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October 31, 2007

Photo of the Day - Cape Cod

Chatham, MA, August, 2007.

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

In the News: Michael Waltrip Racing (10/31)

Rumors have been circulating for a couple of weeks that the #00 truck team, officially owned by Darrell Waltrip Motorsports, but in actuality appeared to fielded by Michael Waltrip Racing was going to be sold. I had hoped that this rumor would turn out not to be true because I love the Truck Series and I love that MWR had a team affiliated with them in that series. Unfortunately it turns out the rumor was in fact true - it was announced today that the #00 team has been sold to The Racer's Group. Andy Lally will take over as the driver immediately and will also race the #00 truck next season. I don't know what assets from Darrell Waltrip Motorsports The Racer's Group actually acquired, particularly since most of the personnel were probably employed by MWR, but at the very least instead of starting from scratch, they're getting a team that's in the top 30 in owner's points and is therefore guaranteed a spot to race, at least through the first five races of next season, and they're getting some trucks that have been competitive. David Reutimann was very successful in the #00 truck from 2004-2006, even winning at Nashville in 2005.

What really makes me sad about the sale of this truck team is that it means that it's much less likely that Michael will get to race a truck in the future, something he's said he'd like to do if the opportunity were to present itself since he likes truck racing so much. I would love to see Michael race a truck, but I think not having a truck available through his own organization makes that tough to make happen. It's actually kind of surprising with how much Michael appreciates truck racing that he would sell this team (okay, okay it's supposedly Darrell who sold it, but it's been assumed for quite some time that Michael really calls the shots with this team), but I suppose it eliminates conflict of interest issues in relation to him working in the TV booth for Speed for truck races while owning a team.

The other thing that bothers me a little is that MWR was using the #00 truck for driver development. While they plan on having a second Busch team next season they have three drivers in their driver development program, Ken Butler III, Josh Wise and Michael McDowell, all of whom have seen time in the #00 truck. How is MWR going to develop those drivers and get Wise and McDowell enough experience to where they might be able to take over the #00 Cup car if they're not racing regularly? Seems like they need more than just one Busch car to develop those drivers, but maybe they'll form some sort of partnership with another truck or Busch team to get them seat time.

Speaking of McDowell, he'll be in a second MWR Busch car this weekend at Texas, as well as at Phoenix and Homestead. What about Wise? Is he going to race at all for them for the remainder of the season? I hope he's not getting forgotten about in the excitement of them signing McDowell. Wise has so much talent, a great attitude, plus with his good looks and youth he seems like he would be a sponsor's dream in the mold of a Kasey Kahne. I think both he and McDowell could be very successful for MWR if they have the patience and ability to develop them both. Not much has been said recently about Ken Butler III, but given that his father owns Aaron's, a major MWR sponsor, I have to assume he's still in the mix somewhere.

This weekend Trucks, Busch and Cup will all be in Texas. I don't know what to expect in terms of performance from the MWR teams. I have to admit that Texas isn't one of my favorite tracks (nor is Phoenix). The MWR teams seem significantly improved from the way they were earlier this season, but given that they still have to qualify in on time, there still has to be some concern. I never imagined that David would DNQ last week at Atlanta, but he did and it's a good reminder that even though they've been better there's still more room for improvement. Ideally I'd like to see all three MWR cars in the Cup race, but at least David and Michael. I'd love to see all the MWR cars that race at Texas finish in the top 15 at least, but I'll take just a solid race without any major problems where they finish on the lead lap.

Posted by silverdsl at 07:58 PM | Comments (0)

October 30, 2007

Brendan, Brendan, Brendan...

Brendan Gaughan's mouth never fails to get him in trouble and I'm guessing if his father finds out about what Brendan just said during his XM interview with Claire B. Lang, Brendan's going to have some explaining to do. According to Brendan, he's completely out-of-the-loop when it comes to the just announced merger between South Point Racing and Wyler Racing, that all the decisions where his father's and he's not happy about any of it, to the point where he might not race the #77 next season even though a press release has been sent out indicating that not only will he be in that truck, but also that he'll be racing six Cup races for Wyler-Gaughan next season. Apparently Brendan is not happy about switching manufacturers from Chevy to Toyota and not happy about moving the team from Las Vegas to Charlotte, so much so that he said that if he got a better offer from another team that he couldn't refuse he would accept that offer instead of racing the #77. As the interview went along Brendan seemed to back down from that a little, saying that if his father thought it was best for him to race the #77 that's what he would do, but it's obvious that for now at least he might not be very happy about it.

Brendan needs to do a reality check. His career and his team is stagnant right now. South Point Racing has been unable to find an outside primary sponsor to provide them with the financial resources to be as competitive as they need to be to win races, something Brendan hasn't done since 2003. As much as Brendan may feel loyal to Chevy, the Toyota teams race up front more often in the Truck Series - in fact Wyler Racing had a truck in Victory Lane this season. Brendan may be able to find another strong truck team to race for but unless Robby Gordon is willing to field a car for him, I don't see a Cup team giving him a ride considering how poorly things worked out for him with Penske Racing, and I'm not sure that even too many Nationwide teams will be wiling to take a chance on him. So it seems to me that racing for Wyler-Gaughan Racing is exactly what he might need to jumpstart his career, and it could possibly take him to Cup full-time on his own terms, racing for his father who is a lot more understanding of Brendan's big mouth than many sponsors and teams are. (Not to mention the whole gambling issue.)

In addition, I think Brendan is being too stubborn to see how being based in Las Vegas is hurting South Point Racing's chances of being successful. If his father who has a tremendous amount of financial resources hasn't been able to make the #77 as competitive as they once were, then it probably can't be done. South Point likely has a hard time luring top personnel to Las Vegas to work in the shop, both because they might not be able to pay them as much as other teams but also because they're isolated from all the other teams. Not to mention the travel issues. South Point doesn't have their own plane like most of the Cup and some of the Nationwide teams have. Their crew has to fly commercial and it's harder for them than for other teams since they have to fly back to the West Coast after every race instead of to Charlotte. While there are some races on the West Coast and in the Midwest, the majority of events are still centered around Charlotte being the base of operations for the majority of the Nascar community.

I have to say that Brendan came across as extremely disrespectful and ungrateful to his father in this interview. He's very definitely entitled to his opinions, it's great that he speaks his mind and I don't think there's anything wrong with him being unhappy - change can be hard sometimes, especially when he has his own ideas about the way he wants things to go with his team. But I don't think an interview on his XM was the appropriate way of airing his grievances with his father. It makes his father look like a domineering a$$hat for making decisions without consulting Brendan, and it seems as if they have a poor relationship. Brendan needs to talk to his father privately, and if he's still unhappy there's ways to express that without making his father look bad. In addition, there's quite a few drivers who wish they were in Brendan's shoes, where they had a father with millions, maybe even billions, at his disposal to fund them racing in Nascar. Maybe Brendan should be a little more appreciative that his father cares enough about Brendan and the team to broker a team that will enable him to race more competitively. Maybe Michael Gaughan should give Brendan a taste of what he seems to want - trying to make a go of it with another team without the Gaughan family backing. I'm not sure Brendan would be very happy with that situation either.

Posted by silverdsl at 04:46 PM | Comments (0)

Random Nascar Thoughts

*Nascar refuses to say exactly how many cars were found to have had water in their fuel, instead saying that the number is more than 2 but less than 43. Well, I'd say that number is likely a lot closer to 43 than 2. The best known victims of whatever went wrong that led to water in the fuel is Denny Hamlin and Dave Blaney both of whom experienced significant problems as a result. But varying degrees of water was also found in all three Richard Childress Racing cars, Jimmie Johnson's car, at least one Petty Enterprises car according to Kyle Petty on Sirius, in Dale Jarrett's car according to Michael Waltrip on Inside Nextel Cup last night and possibly in Greg Biffle's car as well. I would guess that many other cars had some water in their fuel as well but we just haven't heard about it. In spite of the fact that how the water got into the fuel is still a complete mystery, Nascar is spending a lot of time trying to absolve Sunoco of any blame and dismiss sabotage. However, maybe they should consider all possibilities until they actually know what happened. Finding out exactly what happened to cause the water to get into the fuel should be a priority and once they know how it happened they should immediately take steps to ensure it doesn't happen again. Several teams had their race dramatically effected for the worse because of this issue and it shouldn't be something that teams have to worry about.

*There's been persistent rumors that Bill Davis is going to sell Bill Davis Racing to Jacques Villeneuve or his business manager Greg Pollack, and Davis has acknowledged that he's be open to selling at least part of BDR. I'd say that sale is likely to happen and sooner rather than later considering that Bill Davis Trucking has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. Given that Davis likely funds BDR through his trucking company it's hard to imagine how he could field race teams himself - or at all - if Bill Davis Trucking is such dire straights financially. Getting burned by 360OTC can't help either since Davis was likely depending on funding from that deal to finance the second Cup car for a few years but he probably didn't receive much, if any, actual cash from them. I have to wonder what kinds of changes we'll see at BDR if Villeneuve or another owner were to take over. Mike Skinnner is likely safe, Johnny Benson too, but I have to wonder if a new owner might push to replace Dave Blaney who is very low-key with a flashier driver.

*Nascar needs to put an end to the Champion's provisional. It's getting out-of-control the way teams are concocting plans to use it to lock their cars into races. I don't blame the teams for using the rule to the advantage, I blame Nascar for not putting a stop to it by eliminating the Champion's provisional. The latest team to indicate that they might use the Champion's provisional to their advantage is Penske Racing who might transfer the points from the #2 that Kurt Busch has earned this season to the car that Sam Hornish, Jr. races next season which would lock Hornish into the first five races of the season. Busch would then be locked in by virtue of his Champion's provisional meaning that if he didn't race his way in on speed, which would likely happen, he would be locked in anyway by virtue of that provisional unless a more recent past champion needed to use it. I think it's ridiculous that Penske would put Busch in that position. Odds are he wouldn't need to use a provisional but it would be a little embarrassing if he needed to. What Penske needs to do is make sure that Hornish has enough experience and is really prepared to race Cup next season so qualifying for races won't be an issue. Given his lack of experience, not just in Cup but in Nascar overall, I have a feeling Hornish wouldn't be in the top 35 in points anyway after those first five races so qualifying could remain an issue for him even after that.

*Of course if the champion's provisional isn't available for Dale Jarrett to use next season, either because another driver like Busch has to use it, or because Nascar gets rid of it, DJ may regret agreeing to race the first five races of next season. I'd like to think that he'll be able to make all of those races on time but the #44 team has been Michael Waltrip Racing's weakest team so I don't think it's an automatic that they'll easily be able to qualify in for those races. It would be unfortunate if DJ DNQ'd for one of his last races before he retires but it wouldn't surprise me if circumstances lined up in such a way that it happened.

*In other Penske related news, many fans speculated that when Penske's current contract with Dodge ran out at the end of next season that they'd sign with Toyota. Not going to happen as Penske has signed a multi-year deal to remain with Dodge beyond next season. Funny how all those people who were "in-the-know" and so absolutely certain that Penske was going to sign with Toyota are completely quiet now.

*Apparently Michael Waltrip Racing is going to field a second Busch car this weekend for Michael McDowell. It'll be interesting to see how that works out. Not only will it be his Busch debut, but just his second race in one of Nascar's three highest series. He's a talented driver, I just hope they're not rushing him along a little too fast...

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

Nascar May Change Nationwide Series Points System

Nascar is considering making changes to the points system in the Nationwide Series starting in 2009 that would mean that Cup drivers who are in the top 35 in points wouldn't receive points for any Nationwide races they were in though they would still receive money and credit for wins. The thinking behind these changes are that it would drastically cut down on the amount of Cup drivers racing in the Nationwide Series, making it easier for Nationwide-only teams. Ridiculous. First of all, the majority of Cup drivers aren't racing the Nationwide Series full-time to begin with so they already aren't racing for points. So not getting points isn't going to discourage them any from racing. Second, I think it's absurd to have drivers participating in races and getting money but no points. You race, you get points. What if the top 12 finishing drivers are Cup drivers - is the 13th place driver going to get points as if he won even though he didn't even finish in the top ten just because he's a Nationwide-only driver? And what happens if a Nationwide-only driver gets a ride mid-season with a Cup team? Would his points be wiped out in the Nationwide Series if he makes it into the top 35 in driver points? What if he were racing with a top 35 team?

The real problem in the Nationwide Series is the money. Nationwide-only teams need more of it to be able to compete with the Cup backed team. And make no mistake the Cup backed teams aren't going anywhere. There will always be Cup organizations fielding teams to develop young talent or because there are sponsors who want to be affiliated with a Cup driver but might not be able to do so on the Cup level. The Nationwide-only teams need to get a bigger cut of the purse for each race. That's where Nascar needs to look at making changes. Maybe Cup drivers in the top 35 should get a much small amount of winnings, and the Nationwide-only teams and drivers should get more.

I'd also like to know what Nascar is going to do about attracting fans and sponsors to the Nationwide Series if they succeed in driving away all the Cup drivers. Fans are more likely to buy tickets to watch in person and are more likely to sit down and watch on TV at home when there's Cup drivers racing. That's an unavoidable fact. No one cares about the Truck Series in spite of great racing and a tight points battle because there are few big-name or Cup drivers racing regularly in the series. That could very well be what happens to the Nationwide Series.

Which would be deadly to the teams. If there's no interest and no fans watching, sponsors aren't going to want to be involved in the Series. It's already difficult for teams, even the Cup backed teams to find sponsorship for young unknown drivers, even ones with a tremendous amount of talent and potential. Sponsors want to be associated with recognizable names and popular drivers. Without sponsors, teams not only can't afford to field competitive cars, they can't afford to field any cars at all.

Addressing the problems in the Nationwide Series, some of which I think also extend down to the Truck Series, is something that Nascar should have done a long time ago. They should work with their broadcast partners and the teams on ways to increase exposure for Nationwide-only teams and young drivers, and establish a identity for the Nationwide Series separate from the Cup Series. It's good that they recognize that they need to make some changes to the series, but they need to make sure that in trying to make things better, they don't make things worse.

Posted by silverdsl at 02:56 PM | Comments (0)

Joe Girardi New Manager of the New York Yankees

Although it was assumed by many that Don Mattingly was a shoo-in to replace Joe Torre, I hoped that the New York Yankees would select Joe Girardi, so I'm thrilled that's what they ended up doing. Even though Girardi lasted only one season as the manager of the Florida Marlins due to a clash with the Marlins's owners, he was impressive enough to win National League Manager of the Year, no easy feat considering it was his first season managing any team, let alone the Marlins. Apparently Girardi impressed the Yankees with his ideas, and that along with that he had slightly more managerial experience than Mattingly probably gave him the edge. Tony Pena was also interviewed but never seemed to be seriously considered by the Yankees. Girardi was one of my favorites when he played for the Yankees and I was happy when he returned to the team as a bench coach, and most recently as a member of the Yankees broadcast team. I'm even happier that he'll be managing the Yankees next season and beyond! Torre had a very laidback style whereas Girardi seems to manage with more emotion. At times the past couple of years the Yankees have played very lifeless baseball - hopefully we'll see much less of that attitude with Girardi there to spark them.

As is to be expected Mattingly didn't take the news very well that he wasn't selected to manage the Yankees next season and immediately announced through his agent that he wouldn't be returning to the Yankees coaching staff next season. Speculation is that Joe Torre will be named manager of the Los Angeles Dodgers once they fire Grady Little and that Mattingly will follow Torre to the Dodgers to be his bench coach as he was under Torre in the Bronx. In some ways it'll be sadder to see Mattingly go to another team than Torre but I can understand why he might not want to stay.

Times are definitely changing in the Bronx and I'm looking forward to seeing how it all plays out. And A-Rod is still an a$$hat.

Posted by silverdsl at 02:40 PM | Comments (0)

October 29, 2007

Wyler Racing and South Point Racing Merge

Wyler Racing has long wanted to add a second team and South Point Racing has long been frustrated with their inability to get more competitive so the two organizations have decided to join forces. Today Jeff Wyler and Michael Gaughan announced the formation of Wyler-Gaughan Racing, which will field two trucks in 2008, the #77 for Brendan Gaughan and the #60 for a driver to be named later. The new organization will be based in Mooresville, NC and will field Toyotas as Wyler Racing has since their inception. Sponsors for both trucks will also be named in the future. In addition, Brendan will attempt to race in six Cup races next season for Wyler-Gaughan Racing.

I'd guess that we'll see Brendan racing up front a lot more often in 2008. Wyler has fielded some very strong trucks that have ended up in Victory Lane with Jack Sprague behind the wheel and overall all the Toyotas are competitive in the Truck Series. So it's likely that Brendan will be racing trucks that are consistently a lot more competitive than what he's had to race since he came back to the Truck Series. As hard as they tried, South Point was never able to regain the magic of 2003 when Brendan won six races. Although the Gaughan family has a significant amount of financial resources from their casino business, there's a limit to how much money they can put in without getting much in return, so I've been wondering how long they were going to be able to continue without an outside primary sponsor, something they haven't had since Jasper left in 2005. In addition, although the Gaughans have prided themselves on remaining in Las Vegas, their refusal to move to where the majority of the rest of the teams are based until now has likely hurt them because it's difficult to attract top crew members who are willing to move to Las Vegas and deal with the travel issues that come with flying (commercial) back and forth between Las Vegas and where the races are. So I think this merger had to happen if Brendan was going to continue racing in the Truck Series in a truck owned by his family.

Although some Steve Park fans are surely already penciling Steve's name in next to the #60 (assuming Jack Sprague doesn't stick around), I think this merger means that it's unlikely that Steve will race for the Wylers. For one thing Steve already raced for Michael Gaughan and he was released so I'm not sure how willing Gaughan will to be to revisit that partnership. But I also suspect that Ted Musgrave is headed to the #60. He's available, he's a former Champion which means he's more desirable to teams and sponsors than Steve, he's already raced for Toyota, and he's indicated that he has something lined up for next season so the timing seems to fit with the changes at Wyler. Oh yeah, his crew chief at Germain Racing also joined Wyler as the crew chief of the #60 just this week. And Jayski is now reporting that he's "heard" that Musgrave is heading to the #60 and that he's bringing the ASE sponsorship. So my magic eight ball says "outlook not so good" when it comes to Steve joining this organization.

Which is pretty much what I think about Steve's overall chances of finding a ride for next season. I've always thought that Steve's best chance of finding the kind of full-time ride that he's looking for would be with Wyler given the longtime friendship between himself and the Wylers. If Wyler isn't going to put him in a truck then who will? Don't say Bill Davis Racing because they just announced today that Phillip McGilton will race the #22 full-time next season alongside Mike Skinner and Johnny Benson. It's not likely to be Germain Racing either since Todd Bodine will be in one of their two trucks, and it's likely that a young driver or two will be in their second truck. Not Darrell Waltrip Motorsports either since the #00 truck was sold to The Racer's Group. I wouldn't count on Red Horse Racing either considering Steve hasn't ended up in the #1 either of the two times this season they've made driver changes. Don't hold your breath for Roush-Fenway Racing either - they've got a bunch of young drivers they're working with and Jayski also has an "I heard" item that Joey Clanton will be racing a truck for them next season. Which leaves a lot of mid-pack trucks that Steve likely won't consider.

So while I'm sure there's going to continue to be talk about how Steve is talking to teams in the Truck and Nationwide Series, how this is just a "temporary setback," "never surrender" and about believing in Steve, I'm thinking 2008 is going to be much like 2007 sadly where we won't be seeing much of Steve on the track. The other question is what happens to Jack Sprague? If he's not retiring, and why would he since he's shown he can still win races, maybe there will end up being some truth to the rumor (that was denied) that he's going to end up at Kevin Harvick, Inc. I can see him fitting in well there.

Posted by silverdsl at 02:59 PM | Comments (0)

Driver by Driver: Atlanta II

Not one of the more enthralling races this season in spite of the carnage at the end. I've come to think that the racing itself isn't actually that boring but that ESPN is doing a horrendous job of covering the races to where it seems as if there's not much good racing going on. Yesterday I spent more time watching Trackpass to see the progress of Michael Waltrip and my other favorite drivers than I did watching the TV. If not for being able to listen to Michael's radio over Trackpass I'd have no clue what went on with him and his team. As I've said before ESPN seems to have no idea what fans want to see, which is unfortunate because the quality of the broadcasts isn't going to change until they realize they aren't giving viewers what they want.

1. Jimmie Johnson - Jimmie won because Chad Knaus made a very smart decision to change only two tires on the last pit stop which got them off of pit road first. Chad even admitted after the race that they didn't really have the car to win, but sometimes it's good decisions like that which lead to unexpected wins. Smart decision making is the sign of a championship team. Jimmie closes the gap on Jeff Gordon to just nine points with this win.

2. Carl Edwards - Another driver who admitted that he didn't have the best car on the track. But Carl was able to gain some positions when he dodged the stopped car of Denny Hamlin and that put him in position to finish 2nd.

3. Reed Sorenson - A great finish, and a career best, for Reed at his hometown track! Another team that made a wise decision and only took two tires on the last pit stop which enabled them to gain valuable track position.

4. Matt Kenseth - Had a good car for much of the race but the decision to take four tires instead of only two on the last pit stop probably cost him a chance at the win.

5. Jeff Burton - Jeff's second top five in three races, but he also felt that he got a better finish than the car he had.

6. Clint Bowyer - Said he fought a loose car all race long, and also feels lucky to have finished as well as he did.

7. Jeff Gordon - At one point it looked like Jeff might lose the points lead because he was running mid-pack and seemed to be struggling to get better. But towards the end of the race he said his car got "awesome" and he was able to race his way towards the front.

8. Kurt Busch - Led 98 laps but his team had big problems in the pits which led to Kurt losing a lot of positions on just about every stop. The problems were so bad that Kurt said after the race he "was scared" to come down pit road.

9. Kasey Kahne - Had a competitive car all day long and was able to race up front quite a bit.

10. Brian Vickers - Although finishing in the top ten was because of all the wrecking at the end of the race, Brian seemed to have a pretty decent car yesterday as he was racing around 15th-17th place for a good part of the race. For a team that has missed a few races lately that's pretty good.

11. Michael Waltrip - Another team that was able to capitalize on the misfortunes of others. Still, after he got the lucky dog early in the race, Michael stayed on the lead lap and raced in the top 20 for almost the entire race, so in spite of how much Michael complained about how bad the car was, it was a lot better than the cars he was given to race earlier in the season. His team was solid in the pits too as I don't think they ever lost many, if any, positions on pit road. Another good day for the #55 team and I'm very happy to see them continuing to move in the right direction.

12. Casey Mears - Like many other drivers, Casey had his share of problems including a speeding on pit road penalty and getting caught a lap down at one point. But just like all those other drivers, Casey and his team hung on, avoided trouble and what seemed like an iffy day turned into a pretty good day.

13. Kyle Petty - Kyle really needed a decent finish like this to help him stick in the top 35 in owner's points.

14. Elliott Sadler - One of the few drivers other than his teammate who finished well and said after the race that he had a good car and finished the way he should have.

15. Kevin Harvick - Kevin's best finish by a lot since 2001 when he won in the spring and finished 3rd in the fall race.

16. A.J. Allmendinger - Not a bad finish for Allmendinger, who had to deny more rumors that he's leaving Red Bull Racing this weekend. I suspect they'll stick with A.J. through next season because it seems too soon to give up on him, but I do think there will eventually be changes at RBR if the overall performance doesn't improve.

17. Ricky Rudd

18. Bill Elliott - Not a terrible finish, but given the problems of the #22 team that they're fighting for 35th in the owner's points with Bill and his team were probably hoping for an even better finish.

19. Dale Jarrett - Had some handling problems and then was penalized for speeding on pit road. Still, this ends up being DJ's best finish of 2007 so far.

20. Kyle Busch - Kyle was not happy after the race and I can't say I blame him. He led 77 laps but a bad pit stop during which his jackman failed to jack the car high enough to change tires cost him track position and led to him being caught in the Denny Hamlin/Martin Truex, Jr. wreck. He was chastised after the race for saying over his radio that his crew shouldn't talk to him if he "brought the car back wadded up" but again, I can't really blame him for being angry.

