Both of those things are life-changing events, and I wouldn't be surprised if Hamilton wants to spend more time with his new wife, and less time behind the wheel. The speculation about Hamilton and his health is going to continue until he releases a statement clarifying his plans for the future.

What surprised me a little is that apparently BHR considered Bill Elliott for this ride. Elliott is an extremely accomplished driver, but he's only raced two truck races during his career, the last of which was almost ten years ago. So I would have thought that the team would be looking for a driver with more truck experience if they were going to go with a veteran. However, in some ways it makes sense to consider Elliott. For one thing, he's a solid driver no matter what he's racing. But perhaps more importantly these days, Elliott as a former Cup Champion, who was extremely successful during his career, is the kind of driver that would likely help BHR find and keep sponsors, as well as help the team get exposure. Schrader isn't as accomplished as Elliott is, but he's still a well-regarded Cup driver, so he should also help the team in this regard as well.

I'm definitely not surprised that Thorsport Racing and Earnhardt are parting ways. Fact is that his performance this season has been extremely unimpressive. Earnhardt might be a nice person, who is very fan-friendly, but he has zero wins, zero top fives and zero top tens this season, and only two top 15's. That's really not very good. In fact, his entire career, on all three levels, is pretty unimpressive. I know some will say that's because he's not had competitive cars or trucks to race, and that might play into it to a degree. But I've not really seen much from him that indicates that his performance would get all that much better if a more competitive team took a chance on him. It's hard to ignore the possiblity that he's continued to get chances because of his last name.

Billy Ballew also confirmed this week that he's been talking to Bill Lester about putting him in the #15. Like a number of other moves that were made this week in the Truck Series, this likely has nothing to do with performance, and everything to do with sponsorship. Much like Kerry Earnhardt, Lester's performance, not just this season but over the course of his entire career in a truck, isn't much to get excited about. However, what Lester does have going for him is his participation in Nascar's Driver Diversity program, as well as that he can probably bring a few sponsors with him to Billy Ballew Motorsports. So Lester racing the #15 likely has a lot to do with money. I can't say I blame BBM or any other team for talking to Lester if he's got a few sponsors in his pocket. The costs for fielding teams continues to rise, and it's also getting harder and harder to find and keep sponsors. So what that unfortunately means is that less talented drivers with sponsorship might continue to get chances over more talented drivers who don't have sponsors to bring to teams.

In another move driven by sponsorship issues, Dennis Setzer is leaving Morgan-Dollar Motorsports to race the #75 for Spears Motorsports. Prior to this season, Setzer hadn't finished outside the top ten in points in any of seven full-time seasons in the Truck Series, and each of those seasons he won at least one race. In fact, he finished 2nd in points from 2003-2005. But this season was very different - Setzer didn't win a single race and finished 13th in points. I was doubtful that his skills behind the wheel would suddenly erode so much from where he won four races in 2005 to where he only got one top five in 2006, and it appears that sponsorship woes may have played a part in Setzer's struggles. Without a sponsor willing to pay the costs, it's very hard for teams to field competitive trucks. Now things have gotten even worse for Morgan-Dollar. A lack of sponsorship might result in them only being able to field one truck next season, to be used for driver development purposes for drivers from Ginn Racing. Which would leave Setzer rideless, so instead of waiting to know for sure, he opted to take a ride with Spears. Unfortunately for him though, Joe Gibbs Racing won't be supporting the #75 truck or Spears Motorsports like they did last season, so that truck might also not be as competitive as he'd like.

As I mentioned above, what really blew me away is that Red Horse Racing replaced David Starr this week in place of Aaron Fike. Why? Because Starr had an excellent season in 2006, with one win, six top ten's, 12 top ten's, and ultimately finishing 4th in points. That should be good enough for a driver to keep their ride... if the decision was based on performance. However, Red Horse Racing was unable to find a sponsor for Starr's truck, and Fike brings sponsorship with him, so RHR felt they needed to go with the driver who had a sponsor. As incredible as it is to me on one level, I also understand it. If RHR had a choice between sticking with Starr, and possibly folding, or going with Fike, and having the financial resources to continue racing, then they had to do what was necessary to continue operating.

But I think what happened with Starr and RHR is a terrible sign about what's going on in the series. For one thing if a driver who had such a good season doesn't have job security, than I don't think it bodes well for drivers like Steve Park, whose results were much worse than Starr's in 2006, in terms of their own search for a ride. I also think it's a sad commentary that it appears that it's no longer enough to get results on the track. A driver must also be able to have backing from a sponsor. But again, I can't blame the teams for doing what they need to do to keep fielding trucks - it's not good business sense to operate at a loss or not look for ways to find a sponsor to cover the costs of racing. That necessitates tough some tough choices. I have my doubts that Fike will be able to get the results that Starr did this season, but RHR will be able to continue to show up every week to race.

What concerns me the most is that I don't think the problems that exist in the Truck Series (or in Busch or Cup) are easy to solve. The Truck Series gets very little attention from the media, because many fans don't really care what happens in the series, in spite of some great racing. And Nascar can't wave a magic wand and instantly change that. It could take years to increase the amount of fans who are interested in the Truck Series in a meaningful enough way to increase the exposure the series and the drivers get. I think we'll probably continue to see Cup drivers race in the Truck Series because they generally attract sponsors, but that brings problems as well, as we've seen in the Busch Series. I hope I'm wrong, but I sense that the problems in the Series are going to get worse before they get better. More good drivers may lose their rides, and more teams with successful histories in the sport may be forced to close their doors.