21. Robby Gordon - This is Robby's best finish in four races but Robby actually should have finished even better. A caution flag flew at an inopportune time, trapping Robby a lap down. It seems like there's always something - cut tires, bad decisions or just bad luck to ruin races for Robby.

22. Greg Biffle - Started from the pole but had a poor handling problem and some potential engine issues that might have been caused by water in the fuel like what happened to the #22 and #11 cars.

23. Tony Raines - Haven't heard a word about where Tony might end up next season which is a little surprising since he's a solid driver who I figured some team would express some interest in.

24. Denny Hamlin - At first some thought that the #11 team made a poor choice to stay out when they were running out of gas but it turns out that they had plenty of fuel in the car. Unfortunately they also had plenty of water in the fuel too which caused Denny to lose power, which resulted in a big mess when Martin Truex, Jr. ran into him and others had to dodge them both.

25. Dale Earnhardt Jr. - It looked like Junior was on his way to a strong finish until a wheel fell off his car probably because something broke. Naturally many are thinking various conspiracy theories but I don't think it's too likely that Teresa Earnhardt was in a position to make it so Junior lost a wheel on the last lap of the race.

26. Jamie McMurray - Was in the wrong place at the wrong time when Junior's wheel came off.

27. Paul Menard - A bad vibration sent him to pit road under green and when the caution flag flew it trapped him two laps down.

28. John Andretti

29. Scott Riggs - Riggs will be replaced by Patrick Carpentier for the last two races of the season. Somehow I doubt that the results will improve much.

30. Tony Stewart - Had a very poor handling race car, so bad that he had to make a green flag pit stop to make repairs which cost him a lap or two. Then he lost four or five more laps when he thought he had an engine issue because the oil pressure gauge dropped to zero. Turns out it wasn't a faulty engine, it was a faulty gauge.

31. Martin Truex Jr. - What terrible luck for Martin! He probably should be celebrating a win right now but instead he's lamenting his bad luck. After leading 135 laps Martin looked like he had the car to beat but on a late re-start he couldn't avoid running into the stalled car of Denny Hamlin and instead of a win he ended up with a torn up race car.

32. Johnny Sauter - Blew a tire on lap 318.

33. David Ragan - Not the finish he wanted at his hometown track. David was doing okay until a blown tire sent him for a spin and then into the wall.

34. Juan Montoya - Suffered two blown tired and had to spend 40 laps in the garage after the second one.

35. J.J. Yeley - Another driver whose day was ruined by a blown tire.

36. Joe Nemechek - And yet another driver with cut tire woes.

37. Ryan Newman - Lost an engine on lap 268.

38. Dave Blaney - Like the #11 and possibly #16 teams, the #22 team ended up with water in their fuel somehow. How it happened to three different teams is a bit of a mystery.

39. David Stremme - He survived the spin okay but getting tangled up in a wreck later in the race pretty much finished him off.

40. Jeremy Mayfield - Contact with David Ragan sent him into the wall, but even before that the car didn't seem to be very good. Not the way he wanted his debut for Haas-CNC Racing to go.

41. Bobby Labonte - A mechanical failure on lap 162 sent Bobby into the wall.

42. David Gilliland - Was racing well before he spun, wrecking both himself and Mark Martin.

43. Mark Martin - Couldn't avoid getting into a spinning David Gilliland.

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

Alex Rodriguez Opts Out

This fan of the New York Yankees is very disappointed today. Not because the Boston Red Sox won the World Series - they were the better team and once the Yankees were eliminated from the post-season the Red Sox were my pick to win, so that doesn't upset me at all. What I'm extremely disappointed by is Alex Rodriguez's decision to opt-out of his contract, which pretty much puts an end to his tenure as a Yankee. A-Rod has long been one of my favorite players, well before he was a Yankee, but I'm not too happy with the way he's handled himself in relation to his decision to opt-out.

A-Rod's agent, Scott Boras claimed that A-Rod opted out because he had concerns about whether Andy Pettitte, Jorge Posada and Mariano Rivera were going to return to the Yankees. I'm calling BS on that. First of all, A-Rod played for the Yankees for a couple of years prior to Pettitte rejoining the team. But more than that, A-Rod never gave the Yankees the courtesy of a face-to-face meeting so he could find out what direction they were planning on taking the team in and what they were going to do to ensure that the players he was supposedly so concerned about were going to remain in pinstripes. By not meeting with the Yankees, he also didn't give them the opportunity to offer him a contract extension, which was rumored to be for an additional five years and $140 million. A-Rod never even returned phone calls from Hal or Hank Steinbrenner! Hello, show some common courtesy for the team you've been with for the past four years!

What it boils down to to is what Hank Steinbrenner told The Daily News,

"It's clear he didn't want to be a Yankee. He doesn't understand the privilege of being a Yankee on a team where the owners are willing to pay $200 million to put a winning product on the field. I don't want anybody on my team that doesn't want to be a Yankee."

I have to agree. If A-Rod had any interest in remaining a Yankee he would have returned their phone calls and met with them. He would have at least listened to their contract extension offer. But knowing that the Yankees planned on taking a hard-line stance about negotiating with him if he opted out says to me that A-Rod didn't want to stay in pinstripes. And I also don't want a player on the team who doesn't really want to be there.

I'm also irked by the handling of the announcement. There is no excuse for making this announcement during game four of the World Series. It's incredibly disrespectful to all who are involved with the World Series, from MLB to the teams and players involved, because there shouldn't be any announcements made that take focus away from the World Series. Now much of the media attention isn't solely on the Red Sox winning, but also on A-Rod opting out. The Red Sox shouldn't have to share the spotlight. But it's typical Scott Boras - no regard for anything other than getting his clients a big payday which in turns means a lot of cash coming his way as well. Boras didn't even wait for a return phone call from Brian Cashman after he left a voicemail before making the announcement.

Some Yankee fans feel that the team won't miss A-Rod in the least. Ridiculous. It's true that A-Rod has been a non-factor in the playoffs but he's a big reason why the Yankees made the post-season this year. MVP type players don't grown on trees. How exactly are the Yankees going to replace his bat during the regular season? And what happens if Posada also leaves the team? The Yankees could end up with some major holes they need to fill and that's not even taking into consideration that they may have issues with the pitching staff as well if Rivera and Pettitte walk too!

What a kick in the head this is to the Yankee fans like myself who have supported A-Rod even when he struggled so much last season. There were plenty of fans who booed A-Rod unmercifully, and maybe that played a role in why he's opting out because he doesn't want to deal with that kind of negativity, but there's also a tremendous amount of fans, maybe even the majority of fans who might not have been happy with A-Rod's lack of production and lack of clutch at times, but cheered for him regardless. Of course players have to do what they feel is best for themselves and their careers, not do what the fans want them to do, but I'm still left with an incredibly sour taste in my mouth.

Posted by silverdsl at 08:51 AM | Comments (0)

October 28, 2007

Photo of the Day - Toys

Walt Disney World, January, 2004.

Posted by silverdsl at 09:47 PM | Comments (0)

Michael Waltrip Finishes 11th at Atlanta!

Michael Waltrip cursed up a storm about how horrible his car was all race long but in the end he was able to hang on and finish 11th! Of course part of that was due to the misfortune of a few other drivers, but Michael spent most of the day racing in the top 20. For some teams racing mid-pack would be a disaster but considering the early season struggles for this team, that's pretty good! I loved hearing Michael bitch about how bad his car was - it showed he's not willing to settle for a top 20 finish and that he still very much has the competitive fire!

Michael was 16th on one of the last re-starts and he said over the radio "I'm going to drive like an idiot!" Why? Well, he wanted that top 15 bad! Not only that Michael seemed angry at himself all day. Apparently he had wrecked during one of the practice sessions yesterday and felt that hurt the handling of his car in today's race. If that's the case imagine what kind of finish he might have had if that hadn't happened if he was able to finish this well with an ill-handling race car?

I'm so proud of Michael, his team and Michael Waltrip Racing overall. In spite of some huge set-backs and struggles that might have caused others to give up, they've kept digging and giving 110% effort towards trying to improve - and they very definitely have! Michael has now made six races in a row and in those six races he has a pole, two top fifteens, a top ten and a top twenty. Again, that might not seem very good to some fans, but I think it's outstanding for a driver and team that missed so many races in a row at the start of the season! Michael's "no quit" attitude, in spite of how discouraging things have been at times for him, is exactly what I want to see! I want to see the drivers I like not give up and try to make the best of the cards they're dealt even if it appears things aren't going to go their way. I love Michael's passion for racing and Nascar, and I'm really glad to see his hard work as a driver and owner start of pay off.

I'm starting to get really excited for next season! Seems to me that MWR is really heading in the right direction! I'm not expecting that they're suddenly going to be contending for wins every week, but I definitely they think that if the end of this season is any indication they're going to be a lot more competitive next season than many expect they'll be!

Posted by silverdsl at 08:46 PM | Comments (0)

David Reutimann Wins at Memphis!!

David Reutimann didn't just win yesterday's Busch race at Memphis, he did so in truly dominating fashion, leading 194 of 250 laps! An outstanding win for an outstanding driver and team! I'm so happy for David - it's his first Busch win and hopefully it eases the pain of not qualifying for today's Cup race a little! Maybe not qualifying for the Cup race made David feel like he had something to prove, he said that he felt angry about missing the race - he and his team certainly showed what they're capable of with! David has now won in the Truck Series and Busch - as soon as the Michael Waltrip Racing cars are competitive in Cup, I have no doubt he'll win a race in that series as well! David is an extremely talented driver and I'm thrilled that he races for MWR!

I just wish I had been able to see David cross the finish line. I knew he had an extremely good car right from the beginning. He started the race second, and took the lead on the first lap. It was clear immediately that he was the man to beat so I was excited right away! I was going to a Halloween party last night but I figured the race would be long over before we had to leave. Unfortunately due to a record 25 cautions (which was ridiculous - they could barely race one lap after a restart without there being yet another wreck), that was not to be, and we had to leave with 40 laps to go. It was really hard to walk out the door! But I nearly screamed with happiness when I checked my cell phone and saw that David had done it! All night every time I thought about David winning I smiled - I can only imagine how terrific David must have felt! He's probably still walking on air!!

I'm also very happy for Michael - he's won in the Busch Series a few times while racing for himself, but this is the first time another driver has won in a car that he's owned. It's also the first win for his organization for Toyota. After all they've been through this season, it has to be a wonderful feeling to show that they have the ability to get into Victory Lane. There's no doubt that Michael and those who work with him at MWR can put together a strong team - if they can do it in Busch, they can do it in Cup! It's just a matter of getting the right pieces in place to make the cars more competitive so they can race up front regularly like David does in Busch.

I can understand why David was so insistent on wanting to race for the Busch Championship again next season. He knows that the team he has is a strong one that's capable of a championship series. If he has cars like he had yesterday on a regular basis, it's going to be David racing away with the Championship next series, not Carl Edwards! David has such a bright future, not just in Busch but in Cup as well!

The one thing that wasn't so great about yesterday is that apparently ESPN didn't bother showing David's Victory Lane celebration because of how long the race broadcast went due to all the cautions. Although I understand that they had other obligations they had to fulfill and the race had gone far longer than they expected, I think they did their viewers a huge disservice. Showing the winner celebrating in Victory Lane is part of the story of every race, but that celebration is particularly worthy of being shown when it's a driver who has never won in the series before who is racing for an organization that has struggled so much in Cup. In addition, it does a disservice to David's sponsors. Aaron's should get the same exposure that the rest of the sponsors do when their cars end up in Victory Lane. ESPN's race coverage has been very disappointing this season, and this is just one more example of how little they seem to understand what fans want.

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

October 25, 2007

More on Carl Edwards vs. Matt Kenseth

Roush-Fenway Racing has said that they have no plans to intervene in the dispute between Carl Edwards and Matt Kenseth as long there are no wrecked race cars, but I think that's a mistake. It's very apparently based on comments from Matt and another Roush teammate, Jamie McMurray, that there is a major rift between Carl and his teammates that likely won't be easy to fix. While teammates don't need to be best friends - or even hang out at all - they should be able to tolerate each other the point where they have conversations and share information, something that it doesn't seem likely is happening with Carl and his teammates. I don't see how an organization can have optimal success when there's so much distance between their drivers - and possibly their teams as well.

Yesterday, in an interview with USA Today, Matt spoke publically for the first time about the incident between himself and Carl. In addition to expressing puzzlement about how things unfolded since he thought they had worked out their issues from the race over the radio mid-race, Matt said that Carl's behavior has been unpredictable lately.

"His behavior has been real erratic lately, honestly," Kenseth said of his Roush Fenway Racing teammate. "You don't know what to expect with him. That's the thing that's a little bit troublesome. One minute, he has so much respect for you, and he's real friendly and everything's so much fun. The next minute he wants to kick your butt and he's swearing at you. It's a little scary. You never know what you're going to get. I thought it was good in a way that the cameras were there because a lot of us see that, and nobody else does because he kind of puts on a different front."

That follows Greg Biffle saying that Carl's "true colors" were coming out, and Jamie McMurray also made similar comments to Marty Smith for Nascar Now that indicated that some question how genuine Carl is in their interactions. Apparently Matt also played some voicemails for Jamie that Carl had left him after the Busch race during which they tangled. In one of the voicemails Carl is angry, but in another Carl is laughing and joking around. One thing that's important to mention is that Greg, Matt and Jamie are all good friends on and off-the-track so it's to be expected that they would be on the same page regarding what they think about Carl. But it's increasingly clear that Carl is the odd man out at Roush. There's been a lot of talk, particularly from Carl's fans, about how his frustration from being isolated from the rest of his teammates is behind the incident that took place between Carl and Matt. I do think it explains the general bad blood between Carl and Matt, but what is this, high school? The drivers need to act like adults. Carl needs to accept that not everyone is going to like him, and the others need to not be behaving like a high school clique. Again, they don't need to be best buddies, but they should be professional and talk any issues out before things escalate to the point that they did on Sunday.

Naturally more than a few of Carl's fans are upset by the comments that Jamie, Greg and Matt made about Carl because they were negative. While I agree that sometimes the less that's said the better when it comes to speaking ill of one's fellow drivers - and especially a teammate, I also can't fault them for speaking their minds about something which it seems they have strong feelings about. Carl spoke at length about his side of the story on Tuesday and his teammates have the right to respond even if they say things that Carl's fans might not like.

As for Carl's erratic behavior and how some feel that Carl puts on a front in public, the fact is that there's a tremendous amount of pressure, particularly on the Chase drivers (or go-or-go-homers). That can definitely effect the way that the drivers act and cause them not to handle every situation in the most appropriate way. In addition, I think more than a few drivers are careful about how much they reveal publically about themselves. Some drivers are definitely more open (and maybe more honest) than others. However, Carl's teammates seem to be implying that the difference between the public Carl and the private Carl is significant, and that the private Carl isn't as wonderful as what most are led to believe. That his three teammates are willing to make the kind of public comments that they have indicates to me that whatever's going on - and we likely only know a fraction of the whole story - is far more than just hurt feelings over not being part of the "popular" crowd at Roush.

Many fans are speculating about the possibility that Carl takes steroids and that his erratic behavior, as well as the incident with Matt is a case of 'roid rage. I have to admit that thought crossed my mind as well. However, there's absolutely no proof what-so-ever that Carl uses performance enhancers, illegal drugs, or any banned substance. That Carl is a fitness freak who works out a lot, that he was overcome by rage, and that his behavior has been erratic lately is not proof that he uses something that he shouldn't. That said, I don't think it's outrageous to wonder if he has some personal issues he needs to address. As much as some would like to brush the incident off, to me physically pulling his teammate out of an interview, threatening him with a raised fist, and then seeming to get satisfaction out of intimidating him speaks to a problem that needs to be resolved, whether it's internally with Carl, or with his relationship with his teammates. In addition, as unfair as it might be that there's speculation without proof about the possibility of Carl using steroids, he put himself in the position where the reasons for his behavior would be questioned.

Some have said that Nascar should test Carl for steroids or other drugs. I think Nascar wants no part of that and will let Roush handle it as an internal matter. Fact is, if a top driver like Carl tested positive for anything it would be a major public relations disaster for Nascar. However, as I've said before all the drivers, as well as all those on pit road, should be subject to random drug testing several times a year. Some feel that drugs - including steroids - will never be a problem like they are in other sports but the people who think that have their heads in the sand. Drugs are a problem in every segment of society, why not Nascar too? In addition, contrary to what some believe, drivers could benefit from the use of steroids and other performance enhancers. Steroids can provide increased stamina, quicker healing and an increase in strength would probably help the drivers wheel the car. In addition, pit crew members would definitely benefit from an increase in strength and speed on pit road.

One thing's for sure, even though I suspect the Roush drivers will be forced by Jack Roush and their PR people to make nice, say the right things and pretend that all has been smoothed over between them, the tension at Roush between their drivers probably won't dissipate anytime soon. The question is how is it going to effect the future success for Roush's teams?

Posted by silverdsl at 01:46 PM | Comments (0)

October 23, 2007

An Apology From Carl Edwards

Carl Edwards took part in a teleconference with reporters today and he opened with a prepared statement in which he apologized for his actions and explained (gave excuses for) what happened. I guess it's the former PR person in me being all cynical but I can't help but wonder how much input Carl had into that statement and how much of what he said was what he was told to say by Roush-Fenway Racing and his PR people. I think what troubles me is that while Carl acknowledged that he was in the wrong, he offered up a variety of excuses from poor communication with Matt over the past few months to inhaling fumes during the race which caused a headache.

Carl said,

"Matt Kenseth and I have not spoken - I don't believe Matt's voluntarily said two sentences to me in the last six months. That's just how it is. We just don't talk a lot. We don't know one another well enough, and it's my opinion that's what precipitated this stuff is that lack of communication. If it's unreconcilable, it won't be because I'm not trying. I'm ready to do whatever it takes to understand Matt and be good teammates so we can enjoy the success that the people that are doing that are enjoying right now."

I'm glad to hear that Carl is going to make en effort to communicate better with Matt and work on being a good teammate. However, it's hard for me to see how a lack of communication caused Carl to fly off the handle to the point where he physically grabbed Matt out of an interview and almost punched him. That's Carl losing control of himself. I think it's ridiculous for Carl to try to excuse away this incident by blaming it on he and Matt not talking the past few months. And by the way, if Matt hasn't voluntarily said two sentences to him over the past six months when they were talking over Matt's radio frequency during the race was Matt at gunpoint then? In addition, even after talking things through Carl still lashed out, so why would better communication otherwise do any good? Carl needs to have respect for those around him, not just Matt, but also Bob Dilner from Speed who was doing the interview, Roush, his sponsors and his fans. Whether Carl talks to Matt every day or never, he should know better than to confront him in the way that he did.

Carl also said,

"Anything that I did to frustrate him or make him mad he was going to react to without giving me the benefit of the doubt, and I was going to do the same thing, and I think that is the problem."

I have a hard time believing that Matt - or most any driver - would lose their heads to the degree that Carl did and physically confront a teammate during a TV interview. There have certainly been times when drivers have lost control of their emotions and confronted other drivers, physically or otherwise, but most seem to have common sense enough not to do it when there's cameras around. So while I know that Matt is far from an innocent flower, I don't think we would have seen him raising a fist to Carl in a post-race confrontation.

In addition Carl went on to say that he had a massive headache due to inhaling fumes for most of the race, but that he wouldn't blame that for causing him to react in the way that he did. Then why bring it up at all? Sounds like Carl is hoping that some will excuse his actions away as him having been effected by inhaling the fumes. Problem is we've seen Carl lash out previously in a similar way - when he confronted Dale Earnhardt, Jr. in Victory Lane last season comes to mind - I heard nothing about him having inhaled fumes in that race and he still lashed out in a most inappropriate way.

Although Jack Roush has apparently spoken with both Carl and Matt to let them know that they needed to work things out between themselves without wrecking each other, Geoff Smith, president of Roush-Fenway, brushed off the seriousness of the incident.

"He was just messing with Matt -- 'OK, smartass, made you flinch." They're racecar drivers. Boys will be boys. They're always poking fun and teasing and pushing each other in a hundred little ways. Obviously, Carl's not in the business of punching people out. That was just him going to talk to Matt about that and messing with Matt. Matt messes with Carl all the time. Matt, he's got a quick-witted, quick-tongued sense of humor personality."

If Matt and Carl haven't spoken two words to each other in six months, how exactly do they poke fun and tease each other all the time? Matt can't possibly "mess with Carl all the time" if they don't speak to each other. In addition, I don't think it was obvious at all that Carl wasn't going to punch Matt out. It looked like a lot more than just talking and "messing" around - it looked like something that came out of real anger. How exactly can Smith be so sure that Carl wasn't seriously thinking about punching Matt - or that it won't happen in the future? It's to be expected that Smith is going to spin this incident publically, but I hope internally Roush is taking this incident seriously and ensuring that nothing like it happens again.

What's really disturbing is that right now Smith is on XM once more downplaying the seriousness of the incident, saying that no one would have thought anything of it except that it happened between teammates. I don't think that's accurate. Fans and the media are always going to take notice when one driver physically pulls another driver out of an interview so he can raise a fist to him. When was the last time that two drivers getting into it with each other was ignored? Smith also seems to think that the only thing that was wrong with the confrontation between Carl and Matt was that it occurred in front of the cameras. So it's okay for one of his drivers to raise a fist and put his hands on another of his drivers? That speaks to an anger problem that I hope Roush is concerned about.

Claire B. Lang also asked Smith about Michael Waltrip's comments on Inside Nextel Cup last night in which he said that Carl's actions were disrespectful to Jack Roush. Smith tried to dismiss Michael's comments by saying they weren't credible because he's an owner with an economic interest in the outcome. That makes no sense what-so-ever. Michael has zero financial stake in the dispute between Carl and Matt. However, Roush-Fenway certainly does because this kind of nonsense between their drivers could have a significant impact on what happens on the track and things escalate if they get to wrecking each other. Smith literally had no response to any of what Michael said, he actually had to resort to taking a shot at Michael. I suspect the reason for that is that Michael was dead-on with his comments, that Jack Roush was none too pleased about what Carl did, but Smith can't admit to that. Thing is what gives Michael's comments more weight is that he found himself in a similar situation to the one that Carl found himself in. Years ago, instead of discussing things like a rational adult, Michael lost control of his emotions after an incident on the track with Lake Speed and punched him, something that was caught on camera. It's pretty clear that while it might have been satisfying at the time, Michael has since come to regret that incident. Plus, as an owner he knows how he'd feel if one of his drivers did what Carl did. So to me, Michael's comments have more weight not less because he has a pretty good understanding of the issues that are involved.

As for Carl and Matt, I have a feeling we might not have seen the last of this. They might put on a good show of how they're trying to be good teammates to each other but it sounds like there's deeply rooted issues between them that might not be so easy to solve. Most interesting is that Carl seemed to indicate that it wasn't just Matt that he doesn't have a good relationship with, but all of his Roush teammates. One has to wonder why that is and as I've wondered about in previous entries, whether the private Carl is very different than the nice-guy Carl that he presents publically.

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

Driver by Driver: Martinsville II

1. Jimmie Johnson - Did anyone notice that Jimmie won this race? Seems like the controversy over who's mad at who overshadowed Jimmie's 7th win of the season, and 3rd straight at Martinsville. Since 2003, either Jeff Gordon or Jimmie Johnson have won eight of ten races.

2. Ryan Newman - Ryan and Jeff Gordon weren't thrilled with each other after the race, but Ryan was doing everything in his power to finally win another race. He came up just short on Sunday.

3. Jeff Gordon - The #24 team had some issues on pit road but they didn't let it prevent them from finishing well. Jeff wasn't happy with the way Ryan raced him at the end but beating and banging, especially in the final laps is to be expected at this track. Jeff retains his points lead but Jimmie closed the gap with his win.

4. Kyle Busch - Outstanding day for Hendrick Motorsports with three of their four cars in the top five.

5. Matt Kenseth -After four dismal weeks in a row in which he finished 26th or worse each week, Matt rebounded with a top five. As of the writing of this entry we still haven't heard a word from Matt in relation to the incident between himself and his teammate, Carl Edwards after the race.

6. Denny Hamlin - Denny finished well but with all the complaining he did after the race about losing spots on pit road every stop due to difficulties in changing tires related to some damage to the car, one would think that Denny finished 36th instead of 6th.

7. Greg Biffle Martinsville has never been a good track for Greg so this is his best career finish at this track. I guess being a newlywed had a good effect on him!

8. Juan Montoya - I suspect many thought JPM would be in the midst of some of the carnage at Martinsville but he stayed out of trouble and finished well.

9. Clint Bowyer - Clint continues to finish well and as a result he continues to have a chance in the Chase.

10. Kevin Harvick - A top ten is a solid finish for Kevin, but it's only his second top ten in the Chase. This team has been very inconsistent since winning the Daytona 500 to start the season.

11. Carl Edwards - Although Matt Kenseth has been silent thus far about the post-race incident, Carl did a couple of radio interviews this morning. Carl said he views Matt as a "foe" and is mad at him, but insisted that he and Matt would put the incident behind them and everything would be fine between them. I wonder if Matt is as inclined to brush the incident off as quickly as Carl wants to?

12. Jeff Burton

13. Tony Stewart - I wonder if Tony is going to say David Reutimann is a no-talent hack because David blocked him in on one pit stop and caused him to lose positions? One of the few races recently in which Tony didn't seem to have a car capable of contending for the win.

14. Tony Raines - In the past three races Tony has two of his best finishes of the season, 9th place at Talladega and 14th in this race.

15. Kasey Kahne - In his past four races Kasey has two top tens and hasn't finished lower than 16th which is an accomplishment considering how much he, and his Evernham teammates have struggled this season.

16. Scott Riggs - Scott had a solid finish, particularly considering how poor his season's been overall but he ended up unintentionally getting into his teammate, Elliott Sadler, and wrecking him early in the race.

17. David Reutimann - Hard to believe that David was able to finish this well with how bad his car was. I think some might be surprised by some of the language that David used over the radio yesterday.

18. Michael Waltrip - Just like with David, it's amazing that Michael was able to finish this well considering he was on David's radio at one point saying how bad his car sucked. Michael even spun once too. However, he was able to take advantage of getting the lucky dog which enabled him to stay on the lap, and other than the spin, he avoided trouble where other drivers couldn't. An overall good job by the #55 team to hang in and finish well.

19. Martin Truex Jr. - Was involved in quite a few incidents on Sunday.

20. Casey Mears - Tough day for Casey. His car never handled to his liking, he received two penalties on the same pit stop - one for a commitment cone violation and one for speeding off pit road, plus received minor damage in four different incidents on the track which also hindered his ability to race as well as he might have liked.

21. Kyle Petty - Considering the struggles of this team, not a terrible finish for them. However, they really need to finish even better over the last few races to ensure they start next season in the top 35 in owner's points.

22. Bobby Labonte

23. Dale Earnhardt Jr. - Another engine failure for Junior, which is too bad since he was racing up front when it happened. Back when Michael Waltrip was at the end of his tenure with DEI, Junior fans doubted that Michael was getting lessor cars and equipment, and instead blamed his poor finishes on what to them was his lack of driving talent. Of course now that Junior's in the position that Michael was in, the Junior Nation is falling all over themselves to cite inferior engines and deliberate sabotage as the reason why there's been so many engine failures and other issues.

24. Paul Menard - Some were expecting Paul and Tony Stewart to mix it up and that there would be some sort of retaliation for the incident at Charlotte, but if they raced near each other on Sunday there were no problems. It was probably wise that they raced each other cleanly (if they raced each other at all much) because Nascar probably kept a close eye on them when they were near each other.

25. David Gilliland

26. David Ragan - Spun (with help) several times, plus a cut tire sent him for a final spin to end the race.

27. Ricky Rudd - There was some question as to whether Ricky was going to be able to race this entire race, but ultimately he did. If he was able to survive Martinsville odds are we'll see him in the car for the remaining races this season too which is good for his fans since they'll get a few more opportunities to see him race before he retires.

28. Jeff Green - A cut tire caused him to get into the wall and lose three laps. Not the way he wanted his last race in the #66 to go.

29. Johnny Sauter - Alternator problems ruined his day.

30. Dale Jarrett - DJ spun fairly early on and was never able to recover even though the car wasn't badly damaged.

31. Kurt Busch - Had a tire go down and lost a lap but was able to get the lucky dog and get back on the lead lap. However, a stack-up on a restart busted his transmission.

32. Jamie McMurray - Lost his brakes on lap 244 which necessitated many stops on pit road for repairs.

33. John Andretti - Was racing in the top 20 until he lost the rear gear with just a few laps to go.

34. Bill Elliott - Lost an engine with just 16 laps to go but he probably wouldn't have finished much better even if the engine had stayed together.

35. A.J. Allmendinger - Had alternator problems.

36. Dave Blaney - Had handling issues then a broken rear end gear caused him to have to spend time in the garage for repairs.

37. David Stremme - Got spun into the wall by another car on lap 411.

38. Ward Burton - Brake problems caused Ward to have to spend time off-track in the garage.

39. Robby Gordon - Another race, another poor finish for Robby. On lap 44 Robby cut a tire and got into the wall, ending any hopes for a good finish. Since he finishes 5th at Watkins Glen, other than a couple of top 20s the results have been very unimpressive for Robby. Things aren't going to get any easier these last few races since Peter Sospenzo may not be able to act as his crew chief due to some medical issues.

40. Elliott Sadler - Got wrecked by his teammate, Scott Riggs, early in the race.

41. Reed Sorenson - Lost an engine after a restart on lap 255.

42. J.J. Yeley - Lost his engine as well just a few laps after Reed's went.

43. Aric Almirola - Got damage in a wreck, then his car caught on fire when he returned to the track, probably due to damage from the wreck.

Posted by silverdsl at 11:30 AM | Comments (0)

October 22, 2007

Photo of the Day

Cape Cod, 2007.

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

Harsh Words for Carl Edwards on Inside Nextel Cup

I hope Carl Edwards was watching tonight's Inside Nextel Cup and that it will serve as a wake-up call to him. Because every member of the panel, including Carl's own cousin (Ken Schrader) and one of his teammates (Greg Biffle) thought he was in the wrong with the way he confronted Matt Kenseth. And not only did they say they disagreed with Carl's actions, but they did so in a very harsh way.

In all fairness, Matt was in Greg's wedding party so he has a bit of a bias, but I think it was very telling how willing he was to rip his teammate in such a public way. Greg started off by saying that it's "the true colors are coming out" meaning that Carl is showing his true nature, which is something that I wondered about in my previous entry as to whether Carl isn't the clean-cut, nice guy everyone thinks he is. Greg would certainly know if there's more to Carl than what he shows publically given that they're teammates and they likely spend a lot of time together. Greg also made a comment about how it didn't look good to Carl's fans who wear his t-shirts, but based on what I've seen most of Carl's fans are brushing the incident off as if it was nothing. But it was far from nothing and the comments made on INC are an indication of that.

Not surprisingly Michael Waltrip looked at the situation from the perspective of a team owner. He felt it was disrespectful to Jack Roush to do something like that in front of TV cameras, that it made him sick to his stomach, that Jack (who he doesn't even like) deserved better and that it should have been handled behind closed doors because it didn't look good. I have to agree with everything Michael said. The drivers aren't just representing themselves. They're also representing the organization they race for, their sponsors and to a degree, their fans since their fans often take heat for the actions of their favorite drivers. So when a driver acts like an asshat, it reflects poorly on more than just themselves. Michael knows all about that - when his team was busted for cheating in Daytona and then a few months later he had his late-night accident, there was a tremendous amount of negativity directed his way that his sponsors couldn't have been happy about. Michael probably had to make a significant amount of apologies and give a lot of reassurances that neither situation would be repeated. Jack had to be furious with Carl. I'm sure he'll never express that publically, but no owner wants to see his driver act like a lunatic, no matter how much fans might applaud their actions and no matter how much media attention they might get as a result.

Ken Schrader said that no matter who thinks who is right or wrong, they need to sit down and get over it. That's very true - if this is allowed to fester it could create even more problems between the two - including on the track - down the road. Thing is the tension between Carl and Matt didn't just start this weekend at Martinsville. There were issues between them during a Busch race earlier this season, and there might have been other things too that have caused friction between them. That they didn't sit down to work things out previously makes me wonder how successful Roush will be in getting them to work things out between them now, particularly since there was almost a punch thrown. Ken also added that Carl didn't handle the situation right at all - that pretty much says it all to me that Carl's own cousin thought he was in the wrong.

There's been some speculation that Nascar is going to penalize Carl in some way. What for? There wasn't actually a punch thrown and I don't think there were any cuss words audible on the video that Speed aired. Seems to me that Nascar isn't going to be too keen on getting involved in what seems to be a personal dispute between two drivers and may leave it up to Roush to handle it internally. However, I wouldn't mind if Nascar had a chat with them both. I have no illusions that Matt is an innocent flower, so it needs to be addressed with him as well to be sure there's no payback. Someone, whether it's the higher-ups at Roush or Nascar, needs to get Carl and Matt to resolve whatever issues there are between them, at least to the point where they can work together as teammates.

Posted by silverdsl at 09:12 PM | Comments (0)

Carl Edwards vs. Matt Kenseth

I had been holding off on commenting on the bizarre confrontation between Carl Edwards and Matt Kenseth after yesterday's race at Martinsville in the hopes that Roush-Fenway Racing or the drivers involved would release some sort of statement clarifying what that incident was about but so far not a word has been heard from anyone. I'm a little surprised that they've gone this long without addressing the situation because the video of the incident doesn't reflect very well on Carl. Some are trying to excuse his behavior as him just joking around, but I have a feeling that it wasn't given that Carl has expressed his displeasure with Matt at least once already this season.

What's so puzzling about this incident is that no one can figure out what happened during the race that would set Carl off to the point where he would raise his hand as if he was about to strike Matt, his own teammate. That's inexcusable to me. I never want to see drivers physically attacking each other, and it's even worse when it involves teammates. What really bothers me is the way Carl smiled just after he caught himself - it's a creepy smile, as if it made him happy that Matt seemed disturbed by what happened. Maybe Carl smiled like that because it really was a joke, but there's something that I didn't like seeing.

Of course this isn't the first time Carl has confronted another driver like this. In August of last year, Carl lost it when he got wrecked by Dale Earnhardt, Jr. during a Busch race in Michigan. Instead of discussing things with Junior like an adult, Carl hit Junior's car under caution as the race ended, then confronted Junior both verbally and physically in Victory Lane. There's a pattern of very inappropriate behavior there. Carl is so unable to control himself to the point where he confronted a driver in Victory Lane and another driver during an interview for Speed. What really sets off warning bells to me is that it's not like this incident happened immediately following the race where Carl was in the heat of the moment. He had time to change, as did Matt, after the race. Instead of rushing off to leave the track like every other driver does, Carl sought out Matt to "discuss" whatever he was upset with Matt about.

I'm sure we'll never hear the real story about what Carl was so upset about, what was said or how Roush is going to handle this internally. Carl and Matt will pretend that they've worked everything out even if they haven't, and Roush will try to brush this incident off as no big deal. But if it wasn't some sore of ill-timed joke, I think it was a big deal because it's an indication that Carl has some anger issues that might need to be addressed. Drivers will lose control of their emotions at times, it's to be expected, but to the point where they come very close to getting into a fist fight with their own teammate? It makes me wonder how much of what Carl reveals publically is the real Carl - at the very least it appears he's not as much of a clean-cut, well-behaved, nice guy as most think he is.

Posted by silverdsl at 04:54 PM | Comments (0)

Jeremy Mayfield to Haas-CNC Effective Immediately

Great news for Jeremy Mayfield and his fans! Jeremy will be replacing Jeff Green in the #66 at Haas-CNC Racing starting this weekend at Atlanta! So many thought that Jeremy was done, that no team would hire a driver who criticized some of his past owners. But I figured that Jeremy would find a ride, if not in Cup than a decent ride in Busch or the Truck Series. As a driver who has won five races in Cup and been in the Chase twice, Jeremy's shown he knows how to be successful in Cup. I think he's an upgrade for Haas in the #66 over Green who has never won in Cup. It's true that Jeremy has struggled the past couple of seasons but odds are no driver could have done much better given that the cars he was given at both Evernham Motorsports and Bill Davis Racing appeared to be pretty bad, particularly those at BDR.

Jeremy must feel so relieved now. Although the #66 isn't an elite ride, Haas has support from Hendrick and the cars are better than anything he's raced this season. But best of all for Jeremy is that the #66 is in the top 35 in owner's points and is thus locked into the races. No more qualifying worries for Jeremy! He must really be looking forward to being able to do some actual racing as opposed to just making laps like was in the #36 (when he was given a car that was able to make the race) and hope that it didn't fall apart.

No word as to where Jeff might end up. I have to admit that he's among my least favorite of drivers so I'm not exactly shedding tears that he's been released. Jeff may have a hard time staying in Cup but he has had success in Busch so he may be able to find a decent ride in that series for next season. Mike Skinner may race the #36 for three of the last four races, with Jacques Villeneuve racing it at Pheonix - I would think they'd want to put Jacques behind the wheel for all four races to get him experience for next season but maybe they feel that Mike has a better chance of getting the car into those races.

Posted by silverdsl at 04:40 PM | Comments (0)

October 21, 2007

Photo of the Day - Space Needle

Space Needle, Seattle, Washington, September, 2006.

Posted by silverdsl at 09:53 PM | Comments (0)

Random Nascar Thoughts on Random Thoughts

*The race isn't over yet but it's looking like the results aren't going to be too great for the Michael Waltrip Racing teams. However, I think this weekend isn't all bad for MWR. It's an accomplishment that all three cars made the race, considering they've struggled to qualify all season at tracks like this. Going into this race Michael expressed some concern on his XM show so that didn't exactly fill me with confidence. I felt even worse when there was only 15 minutes of practice prior to qualifying due to rain, and Michael spun which resulted in damage to his car that his team had to fix. But not only did Michael qualify for the race but Dale Jarrett and David Reutimann did too. It was a waiting game with DJ to see if his time was going to hold up or not, but David and Michael both had solid qualifying laps that pretty much assured that they would make the race right away. It's been really good to see MWR make some progress as the season has gone along. The race just finished - David finished 17th and Michael 18th. That's pretty freaking good considering at one point they were commiserating with each other over David's radio about how lousy their cars were. I think both teams did a good job of persevering, staying out of trouble and hanging on to take advantage of other team's troubles.

*Some probably think that Ward Burton regrets coming back after not having raced for so long since he's struggled so much in the #4 this season. But from the sounds of it, Ward has no regrets. He said, "I've had a lot of fun -- there's been some frustrating moments obviously -- but I'm really happy I'm back here and it's where I ought to be right now." I like Ward's attitude. I'm sure he'd like to be racing much more competitively but it sounds like he's making the most of the situation he's in and just trying to get as much enjoyment about being on the track as possible. Ward also said that he doesn't know what he'll be doing next season, no surprise since I think sponsorship - and possibly the future - of the #4 is still uncertain.

*From the sounds of it, Petty Enterprises is grooming Chad McCumbee to take over for Kyle Petty eventually. While Kyle isn't ready to step out of the car yet, he'll turn the #45 over to Chad for five races next season (and hopefully be in the booth for those races like he was this season), and PE is also trying to partner with a Busch team to put Chad behind the wheel for the majority of Busch (Nationwide) races next season. Confirmation that Chad is going to continue to work with PE makes Darrell Waltrip look a little silly since he indicated in a recent column that Chad was one of the young drivers that MWR was developing to eventually take over the #00. Only problem is that Chad isn't affiliated with MWR. DW talked about how much he liked MWR's young drivers, but it seems like he has trouble remembering exactly who they are, which is kind of funny considering they're racing trucks he owns. The column that DW wrote is very complimentary of Michael and the overall efforts of MWR which is great, but a mistake like that makes me wonder if DW even wrote what's in that column (or if anyone proofreads his columns) since he should know that Chad isn't involved with Darrell Waltrip Motorsports or MWR.

*Speaking of Petty Enterprises, apparently they might put Bobby Labonte in the #45 if that car falls out of the top 35 in owner's points to take advantage of Bobby's champion's provisional to ensure that both cars are locked into the races for the remainder of the season. Should they have need to keep Bobby in the #45 for next season as well that might throw a major wrench in MWR's plans since Bobby would get the champion's provisional over DJ since he's a more recent champion. However, since MWR is continuing to improve hopefully they wouldn't need those provisionals anyway.

*Although Bill Davis has denied rumors that Jacques Villeneuve is going to buy Bill Davis Racing, Bill has expressed that he is open to selling at least part of BDR. I'm not surprised. BDR has struggled in Cup for a few years now, and even with Toyota's help this season they haven't seemed to make much progress. In addition, they've had a lot of success in the Truck Series, but even there they've had some sponsorship issues. To improve on all levels - and maybe make it possible to field a Nationwide team to develop young talent - BDR likely needs additional financial resources that a partner or new owner would provide.

*If the sponsorship materializes Robby Gordon would like to put Johnny Sauter in a second Cup car for Robby Gordon Motorsports. I think it's essential that RGM adds a second team if they're to get more competitive, but it seems like Robby's wanted to add a second team for quite some time with no luck so I'm not sure how likely it is that it's going to happen now. I'm also not sure how Johnny is going to work out racing for Robby. Both have very combustible personalties and it would be interesting to see if they're able to work together.

*DEI fired three employees last week because they were responsible for the banner that was flown over Talladega that said "How much money does Bobby Ginn owe you?" Most fans are celebrating what those three, who are presumably former Ginn Racing employees, did and can't understand why DEI fired them, but I think DEI had very good reason to fire them. That banner was far more than a mere prank, it was a public dig at someone who is part of the upper management at DEI. No matter how much wrong Ginn might have done paying for a banner to be flown oover the race track isn't the way to handle a dispute with him. I have to wonder how their actions might effect their chances of finding other jobs in the garage area. Some other teams might hesitate at hiring people who would do something like that.

Posted by silverdsl at 05:16 PM | Comments (0)

Last Chance for Steve Park?

On the pre-race show prior to yesterday's truck race it was reported that Wyler Racing would field two trucks next season with the drivers and sponsors to be named later. It was also confirmed that Con-Way would not be returning to sponsor the #60. Two additional rumors as per Jayski that tie-in that is that Jayski is "hearing" that Jack Sprague will leave Wyler to race for Kevin Harvick, Inc. next season and that Brendan Gaughan is reportedly buying as much as 50% of Wyler Racing. Steve Park has long expressed an interest in racing for Wyler Racing, and I hope that he'll end up in one of the trucks they field next season because I have a feeling it might be Steve's last chance at getting a competitive full-time ride - or for racing at all given his refusal to consider racing any ride that is less than an elite ride - one that finished regularly in the top ten and contends for wins on a weekly basis.

However, how likely is it that Steve will end up at Wyler Racing? It certainly works in his favor that he's a long-time friend of Jeff Wyler and that the Wyler Automotive Group has been an associate sponsor for him in the past. But that they're in need of two sponsors and that Brendan might be buying in adds a twist to things. For one thing, it's not going to be up to just Wyler Racing who ends up in their trucks - the sponsor will also have a say, and one has to wonder if a sponsor is going to want to spend $3-5 million to sponsor a driver who hasn't raced in the truck series (or in Busch or Cup) for more than a year and hasn't represented a primary sponsor in even longer. In addition, if Brendan is buying in, on has to wonder whether that will be some sort of merger between Wyler and South Point Racing, which makes some sense since they're both one-truck teams that could benefit from merging into a two truck organization. South Point particularly needs the help since they've struggled to make improvements and be more competitive for a while now.

Thing is, while as far as I know Steve and Brendan have remained friendly, Steve was released from South Point (when they were known as Orleans Racing) prior to the end of the 2005 season, so the question is whether they would work together in the future. There's also the possibility that Ted Musgrave might be available, and if one truck is driven by Brendan should some sort of merger happen, I can see the other truck being driven by Ted given that he already has a connection to Toyota (should Wyler remain affiliated with Toyota). Hopefully though none of those things will be an issue. I really have my fingers crossed that things will work out in such a way that Steve will end up in one of the Wyler trucks. He can still race up front and contend for wins in a competitive truck, and the truck that Wyler fields have definitely been competitive. I just have to wonder how likely it is that he'll make a return to the track if things don't work out for him with Wyler.

Of course it's not just whether Wyler Racing is interesting in signing Steve, it's also whether he's still interested in racing for them? In the past he's said he'd love to race for them, but Steve seems to have set his standards for what he wants in a ride so high that I have to wonder whether even Wyler will be able to offer what he's looking for. Sometimes I wish that Steve was the kind of driver who said, "Fuck it! Let's go racing!' and didn't worry about so much. Every driver wants to race competitively and every driver wants to finish up front more often than not, but it seems like Steve gets hung up on things that other drivers wouldn't let deter them from racing. Steve will always be one of my favorite drivers – he’s got a lot of driving ability and he’s a great person too. However, I can’t say that I always understand or agree with his attitude or approach these days towards finding a new ride.

The other day it came up on SPC that Steve has apparently said that one reason he won’t consider anything less than an elite ride (one that finishes in the top ten and contends for wins almost weekly) is that he thinks that if he takes a lesser ride and the results aren’t good he’ll get blamed instead of that the car or truck isn’t competitive or that the team isn’t very good. Supposedly Steve said something along the lines of how he “doesn’t want to deal with that crap.” If I’m understanding what he said correctly – and maybe I’m not – one reason dictating whether Steve races or not is because he’s afraid of what fans and the media might say.

In some ways I can sympathize with Steve. Just a few days ago I discussed a comment Michael Waltrip made on Inside Nextel Cup about fans who make negative remarks about him on the internet. And prior to that I did an entry about how disturbing some of the comments my fellow fans make can be. Bashing and negativity from fans and the media can be hurtful there’s no doubt about that. But Michael hasn’t let fans or the media deter him from racing. Nor has any other driver to my knowledge passed on a ride because of what might be posted on an internet message board or written by an ill-informed journalist. Fact is, whether it’s Tony Stewart, one of the best drivers in Nascar or Morgan Shepard, who almost never “races” more than ten laps in the races he qualifies for before parking it, there’s going to be fans and some in the media who criticize, bash and question the talent level of that driver, among other things. Criticism and negativity from fans and the media comes with the job.

Of course it’s impossible to ignore the bashing all the time. Of course it can be distressing to read, particularly when it’s never-ending like what Michael has experienced. But it’s really surprising to me that a driver with as much determination as Steve, a man who had enough internal strength to fight back from a serious leg injury his rookie year and a head injury in 2001 to race on would let what other people might say play a role in whether he accepts a ride and therefore races or not. Part of me feels like saying that Steve just needs to pull up his big girl panties and deal with it as they say, but I suppose it’s really not that easy.

I just feel like there’s always – as someone else noted on SPC – some sort of excuse as to why Steve isn’t racing which as much as some would like to blame it on others, seems to boil down to Steve has made the choice not to race since by his own admission there have been plenty of opportunities to do so, but nothing has met his standards. It’s good to set one’s goals high but the fact is that it’s going to be hard for a driver who hasn’t raced full-time since 2005, or at all this season, to get handed an elite ride.

If I’m an owner I want to see that a driver will race hard for me and bust his ass every week to help my team get the best possible result. Even if the results aren’t all that great effort, dedication – and talent – gets noticed. That’s why David Reutimann was pursued by other teams before he was re-signed by Michael Waltrip Racing in spite of his results in Cup being pretty poor this season. No matter what Steve might say to the teams that he talks to when he visits the garage area, racing just one Busch East race a season doesn’t show owners much of anything. Steve has won on all three of Nascar’s highest levels, but his last win was almost three years ago now. What do teams have to evaluate him now when the last time he raced in the trucks or Busch was last summer?

There’s such a difference in attitude between Steve and other drivers. No driver wants to finish 30th every week but for many of them the desire to race is so strong that they’re willing to compromise if they want to continue to race – or at the very least find a non-racing position with a team to stay involved in the sport. But Steve seems to have quite a few reasons why he can’t or won’t race. Even when he was offered the gig racing the modified car in memory of Tom Baldwin in New Hampshire last month, he turned that down too. Someone said it was because of the weather forecast and Steve not wanting to stick around if the race got rained out. The weather! Meanwhile the garage area is full of driver who just want to race. Ken Schrader will race anything at any time, results be damned. David wanted to race so bad that he didn’t even care how much Michael Waltrip Racing was going to pay him when they first signed him last year. And the young drivers – so many of them say that just as long as they’re racing they’re happy. Of course those are all different drivers at different stages in their careers but the difference in attitude is striking and it might be to those that Steve is talking to in the garage area too.