Posted by silverdsl at 10:46 AM | Comments (0)

December 07, 2006

Yet Another Driver Besides Steve Park Gets a BDR Ride for 2007

... and I don't blame Bill Davis Racing with giving Bobby Santos III, a part-time Busch ride, instead of putting Steve in a car, as most fans of Steve's probably wish and think they should have done. Young driver who potentially has a bright future ahead of them, vs. older veteran driver, who hasn't had good results lately and may not race for many more years - who would you choose? Fact is that it's essential for teams to find and develop young talent, and Santos is definitely young at just 21-years old. He's also had some success in USAC, winning six races this season. Bill Davis said,

"Keeping an eye out for young talent has become an important part of every race team, and we think Bobby has a good future ahead of him in this sport. We're looking forward to working with him to build his skills in a stock car and get him ready for even bigger things in the future. He was impressive in his first outing with us, and I think it will be interesting to see what he can do next year."

What's good is that BDR is going to be starting Santos out slowing, putting him in an ARCA car for ten races and then a Busch car for just five races. That way he's not thrown directly into the fire in the Busch Series, and if things go well in a limited amount of races, he might race on a more regular basis in 2008, which could them put him in line for a Cup ride, either to replace one of BDR's existing drivers or in a third car, in 2009 or 2010. I wonder how many other Busch races BDR plans on entering a car for and whether we'll see some other BDR drivers like Johnny Benson, Mike Skinner or Jeremy Mayfield behind the wheel?

Posted by silverdsl at 03:30 PM | Comments (0)

Doug Richert Joins Red Bull Racing

Doug Richert and Greg Biffle had a lot of success together at Roush Racing. As crew chief, Richert helped Biffle and the #16 team win ten races and finish second in the points in 2005. However, this season was a disappointment. Although they won two races, including the third straight win at Homestead, and were on the pole for two races, their overall performance was very inconsistent and Biffle was only able to finish 13th in points. Because of that, Roush decided to shuffle things up for 2007, with Biffle being paired with Pat Tryson, and Richert was offered the opportunity to either be the crew chief for Jamie McMurray on the #26 team, or work with Roush's Busch Series teams. Richert wanted to stay in Cup, and didn't feel the position with the #26 ream was right for him, so he opted to leave Roush for Red Bull Racing where he'll be Brian Vickers crew chief.

Richert was on XM yesterday and he had some very interesting comments about the #26 team. He said that he didn't get "a warm, fuzzy feeling" about the team, and that he didn't think he could help them win. Claire B. Lang tried to pin him down about what he meant, but Richert danced around the answer. There's no way to know for sure, but I got the feeling Richert doesn't have much confidence in McMurray, and didn't want to work with him. It really says something to me that Richert is willing to go to a completely new team and deal with all the challenges that come with that, rather than staying at an organization where he's been for a while, that is one of the better ones in the garage area.

I almost always cite how a driver can only race as good as the cars they've provided with as an explanation for why some drivers struggle, but for a while now I've thought that McMurray is overrated. That doesn't mean that I think he's a terrible driver, simply that I don't think he'll ever live up to the expectations that come with the big contract he signed with Roush. In fact, while I expect to see him have some strong races in the future, I wouldn't be surprised if he doesn't make it back to Victory Lane anytime soon. So I can understand why Richert might be leery of working with McMurray, because the driver's successes or failures reflect on the crew chief.

I think Richert will work well with Vickers, who will likely benefit from having an experienced crew chief, who can help guide him through the obstacles that he's going to race next season with a new team aligned with a manufacturer new to the series, with no owner's points to fall back on in the first five races. I think Vickers is likely still developing as a driver so I'm not sure we're going to see him in Victory Lane as often as Biffle was, but I do think that could come in time, as both Vickers and his Red Bull Racing team mature.

Posted by silverdsl at 02:49 PM | Comments (0)

Body of James Kim Found

Unfortunately, the body of James Kim, the San Francisco man who became stranded in the Siskiyou National Forest with his family was found yesterday at the bottom of a steep canyon. Kim had gone in search of help, leaving his family at their car, not knowing that a helicopter would fly over and rescue his wife and two daughters two days later. By following footprints, as well as some items that Kim dropped in the snow, searchers were able to follow his path. Kim had followed the road for five miles, but for some reason he left the road and went into the canyon. What's so unfortunate, and something Kim had no way of knowing, is that two miles from where the car was, down another part of the road was a lodge where he could have sought shelter. Also, had he stayed on the road he could have eventually walked to the end of the road to an area where he might have found help. However, given how long he had been stranded, that he was likely suffering the effects of little food and water, as well as being exposed to the elements, it's likely that he wasn't able to think clearly and realize that staying on the road would have been his best course of action. A very sad ending to this story, though at least his wife and children were rescued.

However, another man stuck in the snow in the forest in Oregon was successfully rescued yesterday. Joseph Anstatt, who is from New Jersey, and very much unfamiliar with the area was on his way to Crater Lake National Park when he decided to take a shortcut he saw on a map. However, the road was a Forest Service Road that was snow covered and he eventually got stuck. Anstatt walked six miles until he could find a cell phone signal, then went back to his SUV to await the arrival of a special vehicles group from the local Sherriff's office to arrive in 4x4s. So at least one story of someone stranded in the snow in Oregon had a happy ending.

Posted by silverdsl at 02:06 PM | Comments (0)

December 06, 2006

Photo of the Day - Driftwood Beach

Driftwood Beach, Jekyll Island, Georgia, July 2006.

Posted by silverdsl at 09:57 PM | Comments (0)

Somebody to Shove - Soul Asylum

Grandfather watches the grandfather clock
And the phone hasn't rang for so long
And the time flies by like a vulture in the sky
Suddenly he breaks into song

I'm waiting by the phone
Waiting for you to call me up and tell me I'm not alone
I'm waiting by the phone
Waiting for you to call me up and tell me I'm not alone

Hello, speak up, is there somebody there?
These hang-ups are getting me down
In a world frozen over with over-exposure
Let's talk it over, let's go out and paint the town

(in part)

Heard this song the other day for the first time in a long time.

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

Andy Pettitte to the Yankees?

All off-season there's been rumors that the New York Yankees are interested in re-signing Andy Pettitte , who pitched for them for nine seasons, from 1995-2003. Now comes word that the Yankees are dangling a one-year deal worth $15 million in the hopes that Pettitte will sign with them instead of going back to the Houston Astros, the teams he's been with since 2004. Many fans are excited about this possiblity, but I'm not one of them. Pettitte is 34, and has battled injury issues since he's left the Yankees. But more than that Pettitte has expressed a great deal of doubt over whether he wants to pitch in 2007, or whether he wants to retire. I'm leery of a player who isn't sure they want to continue playing baseball. I think the best chance for success is when a player is as confident as possible in their abilities, and has a tremendous amount of desire to play the game and help their team win. If Pettitte isn't sure he wants to keep playing, is the desire and passion about the game really there any more?

I also think that some fans are nostalgic for the past when Pettitte was a part of the World Series winning teams of 1996-2001. However, the past can't be duplicated. Pettitte isn't the same pitcher he was in those years, and the Yankees aren't the same team. Pettitte might be able to pitch decently for the Yankees if he remained healthy, but adding him isn't going to mean that the Yankees are going to be able to recapture the magic of those years.

A one-year deal isn't terrible, and I think Pettitte is better than some other options that the Yankees might have. But I'm not jumping up and down about his possible return to the Bronx - maybe if I hear him talk about how committed he is to playing baseball and pitching well in 2007 I'd feel better about it.

Posted by silverdsl at 01:59 PM | Comments (0)

CNET Editor Still Missing

The Kim family left Portland on November 25 for an overnight stay on the Oregon Coast before traveling back to their home in San Francisco. Only they never made it. Kati Kim and the couple's two daughters were found with their car on a remote forest road in Southern Oregon on Monday, but James Kim had left to try to find help two days before and remains missing. When I was in Oregon a few months ago, we drove on some very winding roads through several state forests. I remember looking at the dense forest, which stretched for miles in every direction, how easy it would be for someone to become lost, and particularly in the winter, when many smaller roads are impassable due to heavy snowfall. So I've been following the story of the Kim family with a lot of interest. I have to admit I didn't have much hope that they'd find the family, considering how remote the area was that it was speculated that they were in, and if they were found I didn't think it would be good news. So I'm very glad that at least Kati and her daughters were found, and hadn't suffered any serious injuries from being stranded for so long.

There's been a variety of conflicting stories as to how they ended up on the road where they became lost, but one thing's for sure is that they shouldn't have been on it at that time of the year. Although the road is paved, from the descriptions, it's extremely winding and goes up into the mountains, where there can be a considerable amount of snow. The worst part is that the road is unplowed in the winter, and few people go up there at that time because of that so anyone who got stuck is in a big world of trouble like the Kim's. The Kim's aren't the only family to become stranded in that area - another family got stuck there last year for quite some time before being rescused, and years ago a man was stuck for so long that he eventually died of starvation and his body wasn't found until the Spring. Scary.

Thing is that one way they might have ended up on that road is by getting directions from an online mapping website like Yahoo! Maps or Mapquest. Bear Camp Road looks like a good shortcut to get to the coast from where the Kim's were coming from, but it doesn't take into account how treacherous the road can be. Those who are from out of the area wouldn't know how hazardous the road is during the winter. It's been said that there are signs warning drivers not to take the road in the Winter, but it's possible that they didn't think that the end of November was really the height of the winter. Not to mention, weather conditions can change quickly, particularly as the elevation changes. It could have been raining where they first turned onto the road, then snowing much further up. Some have suggested that they should have turned around when the road became so bad to navigate, but they might have thought that they were near to the end and that it was better to try to get to the end instead of going back the way they came.

It seems that some feel that blame must be placed, or that everything must be explained. But there's really no way to know what the Kim's were thinking or why they did what they did. I'm pretty sure with two young kids in the car, they were making the decisions they felt were best. Unfortunately circumstances came together in such a way that something very bad happened. Hopefully James Kim is found alive and well, but after this long exposed to the elements with very little protection, it doesn't sound good.

Posted by silverdsl at 10:49 AM | Comments (0)

December 05, 2006

In the News: Michael Waltrip (12/5)

Michael Waltrip crosses the finish line with a time of 2:26 in Sunday's Victory Junction Half Marathon. Photo from the VJCG website.

It's nice to see some photos have surfaced of Michael, and all the other runners, who participated in the Victory Junction Half-Marathon on Sunday! There's a bunch more photos of Michael crossing the finish line available that are for sale, the proceeds of which benefit the camp. To access them, all one needs to do is do a search by Michael's bib number, which naturally was #55.

Toyota ran some commericals during races this season which featured Michael and his brother Darrell racing each other with parade floats. A fan in North Carolina a few months ago had spotted the floats being stored out in the open behind a fence, and at the time I wondered what was going to happen to them. I figured that they'd probably be destroyed or used for something else. Never did I expect that they'd end up on Ebay! But that's exactly what happened. There's no explanation as to how the seller came into possession of them, but he apparently wants to get rid of them. The floats would certainly make a neat collectible, only problem is that the buyer would have to pay for them to be shipped outside of the North Carolina area, and the costs for that are sure to be hefty!

ESPN put out a press release about Michael Waltrip Racing: A New Era and it sounds like the show is going to offer an in-depth look at the inner workings of MWR. Michael said,

“The creation of Michael Waltrip Racing is a tremendous undertaking and we’ve got a lot of people invested in seeing us grow and succeed. The 2007 season is when we open the curtains on the world and everyone will get the chance to see what we’ve been doing this last year. Not only are we working hard, but we’re working smart. Starting Dec. 10, fans can follow the story just like I’ve been living it the last year.”