Some will think I'm a bad fan for saying this, but the fact of that matter is that I want my drivers to have a no-quit, do what needs to be done attitude towards racing. I don't want to feel like they're giving up, even when the results aren't very good or the situation is tough. That's one reason why I admire Michael so much - he took the risk of starting three Cup teams this season against long odds for success, has dealt with a lot of negativity and problems, yet hasn't lost any of his passion for racing or desire to continue racing. I see that kind of attitude in so many other drivers too, from Robby Gordon to Brad Keselowski to Todd Bodine, and on and on. Even drivers like Derrick Cope, Carl Long or Stanton Barrett seem determined to continue racing even though the odds of them racing competitively aren't very good.

Unless a driver's name is Jeff Gordon, Tony Stewart or Dale Earnhardt, Jr. it’s not too likely that he's going to step into a ride that can race in the top ten and contend for wins immediately. Even Junior may experience a period during which the results aren’t as strong as he might like as he adjusts to racing for a new team. But from the way Steve’s been talking it seems like might not want to wait for a team to develop into their full potential. He appears resistant to a situation in which he would help turn a top 25 or top 20 team into a much better team. Which is unfortunate because he would be an asset to any team and helping build a team could end up being something satisfying or Steve that he could be proud of.

At one time I felt sorry for Steve that he didn't have a ride. I thought like many others that teams still had the incorrect perception that Steve had never recovered from his 2001 accident, that they doubted his talent or that his age was preventing him from getting a ride. But once Steve proudly boasted to me this summer about how he turned down 15 offers for rides it was a lot harder to feel sorry for him. It's hard to believe that all 15 of those ride and the other offers he's told other fans he's received since and turned down were all garbage rides with no potential. Not racing right now is by Steve's own choice, and I can't really feel too sorry for someone who has made a choice to do what they're doing. And in the end it is Steve's own choice. He has to do what's going to make him happy, not what any of the fans want him to do. Someone pointed out this afternoon that Steve just needs to find a ride he wants - I'm just not sure there's actually a ride that he wants out there that's going to be available to him, not even one at Wyler Racing. It just seems like Steve keeps finding reasons not to race.

Thing is for me while I think Steve's a great person, I'm very much a fan of Steve the driver, maybe even more so than Steve the person. As I said above, I'll always be a fan of Steve's to one degree or another, but it's hard for me to have the same enthusiasm I once did for Steve when he's not racing. it's just like how my interest in Tino Martinez has waned since he stopped playing baseball. I'm still a fan of Tino's and I'm still interested in what he's doing but it's really hard to feel the same way about Tino as I once did. It's not that way for every athlete that I'm a fan of - my absolute favorites will always have a special place in my heart no matter what they're doing (Michael Waltrip, David Cone) but with some drivers or players I need to see them remain active - if not still racing or playing but at least staying involved with the sport somehow. Once more, I'm sure some are thinking "bad fan" if they were to come across this, but that's simply how I feel. I will always wish Steve all the best and hope he's happy, but I'd like to see more of him than one Busch East race a year and a couple of appearances at charity events. But hopefully things will work out for Steve and Wyler Racing or another team.

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

October 18, 2007

New York Yankees Part Ways with Joe Torre

The Joe Torre era is over in the Bronx. Today Torre rejected a deal worth a minimum of $5 million and as much as $8 million with incentives to manage the New York Yankees next season. Although the deal would have still made Torre the highest paid manager in baseball, it appears that Torre might not have taken too kindly to the idea of performance-based incentives. Some fans are practically hysterical that Torre won't be managing the Yankees next season and are predicting disaster, but I don't think a managerial change is a bad thing. I appreciate everything that Torre has done to guide the Yankees to so much success the many years that he's been manager but it seems to me that it's time for the Yankees to move in a new direction, with a new manager. I have no clue who will end up managing the Yankees next season. The top candidates appear to be Don Mattingly or Joe Girardi but there's quite a few others who might be available who would probably work out well.

One big question is going to be what happens with Jorge Posada, Mariano Rivera, Andy Pettitte and Alex Rodriguez since there's been some speculation that those players might either opt out of their contracts or choose to not re-sign if there was a manager other than Torre next season. That's a concern. The Yankees have no replacement for Rivera or Posada if they were to sign elsewhere - elite closers and catchers who can also hit don't grow on trees. A-Rod's production at the plate will be impossible to replace. Pettitte has also been solid for the Yankees. So it'll be very interesting to see how that all plays out and what moves the Yankees make.

Posted by silverdsl at 05:25 PM | Comments (0)

Random Nascar Thoughts

*I just saw a weather forecast for Martinsville for tomorrow which indicates that there's a 60-70% chance of rain. If qualifying were to be rained out the field would be set by points and I believe all three of the Michael Waltrip Racing cars would make the race if that were to happen. I think David Reutimann and Michael are both high enough in the owner's points to be locked in and I think DJ would also make the race because he's a past champion. Usually I don't want to see qualifying rained out regardless of where the MWR teams are in the points, but given how pessimistic Michael sounded on his XM show about this weekend given their struggles this season at tracks like this, I think I'm going to cross my fingers and wish for rain!

*It seems as if Michael Waltrip might have gotten himself into a little trouble. Last week he indicated in an interview on Nascar Now that Joe Gibbs Racing had already started helping Toyota with their engine program which was one reason why MWR had made so much progress lately. On the surface that might not seem like a big deal but JGR is under contract to Chevy through the end of the season and it would be a no-no for them to share information with another manufacturer before their contract expired. In fact, Bill Davis Racing got sued by Dodge - and lost - over information they shared with Toyota while still under contract to Dodge. I totally understand why Michael said what he did - he was likely excited over the improvements that MWR has made and wanted to give credit to JGR who he felt was partially responsible. But it was probably something that he was better off not saying. As a fan I love Michael's candor and his willingness to speak his mind, but as a former PR person there are times when I sometimes cringe and wish he would keep some things to himself.

*Apparently Steve Hmiel, DEI's director of competition has decided to leave the organization. This seems to be a huge surprise to a lot of fans but it seems to me that a lot of the old guard is leaving so I don't think it's that shocking that he's decided to leave too. I'm sure some will predict doom and gloom for DEI but they'll replace him as well as everyone else who is choosing to leave now that Junior is and race on. What's going to be interesting is where Hmiel ends up going.

*There's continued to be a lot of rumors circulating about Red Bull Racing and the possibility of them buying Yates Racing or their shop. RBR's vice president of competition Guenther Steiner denied that those rumors are true. He said,

"Robert Yates did contact us awhile back to see if we were interested in talking with him about purchasing his building or his teams. We weren't - so the conversation ended there. We're committed to building our team from scratch and making our cars competitive. We don't have plans to buy anyone else's team."

I think it's pretty interesting that Yates was shopping not only the physical building that he owns but also the teams themselves. I wonder if Yates approaced RBR before or after it was announced that Doug Yates was taking over? Also, was it before Yates considered merging with Newman-Haas-Lanigan or after, and did they know what Yates was up to? If Yates approached RBR recently, I have to wonder what the future of Yates is and whether they plan on fielding both - or any - of their Cup cars next season? They announced a closer working relationship with Roush-Fenway Racing and that Travis Kvapil would be in the #88, but if they can't find sponsorship I don't see how they can field either car. And I can see why they might look to sell off their teams for the owner's points. If RBR isn't interested I have to wonder if another team might end up with the owner's points from the Yates teams? And what would happen to Travis and David Gilliland?

*Tony Stewart's going to be handing out Stewie Awards on his Sirius show at season's end. Given that there will be an award for "Bonehead Move of the Year" I guess it'll be one more opportunity for Tony to rip on one of his fellow competitors. Since he seems to think the majority of those he's racing with - all of those not in the Chase - are in his way and in some cases lacking in talent, I'm not sure how he's going to choose one bonehead to award it to.

*Some rumors circulated yesterday that Rusty Wallace was going to get fired from ESPN. Fans rejoiced but that rumor was eventually denied. I knew that rumor probably didn't have much truth (for now) because it originated with a blogger whose track record for accuracy isn't all that great. A second blog picked up her original report and ran with it - I was astonished that anyone took a rumor from that source that apparently came from an anonymous email seriously. Plus, the original blogger also said that Dale Jarrett would be replacing Rusty in the booth. I wouldn't be surprised to see that happen eventually but last weekend DJ said he hadn't had any discussions yet with ESPN so it seemed unlikely to me that there was a done deal for DJ to replace Rusty just a few days later.

What was really troubling was that the original blogger put a blind item in her gossip blog the day before that accused a "new" TV commentator of using racial slurs. More than a few people thought she was talking about Rusty, and I think the timing of her entry in her second blog the next day about Rusty being fired from ESPN is very suspicious. I can't help but wonder if she was trying to tie the two items together, which is vile. Someone using racial slurs is a serious matter, and there's going to be people who will think if Rusty leaves ESPN that's why no matter what the real truth is. This blogger would doubtlessly point to how it was a blind item with no names mentioned and that her readers make their own conclusions, but it seems to me that she's leading people in a particular direction with the second entry. I refuse to link to any of these blog entries because I don't want to give the original blogger any more exposure than she's already gotten, particularly for her disgusting gossip blog. I like a good piece of gossip about who's dating who like anyone else but the accuracy of some what she reports is questionable, and some items have the potential to do harm.

*Brad Coleman has left Joe Gibbs Racing to race for Brewco Motorsports full-time in the Nationwide Series next year. Some are probably questioning the wisdom of that decision but as it turns out that there was no room for him to have a full-time Nationwide ride with JGR because of how many races their Cup drivers were going to be racing. On one hand it's hard to believe that JGR is abandoning developing young talent in place of putting their Cup drivers in Nationwide cars but on the other hand it's understandable. Sponsors want the exposure they get from having Cup drivers in their cars and sponsors dictate what happens in many cases. I applaud Brad's courage. He's taking the chance on what might be a lesser ride at Brewco because it's a full-time ride when he could have probably raced more competitively but less often at JGR. Ultimately seat time, and as much of it as possible, will likely benefit his career when he's just starting out.

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

October 17, 2007

Tony Stewart vs. Paul Menard

Last night on his Sirius show Tony Stewart ripped into Paul Menard as a result of their tangle on pit road during Saturday's race. Tony said that Paul has no talent, is always in the way on the track and the only reason he has a ride is because his father cut a big check to DEI. Furthermore Tony indicated that he would be happy if Paul ended up in the wall at some point soon, with the implication that maybe he would make it happen. Tony's comments are over-the-top and inappropriate in my opinion to begin with but what makes his comments particularly ridiculous to me is that he opened with "I don't usually say things like this but..." Um, seems like every week Tony is ripping into someone or something and this is far from the first time he's accused one of his fellow competitors of lacking talent, even this season! Just a couple of months ago he lashed into David Gilliland, now it's Paul's turn. I'm sure there are plenty of fans who are applauding Tony's candor but I don't think drivers should be insulting each other through the media. It's immature and unprofessional.

Beyond that - and Tony should be well aware of this - no team is going to sign a driver without any talent no matter how much money they bring with them. Paul hasn't been impressive in Cup so far but he's a rookie. Give him a chance to adjust to racing Cup and gain some experience. He may never be among the elite drivers in the garage but I'm guessing if DEI can give him some competitive cars once he has some more experience the results will probably improve for him. It's not like he's out there wrecking every week. Sure, there were two miscues involving Tony and Paul recently on pit road but it seems to me both of those incidents were just as much a result of poor communication within each of their respective teams rather than Paul having done anything really wrong due to a lack of talent. It's the responsibility of each of their spotter and crew chief to guide them in and out of pit road. And again, after he's raced Cup for longer Paul will have a better sense about proper pit road etiquette.

What's completely inexcusable to me is Tony saying that he wants to see Paul end up in the wall. In spite of the safety advances this remains a dangerous sport and there's no excuse for one competitor wishing a wreck on another - or implying that he might make one happen. While I understand that retaliation is a part of the sport that doesn't mean I like it. I don't think that drivers should be using their cars as weapons against each other, and I don't agree with Nascar's decision to ignore Tony bumping Paul on pit road a few weeks ago. Let's also put what happened in the proper perspective. Paul didn't wreck Tony, in fact I don't think there was contact between them in either incident. Both of these incidents happened on pit road, not on the track. While I can understand Tony's frustration to a degree because both incidents were costly to him, wishing a wreck on another driver because of an incident on pit road seems extreme.

But maybe there's more to the story. Tony directed some of his ire towards John Menard for "buying" his son a ride, something that Tony said John's always done. Well, what Tony conveniently forgot to mention in his tirade (at least in the part I heard) is that he used to race for John Menard in IRL! I don't know what might have happened between Tony and John back then, but somehow I get the feeling that whatever issues Tony has with Paul might have more to do with lingering bad blood between John and Tony dating back to that time than the more recent incidents with Paul in Nascar.

Before the Chase started I predicted that if Tony Stewart wanted to win another championship, he had to make sure he didn't let himself get distracted by getting involved in any incidents on the track. But that's exactly what seems to be happening to him. He's very much still in the hunt for the championship but a feud with Paul could be a major distraction, and could also be very costly to Tony if he retaliates and he gets penalized for it. I get the feeling in Tony's mind he blames Paul for the #20 team being in 4th in the Chase but the reality is that winning or losing the championship comes down solely to Tony and his team. The best teams can rally and get past any challenges or issues - the #48 team has certainly shown their ability to do that over the past few years - can Tony do the same?

Posted by silverdsl at 09:51 AM | Comments (0)

October 16, 2007

Random NascarThoughts on Random Thoughts

*Seems like it's been real quiet this week in terms of news in Nascar-land. Come to think of it other than the announcements that Michael Waltrip Racing made last week, it's been pretty quiet overall for a while now in terms of major news outside of the rumors that Jeff Green and Johnny Sauter might both be out of their rides at Haas-CNC Racing. There's a few other rumors circulating, one of which I won't detail because it involves a driver's personal live and I avoid discussing those kinds of topics in this space unless it's something newsworthy. But my husband and I had a good laugh about this particular rumor which has no chance of being true and was likely started by one of the people involved to either make someone else jealous or make themselves seem important.

*Speaking of the Haas-CNC rumors, I would guess that both Green and Sauter will be looking for new rides next season. Sauter has said that the team has told him he can explore his options with other teams so that doesn't make his chances for staying in the #70 sound too promising. If they're going to get rid of Sauter, I can't imagine them sticking with Green. The big question is what sponsorship is going to look like for those teams next season. It's been rumored that Best Buy won't be back on the #66, and given the lack of strong results for that team and Haas overall, I have to wonder how easy it's going to be for them to find replacement sponsors.

*Apparently Robby Gordon told fans at Charlotte that he's considering talking to Sauter about a ride for next season, presumably for the second Cup car that Robby has wanted to get going for quite some time. I have my doubts as to whether Robby is going to be able to get a second team going considering how much he's struggling to be successful with just one Cup team. However, maybe Robby will end up putting Johnny in a Busch car full-time. It might work out better to start on a lower level, develop the team and then move them up to Cup once they're working well together and the results are fairly solid.

*Jayski has an "I heard" that ESPN is in the process of filming a documentary style show that will chronicle Dale Earnhardt, Jr.'s transition from DEI to Hendrick Motorsports. It sounds exactly like what ESPN did with Michael Waltrip Racing: A New Era. That show was very well-done as it gave a peek inside the workings of a Cup organization in a way that fans don't normally get to see, though I think the earlier episodes were stronger than the later ones. I think a show like that which followed Junior as he got used to his new organization would be pretty interesting, though I'm under no illusions that it will depict the totality of all that goes on, but rather what they choose to show the fans.

*There's been some speculation that the #22 Nationwide car fielded by Fitz Motorsports will be an open ride next season but Armando Fitz said recently that it's likely that Mike Bliss will be back in that car. Although Bliss isn't among the elite drivers in the garage area I have to give him credit for finding opportunities to race. Not long ago the #22 was considered a junk ride, but Bliss has raced his way to six top tens and two top fives in that car so it appears that it's a pretty decent ride.

*In other Bliss-related news, while he's racing the #22 in Atlanta, Ryan Mathews will race the #4 truck in Memphis for Bobby Hamilton Racing that Bliss has been racing of late. I'm really happy for Mathews, who got dumped by Bill Davis Racing in favor of Jacques Villeneuve in spite of some strong finishes, that he's getting another opportunity in a solid truck. Maybe it will lead to a more regular ride for Mathews with BHR - I'd definitely like to see what he's capable of over the course of a full season.

*Justin Labonte is going to be behind the wheel of the #00 truck at Martinsville this weekend. I suppose this is part of the deal that put Terry Labonte in the #55 for a few races earlier this season but I would have liked to have seen Josh Wise or Michael McDowell race this truck considering Michael Waltrip Racing is trying to get one or both of them ready to race Cup as soon as possible.

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

"They Think I'm Terrible"

As it turns out I'm not the only one who might be frustrated by some of the comments and attitudes of some Nascar fans. Last night on Michael Waltrip said something along the lines about how fans on the internet were saying bad things about him and how they thought he was "terrible." I've heard in the past that while Michael checks out a variety of websites like Jayski's, he avoids reading fan forums too often, particularly this season because of the all the negativity that's directed towards him, so I don't know whether Michael was thinking of comments he had seen himself or something that someone else had seen and told him about. Michael didn't say anything further as to whether these "bad" comments bothered him or not, but I'd have to think that no matter how thick-skinned someone is there comes a point where comments that are lacking in fact, personally insulting and little more than outright bashes have to hurt. Just the way that he said "They think I'm terrible," well that didn't sound like someone who was easily brushing off the negativity. Bobby Kennedy did say in an interview on XM when he came back from his suspension that the negativity directed towards Michael this season "destroyed" him, though I suspect Bobby was talking more about what was said in the media than what fans were posting on fan forums.

Although I always speak my mind whether I'm being positive or negative, I try to keep in mind that the person who I'm talking about or someone who knows them could come across what I've posted about them. We've certainly seen that plenty of times on NYYFans.com. - the time when Curt Schilling de-lurked to put a user in his place comes to mine. I don't shy away from disagreeing with someone or being critical, but I also try to be respectful and I don't bash or resort to insults no matter how much I might dislike a driver (or player). The thing is that for a lot of my fellow fans they either don't care about whether the person they're talking about reads what they post, they might have an agenda to damage the reputation of those they're posting about, or they get off on the idea that the person they're posting about - or their fans - might read and get upset by what they've posted.

For a lot of fans they feel they should be able to post whatever they want on a fan forum, and to an extent I agree. I hope that the drivers respect their fans right to their opinions, positive or negative. The reality is that not everyone is always going to agree with everything that a driver say or does. And that's not always a bad thing. I think the world is a much more interesting place when there's a variety of opinions and viewpoints. However, as anyone who has ever been on one of the forums I moderate knows, I think that there are limits to the way that people should be able to express their opinions, which is why there's community standards in place to prevent bashing, personal insults or other inappropriate posts, whether it's directed towards a driver, player or another user. Unfortunately there's a lot of fan who feel that even the most basic of community standards equals a loss of their freedom of expression, though of course the first amendment doesn't apply on message boards and forums.

Some fans enjoy going from forum to forum bashing and insulting the same drivers and their fans over and over again. Some fans are nothing more than bullies who either try to stifle opinions they don't agree with or get pleasure out of harassing fans of drivers they don't like. Some fans have issues in their own lives that cause them to post in certain ways - I've come to think that's actually pretty common in that some fans react in certain ways because of their own life experiences and their own issues and that it's not always as much about the drivers they're posting about as it seems on the surface.

What's ridiculous is that all many fans have to draw upon to form an opinion about what kind of a person a driver is comes from little more than what they see in the media or in brief appearances at an autograph signing. And there's no way for the majority of fans to know the details of what goes on behind-the-scenes in terms of what gets said at internal team meetings, what's in contracts, the totality of the thinking behind various decisions, etc... But that doesn't stop these fans from posting their opinions about the drivers and what terrible people they think they are as fact, when often they have very little evidence to back up anything that they're claiming is true. Sometimes they even refuse to consider the known facts. Of course to race in one of Nascar's three highest levels, a driver has to be tremendously talented, and particularly if they stick around for any length of time, but some fans are insistent that every driver other than their favorite driver sucks. Some fans think that anyone could be a Cup driver - most of these fans wouldn't last one lap of one race in a Cup car nor could they deal with a lot of the off-the-track pressure from sponsors, fans and the media like the drivers have to.

This season has been difficult enough on Michael, and it would be unfortunate if he's taking negative things that fans say about him on the internet to heart. I'd hope his focus would be on the positive articles that some in the media have written recently or the supportive and positive things that his many fans say on the forum on his site, on other forums, in blogs like this one, in messages to him and in many other places. Sometimes the negative fans are the loudest but in reality often times they make up a small but vocal minority. Michael has a huge fanbase, much larger than some of the bashers think, and the people who will support him through thick and thin, those that have stuck around in spite of the struggles the past two seasons matter far more than those who can't stand Michael, in many cases for completely illogical reasons.

Like I said in my "frustrated" entry, unfortunately it looks like the problem with fans who are nothing but negative all the time and see nothing wrong with bashing the drivers they don't like doesn't seem like it's going to change any time in the near future so if reading these comments bothers Michael, he's going to have to find a way to ignore them... or figure out a way to put the bashers in their place.

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

October 15, 2007

Photo of the Day

Posted by silverdsl at 09:30 PM | Comments (0)

Dale Jarrett Says He Won't be Back Once He Retires... Or Will He?

Dale Jarrett says that once he's retired he won't come back to race selected races like Bill Elliott or Terry Labonte have done. He said,

"As far as coming back, and people wanting you to get in a race here and there, I just don't see that happening, whatsoever."

That sounds pretty final, as if DJ's made up his mine that once he's done, he's done. He certainly makes it sound like his fans should make every effort to see him in one of the last few races he has left between this season and the All-Star race next season otherwise they'll never see him race again. But is the door to DJ ever racing again really slammed shut? I don't think so.

DJ went on to say,

"The only thing that would change that would be if UPS came to me and said, 'We need you to run this race.'"

Which means that DJ actually is willing to race again after he retires if UPS wants him to. Which might mean that if DJ doesn't use all of his Champion's provisionals up before he gets out of the #44, UPS might very well want him to get back behind the wheel of the #44 or another car for them since he'd be locked into the show because of his provisional. I hope that if UPS or MWR decides they'd like DJ to race beyond the seven races they have planned for him next season that it'll be in a 4th car (or in a Nationwide car or truck), not that David Reutimann is going to be taken out of the car. In addition, DJ's provisional makes him a valuable commodity until Nascar eliminates that provisional entirely so somewhere down the road some team may make DJ an offer he can't refuse.

One thing that continues to strike me about DJ's comments about retiring is that thus far he's still not talked about how much he loves racing, how much he'll miss it or anything to make me think he still feels the burning desire to race and compete that so many other drivers feel even when they're not racing full-time anymore. DJ makes it sounds as if the decision to walk away isn't all that hard for him, and sticking around to race even the few races he'll be racing next season is more about UPS and Michael Waltrip Racing than anything else.

Contrast that with Bill Elliott who is having a hard time walking away for good. Bill said about continuing to race for the #21 team,

"I still enjoy racing. I still enjoy the guys. They're a lot of fun to race for, and I just hope we can do some good."

He continued,

"For me, it's just hard to quit cold turkey. I would just as soon rather work my way into doing stuff."

But when pressed Bill was unable to say when he might ease completely into retirement. Of course there's nothing wrong with either driver's approach. Every driver has to do what they feel is best and what makes them happy. For DJ letting go of racing is - for now at least - a lot easier than it is for Bill. It'll be interesting to see if that changes when DJ has to step out of the car for the final time next season.

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

Driver by Driver: Charlotte II

1. Jeff Gordon - What impressed me about this win is that not only did Jeff win his second race in a row, but he did it on two different kinds of tracks, in two different kinds of cars. It's starting to look like the Chase is Jeff's to lose...