I wish the show was on a bit earlier than 10 p.m. for those of us on the East Coast, particularly since it may be pushed even later if ESPN2 is showing any sports programming live, because that means I'll likely have to record it to watch the next day due to how early I get up for work. But I'm super-excited to see this show, and extremely happy that it's 11 episodes long!

In other MWR news, there's been much speculation about Matt Borland's future at Penske Racing - is he staying or is he going? Now comes word that MWR might have made Borland a substantial offer to join the organization. I think that would be awesome if Borland went to MWR, either as a crew chief for one of the Cup cars or in another position. However, I'm not going to get my hopes up. At the end of the season Ryan Newman said in an XM interview that Borland was staying at Penske, though just not as his crew chief, and I would guess that Ryan is familiar with Borland's mindset, at least to a degree. In addition, Penske President Don Miller said that Borland was asked whether he wanted to stay or not, and Borland said that he absolutely wanted to stay at Penske. Of course things can always change, and maybe Borland doesn't want to tip his hand that he's actively negotiating with other teams, but so far there's been more concrete information to indicate that Borland is leaning towards staying than signs that he's definitely leaving.

Posted by silverdsl at 03:00 PM | Comments (0)

Bill Lester to the #15 Truck?

Yesterday I theorized that Bill Lester might have trouble finding another ride since it appeared that he wouldn't be back with Bill Davis Racing, given his age and lack of good results on the track. I may be wrong about that since today brings news that Lester might end up in the #15 truck fielded by Bill Ballew Motorsports. From Sirius/MRN, via Jayski:

Lester to the #15? Sirius Speedway host Dave Moody reported Monday that Bill Lester will announce a new deal in the next few days to drive the full Craftsman Truck Series schedule in 2007 for Billy Ballew Motorsports. Sponsorship details are still being finalized, but should be announced next weekend.(Sirius Speedway/MRN Radio)(12-4-2006)

Most fans are going to immediately assume that any interest in Lester is because of his participation in Nascar's Driver Diversity program. And that may be one factor, since that tends to draw some extra attention to Lester that he might not normally get. However, I think a bigger reason why he might end up getting this ride could be sponsorship - Lester brought a couple of sponsorships with him to BDR, including Waste Managment, and Checker's had expressed interest in continuing to sponsor him in the future. So it's possible that Lester was able to bring those sponsors or others with him to BBM. Because I certainly can't imagine that they want to put him in a truck because they think he'll get to Victory Lane for them - unfortunately Lester, in spite of being in what's likely a pretty competitive truck, didn't get a single top five or top ten this season, and only has two top fives, and four top tens in five years of full-time racing in the Truck Series. I'd be surprised if Lester suddenly became a much improved driver at the age of 45.

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

December 04, 2006

Photo of the Day - Flamingos

Renaissance Island, Aruba, September, 2005. I highly doubt those are native flamingos!

Posted by silverdsl at 10:07 PM | Comments (0)

In the News: Michael Waltrip (12/4)

Yesterday was the Victory Junction Half-Marathon in Randleman, North Carolina, which benefited the Victory Junction Gang Camp, a cause near and dear to Michael Waltrip's heart. He also loves marathon running so it's not suprising that he took part in the Half-Marathon, logging a time of 2:26 minutes. I have no idea if that's a good time or a bad time, but Michael did say that he hadn't trained for this as much as he had for the Las Vegas marathon he ran in January of 2005 for Operation Marathon, and that this time he was going to be "real slow." I don't know much about marathon running but I've always wondered if someone as tall as Michael is would be at a disadvantage when it comes to marathon running, because he's heavier and all-around bigger than other runners. In any event, Michael said that there was no question that he'd take part in the half-marathon when he heard about it,

“When you say, ‘Camp,’ it means a lot more than words can express for a lot of people, so that makes me, when I hear, ‘Camp,’ I say, ‘What?’ They say, ‘Half marathon,’ and I say, ‘I'm there.’”

As I've discussed before in this space, Michael's dedication to charitable causes is both inspiring to me, and also one of the reasons why I like him so much. Other drivers probably wouldn't have been very anxious to give up a Sunday to run in a half-marathon, particularly just after having been in New York City for the Cup banquet, and in light of the season having just come to an end, so it eats into the little time they have to relax during the off-season. But Michael is always willing to lend a hand to a good cause whether it's for the VJGC, Craftsman for a Cure, or his own efforts to raise money for the Fisher Center Foundation to fight Alzheimer's Research through The Waltrip Challenge. Michael truly has a big heart when it comes to helping others!

I don't think anyone, including myself until I just read the article a little more closely, but apparently Waltrip Racing World has undergone a name change to Waltrip Raceworld. No matter the name Michael expressed confidence recently when talking about how Waltrip Raceworld and his race teams are developing. He said,

“We have been building this team for over a year now. My confidence comes from the successes we’ve enjoyed meeting our goals to this point. We have come a long way. We have sponsors secured and people hired. The cars are being built and tested. Our fabrication department is operating at full strength.”

I'm glad to hear that they're meeting their goals to this point! That might seem like a small thing to some people, but considering how much is on the line, it could be disasterous if they didn't meet their goals! I'm also very happy to hear that their fabrication show is at full operation, and cars are continuing to be build and tested.

Michael contined,

“We mapped out a plan with a timeline to monitor our progress. We are at a very good place. There have been many challenges and I know there will be more. I have been racing my whole life and it has always been about adapting to change. That mentality has helped our organization grow from a plan to a reality.”

I think Michael's comment about adapting to change is an interesting one considering how resistant a lot of fans are to change. If Michael has learned to adapt to change via being involved in racing his whole life, why are long-time fans having so much trouble with some of Nascar's changes? Things simply can't stay the same forever. Times change, technology change, the approach of the teams and drivers change and the sport has to change as well. Michael's adaptability is likely a huge reason why he's not only doing all of what he's doing with Michael Waltrip Racing, but also why he's been able to race for more than 20-years in Cup.

What's really awesome is that there will apparently be an announcement in the next few weeks about the crew chiefs for the #55, #44 and #00 cars. It had previously been said that Larry Carter would be Michael's crew chief next season but I don't know if that's still the plan. I'm very interested in finding out what the final lineup of crew chiefs is going to be because I think that having good crew chiefs will be key to helping MWR achieve some success next season. Those crew chiefs will also have to be able to deal with the challenges that a new team presents - it seems like it's obvious that all crew chiefs should be able to handle problems and challenges well, but it seems to me that there's some crew chiefs who think better on their toes than others.

An article on Dale Jarrett's site offers more insight into how things are progressing at MWR. Apparently the target date for MWR to be operating completely in the new race shops at Waltrip Raceworld is January 23rd. What's also exciting to find out is that DJ spent time each week at MWR during the late summer and fall, in addition to his responsibilities to the #88 team, with an eye towards helping MWR get ready for 2007. DJ also reveals that there's been a lot of progress in terms of building the cars, and they've even taken some cars to the wind tunnel. DJ said, "It's amazing how much things have changed and how quickly," Jarrett said.

"I would go over one week and there would be 12 cars sitting there built and then to go see things the next week, and the cars had been to the wind tunnel and more work had been accomplished. They've been putting in a tremendous effort throughout this whole process."

DJ sounds excited overall about being a part of MWR. He said,

"I've been doing this for more than 20 years but this is something entirely new. To be able to be a part of something of this magnitude and helping to build a team from the ground up is an incredible opportunity. There aren't too many athletes who get the opportunity for a challenge like this when they are 50 years old so I feel very fortunate and am truly excited about this new venture in my career."

It's very true - many athletes are retired by the time they're 50, instead DJ is embarking on a new chapter in his career. I think that has to be not only a very exciting feeling, but one that's sure to invigorate him and give him renewed passion about racing. And DJ isn't just getting an opportunity to build a new team, he's going to be one of the first drivers to engrave Toyota's name in Nascar's history books in relation to Cup racing!

I definitely think that it's not going to be smooth sailing for MWR and the other Toyota teams in 2007, but I'm really excited about what the future might hold! Surely things have to be better in 2007 than they were in 2006! I'm not expecting greatness out of the MWR teams in 2007, but I do think they'll be able to hold their own. And from there they'll build into competitive teams that will compete for wins. I can't wait for the day when Michael is back in Victory Lane as a driver and also as an owner!!

In the meantime if fans want to get a sneak peek at what's going on at MWR, they can do so this weekend on ESPN2. Toyota's Ride to the Cup: Michael Waltrip Racing, an 11-part series will debut on Sunday night at 10 p.m. (Eastern time). I can't wait to watch!!

Posted by silverdsl at 04:23 PM | Comments (0)

Random Thoughts on Nascar

*I didn't watch the Cup banquet on Friday. I have no interest in sitting through four hours of speeches by drivers that were written by their PR people, not by themselves. Any funny one-liners make the rounds of the message boards by the end of the night. It's all a big show for the drivers, teams, sponsors and the sport to promote themselves. However, I will watch the recording I made of the pre-banquet show on Speed since Michael Waltrip co-hosted with Melissa Rivers. It's worth it to see him continue to call "Snuggles" aka, Kasey Kahne, "cute" and ask him for a hug. I think Michael needs a stuffed animal to snuggle with, but if one's not on-hand Kasey will do!

*In spite of having no interest in the banquet, I do enjoy seeing photos of the drivers and their significant others dressed up. It's no surprise because of how continually in-vogue it is, but most of the women opted to wear black - boring! I give Delana Harvick a lot of credit for daring to wear a mossy green dress - I thought she looked great! Kim Burton and Erica Dewey, Kyle Busch's girlfriend also looked gorgeous. In addition, Erin Crocker looked amazing, and clearly she and Ray Evernham aren't hiding their relationship any more since she was with him at more than one event this week. As for the men, like Michael, I think Kasey was one of the best looking in his Tux.

* As rumored Johnny Sauter will be heading back to the Cup Series, in a second team for Haas-CNC Racing. Johnny was terrible for Richard Childress Racing in Cup in 2004, and he's not been popular with fans due to his attitude on-and off-the track at times. However, particularly since Johnny joined Haas-CNC in the Busch Series, he's seemed to settle down and mature. He finds trouble on the track a lot less often than he once did and his cars seem to go home in one piece more often than not, which isn't something that could always be said in the past. Most of all this season he finished the season 8th in the Busch Series standings, 2nd among full-time, Busch-only drivers, which is no small accomplishment. Johnny might not be the next big Cup star, in fact he might not be impressive, but I think he may be better than he was in his first time in Cup. Some fans seem to feel that Johnny shouldn't be given another chance in Cup, yet some of the same fans also complain that young drivers are often handed Cup rides that they don't deserve, with little experience and without having shown results in the Busch Series. Well, Johnny has shown this season that he can consistantly get results in the Busch Series, and his experience in Nascar is a lot more than it was when he was given the opportunity with RCR. So things may play out differently for him this time in Cup.

*Apparently Derrike Cope will be back in the #74 Cup car next season. But I think this team's days of starting and parking are coming to an end. There's going to be a significant amount of new teams next season competing for a small amount of open spots, and most of them will be better-funded, and with more resources than the #74. I hate to see teams be forced out of business, but I'm not a huge fan of this team's business plan to begin with.