2. Clint Bowyer - ...but Clint's not ready to give up yet. Obviously if he made it into the Chase he's a talented driver who knows how to get good results on the track consistently but I think most people, including myself are pretty surprised by how well Clint has raced over the last few races. While most other Chase contenders have encountered trouble Clint has kept himself in the hunt for the Championship. A good job by Clint and his team.

3. Kyle Busch - Prior to the last re-start Rick Hendrick came over the radio and warned Kyle to race smart and not cause a wreck. To his credit, even though Kyle really didn't have much obligation to listen to Rick since he'll be leaving Hendrick Motorsports at the end of the season, Kyle did exactly what Rick asked of him. Even though Kyle could probably have dumped Jeff to take the lead, Kyle didn't and Jeff went on to win.

4. Jeff Burton - His best finish since Fontana in early September moves Jeff up two spots in the Chase standings, but it's likely too little, too late.

5. Carl Edwards - Started 18th and made slow but steady progress towards the front all race long.

6. Dave Blaney - Shows that last week's 3rd place finish at Talladega wasn't just a fluke by following it up with another strong finish, which helped solidify his hold on 35th in owner's points.

7. Tony Stewart - Tony's team did a great job of making repairs to his car after the incident in which Paul Menard got into Tony, and then Tony got into Kasey Kahne trying to get away from Paul. After the race Greg ZIppadelli whined about how drivers who aren't in the Chase should "give" to drivers who are in the Chase on pit road, but the reality is that it was his responsibility, as well as that of Tony's spotter, to guide Tony out of his pit box and down pit road. If there's any blame to be handed out it's not to Paul or Tony but to their respective teams for not communicating what other cars around them were doing.

8. Kasey Kahne - Recovered from the incident with Tony on pit road to finish well.

9. David Stremme - This is David's first top ten since Talladega in April, which is likely one reason other than a lack of sponsorship that he's looking for another ride.

10. Michael Waltrip - After spinning midway through the race I don't think anyone expected that he's end up with a top ten. But Michael didn't damage the car and never lost a lap so he just gathered himself back up and keep on racing. Although the car wasn't handling very well Michael did a good job of staying on the lead lap and made a terrific decision to stay out at the end of the race when others pitted. That got him track position and ultimately enabled him to finish in the top ten. I loved the glee in his voice when he said "How do you like THAT?!" when he made the decision to stay out - it's been a long time since Michael's sounded anything other than dead-serious in the car.

11. Ricky Rudd - After missing six races due to injury, Ricky raced his way to one of his best finishes of the season in his return.

12. Bobby Labonte - Had a strong car and raced up front but lost some ground when he pitted because he thought he had a tire going down just before the caution came out for the oil on the track from the #66. Bobby also was a victim of the incident between Tony Stewart and Kasey Kahne, when he ended up boxed in on pit road while they got untangled. Not that ESPN showed us any of this...

13. J.J. Yeley - Seems like since it was announced that J.J. and Joe Gibbs Racing would be parting ways at the end of the season the results have gotten a little better for J.J. or maybe it's just that he's got almost two full seasons of Cup racing and it's taken him that long to adjust to racing on this level.

14. Jimmie Johnson - It's funny because people complain about Jimmie always winning at Charlotte and that there's no reason to go to this track if they're going to see the same winner every time but he's actually not won at Charlotte since 2005. However, it is the first time since 2001 that Jimmie hasn't finished in the top ten. For a while it looked like it would be another fine finish for Jimmie at Charlotte until he spun on his own, but the repairs from the resulting damage left him in 29th. Jimmie was still able to make his way back into the top ten but on the re-start after the red flag his engine seized and he lost a number of positions.

15. A.J. Allmendinger - A career best finish for A.J. in Cup. He raced well all night and might have had a top ten if not for some engine issues on the final re-start that caused him to lose some positions.

16. Mark Martin - Raced in the top 15 for most of the night but he too lost a few positions on the final re-start. The Army paint scheme for the #8 that Mark will be racing along with Aric Almirola was unveiled on Friday, and naturally many Junior fans were quick to say how horrible it is, but I don't think it looks bad at all.

17. Martin Truex Jr. - Didn't come in when his crew chief told him to for a late race pit stop which resulted in Martin running out of gas during the caution for Ryan Newman's spin.

18. Kyle Petty - Usually Kyle spends a lot of time racing around in the back, but at Charlotte while he didn't have an outstanding car, it was good enough for him to stay on the lead lap.

19. Dale Earnhardt Jr. - Some fans tried to blame Jeff Gordon getting into Junior as to why the #8 faded in the second half of the race but I think Junior brushing the wall was the more likely cause. Of course those i the booth made a big deal over the incident between Junior and Jeff, and Junior was upset as well, but it looked like Jeff didn't really have time to check up and might not have expected Junior to come down like he did. Neither car was wrecked or damaged so it was really a much smaller incident than some are making it out to be.

20. Denny Hamlin - Lost positions due to a late race transmission issue but was still able to finish on the lead lap, the last car to do so.

21. Casey Mears - A blown tire caused him to get into Bill Elliott and the wall, but his team did a great job of making repairs without Casey losing too much ground.

22. Paul Menard - Tangled with Tony on pit road but didn't get any damage as a result. Greg Zippadelli blamed Paul getting into Tony for what followed, which was Tony getting into Kasey Kahne and getting damage to his car, but it's not Paul's fault that Tony's team didn't alert him to where Kasey was and Tony couldn't avoid him.

23. Johnny Sauter - Got into oil coming out of his teammate's car and spun.

24. Jamie McMurray - Had some problems in the pits including a loose lug nut and a bad set of tires, plus an ill-timed green flag pit stop.

25. David Gilliland - Like his teammate, David also had a strong car and seemed poised to finish in the top ten until a flat tire caused him to have to pit under green. David was then given a penalty for speeding on pit road. When it was all over he was two laps down and could finish no better than 25th.

26. Kurt Busch - Dropped a cylinder and was one of a number of drivers who got into another driver on pit road.

27. Greg Biffle - Had an ill-handling car and brushed the wall. Greg's getting married this week to his long-time significant other - it's about time!

28. Ryan Newman - Looked like he was going to surprise everyone and win the race until he spun with just a few laps to go. Ryan said afterwards that he thought a tire blew but Goodyear not wanting to be blamed for something they didn't think was their fault said that all his tires were still inflated. Sometimes a driver feels something they think is a tire going down when in reality it's not.

29. David Reutimann - Poor David - brushed the wall on lap one and never could recover.

30. Reed Sorenson - Blew a tire on lap 67 which put him in the wall.

31. Tony Raines - Got loose and got into the wall.

32. Jeff Green - In one shot I saw smoke coming from the #66 car but they never said anything about it in the booth and Nascar didn't throw the caution so I thought it was my imagination. Then Jeff's teammate Johnny spun and it became clear that there was oil all over the track and the #66 was in fact blowing up. Why Nascar didn't throw a caution when Jeff's car first started blowing up is beyond me.

33. Kevin Harvick - Two flat tires in succession resulted in Kevin losing three laps early on.

34. Matt Kenseth - A really bad night for Matt and the #17 team. Spun twice, had alternator problems and also got hit from behind when he slowed when Michael Waltrip spun in front of him but John Andretti didn't.

35. Bill Elliott - An innocent victim when Casey Mears blew a tire and got into him.

36. Scott Riggs - Poor Scott. At one point he was up front battling for the lead, then suddenly he was getting wrecked when Juan Pablo Montoya blew a tire.

37. Juan Montoya - Brushed the wall on lap 35 which resulted in time on pit road to get repairs made and put him three laps down. Then a blown tire on lap 278 ended his, and Scott Rigg's night early.

38. Robby Gordon - Robby, Robby, Robby. Seems like it's almost impossible for Robby to have an incident-free race lately, and worst of all some of it is of his own doing. On the first caution Robby decided to stay out to get five bonus points for leading a lap and miscalculated when the race was going to re-start. Having to pit under green cost him a couple of laps - not the first time this season he's made the same error in judgment. To make matters worse Robby got into the wall and later spun which resulted in heavy damage to the #7. The more races that Robby finishes poorly and with problems, the more I wonder how much longer this team is going to be around unless Robby changes his approach behind the wheel and in the shop.

39. Jeremy Mayfield - Poor Jeremy. He makes this race but can't really race due to mechanical issues that caused him to have to spend time behind the wall.

40. David Ragan - Made contact with Reed Sorenson and wrecked which resulted in a significant amount of time in the garage for repairs.

41. Elliott Sadler - Got into Johnny Sauter on pit road and the need to make repairs put him several laps down.

42. John Andretti - It's hard to know exactly what happened because TV didn't bother to show it but it appears that John couldn't stop in time when Matt Kenseth checked up in front of him to avoid a spinning Michael Waltrip.

43. Ward Burton - His night ended on lap 82 when the engine expired on the #4.

Posted by silverdsl at 10:24 AM | Comments (0)

Not Loving ESPN's Race Broadcasts

Overall I thought the racing was pretty good on Saturday night but what I didn't think was very good was the broadcast of by ESPN/ABC. Many fans had been looking forward to ESPN returning to Nascar, but now that they're back many are unhappy - and with good reason. It's understandable that ESPN is still finding their rhythm after not having broadcast Nascar races in so long, and it's expected that there's going to be some mistakes and things that are missed at times. But at this point in the season, the quality of the broadcast should be significantly better.

I think what bothers me the most is how much of what goes on ESPN either misses completely or glosses over, even when it's fairly significant incidents. Of course no broadcast can ever cover every single thing that happens to every single team during the course of a race. It's always been a problem that no matter which network is broadcasting the race, some teams and drivers will go unmentioned, and it's sometimes a complete mystery why a driver is suddenly off the track. However, it seems like ESPN is even worse in this regard. Even when viewers see something happen, there's no guarantee that ESPN is going to follow-up on it or explain what just happened. At Talladega viewers saw Dale Jarrett's wrecked race car when ESPN came back from a commercial, but never bothered to show any video of what happened or give any details about how DJ's car ended up torn to shreds. It was only when Kyle Petty was interviewed later in the race that it was revealed that Kyle had gotten into DJ as they slowed for a wreck in front of them. During a round of pit stops early in Saturday night's race viewers could see Elliott Sadler hit the #70 of Johnny Sauter on pit road. Yet there was absolutely nothing said in the booth about this incident, including which cars it involved, in spite of the fact that the incident could have damaged both cars (and likely did.) Or later in the race when Michael Waltrip spun which resulted in John Andretti and Matt Kenseth wrecking trying to avoid him - where was the video of that incident?

All fans who are watching at home have to depend on it what they see on the TV broadcast. If incidents are never shown or never explained then viewers get an incomplete picture of what's happening in a race Instead of spending laps talking about the incident between Jeff Gordon and Dale Earnhardt, Jr. that didn't even result in a wreck, it might have been nice if they spent 30 seconds explaining what happened to Elliott and Johnny, not to mention why Ward Burton went to the garage after only 34 laps. Fans complain constantly that the races are boring. Well, maybe in reality it's not that the races themselves are boring, it's that the broadcasts of the races are boring. If the broadcast isn't fully reflecting all the action on the track, whether it's the racing itself or what's going on with individual teams it seems to me that it's going to be hard for fans to find the race they're watching interesting. It's been said over and over, yet no one at any of the networks that broadcast the races seem to listen - fans want to hear about more than just the Chase drivers and about more than just the sport's most popular drivers.

Another common complaint by fans is that they don't like Rusty Wallace in the booth. While I've not taken issue with Rusty as much as some other fans have, I've come to think that replacing him with DJ (or Kyle Petty should he become available) would be a wise decision. First, Rusty seems to get mixed up about the drivers and their names. During Friday night's Busch race Rusty was unable to pronounce Aric Almirola's name correctly and during last weekend's Cup race he referred to Jamie McMurray as being the driver of the #42 car even though Jamie hasn't been in that car for two years. Of course all the broadcasters are going to make mistakes and mispronounce things at times, but it seems like it happens quite frequently with Rusty. At this point in the season, and especially considering he's familiar with everyone in the garage area since he just retired two years ago, Rusty should know who drives which car and how to pronounce their names.

Another thing that bothers me is the lack of objectivity. For one thing the constant focus on Rusty's son, Steven in the Busch Series this season has been ridiculous. That's not entirely Rusty's fault as there are producers who make a decision as to who they choose to show during races, but there's been way more attention given to Steven this season than it seems he deserves based on his results. But I think what was worse was what happened in Saturday night's race when Ryan Newman wrecked. It's been well-documented that Rusty and Ryan disliked each other when they were teammates at Penske Racing, but whatever personal feelings that Rusty might have towards Ryan shouldn't show up during a broadcast. But it seemed like that's exactly what happened on Saturday, when Rusty almost gleefully said that Ryan wrecking was a result of him overdriving. In addition, Rusty took great pains to point out how it didn't seem like Ryan had a flat, something Ryan thought was the case, to emphasize that Ryan lost control on his own, as if he wanted to drive home the point that Ryan did something wrong or failed. I just didn't like the way Rusty's personal biases seemed to come through there. Drivers spin on a weekly basis, sometimes through no fault of their own, sometimes because of a mechanical issue or flat tire, yet it's not often that someone in the broadcast booth spends so much time trying to make a case for why the driver is to blame.

Something else that a lot of fans take issue with is the constant commercial breaks. I can tolerate that a little better than some other fans because I understand that no matter which network is broadcasting the races they're obligated to have a certain amount of commercials, and that's how the bills are paid. What's not as understandable is how many times re-starts are missed. Once in a while the timing is going to be off and a re-start is going to be missed but it seems like it happens on a regular basis with ESPN. I'd also like to see them break away from commercial when an incident happens on the track. There's been so many times that I'll hear via listening to Michael's radio via Trackpass that there's a caution but it seems like it's forever before viewers actually find out about it. Even worse is that often when they come back from commercial even when there's been an incident on the track they'll still go through all their scheduled promos and everything else before they show what happened. That's inexcusable to me. The priority should be the action on the track. ESPN can always go back to commercial - they will anyway when there's a commercial. It shouldn't be 3-4 minutes before viewers find out there's been a wreck or other incident to bring out a caution.

Ratings have steadily been declining over the past couple of years and I'm not so sure it's that people have lost interest in the sport as much as they're not enjoying the way the races are being broadcast. Unfortunately, I'm not too optimistic that things are going to get any better. ESPN is in the first year of a long-term deal to broadcast races and I'm not sure there's that much motivation to do things differently.

Posted by silverdsl at 08:39 AM | Comments (0)

October 14, 2007

Michael Waltrip Finishes 10th at Charlotte!

Wow, talk about an unexpected top ten! Michael Waltrip had a decent car when the race started tonight but about halfway through he spun and it didn't seem like the car was the same after that. Still, he was able to stay on the lead lap and race in the top 25. But I figured that's about where he would finish. Well, gradually Michael picked up a few positions to where he was in the top 20, then made the call to stay out when a number of other cars pitted during a late race caution. That put him in the top 15 and I wasn't sure he'd be able to hold on to that, but not only was he able to hold on he advanced to finish 10th! 10th! That's his second top ten of the season, and it has to feel good to him considering the problems tonight. Not only did he have the spin but for the second week in a row his tearoffs bunched up on the windshield which impeded his ability to see. Understandably Michael was furious - there's no excuse for that happening two weeks in a row - but luckily there was a caution shortly afterwards so that problem could be taken care of. I'm just really happy for Michael. For once things went his way. Even when he spun he didn't hit anything or lose a lap. There were also no major mechanical issues, and while the car wasn't perfect for him, it wasn't as bad as some of the cars he's had to race at the beginning of the season. A really great job by both Michael and his team tonight of not letting themselves get discouraged and making the most of the position they found themselves in. I'm really liking what I'm seeing from the #55 team lately!

Posted by silverdsl at 12:07 AM | Comments (0)

October 13, 2007

Robby Gordon Are You Paying Attention?

In relation to taking on a partner/investor at Michael Waltrip Racing, Michael said,

“I could see that there were things that we weren’t doing well. We knew race cars really good, but we didn’t surround ourselves with the type of folks that were necessary to run the race team like a business. I was running the race team like a race-car driver: If you need it go get it, we’ll figure out how to pay for it later. It just really turned out that I needed some help.”

I can't help but think of Robby Gordon who is struggling to make Robby Gordon Motorsports a success in Cup. Although Robby has his car in the top 35 in owner's points, contends for wins on road courses and occasionally is competitive otherwise, the results have not been spectacular for Robby as an owner-driver. He struggles tremendously in qualifying, to the point where he's lucky he's in the top 35 in owner's points otherwise he might have missed a number of races, which causes him to often have to race from the back to the front, his team struggles to field cars that are competitive on a consistent basis, there's been constant crew chief changes, sponsor issues and Robby hasn't been able to add a second Cup team like he's wanted to. I would suspect that Robby is experiencing a lot of the same problems that Michael has in terms of not necessarily knowing how to run his organization like a business, and also struggling to have the available financial resources to pay for all the things that would allow him to race as well as the elite teams in the garage area. So it seems to me that Robby would also benefit from taking on an investor/partner who could help him with the business side of things, give him an influx of money and maybe also allow Robby to concentrate on what he's good at - racing and race cars.

It seems as if Robby realizes that he might have to do this since at one time he explored the possibility of partnering or merging with Yates Racing. However, part of the problem for Robby is that he likes to be in control and it would probably be hard for him to have to turn some of that control over to someone else. I think having control is something that's important to Michael as well, but he was able to put aside some of what he wanted for the good of his organization, and ultimately I think Robby will need to do the same. Michael found someone who seems willing to let Michael continue to make most of the day-to-day decisions, maybe Robby can find someone like that as well.

Although most fans of Michael's dislike Robby as much as Robby's fans dislike Michael, I don't share those same sentiments. I definitely don't care for some of the things that Robby does on the track and his attitude at times. However, I like how fan-friendly he is and most of all, I think it's important for RGM to not only survive, but thrive and have success because it would show that it's possible for a small, independent organization with a driver-owner to do well. Problem is, I'm not convinced that RGM will be around five years from now if Robby doesn't adjust his approach.

One thing that Robby and every other organization looking to merge, partner or add investors and additional owners is making sure that they're choosing to work with the right people. Michael has said in the past that he was approached by quite a few people who were looking to buy MWR and take over completely - like Michael, Robby would not be happy in a situation like that. There's also the potential for investors to be unscrupulous or a deal to go bad. 360OTC is an example of how sometimes things that look great on the outside are rotten to the core. There's also been rumors that a New York investment company has been looking to buy or invest in a team and that there are concerns about where their money is coming from. Before Michael introduced Rob Kauffman some assumed that this was who Michael was partnering with, and questioned the wisdom of bringing them on board. Of course there's risk in every deal or investment, but it seems as if Kauffman is someone who has a global presence in the financial industry, is stable, has a significant amount of personal assets and also seems to have a good reputation. Maybe Robby can find someone like that to help him out, someone who believes in him and his organization enough to join with him in taking RGM to the next level.

Posted by silverdsl at 04:38 PM | Comments (0)

October 12, 2007

Michael Waltrip Racing Announces New Partner; Dale Jarrett To Retire

What a day for Michael Waltrip Racing!! Lots of exciting news for sure! As rumored, Dale Jarrett will race just six races next season before turning the #44 - and the UPS sponsorship - over to David Reutimann. David, who has extended his contract with MWR for the next three years, will start the season in the #00 before getting into the #00. In addition, Michael announced that he was bringing on a partner, Rob Kauffman, a founder of Fortress Investment Group, who has acquired 50% ownership of the new company formed as a result, Michael Waltrip Racing Holdings, LLC.

I'm thrilled that David was not only re-signed, but re-signed for the next three years! He's an outstanding driver and person, and I've been so impressed with him, not only this season but also when he was in DW's truck as well. David has so much talent as a driver, and I have no doubt we'll be seeing David win some Cup races as soon as he has cars that are competitive enough to allow him to race up front regularly. I think David will end up being a good fit for UPS - it's clear they like David, and from the sounds of it, DJ thinks very highly of him too and played a major role in getting David into the #44. It's a little disappointing that David won't be able to continue racing the #00 since that number has so much family history for him, but UPS would like to remain with the #44. What's good is that David said yesterday that he'll apparently be keeping his crew chief, Frank Kerr, and his team - that's outstanding for David because he has such a great rapport with them and they seem to work extremely well together.

David will also race the #99 again full-time in the Nationwide Series because he wants the opportunity to race for a Championship again in that series. While I love to watch David race in the now-Busch series, and I think his chances of winning the Championship next season are pretty good, if there's one thing that I wish was different is that I would have rather seen David concentrate on Cup only next season, and that the #99 would be used for driver development. But I can't really complain too much about having more opportunities to see David race!

Although DJ is only going to be racing a handful of races next season he plans on remaining involved with the #44 team and UPS. DJ talked about how much he wanted to help MWR and the #44 team grow, but I have to wonder if the extent to which he's going to be involved next season is because he still has contractual obligations to UPS and MWR because of the deal he signed prior to the start of this season which was supposed to be a two-year deal for DJ to race full-time through the end of next season. What makes me think that is when it was said that DJ would fulfill all his hospitality obligations to UPS. I can see how UPS might want to get as much mileage about of DJ as possible before he retires completely considering how closely connected DJ and UPS have been the past seven years. UPS is really going to get the best of both worlds - a talented driver in David, and continue to have DJ represent them. As I've said previously in this space I've never warmed to DJ, and once he said that he didn't care one way or another whether he continued to race, nor was he very upset when he didn't make races, I thought it was definitely time for him to get out of the car. So I can't say I'm as heart-broken as a lot of fans that DJ's retiring. I appreciate all that DJ has done to help MWR get off the ground and I can recognize that DJ has accomplished a lot in the sport, but I just don't have the same fond feelings for him that others do.

I also practically jumped up and down for joy when it was confirmed as part of this announcement that Michael will continue to race the #55 full-time next season! Michael had said that was the plan a number of times recently, but the best laid plans have a funny way of changing. Some have said that surely NAPA wants Michael to step aside, but it's pretty clear that NAPA wants Michael to continue representing them and racing for them otherwise another driver would be in the car next season. Eventually I know the day will come when Michael steps out of the car for good just like DJ is doing, but Michael told Nascar Now he has no plans to retire and that he intends on continuing to race as long as he feels he can race competitively. If he has a good race car I know Michael can race up front and contend for wins so now that the MWR cars are getting more competitive, I hope that means that Michael will continue to race for a few more years, but I suppose that depends on how quickly the drivers in MWR's development program progress.

One thing that wasn't announced at the press conference was who the driver of the #00 would be when David moves to the #44. It was said that they would consider putting either Josh Wise or Michael McDowell in the #00, but that they're also considering other options. So the speculation about who might get that ride will continue. I imagine that a lot of it will depend on sponsorship - whether they find some and who that sponsor wants in the car, though based on Ty Norris's comments just now on XM it also depends on whether Josh and Michael will be ready by next April to race in Cup. I'm very happy to hear that it sounds like Michael McDowell has joined the MWR driver development program. Michael has spoken highly about him recently and he appears to have a lot of talent and potential, just like Josh. I think it's a little soon to put either of those two drivers in the #00 though, especially full-time. I'd rather see them race full-time or share a ride in the Truck or Nationwide Series so that they can get experience before move up to Cup. Maybe putting a veteran in the car who is willing to split time with the two young drivers, as well as mentor them, much like Mark Martin is doing at DEI would work. No, I don't think Steve Park is going to end up in this ride. Not when he hasn't raced Cup or worked much with a sponsor since 2003. Though I saw elsewhere that apparently Michael mentioned in one interview or another that Johnny Benson was being considered - I wish Steve had hooked up with a Toyota truck team at some point because that might led to other opportunities with other Toyota teams.

Contrary to what David Poole reported, Fortress Investment Group isn't buying into MWR. However, Rob Kauffman, a founder and managing director of Fortress is making a personal investment in MWR. That was made clear several times, that this is a personal investment by Kauffman. I think this is ultimately going to be a very good thing. Kauffman will be a huge asset on the financial and business side, which will allow Michael to focus on the motorsports side, an area that Kauffman has no experience with. Since Kauffman lives in Europe I suspect that Michael will remain in control of most of the day-to-day operations and much of what happens just as he always had. It's interesting that this partnership is going to result in a new company, Michael Waltrip Racing Holdings, LLC. For one thing Michael's name remains prominent, but additionally, I have to wonder as someone else on Michael's forum wondered about as well what that new company actually entails and what kinds of protections are in place for Michael to retain actual ownership of Michael Waltrip Racing and the teams.