*There were some vague rumors floating around that Kodak, after a year's hiatus from sponsoring a Cup car, wanted to return as a primary sponsor in 2007, so there was some speculation as to who might drive a potential third Penske Racing car. Well, Kodak is returning as a primary sponsor, but there won't be a third car at Penske. Instead, Kodak will be the primary sponsor on Ryan Newman's 12 car for three races, an associate sponsor on the car for all other Cup races, the primary sponsor for a Busch car for Ryan in 7 races, and an associate sponsor on Penske's two IRL teams. Kodak's contract with Penske apparently goes through 2008, so I would expect to see this kind of arrangement in '08 as well. But after that I have to wonder if Kodak will stay involved in the sport.

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

Truck Series: Driver by Driver - The Season in Review

I know a lot of people don't care about the Truck Series, but I think it has great racing, and just as many compelling drivers and teams as the Busch and Cup Series do.

1. Todd Bodine - Show this man some respect! Most Nascar fans think that Todd is a no-talent, loser who has done nothing to deserve a ride. However, Todd won the Truck Series Championship this year, as well as three races - that takes talent! He never finished outside the top 25 in 25 races. Todd might not be as suited for racing Cup, though he will be in a Cup car for Germain Racing part-time next season, but there's no question that he's one of the better drivers in the Truck Series right now.

2. Johnny Benson - This was probably the best season of Johnny's career in any series. Won five races and was neck and neck with Todd Bodine for the Championship for most of the season until he encountered some bad luck over the last few races. It sure was great to see Johnny have so much success. I just wish that Johnny had ended up in one of the Toyota Cup rides. Clearly, he's a driver capable of winning, he's familiar with Toyota's way of doing things, and I'd like to see him back in Cup. But he's probably not likely to go back, which isn't a bad thing if he keeps having as much success in the Truck Series as he did this season.

3. David Reutimann - I've become such a big fan of David's this season. He didn't win any races this season, but he definitely showed that he can consistantly race a truck up front. David only had two finishes outside the top 15 this season, only one of which was outside the top 20. He'll be moving to the Busch and Cup Series full-time next season which will be a challenge for sure, but I think that's a challenge he's prepared for. His success in the higher levels in Nascar might not come right away, but I think we'll see him in Victory Lane again before too long.

4. David Starr - David won a race this season, but it seemed to me like he didn't get very much attention in comparision to many of the other drivers. But David raced well this season, finishing outside the top 20 just twice.

5. Jack Sprague - Another driver who I think deserves a little more respect. Yes, Sprague can definitely be overly aggressive on the track at times. However, he's a three-time series Champion, who has never finished the season outside the top ten in points in the ten years he raced full-time in the Truck Series. In addition, he's got 27 wins in this series, including two this season. I had some doubts about how good the results would be for Jack and Wyler Racing long-terms as a single-truck team, but they've shown that they can compete with the multi-truck teams.

6. Ted Musgrave - Ted started the season extremely strong, with six top five's in a row, so at one point it looked like he might contend for his second Championship in a row, but the results trailed off as the season went along, and particularly at the end of the season. Still, 6th in points is still good.

7. Ron Hornaday - Won two races, and Kevin Harvick, Inc. found a primary sponsor for his truck, which means the truck and Ron will be back in 2007. Unfortunately the season started out slow for Ron, which hurt him in the points.

8. Terry Cook - Terry won a race this season and never finished outside the top 25, so he was consistant. However, it seems as if the plans for ppc Racing in the Truck Series are somewhat up in the air, so Terry may or may not be back with this team.

9. Rick Crawford - Won a race, and had a string of six races during the summer in which he didn't finish outside the top ten. However, some of his other races didn't go quite as well.

10. Mike Skinner - Another driver who can sometimes be overly aggressive on the track, which can sometimes led to good runs being ruined. I'm not a particularly big fan of Mike's but he's a former series Champion who has won 19 Truck races over the course of his career, so he definitely knows how to race a truck up front and win. This season he won one race and showed he's an outstanding qualifier by getting eight poles, the most of his career. Mike had a streak of eight races starting in August in which he didn't finish outside the top ten, but a series of poor finishes to start the season prevented him from finishing higher in the points.

11. Mike Bliss - Mike won a race in the #16 truck, but Bliss might be out of a ride next season, due to a lack of sponsorship for the #16 truck. It's unfortunate that a truck that ended up in Victory Lane this season can't find sponsorship and might not exist next season.

12. Erik Darnell - 2006 Rookie of the Year in the Truck Series. Erik had four top five's and 12 top tens, plus a pole which is very strong for a rookie. Unlike David Ragan who is being rushed to Cup, Roush is going to take their time with Erik, giving him another season in the Truck Series in 2007 to develop. I wouldn't be surprised to see him finish higher in the points in 2007.

13. Dennis Setzer - This was really an off-year for Dennis. It's the first season since 1998 that he hasn't won at least one race and the first time since that same season that he's finished outside the top ten in points. In fact, the three previous seasons Dennis has finished second in points, so a 13th place points finish is a major drop. I didn't follow him that closely this season but there has to be a pretty big reason why he had such a poor, to his standards, finish in the points this season, compared to last where he won four races. I have a hard time believing that Dennis's skills behind the wheel suddenly eroded so quickly.

14. Matt Crafton - This is another driver whose season is a little disappointing in comparision to the past. In 2004 and 2005, Matt finished in the top ten in points, but not this season. Part of that might have to do with Matt not racing as competitive a truck as he did previously for Kevin Harvick, Inc. The rumor is that he may race some Busch races for ppc Racing next season, in addition to racing in the Truck Series.

15. Brendan Gaughan - And yet another season ends with Orleans Racing promising that the following season will bring much improvement. But I'll believe it when I see it, though changing manufacturers might help them if that happens as Brendan said that it would. Brendan's breakout season in the Truck Series in 2003 when he won 6 races and finished 4th in the points is starting to be a distant memory. Last season Brendan led just 17 laps, this season even fewer - 14 laps. Brendan raced extremely well at Homestead to finish the season, but I'm not impressed with what this team or Brendan did in 2006, but then again I wasn't too impressed with how Orleans Racing performed when Steve Park raced for them either. This is an organization that needs serious work, particularly if they want to attract a primary sponsor for Brendan's truck, and return to being one of the stronger teams in the garage area.