What no one saw coming was that Cal Wells, formerly the owner of PPI Motorsports would come on board as Executive Vice President of Operations. MWR essentially merged with PPI prior to the start of this season when they not only purchased the owner's points from the #32, but also hired most of the #32's crew and some other personnel. It had been thought that this deal was mostly on paper, particularly since Cal was working with Robby Gordon Motorsports as a consultant for a while. However, a few months ago Michael made a comment on his XM show that Cal was still actively involved, and it's clear now that was very true. Some of Robby's fans have to be all twisted up inside that Cal was hired by Michael, not Robby given that Cal has known Robby since he was young. However, Cal had said in an XM interview that while he wanted to help Robby out as much as possible he could never go into a formal business arrangement with him because he felt it would damage their personal relationship due to Robby's control issues and overall attitude as owner. Robby's loss is definitely MWR's gain! It'll be humorous to see all the ways that Robby's fans, a large percentage of whom can't stand Michael, try to spin what was announced today as negative news that's a sign that MWR is on the verge of folding as many are trying to convince them is going to happen - I think not! In fact, if Robby doesn't look to make some of the same kinds of moves that Michael has - develop young drivers so he can expand and bring on outside partners, his organization might be the one in trouble.

Believe it or not, this morning, a few hours before this announcement was made I actually got to talk to Michael. Some friends were visiting Raceworld today and got to spend a little time with Michael. So one of them was kind enough to put Michael on the phone. It was a very brief conversation, in which he did most of the talking since I was too excited about hearing his voice to say much! I honestly can't even remember exactly what was said beyond him saying that he wished I was there and that he hoped to see me soon - no clue if it was explained to him who I was and that he actually knew that he was talking to someone who is a familiar face to him or whether he says stuff like that to fans who he talks to on the phone all the time. But even in that short conversation, he sounded so happy - he's always happy around his fans, but I think what he was announcing today was making him happy too. This season has been such a struggle for him, but the future looks really bright for MWR. It has to make him feel good that someone believes in him and his organization and their chances for success enough to invest so much in it. I'm really, really happy for Michael - after a very rough start, it appears that things are really starting to turn around for MWR - I'm very excited to see what next season has in store for Michael and his teams!

Posted by silverdsl at 12:22 PM | Comments (0)

Where do Some Writers Get This Stuff From?

Nothing irks me more than shoddy journalism where reporters don't use proper sourcing, don't follow-up on leads, don't allow those involved with a story a chance to comment and don't do much fact-checking. It seems that there's a rush to be the first to report something rather than wait to make sure what's being reported is accurate. Tim Tuttle has an article on SI.com in which he reports that anonymous sources have told him that Jeremy Mayfield is taking over the #44 with the UPS sponsorship at Michael Waltrip Racing once Dale Jarrett steps out of the car after the first six races in 2008. Tuttle writes this article as if it's already a done deal that Jeremy will be in the #44. There's only one problem - it appears it's completely inaccurate.

As widely rumored for quite some time now, David Reutimann confirmed to a writer from a Tampa Bay newspaper that he's going to be the one taking over the #44 after the first six races next season. Given that there's actual quotes from David in that article, I'm thinking the chances of that being accurate are a lot greater than the SI article which doesn't have a single quote from anyone involved. How did the SI writer possibly get things so wrong? Well, it appears there's some truth to the story. Some fans who spoke with Michael this week said that he confirmed that he's talked with Jeremy about giving him a ride next season (though he also said that he didn't think it was going to happen). However, the writer's source appears to have gotten everything else about the story wrong. Maybe Tuttle has used this source before and he's always had accurate information in the past leading Tuttle to trust what he was saying. But it seems to me that if Tuttle has been paying attention to the rumor mill at all, that what this source was telling him was a lot different should have given off some warning bells.

I think what really gets me is that there's not even a single mention of David in the article at all. Does this writer even know that David re-signed with MWR? That's a pretty big piece of the puzzle that he left out. In addition, later in the article Tuttle talks about how Jeff Green is leaving Haas-CNC Racing and has a done deal with another team, likely either Joe Gibbs Racing or Richard Childress Racing. Tuttle talks about Green leaving Haas as if it's a done deal but there's been no announcement to that effect and when Green was asked about his future at Haas recently he seemed to indicate it was still up in the air. In addition, Green left RCR on bad terms so it's unlikely he'd be going back there, and both RCR and Gibbs have indicated they aren't likely to have fourth teams next season.

I have to wonder if Tuttle bothered to contact anyone at MWR, Jeremy, Jeff or anyone else to find out if any of what he was reporting was remotely correct. Of course he might have gotten little more than a "no comment," but I'm thinking that someone would have likely pointed him in the right direction, even off-the-record, regarding what the situation was going to be with the #44. I also have to wonder who Tuttle's source was. He gives absolutely no indication, not even a "sources involved with the negotiations say" or "a highly placed source at MWR says." For all his readers know, his source is a fan with a vivid imagination, a crew member who saw Jeremy talking to Michael or just about anyone other than someone who is directly involved at MWR or with Mayfield.

It wouldn't be surprising if Jeremy does end up racing for MWR. He's an available driver who knows how to win on the Cup level, and assuming the sponsorship is there, the #00 will be an open ride after the first six races next season. However, it would be surprising if Jeremy ended up at MWR in the way Tuttle says he's going to.

Posted by silverdsl at 08:50 AM | Comments (0)

October 10, 2007

Photo of the Day - Boat

Provincetown, MA., August, 2007. I wish I had a boat I could take off in to points unknown...

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

Michael Waltrip Racing Taking on a Partner?

According to David Poole of The Charlotte Observer, Thatsracin.com and Sirius Satellite Radio, that's what he's heard, that Michael Waltrip Racing will not only be announcing their 2008 driver lineup on Friday, but also that they're taking on an investment partner, a New York based asset management company, Fortress Investment Group. Michael has expressed in the recent past a willingness to take on a partner as long as that person or company was exactly that, a partner, rather than trying to take over completely.

It's hard to know exactly how to react to this bit of news since details are so skimpy and it's possible what Poole heard isn't accurate. However, I think taking a partner, particularly one who is willing to invest money in MWR would be something very positive for the organization. In addition, some of the responsibility for some things on the business side could potentially be taken care of by those from Fortress (or whatever organization he might be partnering with), so Michael could focus on the things that are his strengths - racing, taking care of sponsors, etc...

As long as this arrangement is one that will make Michael happy and will end up benefiting MWR, I'm all for it. I think it could really solidify MWR as a whole if they have outside investors, added personnel who could potentially have new ideas and different ways of looking at things and maybe best of all, added financial resources. I also think it will really shock a few of the negative-nellie fans who are convinced that MWR is going to fold in the near future that an outside entity would believe in MWR enough to invest time and money in the organization.

Posted by silverdsl at 08:42 PM | Comments (0)

Random Nascar Thoughts on Random Thoughts

*In May Steve Park got into a truck for the only time this season when he did some testing for Key Motorsports, who also considered putting him into one of their trucks for the race at Charlotte. Ultimately nothing ever came of it at Charlotte or for any other race, and I suspect the reason is that Key isn't fielding trucks that are as competitive as Steve would like to race, though it's also possible that Key decided that they didn't want to give a ride to Steve. I would have liked to have seen Steve race for Key even if it was just one or two races, and especially now that Key has announced that they intend on fielding a car in the Nationwide Series full-time next season. Maybe they'd consider Steve anyway, but it seems to me that Key will talk first to drivers who have raced for them before who they're familiar with. Steve might not be interested in this ride anyway since he likely wouldn't be able to contend for too many wins with it, but a full-time ride is a full-time ride and it could led to other opportunities, just like racing some truck races for Key might have led to other opportunities.

*When Carl Edwards and his team were penalized because their car was found to be too low in a post-race inspection, virtually everyone from fans to the media freaked out about it. Fast-forward to this past weekend at Talladega where Reed Sorenson's car also failed a post-race inspection for the same reason, and the same penalties were handed out to Reed and his team yesterday. Is everyone just as upset as they were about the penalty being given to Carl? Hardly. It seems like no one cares in the slightest that Reed's car was found to be too low or that his team was penalized for it. Of course Carl's car failed post-race inspection in a race that he won and he's a Chase driver so naturally it's going to get more attention, but it still seems to me that if fans and the media felt it was unfair for Carl to be penalized, then they should also feel that it's unfair for Reed to be penalized. After all couldn't his car being too low also be a result of something that happened on the track as Carl's team claimed as opposed to something the team did? It seems to me that there's another issue at play here. Nascar doesn't inspect every car post-race, they only select a few randomly. Yet every week it seems like there's at least one car that fails a post-race inspection for height violations. It makes me wonder if in a random sampling that may cars are failing post-race inspection, how many might fail if they inspected the entire field?

*Speaking of the penalty given to Carl's team, the appeal that Roush-Fenway Racing filed was rejected today. I'm not surprised in the least. Roush-Fenway's argument appeared to be that they felt it was unfair for a driver during the Chase to be penalized the same as they would outside the Chase. Ridiculous. There shouldn't be two different set of penalties for during the Chase and the rest of the season. A too-low car is still a too-low car whether it's during the Chase or in the first part of the season.

*Bill Elliott's back in the #21 at Charlotte this weekend. As soon as I saw the #21 wreck on Sunday and the #22 finish so well which resulted in the #21 falling out of the top 35 in owner's points I figured Bill would be back in the #21 this weekend. It's a smart move for the #21 team because there's 50 cars entered at Charlotte and Bill will be able to use a Champion's provisional to lock them into the field if he can't make it in on time. I just feel bad for Ken Schrader because it appears that he doesn't have a ride at all in Nascar now. Previously if he wasn't in the #21, he still had the #18 truck to race for Bobby Hamilton Racing. However, he's been replaced in that ride by Dennis Setzer. Of course Kenny can just do some dirt-track racing and he'll be just as happy as if he were racing in Nascar. But it has to be frustrating for Kenny to be in and out of the #21 this season.

*Thatsracin.com is reporting that yet another open-wheel driver will be racing in the Cup series full-time next season. As widely rumored Patrick Carpentier has apparently signed a contract to race the #10 next season for Gillett-Evernham Racing. I don't know much about Carpentier, though he did race the #10 in place of Scott Riggs at Watkins Glen, and he has made a couple of Busch starts. So it's hard to know how well he's going to do in Cup. What's going to be difficult for Carpentier is that the #10 won't be locked into the top 35 in owner's points to start next season and I think it's going to be a tall order to expect a driver with very little Nascar experience to be able to successfully qualify into those races on time and then race well enough to be in the top 35. Carpentier may end up in a similar position to A.J. Allmendinger next season.

*Concerns about making races may put Sam Hornish, Jr.'s plans to race in Cup next season on hold. So far Hornish hasn't been able to make it into any of the Cup races he's attempted to qualify for this season and I can understand why that's making him concerned about next season. I think it might be a wise idea for Penske Racing to put Hornish in the Nationwide Series full-time for a season to get him some more experience before throwing him into a Cup car full-time, especially one that's outside the top 35 in owner's points to start the season. However, Hornish indicated that he would return to IndyCar if he's not racing in Cup.

Posted by silverdsl at 04:10 PM | Comments (0)

In the News: Michael Waltrip Racing (10/10)

Dale Jarrett has a press conference scheduled for tomorrow and Michael Waltrip Racing has a press conference on Friday, and at the conclusion of both we'll know what the lineup will look like for MWR next season. It's all but certain that DJ won't race full-time in 2008, and might race as few as six races, just enough to take advantage of his Champion's provisional. Last night on Nascar Now Michael confirmed that he and David Reutimann would both race full-time for MWR in Cup in 2008, and there will also be two Busch cars, one for David, and the other presumably for Josh Wise or another young driver so they can continue to advance their driver development program. The only thing that's still unknown is who will take over for DJ next season once he steps out of the car. It's heavily rumored that David will move from the #00 to the #44 after the first six races, with another driver stepping into the #00.

It's still unknown what driver that will be it's been rumored that MWR has talked with both Jeremy Mayfield and David Stremme. I'm not surprised that MWR would show interest in those two. For one thing they already talked with Jeremy once about a ride last year before he opted to sign with Bill Davis Racing. In addition, although some fans think no team would ever possibly have any interest in Jeremy because of what's perceived to be his attitude issues, the reality is that Jeremy is a proven winner on the Cup level who knows what it takes to get into the Chase. What would also appeal to MWR is that he's raced Toyotas before in Cup and understands the challenges that come with racing for a team not locked into the top 35 in owner's points. However, some fans of Jeremy apparently spoke with Michael at Raceworld yesterday and he indicated that while he had spoken with Jeremy, it didn't look like things were going to work out with him.

Which leaves Stremme. When David was released I immediately thought that MWR might show interest in him, though at the time I was thinking he would be their back-up plan in case David Reutimann signed with another team. Although the results haven't been very impressive for David S. in Cup, he's young, marketable and seems to be pretty good with the media so I can see how that would make him attractive to MWR. He also knows how to qualify for races on time - last season when his car dropped out of the top 35 in owner's points, David was able to make races on speed. It's not the same as dealing with that over a full season, but he definitely stepped up and qualified well when he needed to. That said, David has never been high on my list of drivers that I like and he's one of the few drivers who I've wondered whether he's over his head in Cup. To be fair it's possible that David has never been given cars that are as competitive as he needs to show what he's truly capable on the Cup level, but I've not seen too much from him to make me think that he's going to win a lot of Cup races, but maybe that could happen with the right team.

Of course there could be some other driver that they're talking to as well. MWR sometimes plays their cards close to the vest - that Bill Elliott was going to race some races for them last season with Burger King as a sponsor came out of left field. There's other drivers like Tony Raines who are available, or MWR could look outside of Nascar and try to lure another open-wheel racer to try their hand at stock car racing like so many other teams have been doing lately.

One thing's for sure, contrary to what some believe, MWR isn't folding at the end of this season, UPS and NAPA aren't bailing and it appears that they're going to have three teams next season. It appears they may still have to find sponsorship for the third team so I'm not 100% positive until I hear what's announced on Friday as to whether that will be a full or part-time team, but I think MWR is going to make every effort to race it full-time. I'm sure some are going to assume that everything that MWR is doing are panic moves are because they found out recently that they'll be losing sponsors, but Michael said on his XM show last night that what they'll be announcing on Friday is something that's been in the works for six months. It's increasingly clear based on the rumors that circulated earlier this season, as well as DJ's more recently comments, that he had decided quite some time ago that he lost some of his enthusiasm for racing, something Michael has probably been aware of for quite some time. In addition, I suspect that MWR has known the the deals they had with Burger King and Domino's might not last past this season. Burger King never seemed to do much with their sponsorship, which made me wonder how committed they were to sticking around and it's been said for a while that there might be financial consideration that would prevent Domino's from being as involved in Nascar as they had been previously. It's possible that one or both of those sponsors will be back with MWR next season, but I would guess that MWR has been working on finding additional sponsors in an effort to try to continue with three full-time teams. Fact is, while some fans are convinced that no one at MWR has a clue about what they're doing, the reality is that MWR is made up of people with a significant amount of experience working in motorsports, just like any of the other Cup organizations.

In other news, Michael and Ty Norris feel good about the direction MWR is heading in, particularly with the addition of Dr. Eric Warren as Technical Director. Michael said,

“We worked really hard to get into a position where, when somebody like Dr. Warren showed up, we were ready to take that help and run with it. Our guys have done a tremendous amount of work, and Toyota as well, to get us to the point now where we feel good about where we are.”

MWR seemed to be moving in the right direction even before Dr. Warren came on board, but since they hired him there's no doubt that they've made even more progress. Not only have all three cars started making races more regularly, but they've started racing a lot more competitively too. In the past I would expect that even if Michael made a race his car wouldn't have enough speed to where he'd actually be able to race and he'd spend most of the time racing around in back. Now it seems that when he makes races he's actually able to do some real racing, including at times up front like he did at Talladega, which is great to see!

Ty said,

“The biggest mistake we made was in the summer of ’06, when we designed our structure, one of our lead people would be a ‘technical director.’ But we didn’t want to plug somebody in who didn’t have those qualifications. And then we had two people turn us down, two nonbelievers who bailed on us at the last minute, because they said ‘Man, you guys aren’t even under one roof yet, and you don’t have enough cars built.’ So when they bailed, we went into the season without that key position solidified. So we went through the first part of the season on gut feelings, throwing stuff at it, rather than basing things on science. Now with Dr. Eric Warren coming on, all those things we were looking for in the summer of ‘06 are starting to come around.”

It's hard to know exactly who Ty is referring to when he talks about there being non-believers, but I would guess that one is Matt Borland and the other is Larry Carter, as someone elsewhere suggested. Carter left prior to the start of the season to become Jamie McMurray's crew chief, and Borland left when he didn't work out as DJ's crew chief. While Carter might be happier at an established organization where there are no concerns about having to make races, I wonder if he's really satisfied working with Jamie. Although Jamie did start the season fairly strong and won at Daytona, the results for him since have been pretty unimpressive, much like the rest of his career.

Ty also talked about how hard Michael has worked. He said,

“Even people who have been in this sport for 20 years don’t understand what it has taken Michael to build this team, the countless hours, how much money, and how much work to keep it together.”

Something that continually amazes me is how many fans, seem to think that putting together a Cup team and fielding competitive cars is easy and that the struggles that MWR has had to endure this season mean that Michael's an idiot and that the organization as a whole is a failure. That couldn't be further from the truth. There are some things that I would have liked to have seen MWR do differently - and I'm sure there's not a single person in the organization who doesn't wish that they could erase the whole Daytona mess - but there's never been a doubt in my mind that Michael, Ty and everyone at MWR are working extremely hard to make the organization a success. It's not easy. Mistakes are going to be made. But in the end, I'm pretty confident that MWR is going to be successful.

Although some fans are having a hard time admitting that MWR is starting to improve, some in the garage area have taken notice. Ty said,

“The cool thing about it has been our resiliency,” Norris said. “People left us for dead. But we didn’t quit. And now even Jeff Gordon came up to and said ‘Man, you guys are making it work.’ People are recognizing that it’s going to work, that we’re going to survive."

I think it's great that someone like Jeff would take the time to acknowledge the progress that MWR is making. There's no doubt in my mind that MWR is going to survive and some who think that they're a sinking ship are going to end up being very surprised by what happens in the future.

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

October 09, 2007

Yankees Eliminated From Playoffs

I haven't really blogged much about the New York Yankees or baseball for quite some time, not because I'm any less of a fan, just because I have less time to blog these days and I figured I would just concentrate mostly on Nascar since those entries seem to be the ones that are read the most. However, I can't ignore the fact that the Yankees were eliminated from the playoffs last night. I was pretty disappointed in the way the Yankees played in this series against the Cleveland Indians. That they nearly got swept speaks to how they couldn't seem to get anything done - neither the pitching nor the offense was there and at times even the defense looked a little shaky.They were a mere shadow of the team that stepped up and won so much during the second half of the season after many - including myself - thought they had no chance of making the post-season.

On one hand I'm just happy that they played in the post-season. In July when they were so many game out of both the division lead and the wild card I thought that the Yankees were done. I was thrilled when they proved me wrong and not only grabbed the wild card, but made the Boston Red Sox sweat for the division lead. However, once they got to Cleveland it was like the wheels fell off. The hitting was completely non-existent and although Andy Pettitte pitched well in his start, overall the pitching wasn't as dominant as it needed to be. When the Yankees were down two games I knew it was unlikely they were going to pull this one out like they've done in the past when they've been in a similar position. I don't think the depth is there like it has been with World Series winning teams of the past.

Over the weekend George Steinbrenner said that Joe Torre wouldn't be brought back as manager if the Yankees didn't win this series. While I'm not against a change in manager, I think it's ridiculous to blame Torre for the failings of his players. He did he best he could with the players he was given, and many of them were ineffective or underperformed. There's nothing he can do about Roger Clemens being injured, Mike Mussina getting old or Derek Jeter being cold at the plate. If Steinbrenner follows through it's likely that Don Mattingly or Joe Girardi will become the next Yankees manager, but I'm not sure either one of them will have better luck with this group of players than Torre did.

I could rant and rave and place blame on individual players for the Yankees losing this series, but the reality is that the Yankees win and lose as a team. As a whole they failed to execute, and failed to win this series. Some of best Yankees teams of the past are those who didn't necessarily have a lot of big superstars, but simply had players who knew how to work well together and how to win.

One thing's for sure - in this off-season the Yankees must ensure that Alex Rodriguez stays. If he opts out of his contract and goes elsewhere, the Yankees are in big trouble. Although A-Rod struggles to be productive in the post-season, he is one of the best players in baseball and he certainly showed that this season. Without A-Rod it's likely that the Yankees would never have even made the playoffs.

I would have liked to have seen the Yankees advance to the next round at least, though of course it would have been awesome to see them in the World Series again, but after how poor the first half of this season was for the Yankees I think I'm just glad they were in the playoffs at all.

Posted by silverdsl at 10:44 AM | Comments (0)

October 08, 2007

Frustrated...

At times I feel very discouraged and disheartened about being a Nascar fan. It's not that I love the racing any less or that I'm not as much of a fan of Michael or any of the other drivers I like - in fact I still enjoy watching the races and I support Michael just as much as ever. It's some of my fellow Nascar fans that wear me down at times. I'm tired of close-mindedness of some fans and the negativity to the point where some can't find anything to like about the sport or anything that happens in it. I'm sick of the way that some fans seem to get more joy out of when misfortunate happens to drivers they don't like than when good things happen to the drivers they do like. It's disgusting the way that some fans wish injury on drivers they hate or can't have basic compassion for them as one human being should have for another who has problems. It's hard to stomach the intolerance that some fans have for diversity, people from other countries and differences of opinion. It's disappointing to hear about how some fans can't treat each other - and at times the drivers - with respect and common courtesy. I try as hard as possible not to let what anyone else says or does effect me, but sometimes I find that the fun gets sucked out of it.

What really disturbed me was a few weeks ago when Michael Waltrip got into that fiery wreck at Fontana. In several places fans made serious, non-joking comments about how they wished that Michael hadn't been able to get out of the car. Yes, there were actually people who wished death on Michael because they don't like him. Those kinds of comments, that I've seen directed towards other drivers, Mike Helton and Brian France as well, are sick, twisted and disgusting to me. What bothered me is that when those comments were made no one spoke up to protest those kinds of comments or say how disturbing they were. It was as if it was perfectly normal and acceptable to wish that a driver would die in a wreck. I get that some fans passionately hate some drivers. However, these fans are wishing death on someone that the majority of them don't know and might not have ever even met before. They're basing their hatred off of incidents on the track, interviews in the media, appearances on TVs, brief encounters at the track, etc... all of which make fans think they know the drivers intimately because they "see" them so often, when in reality they only know part of who the drivers are as people based on what they choose to share publically. There's also a complete lack of compassion by some fans to the point where they celebrate bad things happening to drivers they dislike. I just can't relate to that way of thinking and how someone can hate someone so much that they can't ever feel sympathy for them and that they hope that they get injured or die.

Some are so close-minded that when they make up their mind that their opinion is right they refuse to consider anything else. Even when their opinion flies in the face of the known facts. I've actually laughed at times at some of the ridiculous conspiracies theories that some fans insist are true. Or the way that once some fans make up their mind that a driver or Nascar did something wrong, there's no way that they'll consider the possibility that they're mistaken. Of course I have my own biases, that's human nature, but I try as much as I can to be objective. I'm also open to considering a variety of opinions and points-of-view to where I'll sometimes change my mind about what I think about someone or something. It boggled my mind earlier this year when I was attacked for doing that. Apparently some believe that changing one's mind and not choosing one opinion and sticking with it is being a bad fan. To me being open-minded is a good thing. I'm open to gaining more knowledge and making sure that I'm as well informed as possible when it comes to forming my opinions. It's sad to me that so many fans would rather ignore facts or other people's opinions rather than admit that they might be wrong or change their opinion about something.