16. Bobby Hamilton Jr. - It's likely that his father's illness was a major distraction for Bobby, Jr. which is understandable. Although Bobby was on the pole once, there weren't many other highlights for him on the track in 2006.

17. Chad McCumbee - The next highest finishing rookie in the points. I don't think Chad's ever been in very competitive trucks, so three top tens isn't that bad, especially for a rookie. It seems as if Chad gets the most he can out of the trucks he's given. I'd like to see what he might be able to do in a better car or truck, especially since he's still fairly young and might have more developing to do as a driver.

18. Aric Almirola - Another rookie, Aric is thought to have a bright future ahead of him in Nascar. However, he won't be back in this truck. Instead Aric will be in a Busch car for Joe Gibbs Racing next season.

19. Mark Martin - Only raced 14 races but still managed to finish in the top 20 in points thanks to six wins, and only finishing outside the top ten twice, once when he finished 13th and once when he finished 36th due to a wreck on the first lap of the race. Mark is really outstanding in the truck series. While he's benefited from an extremely strong truck, I think he also loves racing in the Truck Series, and has a real feel for it. The results might not be as good next season, but I think we'll still see him up front at times. More importantly, I'm guessing he'll be having a lot of fun!

20. Bill Lester - Bill took a real step back this season. The results weren't stellar in 2005, but at least he had a few top fives and top tens, plus two poles. Not only did Bill have no top fives, top tens, or poles in 2006, but he also missed a race after he dropped out of the top 35 in owner's points. Bill wasn't announced as returning to BDR when they announced their Truck Series lineup for next season, and if he doesn't return to BDR, I think he'll have a hard time finding another ride, no matter how much of a good spokesperson he is for Nascar's Drive for Diversity.

21. Marcos Ambrose - Not a bad season for a rookie, especially considering he didn't race every race this season. He'll be in a Busch car next season.

22. Kerry Earnhardt - Not a very good season for Kerry, and that's resulted in a parting of the ways between himself and Thorsport. Although he just might not have gotten the chance to race in competitive rides, Kerry's really never had good results on any level in Nascar. His last name might be a draw for some teams, but I wouldn't be surprised if he's not back in Nascar next season.

23. Bobby East - Another rookie.

24. David Ragan - A top five, 8 top tens and a pole isn't terrible, especially since he didn't race the entire season. However, he's being put in the #6 car in Cup full-time next season, and that's rushing him way too far, too fast. I have a feeling it's not going to work out well for David.

25. Erin Crocker - There's no sugar coating it - this was a horrible season for Erin, with virtually no bright spots. At times she seemed to suffer from a lack of confidence, and I would guess that the controversy over her relationship with the owner of her team, Ray Evernham, was a distraction. Betty Crocker pulled out as sponsor of the truck, leaving the team's future in doubt. It appears that if Erin races in 2007, it will be in ARCA. It's really a shame because I'd like to see a female driver be successful, but I think there's been too many expectations and too much pressure placed on Erin to led the way for other female drivers, when she's not ready to handle it.

26. Boston Reid - At one time Boston was a hot prospect for Hendrick Motorsports. What happened?

27. Timothy Peters

28. Chad Chaffin - Took over for Steve Park in the #59 truck, and had a couple of good runs, but joining with Toyota didn't help this team as much as I thought it would, at least not this season.

29. Kraig Kinser - Will share a Busch ride with Regan Smith for Ginn Racing next season.

30. Robert Richardson, II

31. Joey Miller - Joey, Joey, Joey. What happened? Went from being a hot prospect that Michael Waltrip was high on, who was being considered for a Busch ride at MWR, to being released. Seems like 15 races isn't enough for a rookie to show what they're really capable of, and I'd think that as young as he is some other team would have shown some interest in him but to this point no one has. So I can't help but wonder if there's some other issue with him other than driving ability that led to his Nascar career coming to an abrupt end.

32. Kyle Busch - Won one race and never finished outside the top ten in seven races. I think it's likely we'll see him pop up a few times in the Truck Series next season too.

33. Kyle Krisiloff

34. Kelly Sutton - Kelly's team folded mid-season and it's unlikely she'll be back since the results have never been good for her. However, in spite of the poor finishes, it's still remarkable that Kelly was able to get to this level of racing, considering that she has MS. It's difficult for someone who's completely healthy to race on one of Nascar's three highest levels, let alone someone with MS.

35. Steve Park - I've discussed Steve's season at length in this space. Though he had one top ten, his results in the #59 weren't impressive this season, but that probably has a lot to do with the non-competitiveness of the truck since the team is short on resources, both financial and otherwise.

36. Ryan Moore - And the mystery that is Ryan Moore's career continues. He's signed to a development deal with DEI. He was released. He's still with them, but they have nothing for him. He pissed off Junior by dating one of his ex's. All rumors, but no hard facts.

42. Clint Bowyer - In three starts, Clint won from the pole at Texas and finished 7th at Martinsville. I think we'll see more of him in the Truck Series as well.

46. A J Allmendinger - For a guy completely new, not only to the Truck Series, but to Nascar, a top five and a top 15 isn't bad.

49. Bobby Hamilton - Bobby underwent a lot of life-changing events in 2006, including battling cancer and getting married. He was going to try to return to the track at Homestead, but now even though his cancer is in remission, there's some question as to whether he'll even be back next season.

53. Joe Nemechek, Kevin Lepage, Carl Edwards, Bobby Labonte, Jeremy Mayfield, Derrike Cope, Denny Hamlin, Michael Waltrip, David Stremme, Martin Truex Jr. - The rest of the Cup series regulars who made at least one start in the Trucks in 2006. I think we'll be seeing a lot more Truck-wacking next season. According to all the drivers, racing a truck is a lot of fun so they're all anxious to give it a whirl. Michael Waltrip Racing will field a truck for their Cup drivers in races that are companion races to Cup races, and I suspect the Truck Series will soon feature many more Cup drivers, much like the Busch Series does, much to many people's dismay.

89. Willie Allen - Rumored to be Kerry Earnhardt's replacement in the #13 truck.

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

December 01, 2006

In the News: Michael Waltrip (12/1)

Not much going on with Michael Waltrip, or in Nascar in general at the moment, (unless you consider the Champion's banquets exciting). I'd guess that Michael is in New York City today for this evening's Cup banquet, and on Sunday, as previously mentioned, he'll run in the Victory Junction Half-Marathon to help support and raise money for the Victory Junction Gang Camp. I hope that some photos of him from this weekend will surface somewhere!

Yesterday the results of the Most Popular Driver contest in the Cup series were announced. Dale Earnhardt, Jr. was the winner. Shocking. Only not one bit. Michael came in 6th, which is impressive for a driver who had such a subpar season. I usually have no use for internet polls, especially popularity contests (the Busch and Truck Series MPD awards are ridiculous farces), but in this case a lot of publicity comes with the MPD, so if nothing else it looks good to Michael's sponsors that he was among the top ten in most popular drivers in the series. What it really says about the actual level of each driver's popularity as compared to how well their fans can vote, I'm not really sure.

(As for the Truck and Busch Series MPD polls - both are absolutely ridiculous polls. It's pretty suspicious for one that Regan Smith got so many votes to win the Busch MPD. But beyond that it's also ridiculous that Steve Park, who raced just ten races in the Truck Series and only six races in the Busch Series was eligible for either award. I think that only full-time drivers should be eligible. Steve ended up winning the Truck Series MPD and came in second in the Busch Series MPD. It's practically an insult to the full-time drivers in those series. And no, winning MPD in the Truck Series isn't going to help Steve get a new ride - that award gets virtually no publicity, and other than the Steve Park fans, most view it as a complete joke. Rather than a reflection of how popular Steve really is, many feel that it's a sign of how obsessive his fans are that in every poll that exists they must make him the winner, as if it's life or death, no matter how meaningless the poll might be.)

In other news, apparently Michael will be taking part in Sound and Speed 2007, a weekend's worth of events in Nashville involving Nascar drivers and country music stars to benefit the VJGC and the Country Music Hall of Fame. A number of people from the forum on Michael's site went last year, weren't happy with the way the event was organized, and weren't able to get Michael's autograph. I notice this year it says that no autographs are guaranteed and that drivers will only sign for an hour and that's it. An hour will likely not cover even a fraction of the people who are sure to show up for each driver. So there's sure to be many disappointed people this year as well. At least some of the proceeds go to the VJGC.

Speaking of raising money for good causes, the fans on Michael's website raised $5,055 for The Waltrip Challenge! I organized this project but it's really all about the group and how much they wanted to support Michael and his efforts to raise money for The Fisher Center Foundation to fund Alzheimer's Research. Way to go everyone!

Posted by silverdsl at 03:16 PM | Comments (0)

#32 Team Likely to Fold

It's not definite but based on what Cal Wells said this week, it sounds pretty likely that the #32 Cup team won't exist next season, nor will PPI Motorsports, at least not in it's current form. Since the end of the season Wells has laid off a number of employees, some of whom have found work at Michael Waltrip Racing, and he's only left with nine employees at the moment, most of whom are doing an inventory in preperation for a likely sale of what's in the shop. Wells would have liked to have fielded the #32 team next season, but the sponsor that he thought he had lined up, one that he had gotten with Nascar's help, backed out, saying that their business philosophy changed and that they no longer wanted to get involved in Motorsports.

Wells said,

"We all checked them out - we did, NASCAR did - and we felt very good about it. We actually felt the type and style of sponsorship it was was going to be huge for NASCAR, huge for the tracks. We've taken them to [International Speedway Corp.] and [Speedway Motorsports Inc.] to negotiate track deals and put an immense amount of time in it.But at the end of the day, they just haven't done what they said they were going to do. When that happens [it's tough]. I just don't have the depth to keep spending the money [without sponsorship]. So I had to stop."

From what it sounds like this company would have had the financial resources to enter into a sponsorship with PPI that would have been big enough to potentially allow Wells to put more money into improving the #32 in a substantial way. That they were going to do some sponsorship at some tracks too would have been good for PPI, because there would likely have been additional ways to get exposure for the car, driver and sponsor that way. But no sponsor = no team.

Apparently Wells has the #32 reserved with Nascar for next season, so there's still a slim chance it could be on the track if some sponsorship turns up. But that doesn't sound very likely to happen. He said,

"I'm keeping PPI as a business. I'm going to enter my number for next year. And I'm working on some other things that I can hopefully partner up or do something. I've still got some other deals out there cooking."

So I expect that we might see Wells surface with another organization, maybe Revolocity Racing, since it was said not long ago that PPI was going to be partnering with them. Or maybe he'll find a way to make a go of it in either the Truck or Busch Series where the costs are lower, though teams in those series have also been having significant problems attracting sponsors. But it's a very good thing for Travis Kvapil that he found a ride with Roush Racing and didn't stay with PPI to see how things would play out.

Speaking of Travis, I wonder if Roush found a sponsor for his truck yet? That's going to be interesting to see if a lack of a sponsor, should they not be able to find one before next season, how it might effect the team and their ability to be competitive, should Roush decide they don't have that much spare money to support the team like they did when Mark Martin was behind the wheel.

Posted by silverdsl at 02:14 PM | Comments (0)