Oh, how some fans complain that the drivers just toe the party line, plug their sponsors, and say nothing of substance. But when a driver dares give an actual opinion, often that's wrong too unless it agrees with what the majority of fans think. How dare a drive agree with something that Nascar did - well, they're just kissing Nascar's ass or afraid that Nascar will throw them out of the sport, it couldn't possibly be that the driver actually, genuinely thinks that way. It can't possibly be that the driver, who has more experience in and knowledge about Nascar and racing than any fan will ever have might actually know what they're talking about. Now, don't get me wrong - fans don't have to automatically swallow without question everything that ever driver says. I disagree, and sometimes strongly, with plenty of the drivers, but I also understand that maybe some of the drivers have legitimate points sometimes. Michael Waltrip said to me a few months ago that he thinks differently and he's not sure that's a good thing or a bad thing. In the world outside of Nascar that's a good thing, in the world of Nascar where the thinking is often conservative and fans only want to hear the things that are in agreement with their own opinions, that may not be a good thing unfortunately for him.

Don't even get me started on how some fans think other fans who have different opinions than they do are no-nothing, idiots (who who can't think for themselves if they should happen to not hate or disagree with everything that Nascar does). I think that different opinions make the world a more interesting place but to a large percentage of fans, opinions that disagree with theirs are intolerable to the point where some fans will actually insult, harass, bully and attempt to intimidate their fellow fans. On one forum where I participate in for a while some of my fellow users were getting harassing private messages or emails from other fans when they dared agree with opinions that didn't fall in line with what the majority of fans there decided were the "right" way to think. It's unbelievable to me how many fans are incapable of maturely discussing something or simply ignoring those things that they find objectionable.

The overwhelming negativity of some fans is a real drag too. I've been accused more than once of being too negative because I don't think it's likely that Steve Park is going to find another full-time ride, but having that opinion about one driver in no way compares to some fans who can't find a single thing they like about Nascar. I'm tired of the constant complaining about how much the racing sucks, the ridiculous accusations that the sport is fixed, that Nascar can't do anything right, etc... What really gets me is the constant complaining of those who claim that they've stopped watching. Well, if you're not watching any more how do you know if Nascar and the racing is as bad as you think it is? I know it's hard to believe but the people running Nascar actually have a clue about what they're doing. I don't agree with all the decisions that Nascar makes but I lot of times I can understand their thinking or what they hope to achieve. But so many fans automatically hate everything that Nascar says or does, even if it actually makes sense.

I've discussed inappropriate behavior by fans in other entries so I won't regurgitate much of what I've said previously but it's shocking at times to what degree fans think they own drivers and how they act towards them. Invading their private space, stalking, being excessively demanding, throwing a temper tantrum when a driver can't or won't sign autographs, etc... it amazes me sometimes how some fans act around the drivers. I think it's great how fan-friendly most drivers are towards their fans and how many wonderful experiences fans have with the drivers and I'd hate for that to be ruined by the small percentage of fans who don't know how to act appropriately or take things too far. Some fans seem to think that anything goes and they're completely oblivious as to how they're acting - unfortunately for them drivers, sponsors, PR reps, other fans, etc... often do notice and remember the fans who act out.

What's also troubling is the increasing resistance to diversity and difference among a shockingly large percentage of fans. To some, Toyota is bad because they're a foreign manufacturer, in spite of the fact that a significant amount of their vehicles are built in this country. In the same vein, drivers from other countries are bad to those fans because Nascar should remain an American sport. Diversity is bad too to some fans. It's not just that some dislike drivers getting an opportunity because of their sex or the color of their skin, it's that some fans are flat out resistant to there being any female or minority drivers at all ever, no matter how they get a ride, and they can't stand the idea of the sport reaching out to a diverse audience. The sport needs to grow. They need to reach out to as many fans as possible. The sport can't survive unless they do expand to non-traditional markets and audiences. I've been slammed because I'm from the Northeast on occasion and I'm careful about telling people that I'm Jewish because I've encountered at times a lack of acceptance to different religious beliefs as well. Of course in society as a whole there's always going to be a segment of people who are intolerant or prejudiced, but I've never encountered another sport where those kinds of attitudes are so widely accepted and voiced.

I wish it were as simple as what Michael said recently in a discussion about diversity and foreign drivers in which he said that some fans just need to "grow up." I wish all fans had the ability to be tolerant and learn to deal with the people and things they don't like. But a disturbingly large percentage of fans can't do that and the problem seems to be getting worse much to my dismay.

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

Driver by Driver: Talladega II

1. Jeff Gordon - Spent a good portion of the race hanging back but was up front when it counted. Most fans immediately think of Dale Earnhardt, Jr. as the best active driver on restrictor plate tracks, but Jeff is right there with him. Some say that it's easy to win at a restrictor plate track but it reminds me of a giant chess game. I think it takes a lot more strategy and ability to anticipate other drivers moves and how it will effect the draft and the racing than some think.

2. Jimmie Johnson - Raced in the back like his teammate and might have thought he had the win in hand until Jeff pulled out from behind him.

3. Dave Blaney - An outstanding race for Dave and his team. Dave started up front and finished up front, something many doubted a go-or-go-homer would be able to do, plus he matched his previous best career Cup finish. Best of all for Dave and his team is that this finish enabled the #22 to move into 35th in the owner's points which locks them into the show next weekend. A terrific race for the #22 team for sure.

4. Denny Hamlin - Denny got into some trouble with Nascar on Friday for refusing to stop aggressively bump drafting in practice after repeated warnings. That resulted in him being parked for the first part of the second practice, though Denny said that it didn't matter because his team didn't plan on taking part in the second practice. Instead of acknowledging that he should have heeded Nascar's warnings, Denny blamed it all on TV for focusing on him so much. Give me a break. Denny's attitude absolutely stinks at times. He's an extremely talented driver, but the longer he's been in Cup the bigger his ego and sense of entitlement seems to get. It's really unfortunate because at one time he was much more likable. Although he finished well and this race was incident for him, I suspect he might find trouble again on or off the track before this season is over.

5. Ryan Newman - Best finish for Ryan since he finished 2nd at Pocono in June. He and his teammate Kurt Busch seemed to work extremely well together all race long.

6. Casey Mears - Casey got shuffled out a little from where he had been racing with his teammates but 6th is still a great finish.

7. Kurt Busch - Best finish of the Chase so far for Kurt and it moved him up two places in the Chase standings.

8. Tony Stewart - After the race Tony was apparently furious and refused interview requests. It's hard to know without hearing from him exactly what his issue was but it appears that he might have thought the win was his and wasn't too happy that he got shuffled back. But the reality is that this is what happens at this kind of a track. Often the driver who is leading on the white flag lap isn't the driver who ends up winning the race since the lead changes so quickly and easily.

9. Tony Raines - Did anyone notice that Tony raced well all day and got a top ten? I didn't think so. This is his first top ten all season.

10. Reed Sorenson - Second top ten in a row for Reed. However, his car failed a post-race inspection when it was found to be too low so there could be penalties forthcoming. Not that anyone seems to care much since it didn't involve a Chase driver.

11. Clint Bowyer - Apparently Clint and his team were extremely worried about their engine and with good reason after seeing just about every other DEI-RCR engine go up in smoke. Those concerns might have kept him from racing quite as hard as he might have otherwise.

12. Johnny Sauter - A good start to Johnny's audition to keep his ride... but his teammate who is also racing to keep his ride finished just behind him. An unusually good day for both Haas cars.

13. Jeff Green

14. Carl Edwards - Highest finishing Ford. I don't think that was what they were aiming for when the Fords decided to hang back in an effort to avoid trouble and be up front for the finish.

15. Juan Montoya - Some predicted that JPM would cause "The Big One" but instead he raced up-front for most of the race without causing any problems until he got shuffled back towards the end of the race.

16. Kasey Kahne - We saw some of Kasey up front but he wasn't able to stick up there.

17. David Stremme - Also finished 17th last week at Kansas. David is rumored to be talking to Haas-CNC, Evernham and Michael Waltrip Racing about a ride. I suspect he'll end up at MWR because he's very marketable, good with the media, pretty personable and fairly young. There's the question whether he has the abilty to be really successful in Cup but there's also some question as to whether he's ever gotten competitive cars to race in Cup.

18. J.J. Yeley - Was he even mentioned once in this race? Now that he's announced that he's moving to a lower-tier team next season seems as if there's very little interest in him.

19. Mike Wallace - Best finish for the #88 team since Ricky Rudd finished 13th at Pocono in August. Because of how good Mike is at restrictor plate tracks I'm sure they were hoping for an even better finish but 19th is still pretty good considering how much this team has struggled this season.

20. Kevin Harvick - Looked competitive until engine problems caused him to pretty much have to just ride around in back for the rest of the race.

21. Jacques Villeneuve - Stayed out of trouble which was good, but that was due to pretty much staying away from most of the action which was a wise move. It'll be interesting to see how he does next season on this kind of a track when he's actually racing not just hanging back and hoping to survive.

22. David Reutimann - Was an innocent victim in "The Big One" but had a competitive car before that - David was even able to lead two laps.

23. Greg Biffle - Greg's last race as a bachelor didn't go very well. He was involved in several wrecks, the last of which put him in the garage with just about 15 laps to go.

24. Elliott Sadler - Elliott had harsh words for Michael Waltrip after the wreck on lap 175, but he didn't know that Michael had a blown tire which is what caused him to get into Elliott. Nothing Michael could have done about that. I think it's pretty ridiculous for Elliott to criticize another driver's ability behind the wheel when he hasn't done much of note in a few years himself. That said, I understand Elliott's frustration since he seemed to have a good car that was capable of racing up front and it's been a while since he's had a car like that.

25. Michael Waltrip - Started from the pole and had a great car for much of the race. Did a good job of just missing "The Big One" but unfortunately his luck ran out and a blown tire with about 15 laps to go put him and a few others out of the race. Still, it was good to see Michael be able to race up front and lead some laps, something I'm sure he had fun doing.

26. Matt Kenseth - Was a victim of "The Big One."

27. David Gilliland

28. Kyle Petty - Ran over Dale Jarrett and ended his day early, something which Kyle took full responsibility for, and endured a hard hit into the wall caused by a blown tire. Not a good race for Kyle, but it seems as if things rarely go well for this team.

29. Robby Gordon - Got caught in "The Big One" but was racing pretty well prior to that.

30. Aric Almirola - One of the many DEI-RCR blown engines.

31. Ken Schrader - Poor Kenny. A tire going down sent him into the wall. This DNF was very costly because it put the #21 out of the top 35 in owner's points once again. I have to wonder whether we'll see Bill Elliott back in the #21 next weekend at Charlotte. The entry list is sure to be lengthy and Bill's champion's provisional would guarantee that the #21 would make the field.

32. Joe Nemechek - I think Joe (and maybe John Andretti) was the only one of the go-or-go-homers who dropped to the back at the start of the race. Mechanical issues ruined his day.

33. John Andretti - The car was badly damaged due to a blown tire.

34. David Ragan - Got swept up in one of the wrecks.

35. Bobby Labonte - I'm not sure it's been detailed yet what exactly went wrong, but some sort of mechanical or tire issue caused Bobby to spin, which set off "The Big One."

36. Kyle Busch - Got collected in "The Big One."

37. Jamie McMurray - As did Jamie.

38. Paul Menard - And Paul, though odds are his engine wouldn't have made it to the end of the race anyway.

39. Brian Vickers - Yet another victim of "The Big One."

40. Dale Earnhardt Jr. - Had an outstanding car and was up front leading laps, working well with former teammate Michael Waltrip until his engine blew.

41. Dale Jarrett - Got run over by Kyle Petty, not that anyone knew that until Kyle said so in an interview because TV only showed DJ's wrecked car but never bothered to follow-up on what happened.

42. Martin Truex Jr. - A blown DEI-RCR engine.

43. Jeff Burton - The first of the blown DEI-RCR engines.

Posted by silverdsl at 11:35 AM | Comments (0)

Random Thoughts on Talladega

*It was the best of times and it was the worst of times for Michael Waltrip Racing. Michael started the race on the pole and didn't just drop to the back as many predicted. Instead he raced up front for the majority of the race, drafting with drivers such as Tony Stewart and Dale Earnhardt, Jr. In fact, Junior and Michael showed they can still work together extremely well - that was awesome to see! Had Junior not lost his engine and Michael not had the cut tire I think we would have seen them contending for the win at the end of the race just like when they used to be teammates at DEI. David Reutimann also spent time up front and I would guess that Dale Jarrett probably would have ended up front at the end had he not gotten wrecked given that his usual pattern at tracks like this is to drop to the back then work his way up front towards the end in an effort to avoid trouble. I was extremely happy with how competitive the MWR cars were in this race and Michael had to feel great about being able to do what he usually does at a restrictor plate track - race up front and lead some laps. However, all three MWR cars also found bad luck not of their own doing. DJ got wrecked by Kyle Petty, David got caught in "The Big One" and Michael blew a tire that ended his day with just about 15 laps to go. I was especially sad for Michael because it appeared that he was on the verge of a very strong finish based on how the rest of the race had gone for him, and I know that he and his team had high hopes for the race. But it really made me optimistic about next season - lately MWR has seemed to field much more competitive cars and I think the results will improve for them next season.

*Overall, many of the Toyotas encountered bad luck other than Dave Blaney, but I really liked what I saw. It's clear that the Toyota teams are capable of putting together a good car at these kinds of tracks. Many predicted that the Toyotas that qualified up front would be horrible once came time to actually race but that's not what happened. All of them with the exception of Jacques Villeneuve were competitive yesterday. That Blaney started and finished up front is excellent, particularly since it got him back into the top 35 in owner's points. While I don't expect all the Toyota teams to win every race next season or anything, I think as a whole they will build on the progress they've made as this season has gone along and will be more competitive next year.

*During some parts of this race the racing wasn't very exciting as it was mostly follow-the-leader, race in one big long line type of racing. I can't say I blame the drivers for racing like this though. There were quite a few uncertainties about the COT on this kind of a track, and a lot of concern expressed by many of the drivers about bump drafting, visibility issues and how the COT was going to effect the racing. So a lot of the drivers probably weren't willing to take too many risks until the end. I really can't blame them for playing it safe even though it made for a less exciting race for the fans.

*Was this weekend a success for Villeneuve? He should be commended for finishing 21st yesterday and not getting caught in any wrecks. However, during Saturday's truck race he caused a wreck when trucks that slowed because they were pitting under green caught him by surprise. In addition, after qualifying up front for yesterday's race the team decided that he should start from the back, according to crew chief Slugger Labbe because they felt that it wasn't a good idea for a rookie with no experience to start up there. Seems to me if his own crew chief, who has a lot of experience at guiding drivers to success at this kind of a track doesn't have much confidence in his driver's ability to start where he qualified and not get himself into trouble, then maybe he didn't belong on the track. During the actual race it's true that Villeneuve didn't get into any wrecks, he did hit the wall at least once, and it certainly helped him stay out of trouble that he raced around in back for a good portion of the race so he wasn't in the midst of the action. The result in this race really didn't matter for him either, it was all about getting experience for the Daytona 500, so there was less pressure to be aggressive and race hard as opposed to doing what he did which was to just ride around. So getting experience at this kind of a track is a good thing, but some are bending over backwards to compliment him as if he finished in the top ten, and I'm not sure this weekend was as impressive for him as some seem to think.

*All the Fords hung back by design together for a good portion of the race thinking that if they stayed in the back they would avoid trouble. Most of them still found trouble and the highest finishing Ford ended up being Carl Edwards in 13th. While it's true that hanging back can work out well - it certainly did for the Hendrick teams - the reality is that wrecks can happen at any time, and in any place on the track. We've seen "The Big One" happen towards the front, in the middle, and even at the back. So the Ford teams might want to re-think that strategy for the next restrictor plate race.

*Four of the car with the new DEI-RCR engine experienced engine failures and Kevin Harvick lost a cylinder so it appears that group has some work to do with their engines. The blown problems were very costly to several Chase drivers - Martin Truex, Jr. and Jeff Burton got DNFs, Kevin Harvick was non-competitive and concern over whether his engine was next to go likely led to Clint Bowyer being more conservative than he could have been. Not only that but it appeared that Junior's car was one that he had a chance to win with. Some of Junior's fans are convinced that Junior's blown engine is part of continued efforts by Teresa Earnhardt and DEI to sabotage Junior - ridiculous. It's crystal-clear that the problem is with all the DEI-RCR engines, not just the one that was in Junior's car. Teresa isn't in the engine shop where those engines are built and there's no way that DEI and RCR are going to deliberately do something that would hurt their Chase drivers just to ruin the race for Junior.

Posted by silverdsl at 09:55 AM | Comments (0)

October 06, 2007

Michael Waltrip Wins the Pole for Talladega!!!

Whooooooo-hoooooooooooooo! Yes, you read that right, Michael Waltrip is on the pole for tomorrow's Cup race at Talladega! I couldn't be happier for Michael! It's his first pole since 2005 and it comes in a season where there's been very little for Michael Waltrip Racing to be happy about. But lately MWR has shown some improvement, and they had a very good test at this track a few weeks ago. So I felt pretty good about how all three MWR teams would fare this weekend. In fact I felt so positive about this weekend for Michael and his teams that after I saw that he was the fastest of the go-or-go-home cars in both practices yesterday I was absolutely certain that Michael was going to do exactly what he did today - win the pole. And he did!!!!

Of course part of the reason why Michael won the pole is because of the top 35 rule and that this is an impound race. That means that the cars who are guaranteed a spot in tomorrow's race qualify in a race set-up because qualifying isn't so important at this track, while cars that aren't locked in qualify in a qualifying set-up. However, Michael said that despite what many believe, he was not in a qualifying set-up,

“You can think what you want, but this is not a qualifying setup. We’re ready to go. I think this car will go out and race well.”

Given the fact that Michael is a master at racing at restrictor plate tracks in combination with how David Reutimann was able to race in the top five at this track in the Spring before his engine expired, I think we will see Michael race well tomorrow. It's probably too much to expect that he'll contend for the win, but given his skill at this type of track if the car is at all fast it's not going to be out of the question. Some are still convinced that MWR is as bad as they were to start the season but this is the third race in a row that MWR has gotten all three of their cars in the race. In addition, when they don't experience mechanical issues or other problems, the MWR have seemed capable of racing towards the front, something that was nearly impossible at the beginning of the season. In fact, at Dover Michael finished 15th and likely would have finished even better had he not lost the power steering. Not only that he was the fastest car on the track at one point in that race. So things are definitely starting to look up for MWR.

Of course there are going to be more than a few who will be utterly convinced that this pole isn't a "real" pole because of how many teams weren't in a qualifying set-up. Nonsense. There's no asterisk next to Michael's speed when Nascar released the official lineup. A pole is a pole. Michael was the fastest in qualifying today and that's all that matters. I'm pretty sure that Toyota and NAPA are just as happy about Michael winning a pole this way as if he had won the pole with the every car using a qualifying set-up. Toyota has to be particularly pleased. This is the second time this season that one of their cars has been on the pole, and five of their cars will start in the top six.

Winning the pole today means that Michael will get to race in the Bud Shootout during Speedweeks next February at Daytona. That has to make Michael, Toyota and NAPA extremely happy as well. I'm already looking forward to seeing him race the #55 in the opening event of the 2008 season!

But before then, there's the race tomorrow. Of course at a restrictor plate track it's very easy to get caught up in "The Big One" through no fault of one's own. So there's no telling what might happen. But I'm hoping that the good karma for Michael will continue. Hopefully Michael, David and Dale Jarrett will all be able to finish great tomorrow!

Posted by silverdsl at 06:08 PM | Comments (0)

October 04, 2007

Ray Dunlap Suspended Again

It was just about a year ago that Ray Dunlap from Speed was suspended for offensive comments he made on em>Tradin' Paint about Hispanics. At the time I said that Dunlap is lucky that he still has a job after those comments, which he followed up with some mumbling in German which may have also been questionable. Well, apparently he's now been suspended again by Speed for undisclosed reasons that I hope are made public. If Dunlap didn't learn his lesson from his last suspension and made more offensive and inappropriate comments, I question why he's still employed by Speed as on-air talent.

Posted by silverdsl at 04:35 PM | Comments (0)

Random Thoughts on Nascar Happenings

*I really dislike the practice of team orders where one driver is told to yield position to a teammate, since I think that drivers should race for positions not be given them unless the car they're racing is many laps down or damaged. However, I don't agree with the writer of this article that Nascar needs to step in to end the practice. For one thing Nascar has yet to see a situation like F1 saw where one driver was told to give a win to another driver. As far as I can tell even when it's teammates racing each other when it comes to the win, it's every man for himself. But beyond that I don't see how Nascar can dictate how and when teammates help each other. It seems to me that team orders speak to the internal workings of the individual teams and organizations, and it's up to those entities to determine how they deal with team orders and teammates helping each other. If Nascar were to step in and prohibit team orders, would it extend to other instances in which teammates help each other? What about when one driver allows a teammate to temporarily take the lead in a race for the five bonus points? Isn't that also a manipulation of the race? And would they go so far as to make rules that govern how teammates can help each other at restrictor plate tracks? Plus, how would they enforce such a rule anyway? Teams can use code words, they don't need to use the radio to communicate with each other, and there can be an understanding before the drivers even get in the car about what they're supposed to do in certain situations. Seems to me the reason why Nascar has stayed silent on this issue is because they don't see any reason to intercede, particularly since it would open up a rather large can of worms if they were to do so.

*Joe Nemechek has an agreement in principle to drive the #78 for Furniture Row Racing next season. While the team has made the last five races with Joe behind the wheel, I don't see them being competitive any time in the near future, even with engines from Hendrick Motorsports. But unfortunately for Joe his choice was probably either to drive for this team or not race in Cup next season.

*M&Ms made it official yesterday - they're leaving Yates Racing and will sponsor Kyle Busch in the #18 at Joe Gibbs Racing next season. A lot of fans are perplexed by why M&M's (along with their affiliated brands such as Snickers, Pedigree, Combos, etc...) would want anything to do with Kyle. Well, maybe it has something to do with the fact that Kyle knows how to win and M&Ms will get a lot more exposure by being on the #18 than on the #38. In addition, although Kyle sometimes gets himself into trouble, that might not be such a bad thing to M&M's. Kyle has an aggressive and exciting style of driving, and he's a driver with attitude. Kind of like their candy.

*Speaking of Kyle, the only penalties Nascar handed down after confiscating the intake manifold off his race-winning Busch car this past weekend is probation and a $10,000 fine for his crew chief, Mike Bumgardner. Some are outraged since past intake manifold infractions have brought much more severe penalties, but to me that's a sign that the issue with the manifold wasn't likely as severe as many people have assumed. For one thing Hendrick Motorsports has said that similar manifolds have passed inspection previously, and in fact this very same manifold on this very same car passed a pre-race inspection, only to get flagged in the post-race inspection. The other thing is that a $10,000 fine in the Busch Series is a big fine considering how small the purses are, so for that series this is a bit more than a slap on the wrist.

*Now that Nationwide has signed on as the series sponsor of the now-Busch Series, Geico has two years during which they can remain as sponsor of the #7 before they'll have to leave. It'll be interesting to see whether Geico leaves the sport entirely or whether they'll move their sponsorship to a Truck or Cup team. They seem to really like Mike Wallace so I can see them sponsoring him in another series, particularly the Truck Series, though they wouldn't get as much exposure in the Truck Series as they do in the series they're in now.

*After previously having announced plans to race in the Busch Series full time next season, Todd Bodine may end up staying in the Truck Series after all now that Nascar has said they may move to a COT type car for the Busch Series in 2009. The feeling is by those at Germain Racing is that building a bunch of Busch cars that will be obsolete at the end of next season would be a waste of time and money, so they might just skip Busch and move to Cup down the road when the funding - sponsorship - is available to make that jump. That might not be good news for Ted Musgrave or Sean Caisse. It had been rumored that Sean would take Todd's place in the #30 truck because Germain has expressed a desire to develop some young talent. But with Todd not making the move to Busch, that could leave Sean out in the cold unless Germain opts to let Ted go at the end of this season.

Posted by silverdsl at 12:38 PM | Comments (0)

Top Chef, Rock of Love Finales

I don't watch too many reality shows but I did watch Rock of Love and Top Chef, both of which aired finales this week. The two shows are radically different. I never would have watched Rock of Love except that Bret Michaels, lead singer of Poison, my favorite band in high school, was the featured bachelor looking for "love." Top Chef on the other hand isn't just one of my favorite reality shows, it's one of my favorite shows period. The contestants have actual talent and I very much enjoy seeing them use their talents, cooking, creative and otherwise in the various challenges.

From the first episode of this season's Top Chef I predicted that Hung would win. His technical skills were superior to any other chef's on the show, and Hung also knew how to play the game. Hung was disliked by many viewers because he came across to some as thinking he was better than the others, but the reality is that one reason Hung made some of the comments that he did, which I didn't think were particularly offensive, is that he is better than many of those that he was competing against. Virtually from the start of last night's episode I felt that Hung was going to win even more than before. He was cooking with confidence, he had a plan that he executed from start to finish without any problems and he looked like he was having a lot more fun cooking than Dale or Casey. It seemed to me that the judges had to struggle to find things to be critical of when it came to his food, and the things that they found were minor issues. While Dale cooked two dishes that the judges loved, there was one they hated. Casey spit the bit completely when it came to the finale. I had thought it would be a close contest between she and Hung, but her food was inferior (but I'm sure still very good) in comparison to what Dale and Hung served.

I think Hung was unfairly criticized by some viewers because he didn't lend a helping hand to his fellow chefs if he finished a challenge early, whereas the rest of them would jump in to help each other without question. But Hung came there to win, and as he said in one of his interviews, had it been a kitchen in the real world, he would have jumped in to help because that's what's expected. However, in a competition he wasn't going to help someone he was competing against unless it was a team challenge. I think he was correct in his approach. It's great to make friends, but it's also important not to lose sight of the fact that the other chefs are also trying to win the title of Top Chef.

As for Rock of Love, it was ridiculous and I'm not going to miss not watching it. It's amazing to me that the women who took part in this show did so with the only prize ending up as Bret's girlfriend, and from all reports Jes and Bret never ended up dating even though she was the winner. Bret seems like a nice guy, but he's an aging rocker who still parties like it's 1990 in spite of the fact that it's a health risk with his diabetes, and seems more interested in hooking up than having an actual relationship. No prize there. I had no doubt that Jes was going to win as soon as I saw the way Heather dressed for when Bret was to make his final choice. That bright yellow dress might work when she's stripping but it doesn't belong being worn anywhere off the stage. And her hair, which she called "fuck-me" hair was laughable. She looked more like a circus clown than a woman who was trying to be Bret's girlfriend. The big question on everyone's mind is what she's going to do with the "Bret" tattoo she got on her neck - not a wise choice there! Supposedly there's going to be a Rock of Love 2 but I can't see myself watching unless the featured rocker is someone else from another band I used to like a lot.

Although Rock of Love and Top Chef ended, Project Runway is starting next month. That's the only other reality show I watch since like Top Chef it features people with actual talent.

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

October 03, 2007

Photo of the Day - Epcot

Epcot, Walt Disney World, Florida, January, 2004.

Posted by silverdsl at 09:58 PM | Comments (0)

Nationwide to Replace Anheuser-Busch as Series Sponsor

Starting next season Nationwide Insurance will replace Anheuser-Busch as Series sponsor and will also become the official auto, home and life insurance provider of Nascar. Most rumors had Subway as the front-runner to become the sponsor of the now-Busch Series, but apparently last week Nationwide made a proposal and negotiations took off from there. Though my preference would be to not have any kind of sponsor in the series name at all, I know that's not realistic, so I like the way Nationwide Series sounds in comparison to Subway Series. As a diehard fan of the New York Yankees the term "Subway Series" will always make me think of the 2000 World Series between the Yankees and the New York Met. Odds are a lot of other sports fans, particularly those in the New York area would also think of that World Series when they hear Subway Series. Another issue is that Major League Baseball appears to still hold some trademarks to the Subway Series name so that could potentially present some conflicts when it came to merchandising. So while some fans are complaining about the way Nationwide Series sounds, I'm just fine with it. I think some fans just have such a hard time with change that they're going to react negatively to just about anything. What will be interesting is how this effects the other insurance companies who are involved in Nascar already as the sponsors of individual teams.

Posted by silverdsl at 04:13 PM | Comments (0)

Scott Riggs to Race for Haas CNC Racing in 2008

Although it's still to be determined who Scott Riggs will replace, Haas CNC Racing announced today that they've signed him to race one of their Cup cars next season. Over the last seven races Haas CNC will evaluate the performance of both Jeff Green and Johnny Sauter and decide which driver Riggs will replace. Rumor has it that they may end up releasing both Green and Sauter as they may also be talking to David Stremme about a ride next season. Riggs hasn't been very impressive while he's been in Cup but I'm not sure he's ever had very competitive cars to race. It may end up being more of the same at Haas CNC since they're not among the best teams in the garage area, but on the other hand they're not among the worst either. Both cars will be locked into the top 35 in owner's points to start next season so just from that standpoint Riggs will be climbing into a better ride than he had this season.

It'll be interesting to see how Green and Sauter perform now that they'll be racing in an effort to try to keep their rides or impress another owner. If Haas CNC does end up choosing between Sauter and Green, I think they might end up keeping Sauter. He's not been impressive, but he did race his way into the top 35 to start the season and he's younger than Green. Since most of the available rides are already filled in Cup, at least the good ones, I suspect we might not see either Green or Sauter in Cup next season if they were to both lose their rides. But as far as I know Sauter still has his Busch ride so at least he'll be racing. I wouldn't be surprised to see Green end up with a Busch team too since he's had success on that level. All of the Sauter and Green brothers seem very resourceful when it comes to staying in Nascar, whether it's actively racing or working for teams in various capacities other than as driver, so we'll probably see more of them in the future.

Posted by silverdsl at 03:13 PM | Comments (0)

Dario Franchitti Will Race for Chip Ganassi Racing in 2008

As expected Chip Ganassi Racing announced today that Dario Franchitti will replace David Stremme in the #40 next season. I watched some of the press conference this morning and apparently this has been in the works for over a year. In fact Franchitti almost joined Ganassi to race the #42 but Ganassi couldn't pass up the opportunity to put Juan Pablo Montoya in a car. As it turns out that worked out pretty well for Franchitti because that allowed him to win the Indianapolis 500 and be the IndyCar champion this season. Obviously Franchitti is a talented and accomplished driver but it's still hard for me to predict how he's going to do in the #40. Stremme wasn't exactly impressive in his time in the #40 so if in his first season as he gets used to racing Cup Franchitti does at least as well as Stremme Ganassi will probably be satisfied, though over the long-term they're surely looking for better results.

More than a few people are concerned that so many teams are looking outside of Nascar to fill open rides. I think it does speak to teams viewing the available driver pool within Nascar as being thin when it comes to talent and marketability that they're so willing to put drivers who may be accomplished in other series but have little to no stock car experience full-time in a Cup car. However, I don't think it's a bad thing for the sport. Drivers like JPM, Franchitti and others are extremely talented drivers who are capable of a lot of success once they adjust to racing Nascar. They bring with them their own fanbases so it draws additional fans to Nascar and they also have the ability to attract sponsors who might not otherwise be interested in Nascar.

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

October 02, 2007

Not Many Happy About Villeneuve Racing at Talladega... Except Villeneuve

I continue to be amazed by the decision by Bill Davis Racing to enter Jacques Villeneuve in the Cup race at Talladega. Villeneuve has zero experience in a Cup car outside of testing, let alone at a very challenging track like Talladega. A track where it's so easy to find trouble in the blink of an eye is no place for Villeneuve to make his Cup debut. A number of Cup drivers agree. Scott Riggs was just on Sirius expressing his displeasure in the strongest of terms that Villeneuve doesn't belong at Talladega. He said that no matter how talented Villeneuve may be he's not familiar with the driving style of his fellow competitors, how to race at a track like that or how easy it is to encounter trouble. Those sentiments were echoed by Jeff Gordon and Kyle Busch this past weekend. Gordon said,

“Jacques did a nice job at the test. But you can’t judge anything off a test; that’s crazy... Yes, he did a nice job in the Truck race (last weekend at Las Vegas), but he wasn’t in contention. He just didn’t bounce off anything, which was very good. But I think you need to go get experience before you get stuck into a Cup race, especially one that is so crucial to the championship."

and

“This thing just got thrown to me 30 or 40 minutes ago … and I’m fired up about it. There’s a lot I’d like to say about it … and it has nothing to do with Jacques Villeneuve or (car owner) Bill Davis. It’s great what they’re doing, and I want to see him in the Cup series - just not at Talladega. It’s not a place for rookies. There is too much on the line. And no matter if he’s one of the most experienced drivers in the world, Talladega is not the place to start. There are so many other tracks to start; why start there? It makes no sense to me."

It doesn't make sense to anyone else either. It boggles my mind that a test and one truck race qualifies him to race at Talladega.

What really amazes me is that BDR wisely wasn't planning on entering Villeneuve in this race until he said that he wanted to be entered. Mike Brown, general manager of BDR said,

“We evaluated where we stood with him, after the Talladega car-of-tomorrow test, and after the Truck race (at Las Vegas), and he actually was the one who came to us and said ‘Hey, I’d like to run the Cup race at Talladega. We expressed the same concerns that all the drivers had. But in restrictor-plate racing, so far we’ve hardly run a plate race without a big wreck … and to my knowledge JV didn’t cause any of those. I could probably name 10 or 15 drivers in the field here today who need to take a good hard look at how they approach restrictor-plate racing."

It's great that Villeneuve has confidence in his abilities but as the organization fielding a car for him, it should be up to BDR to make the decisions they think are in his - and their - best interest. It's astonishing to me that BDR had the same concerns that everyone else does about the wisdom of a driver with zero Cup experience under actual race conditions yet put those concerns on the back burner because Villeneuve decided he wanted to race this weekend. What's really ridiculous about Brown's comment is in relation to prior big wrecks - of course Villeneuve has never started any of those wrecks, he's never raced at a restrictor plate track before!! In addition I think that the 10 or 15 drivers who Brown thinks need to re-evaluate the way they race at Talladega still have a better approach and more skill than Villeneuve does at this point.

Of course all the concern is for nothing if Villeneuve isn't able to qualify for the race. That might be the best outcome, and then BDR could enter him for a few other races this season to try to get him some experience in a Cup car during an actual race before Daytona.

Posted by silverdsl at 01:11 PM | Comments (0)

Reasonable Speed

A subject of much controversy after Sunday's race is reasonable speed and whether Greg Biffle was maintaining a reasonable speed or not at the conclusion of the race. Turns out many people are confused about how reasonable speed is determined. Contrary to what many - including some of the drivers - believe, it's not determined by the pace car. David Poole read the rule that relates to reasonable speed directly from the official rule book this morning and the race car isn't even mentioned! Reasonable speed is a judgment call made by Nascar officials, and in their judgment on Sunday Biffle was maintaining a reasonable speed when he crossed the finish line. Case closed. It's not up to the other drivers, members of the media or fans to decide what reasonable speed is, it's up to Nascar to decide.

Many are bringing up the Robby Gordon incident in Montreal in which Nascar cited Robby's lack of reasonable speed for one reason why they made the call they did. I think what happened in Montreal is irrelevant to what happened with Biffle on Sunday. Michael Waltrip brought up an incident last night on Inside Nextel Cup in which he pulled momentarily towards pit road during a Busch race and when he pulled back on the track Nascar put him in 7th instead of 4th because they said he didn't maintain a reasonable speed. As much as I love Michael and frequently agree with him on many topics, in this case I think that incident is irrelevant too. It's left as a judgment call by Nascar because each situation is different with different circumstances and drivers doing different things, at different speeds. Which is why, as much as the panel members on INC, fans and everyone else want Nascar to be consistent, it's not always possible. While there are similarities in some situations, there are so many different variables in each situation.

But to me a lot of people are getting hung up on reasonable speed when there's other factors that are important as well. For one thing the field was frozen when the caution flew and there's no passing allowed under caution. So even if other cars passed Biffle while he was taking precautions to ensure he didn't run out of gas, those passes didn't count. In the middle of a race if Nascar determines that a driver makes a pass under caution that driver isn't allowed to keep the position they gained - why would it be any different in this situation? In my mind, since the field was frozen and no passing is allowed, as long as Biffle crossed the finish line - and he did - he won the race. Had he stopped because he was out of gas completely and was unable to cross the finish line then that's different, Clint Bowyer would be the winner. But Biffle definitely crossed the finish line.

It seems to me that some fans, and some in the media as well, are looking for any excuse to criticize Nascar. To some fans they're so insistent that everything that Nascar does is wrong that everything that happens is part of some sort of conspiracy where Nascar is helping a team they favor or otherwise trying to manipulate the outcome of a race. Even if in reality Nascar is trying to follow their own rule book. Nascar may not always be consistent. The way they apply the rules may change over time as the sport itself changes. They may *gasp* make mistakes. The reality is that the officials in every other sport blow calls and make mistakes, it's going to happen in Nascar as well. But that doesn't mean that every ruling is a mistake or everything they do is wrong. Sometimes they actually get it right.

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

October 01, 2007

Photo of the Day - Grounds for Sculpture

Grounds for Sculpture, Hamilton, NJ, May, 2006.

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

Driver by Driver: Kansas

I seem to be one of the few fans who isn't upset about the finish of this race. Most seem to think that Greg Biffle was handed this win by Nascar, but I think he won it fair and square. When the caution flew the field was frozen and Greg was in the lead at that point. Sure he was trying to conserve fuel as he came to the finish line, but the way some fans are talking Greg stopped before he crossed the finish line, but the video I've seen clearly shows him crossing the finish line - isn't that what's important? I have no idea why Jimmie Johnson and some fans think that it's okay for cars to pass Greg under caution and be declared the winner. Nascar no longer allows passing under caution and hasn't for a long time. The way I see it as long as Greg was able to get across the finish line - and he did - then he's the race winner. There's been a lot of comparisons to other instances where Nascar hasn't allowed drivers to keep their positions because they've said they haven't maintained a reasonable speed. But I don't see how mid-race incidents compare to a situation where a race ends under caution, particularly when in past instances some of the drivers involved have been involved in a wreck or incident that brought out the caution. In addition, there seems to be some confusion - Nascar's rules state that the car simply needs to maintain reasonable speed, not that they have to keep up with the pace car. It's up to Nascar to determine what reasonable speed is, not the fans.

1. Greg Biffle - I guess one reason why I'm not as upset about the finish of this race is because I've come to be a fan of Greg's. I'm really glad that after a season where he's seemed really unhappy at times with the struggles of his team that he was finally able to end up in Victory Lane. Since Greg Erwin came on board it seems as if things have gone better for the #16 team and hopefully this is a good sign that next season will be better for the team than this one was. It was also good to see a non-Chase driver in Victory Lane.

2. Clint Bowyer - Suddenly Clint and his team are coming on strong! He surely wanted to win bad in front of a hometown crowd, but 2nd is still pretty impressive and puts him in third in the Chase standings. I had written off Clint as being a contender for the Championship but if he continues to race like this he could be the 2007 Champion.

3. Jimmie Johnson - Jimmie thought he should have been declared the winner of the race, but since when have drivers been allowed to pass under caution? And if the win was taken away from Greg and given to another driver it would have been given to Clint who finished second. Jimmie shouldn't be too upset, finishing 3rd put him in the lead in the Chase standings.

4. Casey Mears - So did anyone notice that Casey finished 4th? Yeah, I didn't think so. Last season Casey was the runner-up at this track so it shouldn't be a surprise that he got another top five.

5. Jeff Gordon - Some continue to think that Jeff's in some kind of slump in comparison to the beginning of the season, but has anyone noticed that this is Jeff's third top five in four races? He's third in the Chase standings too. It just seems like he's not racing as well as he did earlier in the season because he's not leading the Chase standings but there's still a very good chance that he could win the Championship.

6. Kevin Harvick - After a slow start to the Chase, Kevin and his team rebounded with a strong 6th place finish which moves him up to 5th in the Chase standings.

7. Reed Sorenson - Reed hasn't finished this well since his 5th place finish at Indy over the summer but naturally in all the excitement over the way the race finished and problems for many of the Chase contenders no one noticed.

8. Elliott Sadler - Here's something else no one noticed - Elliott's best finish since the Daytona 500. Hard to believe that was his last top ten! It's also the first time since Daytona that both Elliott and Kasey finished in the top ten.

9. Kasey Kahne - Loudon and Dover weren't kind to Kasey but I'm sure he wasn't disappointed about finishing in the top ten at Kansas.

10. Dale Earnhardt Jr. - It probably won't make Kyle Busch feel any better about what happened, but Junior took responsibility for wrecking him after the race. A lot of other drivers probably wouldn't have done that and instead would have blamed Kyle for slowing on the track or not giving him room to race. It did look a little funky how Junior jacked him up and wrecked him, but I doubt there was any intent behind it, particularly since Junior will be racing for this team next season and that's not the way to start out on the right foot.

11. Kurt Busch - Some fans have blamed Kurt for wrecking Tony but Kurt really didn't have anywhere to go when Tony suddenly slowed in front of him. There was no way that Kurt could see Tony when he signaled that he had a tire going down, and there was really no time for Kurt to check up before he was on Tony wrecking him. Kurt's team made a good choice when they pitted to fix his fender instead of staying out in the hope that it would fix itself like the #20 team had hoped for. Had they gambled instead of finishing 11th and moving up two spots in the Chase, they might have ended up DNF'ing like Tony.

12. Mark Martin - Considering Mark thought his car was junk for the majority of the weekend a top 15 finish is pretty good.

13. Scott Riggs - This is only the second time all season that all three Evernham cars have finished in the top fifteen, the last time being at Talladega in April.

14. J.J. Yeley - Lately J.J. has been racing a lot better than he has the rest of the season. In his last four races J.J. has two top tens and a top fifteen.

15. Dave Blaney - Good race for Dave and the #22 team. Dave led three laps in this race and spent some time in the top ten otherwise. It would be interesting to see what Dave could do if he was given competitive cars on a consistent basis, but I have a feeling that might not happen while he's with Bill Davis Racing.

16. David Ragan - Was able to hold his own for a while in the top ten but pitted for tires and wasn't able to make up the positions he lost.

17. David Stremme - I'm a little surprised that there's not been even a vague rumor to connect David to a new ride so far, even on a lower level. Although the results haven't been great for him in Cup, he seems like a nice enough guy who is pretty marketable so I'd think some team would be interested in him.

18. Tony Raines - Tony and Robby Gordon finished near each other without incident in this race but given how angry Tony still seems to be about the incident in last week's Busch race that led to him throwing his helmet at Robby, I suspect Tony will enact a little payback at some point before the end of the season.

19. Robby Gordon - For the second week in a row Robby started 41st and finished 19th. This is a good finish for Robby considering he spun early in the race but luckily for him he didn't get into anything.

20. Jeff Green - Jeff's best finish since he also finished 20th in early August. It's not surprisingly that there's rumors he might be replaced next season as I can see where Best Buy would probably like to start seeing some better results.

21. Kyle Petty - This is actually Kyle's best finish since he finished 3rd at Charlotte in May. It's amazing how many more fans think Kyle has no place on the track after he tangled with Denny Hamlin last week. Meanwhile he was the one who got wrecked! But to some automatically their favorite driver is right and the other guy is in the wrong.

22. Jeremy Mayfield - It's sure has been a crap-tacular season for Jeremy considering this is his best finish of the season.

23. Johnny Sauter - I'm surprised there's been no rumors about Johnny losing his ride like there have been for his teammate, but maybe since Johnny is a lot younger there's more hope that the results will improve for him as opposed to with his teammate. Johnny also did a nice job of racing his way into the top 35 in owner's points to start the season.

24. Jamie McMurray - Jamie got into Paul Menard who then got into Denny Hamlin which resulted in the #11 getting torn up bad. Denny was angry with Jamie after the race for causing that incident but I didn't see Jamie do anything so terrible. Sometimes when three drivers are racing each other it's not going to work out well.

25. Joe Nemechek - Second top 25 in a row for Joe and that has to be considered good for this team. Overall, I think Joe has done a good job for this team, particularly when it comes to getting them into races. I'm sure he'd like to be racing for a much more competitive team but he's making the most of the opportunity he has.

26. Dale Jarrett - Since DJ has expressed that he doesn't care too much whether he keeps racing or not, it's hard for me to care why he didn't finish that well in this race. I generally feel that drivers can only do the most with the cars that they're given so if a driver doesn't have a competitive car they can't finish very well. And the MWR cars haven't been very competitive overall this season. But I've started to wonder if a driver with a different attitude than DJ, one who is still more passionate about racing might get at least slightly better results.

27. Paul Menard - Was involved in the incident with Denny Hamlin and Jamie McMurray but he seemed to be mostly an innocent bystander who was shoved into Denny by Jamie.

28. Juan Montoya - Had not just one cut tire that brought out the caution that ended the race, but two.

29. Denny Hamlin - I understand why Denny was so upset. After all, it's been two weeks in a row that he's gotten wrecked and he's mired in 12th in the Chase standings with little chance of contending for the Chase. However, Denny needs to understand that sometimes things just aren't going to go his way and when things go bad, handle himself with a little more maturity.

30. Michael Waltrip - Where to start? Poor Michael. After qualifying so well he probably had high hopes for this race. However, a pit road speeding penalty and having to come in to get a fender fixed cost him valuable track position he was never able to make up. Plus, he had to deal with severe radio problems all race long which were so bad after the race re-started after the second rain delay that he couldn't hear his team at all until the end of the race. That might have played a role in the lap 157 incident in which he and Ken Schrader tangled when they were racing three wide with Jimmie Johnson since Michael probably couldn't hear his spotter. There was some arguing over the radio at the end of the race about the radio issue and I can understand why Michael was upset. For one thing he's right that they should have tried giving him a new helmet sooner, but beyond that the noise on the radio was annoying for me a fan sitting at home listening to the radio via Trackpass, I can only imagine how irritating it was for Michael in the car.

31. David Reutimann - Was racing in the top fifteen at one point but an ill-timed pit stop prior to the second rain delay cost him a lot of track position. Then he got swept up in the lap 157 wreck.

32. Ken Schrader - Tangled with Michael Waltrip, got loose and spun which resulted in the big wreck on lap 157.

33. John Andretti - The results aren't very good but John's been doing a good job of getting this car into the races each week.

34. David Gilliland

35. Matt Kenseth - Got wrecked on lap 157 when Tony Stewart couldn't check up in time and slammed into Martin Truex, Jr. who got into Matt.

36. Jeff Burton - Mechanical gremlins ruined this race for Jeff. Drops to 10th in the Chase standings.

37. Carl Edwards - Was an innocent victim when Tony Stewart's tire blew and Carl couldn't avoid getting into him. Drops to 7th in the Chase standings.

38. Martin Truex Jr. - Poor Martin. He looked to have a good car but he got wrecked when Tony Stewart couldn't check up in time during the lap 157 incident.

39. Tony Stewart - It's funny how Tony's post-race report spins the events of this race. There's no mention of how Tony's inability to check up led to two of his fellow Chase contenders ending up with wrecked race cars, just that Tony received damage in the incident. Plus there's only talk about the blown tire, no mention of how his team knew that the fender was damaged and choose to stay out in the hopes that it would fix itself so it was their actions that led to the blown tire. I don't blame the #20 team for choosing to gamble and stay out there in the hope that the problem would resolve itself, after all many other teams take a risk like that and sometimes it works out. But sometimes it doesn't and the results can be costly. Since Tony is a Chase contender I might have opted to play things safe and get the fender fixed to ensure that my driver finished the race without a DNF.

40. Kenny Wallace - I don't understand why this team is continuing to go with Kenny Wallace instead of putting Travis Kvapil behind the wheel since he'll be racing for this team next season. It's somewhat understandable on weekends when there's a truck race since they might want Travis to be able to focus solely on the truck since he high in the standings, but there was no truck race this weekend.

41. Kyle Busch - Got wrecked by Junior early in the race and wasn't happy about it.

42. Bobby Labonte - Got caught in the lap 157 incident.

43. Ryan Newman - Dropped a cylinder than finally lost the engine completely.

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